- I realise that I'm quite lucky to be living in the good 'ol US of A and am extremely thankful for those currently serving in the armed forces; I am grateful and will pray for those disabled veterans and those that have lost their lives to preserve the freedom in this country. You'll never really know how 'free' the States is unless you've lived elsewhere (IMHO… speaking from my own experiences).
- I like 3-day weekends.
- Don't try to outrun a running pack of fit and able OC Sheriff trainees, unless: a) you're fitter than them; b) you're on a motorbike or vehicle.
- Don't try to eat every single free sample at a post-run Expo.
- See above and Imodium is your friend.
- I like 3-day weekends. I like eating continuously during 3-day celebrations.
- Running on Saturday and Monday does not negate the calories that you have eaten more than you have in a given week in one weekend (but it does help)
- See #4.
- Sleep is not optional and I won't wait 'til I'm dead to catch a few Zzz's.
- Don't feel bad if you don't include your pets in the festivities. If eating too much gives you diarrhea and indigestion; think of what it'll do to them.
The weather was actually perfect (not too cold or warm, and just enough sun) and the course was somewhat easy-to-challenging (mainly because of two hills). For the first time, I set my Garmin on a pace of 10:00 minutes/mile…and I almost met that mark, averaging at 10:20 minutes/mile. I think the biggest motivation for me was that it was just a short race, and I happened to run with some awesome Orange County Sherrif's Trainees and a small pack of Marines (I think they were Marines). Their cadence song kept me going, but I had to break off when climbing one of the hills. Props to them for keeping me at a constant pace (up to 2.4 miles into the run anyway). I realized later that their pace was a whopping 8:00 min/mile! 
Keep in mind, that's while 'singing' and taking turns carrying the American flag. Cheers to them!
Jo Nisha on 
