This weekend was a busy weekend as far as running goes. But, really, aren't they all lately? On Saturday, the team did not have an organized run planned, so a few of us decided to run together in the East Bay and we wanted to try somewhere new. We ended up at Briones Regional Park at the Big Bear Staging Area. Upon arriving at the park, I realized I had driven past it many times (or cycled past it when I was on the tri team several years ago). I had found a map of the park and mapped out an 8 mile run for us. It was a nice run - there were lots of cows and it was very open and scenic. We missed the first planned turn, so from there we improvised. The trail surface was a bit difficult (dried mud and pitted from cow traffic) so it took a while to get used to running on it, but we had a nice day and a nice run.Sunday was the Redwood Peak Xterra Run at Redwood Regional Park in Oakland. The race began at a different staging area than I had been to before. It was a small race and it was lots of fun but it was an extremely challenging run. At about mile 8 of the total 9.7 miles, we ascended this one hill and it just continued to go up and up. I almost never get totally winded and I had to physically stop and breathe deeply a few times to just keep going. My calves and quads were burning but I just kept telling myself that I was happy to be exerting myself and I could do it. The finish line was a happy happy place for me and I was so glad to be done. The most fun and surprising event of the whole day was that I FINALLY won an age group medal! yippee! Now granted, there were only three total people in my age group so I guess it pays to be old and fit! I have never won an age group medal before and probably never will again, but it was fun and it sealed the day on a happy note.
Next weekends run is a big one again. We are scheduled to run approx 22 miles in Palo Alto at Miwok. I continue to feel great and strong and ready to go and looking forward to it.
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