Sweated it out in Austin, next race Sequoia 30K

After taking 10 days off to see if my IT band would ease up, I'm back running, and it feels good, in a "I can't believe I got out of shape so quickly, but I love running" way. I procrastinated on Wednesday, fearing the worst. Did a gentle run on Dolores to Clipper and back. On Thursday I ran the Buena Vista Loop. Never pushed the pace, just wanted to get confidence back. Friday I flew to Austin and sat by the pool until it was almost too late, as I was meeting friends at 7 pm. Slammed out a quick 25 minutes around Town Lake down Lamar and back across Congress. The running trail was my old buddy, and the Austin heat couldn't beat me.

Then on Saturday I decided I'd run down to MoPac bridge and back, roughly 4.5 miles. The first 10 minutes was okay. Then I found myself wishing I'd stopped at the last water fountain. I went as slow as possible to conserve energy Then the wheels fell off, and I kinda staggered back into the hotel, 50 minutes of sunny heat later. I drank water from the hotel cooler, greatly concerning the desk lady who said it was 108 degrees and I looked like I was dying. I came down 10 minutes later after standing in a cold shower, and she said I looked less dead.

I got to be good friends with the cooler lady as I stopped by every time I entered or left the lobby to try to hydrate myself. I found out later that it had (only) been 105 when I was running. But it was a dry heat :) I only wish I'd jumped into Town Lake, it looked so cool and refreshing.

I'd planned to run Headlands 50K, but was waiting to enter till I felt more confident about my leg. The $95 race fee was also a turn off. Then Coach Ken wrote to say that Karen was running Sequoia this weekend AND Marshall Ulrich will be there! I think I'll run the 30K as a confidence builder and time check. Uh-oh, what if Karen beats me! I'll be cougared!

Seeing friends is always great. They think I'm crazy for ENTERING a 100 Mile race, and it's nice to feel comfy being me. I loved running in Austin--but it's only after moving to SF I've moved up into ultras. The cool weather? Or Greg as a running buddy?

Goals for 2011:
Finish JFK in 11 hours (10 would be nice)
um…I guess that's it. I'll run some opportunistic races. I'm pondering 100 possibilities.

Plans for week:
4-5 miles Monday
Tues- run to beach (?)
Wed run with Endurables
Thurs 4-5 miles