Instead of running in Santa Cruz, as I had hoped, I spent Sunday morning in San Francisco. I ran the 5K event offered through the San Francisco Chronicle Marathon. The course was a terrific loop along the Embarcadero, between the Ferry Building and Pac Bell Park.

With the water on one side and some beautiful architecture on the other, I was easily distracted from my usual race day jitters. When the stadium came into sight, it was a moment of elation. It felt like game day, especially when a scalper, watching from the median island, asked me, "Hey! How many tickets do you want to buy?"

Half way through the race, a group of us had to unexpectedly stop for the snail-slow Muni Metro. By the time it passed, there was a nice pack of disgruntled runners at King and 3rd. I eventually crossed the finish line with a solid time of 25:12. It was the best I've physically felt during and after a race.

Later, I rewarded myself with a venti mocha malt frappuccino (but only after drinking plenty of water). I left the city on a high and couldn't help but be happy the rest of the day.

We'll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can't control my brain