San Francisco

I never promised that this blog would be up-to-date. After all, it was for my contempt of deadlines that I abandoned a journalism major. So with complete disregard for the timeliness factor of newsworthiness, I give you highlights from the San Francisco Half Marathon last November.

It was Sarah's and my first trip to the city. Perhaps you've seen some of these sights:

Coit Tower

View from Coit Tower

Alcatraz (tickets were sold out so we didn't get the tour)

The number one destination on Sarah's list was Tartine Bakery. I was dubious, but have to admit it was worth half a day of walking and standing in line for the morning bun. In fact, it was so far that we stopped for a donut on the way. What? Is that bad?

Actually, we had decided that it would be prudent to carbo-load before the run. This mission, which we took very seriously, led us to a variety of great restaurants.

Of course we had to experience the creepiness of Haight-Ashbury Street. And one night, my friend Rebekah took us to a great restaurant and gave us a car tour Union Square. She even drove us over the part of Lombard street known as the crookedest street in the world.

The official purpose of our trip, the US Half Marathon, started at Fisherman's Wharf and crossed the Golden Gate Bridge.

I took these pictures with my phone while running, which probably has a lot to do with why I didn't get a great time.

At one point, there were so many runners that we came to a complete standstill on the bridge (another reason for my slow time).

The views were even more beautiful than I had imagined when I looked forward to them in my training runs.

And my final and very legitimate excuse for slow time: steep hills!

Excuses aside, this is how I fared:

1119th of 3542 finishers

384th of 1960 females

122nd of 655 in the F3039 division

2:03:57 (9:28 per mile)

A few of the most memorable lowlights:

-Walking until we were so cold and tired that Sarah refused to walk any further

-Trading shoes because our own gave us blisters

-Waking up the night before the race with sore muscles because we walked so much

-Struggling with maps and bus routes, and finding out later they were accessible on the iPhone

-Numerous thrift stores (I heard they were amazing, but just turned out to be more walking)

-Sarah's hurt knee

The best part: being with my good friend Sarah. I love her to death, even if she did embarrass me a bit with her impromptu dance party at the finish line.