This last weekend was packed with SO MUCH awesome! If you didn’t know, I’m currently in training for the Leona Divide 50 miler (my first 50 mile race, YIKES!), so I needed to pack on the mileage, push my legs through some serious pain, and most importantly, have fun in the process.

First, I got to run an unsanctioned marathon with my buddy Colin (@RunWicked) down in Palos Verdes. I Couldn’t ask for a more beautiful day! We originally had planned on 25 miles, but when you’re that close to a full marathon, we opted to just add that 1.2 miles by running around the parking lot a few times. Thank you Colin for an awesome long, slow distance in a gorgeous area. No way I could’ve figured out all those trails without ya!

The next morning I met back up with Colin as well as Billy (@LARunr), Josh (@SpectorJosh), Joe, Chris Price and others to summit Mount Baldy via Bear Canyon Trail. I’ve done this trail before and it’s BRUTAL. This is a 6+ mile trek that starts at around 4300ft, travels straight up 5800 feet to the summit. However, due to snow, ice and high winds, I was cautious and opted out of summitting less than .4miles from the top. I was SO CLOSE! While I’m bummed, I know I made the right decision for me. I was using microspikes for the first time and was just getting used to them and trusting them. No use in pushing my luck on the first try! Trust me, I’ll get back up there again very soon!

Finally, I finished off the weekend with a bunch of my YouTube friends (Jimmy Wong, Meghan Camarena, Joey Graceffa, David, Brittani Louise Taylor, and Alyssa Poppin) canyoneering down 6 waterfalls in the Angeles National Forest. A very special thanks to ATS & CanyoneeringLA for being so damn awesome and patient will all of us vloggin’ yahoos!

All in all, it was an amazing weekend that has left my quads weak and sore, my calves tight, and my heart warm. I got to share some roads and trails with good friends and even traverse a waterfall or two with new ones. I wanted to document some of it to hopefully inspire you to get outside and try something new and push yourself out of your comfort zone (safely!). The whole goal of all of this is to have fun, and I sure did nail that this weekend! Now remember, TRAIN HARD, RACE HARDER, PARTY HARDEST! It’s time for a beer…

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER: @TheGingerRunner
LIKE ME ON FACEBOOK: TheGingerRunner
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM: @EthanNewberry
SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE: TheGingerRunner

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,