Daffodils

Just heard about this amazing project by volunteers, planting daffodil bulbs all along the Boston Marathon route:


Boston News, Weather, Sports | FOX 25 | MyFoxBoston
 
http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/23924481/2013/11/09/organizers-plant-daffodils-along-boston-marathon-route

That is sure to bring some tears on race day!

Races #91 and 92

Two weeks ago (on Sunday, November 3), race #91 for me was the inaugural running of the Tiburon Half Marathon. It was my first half since the Seaside Half Marathon in February, and I was nervous. Even though I run along the Tiburon waterfront frequently and am used to the wind, I had never run out along the Strawberry peninsula.

At right is a photo taken from downtown Tiburon at dusk, with Angel Island and the San Francisco skyline visible. If you've never been to Tiburon, it is absolutely worth a visit, especially in the fall.


The half marathon course is gorgeous - easily the most beautiful half marathon course I've run - but has some killer hills! Having driven the course on Saturday, I knew I'd have to take it pretty easy in order not to die on the last half of the race. So I kept about a 9:30-9:40 pace, which is pretty much where I run my easy training runs, for the first 5 miles. Then miles 6-9 were the hills, on average about 110-120 feet of elevation gain over each mile, and I was so proud not to have walked at all. Even though sometimes my paces were reading 13+ minutes per mile on the uphill, I managed to average under a 10:00 pace throughout miles 6-9. By mile 10 I knew it was downhill to the finish, so I was able to get back under 9:30 for miles 10 & 11,  then at 8:45-8:55 for miles 12 & 13, and 7:46 for the last tenth of a mile. I was thrilled to have negative splits, especially given that the hills are all in the last half. It was a great race and I hope to do it again next fall!

Today, race #92 was the DSE Double Lake Merced 9-mile race. I used to run the DSE Summer Series around Lake Merced just about every week, so the course is really familiar to me, and I was looking forward to it. It was foggy in San Rafael when I left, so I was quite surprised to find it gorgeous and sunny in San Francisco. I was feeling pretty good, decided to try to run at an 8:30-8:45 pace, finished in 1:17:08, and was surprised to find I was the 2nd female finisher! (Now who knows, maybe only 5 females ran the Double today... but I'm happy anyway!)

Tomorrow I'm at UC Davis for the day, and Maggie's track workout is in the dark at Tam High, so I'm not sure when I'll get a run in. I've been averaging about 30 miles per week for the past month or so, running 3-5 miles five days a week and 6-10 on the sixth day. Tuesdays are my day off, because typically that's the longest surgery day for me. It's harder to get a run in after work now that it's dark by 5pm! I may have to start doing some treadmill miles. It beats getting up early when it's 45*F!!

Today's Tribute: Karen Lynch

Four years ago yesterday, my friend Karen underwent a mastectomy for treatment of breast cancer. Although the surgeons were confident that they had been able to render her cancer-free, she nonetheless endured months of radiation treatments and chemotherapy, to ensure that no single cancer cell remained.

From the moment she was diagnosed, all through her treatment, and into the years following, Karen has been an inspiration to everyone around her. She faced cancer with courage, wit and grace. I think she was surprised to learn that we all found her just as gorgeous with a pixie cut as with her signature long locks!

Karen has always been a trailblazer. Born and raised in San Francisco, she graduated from U.C. Berkeley and, in 1981, became one of the first female police officers in the San Francisco Police Department. Despite their ubiquity as characters on today's TV crime dramas, female homicide detectives were a rare breed when Karen joined the force. Seeing the worst of human nature every day at work, it would be easy to become hard-hearted. But Karen remains open, outgoing, friendly and giving.

Following her diagnosis, she retired from SFPD and followed her dream of becoming a writer. Her essay, "The Road to Kyra", in which she describes the journey to adopting her daughter, won the 2012 Notes & Words essay contest. In her forthcoming memoir, Good Cop, Bad Daughter, she describes her extraordinary childhood in Chinatown, her relationship with her bipolar-afflicted mother, and her decision to become a police officer.

Karen and her daughter, Kyra

Having two biological sons, she adopted a daughter from China, which made her a member of a world-wide community of adoptive parents, and eventually led us to meet. I was a new mom when I first met Karen, and she became like a big sister to me and an auntie to my daughters.

Through her career, at church, with other gymnastics moms, fellow writers, and adoptive parents, Karen has touched many lives. With her openness and giving spirit, Karen has become like family to friends near and far, of diverse backgrounds and broad experiences. Strong, smart, beautiful, confident, generous and giving, she is not only surviving, but thriving after her cancer diagnosis. She is an inspiration to us all.

Karen with my daughter, Ella, February 2013

Karen with my daughter, Maggie, October 2010

Maggie and Karen ice skating, November 2010

Maggie and Karen, August 2006

Feel free to comment on this post if you have something nice to say about Karen! You can also make a donation to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Karen's honor.