Postcards from San Diego

(Belated) greetings from San Diego!

So... that's it. I cut ties with my job in San Diego. No more week-long visits every other month. No more business trips (at least not in the near future). No more hope of renewing my California driver's license.

But... I did spend one last, glorious week there last month. Here's the picture postcard version:

There was ice skating...

Ice skating at Horton Plaza
The kid next to me is making the same face.

And I enjoyed cocktails at one of my favorite downtown restaurants: Quality Social.
The restaurant features dishes from scratch and superb beverages.
(Try the pickle back shot. Whiskey with a pickle juice chaser. Sounds gross, I know. But seriously. Delicious.)

Dress code at Quality Social:
"If it's on the Jersey Shore, it's not getting through the door."

I went for one, unplanned, last shopping spree at the Little Italy Saturday farmers market...

You can see San Diego Bay from the market

Fresh local produce...

... and some of the best uni in the world. Served fresh at the market.

After 10 years of living in San Diego, and 12 years of working there, I thought I had seen everything downtown had to offer. But on my last run through the city, in the Chinese Cultural District, I found a hidden garden I had never seen before.

Then I filled my belly with Mexican food and fusion delights...

Avocado and heirloom radish salad

Braised pork belly

Pizza with spinach and locally-grown mushrooms

I couldn't leave without saying goodbye to the Balboa Park rose garden...

...and the Botanical House...

Botanical House at Balboa Park

...and the giant ficus tree...

One of several giant ficus trees in Balboa Park

... and my favorite little garden in the park.

View from Alcazar Garden

I also got to spend time with my extended family, and I stopped by to see the seals in La Jolla (at night, so no pictures).

Unfortunately, with work and family obligations, I did not get a chance to run with my long-time running buddies... but while I've said goodbye to a San Diego paycheck, I'm not leaving forever. The big difference is that on the next trip, I'll be 100% tourist!

What places would you want to visit "one last time" if you were leaving your hometown?

Have you ever eaten uni (sea urchin)?

Seen on the run: San Diego street art

Photos of rave runs in San Diego usually focus on the cliffs at Torrey Pines or the gardens in Balboa Park. While I dearly love both running locations, I'm an urban runner at heart.

So here's a glimpse of how I see San Diego when I run...

Sidewalk seating in Little Italy

Mexican Fiesta - the best Saturday morning post-run burrito
can be found in a shack in the shadow of a shiny office building.

Street art in an alley in Little Italy

Street art in an alley in Little Italy

Where do you prefer to run: city, suburb, track, treadmill, or trails?

Sweet treat

What do you get when you take a 14-mile paved trail around San Diego's Mission Bay, add 2 dozen cupcakes, and sprinkle in a handful of friends?

The fitness trail, east side of Mission Bay.

The "runner's bathroom" at Mission Bay.
Is there any doubt that this is a runner's town?

Answer: 1 happy runner.

I've been doing long-run training solo since I moved to Pensacola. Hubby paces me for the first mile or two, then speeds off into the distance.

It was a delicious change of pace to have company for my miles yesterday. Not only did my friend, C, pace me for nearly 2.5 hours, she also provided some post-run treats.

Post-run fuel-party: Homemade cupcakes, milk, almond milk, and water.

When I got back to my hotel, I had just enough energy left to take a shower and call for a plate of room service risotto... Room service can feel like a total cop-out when I'm surrounded by both great restaurants and plenty of friends to dine with, but the run wore me out (in a good way) and I did dine with friends first...  We feasted on cupcakes served from a sidewalk cafe!

I am one happy runner.

What's your post-run food of choice?

Do you train solo or with a group?

Running Balboa Park

At least once a week my friends at the San Diego Running meetup get together and run through Balboa Park (one of my favorite places to run in the whole wide world). I used to lead a weekly group run through the park - taking advantage of many miles of trails in the summer months and lighted pedestrian paths in the winter.

Last week Hubby and I were lucky enough to catch up with our SDR friends for 5 miles of hilly, muddy trail running. Let's just say, it was good to be back...

