A business trip

Get ready for lots of sunset/beach/rainbow pictures:)

Been radio silent all week due to a business trip.  Just hijacked my boss's nice laptop for a second to write some thoughts.  First of all, I always hope to get more running in that I actually accomplish, and this year I had a valid excuse and surprisingly it wasn't an illness.  San Deigo had the worst rains they have had in years this week.  We even at one time had multiple tornado warnings while we were in meetings.  Funny thing is, back in Kansas, they had multiple small earthquakes.  Go figure!  I was lucky in the day that I got here, it was sunny and warm to me (60s and all of the runners were completely bundled up) so I headed out to catch the sunset and run a little.  Unfortunately, I could only get about 3 miles in of running back and forth on the beach front but I am NOT complaining.  The views, when I wasn't dodging others watching the sunset, was amazing!

I so love running and hearing the waves crashing.  It was so meditative, well, when not dodging people on the side walks.  FYI, I am NOT use to running on sidewalks, but the traffic is SO crazy here I did not dare try running in the roads.

 Let me tell you about the amazing hills here!  I got such a great hill work out in just trying to get 3 miles in that I emailed my coach and asked if I could just do hill repeats rather than straight mileage.  She agreed but then the weather turned nasty for the rest of the week.  I don't mind rain, I won't melt but I do mind high winds and palm fronds falling all over.  Plus road were flooding pretty quickly causing motorists to have major issues.

Due to the weather, we spent a lot of time indoors during our sight seeing period of our trip.  My boss is always super nice about letting us come down a day or two earlier so we can see some of the sights.  

 We took in Balboa Park during one of the rain storms.  I visited the museum of Natural History and when the rain stopped, we all visited the botanical gardens.

I did a strength work out too, since I was forced inside one morning due to high wind and rain.   

We also visited the Birch aquarium.  It was small but the exhibits were really good!

I really LOVED the sea horse exhibit and the Giant Octopus.  He or She came out and put her/his tentacles on the glass, so we all got some octopus love pictures.

 During our meetings, which was a user's group meeting for customers of Bionano equipment, we were treated to many San Diego sights and eats.  One of the nights, we got to take over White Labs brewery, and not only taste the yummy brews, but also tour their state of the art facilities.  I highly recommend going to the tasting room if you are ever in San Diego.  The brewers were very knowledgeable and passionate about what they do.

 They only had one stout,  BUT it  had 96 strains of yeast, and was one of the best stouts I have ever tasted.  It was my favorite, but I also tried several porters, and some lighter beers to compare.  We were also treated to authentic street tacos.  I was brave and tried the fish taco, but just couldn't do it.  Just not a fish person, but at least I did my three brownie bites before I gave up.

We also had a family style dinner at a very yummy restaurant thats name escapes me.  They did have very interesting decor.  Maybe I should sell all of my Breyer models for decor for restaurant?

 I did finally get my hill repeats.  8 repeats on with two on each of four different hills, and they were killer, with my recovery jogs going straight into this view.  Heaven.

My San Diego trip is coming to a close, as we are heading back to snowy cold Kansas today.  I am going to do a separate blog on my experience of going to Road Runner Sports, because I had the most amazing experience ever there!!!!  I have had so much fun, networked TONS, and learned SO much!  BONUS.  didn't get the stomach bug or a bad cold, so was able to truly enjoy many, many fine San Diego brews.  I love coming every year and can't wait till next year!!!!