New shoes!

I've had trouble with my feet since, well, since I've had feet. I've got very narrow heels, high arches, and a wide forefoot so it's very, very rare that I get a properly fitting shoe on the first try. I normally have to take shoes back to the running store at least three times - it would be fine if the shoe companies didn't keep changing the damn things, but each time I go into the store, I have to start from scratch ("Oh, they don't make that model anymore? Well, what's similar?"), so I'm not very popular with some of the nice salespeople at the store near me. Apparently I'm high-maintenance, which I guess anyone could have guessed.

So a month or so ago, I took advantage of a combination of a Groupon and a wicked sale at a shoe store to pick up a pair of Sketchers Go Runs.

I initially grabbed them off the shelf because I really liked the deep turquoise color (which, of course, has been discontinued but they did keep that horrible lime green. WTF, Sketchers?), and when I tried them on they were very comfortable in the shoe store so I figured the worst that could happen was I wouldn't really like them and I'd be out a few bucks but could still wear them just to walk around - no returns on sale shoes at those warehouse stores.

I've gotten a few runs on them, and there are things I like about them and things I don't like about them.

I'm a mid-strike runner, so the padding on the center of the foot is perfect for me. They also don't irritate the neuroma in my right foot the way my Newtons do. They've got a slight heel drop, which is much more comfortable for my Achilles tendons (which still have a tendency to stiffen up).

But - for runs of much longer than about three miles, they just don't offer enough support. Saturday, I did my long run (about 10 miles) in them and the balls of my feet and knees hurt for about three days.

I think I'm going to stick with them for the shorter runs, and wear the Newtons for the longer runs. The Newtons have much more support, but they irritate the hell of of that neuroma, and I can't seem to resolve it with lacing. Oh, well.

This weekend is the dreaded "Carmageddon" - the 405 freeway will be closed and in a display of stunningly poor timing, the Los Angeles Triathlon is Sunday. I'm not participating, but have a friend who's doing it, so I may bike down and see them off.

But I'm not driving!

Sometimes the Mountain Wins

When I had my Solvang-related broken spoke fixed, the bike shop guy looked at my wheels, shook his head and said "Your wheels are really old, and you're probably going to need new ones pretty soon."

They then warned me that if a spoke broke again it would be time for new wheels. I hoped and prayed that the old ones would hold.

Saturday was my last long ride before Vineman, and sure enough, on mile 40, the back wheel popped a spoke and the back tire started coming apart - you know, just for good measure.

Of course, I'm also cash poor at the moment. How could this not happen when I'm sort of funds? Thanks, Murphy's Law. Thanks a lot.

So I slunk back into the bike shop, admitted I'd been a fool to not buy wheels when they told me I needed them and the sales guy cheerfully showed me a really sick pair of Reynolds carbon race wheels - such a deal! Normally $1200, now marked down to $850!

Except I don't have $850 right now. Can't beg, borrow or steal it, either.

I asked to see something more within my budget range, and they went in the back and came out with a pair of Shimano A500 wheels that were $200. Still painful, but manageable.

Of course, there goes my plan to have a really nice lunch and wine while in Napa Valley (I'll be on a PBJ that I brought from home diet), but at least I've got new wheels.

I just wish they hadn't shown me the Reynolds wheels first. Makes the ones they sold me look super cheap.

On the bright side, at least it happened here and not on course at Vineman!

It was a beautiful day to ride - enjoy some photos:

Looking inland at Malibu

Ah, ocean. 

Latigo Canyon Road 

View from Latigo, about two miles up the hill. I didn't go all the way to the top. 

Chest pain ahoy!

This past week, I had my annual physical and mentioned to the doctor that I've been having trouble breathing when running or swimming hard (totally fine on the bike) - I feel like I've got a band around my upper chest and I start to wheeze, and then I have to stop for a few seconds before I can breathe normally again.