Greetings from San Diego!

The trails were muddy from a recent rainstorm, but the weather cleared and was perfect by the time we started running. For the last half mile we were running into a perfect San Diego sunset...

The home stretch, down the Prado... Running into the sunset.

One trip to Balboa Park is rarely enough for me, so I went back later in the week. For my second spin around the park, I took a different route - more garden, less trail.

Alcazar garden

One of the coolest things about the park is that I always see or learn something new. I recently discovered that today's lily pond (in front of the botanical house) was used as a swimming pool for sailors during World Wars I and II.

Botanical building and reflecting pool.

Today that same space is a favorite photo spot for weddings and Quincañera celebrations. (My how times have changed.)

I'm just lucky enough to have been able to run through the park hundreds of times over the past few years, and lucky enough to be able to travel back often - to keep running in my favorite place even though I now  live far away.

What's your favorite place in the world to run?

Packing

Inevitable pet behavior:
I start packing, and Peanut tries to go along for the ride.

My trip to San Diego is winding down... but there is one photographic gem I wanted to share with you before I go back to Florida.

Peanut seems to know when I'm leaving. Her favorite trick, when I'm packing, is to lie in the middle of my pile of clothes. I have had to learn to pack around her (or to hang my clothes well out of her reach).

I can't figure out whether Peanut is trying to get in the way so I can't leave, or whether she's trying to blend in with the sweaters in hopes that I'll "accidentally" take her with me. (Maybe she knows I'm back in San Diego, and she misses the weather as much as I do? After all, this is her "real" home too...)

Either way, I'll be back in Florida soon, and I'm sure we'll go through this dance all over again next time I have to pack my suitcase.

What items are on your "must pack" list when you travel?
Do your pets "know" when you're going away for more than a day?

A tale of two San Diegos

This is either a tale of two cities, or a story about one city with two personalities. (Keep in mind that the following photos were taken within a 60-minute period of time this morning...)

I woke up to the sound of rain on the hotel windows.

By the time I walked downstairs for a cup of coffee, the day looked like this:

View of sunny skies over downtown San Diego

"Great! The storm is over!" I thought to myself... I pulled on my workout clothes, grabbed my camera, and headed out for a nice long walk.

Within minutes, the sky turned dark, the heavens opened up, and I was being pelted by stinging hail!

Hiding from the hail (round 2) in a bus shelter

I am proud to say that, while I considered retreating to the hotel gym, I decided to tough it out. I hid next to a tree hoping that the 30 mph winds wouldn't topple the tree onto me. (What a horrible travel story that would be!) And the sun reappeared a few minutes later.

Beginning of the MLK park in San Diego

I walked a good 4 miles, stopping to take the occasional photo and dodging the occasional sprinkle of rain and gust of wind.

Marina in downtown San Diego

With about half a mile left to go back to my hotel, thick clouds rolled in and the wind picked up again. I started to run, but wasn't quite fast enough. Wind-driven hail pelted me sideways.

My realization of the day: hail hurts!

And... of course... as soon as I was safely back at my hotel, the sun came out again.

I gave the crazy weather a couple of hours to sort itself out, and headed out for an evening run with Hubby "hash-run" style... We ran through my old neighborhood, stopped for a glass of wine mid-run (hashing has taught me that I can, surprisingly, have a beverage then keep running), and sprinted back to the hotel.

As we were running back, we caught a brilliant sunset over the bay. Those clouds are really pretty when they're not spitting hail!

I'm here (mostly) for work... but today's wine-fueled run felt like a vacation.

City mouse. Country mouse.

This morning I gushed about my love of urban running. But I was in a hurry to get to work and did not have time to post photos from my morning adventure. (It would be poor form to travel for work and then be late to the office!)

So here are a collection of my gritty, grainy photos from downtown San Diego. Yes, there are pretty places (like Balboa Park, just a few blocks away) to run in this city, but those places don't come with street art...

Has Banksy been here?

