Warning: This post discusses bodily functions!!!

Distance: 10 miles
Time: approx. 1:41

It has been a rough week for running--actually, I haven't run much this week. Out of laziness and a bloated post-Saturday dinner feeling, I skipped running the 5K at Puente Hills. I attended but stood on the sidelines. I made up for it with a good yoga session on Monday followed by a five mile run on the treadmill. Unfortunately I may have overdone the yoga because I strained my back. It didn't hurt to run but bending down resulted in sharp back pains. I skipped exercises and running for the next couple of days and the back began to feel better. The pain was still evident Thanksgiving morning, but that wasn't the reason I skipped out on another 5K. That was purely the result of wanting to sleep in and lack of motivation to put myself through the misery of a 5K. I'd feel guilty if not for the 10 miler with FJ the following morning. However, even though I didn't run the 5K, I still wound up with a sore hip later that evening. Is my body just falling apart? Is it the effects of turning 30?

Regardless of the hip I still ran with FJ. The hip was less bothersome while running, but that fact still didn't make for an easy run. We met up at 8AM. It was a very foggy morning and got thicker as I got closer to the Rose Bowl. Even with the fog, though, there were a lot of people at the Rose Bowl--walkers, runners, cyclists--trying to burn off the excessive calories they consumed at the dinner table.

I felt good during the first half of the run. Around mile 4 I was feeling confident that it would be a good run. The fog had burned off a little higher into the trails, so the visibility improved. However, a mile from our five mile mark and our turnaround point, my stomach began to rumble. It worried me, but I had a bowel movement, albeit a weak one, before the run, so I thought I'd manage to complete the run with no problems. The stomach settled a bit but from time to time it would rumble. A little after we reached the turnaround, my stomach rumbled again and I mentioned to FJ that my stomach was giving me problems but that I should make it back fine.

We made great progress. The run back after the turnaround is downhill and we usually make up a lot of time. The run may have gotten easier, but my stomach was getting queasier. Then, around mile 7, just above JPL, I had to stop running. My stomach was making it clear that it wanted to go sooner rather than later. I could have gone a little distance more but when the inevitable urge hits I may be stuck in the part of the trail we've dubbed "no man's land," a wide open area with no shade and certainly no secluded bushes to take care of business. I told FJ I needed a place to go, but my main concern was finding something to clean up with afterwards. I kept an eye out for discarded napkins but apparently no one litters any more. Fortunately there was a trash can down the hill and in it I found a Jack in the Box bag with plenty of unused napkins. I hid out in some bushes and did my business. It's the most uncomfortable feeling in the world.

This marked the second time I had to take care of business during a run. The first time was during my first season. I was running alone then, so no one knew any better. For a while after that I made a point to pack a tissue during my run, but I've let that practice go since I've had no use for it since then. I may have to start doing so again.

As for the rest of the run, my legs stiffened up during my ordeal, but we still finished in 1:41, which meant that we made up a lot of time even with the few minutes wasted. Next week I have the City of Angels Half and I'm trying to make sure my hip is in shape to run it. I'll take it easy this week but will try to get in some runs anyway.

Live from a marathon

The New York Times had one of its reporters report on the marathon course while he ran. I enjoyed listening to Grant Burningham's reports because I could relate to everything he says as he thrives off the crowd support then experiences the dreaded wall before the exhilaration of finishing. He finished in 4:30, a few minutes behind Oprah, whose marathon time has become the target of most first-time marathoners, as she was for mine. So if you've wondered what a runner sounds like while they're running in a marathon, listen to Burningham's report.

Wedding Announcement...not mine

I think I've mentioned before my habit of reading the wedding announcements in the Sunday New York Times. It's been a while since I've read one that I thought was sweet and romantic, but the one for Carley Wellman and Kevin McAbee in today's Times is just that. I need to find me a veterinarian.

