Whole30, weeks 2-3

Okay, nearing the end of the Whole30 here (last full day is TODAY!), and realized I haven't posted anything about it in a while. It doesn't feel like an unusual thing any more, more like "this is how we eat" -- hence, I stopped logging what I ate every day. That said, I really miss a couple of things and can't wait to reintroduce them, starting as soon as tomorrow. (I'm looking at you, beer and hash brown potatoes).

Wrap-up post to follow. Meanwhile, here's some data for anyone considering a Whole30.

Week 2: Some days of grumpy. It passed after a few days, but not sure whether that was finally getting enough sleep, stepping up the carbs, or just the tincture of time. PMS? I never have mood problems related to this, but I did have more noticeable cramps than usual, so perhaps that's a component. Still good food, even energy, little to no need to snack.

Week 3 (beginning): We're pretty much figured out what to eat. I don't really feel deprived, except I really would like a good beer. We got an immersion blender, so we had fun with making smoothies. They're pretty awesome. Don't worry, we don't actually do these every night.

Week 3/week 4: Stopped keeping track of every meal. It's all good, we're still doing it, but pretty much more of the same going on here.

The details:

Day 10 (the rest of it):
Pre-race snack: 1/2 Larabar, carrot
Post-race: Ginger kombucha, 1/2 Larabar
Dinner: Seward Cafe BBQ chicken, coleslaw, kale. Not convinced this was fully Whole30 compliant, but it was pretty close. Then some raw beet salad from the Seward Coop. Yum.

Day 11:
Breakfast: 2 egg omelet with 1/2 roasted red pepper, 1/2 tomato, Kalamata olives, spinach. Black coffee
Snack: 1/2 Epic Bar (those are weird), sunflower seeds, coconut, black coffee
Lunch: Salad with greens and spinach, 1/2 roasted red pepper, and tuna salad, carrots, banana with almond butter
Snack: 1/2 Larabar, sunflower seeds
Dinner: Taco salad (lettuce, ground pork sauteed with onions and spices, lots of homemade guacamole), fried plantain (fried in coconut oil; SO GOOD), a little later we made fried sweet potato rounds (microwaved a sweet potato, cut into 1 cm thick sections, fried in coconut oil) and ate them with the rest of the guac.

Sleepy in the middle of the afternoon at a meeting, which hasn't happened so far on Whole30. I mostly blame a week of being short on sleep. A little grumpy. Made a point of going to bed early, though sleep was interrupted by a spectacular thunderstorm around 3:45 am.

Day 12:
Breakfast: 3 egg omelet with tomato, mushrooms and kale, with tahini on top (Seward Cafe). Black coffee.
Snack: Macadamia nuts, coconut flakes, black coffee
Lunch: Salad with greens and spinach, 1/2 roasted red pepper and chicken salad, carrots with almond butter
Snack: More mac nuts and coconut
Dinner: Beef stew with ancho chile sauce, carrots and potatoes, modified from a recipe in Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday (oops, husband didn't realize potatoes were off the W30), eaten on cabbage leaves.

A grumpy day. I thought "Kill All The Things" was week 1? I'm blaming it on cumulative sleep deprivation.

Day 13:
Breakfast: 2 egg omelet with kalamata olives and spinach, steamed cauliflower, black coffee
During run: 6 dates, 1/2 Larabar
Post-workout: 1/2 Larabar, coffee with almond milk, roasted eggplant, red pepper and onions, a little homemade sausage, sweet potato hash
Lunch: Leftover beef stew on cabbage leaves
Dinner: Out at Barbette. Yum! Oysters, salmon Nicoise salad, Steak Helene with kale, tomato, and sunchoke. Then blueberries and kombucha.

13 mile run in the rain and mud. Still a little grumpy. Trying to step up the carb intake.

Day 14:
Breakfast: 2 egg omelet with mushrooms and tomato, kale chips (with lard), 1/2 sweet potato, black coffee.
Lunch: Seasoned ground beef and pork with turnip greens and spinach, sauteed carrots and cauliflower with ghee and chives
Snack: Pistachio nuts, coconut flakes, carrot with almond butter
Dinner: Five Guys hamburger, bunless, double meat, with mushrooms, fried onions, lettuce, tomato, jalapenos, mustard. No peanuts or fries this time. Brought along some pistachios and coconut, and that helped with the starving-must-eat-peanuts phenomenon.
Snack: Blueberries, almonds, coconut flakes with coconut milk over the top. Yum.

