Megatransect 2013

Sunday, September 29, 2013

More details on the Mega

So here is what the 20+ miles of the Megatransect looked like from my perspective. It was really hard. Jim took these great pictures. I just want to say thanks to Jim, Nicole, Jenny and Dave. As hard as it was, it was a great weekend. I hope we can give it another shot next year. And Dave, next year you need to be a participant, not crew (even though it was great to have such good crew).

Mega 2013 - done, sort of

I made it to the finish line in Saturday, but only because my friends Jim and Nicole told me how to cut the route short. Even so, this was the most difficult physical challenge I have ever experienced.

There are time cut offs at several points. If you don't make it you get swept off the trail. I was ok at the first cutoff, but was the last person allowed to complete the first bolder hill at 7 miles. When I got to the 10 mile aid station (really at mile 11 according to everyone's garmin), I had 1 hour 40 mins to make the 4 mile hike to the next cutoff. That is also the mile 17 aid station (more like 18-19 from garmin). The runners all told me it took them about 3 hours to get there and back, running the whole way. So I knew that I might barely make 14 mile cut off, but would miss the 22 mile cut off.

So I decided skip the loop and head back in. I was so thankful that I did that because even if I made the time, which I wouldn't have, I would not have had the energy to get up the second bolder field. It would have been a disaster. So I completed 20.83 miles of the 28 miles in 10:45 out of the 12 hours allowed.

I guess I have to try again next year. Jenny only made it 5 miles before falling on a rock and getting a serious contusion on her patella. Her knee should be fine in a couple of weeks. She also broke a finger. It was very disappointing because she was really ready. She wants to try again. Jim and Nicole didn't take the short cut this year. They were about 30 mins to an hour ahead of me. But they got swept at mile 22. They missed the mark by about an hour. I was so thankful that they went on without me. I would have felt so guilty for them not completing the course. They did the same route with the same time as me last year. So it was actually a big improvement for them from last year. They did a lot of tough hill work in training. I am one year behind them, so I have my work cut out for me.

I would really like to successfully finish this race. But I will really have to work at it. Going to Equinox on Wednesday to talk to a trainer. I also already have a new training route mapped out in my head for at home. Straight up the hill at the top of lake instead of the switchbacks to Echo Mountain (yes the one that made me throw up last time I tried it). Then up the fire road to go down the lower Sam Merrill trail. Then up Castle Canyon to Inspiration point and down upper Sam Merrill trail. Then down Echo Mountain. I am going to have to keep trying this until i can do it in under 10 hours. As soon as my foot heals up (more ugly blisters) i am going to get a time baseline for this hike.

Anyone interested?

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Back to Training

I had to take a break from hiking due tendentious in my knee. I jumped on getting past it with physical therapy, acupuncture and massage. It seems to be good now, but it took a couple of months.

I continued to walk the whole time and did a great Avon Walk in Boston in May with Irene. It was a lot of fun. We stayed with Andrew and Catherine part of the time and had an overall wonderful experience.

Now I am back to hiking. I am trying to squeeze in short hikes during the week and at least one long one on the weekend. I don't have everyone recorded, but here are some of them:

Sun, Jul 28, 2013 6:10 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada) By JSumiyasu

I was a little tired today having gone to a great John Mayer concert with my parents last night, but I had a great early morning hike with Suzanne Shaw. We meet at Lake Ave and walked up to Echo Mountain. Suzanne hadn't seen Echo Mountain before, so it was fun for her to discover the old hotel site up there. Then we continued up Crystal Canyon. It was nice and shady with only a few people. Suzanne was able to move on up pretty much without stopping. I am still stopping to breath, but stopping less frequently. Inspiration Point was completely socked in with clouds. I will definitely need to take Suzanne there again. We came down the upper Sam Merrill Trail. And then back down the lower trail. Great day.

Sat, Jul 27, 2013 7:15 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada) By JSumiyasu

My usually morning hike with Irene. We walked Redondo to Hermosa and then to the top of Manhattan. Then around the marina and by the pier. Our plan was to eat at the Catalina Cafe, but there were so many bikers that the line went out the door. So we eat at our old bagel shop next to Wholefoods. Nice egg and bagel sandwich.