(If you're going to see a mouse rat in the city, a graffiti rat is the kind you want to see, no?)

And while I love the pretty running routes, they don't make me feel like part of the city the way hurtling down 6th Avenue does.
Dodging delivery trucks does.
Sprinting through intersections before the light change does.

America's Finest...

Urban running comes with its fair share of grit and grim reality... Angry, shouting, shoving matches between people with a grudge to settle... Homeless people trying to stay dry in a rainstorm... Car accidents at intersections that ruin a person's day (or life)...

But for all the grit, there is a humming vitality and a hopefulness, too... People hustling to work because the economy is starting to recover... An entrepreneur selling palm-frond flowers to make a buck... Dogs leading their owners on a tour of the neighborhood... A new restaurant getting its first delivery of linens... A city maintenance worker whistling while she goes about her work...

That energy is unlike anything else.

Source: flickr.com via V_Smith on Pinterest

I'll run trails if you ask me to..

But if I get to choose, I'll take the concrete jungle, please.

Are you a city mouse or a country mouse?

Good morning city!

Good morning from downtown San Diego!
I woke up this morning to sneak a couple of streak-y miles in before a busy day at the office.

I love urban running, especially early in the morning.

I love watching the delivery workers delivering food and other supplies to the restaurants and hotels.

I love watching the taxicabs cruise the streets (and this early in the morning the roads belong to taxicabs and delivery trucks).

I love how on-my-toes I need to be: looking over my shoulder to check for turning cars, dodging people sleepwalking to work with their heads bent over their first coffee of the day, jumping off the curb and into the street for a block to stay out of the way of the window-washer's equipment.

Nothing wakes me up quite like a morning run in a place like this...

Downtown San Diego skyline (photo from 2009)

Good. Bad. Weird. Wonderful.

Good: Finished 2 runs today.
My legs are slowly starting to feel less like lead and more like legs!

Bad: I'm home alone in Florida and my San Diego friends are at a holiday party. Without me.
Florida FAIL.

Weird: I bumped into a former student at a group run tonight. Met his mom, too. Good for them for exercising! But weird to meet a student when I'm wearing schlubby old running clothes and my hair is a hot mess. (See "Bad" below.)

Good: Discovered a free yoga class in my neighborhood. Score!

Bad: The humidity is so intense, my house keys collect condensation as soon as I step outside. (Just imagine what's that's doing to my hair. Even ponytails can't survive sauna conditions. Not ideal running weather, either...) Florida fail again!

Weird: On my morning run, there was a pig rooting around in a neighbor's lawn.
Yes.
A pig.
I do not live in, on, or anywhere near a farm.
I still have no idea where the pig came from or where he was going.
The weirdest part: I stopped to stare. Another runner passed and didn't notice at all. (Seriously, dude. How do you not notice a 150 pound PIG on the side of the road??? If a third neighbor hadn't also noticed the little porker, I'd have worried for my sanity.)

Wonderful: Just as I was starting to be really bummed out about sitting at home alone (Hubby's away for work tonight), missing my California friends, this song came on World Cafe:


If I have to be stuck home alone, finding good new music is a consolation prize I'm willing to accept.

What song(s) are on "repeat" on your playlist right now?
Any other good/bad/weird/wonderful events today?

If you're going to be in San Diego... (and guest post)

Hammer Fest (n): An event of serious endurance activity. Example: "Bob, are you ready for today's workout? It's going to be a hammer fest!"

HAMMER FESTival 2010

Alternative example: The HAMMER FEST(ival) is my favorite party of the year, but this year I'm not going to be able to make it!

So... instead I'm going to tell you why, if you're in San Diego on December 9th, you should go!

Seriously San Diego readers, you know I don't "plug" things just for the sake of PR. Last year's party/gala/charity-fundraiser was incredible. (Yes, that is me front and center in the photo. It's my best side!) We stayed out dancing 'til midnight on a Tuesday night and raised thousands of dollars for the American Liver Foundation. This year the party moves to a Friday night, and a bigger location...

