My alarm clock went off at 5:30 am.
To me 5:30 am is sleeping in when the last few weeks I've been waking up naturally around 4am-4:30am.
Weird, I know.
Sitting on the side of my bed unable to open my eyes I remember only a mere few hours ago I woke to Juniper laying on the pillows next to me just staring at me.
Please let it be not what I know it is.
Please just lay your head back down to sleep.
Please don't get up and go to the door.
Please, ugh, please don't cry.
As I thought all these things, Juniper rises immediately- jumps off my bed and sits and waits by the door.
Basically saying "HEY MOM! Get your butt up and take me outside now to use the bathroom". Perks of living in an apartment.
I'm thankful Juniper and I speak the same language... or I'd be in trouble.
Well, when that 5:30 am alarm went off I sat on the side of my bed rocking back and forth.
As though I was going crazy.
Maybe I am! Who wakes up that early on their day off!
I literally feel as though I was beaten with a stick while sleeping. I have never felt this bad waking up early.
I can bail, I can just sleep in and enjoy being home on my day off- aren't I supposed to be tapering anyways.
Silly thoughts I just swept aside.
There is NO WAY I'm passing up an adventure on the mountains.
Save the complaining for another time when it's acceptable.
7am I meet up with Vince at his house for a carpool to Baldy.
One reason I just couldn't flake on today, well other than me not being a flake, is that the trail we were supposed to be doing is one I have never done before.
I've ran down it once back in November. At that time I didn't know what it was and that it was actually closed-WHOOPS.
8am we are parked at Brown canyon trail parking lot across from the Baldy lodge restaurant. Really easy to get to- especially if their is no traffic.
Spoon in my mouth full of almond butter, I'm running around the street in front of the restaurant chasing Juniper.
This is so embarrassing.
Naturally this is Junipers 'I'm FREE' run. She's rebellious and will escape any possible way of being on a leash.
Except there are cars and the idea of her being hit by a car before an adventure makes me choke on the almond butter I was, minutes earlier, forcing myself to eat.
This dog drives me bananas sometimes.
Absolutely BA-NA-NAS!
Before you actually reach the trail head- you walk pass a few random house and a cross a slight creek. It's not too distinct but as long as your following the street and not entering someones property... you're going the right way!
We reach the trail head and I free Juniper. At last!
It's a beautiful day out and although its quite warm I still pack my windbreaker knowing how ascending Baldy can get quite cold.
It felt like hours until we reached a mile, two miles, three...
Definitely was beaten with a stick last night and must've blocked it out from my memory.
What does one talk about while on such long runs?
This is my third run so far with Vince and I'm pretty sure we talked about everything.
Veganism, our families, buying cars, sleeping habits, races, training, life goals... you name it.
Time normally just flies by.
Today the clock ticked. My body ached, I couldn't breath, my head hurt, ugh- are we there yet?
I honestly couldn't tell you what was wrong with me other than lack of SLEEP.
I started feeling better toward mile 5 of our ascent. This is the point when the trail opened up from the single track of a rocky mess to more of a open terrain filled with crystal white snow.
Seeing the snow I instantly felt 100% better.
Also, seeing the amount of fun Juniper was having- it was hard not to feel instantly better.
This is when the adventure begun.
The running along the snow, getting shin deep in the snow and having absolutely no care in the world.
My ankles were numb, my socks soaked but we kept going, throwing a snow ball here and there.
This is why I woke up early.
We lost the trail... found it again and at certain points just sat on the ridge line and starred off into the distance talking about different trails, different adventures, possible new adventures.
The closer we got to the top of Baldy, the cold wind inevitably hit us. Thankful for that windbreaker I packed earlier.
We chatted about the trails that lead Mt. Baldy to Wrightwood and all the other connecting trails that are near.
Unfortunately my body temperature decreased far too quickly to continue sitting so off we went back down Bear canyon.
After a few minutes of hugging my hands around my body- I was warm again once again playing through the snow.
We were able to pick up some speed along with exploring some rock formations off trail.
While running down we saw two people in the distance- the first we've seen on the trail today!
Vince turned around with the widest grin and I honestly thought that he was genuinely happy to see others on the trail but once we ran closer I noticed why he was so happy.
It was Sage Canaday and girlfriend Sandi Nypaver.
How could we not stop and take a selfie with Sage, who days before ran a 2:20:02 at our very own heated LA Marathon!!!!
Holy Cow!
Needless to say, Vince and I ran down Bear canyon with the biggest grin on our faces!
Juniper on the other hand was ready to be done. Her extra few miles of running during our ascent really had her wiped by the time we were on our way back.
This girl!
She never learns to pace herself! She did extraordinarily well! I definitely waited for her around each corner to ensure she was still behind me but of course she trotted along- Juniper the happiest dog around!
As I sat at dinner with two friends visiting from Sweden, I retold the story. Honestly pretty shocked at how well the day ended up!
We were at Golden Road, not only my favorite place for local beer but their food is fantastic!
I honestly don't think my day would've been any better!
What an adventure!
So...
WHAT'S NEXT???