Friday, December 31, 2010

Goodbye 2010

Don't let the door hit you on your way out.

I haven't posted in months so here is a quick summary:
January - Lots of training for my first 10k.
February - Celebrated my 40th birthday with family, friends, and great 10k.
March - Lots of long bike rides with fun friends.
April - Finished my first metric century on a very windy day. Arrival of my niece. Lots of work to open a new exhibit.
May - Started feeling yucky.
June - Surgery and ovarian cancer diagnosis.
July thru October - Chemo. Felt like shit but was well taken care of by wonderful family and friends.
November - Started to feel better and walked a 5k in celebration of finishing chemo.
December - Celebrated at Disneyland and feeling even better.

With a few exceptions (10K run, 100K ride, niece) 2010 sucked. I'm not sorry to see it go.

Hello 2011, let's be friends!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Cinderella Classic: a very late report

I understand that my numerous fans have been waiting for over a month for the exciting report of my first 100km ride. My apologies to my devoted fans.

The pain and exhaustion of my epic ride has faded, which may be a good thing for you. But first I have to start at 7:00am the Friday before the ride when I rolled my ankle while walking the dog. Some of you know my dog and she is a bit of a spaz, but she didn't do anything to make be sprain my ankle. I just stepped on the edge of the sidewalk. That led to a few hours of fretting and trying to decide if I would be riding. Finally, after an email exchange with coach and comments from friends, I decided to ride with the sprained ankle. (It wasn't a very bad sprain.)


The day started very, very early with meeting the Mermaids to caravan to ride start. Gina, Jill, & Naama did the Challenge (longer with big climbs) and Diane, Wilma, and I did the Classic, 67 miles. As Molly pointed out, the is 5 miles longer than a metric century.

We headed out for our epic ride at around 7:45 am. It wasn't raining, but it was just about the windiest day I have seen in long time. Great. We started out from the fairgrounds in Pleasanton. It was nice and green.

and checking in behind me


We pedaled and pedaled and pedaled through Pleasanton, which I don't know at all so I was really hoping the directions were correct. Mostly, I followed the women in crazy costumes.


We got to the first rest stop at 23 miles, I think. We refilled bottles and I discovered the rest stops had circus animals cookies. Score! We headed out for the next section which included our first climb of the day. Nothing horrible, just a long steady climb.


Some people stopped to regroup before the climb.


And, some of us just went for it. One of the good things about the climb was that it wasn't windy. I was about 2/3 of the way up the hill when I realized that I wasn't in my granny gear, I was still in the middle chain ring! Woot, woot! Which of course, meant I had to finish the hill in that gear.

There was a killer descent after that climb. Nice long, but not too steep hills. Sa-weet!! And, then we really hit the wind. Crosswind. Which I have decided is worse than headwind.


Self-portrait in the wind.

Then our next stop was lunch. Mmmmm . . . food! Diane and I met up with Wilma there, she ditched us on the climb.


Refueling. I probably should have had more to eat.

After lunch we headed back out. Back out into the wind. We were on a slight descent that we should have been able to go about 20 mph. Instead we had a headwind and I was having trouble maintaining 10 mph. :-( I was not happy.


That sky looked scary, but didn't produce much.


And, this was the last we saw of Wilma. She had a hot date and needed to finish faster than I could.

We had one more climb that was very pretty. When we were dealing with the headwind I thought I would much rather have climb. But once I got to the climb I wasn't so sure. But, really I think I will taking climbing over the &#$@! wind. After we finished that climb we had our last rest stop. What I really want was caffeine. Coffee, coke, diet coke, tea, mountain dew, jolt, I didn't really care. But there was no stimulants to be found. :-( Keep in mind that by now we were riding through Danville and could have stopped at any number of places for caffeine. I have no response to that.

As we were driving through Danville, something felt funny, kinda squishy. I yelled back to Diane, "Do I have a flat tire?" Her answer, "Yes!" Crap. We stopped and sat down on the sidewalk to change my tire. I had all the stuff I needed but was really hoping for one of the SAG wagons to drive by. I got my tire off, which was amazing because it is really tight. I got going on changing the tube when Diane spotted a SAG. She almost didn't wave them down, but thank goodness she did because it turned out I had a hole in my spare tube. D'oh! They got me all fixed up and on the rode again.

Diane said they must have filled my tires with magic air because I took off and was yelling "on your left" over and over. (Really, I think it had more to do with all the downhills and the 30 minutes of rest.)

