The G Running Diary

More of a Beautiful Day: 12/16/04

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We started running with Steve Jaber. He said he'd been trying to keep up with Sarah. I think he was hoping we'd be more fun to run with, because we'd go slower. The trouble was, Don just kept stopping all the time for great photo shots. We had no concerns at all about our finish time, I guess. On Market Street we met up with Catra, Linda, Mike, and Rachel. We stayed with them for a while because the traffic lights slowed them down enough for us to keep up. Then we were by ourselves again, and met up with Lisa and Tropical John. They were in good moods as usual. We ran together through Japan Town and Chinatown. Then we got to Cafe Trieste and found the Catra group again. Lisa and Tropical continued on, but we were determined this time to obtain a hot beverage. We'd skipped it all the other years because we thought the line was too long. I had a cappuccino and Don had spiced warm milk. The others had something too, and we made our way up to Coit Tower. The views were nice and the cars and buses went slowly and drove around us. The road is a little dangerous. After we came back down the hill, we visited the car aid station, and had energy drinks--Red Bull and that kind of stuff. Maybe it was a bit much after the coffee, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. I think we all talked more after that. I talked with Rachel from Oregon. She was very happy to be here and had a great attitude toward running.

Don still stopped for pictures but we all hung together. The Marina aid station was next, with Lisa Demoney. She had the full array of snacks and drinks, as well as champagne. One sip wouldn't hurt, I was sure. I think Don considered it training for Coyote 4 Play. We talked with two young guys who were out for a one-mile run. It was fun to encourage them. They asked where the trails were, and I pointed over at the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin headlands beyond, which you could see pretty well by now. The fog had pulled away.

It was hard to believe that our run was close to over, once we went through the Presidio, past the Palace of Fine Arts and through Golden Gate Park. We were having a good time. I even liked the part running on the road toward Twin Peaks. The only hard part was getting back up that hill. Somehow it seemed like everyone was in a hurry. Mike and Linda had gone ahead a while back, and then on the hill Catra and Rachel went ahead too. Even Don was going faster. I was happier just taking it easy. I told Don if he liked the run so much, he should make it last longer by going slower.

We reached the top and Steve Jaber was clapping for us and the little group at the official finish point was cheering. It seemed funny to me really, we'd just had a nice day out. We stuck around for a while, until I started getting cold. Then we reluctantly said goodbye.