One of my recent new goals is to be comfortable riding my bike in the city. Like any good suburban kid, I know how to ride a bike. But, riding on the sidewalk of suburban Los Angeles is different than riding on the hilly, crowded streets of San Francisco. So, not too long ago, I pulled my bike out from the basement, dusted it off, pumped up the tires, and asked Eleanor to help me with my goal.
I knew Eleanor would be perfect for this. She bikes everywhere and is smart about it. She is super patient and would be understanding of all my neurotic fears. And, she's just totally fun and incredibly sweet.
Two Sundays ago, she came by my house with her bike and we went for a ride, after going to Box Dog Bikes to get my seat adjusted first. We headed south to the Dogpatch, with the intention of stopping by Piccino. But, we never made it there. Instead, we went to one of the parking lots of AT&T Park, where I practiced using my gears (and we discovered that my front gears weren't shifting) and starting and stopping gracefully. We then rode our bikes back to the Mission, where I rewarded myself with ice cream from Bi-Rite Creamery. Eleanor escorted me all the home too.
Last Sunday, I went for a bike ride with Ian and his friends. I was nervous about not being able to keep with them and not being able to bike up hills. But, I managed okay through Golden Gate Park and walked my bike up some hills that were too steep for my legs.
I thought I was doing okay, until I fell off my bike in the Presidio. I didn't even get hit by anything to make a good story. I didn't have to dodge a wild animal either. I just fell off. I skinned my left knee, scraped my left hand, and bruised my right side. Ian asked if I wanted to keep going. There was nothing I could do, really, other than keep going. I took a moment to catch my breath then got back to pedaling. It hurt a little and Ian rubbed chewed up eucalyptus leaves on my cuts. I was bound to get hurt at some point, and, though I would rather not have fallen and scraped up my body, it wasn't too bad. We kept going to Crissy Field, North Beach, Chinatown, downtown, and up Market toward home. We must have gone about 15 miles. Other than falling and having to walk up hills, I think I did pretty great for my third time on a bike in years.
I'm still feeling the pain of my fall though. The right side of my body is sore and it hurts to bend my left knee. I went to visit the school nurse yesterday to check out my knee, which was looking red and swollen. She said it wasn't infected, that it was actually healing well, and that it was just a little inflamed. She stuck a band-aid on my knee.
And, since my body is achy and it hurts to bend my knee, I haven't been running this week, which is disappointing since I was doing well in keeping up with my morning routine.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Liveright Run
Today was the Liveright 5K run/walk for liver cancer and hepatitis B awareness that Winnie asked me and other friends and family members to sign up for. I had been a little nervous about running it, since I have been having horrible runs lately, where I can barely manage to get my feet moving and my limbs all feel uncoordinated. Though I've been running regularly again (now that the sun is up when I get up) and have been doing my yoga and strength training again (since Scott has been away), I still felt nervous. But, despite the rain and cold, we had a good morning of exercise together.
Billy came to pick me up earlier than I had hoped. I opened the door for him still wearing my pajamas and with my toothbrush in my mouth. After I put on my running clothes and had some toast with peanut butter, we headed out to Golden Gate Park, where the event was being held. We signed in, put on our numbers, hung out with Winnie's family, and waited for the race to start. Winnie, Billy, Winnie's friend Tim, and I would be running the race together. The other family members would go at their own pace, and the two younger ones would walk with Uncle Norm.
There were other people there who looked like real runners: short shorts, sweat bands, well-developed calf muscles. They were doing stretches and warm-up exercises. I kinda moved my arms and legs around.
Before the official start, Fiona Ma said some words and then some other lady did too. Then, another woman took the stage to get the whole crowd warmed up. We were told to move our arms, march in place, lunge to the side, lunge to the other side, swivel our hips. We tried to follow along and not hit each other. I tried not to think of middle school P.E. class. I reminded Winnie that we would be running slowly. It started to rain.
Then, it was time to make it to the start line. We, somehow, made it to the front of the line. I stood next to an older man in true racing gear and who had the stance of a racer at the starting gates. I looked nothing like him. We were told the route of the course, but no one in our group paid attention. Our best bet would be to just follow everyone else, which we did. The cow bell rang, the flag was waved, and we were off, across a muddy, lumpy, grassy field (we felt like we were at school recess and just running to run, and trying to be careful not to get our feet caught in a hole), and then up a muddy, steep hill (I struggled a little bit, trying not to fall). Seeing hundreds of people running across this field in the rain made me happy and energized.