The last 5 miles were torture. We were back in the wind. My ass hurt. My ankle was achy. I was done. But we finally made it back to the start. It was a good ride, but I would have been perfectly happy with a true metric century, I didn't need the 5 bonus miles. Diane (and Wilma before she left us) was a great partner and we had a good time. Just as we were pulling out we saw our buddies doing the Challenge route roll in. (I'm so glad they didn't beat us.)

When I got home it was time for a very long, hot shower and pizza.


The End.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Burn out and getting back in the groove

It has been almost 2 months since I posted here. What have I been up to?

Burn out. One thing I've discovered about myself is that I need a break after my "A" races. Last year after the 1/2 AquaBike, I was done. I was not interested in training and didn't care about the next race. The same thing happened after my 10K, I was d-o-n-e. I didn't want to run again. Ever. I was also not terribly interested in riding. I was doing the Cinderella Ride training series and "dropped out." Which was unfortunate since I was supposed to be getting ready for my first 100K ride, the Cinderella Classic, on April 10th. After two weeks of wallowing in burn out it was time to get moving again.

Getting back in the groove. With the Cinderella ride and the Mermaid Run (yes, my life is a Disney movie) approaching, I had to start doing something. A month before the ride I finally had a plan that involved long rides every weekend and time on the trainer.

The first back-in-the-saddle ride was with fellow Mermaids Jill and Wilma, 40 miles. We rode from Wilma's house to Uvas Reservoir and back. It was beautiful with all of spring greenery.


The next weekend, 50 miles with Diane, Lisa, Jim, and Sara as SAG. I planned a lovely route from Uvas Reservoir, across the valley, up the east hill to Gilroy Hot Springs, and back to Uvas. I went into the ride with trashed, sore legs so it was a little more challenging than I planned.


Heading up to Gilroy Hot Springs. Note the climb in the distance.


A view of the valley.


Done!

After an "ice bath" in the reservoir my legs were feeling much better.

And, then there was this Saturday, the 60 mile ride. After last weeks ride I was kind of dreading this ride. I am amazed that with each ride more people were willing to come along. There were six wonderful Mermaids on this ride. This time I came up with a route that included only hills that I knew I could climb. ;-)

Photos courtesy of Diane, I was too busy pedaling.


At a rest stop with Lisa. Making sure I don't "bonk."


Beautiful winter grass on the Peninsula.


The Supastar Mermaids near the end!

I'm still in awe of how far we rode yesterday, from my place to Woodside and back. I RODE TO WOODSIDE and back. The more I ride the more I'm amazed at how close things really are. Or, maybe I'm impressed at how far I can ride. I can't decide.

Next week the Cinderella Classic 100K (65 miles)!

Monday, February 15, 2010

Mermaid Run San Diego Race Report

This wasn't my typical everyday-no-biggie race. (yeah, right, like that ever happens.) This race just happened to take place the day after my 40th birthday. Yes, that's right, I typed 40. A few months ago I decided that I wanted to really celebrate this milestone year big, but I also wanted a personal challenge.

What is my biggest challenge? You guessed it, running. I decided to do a 10K as my challenge and started looking for event. There didn't seem to be many near the 12th. Lot's of half marathons and 5Ks, but few 10Ks. Then just when I was going to settle for a race a week or two after my birthday the Mermaid Series popped up with a 5K/10K in San Diego! I could run my challenge in the supportive environment of my Team Mermaid friends and coach. Sign me up! To help me achieve this goal I asked on of my inspirational friends Molly to run with me and keep me on pace.


Start and finish line

After 8 weeks of training the big day arrived on Saturday, 2/13 at Mission Bay in San Diego. I knew I could finish the distance but I was still a little nervous. Luckily, I was surrounded by friends.


Molly, me, and Jill.

After a little milling around and then it was time to go. I know I'm a slower runner so we started in the back. I started a little fast and Molly reminded me that I needed to save my legs for the rest of the race, so we slowed down to something like a 13:30 pace. I really wanted to run a 13:00 pace, but I knew based on my training run that I would probably average a 14:00 pace. But, you know, for someone who "didn't run" a year ago not so bad.


.25 miles in to my 10K.

Once we were out on Fiesta Island the crowd had pulled away from us and we were enjoying the beautiful San Diego February morning. We even got a little toasty. I kept my heart rate in its favorite zone and Molly kept me on pace.

I told Molly, "I can't suck it in in the back." But it's not too bad a view at mile 2.

