2007th Ain’t Too Bad

I’ve never thought I would be proud to say that I am the 2007th best at something. But, after finishing the 2008 San Francisco Marathon in 2007th overall place, I feel pretty damn good. At the time of making the decision to the run in the marathon with my two friends, my main goal was to finish. After running consistently for a few months, my goal shifted to finishing in under 5 hours and after running for four months, I had set my sights on beating Oprah’s personal best marathon time (4:29:20). I’m proud to say that I accomplished all of these goals and then some. When it was all said and done, I crossed the line in 4:24:08.

Fear and Respect

Wayne has put the fear and respect of 26.2 miles into me.  I recently met Wayne, who is a friend’s dad, at an Indiana-style cookout.  Wayne is no ordinary friend’s dad.  Wayne is the type of friend’s dad who has run a few marathons and volunteer coaches a high school cross country team.  Wayne also logs 15 miles every weekend and routinely joins the team of high schoolers for 7 to 8 miles runs.  Oh, and I also should mention that Wayne is over 60.

Yes. 60.  years.  old.

Is Montreal Too Cool For Fixies?

I just spent some time in Montreal and had done a considerable amount of walking and running around the city.  One thing that has really jumped out at me is the number of bicycle and people cruising around the city.  I’m sure it’s mainly a summertime thing, but people were out in force in Montreal.  Just about every twenty paces you see a bike locked up to one of the ever present bike posts.  Bikes everywhere.

Feed the Animals – Name Your Price!

A friend twittered that he was listening to the new Girl Talk album while waiting to catch a flight.  That got me thinking…I need that album.  Girl Talk’s debut was pretty awesome and I’ve rarely seen the Fillmore ever go off in ways that were witnessed last September when entire stage was crowded with kids freakin’ out almost swallowing a little bearded man twisting knobs and pounding on a lap top. 

My Toes Hurt

After roughly three months of running more than I have ever run in my life, I think I am really starting to feel it.  When I say ‘it’.  ‘It’ refers to the pain. The long runs are starting to feel real long and the creaks are getting creakier.  I’m definitely not 19 anymore.  But, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to bounce back from the longer runs. Walking up the stairs to my house is usually problematic the day (or two) after a long run.  On the bright side, we a heading down the home stretch with this *training* regimen.  On Sunday we hit the 16 mile mark. Then, I promptly came home, drank a gatorade, and zonked out for a few hours.  It’s now Monday and I’m still pretty sore.  My toes actually hurt. The thought of running 26 miles in one go somehow doesn’t seem that appealing anymore.

Training Run #38 – 4.17 mi – 9.11 min/mi

Training Run #39 – 7.67 mi – 8.51 min/mi

Training Run #40 – 16.02 mi – 9.43 min/mi

Offline

Last Thursday, a router busted and the good people at 369 Oak Street were without access to the internet for a whopping six days. SIX DAYS.  On the surface, it doesn’t seem like too big a deal, but I challenge you to go for an entire weekend without accessing the internet in the comfort of your own home.  It kinda sucks…more than I thought it would.  I wanted to go to a movie, but couldn’t find movie times.  I wanted to do a little research for my upcoming trip to Montreal, but couldn’t without walking to a bookstore.  I needed a recipe for flounder dish I like to make, but couldn’t get to my bookmarks.  I wanted the morning news on Sunday without leaving the house, but was thwarted. Hell, for all I knew there could be a black man running for president or the Lakers playing the Celtics in the NBA Finals. Oh, wait…that actually did happen.

Am I Making Progress? Or am I Falling Apart?

After slightly falling off the training schedule due to the annual Bay to Broken recovery period and spending too much time in Thieves Tavern watching the Lakers and the Machine drive to the NBA Finals, I’m finally starting to get back to normal.  On a side note, if you ever need a pint and a boiled hot dog and you only have $3, go to Thieves between 5 and 8pm.  So far, Thieves hasn’t let me down.

Does 2/3rds of Outside Lands Kinda Suck?

I realize that’s it’s all personal preference.  I have a friend who thinks Cake is the best think since sliced bread.  Personally, I don’t really get it.  Another thing I just get is plunking down $250 for a weekend of music.  Unless, of course, it is a stellar line up. Outside Lands…I’m not so sure.

Jihadi Outfitters

A funny thing happend while at the Kanye West show last week with Zozo and ‘Gela.  I can’t remember if it was after N.E.R.D. or Rhianna (both of which pretty subpar), but we stared noticing a trend.  Actually, we started noticing a couple trends.  I hope my yet to be conceived daughter will never be overweight, yet wear tiny denim shorts, heels, halter tops, and fedoras with a tramp stamp.  Don’t forget the tramp stamp. If I had a dollar for every prominently displayed tramp stamp I saw at the show, I could have paid for my $80 ticket five times over.  No, it wasn’t that trend.  It was the trend that started with the guy sitting in front of us.  It was that scarf and that pattern.

It’s Easy Being Green!

In commemoration of Earth Day, I thought it would be appropriate to highlight those thoughtful little things people are doing to save the planet.  Running down the embarcadero today, I saw an unusually big crowd gathered around the Hard Rock Cafe.  I thought this was odd. Perhaps people were waiting in line to get a taste of the Hard Rock’s chicken wings.  This thought was quickly scuttled as I remembered there is a Hooters right across the street. Everybody knows Hooters has much tastier wings.  As I got a little closer, I realized that everyone was gathered around a 50-foot tour bus with Tommy Lee’s surgically enhanced face plastered all over it.  Okay.  But, then I got closer and saw stamps all over the bus with catchy ‘green’ slogans.  Turns out Tommy Lee is riding around the country in a ‘green’ tour bus.  What a guy!  Sacrificing in the name of the environment and limiting his carbon footprint.  I mean, nothing screams sustainability more that a 50 foot tour bus hauling around an aging rock star.  I bet Tommy Lee even has a personal sustainability plan.  If Tommy can reduce his carbon footprint, so can you!

Training Run # 15 – 7.28 mi – 9.33 mi/min