Runs With Friends

Once again, time for blogging has slipped away from me, but these last few weekends have been perfect in terms of getting in my final long runs before the San Francisco Marathon in a four weeks. (Wow, just four weeks!!?)

I've been doing all of my long runs with speed-demon Katie lately, which is great because she really knows how to push me when I need a little push. She also knows how to humor me when I really need a little break. :) While I never thought I'd be a social runner -- I've always enjoyed getting out there on my own -- all of my recent runs seem to prove otherwise...

Saturday, June 25th

Last Saturday, I met up with Katie and Aron for my first 20-miler of this training cycle. We met at the Sports Basement in Potrero Hill and ran 20 miles of the San Francisco Marathon course. We had an AWESOME long run, and even though I had a teeny tiny bonk at mile 17, this training run was a huge confidence booster for SFM.

20 miles/2:52:24/8:37 pace

Katie, Aron, & me

Sunday, June 26th

On Sunday, I left the City to run for the very first time! Aron organized a Bay Area blogger meet-up, and I got to see some old friends as well as meet some new ones. We headed over to Danville where I did an easy recovery run, and I enjoyed chatting, drinking coffee, and getting to know these girls afterward. I loved running on the Iron Horse Trail and hope to go back for more long runs in the future.

6 miles/56:34/9:27 pace

Back row: Alisyn, Naomi, Page, Kristen, Caitlin, Kerry, Layla, Beth, Courtney
Front row: me, Tara, Audrey, Jana, Katie, Megan, Aron
Not pictured: Cate

Katie, me, & LaylaLoved all the shade from the trees -- it is HOT over in the East Bay!Mmmmm coffeeAlisyn, Courtney, me, Aron, Cate, & Layla

Thursday, June 30th

On Thursday, I went to the lululemon Run Club rewards program kick-off. I have gone to their ROGA (running + yoga) sessions before, but this is a brand-new program where we get lululemon rewards for running mileage with the team. A lot of people showed up, and we had a great time running with so many lululemon enthusiasts.

It's a bit like finding Waldo, but I'm in there.

Laura, Katie, & me

Aron & me

Saturday, July 2nd

Yesterday, I met up with a few ladies for a simple (by "simple" I mean "not as hilly as the SFM course") 16-miler along the west side of the city. I really wanted a break from the hills I have been training on, and a casual tweet conversation about running with Katie turned into an epic adventure with other runners. I finally got to meet Megan, another vegan runner who came into the city to join us. Aron brought Kristin along, and we had a great time as these 16 miles seriously flew by.

16 miles/2:19:00/8:38 pace

Katie, me, & Golden Gate Park

Megan, Katie, me, Kristin, & Aron

Sunday, July 3rd

Ramen has become one of my favorite foods, and for a while I've been wanting to plan a "Ramen Run." Today that happened! Although this weekend was a busy one for traveling and it was also ungodly hot in the city, a great group of people came out to Golden Gate Park for a casual run -- and we indulged in ramen afterward! I had a great recovery run and a fun morning with Layla, Kerry, Audrey, RoadBunner, Kristen, Jana, Naomi, and Karin.

8 miles/1:12:54/9:06 pace

Naomi, Layla, Karin, RoadBunner, Audrey, Kerry, me, Jana, Kristen

All of us at Genki Ramen for the most perfect post-run meal (even when it's stupid hot out)

YASAI = BEST RAMEN EVER

Sunday, July 10th

Next weekend I will be taking part in a 6-hour distance challenge, where athletes run as many 1-mile loops as they can/want in 6 hours. I am planning on using this as my final long run before SFM, and I'll be dropping out once I hit my intended mileage (still up in the air, but I'm thinking 22 to 24 miles based on how I'm feeling.) I've managed to talk some friends into also running the 6-hour challenge for their long runs as well, so next weekend is going to be another fun weekend of running long with friends.

As I close in on my one-year anniversary of being in the Bay Area (has it been 11 months already!!??), all of these group runs have allowed me to enjoy a lot of the beauty and excitement the Bay Area has to offer -- both in terms of running and in friendships. I feel so lucky to be here and to have been welcomed into such an awesome community.