Miles this week: 54
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| Deer sighting at Alum Rock Park, San Jose |
I spent this past week with family in San Jose for Thanksgiving. The weather here was perfect for running: cool, crisp air with a beautiful sunrise in the morning. All week I ran along the dirt trails at Alum Rock Park, my favorite spot to run where you can hear the tricking of a gentle stream, wood peckers and mocking jays, and see lots of wildlife like deer and turkey. The best part of the run is coming back down the trail and letting my legs run free. This morning, on my 14 mile run, a man saw me running down the trail and called out "And it's a World Record!" Running during the fall season is a beautiful time of year with colorful leaves, cool weather, and hearing the crunch of leaves.
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| Turkey at Alum Rock Park |
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| Alum Rock Park |
On Thanksgiving Day, my parents and I went on a six mile hike at Alum Rock Park then spent the day with extended family. My sister and I wore matching super comfy maroon sweaters that we picked out the night before. I filled my plate with salad, vegetables, turkey, and cranberry sauce, then got seconds on salad and veggies, and later had small servings of pumpkin pie and banana bread. I find it easy to skip on the mashed potatoes, cornbread, and stuffing and have a small serving of dessert because staying healthy and reaching my dream of one day running at the Olympic Marathon Trials is set in my mind. After our meal, I went for a walk with my family and I found a $5 bill on the street. (I also found a pair of cute black diamond earbuds on the trail a couple days ago. I picked them up and ended up keeping them because I couldn't find the owner.) The next day, my parents and I went to the Warf at Santa Cruz for lunch. The sun was shining, the weather was warm, and the sea lions, sea gulls, and surfers soaked up the beautiful day. I baked persimmon bread filled with the aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg, and all spice and will be taking a loaf back with me to Loma Linda, yum!
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| My mom and I colored our Starbucks cups while watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving |
On December 3rd, I'll be the 1 hr 30 min pacer for the Riverside Lexus Laceup Half Marathon. "This scenic course will be sprinkled with a flurry of holiday cheer including carolers at the finish line, Santa Claus appearances and the 'Santa Mile'– a complete mile filled with holiday music, decorations and entertainment." Race starts at 7 am at the Fairmount Park, more info and registration here: https://laceuprunningseries.com/race-locations/riverside-2017/. I ran this race last year and it was fun and well organized!
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| My sister and I at the Downtown San Jose Light Walk |
So far this year, I've ran over 3,000 miles (and my current Hoka shoes need to be replaced; they are nearing 1,000 miles). I plan on continuing to run for fun, about 50-60 miles per week until the end of the school quarter in December. Then, I'll begin my training for the Los Angeles Marathon in March. I'm very excited to run this race again as an elite; it is my favorite race thus far. The course is scenic and fairly flat, race is well organized, race staff are friendly, hundreds of thousands of spectators and over 25,000 runners, and the last two miles are the best part: all downhill to the Santa Monica beach where you can feel the cool ocean breeze, hear sea gulls, and smell the fresh ocean! I look forward to this race and attempting an Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying time of 2 hr 45 min.
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