Memorial Week

Since I had Memorial Day off from work, I decided to take a couple extra days and go somewhere!

After a few hours in the air (and a great sunrise view of the city),

The City & The Headlands

I was here:

West Bay

I am not going to bore you with stories of lazing around on the beach, reading, or overeating. Instead, let's talk about the ways you can attempt to stay fit while on vacation. I feel a little list coming on!

Beach Running: I tried to go every day, but there were a few obstacles. First, it was HOT and HUMID. I kept going earlier and earlier but once the sun was up (around 6 am) it was pretty much scorching by then. Also, running in sand is hard. According to this article, running in sand is 1.6 times harder than running on solid ground. So I am going to take that to mean that when I ran 2 miles, it was really 3.2. That way it sounds like I really did something! No really though, you supposedly expend 1.6 x more energy. Coupled with the heat, I would say it's closer to 2 times more!

Swimming: It was so nice to go for a few laps in the clear water (see photo above -- that was my lap pool) every morning after my run.

Diving: According to this website, you burn more calories diving than you do walking fast!  It states that I burned about 200 calories in a half of hour! Also, if you are interesting in scuba diving, I wrote a post a while back about my favorite places to go diving.

Sunset walk

Kayaking: Coupled with the swimming, this made me have some tired arms at the end of the day! I always say I am like a T-rex: strong legs, weak arms. I need to work on that!

Walking: Where we stayed was about 2 miles from "town" although we did have plenty of restaurants and bars nearby. We walked to town every day and if we could, we also walked back. This was also on the beach, so I wonder if walking in sand is also 1.6 times harder? I am going to go with Yes.

Carrying Water:  We really take tap water for granted! When you can't drink the water, you spend a lot of time buying and lugging around big bottles of water. I drink so much that I buy it a gallon at a time, and that weighs about 8 lbs, so I got a bit of a workout every time I bought a bottle (and especially if I had to carry it from town)!

Dancing in the Sand: This a great way to burn some calories and to have fun, but it also gives you really sore calves the next day! I suggest the Samba. Along with this song. It will really get your blood pumping. By the way, there is actually a specific dance to this song; you can kind of see it here. It is pretty fun! Las Manos Arriba!

What's your vacation strategy? Do you just give up trying to be active or do you make time somehow? Do you plan vacations around activities or activities around vacations?

Ohlone 50k

Welcome to the other side of the table! Last year, I volunteered for this race. My friends thought I was crazy, because to get to the aid station where I was, you had to run 10 miles, work, and then run 10 back. Well they really think I am crazy now.

This is not an easy race. With an elevation gain of almost 8000 feet and an average day time temperature of about 90 degrees, it is not for the faint of heart.

source

I arrived at the finish line around 6 am. From there, you take a school bus (with your knees in your face the whole time) to the start line, which is in the Mission Peak Regional Preserve near Fremont, CA. I did the usual: got my bib, #64, used the potty (there were 5 of them and with only 200 racers, this made for a not too long line), and got my music ready. My plan was to have the music in one ear because it's fun to be a part of the course and when you are on smaller trails, you need to be able to hear other people coming up behind you. I had made a new playlist just for the race; it was 6.5 hours long. I was really hoping it wouldn't take me any longer than that to finish this race. I had taken a look at last years times and the top man was just under 5 hours and the top woman was just under 6.

The first part, as you can see from the above elevation chart, was straight up. From about 500 feet to about 2500 feet, to the top of Mission peak. The trail was full of day hikers, huffing and puffing their way up, wearing sweatpants and street shoes and carrying big cameras. We power hiked by them, causing puffs of dust to go everywhere. Did I mention yet that this trail was dusty?

Heading up to Mission Peak

I am usually stronger on the uphill than I am on the downs, and this day was no different. I passed a lot of people on the first stretch uphill. Then we were flying back down and people were passing me. The section after Mission peak was a difficult downhill for a bit, as it was quite rocky and there were still a lot of hikers, so trying to avoid them and the rocks without falling was challenging.

I carried my Nathan 2L bladder and boy was I glad I did. I was swilling water like it was going out of style. I had also brought two squeeze baby food / applesauce packets with me and I had one right around the top of Mission peak because by this time I was already hungry! That's what happens when you eat breakfast at 4:30 am and then don't start racing until 8 am.

As I ran down a not so steep part of the hill right after the first aid station, I started joking with the guy next to me about how I thought the rest of the course was just like this...a gradual downhill. Ha! Just kidding! It turns out, he is from a town very close to where my parents live, so we had a good time running and talking for the next couple of miles. As the course went on, we were constantly playing leapfrog and cheering each other on. 

We arrived at the second aid station, which sits at about 700 feet. I grabbed a potato and a banana and a swig of Gu brew and headed back out, and up! For the next 10 miles, it was all uphill, I swear! I was glad to see the Goat Rock aid station, where they had BACON! I also applied some Vaseline and sunscreen and helped myself to more potatoes and salt. I read an article somewhere which said you should eat what appeals to you...potatoes and salt and fruit are what I always want!

The thing (one of them) that I like about ultra racing is the little conversations you have with people along the way. As we climbed up from 700 feet to 3700 feet, we talked to everyone we passed, or who passed us.  I didn't know any of these people, but you always have something to say! People were cheering me on when I passed them and the conversations were easy as pie.

Another thing I noticed at this point was the gender difference. Not counting the very beginning where everyone is kind of finding their groove and everyone is passing each other, I only passed four women the whole race, and only two women passed me. The whole time, I was running with men, and was sometimes even passing them. Don't worry; plenty of them passed me too! I even took off my headphone around mile 2 and didn't even listen to music! I thought I would save it for the end when I needed a little pick me up.

Right before we got to Maggies, which is the "top of the hill" aid station that I volunteered at last year, we had to go up to the top of Rose Peak, which at 3,817 feet is the second tallest mountain in the East Bay. When you get to the top, you get a bracelet to prove you really went there and didn't just skip it. Then it was off to Maggies to say hi to my volunteer buddies from last year (the Boy scouts) and to refill the water bladder and eat some strawberries (BEST racing food EVER)! After that, it was supposed to be "all downhill from here" but as you can see from the chart, it was mostly downhill with a lot of uphills thrown in!

