Today was the Cal Academy of Sciences Run Wild run.
I convinced Jeff to ride along with me and sign up too. I figured he could walk the 5k and I could run the 10k and we'd meet at the end. He hasn't tried running because of a fairly painful back injury he suffered several years ago. So we were up and on the road by 6:45, headed to Golden Gate Park in SF. We arrived and got him registered and I scored my t-shirt. Yep, managed to score another small. :-) Jeff had to wait until the end since he wasn't preregistered, but I assured him there are always plenty of large shirts left.
We took our loot back to the truck and made it to the start line with about 10 minutes to spare. There were some pretty cool costumes...some penguins, a praying mantis, some cows, a flamingo, a cowboy, a big bad wolf in grandma's PJ's, and more.
To be completely honest, I tried to get Jeff to just stay in bed so I could stay home too. I wasn't up for running today. The cold I've been fighting is just lingering on and on, making me more tired than usual. He dragged me out tho, so I decided that instead of running the 10k, I'd hang with him. You know, keep him company on his first 'official' event and all. See, I don't *have* to be competitive. I can kick back with the best of them. :-) We were discussing the distances and before we knew it, we had convinced ourselves to walk/jog the 10k. I told Jeff to take it easy and don't hurt his back, so I let him set the pace and duration of our jog sessions. I have to say, he may not run far, but he's booking. He would say "okay, let's run to xxxx" and take off. I'd push my usual pace a bit and still couldn't keep up, so he'd run until he needed a break and I'd slooooowly catch up and then walk with him until he was ready to go again. I think we finished in about 1:18, which is decent for mostly walking. I'm just proud of him that we did the whole thing! And it was kind of nice to not be pushing, pushing, pushing.
We scored his t-shirt and then hit all the freebies, including some anti-oxidant juice in cans that was awesome, some power bars, and a few miscellaneous goodies. A nice day all in all. :-)
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Run Turkey Run
I headed out with my cheering section (Jeff) at about 7:15 this morning for the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot. I signed up for the 10k even tho last year the organization left something to be desired. I figured it would motivate me to keep moving at least through Thanksgiving.
They must have gotten a ton of complaints since last year, because this year they allowed t-shirt pick-up prior to the race. Last year we had to wait until we finished and by then all that was left was x-large and xx-large. Seriously people, don't you think there are a lot more Sm, Med, and Large people than XXLs? Anywhoo, we arrived at the event to a chilly morning, but it was warming up quickly as the sun rose higher. I headed straight for the t-shirt pickup and scored a small! Schweet. And this year they were a nice navy blue instead of that hideous 'natural' color of last year. Yeah, I'm a t-shirt junkie. :-)
Now we just had to hang around for about an hour for the thing to get going. Eventually starting time arrived, and then passed. Hmmm. Maybe they were waiting for some late registrations. Turns out there were over 6k people running and walking today. Yeah, it seems like it with everyone pressing around the start line. One thing that tweaked me a bit...they had pace signs that said "Runners, 4-5 min/mile", "Joggers, 6-7 min/mile", "Power Walkers, 8-9 min/mile." Are you kidding me?!?!
Finally they started the thing and it took forever for people to spread out, as usual. Once the 5k folks split off it was easier going. The course was the same as last year and I was glad. At least I had a feel for how far I had left to go, which seems to help me get into a rhythm. I was hoping for less than an hour, but thanks to being sick, I hadn't run for over almost 2 weeks. And that rattle in my lungs wasn't too encouraging either. Another bizarre thing...there must have been a huge group of 5k people who started really late, because as I hit the 5 mile marker the crowed pretty much filled the route. So for the last mile or so, I had to dodge around walking walls. How about a little courtesy?? Don't walk 8 people across and block the whole freaking route!
I finally made the finish line and although the 'official' results haven't been posted yet, according to my trusty Garmin....6.3 miles in 58.38. Looks like the rest, even tho I was sick, paid off. Imagine that. :-)
They must have gotten a ton of complaints since last year, because this year they allowed t-shirt pick-up prior to the race. Last year we had to wait until we finished and by then all that was left was x-large and xx-large. Seriously people, don't you think there are a lot more Sm, Med, and Large people than XXLs? Anywhoo, we arrived at the event to a chilly morning, but it was warming up quickly as the sun rose higher. I headed straight for the t-shirt pickup and scored a small! Schweet. And this year they were a nice navy blue instead of that hideous 'natural' color of last year. Yeah, I'm a t-shirt junkie. :-)
Now we just had to hang around for about an hour for the thing to get going. Eventually starting time arrived, and then passed. Hmmm. Maybe they were waiting for some late registrations. Turns out there were over 6k people running and walking today. Yeah, it seems like it with everyone pressing around the start line. One thing that tweaked me a bit...they had pace signs that said "Runners, 4-5 min/mile", "Joggers, 6-7 min/mile", "Power Walkers, 8-9 min/mile." Are you kidding me?!?!
Finally they started the thing and it took forever for people to spread out, as usual. Once the 5k folks split off it was easier going. The course was the same as last year and I was glad. At least I had a feel for how far I had left to go, which seems to help me get into a rhythm. I was hoping for less than an hour, but thanks to being sick, I hadn't run for over almost 2 weeks. And that rattle in my lungs wasn't too encouraging either. Another bizarre thing...there must have been a huge group of 5k people who started really late, because as I hit the 5 mile marker the crowed pretty much filled the route. So for the last mile or so, I had to dodge around walking walls. How about a little courtesy?? Don't walk 8 people across and block the whole freaking route!
I finally made the finish line and although the 'official' results haven't been posted yet, according to my trusty Garmin....6.3 miles in 58.38. Looks like the rest, even tho I was sick, paid off. Imagine that. :-)
Monday, November 19, 2007
Question of the day
Could one be soooo congested that one's head could literally explode? Stay tuned...I think I'm about to find out unless I can find the right combo of drugs to clear up my super stuffy head. Yesterday I felt like I was getting better. This morning I could at least breathe out of one side of my nose. As the day wears on, I have only a tiny whistle in my nose thru which I can breathe and one ear is stuffed up like I just got off a plane. Being sick totally sux.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Happy B'Day Ruby
I brought home my new baby yesterday....the 2008 Specialized Ruby Comp Compact. I wanted to name her "LANCE" but since she's already called Ruby, I didn't want to give her an identity crisis. She cost waaaaaay more than I wanted to spend, but man is she sweet. I literally called Tina nuts for spending what she did on her bike, and now I've gone and outdone her in the insanity department. Never let it be said that I'm not competitive. Hahahaha.
Here she is:
We did a quick 10 mile ride today, sick and all, just because I couldn't resist. Yep, I think we're gonna get along juuuuust fine. I got compact gearing instead of a triple ring on the advice of the bike shop and I like it so far. I'm mostly spinning in the middle gears, so I have room in each direction for uphills (ick) or downhills (yea!). I had them put a bike computer on her so I can keep track of how far, how fast (or slow in my case), etc. It could be bad.....now I can track cost/mile. So far, she's an expensive ride. ;-)
Here she is:
We did a quick 10 mile ride today, sick and all, just because I couldn't resist. Yep, I think we're gonna get along juuuuust fine. I got compact gearing instead of a triple ring on the advice of the bike shop and I like it so far. I'm mostly spinning in the middle gears, so I have room in each direction for uphills (ick) or downhills (yea!). I had them put a bike computer on her so I can keep track of how far, how fast (or slow in my case), etc. It could be bad.....now I can track cost/mile. So far, she's an expensive ride. ;-)
Friday, November 16, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)