I really do have so much I want to share and while I will do a more in-depth recap of the San Francisco Marathon/Half Marathon itself I thought I’d share these top 10 memorable moments (and they are in no specific order).

1. Staying with Valerie and her family on their houseboat in Sausalito.

First of all Valerie and her hubby, son and cats couldn’t have been more fun and gracious to stay with. Hotels are overrated (and overpriced). Valerie spent much of the weekend being the “ferry princess” shuttling us to and from the dock to catch our boat. She baked up a batch of yummy chocolate chip-banana-almond muffins and gluten free chocolate chip cookies that were OUT OF THIS WORLD! I looked forward to a cookie and the Nespresso machine each morning. The deck of the houseboat was so peaceful and relaxing to sit out on. I enjoyed the perks of the guest quarters including her foam roller #runners. The “front yards” along the block dock were so colorful with blooms of all kinds and there was an amazing deli that I returned to for the same sandwich 2 days in a row.

Some of the neighbor's colorful "front yards"

Some of the neighbor’s colorful “front yards”

Gus the cool cat

Gus the cool cat

Gus

Gus

high tide made the entrance another HILL!

high tide made the entrance to the house another HILL!

sausalito

deck view

The Surfin Bird....my new favorite sandwich

The Surfin Bird….my new favorite sandwich

Valerie reading my blog

Valerie reading my blog one morning at breakfast

IMG_0079

2. Meeting Shane, The Silent Assasin!

More »

Hi folks!
So much to tell you and so many pictures to share but I need a couple days to sort through and get my thoughts together.

It was a great day yesterday and all of my running peeps completed their races. Roger completed the 52.4, Valerie completed her first 26.2, and Michelle, Lisa and I all completed 13.1s.

I made the right choice dropping back to the half. My foot/ankle/leg was barking like mad after the race. It feels better today but I’m thinking I need a self imposed hiatus from running until I can get to 100%. I can’t bear the thought of this becoming chronic.

I literally just returned home and I need to get some sleep and snuggle with this little guy who I missed oodles.

I promise I’ll fill you in on all the weekend details soon.

20140729-011023-4223802.jpg

This morning was the shakeout run lead by Bart Yasso. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Bart might me running royalty but I think I was more giddy to finally meet The Silent Assassin (a.k.a. Shane)

Shakeout Shaka! Photo courtesy of TSA

Shakeout Shaka! Photo courtesy of TSA

Making friends across the country via blogging and running is so cool. Then meeting them and feeling like you have always known them is a bonus 🙂

We did 3 easy miles and then hit up the expo so Valerie could pick up her first ever full marathon bib!

20140726-170559.jpg

20140726-170615.jpg

20140726-170629.jpg

20140726-170640.jpg
I took advantage of this photo op while at the expo too!

20140726-170802.jpg
The rest of the day has been low key. Just relaxing “houseboat style” and getting ready to head out at 4:30am. We will start running at 6:00am. I’m hoping for a super amazing sunrise.
In the meantime I’m just gonna enjoy the view and the company and some chocolate. life is good!

20140726-171925.jpg

20140726-172322.jpg
What has made you happy today?

Hi folks.
I successfully went to the expo and officially dropped back to the half. I am sooo happy with this choice..there was a $10 fee but I can just sweat out the small stuff instead of sweating bullets.

20140725-213822.jpg

20140725-214101.jpg
It was ridiculously warm today. I walked around the marina and then through fishermans wharf just soaking in the sights and maybe a little sweets…

20140725-214449.jpg

20140725-214503.jpg

20140725-214526.jpg

20140725-214545.jpg

20140725-214613.jpg

20140725-214747.jpg

20140725-214815.jpg
Late in the afternoon I went by my friend Margaret’s apartment. She used to live I’m NYC and we used to work together. She’s now a San Franciscan with an apartment right in the city about two blocks from the start of the marathon. Her balcony has a lovely view of the bay bridge…

20140725-215117.jpg
We had some wine and caught up on life and eventually went to the ferry building for dinner before I hopped on the ferry back to Sausalito.

20140725-215314.jpg

20140725-215323.jpg

20140725-215335.jpg

20140725-215344.jpg

20140725-215358.jpg

20140725-215406.jpg
Have I mentioned how amazing it is to be staying at Valerie’s houseboat?

20140725-215909.jpg
And this little guy is quite the ham sandwich

20140725-215950.jpg
If you ever sit in the back seat of a jeep crossing the Golden Gate it will look like this

20140725-220043.jpg
A lovely day…and now to catch some zzzs….shakeout run tomorrow and another stop at the expo.