Running While Traveling

Last night I returned from an awesome family vacation in San Francisco. We drove, which was fun on the way there (we stopped several places and split the long drive pretty evenly over two days) and not-so-fun on the way home (we drove straight from Monterey to San Diego, hitting LA rush hour traffic and resulting in a 9 1/2 hour drive. Ugh.) But we had amazing quality time as a family, and made a lot of memories that I hope my kids will always have. San Francisco has long been one of my favorite cities, and it was amazing to be there as a mother, showing my kids Lombard Street, riding the cable car, experiencing Pier 39.

One of the highlights of the trip, for me, was running! On the way up north, we stayed overnight in Pismo Beach. Before we left in the morning, I had a nice run there. And while in San Francicso, I had TWO runs that loved.....I ran the Embarcadero (by Fisherman's Wharf), and I ran across the Golden Gate Bridge (which was a bucket-list run for me). Actually, I had had no intention of running the Embarcadero, but while on a bus tour (ok, a Duck Tour, which was SO FUN!) we drove by it and I saw tons of runners out there and I got very jealous. I wanted to be one of them! So the next morning I got up and did a short run there, and then later that morning did the Golden Gate Bridge. Running among lots of runners on the Embarcadero gave me that feeling of being in the running community that I love so much (which is why I love races), and being on the Bridge was just exhilarating. I actually teared up during my run!






Doing these runs got me thinking about how I've recently wanted to run in new places, especially while traveling. Like many runners, I have an ultimate goal of running in every state. I'd love to do a half marathon in each one (only 49 more to go!) But really, more than that, I love exploring a new area on a run, even if it's just around some new neighborhood. That's one reason I ran in Pismo Beach; I'd never run there before!

On the drive back home to San Diego, I compiled a list of places I've run. I can't wait to add to it over the years!

Tigard, Oregon
Scottsdale, Arizona
Conifer, Colorado
Boston, Massachusetts
Gaithersburg, Maryland
Houston, Texas

And, of course, several places in California, my home state, including:
San Diego (many, many places)
San Francisco
Pismo Beach
Walnut Creek
Thousand Oaks
Anaheim
Palm Springs
Carlsbad
Escondido
La Jolla
Coronado

I will be adding more in the next few months with races I've signed up for or plan to sign up for: Long Beach, Las Vegas, Hollywood, Huntington Beach, Orange County, and Portland. I am so sad that I only recently got so into running; I've been many places and can cry at the lost opportunities I've had to run in places like Rome, New York, and Chicago. Hopefully I'll get to run in all of these places someday. More "bucket-list" runs include Central Park in New York City, Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, and around the monuments in Washington, D.C. among others. I can't wait to run more of this world!