Monday, June 7, 2010

Nitro Trail Half Marathon - June 5, 2010

I agreed to do this run with Stacey about a month ago.  I have not run with her since May, 2009.  So long, in fact, that she was under the impression I was a fast runner.  Funny, eh?!  Of course, to her credit, May, 2009 was before two ankle sprains and my arthritis diagnosis. 

She wanted to pick me up since she gets car sick (good idea).  She pulled up right at 6:15 a.m. and out to the car I went with green smoothie in hand.  You know it's going to be a hot day when your (her) sunroof is open at 6:15 in the morning.  Luckily when we got to Pinole, which is right above Richmond, it was covered in fog.

Here we are pre-race:

 

This run was billed as a trail run and in all aspects, I *guess* you could say it was.  It wasn't the kind of trail runs I'm used to doing but with Stacey there, it really didn't matter!  We were there to have fun and that's exactly what we did.  This is mostly what the course looked like:


There was quite a bit of this:


And an over abundance of pavement.  Yes, pavement.  There are reasons I don't run on pavement.  One being my bone-to-bone arthritis in my right knee.  Flat running beats up my knee pretty bad too.  So, imagine what flat pavement does to it.  Not too pleasant.  Luckily, Stacey was nice enough to walk along with me when I needed to, to give my knee a break.  We enjoyed a lot of chatting, and of course we stopped along the way to take pictures.  Yes, we take our races very seriously!!

 

We crossed the finish line in 2:50.  Not *terrible* for a trail half-marathon but not great for one that has that much flat.  I am so happy I ran it with Stacey though.  She definitely made the time go by fast with making me laugh and being such good company.  I'm excited about our future plans together.  For right now though, they're "top secret".  ;)

Ron from Punk Rock Racing was kind enough to wait around for us to finish.  He finished in 2:08 - awesome job, Ron!  He sent me a shirt a couple of months ago but I had not met him until Saturday.  We actually met while I was in the potty line before the race started but I didn't get a picture until after the race.  He brought Stacey a shirt and hat that day so now I believe he has all the women in the bay area outfitted in clothing with his logo on it.  Not bad, Ron!  What a super nice guy he is.  So down to earth, easy going. 

 

This Point Pinole is not a place I will rush back to.  For any reason.  Well, unless Stacey wanted to run it again and wanted my company.  Then I would. 


"MED2010" Accountability:
06/05 - 13.1 mile run, 2 mile walk
06/06 - 3.65 mile walk
06/07 - 3.55 mile walk, Yoga class



Until later.............

19 comments:

René said...

As always, I love reading your blog!

Irene said...

What a nice friend Stacey is! You always run in the most beautiful areas.

Southbaygirl said...

I should have run this with you two!!! I should have-damnit!!! What was I thinking staying down here!! You got medals!!! Nice!!! See you very soon!!

Aka Alice said...

LUCKY! You got to run with Stacey...I'm jealous!

RBR said...

Man, I am UP ON YOU! What was up with me? It must be your undeniable hottness! :)

Thank you again for a great run! I can't to do it again at Angel Island.

RBR said...

that was supposed to be "can't wait to do it again"

Unknown said...

I'm envious of your run - minus the flat pavement part. My knee agrees, YUCK TO THAT!

Char said...

Apart from the knee issues it sounds like a nice morning - you, a friend, lots of talking, nice scenery and exercise.

TonyP said...

Sounds like a great time on a great trail (minus the pavement, of course).

AshleyR said...

That's disappointing about the pavement parts of the trail.

I always like to stop and take pictures when I know it's a race that I won't be placing in. Take my time and enjoy the surroundings and my friends.

PunkRockRunner said...

Could you have used a worse photo of me?

It was great to have finally met you and I always love seeing Stacey (one of the funniest people I know).

Great post.

Ron

PunkRockRunner said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

How sad it was paved :( That does not equal trail to most people! Glad you had a great time and looks like you had some awesome company as well!

Katie A. said...

Okay, first off, very jealous you got to run with RBR and meet Ron!
Second, a trail half marathon is the best and I'm dying to run one! There is one on saturday in Santa Cruz I'm thinking about..hmmm...
Glad you enjoyed the company! I want in on the secert plans!

Aron said...

sounds like such a fun day :) how could it not be with the combo of you and RBR??? sorry the trails sucked, but at least you had good company for them :) the next one will be WAY better!

Mel-2nd Chances said...

Yay! Congrats on the half! Pfffft, and they told you last year that you wouldn't run again. :P You're awesome, girl!!

Maryland Girl aka Michelle said...

Fun stuff with Stacey and Ron!

Victoria said...

You know, you can go places in Pt. Pinole that are not on pavement-- I ran there two weeks ago and didn't hit pavement for more than a minute, and got a decent 7 miles in. It's not very hilly though-- I'll give you that...

Glenn Jones said...

In my opinion it still beats running on the roads! Great race JoLynn.