Road Trip Essentials: California Ahead

Our friends from Alaska are getting married in Sonoma this weekend and the La Sportiva Table Rock 30k happens to be overlapping so we obviously had to sign up. The race happens kitty corner to Point Reyes, which Justin and I have always known as a birder's paradise from our previous years as field biologists. I'm glad my first experience there will be hand in hand with a trail race. This will also be the longest vacation we've taken since last winter in Morocco. It's a 4-day weekend and I'm pumped to drink some of California's finest vino, watch our friends get hitched and then power up Table Rock come the weekend. I usually look forward to some extra sunshine when I head south, but Seattle has had its fair dose this week and the weather is going to be cooler in California. Here's what I'm taking with me:

1. DoTerra Deep Blue: We've reached that point in our racing season when Justin and I need some extra TLC for our beaten bodies. We have a pretty good massage exchange going at the moment and DoTerra's deep blue has been a great supplement for inflamed areas such as my feet.

2. REI Microfiber towel: The race starts and ends on the beach, so the potential for swimming is high. The only caviat is that I carried this towel with me through Central and South America while camping in the jungle. Hopefully all parasites are dead.

3. Somersaults: If I'm desperate enough to eat plane food I usually end up reaching for the barf bag. Packing my own snacks is necessary, and these are a great hunger quencher for a short flight.

4. The Boys in the Boat: My current reading material. Who hasn't read this already and raved about it? I'm late to jump on the bandwagon, but luckily it was chosen for book club.

5. CLIF Shot Bloks: I went on my first 4+ hour run last weekend. I usually stick to GUs, but they aren't very palatable after three hours and your hunger is kicking. It's nice to have something to chew on and I was surprised how easily I digested the bloks. I won't need much nutrition in this race but I'm finding that I prefer variation rather than sticking to a rhythm for race day. I'll be ditching my routine GU and reaching for shot blocks.

6. Pumpkin Seed Butter: I am a total nut butter addict. I love all kinds and thought I had tried every one out there until I found this gem. This will be part of my pre-race breakfast.

7. Addaday Foot Roller: I already mentioned my feet get a good beating. I usually use a tennis ball when self-massaging my feet, but I tried this one at Fleet Feet and liked the pressure control. This brand is on the rise for good reason.

8. Hula Doll: We have a rental car and we're on vacation, enough said.

9. Zensah Compression Socks: I don't wear these while running and don't feel the need since there is no convincing science showing they aid running performance under marathon distance. However, they feel great when I wear them overnight post-workout for recovery, likely because they are on for 8 hours. I'll be slipping into these Saturday night.

10. Salomon Speedcross 3W: I'm a scared downhill runner and I realized that's mostly because I started trail running with road shoes. I went to the extreme end of the spectrum and bought these so I could let the brakes off and assure myself of a good grip on the trail. I raced in these in Montana and will be wearing them again in California.

I'm looking forward to long weekend away with Justin - you can check back after the weekend for a race recap!