ciao samin

so about a month ago, i decided to start running again. and i set a goal for myself--to run bay to breakers in may.

i thought it would be a good idea to run a couple of shorter races before then (bay to breakers is 12k!) and searched for local runs. unfortunately, unlike san diego--a runner's mecca--where there are 5k races pretty much every weekend, here, there's nothing through the rainy season. so the first nearby race i could find was at the end of march, and i went ahead and signed up for it without giving it too much thought or even looking at the course map.

well, about a week ago i started to panic about this five-miler (around the time i realized that five miles on the elliptical trainer is not the same as 5 miles on thr road), and luckily, lasassy agreed to suffer through it with me. along the way, she convinced her bff and bf both to come do it with us, and it became a whole thing.

we made spaghetti and meatballs the night before and watched a terrible movie. in the morning, we tried to convince our gastrointestinal systems to work with us, and then we set off for sausalito.

we pretty much knew before we got there that we'd be the biggest amateurs there, but for me at least, it didn't set in until i spied all of the different gizmos and waterbottles the peeps all had. we were all freaked out about our 8k race, and there were people there who were EXCITED to run 50k. that's more than a marathon. WHAT were they thinking?

after a literally rocky (and uphilly) start, the run went along without a hitch. except maybe the part where lasassy's bff took a wrong turn and ended up on the 20k course instead of our wimpy 8k one. ha!

in the end, we snacked on gummi bears and goldfish and all was well.

until now, when i realize that i forgot to stretch my quads and my legs feel like concrete. i think i have to invest in some glucoSAMINe next time i go to the store. i'm an old lady now and i need to take care of my deteriorating body.