At mile 4 things I was getting hot, thirsty, and tired. I was hoping for an aid station at mile 4 but it wasn't there. "Where's the aid station?! I'm thirsty," I whined. Molly, bless her, offered to run ahead and get some water for me. And, in my best 4-year-old attitude said, "No. I want the aid station." Just then we went around a turn and the aid station was in sight. One cup of water on my head and one cup of sport's drink to drink. Ahhh . . . feeling a little better.


Just before the where's-the-aid-station meltdown. Note the swinging ponytail.

I was starting to get tired and quiet. Molly picked up the conversation and was working hard to keep me moving forward. She told me the end was insight, we just had to go across the bridge that connected the island to the shore and it would be the home stretch. We were planning to turn left but they said we had to turn right. Right? But the finish line is to the left. I could have cried. We had to go about .25 mile or less to a turn around. Even though the detour (which wasn't on the map) did mess with my morale, I managed to muster up some humor for the turn around.


Flying around the side trip turn around, less than a mile to go.

It was time to pick up the pace. As Molly said, "you can do anything for a mile." So, I pushed it and finished really strong. I could hear the announcer, who also happens to be my coach, saying something about me finishing. I think it was about it being my birthday. I focused on keeping my head up and finishing strong. There were some very enthusiastic guys waiting at the finish line to give me high fives, water, and my necklace. Unfortunately, there were also right on the timing mats so I kinda high-fived and pushed them out of the way at the same time.


Finishing strong with my head up! 1:27:18. 14:03 pace.

It was so wonderful to share this challenge with supportive and encouraging friends. I have to thank you my coach Heidi for being the first person to tell me that I could run. Molly was so generous and supportive to come down, run with me, and keep me going. Without her there would have been some walking around mile 4. And, my teammates Wilma, Jill, Gina, Diane, and Naama who keep me going and help me laugh through the pain.


Everyone at the finish line.

Then it was time for celebrating! Lounging around a beautiful pool, reading, talking, and drinking fruity drinks. It was a great weekend and fabulous way to celebrate the Big 4-0!


note to self: bring a cuter shirt for pool-side lounging.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Week 7

Sunday - Run 5.5 miles. Wait, what? Who typed that? Run 5.5 miles. It's only a half mile longer than last week. Since this is the last long run before my 10K on Saturday (that's in 5 days!) here is a mile by mile summary.

Mile 1 - Good. Mile 1 is always good. Yesterday was the first of 3 birthday celebrations this month. One of my very generous wonderful friends gave me an ipod shuffle. It is so tiny! I didn't even notice it.

Mile 2 - I've been doing my long runs on the LGCT and this part of the trail is a false flat so I have to watch my heart rate. When it gets above 170 I get kinda loopy and light headed. My running buddy and I were comparing songs on our ipods. I had a very random mix including a little Janet Jackson . . . gonna take you on an escapade . . .

2.75 - Half Way!! If I can make to the turn around means I will usually feel a little hopeful.

Mile 3 - This is when a tend to slow down a bit and there are a couple of little hills. Today I was trying to keep up with my running buddy and got a little light headed so I walked a little.

Mile 4 - Oof. Maybe party food and cupcakes weren't the best fuel. My heart rate was okay, but my legs were getting tired and didn't want to go. A little Katrina and the Waves perked me up a little. Then, it was deal making time. I said out loud, for accountability, "I'm not stopping until we get to the dog park." I made it and did a little walk/running under an overpass and down a steep hill. It was time to get this run over with.

Mile 5 - Half mile to go! Two laps around the track. Two more songs. "Rock This Town" by the Stray Cats came on and that kept me going. More deals, "I can't look at my watch until the song is over." .28 mile to go. One more song, I got a little, "We Used to Friends" to make it through the last little bit. I picked it up to finish strong. And, then . . . . the magical garmin said 5.5 miles. We were DONE! I was sooooo happy to be done.

Whew. I walked about .75 mile to cool down but when I got out of the car my legs were pretty weak. I followed up my run with two of Molly's post run things a cold bath and chocolate milk. And, I added a big cup a coffee, too. Ahhh . . .

If I can do that I can run another .7 on Saturday. Right? Even with the walking parts I averaged a 14.08 minute pace. There is hope for a sub 14 minute pace on race day. Molly is going to pace me on race day to keep my mind from wandering and keeping me focused. She is talking about motivational techniques. So far, we have ruled out a bull whip. My only other tip for her is we are "almost done" when there is .25 mile to go. I hate it when people yell out "you're almost done" when I'm only half way there. Halfway is nowhere close to almost, it is halfway.

