First off, running was still a bust. I got in one run Saturday morning.
I ran 6.2 miles at a 9:06/mile pace with Shawn and Kathy, but I felt terrible. I couldn’t breathe with all the snot in my face, and my back was tight, I guess from all the coughing all week. It was so bad, my Garmin said I wasn’t just “unproductive,” I was undoing all of my previous training!
Damn.
That afternoon was fun though. Clark and I went with a few friends to the Pure Project 8th Anniversary party at their tasting room near Miramar. Pure Project is one of our favorite breweries around here; they have another tasting room in Carlsbad close enough that we can ride our bikes to it. It was a perfect afternoon, which was really nice after all the rain earlier in the week.
With RJ and Gina. Kris was there but I think she’d gone off for a refill when RJ took this.
We also walked over to AleSmith since it was close and RJ, Gina and Kris had never been there. We made one more brief stop at a birthday party in Leucadia for one of Clark’s work buddies who also had a birthday Sunday, and then we came home. We Ubered everywhere and Clark kept ordering nicer and nicer cars — the last one was a Cadillac Escalade. RJ joked we’d have winded up in a limo if we’d gone anywhere else ha.
Sunday, I was going to run, but I’d felt so awful the day before, I just took another rest day.
We went over to RJ and Gina’s house to celebrate Clark’s birthday and watch the Ravens game. Well that was painful! Then I was rooting for the Lions in the second game, my second choice to win the Super Bowl of the remaining teams, but they blew it too.
I still didn’t run today, but I think I’ll try again tomorrow morning.
It’s been a cruddy week! The sore throat turned into a full-blown cold and between last Saturday morning and today, I barely left the house. I took five days off running and worked from home the two days I’d normally go into the office. The only workout I got was from the severe coughing fits — I woke up Wednesday morning with a sore back from all the hacking.
I’ve been reading another book about the Donner Party, “The Indifferent Stars Above” by Daniel James Brown. (I’m halfway through and highly recommend it.) At one point, it was describing the extreme physical discomfort they were in trying to cross the Great Salt Lake Desert, and my whiny ass honestly thought “OK, but were their noses running?” from the comfort of my nice warm bed ha. I hate being sick!
Today, finally, I woke up and felt like I’d actually slept. I still have a slightly runny nose and a bit of a lingering cough, but I went with Clark on a run this afternoon. We did a total of three miles with an interval workout thrown in — 30 seconds, 45 seconds, 1 minute, 1:30, 1 minute, 45 seconds, 30 seconds on, with a minute of jogging in between. My paces weren’t impressive, between 6:18/mile and 7:37/mile, and my lungs were still a little burn-y, but it felt good to be outside again!
This weekend, I’m planning to get back into it. I’ll meet the running club tomorrow morning and then Sunday is supposed to be my last long run before the Algonquin 50K, now only a couple weeks away. I was hoping to get in a 20-miler before the race but we’ll see how that goes.
Other than that, Sunday is Clark’s 41st birthday, and we have a couple football games to watch. Go Ravens!
This is a pretty lame update. I was on the lazy side last week. Then I think I picked up some kind of bug for the first time since November 2022 and I’ve skipped a couple more runs.
Going back to last week, I ran Tuesday morning before work, 5 miles at a 9:09/mile average.
Wednesday morning, I ran before work again, 3.1 miles at a 9:14/mile average, and in the evening, I met the run club in Vista for another hilly 3.5 miles at a 9:32/mile average.
Thursday, I kept putting off my run all day, and then I didn’t do it.
Friday was when I got the first hint I was coming down with something. Around lunchtime, I suddenly felt kinda lightheaded and shaky. I thought I was just super hungry, so I scarfed down some soup and crackers. I felt better after that, but then a little while later, I had to run to the bathroom seemingly out of nowhere.
I noticed my throat felt kinda scratchy later that afternoon, but thought the soup had been too hot or something.
Later, I felt OK, so I went for a 5-mile run. The first half was OK.
