Ferry Building 4miler

The big day finally arrived.....Irene's race!  Okay it was big for me for two reasons.  Firstly it was totally fab to be part of Irene training for the race and then, honestly, making it look so easy on the day and, secondly, I had peeps to run with, which was very cool (added bonus, Marcia joined us too, she has run that distance before.....tri-athlons no less.....).  All that aside 4 milers are not really my distance.  For the aficionados a four miler is this wild crazy, sick making (at least to me) sprint if you choose to run it like some mad crazy sick making thing......I do not.  Me, I'm an endurance girl who hates sprinting, being out of breath and feeling like I have to arrive someplace faster than my body is content to do!
Race started at 9am so we headed down the Fisherman's Wharf early.  It was a really fab morning, given it had rained endlessly the day before (and post race went on to rain endlessly Sunday.......just fyi, not raining today though!).
The registration crowd proved to be somewhat smaller than NY..well smaller than any race I've run in to date.  All up there were about 200 people running.  The majority veteran runners - all shapes, all sizes, all ages!
The race was along the Embacadero so given we had some time we did a little tourism....here's Marcia and I with the bay in the background.  It really did start out as a very spectacular day with the Bay very flat and calm.  In fact there were lots of crazy folk swimming.  These are the truly dedicated who seems to have an immunity to the cold.  Note I am also wearing my running vest.  Although the day was clear it wasn't exactly warm so I ran in my vest as well.  Shot on the right is Irene looking all sporty pre.race.
As we finally got underway best quote of the day goes to Irene just before they finished the countdown "Crap, so this thing is really happening then.....".  And so it did.  We started at the back of the pack and happily launched ourselves through Fisherman's Wharf and down to the Ferry Building.  It was a turnaround course so on the way back Irene chatted with some folk and we picked up a couple who assured us they were using us as their pacers!

Coming in at a very respectable time we each got handed a little purple ribbon which Irene proudly displayed (well geekily displayed) as we enjoyed our reward of a crab sandwich (in her case) and chowder bowl in mine and Marcias.  Although none of that to be enjoyed before Marcia (who clearly falls into the category as crazed....something we knew as she has participated in the Alcatraz swim on more than one occasion.....took a dip in the ocean (I did mention crazed didn't I?).
Given whole crab has become a personal favourite for me here AND we were in the tourism center of San Fran we also took the opportunity to do a little "window" shopping (Marcia holding some stylie crab eating implements).....nothing purchased but we did actually end up in this quite fab bakery/cafe/cookery shop that had lots of good stocking fillers!

Bachelorettes night out

Well okay the bachelors are Irene and I.....but you get the idea! Local restaurant (as in one block down)  New Aux Delices Vietnamese.....thought we would try it out. YUM.

On the left:  can't say what this was about, but clearly very funny........

On the right: our xmas elf.... mischievous don't you think?

Obligatory arty shot of the menu

Left: GIANT vietnamese pancake or a trick of the photographer?

Right: soup was hot....first course clearly required some focus!

Couple of other little projects

While it might seem like the only thing I am doing is running and working, that's not strictly true......I have a little project underway.  At some point talking to Irene it was revealed that I can embroider and that I really like doing it.  Some of you reading the blog know it from past experience, others might be a little surprised.  Anyway, upshot of the conversation is I am now spending many hours happily embroidering the picture on the left, based on the photograph on the right!  I find it ridiculously calming and satisfying.  Given it's Irene's Xmas present she checks in regularly on progress.  What is very cool about this is that I was able to find a website that charged a mere $6 to translate the photo into a pixelated colour coded embroidery pattern, including telling me what DMC (brand of cotton) colours I needed!  Irene about had a heart attack when I dragged her into this mega "craft" warehouse that had everything you could ever want for almost any hobby you could think of.  The place was kind of crazed so she wasn't entirely wrong to feel a little overwhelmed by it all, it was a totally rabbits warren of hide holes and oddities that only a crafter could know about!  And no, the pattern is not stamped on the cloth.....that is cheating, instead I count stitches......save the OCD jokes, I've heard them all!

