Great L.A. Walk 2010: Wilshire Blvd.

For the fourth straight year I did Franklin Avenue's Great Los Angeles Walk. This time Mike decided to do Wilshire again, the very first street he did five years ago. I was glad since I wasn't a part of that original walk.

As usual I had a great time. Even at 16 miles I was less exhausted than I was compared even with last year's slightly shorter route. I think weather had a lot to do with it. The threat of rain barely materialized. It was limited to a few short bursts of shower in the morning, and it then cleared up the rest of the day. What could have been a soggy day turned into a cool and refreshing walk, breathing in rain-cleaned air.

The only downside to doing Wilshire, though, was my familiarity with the street. Even though this was the first time I've walked the street end to end, I have probably walked the entire lengthy cumulatively throughout the last few years. There were really no big surprises. I knew the street much too well.

Still, there were a few nice touches such as the message put up by the Wiltern Theatre welcoming the Great(er) L.A. Walk 2010. I also enjoyed the company. Kevin and Tyrell are excellent walking companions, and for the first time since Pico we actually finished with the main group and got to pose in the group photo at the end. A celebratory mojito at Border Grill was the perfect way to end the evening. I did get a blister from the walk, but it hasn't been too painful. I even did the GLU hike the next day.

So, until next year! I suggested to Mike that we do a Gold Line hike from Pasadena to East LA. Let's see what he decides for next year.

Here are some more pics from the hike. More pics can be seen on my Flickr page.

Hike a Little More

This past weekend's hike up to the summit of Mt. Baldy must have lit a fire in me. I just have an urge to do more hikes--right this moment. I started looking up other tough but fun hikes around the area and checking out Modern HIker's thoughts on the best hikes in southern California. If you haven't, check out how cool Google Earth is. This is Mt. Baldy on Google Earth.



To the top of my list zoomed Mt. Baden-Powell. The only drawback to that hike is that it requires a 50 mile drive on a mountain road. That's not so bad, though.

This weekend Kevin and I will tackle a hike I've wanted to do in a long while: the Bridge to Nowhere in Azusa. This one isn't too hard; it's just long. It should be a lot of fun, though. Eventually I'll work myself up to tackling Mt. Whitney or Mt. Shasta. I'll need some gear, though. Shopping spree!

Hiking and Running

I've been mostly inactive the last couple of weeks. Since the marathon I have run once. This weekend must have been a shock to my body then as I took it on a rigorous 10 mile round trip hike up to the summit of Mt. Baldy and back down again. Six hours of climbing and resisting the pull of gravity as we navigated the steep mountainside on the way down. It was a fun but strenuous hike but well worth the effort. It wore me out so much that I crashed at 10 pm. Granted, though, that I woke up before 5 am to set off on the hike.

The next day my legs were somewhat sore, but I woke up early any way and met up with the gang for a run at the Rose Bowl. 7 miles. We took it easy in the first half, but in the second half we stopped taking walk breaks and in the last half mile we were sprinting. I started my sprint too early and couldn't maintain the pace towards the finish. I had passed Rob and Rachel but they eventually passed me again before we crossed the finish line. I should do that more often, though, if I really want to build up my speed.

After all that activity, the soreness caught up with me last night and I started to feel it more in my calves, hamstrings and butt. It's a nice soreness. Tonight I'm hoping to get in a short run, but we'll see how I feel after trivia.

Pics from the hike:

A March Weekend

The picture above is Sturtevant Falls, the destination of this weekend's GLU hike. It was a great hike, scenic and shady, which was nice since it was a little warm this weekend. It also provided enough challenge--stream crossings--to make it adventurous. All together, we hiked 6.5 miles above Sierra Madre. Afterwards, we had a satisfying Mediterranean lunch at the Patio in Arcadia. I had the lamb chops, which were OK, but I really liked the halloum that I ordered as an appetizer. I probably should have just had that and some other appetizer.