I can't remember if the worst part was right after Stewart's Camp or right after Schlieper rock, but one of those steep downhills was a tiny little single track trail that was very steep and rocky and hot and covered with poison oak. I was not loving it. In fact, it was at this point that I turned my music back on for a while and it was nice to have something to distract me from the brutal (down)hills! After the single track and the last aid station (and a swig of cold coke!), it was steep downhill to the end. Already a bunch of people had passed me on the downhills and by this point my knees were starting to wonder when it was going to be over. Actually, I think I heard them praying.

I hobbled ran down the last hill and I have to say, I have never been so happy to see a parking lot (and the finish line) than I was that day. I crossed the finish line, got a hug from the race director (such great service!) and collected my trophy for the day (a wooden block).

I ended up being the 6th woman overall, coming in at 6:31, which was about a half an hour after the fastest woman and about an hour and a half after the fastest man. Plus I got first in my age group! Except it's a little confusing the way they do it; the first three women get their own prize, so they get taken out of the age group awards. So technically I was the second in my age group, but whatever!

The shirt had a tribute to Boston on it!

Some interesting stats: In the top 10 people (all men), one was in his 20s, two were in their 30s, three were in their 50s and four were in their 40s. This is not a young guy sport! The same goes for the women! The top woman was 48. The next four women were three in their 40s and one in her 30s.

Edited to add: If you love race reports, it's pretty interesting to read the reports of the  first, second and fifth place runners. They run as fast as 6 minute miles part of the way! They are pretty impressive! 

Afterward there was a picnic and I hung out for quite some time, eating hamburgers and cold watermelon and chatting with the people who had passed me on the trail.  Then I headed home, took a much needed shower and passed out around 8 pm.

What's your favorite food to eat on a hot day?  Have you ever received race paraphernalia that was little different from the norm? Do you like hiking to the tops of high peaks in your area?

Cinderella Trail Half

I ran this race last year. It was hard last year. I remember feeling fatigued and thinking that it was probably because I didn't eat enough breakfast. I have come a long way since then. Running takes a lot of training, a lot of practice, and a lot of learning the hard way. You can easily under-train or over-train or overexert yourself the day before a race or eat too much or not eat enough...there are so many factors that go into race day.

So it was a perfect race this time.

I am kidding.

This race was Broski's first 30k. He has run 17.5 miles and was excited about the extra .5 miles (super excited). We had a quick breakfast of oatmeal about 45 minutes before the race and then we headed up the hill to the start.

Like last time, the first 2 miles are about a 500 foot climb. Broski and I huffed and puffed up the hill until you get to a kind of flat spot. After that there is a pretty steep downhill, and then a really steep uphill. These are hard. Really hard. Just when you think that you are feeling alright, another uphill comes up.

Broski was having trouble. Here I was, running along, talking some nonsense to him about the last time I took someone hiking on this trail and she was complaining about the hills...and I was giggling and jabbering away and I look back and he's not behind me. Oops.

We tried to figure out why as the trail leveled out and it wasn't getting any easier for him. Breakfast? Check. Maybe too soon before running? He had a 10 miler on Tuesday, but that was far enough away that he should have been fine. He gardened the day before in the hot sun...maybe he didn't have enough water? He had a couple low weeks, mileage wise...maybe not enough training? Whatever it was, it reminded me of my first Cinderella experience. Maybe this course was just hard!

Then we went way downhill and there was Mecca, aka an aid station. We refueled with some fruit and water and then came the big one Elizabeth. The next two miles were a 1000 foot climb. And it's brutal, with a capital B. Brutal. Our pace at this point was 15 - 16 minute miles. I was starving, since by this time we were at about the 2 hour mark.

Climbing the hill (with Broski in the background)

Luckily, once we got to the top of that big hill, it was almost "all down hill from here". We cruised down the hill and man were we glad to see the Finish line. Unfortunately, we did not finish a 30k race that day; since it was a loop course, with one half marathon loop and then another 10k loop tacked on to make 30k, we decided to skip the 10k loop, thus making it a half marathon instead.

The verdict? We finished in 2:44. We got #43 and #44 out of 104. As Broski says, that's not bad for a race that he wasn't feeling his best. If we would have kept going for the 30k, we probably could have finished in about 3:47, which would have put us in around #13 out of 30. So, after all that, it wasn't even that bad really. Still in the top 50 percent.

Like I said to Broski, I like being outside, and the trails we ran are some of my favorites, so it was no sacrifice on my part to be out on the trails with my favorite brother on a beautiful Saturday morning. He was bummed that he didn't finish his first 30k. However, he is not broken, just bent and he will yearn to run again.

Sorry. I can't get that song out of my head.

Have you ever run the same race twice? If so, did it get any easier? Have you ever had to learn something the hard way?

I Will...

My goal is to train for, and eventually run, a 50 mile race. When I volunteered for the Miwok 100k, I was so inspired by the runners and motivated to to it someday myself! So why not start now? It will be quite a journey and I will need both words of encouragement and inspiration from others who have either done something similar themselves or who have had a challenging goal they are working toward, be it emotional or physical or both.

We all need a little help sometimes to reach our goals. One of the great things about the running community is how supportive it is. However, it never hurts to broaden your reach, so you can get inspiration and tips from even more people! That is why I am excited to be a part of the sponsored team of folks who are joining up with Fitfluential and Under Armour to compete in the What's Beautiful campaign. 

In this campaign, you can make a page where you declare what your goal is. This can be anything mental, physical, or both! There are a set of challenges you can complete in order to help you reach your goal.  For instance, one of my paths to my goal is to run a couple of 50k races to prepare myself for a longer race. You post pictures of your progress and people can follow along, cheer you on, or make comments.

There are also teams so you can join in with like minded people. So far, I started one where we all just try to run one mile at a time and together we can run thousands of miles. It's called Team Ultra. There are also teams for clean eating, trying new fitness moves, and not using disposable water bottles. I am sure there is a team that you would like too.

You can sign up too! What goal do you have that you need encouragement and support for? If you sign up, be sure to let me know so I can follow along with your progress!

What is a current goal that you have? It can be anything: fitness, life, work, pleasure or mental health related.

So Long Sugar

Last week I decided to join up with Laura in a sugar detox, where we would remove all processed foods and sugars from our diet for one week. I mentioned before how I am not really a sweets person, so things like soda or dessert would not be an issue for me. However, it was kind of fun to see what there was in my life that I did miss.

I think I mentioned in my last post that I would have a hard time with coffee and morning oatmeal, since I do use a bit of Splenda in both (or for coffee I use flavored creamer). These were not as bad as I thought they would be. Actually, I put a little unsweetened applesauce (or extra fruit) in my oatmeal and I was good to go! For coffee, I just used whole milk and it turned out fine as well!

