Howdy from Ocean Beach & Sunset Cliffs, CA!

Run Stats:

Day: 602

Miles Completed: 2117.6

Avg Miles/Day: 3.5

Avg Miles/Month: 105.9

Marathons Completed: 80.8

Total Hrs/Days Running:364.5/15.2

Longest Run Streak: 20 Days

Longest time in one state: Texas - 9 months

Number of blog posts: 63

Bible Verse of the Day: "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything." - Philippians 4:5 (NIV)

Run Reflections: Well, here we are at the last blog post for this virtual run journey. As I mentioned in last week's post, I had the opportunity to go to San Diego on business travel in May. While there, I thought it would be good to try and take a picture to highlight finishing this run project. My boss Oana suggested doing this at Sunset Cliffs so one day after our meetings were over a couple of us went over to Ocean Beach for dinner and then walked over to the cliffs to watch the sun set. Since I grew up in the 70's, I (of course) chose the Rocky pose. Here's some info from wikipedia about these areas followed by some wrap-up acknowledgements and some info on what's next.

Ocean Beach: Ocean Beach (also known as O.B.) lies on the Pacific Ocean at the estuary of the San Diego River. The beach's initial name was Mussel Beach for the mussels available there. It's current name was given in 1887 by developers Billy Carlson & Albert E. Higgins. Surfing was introduced to San Diego at Ocean Beach in 1916 when a local lifeguard borrowed a board from Duke Kahanamoku. By 1966, the World Surfing Championship was held in O.B. Ocean Beach was once known as the Haight-Asbury of San Diego and the community became an attractions for hippies. The area still has that CA hippie feel but today, the area is populated with small cottages, single-family homes and apartments with a mix of college students, sailors, retirees and middle class families. I've included a picture of the O.B. Pier and the colorful O.B. International hostel.

Sunset Cliffs: Sunset cliffs is located a short walk from Ocean Beach. It includes a 68 acre natural park along the Pacific Ocean. American Kumeyaay Indians used to travel through Sunset Cliffs to gather seafood from the intertidal areas on the beaches below the cliffs. Today, there are a variety of really cool (and expensive looking homes) along the cliffs and it is a popular place to view the sunset. On the day we were there, there was a group of folks doing yoga on the cliffs as the sun was going down and there were many people exercising and walking their dogs. I've included a couple of pictures of the magnificent beauty of the cliffs, the yoga folks and the actual sunset I saw in the photo album. I thought these photos provided a great visual to close out this project.

Thank You's/Acknowledgements: This virtual run would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of my family. They really supported this project and allowed me the time and margin to run as much as I felt I needed to and time to research/prepare the individual blog posts. In addition to my family, I'd like to thank and acknowledge (in no particular order) the following people/organizations that contributed to the success of this virtual run:

• Guest Runners: Molly Donovan, Mia Grace Donovan, Joe Rudolph and David Pipkorn.
• Cameo blog input from Tima Williams on growing up in Mobile, AL, and special shout out for her consistent positive feedback and encouragement commenting on almost every single blog post during this project. Your encouragement helped keep me out on the road.
• Skora Shoes - probably the best running shoes I've ever owned, I logged at least 1000 miles on the Tempos during this journey. I look forward to their re-opening next year.
• Run for God - thanks for the inspiration and all you do to help people find God in a runners space and for your consistent witness for Jesus
• Safety vendors - RoadID (safety bracelet) and noxgear (coolest fiber-optic night time running vest ever)
• Wikipedia - these blog posts would not have been possible without this source.
• The Run Experience - your running and training guidance helped me clear up a nagging injury and allowed me to improve my form and maintain the mileage pace needed to complete this run. I also appreciated your enthusiasm for running.
• Roadside America web site - thanks for letting me share your stories and for the cool and unusual things you highlight on your web site. You added a lot of fun and whimsy to this blog
• Runners World podcasts - The Human Race & The Runners world Show. Both of these were inspiring and informative and embrace the joys and benefits of running
• Thanks to photographer Barclay Gibson for letting me share your pictures of the great state of Texas. Your pictures, by themselves, allowed us all to see both the past and the present of this area.
• Thanks to all of you who followed this and read these posts. Your feedback and encouragement meant a lot and I hope you enjoyed it.

What's Next: Although time consuming, this project has been a lot of fun - both physically and mentally. I enjoyed the challenge of pursuing the mileage goals and how running makes me feel. I also enjoyed what I learned about all the small towns I passed through and the process to research and find interesting things to share. I really wanted to finish this by the time school started so I could stand down some and be more present for my family. With 2 seniors and a freshman this year, they need to be my priority.

That said, my friend David and I are hoping to start a running group at our church that will be open for all ages, gender and experience levels. We are scheduled to start in September so, if you're local and interested, please let me know. We'd love to have you join us. I also plan to continue the virtual run blogging, and am thinking about a virtual run through Ireland; starting sometime this fall.

Sorry for the length of this post but I wanted to provide some final thoughts and thank yous for the entire effort.

I look forward to catching up with you soon from the Emerald Isle!

God Bless,

Pat