Nihonmachi 5K

First race of the year! And me with swine flu. Well, not really. I hope.

I finished in 29:04, which is better than last year, but still pretty slow. I'll be faster next time, I promise.



























It was Rina and Matt's first race! The first of many, right?



Come on, guys. I have a lot of fried chicken to run off.

Seriously.

It's official

Turkey Trot & Turkey Feast

Silicon Valley Turkey Trot!











My official results -
Place: 1632 out of 2413
Age Group: 232 out of 393
Chip Time: 1:06:16
Pace: 10:40/M












Not to compare, but -
First place, women's elite 5K - 00:16:00

Yikes...

Since I'm a newbie, I haven't figured out how to pace myself during a race yet. I think I start out too fast, dodging all of the slowpokes at the start (sub-9 minute mile!), then pooping out halfway (12 minute mile). The course was a lot narrower and more crowded than the SV Marathon, so there was quite a bit of dodging required.

And at mile 5, the 10K course merged with the 5K walking course, at the narrowest part of the Guadalupe Trail. 7,000+ people on a trail that's 6 feet wide? Really?

Oh, well. We had a great time, anyway!
















Time to look for another race! Wharf-to-Wharf? Bay to Breakers? Who wants to sign up with me?

Hello?




Afterwards, a huge Thanksgiving throw-down at Stew & Trish's.

The brown sugar cinnamon ice cream turned out pretty well. I think I'll make it for obon.




















Mika, doing her best turkey impression:

Silicon Valley Half Marathon race report

My first half marathon!















Course:
Downtown SJ to Los Gatos High School, via Willow Glen & the Los Gatos Creek Trail





Miles 0 - 7
Piece of cake. Most of it was on flat pavement, and I was doing about a 10:15 mile. Not so bad for a slowpoke like me.

Miles 8 - 12
One of the toes on my left foot starts to cramp, so I had to run/walk with my toes curled up. Not very comfortable. Also, the trail was HILLY. I enjoyed the first ten hills; the rest were not so much fun. And it was really strange to run by the Pruneyard & over Hwy 17, which both seem really FAR from San Jose.

Miles 12-13.1
I sucked it up and ran it, even though by this point I thought I had broken my toe (it's fine now, go figure). The last final bit was on grass, and I was so tired I couldn't lift my feet above the grass, and the bottoms of both feet started to cramp (if that's possible). I ran it, though.

Chip time:
2:36:09
Not great, but not terrible.
















Lessons learned: If you're going to run a half, you should actually RUN 13.1 miles sometime BEFORE the actual race. Ai yai yai.









Next: a 10K! Easier than a half!

Second Annual Triathlon

For the second year in a row, we tackle the Pleasanton Tri-for-Fun.

It's a sprint tri (400 yd/12 mi?/5K), and most of us were on relay teams, so don't be impressed. There were 70-year olds and little kids doing the whole thing.

Our goal: don't die.


The "before" photo:




The swimmers:




















Our team:




Me in the water, Gina on the bike, and Britt on the run.





Alex & Stew did the whole thing.

Most of us did one leg. Some did two.


The finish:







































The "after" photo:

Here we go again

July 21, 2007.

Since no one died doing this last year, we're doing it again.

Don't be too impressed. It's only a mini relay tri, and I'm just doing it for the t-shirt.