So the race was good. Our first 50k race and it pretty much turned out like I thought it would, the only thing missing was the speed but that's ok. Weather was amazing and by the time I finished, which was around noon, it was still in the mid-60s. Felt warm especially since the 50k course is exposed but not hot. It was good, good day.
The start was early. Up by 3:45, out the door by 5 and race start at 6. The event was a 50-mile, 50k, 35k and half-marathon, with the 50 milers and 50k'ers starting first. I brought my old headlamp with tapped batteries so for the first several dark miles I was overly cautious, especially on the downhills but it kept me from going too hard too early. Man, I felt in control the entire time and it felt like time moved too quickly. Ten miles, twenty miles, went by without a hitch or problem. I really didn't start getting exhausted until mile 26 or so, on the last climb of the course. By then we were mostly done and the last 5k was downhill. The only thing I wished I had was more speed but I finished around the time I thought I would - 5:42. The people along the way were excellent, fellow runners in a great mood and encouraging, volunteers and race staff were on the ball and spectators were doing a great job cheering us on. Masha and other runners in her group did encounter a female hiker who refused to step aside on the trail but other than that experience I didn't hear of anything else that was negative. And before we left we got to catch up with Bob Shebest who won the 50-mile with a time of 7:09, pretty amazing. Before heading home we stopped off at San Francisco Running Company to say hello and for a delicious somewhat healthy meal at Cafe del Soul with more friends. It was a great day.
Sunday we woke up rested and feeling like a million bucks maybe even a billion. It was also our wedding anniversary! So after a leisurely morning catching up on events on social media we celebrated by going on another run. We had planned on a double since we are training for Lake Sonoma but was dreading the usual route so we decided to head back out to Marin. Hit SFRC and Cafe del Soul again but this time we went through Sausalito. Unlike the day before, we ran together this time and took our time enjoying the sights and weather. It was good fun but I had trouble keeping up with Masha. It was hard the first couple of miles but we warmed up nicely and the going got easier. We managed 13 miles and by the time we stopped I was ready to be done.
Monday I was bleary eyed, sufficiently tired and wishing it was still Sunday but without all the running. Felt like a million/billion dollars, just like Sunday morning. Damn awesome weekend.
Tomorrow we head out to Lake Sonoma for a training run organized by the RD's. The drive there and back will take longer than the actual run but it will be good for Masha to run the course. More trail fun coming up.
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