I hope everyone is having a great weekend! It’s been a pretty busy one for my so far!

My weekend basically kicked off on Friday, since I only had one class. I began the morning with a nice little walk around campus. We have a “lake” that is empty 80% of the year, but actually has some water in it now! It used to be filled but due to environmental reasons it no longer is.

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It was such a great way to start the morning! I should go on more walks around campus!

Breakfast was eggs+a muffin.

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After class, I had lunch with my sister and mom at the dining hall. It was Parent’s Weekend, so my mom drove down fro a tour and then the sampling of dining hall food!

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I had a salad with a little salmon, delicious dijon brussels sprouts, and a piece of apple and bleu cheese flatbread and a piece of BBQ chicken pizza.

The rest of my day was very low key-I didn’t want to exert myself before a race! Dinner was out of my fridge-pumpkin soup with spinach and mushrooms added, topped with manchego and nutritional yeast, with a side of avocado and banana bread (separate!).

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I also made a little mug cookie-oats, Smart Balance butter, sunflower seed butter, and maple syrup. Yum!

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Saturday morning, I woke up ready to run! Pre-race breakfast was a homemade granola bar-although it wasn’t exactly in bar form because I was out of properly shaped bowls. It’s complicated. It consisted of banana, chia seeds, oats, cranberries, and a little maple syrup.

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The forecast for the day was rain, and given the fact that it rained for both of my 5ks last winter, I wasn’t optimistic. However, it held off and ended up being perfect running weather! Check out the dramatic sky-these 2 pictures were taken at the same time, at the same place, but of 2 sides of the pond.

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We got there with plenty of time to spare.

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Then, it was go time! There was a very large group of young girls running their first 5k. I think that’s awesome! However, it made for quite the hectic start!

It took me a little while to lock into my pace, but I was pretty consistent after that until about 2 miles, when my pace slowed a tiny bit. The course was out 2 miles, and back 1. Mentally, I actually really liked this! Its easier to break up that way in my mind! I ended up picking it up for the last half mile. I didn’t feel really tired until the very end, so I guess I’ll take it! I finished with a slightly faster pace than last month’s 5k-about 5 seconds per mile.

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Not my fastest, but good enough to earn me a bronze medal in my age group! Gotta love these small races.

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The rest of the day was pretty crazy. We stopped at Whole Foods for some post-race fuel, and then I rushed to the vet to work. I ended up working late, and had to rush to dinner with the family for my sister’s birthday!

We went to an Ethiopian place, which was delicious! For those of you not familiar with Ethiopian cuisine, it’s quite unique! Typically, all the dishes for the table are served on one platter. They serve injera, a spongy flatbread that you eat with the saucy foods. There is no silverware-it can get quite messy!

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After dinner, we headed back to my sister’s apartment for pineapple upside down cake.

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It’s been a good weekend so far!

Have you ever had Ethiopian food?

7 comments on “Hellyer Park 5k Recap

  1. Matt

    Awesome job on the 5k!

    1. Rina

      Great job on the 5K! I’ve had Ethiopian food and loved it, but unfortunately both times with my exes!
      I had no idea that there was a Hellyer 5K in San Jose! Now I want to run one.

      1. astottler Post author

        Next year you should!

    2. astottler Post author

      Thank you!

  2. caileejoy

    Yay for AM walks! I love a good morning walk! πŸ™‚ Such a great way to start the day! …also breakfast looks delicious!

  3. Elsie @ Sharing Healthiness

    I love that weather for running too! Cool enough but not rainy. I have never had Ethiopian food but if you have to get messy with it I am sure it tastes so much better πŸ˜‰

    1. astottler Post author

      It’s more fun that way!

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