Coyote Hills Run

As I plug along and try to get back into the swing of running I returned to the Coyote Hills 5k (um really 3.5 miles) run. The night before I was in quite a bit of pain with my reoccurring shoulder issue and a newly developed sciatica issue. I am so lucky, or dumb  for not taking better care of myself.

My chiropractor worked on the sciatica issue and I taped up my shoulder and went to bed hoping for the best. I woke up and was not experiencing as much pain as the night before so I called that a win and made the drive to Fremont.

This was more about just getting it done then anything else. I wanted to log the miles and enjoy the day. This course is always challenging; not just because of the extra distance but also the elevation gains as well as changing surfaces. You run pavement, dirt and wood piers, so you have to pay attention to the ever changing surfaces.

Early on when the course is crowded

I knew it would be a warm day but it was cold in the morning so I wore arm sleeves knowing I could push them down if I got hot. they lasted all of 3 minutes before I was too hot, a that point they come in very handy for wiping sweat off your face. 

It's always fun playing leap frog with people. I passed this one woman who took offense and passed me later. Then I passed her again, I felt like I was running a steady pace, so perhaps she was not. We leap frogged a few times but once we hit the hills, I never saw her again. 

I took some sort of sports drink at the aid station since I wasn't hydrated particularly well. As we made our way to the backside of the park I really took a moment to just take it all in, it's so pretty and I genuinely felt very lucky to have the ability to run in such a beautiful spot. Then it was back to negotiating the hills and passing the 10k walkers. As I approached the final hill it was all mental toughness to get to the top, but once I did I knew the worst was over. 

Coming downhill after the last climb.

As we rounded the corner you could just feel the relief from everyone around that we were almost done. I picked up the pace and made my way to the arch. 

This kid racing me to the line

So happy to be done! 

After the race Mary Sue and I chatted with our friend Pia that we met at this race last year. She reminded me that the Bay Breeze race is coming up on Valentine's Day, so this will probably be my next event. I'm hoping I'll have my first shipment of goodies from SunRype in time! 

Race stats:

13/49 AG

144/458 OA 

Exciting things in January

So many exciting things have happened in January! I'm going to have write some more in depth posts this month about everything that is going on.

First off I am most excited about some new toys! Everyone knows I love gadgets, so it was not hard to convince me to purchase the new Garmin 920XT. It also helps when you have a friend who works at Garmin who is able to feed into your obsession with a helpful discount. I'll do a dedicated post to this amazing new watch, but so far what I love is that it connects to satellites faster, has an activity tracker and connects to my phone. I can't wait to try it in the pool with all of the new pool features.

Speaking of the pool, if you have ever swam with me you know that I love pool toys. Seriously, I think our swim coach thinks I have a problem... I probably do. At the end of last year I won an awesome bag of swim swag from Swimoutlet.com and included were Finis Agility Paddles. These are paddles that you can use for all four strokes and so far I'm loving them for breaststroke. Since I tend to have a lot of shoulder problems between swimming and all of the dog walking I do I ordered the Finis Alignment Kickboard. I haven't been to the pool yet to give it a try so I'll do a more detailed post about all of my new pool toys once I've thoroughly tested them all out.

This past weekend I knew it was important to jump back into racing. I've lost a lot of my cardio ability in the past few months and there is never any easy way to get back into it other than to just go. That being said I raced the Dam Run 5k at San Pablo Dam Reservoir this past weekend. I love this course but since I last raced it with Kylie in December I forgot how hard it is when you are actually running the entire distance. Is that hill really right here at the beginning??? I never looked at my watch for pacing I just ran it based on feel since I knew I wouldn't be setting any records and my goal was to just work on getting back into it. The best part was that this one woman tried to pass me a a couple of times on downhill sections but I always reeled her back in on the uphills and ultimately held her off to the finish line. I'm over two minutes off my best time but my run was still good enough for second place in my age group. Then I realized I still would have finished second even if I had run my best time, so phew, good thing I didn't kill myself!

The other great news is that SunRype has selected me to be an Ambassador for 2015. I am super excited to represent this brand as they make all natural fruit snacks. I'm really big on food that contains only natural sugars and their line of snacks are also gluten and nut free. It's safe to say that my kids are uber excited to sample all of the products and flavors. I expect to get my first samples of fruit strips and fruit source early next month, so let me know if you want to try them.

In addition, I am super excited to be coming back for another year as a TriSports.com Champion. I haven't signed all of the paperwork yet, so shhhhh. Don't worry, last year's codes are still good through the end of this month for discounts. If you need one, let me know.

Welcome to 2015

I'm easing back into the swing of things over here. I'm still trying to plan my events for 2015, I was disappointed to find out that Mermaid Series is not having their Alameda Triathlon this year. After having a huge PR on that course in 2014 I was really looking forward to racing it again this year. This leaves me the task of having to find other multi-sport events for 2015.

I also discovered that the Moraga Triathlon doesn't really allow me to race and complete in time to assist my kids with doing the kids tri. We are still discussing ideas; one is that Scott and I do it as a relay again. This time I would do the swim portion only and Scott would do the bike and run. I explained to him that meant he would actually have to train and learn how to run off the bike. Last year he pushed so hard on the bike there was no way he could have run, thankfully he didn't have to. In all honestly, he'll still have a faster run leg than me even off the bike. This set-up would allow me to assist the kids in getting set up for the kids portion of the race.

With an uncertain schedule ahead of me, I'm focusing on running and looking at events one month at at a time. Mary Sue and I have signed up for Brazen Racing's Coyote Hills. We've done this before, it's about 3.5 miles and hilly. It's a good way to get back into the swing of things and see where I'm at after two months of being sick with an upper respiratory infection, ear infection and strep throat. Yes, it was a trifecta of fun at my house.

I'm also considering the Dam Run next weekend. My original plan had been to do the 10k at this race, but seeing as how I wasn't able to run for two months I'm considering doing the 5k. Scott and I would both like to race it, and Sydney thinks she wants to as well. Kylie however does not, so we may consider having Kylie stay home with a babysitter so the three of us can run.

The only other sure thing for this year is the Catfish swim. That was a lot of fun last year, so I registered for that early to secure the best pricing.

If you have any favorite mult-sport events that are local let me know!