Hmm...I wonder if I can convince Hubby that we should fly back to San Diego for a weekend so we can go play with our friends? Maybe I can talk him into an early Christmas present...

In the meantime, I am going to let my good friend MZ explain the event:

Endurance athletes in San Diego spend a lot of time together and often in strange places. We meet at locations like "The Runners' Bathroom" (the WHAT?!) in Mission Bay, the vaguely menacing "The Cove" in La Jolla, the parking lot of a local coffee shop or park, sometimes in very remote areas of the city.

At 5am.

Then, we spend countless hours suffering together, be it a 2.4 mile swim in rough ocean waters, a 50+ mile bike ride up and down the steep local mountains or a long, long, looooong run on the trails or the pavement.

Or all three. On the same day. Not always in that order.

And then, there is food. Lots and lots of food to restore any kind of energy that one can get. "I only have two states: when I am eating and when I am hungry" - says local triathlete, Peter Blomgren.

Going through these self-imposed ordeals with the same people sure creates a new sense of camaraderie and support. Endurance athletes are a tight-knit group of people, united in the misery of training, the pleasure of overcoming their personal obstacles, achieving athletic results and, sometimes, simply reaching the finish line.

But let's be honest: majority of the time we are together, we dress in a very peculiar way. Visors, helmets or swimcaps, wetsuits or high-tech shirts and shorts, sunglasses, and running shoes. All are great and comfortable clothes, assisting us in our training. Think moisture-wicking clothing, for example... it is fantastic for staying dry and transferring the moisture off skin and into the air.

In other words, most of the time we see each other, we STINK!

Then there are the awkward situations when we see our training partners for the first time wearing jeans and t-shirts and don't recognize them. "Hi, nice to meet you! I am... wait" is not an uncommon greeting at all.

Meet The HAMMER FESTival.
The event is a holiday gala conceived by Dennis Caco who also produces and organizes it along with a group of volunteers from San Diego Running (SDR) - the city's largest premier free running group.

The HAMMER FESTival is unique in many ways: it is the city's only endurance athlete event organized by volunteers from the athletic community.

It is a rare chance to dress up, enjoy exquisite food, drinks, award presentations, video production, live music and dancing together.
It is also an important fundraising event supporting The American Liver Foundation, complete with local and national sponsors, silent auctions, raffles, thousands in prizes and donations.

It is a fantastic opportunity for San Diego's endurance athletes to get to know each other outside of their typical meeting places: on the run, on the bike, or in the water.

Last year 200 tickets sold out in 3 weeks. This year demand is so strong that we anticipate 300 guests, and the tickets are selling fast!

What better way to further existing friendships and meet new people, united by similar goals, interests and activities?
It is a chance to put the strength of our solid athletic community to support a great charity.

And finally, it is an opportunity to relax and have fun.

As hard as we train...
...let's face it, we deserve it!

The 2nd installment of The FESTival takes place on December the 9th at 6p at the San Diego Hall Of Champions. The event is open to everyone and tickets are on sale now at http://www.thehammerfestival.com/

For more information, please contact thehammerfestival@gmail.com

Have you ever not recognized a running buddy when you saw the person all dressed up? (This totally happened to me at least year's party. Sorry, Peter!)
Have you ever been to a charity gala? If so, what was it like?

Christmas in September

You may (or may not) have heard, but there was a massive blackout in Southern California beginning mid-afternoon yesterday. Initial reports suggested that the blackout could last well into the day on Friday (although Facebook status updates show that the lights, in my social network at least, started going back on at around 2:30am).

Regular readers may ask: What does this have to do with you? You're in Florida!

To which I reply: My day job is a telecommute to sunny San Diego. Through the marvels of modern technology at midnight last night (FL time) I received a call and email stating that the office would be closed on Friday. All San Diego county public schools are also closed.

The local electric company has already restored power to all 1.4 million customers, but who am I to argue with an "office closed" notice?

