Some of my favorite people are people I've met through running. Whether it's me dragging people out, people dragging me out, meeting at races (ahem, RINI), through running groups, or the most unique so far...meeting through Strava's Flyby's.
Strava is a running/cycling app that I have been using for a couple of years now. They are always adding new things to it, and my favorite feature yet is the FlyBy. It's fun to watch, you appear as little bubble avatars and you can "play" the run and see it in action. If you're in a race you can see the point when other Strava runner's pass you, or when you pass them. You can check out my race flyby here.
Since I'm always on the Bay Trail, I ended up running by this girl one morning. She looks fast. You can tell by her CEP compression wear, her long stride and effortless smile she always has on. I don't remember the nitty gritty, but one of us saw each other in the fly by's and we became pretty much instant friends.
I don't know about you, but for me, it's really easy to get along with other running geeks. It's like finding someone that speaks your language in a foreign distant land. We dork out about previous races, running times, gear, and well...just about everything. It was Audrey that recommended the kick-ass acupuncture place to me, and it was her that recommended my newfound coach (more about that later).
Since we live in the same area, we've been trying to sync up our race schedules together too. Even though she's way faster, and actually wins races. Did I mention that she qualified for Boston at TWO races this year? AND she just casually ran a 50 miler with over 6k elevation like as if it was just a 10k?
So when I mentioned the annual San Mateo Rotary 5k/10k just a half mile away from our houses (1 mile for her), I didn't have to twist her arm to get her to sign up. I also managed to get one of my super fast coworkers to join!
And yes, all of that blabbering lead to why I ended up doing the San Mateo Rotary 5k/10k.
I have done this race a couple of times prior. It is only $25 for either the 5k or 10k, and has nearly 250 participants total. This year there were 150 5k runners and 91 10k runners. The race directors are really friendly, and the amount of love put into this race is palpable.
It's held at the Seal Point Park right by "hay hill" (which I guess is just a giant pile of garbage. literally.). It started at 9am so I had plenty of time to catch some extra zz's, before walking over. The bib pickup was quick and easy, and while it would have been nice to have some extra restrooms there, the handful of toilets at the park sufficed.
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| Thanks to Audrey Kung for taking this photo! |
The course wraps around hay hill, and then goes down a straight path toward coyote point, doing a u-turn and heading back towards seal point park. The 10k course is just the 5k course twice, which always is kind of a bummer. The great part about that though, is that any participants can get PLENTY of photos of the runners if they simply stand at Hay Hill.
Did I mention that Audrey and I were accidental twins?
Audrey was going for the 5k women's win, and I was just trying to survive. I stuck with my MAF zone (148 heart rate), which kept me at my usual ten minute mile.
Audrey was going for the 5k women's win, and I was just trying to survive. I stuck with my MAF zone (148 heart rate), which kept me at my usual ten minute mile.
I finished, and snagged my runner's gift bag and cotton long sleeved shirt (I'd love to design something for next year's if they're reading this). Audrey stepped up to the podium to grab her hard earned $100 gift certificate to A Runner's Mind. The gift bag is always my favorite thing, since it's just a grab bag of random samples of things. And I mean RANDOM. Each bag has different things in it too, which I find hilarious.
They did their raffle which always lasts a bit long and sadly and unsurprisingly, I didn't win. The prizes are plentiful, and Audrey won another gift certificate to a local restaurant. Lucky girl...
A major component to the joy of this race were the subs at the finish line from Jersey Mike's. They were sooo good! They also had banana's, recovery drinks, and probably other things but I was too engrossed with the sandwiches.
Will I do the race again? Definitely! I love how convenient it is, and it's a really quaint and fun race to do.
They did their raffle which always lasts a bit long and sadly and unsurprisingly, I didn't win. The prizes are plentiful, and Audrey won another gift certificate to a local restaurant. Lucky girl...
A major component to the joy of this race were the subs at the finish line from Jersey Mike's. They were sooo good! They also had banana's, recovery drinks, and probably other things but I was too engrossed with the sandwiches.
Will I do the race again? Definitely! I love how convenient it is, and it's a really quaint and fun race to do.
I won't blab on for much longer, but I wanted to give a quick update on the knee. Things are progressing every day, and I am feeling quite positive. I have hired a new remote coach, Mathew Nark, and he sends me weekly running workouts. Right now it's pretty tame because we both know that I am in recovery mode, and he wants me to be absolutely pain free before giving me harder workouts.
Having a coach was something I always wanted to do simply because I need some structure. I was looking for someone to hold me back when I need, and let me go crazy when it was a good time. I set up some new goal races for next year, so despite having to bail on The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 miler, and the Mt. Tam Inside Trail 50k, I have something to look forward to.
The race list so far? The Gobble Wobble on Thanksgiving, The Kaiser Half Marathon on Valentine's day, and the Modesto Marathon March 20th. I'm steering myself away from trails as much as I love them, just because I think my knees need a break.
Oh, but back to the knee. It's getting better. It's lost it's floppy double chin look.
This morning I bounced out of bed, to run in the rain. We don't get much rain here, if you aren't aware. I can't even remember the last time I ran in the rain, it has been so long. It's safe to say I was a little excited. I even made up my own song/chant to drive Jon crazy with. "RUNNING IN THE RAIN....DUn..DUnn Dun.." It was a very deep song.
My run this morning felt amazing. I didn't have any knee pain at all! They were a bit achy afterward, but I definitely am seeing progress and hope that by the end of the week I will be pretty much back to normal. Rest, Ice, strength, repeat!
Anywho, that's about it for me. I didn't realize I had so much to say! I'll post more details about the coaching, and also the future races next time.
Having a coach was something I always wanted to do simply because I need some structure. I was looking for someone to hold me back when I need, and let me go crazy when it was a good time. I set up some new goal races for next year, so despite having to bail on The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 miler, and the Mt. Tam Inside Trail 50k, I have something to look forward to.
The race list so far? The Gobble Wobble on Thanksgiving, The Kaiser Half Marathon on Valentine's day, and the Modesto Marathon March 20th. I'm steering myself away from trails as much as I love them, just because I think my knees need a break.
Oh, but back to the knee. It's getting better. It's lost it's floppy double chin look.
This morning I bounced out of bed, to run in the rain. We don't get much rain here, if you aren't aware. I can't even remember the last time I ran in the rain, it has been so long. It's safe to say I was a little excited. I even made up my own song/chant to drive Jon crazy with. "RUNNING IN THE RAIN....DUn..DUnn Dun.." It was a very deep song.
My run this morning felt amazing. I didn't have any knee pain at all! They were a bit achy afterward, but I definitely am seeing progress and hope that by the end of the week I will be pretty much back to normal. Rest, Ice, strength, repeat!
Anywho, that's about it for me. I didn't realize I had so much to say! I'll post more details about the coaching, and also the future races next time.
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