New Terrain

Distance: 3 miles
Time: 27:43
Location: Yucca Loma Out-and-Back

After a hectic couple of weeks I finally got a run in tonight. I last ran on Thursday last week, or 9 days ago. Too long a break, but an unavoidable one as we've been busy moving all this time. I've been anxious to try out some of the running trails around our new house because I immediately noticed that it seemed to be a much more runner-friendly area of town. Out east at our old home there were no established trails, no street lights, and running was sometimes a tricky affair. But the house we're in now sits in an established neighborhood and a much more kempt part of town. There are trails along the main roads and a river nearby that I can run alongside. I went on mapmyrun.com to map out a 3-mile route and luckily there was a perfect route that took me east along Yucca Loma to Rincon Road (1.5 miles) and back. It's actually a route reminiscent of an old route I used to run in Rancho Cucamonga that took me north out of my neighborhood to a major street (Milliken) then east along Victoria Park Lane to Rochester and back. This route takes me north out of my neighborhood to a major street (Apple Valley) then east along Yucca Loma Road to Rincon and back. But this route is much better! In fact, this Yucca Loma route that I discovered today was far better than any of the runs I ran around the Powhatan neighborhood and probably the best run I've run since starting my training in May 2010..... with my run at Newport Beach being the one expection. And here's why: the view. The route starts out unassuming, through our neighborhood and to a large intersection. But once it crosses Apple Valley Road and heads east along Yucca Loma the trail rises steadily until one section where it sharply rises and then levels off near Rincon. The return trip then is mainly downhill with amazing views. Westward, Yucca Loma descends gradually down to Apple Valley Road and ahead is an expansive view of all of the Victor Valley extending for miles and miles all the way up to the San Gabriel Mountains! I ran at dusk so I could see all the lights of the valley and the sillhouettes of the mountains in the distance. I was so taken with the view that I forgot all about the pain of running. An added bonus is that along Yucca Loma is a nice trail set aside for runners, walkers, and bikers. There were people walking along the trail and everyone was pleasant and polite. It really added to the positive vibe of this run.

The run itself was pretty good. My time of 27:43 was much better than last week's 28:50. After a week off my leg pain was all but gone. My endurance level wasn't that great, but I felt pretty good for 90% of the run. The final 400 meters or so were tough, but I guess that's to be expected with such a layoff. Most of the run I felt good. I loved the up and down terrain. It kept things interesting. Even the long uphill was a welcomed change. It was tough, but it also presented a nice challenge to keep my mind busy. Most of my runs to this point have just been flat. And then the downhill coming back was a blast. It wasn't such a sharp downhill that my knees took a beating. It was just right so that I could pick up my pace but still feel like I was exerting myself.

All in all, tonight's run gave me a promising idea of what running will be like in my new neck of the woods. I'm excited to run this route again and to discover new ones!