By the time I got home I only had about an hour to rest before I had to head out to Long Beach. Preeti had invited me to check out the Earth Hour festivities she was putting together on the Queen Mary. She promised drinks and appetizers, so I couldn't turn that down. The trip to Long Beach, though, took too long. The Blue Line is only running every thirty minutes. I waited about fifteen minutes in a crowded, smelly car (thanks to a homeless guy) before it departed, but at least I had a seat. I worried that when I got to the Transit Mall I'd have to wait a while for a Passport shuttle, but one arrived just as I got there. Still, it was a two hour door-to-door trip.

The Earth Hour event was small but cool. The Queen Mary turned off all unnecessary lights for an hour and invited community groups to provide information about conservation. A local cycling group was there to demonstrate the amount of energy required to power one incandescent light bulb versus five fluorescent bulbs. The cyclists took turns riding stationary bikes that provided energy to light the bulbs. I was hoping to hang out with Preeti throughout the night, but since she was working, she was running around a lot. I explored the ship while I was there.

I left the Queen Mary at 10pm, and I was tired. I wasn't going to make it to Akbar for Alexander's celebration. I would not have made it to Akbar until after midnight, and since I was very tired I doubt I could stay very long even if I did go. So I went directly home instead and got a good night's sleep. I slept in until about 10 am on Sunday.

Sunday was relatively quiet. The goal was to clean my apartment, and I partially succeeded. I finally unpacked my suitcase, discarded junk mail and old magazines, swept the floor, and cleaned the bathroom. I was hoping I could tackle the kitchen too. Instead I opted for making dinner, which I'm glad I did. I love risotto, and a brief discussion of risotto during the hike made me crave it. I decided to make a beet risotto, and it turned out great.



I also went for my first run since last week's marathon, a six-miler. For the last week I've been allowing myself to be lazy--I just ran a marathon--but the afterglow of that feat is now diminishing and it's time for me to get back in the habit. And it wasn't a moment too soon. This run was a struggle. My leg muscles were very tight, especially my calves. I thought it would go away eventually, but the tightness stayed the entire six miles. One week of no running and I'm already out of shape!

Also, to wrap up the Los Angeles Marathon, I noticed a great feature on the race's website that breaks down statistics of the runner's run. It tells you your pace along various points and compares you to other runners. My favorite statistic is the note about the last 4.5 miles of the run. It says I passed 587 runners in the last 4.5 miles and only got passed by 30. I love that! 587 runners! Even though I had slowed down some at that point, I was still faster than 587 runners who were initially ahead of me. Not to brag, but that fact makes me feel happy.

I was also able to capture some pictures from the marathon of me running. I look good!

Until the Sun Went Down Over Santa Monica Blvd.

I don't usually like a good beer buzz early in the morning, but I definitely longed for alcohol soon after completing the Great L.A. Walk yesterday. I ran a marathon last Sunday, and I can honestly say my legs and feet were more sore from walking yesterday than it was running 26.2 miles a week earlier. What can you expect from being on your feet for nine hours?

But it was all worth it. I had a blast! Our merry band of walkers fell behind early on and never caught up the big group. It was my fault as I led them on an excursion to find Carroll Avenue so I can show off the great houses there. Unfortunately we got a little turned around and my friends got cranky at the hilly sidetrip we took. But we had a blast the rest of the way. We took yummy pit stops at Cafe Tropical in Silver Lake, Sasoun Bakery in Little Armenia, and Fulfilled Pastries in Beverly Hills, which made up for our run-of-the-mill lunch at the French Market Place.

Last year I did the Pico Walk on my own and stuck mostly with the main pack. But this year, as part of a group, including Sameer, who I met at last year's walk, I had a whole different experience. We may have been the last group to arrive, but we surely had an amazing experience. I can't wait to do it again next year.

A sampling of photos from the Walk. More on Flickr.

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day and to celebrate I'm going to leave my car at home. I'm taking the subway today, including a trip to Pasadena after work. Wish me luck!

Mt. Wilson Hike

I went on a hike this morning with my friend Jeff up the Mt. Wilson trail. We didn't have time to go all the way up to the summit, but we made it about three miles in and turned back. It was great weather, albeit a little hazy to fully see the San Gabriel Valley down below. We're hoping to do the summit when Jeff gets back from his trip and hopefully by then I'll have hiking shoes. I was slipping quite a lot and I'm worried I'll wind up having to be rescued.