Emerald Across the Bay 12k

Runners coming down the hill for the finish.

So after weeks of rain, wind, colder than usual temperatures, even some hail and some snow we finally got some sun, finally. Saturday and Sunday was perfect weather, still a bit of chill in the air but clear skies and sun all around.

Anyway I made the right decision regarding my knee (discussed in detail last post), I woke up with a stiff knee and there was some soreness going up stairs and coming down hills. Since I couldn't run the race I decided to show up at the finish line and cheer some folks on. Left the house at 8AM with my cowbell and a fresh cup of coffee. What a friggin' glorious day! It was a 25 minute walk from my house, but what's walking when you have coffee in hand, good weather and an event to go to. I got there just when J.P. crossed the line. At this point only the fast folks / teams have come in. There were a lot of lean, mean, speedy looking people at that finish line. While chatting with J.P. I ran into other friends, Chikara and Tim. Chikara is a 23 year old cross country runner who also does ultra's. He's running his first 100-miler at Western this year. I know he's at least won a 50k and took 2nd in last year's American River 50-Miler. Tim's a friend from church, early 40's I think, cross country runner and still clocks 16.5 minutes for his 5k's.

Hung around for a bit, took some pictures. When I got bored with that I meandered down Aquatic Park where I ran into some folks from my old YMCA Triahtlon team, they were getting ready for their morning swim. They were there to join Coach Pedro's organized Sunday swim group. Chatted for awhile and said hello to Coach Pedro. Pedro is an amazing swimmer and a really nice guy. He's helped me a lot on my bay swims and I look forward to joining his Thursday afternoon swims come April. Left with a promise to join his team soon.

Finished the morning with a decaf and a chocolate croissant. Watching people workout got me hungry for a sweet snack!