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| Winning Entry - Courtesy of Encinitas Patch |
I got my Kook on during the Cardiff Kook Run 2013! Well, maybe I didn't completely get my Kook on - I did not dress up for the annual costume run, but I did complete the 5k portion of the race. The Firefighter was working, so he did not participate this year. Maybe next year he will run it with me and we can do the 10k, now that's a goal.
This is a great, scenic racecourse that parallels the Pacific Ocean through Encinitas and Cardiff, California. You get to see the real surfers surfing and all of the people dressed up as whatever they want to be, fantastic! I actually walked up the hill with one of the members of the Magic Carpet ride group entry that won, pictured above. Very cool. Their group was wearing turbans and Middle Eastern wear and they fashioned cardboard surfboards, posed as the kook and the best part was that they were actually dancing along with the music that they were blasting through speakers. "What song?" you ask. Of course it was 'Magic Carpet Ride' performed by Steppenwolf! It was my theme song and motivation throughout the run. I was actually near many of the groups when they got their pictures taken. I got there almost 2 hours early, so I debated walking back home and taking a nap, but it was a beautiful morning, no reason to sleep through the start. I had a lot of time to soak in the atmosphere and warm up several times.
This event makes Superbowl day a lot of fun. You get up early, run the race, go home, take a shower and maybe a nap and then get ready for the Superbowl party and you know you can eat whatever you want - and if you happen to get a hangover, the next day is usually a rest day, so it won't matter. I had a low key party this year - I hung out with my friend D and during the infamous black out (#toobadfornola) we finalized the wedding details. How is that for efficiency! By the way, the wedding is in less than 2 weeks, training for this race definitely helped to reduce stress levels.
So, here are the results. My goal was somewhere in the 25 minute range, I didn't quite make it and I really wanted to walk towards the end, but I didn't. 26:16 - not too bad for the first race of the year and considering all of the families with strollers and walkers that I had to go around. By my rough count, I got 3rd in my age group - I can not remember the last time that happened. I heard a lot of grumbling about the course this year, I did practice on the exact race route, not intentionally, so I have no excuse. There were more hills than last year and the 10k participants unfortunately had to run the back half of the race uphill - motivation to run more hills next year.
Here's my bling from the race!
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