Slept in this morning. Finally feel decently well rested!

Day 15:
Breakfast: 2 egg omelet with mushrooms, roasted tomato, kale chips (with lard), 1/3 avocado, black coffee
Post-workout: Banana with almond butter, a few plantain chips, black coffee

Lunch: Salad with spinach, tuna salad (tuna in olive oil, homemade mayo, celery, green onion, apple), 2/3 a small avocado, and homemade vinaigrette. Cucumbers, carrots, a few sunflower seeds
Dinner: Salmon in green pipian sauce (from Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday), with steamed cauliflower
Snack: Smoothie with banana, blueberries, coconut milk. A bite of coconut butter

Ran 5.4 miles. Hot (okay, 75 degrees) and sunny! Made kombucha. We'll see how that turns out...

Day 16:
Breakfast: 2 egg omelet with mushrooms, 1/4 roasted red pepper and green onion. Half an apple and half a sweet potato. Black coffee
Post-workout: Banana with almond butter, plantain chips, sunflower seeds, black coffee
Lunch: Salad with spinach, tuna salad, avocado, roasted red pepper, and homemade vinaigrette. A hard boiled egg. Cucumbers, carrots, a few pistachios.
Dinner: Happy hour at Acadia! Fried sweet potatoes, bowl of Ted's Big Red Chili, a glass of grapefruit juice/seltzer water. I do miss beer.
Snack: Smoothie with banana, frozen strawberries, coconut milk. We're diggin' the new immersion blender.

Ran 4.2 mi. Cooler and breezy.

Day 17:
Breakfast: 2 egg omelet with mushrooms, kale chips, 1/2 avocado, black coffee
Post-workout: Hazelnut milk latte (iced) from Peace Coffee, banana with almond butter.
Lunch: Salad with spinach, tuna salad (tuna, homemade mayo, snow peas, green onion, green grapes), avocado, and homemade vinaigrette. Cucumbers, carrots, a few pistachios
Snack: Macadamia nuts, coconut flakes
Dinner: Taco salad: Spinach, chorizo, homemade guacamole. Plantains fried in coconut oil.
Snack: Smoothie with banana, almond butter, coconut milk, cocoa

Day 18:
Breakfast: 2 egg omelet with mushrooms and 1/2 roasted red pepper, 1/2 sweet potato, black coffee
During run: About 12 dates, 6 S-Caps, a ton of water
Post-workout: 1/2 sweet potato, 2 egg omelet with tomato, kale, and kalamata olives, with tahini on top (Seward Cafe FTW!), black coffee
Lunch: Salad with spinach, tuna salad (tuna, homemade mayo, snow peas, green onion, green grapes), roasted red pepper, and homemade vinaigrette. Pistachios. Still pretty full from post-run meal.
Snack: Cucumbers and carrots, a few pistchios.
Dinner: Deconstructed fish tacos: fried cod (breaded in almond flour), guacamole, fresh tomatoes, lettuce.
Second dinner (because I had surgery the next day and couldn't eat after midnight): Nicoise-ish salad with lettuce, fried chicken, green beans, olives, anchovies, hard boiled egg, lettuce, homemade vinaigrette.

Ran 15.2 hot, slow miles

Day 19:
No breakfast, because of surgery
Late morning: 2 egg omelet with roasted red pepper and mushrooms, black coffee.
Lunch: I can't remember. I think a salad.
Late afternoon: Hamburger patty, asparagus with lemon and ghee
Dinner: Pulled pork shoulder on fresh spinach, tomato
Snack: Coconut butter, a few pistachios

Day 20:
Breakfast: 2 eggs, kale chips, sweet potato hash, black coffee
Lunch: Carnitas, sauteed pea greens with a little fish sauce
Snack: Plum, kombucha
Dinner: Italian sausage with peppers, onions, and tomato sauce, over zucchini noodles.
Snack: Strawberry-banana smoothie with coconut milk

Day 21:
Breakfast: 1.5 egg omelet (egg + a leftover egg white) with mushrooms and roasted red pepper, black coffee.
Post-workout: Fried plantains, small piece of sausage
Lunch: Salad with lettuce, fried chicken, avocado, tomato, homemade vinaigrette
Dinner: Salmon roasted in ghee/coconut oil, spicy curry cauliflower and snow peas
Snack: Pistachios, strawberries with coconut milk

Ran 4.2 miles. Felt great post surgery!