Thu, Jul 25, 2013 6:05 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada) By JSumiyasu

Suzanne Shaw was talking about trying to join me for a hike. And she picked today to join me. It was a beautiful day. Unfortunately I had a time constraint. On the good side, both Evie and Lilo were able to join us since I knew it would be short. Suzanne is in good shape, so this was a really easy hike for her. We went up Echo Mountain to the electrical tower and back down. That gave me plenty of time to get back to work before my first meeting.

Sat, Jul 20, 2013 11:17 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada) By JSumiyasu

After deciding to start with a shorter hike for Cozette to make sure things went well for our first walk, I decided to do a second hike for the day. This hike almost killed me. First of all, it was late in the morning, which translates into really hot. Then I decided to do a part of the trail I have never down before. Part of it was so steep I was afraid I might loose my footing. I also realized I couldn't go down the way I came up. When I cut over from the steep trail to the fire road, I could see a pretty good path. Unfortunately part of it is washed away, but someone left a rope for people to rappel that part. Ugh. Then when I found the fire trail, I realized that I only knew where it went if I continued up, which at that point I really didn't want to do. But after not too long I found the Mount Lowe railway trail. A very nice slopping hill that leads back down to Echo Mountain. It turned out to be very nice.

Sat, Jul 20, 2013 6:31 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada) By JSumiyasu

Cozette and I area planning to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro in December 2014. Hopefully we can. I am reading about how to avoid altitude sickness. In the meantime, we need to practice hiking. This was the first time out for Cozette. She is very fit, so she knew her lungs and legs would be fine. The one concern was her back. So we just walked up to Echo Mountain. It was really no problem. And Cozette confirmed that her back didn't bother her over the next couple of days, so this is GREAT news.

Sun, Jul 14, 2013 6:18 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada) By JSumiyasu

Probably my best hike to date. I hiked up to Inspiration point via Crystal Canyon. It was a good hike, though I was a little slow. I actually felt really good. I wish I would have brought a map because I wanted to see where the panoramic view was. I walked a mile or so down the fire road once I reached Inspiration Point, but didn't figure out where the trail went, so I headed back. I think I needed to just continue on. Anyway, it was a nice walk.

Thu, Jul 11, 2013 5:59 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada) By JSumiyasu

I am determined to try to squeeze in some short hikes during the week, even if it is only a few miles. So I went a short way up Echo Mountain with the dogs. It was a nice short hike. Evie and Lilo loved it.

Tue, Jul 9, 2013 6:02 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada) By JSumiyasu

Very excited to get hiking again. Evie and I had a great time. Yesterday we only walked half way up to Echo Mountain. I was having trouble breathing. Today was much better. I had to slow Evie down on the way up. She jogged most of the way down, but took a couple of break - she laid down across the whole trail and wouldn't move for awhile. I think we will both quickly get back into hiking!

OK, now I am all caught up, at least with what I recorded. Hopefully I am back on track to be able to handle the Megatransect.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Echo Mountain to Inspiration Point and Beyond

Shirley and I meet for a great hike. We meet at the top of Lake Ave, then headed up to Echo Mountain. We both felt really great that far, so we continued on up Crystal Canyon to Inspiration Point. It is nice to get away from the crowds once you start up Crystal Canyon. I can't believe how much easier it was for me this time. Unfortunately it was a little overcast up there, but still beautiful. Before we headed down the mountain, we decided to check out the trail to Mt Lowe. Since we had no idea how far it went, we set a time limit. We got pretty far up before we turned around. I am still trying to see how close we were to making it to the half way point of the Mt. Lowe loop, though I have a sneaking suspicion that we still had a long way to go.

Either way, it was a good idea to turn back. We were both pretty tired on the way down. In fact, my left knee was pretty sore by the time we got within a mile of the bottom. I was SO glad we hadn't put any extra miles in. I will need to see if I can get a little support for my knee for the downhill. I was really glad to have my hiking poles too. It was really a great hike. I look forward to seeing some pictures from Shirley. And hope we get to hike again soon. Of course, you will note the super fast last mile or so - I forgot to turn my watch off when I got back to the car. Oh well.

