Know Thy Mud

The incessant rain has me thinking.  About mud.  One of the (many) things you really don't have to think much about as a Flatlander / Pavement Warrior. 


Just before Christmas it rained for days and days on end (not that common here in Southern California), and I found myself emailing Ernie, one of my trail group leaders, the night before our Sunday morning run to say that I was wimping out.  I was getting over a cold, so being drenched to the bone didn't sound like a path to recovery.  But more importantly, I didn't really want to run in the sloppy, muddy, gunk, and was fairly certain that I would either faceplant (I'm a pro) or slide down the mountain on my ass.  


Apparently eight runners showed up to brave the crapola weather that morning.  They stayed together for safety, and had a blast.  I decided that I didn't want to wuss out again and that next time I had a mud opportunity, I would be there with bells on. 


So here is actually the point of this entry:  there are different kinds of mud.   I know, duh.  But I had never had to consider this before.   If you are fortunate enough to have a choice of where to run, make sure you know what dirt is on which trails, which will help you choose your route based on weather. 


Ernie emailed me after the muddy run with this piece of advice:
"Since you live in MB, remember that PV mud is clay, and you need to avoid that stuff.  Need to let the trails dry off in PV after at least 3-4 days--or get a new car.  Santa Monica Mountains in mud are fine and even fun." 


I wanted to give you the lowdown on the different types of mud, but surprisingly there isn't much out there that is google-able.  I did learn quite a bit about red clay, and it became perfectly clear why Ernie warned my car would get trashed if I ran in it. 


It Stains.   


The reddish color is apparently caused by the presence of unhydrated iron oxides.


THINGS TO BRING WITH YOU TO A RAINY TRAILRUN:

1. Old towels - one to dry off with and one to put on your carseat
2. Plastic bags for your shoes, socks, and clothes
3. A dry change of clothes for the ride home (unless of course you prefer to drive naked)

WHAT TO DO IF YOU RUN IN RED CLAY MUD and your stuff stains:


(From LifeTips) You can remove red clay by first letting it dry thoroughly and brushing off as much as possible. Then you can rub the stain with Murphy's Oil Soap, leave for 15 minutes, and rinse with cold water. Or, instead of the Murphy's Oil Soap, you could use a solution of 1 tablespoon borax in a cup of water. If the spot persists, use an enzyme presoak, or soak the item in a gallon of water to which you've added a cup of ammonia (or use bleach if the items are white).

Someone else told me that you can make a paste of table salt and vinegar.  Place it over the stain and rub.  Leave the paste on for 15-20 min and launder as usual. 

Poison Ivy

Don't laugh, this is important stuff and I honestly can't remember what they look like.  It's been at least 28 years since I've had to deal with this itchy mess. 

So here is the 101 refresher course I gave myself. 

NOTE:  It may look different depending on the season.

 

Poison Ivy in Spring


 

Poison Ivy in Summer



 

Poison Ivy in the Fall



Climbing Vine of Poison Ivy

Poison Oak







Poison Oak (above) is similar to Poison Ivy but the leaves tend to be more lobed and have tiny hairs. 



The plant leaves an oil called urushiol on your skin which gets absorbed and causes the rash.  If you do come in contact with Poison Ivy/Oak, try to rinse the area as soon as possible (within an hour) with a lot of COLD running water to remove the oil and hopefully prevent the rash from ever happening.  (Do not wash with hot water as this opens your pores and accelerates the spreading.)    There are also over-the-counter skin cleansers you can keep in your car or med kit (such as Technu) for this eventuality.   Totally worth being informed and prepared - nothing says 'sexy' like an oozing rash that covers your body.

Don't Look Like Food

When I swim in the ocean, my mind inevitably wanders to the topic of sharks.  Dumb. Well, likewise, on a particularly dense and wilderness-y part of last Sunday's group trail run I began thinking about things like bears and cougars (are there cougars here?) and wondering what other large carnivores habitate the Santa Monica mountains. 

So I asked my running partners "ok what are you supposed to do if you encounter an animal that looks like it wants to eat you?"

One guy laughed and said (you got it) "Just don't look like food".

Apparently the proper response depends on the way the encounter happened, i.e. whether you happened upon each other accidentally, or whether you are being stalked. 

If you suddently realize you are in the proximity of something dangerous, like a bear, you want to avoid presenting yourself as a threat or a challenger. 

