The Training Has Officially Begun

This week marks the start of the six-month training period for the 3-Day in November. Technically, this is the last day of Week 1. The plan was to walk 3 miles on Tuesday, 3 miles on Thursday, 3 miles on Saturday, and 3 miles today. Although I went on vacation and the only training walk I did was today, I'm sure I more than made up for the walks I missed.

Brian and I celebrated our ten year anniversary by taking a trip to San Francisco. My parents were in town to watch Elizabeth and Matthew so we were able to get away for four days. We really enjoyed the city and pretty much saw everything we set out to see. I did plenty of research from borrowing guide books from the library to watching all six episodes of Tales of the City. If you've never been to San Francisco, you must go. The landscape is beautiful, the weather is so pleasant, and there is so much to see! In fact, I'll show you some of the sights to lure you there and also to prove that I did get some exercise in while on vacation.

Here we are shortly after arriving in San Francisco. Our MUNI passes (public transportation) weren't valid until Monday, so when we got there Sunday we figured we'd explore the streets around our hotel. We started off with Yerba Buena Gardens in SoMa, but got a little carried away and ended up on Nob Hill. If you're familiar with the city, you know how far (and high!) Nob Hill is from SoMa. But the climb was worth it when we happened to recognize this apartment building from Tales of the City--it's the location of Dede and Beauchamp's penthouse. So cool!

The next day we started off by visiting the sea lions at Pier 39. Cute but noisy little guys.

Next, we toured Alcatraz and had lunch at Fisherman's Wharf. Then we took a cable car up to Lombard Street, the street known for its crookedness, and walked down the hill. You know, it's just as hard walking down those steep hills as it is walking up. It's really tough on the knees! So we walked down crooked Lombard Street and then kept going all the way to the base of Coit Tower. A little too far and hilly to walk. I was struggling. Do not attempt.

And after that grueling walk, the stairs and elevator at Coit Tower were closed. All for nothing! We took a bus down into North Beach and wandered around a bit. Then we explored China Town. After that, we rested by taking a cable car up and down California Street.

The highlight of the day was when we met Brian's cousin Aaron for dinner. He took us to Ocean Beach so I could get my very first view of the Pacific Ocean. (I know. How does anyone go 33 years without seeing the Pacific Ocean?) This was by far the coldest beach I've ever been on but the sea air smelled fantastic!

He also took us to Sea Cliff for amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the sun even came out for our photos.

Aaron took us to a dumpling restaurant in the real China Town for dinner then drove us up Twin Peaks for beautiful nightime views of the city. It's great to have a local as a tour guide to take you off the beaten path. And he's obviously done this before.

This post is getting a little lengthy and I'm getting a little tired. To be continued....