The other thing I thought would be difficult was running fuel. I had a race on Saturday and it turned out okay, food-wise. I had some oranges, some bananas and some potatoes with salt. If the race would have been longer, the no-sugar may have been an issue, but as it was, it turned out fine! I did kind of miss the gummy bears, as these are my go-to trail race fuel!

I was worried that evening time would be difficult, as that is when I usually have a nice little after dinner snack, which is usually dried fruit or trail mix. Unfortunately, most dried packaged fruit has added sugar, and my trail mix has mixers such as yogurt chips, dried fruit (again, with sugar) or chocolate chips. So I thought I would just eat plain almonds, but actually I made do with regular fruit instead.

So...what WAS harder than I thought?

1. Booze: I actually had a huge fail due to the fact that I went out on Wednesday to see a friend's band play and had a couple of beers, on Friday for happy hour for a couple glasses of wine and on Saturday to a music festival (and a few more beers). I kind of sound like a lush! To be honest I don't really drink very much usually and most weeks not at all, but this week was probably a bad one to quit sugar! However, since I am usually pretty much of a hermit, I don't feel bad about getting out for a change and having a few drinks!

2. The small things: Things like gum and vitamins (I use the gummy ones) were something that I did not even realize I used very much. However, gum is my cigarette; I have it after lunch, before I start my commute home and often during a run (okay maybe that's not really like a cigarette...). It's such a habit to always have a piece at the ready. I also chew it when I am craving a sweet, so it usually curbs my craving. So I did have even more fruit than normal this week!

3. Eating out / People cooking: I stopped being a vegetarian partially because I was tired of being THAT picky person. You know the one who comes to your house when you are cooking meat and you have to cook something special for them? So when I went to my friend's house for Mother's Day, I ate what was there, which was processed sausages, tomato pie, croissants etc (plus Birthday fruit tart!). Also, eating out, when  you can't control what goes into the dishes, can be difficult! I went to Thai food and got the chicken curry, which I think may have had peanut butter or sugar in the peanut sauce...but I am not sure!

So...how did this make me feel?

I have to be honest, I did not have a revelation and a feeling of supreme health. I felt the same as I always do. Maybe this is because I don't really eat that much sugar or processed food anyway, so it wasn't a huge change really. I probably snacked less after dinner, which is good, but I made up for it by eating about 5 extra pieces of fruit in order to feel like I was getting a bit of sugar after lunch (one day I ate 4 apples). I think I will have to try this again on a week where I don't have any social outings coming up!

Did you join up for the detox? Have you ever given up one type of food? Is there anything you feel you could probably cut back on food-wise?

Beer, Bikes and Busted Plans

{1} Why is it the week I decide to avoid sugar is the week that...I go out to dinner with my brother (which I only do about once a month), my friend's band is playing at a bar in my neighborhood, the ladies at work get together for happy hour, I am meeting a friend for a birthday dinner (two times eating out in one week!) and it's Mother's Day Brunch. When it rain's it pours, I guess.

{2} I went to see my friend's band on Wednesday and I rode my bike to the show. I am no bike expert, let me tell you. I barely know how to shift gears. Why does it always seem like every time I shift it gets harder? It never gets easier, I swear! Downshift, upshift...either way, it keeps getting harder. So I was riding the bike back home when I shifted and the chain fell off and got tangled up in the round thingy, which I googled, and found out it's called a cassette. I had to walk the rest of the way home.

{3} I was supposed to go to a music festival this weekend, but then my friend flaked out so we decided to sell our tickets and I made other plans with other people for the weekend. But then nobody wanted to buy them and I've been placing ads on Craigslist and dealing with a lot of flaky people and I am getting annoyed. This is why I don't change plans; it gets aggravating, scrambling around at the last minute trying to coordinate things, changing plans with everybody, not knowing what your actual plans will be, and losing money on top of all of it.

{4} My roommate got a dog. That's really all I have to say about that. No really, it's cute; it's a puppy; it pooped on the floor today. What else is there to say, really?

{5} I have this race tomorrow with Broski. It will be his first 30k and his longest run ever! By the way, I think he's finally come to terms with the fact that the trail "half marathons" are not always 13.1 miles.

What's going on in your life? Any fun plans for the weekend? Do you know anything about bikes?

Miwok 100k

For a minute there you thought I did a 100k this weekend, didn't you? Well, as much as I would love to say that I did, I did not. In fact, none of the people who ran this race did a 100k. Let me back up a bit. The Miwok 100k is a 62.2 mile trail race with over 12,000 feet of elevation gain. It is held in Marin County, in the Headlands, which are just north of San Francisco. It is a beautiful place to run and the race is world renowned.

Rodeo Beach

Just a little *extra* Ultra info for you: one of the most widely known races is called the Western States 100 (mile) and it's held in Lake Tahoe. To get into the WSER, you have to qualify, just like Boston, so it's a big deal. To qualify, you have to run certain races within a certain time. For a 100km race, you have to finish within 15 hours to qualify. Then you have to enter the lottery and only a handful of people (369) are chosen to run the WSER.

The Coastal Trail

On Saturday, I headed to the headlands very early in the morning to get a run in before helping man the Tennessee Valley aid station, which was supposed to be mile 36 and 48 for the runners. I ran a loop around the headlands that shows some of the many variations of flora in the area. There were Eucalyptus, grasslands, and brushy areas; there were views of the rolling hills, the city, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Pacific Ocean. I started off around 5 am, in the dark and so I got to see a beautiful sunset light up the sky just as I was nearing the top of a hill where I had a view of San Francisco.

San Francisco in the distance

THIS is why I run.

I got back to the aid station and got straight to work. However, I soon found out that the threat of fire had caused a red flag warning which had shut down parts of the race course, making it no longer a 100k, but roughly a 60k instead.

However, like ultra runners do, people remained in good spirits (even though this was going to mess up their chance to qualify for Western States). We were now mile 12 and 25. The first guys passed us in about 1:40. With my limited math skills, I still call that about an 8 minute mile. On the trails! These guys impress me so much. By the way, the first girl was not too far behind them!

Coastal Trail with coast view

I had a great time making sandwiches, cutting potatoes, filling bowls of peanut M&Ms,  handing out water and making sure people were doing okay; the camaraderie was unmatchable. There were even two random guys who had biked over with their Go Cam and jumped in to help volunteer for a couple of hours while they were waiting for their friend to pass by.

