Back to the Routine

It has POURED here this week, and to be honest, SoCal is just not set up for it. We've had tornado warnings, more rain in a week than we typically see in a year. Drains plug; Hillsides slide; Flash floods occur. Yesterday we saw hail--twice. Most of Mission Valley (one of the main parts of the city) is built on a riverbed...I know, smart. Most of the time? No big deal. Rain comes? It floods.

Mona's husband was a hero this week. (He's a lifeguard, and they do more than pull people from the oceans around here).

Gotta love SoCal. We get to experience all weather here. Unfortunately, it's been all in one week.

So, it was with some trepidation that I got up at the butt-crack of dawn, to get to my first SDTC workout of the season. I actually had some serious second thoughts about running this morning, especially when I went to bed last night and I could hear the wind howling and the rain pummeling the side of the house. But my goal was to run about 5 miles without pain, so when my alarm (AKA my bladder) went off at 5:45am, I winced and got out of bed, thinking, once again, WTF do I do this?

As usual, I picked up Betty and Mik at Betty's. I guess it was a good thing I was a couple of minutes late (got there about 6:35) because apparently Betty woke up at 6:29. I'm sure she appreciated the extra 6 minutes. Then we headed out to Hospitality Point.

As we were driving to the run, it started to rain again. Looking west, we could see blue skies. We just hoped they'd be over our heads.

In truth, it was a cool, but beautiful this morning. The rain and the wind has blown all of the muck out of the sky, so it was crystal clear and while we ran the skies were blue. The roads were a bit wet, so when we ran into the sun, it glared off of the asphalt, which made me happy that I remembered to wear my sunglasses. We joined the club as they had started their warmup lap and BBJ slapped my ass to say hello (he swears it was my hip, but it's all ass back there to me). We stretched and listened to Coach Paul give his usual admonitions to stay "two abreastas we ran down the streets. This, of course, always makes me giggle, but it's good advice. We run on some pretty busy roads and their are clearly drivers who are more focused on where they are trying to get to than the herd of 300+ runners coming their way. The reflection from the wet roads couldn't have helped this morning.

But hearing "TWO ABREAST" as I'm running down the street always makes me laugh.

This year's RnR crew...Santiago (who smiled for TWO pictures this morning), Elsie, Mik, Me, Betty, and BBJ

It was actually a relatively small group this morning as lots of club member sat this one out because they're running the Carlsbad 1/2 Marathon tomorrow.

The run felt GREAT! Occasionally, I'd feel a twinge in my foot, but no REAL pain. But I do have to take it easy this week. I can tell I'm not 100% yet. I'm trying to be smart this year. My goal is to remain uninjured. The fourth and fifth miles were the best.

Overall 4.92 miles/56:14/11:25 mi

Not bad!

After the run, we, of course (this is for you Diana) went to Elsie's and had pancakes, blueberries, and mimosas.

YUM! Yes, we are creatures of habit...

We took silly pictures of the flower that Elsie's boyfriend brought her when he picked her up from the airport last Sunday.

We think there's a subliminal message here..don't you? I've never seen a rose with that much stamen.

Elsie and Mik...with the empty bottle

So, yes, it appears that we are back to our normal routine. Run, Eat, Drink, Blog, Repeat.

Good luck to everyone who is running Carlsbad this weekend (Penny, Irene (I think), and everyone else who I'm forgetting. Have a great run. Can't wait to read your race reports!)