Beach Bum

San Francisco has a lot of great attributes, but despite being virtually surrounded by water - and because of the warm air/cold water environment that creates - this city just doesn't have good beach weather. We have wind. And fog. And summer days that often don't get out of the 50s. This city is, sadly, not a lay-out-on-the-beach place.

Yesterday, however, was an exception. It was warm and clear, and not too windy. So I packed my bag and went to Baker Beach.

I don't go there often, but it's one of the prettiest spots in the city. And the rest of the city hadn't caught on to the good weather yet, so it was still kind of quiet yesterday afternoon.

I read and watched a couple of barges pass under the Golden Gate Bridge. And I saw two (or possibly three) whales jumping through the surf! I've lived in San Francisco for 12 years, and for half that time I lived at the beach, and I've never seen a whale here before.

When the bus-load of middle schoolers arrived, it was time for me to roll up my beach towel and head home. As I boarded the bus, I realized that I've taken buses to beach days all over the country, but I'm pretty sure I've never gotten on a bus in San Francisco toting a beach towel covered in sand.

I like a good discount, don't you?

The See Jane Run half marathon and 5K in Alameda is one of my favorite races. I usually meet up with some girlfriends for pizza the night before (hello, Zachary's!), we sleep over at a friend's house, and we enjoy the afternoon together after the race.

I love that my good friend lives walking distance from the race start. And I love that they have chocolate and beer (or champagne, if you're so inclined) at the finish.

I'm not sure that I'll be able to make my girls race weekend this year, but my loss can be your gain. Want to register for either the half or the 5K? Here's a discount code good for 10% off on registration: SJRSFAMB13. The race is on Sat., June 8. The course winds along the waterfront in Alameda, and it's flat, flat, flat. Here's all the registration information. The only way I can make this any easier is to fill out the form for you, and I won't be doing that.

Let me know if you'll be there, and I'll either cheer for you from afar or invite you back to my friend's house for a beer after the race. I'm sure it'll be fine with her.

Battening down the hatches

I've got peanut butter brownies in the oven and I've just finished cleaning the kitchen. My whole house is clean and organized, and some laundry is about to go in the wash. All the water bottles are washed and I've surveyed my collection of Gu and other easy-to-eat-on-the-bike nutrition.

Training kicks off this weekend, and I want to be ready for it. But just because I've been hibernating and prepping for the start of my next season doesn't mean I've been entirely MIA lately.

I've celebrated a birthday, complete with a little party, many of my favorite people, and a little bit of baseball.

 

I wound up in the rally towel section last weekend. It's like the Giants wanted me to have an early birthday present in addition to the excellent win on Friday.

I've been practicing taking photos of myself on my bike. Well, far off the road and sitting on my bike, but not actually in motion. I like staying upright. Also, someday all my bike gear will match. Clearly, I'm not there yet.

I was on the bus the other day, heading to the Mission via Civic Center. City Hall is just so pretty.
Not bad for a quiet week, right?

Because friendships last a lifetime

Over the past few years, the races I've walked that have been the most fun have been the ones I've done with friends: Team Backpack, the Walkstars, or the gaggle of girls who occasionally get together for a crazy race weekend.

The friendships I've made while walking or hiking - and the ones I'm looking forward to making on my cycling team - are a large part of why I get up stupid early on Saturday mornings to walk 14 miles in the rain.

I even have a t-shirt that proclaims this philosophy.

I bought this t-shirt several years ago at one of my favorite local running stores. I've done some of their races, and even sherpa'd a friend during their triathlon last year. See Jane Run puts on great races, but also builds a great community.

So when the organization put out a call for ambassadors, I applied, figuring that I was not at all what they were looking for. I'm not a runner. Or a particularly talented athlete. I'm not going to be winning any races. But I like the community and their bigger picture. And that they're based in San Francisco, and working to expose more local women and girls to athletics. And I'm stoked that I was one of the women chosen to be a See Jane Run ambassador this year.

2013 looks like it's going to be a year of pushing my limits and expanding my community. I'm really excited to see how it all unfolds.

May: a most complicated month

I'm a few days from celebrating a birthday. It's not a particularly significant birthday, but still, it's a marking of the passage of time. I so vividly remember my birthday party last year, being excited for the year to come, new friends and experiences, the career path I was on, and my seemingly-promising job.

To start this year unemployed and struggling is disappointing. I feel like I've taken a couple of steps backwards, rather than the forward progress I was so excited about last May.

And while I'm sitting here marking the passage of time, I can't ignore that today marks five years since my grandma died. Her death was the kickoff event into the spiral of insanity my family's gone through in the past few years.

Mom, grandma and me in the summer of 1977. My little pink onesie proclaims A Star is Born

And tomorrow marks two years since we buried my mom. May is very complicated. Throw Mother's Day and my grandma's birthday into the mix, and, well, I'm working really hard to fight the instinct that's telling me to hide out under my bed for awhile. I'm too overbooked this week - intentionally - to actually hide out at home, but I am taking a little time to remember and wallow before I get my day started.

Against the tide

I cannot lie, I have been struggling lately. Job search woes in the midst of friends successfully getting new jobs; social things that are just out of sorts; and some lingering emotional stuff from the rather enormous month of April have just left me sad.

I was lamenting this to a friend a few weeks ago, and she reminded me that I could probably have gotten a job by now if I just wanted a job. But I don't, I want the next right career move. I want to work someplace with awesome ethics and terrific coworkers and a mission and vision I can be proud to contribute to. And that takes longer to find than just a job.

But her wisdom got lost somewhere in the grousing of friends who can't understand why I'm still unemployed. And left me feeling pretty small lately. And very sad. So sad, in fact, that I almost bailed on my choir rehearsal and Mass tonight, and I don't ever do that.

But I trudged down the hill to my church, and went through the motions of rehearsal. A group of teens in the parish we being confirmed tonight by the former Archbishop, and he preached on one of my dad's favorite readings, while using a lot of the language my mom would have used had she been reminding me to not be so hard on myself. And then he closed with the following line, which he said he borrowed from Pope Francis' sermon to confirmandi in Rome last week: "Swim against the tide; it's good for your heart."

I won't go so far as to say that my parents were speaking through the Archbishop, but I will say he preached a message I needed to hear this week. And I'll carry on like a salmon, swimming against the tide until I get where I need to be. I just hope I'm almost there, because my arms are kind of tired.

Heat-wave blues?

I'm in the midst of a kind of crummy week. I'm not feeling well and nothing is going right. I think the heat wave has freaked out San Francisco, and everything's just off.

But the sun is shining, and I've been able to ride my bike a little this week. We've had lots of postcard-perfect days lately. I'm loving them.