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Author Archive
Icon Run: Chrissy Field
Whatever else you might want to say about former President Clinton, he did know what to do with a well endowed military (wink wink). His decision to transfer large portions of Army land to the National Park Service gave San Francisco access to an incredible stretch of land with a drop dead iconic view […]
Sheltered Cove
In a state of acute post Avenue-of-the-Giant-Half afterglow, I went in search of an ocean in which to stick my feet, an ocean for walking in the freezing cold water, with waves up to my knees, maybe higher to make up for my PR sins. (My chiropractor had warned me in no uncertain terms~ no […]
Avenue of the Giants (some very big trees)
Everything is bigger in America, right?: bigger cars, bigger bellies and bigger pocket books! Well, no not really but the Avenue of the Giants truly IS one of the validations to the myth: one of the American Icons of Big~ only this time we mean it. If you wanted to, you could sit […]
America’s Cup 2013~ Loma Prieta
Close to downtown, with easy access to public transportation and an uncluttered route with no significant stop lights along the way, the Embarcadero easily became the go-to spot for running clubs and friends meeting after work. Thank you Loma Prieta!! It was the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake that finally answered the stand off between the […]
Flat and Fast: Hayward Salt Flats
I prefer the window seat when I fly: to snuggle up to the warmth of the window sun, to have room enough to stretch out without my legs being caught by the beverage cart and time enough to stare out the window and watch the patterns of the landscape pass by. Flying into SFO, I […]
Comfort Run: Strawberry Hill
Some days are meant for Comfort Runs. A run you can cuddle up to. Something easy on the eyes, knees and determination. A macaroni and cheese of a run. Buffered from street noise by the encircling waters of Stow Lake, Strawberry Hill is a leafy green oasis that combines the steady regularity of a one […]
New Year, New Decade
A new year brings new years resolutions as the long days of darkness slowly start their climb back to the light. The holidays provided a welcome break from routine with cheerful lights, good food, and chatty conversations with family and friends. But I love the return just as much: coming back to my daily […]
Night Lights: Market Street
Starting at Montgomery BART, follow the festive holiday LED snowflake banners hung along Market Street like breadcrumbs from the fairytale Hansel and Gretel, leading you deep into the forest, in this case this stretch known as Mid-Market which is well worth a night time visit this season. You heard it here first~ this neighborhood […]
Just in time for the Holidays
Just in time for the holidays, it’s official~ no Goofy Challenge for me. More drinking, less running. I suppose I should celebrate. My first injury, Yay? After all, it means I am an athlete and I must be because Wow! it took a lot of adjustment. Regular exercise was the first order of […]
Night Lights: Union Street
Running in cold dark rainy weather is an annual challenge. But that’s why the holidays were invented, right? A festival of lights to cheer us all up when the world is so dreadfully gloomy? From Union Street to Union Square, the city is bustling with holiday lights to add a bit of spice to your […]
Jonesing for endorphines: Goat Rock Beach
Like a moth to the flame, I fluttered back to the Pacific Ocean in hopes of finding a glamorous viewpoint on the otherwise gloomy situation of my injured tendon. My once dreamy images of 20 plus mile runs in bucolic Sonoma County have been replaced by stoic walks in the frigid waters of Goat Rock […]
Medal Slut
I have a confession. I like my races to have cute medals. A lame medal is just plain sad. By “cute” I naturally mean well designed, meaningful and with graphic appeal. Right here and now, I would like to initiate a campaign to require all race web sites to post photos of their medals for […]
Make mine an Ultra!(-Diet)
Welcome to the season of EATING. Bring it on, I’m ready! In preparation for the holidays and upcoming Disney Double, more than six weeks ago I embarked on an eating experiment called simply enough, the UltraSimple Diet (http://ultrasimplediet.com/is/home?UID=1086143). I bought the book on Amazon but you can download from the site for free if you […]
Following the Conversation (1974)
My torn Achilles’ tendon renders stairs a nuisance and the act of running on them the forbidden fruit and the promised land simultaneously. But that’s not true for you now is it? Enjoy! Stairs anyone? The Conversation (1974) was known as much for the editing techniques of Walter Murch as for the direction of Frances […]
Abbotts Lagoon: an ice bath for your feet
Hurting cowgirls need to to make their days off from running count. Miles of the turbulent ice bath known as the Pacific Ocean provide ample options for Bay Area residents but Abbotts Lagoon at Point Reyes National Seashore is a particularly dreamy spot. The ever present California crowds, intimidated by the hour and half […]
Hill Park
A necklace of the white marble fragments of broken headstones are worn like talismans by the west side walkways of Buena Vista Park: evocative of a pioneer past, when this small mountain was known as Hill Park, and bodies were allowed to be buried on San Francisco soil. But in 1900 Board Supervisors voted to […]
Run for Coffee
In the need of a bit of motivation for your next run? Run for Coffee!! The extra bonus of a tasty cup of jo might be just the trick to nudge you out of bed on a cold wet dark morning. Iphone app Coffeespot helps you find an indie coffee shop near by or […]
In the footsteps of Giants’ (fans)
Want to relive this jubilent week of civic pride? Take a run down the route of the World Series Victory parade along Market Street, starting at the Ferry Building and turning in toward Civic Center Plaza at 7th. Just don’t forget to wear your orange and black! I’ll admit to an appalling lack of knowledge […]
Graton (i think i can, i think i can)
Following the tracks of the once vital Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railway (P&SR) are the The West County and Joe Rodota Trails, a fitting location for my first day after post-18 mile run with my i think i can, i think i can mantra chugging through the miles with disbelief. Transversing the apple orchards and […]
Faster than a speeding bullet (train)
Long distance running reduces a city: the easy pace of a runner distills the urban fabric until the delicious essence of what was always there becomes visible again. My legs, my breath take the topography in like a meditation, understanding beyond intellect. The misty fog of the morning, the undulating hills of long-buried dunes, […]
Goofy to run the Goofy
What do you do when you win the grand prize of your running club raffle, even when the grand prize is the entry fee for a race you don’t really want to run? When you signed up for the New York Marathon, and actually got in, but decided not to go because you just […]
MainE Marathon (OK, the half)
The morning of the Maine Marathon was delicious cool (boysenberry ice cream in July): 45C at the start, bright, blue sky with autumn color splashes, dark cobalt sea blinking in and out of view reminding me of my former life in Boston. I ran my pace like a clock: thanks to the relatively flat course, cool […]