Using an informal poll of other runners and swimmers, I managed to diagnose myself with Exercise Induced Asthma, and figured that the doctor would just write me a prescription for an inhaler and then all would be sunshine and rainbows.

Except it didn't work like that. The doctor actually looked alarmed and insisted that I see a cardiologist, which, frankly, I thought was a bit much but I suppose that if one has a middle-aged patient complaining of chest tightness when running, it's probably better to rule out anything really life-threatening.

So, Tuesday I'm off to the Cardiologist to have them check my heart for worms. Or something. I was a bit unclear on what, exactly might be wrong with me.

Hopefully nothing, and I'll get the inhaler* and then I'll be able to breathe normally when running, so I'll win the race at Vineman!

*Inhaler does not produce stated effects.

Oh, anxiety, I haven't missed you. Not at all.

The race-related anxiety dreams have started a bit earlier than usual, but Vineman is a longer race than I've done before, so I guess it makes sense.

This round of anxiety dreams are centering around the race's split transition area. T1 and T2 are miles apart. So  if I drive to the start of the race, I have to leave my car there, about 20 miles away from the finish line and T2.

Vineman provides shuttles, of course, but then I have to finish the race, find someplace to lock my bike up (since I doubt they'll babysit it for me and they don't allow bikes on the shuttles), sit on the damned shuttle for 20 minutes, get back to my car (and I'll have to carry my car keys with me for the entire race), then drive my stinky exhausted ass 20 miles back to T2, load up my  bike (if someone hasn't stolen it), then drive another half an hour to my  hotel.

I'm not happy about this. Not at all.

I'll have a large group of friends doing the race so I've got a reasonable expectation of having someone give me a lift to the start line, and failing that I'm sure someone will be more than willing to accompany me from LA and use the free hotel room in Napa in exchange for sherpa duties,  but right now my brain is assuming that I'm going to be on my own the whole time and is, of course, imagining the worst.

Hence the anxiety dreams.  In addition to the standard 'sleeping past my start time' dream, now I'm having 'finishing the race after the shuttles have stopped and not being able to get to my car' dreams, with 'OMG my bike's been stolen while I got my car' dreams.

For good measure, last night my brain threw in a 'guy I don't know well but have a very mild crush on is somehow in my hotel room making out with my best friend' dream.

I don't know where that one came from.

In the interest of some good news - my run's doing very well. I'm still struggling to maintain race pace runs (and I'm aiming for a race pace of a 9 minute mile), but I'm cruising along at a 10 and change without breathing hard, which is a HUGE improvement over last year, when I was struggling to maintain an 11 minute mile.

Also - I have a new bike!  I bought it used,  and it's a TT bike, not a road bike, so I'm not going to retire Gary just yet :)

Complete bike story next post!

Bicycle Christmas!

Twice a year, the city of Los Angeles sponsors CicLAvia, which closes streets downtown to cars and lets the cyclists, runners, roller bladers, etc.. take over the streets.

It was conceived as a way to force Angelenos to interact with each other and think about our streets as a public, shared space, and it's become so wildly popular that it's starting to become a victim of it's own success, but despite the crowds, it was a wonderful way to cruise downtown. This event always leaves me with a huge smile on my face.

Double Dutch in the street.

Pinata district. Yes, this is a real thing.

Fairy wings, and a sweet Xtracycle.

Steel drums. Gave the intersection a Caribbean feel.

Car-Free streets! Yay!

Traffic jam

4th St. Bridge, downtown, closed to car traffic.

The next event is in October, and I wish it was sooner. I always have such a good time!

Starting over

Today was my first day back on the road bike since Solvang. I've taken a few trips on the commuter, but nothing resembling actual training - like keeping a minimum cadence or speed or paying attention to form.

Since I'm going to be working long hours for the next few days, I decided to do a brick today - 2 hours of hill repeats on the bike, followed by a slowish run (out of the water, yay!).

Admittedly, the hill I did was a very gentle hill, maybe a 2 % grade, if that, but I've lost enough lung power in the few weeks since Solvang that the first lap really made me wheeze, especially trying to maintain 90 rpm.

