ssg

It’s 6:30am and I’m wondering what I’m really doing wandering the streets of San Francisco at this hour.  There’s not much traffic and those who are out are generally washing down the sidewalks.  I’m heading over to 5th and x because my friend Mark knows how to use social media and has found out that there is a 5K Fun Run happening at 7am.

Mark isn’t with me, he’s out running before the run so he can get in some real mileage.  Not me, I’m saving my energy for the run.  Since this is an unsanctioned event, I’m wondering if it will just be me and Mark at the corner.  I’m gratified to find that there are 15 runners stretching and talking when I reach the corner.

My big concern is whether the course will have any hills.  I’m assured by a confident runner next to me that the course isn’t hilly at all.  That makes me feel much better.

We start off promptly at 7am at that typical too-fast-to-finish this course pace.  Fortunately the traffic lights are my best friend and we often are stopped long enough for me to catch my breath.  Around mile two we approach a turn and I notice that the street is Powell.  That seems very familiar and I’m trying to remember why that is the case.  As we turn I see an enormous hill (remember I’m from Dallas) and I see the famous Powell streetcar coming down in the middle.

I manage to struggle to the top only to find out that running down steep hills is even harder.  I’m oxygen-deprived at this point so I’m trying to keep some focus on the growing number of pedestrians and the buckled concrete and the buses and the cars.  When things start leveling out I’m lost but have a small contingent of runners following me.  We consult our map and find an alternate route back to the starting corner.  There we have a bottle of water and a nice Oracle Partner towel waiting for us.  That’s when I realize that I’ve only got a one mile hike back to my hotel…