Hello hello! I have approximately 800 things to talk to you guys about so let’s go straight in, shall we?
Mon-Fri: low key week + Tahoe planning + Palace of Fine Arts
The weekdays last week were pretty low key: easy work week, half marathon training (will write a separate post recapping this) and…planning for July 4th weekend to Lake Tahoe! I have been wanting to go for a while now and decided to take the lead on planning a group trip with the new friends I’ve made here in SF. SO. FREAKING. PUMPED.
On Thursday night, I did get out of my apartment for a solo evening at the Palace of Fine Arts, a beautiful spot only a 20-minute walk away from me. The sun was setting and I decided to enjoy the view over a burrito.
Such a beautiful spot! It reminded me of Versailles in France!
Friday: spontaneous night out
One thing I am getting use to here in California is how spontaneous people tend to be. I was planning to take it easy on Friday night but ended up last minute getting asked to go out with a group of friends. I was so happy to chill with this very fun and inclusive group of guys over drinks at Kozy Kar (a very eclectic bar in Nob Hill). One friend in the group even offered to run the SF half marathon with me! So happy to have a running partner for it!
The night ended back in the Marina with another group of guys who live together very close to my apartment – another spontaneous addition to the night as we hung out on their awesome roof top and got pumped for our epic Tahoe trip.
Saturday: long run + Dolores Park + Marin drive + Booty night
Somehow…SOMEHOW, despite sleeping at 4:30am, I got my butt up to run Saturday morning. It was the first long run for the SF half marathon in 5 weeks and I did not want to start off on the wrong foot by skipping it.
I surprisingly felt pretty great. My hangovers are always a bit delayed so I try and monopolize the first few hours of the day to be productive before it kicks in. 4 miles in the hilly Presidio trails and then 4 miles on flat Marina Boulevard = 8 miles total!
After a quick shower and lunch, it was time to meet some friends, Anna and Kevin, for a picnic in Dolores Park (or “Dolo” park). Kevin is one of my oldest family friends and Anna is a brand new friend who we met on Facebook (via apartment hunting). Us 3 were suppose to live together in SF but unfortunately things didn’t work out. Nevertheless, we was super excited to hang out and remain friends.
It was my first time meeting Anna in person and we hit it off instantly! It felt we knew each other for a long while. We had so much in common about our observations about SF so far…I’m so happy to make a girlfriend here in the city 🙂
Coconut rum = classic Dolo drink.
Dolores Park is such a fun place to hang out on a nice day. It’s packed with tons of picnic groups, sun tanning, and day drinking.
Afterward, Kevin and I randomly decided to drive across the Golden Gate bridge and into the mountains of Marin. It was SO. BEAUTIFUL. The sun was setting, perfect lighting on the mountain, small wind-y one-way roads…it felt like heaven.
Pulled over to take in the views 🙂
Kevin and I are very different people, but one of the things we both love are long drives, singing to some music, and talking about life. That’s always been out thang 🙂
I got home around 9pm and got asked to hit up a bar with Audrey, a friend from NYC who also recently moved here. I was pretty pooped from day drinking, but on the theme of spontaneity, I decided to go for it and bring along Anna – we had such a fun time earlier and doesn’t hurt to have an extra girlfriend!
We all met at Golden Gate Tap Room in Union Square. It was so nice to Audrey again and meet her friends! The evening started out pretty low key, chatting over some pitchers…but somehow we ended up at a club nearby called Booty, which felt like the Webster Hall of SF. Super fun and kinda ratchet, but we were all in a good spot to enjoy dancing the night away.
Sunday: long bike ride + relaxing Sunday
Sunday I woke up on the slow end. In the afternoon, my Marina neighbor Matt called me to go on a bike ride together. Matt is a really solid biker and I wanted some guidance on biking around SF.
We started off riding to and across the Golden Gate bridge. It wasn’t too bad given my lack of sleep and tough hills to get to the bridge. When we finished that route Matt suggested we keep riding to Ocean Beach and make a loop back to our apartments. I still had some energy and optimistically thought why not…
Oh how I was wrong. This extra stretch was TWENTY MILES!!! I was tired, hungover, dehydrated, and seriously cramping. I felt bad bringing Matt down (he is the hill king and I must admit that I had to walk a few of them), but he was beyond nice and patient and gave me the positive boost I needed. The views and beautiful weather kept me going as well.
After biking through Ocean Beach, we cut through Golden Gate park to avoid the hilly parts of the city. Silly photo shoot of us and our bikes:
When we finally got home, it all felt worth it. Isn’t that how work outs always go? We decided to take it easy for the rest of the day and watching some TV and order food with the rest of his roommates (same guys as Friday night).
And that’s a wrap for my week!! I am very sleep deprived at the moment and hoping to catch up on sleep soon so that I can continue a strong half training!! 6 workouts this past week – not a bad start 🙂
Hope you all have a wonderful week!
I Run Like A Girl 