MY FATEFUL SF "TOURIST" TRAINING RUN

I wanted to do a nice long run in prep for Mother Road 100. So I mapped an out and back that would keep me mostly on the roads to the Golden Gate Bridge and back home, while running past some nice San Francisco landmarks. In the end, I ended up really straining or tearing my left calf muscle, so not sure about Mother Road but here are the sights I saw along the way. I was to be around 25 miles, but thanks to some detours and last minute changes, think it ended up being a full marathon.

Sight of one of California's last duels (near Lake Merced on SF border).


Lake Merced (site of the Ruth Anderson Endurance runs):






Pacific Ocean:




Views from the Cliff House:




The old Sutro Baths:



The Thinker at the Legion of Honor:


Legion of Honor:


Large cargo ship off Baker Beach:


Baker Beach Waves:


The infamous Sand Ladder from the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon:


Golden Gate Bridge:




View from Land's End:


Cool sand art at Ocean Beach:


Only about 3 miles to go, passing the home of the Ultraholics:


Home at last:

SAN FRANCISCO ONE DAY

Two nights ago I went down to PCTR's SF One Day ultra. In October 2006, this was my first ever ultra - I met some great runners there such as Eric Clifton and Catra Corbett. Anyway, this year, Cori and I stopped by to cheer on some runners. I brought my camera but the batter was dead, so these bad shots were the result of my blackberry in low light.

Catra Corbett (she did over 100 miles in the 24 hour race):


Fellow Badwater runner Dan B. and his daughter in her first attempt at 40 miles:


My Badwater Crewmember and pacer Martin Casado:

ZombieRunners Don and Gillian:

Timing booth/aid station:

Finish Line:

Patriots Path Run - NJ

I went for a very early run on the Patriots Path in Morristown, NJ.






I love the old mill and the trees changing colors.

WORLD 24 HOUR CHAMPIONSHIP - KOREA

The results from the World Championship 24 Hour Run held in Korea this past weekend have been posted. In the women's race, the U.S. women posted 4th place overall with Jamie Donaldson taking 5th overall. Jamie won this year's womens race at Badwater and set a new course record.

The third place American woman is Carilyn Johnson. Carilyin was on my crew and my pacer during much of the first 24 hours at Badwater this year. (photo shows Carilyn helping me at Badwater 2008)

Full Championship results are here: http://www.iau.org.tw/news_detail.php?Id=342

COOL SHORT VIDEO ON ULTRAMARATHONER DAVID GOGGINS

David Goggins is an elite ultramarathoner. He is a Navy Seal who also completed the Army Rangers training program and the Air Force's Tactical Air Controller training. He is routinely a top finisher at Badwater (he ran it this year too). Here is a short video about him:

RUNNING IN HOUSTON - POST IKE

I was on a business trip to Houston yesterday and managed to get a quick run in before meetings. Usually I stay near the airport (at the Sunmart 50 race HQ hotel) and run a small dirt trail nearby. Other times, I am downtown. This time I was out by the Houston Galleria area. While the city has recovered a lot since Hurricane Ike hit, there were still signs of damage and clean-up.







Luckily some business appeared to survive unscathed.