Day 22:
Breakfast: 2 egg omelet with mushrooms, roasted red pepper, and green onion. Steamed cauliflower, black coffee.
Snack: Macadamia nuts, black coffee
Lunch: Salad with spinach, tuna salad (tuna, homemade mayo, celery, green onion, green grapes), roasted red pepper, and homemade vinaigrette. Carrots and celery with almond butter. Cucumbers. Pistachios.
Dinner: Chicken legs roasted in coconut oil with roasted onions, parsnips, and carrots. 

Weekly training summary, surgery, and training memories

This week got a little wonky because of the unexpected remove-the-wandering-elbow-hardware surgery on Friday. My original plan was to get out to Afton very early Saturday for another loop. Instead, I moved the long run to early Thursday morning and got it done before going under the knife.

Monday: Run 5.4 mi. Sunny, hot, sweaty. Notes say "not super inspired".
Tuesday: Run 4.2 mi. A little cooler and breezy.
Wednesday: Spin class at the Y with my favorite instructor, Joe. Very hot but rode pretty hard.
Thursday: Run 15.2 mi. Loops along the river.
Friday: Surgery.
Saturday: Rest. (Felt pretty good, though!)
Sunday: Run 4.2 mi. Nice morning.

Total: 29 miles.

It's been a long time since I ran long on the road. I think the last >13 miler on the road was probably when I was training for a marathon 2 years ago! Thursday was a warm day (muggy, starting temp 72 at 5:30 am, heated up from there), so I took it slow and steady.

I went up the river as far as the Broadway bridge, crossed and worked my way back down again. Then back across Franklin bridge, up to 10th Ave bridge and back. I hadn't been that far north on the river since marathon training, and it was fun to run along some of those paths again and remember all those long hot runs two years ago.

I remember one long run in June two years ago. I was going north on West River Road above Hennepin Bridge and the road was closed. A few bikers and a police car went by. Then two guys came by, running, fast. Then the dime dropped: This must be a race! Duh. It was the Minneapolis Marathon and Half Marathon, and the chase pack blazed by shortly afterward.

By the time I started to cross the Plymouth Bridge, hundreds of marathoners and half-marathoners were running with me. It was fun to feed off all that race-day energy, and all the more fun because it was so unexpected. I ran with the crowd for a few miles through St. Anthony Main, back across Stone Arch Bridge, and then lost them as they turned one way and I went the other way. Suddenly my path was quiet again, and I was back with my thoughts as company.

I think of that day, and that unexpected thrill of finding myself engulfed in a race, surrounded by people running with purpose and finding their limits, every time I'm on that part of the river. What a joy to run and to race.

Metal out!

Friday morning, my excellent orthopod did this:

Penny is for scale. It wasn't in my elbow. As far as I know.

... taking me from this:

Awkward self portraits showing escaping screw and ugly bathroom curtains

... to this:

Strict instructions to not remove the bandage till Monday.

She also did a "closed joint manipulation" -- took my elbow from 20 to 150 degrees under anesthesia, after hardware was out. WAY further than it went pre-op.

Getting hardware out was way less of a big deal than getting it in. I took pain meds for the first 12 hours after the nerve block wore off, because they told me to, but decided I didn't need anything by the next morning. Different from getting the bone set, where I took the good drugs (and a lot of naps) for about 2.5 days.

My first post-op PT appointment is Wednesday, but I can already feel an improved range of motion. It definitely extends further than it did before surgery, and flexion is about the same to perhaps a bit better.

I have high hopes that this is going to accelerate my rehabilitation. And in the meantime, it's not keeping me away from the things that I love -- I went for a glorious 4 mile run this morning, then cooked a giant pot of chili for a neighbor with a new baby. Good elbows, good times.

Weekly training summary, late version

From last week. Busy work week and recovering from that Afton run, punctuated by a not very fast weekday 5K race, and topped off with an elbow recovery milestone. Yes, that's right, I RODE MY BIIIIIIIIKE! (Cue happy music and a little dance.)

