LOOOONG Weekend

Sometimes weekends seems so short, and sometimes they stretch on forever (which I'm not complaining about). This was a LOOOONG one :D

Friday night I went to Target to pick up the new Harry Potter book and some other things. I was slightly nervous that they might not have any books left, but there was a full wall of them :D Once I got home, after dinner and some tv, I finished up the last few pages of book #6 and started on #7. It was a little sad knowing that this would be the last time I'd start a new Harry Potter book :(

Saturday morning I headed off to Alameda for Rocky and Phil's Mentor Led Run. I had dressed for warm weather so I was a little nervous when I went through the tunnel and was engulfed in fog. Uh oh, maybe I should have dressed a little warmer :( When I got out of the car at the Alameda Ferry I was pleasantly surprised though... it was still very overcast, but not really cold at all. And the wind that is usually always whipping at the ferry terminal wasn't there either!

The 8 miles went very well. There is just something about this course that I really like. I think it's because we're not on the same boring trail all the way out and all the way back. The first two miles are along the bay with some pretty houses to our right. They we hit the wooden bridge and bike bridge that crosses the channel. On the other side of that bridge, we run for about .75 miles through a neighborhood before we come out along the beach for the next mile or so. It's also all pretty flat, except for the bridge :D I ran the first 4 miles with Phil but when I turned around, he continued on for another mile. Crazy boy... he and Rocky rode their bikes for 10 miles to mark the course, and then RAN those same miles right afterwards. A swim in the bay and it would have been a Triathlon!

The last two miles are always the toughest on this course... you keep thinking that the end must be around the next turn. And it's not. But that's where the Garmin helps out... it tells me exactly how much further it is until the end :D I finished feeling very good. My final time was 1:32 for 8.05 miles. That's about an 11.5 minute mile. I think the first half I was a little faster and then slowed down the last couple of miles. By the time I finished, the sun was starting to peak out but the wind was also picking up.

After we waited for the last runners to come in, a group of us headed out to the Coffee Mill in Oakland for breakfast. The parking was a pain in the rear but the food was well worth it! I had a scramble with avocado, bacon, spinach and swiss cheese, toast and potatos... yuummm :D

Finally I was heading back to WC... after my shower I had hoped to have time for a little nap but that didn't happen. I read for a little bit and then had to get ready to go back over to Oakland to meet up with Claudia and Rocky. Rocky's former boss is in a new band and they had invited us to their debut gig at a band member's house in Mountain View. I was really surprised once we got there how much they had done for this little gig. The host/hostess had rented tables and chairs, and there was a stage with complete sound and lighting set up in the back yard. Joe's band, Big Eye, did a really fantastic job! They did a lot covers of songs from the 90's-- Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, etc. All the music I used to listen to in High School! They played 3 full sets and by the time we said our goodbyes and headed home (after a Jack in the Box run) it was pretty late. By the time I got in bed it was even later and I was very happy that I could sleep in the next morning!

After sleeping in a little bit Sunday, and reading more Harry Potter, I went back to Oakland (that's trip #5 through the tunnel for anyone keeping count :D) to meet up with Claudia-- We were going down to the Art and Wine Festival in Alameda. The Festival was fun... the alcohol was too expensive so we really just shopped around at the booths and in some of the stores along the street. The crowd there was definitely very different from the one you get at the WC and even Lafayette Art and Wine Festivals. It was fun to watch all the people though, and look at all the cute doggies :D And I was a very happy camper after my yummy corndog (a festival must-have) and Funnel Cake. I came home tired and covered in Powdered Sugar dust! I spent the rest of the day napping, reading and catching up on some TV!

PS... I'm updating my Lake Chabot post with a couple of pictures so check them out!