Happy Holidays

CicLAvia october 2011

Busy....

Had another photo session last week, it was alright, albeit a few snags (flash broke, backgrounds still in storage) but all in all a good shoot.

Move over dad cuz am a double dipple

Hell of a last month! incredibly busy with the move to the new house.

Took some time off to ride the roller coaster in Santa Monica

Then it was right back up to working in the house.
We want to make it just how we like it so that means a lot more painting and remodeling has to take place in the next few months.

I got the front yard almost finished, just a few more things and it will be done.




but then
Painting the entire outside ( blue and grey with a white trim)

build
A Terrace .. maybe a deck
A Bbq area.
A table and bench
 New backyard door
3 garden areas  (2 flowers and 1 for food)
2 types of sod on the back yard

and that is just for DYI type projects , we are also planning on a new kitchen and bathroom but that we going to hire out for most of it

Pizza night at the new place

pizza was ok but that beer was pretty tasty

My First Half Marathon

Late February I took my first painful steps to a healthier life, got my shoes on and went for a very slow mile, "ran" the first few feet thinking I would do one quick mile then go home , but my body decided to only go for about 30 seconds then came to a sudden stop.

I looked back towards my house wanting to go back, hacking and gasping for air I flailed my arms about and kept walking hoping that would make it look more like a scheduled stop in my warm up routine , after a few minutes I took off again , this time a lot slower and a lot more aware of all the extra me jiggling and bouncing with every step, 24 minutes later I was back home, humbled and ashamed I noted my time for that first mile and took a shower.

The next day I went out again and again but my knees were killing me after that first week, I was running on very flat sneakers , after some browsing online I found out about the barefoot movement , I live in dirty Downtown so barefoot is not really an option for me but saw an add for Vibram shoes and looked them up , I got a pair the next week and felt the difference almost immediately.

I walk barefoot in my house all the time, My wife is a strictly no shoes in the house type of girl and well, whatever she says goes ;) so no shoes  indoors for me for the past 5 years but turns out , it came pretty handy making the transition to the Vff's , I wore them for a whole mile the first time and never looked back, month later I ran a 5k on them then a few weeks later I went 4 miles,  last week I did a 10k and felt great so then yesterday I went out for a full 13.1 miles

of course I am aware of the  "only increase your distance 10% at a time... but .. anyway

I went the first 8 miles just amazed at the fact that I was doing it, around  the 9th mile, Pacific coast Hwy. looses the sidewalk and I was forced to go on a dirt trail and it felt pretty good I was almost all the way back to were the sidewalk starts again when I kicked up some dirt and picked up a small, tiny, tiny , tiny pebble, it was tiny but it went straight into my shoe and  I felt it poking and rubbing around the ball of my foot until it went between my toes, by then I knew there was going to be a blister coming out soon and by mile 10 there it was , right on time to give me a decent excuse to quit but I was almost to the end and I was doing a good time and I figured I was going to be in pain today either way so I kept going, I got up the steep incline to the beach path and a lady coming down yelled at me " keep it up, you almost there" delirious or just wanting to tell someone how far I've gone I yelled back " this is my 11th mile 2 more 2 more ! she opened her eyes wide open and yelled as she passed me " way to go , you got this !!".

Oh man , that gave me that extra boost i needed and made it all the way to my road marker, but i didnt want to go home and find out I only ran 12.something so I went an extra 10 minutes, then called my wife to come pick me up hehehe . 

when we got home I went on racekeeper and plotted my run , it came out to 13.48 , I am calling it a half a marathon and this will be my base  

13.1 miles  in 3 hours 

The Olvera Street experience

Took the Metro last weekend to Union Station then walked across the street to Plazita Olvera

Los Titeres (The Marionettes) 

This puppets are from a Mexican sitcom from the 70's called El Chavo del Ocho ( the boy from the eight) The puppet in the front is El Chavo an orphan kid living inside a barrel in the courtyard of a low income apartment complex or a Vecindad. The Puppet in the background is The Chilindrina , El Chavo's (not so) secret admirer . Her name comes from a Mexican bun or pastry with chocolate sprinkles on top reminiscent of the character's freckles
The Characters were played by Roberto Gomez Bolaños and Maria Antoineta de las Nieves the show ran for like ten years i think but is still on re-runs mostly in Mexico, Brazil and the US

