Point Sal Scenic Saturday, 1/27/2018

Today, I did something interesting.  I went on a guided trail run to Point Sal.  Over the years, I've hiked quite a bit at Point Sal, but I usually don't run there.  As a matter of fact, when I'm running a lot, I tend not to hike very much.  Going downhill hurts my knees whether its hiking or running.  However, I couldn't resist meeting some new people and running in one of my favorite places.

The organization putting on the run was Team RWB (Red, White & Blue), a veterans organization.  The one thing that is always certain about Point Sal that there is no predicting the weather.  It can be freezing, hot, windy, foggy and anything in between.  The weather at the bottom isn't necessarily what you are going to encounter at the top.  I wore a short sleeve shirt & capris, but I packed a long sleeve shirt and gloves. In the parking lot, I realized that I definitely needed to change into the long sleeve and gloves.  It was cold and pretty windy.  Runners met up and we took off quickly.  We were all cold standing around.

The Point Sal hike takes you up and over a ridge to a secluded beach. We agreed at the bottom that we weren't going all the way to the beach, but rather to the top and back.  I thought that we would run together, but that didn't happen.  I ended up, basically, running alone until we got near the top.  I wasn't fast enough for the head group, but I really wanted to run without stopping to the top.  Near the top all the runners converged and most of us agreed that we would go all the way to the beach. Unfortunately, as we proceeded, it got windier and colder.  I was scared of being blown right off that cliff.  There was no way that I was going to do any tricky maneuvers in that weather.  When I backed out of the continuing to the beach, everyone agreed to turn around.

Relive 'Morning Jan 27th' (to the top)

I was in a big rush to get up that mountain, but no rush whatsoever going down.  I told the others that I planned on walking and taking pictures.  The other runners took off, and I took my time.  The weather was crazy, but the ocean was magnificent.  It was clear and bue, and I just wanted to see more of it.  I ran a little and stopped a lot, sometimes chit-chatting with a few of the walkers going in the opposite direction.

Point Sal is one of my favorite places to hike, but I had never ran all the way to the top before.  I figured that three miles uphill wouldn't be easy, but doable. Looking at the numbers, I guess I really didn't push myself.  My pace was super slow, and my heart rate is higher on an easy run in the neighborhood.  I can't believe that (slowly) jogging up a mountain doesn't train something, and I sure did enjoy myself; so its all good.