Thanks, John and Jackie!

Yesterday, as I slogged through work, I had my blog page open to post about beginning marathon training for the Raleigh City of Oaks Marathon on November 2, and how excited I am to be doing yoga again. It has been a great week, getting set up with a training plan (thanks, Carol!), doing a quality track workout on Tuesday, and doing yoga five times in the past week. I didn't get around to writing that post yesterday, but my first week of training isn't over yet, right?

Wrong! I went out for an easy 6 this morning in the 7AM humidity. I got to 2.3, tripped and fell. And boy, did I fall. I hit the ground knees first, and rolled all the way over. When it was done, I just sat there, gushing blood from a deep cut on my right knee (and my right hand, left knee and elbow, though those are not too bad).

I don't run with a phone (perhaps rethinking that), so I was mustering the will to get my butt up and across the street to a coffee shop to ask to use a phone. A nice couple (John and Jackie) stopped to see if I was okay, and offered me a ride home (about 1.5 miles away). I certainly didn't say no. Jackie even helped me up the stairs since I was pretty dizzy.

11 hours and a doctor visit later, I have a knee taped shut to heel, with instructions not to get it wet for at least 4 days. Well, I guess I won't be running in the humidity until Monday, then!

I'm super thankful to have two very nice people stop and help me, especially considering that the dizzyness took about an hour to subside. Thanks, John and Jackie! You made a bad morning much easier on a bruised runner! And thanks, of course, to Neil for helping me once I got home, when I was in fine form for sure.

The sweet getup I'll be wearing for the next week. 

I'll add a PSA here: I'm glad I had my RoadID on this morning, like I always do. If I'd been worse, I was certainly too confused to know all my details!

California, how I've missed you!

California, as always, was wonderful. We had a nice, leisurely ten day trip to unwind, catch up with friends, and eat and drink everything we were missing.

When we arrived, Neil and I spent a few days in San Rafael visiting my aunt, uncle and cousin, and enjoying the beautiful weather. It was foggy and windy the day we walked in Tennessee Valley to the Ocean, and drove up Highway 1 to Bolinas, but it was still beautiful!

Tennessee Valley, and the Pacific Ocean. And fog. 

Me and my cousin, after a yummy brunch in San Rafael!

On Friday, we made a quick trip to Santa Rosa to see friends for lunch (and grab a quick Pliny the Elder), then made our way to Sacramento for a wedding. It was weird to be in Sacramento as a visitor, but it also still felt like home. We have a great group of friends who let us crash on their couches, barbequed and drank beers with us, and generally made us feel like we never left.

We went to a River Cats game, went wine tasting at Bogle, and drank 20 different Northern California beers (between the two of us over two weeks). We went to McKinley Park to read, had Ramen at Shoki, and caught up with the Buffalo Chips at the Fourth of July 5 Miler!

Thanks to all of our friends, it was a great trip!

At Weatherstone, where we had our first date.

Me and my Kintoki from Osaka-Ya!