Week of August 30th 2010: Walk Across the Golden Gate Bridge

So this was actually the activity that gave me the idea to try something new each week. I had heard about walking across the Golden Gate Bridge my freshman year of college and had wanted to do it since then. However, I always had an excuse - too tired, not enough time, too cold, no one to go with. Suddenly, I found myself alone on a Sunday of a long weekend with perfect weather, nothing to do, and plenty of energy. It was time.

I figured if I was going to walk it, I could run it (if you know anything about my workout habits, you know I would rather do anything than run...) and as I was mere days away from saying goodbye to Kevin, I had a lot of aggression to pump out.

After dealing with a bit of traffic, I finally was able to park my car up by the bridge. I didn't think about dealing with metered parking so I was only able to get an hour's worth of parking - had to be quick!

I realized if I was going to actually run this thing, my music choice was going to be critical. I decided to go with Pink's Funhouse cd. It may sound cheesy but as I was on the verge of losing someone that I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to - most of the songs about her divorce really hit home. Although I didn't run the whole thing (did I mention I hate running?), I did burst into a full blown sprint when "Please Don't Leave Me" came on. It's amazing what a difference some music can make when you're working out, and I'm also sure listening to that song again would bring all of those emotions of that day rushing back.

I made it to the end, snapped some pictures and headed back. If this is something you haven't done - I would highly recommend it. It was nice to get outside, and get some fresh air. It's rare to get a warm, sunny day is SF (especially around the bridge) so really capitalize on the next one that comes by and get out there.

The last take away I got from this was that I don't always need to be with someone to do something. I had asked around if anyone wanted to walk the bridge with me but everyone was busy. At first that was a deterrent but then I realized that I could go at my own pace and do my own thing if I went on my own anyway. I've been slowly get more used to doing things on my own (I had dinner by myself last night) and I think I really like it. Don't get me wrong - I love having people around, but I'm starting to appreciate the beauty of being able to really do something with or without anyone else.