I have just a few more short runs this week. I can't believe the weeks have gone by so quickly! Now it is time to play with my intimate friend the foam roller.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Ride 3 and Week 6

Saturday - 28 mile ride. It was our 3rd week of Cinderella Ride Training. I'm sticking with the fast group. At times I really wish I was in the middle group, but I know that the fast group will help me get stronger. We started out at a blistering 17 mph. Um, could we warm up a little first? Next week I may spin around the parking lot to get things movings. We have a group of 18 and it is hard to get all of us through the lights in busy Fremont. We usually end up going about 15 mph. This we were introduced to climbing. Nothing too bad, in fact, I was thinking to myself, "well, these aren't too bad." Okay, part of one was really steep and I walked the last 100 feet.

My only complaint is too much stopping! Let's go, I've got stuff to do! And, other people have stuff to do. Three women headed back on their own after a stop at Starbucks 2/3 of the way through the ride. I joined another six women about 30 mins later to finish the ride. Really a 28 mile ride shouldn't take 3.5 hours.

Sunday - 5 mile run. I'm getting close to the big day. Last year I would have laughed if anyone had told me I would ever be running 5 miles. Two years ago I "couldn't" run at all. Last year I completed a 10K by running two minutes and walking one over and over and over. This year will be different, I will be running the whole 6.2 miles.

Today I ran with one of my swimming friends, A. She will be giving TeamMermaid a try this year. She was a good friend and ran slowly with me the whole 5 miles. She hasn't run much lately so I was very impressed that she was willing to come out for 5 miles. Having her with me and talking while we ran made the time go by so much faster. And, I ran a little faster, too. My knees are feeling a little better. A good friend who happens to be a chiropractor thought it might be tight adductors. Sure enough, I started stretching, icing and rolling them and things are feeling much better. Still some little twinges but I think I will make it through the next two weeks if I keep up the treatment.

This week TeamMermaid starts up again. Tuesday nights will be full of fun running for the next few months. On Thursdays I will be alternating between swimming and core torture.

Totals:
Miles - 7.75 miles
Time - 1:51:29
Avg. Pace - 14.25

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Week 6, part blech

Maybe this is the two-weeks-before-a-race blues, but I've just not been interested in training. It could be my achy knees, the weather, or my short attention span.

On Tuesday I had a good swim. My coach just went to a clinic and came back with all kinds of new torture. Apparently, dolphin kick is the key to swimming. Our new regular set is 12 x 50 torpedo kick. What is torpedo kick? One 50 on face down, one on the right side, one face up, and one on the left side, times three. Well, it's good for my core, I guess.

I finally got a run in tonight. My knees have been achy but oddly enough they don't hurt much when I ran. They started to hurt a little ways into mile 2. I listened to my body and walked for a little when the pain was more than an ache and then was able to run again for a bit.

While I was running around the track I was thinking about how frustrated I was that my knees are hurting. Then I hit my "happy pace" and started to think about how far I have come. There I was running 4 laps around the track without stopping. Less than a year ago I was walking the curves and tentatively running the straights. Now I'm pretty happy for 2 miles. Not bad for someone who couldn't run two years ago. Tonight I gave myself permission to run whatever race I have in me on 2/13.

Now it's time to go play with my friends the foam roller and rolling pin.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Week 5 - Adjusting

Rain, rain, rain, rain, and more rain. We desperately need the rain but really was five days of pouring rain necessary? When I got up for swimming and opened the door to take the dog out, I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. I debated whether to swim or not but I figured I was already up. Just as I got to the pool there was a flash of lightening. I thought, "oh crap." And, sure enough, no swimming due to lightening. By Wednesday morning Jemma had cabin fever so we went for a walk in the morning. We didn't get very far before we were soaked through. Finally, on Thursday the storm gave us a little break for the Run Club and Team Mermaid info night at Lululemon. I got in about 2 pretty easy miles with minimal knee pain.

The parade of storms finally gave us a break on Saturday in time for the first real ride of the Cinderella Ride training. I had to work a little to keep up but its good for me right?

4.5 mile run on Sunday wasn't horrible. I turned off the pace alarm on my Garmin and switched to heart rate. I like that much better and maintained a more consistent pace.

Since my knees have been acting up I've had to adjust my plans for my 10K at the Mermaid Run San Diego. My original goal had been to work on my speed and be able to average a super speedy 13 minute mile. My new plan is stay in my preferred heart rate zone, about a 14 minute pace, and not ruin my knees.

