In other words, I didn't have high expectations for the race.

But I had fun. Elda and I started more casually than our average training run. But as we warmed up, we kept accelerating. I think mile 1 was nearly 9 minutes; mile 2 was 8 minutes and mile 3 was just over 7 minutes. Elda then ran a 50-minute 10K, putting us lazy 5K only runners to shame.

Great race. Great weather. Great volunteers, including my housemate. Great to have a T-shirt without advertisers all over the back.

After breakfast, I headed up San Ysidro Trail with Joey. I've decided this is one of my favorite front-country trails. There are so many rocks along the creek to lounge on in the sun.

However, my Sunday summit of Montecito Peak was pretty phenomenal. Not only is it fun to watch hawks flying below you, it's also calming to sit in the stillness and hear the mission bells cut through the city's buzz below.

He said he wants the residents of South Lake Union to have better access to downtown so they can go shopping, dine and whatnot.  Last time I checked, you can walk to the downtown/Belltown area in a short amount of time.  You could probably walk to the end of the line (which coincidentally, is the same as the Monorail - Westlake Center) just as fast as if you were on the SLUT.

Ok, I'm done with the SLUT and the mayor - and I'm on to the Winter Wonderland Coffee Swap Weekly question:

For many people, Winter is a time of cold weather and snow - and many fun outdoor activities that can only be enjoyed during those times! What's YOUR favorite activity in Winter, and is it even outdoors??  Definitely it would have to be sledding.  I'm talking the Clark Griswald silver saucer sledding.  I miss those days.  We don't get enough snow to be able to sled in Seattle proper.  Although I do remember the one year when we got a couple inches of snow and the news showed a guy sliding down the Queen Anne hill on an upside-down ironing board.  And behind him were a couple of people on a mattress, if memory serves me.  The gal who cuts my hair told me that she and her friend would buy those giant blocks of ice and find a hill and ride them down the hill in lieu of snow.  My butt is cold just thinking about it.  But then there's part of me that really wants to try  it.

This year I think we'll be starting a new tradition - the Resolution Run with optional "dip" in Lake Washington on New Years Day.  I haven't decided about the optional dip part.  I'm trying to figure out if it's possible to run a 5k in a wetsuit :)