Thursday, June 28, 2018

San Francisco Trip Report - Part 1

The week has sped by and I can't believe it's already Thursday!  I guess that will happen when you have evening meetings the first two days of the week.  I thought I'd go ahead and start my trip report for California.

Saturday - This was the day we flew in to San Francisco.  We flew into Oakland Airport since it was a bit cheaper and used Lyft to get to our hotel.  It was pretty easy and we didn't run into much traffic since it was the weekend.  We stayed at the Marriott Marquis in the financial district near union square and that was a great hotel. It wasn't near the tourist activities but it was less than a mile easy walk from the water and the ferry building and just a couple blocks from Union Square.  It was also in a mostly flat area.  It was busy during business hours but I kind of enjoy that sort of hustle and bustle anyway.

The city was all decked out for Pride, which was the next weekend

Saturday evening we had tickets for a show called "The Speakeasy."  I don't even know how to describe it other than to say it's interactive theater and you really felt like you were transported back to a 1920s speakeasy for the evening.  It was super fun.  It was on the expensive side but we felt it was well worth the money.  Here's the description from their website:  "Step back in time to 1923 as 35 characters lead you on a “choose your own adventure” into the depths of the Prohibition Era. Song and dance, comedy and drama, casino-style gaming and killer cocktails are among the many delights you will encounter as you explore the secret passages and hidden rooms of The Palace Theater."  Of course, no cell phones were allowed as that wouldn't be very accurate to the time period so no photos.

Sunday - We had a late night Saturday so we had a leisurely morning on Sunday.  I went out for a run and then we met up with some old friends from college for brunch.



After that, we picked up my parents from the hotel and decided to get some views of the Golden Gate Bridge.  I had heard of some views that were a bit better than from the bridge itself so our first stop was Fort Point, at the base of the bridge.  It was cool to explore what was left of the fort as well as to check out the videos they had on the military history of the fort as well as the building of the Golden Gate Bridge.


Then we drove over to Crissy Beach, which is a little beach a bit further down the coast.  It has some great views as well and there seemed to be lots of locals enjoying the beach with plenty of cute kids and cute dogs.  But it was a windy day and we didn't stay there too long.  We went on to explore Japan Town.


We had dinner that evening at a vegan Mexican restaurant, Gracias Madre.  It was so good!  I love all the plant based cuisine we were able to enjoy while we were in California.  And it was all so different too.


Monday - Monday morning, we had a walking tour planned and my parents had a reservation to see Muir Woods.  Muir Woods requires advanced reservations for parking or a shuttle so it's best to plan ahead if you want to see it.  We had breakfast together at the Ferry Building (they have a gluten free bakery that also has vegan options as well as a vegan doughnut kiosk) and then went our separate ways.

The beginning of our self guided walking tour was along the water.  We saw Coit Tower but chickened out of climbing to the top of the hill because the steps looked pretty daunting!  I hear there are great views from the top though, with pretty murals in the building and parrots along the way for some reason.


We continued walking by the water and walked up the hill to see Lombard Street.  It was pretty steep but there were some great views along the way.


We walked back down the hill and continues along the way to Ghiradelli Square.  We stopped at the Cartoon Arts museum along the way.  It was pretty small but really well curated.  And we of course picked up some chocolate at Ghiradelli Square.



We met up with my parents for lunch at the Hot Spud.  Its a quick baked potato place that had plenty of vegan and vegetarian toppings.  It was nice that everyone could create their own potato with what they wanted, and it was supper filling.   And it was right by Fisherman's Wharf.  So afterwards, we were able to explore Boudin's Bakery for some sourdough bread, a weird little arcade that had historic arcade games and stuff right by the water, and walk down to Pier 39 to see the sea lions.

Dinner that evening was at a vegetarian Chinese restaurant where most things were vegan. There were a couple items with egg noodles.  It was delicious, though the service was a bit curt.  Mike and I took advantage of being in Chinatown to explore a bit before dinner.  We also took advantage of the hotel bar after dinner since they had a great view of the city.


And that's it for now!  This has gotten pretty long so I'll leave our last day in San Francisco and our time in Napa for the next post.

Monday, June 25, 2018

Weekly Review

I'm back!  Sorry, I've been gone for about two weeks but it was a bit of a busy time with a conference the week of June 11th and then leaving for a week long vacation on June 16th.  But I'm back home now and had a great time in California.  I'll share details of the trip later this week, though those of you that follow me on Instagram got a taste of it already.

But for now, here are my workouts for the past week or so.  San Francisco was a lot cooler than the DC area and it was great running weather while I was there.

Friday - 3 mile easy run


Saturday - Rest day - travel day so most of the day was on a plane, but we did get in a walk to explore the neighborhood we were staying in once we got to San Francisco.

Sunday - 4 mile run with a lot of it by the water.



Monday - Rest day, again with lots of walking to explore the city.


Tuesday - Yoga in the hotel room in the morning and more walking to explore the city.


