I've been quiet. Not because I stopped running, but because chickens are very time consuming creatures. Whenever I have any free time I just want to spend it staring at them while they peck around. Just look how pretty their eggs are! I am becoming more and more serious of starting a farmlittlegoat blog. 

Truthfully, I think my addiction to running has turned into an addiction to chickens. 

I have been running a lot though. My weekly mileage has been creeping back into the upper 30's and 40's now. In my Strava graph you can visibly see me clawing back to my usual mileage. Most of it has been on the long stretch of the bay trail. I have that trail memorized like the back of my hand by now...

I'm still following the training plans of Nark Running Strategies. We've gotten to the point where I've been gifted some speed work. Some people get bored of running, but I'm pretty sure that all they need to do is incorporate some speed workouts into their schedule, and vary it up a bit. Some of the workouts I'm designated can get a bit complicated, but luckily I've figured out how to create workouts to put into my Garmin watch, and it just spits out instructions on the fly. No more complex math problems in my head (although any math problem turns complex while running). 

It turns out that my legs usually feel best after a speed workout. Adrenaline? Stretching the legs out? I'm not sure what it is, but I love it. As much slow running as I do, I really don't enjoy it that much and I'd much rather be going fast.

The first real speed test was this little 5k that I signed up for. I was convinced to do this race, since it's a tradition to do races whenever my friend comes up to the Bay Area. I call her the Purple Running Monster now, because she always wears these purple capris when she decides to stomp on the competition. She's fast. 

She also happened to be wearing purple from head to toe.

The elusive purple running monster

Anyone that knows me, knows that it's really atypical for me to sign up for one of the shorter distances in a race. Since I had been running on the flats, I didn't quite trust my knees yet so I wanted to play it safe. The 5k was the flattest that I found with a baby bump of an elevation profile of only about 200ft. 

We got to the race bright and early. It was held in the China Camp State Park in San Rafael. It had just rained the day before, so we had some puddles to hop. The weather was bitterly cold. Jon was begging me for my down jacket, so I let him use my rain jacket shield his arms from the bitter wind.

The half marathoners were the first to go, at a very punctual 8:30. Next, at 8:40 was the 10k race. And last was the 5k, at 8:50. I had done a mile warmup, and luckily managed to get back to the start just before they sent everyone off. (they were a couple of minutes early). 

The trail was great! I didn't feel totally comfortable with the grip of my Hoka Challengers. I'm sure they were totally adequate but I did not want to take a fall on a 5k. 

Since there were a whopping 28 count of runners in the 5k, I made sure to scoot toward the front and try to keep my eyes on the 1st place female. We headed off into the woods, mainly on well groomed trails but veering off into some slightly rockier trails and some with small puddles to hop over.

I never did catch her, but I was only 23 seconds behind in the end with the official time of 27:42. I walked away 2nd female overall (out of 13) and 1st in my age group (out of 3 lol). I got a snazzy pint glass to go with my race shirt that was noticeably well designed and I was happy I didn't forgo the shirt for an extra $5. The pint glasses are turning into my favorite running swag, although I was very jealous of the first place winners of the half that were handsomly rewarded with entire bulk packs of fancy beers and wines. Oh, and did I mention that the first place winner overall of the 5k was a TEN YEAR OLD??? Don't worry, he was not gifted alcohol.

After the race, I kept trotting along out to some other parts of the park for my two mile cool down. It was gorgeous. I was a little concerned when I saw a ranger looking guy walking away with one of those sticks that you pick up snakes with, but thankfully I didn't see any on the trails.

I came back, got my post race snacks, stood alone like the lone wolf I am, and waited for Jon and my other friends to come in. I was worried about them since the purple running monster had a pretty serious stomach flu that she was just overcoming, and Jon also had a stomach flu earlier in the week with some pretty rocky runs. I also got it during the week which made some really awful runs...not literally (for me), but Jon definitely got it way worse than me. They all survived the race, despite the 1600 feet of elevation they dealt with, and rolled in like champs. Jon continued for another 3 miles for his long training run.

That's all, folks! The race was a success, and it was ran really smoothly by Urban Coyote Racing. Everyone seemed happy, we were all well fed (including some hot chili!) and the prices were right. $35 for the 5k, $45 for the 10k and $55 for the half. I hope to do more of their races once my knees feel good about handling some elevation. :)

Here's a rainbow pic from one of my weekly runs to end the post.

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China Camp 5k - Urban Coyote Racing

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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.

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. 

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.

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.

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My knee healing progress and a quick race recap of the San Mateo Rotary Fun Run

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Writing this the same day as the Double Dispea while it's fresh in my mind!

I did it. I finished Brazen Racing's Double Dipsea, and I didn't fall. *high fives self* It was the first real race after the AR50 in April, so I have been anticipating it and dreading race day. The website boasts of it's 4,500' elevation gain in 14 miles, and the 671 stairs that it features, as well as the unique handicap times categorized with age/sex.

A screen grab of their website

The race itself sold out very quickly, since it's kind of the alternative to the notoriously hard to obtain but sought after entry to the Dipsea race (America's oldest trail race). When registration opened for the double, I jumped on the opportunity to sign up before my brain really knew what I was doing.