Monday: Rest. (Quads sore after Afton run)
Tuesday: Run 5.4 mi. Legs still tired. Sheesh!
Wednesday: French 5K trail race. Hot. Zapped legs. Good company. Kombucha. See report for details.
Thursday: Run 0.5 mi in Luna sandals, then 15 or 20 min of lunges, squats, and calf raises in the park.
Friday: Rest. Crazy rain/wind storm Friday night.
Saturday: Run 2:45 (13-ish miles) at Lebanon Hills with the group. Raining pretty hard at the 5:30 am start, tapered off and got muggy by the end. Lots of mud, standing water, and downed trees. An adventure! I was pretty spent by the end.
Sunday: Slept in. In the evening, ~4 mile BIKE RIDE!

Total: ~22 miles.

Notes on the Luna sandal run: Thursday was a beautiful cool morning after a hot sweaty race the night before. I wanted to be outside but didn't want a big run, so figured it would be a good time to try out the sandals for running. The verdict? Comfortable for a short run, no calf or heel pain, but the straps rubbed on my second toes. Gotta wait for the skin to heal before trying it again. Maybe I need to tighten the straps? Any Luna-experienced folks out there with advice?

Now, about the bike ride: I haven't ridden since I broke my elbow, and was concerned that I wouldn't be able to hold the handlebar comfortable since I can't fully extend it. (Both my bikes have road handlebars -- a mountain bike, commuter, or cruiser would probably be no problem). Turns out, I can ride at least a few miles at a time, though it is definitely more fatiguing when you can't lock one elbow.

And the feeling of freedom you get riding a bicycle? Yeah, I missed that. A little shoulder fatigue won't stop me. I'm riding every day I can.

Elbow update (or, "Why yes, I do have a screw loose", or, "Fear my mighty triceps!")

For those just joining us, here's a brief recap on the elbow situation:

Ten weeks ago, I broke my right elbow (olecranon) at the Zumbro 17 mile trail race.

Heading into Aid Station #1 with a busted elbow.
No bones were sticking out, so I kept going.
(Photo: Todd Rowe)

My surgeon has since said things like, "It was kind of shattered." And, "It was a bad break."

Ouch.

But she fearlessly reassembled it, throwing out one bone fragment that couldn't be pinned in place, and holding the rest together with a big plate and six screws.

Much better.

Since then, I've run with it in a cast, then an articulated brace, then nothing at all.

And decorated the brace with race bling.

I've also been doing physical therapy -- first active range-of-motion, then some passive range-of-motion and resistance work with Therabands. I'm slowly gaining mobility in the elbow.

What, doesn't everyone graph their active range of motion?

Last week, I noticed a bump by the point of my elbow. It felt like the head of one of the screws, the one nearest the elbow. I figured maybe swelling had gone down in my elbow so now I could feel the hardware. (I could feel the plate, too). But it seemed really close to the skin. I would occasionally bump it into things, which was painful.

I mentioned it to my physical therapist at last week's appointment and she was concerned. (More concerned than I was). She got me in for an X-ray that morning and, sure enough, the screw is backing out.

Yes, I've got a screw loose.

A CT scan yesterday morning confirmed that, and showed some more bad news: one of the screw tips is in my joint space now. Not a good place for a piece of metal. The good news? The bone looks healed.

My surgeon called this morning (while I was running) to discuss the situation. She thinks my triceps may be pulling on that proximal screw and pulling it loose. Fear my mighty triceps! Anyhow, since the bone is healed and the hardware is wandering into bad places, she advises removing it sooner rather than later.

"Okay," I said. "How soon?"

"Well, I've got time in the operating room tomorrow, or Friday. Which one works for you?"

Well, that's pretty soon. Surgery's scheduled for Friday morning. Hardware out, and a closed-joint mobilization (basically, taking the elbow through its range of motion under anesthesia). Should be a quicker and simpler surgery than the first one, and result in no cast, no brace, just a gauze bandage. Then moving the joint as soon as possible -- PT early next week.

I've got high hopes that this will keep my rehab on track and maybe even improve my joint mobility. And if nothing else, I get rid of this big lumpy screw sticking out of my elbow. And that's its own reward.

Epic Culinary Wins on Whole30

Ever gone camping? After a day of backpacking, bushwhacking, and skinny-dipping, you cook a stupendous meal of freeze-dried vegetables, tuna in a pouch, and instant noodles-n-sauce, slurp it down, and think, "This tastes AWESOME! I should try this at home!".

Then, at home, of course sanity sets in and you realize that it tasted great because of where you were and what you were doing... and that instant noodles-n-sauce should never grace your table again... until the next camping trip, anyway.

