View Workout (Tom O'Reilly)

Return to Log

San Francisco Bay Run

November 7, 2009 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Weather: 65 degrees. clear, cool, sunny

Comments:
solo run. Ok... initially I thought this would be a 6 or 7 mile run. Wrong. The morning was wonderful, weather was perfect, and I was out early to hit the road and soak it all in. 7am and I was out for my quick "6 miler".
Well, an hour into the run I was only just getting to the Golden Gate Bridge and thinking that I severely underestimated this distance.
Ran over and back across the bridge (another 2 1/2 miles) and came back to hopefully get some fluids and food at the snack bar because I had not eaten anything all morning and did not carb load the night before. Well, the snack bar was not opening until 9a it was only 8:30. I couldn't sit around that long. I headed back and seriously contemplated getting a cab... and I would have, had any of them been around! I had no energy, and only a little water from the sink in the bathroom at the bridge. Yum. I started running back, keeping my eyes peeled for a cab, a coffee shop, a street vendor, anything that could help me re-fuel and get back to the hotel. About a mile into the run back from the bridge, I had to start walking... no energy. And then I saw it... "Safe-Way". At first I thought it was a trucking company but then I saw people coming out with GROCERY CARTS!!! I ran across the street and immediately grabbed some gatorade from the cooler by the cashier and proceeded to roam the store in search of bananas and apples. I found them. I ate them. I felt so much better. I walked for another 10 minutes eating and drinking and then ran back at a pretty good clip. I wanted to take advantage of my newly found energy before it went away. the last two miles along Embarcadero was crowded with tourist that weren't there on the way out. Granted that was 7am and here it was approaching 10a. My goodness! How far did I run?! Map My Run says that the loop was 13.7 in total distance and I probably ran 12... give or take. I did my own SF Half Marathon without Gels, water stations, mile markers, or rock bands. I was very proud of myself for having actually completed the run rather than cabbing it back and I felt great for the rest of the day, and the next day as well. The run itself was wonderful. It was an exploratory sightseeing run and I felt like a real local. (side note. nobody in SF waves at each other when they run. I waved at about 10 people on the way out and only got about 3 responses. I stopped waving and realized that no one was initiating a wave to me. I like to wave.) It was also nice to know that I could just pop off a half marathon without thinking about it. I wasn't fast, but I still ran it.