When Bike Commuters are Also Marathoners: SRAB Goes to the San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon

Bob and I landed in San Diego early this afternoon, quickly got our bags and hopped a bus to downtown's historic Gaslamp District where we had reservations at the Horton Grand Hotel. No rental cars or Marriott for. We purchased the day pass for $5 each and boarded a clean bus with a friendly driver who asked us if we were in town for the Marathon. Yes, indeed, we replied, and encouraged her in her future aspirations to take up running.

We arrived at 4th and Island in no time flat and found a small, Victorian hotel with a courtyard in the center, balconies looking out on to the street, and a carved wooden staircase. Quaint but with amenities like Wi-Fi. A must!

The Running Bob and I bonded over running and work and have run five marathons together, as well as several half marathons. Unfortunately, I am down for my 8th month recovering (I hope) from a herniated disk. The first several months of not running was pretty miserable, and I missed not having a goal to work toward, especially one to share with Bob. Nonetheless, I am determined to be a good sport and cheer him on. He has trained hard for this race and supplemented his training with swimming, and of course bike commuting.

Most of the people we know in Flag who bike commute are interested in sports and fitness anyway and also run. As we've nurtured those friendships, I am excited about returning to running in the next few months and reinvigorating my commitment by running with people who share my enthusiasm for it but also run a bit closer to my pace. While I felt like a pretty strong runner in Louisville, I am strictly a novice at 7000 feet! Flagstaff is a well-known training ground for world-class runners. In Flag, even the average runner can kick my butt. San Diego is at sea level so I find myself wondering what time I would post if I had been able to train for the last several months? With all the hills I've been pedaling lately, I wonder how I'd do if I got cleared to run tomorrow?

Anyway, for the next few days I'll be posting from San Diego. We only walked around the area long enough to grab a late lunch and collect Bob's packet at the Convention Center. Haven't seen much bike culture yet; certainly not the number of bikes locked to bike racks and sign posts that we did in Portland but there is a bike rental place close to our hotel and we plan to rent some for at least a day and tool around to take in the sights. We had anticipated Southern California's famous sunshine but a cloudy, wet weather system arrive just before we touched down so things feel a bit like they have in Flagstaff recently, which has been uncharacteristically rainy for May. So far, the people are, just as I've always been told, very friendly and gracious.

For any San Diego readers who are running tomorrow morning, don't forget to carbo load, stay hydrated, get to bed early, and have a great race tomorrow. I'll be doing a little posting on the race and shooting some video for the The Running Bob so hop over to his blog and catch his perspective on the race and San Diego!