Fall Stuff

In October Jeremy and I hiked to the top of turtle hill by our house to catch the Blue Angels show that was part of Fleet Week. We loved seeing the views of our city from the hill.



It was a very clear day, but the wind was freezing on top of that hill! I was wearing shorts, but fashioned pants for myself out of the portable chair cases. Very effective.

October also brought the conclusion of our biweekly Nike Club Run employment. We always enjoy participating in this, but by the end, the time freed up on Wednesdays and Saturdays is welcome!

This year when race time came we worked at the Expotique where runners pick up their bibs, timing chips and other loot. We were also assigned as pace leaders for the actual race--Jeremy did the first half and I did the second for our assigned pace group. Although this assignment was slower than my usual pace, it was actually quite challenging because the pace did not feel natural to me. I remained a slave to the watch the whole time making sure I didn't speed up, and making pacing calculations in my head to make sure I was still on target. It was cool, however to be leading the group of women whose goal was to qualify for the Boston marathon. The women who followed me into the finish were so grateful, and it made me happy to see them reach their goal. Their determination was quite inspiring as well.

This event is phenomoenal. It raised 18 million dollars for the leukemia and lymphoma foundation. There were 20,000 registered participants and the organization was like clockwork.

The race producers thought of everything. We especially enjoyed the perks of being privvy to the VIP tent. A huge, delicious buffet awaited us at the finish. Their hot cocoa was insanely good. We both got massages--Jeremy's was nice, but mine felt like a 5 year old slapping her hands randomly all over. I'm pretty sure she had no training. Being a women's event, the VIP tent also offered a skincare consultation by Dermologica. We felt quite pampered.

On Halloween this year I accompanied the Becksteads with their adorable little peacock to do some trick or treating in Noe Valley. It was so fun to see all the little kids in their costumes. I haven't been around that since I moved here (there are specified trick or treating neighborhoods in SF, and ours isn't one of them). Afterwards we met up with Jeremy and ate some yummy burritos from our favorite Inner Sunset spot, La Fonda.



We got to celebrate Betsy's birthday at the end of October with a pumpkin carving and soup party hosted by Steve. Also in line with a Fall theme, in early November we had a night of dinner and caramel apple making with Betsy and Steve at our house. I definitely want to make this a tradition--it was too fun. We got to share our apples with the Becksteads on election night, and we found that caramel apples made a perfect snack for watching nervously as the election results rolled in. We happily watched Mr. Obama take state after state and the Becksteads provided sparkling cider for toasts when the win was clinched. Ah, the happy fall memories. More of our fall to come...