Today had a bit of everything: a warm winter day, a stubborn knee, a new gel experiment, and most importantly, special company from start to finish.

Bike by my side, heart full

• My wife rode her bike next to me for the entire route, always by my side, cheering me on, chatting, taking photos, and recording videos that I will post here on the blog. It was our first time running along the Los Gatos Creek Trail, which is really nice — highly recommended.

• It was wonderful having her there; the run felt much lighter with her around the whole time. And it was a good thing she had her phone, because I completely forgot to bring the Insta360 X5 today. Coincidence or not, it was the perfect trade: fewer gadgets, more presence.
• Let this be on the record: thank you, Linda. 😍 Love you! ❤️❤️❤️

Warm solstice, perfect weather

• Running on the winter solstice in about 17°C (62.6°F) was a very welcome surprise. None of that freezing cold that would normally be expected this time of year.
• The sky was cloudy for about 90% of the run, which really helped keep the temperature pleasant. For the other 10%, there was a very light rain that did not bother me at all and just helped cool things down a bit.
• When I reached 21.1 km, the rain got a little stronger, so I took advantage of it and kept running a bit more until I got to the car. If it is time to get wet anyway, might as well earn a few extra meters. 😄

Knee complaining, but under control

• The right knee hurt pretty much the whole time, so it is still far from ideal. The important difference compared with last week is that the pain did not get worse during the run.
• I also did not feel like I was landing “weird” or changing the way my foot hit the ground, which had been very noticeable last weekend. That is a good sign.
• The feeling is that the stretching and mobility work for lower back, hips, and legs that I did a few days earlier helped stabilize my mechanics. After the run, the knee still hurts, but less than it did last week.​
• The real test will be tomorrow, since the pain usually peaks the next day. And of course, I still need to fit in another mobility and stretching session today, right after finishing this post. Priorities, right? Blog first, then self-care. 😅

Reading update: NOS4A2 out, End Game in

• For today’s run, a new book joined the party: End Game by Jeffrey Archer. The opening chapters were quite interesting, and there is more to tell in the next runs.
• During the week, I finished the book I was listening to during the last race: NOS4A2. It was the first book by Joe Hill (Stephen King’s son) that I listened to, and also my first horror novel. Really liked it. Especially how he slowly introduces new characters throughout the story and only later reveals how they connect. I also enjoyed how he explored the concept of “innerscapes” — or interior landscapes — defined as artifact-like representations of the mind as an extensive, navigable spatial world, a concept developed and named by interdisciplinary theorist Marco Bernini. The only thing that disappointed me a bit, and this is without spoilers, was how the villain is ultimately removed from the story near the end. Even so, highly recommended.

Gel test: Edge vs Huma

• Today was test day for a new gel, UCAN Edge, to add some variety to my on-the-run energy menu. Soon, the plan is to write a separate post with a comparison table of all the gels tried so far.​
• Here comes the spoiler: Huma is still my number one gel. The texture, the taste, and especially the ingredient list focused on more natural stuff like chia keep it on top for me.​
• Edge was not terrible in terms of flavor, but the ingredient list is a bit more questionable and, more importantly, today’s user experience was pretty frustrating.
• When I tore off the top along the pre-cut slit, the cut was not enough to really open the channel. I ended up squeezing the sachet harder; it did open… but a few meters later I realized that the pressure had also created a tiny hole in another spot, which led to gel leaking all over: shirt, vest, water tube, and hand.
• Luckily there was a public water fountain just ahead, so I was able to clean up the basics and keep going. But honestly, pretty disappointing for a product that is supposed to be convenient exactly when you are moving.