I had none of the troubles of the power outtage. No commute problems. No difficulty cooking dinner or keeping my perishable foods fresh in a not-running refrigerator. (The power does go out in my Florida neighborhood at least every other week... but that's another story for another time.) I just get all of the work-cancelling benefits of the massive So Cal blackout.

It's like Christmas in September!

I had planned to work all day, but instead I was able to sleep in and then linger over a second cup of coffee instead of rushing to get my morning run in before work. Now I am planning a beach day instead of a work day.

Heck, I might skip the run altogether and go for a hike instead! When else will I get to hike mid-day on a Friday?

What would you do with an unscheduled day off from work?


Photos courtesy of Sura Nualpradid / FreeDigitalPhotos.net and BarefootSnapshots.com

Run San Diego

My recent trip was the inspiration for a series of travel-run posts about San Diego. Here is the final installment of gratuitous commentary about running in So Cal:

Having to pick a favorite run in San Diego is like having to pick my favorite wine: sometimes I want something bright and floral, sometimes I want something more intense. So here, in no particular order, are runs that I keep going back to over and over again:

Ocean Beach, from Dog Beach to Sunset Cliffs

6 miles that encompass the hippie/gritty OB seawall, urban alley running, trails so close to the bluff edge that you sometimes wonder whether or not you'll fall off (and at least one runner has, so be careful, folks!), and it's all topped off with view from the top of Ladera St hill out over the Pacific that is worth the effort expended to get up there.

Balboa Park
On-road in Balboa Park there are endless variations for runs ranging from a couple of miles to a dozen. Off-road, there are well-groomed dirt trails with shady scenery and some killer hills. (See here for more details.) The scenery and people watching in the park are fantastic, too.

The only downside to the park: I am certain I have spoiled more than my fair share of wedding, engagement, and quinceanera photos by being "that sweaty runner" in the background. If you are one of those people who has been sweaty-runner photobombed: I'm sorry!

Torrey Pines
Oh, that hill... One quarter mile and 400 feet of elevation change with some of the most break-your-heart beautiful scenery in the 360-degree view from the top. In all my travels, I have never found a prettier place to do (painful) hill repeats.

Photo courtesy of: SDR

Heading "home"

Tonight I'm blogging from the Atlanta airport. (Thank goodness for mobile broadband on long layovers!)

I still have one more hop to go to get home to my hubby, cat (Peanut), and my bed. But, despite the long hours of air travel, I am sure I woke up at home this morning. By "get home" I mean returning to the Gulf Coast. But by waking up "at home" I mean San Diego. Seven months after moving to Florida, my brain is still reeling, trying to figure out which one is which.

When I "get home" hubby will greet me with hugs and kisses. Peanut will head-butt me (her sign of affection) then flop over and expect me to rub her tummy. I will be glad to get home, because I miss them both terribly.

But when I woke up "at home" this morning I had the good fortune to run with more than half a dozen of my very good friends, at one of my favorite running places in the world: Sunset Cliffs in Ocean Beach. The weather was cool -- there was no need for "beat the heat" tricks I use in Florida. (The rumors are true. San Diego weather really is perfect running weather year-round.)

We ran along cliffs towering above the Pacific ocean. We watched dolphins searching for their breakfast. My friend C baked the most amazing peanut butter and jelly cookies for our post-run breakfast. (C, if you're reading this, those are the best cookies I have ever eaten. Period.)

I've covered more than 4,500 miles (in air) over the past four days. I'll probably forget every single one of them. (Heck, I slept through several thousand of them.)

But the six miles I ran this morning will stick in my memory for years to come.

Sunny San Diego

I have a thing for urban running. You might call it a crush.
This crush is especially intense in San Diego.

This afternoon, after wrapping up my work for the week, I rushed back to my hotel to change into running clothes and hit the pavement.

Temperatures have been in the mid-70s, with a cool breeze. There is not a cloud in the perfect San Diego sky. I know exactly why this place will always be "home."