Not long after I turned around though, I suddenly needed the bathroom again. I had to walk a bit of the way to the next port-o-potty. I finally made it back, finishing 5 miles at a 9:47/mile average. Then I had to go again as soon as I got home!
Saturday morning, I was a little nervous about running after all the GI issues the day before, but I felt OK when I woke up, and it hadn’t started raining yet, so I met the group.
Milad came back for the first time since his knee surgery late last year!
I started out with Kathy and Shawn. Kathy turned around sooner than we usually do, so Shawn and I ran the rest of the way on our own. We got in 6.3 miles at a 9:02/mile average.
That turned out to be my last run for at least a couple days. My scratchy throat started burning later in the day. By the time I went to bed, I had a full blown sore throat. It persisted all day yesterday and into today.
I would’ve been more upset about having to skip the long run I’d intended yesterday if it hadn’t been pouring rain. It rained hard all yesterday morning, cleared up in the afternoon and then started raining again sometime overnight. It was an absolute downpour when we woke up this morning.
About the only thing we did all weekend was watch football. The Ravens looked pretty stout in the second half of their game against Houston on Saturday! I hate to jinx anything but I am excited to see what they do with Kansas City this coming weekend.
Anyway, as of today, the sore throat is still all I’m dealing with. No fever, no congestion, not even any more GI issues. I’m also starting to cough up stuff, so hopefully that means it’s breaking up and I’ll be over it soon.
I went into yesterday’s Carlsbad Half Marathon expecting to finish around 1:55, but I had a great run and almost finally dipped under 1:50 — 1:50:02 ha. Maybe next time!
Bibs, finisher medals and both giveaway shirts — a long-sleeved T-shirt and a quarter-zip pullover.
Saturday morning, I met the run club early.
I did not wear the winter coat for the run.
Shawn and I ran our usual route, 6.2 miles at an 8:46/mile average.
We all got coffee along the way before meeting back up at the park post-run/walk.
Had to put the coat back on.
The rest of Saturday was pretty quiet. Clark and I went to the expo in the early afternoon to pick up our race packets. In the evening, we had to go to a bar to watch the second football game because we don’t have Peacock (or know anyone who has it and has shared their login info.) We both just had a couple non-alcoholic beers and split some pretzel bites there, came home to make dinner and went to bed at a reasonable time.
We didn’t have to get up super early Sunday morning because the race start/finish is at a mall only 1.5 miles from our house, there’s plenty of parking, so no traffic backups, and the half doesn’t start until 7:45. I got up early enough to drink some coffee and eat some cereal, and I was able to use the bathroom a couple times before we left.
My only “crisis” of the morning was deciding between short or long sleeves with shorts. The temperature was right on the edge for me. Ultimately I went with long sleeves because the sun wasn’t supposed to come out during the race.
We parked at the mall, hit the port-o-potty for one last pee and got in the corrals. I started in the second.
The first mile of the race runs away from the mall and turns onto Jefferson Street, which has a big uphill to where it crosses over the 5. I remember the first time I ran this race in 2020 — that hill felt huge! It definitely still feels like a hill, but I was a lot more comfortable on it this time around. The first mile ended just past the top of it — 8:23.
The second mile skirts along the village and is mostly flat. There’s a little downhill to the traffic circle between Carlsbad and Oceanside, a U-turn just past that and then an uphill back into Carlsbad. I finished that mile in 8:13.
The next mile runs down Coast Highway through the village, under the big Carlsbad sign. There was a lot of spectator support through that section. That split was 8:22.
At this point of the course, I was on a stretch of Coast Highway that I run about five days a week, so the next few miles were very familiar. Mile 4 was 8:17. I ate a gel at the end of it (I also drank a little water at nearly every aid station — there were a ton on this course.) We hit another slight uphill in mile 5, then flattened out again — 8:37. Mile 6 was mostly flat with a nice downhill — 8:24. It was also somewhere in here that I passed a guy recording a Facebook Live or something, telling his followers that his “feet are good, thighs are good, butt crack is good. Thanks for tuning in!” Thanks for the info haha.