We made it up to a dirt path, where I tried not to twist my ankle on loose rocks. The running felt good. I could feel my form feeling right. My breathing was easy. Winnie told me that we were not running slowly. We turned up another path and run through trees. We were running behind a woman pushing a stroller for two. She was impressive. She yelled at a stupid girl who was wearing headphones and couldn't hear the Stroller Woman shout at her to move right as she wanted to pass. We passed the Stroller Woman at a hill, but she then passed us at the Polo Field, which smelled of manure. The rain was falling steadily and it seemed to take forever to get around the Polo Field. I was getting tired. But, we made it around the field.
Then, I got a cramp on my side. The four of us were good at keeping our little running pack together. It seemed as if we were pretty evenly matched, though I feel like Tim, who had run a marathon before, might have been taking it easy. But, I had to stop and walk. Winnie saw me slow and she started to slow down too, but she said no, she couldn't stop, which I was glad for. After just a bit, I got running again, caught up with them, and was able to lead the group again just as we were about to near the end. It's strange how my body will hurt for a little bit and feel all wrong, only to feel better than ever not too long after.
We ran across the finish line together with arms linked and smiles on our faces. Our time was about 30 minutes. Not a great time but not bad either. We finished together, which was the important part. After hanging around for a bit in the rain and waiting for the rest of the family to finish, we went back to my house to get cleaned up and then to Chinatown for dim sum. I would say the morning was a success.
Billy came to pick me up earlier than I had hoped. I opened the door for him still wearing my pajamas and with my toothbrush in my mouth. After I put on my running clothes and had some toast with peanut butter, we headed out to Golden Gate Park, where the event was being held. We signed in, put on our numbers, hung out with Winnie's family, and waited for the race to start. Winnie, Billy, Winnie's friend Tim, and I would be running the race together. The other family members would go at their own pace, and the two younger ones would walk with Uncle Norm.
There were other people there who looked like real runners: short shorts, sweat bands, well-developed calf muscles. They were doing stretches and warm-up exercises. I kinda moved my arms and legs around.
Before the official start, Fiona Ma said some words and then some other lady did too. Then, another woman took the stage to get the whole crowd warmed up. We were told to move our arms, march in place, lunge to the side, lunge to the other side, swivel our hips. We tried to follow along and not hit each other. I tried not to think of middle school P.E. class. I reminded Winnie that we would be running slowly. It started to rain.
Then, it was time to make it to the start line. We, somehow, made it to the front of the line. I stood next to an older man in true racing gear and who had the stance of a racer at the starting gates. I looked nothing like him. We were told the route of the course, but no one in our group paid attention. Our best bet would be to just follow everyone else, which we did. The cow bell rang, the flag was waved, and we were off, across a muddy, lumpy, grassy field (we felt like we were at school recess and just running to run, and trying to be careful not to get our feet caught in a hole), and then up a muddy, steep hill (I struggled a little bit, trying not to fall). Seeing hundreds of people running across this field in the rain made me happy and energized.
We made it up to a dirt path, where I tried not to twist my ankle on loose rocks. The running felt good. I could feel my form feeling right. My breathing was easy. Winnie told me that we were not running slowly. We turned up another path and run through trees. We were running behind a woman pushing a stroller for two. She was impressive. She yelled at a stupid girl who was wearing headphones and couldn't hear the Stroller Woman shout at her to move right as she wanted to pass. We passed the Stroller Woman at a hill, but she then passed us at the Polo Field, which smelled of manure. The rain was falling steadily and it seemed to take forever to get around the Polo Field. I was getting tired. But, we made it around the field.
Then, I got a cramp on my side. The four of us were good at keeping our little running pack together. It seemed as if we were pretty evenly matched, though I feel like Tim, who had run a marathon before, might have been taking it easy. But, I had to stop and walk. Winnie saw me slow and she started to slow down too, but she said no, she couldn't stop, which I was glad for. After just a bit, I got running again, caught up with them, and was able to lead the group again just as we were about to near the end. It's strange how my body will hurt for a little bit and feel all wrong, only to feel better than ever not too long after.
We ran across the finish line together with arms linked and smiles on our faces. Our time was about 30 minutes. Not a great time but not bad either. We finished together, which was the important part. After hanging around for a bit in the rain and waiting for the rest of the family to finish, we went back to my house to get cleaned up and then to Chinatown for dim sum. I would say the morning was a success.
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