Have you ever experienced one of those runs you have to rave about? I’m sure you have – and I have tonight, which is why I have to write about it to tell you all!
As I’ve lived in Long Beach for less than a year, I know next to nothing about Signal Hill except that it is a small city within the city of Long Beach that has a lot of highly visible oil rigs, above-ground petroleum storage tanks, and a nice big wine store.
Little did I know that it is also the home to some of the most stunning views I’ve seen in a long time.
Between maybe miles 2 and 3 at the Pacific Shoreline Half on Superbowl Sunday, Win shared with me about the hill runs that start at Hill and Redondo on Monday evenings. They sounded great. I also vaguely recall Emmett mentioning such a workout months ago, though at the time I didn’t move on it. Finally, this time, we made the move.
Johan and I met Steve at 5:30 at Redondo and Hill – no one else was present on this eve of Valentine’s Day. We speculated that either there was a race just the weekend prior, or it was a pseudo-holiday for one of the two president’s birthdays, or it was pre-Valentine’s day preparations. No worries though, we were three and we were happy to be ready to tackle the hill. Steve was our guide – he was there every Monday, he said, and he would show us the route.
Up we went on Hill, then made a left on Obispo Avenue, among some fairly heavy after-work traffic, then made a right up onto 20th Street. The hill felt good on the legs, gradually inclining, challenging in a great way. We ran past development after development, trying to make as much ground as we could as the sun threatened to disappear behind the ocean.
When we reached Temple, we made a right, going up an even steeper incline. Steve assured us we were going to go downhill soon; I felt a little disappointed in hearing that initially since I still felt able to charge uphill. But when we dipped down onto 21st Street, making a left and running along the ridge, it was wonderful. We had a respite from the constant uphill running, and we were enjoying a view of Long Beach at sunset, with a sky filled with blue and yellow and orange streaked together in that hazy southern California fashion.
“That’s Stanley Avenue right there,” Steve told us, pointing to a sharply inclining street to our right, “and that’s the easy part of Stanley you’re looking at there.” I gulped. “Yep, when you do Stanley Avenue, you’ve gotta tell people that you’ve done Stanley!” It sounded like a challenge we would save for another evening, an evening when I’ve done more hill training.
We got down to the busy Cherry Avenue and turned back, and headed for more beautiful parts that I never knew existed. By this time, night had fallen. We looped over to Panorama Drive, doing the “horseshoe.” We passed the brushed silver statue, a majestic piece of modern art perched high up overlooking industrial parks, subdivisions, and oil rigs. I did a Google search to find a picture of that sculpture and read about what it is, but alas could find nothing, so I’ll have to drive up there tomorrow and read the plaque. And I’ll bring my camera to take my own picture of it.
A little past the statue, the way further up the hill made me recall the part of Pasadena where JPL is. I’ve only been there maybe once; it felt hot and barren at the near top of that hill, so I was reminded of it.
Then finally, the breathtaking beauty of Panorama Promenade. To think, that if I were not a runner, and did not join running groups or talk to any other runners, I would never have known this walkway existed. And panorama indeed; we could see as far as downtown Los Angeles. The lights from the pulsating city below were mesmerizing; my falling blood sugar levels and rising endorphin levels made me feel a bit like an alien having landed on the planet just after dusk to find this hill to perch my spaceship on to survey the land.
I probably would have liked to park my spaceship there for a time, too. As I ran, I began regarding the real estate around me with new-found respect. That view was awe-inspiring – a gorgeous sunset over the city and Pacific ocean, turning into darkness, a carpet of lights from nearby oil refineries, distant downtown skylines, and local neighborhoods. Wow.
We came back down after touching the gate at the end of the promenade. Steve gave us the opportunity to do that “horseshoe” again for a 6.5 mile run, but I declined as my legs were giving me that jello feeling. I was happy with the 4.8 mile run that we had already accomplished. Johan said he could have done more, so clearly he was enjoying the run as much as I was. I was getting tired and hungry, so we headed back down the hill.
Exhilarated is how I felt after that hill workout – how exciting it is to have this available to us in our neighborhood. Now I can say there are two things I like about Signal Hill – my job at The Wine Country, and this awesome hill run that takes one’s breath away in more ways than one.