This morning, although it was rainy and cool, Irene and I took Lotte for her beach walk.  I've mentioned Fort Funston before - it's where "The Band" shot was taken that I shared in an earlier post.  This time we didn't drop down to the beach but headed more inland (well it's a cliff face so not along way inland before you end up back on the freeway!).  Arty little shot of me during part of the walk on the left and then trying to get a shot of Lotte as we hung out on the edge of the cliff.  It's a lovely place to walk and is totally taken over by dogs.....all of whom are well socialized enough to run off leash.  Nice way to start the day.
Tomorrow the San Francisco Ferry Building 4 miler.....I am in it for the beer and the fun of running with buddies (Marcia going to join us too!).

NYC Marathon - the final chapter

So this is the final chapter in the Marathon story!  The video is of me crossing the line.....clock time was 5hrs (i.e based on when the marathon started) my actual time 4:31:11.....a personal record....given it's my  only record! If you want a bigger version check it out on You Tube....I'm experimenting with Blogger video.

So no prizes for guessing that this was the prize!  I think it depicts the
Verrazanno Bridge - where the race begins.  On the right is the actual shot of race day (all the photos are part of a collection I bought (along with the video..........couldn't help myself!).
I think the bridge shot gives a little insight into just how many folk are running - we are on different spans leading onto the bridge according the wave we were in.  There are three running waves and it's not until mile 8 that they bring us all together (versus running on opposite sides of the road!).  It's only around mile 8 that the runners are sufficiently spread that it's actually safe to merge the groups.

It's fair to say that at no point do you ever feel "alone".  Although by the look on my face in the shot below I get a sense I might have been feeling alone.


The day was as bright and clear as the photos show - although cool to start.  It never really did warm up and at various times on the course I pulled my sleeves up or down, depending on how I felt.  I really feel the cold when I run and will run in my running vest (which is not usually bright green I might add), if I feel the need.

The water stations required quite some negotiation and, towards the end there was a sea of cups to navigate, even though volunteers were cleaning up as quickly as they could.  People watching along the way offer water, oranges and bananas (although they strongly recommend you don't take anything from anyone who is not an official.....no prizes for guessing why).  I was, however, more than amused to see the number of folk who offered up tissues!!!! Clearly NY is a very civilized town.  No race I've ever run has ever had that on the menu!


Although you are running with thousands of others I found myself getting into my own stride and just my own head space.  I never chatted with anyone nor found a running buddy.  I think perhaps it's not in my nature to do so and, as I watch myself, I think my body language is very self contained.....job to do, getting it done.....maybe I'm just projecting!

 Each of the boroughs you go through has a different "feel" about it.
Brooklyn notable as was turning onto 1st Ave as we came off the bridge out of the Bronx.....it was about then you could (almost) smell the possibility of finishing.  Of course it was also about then that people who had run out too fast really started to feel the hurt, with some starting to walk with 9 or 10 miles to go......that's alot walking.  Interestingly I didn't see as many people do the walk run thing as I see in other runs - I wonder if that's because there was no half marathon so the "marathoners" were pre.dominately runners, beginning, middle and end.
At mile 25 life is crazy.....we're about into Central Park (although not quite, they take you in then you pop out for a bit before you head back into the final stretch).  In the end it comes down to that final moment...... that's a real grin you see there....I was overjoyed to have crossed that finish line and more than a little startled to realize I had!

