Sand In My Shoes, Salt On My Face

Alarm went off at 5:35 AM today. It was as dark as can be. I wondered why I'm putting myself through this kind of self-sacrifice once again, on a weekly basis. We ate some banana, got our gear together, and drove down Solana Beach to start the 14 mile run through San Elijo Lagoon with West Coast Road Runners. My right quadricep was still slightly sore, I'm not sure from what... hula class on Thursday? My hip and glute soreness was definitely from that! Maybe hula dance classes on Thursday nights are a bad idea for Saturday long runs of over 10 miles? It was STILL dark when we arrived around 6:30 AM. I still wanted to sleep, LOL. But I forced myself out of the car and joined my group, Catalina, for the start of the run at 6:45 AM. It was still slightly dark when we set off. The first three miles went through the San Elijo Lagoon, and I think I might have cursed the whole way through it. There was wet dirt, downed tree branches, loose sand, narrow trails, elevations, and other stuff that kept me from going faster than a snails pace. I thought this pic was kinda cool b/c you can see the tiny runners in the front through the windy bushes: This one turned out cool too. I raised the camera above my head for a different perspective. I think it makes us look so small compared to the awesome nature. I met a new friend named Pam who can attest to my grumbling through the lagoon, LOL. She said she had seen that I took photos at every run. So I told her about my Project 365 of taking at least one photo every day for 365 days and documenting my life for a year. She thought it was kinda cool. She ran with me until the Solana Beach train station, where she turned around for her eight mile run. Here's Todd's group in the lagoon. I think Bigfoot was chasing them. This photo was kinda blurry, but I like it b/c it shows the motion of the runners: The lagoon/wetlands: From Solana Beach, we ran south to Del Mar. This was familiar territory as we ran this route last week. Here are some of Todd's teammates: Here we are at Coast Blvd & 15th Street: For this city street photo, I processed it to look a little more urban and gritty. Although, Del Mar is hardly urban, or gritty for that matter. The 7 mile turnaround wasn't too far from this point. Honestly, I didn't think I was going the whole 14 miles, but I felt good when I got to 5-6 miles, so I turned around at 7 miles and I was stuck going the whole way, LOL. After the turnaround, going back towards Coast Blvd and the ocean. I really liked the big trees flanking the street: Seagrove Park: By Jake's Del Mark. I think I wished I coulda stopped for breakfast just about then. Here's Kathy and Karen going north on the 101, just past Dog Beach in Del Mar: I ran with Karen the whole rest of the way back. We encouraged each other on, through the lagoon again. At somewhere between 11 and 12 miles, I lost energy and my legs started tightening up, as well as my right glute and my hips. Also, my big toe on my right foot really started to rub against the bottom of my shoe and it hurt. I found out after the run that I developed a little blister there. No wonder the last three miles seemed so long and so hard, LOL. Todd's running mates stretching after the run: I was so proud to have gone 14 miles. This is the first time in nine years that I've run this far, and since I'm NINE years older than last time, I'm proud, LOL! I debated whether to show my Garmin stats again. Earlier this week I had an incident of self-doubt. I found out that someone saw my blog and thought I was slow. It blew my confidence for a little while. BUT I decided that it's okay, I'm not here to show how fast I am, or what a great runner I am. This blog is for ME, to remember my journey and the PROCESS of training and having a goal. I just want to enjoy the process. My goal in running was never to be fast. I mean, in the first WCRR meeting, Coach Dan already told me that I'm not going to win a marathon, LOL! My goal is to finish without getting hurt, and to learn about what my body and my mind can accomplish. So with that in mind, I don't care if people see my Garmin stats and think I'm slow. I finished. Here's Todd's stats: Turns out he cheated and only ran about 13.5 miles! (He started his watch late.) I win! I win! After the run, Todd and I went to Beach City Cafe in Cardiff and ate our usual favorite things there. What could be better than some spicy Mexican carrots and tacos after a good run? I got a florentine omelette and potatoes: Tonight I have my girls night out with some friends from work. We're going to dinner downtown. Some of the girls are going dancing afterwards. I will take my slightly stiff legs and blistered big toe home and get some rest! Girls night out photos and stories coming tomorrow.