Once I warmed up, though, I was fine, and as a bonus today was a beautiful day with temps in the 70s and blue skies.

Also, the coral trees are blooming, and they make me happy. I thought they were poinsettia trees for the longest time until someone with actual knowledge of botany set me straight and kindly didn't mock me.

After my ride (26 miles in two hours. Not great, but good enough for the first day back), I went for a nice easy run. The heel held up very well, which is good, but just to be safe when I got home I sat in a tub of cold water for 10 minutes.

The cold water that comes out of my tap is impressively cold (or maybe that's just because in my old place the cold water was tepid on a good day), so much so that I'll go completely numb after sitting in just cold water for a few minutes.

Which is good, because not only do I not have an ice-maker, I don't have space in my freezer to store half a bag of ice.

The two ice trays I have are full of serving sizes of the raw food diet I feed my cat (whole different story there).

So - tub of cold water for 10 minutes.

Tomorrow, before work, I'll go swim, and that will have to do for the rest of the week. 

It builds character

One of the things the training plans for just about anything mention is called a 'mental toughness day'.

Since you can't control conditions in races, you may have to power your way through rain, wind, dust, heat, plagues of locusts, etc..

With that in mind, I headed out to PCH for a long ride. Leaving my house it was a bit windy, but by the time I got to the coast the winds were very, very strong, and, of course, blowing south so as I rode north I got the full brunt of it (plus the occasional gust from the side, which was a surprise).

Although I desperately wanted to turn around, go home and curl up with a warm blanket, I kept riding. I knew I wasn't going to make my targeted distance of 100 miles, but I figured if I could just go a little further I'd be fine.

I stopped briefly at a farm stand where they had freshly dug green garlic (so tasty). I didn't have a backpack or bag since I was on the road bike, so I shoved the garlic up the back of my jersey, which made me smell great (I'm sure of it).

I don't know what a Zuman is, but apparently it's vital.

I continued up the coast, eventually turning around at Leo Carrillo beach, which is 30 miles from my house.

Enough! I turn around!

So I did 60 miles instead, but it felt like 100 in that wind. Even going back, when I should have had a really good tailwind, I still got gusts from the side.

Mental toughness, right?

The really interesting thing is that today, my legs aren't hurting at all, and they probably should be. I guess that's a good thing.

Bridge over the California Incline. The troubled waters are to the west.

My nether regions are hurting like hell, though. Forgot to bring the chamois cream with me. I won't make that mistake again.

Chinatown Firecracker Ride in pictures!

This was my first time at the Chinatown Firecracker ride - there were two routes offered - an easy flat 20 miler, and a hilly 30 miler.

I chose the hilly route, thinking it would be fun.

It was, but the main challenge wasn't the climbs, but navigating Los Angeles' legendary shitty roads. 

Starting line

And the impending rain, of course. Despite hopes that it would hold off, it started sprinkling just as the race started. Luckily, it never really rained, just misted enough to make the roads slick and fog up everyone's glasses.

Tandem!

The ride had a really nice mix of people, and since it wasn't a race but an organized ride, there wasn't such a sense of urgency to go flat-out, but I did end up joining one of the pacelines, which was fun, but since the road was wet I got covered in the goop being thrown up by the tire in front of me.  I looked like "Pig Pen" from the Peanuts cartoons.

Griffith Park

About halfway through Griffith Park, the blue sky started to peek through the clouds.

Steep climb

So steep that everyone had to stop and rest 

The only aid station of the ride was at the halfway point, located at Travel Town.

Aid station

Appropriately, we were given fortune cookies in addition to the standard fare of pretzels and bananas.

Fortune cookie for the Chinatown ride! Get it?

...in bed.

Good thing they had a repair station at Travel Town, as a large number of people were having mechanical problems related to the wetness and shittiness of the roads.

