Family in Town/Nike Women's Marathon.

Last week my parents and my sis came in town for Natalie's fall break (and to meet their new grandson/nephew)!  It was so great to see them, as always.

Ty & Becca picked me up from the train station and we got pumpkin frozen yogurt.  It was pretty delicious!  That night we made homemade pizza and I slept over at Mom & Dad's hotel room.  My husband has been MIA lately, so, I saw as much of him in Palo Alto as I would have seen in SF.  

The next morning Nat & I adventured in San Francisco...

...we made a stop at Sephora and Natalie got compliments on her lovely lip color.  You can't tell from this picture, but it was an awesome orange-y pink shade that only her enormous lips can make work!

We found a store named after her.

She ate her first Ghirardelli sundae and loved it.

And while we were exploring we saw this sign announcing part of the city would shut down soon for the Nike Women's Marathon.

 And we had to stop by Union Square to see everything so that I could pick up my packet. 

 Because I ran in it.

All of Union Square was converted into Nike madness.  There were haircuts, massages, free samples, and a bike you could ride to blend your own smoothie.

I found my name on the wall at Nike Town, which made the whole thing seem very real and crazy.  My parents came into town later, and we went dinner at Mike and my favorite Thai restaurant, My Ivy.  We got Swensen's ice cream that night, visited the farmers' market in the morning, ate delicious waffles, wandered around the city, ate more yummy food, and went to Ghirardelli square (the pictures are out of order, we went once, though probably could have enjoyed going more than once).  Directly after Ghirardelli, my parents dropped me and Mike off at our apartment and they went back to Palo Alto.  

Naomi came over later that night and slept in our living room.  She is the one that got me into the whole "race thing," though I am forever grateful to her for the challenge!  I'd like to insert a thought/statement here:

I realize that I am the world's largest hypocrite.

Thanks.  I really needed to get that off my chest.  I have "hated" running for so many years, for a number of reasons.  I also thought it was so "trendy," but I have realized over the past few years that it is silly not to like something just because it is trendy.  Especially if it is good for your body!  So I'm the first to admit that I have jumped on the bandwagon, gotten into the running thing, and I actually really enjoy it.

I ran the half and Naomi ran the full.  She tried to convince me that the full was a good idea, but when she talked me into this earlier this year, I had never run an actual race.  I am glad I stuck to my guns and decided to conquer 13.1 before ever attempting 26.2.  At this point, I feel fine just running half marathons.  Maybe I'll change my mind over the next few years.

Above is a map of the race.  It was so incredibly beautiful!  And my training paid off!  It was a challenge, but I also felt completely prepared.  I also loved that I got to train in San Francisco on all the giant hills.  I felt kind of like a rock star when I ran past the people who weren't used to them!  

Instead of finishers medals, we got necklaces designed by Tiffany's.  That is definitely not why I ran the race, but I thought it was pretty cool!  It seems a lot smarter than giving out bulky medals no one is going to use.  My goals for this race were to finish and be consistent.  I did both of those things (though I did drop a minute per mile on the last third of the race).  I was extremely happy to have Mike waiting for me at the finish line, and we had a great time with the Cardons for the rest of the day.  We got to cheer Naomi on when she crossed the finish line and we all gathered for showers, foot massages from the hubbies, and lime chicken tacos at our apartment in the afternoon.  It was a great day and a great weekend with our families!