While I have been slowly getting back into hills and trails, I still think I was unprepared for this race. The most I've done in training for this race was 2500' elevation and 12 miles. I also foolishly signed up for the Summer Scamper 10k which is tomorrow, so I knew I couldn't just go all out.

I peeled myself out of bed at 5:15 after a restless night's sleep. The cold I had been trying to fight had taken over and gotten worse, and it made it really difficult to breathe. So I cracked myself out with some coffee to make up for it, and ate a slice of toast. I put my usual running clothes on, and filled up my 1 liter Spry vest with some Tailwind and ice. I chose to wear my old Nike Wildhorse shoes since I wanted to be more nimble and less likely to trip again.

We left the house at 6am, and got to Stinson Beach at 7:15am...about an hour and a half early. The drive itself was something I wasn't looking forward to. I don't get motion sickness very easily, but Jon does, and even though he was driving he was not feeling well. It is one curvy drive! You could tell from the pre-race chatter that everyone else was experiencing some nauseous too.

I hit the porta-potty about three times within the hour and a half just to make sure everything was all clear and I wouldn't need to make any emergency stops on the side. There's almost nothing more annoying than starting a race and needing to pee the whole time! There were about 10 porta-potties, but well over 600 people in the race, which meant long lines. I heard a lot of complaints about that.

We picked up our bibs there on race morning, which went quickly and smoothly. It was a big bonus to me that the bibs had our names on it. It is so nice to have people cheering you on by name!

With the registration we are given the option of no tee (I think it's $5.00 off registration), a tech tee, or a cotton tee. I got the cotton t-shirt since I realized I just don't wear tech race shirts, and I love it! The detailed backside with the elevation map, and the noted trail names on them was a plus.

Our friend Johan joined us, and we had the same starting time. Jon started thirteen minutes after us, at 9:00 because he's 30. The race starts based on handicap times, giving a head start to the elderly and children. You can check out the specific wave starts here.

My teeth were chattering as we started. It wasn't unbearably cold, but the cold combined with my nerves was making me physically tremble. I hadn't been this scared for a race in a while. The only time I've ever ran over 4000' in a single run was at AR50 and that was...well, 50 miles long! I knew this run was going to kick my butt.

The weather was perfect for us. A slight cool breeze, mostly foggy, yet there were some sunny and warm spots at the top of the hills.

The trail began with a steep three mile ascent on soft shaded singletrack. It had a very serene jungly vibe. Everyone was pretty pooped a mile into the race, but I was very conservative with my pace. I'm a timid runner, so I had a hard time passing people that were going too slow.

The following two miles of downhill is when I really started to dislike the race. People were bombing down the trail, and the people that started in the waves minutes after us were catching up and running all out. I was terrified of literally being ran over since I was being such a slow poke, so I often would come to a complete or near stop to let people pass me. This happened...a lot. I think I was passed by almost everyone at this point. I did notice one runner down, and I know that others took falls as well. It was pretty dangerous.

Once we hit the bottom, we went right back up for another mile. When we started the descent, we hit most of the 671 stairs. I was having a difficult time going down them because the ones at the end were very small and numerous and my brain started to get dizzy with the visual confusion and poor depth perception.

And this is why my descents are almost as slow as my ascents. :(

I was still pretty fresh at the turn around point, and headed back up the same stairs that I went down. It wasn't too bad but again - I kept getting stuck behind some very slow people, and at this time there were a lot of people coming down the stairs on the other side so it was hard to squeeze through. It didn't help that there was a giant group of hikers thrown into the mix meandering up the same set of stairs.

Going down the little hill again was a breeze, but going back up the big hill was rough. The side going back was much more steep. My only and slight advantage was the mild 5-10% grade ascents that most people still were walking up. I could muster up the energy to keep running on those, although I'm sure the run was probably a 12 minute mile. There was an aid station at the top...and I got to witness a runner upchucking her nutrition. Delightful. :| On my way back I also saw two runners on separate occasions on the ground holding their cramped up legs.

Coming back was a bit easier for me because there were less people that you had to watch out for, and nobody was constantly on your heels. Amazingly, despite all the constant passing on the single track, almost everyone was very civilized and supportive of each other. Trail runners are so friendly.

I was most impressed with the amount of wonderful volunteers the course had. It was such a smooth running operation!

After running through the finish line, we were handed these awesome giant medals that double as drink coasters. They also gifted us with a fancy patch! I would love if more races started giving out patches!

ignore the scarred up legs

The food they gave out was also plentiful, as every trail run that I've done is, but I stuck with just the watermelon. It is a carb lover's dream though, ranging from tiramisu slices, rice krispie treats, peanut butter filled pretzels, cookies, bagels, and more. Not really much of an option for the low carber.

this is just half the table! 

My boyfriend Jon finished strong, and I'm glad that I got a chance to take a quick video of his finish. Our friend Johan was way ahead, even though yesterday he had just finished a really difficult long run.