THIS is why I love the running community.

In longer races, the runners get crew and pacers. The crew are fun; they wait for the runner and then douse them with water, ice and sunscreen, jam a Gu in their mouth and hand them a new water bottle...and they're off! The pacers only get to run the last section with the runner, which would have been about 20 miles, but turned out to only be 12. Everyone there was energetic and supportive and having a good time. Even the runners I met who were dropping out were still positive about things.

Verdict? I would volunteer for this race again in a heartbeat. Also, maybe someday I will even run it!

Have you ever volunteered for anything? Did you learn anything from it? Would you be mad if your race was nearly cut in half on the morning of the race?

Pour Some Sugar on Me

I know you are singing this song now. Gotta love that hair.

I am not one of those people that eats or craves a lot of sugar. I prefer a nice salty snack over a sweet one most of the time. However, there are a few things I either eat that have added sugar, or that I add sugar to. When I say sugar, I mean honey, maple syrup, sugar, or any other form of sweetener.

Laura over at Mommy Run Fast is having a sugar detox challenge this week, which not only includes added sugars but processed foods as well. This does not include fruits or naturally sweet foods, thank goodness, because in that case I am not interested. We all know how much fruit I eat on a daily basis.

At first I thought that it wouldn't be very hard, as like I said, I am not a sugar person anyway and I usually eat pretty naturally already. But there are a few things that I have pinpointed that may be a little harder to give up than I think.

1. Coffee creamer: I love the vanilla flavored creamer. It's full of things I cannot pronounce. At work we have Coffeemate plain creamer, which is also full of weird things. I will be using either cream or nothing in my coffee this week.

2. Almond Milk: I am not a huge milk fan, but almond milk has "natural flavors" as one of the ingredients (among other things). Not so natural. However, even skim milk has some weird things floating around in it. So I am considering using regular milk or yogurt in my oatmeal this week to see how it goes.

3. Splenda: I confess; I use Splenda. Don't hate me. I use it both in my oatmeal and my coffee at work (where I don't have flavored creamer). I will sometimes use brown sugar or honey but either way, this week they are out. I always add fruit, but this week I may have to add a bit extra.

4. Sweet nuts: Sometimes when I DO have a little sugar craving, I go for some maple almonds, or cinnamon (and sugar) almonds, or my favorite, coconut (and sugar!) almonds. I will just stick to plain almonds for now (which is not a problem).

5. Running fuel: Gu and gels and chews are basically all just processed sugar. So for next weekend's trail race, I will be using dried fruit or baby food as my fuel. I have done this before and it has worked out great, but the dried fruit is a bit sticky.

6. Nutrition bars: I don't eat these very often but do like to use them in a pinch from time to time. However, most of them are loaded with added sugar. I did find out that Larabars do NOT have any added sugars (source: apple pie flavor).

I am not a huge fan of cutting things out entirely; I am much more a fan of everything in moderation. However, this is more of an experiment to see what things I may need to eat less of or maybe substitute with something just as good or better. So...what's on the menu? Lentils, navy beans, beets, acorn squash, quinoa, veggies, fruits, nuts and chicken: all things that I cooked or roasted in the oven yesterday. I will check back next week to let you know how it goes!

Are you doing the sugar detox? What would be the hardest thing for you to cut out sugar-wise? What about processed food-wise?

Recovery Mode

If you have ever had a big event, you know how it feels when it's over. You feel a little lost, a tad adrift, a bit confused. You don't know what to do with yourself. Due to the weeks I spent training for the marathon, this is kind of where I am right now. Couple that with the events that happened in Boston after the marathon and it is definitely a strange mental state overall.

I read in Runners World, and I mentioned it after my first marathon, that you are supposed to "rest" for the same amount of days as miles that you ran for your race. For me, this would be 26 days, or approximately one month. They say that for the first couple weeks of your break, drop mileage to zero and do light cross training instead. For the next three to six weeks, add running back in slowly: For two weeks, run 25% of pre-break mileage; for two weeks run 50%; the last two weeks, run 75%.

Hm.

This really is counterproductive to having a positive mental state. Most people who are runners RUN when they are feeling sad/angry/tired/scared/stressed. I am no different. My daily run makes me feel strong, makes me feel happier, and takes away the cares of the day.

So I did not take the advice of the good people of RW. I would have gone crazy. I already tapered, which was horrible, but they can't take away my after marathon run therapy! 

First of all, I had already signed up for the Ohlone 50k, which is May 19th. There are roughly 5 weeks (4 weekends) between the two races. I guess I was feeling kind of post race blues before the marathon even happened, because I also signed up for the Squamish 50k and the Marine Corp Marathon. It's like retail therapy, but better!

So, what's the recovery plan? Well, it's hard to figure out how to work it when I have a 50k in three weeks. So I decided to do a four weekend training plan, consisting of one easy weekend, one little bit harder weekend, one high mileage weekend and one easy weekend, and then race weekend.

Week 1: April 15 - April 21: Boston Marathon / weekend trail runs (easy)
Week 2: April 22 - April 28: easy week / weekend trail runs (med)
Week 3: April 29 - May 05: med week / weekend trail runs (long)
Week 4: May 06 - May 12: easy week / weekend trail runs (easy)
Week 5: May 13 - May 19: easy week / Race weekend

After weekend one, I was pretty tired. My legs were pretty sore, plus I followed short Saturday and Sunday runs with a two hour hike up a steep hill and the Monday BostonStrongSF run, so I took Tuesday and Wednesday of the next week completely off. (TOTAL = 41 miles (including the marathon) / 5 hours, 53 mins)

After weekend two, I feel good. My legs are definitely not back to normal, but I did do one shorter test run where I was able to keep the pace under an 8 minute mile, so they are not totally dead. (TOTAL = 45 miles / 7 hours, 40 mins)

Next weekend is the big mileage weekend. I hope my legs are up for the challenge. I know my mind is.

How do you deal with the comedown from a big event?  Do you have a long recovery time after a big race? What is the closest time period you have had two big races together?

Want more? 
**Check out Laura's take on the Post Race Blues.
**Head over to Fitness Friday at Jill's for some more fitness advice and info!

Looking Forward

Happy May! Did you know this is my favorite month of the year? And not just because it's my birth month. I love Spring and May reminds me of birds singing, school ending, first river swims (if we were lucky!) outdoor eating, warm days and flowers blooming.  So it's a good time to be looking forward to things!