Well, this weekly post thing isn't working out well. I may have to start doing this more often. ;-)

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Week 4 - Losing Confidence

It hasn't been a great week in running. I was so proud of myself after last week's four mile run. And, then this week happened.

Monday morning I headed out on a 3 mile run at 6am. Things were going well, my heart rate was a little low but that frequently happens early in the morning. My goal was to run 1.5 miles, walk for 1 minute, and then head for home. Things were going well until I reached 2.5 miles. My knees were complaining. Loudly. I toyed with powering through but then I remembered that I have 4 weeks until the 10K and it wasn't a good time to do any serious damage. So, I power walked that last half mile. I was disappointed.

I had a track workout on schedule for Tuesday but decided to give the knees some rest and lots of time with frozen peas. And, I decided it was time to use my gift certificate to Rose Garden Health for a little Active Release Therapy. Or, as I like to call it, torture. It's good for she always seems to find things that didn't hurt before my appointment.

I was supposed to swim on Tuesday but couldn't wake up, but I did make it to the pool on Thursday. Our coach was offering to do stroke evaluations so I took her up on her offer. I figured there must be something I need to change. I swam a 50 as naturally as I could knowing someone was watching. She said, "I have no suggestions. You have a very pretty stroke." Wow. Nothing? Cool!

Friday, it was time to try running again. My knees did okay for my 2 mile run. (Whose idea was it to this 10K anyway? Also, this is a really long post. Maybe weekly isn't often enough.)

Saturday. Usually this is my long run day, but this Saturday was the first day of Cinderella Ride Training. The Cinderella Ride is an all women 100K or 100M ride in the east bay that has been going on for about 18 years. I met Chris, Deepika, Jill, Naama, & Sara for the first day of training. There was a lot of talking, checking bikes, assigning groups, but we finally got rolling. Chris, Jill & Naama are hardcore and doing the Challenge series, so they will be riding longer and more hills. I lost Sara after the talking, but she said she had a good time. Deepika and I started out in the Intermediate group which was HUGE. When the group leaders asked for some people to give the Advanced group a try, we pulled on our big girl panties and headed over to the Advanced group. We did a short, flat 12 mile ride to see if people thought they had picked the right group. We fit right in and will be staying with this group.

Sunday, my new long run day. Today 4 miles. I'm kinda figured myself out. I don't like the 2nd quarter of my runs. Once I make the turn for home things start looking up. I really like the first and last miles the best. I got my heart rate a little high and I've discovered that I really don't like that and it makes me cranky. I got really pissed at the "speed up" beeping of my garmin, so I think I will change it to heart rate instead of pace. Speaking of the garmin, it was so not working in the last mile of the run. It seemed to think my pace was 16 minutes. Umm . . . I don't think so! My knees were hurting in the last half mile but I kept running. I was a good girl and walked for almost a half mile to cool down.

I may have to make some adjustments to my goals for the 10K but I will be doing something I never thought I would.

Weekly Totals:
Miles - 9.47
Time - 2:23:00
Avg. Pace - 15:05

Saturday, January 9, 2010

4 mile run #1

Yes, that is what I typed.

Four mile run!!

I ran four miles in 57:27. Under an hour! This is huge for me. I have never run that far before. Ever. And, it kinda felt good. I was able to stay in my preferred heartrate and and I was less aware of gavity. Things seem to jiggle a little less. I decided to use the LGCT so I wouldn't have to deal with cars and I'm familiar with the landmarks and the distances. And, I managed to remember both my ipod and the earphones this time.

Mile 1: I know this part of the trail pretty well and started out a little slow to warm up. I even managed to do something that resembles running up the steep hill.

Mile 2: Walked the first minute. That was the deal I made with myself, I could walk for one minute after each mile. Started running by the dog park and was amused at some of the not-well-behaved dogs heading for the park. Then I was annoyed by some kids on bikes annoying be by starting and stopping a few times and getting in my way. Just before I got to the curvy part, finally, it was time to turn around.

Mile 3: Walked the first minute. I kept telling myself that I was have way there and that it was down hill from there. And, it is kinda downhill since I was running along a creek and going with the flow of the water. There was an interesting sight of a woman, who I can only describe as a Real-Housewife-of-Silicon-Valley, riding a bike with her family wearing a black and shiny gold jacket, perfectly done hair, and big gold hoop earrings.

