Quail Hill Loop

The Sunday Morning run at Quail Hill is starting to gain momentum!

This morning's runners did either two or three laps at 1.8 miles each, then met for snacks and socializing back at the trail head.

If you live in Orange County, join us next Sunday!

Trail Tasting at Thomas F. Riley Wilderness Park

Today's pick for trail tasting was Riley Wilderness Park in Coto de Caza. There were seven selections to choose from, and Heather and I managed to sample them all in a single morning.

Oak Canyon Trail


Horned Toad Trail


Vista Ridge Trail


Mule Deer Trail

Wagon Wheel Canyon Trail


Happy Trail Tasting!

5 Miles on the Fullerton Trails

I have been walking every day since the Bulldog 50K, usually with a mile or less of light jogging thrown in. Tonight was my first real run since the race last Saturday. I drove up to Fullerton to meet OCTR members Mary and Nick. It was the first time any of us had met.

The run was an out and back that started at Laguna Lake and turned around at Harbor Blvd. Mary was merciful and took us on a route with only 400 feet of climbing. I ran faster than I had planned, but felt pretty good throughout and afterward.

I think maybe because I felt so sick during the Bulldog race, I didn't really exert myself that much or beat my body up too badly. Therefore, my recovery time will probably be short, but I still plan on taking it easy this weekend. Heather and I are going trail tasting!

Bulldog 50K Report

My wife likes hotels. So when I wondered out loud whether it made sense to get a room near the race course, she went online and booked a room within minutes. We drove up to Calabasas on Friday and had a nice dinner. I got up at 5 the next morning, got my stuff ready, hit a nearby Starbucks, and Heather dropped me off at the park.

People milling around before the start

Matt and Kayla from the OC Trail Runners

Julian, who I met a couple of weeks ago in Limestone Canyon.

Bring it on!

Just after the start of the 50K

Since I had previewed the course 3 weeks ago with the OC Trail Runners, I knew what to expect. My main focus on the first loop was to keep my pace down. Look at the elevation profile below and you'll see why.


Check out these stunning views of the marine layer on the first loop:



I felt pretty good on the first loop until about mile 13, when my stomach started acting up. I finished the first loop in 3:30, which was right about where I wanted to be. As I was filling my bottles, Julian and Chris came into the aid station and we talked briefly. We started the second loop together, but I soon fell back and had to walk (this section was mostly downhill, too!). There was nothing in my legs and I felt like throwing up.

What the hell was this? I thought I was drinking enough, taking in enough calories, and getting enough salt. Yet I could only run a short distance before I had to walk again. I kept telling myself I would feel better soon, but I actually felt worse by the time I arrived at the first aid station, about 4 miles later. The workers there kept asking me what I wanted, but I really didn't know. I just had them fill my bottles and then continued on.

After this aid station, the climbing starts in earnest. I struggled to walk about a mile further and stopped to rest in a tiny patch of shade. I was about to call it quits. How in the world would I be able to finish like this? I would surely miss a cut-off soon. I was cussing silently to myself when I saw Chris coming up the road. He asked me if I was OK and if I needed anything. I told him I was thinking about quitting, and he offered to walk back to the aid station with me. He stayed with me when I started heaving on the side of the trail...

I felt a little better after that, so we started up the road together. He kept encouraging me, but at the same time offering to help me back to the aid station if I wanted. He stayed with me when I had to stop and rest, telling me "Sit on that rock". He waited for me while I heaved a couple more times. He told me that he had DNF'd at more than one 50k before. "Why did you DNF?" I asked. "Same as you", he said. He handed me a couple of salt capsules and made sure I took them. I decided to try to make it to the next aid station, which was about a mile past the summit.

This is me at the summit, beginning to feel hopeful

When we got to the summit and started down to next aid station, Chris said, "Let's do something that resembles running". The breeze felt good and I was starting to feel better. After a few minutes, I looked back and Chris was not there. I waited for him, but when he saw me he said, "No, no, don't wait for me - you go on ahead". So I did. It was at that point that I knew I could make it, that I would finish. I hope Chris had a good day and finished OK.

The marine layer burned off to reveal the Pacific Ocean

A glimpse of Malibu Canyon Road far below

The next 10 miles would have been hard enough just due to the course and the heat, but it felt even harder because I still had off-and-on nausea and weakness. However, the knowledge that I was going to finish helped me get through the rough spots. I beat the final cut-off by less than half an hour, logging an unofficial finish time of 8:37. It was disappointing to take so long, but hey, it was a brutal course and I had a terrible day.