Today I'm looking forward to good weather, a nice after work run and a hearty dinner!

This week I am looking forward to meeting up with a friend for lunch and possibly volunteering for a race on Saturday!

This month I am looking forward to Mother's day with my real and honorary Mom, happy hour with friends, a friend's band playing in a local joint, a race with Broski, birthday celebrations with friends and family, a 50k race, and a mini vacation!

This year I am looking forward to rounding out one year at my current job, trips to Oregon, Canada, DC and possibly New York City, and a hiking trip to Mt. Shasta.

2012: Carrot Cake

What are you looking forward to? What exciting things do you have going on / coming up in your life?

Currently: April

Current Book - The Boleyn Inheritance by Phillipa Gregory **so far, so good. There is just something about the horrid nature of Henry VIII and all the backstabbing and lying associated with his reign that is just fascinating.

Current Running Path - 

Joaquin Miller Park

Current Drink - Iced coffee. The perfect after-run drink. Or anytime drink, really. 

Current Excitement - May. It's going to be full of fun things! Races, birthdays, Mother's day and vacations! Every weekend is already booked! 

Current fashion trend - What's up with the floral stuff? That was cool when I was a kid but it's not the most attractive pattern. I can't believe it's back in style. 

Current Favorite Blog/Website - This article in Runners World. See the photo down at the bottom of the article? That's the group I ran with and I am in the photo, next to the yellow sign! Pretty cool if you ask me! 

Current Garden Item - Tomato plants. Apparently a lot of the ones from last year self seeded themselves and they are coming back this year by themselves! We are going to have a ton of tomatoes.

Current Love -Watermelon. After a warm day, it's so nice to have a cold piece of watermelon.

Current Food - Salads. Every week I make up four of them for lunches and sometimes I even end up eating them for dinner as well! My favorite lately? Beets, goat cheese, quinoa, spinach, corn and garbanzos! Yum.

Current Indulgence - Mochas! Remember the coffee station? Well, now we also have one of those Nespresso machines and I am loving a homemade mocha from time to time. 

Currently Pondering - Why don't you have to refrigerate ranch dressing before you open it? I mean, it's still made out of diary products, isn't it? 

Current Mood - Great! The weekend was full of beautiful weather and a few great trail runs, brunch with friends and walks about town. I couldn't ask for anything more!

Current New Find - Spitz Chili Lime. If you like sunflower seeds you should try these, because they are good! 

Current Outfit - 

#BostonStrongSF

Current Peeve - All my socks are getting holes in them. I even clipped my toenails super short and bought new socks but after only a couple wearings, they are getting holey already! 

 

Current Song - I have been listening to the Juanes station on Pandora a lot. It reminds me of traveling in South America.  

Current Triumph - I picked my first veggies this week! The radishes are already ready even though they are only about a month old. They are super spicy though! Anyone know how to tone down the spice of a radish? 

 

Current TV Show - Actually I DVRed some movies, but none of them have really been that good.

Current Wish-List - A pair of earphones where I can change songs without having to get my phone out. I haven't really made a good playlist yet and so I keep having to listen to songs I would rather skip.

Currently Delaying - Booking a flight for a race later this year... I keep hoping the price will go down but it's almost time to bite the bullet and just do it. I'm sure that as soon as I book it, the price will drop. 

What is your current triumph? Have you read any good books lately? Have you joined in on the floral trend?

Take Five, Orlando: A Guest Post

I am excited to introduce Stephany, whose goal this year is to write 50 guest posts. I was happy to have her come and visit me over on my space, and when asked what I wanted her to write about, it was an easy choice: Travel. Stephany has compiled a list of her top 5 amusement parks in Florida, seeing that she is from Orlando. Without further ado, here is Stephany! 

My Top Five Favorite Amusement Parks

There are a lot of things I love about living in Florida, but one of my favorite things is how close I am to Orlando and the plethora of amusement parks that abound from there. It's easy to go for a weekend, or even take a day trip up to a park, and Orlando remains one of my favorite cities. There is always something to do and so much to choose from! In honor of my love for all things theme parks, I wanted to create a list of my top five favorites (and yes, everyone should visit each one!):

My Top Five Favorite Amusement Parks: 

5. Epcot - Epcot is a foodie lover's dream. The park is lined with cuisines from around the world. You can start off with a sauerkraut in Germany, move on to tacos in Mexico, and finish with pastry in France. The absolute best part of Epcot is the food, hands down - but there are other experiences to be had. You can man a spaceship, "fly" over the Earth, and build your own sports car (and see how it performs on the track!). If you love food, this is one of the must-stop's in Orlando.

4. Magic Kingdom - Magic Kingdom (or more commonly known as Disney World) is happiness on earth. Even as an adult, I am filled with childlike glee every time I come to this park. There is so much to do and see that it's impossible to get to it all in one day. My favorite rides include Space Mountain (an indoor roller coaster), Splash Mountain, and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (an interactive ride where you score points and try to beat other passengers). I also adore the Carousel of Progress, which showcases changes in the way we live and technology throughout the years. It's fascinating to me! I was able to watch my nephew (who was three at the time) experience Disney World for the first time ever and it was magical.

3. Animal Kingdom -  Animal Kingdom is one of the newer theme parks, built in 1998 and it's easy to see why it was the fourth most-visited theme park in the U.S. in 2011. There's something for everyone at this park: thrilling rides, incredible musicals, delicious food, and a safari ride that cannot be missed. It's one of those parks that's impossible to get sick of!

2. Islands of Adventure - There is so much to love about Islands of Adventure, not the least being it's where the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is located. Although, I have to be honest and say I have never actually been to the WWoHP. The last time I went to Islands of Adventure, it had just opened so the wait to even get into WWoHP was over 2 hours long. (And I had not yet read the series, so it didn't hold much interest to me.) WWoHP aside, Islands of Adventure has a lot to offer. They have my favorite roller coaster The Incredible Hulk, a fun interactive Spiderman ride,  and the you-will-get-wet Jurassic Park River Adventure. It's more superhero and adventure-focused than any of the other parks, which is probably why it's one of my favorites to visit. 

1. Sea World - As a hardcore animal lover, Sea World is easily my favorite amusement park in all of Orlando. The biggest attractions in Sea World are all the different shows. You can experience the wonder of Shamu, the hilarity of the sea lion show, or the excitement of the dolphin show. You can feed sea lions and dolphins. You can see the penguin or shark exhibit. Or, if you're up to it, you can try out a few of the rides like Kraken and Manta. It's really a place that everyone can enjoy, kids and adults alike.