Mile 4: Only 1 mile left! I was almost done. I experimented with "chasing down" people. I saw a couple walking two dogs ahead of me and focused on passing them. I wasn't too hard since they were walking and I was running. Then I saw a guy walking a golden retriever and passed him. Woot! Ahead I noticed people looking at something in the creek. There was a big vulture, or as my dad calls them buzzard, sitting in a tree. They are big. Another few minutes and I was done! Yes!

I still need to work on keeping my head up. Chasing down people helped with that. I tried out my new "toe socks" to help with rubbing between two toes and they worked!


Weekly Totals
Miles - 11.74
Time - 2:48:43
Avg. Pace - 14:22

Friday, January 8, 2010

Week 3 - a little early

Week 3 was going well.

Monday - I had a nice 2.5 mile run in new shoes (yay!) with a friend on the Los Gatos Creek Trail. (I brought my ipod with me but forgot the headphones.) My goal was to run the whole way, but I had to stop to use the loo. At least there was one to use. If I remember correctly, our pace was pretty good. And, my feet and ankles felt much better with new shoes.

Tuesday - I was back in the pool, yay! Pull two 500s? No yay. But it was good to be back at "my" pool with my buddies. Later, a 40 minute tempo run was on my calendar. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do with a tempo run, but I'm running right? (I brought my headphones with me but forgot my ipod.) Another friend, Gina, joined me at the track and it made all the difference! I had done a 3 lap warm up and was ready for 20 minutes at a faster pace. She had a touch of a cold so was running a little slower than usual which was the perfect pace for me running faster.

Wednesday - Rest day . . . ahhh . . .

Thursday - sneeze, sniff, sneeze, cough. Down with a cold. For work I had to go to Alum Rock Park, possibly the oldest municipal park in California. I've never been there before because they don't allow dogs. It's bea-u-ti-ful! There is a nice trail along the creek that I think I will try for one of my longer runs.

Friday - Still sick but there is a 2 mile run on my calendar. After some personal debate and encouragement from friends I decided to do the run. I took it easy and ran most of the 2 miles. Who would have ever thought that I would run while sick?

Tomorrow I have a 4 mile run on the schedule. I'm thinking it will be a little running and a little walking. There is another 4 miles on tap for next week, so considering the cold, I think I will be okay.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Week 2 - 10K Training

Monday: I had a 2.5 mile run on my calendar and met up with a few friends on the Los Gatos Creek Trail where we would be doing the Resolution Run later in the week. It's a nice location along the creek that flows out of Lexington Reservoir. Right now it is nice, green and there in a good amount of water flowing. As I write, I can remember much about the run.

Tuesday Wednesday: Tuesday was my gammie's 95th birthday and I decided that running intervals after Chinese food was a bad idea. So, I finally dragged myself out of bed and made it to the track around 9am. I was very happy with my interval times. :-) There is hope for a somewhat decent pace.

Friday: Happy 2010! I celebrated the new decade with a 3.5 mile run/1.5 mile walk with some Mermaids. Apparently, I can't read a calendar and decided to switch my 3.5 mile run with my 2 mile run. (more about that later.) It kinda overcast and threatening to rain, perfect for running. We were busy talking and were very surprised when the gun went off.

Oh, I guess we are starting!

Not too far into the run I saw a big fluffy St. Bernard and thought, "hey, that looks like Cujo." (not the one from the movie.) And, sure enough it was Molly's husband with his dog, Cujo. We said a quick, hi, and Cujo left some slobber on my pants. :-) My plan was to run 1.75 miles which I thought would be near the bottom of a hill, then power walk up and down the hills, and run back in. When my watch got to 1.75 I hadn't reached the hill so I kept running until I got to 2 miles. By this time the leaders were running back.


Did I mention that this run goes up to the top of Lexington Dam?

At about mile 4 there was a little whining, "I'm tired!" but I kept running. And, running and running. I finally made it to the end and I was glad it was over! I forgot to tape one of my toes and was sure I had a blister. Other than that it was a great morning with great friends! We celebrated with breakfast in Los Gatos.


Deepika, Jill, Diane, me, Gina, and Atsuko

Saturday: Crappiest run, ever. Everything hurt, my legs wouldn't move, my heartrate didn't get very high, it was 2 miles of torture. Time to resume the knee exercises and stretching. :-) Oh, and get new shoes. And, maybe not run after my big run of the week.

I'm really looking forward to swimming and biking tomorrow. It will be my first time on the bike since October! I hope I remember how. And, all the stuff I need.

Totals:
Miles - 12.71
Time - 3:08:45
Avg Pace - 14.51 (remember that includes walking at the RR and the Crappy Run)