Hey y’all! As you can tell from the title, I have a lot to cover this post.
First off…congratuations to my super smart big brother for graduating grad school this week!!! He officially earned his PhD from MIT in operations research after years of hard work…me and my family are so beyond proud of him and we don’t hold back on showing off for him ;). He’s the best big brother in the world and I look up to him in so many ways – congrats bro!!! ❤
Now I have a fantastic weekend to recap for you guys, and also some race talk below 🙂
Friday: Impact Day + 2018 NBA Champions!
Once a year, my firm has “Impact Day” where everyone takes off the day to volunteer around their hometown. Me and my team signed up to help out at a public middle school in Noe Valley – I loved the idea of supporting the cause for education and was so excited to get out of the office for a day.
I was assigned painting inspirational quotes around the middle school…YAY! Even though I love numbers, I’ve always loved artsy things too ever since I was younger (painting, drawing, knitting…), and spending a day on my feet, listening to music, paintbrush in hand was actually super relaxing. This was my favorite impact day yet, and my quotes turned out pretty bomb!!
In the evening was game 4 of the NBA finals, and me, Karan and Whitney got together to cheer on the Warriors. On the way to the bar, we spotted another fan carrying a broom (since the Warriors were about to have a “sweep”), and Karan being Karan (who can make friends with anyone wearing a sports jersey), befriended him on the street, and the 4 of us became a crew for the evening 🙂
Surprise, surprise…we won! Just like last year, the Warriors became the NBA champions again :). Matt and his girlfriend (Caro) came for the ending as well. The whole night was a festive one as we all celebrated over one too many shots. And it was so nice seeing Caro before she left for Brazil again!
Saturday: afternoon in Sausalito + successful Mission night
Saturday started off with 6 miles. Running is FINALLY starting to feel good again after my month-long hiatus. I’m fairly certain I’m going to race the SF Half Marathon at the end of July. I absolutely loved running it last year, and seeing as I haven’t done a single race yet in 2018, it’s time to finally commit to one. I’m going to wait another 1-2 weeks before signing up…I’m going to keep running, listen to my body, and make sure I’m not completely in over my head. But if all goes well, I’ll be running my 10th half marathon in 8 weeks!! 🙂
In the afternoon, I met up with Whitney and her college roommate, Ana, who I had met a few times already. We got together to take the ferry to Sausalito which is a cute, waterfront town across the Golden Gate Bridge – I was so excited to finally check this off my SF bucket list, and also get to spend some quality time with both the girls.
First stop – some ice cream to fuel our walk around the small town as we stopped by different shops on the Main Street.
One of the defining images of Sausalito are these cute, colorful houses on the hill of the town. We took a break and enjoyed the views from this pier/beach.
Then the adventure began. We were so intrigued by the houses on the hill and wanted to take a walk through the neighborhood, and so without a map or anything, we picked a random road and started hiking up the hill. We climbed quite some elevation and had pretty views from above!
Got distracted by these big purple plants – they popped up everywhere and it looked like a page straight out of Doctor Seuss book.
We somehow ended up on the freeway, ha. Casual break on the side of the road.
Along with some amazing views of the mountains…
Amazingly, we somehow picked the road that led to the Golden Gate Bridge, and decided to walk the bridge back to SF instead of taking the ferry. I loved how the entire route was so random and turned out to be a big blessing leading us to see more sights :). We talked nonstop the whole way, sharing stories and having endless laughing fits. Between the spontaneous walk and being outside in the warm sun, the whole afternoon felt so soul-cleansing. I’m so glad I got to become better friends with Ana after this weekend too! ❤
After walking all afternoon, I was pretty beat. I went home, took a nap, ate dinner, and then it was time to meet back with Whitney and my Anna for a fun night out in the Mission! A few months ago, the three of us tried going to Bissap Baobab, a Senegalese-themed bar in the Mission, and for different reasons the night wasn’t as successful as we had hoped. Since then, we were dying to “reclaim” that bar and give it a second try. I must say, it was definitely more successful this time! We had a fun night out filled with quality girl talk, lots of dancing, and hilarious moments around the Mission. 😉
Sunday: new crime show + yoga + refreshing afternoon outside
After our night out, I had a slow start to Sunday. I started a new crime documentary on Netflix called “Staircase,” which goes through the murder case of Kathleen Peterson and the trial against her husband who was accused of killing her. I actually listened to a podcast on this case during an 8-hour bus ride in Thailand last month, and so I already know the ending to the story…and trust me, it is SO GOOD. For those who like crime stories and are looking for a new show, I highly recommend this one.
My day finally got going with a one-hour vinyasa yoga class here in the Marina. Afterwards, it was the most beautiful day in San Francisco, and so I set up a blanket in the Fort Mason park near my apartment and had the perfect afternoon outside by myself. I took a nap, started drafting this blog post, soaked in the sun…perfection.
My friend Matt (separate from Matt of the Marina guys, this one I met through Janice and is a good friend of all the girls!) saw my Instagram story of chilling at the park and decided to join me as well. We caught up on life’s shenanigans including all my travel stories from last month. We also grabbed some dinner at my favorite Italian spot in the Marina with outdoor seating. The perfect low-key, refreshing way to end the week.
Week 1 of half marathon training:
Monday: 3 miles
Tuesday: 5 miles on my favorite trail in the Presidio –> felt SO good to be on the trails again! Definitely want to spend more time here.
Wednesday: REST
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday: REST
Saturday: 6 miles
Sunday: 60 minutes of yoga
I Run Like A Girl 