Good morning! I hope your week is off to a great start. I just want to write a quick post about our San Jose races this past weekend. I believe they were numbers 35 and 36 but honestly I need to get my running calendar out and check to be sure.
We flew into San Jose Friday and left on Sunday afternoon so it was a quick trip. I got in really early on Friday so I had to just hang out for a while before my room was ready but that was ok, the weather was nice (a little chilly in the morning actually) and the town was easy to walk around. I went over to the expo when it opened thinking it would be dead but apparently a lot of people had that same idea and I had to wait in line about 10 minutes to get my race bibs. That night we went to dinner with a friend we know in San Jose and I had something I have never had before, avocado tacos. They were pretty good but in hindsight I am not sure they were the best choice the night before a race.
Saturday morning was the 5k. The race started at 7:30 and our hotel was so close to the start that we could just use the bathroom in our room and jog straight to the start, then go. We didn't have to get there in time to wait in port-a-pottie lines!! We were able to leave our hotel 15 minutes before the start!! Isn't that awesome?!!
Anyway, we just ran at conversation pace for the 5k knowing that we had to run a half the next day. So we finished in 32:41 just chatting along the course. It was a nice, flat course and the weather was good. If I lived in town I would definitely recommend this 5k.
Right after the race we went back to the hotel and took showers then went to the expo to volunteer for Brooks. If you follow me on Instagram then you know we were working the photo booth at the expo and we took several of ourselves!! I volunteered for half a day and Kristie did the full day. I hung out at the pool and talked with a family that was from Santa Barbara. They told me they (the husband and wife) are doing the Disneyland marathon weekend in January. They are going to run the 5k, 10k, Half and Marathon all back to back days!!! I thought we were a bit nuts!! Anyway, it was cool to hear of them doing it together.
That night we had dinner in the hotel which was really yummy but I don't think a spinach salad was that good for giving me fuel (glycogen) for the half the next morning, but live and learn.
The next morning we left the hotel, jogged to the start and got in our corral. As you know we are using the races for some experimenting. I decided to try another run/walk ratio this time. I made myself stick to it, 2 minutes of running, 30 seconds of walking. Kristie ran in between all water stations and walked through each station. I skipped a couple of stations because I felt ok and it didn't go well with my run/walk ratio. Anyway, Kristie finished about 6.5 minutes ahead of me (but she almost always beats me). We both felt extremely good for having just run a half-very likely because of the walk stops. I could tell I didn't have my usual carbs on board but overall I felt pretty good. I only had a protein bar for breakfast and that is not my usual.
Anyway, we hung out the rest of the day in the lounge at the airport and that was awesome. I got to watch the Broncos game (we finally won, yoohoo!) and eat and drink for free. What could be better??
I felt good yesterday. I was still a little stiff but I was able to ride the bike and lift weights for arms and do a lot of work around the house yesterday. Today I did easy body weight leg exercises and core work. I think the walking really made it easy to recover and I actually had a faster time by about 5 minutes from my last half. I will keep experimenting with different ratios/tactics. Stay tuned...
Here are a few pictures from the races.
I don't look quite awake in the pictures and it seems like the camera is adding 20 lbs instead of 10!!! OMG, I never take good pics at races, I might as well be at the DMV getting my picture taken for my license.
Anyway, have a great week! We will keep experimenting with our races, fueling, recovery. We head to Savannah in about 3.5 weeks then 2 weeks later we head to Vegas.
Before I go, look at my cute pooper scooper that even came with white gloves!!! I just had to show someone!