• Do not make direct eye contact
• Do not make any sudden moves
• DO NOT RUN AWAY
• Identify yourself as a person by talking in low tones and slowly waving your arms
• Back away slowly, give it a chance to leave

If the animal is predatory:

• Make yourself look BIGGER - arms in the air and stand on something if possible
• Try to appear dominant - scream, shout, wave your arms, jump up and down
• Fight back - do not be submissive - defend yourself with whatever means possible
• Concentrate your efforts on the face, eyes, and nose

While I'm on the subject, if you happen upon a Rattlesnake:

• They only strike in self-defense - not predatory
• Just try not to frighten or threaten it
• Back away slowly, give it a very wide berth, and move on

Cut the Tangents

I asked around in my trail running club which people had experience with ultras.  (I am considering a new distance.) There were a fair number of people in the group who race at the 50 and 100 mile distances regularly. 

One of the more technical runners in the group, who is quite competitive at ultra distances, said "I was watching you run and my advice for you off the bat is to cut the tangents." 

"Right.  Wait, what?"

He explained that I wander from side to side on the trail as I am picking my footing and looking for the flattest ground.  He said that when you race, you have to be very purposeful about creating a short and straight path for efficiency.  This is something that you have to practice when you are out on your regular trail runs so that it is second nature when you race. 

"After all" he said, "if you are running 50 miles, that wandering can easily add an another 3 to your day.  And the last thing you want is an extra 3." 

True that.  Good advice.  Thanks Michael.

Mini-Gaiters

So surprised that I had never seen these before in my 30 years of running.  Then again, you don't really need them as a Flatlander. 
They keep the rocks and crud out of your shoes!  Genius! 
You certainly don't need to use these all the time, but if the day's trail is expected to be mucky or rough, then a good idea to have.

A lot of the folks in my trail running club use the Dirty Girls gaiters (in various designs).  They are 'loud' but otherwise minimalist, which I like.     

Race Ready, a brand I have a lot of road-running experience with, makes them too, so I may consider.  They appear more durable/bulkier than the dirty girl gaiters, so probably for a more aggressive terrain. 

I have yet to buy a pair, but when I do I will keep you posted on my own two cents. 
In the meantime, here are some pros and cons I found from someone else of Mountain Hardware, Outdoor Research, and Dirty Girls:

Trail Gaiter Roundup

Stay Behind the Ketchup Bottle

If a sense of direction is genetic, then I happen to have been born without that gene.   So one point of intimidation for me when it comes to trail running is the possibility of getting lost.  For me it is a very real prospect.  (And apparently it happens to the best of trail runners, even during races). 

I've also mentioned before the importance (as well as joy) of hooking up with others for your trail runs if possible.  In group runs, there is often someone who starts out ahead of everyone else, and will mark the trail with a small arrow.  When you get to a trail intersection or some random fork in the road, you see the arrow on the ground and know which way to go in order to stay on the planned route. 

On my first-ever run, Stan told me to keep a lookout for the F-L-O-U-R arrows (he spelled it out, thankfully, or I would have been searching for Flowers!) The flour (an environmentally friendly solution) is easily administered by a plastic ketchup bottle, like the kind you find in a cafeteria, or something similar.   So if you are directionally-challenged like I am, remember to stay behind the person with the ketchup bottle. 

Active Recovery

When I run on the flat, I strive to keep a pace that feels difficult but sustainable for whatever the distance is.  And my goal is to push that pace faster and faster over time.   In other words, I work on running at a certain pace, and keeping it consistent.

Ha ha haaaa....not so with trail running.

Day 1 on the trail I realized that I can leave my pace watch at home for a while, because it would only frustrate me.  New game.  I had to change the focus from pace to active recovery.   The constantly changing terrain presented new challenges;  one minute I'm on a fireroad going slightly downhill, and the next moment I'm in a steep climb on a rocky singletrack.  Then I'm on a flat ridgeline and, then drop down to a dry riverbed which leads me to tree-root stairs that go back up again.  So much for consistency of pace, heart-rate, breathing......I found myself absolutely sucking wind on some stretches and consciously having to recover on others in order to prepare for whatever the next turn might bring.   Active recovery is nothing more than being able to bring your heartrate and breathing back down while still moving at a lower intensity (not stopping in order to do so). 

The first time I heard the term 'active recovery' was in a spin class many years ago.  We were doing intervals, for example one minute all out high-intensity and 30 seconds of recovery (still spinning but lower intensity).  I started spinning more regularly about a year ago, and quickly realized that (with regularity) it was making me a stronger runner.  [Caveat:  there are a lot of very bad instructors out there, so please find a good one - or a few - who keep up with the related physiology research].   Now that I have started trail running, I am even more regular at spin class and crank up the intensity to simulate the extremes of the landscape and practice active recovery. 

Another one of my gym friends:  the step mill.  A girlfriend calls it The Beast.

I used to laugh at the girlie girls reading their books on the old school Stairmasters, not even breaking a sweat.  This thing is not to be laughed at.  If used properly (i.e. don't support your body weight on the rail!)  the step mill should have you soaked from hair to socks in 45 min.    I put it on the Speed Interval setting (again, forcing intensity then active recovery) at a fairly high effort level. 