Creepy

Every now and then when I open the blog I hit "Next Blog" on the navigation bar.  I can set the blog up so that bar doesn't show, but I don't.  Mostly I don't because it's always intrigued me and, I figure, the blog is a free surf into the world.  That said it can be really creepy to see what comes up. That search seems to pull from key words in the blog (although I would add that four years ago it used to pull some terrible tacky dull porn..... which might have seemed vaguely interesting if anything I actually wrote in the blog was pornographic......clearly it's not).  I think blogger has cleaned up the search engine and/or closed down those sites.  These days it's all much more intriguing (if you want porn there are better places to go than Blogger - I really hope that using the word "porn" here doesn't entirely destroy my "Next Blog" experience).   All that aside; on a good day I pull up these mega cool running sites - people have fantastic stories and great tips, sometimes I pull up travel sites.....yay.....other times the equivalent of "The Partridge Family" (a little dull) but what really creeps me out are the religious evangelical sites!  Most are just so damn earnest I have no idea what to do with them, nor any idea why my blog would prompt those blogs to show.  My eyes glaze over quickly!  If it all becomes too much I flick out of my own blog into one of the ones I link to and hope for something a little more interesting.  Hit "Next Blog".....see what happens.....
Update:  I suddenly got paranoid I'd sent you all off to view bad porn so hit "Next Blog" and was rewarded with "Addicted to Pavement: Searching for Marathon Redemption".  The dude is crazed.....I am redeemed (at least in my mind).

Wikileaks

Okay I'm in two minds about this.  On the one hand I'm all for open government....on the other releasing upwards of 250,000 documents whose contents can hardly come as a surprise to anyone seems......reckless, distracting and sucks up a whole lot of media/political time when important things are actually happening today, right now.  Honestly how startling is it to hear the US Secretary of State wanted detailed profiles on all diplomatic representatives around the world?  Seriously?  And that people are nervous about North Korea (duh).....and that everyone is watching everyone.  Not to mention that information like this may have some very real consequences on individual and collective safety for a whole lot of folk.  It's craziness.  I am also much more interested in how these folk got this stuff.....now that's a matter of national security, for everyone - that's something people could focus on, IF they can't keep this stuff secret why should I trust that a scan of my tush taken by TSA at the airport is even vaguely secure?  250,000 pages is so much more manageable when I personalize it......
Update:  took my own advice (suddenly got paranoid I'd just sent you all off to watch/read bad porn) and hit next blog and got "Addicted to Pavement: Searching for Marathon Redemption".  Dude runs like a mad thing.....I am redeemed (at least in my mind!).

The accidental tourist....16 miles/25 km later

So I did get myself out of bed, dressed and, with Lotte and Irene, headed down to the Embarcadero to start my run with the two of them before heading off on a longer run.  Embarcadero was as lovely as ever, Fisherman's Wharf not as crazed as usual and the Marina peaceful enough as I headed to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge.  I've mentioned this before, but the turn around point for this run really is at the base of the bridge.  Looking at the photo on the left you can see a car park with a flag flying, that's the turn around.  Today there were surfers making the most of the swells generated by the tide hitting the bridge pylons.  Usually I'd just run around and head back the way I came but I was bored with the thought of it so decided to detour.Detouring can lead to some unexpected and lovely moments it does, however, also inevitably lead to my being lost.  I have no sense of direction so relied totally on my "general sense" of how the city is laid out.  So off I went, heading off the beaten track onto a trail of sorts, heading for the Presideo, which I've mentioned before.