Las Mascaras de los Luchadores (the wrestlers'  masks)

The Main characters haven't changed in a long time , this are the same masks from the big names of the Mexican Wrestling arena, the white mask is  El Santo (the saint) the biggest name in the history of the sport a legend in his own time  with over 50 movies and a wrestling career that spanned 5 decades. He was never caught in public without his mask in fact the only time He removed it was for a brief second on a tv show to bid farewell to his fans , He then died a week later of a heart attack

Las Calaveras (the skulls)

Mostly used for decoration around Dia de los Muertos the day of the Dead. They can be found year round in Olvera street most of them are made from paper-mache but they are a few made from candy , creepy and delicious has always been a winning combo in my book

G'tars, calendars and piggy banks

The rest of the souvenirs are the American version of Mexican culture most of the stuff is made in China all of it is considered "authentic" but is all cute, colorful kitschy stuff , We didn't get a chance to try some of the food but then again if you want excellent Mexican food you need to come over to my house... then We can walk over to Enrique's Restaurant , I recommend the stuffed chile Poblano

The Golden Hour

             THE HOLLYWOOD TOWER HOTEL 

I waited for the light on this picture to be perfect for about one hour, I remember driving by last year around this time and seeing it all lit up by the afternoon sun , I remember thinking it would make for a great shot if I was to be on the other side (inside of the park) but when We got to the park it was too over casted and cloudy with odd shadows here and there and I wanted a fully lit tower so we stuck around eating rainbow colored popcorn until the time was right. I hope you like

"Take a picture it will last longer", they said

My Favorite Fish and this is the most awesome way I've had it.
risotto with cilantro , spinach, pineapple all complementing a perfectly cooked salmon .
too expensive to have on a regular basis , let's just say is a meal for 3 or this month's payment on the Lexus

Bike Month in Long Beach

Long Beach is on its way to becoming one of the friendliest bike cities in the country (watch out Portland) I rode down town a few weeks ago at night but took the beach path back home didn't get to see the new bike lanes, I rode again monday and got to ride the bike lane it was awesome but i didnt have my camera so I got me a brand new excuse to go out again for a ride !!!

The City just spend 700 grand building the separated bikeways downtown (first in SoCal)

Which include some awesome bike traffic signals

More Funds have been allocated for bike safety education programs, all buses now have bike racks and if you are not sure how to use them you can stop for a quick class at the Bikestation 

The Bikestation offers 24hr indoor bike parking which is free during regular business hours but you can also park your bike in one of the  bike lockers  available downtown or just chain it to one of many bike racks

If you are a business owner you can request a free bike rack and not just a stick on the ground bike rack , oh no sir! you can get any one of this designs.. although it seems the yoga posses are not available at this moment  

For more info go to Bike Long Beach there are more programs available and tons of events coming up , freebies and discounts at local stores on saturdays .

I got my bike a month ago and already put more than 60 miles on it oh she is a heavy beast at 59lbs and

IS HUGE TOO !!! over 7 feet long (btw I think is heavier now with all the stuff I added to it)

Required by law a horn or bell audible to 100 feet  I went with the clown honk-honk type 

Got a mirror on the other side because apparently I can't turn my head and keep a straight line

oooh ooh check out the tires on it !!

Of course I have my baby girl with me all the time so she gets to enjoy the ride in her own seat , straps , buckles and a helmet and off we go. Have a fun and safe Bike Month !!

Club 33

We had lunch at the super exclusive  Club 33 and of course I took my camera inside.


















more pics coming soon

We ran the Revlon 5k in our Vibram shoes

This was the first time she joined me on a 5k, we did a few training runs around our neighborhood but mostly we stuck to walks and a lot of bike rides. We wore our fivefinger shoes and yes matching sweat pants 

It was great to run with her !! love you babe! !!

