santa barbara, day 4

On our last day, we woke up early to see the sun rise. It didn't work out as planned since the sun doesn't rise in the west, but it was nice to take a walk before the day started. We headed out to the harbor.

It was very calm and quite foggy.

Later in the day, we checked out the Moreton Bay Fig Tree, which is pretty famous. It was planted in 1876 and declared an historic landmark in 1970. The trunk is 12.5 feet in diameter, and the branches spread 198 feet.

The roots are huge, and stretch out in all directions.



We ended our day, and our trip, with a visit to the Santa Barbara Art Museum.
After grabbing a late lunch for the train ride, we headed home on the Amtrak.

santa barbara, day 3

After gazing longingly at the mountains for nearly 2 full days, we decided to head up for a hike on the third day. We arrived at the outskirts of the Los Padres National Forest, barely at the edge of Santa Barbara. It was really nice to get out of the city. We basically followed this creek, crossing over it a few times, as far as we had time for.

We saw lots of mini waterfalls along the trail.

We were able to climb high enough to see the ocean, but definitely not high enough to make it to the top of the mountain. Still, we were rewarded with some nice views.

santa barbara, day 2

On our first full day in Santa Barbara, we headed to State Street, the main street running through downtown. There was an open air shopping mall and lots of shops and restaurants on State Street. Everything looked better in Santa Barbara- the ocean, the mountains. Even beyond State Street, we got a great mountain view.

After lunch we checked out the Santa Barbara Court House. Now, a courthouse, in and of itself, does not sound interesting at all. But the one in Santa Barbara was quite beautiful. We walked around and lounged in the courtyard.

We also wandered around inside, which was equally beautiful. We took the elevator up to the 4th floor, to the clock tower. There were great views of Santa Barbara, from the ocean to the mountains.

Later in the afternoon, we took a cupcake and coffee break.

santa barbara, day 1

It's spring break here, and Drew and I headed up to Santa Barbara for a few days. We have heard lots of good things about Santa Barbara, namely how beautiful it is, and it did not disappoint. We didn't want to drive and deal with traffic, so we took the Amtrak up on Monday afternoon. Our hotel was just a couple blocks from the ocean, so on that first day, we headed down to the water.

Everywhere we went, there were breathtaking views. The ocean was on one side of Santa Barbara and mountains on the other. It was absolutely gorgeous.

We walked along the beach and then to Stearn's Wharf. Here's the view:
Here we are near the end of the pier:

There were lots of little shops and restaurants along Stearn's Wharf. It reminded me of Santa Monica Pier, minus the amusement park and ferris wheel.

anatomy of a long run

There is a system to training for a marathon, or really any long distance race. I don't have a firm grasp on the system, but from what I've gathered so far, it consists of mixing up shorter runs where you work on speed with long slow runs where you work on distance, stamina, and getting used to being on your feet for extended periods of time. The short days have fancy names like tempo runs or strides. The long run day is known as LSD, or long, slow, day.

My training partner and friend, Sam, and I started out with running 4 days a week. After a month of that, and dealing with shin splints for me and knee pain for her, we dropped down to running 3 days a week. The Big Sur (for Sam) and the OC (for me) marathons will be our first, and we're just focused on staying healthy and getting to the starting line.

Last week, for our LSD, we ran 19 miles. It took us 4 hours. That's a long time on our feet and a lot of pounding on our body. I'm still recovering. It's also a lot of time to spend with one another. And I noticed that we have a pattern when it comes to LSDs. On our "shorter" run days (runs anywhere from 6-10 miles), we talk pretty much the whole time. We catch up on our lives, and talk about school and politics and the news, and she tells me stories about her 10 month old daughter. But on long run days, there comes a point when we can no longer muster up the energy to talk. The last few miles are run in a comfortable silence.

Surprisingly, I did not dread the 19 mile run the way I dreaded the 16 mile run. The first half was fairly easy, and we marveled at how running this distance would have been unimaginable when we first began running together. We talked about how our perspective on distance running has shifted. Now a 3 or 4 mile run is short, and a 7 or 8 mile run is easy. Even a half marathon, or 13.1 miles, a distance that I ran for the first time only a couple short months ago is manageable. When we reached the 13 mile point in our 19 mile run, we commented on how we still felt good at this distance and how this was in contrast to how we felt when we tackled the half at the beginning of January. After 14 miles, things got a bit challenging. We weren't talking as much, and my feet were hurting. After 16 miles, I was really surprised at how good I still felt, but after 17 miles, I was getting tired and couldn't wait to finish.

I don't know what it's like for anyone else, but there comes a point in a run where if I stop, it becomes very difficult to start again. It's counterintuitive, but this is what it's like for me and Sam. This point of no return increases with the distance of our run. When we were doing 7 mile runs, it happened at about the 5th mile, for example. Whenever I tell people about how I ran a half marathon, some asked if I ran the entire distance. And the truth is that I did and I try to explain that once I start running, it's easier to just keep going.

After about 15 miles into our 19 mile run, I was tired, sore, and wanted to stop. But I knew this was the point of no return and that if I paused to walk for even a moment, it would make those last 4 miles much worse. So we carried on, and trotted home. I don't really remember how I felt when we finished, but I do know that I just wanted to sit down and stretch. It felt really, really good.

spring break

Yay! We've survived another quarter! I finished my final grading in record time, and we're headed to Santa Barbara tomorrow for a quick, well deserved vacation.

an update

Drew and I made a quick trip to Minnesota at the end of February for my grandma's 90th birthday. My dad informed me that he misses reading my blog. I am flattered, but also a bit confused. I mean, I talk to my parents at least once every other week, and I don't blog about anything that they don't know about anyway. Oh well. Parents are peculiar like that. So, this one's for you, Dad (and you too Kathleen, Drew's mom).

So, as I said, we were in Minnesota. There was a bit of snow (woo-hoo!) and temperatures were in about the mid 20s. It was glorious, just the thing I needed. We arrived on a Friday and trekked over to the Mall of America, where we ate cheese curds and I made my usual MN souvenirs purchases. That night we went to the Old Log Theatre, where we ate dinner and saw a play. The next day, we headed out to my grandma and grandpa's, which is in rural Minnesota, about 2 hours west of the Twin Cities. There was a lovely birthday party and it was great to see everyone.

Another exciting thing to happen recently is that my parents gave me a Nook for Christmas. This is newsworthy because I'm not really tech savvy. I am always the last of my friends to get anything technologically innovative. I was the last to get a cell phone, a desktop computer, and a laptop. My cell phone is not fancy; it has a qwerty keyboard and takes pictures, but it's pretty much just a phone. But now because of my parents, I am among the first of my friends to have an e-reader. And I love it. I didn't fully appreciate it until the trip to Minnesota because it was great to take a trip and not have to lug around 2 or 3 books (I like to have options when I travel). It's small, compact, and light. I can barely remember what life was like before it (okay, now I'm being dramatic, but you know what I mean).

My life has been consumed with school and running. I've remained injury free (knock on wood). I struggled with shin splints, but it appears that taking a week off to rest while in Minnesota and running 3 times a week instead of 4 has helped alleviate those. We are building mileage and so far have worked our way up to 16 mile runs. Our perspective has changed dramatically; it used to be that 5 or 6 mile runs seemed far, and now those are easy, short runs. On a good day, even a 10 mile run is easy. Even though running has gotten easier, the first 3 miles or so are still hard for me. The first mile is pretty easy, but sometimes during the 2nd and 3rd miles I feel like I've never run before. I continue to enjoy running and for the most part, it is something that I look forward to doing and it's become a good habit.