At some point I hit a "no pedestrians, no bikes" sign - ignored that and kept going (not being a native American speaker and all...).  Well of course I did eventually hit the reason why (some construction going on) BUT didn't much matter as a short bush hop and I jumped the wall into the Military Cemetery.  This place is very lovely and peaceful  As you can (maybe) see from the picture, it looks out onto the GG Bridge and also has lovely views of the harbour.  Given I had ventured in here before I knew at the top of the hill there was an exit point that would put me back on another trail.  This then lead me to a lovely run through a stand of Eucalyptus trees.  Lovely for the lungs!  Popping out the other side I really wasn't sure where I was but did recognize some of the street names......I am still a long way from home at this point, that much I knew.  I stopped someone on the street to ask how I get to the Mission - she was a little startled, noting that I had "quite a long run ahead of me".  I had my Big Sur Marathon hat on, so once she had noted that she was a little less concerned.  Anyway, she pointed me into Golden Gate Park, I needed to get to the other side of that and keep going.  GG Park is BIG and, as we know, I have no sense of direction and haven't spent alot of time in the Park to date.  That said it did turn out that I popped into the Park at possibily the only point I had seen in recent times......yuh right near where we had walked on Thanks Giving Day.  Delightfully too they close down all the roads during the weekends so I no longer had to think about traffic.  As I continued on my way I tried to vaguely keep on track, heading in the general direction of home.  Finally though I had to concede......wasn't exactly sure which way to go next.  Stopped in at a gas station and advised to head up a road whose name I did recognize.  HA!  Here's the thing to know when you are asking directions of a non-runner, they don't think about hills.....I was confident the road I was on would lead me into the Mission and home BUT I was also sure I didn't actually have to go up and over the hill. I managed to find a bus stop with a map in it and realized that if I swung left a little I'd hit the Castro.  Castro being the famous gay part of San Fran.......rainbow flags abound.  Right I definitely knew I was closer to home than not at this point.  Irene and I had walked here a few weeks back so I totally knew I did not have to climb any hills!  Finally found the street I needed to follow (17th as it turns out, so as you can see from the photo, it wasn't exactly hard).
Eventually arrived home 16 miles later and feeling more than a little like the accidental tourist.....

Lazy long weekends

 Mostly I have done nothing of note with the long weekend......it's been bliss!  I do plan a long run today, once I get myself out of bed.  Thanks Giving dinner was great fun.  As always some connection with NZ.  A friend of Pete and Amy's, who is an American, but lives in Wellington (having lived in Otago and loves Middlemarch) was also there.  And yes, predictably, we did have some folk in common (she is a Prof at Victoria University so I dredged up some memories of under grad days).  She loves NZ and wouldn't move back to the US.
Photo of her to the right (Annemarie on the left and Amy's mum on the right).  Amy is pictured below, she is Pete's wife and was our co-host for the day.  The drink she is sipping on is a Pomegranate martini - yum, nice way to start the day.
Irene (below) played bartender for the first round of drinks. While Pete was our cook - see the shot of the HUGE turkey being basted.  Needless to say too, Pete got a little bit of a ribbing about his very festive shirt!  He's been living in the US for 12 years now, having done his undergrad (and I think Masters) at Otago University before heading to the US to complete his PHd.  He now lectures in the same department as Irene at the University of California Santa Cruz.
Amy is a lawyer and they have two very sweet kids.  As an added bonus they live right next to Golden Gate Park so in-between courses we headed out for a walk.

Also at the dinner was Amy's sister Nancy (in the blue shirt below) and Sharon, another colleague of Irene and Pete's.  I have met her before, she is currently on a sabbatical and preparing for an art show.  All very interesting people - Thanks Giving is such a sweet holiday here.  Always makes me very happy.

I've also added a couple of "arty" shots that Julia took while Rose was visiting.  We were down on the beach walking the dogs.  We like to think of the one on the right as "The Band".....this would be the cover to our album of course.  Irene clearly the lead singer, Rose the all rounder - you know can play everything and can sing as well....Rose decided I was definitely the bass player as I was all in black!  Below, a different view but you get the idea!

Miners

It's sad.....it really is.....but how about being sad about this: http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/concern-over-domestic-violence-statistics-3384919.
Yeah parliament didn't stop when this stat came out, nobody took any notice.
Just saying.

Thanks Giving

Woken to a lovely vintage San Fran day.  Not a cloud in the sky and perfect day for running.  Irene, Lotte and I have just come back from a run along the Embarcadero.  Whenever I run along this stretch of waterfront I am always struck by how like Wellington's water front it is.  The views out to the harbour are spectacular and there is alot of public art along the way, as well as some iconic buildings.  The Trams give it a uniquely San Francisco feel.

