Trail Run

This morning M and I headed up into the hills for a trail run.  I normally avoid hills when I run.  I'm normally just excited to be moving forward, why make it harder and throw a hill in the mix?  But I do get bored with just my normal routes around the neighborhood so I thought I'd give it a try.  We decided we'd run/hike.  Run the downhills, flats, and parts of the uphills and hike the rest.  It was a lot of fun.  It was fun stepping outside of my comfort zone and it gives me a new goal to work toward (running up all of Big Mama!).

I was exhausted when we got home and we just did 4 miles!

Eating healthier

M and I are really trying to make a point to eat healthier now that we are on summer break.  Too often when we are off work in the summer we end up eating out a lot (more free time = more being away from home = more eating out).  The past few days we've shared this for lunch:

Carrots, sweet peppers, cucumbers (from our garden) and pita bread to dip into hummus.  There's also avocado and sliced nectarines and white peaches.  It's delicious and filling.  I don't know why I don't bring this for lunch when I work!

See Jane Run 5K

Seven months ago I signed up for the See Jane Run Half Marathon which took place today.  But due to my back problems as a result of the car accident 3 days before the Oakland Half Marathon I knew I wouldn't be able to run 13.1 miles.  I debated about whether or not I'd run the 5K or not.  In fact I didn't downgrade my registration until yesterday.  I haven't run the past few weeks and I didn't look forward to running a race in which I might be struggling in.

Today was my first day of summer though and thought it would set the right tone for the summer by running a race.  I figured it was only a 5K, it couldn't be that bad, right?  It was a beautiful warm day.  The 5K started at 8:30 and the sun was already shining.  I knew it was going to be a hot one. 

I was nervous standing waiting for my wave to start.  I didn't see anyone I knew who was running the race.  I was on my own.  This is only the second race I've run (my first was a half marathon - that still cracks me up) and the pre-race jitters were starting to get to me. 

M and the boys were going to meet me at the finish line.  They were hanging out at the beach.
 
When the race started I felt better.  I was running.  It felt good to run again after having taken a break.  It felt good to be able to go out and run a 5K without having run much lately (something a year ago I wouldn't have been able to do).  I kept my pace slow and easy because I knew I hadn't run much lately.  The course was an out and back.  The out part was headed right into the sun and hot.  I'm not a fan of out and back courses, especially when I see people faster than me heading back already. 

After about two miles I was done.  I was hot (wish I had worn a tank top).  There were also a lot of people who would run for a bit, tire out and then just stop to walk.  It was annoying because they wouldn't look behind them to see if anyone was running behind them.  I was constantly bobbing and weaving to avoid running into people.  That was not fun at all and made me just want to finish the race.

As I approached the finish line I saw M and my boys cheering for me.  I loved seeing them and being able to give L a high-five.
 
I loved getting a hug from my boy after I finished.

At the finish there was champagne and chocolate.  My boys took the chocolate and quickly ate it.  I drank some of the champagne before it got knocked over.  But the boys enjoyed trying to drink from the empty glass. 
 
I ran into my friend Laura from Running 4 The Reason.  It's always great to see her and she rocked that race.

All in all, I'm glad I ran it although I'm not sure I'd run it again.  Maybe if they changed the course to a loop instead.