Coon Creek tried to discourage me

OK, so I could have gone down to the beach and run the 6-mile Miracle Miles for Kids from Morro Rock to the Cayucos Pier.  Pay $40 or ghost run it. I have done this race several times and I really felt like getting my feet dirty on the trail.  So I slipped into my Vibram 5 Finger shoes, my favorite's for trail running and headed for Montana de Oro to take on the 5 mile out-and-back Coon Creek trail.

Trail goes through a patch of California Poppies

#3 of six bridges on Coon Creek Trail

This is a single track that starts at nearly sea level, climbs to about 350' at a beautiful little grove of oaks where you turn around and head back.  I set off up the trail with high hopes of having a great wrong.  I was feeling strong and powerful as I tackled the various uphill's, climbed through a rocky section, crossed six bridges across the burbling Coon Creek and tried not to get distracted by the beautiful scenery.  I did not feel too guilty about that as I have done my share of slow hikes on this trail where I took time to 'smell the roses'.   There were a few other people on the trail, mostly going the opposite direction.  I received encouraging comments of 'good for you', and 'that's what we should be doing'. I told one couple that we all do what we love, enjoy your day.  At that point I was starting to breathe pretty hard so whether or not I was enjoying what I was doing was becoming at least a bit questionable.  I did keep up my pace however and was soon greeted by bridge #1 of the six bridges that cross the meandering Coon Creek.  Whenever I run this trail I use the bridges to gauge where I am on the trail.  The first bridge comes at .45 miles, this is bridge number 3 which is about 1.5 miles in to the run.

As I crossed bridge number 3 I was feeling strong, the only pauses I took were for a couple of pictures to document my run and to make my friends jealous.  I think I may have succeeded on the latter, who wouldn't want to be in this beautiful place.  I would love to lead a hike for some of my friends sometime in this area.

There used to be a sign at the head of this trail saying that it was 3 miles to the end of the trail.  The current sign calls it 2.51 miles and at about that point on my GPS sure enough I arrived at the beautiful little oak grove that marks the end of the trail.

End of the trail, great place for a restful snooze

This is one point on the trail where it is tempting to stop and 'set a spell'.  I have actually had lunch here on a hike, it is quiet and a good place to stretch out and take a nap.  Today, however, I was intent on running good time, hopefully under 11 min pace.  Why? I don't know. Sometimes I set off with a goal in mind that really makes no particular sense other than it just is what I decided.  So after a quick pause to take a picture I turned around, faced the west and took the first step in the return trip.  Now this was fun, immediately downhill, but not so steep that it was hard on the quads, just steep enough to allow for a quick pace.  Woo hoo!!, now I'm feeling it.  I raced along the single track, pushing on the few uphills in order to keep up the pace.  Again I met a few people along the trail, as usual on most trails they were all very friendly and encouraging. 

My boo boo

At about mile 3.2 it happened. The unthinkable actually happened.  I caught the toe of my Vibram on a rock and suddenly found myself face down on the dirt.  Oops. Uggh. Ouch. Those were the only words I used as I caught myself on my left knee and my left hand.  You believe that? Good!  At any rate I bounced back up, took a quick look around to make sure nobody saw me and continued on down to the trail.  My hand was stinging, my knee was stinging but I ran for bit before finally looking at my hand and seeing that it was bleeding pretty good.  So I stopped and looked at my knee and sure enough it was just as ugly.  Am I getting too old for this I asked myself?  It is not that I fall every time I go for a trail run, but  it seems to happen more often when I run at Montana de Oro.  I have fallen on the Valencia Peak trail, the Bluff Trail, the Pt Buchon Trail and now the Coon Creek Trail. Since these happen to be some of the most beautiful places to run in the entire world I don't see myself just entirely giving it up.  Though there may be a lot to be said about hiking instead of running.  More to come.

After resuming my run, ignoring the stinging and the bleeding I was determined to keep up a good pace.  I knew, however, that I was soon coming to the finish which was a series of steps built in to the hillside to try to assist with the steep ascent.

I knew that I would not be able to run this section at any kind of speed and sure enough I had to walk most of this final section. When I got to the top of the steps, which you can't see in the picture but they are right where the trail curves at the top of this photo, I was able to stretch it out a bit and finish fairly quickly, completing my run at 4.95 miles at a pace of 11:01.  The fall didn't defeat me although it did help keep me from going under 11 min pace.  Will I ever be able to run this trail again without thinking of this fall?  Of course. I have run Valencia and Bluff since my falls.  The real question is do I want to, or do I want to concentrate on walking, hiking and backpacking.  I could stop running, save my knees, eliminate some of the falling potential and do more Spinning, weight lifting, kickboxing etc., other activities that I really enjoy. Food for thought.