As I just mentioned tho, sadly I haven't been able to run much lately between recovering from Bay to Breakers and now with this cold. But so yeah, a week or so ago (I just can't keep time and days straight anymore since becoming a mom!) I ran the big San Francisco event of craziness (one of them anyway!) better known as Bay to Breakers, a 7 mile run starting downtown, winding its way across the city, up a gnarly hill and then through the beautiful Golden Gate Park, ending on the Great Highway alongside the expansive Pacific Ocean and Ocean Beach. Tony was a good guy and pushed the stroller since I've been doing my share of training with it and since we didn't have a sitter so it was the kids' first (hopefully of many) B2Bs. There were your typical naked runners and plenty of fun costumes and the weather was phenomenal. Considering we started at 7 a.m. and actually ran unlike many people, we were way ahead of all the madness that ensued once people had their morning brews, cocktails or shots to get revved. As we saw driving home, the course turned into a seething mob of insanity that bled out several blocks in all directions causing major traffic issues and lots of fabulous photo ops from the car window! Apparently the big alcohol & bib crackdown (not allowing floats (which usually was just a mask for kegs) or drinking/public drunkenness and making sure everyone on the course was wearing a race bib and escorting those off that didn't) didn't work so well. Or maybe it did because the news report the next day said only 19 people had been arrested for being drunk and I don't think there were any cases of alcohol poisoning, that I heard of. There was talk that with all the restrictions this year's B2B would lose its umph and become just a...run. Imagine that?! Well no chance there, not in this city! Most everyone came out in creative, extravagant costumes (as well as totally not in our case which felt kinda embarrassing which we'll have to change next year) and just partied! We runners ran, and so we didn't see or get trapped in the mob, which was kinda a bummer because in a way that's what B2B is all about. I mean, there's tons of runs all the time in lots of cities but none like this one. Oh well, whatever. Tony had a beer circus to get to and I was exhausted so there was no time to reinsert ourselves and check it out.
Besides, it's like most things SF, and life in general for that matter, if you've seen it once you've seen it all. Been there, done that, been half naked and drunk and walking the course, taking hours & hours to finish if at all. These days i've taken the more mature, boring path! lol! Although I did log 11 miles total since it was my long training run day so after I crossed the finish line and got a swig of water I just kept going...like Forest Gump. Which reminds me, in the park with the sun on our backs I asked Tony running next to me to check out the shadow I was casting and tell me what it reminded him of. He didn't get it until I helped him out but I was a dead ringer for Forest Gump on his cross country run with his long hair and baseball hat!!
But I digress...I've never been so physically exhausted (except for the 1st trimester of my pregnancy with Tyler but even that was a different exhaustion) than Sunday after my 11 mile run. Laying on my bed wasn't relaxation enough. I begged the mattress to just swallow me up and suspend me in some weightless animation where my body might somehow actually feel semi-normal. It was crazy. I could barely walk that afternoon although it had nothing to do with sore muscles, I'm beyond that. So I'm preparing myself for that same experience after the half marathon this weekend. It's not painful but it's not pleasant. Have I not trained well enough? Am I running with bad form or do I need better shoes? All good questions and I have no answers. A fellow runner friend told me that doesn't happen to her (thumbed nose & wiggly fingers was my Nah-Nah bitter response) and that I should read the book "Born To Run" which I'm picking up at the library today as a CD since I have no time to READ it, or rather I'm prioritizing "Fifty Shades Of Grey" which I just picked up at Target and am anxious to jump into...and will surely talk about in a future blog ;)
Well, I'm taking Tyler to the doctor today since it's day 5 of fever for him and they want to just give him the full run through and make sure there's nothing else going on. I think he's just had his first flu and it will all soon be a horrible, distant memory but right now we are still sorta in it. Miz Teagan is sadly also showing signs of the same now too, fingers crossed she doesn't go through the misery Tyler has. And as for me, might just google "sinus infection" after signing off of here but surely it's just another case of letting the bug run its course. Let that course be over before Sunday!!!
LOVED the Otter Pop crew! They were even handing them out! I ate half before I realized I just took candy from a stranger...and candy that I would NEVER normally eat anyway! lol!
Those 2 mostly naked guys (I think they were wearing jock straps) caused me to pick up my pace and leave a trail of dust behind me as I ran to catch up with them and snap this picture. Yep, that's what makes Tiff run - some fine man ass!
Another selection of above mentioned running inspiration!
Relaxing with the fam post race at Park Chalet!
