running of the bulls 5k

It's always fun to go out and run in the low-key local races, but add in some Olympic athletes wearing bull and cow costumes who are chasing you down, and you've got a really interesting race. Sunday morning I ran in the Running of the Bulls 5k in Palo Alto. After coming close to a PR at the Olivia's Miles 5k, I decided to buckle down in my training and try to shoot for a PR at this race.

Unfortunately, my PR was not meant to be. I was derailed by a horrendous case of PMS, which resulted in me eating a pint of Haagen-Dazs coffee ice cream, tortilla chips, and potato chips on Friday. Saturday turned into a nutritional disaster as well, with me eating 2 muffins and half of a fudge brownie cake from Crepe & Brioche. My carb and salt loaded nightmare resulted in my retaining ungodly amounts of water. When Felix asked earlier in the week if I would be wearing a cow costume, my response was "Isn't it enough that I feel like a cow?" And by Sunday morning, I was feeling like a cow-sized water balloon.

I was passed by 2 cows and a bull, and the bull was pushing a baby stroller! Still, I managed to run a 25:20 (8:10 pace), which was good for 9th in the F30-39 division. And it was faster than what I ran at Olivia's Miles. So, I'm inching closer to the PR. Oh, and they had cowbell medals for all the finishers. One more medal for this medal slut to add to her collection!

Felix met me at the end of the race, after having flown back to the Bay Area after running the St. George Marathon Saturday morning. He was shooting for a Boston Marathon qualifying time, and he got it with plenty of time to spare. His marathon time was 3:03:24, which breaks down to a 7 minute mile pace overall. Amazing! That pace is completely theoretical as far as I'm concerned! Felix, thanks for giving up a morning of sleeping in to come cheer me on. I hope your legs are feeling much better today than they were Sunday.

So anyway, Felix and I walked over to the California Ave. farmers market, where we met up with Nina for a bite to eat and some shopping. My post-run breakfast was a crepe filled with smoked salmon and mushroom cream sauce. Delicious! We sat on a couple of benches and chit-chatted while we ate, and then followed it up with some shopping. It was definitely a good way to cap off my Sunday morning run.