In the end, I'm thinking that this type of race just isn't for me. I'm too timid and anxious to have the faster runners behind me, but it was a really great experience and I'm very happy I did it. My Garmin tells me that we did 14 miles and 4,107 feet of elevation. I was 21st out of 40 in my age group, and 343rd overall place of 628 folks. I'm just glad I didn't wuss out completely. It was a close one.

Oh and my wildhorses were great! They're starting to get tiny holes where the fabric creases, but I am so impressed with how the tread is holding up. They practically look unworn, and have almost 300 miles! I think I'm going to invest in the Kiger or another of the older wildhorses since I think the newest version that is soon to come out has a thicker heel and higher drop.

A little wear on the uppers but the soles are still good!

Sorry for the novel, I just wanted to be thorough! I'll post another for tomorrow's Summer Scamper!

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Brazen's Double Dipsea Race Report

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Ah, the end to probably one of the most active weeks of my life! I will sleep well tonight.

This weekend was packed full of activity. Saturday, Rini took me out for some outdoor rock climbing in Cragmont Park in Berkeley. This park kind of popped up out of nowhere in the middle of a very residential area. There was one porta potty there, which was nice, and the park was full of climbers. We got there around 2:30, and after a half hour everyone cleared out and we had the place to ourselves!

I need to give another special thanks to Rini, because she taught me a lot, and was brave enough to have me belay her (first time outdoors). Honestly, it was terrifying. I'm not used to climbing on a wall without noticeable holds. It didn't help that I started out with a 510.b for my first climb. I was hoping for like...a 5.4 ladder. Did I mention that I have a slight fear of heights? What you can't see from the static photo is that my legs were visibly trembling. I was also pretty scared to hold someone's dear life in my own two hands, using a device that was new to me. :| Luckily, the simplicity of the device, combined with my sheer terror resulted in the safety of my friend. 

After a handful of climbs to get myself a bit more used to it, a couple of Rini's very experienced and buff rock climbing friends joined us, and we decided to try out some bouldering at Indian Rock which was four blocks away. 

If you don't know all the climbing terms, what we did with the rope was top roping. Bouldering is without a rope, and you have these portable pads that you bring to land on. I prefer bouldering in the gyms for speed, technique, and independence, but outdoor it scares the daylights out of me because the pads aren't as thick, and you have to land more precisely on them. If you land wrong, you can hurt yourself pretty quick.

The thing about Indian Rock was that the climbs were pretttttty long. I definitely start to get nervous after about 13-15 feet. Some of these climbs reached a point beyond no return, so I decided to stick with either the super easy stuff or playing around with traverses (just sideways climbing). Once I build up some confidence, I'll come back to give it another shot.

Prior to all this climbing madness, Jon and I drove to the nearby Wunderlich County Park for a "quick" trail run. I wasn't feeling the run, and almost chose to sleep in and not go at all. I seem to have a lot of inner conflict when it comes to choosing whether I want to wake up early to run or not.

Following Jon through the eucalyptus and redwood trees

I have to say that I think Wunderlich might be bumped up to my new favorite trail to run on. I still love Huddart's shaded and soft paths, but Wunderlich varied a bit more, and I feel like the ascent was more gradual but regular. 

After two miles in, I really started to get into the groove, and my original plan of doing 5 miles turned into a 9 mile run. 

The best part of it was getting to the 4.5 mile mark, and hitting the cloud line. I thought it was raining! The forest looked so eerie and mystical. Not to mention that's when I turned around and coasted the 4.5 downhill miles. 

Entering the eerie forest

This awesome burnt stump was probably over 5' across.

Jon and I ended our Saturday with some food at Mission Heirloom. It was a bad time for a paleo dinner, because all I had eaten before this were three eggs and a protein bar. PROTEIN PROTEIN PROTEIN. I wanted to gag. I also wanted carbs. BAD. We had an extremely active day and a burger salad wasn't going to cut it.

After crashing from all that activity, I woke up bright and early to head out to a Superhero 10k Fun Run for a Cure (benefiting blood cancer research). Rini and I had won spots in the race through our premium active.com membership. I will definitely be donating to the cause though, because it was well worth it and a very cute and fun race!

We jogged two miles to the start from my house, and then went all out for the 10k. I tried keeping up with Rini but apparently her cape gave her superhero powers and she was uncatchable. She moved even faster on the 2nd loop around!

My heart was PUMPING. I have a hard time pushing the pace now a days, so this was a real effort for me. My hr average was 173! It seems about right for race pace.

The funny thing is that Rini and I actually finished 1st and 2nd overall in the 10k race! Granted, I doubt many people even signed up for the 10k race. And it's the same day as the super duper popular Bay to Breakers race, that attracts tens of thousands of participants. I'll still take it though.

I loved seeing all the little kids dressed as super heroes. They had their own kids race around a small circle, it was so cute! Amazingly almost everyone that ran had dressed up! It was really fun, and I'll be back for more next year!

Alright, that's enough out of me. Time to hit the hay to start another crazy week! I'm going to try my best to focus on slowing down and giving my heart a break. :)

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Rock Climbing, Trail Running, and a Superhero Fun Run 10k

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