Run DMZ

The "after" photo taken by Diane B, who also served as our chauffer this morning. Thanks, Diane!! I almost talked myself out of doing this race because (a) I was extremely busy,(b) I hadn't exercised in almost a week and (c) I wasn't feeling well. But I'm glad I didn't listen to that voice. I only wish I'd found the camera in our neverending move because today's 4-miler from La Jolla to Pacific Beach was picture-perfect. It's unusual for there to be clear skies along that stretch of coast that early. San Diegans are used to a thick marine layer until around 10 a.m. When it's lacking, it can only mean one thing: It's going to be a scorcher. And it was. But spending a Sunday morning with 1,800 others on a slightly downhill course was a perfect escape from my current stressful life. The run starts in downtown La Jolla and essentially winds down La Jolla Blvd. through Bird Rock and into Pacific Beach, where it ends at Garnet a...

This is the view I see each morning as I head out for my early morning run. Or, more accurately, it's the view I used to see. We're moving again. Unlike past moves, we didn't have a compelling reason to stay in the same part of San Diego, which gave us plenty of options. Since this move represents a major downsize, I initially had my heart set on a downtown condo. Then one morning I picked up a friend at 5 a.m. at her downtown loft and, in addition to the vagrants, two young guys walking down the street saw me get out of my car and slid into a deep door frame. I can't prove they were waiting for me to walk by because I didn't give them the opportunity. Instead, I got back in my car, locked it and called my friend on my cell. I also checked downtown off the potential housing list that day. Then a lot of people recommended another trendy urban area not far from where I work. The problem, though, was that several blocks of neat bungalows always bumped up ag...

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This past weekend marked a turning point for me. I could drink alcohol again, but I didn’t. I devoted this summer to fixing some body parts that were no longer working as well as they used to. I guess this is what women do when they can’t afford to buy new models. Let’s go through this from head to toe, shall we? What a headache. I’ve suffered for several years now from migraines and gone through a battery of tests and slew of prescriptions to find out the root cause and best cure. The headaches were worst in the winter, when it rains here in San Diego, and I was convinced the wet soils produced some plant that made me sick. It turns out that the trigger is a change in the barometric pressure. And it also turns out that after many $$$ later, a bottle of Excedrin Migraine works just as well as those fancy drugs – and without the potent side effects. I can see clearly now.... Some people hate the dentist; I tense up at the optometrist’s office. I was overdue for an ey...

Back when I was one of the cool kids, a group of us would meet after Tuesday track practices for dinner, usually pizza at Luigi’s in Golden Hill or Thai at Saffron off Washington Street. One of the guys was always planning a big hike with the goal of covering every bit of ground in a book he'd bought several years before. He mentioned that if I wanted to be a trail runner, then I had to own this book too because there was nothing else like it. He promised it would make me want to get into the wildnerness more often, and he was right. So I got a copy of that book and another with selections aimed at trail runners, both by a guy named Jerry Schad. To this day, they are the most opened and earmarked of all the books on my shelves. A community college professor by day, Schad wrote extensively of the most popular and the little known trails surrounding just about every open space in the county and beyond. Then today I found this article in our local paper about the author fightin...

Last night we had the pleasure of joining friends Todd and Christine for a grand pre-opening of the newest Smashburger , now conveniently located in our suburb's "town center." Turns out Christine’s an elite Yelper and scored an invite. They had live entertainment and characteristically great food at this fast casual restaurant (now just feet away from a Golden Spoon … can it get any better? Wait, yes, it can – the food was FREE!) I highly recommend the San Diego Smash. And you must get the Smashfries too, tossed with rosemary and garlic. The grand opening reminded me I was recently introduced to a new online tool called Smashrun (no relation to the burger, I’m sure). It’s still in beta but for those seeking a “fresh start” in logging running miles, it may be just what you need. I asked someone at Smashrun to answer questions for me. Here are Jacklyn's responses as they were emailed: How does this program different from DailyMile and Athlinks, the two biggest playe...

Technically it's still Wednesday, but I have been "off" all week thanks to major dental work and I thought Tuesday was Monday and today was Thursday despite everything pointing to it being Wednesday. Some weeks are just like that. To celebrate the middle of a pain-riddled and chaotic week, I raced across town to join friends for the annual Summerfest Under the Stars concert at La Jolla Cove. Let me tell you, nothing takes the edge off a stressful day like joining hundreds of others watching the sun set over the seas while the beautiful strains of Dvorak fill the salty air.