Somewhere in that stretch.
Just before the turnaround, there was another long, steep hill, and then we made the turn to go home. Mile 7 was 8:42, slowest split of the race.
I picked it back up as we ran back along the coast. Miles 8 through 10 were 8:22, 8:33 and 8:35. I ate a second gel somewhere in the ninth mile.
Just a 5K to go! I still think at this point I was looking at my watch at every mile marker and thinking I was on track for 1:51 or 1:52.
We ran back through the village. Mile 11 beeped — 8:27.
Something finally clicked and I thought if I ran a little harder, I might be able to squeeze in under 1:50.
But in the 12th mile, we had to climb a little on Laguna Drive, before it flattened out on Jefferson. I kept digging and managed an 8:32.
A lot of the final mile is a big downhill, the same one we had to run up at the beginning. I tried to let gravity carry me to 1:50 without letting it send me to the pavement ha. Then we reached the bottom — two more quick turns on a flat road, back into the mall parking lot, and there was the finish line.
Coming to the finish.
I crossed the line and hit stop on my watch — 1:50:06. There was still a glimmer of hope though, because I’d waited a few seconds after crossing the finish mat to stop my Garmin. Maybe I’d also started it early or something?
I got my medal, water, chocolate milk and food bag, and then walked back to my car so I could look up the results on my phone.
1:50:02 — three seconds too slow! D’oh!
I wasn’t too annoyed with myself. I’d just run my fastest half marathon since this same race four years ago, as part of training for the Algonquin 50K in four weeks, so I wasn’t even on rested legs at all. And I didn’t have to use the bathroom once, which obviously saved at least a minute. A pretty good run!
Clark showed up soon after. He ran 2:17:54, 14 minutes faster than last year.
We put on dry clothes and went to the after party. There were no non-alcoholic options, which was kinda surprising, so Clark didn’t have any. I had one Ballast Point Speedboat.
Here is my finisher certificate from the race:
This was taken from almost the exact point where we turn around on our Saturday morning runs.
Carlsbad Half Marathon
Chip time: 1:50:02
26th/204 F 40-44
161st/1,735 women
627th/3,398 overall
We went home and watched both football playoff games. And speaking of Algonquin, our bib numbers were assigned over the weekend — I’m 88.
This morning, Clark left for a work trip to the L.A. area for the week. It’s close enough to drive, so he rented a car. The only thing they had left was a Tesla.
I had to get some pictures of him in his California Camry before he left ha.
Tuesday morning, I ran in the morning before work, 5 miles at an 8:47/mile pace. I took the first and last two easy and did a little progression run for the middle three — 8:35, 8:30, 8:23.
I am trying to get back into some cross training/strength training, but I don’t feel like going to the gym (the one in Vista that we joined four years ago, not the one we went to for showers for three months), so in the evening, I found a 20-minute video on YouTube of a full body workout using dumbbells, since we have the adjustable ones from Bowflex.
Wednesday morning, I ran before work again, 3.1 miles at a 9:15/mile average.
In the evening, Clark and I met the run club in Vista.
Kris on the far left looks like she’s either going to a rave in 2002 or to the airport to direct planes on the runway with those oversized glow sticks ha.
I ran with Shawn, 3.8 hilly miles at a 9:34/mile pace.
Thursday morning, I ran again. It was pretty windy! There were no beach volleyball players or surfers out.
Tumbleweed I saw by the train tracks.
Where I turned around.
It was slow going on the way back with the wind in my face. I managed a 9:15/mile average.
We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon in the village, because they shut off all the power on our end of the street to do something to the house they’re building across from ours.
Today, I took the day off running, but I might do some more strength training here at home before I meet my book club to discuss our December selection.
Our bathrooms are DONE. Today, they framed the mirrors and installed the light fixtures. The electrician also finished that outlet in our bedroom so we can finally move the dresser back where it goes.
