Saturday 16 - Not the Most Elegant Run I've Logged

The Hamster barely eeked out 16 with some new and familiar faces today. Before I get into the nitty gritty of the run, I want to thank Mike, Carlos, Cameron, and Strada for joining me on the trail. Mike's a stalwart of the Saturday runs, but Carlos, Cameron, and Strada are all new to the fray. I was introduced to Carlos through Abby, he's a marathon veteran whose resume includes the Paris and Chicago marathons. Nice. Cameron is Carlos' long-time running partner and Strada is Carlos' neighbor...got it? Anyhow, I was glad to get the opportunity to run with them and I hope they can make many more Saturday runs to come!

The Crew

We kicked off about 7:20 and headed to the 6.5 mile mark. Strada is recovering from a flu so she and Cameron held back just a little while Carlos and I set out at about 7:40 per mile pace (a little fast). Carlos and I spent most of the rest of the run getting acquainted. Carlos ran without a water bottle (which amazes me) and has a springy, efficient stride; juxtaposed with my lumbering, labored stride, we must have made an interesting sight. :-) We stopped at mile 7 to make sure the potties at Arden Ponds were in working order...they were, and then, after a brief conversation with Strada and Cameron, continued across the American River to the turn-around. On the way back we hooked up with Mike whose ego was suffering because he just got passed by a guy with a baby jogger. Hey, we're not as fast as we used to be and getting passed by a baby jogger is a pretty good blow to the ego. Mike jumped in and, after another potty stop (bad pre-run prep by Carlos and me), we dropped Mike off at mile 12.5 and finished out the run with a decent pace. Carlos was pretty patient with me today, I didn't have a whole lot in the gas tank and I probably kept him off the pace he wanted.

We waited for a few at the 6.5 mile mark for Cameron and Strada who both looked really good for running 16 miles, and headed back to our cars for fresh baked bread and iced Vitamin waters courtesy of Cameron. Thank you! All things considered, it was a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

Observations:

• It's HOT: It's unseasonably warm in Sacramento for this late in September, so I made sure to fill my hydration pack to overflowing...I needed every drop!
• Runners, runners everywhere: It's CIM time!!! I could not believe the volume of runners on the American River Parkway today. The full spectrum was represented: from sub 6 speedsters (more than a few) to jog-walkers (most). It's nice to see that many people in the sport and everyone seemed to be working hard to share the parkway.
• Wildlife: Carlos and I stumbled across a juvenile Coyote on the path today. He seemed completely unfazed by our presence.
• Rio Del Lago: good luck to all of the runners on the Rio Del Lago 100 going on today.