Much like Wellington too, the locals come out in all weather but particularly on sunny days like today.  Tourists abound as the Embarcadero turns into Fisherman's Wharf and, for those that recall, my longer runs along this route lead into the Marina district and, ultimately, to the base of Golden Gate Bridge.  There are days when I am quite startled to find myself living here.  Even more startling to think that this afternoon I will most likely be walking in Golden Gate Park!
With Pauline and Bernice visiting in January I am prompted to think about some of the things they might like to see and do.  One of the loveliest things about San Francisco is that strolling around can be an adventure in itself!
Having two days off is a delight as I have been planning all the upcoming adventures.  I'll share some more next posting, for now off to shower and get ready to head out for Thanks Giving dinner.  Pete is, by all accounts, a fab cook so, yet again, I land on my feet with the foodies (me being a lover of food but not the most adventurous cook in the world!).....I've purchased the wine and Irene has made "our" food contribution!

That marathon

I'm a little bit out from the marathon now.........but gee, running a marathon changes something.  It's not just that I committed to it and did it.  I've committed to a lot of very grand things in my life and done them (graduating from Officer Cadet School and completing my Masters.....these were no small things for me.....jeeezus surviving working at Treasury was bigger than most people might realize).  Running the marathon was an incredibly peaceful experience.  For sure there was a science, a way to go about it but I was inspired by the people along the way, other runners, spectators the whole thing.  Intellectually marathons are entirely stupid, they serve no real purpose (okay I did raise money for a charity) but really they are entirely ridiculous as a concept in the context of the world I live in.  Except maybe not.....for me.  I don't really know, nor how to explain it, except THAT marathon has inspired me to other things.  I didn't hate it, I loved it.  It was hard, it really was.....at the end, but not so hard that I didn't think "I'd do that again".  Some things I"ve done in my life I'd never repeat; some jobs, some relationships, some physical moments.......but that marathon, I'd do that again (and plan to, although not that exact marathon).  Why?  Just because I can, I described it to a friend "So my goal....in that last 2 miles some folk flew past me with ease....they'd run a clever race.... not only had something in the tank but a brightness that I wanna have in that last mile!"  So it's easy now I think about it -  always to be bright in that last mile.....simple dream really, question is, how many miles come before that last mile?

Dinner parties

Riotous - last night we went to dinner at the landlords who live above "us".  They are hospo folk and entirely lovely and fab fun. BUT they think/assume Irene and I are a couple (or at  least we think they do), which is just riotous.  There were 10 of us all up at dinner, it was a "straight" affair and all couples.  Nobody actually asked us outright but it was most definitely implied!  It had the two of us in hysterics as it has been a long time since either of us have felt "coupled".  Irene, of course, couldn't resist a couple of moments of implied coupledom, noting that I really should be taking her to visit NZ etc.

It was a very personable crowd with another kiwi there as well (who has this hybrid Aussie/kiwi accent going as she did her degree and post grad education in Australia).  Turns out she does body work so I am going to book a session with her to keep myself on track to be able to run the three marathons I have planned for next year (what was that about outrageous goals.....).  The wine was nothing short of fantastic as two of the guests are the wine suppliers to Mohamad and Marmee's restaurant.  I was (as often happens) accosted by the child.......I don't know, it's a height size thing, so spent sometime in her bedroom with the toys.  They also have the cutest little baby boy, who Irene spent time entertaining.

Interesting insight from Irene "OMG you are so exotic, these people so want to engage you about NZ".........after my having to go through several rounds of "NZ is just the most wonderful place".   The notion of my being exotic is even more hilarious as I am the white colonizer with not an ounce of exotic in me.  