Here’s the guest bath with the mirror and light fixtures over the vanity:
And the whole bathroom:
Here’s the master bath vanity with mirrors and light fixtures:
And the whole bathroom:
I’m pretty happy with how these turned out!
This weekend, I’m going to meet the run club as usual tomorrow morning, and then instead of a solo long run Sunday, I’m running the Carlsbad Half Marathon.
The first weekend of 2024 was quiet, but I got in some good training miles.
Late Friday afternoon, I ran 5 miles at a 9:04/mile pace.
Saturday morning, I met the run club. It got cold enough here to need something longer than shorts! I guess it is winter.
I ran again with Shawn, 6.4 miles at an 8:39/mile average. According to his Apple Watch anyway, since I left my Garmin at home.
Later that morning, Clark and I met our friend Roger, who was in town for the weekend, for lunch. Roger was pretty shocked to see Clark just drinking water. He’s decided he wants to cut back on alcohol for a while, and so far he’s sticking to it!
Later, we watched the Ravens lose to the Steelers. I know they weren’t at full strength since they decided not to risk some of the key starters before the playoffs, but it still sucks seeing the Steelers win, especially since Clark is a Pittsburgh fan ha.
Sunday morning, I went for my long run. I decided on running to the end of the Batiquitos Lagoon trail and back, which should’ve been between 15 and 16 miles.
It was a chilly morning even when the sun was up, with the wind, but I felt fine in shorts and a T-shirt once I got moving.
I got to the trail and saw some puddles from the rain overnight. I think we’re going to have a pretty wet course for Algonquin, the way the weather in Maryland has been going recently. This is about all the “puddle crossing” training I’ll be able to get in here though.
Not quite the same ha.
I made it to the other end of the trail, a bit shy of 8 miles.
View from one of the trail heads, overlooking the lagoon.
The way back was tougher. First, it was a lot more uphill coming from the lagoon back to the coast, and then when I made it to the coast, I had the wind in my face the whole way back. I got in a total of 15.5 miles at a 9:29/mile pace, with about 600 feet of climbing, mostly in those few miles after leaving the lagoon trail.
It was a successful long run, but I couldn’t imagine turning around when I got home and running that all over again, which is what I’ll be doing in about a month in the 50K, plus a little more. That’s how it always feels in training though, and I always manage to keep moving forward when I have to.
The plan right now is the Carlsbad Half Marathon next weekend, then 19- and 20-milers the two weekends after, a cutback week the first weekend of February, and then the 50K.
Yesterday evening, I went to a friend’s birthday party at Pizza Port in the village. Clark would’ve gone but Pizza Port is probably the one place he’d be most tempted to break his no-booze streak, so he stayed home.
Today, registration opened for the 2024 Rehoboth Half Marathon, scheduled for Dec. 7. There’s always a discount on the first day, so I took advantage of that. Later, I’m planning on a short easy run.
First, here is what I’ve done since I posted last Friday:
Saturday, I met the run club for the last run of the year.
Much better turnout than the last one I went to, two weeks earlier.
Karen is still coming back from her recent injury, so Kathy and her husband Gary joined her for a walk. I ran with Shawn.
It’d rained overnight but was dry when we started. I had no idea there was a chance of it raining again, so I hadn’t brought a hat. Naturally, that meant it started raining. Somewhere around the 2-mile mark, it’d turned into a full-on downpour. I don’t mind running in rain if it’s not getting in my eyes, but I was pretty annoyed with it since I didn’t have my hat.
We ran our usual out-and-back, minus the detour to Starbucks since we were drenched. We got in 6.4 miles at an 8:42/mile average. Sierra, RJ and Sonia got back from their walk at just about the same time, so we hung out on the porch of the historic house at Magee Park and Sierra got a “drowned rat” shot ha.
When I got home, I added up all my mileage from the entire year to see how far I had to go Sunday to hit 1,500 miles. I was at 1,499, so, not very far!
