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.

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!

The Green Girl's Wednesday Night Marina Run

Abhorrent to the heat as usual, the Green Girl waited until the sun went down to go for a run last night.

On my way down to the Shoreline Marina, I called one of the Sole Runners, Michelle, to see if she wanted to join me. She had just gone for a run with another friend but she agreed to join me.

We parked across from Shoreline Village and followed the bike path out to Marina Green Park.

It was an ineffable night for a run. The city lights reflected off the water and danced on the gentle waves.

In the distance, we could see the Shoreline Aquatic Park with the Long Beach Harbor Lighthouse shining like a blue beacon in the night.

As we ran along the marina, we admired the majestic beauty of the Long Beach skyline. A plane flew over the horizon and appeared as a dot of light over the buildings.

From dusk to night will always be my favorite time to run. I find a certain comfort in the solitude of the darkness.

AIDS Walk Long Beach, Red Ribbon Run, and Pet Walk

On Saturday, the Green Girl ran in the AIDS Walk Long Beach Red Ribbon Run 5k hosted by the Long Beach AIDS Foundation with Betty and Jim from Sole Runners.

According to the event's website:

Long Beach and the South Bay area agencies seem not to receive any funding from other AIDS Walks or AIDS Rides in other cities, yet our area ranks #2 in the State of California on HIV per capita.

I was more than happy to help support such a great local cause.

The majority of the participants were walkers so only a handful of runners lined up for the Red Ribbon Run.

The organizer announced that the software they decided to use for this year's registration didn't include a field to designate sex. He let us know he was going to call bib numbers so individuals could come forward in the cases where they weren't able to guess based on your name if you were male or female. This sent a few chuckles throughout the crowd.

The run started just west of Shoreline Village. We ran east towards the Bike Path.

I had initially planned on walking the distance because I had woken up with a slight fever but by the time the race started, I felt like running.

My favorite costume was one of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. It was an Asian-inspired outfit with green make-up complete with fake green eyelashes and a green beard.

The Pet Walk appeared to be the most popular of the morning's activities.

After the run, we met up with another Sole Runner, Babak, and had breakfast at The Potholder.

I spent the afternoon at the Long Beach Coin Expo with the The Elongated Collectors (TEC).

I love collecting smushed pennies. My hobby was what inspired me to do the Penny For Your Thoughts fundraiser for Angelman Syndrome.