2.62m Santa Rosa, CA

This morning came early after staying up shooting the breeze with family until 1:30 a.m. I woke up at 7 a.m., looked at the running clothes I'd set out, then rolled over and went back to sleep. I figured if I missed my run today I could make up the miles when I got home, but the sleep not so much. Eight o'clock came and I couldn't bring myself to get up. By the time it was 9:00, I finally pulled my rear out of bed and guilted myself into running. I REALLY didn't want to run so I chose a short route and ran fast. I figured the faster and farther I ran away from the house the less likely I would quit and turn around. Mile one done in 9:46! (It helped that it was downhill.) Mile two was uphill and I powered through at an 11:27 pace. I finished with a fast walk for the remaining .62 miles. I wanted to push to the end, but decided to save some energy for the three hours of paintball I was scheduled to play. Nothing says "I love you" quite like shooting your relatives in a paintball game. Speaking of paintball, it was a blast! My sister and I knew we would suck so she decided we should match and I thought we needed to look obnoxious to embarrass the family. After a quick visit to Target, we showed up wearing rediculous pink dress shirts, black sweats, white socks, and Ked shoes.  Plenty of welts turning to bruises later, I called it quits and became a spectator. It was an experience we will all be talking about for a long time! Tomorrow I head home and hope to get a run in before I have to go sit on a plane.  It's been really fun seeing my family, but I sure miss my boys.

7.31m Around Santa Rosa, CA

I've been eating my way through my family reunion, so I decided I better go out for a run to burn off some of the calories. I had the choice of running around a lake or through the "Active Adult Community" so I chose to check out the neighborhood. My run started downhill and was a quick mile (for me) at 10:33 pace. Ahh, fresh legs, no time constraints, and a perfect 58 degrees with 90% humidity. The morning fog had not yet lifted and there was a slight drizzle against me as I ran. It felt incredible. What goes down must eventually go up...so mile two was not as pretty. I stayed at my consistent pace and worked my way up at 12:25 pace. I did stop for a few seconds to pet "Charlie," a cute little dog walking his owner. Mile three had a few false flats, but at 12:14 pace I was able to really enjoy my suroundings. I was working my way through neighborhoods consisting of houses with perfectly manicured lawns, and a golden lab, hummingbird, or flower flag hanging outside the front door. There were more golf carts on the road then cars. Mile four I picked up the pace to 11:39 after first checking the street sign name against the map I scribbled on the sticky note in my pocket. I was still on course and almost around the golf course. My last mile was the home stretch and another hill. I pushed myself past street names like Cliff Dr and Skyline View. I knew I wasn't imagining the hills. A 12:01 mile pace took me home. I was happy with my 5.01 mile run and 11:46 average pace. Later that afternoon, my sister and I escaped the family to go to the grocery store. On our way we decided to stop at Spring Lake and take a walk. We had a great time and it was a pretty route. We walked around the lake, taking the shorter distance option since we were just wearing our flip flops. We had a great conversation and 2.3 miles later we were back at the car. We had plenty to chat about (not like girls don't anyway) since it has been almost two years since we've seen each other! It's been a great day and I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

5.5m Hills & Pace Work w/Two Surprise Guests

I had three goals and met them all! #1 was to log five miles. Check.  #2 was to complete ten hill repeats. Check.  #3 was to finish each mile faster than the last. Check.  I'm not a speed racer, but I accomplished my goals. Here were my paces with mile 1 & 2 doing hill repeats:

1m: 13:53

2m: 13:21

3m: 12:46

4m: 12:22

5m: 11:11

1/2 mile cool down.

Somewhere in mile three I passed a house party where two guys came running out and started pacing me.  They were funny and tried to strike up a conversation with me.  One of them didn’t have any shoes on, so he gave up first and the other held in until the hill, then he headed back.  I’d be surprised if they were even old enough to be drinking.

1.77m Stroll w/Mom

As I write this first blog entry, I’m wondering who (if anyone) will be interested in reading what I have to say?  Seeing that I have no “followers,” I guess I can write anything and not worry about offending anyone…so here goes.

Tonight was the last of many nights I have walked in the evening with my mom while she and my dad have been visiting.  They are leaving at O’dark 30, so it will be a while before we walk together again.  Our walk consisted of the usual plodding pace and tangential conversations.  We could have walked in silence and it still would have been nice spending time together.

The only noteworthy thing we saw on our walk was a cow that looked awkward.  She stood in the field with her back arched and tail up, crooked to the side.  The bull behind her seemed very interested, so we didn’t want to watch their “date.”  What we did discover was that she was not interested in what he had in mind (no surprise, right girls?), but instead she was in labor.  The poor girl had something pointy (hoof, shoulder, knee?) not quite lined up to begin the exit.  As we stood there watching, the sun was setting and it was getting dark so we decided to go.  We are hoping all goes well tonight for her and the calf.  All I can say to the cow is “Hey Sister, I understand and feel for you.”  I’ll check on her tomorrow....