On the Riverbed

In my last post, I wrote about running on the San Diego riverbed, which may have made it sound all scenic and lovely.... and while there were some high points to the SDTC Marathon Pace Run on the San Diego riverbed yesterday, there are three things that I need to clarify.

1. The San Diego riverbed isn't really a riverbed. It's just an inlet that at various points of high or low tide has varying amounts of water in it, so sometimes it looks like a river; other times it looks like a swamp. And while there may be some fresh water that flows from inland somewhere (Elsie will have to weigh in on that one; she's the local biologist...or maybe Betty knows; she knows all about geography and was born and raised here), for the most part, it's not all that pretty, and to be honest, in a really low tide, it sorta stinks.
2. Along side the riverbed is a pretty rutted out bike path, which is where we run. I've been on this path A LOT in the last two years. It's the path we take as we leave Hospitality Point and head into Ocean Beach or Point Loma (and back to Hospitality Point). It is an asphalt path, which is nicer to run on than concrete, but it is in some pretty serious need of repaving, which makes it challenging. However, given the train-wreck that is currently calling itself San Diego's local government, that's probably not going to happen any time soon.
3. On the marathon pace run, which we did yesterday, we run two miles inland on the "bike path" and two miles back...back and forth, back and forth, for two hours.
   

All that being said...here's what I LOOOOOOVED about yesterday's Marathon Pace Run at Hospitality Point.

Elsie and I, in the crowd, at the start of the run...Irene was there, took this photo, and sent it to me. I love that she took a picture where I don't look like a complete dork while running.

• The weather...nice, cool, slight ocean breeze, no sun...perfect running weather.
  
• The distance....I was supposed to run 2 hours, but I decided to run 1:30 (8 miles) instead. I had decided this well ahead of time. In truth, at the end of the 8 miles, I felt like I could have kept running, but since I've been battling the cold, the PF, and some other nagging injuries, I decided to cut it short. Odd how running 8 miles is cutting it short for me now.
  
• Since I fueled up on Sudafed Extreme Cold Formula, the head cold didn't bother me during the run as I feared it would. In fact, I think running helped me get rid of the cold faster (or maybe it was the Airborne...I still believe after all).
  
• (Well, except for the runny nose, but isn't that why long sleeves were invented?)
• Since it was an out and back, out and back, out and back run, I got to see all my fast running friends (like BBJ and Kat) who I never otherwise see during runs.

BBJ who is running sans iPod because it is lent and the Pope told him to... He commented in my last post that running w/o tunes is doable.

Kat, who ran with a bloody nose and scared people...but was fine, really.

• This year, I did not get lapped by Elvis.

Minor annoyances

• None really (WHAT? NO ANNOYANCES?) Geez Alice. WTF is up with that? No really...it was a lovely run.
• OK...I know it's called a "bike path" but do people on bikes really need to ride 35 mph on this short section of the path when there are clearly a few hundred walkers and runners on it? I saw this one guy on a bike, who was clearly going way too fast, almost take out a runner.
  

And also, there's this.... I've sadly blown through YET ANOTHER PAIR OF SUNGLASSES. I should have a whole label on this blog just for all my sunglass stories, and about my inability to keep a single pair of running sunglasses intact for any length of time.

Seriously?

As I was headed into Mile 4 yesterday, even though there was no sun, I decided to put my sunglasses on. But, when I put them on there was some condensation from my sweaty head on the lenses, so I decided to use my shirt tail to clean them off and in doing so...

SNAP...

they f-in snapped in two (well, three if you count the nose bridge).

I can't believe it. This is, at least, the third pair of sunglasses I've gone through this year...and I LOVED this pair. They didn't slip down my nose, and despite being sorta big, they didn't fog up when I ran...GAH!

I've called Nike, and there's another 800 number that I've got to call on Monday that is their sunglass division...And while they've got a year warranty on them, and I should be able to wipe lenses without them snapping in half, To be honest, I'm not hopeful.

((sigh))

Still...it was a nice run. No breakfast afterward. I didn't want to push it. Went home. Took a mega-nap. Went out for a nice dinner with Walter last night (we don't do enough of that...)

Also...can't wait to hear about Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon this week...can't wait. can't wait. can't wait...