Rain or Shine...well almost

The twenty miler was this morning and my partner in crime, Misty and I missed out. Me due to a cold and being on antibiotics for a painful urinary tract infection (fun times peeing blood...not so much). I decide to listen to my doctor who advised against any activity for another week. Really does not make sense to run down an immune system which is already low. Misty missed due to being tired from her crazy travel schedule and just sleeping through the alarm. It was drizzling out this morning and I was happy to be snug in my bed listening to the pitter patter of the rain. No need to get my brand spanking new asics dirty just quite yet. We did join 10 of our fellow Salazar group members at an early dinner at Esputus to learn about the Florence course from marathon veteran George. He told us to bring all our own munchies like oatmeal, cliff bars, shok bloks as they do not have that stuff in Italy. Apparently 5 miles of the later part of the marathon is all cobblestone...I can just see a few of us getting sprained ankles already. Portable potties are also not always were they say they are going to be so he said to bring klennex and be prepared to find a wall or bush as the average wait for the portable bathrooms is 15 minutes or longer. We all cracked ourselves up by suggesting wearing Depends...I seriously doubt anyone is going to go to those lengths. Everyone was in good spirits after stuffing ourselves on various grilled meats...yes, we had flank steak, lamb chops, pork loin with parmesan, grilled prawns, chicken heart, and beef ribs...along with paella, 10 different salads...wonderful brazilian food. I definitely will go back...Hal this is the perfect buffet place for you...all you can eat! The next couple of weeks we are running 10 miles then we have our 23 miler on October 13. Cannot wait to get to Italia! I better get my rosetta stone language cd asap...

Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do. - Pope John Paul XXIII

9 Miles was easy; however the 20 miler is coming up

The sun was shining in my neighborhood which was a good sign considering we had a few days of overcast skies. However out in the "fog bank" of ocean beach, there was no sun to be had. This suited me fine as it has been easier to run when it is cooler. The group was quite small this week as I think that since we are up to 18 plus miles...these 9 milers are quite easy and folks tend to do these on their own. We started out running along ocean beach and ran a mile along the beach before turning around and heading back into Golden Gate park. The ubiquitous bison were no longer in their small pen, but were let out to roam out in their pasture. We talked about our upcoming run of 20 miles and of the various aches and pains people sustained during the 18 miler. We ran past the Conservatory of Flowers and I made a mental note that I need to check it out one of these days. There were quite a few other running groups out today which is always interesting to see. We got on the subject of plants and that the park actually has monthly plant
give aways. Right after a few of us were talking about this we saw a few Chinese women with potted plants in hand heading back from the infamous freebie give away...another mental note...find out where they give plants away. With no bathroom breaks or water breaks other than while walking, we finished our run right on time and everyone was in good spirits. I did not
eat before this run, as it was a "short" one, so I was ready for the bagels with cream cheese and of course the crunchy pickles. Our next run is 20 miles...taking everything in stride.

Where there is great love, there are always wishes. Willa Cather