Thanks Giving

Thanks Giving week is here again.  I love this week because Americans are so excited about it.....and my experience to date is that there is always some place to go!  This year Pete and his wife invited Irene and I to their house.  This is very sweet (well Irene is a long time friend, so sweet for me as they invited me too!).  Thanks Giving also means a short week with Thursday/Friday a holiday.
NY and Dublin were grand adventures and it's also nice to be home.  It is Saturday and I am lounging in bed.  It feels like the first time in a long while that I've been able to just start my day at leisure without feeling driven to do "something".  All helped by having woken to rain - although the day has now cleared up.  Irene and I are going for a run later today in preparation for her race the first weekend in December.  Irene's not usually a runner but took on the idea a few months back so we registered for a 4 miler (she is a gun cyclist - I am not taking that on).
Work is busy as the boss is on two weeks leave (really I arrived home Saturday and the working week kicked off Sunday with a hand over conference call and then clearing some emails).  I have had several 630am starts with my days ending around 8pm a couple of days this week.  Concurrently with that I have been talking to a few folk about my next project (I roll off this one the first week of December).  There is one I am really interested in (still at Cisco but not a tool change, now that would be a welcome change of pace).....this one is about Voice of the Customer i.e. streamlining how Services communicates/engages with partners who sell their products and services.  I would be a good fit for it as I know all the players already and it's building something from nothing....anyway, I won't know for another week I don't think.  This is the way my world rolls these days, project to project and learning something new at every turn.  Makes me very happy.
I feel incredibly settled and happy here as I feel my working life is affording me huge opportunities and, at last, personally I have found an easier place in the world.  The marathon has given me a huge sense of personal achievement and feeling fitter brings with it all the very positive endorphins that come with exercise.  I am continuing to focus on keeping my life simple while knowing myself well enough to know that if I don't set one or two outlandish goals I will become bored and unsettled.
The longer I am here the more I see or feel that the US does itself no favours in how it is reported in the global press.  I am overwhelming surrounded by people who work incredibly hard, care hugely about the world they live in and are not, by any means, indifferent to the plight of others.  Americans are not entirely crazed, although it may appear that way.  This is a HUGE continent and remarkably diverse.  Corralling the views of 4 million people and gaining alignment is a walk in the park by comparison (e.g. about 1 million folk live in Manhattan, 3 million commute in everyday.....).  Yeah, get that, the entire population of NZ lands in one city here every day.  My world view has changed hugely since I arrived four years ago.  There is a video of me crossing the finish line in NY....I sent a link to a friend and she commented that there were actually three finishing lanes.  It struck me that I had got conditioned to BIG.  Can you imagine 44,000 people running a race in NZ?  There were 30,000 in Nashville and 12,000 in San Jose.  An event of 10,000 (Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge) is iconic in NZ - I don't mean to make flippant comparisons so much as recognize how the benchmark for "normal" has shifted for me. It is simply a different world and one I have adjusted to and enjoy.

Of feral cats, iconic buildings and famous shootings

A while back I mentioned Irene was making a documentary film about how we choose to kill some animals and not others.  Turns out that part of that involves some of the most entertaining, intriguing and oddest of encounters with folk!
A couple of weeks ago she took me off to drive around one of San Francisco's "Projects" - you know, those big ugly housing estates largely populated by people living on or close to the breadline and not the safest of places to be at night.  She was scouting her next filming location where she was following a crazed and committed group of (primarily) women who catch feral cats to take them to be spade and neutered then release them back into the community.  Turns out there is quite a number of folks entirely passionate about feral cats in general.

As a follow-up last night she took me off to City Hall (the iconic building referenced in the title) to attend the San Francisco Commission of Animal Control and Welfare to listen to some very impassioned pleas from the feral cat crowd asking the Commission to work towards legislation to make SF a no kill city i.e. not killing animals that get picked up off the street etc etc.  This followed by some other controversy around Golden Gate Park clearing land that feral cats were living in.  Anyway, it was all very fascinating and a long way from my day job!  As a side bar to all that I was a total tourist.  City Hall is an awesomely beautiful building....very English/European architecture.  While we waited for the meeting to kick off I took a couple of shots, including the obligatory tourist shot of me!

Of famous shootings?  This was where Harvey Milk (the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the US) was assassinated.
Only other interesting thing of note this week......check out the links to the right - Berlin marathon September 2011......woohoo!