PurpAnd

My half-marathon is less than two weeks away. My training was going well until last Monday when my horse threw a shoe (wait, that’s Back to the Future). Um, the training was going well until last Monday when I overdid it a tad and now my right Achilles heel is bothering me. It’s sore, a little inflamed, and gets very angry when I use stairs. I haven’t run in a week and have been icing it, but it’s not improving quickly enough.

This worries me because I am not getting the most important training in before race day. I want to train, but I also want to be healthy enough to run the race. I checked with some qualified people about my injury and was told to keep it to no or low impact exercise, ice it, take ibuprofen, and wait it out. Well, I’m waiting.

I hope it gets better by race day, but I wonder if I run, do I risk long-term damage? I certainly don’t want to push it to the point where I do so much damage that I would require surgery. Yuck. I’ll nurse it for a couple more days and then see if I feel well enough to get in a short jog. If I can’t run a couple miles on it this week, I am not sure how I could run 13 miles on it next week. Good luck to me.

P.S. If you’re a runner and you have an iPhone, check out www.runkeeper.com.

As I left this morning, Lombard Street (the Crookedest Street) and Fisherman’s Wharf was leading in the poll. So off I went…

Unfortunately, the clouds were low and I was out too early so the pictures are dark. Anyway, take a peek below.

Lombard Street from top

Lombard Street from bottom

Fisherman’s Wharf/Pier 39

Sea Lions

Last weekend I went for a sunrise run along the water in the Marina. I stopped and shot photos of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Palace of Fine Arts along the way.

This weekend (and maybe others depending on how well this goes) I am opening it up for you to decide where I run to on my Saturday morning run. Check out the poll at the bottom of the post and pick the location you would most like to see captured in my photos.

Links to info about the spots are found here:
AT&T Park
Union Square
Lombard Street - The Crookedest Street in the World
Fisherman’s Wharf
Twin Peaks
Baker Beach

Feeling refreshed and energized, I got up early today to go for a run at sunrise. Put in 7 miles (Jaaaaaam). I posted the pictures on my Twitter page and you can view them starting here.

Yesterday, I got out of bed early, put my running stuff on and headed up the hill to the top of our neighborhood, Pacific Heights. I had heard about a set of steps known as the Lyon Street Steps and wanted to check them out. The sun was just coming up over the City so I thought it would be a nice morning jog in the cool morning air.

According to what I read on Yelp, it was better to start at the bottom of the stairs and run up, which would allow me to capture the view from the top only after I had labored all the way up. To get to the bottom though, I had to run up and over the huge hill that separates our house from the base of the steps. In doing that, I sorta cheated because the view just doesn’t go away, no matter how you go over this hill.

Base of the steps

One of the posts on Yelp said a person who can’t run these steps at least five times is a candyass. Well, I am a candyass. It’s hard work! Total steps = 288. The stairs span two blocks and you get a street width’s worth of a break halfway through. There are a few landings on the way too, but I didn’t take advantage of those. By the time I reached the summit, I was pooped. But, I turned around and wow, what a magnificent view.

I certainly didn’t have a monstrous push at the top, like Rocky did at the Art Museum in Philadelphia. In fact, I had to drag myself up the final 10 steps or so. But, the run was great and the climbing of the stairs is an accomplishment. Now, all I have to do is complete the climb five times in a row in order to relieve myself of the candyass title.