 

We got there a little early , most teams had a meeting point in the stands but our team didn't register so we headed out to the starting line , which turned out to be better, since there wasn't a lot of people there  we got to go almost all the way to the front. We got to see the announcers up close and we were quick to get started, some of the other people on our team took up to an hour to get to the starting line. I think they were expecting about 45000 people I wouldn't be surprised if there were thousands more than that.

Running in to the Coliseum was awesome!!!

Once we got to the tunnel we all knew it was so close to the finish line and no one could contain their excitement hootin and a hollerin we all tiredly ran in, fist pumping,  for a few moments became cool again.

We got our lunch bags and water and went up to the stands to watch the rest of the runners trickle in 

Every now and then We would muster our meek sounding YEAY for all those crossing the finish line 

Hey they even got our bodies perfectly portrayed up by the entrance !

Halle Berry

HEY PHOTOGRAPHER DUDE !!!
YOU ARE POINTING IT THE WRONG WAY

Nat and I ran the 5k this saturday at the Revlon Run/Walk for Women .
We had a great time and finished it in a great time. 

I ran at slower pace for Nat since it was her first time but she did great I am so proud of my wife !!

I felt great and I think I am ready for the 10k next month and then another in July AND THEN a half marathon in August !!! I am so going to qualify for boston in December woooo hooooo !!!!!


Oh yeah I forgot We both  wore our Vibram fivefingers and got stopped a lot before and after the race,  everyone wanted to know about the shoes , We of course love running on those funny shoes

That Monkey on my back

I remember like it was just a few months ago , oh wait it was a few months ago HOLY SHIT!!!

January 30th. this year

I think this is the picture that scared the shit out of me, Here I was in all my fatness, no creative lighting , no flattering
angles , no photoshop skills . Just me and  a whole lot of cheeseburgers at 3am.

 We were on the way to Big Bear and once we got there I stood at the end of the line holding purses and jackets while everyone else had fun, sure I could've  joined them on the toboggan rides but the weight limit thing meant I would have to ride alone on the lift , I wanted to go ride the inner tubes but I saw the tiny ass tires they were using, I would require some Mack tires at the very least so I stood to the side with the grandmas and the guy on crutches.

3 days later I went on a diet.
OH IT FUCKING SUCKED!!!

but this is me today , happier, healthier  and with enough energy to keep up with my 4 year old!!

ready for the secret?
2 easy steps

Diet: horrible mind numbing diet
Exercise: Am up to 8 miles a week running and then I put about 14 to 19 miles on the weekend on my bike

On the way to Pasadena

  

It would be nice to go up on this bridge for a run, is not a huge span by any means but is an awesome looking bridge when you are on it.

Love Mynat

A couple of days ago I put in a couple miles and felt great , second time or third time I completed my run without any walking breaks it was awesome and by far the greatest run ever!! .. but then this morning my wife joined me for a dash around the block just to break in her new Vff shoes and we did a slow paced jog with some walking and some stopping and half way thru i checked my watch and realized I didn't care about time or breathing or calories burned , it was just me and my babe side by side and that always makes everything ten times better .

More Miles

Yesterday I did a 14.57 mile bike ride
Today is my day to rest because tomorrow I'm going running

That wall has no idea who I am

This morning run started like all the runs before, I was standing outside my building doing a couple of stretches when my weird neighbor came out and mumbled something or another then I turned on my I-pod and started to head out at a brisk walk pace.

 I felt good considering this weekend's 18 mile bike ride.

I wasn't planning on doing anything special keep to the training plan I tell me , the second song on my playlist started to play it was  Foghat - I just wanna make love to you  the nice steady opening riff made me get my knees up and started running , the original workout plan has been a few minutes run followed by a minute walk, then run again for a few minutes on and on till I get back home , everything was going according to plan, until I got to my first road marker,

a purple flower bush I usually hit about 4 minutes of running but instead of slowing down to a walk I didn't feel the need to take a break, I remember thinking --well, I did walked kinda slow at the beginning-- maybe I could go an extra minute of running instead , but then I did another and then another, I was feeling great, my heart was not pounding in my ears like a jackhammer , my lungs were cooperating,  I wasn't panting like a dog in a heat wave , I was running steady even as I hit the turn around marker I was still doing great so I kept going and going next thing I knew it was a whole extra mile before I decided to turn around.

