Tuesday, March 10, 2009

City Run

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The city in the distance, 7:30am Saturday morning.

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Descending down a short trail after a big street climb.

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Angela and Stephen.

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Running past the old red brick homes in the Presidio, I think these were officer's quarters at one point. You can just see one of the suspension towers of the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance and the Marin Headlands behind it.

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Running past the Ferry building and the weekend Farmer's Market. Tons of people; fellow runners, tourists and locals enjoying their weekend.

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Angela's brother Hugh and the Oakland Bay Bridge. No foot traffic allowed on this bridge nor would you want to run on it anyway. Two decks of high speed traffic, noise and exhaust fumes for a looong way.


This past weekend I joined Stephen and Angela for their usual Saturday morning city tour run. These two like to run around the city on Saturday mornings for 2-3 hours. We met at Stephen's place and after a short discussion between the two of them it was decided that we were going to take on the hills first. It was a nice change from the usual routes and I didn't mind the hard surfaces or the numerous crosswalks and street lights. It was what it was and I enjoyed myself. The constantly changing scenery through the busy streets and neighborhoods kept me entertained and I got to explore some new areas. I've been here for 16 years and there were a couple of places on that run that I've never been. There was one big hill which seemed bigger than it was since it was unfamiliar to me and we also got to run a few short sections of trail. There are trails in San Francisco but they tend to be short and not too hilly, it's all relative of course. An hour and a half into it we stopped by Angela's place and picked up her brother Hugh who was visiting from the East Coast. The last hour was flat and faster but no less scenic.

After the run we had brunch with Stephen's family and his parents who were visiting from Dallas. He's a trained chef and whipped up some delicious vegan dishes - Angela is vegan. It was quite good. I love meat but I could eat that meal anytime and be happy. I was certainly still thinking about it the next day when I was slogging through a 6.5 hour run in the Marin Headlands with nothing but energy gels, salt tabs and energy drink. Nothing hits the spot like a tasteless salt capsule downed with sickly sweet goo and sweet energy drink - yum! I can't wait to start participating in races again. I carry less junk and eat better.

I plan to join these two again soon. They are quick but they were nice enough to slow their pace down a bit so I could keep up.

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Just a couple of the dishes Stephen whipped up for lunch. I was surprised at how good the mushrooms and the squash was without any butter.

16 comments:

  1. Rick,
    What a gorgeous run! I am really jealous of that! I need to get out there with my camera and show you guys what I have to run around. haha Cotton fields and no trees or hills whatsoever. You can see for miles!
    PS That food looks fantastic! I would eat that right now!

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  2. I am sure you're keeping up with Mr. G just fine these days, you are too modest. Great run, makes me miss SF...to visit, you silly, just to visit:)

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  3. OMG - I want your life? Can I live vicariously through you? Awesome training Rick. You still in for Sand Diego? Did you register yet??

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  4. Fantastic pics !

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  5. Wow, great pictures! How nice to see green grass...we are currently under a winter storm warning here! :) Sounds like a great day of running in the city.

    And, great looking food! Clearly, you guys were eating well. Those mushrooms look awesome...mmmmm....sauteed mushrooms! Yum!

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  6. What an awesome way to burn up a few hours on the weekend! Gorgeous day, too. Makes me wish me and my family lived in or near the City. Hey, I'll be running the 12K Across the Bay this weekend. If you're running it... I'll be somewhere hidden in the first wave of runners wearing an Asics Aggies uniform. I'll think of you as I 'tour the City' for 7.45 miles.

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  7. First: They had to slow down for YOU? Are you kidding me!
    Second: Nice All-Clad your friend has. I've had my set for 15 years and LOVE it!

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  8. Responding to your comment - we have yet another thing in common. ;)

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  9. I'm with Mark The Naked Runner...great scenery and great run...How you only train with gels leaves me in amazement. I would have to at least throw in a bannana or something...maybe even a samoa girl scout cookie.;-)

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  10. Looks great, such a different city vibe than LA, but then I suppose LA's not really 'a' city it's a bunch of mini states next to each other, amazing to see anything made from brick that's for sure!

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  11. I really like the pictures! What a great morning for running! I live close to the city of Atlanta and love running and exploring new areas on long runs on Sunday mornings. There seems to be a different feeling to Sunday mornings in the city. Seeing new places might be my favorite part of running...not really though, probably the de-stressing aspects of it are my favorite.

    I wrote a blog about sight-seeing running. You should check it out if you are traveling to a new city. What a better way to visit a new place than to run around it? http://www.seriousrunning.com/blog/uncategorized/sight-seeing-running/

    I also wrote a blog a while back about an experience I had running in a lower socio-economic area of town at http://www.seriousrunning.com/blog/seriousrunningcom/running-outside-of-your-comfort-zone/.

    I think we really learn a lot from running. Whether it is just giving us time to think, pushing ourselves to limits, or just experiencing new things. Explore a new area!

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  12. Really enjoying the photos in the past two post I'm getting ready and looking forward to running Headlands Hundred this summer, I could use some good tips ; )

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  13. Ohhhh yeah rub in the short sleeve shirts and shorts weather ;-)

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  14. Oh San Francisco. You're so pretty.

    I love getting to explore new places I've never been in the city. And yeah-- I love meat too, but if you have a chef who can really cook, vegan food doesn't leave me missing my dead flesh at all.

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  15. Looks like a great run around the streets of SF. I haven't been there since I was in middle school and I used to come visit my great grandmother in Hayward, CA. Like Olga said, I bet you could keep up just fine.

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  16. Just amazing there bro!!! I am so jealous of your views. You know that I can see dirt and dead things here. Yuck!

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