A Birthday Run in San Francisco in the Rain…

golden gate bridge at sunset

Well, I actually didn’t run in the rain. I ran on a treadmill at the hotel. I was so looking forward to running along the promenade to Fisherman’s Wharf, but that didn’t happen. It was raining hard and the streets were soaked. So I made a quick last minute decision to run indoors.

I stayed at the Hilton in the Financial District (actually in ChinaTown). I knew they had a gym but there was no signage on the elevator. I called the front desk and they told me it was on the fifth floor. I got dressed, walked to the elevator and pressed #5. In the elevator, there was a bellhop. I asked him why there was no fitness center signage. He just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. When I got out of the elevator, he pointed me in the right direction. I couldn’t believe there was no signage even on the floor. I guess they discourage people from using the gym?

Luckily, when I walked into the gym, there was one vacant treadmill. I expressed a sigh of relief!

I stepped onto the treadmill, typed in my goal, which was 4 miles and I was on my way. As I ran, I focused on the music. There was nothing to look at and the people around me came on and off their treadmills.

Were these people even going a mile? There must have been at least five people on both sides who were on and off while I was running.  Some were walking, some were running fast but only for a few minutes and then they got off.

No one seemed to sweat. I was a little embarrassed at how much I was sweating.  My face was bright red.  But the people around me were not even a drop wet.  Am I doing something wrong?

And in terms of my birthday, any run is better than no run. So I definitely can say that I had a happy run on my birthday!