On the good side, I ran an Ultra. I'm an Ultra runner! I'm 53 years old and have been running less than 3 years, but I finished my first Ultra with no limping or bleeding, and I had no blisters or chafing. I met some cool people at the aid stations, and even one angel who made me sit down while she ran ice-cold sponges over my head, neck and arms. Too bad I'm already married! The 25K runners who passed me were all very encouraging, most saying "Good job" or "You're awesome for doing this twice!" or something similar. The course, of course, was absolutely beautiful.

I'll be back!

Thank You, Chris!

The aid stations workers were fabulous! The 25K runners who passed me all said encouraging things. But this guy, he gets his own blog entry! Read the full race report to find out why!

I Finished My First Ultra!

Full race report coming tomorrow...

Final trail run before Bulldog

I have done this exact run before, but this time was diffferent. Definitely one of the best runs I have had in a long time. Maybe it was the two days off. It sure feels great to run when you are rested!

After an easy 5 miles of graded fire road, technical single track, dark canyons and sunny ridges, I felt even better. Went home and ate homemade pizza - one with pepperoni and the other with black olives, green olives and anchovies. Mmmmm!

I chose Crystal Cove State Park for my last trail run before my first ultramarathon. Here is the view looking North from the trail head:

Final long run!

This morning I ran 9 miles at in Aliso & Wood Canyons, my last long run before The Bulldog 50K. This will be my first trail race and first ultra, so I have been trying to prepare by taking it easy these last couple of weeks.

Also on today's run were Lauren and Heather from the OC Trail Runners.

This young deer was literally only 15 feet away!

A particularly gnarly Live Oak tree along the trail


Lauren at the Cholla Trail head, our turn-around point

I was interviewed by John Brant!

Writer John Brant, author of the book "Duel in the Sun: Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley and America's Greatest Marathon", walked into my office and interviewed me yesterday. Unbelievable!

Was he here to ask me about my short but promising running career? My recent age-group place in a local 10K? Last-minute preparations for my first 50K trail race coming up on the 23rd?

No, it was not any of those things. He was here to do a story on our CEO for Inc. Magazine, and wanted to know more about how the two of us worked together to develop new products. John and I talked for about 45 minutes.

In all honesty, I barely paid attention to the reporter's name when we were introduced. It was only after he had left that I realized who he was. Doh! I would have wanted to interview him!

Here's an article he wrote for the NY Times about Alberto Salazar.

But you already knew that, right?

Archives of Internal Medicine:

"Reduced Disability and Mortality Among Aging Runners"

A 21-Year Longitudinal Study

Quail Hill Loop

To get to the Quail Hill trailhead, exit the 405 Freeway at Sand Canyon and go south (on Shady Canyon) just past the traffic circle. The entrance is marked by a large stone monument on the right.

The trailhead has restrooms, picnic tables, RV parking, even horse rails and watering troughs (the fixtures sticking out of the wall are like drinking fountains for horses - the bowls fill with water when the horse pushes a flat bar inside with its nose).

The landscaping was done using native plants such as California Live Oak, Western Sycamore, Bush Sunflower, Verbena, California Buckwheat, several varieties of native sage, and many others.

The beginning of the loop with a view of the area

This 1.8 mile loop is part of the City of Irvine Open Space Preserve. The trail is a smooth dirt road, well packed and cracked from the dry weather. Think of it as a 1.8 mile oval running track in a sea of dried mustard plants and wild oats. Quite a departure from the well-manicured trailhead! There, we observed bees, a lizard, a few birds, and a gopher snake, but the trail itself seemed sterile - not even an ant hill!

This area looks interesting - maybe it will be open soon?


View from the highest point on the trail

The total elevation gain for the loop is less than 200 feet, which makes it easy for just about anyone to complete. Looking for a convenient place for a quick run after work? Instead of running on the road or doing laps at the track, try one or more repeats of this loop. You just might get a taste for trail running!

Trail Run in Agua Chinon

This was my first venture into the Limestone Canyon Wilderness Area, courtesy of the Irvine Ranch Conservancy. Our docents, Tony and Jon, led us on a 12 mile run that hit all the main points of interest, namely the headwaters of the Sinks, Bolero Springs, and Dripping Springs. The trail was mostly on narrow fireroads, with one nice singletrack section thrown in. The total elevation gain was right at 2000 feet.