By the time I left the aid station, the sun had come out and it was a gorgeous. We rode through Burbank. looped back to the LA River bike path, and made our way back to Chinatown, where there was a huge line for the promised carbo load lunch:

Load me up! I'm hungry!

Noodles, and more fortune cookies.

There was a beer tent, which seemed promising, but they weren't serving good beer. I wasn't expecting top-end microbrew or anything but:

I'm sorry, I thought someone said there was to be beer.

I didn't drink any of the so-called beer, instead opting for a Vietnamese iced coffee from the Pho place across the street.

Red Lanterns

Red Lanterns and puffy clouds

Gong on a shop

I wandered around for a bit, chatted with some fellow riders and some friends who were there picking up packets for the run on Sunday.

When I got home, the first thing I had to to was wash the gunk off Gary, then I took a shower myself.

It was a really fun ride, and I'll definitely do it again next year, but I'll seriously consider bringing a mountain bike because of the pavement.

Wow, didn't see that one coming.

Between road biking and commuting, I put in a respectable number of miles on the bicycle.

Consequently, my legs are pretty damn strong.

Strong enough that usually weights don't make me sore the next day, so when I was at the gym Sunday pre-Superbowl party, I decided to do the workout that they call 'the board' which is posted on, natch, a board on the workout floor.

This one looked good, but not super hard for someone with legs of steel:

In case the photo isn't showing, that's "Push, Pull Squat"

3 x 20 push ups
3 x 20 cable chest presses

3 x 20 seated row

3 x 20 lat pulls

3 x 20 body weight squats
3 x 20 body weight alternate lunges

I added in some ab work, but holy crap.

That easy-looking workout kicked my ass. It's Monday night and I'm still sore.

I knew the shoulders would be sore because of the push ups, but they're way less sore than my quads.

Masters swim tonight was an adventure - of course we were doing sprints. I ran out of gas about 45  minutes in and only have myself to blame.

However, in the future, if I need a really good quick workout (this one took under 45 minutes), I know what I'll be doing.

A tale of eBay woe

I'm forever on a quest for better bike shorts.

Better pad, better waistband, legs that don't ride up or cut off circulation, etc..

But mainly a better pad. I usually wear Mavic shorts, and they're certainly comfortable, but after about 50 miles, I'm in pain and no amount of fresh chamois cream will do anything about it.

So while browsing everyone's favorite online auction site, I found a pair of shorts that looked to have a promisingly thick pad.

So what if they were an off brand and priced at only $30?

All that stuff my grandma always told me about getting what you pay for? 

Straight out the window. I bought the shorts.

They arrived the other day and this morning was my first test ride on them.

I had originally planned to do 80 miles up PCH today, but about 10 miles in, the shorts (or the spirit of my grandmother. I can't tell which) took their vengeance.

The pad, so soft and comfy at first, immediately compressed to the point where it was beyond useless and actually causing chafing, but that wasn't the main problem. The main problem was the seam up the back of the shorts with a very poorly placed tag that was rubbing the skin off the small of my back. It's amazing how the little things get you.

I figured that eventually the lady bits would numb out, but that seam/tag combo - I couldn't ignore it. The more it rubbed, the more it annoyed me, to the point that I started getting really snappish and mean to passers-by and riding buddies.

That, for me, was the signal to pack it in.  It wasn't going to get any better.

So I headed home after riding a grand total of 25 miles. I've got a patch on the small of my back that's rubbed raw, and my lady bits are hamburger.  Hamburger, I tell you.

So, lesson officially learned.

No more discount off-brand bike shorts for me

Well, maybe not.

The Spring Death Valley Ultra Century is a little under 5 weeks away, and due to my averaging 60 hours of work a week at the moment I'm only getting in one training ride a week - the longest having been 60 miles.

I'm not giving up on the race just yet, but it's looking less likely that I'm going.

I'm scheduled to do the Solvang Century a week after Death Valley, so I may just take the DNS on the latter and focus on the century, which I know I can do.

