I Ran My First Half Marathon Today

Here I am grinning ear to ear, perched above the town of Pacifica, after running my first half marathon this morning.

I didn't actually wake up this morning intending to run a half marathon. I had switched my registration from the 21k to the 9k after hearing from a number of runners that the Pacifica PC trail run is a very difficult course. But on the car ride to the race, the other runners that I was carpooling with strong-armed me into running the 21k. So I set out to do my first half marathon. (Note to self: Be careful who you carpool with. But in all seriousness, despite being much better runners than me the other three were very supportive, coaching me and making me drink water and eat even though I didn't feel like it).

It was indeed a very challenging course. The first 6 k was completely uphill, with the 1700 foot ascent culminating at the top of North Peak. Then it was back downhill on the same treacherously rocky trail. I did twist my ankle at the bottom, but it wasn't too bad and I kept going. Thinking I had the hard part of the run behind me, I set out on what I thought would be a short 9k loop after eating some oranges and PB&J squares at the aid station. The next part of the race was killer. We did a short uphill then a really long uphill that was just endless switchbacks, until we reached an elevation of 850 ft (making the total elevation for this run over 2500 ft!). The downhill back to the finish was shorter, but by that point even it seemed long to me.

I now have a better feeling for the exhaustion long distance runners experience. And it was a humbling experience, as I placed 25th in my age group and in the bottom half of the 21k finishers overall.

Still, another beautiful day spent outside on beautiful trails is a blessing. So far I've done an 8k at Rodeo Beach, a 5 mile Resolution Run on New Year's day in Los Gatos, a 16k at Angel Island and today the 21k at Pacifica. Next up is the San Francisco half marathon Feb 1 which promises to be much flatter!

A Picture Perfect Pacific Coast Trail Run On Angel Island

Above: I'm jubilant that I reached the summit on Angel Island without walking at all-- though I did jog in place for a few photo opportunities.

This morning I ran a 16 kilometer Pacific Coast trail run on Angel Island. It was what my Aunt K would call a "sparkling day."

The views were absolutely stunning-- all three bridges and San Francisco.

Below are some views of Tiburon in the foreground and Mill valley in the background:



And here is a view of Alcatraz in the foreground with San Francisco in the background, and below a photo of me with my BerekelyRunningPartner and the Golden Gate bridge behind us:



And then some more of me-- me in the morning, on the ferry in Tiburon, leaving for Angel Island. Me on the run with Tiburon and Mill valley behind me. Me and BerkeleyRunningPartner stretching out after the run:




This is one of those days when I feel lucky to be alive and immensely grateful to be healthy and able to enjoy running. The views were heartbreakingly beautiful and the good cheer of the other runners bouyed my spirits when I was tired. I'm grateful to have all these photos to remember them by.

I Can Now Say I Have Tried Lesbian Speed Dating

I imagine some of you have been waiting with bated breath to hear about my lesbian speed dating experience. So here goes...

The event was held at a Mexican restaurant/club/lounge near the SF MOMA. It was a small place, there were 16 women participating. Mostly in their twenties, one or two older (that's including me folks, I am 30 after all). I was pleased to see that not everyone was white, there was a good mix, at least one third of the women there were African-American. Range in education from community college to graduate school. Dressed from casual (jeans and a sweatshirt) to dressy (me and a few others). Some who grew up in the Bay area, others from the East coast or the South.

I don't want to write anything personal about any of the people I met just out of respect for their privacy on the small world of the internet. I found most people very easy to talk to (for all of three minutes before the bell rang). Typical questions were:

• What kinds of things do you like to do for fun? (Me: Run, read, swim)
• What kind of work do you do? (Me: Veterinary nurse in an emergency room. I don't know if it is how I said this or if people are actually impressed but lots of people reacted with strong admiration. I realized that out of the group I was one of the people who was most passionate about her job. I feel so lucky to have a job that I love. The only other people I spoke to who loved their jobs were the teachers-- there was more than one PE teacher there.)
• Where did you grow up?
• Where did you go to school?
• Do you live alone? Who do you live with?
• What type of women are you attracted to? (Which inevitably led into a discussion of butch/femme and how that didn't describe anyone perfectly. The most interesting tidbit I picked up was from a woman who had just come back from spending six months in Beijing, where apparently the scene is still heavily into butch/femme and butch women are called "T's" and femme woman are called "P's." I was pleasantly surprised that most of the women at the event were on the femme side of the spectrum, though as always I was one of the most feminine of the whole bunch)

I'm not dying to date, I'm happy single and I'm super busy so I don't even know when I would have time to date, but I checked off my secret scorecard showing interest in a few women that I liked so if they checked me off on their scorecards then I will get an email informing me of a match and I can follow it up from there. I did have one woman ask me for my number outright and I gave it to her, though I think she is a bit more into the bar scene than me, and I gave my email to one other woman who was fun to talk to and interested in meeting more gay women in the South bay as well as a potential running partner.

I went into it viewing it as a combination of an adventure and an anthropological investigation of speed dating among lesbians. Also, I view any group setting as good practice at improving my social skills.

I came out of it having gotten a boost in confidence. I did just fine talking to a whole bunch of strangers, I enjoyed it and didn't feel awkward or shy, just happy and curious to meet new people. It helped that I got some positive attention and feedback too. What I'm hoping for is not so much a relationship, but a new friend or two, and I think that there is a good chance that will happen.

After the speed dating, I stopped by work and posed for photos with Muscles and LaMexicana. Muscles then obligingly took some very nice candid photos of me. He is a talented photographer. In case you are wondering, the dog in the photo is LaMexicana's pooch, previously featured on this blog, Frida (Not Kahlo).

Come Back, My Readers, I'll Try Anew

So I've gotten several concerned emails about my lack of posts. I am alive and well, thank you :)
I'm still busy settling into my new place. And though I have been writing (those of you who know me well know that writing is a bit of a compulsion for me), it has been too private to post publicly.

Now that I am so far behind a synopsis of the past few weeks seems overwhelming. I may tackle that when I am more rested and have more time. Today I will just give you a brief history of my day.

I woke up early and sat through four hours of calculus class. It was not the most interesting part of my day because I have already had calclulus with a fabulous teacher, back in high school (and why am I taking it again? long story!). Then I went to the saltwater pool in Menlo Park (a gem of a find) and swam 160 plus laps in the unheated, outdoor pool (water temp in the high '60s, brisk but pleasantly cool and not frigid).

Though I have been rather dismayed by the amount of stuff I have accumulated in the last four months that I am forced to confront in the process of moving, I have continued to purchase things. Tidbits: I finally caved and bought a hat, since I didn't own one, something my running partner in Berkeley found hard to believe (we'll call her LongDistanceRunnerMom). I also bought my first purse (in a thrift store for $4).

Weirdest thing that I moved: a 12 pound butternut squash that was in my closet that I plan to turn into soup sometime this week. I got it at a bargain at closing at the farmers' market awhile back.

I want to publicly thank Sunshine for her help with my move. She is a good friend. It is the first move I have done in years where I had someone to help me. Also another kind nurse (who I think of as StableSaneNurse) helped me move my bed.

I will try to keep up with this a bit more, though forgive me, the last two weeks there have only been two nights where I have gotten more than four hours of sleep.

One last update: I got on the list for the second lesbian speed dating event in San Francisco this Thursday. Wish me luck!