Long Beach Marina Sunday Morning Blogger Run

After this morning's weekly Long Beach SparkTeam walk, the Green Girl met up with Chris from What I Run Into and Rad Runner Girl at the Shoreline Pedestrian Bikepath.

I met Chris on the course of the San Francisco Half Marathon. I was running and she happily ran up beside me to ask me if I was The Running Green Girl. I was flattered by the recognition and felt like a mini-celebrity.

The morning was overcast and chilly - the Green Girl's ideal running conditions.

We headed out on the beach path towards the Shoreline Village.

The conversation came easily, as it always seems to when runners are among other runners.

We followed the loop around the Shoreline Aquatic Park with the Queen Mary in the distance.

Chris will also be doing the Disney Princess Half Marathon so the three of us chatted about the upcoming race.

After we all parted ways, I grabbed a bite to eat and then decided to take advantage of the weather by getting some additional mileage in.

I had gotten a few more miles in when it started to rain. Cars splashed past me as I ran along the edge of Shoreline Drive.

I'm grateful for running and all the opportunities running has afforded me like meeting other awesome runners like Chris.

The Green Girl's Giant Rat Scare

The Green Girl went for a run with her Sole Runners friend, Michelle, last night.

The night sky was filled with fluffy clouds painted in shades of pastels.

Before we reached Shoreline Village, we went down the peninsula towards the oil rigs like we did earlier this month.

As we got further out, it became darker so I turned on my headlamp. Unfortunately, the bright light attracted the attention of the world's fattest rats and they started scurrying back and forth across the path.

We both started screaming at the top of our lungs in terror. I thought for sure a rat was going to run into my foot. We flapped our arms in fright and sprinted back to the mainland.

We were certain someone was going to come check on us after the commotion we had created but nothing happened.

With our hearts still pounding, we realized if something had seriously happened to us, no one would have come to our rescue. It was a humbling realization.

We followed the bike path over to the Shoreline Marina and away from the rat colonies.

We were still a little jumpy but the night was beautiful and we enjoyed the rest of our run. And we didn't encounter any more giant rats.

Marina Run and Phiten Necklace

The Green Girl went on a night run with one of the Sole Runners, Michelle, after work yesterday.

We both wanted to get some mileage in last night because neither one of us were going to be able to make it to today's Sole Runners run. I was registered for a Project Management Institute (PMI) course on Complex Program Management this morning.

We ran along the Shoreline Pedestrian Bikepath towards Shoreline Marina.

Right before we reached Shoreline Village, we followed a narrow peninsula out into the water. I never realized you could get so close to one of the whimsical oil rig islands. I marveled at the colorful waterfalls.

Back inland, we heard lively music and spotted the giant tents from the Long Beach Lobster Festival

We followed the path around Marina Green Park. We were soothed by the patterns of the rolling ocean waves in the water.

We paused at the end to stare back at the Downtown Long Beach skyline. It felt so good to breathe in the cool ocean air.

At Shoreline Village, we stopped for a bathroom break right next to the Marina Showers.

It actually worked out perfectly because we ran out of steam at the same time. At around 7 miles, neither one of us had any run left so we just walked the rest of the way.

After my class this morning, I stopped by my favorite Phiten store. They had a special promotion giveaway going on where they provided you with a token to insert in a giant gumball machine and depending on the color of your gumball, you won different prizes.

I got a pink gumball and ended up winning a navy blue and green Phiten necklace. Whoo hoo!