Road Racing!

Last weekend, I struggled up out of my running funk and put in some miles just for the fun of it. I was feeling like the little slug to the right, whose portrait I took while trying a post-run stretch on a neighborhood stone wall after a slogging jog. Even now I think I still may have a slight cold, and also, my hip still aches, and my knee's a little wonky, and, and, and--blah, blah, blah. So, I said to myself Saturday morning, just run. And I did!

That day, I ran around Lake Merritt before meeting the LMJS Beginning Running class, where I'm acting as the volunteer encourager this spring. What fun it was, first to run the lake and then to meet with the fabulous Karen, teacher of all good running habits, and the group of just-starting-out and wanting-to-get-back-to-it runners. They showed up on this breezy day, all of them dressed in activewear and running shoes and committed to joining the dance of the old left-right. It was all a feel-good, smashing success.

Then Sunday, although I had waffled so much about whether to do the Zippy 5K that I'd never even registered, I took the example set by the beginning runners' courage and made the trip over to SF with the team. It rained on our carpool as we crossed the Bay Bridge, and it rained some more once we got to Golden Gate Park to warm up for the race. The rain had abated by the time the gun went off, so at least we didn't get much wetter than we already were. For some reason I can't fathom, I felt great the entire way. I remember this race from last year, when I felt that somehow the course must have been mis-measured--it seemed so much longer that 3.1 miles! But this year I was surprised to see the finish line as soon as I did. Everyone wearing the team's signature duck singlet did great. (Click on the image to get the glorious full effect.) And I ran 30 seconds faster than I did a year ago. I can't say I set the world on fire, but do feel as if I lit my own sweet match.

Leading up to the weekend, that is, during week 3 following my marathon melt-down, I had done several runs in an effort to prime my recovery pump. Probably the prettiest was the one that took me to the Lafayette-Moraga Trail with the LMJS training run. Along the way there I stopped mid-run to do some crunches and sissy push-ups. I slunk off the trail to this little hideaway while the rest of the runners thundered by, just yards away.

I also swam a couple of times in the dreamy pool at my wonderful, overpriced gym, which is near where I work. No wonder the minute I saw it I signed on the (expensive) dotted line. Once I retire, I'll be back at the Berkeley municipal pool and splashing around with the rest of the hoi polloi.

One day I went for a walk along the Bay Trail, where the kites were flying high at Berkeley's Cesar Chavez Park. I was grateful then and I'm grateful now for my mobility, even when I'm not as agile or as fast as I'd like to be!