Gathering at the Portola Staging Area


This tarantula was on the trail near the beginning of the run.


"I don't know what happened, the trail used to be right here!"


Approaching "The Sinks"



OK, the party's over!


Just one last look.


Back to work!


Taking a short break.


A beautiful canyon filled with Live Oaks.


Heading out and up, up, up!


Marine Layer covering Orange County.


The group I tried to hang with.


Michelle, my running buddy for most of the climbs.


Had to wait 10 minutes for the bike race to go by.

This was a great run with a nice bunch of people coming from all sorts of running backgrounds. Like me, many were in Limestone Canyon for the first time. If you would like to explore this beautiful area, sign up for a hike or a run!

Laguna Coast Wilderness - James Dilley Preserve

Heather and I went out for a quick out-and-back this evening, starting at Woods End Trail and turning around at Nix Nature Center. The whole run was only 3.75 miles on fairly smooth fireroad, but turned out to be pretty interesting and eventful.

From the top of the ridge, we caught a glimpse of The Lagunas, which are the only natural lakes in all of Orange County.

Going down, we saw a big Red Diamondback on the side of the fireroad (rattling loudly) which my wife absolutely refused to step around, so I kicked dirt at it until it went off into the brush.

Later, as we went under the toll road (at Sycamore Canyon Bridge) in twilight, a motion sensing camera with a bright flash took our picture. The tunnel is an animal crossing, so tomorrow morning I imagine some bored volunteer or graduate student counting deer and mountain lions will see us instead. Since the flash caught us by surprise, I'm sure we had that "deer in the headlights" look!

Naturally, after starting back I took a wrong turn, so we had to back-track in near darkness.

By the time we got back to the car, we were seeing by the light of the half-moon, which luckily was bright enough to cast a good shadow.

This was my first time in the James Dilley Preserve, so I only saw a small portion of it. There are other trails that go to the lakes, and some nice looking single tracks in the canyons that I will have to check out later.

My fourth patent this year!

Another of my pending patent applications issued today, US Patent Number 7,407,491 for an insulin delivery set called Orbit 90. In addition to inventing it, I also named this product.

If anyone is interested in medical devices or IV sets, check out the Clave, MicroClave, CLC2000, Tego, Genie and Spiros on the ICU Medical website. I have one or more patents on each of these.

What shape is your taper?

Now that I'm officially tapering for my first Ultra, I'm beginning to wonder what the best sort of taper is. You don't have to vote or anything, but if you see something that looks like your taper, feel free to share!

OC Trail Runners Preview Bulldog Race Course

When I heard about the opportunity to pre-run the course before the race, I jumped at it. The Bulldog 50K would be my first ultra, and I was anxious to find out as much as I could about the terrain and trail conditions. Thousand Oaks Matt was like a tour guide today, not only showing the way, but pointing out strategic landmarks and probable aid station locations. Invaluable stuff.

The course consisted of mostly fire roads, but there were enough single track sections here and there to break it up. After the climb to the ridge, there were several places where the course followed and actually went over some cool and gnarly rock formations!

Jessica, Matt, Kayla and Thousand Oaks Matt


Passing by an old set from the TV show M*A*S*H


Surveying the trail ahead


Running on solid rock!

We started around 8:30 AM to get a feel for what the second loop would be like. It was certainly warm, but not stifling - only about 90° F with a few cooling breezes. The total elevation gain for the loop was 3253 ft according to my Garmin FR 305. Doing two of these loops back-to-back is going to be challenging!

I'd walk a mile (or nine) for a taco

Holy Jubilee, Batman, the last blog entry was my 50th!

Tomorrow I'm going to run one loop (25K) of the Bulldog race course in Malibu Creek State Park, so today I wanted to get in about 10 easy miles. My legs were kind of sore from the 16 miles I already did this week, so even walking would be good. My wife Heather had never walked that far, but she was up for it, so we walked the length of Aliso and Wood canyons, then jogged about half of the way back. I had the camera today, but the only interesting thing we saw were a couple of snakes. There are two pictures of each one.

The first one didn't want to stick around.

The second one took off before I got there.

My favorite taco joint!