05-02-2026 Run/Hike

Slept okay again, caffeine interfered a little bit with my rest, and I was up again in the night (<!>). But I got back to sleep until waking up around 5:00. I read for a bit, then Ann woke up (surprising) a little after 6:00,and I convinced her to walk with me to Red's Donuts. It had just opened, so the donuts were fresh and pretty good. We had them with coffee (not so good) in the downstairs hotel gathering room, then relaxed for a while in the room. I was scheduled to meet Zac and Joey outside a nearby cage for an easy morning run at 9:00. Got there a little before then, no lady else was there, and I wondered if I had missed an update. Eventually people started showing up, including Zac and Joey. We probably had eight runners when we started, including Ray. I got the chance to talk with a number of them, including:Stuart, Matt and Marissa, Will, Zac and Joey. It was indeed an easy pace, we ran down along the shore on an out-and-back route, a little over five miles. No leg or ankle pain on this run.

Avg pace = 9:00/mile

Total distance = 5.44 mi

Elapsed moving time = 49:00

Avg heartrate = 162 bpm (Zepp, nope)

Relative Effort = 115 (again, nope) 

https://www.strava.com/activities/18349333685

Running statistics from my watch were wonky, even though they have been better on other runs. We ran back to the café, which was busy. Others joined us while we were in line, including Ann. Got coffee and croissants and ate them on the back patio, where I found that Matt knows Connor Witherspoon in Reno (truly small world connection). I also met Zac's great aunt Linda and her husband Aaron. She's a runner. It was getting close to 11:00, so I left to move the car and head over to the meet-up spot for the afternoon hike. My boots were in the car but not my socks, so I ended up stopping at a CVS to buy some socks, then at a Ralphs to get some food for the trail. I was running late by this time, didn't want to hunt for parking, so I got a spot on the highway about a mile from the trailhead and ran (in my hiking boots) to the spot. Thankfully, I wasn't the last one there. We did a round of intros, including Zac's two triplet brothers Matt and Gabe, his sister, and his dad John. On the trail I also talked to their friends Hong and Melissa, as well as an interesting guy who works for the National Parks Service. It was an easy hike, and others decided to cut it short from its original distance, I followed suit so I could get back to Monterey in time to say hi to Leslie Rickards. I jogged most of the way back to the car on tired (and a little bit sore) legs, then drove to downtown Monterey, parking by the city library for and walking the fairly short distance back to the hotel. It was like old times with Leslie, she is easy to talk to. We finished our conversation with her, then had some nice time to chill in the hotel room before meeting the Bisikleta riders and their spouses for dinner. Ann took a nap, I resisted the urge. The shower felt grest, and we were lucky that the place Ray picked was just around the corner from us. It was Gideon, Luchie, Ray, Anna, Perse, Lovely, Fritz, and Jonalyn. The restaurant was not great, food below average and service not used to handling a large group like ours. But the camaraderie was very good. I sat by Gideon and enjoyed our back-and-forth. Also talked to Lovely, who I hadn't really interacted with much in the past. Anna was across the table, so we talked about travel and other things. We were done with dinner around 8:15, and I was tired when we got back to the room. Didn't take too long for me to fall asleep.