Long run – end of vacation
Today was our last day of vacation, or at least our last day of vacation in California. Tomorrow, Saturday, we’re spending the better part of the day flying home. Then Sunday is the 31st, Monday is New Year’s Day and then, Tuesday, I guess, we have to go back to work. So, really, we still have three more full days away from work. It’s been a really nice trip – even though, like usual, we had a fair number of family commitments and people to see, our days weren’t as packed full as they normally are on this trip, which made it so much more relaxing. Instead of running around all day everyday, we slept, ate, read the paper, went on our runs, but didn’t spend hours and hours shopping or driving around or seeing other people (including, unfortunately, any of our friends). Today was exactly like that – I got up pretty early and took Charlie for a walk, then I hung out for a while with my folks, read the paper and ate some breakfast, and even took Charlie for another walk. Once everyone else was up, we did the same for a while. Finally, around 2PM, Mom, Dad, Aaron, Elizabeth and I took Charlie to Dog Beach and watched him run around for a while. This was Charlie’s second trip to Dog Beach. He really loved it there – running free, playing in the sand, playing with other dogs, sniffing seaweed, all off his leash. He was pretty good about staying near us, even if he did run a little close to the parking lot a couple times. It’s definitely another reason why San Diego living is really nice. Days like today make it tough to go back to New York winters.
At around 2:30, Elizabeth and I went for our run. We ran on this path that starts at Dog Beach, follows the San Diego river and goes three miles back towards Mission Bay. It’s not the prettiest of paths – on one side is the river (which is a little stagnant looking) and the other side is the end of Highway 8 West. On the other hand, it was a beautiful afternoon and the path was nice. It was also marked in 1/4 mile increments. I was supposed to run around 8:30’s, but I really ran more like 7’s or 7:15’s. I felt good and kept a relatively constant pace the whole way. At the top of below this are pictures (of Charlie – of course, but with me as well – from our trip to Dog Beach.)
Tomorrow is an off-day for travel. Sunday, the 31st, I’ll swim and run.
Run – December 29
Time: 1:10:29
Distance: 9.5 miles
Average heart rate: 153
Course: Ocean Beach bike path
Conditions: clear, sunny, warm, typically San Diego…