Also, my car is psychic.

I've been working a lot and as such actually have some money in the bank. So of course, when I took the car to the mechanic to get the brakes done, I was informed that the suspension is shot (Los Angeles has some of the worst roads in the country - you really need a truck here and I have a cheap sedan).

Suspension repair? $400.
Brakes? $200, if  they can resurface the rotors. If not, more.

Guess I know where that extra money's going.

So, I bit off more than I could chew.

A few months ago, I got all fired up and registered for the Spring Death Valley Ultra Century. I figured a mere century wasn't all that much of a challenge, so why not go big?

Seemed like a good idea at the time.

It takes place in early March, which at this point, is a mere six weeks away.

Except that between flying back east for the holidays to overeat and then getting bronchitis, I haven't trained.

Today, I rode 50 miles and my ass is, as they say, grass.

I have no idea how I'm going to get from 50 miles (at an average speed of 12 mph, BTW), to 150 miles in SIX WEEKS.

I think I might be really, really fucked.

I'm trying to keep a sense of perspective in that they won't charge me more if I don't finish, and it'll be a lovely ride no matter how far I get, but my ultra-competitive inner jock is having none of it, no Sir.

I have to complete the ride in 13 hours to officially finish, which at my current fitness level, I'm not sure I can do.

My main problem is my hamstrings tightening up and saddle sores due to the seat rubbing. I try to stretch in the saddle (raising up off the seat, leaning on the handlebars and doing a sort of cat cow). I'm sure the saddle sores will resolve themselves with a bit more callus, but if I can't get a handle on this hamstring crap, I'm going to be hamburger after, well, 50 miles.

We'll see.

Six weeks to go.

A week's rest and all is better.

I went back to see the family for a week over the Christmas holiday, and as a result of getting absolutely no exercise that week, my heel feels great!

The rest of me feels like a stuffing-bloated whale, but hey, you can't have everything, now can you?

Since I'm nursing the tail end of some bronchitis (over the holiday. Thanks, Universe. Thanks a lot.), I decided to do some yoga. I had a coupon for a series of classes at a 'hot' yoga place near me, and since friends have raved about how great the heated room yoga is for improving flexibility, I went and gave it a try.

I warned the very nice teacher upfront that I'm a yoga beginner (I've only done a few classes at the gym), but she assured me none of the sequences were going to be all that difficult.

Good thing, too - that was like sitting in a damn oven for 75 minutes. I think anything more strenuous would have made me explode.

I brought a liter of water with me, but it wasn't nearly enough and I walked out feeling marginally more flexible but with a terrible headache since I didn't have enough water.

Also, what no one will tell you about 'hot' yoga is that it smells really, really bad.

Everything everyone in the room has eaten in the past few days starts to come out of their pores about half an hour in, so the room ends up smelling like curry, asparagus, and underarm funk.

The instructor had one of those little oil burners with lavender in it, but that was like trying to hold back a tidal wave with a kitchen sponge.

People, please. If you're going to do heated room yoga, have the common decency to lay off the Indian food beforehand and wear a deodorant.

The class let out about 5:30, and my original plan had been to go from the class to the gym to sit in the steam room (funk-free heat), but a heavy fog had begun to roll in and I was worried about biking home after dark in heavy fog.

On the upside, I've had a muscle in my shoulder that's been stiff for about a week, and it feels much better after the class.

I just need to remember to bring nose plugs next time.

Museum Day!

A friend wanted to see the exhibit inspired by Women Hold Up Half the Sky at the Skirball Cultural Center.

The Skirball is at the intersection of Sepulveda and Mullholland in West LA, and I figured since I needed to get a ride in anyways, that I'd bike it (and be thankful that I have the freedom to be able to move around by myself without needing permission from a male relative). The hill's not as steep as one would imagine. It's a solid grade, but not unmanageable.

We were due to meet at two, but I thought since I'd be riding right past it and it's free, I'd stop in at the Getty Museum and check out The Pacific Standard Time exhibit.

