Happy 2 years, San Francisco!

2 years ago this month I bid my hometown of Davis, California adieu after 23 years there... Small(ish)-town girl moving to the big city! It's crazy to think how fast these past 2 years have gone by. Am I really no longer a recent college grad? How can I already be in my mid-20s? Eek! I'm getting old! As friends and peers start getting married and posting baby pics on Facebook, it's a wild reminder that we are, indeed, growing up.

But becoming an adult comes with many perks, including being of drinking age... So let me raise a glass to my adopted city -- cheers, San Francisco! The past 2 years here have arguably been my best yet. Tough for them not to be, what with friends and family nearby and SF being named America's best city in 2012 :) At any rate, thank you, San Francisco, for being such a splendid host for the adventures of this 20-something, and of course, the site of many joyful runs :)

What better way to commemorate this 2 year anniversary than with photos? Enjoy!

Roomie love, overlooking our adopted city

View on my drive into work, way out by the ocean. Minus the usual fog.

Daily stomping grounds - easily spend at least an hour in the park every day. I think the homeless people might be the only ones who spend more time in GGP than me!

Conservatory of Flowers in GGP

Bridge views from Coit Tower

My favorite place in the entire city - Stow Lake with a view of Sutro Tower

Relentless fog rolling in

Polo Fields - site of many a solo workout

View from my apartment. I'm a pretty lucky gal!

Ah, AT&T Park. Buster Posey, marry me? (sorry Avi!)

Views like this are why I carry my iPhone with me when I run!

Sunset District in the foreground; the park, the Richmond, the bridge, and Marin beyond

City views from the East Bay. So blessed to call SF home (I mean second home! Sorry Mom - Davis will always be "home home") ;-)

2 steps forward, 1 step back

Whelp, that didn't go as planned. Yesterday's 5k in Providence was NOT the race I was hoping for, NOT the race I flew across the country to run, and certainly NOT the time I thought I'd finish in. I was pretty bummed out about it yesterday. I'm embarrassed to show you the results, but I may as well post them, because you could just as easily Google it. So here ya go: 

Slower than last year and in 17th place, compared to a speedier 12th place a year ago. So much for building year upon year.

Wait, scratch that. I am building upon last year. It's just that sometimes for every 2 steps forward, you take 1 step back. Yesterday was a step back in terms of athletic performance, but I'm refusing to let it be any more than that. Today, I'm taking those next 2 steps forward by not dwelling on the bad days. When you have a bad race, be angry for a little while (being angry means you care!), but then analyze what went wrong, learn from it, and move on. It's much easier said than done, but in the last year, I've gotten better at turning the page and looking ahead.

I made a number of mistakes yesterday that I'm going to learn from and not repeat, first and foremost being get off the starting line! I got stuck in traffic behind a horde of 16-minute 5k dudes, and while I frantically weaved my way through the crowd of men, the lead pack of women put 10 meters on me, a gap I never made up. This sure wasn't how I'd envisioned the race going, and I let it get to me mentally. Fast forward 16 minutes later and I was feeling pretty defeated. 

The VERY crowded start line - I'm in there somewhere! (Photo credit WPRI.com)

I'm also feeling pretty crummy - on the flight home I started feeling sick and have since come down with a cold. Somewhere between working late, running lots, jetting across the country, and racing a 5k, my immune said no. So, it's time to get healthy and get back on track and look foward to the next race.

Bedtime for this sicky... til next time!