Sunday morning, my shoes were still wet from the run the day before. Geez. I got dressed to go out and was tempted to only do a mile ha. But I did a long run instead — 13.3 miles at a 9:03/mile average.
I ran to Grandview Beach in Leucadia before I turned around. There were still big waves out there all along the coast, attracting the braver surfers and a lot of observers.
Grandview Beach steps.
South Carlsbad State Beach.
Clark and I had a little New Year’s Eve get together at our house that night. We actually made it way past midnight this year. Between not getting a lot of sleep and drinking too much cheap sparkling wine the night before, I felt pretty terrible when I woke up Monday morning. Happy New Year!
Eventually we got ourselves together and went to Encinitas for lunch. Then we walked to Swami’s, a famous surf break.
Our last stop was Seaside Market in Cardiff. Clark got some nice steaks, black-eyed peas and collard greens, and then we came home, where he made a delicious traditional “good luck” New Year’s Day dinner.
Tuesday morning began with a mad rush to get the trash out to the curb for pickup ha. Then I ran 4 miles at an 8:59/mile average.
I saw a tow truck slowly approaching our house when I got back and gave it the evil eye, as I’m still salty about that $480 fee to get my car back a few weeks ago in Vista. Turned out this was a good tow truck though — it finally took away the Dumpster that’d been in our driveway, blocking my car, since we got home from Maryland a week earlier. So I got to drive my car to work.
I took a shower in the guest bathroom, since the master was still not draining, and went to the office for the day. I love Christmas and New Year’s, but I love my daily routine too (it helps a lot that I like my job for the most part), and it was nice to get back to it.
While I was at work, the plumbers finally showed up to fix the drainage issues in the master. They told Clark the main line going through the front yard to the city line is full of tree roots, and recommended eventually getting all our cast iron piping retrofitted with PVC piping, like they used in both bathrooms. So that’s cool.
Wednesday morning, I ran again before work, 3.1 miles at a 9:09/mile average. It was supposed to rain later that morning, but only sprinkled a little bit while I was running.
Then I finally got to shower in our master bath for the first time since Sept. 19!
That evening, I met the “run club” in Vista, but it was just Jennie and her son Trevor, who’s home from college for a couple more weeks. I walked 2 miles with Jennie.
Yesterday, I waited until late in the afternoon to go for a run. I did 3.2 miles at a 9:10/mile pace.
Favorite place to watch the sunset in Carlsbad.
Earlier in the day, the glass guys installed the shower door in the guest bath and the two mirrors in the master. They were supposed to install the single large mirror in the guest as well, but it was scratched when they went to load it, so we have to wait for a new one. Sigh. We are also waiting on the electricians to come back to install the light fixtures over both vanities, and then they’ll be able to hang the hand towel holders in the master (marked with green tape.) All of this is supposedly happening next week. As usual, I’ll believe it when I see it.
The mirrors also need to be framed.
Fully functional shower in the guest bathroom!
Last night, Clark put together his Christmas gift, a Lego set of the best-looking car ever built:
Someday he will get his real 1969 Chevy Camaro here, but until then, this will do.
And that finally brings me to today, five days into the New Year.
First, a recap of December.
Mileage:
Week 1 (Dec. 1-2): 13.2 miles
Week 2 (Dec. 3-9): 24.7
Week 3 (Dec. 10-16): 33.4
Week 4 (Dec. 17-23): 35.6
Week 5 (Dec. 24-31): 54
Total: 138.6 miles
December was my biggest mileage month of the year, beating July by a half-mile. I have a 50K coming up so that’s good! As far as racing went, I only ran one, the Rehoboth Half Marathon on Dec. 2, which went OK. I am still trying to get my half time back under 1:50.
And finally, a recap of 2023.
Mileage:
January: 130.3 miles
February: 111.1
March: 117.5
April: 128.7
May: 125.1
June: 128.3
July: 138.1
August: 124.7
September: 119.4
October: 128.1
November: 122.4
December: 138.6
Total: 1,512.3
I ran fewer than 1,400 miles the last two years, but I was more consistent this year and broke 1,500 again.