An Orlando vacation is not really a relaxing vacation, with all there is to do and see, but it is a fun one! It's pretty much a given that you will have an enjoyable time - whether you love roller coasters, fun shows, or delicious food. There is something for everyone!

Note:**I actually have not been to ANY of these yet! 

Have you ever been to any of these parks? What is your favorite amusement park? What would be your "top 5 ____" where you live? 

Take Five: Snacks

I am a snacker. I love snacks. Instead of having 3 regular meals, I generally eat about 5 - 6 snack-type meals. I wrote a post a while back about what I typically eat on a regular work day. I am also a creature of habit. I usually eat very similar things each day. I am not really into candy or chips or soda. My go to snacks are these:

1. Legumes: Perhaps this is not a "snack" but each week I make a batch of some sort of bean and I take it with me in a little tupperware and it's my mid afternoon snack. I eat it a couple hours before I get off work so when I am going for a run after work I am not totally hungry but it has time to set in.

2. Dried Fruit: I am not really a big sweet lover, but I DO love dried fruit! Craisins (and dried coconut) are my crack! I also love dried mangoes, cherries and apricots. If you can dry it, I will eat it. Plus you can take them anywhere and they don't go bad, get squished or make a mess! The only bad thing about dried fruit is when you get the big bag from Costco and you eat the whole thing in one sitting!

3. Nuts: When I need something salty, which is VERY often, I look for my nuts. Ha. No, seriously, almonds are my favorite, but I am not nut-ist; I love all nuts!

4. Fruit: I probably eat at least 3 and sometimes more like 5 servings of fruit a day. It generally travels well, it hydrates you and it tastes good! I also snack on carrots, celery and radishes most days at work.

5. Granola/Oats: Whether it's oatmeal in the morning, or granola and yogurt later in the day, I think oatmeal and granola are a great way to get a nice full feeling while still being healthy.

Usually I buy items separately from the bulk aisle (or Costco) and mix up my own trail mixes, granola or nutrition bars, but sometimes it's just easier to grab and go. Some of my favorite pre-made items are made by Kind and one of my favorites of theirs is the Almond & Apricot bar. It's everything I love, all rolled up into a bar! The only thing it's missing is the legumes.

I have tried a lot of bars and some are good and some are only so-so, but I have to say, I have not yet met a Kind bar I didn't like.

What is your favorite snack? What is your favorite nutrition bar?

**I was not compensated for this post, but I was given this product for free in return for an honest review. Rest assured, my reviews are just that.

Boston Strong SF

When I saw this post over at Pavement Runner's site, I knew that I would have to join in.

Little did I know, I would not be the only one. According to the press release, there were over 80 cities worldwide and over 2,500 participants. I know that about 250 people RSVPed for the San Francisco one, and although I don't think they all made it, there were at least 100 people.

We ran from Crissy Field down to Fort Point (the foot of the Golden Gate bridge) and back and we took it nice and slow and people talked and ran and had a great time. It was such a show of solidarity and support of other runners, the victims and their loved ones, the running community and the community in general! It felt great to be a part of it. There are so many feelings swirling around regarding the race and the events surrounding it, that it is nice to feel like you are part of a group of people that have your back, and that you ARE strong.

I wore my Boston shirt and was one of 4 people at the event who had been at Boston this year. There were also people in Celtics, Patriots, Bruins and Red Sox gear, people wearing yellow in general and people wearing any other race or Boston tops and hats. It was awesome. In fact, the news was there and they interviewed me, so I have last night's 11 o'clock news on tivo (since I will not be up!) and will watch it tonight to see if it aired (ABC and NBC were there!) Here is a little clip they put on the internet.

Did you run Boston Strong in your city?  Do you like to surround yourself with people when times are tough, or do you like to be alone?

Boston Marathon

I woke up at 5 am and headed over to the Commons to catch the bus to Hopkinton. The bus ride was pretty quiet; you could feel the nervous tension. I was wearing two old sweaters and an old pair of breakaway pants. People were wearing robes, blankets, pajamas, and I even saw a hospital gown. There were some really creative pre-race outfits!

I had to have a Dunkin Donuts coffee, because, as you know, Kyria America runs on Dunkin.

I was not too nervous, except for two things: (1) I would freeze my butt off before the race. This problem was solved by wearing layers of throw away clothes. (2) I would have to pee during the race. The Dunkin did not help, but there were about 430,123 portapotties, so I got right in line, even though I didn't have to go yet.

I was in Wave 2, which started at 10:20. We started right on time and right away, there were so many spectators! This was different than I was used to. The only other highly spectated race I've run in the Nike Women's Marathon, and even it had some bare patches.

The course immediately went downhill. In the first 5 miles, we lost about 300 feet. I could feel myself starting off too fast, but the crowd was all around me and I was trying to pass people and the enthusiasm was hard to ignore. Mile 1 - 4: 7:29, 7:32, 7:33, 7:39

 I kept telling myself to slow down or I would regret it later. However, I felt fine, so I kept up the pace. At mile 7, which is Framingham, I saw Nancy's smiling face and it was just what I needed to give me a little pep in my step! Around mile 5, I swear I had a rock in my shoe but I didn't want to stop to take it out. I remember wondering how it got there, since I have been on pavement the whole time.  Mile 5 - 8: 7:38, 7:32, 7:36, 7:35

I take a few energy chews and think about my next "check point" which is my family, who will be in Wellesley at mile 13. Before I reach them I reach the Screech tunnel, which is a bunch of the Wellesley girls, yelling and yelling and all holding signs instructing the runners to "kiss me, I'm ____". I loved it! It gave me a lot of laughs! Mile 9 - 12: 7:40, 7:31, 7:40, 7:27

I pass by my family, who are good sports for coming all the way to Boston and then out to Wellesley to see me for 2.54 seconds. My mom is wearing a pink shirt to match me and on it are the words "Run Strong". As soon as I pass them, I start to feel some fatigue in my quads. I take a couple more energy chews, thinking this will make it go away. It doesn't. Mile 13 - 16: 7:32, 7:33, 7:50, 7:46

Around mile 16, the hills start. I have to be honest, the uphill felt great! The downhills were killing me. As I neared the top of one of the hills, I heard a guy say, "it's all downhill from here" and I was thinkin, "crap!" My quads were screaming. I was trying not to slow down but the downhills were really hurting. I keep thinking that as long as I try to keep it under an 8 minute mile, I can still acheive my goal of 3 hours and 30 minutes. It was difficult for a time though! Mile 17 - 20: 8:06, 8:04, 7:54, 8:12.