A New Season

The new season started last weekend at Hahamonga Park. It wasn't the ideal location for a first practice, but the UCLA game forced us to be flexible. As an assistant coach this season I'm still figuring out what my role and responsibilities are. I probably won't run with the participants during practice, only in short bursts to see how they're doing. However, FJ and I are hoping to do our own runs either in the afternoon or on Sunday. I'm trying to build up quickly to longer miles because I frankly find the shorter distances a little boring right now. Arrogance!

My longest run since returning from Europe has been five miles. I ran a five miler with Club Run LA on Monday night and I was able to complete it in 43 minutes flat, including time spent at stop lights. I did about 4.5 miles this morning at the gym in 40 minutes. I'm still trying to lose weight. Flat stomach is the goal for Christmas.

Back Home

I've been back home almost a week now, and I still wish that I wasn't. I want to get back on the road and travel some more, but we have to be responsible and get back to grown up things.

It's taking me longer than I anticipated to go through the 1200 pictures I took in Europe, but I'm hoping to have the 150 or so best ones selected by the end of this week and posted on Flickr. For now, here are snapshots of the cities I visited.


Madrid

Bilbao

Sevilla

Barcelona

Paris

London

Treinta!

I ought to not let September pass without mentioning that I have now turned 30. September 15, to be exact. So far, being 30 hasn't been half bad. I don't feel any different, nor do I think I look the way 30 ought to look. I may be in denial, but I only cringe when I see the number written out. Otherwise, it's never in my mind. But when the elliptical machine forces me to declare my age, then I have to do a double-take.

As for the festivities, the big party never materialized. I was planning on a party with Marisela, but something else came up that took the place of that. I celebrated early on the 10th of September by organizing a group outing to the Hollywood Bowl for a concert by Willie Nelson, Ryan Adams and Neko Case.



We enjoyed a picnic before the show then sat a million miles from the stage and hunkered down for some good music under the stars.

My actual birthday was a quiet affair. I had the day off and went for a massage. My family took me out to dinner the night before. Another birthday dinner took place on the 16th, Spanish food at La Luna Negra in Pasadena.

Instead of the big bash I considered for my 30th an idea came to me a couple of weeks ago to take a trip to Europe. Tomorrow I leave for Spain. I'm surprised at how quickly and how easily everything came together for the trip. Just two weeks ago the idea of going to Europe was just something tucked away in the back of my head. Now I'm packing my bags and heading off to a continent I've never visited and I'm doing so all by myself. I'm alternately excited and nervous, but more so the former.

I'd go on and on about the trip, but I'm too tired and the best parts of it have yet to happen. The plan for the trip is to eat, walk, and take lots of pictures. I also hope to keep a journal of my travels. But the main thing is enjoying myself. That shouldn't be too hard.

On Tuesday I will arrive in Madrid for a three night stay, followed by Bilbao for a couple of nights, then to Barcelona for three evenings. After Barcelona I take an overnight train to Paris for a four-night stop. I then make my way to London, look around for four days before flying back home.

I hope I make it back!

Will I ever run again?

Oh, the frustration!

I haven't run in a week all due to the fact that I have a shooting pain in my hip that sometimes radiates down my thigh. I first felt it a week and a half ago, but I ran on it twice--a 5.5 miler and a 9 miler--with little problems. I could feel something tight in the region but it didn't hobble me or slow me down. Last Monday I still felt it but decided to run with the Nike folks anyway. All was fine until the end of the run when it started to hurt. It didn't hurt before. I made it to the finish but began to hobble. I thought I may have pulled a groin muscle and took the rest of the week off. Now I'm beginning to think it's not a muscle problem. It only hurts when I step or stand on my right leg, a shooting pain that I can also feel down my thigh to my knee.

It's times like these that I realize how much an active lifestyle I have taken on in the last couple of years. Not being able to run or do other exercise activities has bummed me out. Before I was the guy who loved to just sit around and do nothing but watch TV and eat. While I still enjoy such moments, I can only bear doing nothing for a short period before I crave going out for a run. I'm hoping it will go away, but it doesn't seem like it will soon. I have an appointment on Thursday afternoon and hopefully the doc can figure out what to do. I've been tempted to run on it regardless of the problem, but I have to resist the urge or else I may wind up damaging myself for life.