In the distance, the Getty

The ride to the Getty's not steep at all ( didn't even have to use my granny gear) and on Sunday, the traffic's light enough that I didn't fear for my life the few times I had to veer way out into the traffic lane to avoid some of the downed trees that the city hasn't gotten around to clearing away after last week's windstorms.

Although parking at the Getty is $15 per auto, it's free for bicycles, so I rolled up, was directed to the bike racks by the super nice staff, and hopped on the tram which took me up to the museum.

I always forget to bring the good camera to the Getty. It's such a gorgeous place with amazing views and cell phone shots just don't do it justice.

View over the dining terrace

Landscape

Fountain in the main courtyard

View from the tram stop

Unfortunately, I didn't leave myself enough time to see the entire exhibit and the grounds, so I guess I need to go back and remember the SLR.

I continued up Sepulveda, and past the Getty it got a bit steeper, but still nothing too terrible. The road's a mess because of the construction. I'm not sure how safe I'd feel doing this ride during the week.

Diesel Hammers

I finally had to break down and use the granny gear on the bike, which dropped my speed to about walking pace, but finally, just as my legs really started to object:

Skirball at last

I guess it doesn't surprise me that the Skirball doesn't have any bike racks. After all, they're at the top of the Sepulveda Pass and this is Los Angeles. Center security told me to chain my bike to the handrails on the stairs.
I managed to find a section that wouldn't impede pedestrian traffic and went into the building to wait for my friend.

We perused the exhibit, which was education and depressing. I knew there was trafficking here in Los Angeles, but they had an audio presentation with victims and it just felt so wrong to hear someone say they were sold to a home in West LA.

After we finished, we decided that we needed something a bit more uplifting, so we went and got some dinner (lucky for my my friend drove, so we threw my bike in the back of her car) and saw Arthur Christmas, which was very cute and sweet. We were the only ones in the theater:

Just like having my own private screening room

When we got out of the movie it was cold, so I was very grateful for the ride home in the heated car.  When I got home, I had to turn on the heat, which I almost never have to do.

It's still cold today, but there's a gorgeous blue sky so I might bundle up and venture out to enjoy the day.  The really good news is that my heel feels fine this morning! I can't run again until the doc clears me, but this is happy!

Glorious Fall Weekend Ride with Mucho Photos

 Saturday was one of those days that just makes me glad I live in Southern California - the sky was blue, the air was clear (actually clear, not 'clear for LA), and although it was on the chilly side, it was a perfect day to go for a ride.

I'd intended to leave early, but got stuck doing weekend errands and yakking on the phone with my sister, so I left around noon.  I decided to ride north on PCH, because it's a beautiful ride. I wasn't in much of a hurry, just enjoying the day. 

This guy was riding a gasoline engine assisted bike and pulling a trailer with "Share the Road" written on the back.

Scenic Malibu

Where the cliffs are rotten - I'd hate for one of those things to hit me as I ride by.

I didn't stop for seafood, but I probably should have.

Turnaround point: The tacky McMansion

I've always wanted one of these. I don't know why.

Gary enjoys the view

Beachy! 

Memorial wreath with equestrian ribbons and handcuffs.

Looking south to Santa Monica from the Malibu Pier. Note layer of smog.

I'm told this was once the famous Alice's Restaurant.

Yes, yes they do.

Hello surfers!

If only there had been a cop. I could have yelled "Sugartits"

Santa Monica State Beach with pier in background.

Oh, yes. You're going to get some hop-ons.

From whence I came - looking north to Malibu from the Santa Monica Pier

Total mileage was 42, but it took me a long time because I kept stopping to take pictures and chat with other cyclists who were also slowing down to enjoy the beautiful fall day.  I think this was my last PCH ride for a while, as the climbing's irritating my heel, and I'd really like for this thing to get better.

The next day, it rained all day, so I took my life in my hands and drove the car to the gym, then napped in front of the TV.