I don't think that's what's going on here, but check back with me in a couple weeks, when Whole30 is a fading memory. At any rate, these are some new finds that have been freaking delicious and that I think we'll keep in the rotation. Unlike the noodles-n-sauce.

Epic Whole30 Culinary Wins, So Far

• Real fish sauce and anchovies as little salty umami-bombs. We sprinkled a little fish sauce on sauteed kale the other day and it amped the flavor way, way up. And I'd kind of forgotten how cool anchovies are. Gotta get to work on that Caesar salad real soon now...
• Cabbage slaw for fish tacos. Shredded cabbage, a little green onion and jalapeno, lime juice, and salt. If it sits for 30 min while you fry the fish, it gets just a little tender. Yum.
• Sauteeing vegetables in roasted chicken drippings. Cabbage (again) was awesome this way.
• Kale chips for breakfast. Because, why not? I made them with lard, which added an unexpected and delicious slightly porky flavor.
• Giant salad for lunch. With a big whack of chicken or tuna salad, it's totally satisfying.
• Homemade mayo. Who knew it was so easy to make? I used a fork and a bowl and it took 10 minutes, tops. (I used light olive oil, not mac nut oil). Great base for chicken/tuna/egg salad -- and I'm not even a mayo fan.
• Kombucha. Why have I not tried this before? It's a little sour, it's bubbly, it's funky. Like drinking a Berliner Weisse.
• Dessert parfait: Fresh blueberries, sliced almonds, coconut flakes, with coconut milk (canned) poured over the top. Oh MY is this good.

Whole30 Dining Out In Minneapolis, So Far

Haven't done a ton of this, but here are a few good recommendations:

• Brasa. Little place in Northeast Minneapolis that is a paleo haven. Pulled pork, rotisserie roasted chicken and many of the meat specials are Whole30 compliant, as are many of the vegetable sides. You can eat WELL here for lunch or dinner. Plus there's enough variety for picky eaters, gluten free eaters, and even vegetarians can do pretty well by eating sides. There's great outdoor seating, and thanks to the giant roll-up garage doors, sitting indoors feels like sitting outdoors too, on a fine day. Finally, it's a steal -- a very satisfying two meat, three sides, and a drink fed two of us for $27.
• Barbette. It's in Uptown, and also has outdoor dining, though it's on the sidewalk. Excellent Whole30/paleo options here, including a daily tartare, raw oysters, salads (like the salmon Nicoise we tried, which was 100% W30 except for the potatoes), vegetables, fish, chicken, and steak. The steak is very good. (But I did miss eating steak frites, which I love). Good service, fun decor, good place.
• Burch Steakhouse. A new place in Uptown, by the folks who brought us the fabulous Bar La Grassa. We tried it before starting the Whole30, but it's a great place to go for Whole30/paleo food, though costly enough that we'd probably wait for a special occasion. But wow. Grass fed beef, beautifully prepared. Don't miss out on the starters and sides -- we had the roasted cauliflower with anchovies and it was incredible. We also had the lamb tartare, which was good, but next time I would focus on steak and veggie sides, which really shine.
• Seward Cafe does a nice omelet with a wide choice of veggies. They also have good coffee, espresso, and smoothies.
• Haven't been there during the Whole30, but it looks like The Bad Waitress could also put together a pretty good breakfast, with omelet options including chicken and chorizo, as well as lots of veggies including avocado. (I don't know if their chorizo is OK or not). Their coffee is from Spyhouse, so it's excellent.
• What's that? You want fast food? Okay. Two decent options here, Chipotle and Five Guys. At Chipotle, get a salad with carnitas, salsa (not corn salsa, duh), and guacamole. At Five Guys, get a bunless burger with whatever toppings grab you (except ketchup, mayo, cheese, and bacon). Try not to eat the peanuts.

Race report: Endless Summer Trail Series French 5K

(or, "Weather is here, wish you were great", or, "Any run is a good run")

So Rocksteady Running is doing a summer weekday night race series, the Endless Summer Trail Run Series, with four Wednesday night races, 5K to 7 miles, at regional parks. I decided to give them a try this year, and am having a blast. It's pretty awesome to wake up on a random Wednesday morning thinking "It's RACE day!". They draw an unusual combination of trail long distance and ultra runners and road runners (they're the ones in the clean white shoes), so there are lots of familiar faces and many new ones. And there's beer and pizza afterward. It's a great production.

