Avenue of the Giants 10K

Hmmm, what do you get when you take redwoods, camping, running and mix with good friends? A fantastic weekend at the Avenue of the Giants Marathon, 1/2 Marathon and 10k!
Caroline decided she was going to do the 10K and invited me and Debbie and James to join- so of course we couldn't say no! Me turn down a chance to go up to Eureka? Uh, I don't think so!
All three of us were a little weary about the run seeing as we haven't been doing much of any running since the marathon. But a 10K is a piece of cake after doing a marathon- and this course is relatively flat. So we knew we would be OK. If all else fails we could walk and just enjoy the views.
The ride up to Humboldt Redwoods was fun thinks to James (great driver!) and Debbie who brought along some great DVD's for our viewing pleasure. We got to go to the annual pasta dinner- a fundraiser for the local fire dept. Yummy!
Camping was super fun- and I was proud of myself for sleeping all alone in a tent for the first time. Debbie gave me some dryer sheets to keep the raccoons away, and I slept like a baby despite it being really really cold!
The race itself was really beautiful- it juts goes thru the forest and along the Eel river, so it really cant get any more scenic. It was quiet and peaceful.
So after the race, Debbie and I had to walk a few miles to the campground- what were we thinking???!!
I want to do the half marathon here next year- hopefully I can make that happen.

The Rice A Roni Half Marathon!

Ok, so the Rice A Roni Half Marathon does not really exist, but I did run 13.1 miles today with my team and that is the distance of a half marathon. To make it more exciting, our coaches went out of their way to make it like a real race complete with racing bibs and a starting clock.

The run was nice, we started at William Pond Park and ran to the Sunrise bridge in Folsom and back. We had mentors along the way offering "aid" stations with water, Gummy Bears and Pretzels. I ended up running with 2 women I had never run before, and we kept a slow, even pace.

By the end of the run my foot was a little tight so I had to walk a about a half mile straight. But I crossed the "finish line" running and got to proudly wear my bagel medal.

Then I got to join the rest of my teammates for a great pancake breakfast complete with tons of fruit and lots of orange juice. Our honored teammates and their familes joined us to make it a really special event.

I am looking forward to the Angel Island 25k in 2 weeks!