Bring two water bottles for either of these gym workouts because you'll need them!

Find a Community

The first thing I did upon deciding to take up trail running was google trail running clubs.  I have been a solo-runner most of my life.  But given my tragically lacking sense of direction (I did not get the GPS gene) I thought it wise to find people who know the trails and just do my best to keep up with them.  

Los Angeles is not exactly Boulder (in oh-so-many ways), so I wasn't sure that my search would yield anything.  But lordy, did I ever hit the jackpot. 

Meet my new Community, the Santa Monica Trail Runners Club.    It is a very large group, with a varying subset showing up week to week for the run.  This is a collection of passionate people of all ages, speeds, and trail experience levels.  Some are ultra-marathoners, some triathletes, some recreational distance runners.  Decorated war vets to recent college grads.  Dentists to actors.  But what we share is a love of running, awe-inspiring nature, and post-run pot-lucks.  I am so grateful for these folks, their wisdom and their friendship.  My Sunday (early!-) morning run with them in the Santa Monica mountains has become the absolute highlight of my week.

While I could rave indefinitely about this particular club, the point of this post was to emphasize, especially if you are new to trail running, the importance of finding your own trail community.  Don't be shy or intimidated.  It will provide you:

• safety!!!!!!
• a whole bunch of new friends
• trail knowledge
• trail gear insight
• training tips
• nutrition tips
• race info
• encouragement
• carpooling
•  etc, etc, etc.
• just trust me on this one. 

Preparing the Body - Strength

About 20 years ago I would have decided to start trail running, put on my road shoes, and hit the trails. By myself. With no preparation. No water, and no idea what I was doing. While there is a lot to be said for spontenaity, I am thankfully wise enough now to know better than to apply it here.

Even though I am in fair running condition, intuition tells me that there will be some additional physical challenges on the trail that I should probably prepare for.

1. Core Strength
2. Stretching
3. Ankle Strength
4. Climbing Strength

Core Strength

At the risk of stating the obvious, the trail is a bit "wobblier" than pavement. That means the body is constantly trying to stabilize, making micro adjustments with every step. I remember running on a mulch trail years ago and having a lot of back soreness the next day, so I didn't do that again. I now think that what I had experienced was a weak core, and so a little core exercise is proving hugely beneficial in terms of preparing my body for the demands of the trail. Remember that "core" is more than just "abs". Core exercises train the muscles in your pelvis, lower back, hips, and abdomen to work in harmony for better balance and stability.

Here is one (of a zillion) sites with descriptions of core strengthening exercises.
core exercises

Flexibility

I am terrible about stretching before and after my runs. And I suspect I am not alone in that, as many runners  tend to neglect this part of their workout. But my podiatrist (which is a whole separate post) told me that my tightness is causing foot problems. Remember that your muscles control your skeleton. So in addition to stretching in order to keep your muscles supple, you need to stretch to avoid more serious mechanical issues. You will definitely want to preserve your mechanics for trail running, especially if you plan to start doing longer (e.g. ultra) distances.

I spoke with my podiatrist about yoga vs. pilates for both strengthening and stretching.  He prefers pilates because he feels that some of the advanced yoga poses are harmful, but since I'm a beginner at both, I can't comment.  I say just start doing SOMETHING in the flexibility arena if you currently do nothing.  My routine at the moment is achilles, calf, quad, hamstring, hip flexor, lower back, neck, and shoulder stretches before and after each workout.  Hopefully I'll up my game at some point and become a yoga or pilates regular, but hey.  Baby steps. 

Ankle Strength

Same as above. On the pavement, there is a certain repetitive motion that doesn't have a whole lot of variation. On the trail, however, your ankles are encountering a slightly different angle with virtually every step. They need to be strong in order to be able to safely 'correct' when they land on uneven surface, rock, etc. I feel like my ankles are 'tired' when I am finished with a trail run, a sign that they are still in the process of adapting and strengthening. Here are some things you can do anytime to help make progress. 
Ankle Strengthening Tips

Climbing Strength

As a flatlander, I am (by definition) not accustomed to a lot of hill work. And guess what. Trails go up, and down, and up and up and up, and down. In fact, sometimes it feels like they only go up. So if you are doing preparation workouts for your trail running adventures, then definitely include some hill workouts. Get used to the feeling of sucking wind. Find a body position going uphill that is comfortable. Decide how you will foot-strike going up and going down (see separate post). Practice the skill of 'active recovery' (getting your heart rate back under control while still running). As a flatlander, when I see a hill I think "oh shit" and I go into a state of dread. Basically, doing a lot of climbing will make this mentally and physically a non-issue. A hill will be just a regular part of the landscape and you will be strong enough to take it comfortably in stride.