Playing Catch Up

I'm in that situation where I haven't blogged in so long that I don't know where to begin. I get a blog post idea in my head from time to time, but then I don't act on it soon enough and the timing feels off. It's time to bite the bullet and write a post that catches me up (at least a little) so I can move forward from here again. Here we go!

My last post was on December 30, 2015. Around that time, I ran the Brazen 'Almost' New Year's Eve and New Year's Day half marathons, which can only be described as freaking cold. As in, colder than California-should-ever-be cold with temperatures in the mid-high 20s before the start. I had a great time hanging out with Go Far friends for the races and for coffee afterwards, and as always I love running Brazen events. We ran the same course at Lake Chabot both days, one day clockwise and the other day counterclockwise, and received a cool mega-medal for doing both. What a way to kick off 2016!

Mega-medal!

Two days after the second half marathon, I finally did a Mt. Tam Summit. I've been wanting to do this for so long! The day turned out to be rainy, but good company made up for the chilly rain. I'll have to go up another day when we can really enjoy the view though.

First Tam for both Christy and I! (Photo: Christy, Sophia, Kristin, Robin, and me.)

I traveled to Sydney, Australia, for work in mid-January and stayed the weekends around the scheduled work trip. I've made the mistake of only staying for the work week a couple of times in the past, and I figured such a long flight deserved a few days of enjoyment. Who knows if I'll ever make it back to that part of the world, right?

I'll try to do a longer post about the trip, but for now here are a few highlights.

 Catherine took me running in Royal National Park, which was gorgeous and rainforest-like.

 I drank [many] tiny coffees.

 I enjoyed pre-work runs along the harbour with views like this. This photo taken from Barangaroo Reserve.

I went to the oldest Brewery Hotel in Sydney.

Catherine took me on a long run with tons of sights, including Hermitage Track (shown here).

All in all, it was an amazing opportunity and I hope to go back to that part of the world someday with Kevin. Time will tell.

My next goal race is the Woodside Crossover 50K on April 9, so naturally I've been doing a lot of training too. I spent two beautiful long run days in Marin recently, enjoying the scenery, company, and post-run Cafe del Sol.

Passing Pirates Cove on a long run.

Biggest banana slug ever.

In mid-February, I traveled to LA to spectate for the Olympic Marathon Trials and for the LA Marathon. It was an epic weekend, complete with cowbelling, watching speedy elites, and even a Oiselle party. I'll definitely do a real post on this one!

The Start line for the Olympic Trials Marathon.

And last but not least, I ran the Run for Amma 30K this past weekend. This is a charity event held by Stevens Creek Striders, and I'd call it more 'run' than 'race' although they did keep times. I ran with two friends, Andrea and Rachel, and had a blast. Recap to come on this one.

With Andrea on a cool section of trail in Los Trancos.

That's it for now, and I owe you better recaps of Australia, LA, and Run for Amma. The next post will be sooner this time, I promise. Happy running!