I don't know if I really hit a wall per se, but my quads were quivering and I really wanted to get to the finish line. I was limping along like Charlie Chaplin at this point. The only thing that kept me going is when I passed Dean Karnazes at mile 22. I was thinking in my mind, even though I am supposed to only be competing against my own time, "I must beat Dean, I must beat Dean!" I had to get him back for beating me by 49 seconds at the Skyline 50k! Mile 21 - 24: 8:12, 7:55, 7:54, 7:59

I saw my friend Pen at the 25 mile mark and man was I glad to see a familiar face. However, the other spectators were also awesome to have around me. There were all cheering for every runner, they were chanting my name (it was on my shirt) and there was such a great feeling of festivity in the air! It was so cool. And when I rounded the corner onto Boylston, I sprinted it out with all the gas fumes I had left in the tank. Jill was at mile 26, but I was so focused on finishing that I missed her, which is a bummer! Mile 25 - 26.2: 7:44, 8:22

When I crossed the finish line, the clock said 3:26:xx. I remember thinking, "I did it. I made my 3:30 goal, and I BQed at Boston!" I was so glad to be done. I hobbled across the finish and drank three bottles of water and inhaled a banana and then went to find my family.

Final Chip Time: 3:24:06 (7:47/mile)
Overall: 6,864 / 23,336

My immediate thought after I crossed the finish was that I had done it once I never needed to do it again. However, a week later, and in light of what happened, you may be seeing me again, Boston. I might be back before you know it.

Do you ever secretly compete with other runners or a runner in general? Do you check a bag or wear throw away clothes? Do you ever have spectators when you run or have you spectated for a friend's race?

No Words, Just Pain

I don't really have any words.

This week has been one of many emotions and I am not really sure that I am done sorting them all out. As you know, I went to Boston to run the marathon last weekend. My whole family was there. My friends were there. Their families were there.

I crossed the finish line at 1:46 pm. My phone had died about halfway through the race, so I slowly made my way to the family meeting area, which is about a block away from the finish line. I waited there for about a half an hour until they came, when we then went a few blocks away to find some food. We were just sitting down when the waiter turned on the TV and told us that there had just been an explosion at the finish line of the marathon.

As we sat there, aghast at what we were seeing, several ambulances, fire trucks and police went by on the street outside our restaurant. As we watched them go by, one after the other, we could only imagine how bad it was, as we also hoped it wasn't as bad as it seemed.

The first thing I thought of were my friends, some of who were behind me in the race, several others who were spectating and finally, members of their families that we knew would be reaching the finish right around this time. I charged up my phone and when it finally came to life, I was trying so hard to find out if my friends had made it out of the area safely, that I almost didn't notice all the messages from everyone trying to find out about me.

It was bittersweet. The first messages shouted congratulations; the later ones voiced concern.

My running friends made it over the finish line and out of the area in time. My spectating friends are okay, although one of them was right at mile 26 and not only saw the blast but had a very stressful time trying to find her brother, who hadn't finished the race yet (he made it to mile 25). A few people I know did not get a chance to finish the race.

My heart goes out to those who were in the area, who were wounded, who were witness to or who had to experience such a horror. I get emotional when I see the bravery of the folks who rushed to their aid. I feel sorrow and pain for those who did not get to finish the race when they worked so hard for this day. My emotions are still near the surface and I am not really sure I can articulate clearly how I feel about the experience as a whole.

Thanks to everyone out there who sent texts, Facebook posts and emails and made phone calls to find out if I was okay. I am so touched by all the concern that was shown to me.

Where were you when you heard about the incident? Have you ever been really close to an highly emotional event?

Moving Right Along

Today I take my brother and the lady to the airport and this marks the beginning of everything. I haven't really talked a lot about the Boston weekend, but it really is going to be quite an adventure. My brother and the lady will be arriving in Boston early for some sightseeing and shenanigans before the parentals join up. I will head that way in a few days, along with my Bay Area running buddies, one of whom is from New Hampshire and the other who has never been to Boston before.

We have matching shirts. Yup. They are my favorite color (sarcasm heavy here): PINK. It just happened to work out that I had a free pink tank that didn't have writing on it and my friend TJ bought a pink one as well (totally unrelated), so now we are going to be the three Pink Musketeers.

Saturday my family will celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday with the whole family, who are coming from all over New England and other nearby areas.

Sunday will be the expo and a lot of food and more friends and then...I will probably start worrying about the weather and what time I should eat and whether or not I am going to have enough clothes or too many clothes or...

...and then before we know it, it will be 6 a.m. and I will be getting on the bus for Hopkinton, where I will then wait around for four hours, worrying about the weather and if I should eat and whether or not I should pee one last time and if I am not wearing enough clothes or if I am wearing too many...

...and then we will be off!

The stats:

- I am in Wave 2, Corral 4, which starts at 10:20 a.m.
- My bib number is 12333.
- If you want to track my progress, text runner to 345678 and then enter in my bib number when it prompts you to reply. 
- If you are watching it live or on TV, look for me. I will be wearing this:

If you see someone who is wearing the same shirt, but is not me, cheer for them; it is probably one of my running buds! 

**If you are going to be in Boston, let me know where to look for you! It's always nice to see a friendly face in the crowd! **

What are you doing the weekend? Do you like pink? Do you get nervous right before a big event?

The Bunny Hop

We have all done our share of Turkey Trots, but have you done any Bunny Hops lately?

For Easter weekend I went to the Broski residence for some Sonoma county shenanigans. You may think this means wine tasting, but Sonoma County has tons of things to do! On Saturday, we went out to Bodega Bay (have you seen the movie The Birds?) and walked the cliffs, searching for whales.

Watch for birds

We did not see any, but it is Grey Whale season! Afterward we went and got a nice bowl of clam chowder and a crab sandwich. It was yummy, but talk about cream/butter/mayo overload! However, it didn't stop us from stopping at the Wildflour bakery and getting a bacon maple blueberry cornmeal scone! Yup, that's one scone with all those things in it!

Doran Beach

On Easter morning, Broski and I got up nice and early to rain, which was a bad thing since our plan was to run to the in-laws house for lunch. They live about 9 miles away, but Broski did some cool stuff with his Garmin and mapped out a course to their house, including a loop through Annadel park, rounding off the run at about 17 miles total.

