Zoom Castle Rock 5K Run + Breakfast at Sunrise Bistro

California, Restaurants, Running 35

So my 5K turned out to be a lot little bit different than expected.

The race was held at Castle Rock Park in Walnut Creek which is about a 45-minute drive from home so I picked up our bibs Friday night to save some time in the morning. After the alarm went off around 6:30am, I rolled out of bed and ate a  banana with some almond butter and then washed it down with coconut water.

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I usually buy O.N.E. coconut water (I love the mango and the pink guava flavor) but I thought I would change things up and try a new brand/flavor. I didn’t like this one at all but I drank it anyway to make sure I was well hydrated.

The 5K started at 8:10am and we made it there with about 10 minutes to spare. As we started walking towards the start of the race, we had to avoid stepping in horse manure that was scattered everywhere along the way.

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After noticing that the park was in a rural area surrounded by plenty of hills, it didn’t take long for either of us to realize that I had actually signed us up for a trail run.

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Looking back, I vaguely remember seeing that on the website but I had somehow managed to completely block it out of my mind the entire time I was training. As a matter of fact, my neighborhood is full of hills that I had been intentionally avoiding on my runs for the past five weeks. Woops.

Needless to say, it was more challenging than I had prepared for and my shoes are filthy but I’m still happy that I managed to stay within a 9-minute pace the whole time.

When I crossed the finish line, my Garmin read 29:23 and said that I had actually gone 3.3 miles.

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I’m not sure where I placed but they started announcing the first ones to finish and the fastest time for the women was a 12 year old! There were actually quite a few youngins flying by me during the race and I wanted to tell them to go get a job and then see how fast they run. Haha…only kidding. Honestly, it was great to see them outside being active.

Brandon’s training was completely thrown off due to a cold that lasted almost a week and a half so he finished a little bit after me. Regardless of place, we both finished and it felt great.

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After knocking out the run, we went to one of our favorite breakfast places in Walnut Creek called Sunrise Bistro.

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It was a beautiful morning so we sat outside on the patio and I treated myself to a mimosa. {happy dance}

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While it seemed like a great idea (I love mimosas), the headache that followed for the next 4-5 hours proved me wrong.

I also ordered the veggie scramble with breakfast potatoes and a whole grain yogurt pancake on the side.breakfast

You see that big juicy cherry right there? Man, was that good. Actually, all of it was really good and it hit the spot.

Once we were refueled, we stopped by the farmers market to pick up a few things.

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I was really impressed with the size of their farmers market and the large selection of certified organic produce they had.

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One more reason to love Walnut Creek!

Then it was home to shower and get to work in the kitchen; I really wanted to take a nap but I worked through it and cranked out a few recipes. We did relax with a movie later in the evening but it turned out to be a dud and not worth mentioning.

Overall, it was a fun and productive weekend. From now, I’ll start training for my 10K in October which I will have to make sure isn’t also a trail run. If so, I better start hitting the hills!

Have you ever done a trail run?

What’s your favorite way to treat yourself after a run or workout?

by Sarah on August 18, 2013  //  California, Restaurants, Running
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