Leaving San Francisco > Photos from the Going Away Party

I will be doing a more in depth blog post soon, but wanted to get the photos out ASAP. Amy and I are moving back to Nashville, TN and these are the photos of us and our friends at the going away party. Enjoy :)

First Long Run with My New Garmin Forerunner 405

10 Mile Golden Gate Park Run

This past weekend Amy and I took off for a long 10 mile run. This was the first long run we did with my new Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS watch. We ran from the ocean here in San Francisco, through Golden Gate Park and back again and ended our run sipping beers and mai tais at the Park Chalet. I have to admit, this was one of the best runs Amy and I have ever been on (especially considering it was 10 miles)!

Garmin 405 Forerunner Watch

If you click on the map above or on this link, you will be connected to the Garmin website where you can review the details from the GPS data of our run. It’s not a big deal, but the data that comes from the watch is just plain interesting to look at (at least to a nerd like me). We averaged 11 minute miles for the whole run and even ran our last miles the fastest, clocking in at 9:41 for the last mile! Typically I would not be that impressed, but this was 10 miles!

Coming up in a few weeks Amy and I are planning on running the San Francisco 1/2 marathon with a goal time of around 2 hours and 10 minutes for the 13 mile race (which if you do the math, is 10 minutes per mile). This is slow for real runners, but considering this is our first long distance race, we have our fingers crossed we can make it. One month of training to go!

Wish us luck with our 1/2 marathon and full marathon training!

Carrotmob Makes it Rain! – Environmentally Smart Shopping

How come nobody thought of this before? It’s amazing how a simple idea could potentially change the world. The whole premise of the Carrotmob is this: Organize consumers to shop at a store if the store promises to take a portion of the profits to make environmentally friendly choices. Watch the video below to find out how many people shopped at this tiny convenience store, how much money they made, and the environmental changes they were able to make in return. It’s a long video, but it’s worth it. Their initial results were amazing!


Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.

Too Tired to Write, But Enjoy This Photo…

Solo Shot on Highway 1 (3 of 4)

This is a solo shot I took of myself, balancing the camera on a nearby pickup truck. It was taken at the end of the day (Memorial Day) and I was thrilled to be watching the sun set on the ocean after such an emotional day. I had spent the morning at the veterans cemetery and then decided to spend a few hours solo, winding through the woods and mountains before heading back towards San Francisco up the coastal highway. I’m too tired now to post the details of my day (with photos) but I will tomorrow. I was pretty amazed with the whole day. To my friends and family reading this… I wish you were here to enjoy this with me.

The Year of the Marathon!

Not too long ago Amy and I went out with some friends of our (Joe & Pam). While out, we got to talking about running and marathons and it turns out, Pam has run a few in her day. As the conversation continued, Amy said she had always wanted to run a marathon (as had I)… so she decided right then and there that 2008 would be the Year of the Marathon! She has started a mission that I assume will be one of the hardest of her fitness life… and I will be running along side her.

Amy and I have always been very active (she much more than I) and look forward to this challenge. If you are interested in running with us (or biking with me) shoot me an email and lets get outside! The weather has just started being nice again outside (above 60 and sunny all week) and I am excited to get off of the treadmill. Visit my site often and check out the running log (in the right hand navigation) to follow our mileage and routes.

Lots of updates to follow, I’m sure. Oh, for reference, I am debating running the San Francisco Marathon and Amy is thinking about the Nike Womens Marathon. Additionally, we are going to try and run the Bay to Breakers 12k in May as well as a fitness gauge.