Skip to main content

Destination Run: The Golden Gate Bridge

Waking up in San Francisco this morning proved to be the best way to tackle my 12 mile scheduled training run. The weather was clear, sunny, warm, zero wind, and zero fog. A perfect San Francisco day. I took off in the general direction of the bridge from near Fisherman's Wharf. After a few hills, and working my way to higher ground, this was my first glimpse of the bridge...the teeny tiny red thing out there.

It was at this point, lots of other runners started appearing, seemingly headed somewhere, so I followed. The land opened up, I was closer to the water, and apparently on the right path.

A paved path ran right along a narrow beach where TONS of people were out with their dogs, running, romping, frolicking in the sand and the water.
Staying on this path, the bridge was getting larger and larger in front of me. I ended up directly underneath the bridge, in a parking lot at Fort Point, at a dead end. I stopped in the middle of the parking lot to survey the scene, wondering how to get UP to the bridge, but others kept running right on by me. I watched a woman run to the fence, touch something with both hands, and then turn right around and keep running.
Others came up and repeated the same routine. So....I did it too, hoping I wasn't breaking some sort of runner's code by touching these hands without knowing what it means. Later, THIS is what I discovered about the meaning behind the sign, and was proud to have partaken in the tradition.

I backtracked a while, trying to find another route, when I discovered a super secret staircase (that was clearly marked with a sign) that led up.
I loved these stairs and was very careful to dodge the many banana slugs hanging out on them.
At the top, after missing one more turn and ending up underneath the bridge one more time (the sound of the cars driving above me was a little frightening, I finally reached the starting point to crossing the bridge. I took a deep breath and started out across.
Luckily, still, no wind whatsoever. Luckily, because that railing wasn't all that high. I had a few moments of panic, mostly when I looked down at the water or when I stopped to take a picture and could feel the vibrations and rumbles from the passing cars. Looking out, however, was breathtaking.

After crossing county lines and touching solid ground, my journey was complete, so I turned around and ran back to San Francisco.
After two hours, I made it back to the hotel exhausted. My reward was clam chowder and grilled salmon. I might have to do this every weekend.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Marin Ultra Challenge 2016 Race Report

In theory, cucumber mint flavored Gu sounds refreshing, like it would be a wonderful break from all of the sweet and salty stuff late in the race. In reality, it's kind of weird and gross. Do not recommend.  What a day in the Headlands it was! Last year, conditions were near perfect, and I had a near perfect race. This year, El Nino raged, and the wind actually blew me over . FUN! Up and down. Repeat.  I'm working toward my first 100k in May, so it was important to feel like I could run a smart 50k with no issues because I should be able to run a smart 50k with no issues and not even think about how a 100k is twice as far. The Beginning. Everything's wonderful.  The start and finish had been changed from Fort Baker to Rodeo Beach because of the rain. It was a dark start at 6am, but dawn wasn't far off. I opted for no headlamp. We did two Hill 88 loops as the sun rose before sailing down to Tennessee Valley under what I'd call a heavy dri...
4 comments
Read more

Marin Ultra Challenge Race Report - 4 oz of Mountain Dew Once Every 15 Years Shouldn't Kill Me

In spring of 2013 I ran Way Too Cool, a 50k with under 5,000 ft in elevation gain in 6:39:34. In spring of 2014 I ran it in 6:39:28...six seconds faster. How dumb is that. What had I actually been doing with my life to make zero progress in the time span of a year.  This past December of 2014 I ran The North Face Endurance Challenge, a more challenging 50k course in the Marin Headlands with about 7,000 ft in elevation gain with a goal time of 7 hours. I finished feeling good in 7:00:40.  I have one goal for 2015. I want to train smarter and run faster. Rather than do the Way Too Cool 50k/American River 50m NorCal spring combo this year, I got into the Lake Sonoma 50 miler, and the Marin Ultra Challenge fell during the right weekend in my training plan.  I was shooting for six and a half hours. It would be a 50k PR, and 30 minutes faster than I had run three months previously out on these trails. I wanted out of whatever rut my running had ...
6 comments
Read more

Dipsea 2016, BACK AT IT AGAIN

Think back to when you were a kid. Think about pedaling your bike as fast as you could pedal or running through the grass as hard as you could run. Think about how you pushed yourself to the limit, heart pounding, chest heaving, for no real reason, just because you felt like blasting it out. Think about when you felt free in your body, before you knew about injuries or training plans or being conservative in the early miles. That is how I felt going into my 3rd Dipsea race - ignorant to danger and prepared to go all out. From the sound of the whistle signaling the start for my group, which is about to join the 43 other groups that had already started the race, I didn't hold anything back. The spirit of the Dipsea is to never let off the gas and floor it as often as possible. Through downtown and then into the shade of Old Mill Park, we race toward the three flights of six hundred and seventy something stairs that make up the first half mile. As our group begins to catch up to...
1 comment
Read more