Wednesday - 2 mile easy run (ended up closer to 3 miles but the GPS was off and I'm not sure)



Thursday - 2.5 miles with a little bit of speed work, plus a virtual 5k with my dad later in the morning.



Friday - some easy hiking in a petrified wood forest.


Saturday - 2 mile run on the treadmill at the hotel before flying home


Sunday - 3 mile morning run at home.


So those were my workouts while I was in California.  We had a great time but I'm happy to be back home too.  This week is going to be a little complicated again as I've got some evening meetings but here's the plan for now.

Monday - Rest day plus meeting in the evening
Tuesday - Morning easy run with a meeting in the evening
Wednesday - Body pump
Thursday - Treadmill run with speed work after work
Friday -  Body Pump
 Saturday - 3 mile easy run
Sunday - 5 miles

 I'm linking up with with HoHoRuns and Taking the Long Way Home for the Weekly Wrap.


 

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Weekly Review

I had a great birthday weekend!  It seemed like a bit of a whirlwind week but overall it went really well and I got in all of my workouts :)

Monday - Rest day

Tuesday - Easy run in the morning


Wednesday - Lunchtime walk plus Body pump video at home (I forgot to take my gym bag to work)


View from my lunchtime walk

Thursday - Easy run after work.  It was so hot and buggy!



Friday - Barre video at home


We saw this guy when we were out in our neighborhood in the evening

Saturday - 2 mile easy run


We also went out to celebrate Pride (and my birthday!) in the evening.



Sunday - 3 mile run with a friend in the morning.

 

We also had another friend over for a brunch consisting of a frittata I made and yummy birthday doughnuts while watching the Sense8 finale on Netflix.  It was amazing and we had some good catching up time too.

So that was my week.  Here's the tentative plan for this week, which is a bit complicated.  I have a work conference at the beginning of the week but it's local so at least it doesn't involve traveling. And then we're heading off to San Francisco for vacation on Saturday!

Monday - Rest day plus work conference
Tuesday - Morning easy run before heading to my conference
Wednesday - Body pump
Thursday - Treadmill run after work
Friday -  Morning easy run plus strength training at home
Saturday - Rest day and flying to CA
Sunday - 4 miles in San Francisco

 I'm linking up with with HoHoRuns and Taking the Long Way Home for the Weekly Wrap.


 

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Medical Update

Well, I've gotten some more input from my primary care doctor as well as from the physical therapist.  I saw both of them on the same day and I feel good about the appointments.

The physical therapist assistant indicated that the range of mobility is a lot better in my knee and my foot.  My hip is still a little tight and not as strong as it should be.  It also seems like the rotator muscles are not activating properly.  So in addition to the stretching exercises they had previously given me, I have some new hip strengthening exercises to add to the routine.

 
They even have a cool new app with videos of the exercises and a way to track when I do them


My primary care doctor did an EKG and indicated my heart seemed fine.  So we also got some blood tests done and my thyroid levels have changed.  The thyroid medicine I've been on for years now is all of a sudden too strong for some reason.  She indicated that would explain the higher heart rate and maybe even the fatigue.  I was confused about that comment because usually fatigue would be a sign that the dosage was too low.  But I think maybe the high dosage was making me restless and resulting in not sleeping well.

So I'm hopeful that the lower dosage of medicine will help with both my heart rate and sleeping better.  Unfortunately, the lower dosage will make it harder to lose weight.  I'm cutting out alcohol and added sugar for now and hopefully that will help on the weight front.

 
No more of this!  Well, I'm going to make an exception for 1 doughnut on my birthday.

Monday, June 4, 2018

Weekly Review

I hope everyone had a good couple weeks!  It's been a bit crazy here with Memorial Day and work being busy last week, plus a short weekend trip to NYC.  Hence completely forgetting to put up my weekly review last week.  But I'm back and here's how this week went.

Monday - Rest Day.

Tuesday - Elliptical


Wednesday - Body Pump



Thursday - Rest day.  I had an evening event I had to go to so doubled up the workouts on Friday.

Friday - Speed work in my neighborhood plus some strength training at home plus driving up to NYC in the afternoon.


Saturday - 3 mile run in Central Park plus a 2 mile walk with my dad.  The GPS was all crazy but I'm pretty sure the second one should be closer to 2 miles instead of 3.




Sunday - Rest day and driving back to DC.  Here are some photos of the NYC trip :)

 
Celebrating high school and middle school graduations!

 
We gave my parents tickets to Hamilton for their Christmas gifts last year

 
I love the Disney Store in Times Square




 
Fun at Madame Tusaud's


 
The view from our hotel room

So that was my week.  Here's the tentative plan for this week.

Monday - Rest day
Tuesday - Morning easy run
Wednesday - Body pump
Thursday - Speed work on the treadmill
Friday -  Body Pump
Saturday - Morning easy run
Sunday - 6 miles in the am


 I'm linking up with with HoHoRuns and Taking the Long Way Home for the Weekly Wrap.