I'm With Stupid

AM: 59 mins.
8 miles
PM: 4 miles, drills

For our first run in San Diego, Jordan and I made plans to meet up with his college buddy Ryan Graddy at the Torrey Pines State Beach. Graddy's folks live just around the corner and he was quite familiar with the area. Jordy and I suited up and left Hillcrest around 8:30 to make the ~20 minute drive up north. The day was surprisingly dreary and blustery and I was already abandoning all thoughts of laying out at the beach later in the day, which was disappointing.

Jordan and I arrived early, a sensation he is largely unfamiliar with, and had a few minutes to dawdle around in the car before Graddy arrived. About 5 minutes til 9:00, Jordan popped the trunk to take off his top-layer pants and put on his running shoes...and realized he'd left the shoes at home. That's right. He forgot the ONE THING you need for a run. That Ivy League education is paying dividends. After a few moments of head shaking (me) and cursing (him), resourcefulness took over and Jordan put in a quick call to Graddy to see if he had an extra pair. Fortunately he did, and only wore a half size or so smaller than Jordan, so he was able to make a quick return to his house and snag the kicks for our forgetful friend. Problem solved.


Torrey Pines State Beach

The run itself was quite scenic from the outset, as we started on the sandy/rocky cliffs overlooking the beach. After a few miles we merged onto a bike path that ran parallel with the water and then through the streets of Del Mar before flipping a U at 30 minutes. I'm not sure if it was the tempo yesterday or what, but I was pretty fatigued and breathing much harder than necessary for the last few miles. Fortunately Jordan and Graddy had plenty to catch up on and didn't mind me tucking in behind and staying relatively quiet. A steady drizzle was falling throughout, which added to the melancholy beauty of our surroundings, and I was glad we got to experience a new setting in San Diego.

In the evening we took a quick spin to the now-familiar Balboa Park for a jog and some drills. We found a bench to do the hopping exercise that left us so sore the last time, so we'll see if it produces the same result the second time around. Darkness fell quickly and we headed home before showering up and heading out for a delicious Moroccan dinner at Kous Kous. What a great night to be out in the beautiful Hillcrest neighborhood with Jordan and his family.