I took off heading West, toward the water. Looped around the County Administration Building. Crossed over to the Harbor. Passed the Star of India (a historic sailing ship). Dodged crowds of tourists. (Oh yes... I forget how much like sheep the tourists are!) Sprinted past the USS Midway.
Skipped Seaport Village (the ratio of tourists to sidewalk space was not in my favor today).

Turned instead toward one of my favorite features in downtown San Diego: the Martin Luther King Promenade, a linear park that runs along Harbor Drive. Passed locals walking their dogs. (San Diego is a canine kind of town.) Breezed by Giants fans, in town for a game. (Why are there so many more people in Giants orange than Padres blue?) Turned and ran, for the first time, over the new and amazingly beautiful Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge. Wound around the ballpark, past throngs of laughing fans and bands belting out tunes on the sidewalk. Ran north, through the grittier blocks, past clusters of homeless San Diegans, airing their sleeping bags out in the sun. Wrapped up with a slight uphill climb past Symphony Hall, toward Balboa Park. Walked back to my hotel with a smile on my face.

I love the energy in a bustling city. I love the movement and the laughter. I love the honking, and yelling, and noise. I love watching the tourists posing for photos, and the locals lying in the grass reading their books.

This is the happiest four miles I've run in a long time... I might just go out and do it again.

Photo courtesy of: Jeffrey Beall

The things in my suitcase

I should be am packing for (yet another) flight across the country. Duty calls, and I'm off to San Diego for two and a half days. While this is a work trip, the contents of my suitcase speak volumes about what I'll be doing in the few spare moments I'll have.

Here's a peek into (most of) my suitcase for this trip:

• one grey wool gabardine suit and matching top
  
• one pair of matching dress shoes
  
• toothbrush and paste
  
• two pairs of running shorts
  
• two sports bras and two sleeveless tanks
  
• four pairs of injinji toesocks (because I might wear a sports bra twice if it's not too hot outside, but I will never re-wear a pair of socks without proper laundering)
  
• Mizuno, Wave Riders, size 8.5
  
• shampoo, conditioner, and comb (gotta' shower after a good run)
  
• one dress (that can be worn anywhere, and never has a wrinkle)
  
• flip flops, to wear after soaking my feet in the hotel pool after a run
  

Look out San Diego, here I run! Photo courtesy of: University of Washington Libraries

San Diego Rock n Roll marathon memories

Today, as I'm sitting at my keyboard 2,000 miles away from home, I'm tracking my running buddies at the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll marathon. This is bittersweet for me, as Rock 'n' Roll was my first marathon five years ago, and I've either run or cheered at most of the races since then.

The city of San Diego feels like a festival on marathon day, and I miss the surging crowds, the faces of the runners digging deep to get in the last few miles, and the camaraderie among the finishers. Oh, and I dearly miss Balboa Park. In all the races I've run, I've never found a prettier place to start a run.

However, rather than letting long distance (the bad, you need-to-get-in-a-plane kind... not the good, long-run-on-a-Sunday kind) get me down, I've used remote marathon fever to help me pick a few half marathons for the fall.

Go runners!

A short video that should warm any endurance athlete's heart

My friends at SDR put this short video together for their annual holiday party and charity banquet.

Enjoy!

July 4th Scripps Ranch 10k (hosted by "The Old Pros")

The annual July 4th Scripps Ranch 10k in San Diego is (no exaggeration) my favorite race of all time. The organizers get everything right, and I mean everything.

• Plenty of port-a-pottys, so the lines are never long.
  
• A net downhill course, so you feel like you're flying (and your times show that you, indeed, did fly).
  
• Neighbors shuttling runners from the parking area to the starting line in their cars, just because they're friendly, and that's how this group rolls.
  
• Cold towels handed to runners at the finish line.
  
• A shady beer garden to recover in after the race.
  
• A field of runners (about 1,500-1,700) that is small enough to feel like a hometown race, but big enough to bring out some good competition.

This is the perfect race to get the Fourth of July festivities off on the right foot.

Results can be found here.