Since I started tracking my mileage in 2009, I’ve now run 21,684.1 miles, which is kinda nuts. I just Googled “miles around the Earth” and it’s 24,901 miles around the equator, so at this rate, in two to three years I’ll be able to say I’ve run all the way around the world.
Also, assuming the average pair of running shoes lasts about 500 miles, I’ve gone through about 43 pairs in the last 14 years.
2023 was a big year for us. Some highlights:
January
It rained and rained and rained here in January, which got pretty annoying. Also, my laptop crapped the bed after a software update, when it refused to load at startup, and had to be completely wiped and reprogrammed. (I have not turned it off once since then, and the one time I accidentally restarted it, I almost had a heart attack ha.) Clark and I ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon for the third time.
But the biggest thing that happened this month was Clark’s 40th birthday! We went to Austin with Bart and Janelle, where Clark and I ran a not-quite-a-5K on his actual birthday.
After the Rockin’ Rhythms 5K, which was really just three laps of a 1-mile loop. Close enough.
February
It continued to rain here, which continued to be annoying, and Clark and I met some of his work friends to go to the final NASCAR race at the original 2-mile Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. Still no official word on if they will ever build a new short track there, like they’re supposedly doing, but also no official word they’re not. So my fingers are still crossed.
I went back to Maryland to run the Algonquin 50K for the seventh time. It was the coldest day we’ve ever gotten for this race, but thankfully also the driest! I got to run the whole way with Susan, who is running it with me again this year. Maybe next year we’ll convince Kelly to rejoin us!
Finishing in 6:22:09.
March
More rain here, more grumbling!
Clark and I ran in the inaugural Moonlight Beach Half Marathon/10K/5K in Encinitas. I did the 10K and finished second in my age group, despite missing the turnaround and running extra, because it was a very small turnout. That won me a free entry into this year’s race. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t bother with it again.
Finishing the “extra value” course in 51:41.
April
I turned 40 on April 1! My brother came out here to celebrate that and run the Carlsbad 5000 the next day. We were also joined by my friends Brad and Nancy who live in the L.A. area.
My first finish line as a master runner! I ran 23:30.
May
I ran a couple local races in May — the Navy’s Bay Bridge 4-Miler in 33:00 and the Vista Strawberry Run in 24:24, which landed me fourth in my age group in both ha. But my favorite run of the month was a hilly, rocky 8.5-miler at Black Mountain Open Space Park. I wouldn’t say I LOVE hills yet, but I’m appreciating them more than I did when we first moved here.
June
I started June with the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Half Marathon, one of my favorite courses here, which I ran in 1:51:33. Then we went back to Maryland to celebrate Bart and Janelle’s wedding, a small ceremony they’d had at Cape Henlopen in April.
But again, my favorite run of the month was a trail. I went to Ramona and ran/hiked to Cedar Creek Falls. It was 6 miles round trip, all downhill there and all uphill back. I loved it!
I couldn’t pick my favorite single picture from that run, so here are two.
I got there early enough that I had the waterfall to myself.
July
July was pretty quiet in terms of racing, but I did put in a lot of miles getting ready for Hood to Coast the next month.
We didn’t do any traveling either, but we did go to our first San Diego Wave (women’s professional soccer) game, which was a lot of fun.
August
In August, I ran the Balboa Park 8-Miler for the second time. I didn’t have quite as strong a run as the year before, finishing about a minute slower in 1:10:30.
Later in the month, California had a “hurricane,” the first named tropical storm in the state in 84 years, which had petered out to barely a breezy, drizzly day by the time it got to us. But that didn’t stop all our family on the East Coast from checking in on us for days to make sure we hadn’t gotten washed away in all that rain, so we sent them this picture during the “storm”:
The day before the hurricane, I ran a cross country 5K, part of the Dirt Dog series, with Clark, Karen, Kathy and Shawn, finishing in 24:29.
Also, the publishing company I work for got sold, but that turned out to be a good thing.