Annadel

 I had forgotten my shorts, of all things to forget, but luckily the lady friend had a pair from a certain decade that she let me borrow. I will let you guess what decade they are from. 

Zoom in. Guess the decade.

As soon as the rain slowed, we headed out. About two miles in, it began to pour on us. Luckily it only lasted a few miles and it stopped just as we reached the park for our loop through. The park was muddy and hilly, but it was beautiful and full of mossy trees, deer and turkeys. It was a great way for both of us to discover a new trail. We ended up at the in-laws house just in time for a quick dip in their (not heated!) pool, which was better than an ice bath, and then it was lunch time!

After lunch, we had an adult Easter hunt, aka a scavenger hunt, which was tons of fun. They have a lot of property with sheep and goats and chickens and peacocks (oh my!) and we had a blast running around scaring the animals while we searched for our next clue. And then I ate about 38 more deviled eggs.

As always, I got sent home with enough leftovers for two lunches (literally!), and a couple dozen farm fresh eggs, which is a real treat! We used to have chickens when I was a kid and I didn't realize how good I had it. Now I get them very rarely.

Did you have an Easter hunt, egg or otherwise? What era do you think those shorts are from? Have you ever had farm fresh eggs?

Canyon Meadows Trail Half

When there is a race in my backyard, I can't help but run it. Last weekend there were two. First was the Oakland Running Festival, which is a nice course through Oakland and it's various neighborhoods, much like the one I run for many of my long runs. The second was in one of my favorite places for trail runs, Redwood Regional Park. I probably should have run the ORF, as it would have been a great way to assess my fitness and speed for Boston.

But I do love a good trail run. Plus the Canyon Meadows was less than half the price of the ORF. So, a trail running we will go. Broski came down to join the fun; he really is a glutton for punishment. Especially since the first thing we did was go up a really steep hill.

A while back, I had taken Broski to Redwood to show him my normal running route, and we had started up the same hill and ended up turning around because it was seemingly endless! Well, I learned that it was not literally endless, but it was almost a mile long!

Last year I ran the Cinderella Trail run in the same area. It was fun to look back and remind myself of where I was in the trail racing realm last year at this time. This race was different than the Cinderella though, although several of the trails were the same.

The details: The race started at 8 a.m. The weather was in the low 40s. According to the race director, there were about 400 runners. The distances were 5 miles, half marathon, 30k, marathon and 50k. I wore my new Montrail trail running shoes (my first pair of trail shoes ever).

The course: This was a great course for me because it encompassed many of the trails I regularly run on, plus it added a few that I had never tried before. It went on both the West Ridge and the East Ridge, both of which were part of the Skyline 50. The West Ridge was also on the Cinderella last year. Both trails are in the sun part of the time, and can get hot, but luckily that wasn't an issue this time. The course was a loop course for the half. If you were running the 50k, it was 2 loops of the half plus an additional 5 mile loop.

The pros: *This course wasn't too hilly. I know, you are probably laughing, but for instance, the Cinderella or the Golden Gate races have a about 2500 ft gain,  the Canyon Meadows is only 1500 ft. It makes a difference! *Once again, everyone was very friendly. I love trail runners! In fact, I even got recognized by a blog reader (actually she recognized Broski's shirt from the last race recap)! *There was beer at the end. GOOD beer. *The chip timers are on the race bib. No more shoe chips here (or written down times. Remember that?). *The new trail shoes were good! No blisters, no rubbing! *I got to talk to Broski for two hours. And by this, I mean I talked while he ran alongside me. There is no better listener than one that is stuck with you for two hours!

 Broski + beard / Me + beer

The cons: *The course was short OR everyone's GPS was messed up. Everyone I talked to said their GPS was showing about a mile short. I would like to think I just ran fast, but I am not so sure. However, I was assured several times that the director walks the course with a Rolatape surveyor's wheel. *The finish line snack area was also a bit confusing. It was a mess of half marathoners who were finished as well as marathon and 50k people passing through. If I were running the 50, I would be a bit annoyed by the halfers, who were kind of in the way. *Your shirt color is dependent on your size! We were talking about how maybe next time we should pick a different size, since Broski keeps getting yellow shirts (I have been lucky with pink and blue the last two times).

The race: Like I said, the first mile was uphill, and was about a 500 ft elevation gain. It was hard. Then the course leveled out a bit and got a bit easier. My fastest mile was actually mile two. I must have been really glad that hill was over! Broski and I split up because he went to water the plants and when I went to do the same, I encountered a bunch of poison oak. I would rather hold it then get that again! For the next mile and a half I ran on my own. Then I stopped at a real toilet and Broski caught back up.

The next few miles were varied up and downs and then the second half of the race was mostly downhill. You would think this is a good thing, but if the downhills are really steep, it can actually be harder. Luckily a lot of this race was on fire trails, so there is space to pass people, because going downhill on a single track trail and trying to pass the person in front of you without bumping into them or knocking them over can get pretty hard sometimes.  As you can see, there was a pretty steep downhill around mile 8. The last few miles were the best because they went through the redwoods (the upper ridges are more Eucalyptus) on the Stream Trail and are nice and dark and ferny, which I really like.

The stream trail

We finished in 2:09. Actually I finished in 2:09. Broski was annoyed that his Garmin didn't say 13.1, so he turned around and did a quick out and back to make up the miles. I tried to tell him that with trail races it doesn't matter, but he is determined to get his true half marathon in! So be it.

2:09 / Garmin reading = 12.4 miles / ave 10:03 pace
If it is a true half, the average would be 9:50 pace.

Afterward, we went to brunch, where we ate a mountain of food, and then Broski drove home and passed out on the couch. I know this because Mrs. Broski sent me a photo of him when she got home from work. Maybe I will post it here later. (just kidding!) I guess we wore him out. 

The verdict?  I would run this race again, although I prefer the Cinderella, because it goes on my favorite trail, the French Trail. I would still run another Coastal race (and will!) but all of them have been short, and I am not certain that they can all be blamed on the Garmin!

As a side note, Broski asked me if, instead of driving to Easter dinner, I wanted to run with him from his house to the in-laws place (17 miles). I think he's got a bit of the crazy in him! Clearly he's been hanging out with me for too long! Or listening to me too much during trails runs.

Have you ever been the catalyst for someone's crazy hobby? What are you doing for Easter?