Run DMZ

A lot of the allure surrounding Coronado, an isthmus that likes to call itself an island, boils down to this: it’s flat, pretty and has plenty of shoreline. Gridded streets are lined with mid-century bungalows and large custom homes with deciduous trees and well-manicured gardens.  New homeownership  is out of reach for most of us (and probably residents who were fortunate enough to purchased property a half-century ago when the place didn’t have much going for it), but a heavy Navy presence adds a little diversity to the community. Coronado has two thriving restaurant/retail centers:  one offering sweeping views of the downtown San Diego skyline and a ferry ; the other, an  iconic hotel  and  ceramic cow .    Near the latter is a beach where they rake the sand daily, so everything looks just so. The result of that attention to detail has been Coronado Beach cracking the Top 10—sometimes even the No. 1 spot—on one of the most respected  annua...

Some weekends I feel closer to my food and this is one of them. That’s partly because yesterday we made our annual pilgrimage to Little Quail Farm in Valley Center to pick our own ripe persimmons. Partly it’s because I finally made it to a farmer’s market and felt a little pious buying direct from growers versus grocers. But mostly it’s because of pigeons. Yesterday morning I drove down to Coronado to babysit canisters, cups and a couple of jackets while everyone in our half marathon training program ran around town at daybreak. (I even saw AKA Alice gearing up for a Silver Strand ride in a chance encounter.) Once everyone took off, I sat on a concrete bench with a book and about 10 minutes later noticed a couple of pigeons walking toward me. Soon more pigeons were on the move and before I knew it they were arriving en masse. Feeling like a hapless victim in the early 1970s movie “ Willard ,” I stood up to leave, which is all the action it took for them to fly away. But they kept comi...

A large group almost is guaranteed every time we meet to run in Coronado. It is, hands down, one of the best places to run in San Diego. It's flat. Highly scenic and not prone to extremes in weather. This morning I ran the circumference of the "island" while a lot of people extended the run out onto the strand that connects Coronado to Imperial Beach. I ran the first three miles with some women who are faster than me, and it felt great to keep up with them. The second half I ran most of the way with a woman on the master's team and finished a few minutes ahead of her (of course, she ran the Nike Half Marathon last week and I didn't). The sun burned through the fog just as I was coming off the bike path and into Tidelands Park where we started. Total distance was 6.6 miles and average pace per mile was a confidence-boosting 9:14. I think the computer program may have been too generous but it was definitely the fastest I've run since my injury and I'm holdin...

I can’t ever remember getting race instructions in the mail that began by encouraging you to bring your camera. But, boy, am I glad I did. And others probably are too. The Navy’s 22nd annual Bay Bridge Run offered sweltering temps, an unexpected stop and spectacular views of downtown San Diego and Coronado. As I mentioned in a previous post, this one wasn’t run for time. Good thing too because despite an official Runners Start and a Walkers Start there were plenty of both types in each section, so it took awhile to actually get running and keep moving. There were no timing chips to accurately record 8,000 runners, which proved a bit of a problem at the end since there also was no one keeping order. But I’m getting ahead of myself – and the actual run. The start was at the western base of the Gaslamp District in downtown San Diego. Here are my friends Sue, Vickie and Tina, who flew in from Florida for the weekend. It should be noted the day prior we went hiking in the morning and spent ...

I don’t know about you, but throughout my adult life I’ve taken mental still shots of moments as they unfold. I’m not talking about births, graduations, weddings, anniversaries and funerals. I’m talking about everyday snapshots that you almost subconsciously contribute to your life’s album, and which only you can retrieve and rifle through when the mood fits. I distinctly recall the moment Labor Day weekend when the pain in my achilles tendon became a little too pronounced, and I wondered if this was my final “long run.” As such, I instinctively took in the penetrating sun overhead; my sweaty running friends struggling in the heat; the spires of the striking Hotel Del Coronado just ahead; the sound of the crashing waves beyond the breakers to my right; and the smell of the Starbucks coffees a vacationing couple carried, along with the cutest poodle, as they passed by me. The Coronado I returned to yesterday was quite a contrast. It was windy and rainy and pretty darn cold if you didn’t...

There’s only one thing more foolish than continuing to run a 6-mile loop around Coronado when your Achilles tendon feels like it's gnawing into your ankle. That’s missing a turn and going about 7 miles instead. Pictured below are me and Laura after we volunteered at yesterday's Balboa 4-Mile cross country race. We both worked the finish line and made such a great team that we again banded together on our misguided adventure during a super-solar-charged run this morning. We're having a heatwave, with triple-digit temps packing more humidity than usual for here. I guess we were lucky it was only in the 80s when we were circumventing the "island" with its multimillion-dollar neighborhoods and stingy sea breezes. I returned home in bad shape, a condition that hasn't improved in the hours since. Rather impressive swelling and tenderness have yet to yield to the hourly icing and regular doses of ibuprofen. I’m willing to admit now I need to give it a real rest. To ...