The other day I was reading about how amazing this guy felt after hitting the wall and feeling it vanish behind him as he kept going and I have to say that it is something amazing, I really can't wait to do it again .

                VEGAS HALF MARATHON IN DECEMBER LOOKS VERY GOOD NOW!

Drunken Salmon and the 7ft long bike

I am not really sure what sort of magic my wife worked up into that sauce but let me tell you 

IT. WAS. PHENOMENAL!!

I saw her put in some of that new tomato vodka we got a few weeks ago. I thought we we were going to use it for Bloody Mary's or mixed with the Bacon Vodka but she put it in with some roasted tomatoes and I think some heavy cream, I really should ask her for the recipe.

If the question -What do you want for your last meal?- ever comes up , this will definitely will be on top of the list.

this and her meatloaf ooh and maybe that fish chowder she makes when she is bored or some of those mushrooms . oh crap am hungry and I won't be home for a few hours, I wonder if there are any leftovers.

OH yeah I almost forgot till i read the tittle , so anyways about my gigantic bike , I put safety lights on my bike and got me a helmet, I want to ride to Huntington Beach this weekend, Nat will be easy to convince to go along with me and Pot for the 14 mile ride there, the Twins are going to be more difficult ... hell is going to be nearly impossible to make them get up before noon hahahah

Got me a new ride

gonna ride my bike all the time now!

My first medal

Got 2nd place! 

The Last mile caught me by surprise . I was surprised there was anything left in me.  I dug deep and finished strong , kept my head straight , put the biggest smile on my face for the finish line photogs 

"great form", " nice finish" , " good show", "hey what are those shoes?",. people are going to say when they see all those finish line photos but the picture I like the most is the one my wife took of me once I got my medal

By the way , I am making that my official lucky race shirt ;)

In my dreams I am Kenyan

Got my number yesterday, is about midnight right now . will try to update this as the night goes on. 

The race is at 8am

 I am sorta just looking to get it over with, I want to be on the other side of the finish line already , my only goal really is to be able to finish it in under one hour. there is no doubt in my mind that I will finish it.

30 minutes later..... kinda getting nervous..

maybe 5 weeks of "training" to go from no physical activity at all to a race is not enough, well, I do live in the 3rd floor and there is no elevator so I do get some exercise, just don't ask my wife or she will tell you about the time I waited all day for her to get home from work so she could stop across the street to get me a soda, but in my defense I was lazy before 

1 hour later.

maybe staying up all night wasn't such a good idea, My average total sleep for last 7 days was less than 4 hours a day split in 2 to 3 hrs in the morning followed by an hour nap before working all night .. oh one day I got like 5 hours all in a row , it was glorious! but they do say to not make any drastic changes and this has been my sleeping habits for the past decade so awake I stay half asleep I run!

hey shirt ideas!

-SLEEPwalker RUNNER 

-RUN LIKE A CRAZY PERSON

-"FUN RUN" 

-Y U NO RUN FASTER? on the back of my shirt .. granted I would have to get way better to pull it off

-WAIT FOR ME (probably more appropriate for my fitness level)

-I'M SLOW BUT STEADY

1 hour later

I'm thinking of making up some pre-race rituals, being this is my first race some of them might be counterproductive but hey, how would I know.. right?

¡¡¡¡¡IN-n-OUT pre-race burger !!!!!

LUCKY SOCKS!!!

Just kidding  This is what am running on  

I know they look funny but they are quite comfortable and my knees hurt a lot less after .

1hr later.

ooooh Am getting nervous .

I will not poop my pants .

I will not throw up.

I will keep my own pace

I will finish  and it will be an epic finish!

I gotta work on my playlist 

15 songs 58 minutes.

I ate some vegetables

Eating better , exercising , positive thinking, awesome support .

 hmm...ok... if I start singing under a sunshine ray in the middle of the woods one of you is allowed to slap me