San Francisco Climb California Race

What a gorgeous weekend! Part of Team Library Dork (Chris and Turi) plus two others, Ron and Lori, comprised a new team for this unique race- 52 flights to the top of the Bank of America building in San Francisco- the highest building in the city.

CalvesAndQuads of Fire fared well- we trained hard, and expected to be sore for the next week. But surprising to us all, none of us were. I almost-sprained my right ankle last Sunday and wasn't sure if I was even going to be able to participate, but I took the week off (tapering, see?) and was healed enough to walk up at an even steady pace. I didn't push myself too hard, but still surprised myself by finishing in 15:46. That's 1197 steps, and actually 52 and a half flights. But the views from the top were totally worth the training!

If you look closely, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance through the haze. Both Chris and Turi did amazing- Turi finished in under 9:37 and finished 29th overall, and Chris completed his race to the top in 8:19 which was 4th place! Out of 1084 finishers! You guys are animals. I am happy with my 473rd place. I didn't hurt myself, and that was my goal. :)

Then there was the party at the top with two live bands in two different rooms, both of which were really good, and some good food. We didn't stay for too long (no point in waiting an hour for a massage when we weren't sore!), and headed down to Abby's cousin's house. Have you ever driven down some of the streets in SF admiring the detailed wood carving around the doors and windows and the roofs of the houses? I've never been inside a SF house before, but this one was beautiful! Three stories, and as intricate on the inside as it was on the outside. Thank you Eric for letting us tour your home! Then Turi, Chris, Abby and I headed out to lunch at an International Cafe, and I had the Mediterranean combo plate with baba ganouche, two different kinds of hummus, falafel and grape leaves. Yummy! And then we went beer tasting at a place Chris had his eye on, the Toronado, and I found a new favorite too: Lambic Framboise! (Basically raspberry beer. Really sweet, red, and very smooth going down.)

Sunday proved to be as beautiful as Friday and Saturday- Turi was competing in the Presidio 10 miler across the Golden Gate Bridge in the morning.

I REALLY wanted to run, but didn't want to push my luck with my ankle still on the mend, and my back not entirely happy with me yet from injury last month, plus the long car trip down there. Next year. I'll do a double race weekend next year. :) Turi ran well, and then we ate some yummy breakfast burritos and lounged on the beach for a while before packing up for the drive home.

I had a super flash back when we got to the Presidio- about 2 years ago I had a dream (that I still remember vividly) about running down a narrow dirt path next to the ocean, surrounded by green and lots of flowers, with a white house at the end. I took one look at the scene around me, and I was in my dream! In the picture below, if you look closely, you can see the people on the path nice and tiny. Deja vu!

The super bonus of going to San Francisco? I got to visit Scott and Sara! On Friday they took us out to tapas (my first ever) at this hip restaurant in Berkeley, and then on Saturday Scott cooked an excellent dinner of green curry with ginger and lemongrass, and Koren short ribs and salad on the side. I love getting new cooking ideas from him, but this one was beyond me. Thank you Scott and Sara for letting us stay with you, and for cooking for us. And another big huge thank you to everyone who answered my begging for donations and supported my Climb California race, to help the fight against lung cancer!