Running the Bridge

One of my must-dos while on vacation in San Francisco was to run from the waterfront across the Golden Gate Bridge to the town of Sausalito. It was a highly recommended event to me by multiple friends during planning for our trip. San Francisco is such a beautiful, urban running city - I had plans for multiple morning or evening runs during our week there however those were spoiled most of the week by tremendous knee pain and inflammation in my left knee. While I always have problems with my knees when running down steep hills, the pain - which was brought on by a 18 mile long run the week before at home; was so severe early in the week, I could not run 3 steps up, down or sideways without agony.

After a bike ride on Monday and many days of walking and driving, I finally felt up to the challenge of running the bridge on Friday - our final full day in the Bay City before departure to Seattle on Saturday morning. Unsure of how it would go, I made a plan and prepared to head out while Michelle would rent another bike and ride the same course across to Sausalito where we would meet for brunch and a ferry ride back. Riding the bridge was also on our to-do list so it was a perfect plan for us both to make the 8-9 mile journey.

After a small breakfast, I headed out to Fisherman's Wharf to officially start the run along the waterfront to the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather was absolutely perfect; probably the best day so far during our trip. The sun was bright, there was no fog, no wind, no humidity and the temperature was in the mid to high 60's. Once I got going, my pace felt good and my knees felt fairly fresh. Michelle first passed me as I ran through the Marina District and than waited for me at the Lincoln Boulevard intersection of the path across the bridge. At this point, I had run 3.5 miles when we stopped together for a photo.

As we separated to cross the bridge, I continued on ahead. Michelle hung back to take some more photos and than eventually caught me as we crossed. Pedestrian traffic (mostly tourist groups) was very heavy, making it challenging (but not impossible) to maintain a running pace across the bridge. Unfortunately, I may have brushed a few old ladies shoulders and elbowed a few kids in the back of the head to keep from falling down or having to slow my pace (haha - sorry). I noticed a lot of road cyclists who shared the same path had whistles in their mouth that they blew like referees to clue people into moving out of their way. 

We crossed the one mile over the bridge and met up again on the opposite side at the Vista Point overlook before heading on to Sausalito. Once we separated to finish the final 3.5 miles into town, I never saw or passed another runner. The road into Sausalito did not have sidewalks or a bike path but was easily passable by foot or bike. 

 

As I ran into town, I finished up with a extra lap down and back along the water before joining Michelle at the Lighthouse Cafe for brunch. It's a simple breakfast and lunch spot that was also recommended by friends just down the street past all the tourist spots by the ferry landing. I had a fantastic chicken quesadilla and fries while Michelle enjoyed this awesome double bacon BBLT.

Following lunch and a short stroll around town, we headed back across the bay by ferry to Fisherman's Wharf to carry on with our final day about the city. Of course, I completed my morning run with a Lagunitas Pale Ale as we enjoyed the beautiful views of the bridge and the city during our ferry ride back. I had to start thinking about my next west coast run that was less than 48 hours away in Seattle.