AUTHOR: linda TITLE: SFMarathon Training: Week 6 DATE: 12:48:00 PM ----- BODY:

It's interesting to see what kinds of people are out early on a Saturday morning. Mostly, the kind who are training for something or otherwise exercising in some fashion. Other runners, bikers. Closer to the Haight, there are hooded-bums huddled on the curb at the entrance to Golden Gate Park, leather and studded guy with a guitar crossed JFK squinting into the rising sun. A tennis player at her trunk noticed someone's dropped house keys and put them up on a nearby curb.

The mileage from Funston to Stanyan, through the Park, down Great Highway to Sloat is almost 6 miles, so I figure I ran 12 miles in 2:12. For the first time this training, I wore a watch which I used to take minute walk-breaks about every 8 minutes-- constantly adding 8's and holding my wrist steady to watch the seconds whir to 60-- and to suck down a gu at Lawton, after 1:04.

Once in the Park and on Great Highway, yellow-shirted Team in Training groups plodded past in clusters of three to 15, chatting, beeping and cheering one another on. Wonder what they thought of me on my own wearing an SFRRC hat.

The weather was a dream summer day: a constant cool breeze complimented the perfect rising sun. Wearing runner shorts, full-torso sport tank, short sleeve shirt and vest worked well. By the time I'd rounded back up the Highway, I noticed that cut on my heel from yesterday was no longer a sharp pain but a warm glow... and (the brand new! last in stock!) size 10 Saucony's carried me like a cloud.

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