Let's hope it's a quick recovery and I go back out for a run. It's sick that I miss running so much. Sick!

a long and busy week

I spent last weekend in San Diego to run the America's Finest City Half Marathon. I ran the race last year and managed to post a personal best, so I came in this year hoping to beat that time. Fortunately, I did, but only by about 40 seconds. My official chip time was 1:48:42. To top it all off I also beat Kiley for the first time in the two years I've known him. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday. Here's a link to my race pics.

This past week has been incredibly busy. Work from Monday to Wednesday, and I've been spending my days off on Thursday and Friday taking care of errands. I finally got a new phone and plan on Thursday and I took my car to for its 60,000 mile service on Friday. Susie kept me company at the mall while we killed time waiting for it to be finished.

I also saw three shows last week. Monday was another free show by Little Ones at Spaceland. Quite good. Thursday night was Oh No! Oh My! at the Echo. Closing their set with "A Walk in the Park," the band invited onstage an audience member inexplicably dressed as a gorilla.


The gorilla danced.

Friday night was the culmination. Liz and her sister were nice enough to wait in line three hours before the Wolf Parade show to get tickets and to ensure we got primo seats. We did. We sat in the front-center row of the balcony. Wolf Parade were on fire and showed a marked improvement from their January show when they seemed disorganized and unfocused. Friday night, the band was tight and energetic and, the biggest surprise, relaxed to the point that they seemed to be truly enjoying themselves.

Saturday night was a quick visit to a beer tasting party in Pasadena followed by birthday dinner and drinks with Liza.

Sunday was spent at home recuperating and watching the Emmys and dreading coming back to work tomorrow.

New Tires

Things done this weekend:

-Watched Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby with Astrid and Winston. Funny movie with really committed performances. Grade: B-

-Ran 8 miles in 1 hour and 15 minutes. Not a bad run considering I didn't get home until 1:30 AM from the movie and didn't fall asleep until after 2. Four hours later I had to get up for the trek to the Rose Bowl. The run was uncomfortable and exhausting, but the weather, at least, was nice for once.

-Took my Mom, sister, niece and nephew to Griffith Park for my cousin's son's birthday. All I wanted to do the whole time I was there was to curl up somewhere and nap. I was so tired. As soon as I got home from the party, around 4:30, I took a nice two-hour nap.

-Watched Vera Drake on DVD. I've had the DVD for weeks now, and Netflix just kept on charging me $19.99/month anyway. It's a terrific film that offers no easy answers. Now I can return it and start making a dent on my queue. I still have The Best of Youth to watch. Hopefully I can get to it soon. The thought of watching a six-hour film is just intimidating, though.

-Replaced the tires on my car. I had to wait for three hours while they did, so I headed to the mall and walked around. Bought some socks, looked at sunglasses for running, and had a nice cup of coffee. I thought of seeing The Descent but the showtime didn't work out.

-Watched Final Destination 3. I really like these movies. The gruesome deaths can be clever, but I felt like I was watching porn. I couldn't wait to get to the death scenes but grew impatient with the connecting scenes.

-Now it's 1:45 AM and I'm actually going to sleep relatively early. I'm going to go into work at noon tomorrow and will take a yoga class in the morning. After work I'll try to get in to the free Little Ones show at Spaceland.

Just when I thought I was out...

Just when I thought I can take next year off from the Los Angeles Marathon to run a different race, the organizers go ahead and change the course forcing me to do the race again. The marathon route, I think, is terrific. Not only is it downhill, but it will also showcase more of the city. It will run through some of my favorite parts, from Hollywood to Los Feliz to Koreatown to Hancock Park, even to USC. I'm sure the hipsters who live in Los Feliz will be annoyed on marathon morning, but at least the new course doesn't trap anyone inside the course like it used to. I lived in an apartment in Koreatown for a few years and every marathon morning I couldn't go anywhere. The marathon route wrapped around my neighborhood so that I couldn't drive anywhere. At least I got to see the runners pass by.

So, it looks like I have plans in place for March 4, 2007.