The amazing part of this hike was the altitude and the altitude gain: we reach 5148 feet,, which was an elevation gain of 3,396 feet. Not a bad way to spend the day.

Summary

Distance:	13.03 mi
Time:	6:40:49
Avg Pace:	30:00 min/mi
Elevation Gain:	3,396 ft

Elevation

Elevation Gain:	3,396 ft
Elevation Loss:	3,734 ft
Min Elevation:	1,504 ft
Max Elevation:	5,148 ft

Laps14

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	6:40:49.0	13.03	30:00
1	29:47.5	1.00	29:48
2	33:55.9	1.00	33:57
3	29:57.5	1.00	29:58
4	48:05.0	1.00	48:04
5	44:38.1	1.00	44:38
6	42:38.8	1.00	42:39
7	27:30.7	1.00	27:31
8	24:38.8	1.00	24:39
9	28:27.8	1.00	28:28
10	29:59.9	1.00	30:00
11	28:25.2	1.00	28:25
12	28:11.5	1.00	28:12
13	4:30.2	1.00	4:30
14	:02.3	0.03	1:06

Avon Event

Japanese Garden at Huntington Library Park

Irene and I had a nice walk to the Avon event in Pasadena. It was really an intro to the Avon walks, but we decided to go to support the event. Our friend Terry was there. I meet her at the DC walk. She lives in Glendale and is a 7 year survivor. On the way there, we walked around the Huntington Library Park. I was glad we could get in with my membership. It was really nice. Then near Lacy Park and up the stairs. On the way back after the event, we stopped at Run-With-Us to get trail shoes from Irene. I forgot to turn my watch off for that - which is why you see the long non-moving time. It was pretty hot on the way back, which was also all up hill. Still a nice day, and we got in 13.5 miles.

Summary

Distance:	13.55 mi
Time:	4:04:29
Avg Pace:	18:11 min/mi
Elevation Gain:	896 ft
Calories:	1,300 C

Sunday, February 24, 2013

My first Run-Walk Half

I signed up for the inaugural San Diego Women's Half Marathon. It seemed like a fun event. Since Irene was not available to walk with me, I decided to try a Run-Walk. Of course, every time I say "run" here I mean jog very slowly.

I don't know anything about the most effective way to do this, so I just decided to try 10 minutes running and 5 minutes walking. I actually ended up running only for the first 25 minutes, so my time for the first two miles were really good. I was able to keep the 10 minutes run, 5 minutes walk pace up for the rest of the first 6.5 miles. The I had to switched to 10 minutes walking, 5 minutes of running.

Mile 11-12 were really tough for me, so I just walked. I ran again for the last half mile. But I don't even want to tell you what my heart rate was for the half mile - it wasn't sure I would make it. But I did make it. And my time ended up nearly identical to last weeks walk, 2:56. So I was pretty happy about it.

Finished In:

02:56:32

3401

Jill Sumiyasu

Altadena, CA

Age: 49 | Gender: F

Overall:
1369 out of 1700
Division:
171 out of 228
Gender:
1338 out of 1666

3.56 mi
10 km
10 mi

44:43
1:19:40
2:12:55

Pace
Chip Time
Clock Time

13:28
02:56:32
02:58:16

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	2:56:59.7	13.07	13:32
1	11:51.1	1.00	11:51
2	11:38.8	1.00	11:39
3	12:32.3	1.00	12:32
4	13:25.9	1.00	13:26
5	13:15.3	1.00	13:16
6	13:10.2	1.00	13:10
7	13:35.6	1.00	13:36
8	13:35.1	1.00	13:35
9	14:30.7	1.00	14:31
10	14:00.8	1.00	14:01
11	14:32.1	1.00	14:32
12	16:06.1	1.00	16:06
13	13:52.4	1.00	13:53
14	:53.2	0.07	11:59