The Silver Strand Half

Blog readers: I apologize for my recent slacking.  This weekend was the much anticipated Silver Strand half marathon.  Although at one point I had aspirations of running the half at a record pace, those hopes were dashed (probably beginning Friday night).  It's a long story, but it starts like this...

Friday night we headed out to celebrate Saysay's birthday at a little place in East Village called Dussini (it is a very cool Mediterranean Bistro in East Village - check it out www.dussini.com).  The night started out pretty chill but after a drink or two, we felt the need to bless Saysay with several shots of tequila in honor of his birthday.  Add in some Effen and some vodka and sodas (which definitely didn't help my already lame pool skills) and I was feeling alright.  We then had to run up to another East Village spot to screen a new roommate.

At any rate, before we left Dussini we had a very interesting chat with a scantily dressed female.  And by scantily dressed, I mean her breasts were almost falling out of her low cut dress.  We explained our need to migrate bars ("screen a new roommate") and she immediately offered three screening rules.  The first of which was "make sure she's not a sex addict."  Coming from a girl with her breasts falling out of her dress, I found this quite hilarious.

So on to bar #2 we went.  It was pretty chill and the new roommate got a two thumbs up.

The next morning I decided to go surfing with some friends for a couple of hours.  Being a newbie surfer, I am still learning the ropes and getting to learn how exactly to catch a wave.  However, it was 83 and sunny and a perfect day to hang out in the water for a couple of hours.  But let me tell  you that surfing sure wipes you out.  I spent some serious time on the couch after that trying to recover from surfing (this is Saturday afternoon).

So I wake up at about 5:32 a.m. on race day, ready to head down to Imperial Beach to catch the shuttle to Coronado, where the race starts (it's a point to point).  However, I neglect to get the exact directions for where the shuttle is leaving from and cut it too close and miss the shuttle.  Then I have to drive all the way down the strand to Coronado and find parking.  By this time, it is 7:27 a.m.  I find parking and run about a mile toward Sunset Park and see the rest of the field starting the race while I'm frantically running toward the starting line.  

I think I made it about five minutes late and got an extra mile or so run before reaching the starting line.  I was not feeling so special...tequila and surfing are not good pre-half marathon preparation.  Through Mile 5, I had to convince myself every step not to turn around and run back to Coronado (where my car was).  By the time I made it to Mile 8, I was actually feeling better, though I was brutally slow throughout the race.  

I did see a shirt which made me feel better.  It said, "Hell, I may be slow, but at least I'm out here."  That is going to be my motto for the Silver Strand Half this year.  Maybe I'll run faster next half but for now, I'm just relieved it's over.