This is race #2 in the series. After clocking a 1:00:01 (sheesh!) at the Hyland 10K a couple weeks ago, I was hoping to book a blistering sub-30. I think the last 5K I ran was... uhmmm... at least three years ago, and the one before that was while I was still in medical school. So not a lot of recent times to compare myself to.

Beer and pizza wasn't going to be a Whole30-friendly post-race snack but I wanted something good to enjoy while others drank cold frosty beer. So I brought along a bottle of ginger kombucha. I'd never tried kombucha before, but this seemed like a good time to check it out.

I zoomed out of work at 5 o'clock sharp, already changed into my run clothes. Met the husband and boys on the way home, hugs and kisses, and off to the park. It was a little alarming, as I sat in rush-hour traffic, to note that the temperature was 88 degrees. Going to be a toasty one! Drank a bottle of water and ate a leftover carrot and half a Larabar on the way there. Got to the park with 30 minutes to spare (not everyone was so lucky; they actually delayed the start by 10 minutes to allow people stuck in traffic to get there!).

Lots of friends were there -- Ethan had already run the course as a warmup, and gave me some beta. Christy went on to finish in second place for women. Amy was sparkly and ready to run after putting up some massive miles on the Superior Hiking Trail last weekend. I met Theresa, who had run 50 miles at Zumbro, then did Kettle Moraine 100K a couple weeks ago. Mike M and Ryan who I'd run with at Afton Saturday were there. Mike B reintroduced himself -- we'd run at Lebanon last winter. John was volunteering at the merch table again (I met him at the Superior merch table), and made the course his first run since a knee replacement last fall. Wow!

Having fun with Amy, even if 5K is not our distance!

Race director John Storkamp gave the usual pre-race briefing (water stop at the halfway mark, keep the flags on your left, pick up trash) with a few location-specific modifications (don't disturb the black milk crates by the trail; they're protecting nesting turtles!). Then a countdown, and we're off!

The course is a loop that goes along Medicine Lake, through the woods and through a beautiful wetlands. It's all nice wide, nontechnical trail, with dirt, wood chips, and mowed grass. The first mile is pretty gentle, and despite the heat, felt decent. The trail was thick with people for the first half of the race, though there was plenty of space to pass people. I talked with Joni, who I'd run with at Zumbro, until the pace got to be a bit much for me. I throttled it back and let her pull ahead. By 10 minutes in, my legs were letting me know that they had NOT recovered from Afton, and that this was not going to be a fast day.

We ran on, over some little rolling hills. Past a nesting painted turtle. On a long straightaway, my legs and lungs conferred and decided that we should walk. My overheated brain raised no objections, and I walked a minute, then started back up running. Whew! I was tired already.

The water stop was a little before the halfway mark, and I was ready for a drink. Those volunteers deserve hazard pay -- they survived not only heat, but man-eating mosquitoes! I gulped half a cup of water, turned the corner, and ran slam into a short, but remarkably steep hill. Power-hiked it, and at the crest, a steep downhill followed almost immediately. It was run to run down (my quads are mostly recovered from Afton), and I passed several people who were taking the downhill more cautiously. Bottomed out, and back up we go! These crazy rollers were kind of fun.

After the halfway point, the course levels out again, mostly, and goes along the lake and then through the wetlands (red-winged blackbirds!). I was pretty wiped out, and was loosely following a 4-1 run-walk along this section. Along here, I got passed by Cole, who was wearing Luna sandals and pushing a jog stroller, and Nora, mother of the baby.

Finally, after a long winding curve to the right, the trail started heading uphill again. The finish was audible, if not yet visible. Runners who had already finished were on the sides of the trail, yelling encouragement and telling us "it's just up ahead!". I broke into a run, and sure enough, there was the finish line, around a final corner and up a little hill. I ran it in in 35:17. It wasn't a 100% effort, but it was a good hard one. I was satisfied. Lots of racers were cheering at the finish line -- very cool.

After staggering around and gasping for breath a while, I reclaimed my kombucha. Pretty good! It reminded me of a Berliner Weisse -- lightly carbonated, tart, a little sweet, and the ginger was spicy and refreshing. I would drink that again, even as a post-race treat. (But if there were halfway decent beer, I'd drink that instead). I stood near the finish line and cheered in finishers, till the mosquitoes got to be overwhelming. Then wandered around meeting more friends. As the sun sank low and my stomach started to growl, I said goodbye and headed back into town. It wasn't a fast race, but it was a fun one. See you next month, Endless Summer!