Well, once again, I find I'm woefully behind in my posting on running and racing .. this year, Winter's running has been an electic mix of 5ks, 10k's, half marathons, one duathlon, some missed trail runs due to a slight ankle sprain and a few, oops -- overslept and missed that one. Here's hoping that the spring/summer season is a bit more consistent and planned ...
January started with a single trail run, Crystal Springs 11 miler by Coastal Trails as I was just coming off an amazing 2011 of short distance trail running with Coastal and wanted to try double-digits. It was a beautiful, sunny, cold California morning and the 11 miler with it's 1900 feet of climbing did not disappoint. I wanted 10 minute pace and came in in 9:30 pace so I was quite happy.. 
we won't talk about the fact that I couldn't go down stairs the next day.. that said.. I highly recommend this race and this venue as an early season trail run... great shaded terrain that doesn't get too muddy.
we won't talk about the fact that I couldn't go down stairs the next day.. that said.. I highly recommend this race and this venue as an early season trail run... great shaded terrain that doesn't get too muddy. Next, I jetted off to Cancun for a fun week with my hubby and no running... just snorkling and 12 oz curls.. a great rest and time to reflect on the Mayan way but worth about six pounds and the need to get back to training!
After Cancun, I settled into a routine of training with the Team (working my way towards the 
Oakland Half Marathon on 3/25) and participating in a couple of fun and favorite races It started with February 5ths favorite "two-fer" of the Santa Cruz Super Bowl Sunday 3k and 10k.. This is a great way to train for a half marathon by running a 3k run at 8 am and then a 10k at 8:30.. running a 10k after an anaerobic 3k is excellent training for those fatigue inducing final miles in a half marathon. Santa Cruz track club puts on a really fun race and once again, Santa Cruz did not disappoint, with spectacular, cool sunny weather and huge surf to entertain the runners on West Cliff drive. Ran into some of my regular running club friends and we had a very fun day... taking a 2nd in the 3k and 3rd in the 10k in my age group was a nice surprise as well. Here's the West Valley Joggers and Striders crew with a nice load of hardware...
Oakland Half Marathon on 3/25) and participating in a couple of fun and favorite races It started with February 5ths favorite "two-fer" of the Santa Cruz Super Bowl Sunday 3k and 10k.. This is a great way to train for a half marathon by running a 3k run at 8 am and then a 10k at 8:30.. running a 10k after an anaerobic 3k is excellent training for those fatigue inducing final miles in a half marathon. Santa Cruz track club puts on a really fun race and once again, Santa Cruz did not disappoint, with spectacular, cool sunny weather and huge surf to entertain the runners on West Cliff drive. Ran into some of my regular running club friends and we had a very fun day... taking a 2nd in the 3k and 3rd in the 10k in my age group was a nice surprise as well. Here's the West Valley Joggers and Striders crew with a nice load of hardware...Following weekend -- February 11th and 12th was a basket of running goodness. I had two races literally less than 1.5 miles from my house.. How cool is that? I ran the always fun Campbell Valentine run 5k on Saturday... this home-town race has become a big event in Campbell with over 600 runners of all sizes, ages, and species (yes dogs are allowed) that enjoy a mellow jaunt down the Los Gatos Creek Trail. There is also a 10k run... The morning threatened a shower but it held off until just before the awards ceremony. I snuck in 3rd in my age group, and was happy to wait to get the free Classic Car Wash--always a good prize.
The next day, the Road Runner Sports store on Hamilton Ave in Campbell had a 10k run run for patrons and "go far run club" members... Nothing better than a good race for free with bagels coffee, water and a raffle.. they also give nice swag prizes for first-third place men and women (I was fifth) -yes the competition is healthy for nice swag but what a great way to spend a sunny morning. Once again this was on the Los Gatos creek trail.. always a good place to run, not too steep and no car traffic. Kudos to RRS for organizing such great local events and it's good business too -- yes I bought some new shoes afterwards-yay!
Part II will cover the rest of a relatively sunny February and a wet, wet March leading up to the big Winter Race--Oakland half...
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