The highlight of the month was Hood to Coast in Oregon, my second time running it, this time as part of the Baltimore Pacemakers, along with Karen (who ran with the Pacemakers when she lived in Baltimore) and Kathy. It was a completely different experience from 2014. We started at Mount Hood super early, at 2:55 a.m., and didn’t have to deal with any of the traffic jams. We were in Seaside and done before 10 a.m. Saturday.
I ran the fifth leg, which had a lot of elevation gain, especially on the final run, but I was pretty happy with how I did. Over the three runs in less than 24 hours, I ran 17.6 miles with 1,047 feet of elevation gain at an overall average pace of 8:52/mile. Our team’s final total finish time for 197 miles was 30:44:10.
The Baltimore Pacemakers by the ocean in Seaside, Ore., minus our fastest runner, Maeve, who’d badly twisted her ankle twice on her last run.
Clark and I drove up to Olympic National Park in Washington for a few days after. Unfortunately, some of the most scenic parts of the park were closed due to a cougar attack earlier in the summer and a small wildfire the day before we got there, but I still enjoyed what we did get to see.
Clark and me at Soleduck Falls, my favorite of all the waterfalls we saw there.
September
This was a crazy month!
Clark switched jobs, after the company he’d been working for got sold too, earlier in the year, and it did not turn out to be a good thing for him.
We went back to Maryland for my younger sister’s wedding.
Julie and my new brother-in-law, Chris, with the Dom Perignon that Clark brought. Our mom threw away the bottle later ha.
While we were there, we ran a 5K on a disgustingly hot evening (heat index in the mid 90s) in Delaware, but I did OK, finishing in 24:28 and winning the 40-49 age group for the first time.
When we came back, the bathroom remodel we’d been planning for months finally started, on our 14th wedding anniversary. We had two port-o-potties in our front yard and a membership at a gym just for the showers.
Where our master bathroom had been that morning.
October
In October, the bathroom remodel continued. We got used to the port-o-potties and showering at the gym every day. Mike came out to visit us for a weekend, and then we flew back to Maryland again, for a friend’s wedding.
November
The first week of November, I was at the SEMA Show for the second time, and then I got my wisdom teeth removed the Friday before Thanksgiving. Thankfully, the recovery turned out to be a lot less of a hassle than expected.
So I was good to run the O’side Turkey Trot combo on Thanksgiving morning for the third year. I ran the 5-miler in 37:56, and then Clark and I ran-walked the 5K together in 33:21.
On the pier post-race. Clark’s parents didn’t come out this year since we were nowhere near having a working bathroom, and unlike Mike, they didn’t want to use our port-o-potty or shower at the gym ha.
December
As always, December began with the Rehoboth Half Marathon! I started too fast, had to use the bathroom at the halfway point and then faded, but I finished in 1:51:14.
We flew back to Maryland for the sixth time of the year, and spent a week there for Christmas.
And that was 2023!
Looking ahead to 2024, our first goal is to get this bathroom remodel done ha. Hopefully soon!
I’ve got a few repeat races already lined up: the Carlsbad half next weekend, Algonquin in February, the Moonlight Beach 10K in March and the Carlsbad 5000 in April. I will most likely do the Rock ‘n’ Roll half, Bay Bridge 4-Miler, Vista Strawberry Run, Balboa Park 8-Miler, O’side Turkey Trot and Rehoboth Half Marathon again too, but I haven’t signed up for any of those yet.
The only new race I have on the schedule so far is the 21-miler at the Big Sur Marathon at the end of April. I wish I’d gotten accepted in the lottery for the whole marathon, like Clark did, but at least I get to run most of the course!
My only real running goal is to just keep up the consistency. Maybe this is the year I feel up to training for a fall marathon again? Sometimes I feel like I might have the itch, and then other times I think about running 20-milers and I’m good.
Outside of running, right now our only known event of the year is another friend’s wedding in Ohio in June. Other than that, we’ll just see what happens.
A Simple Running Log 