Recognize this guy?

Tour of California - Part II

The Second Annual Tour of California Healthcare Lawyers Viewing Party took place in Long Beach.

As you probably know, the "Cuban Missile" from Toyota United won the stage and Levi Leipheimer of Discovery won the race.

Here are some pics.

Discovery leading the pack:


The peloton:



Recognize this bike?



Here's a closer look:



That's right. It's the world champion's TT bike.

More to come.

I Got Schooled

Benjamin runs the same 10-mile route through Culver City every Saturday morning. I had to work all day today, so I thought a morning jog with him would be a nice and not-so-streneous way to start the day. It was supposed to be a piece of cake. In our last race together, the olympic-distance 2006 Ventura Breath of Life Triathlon, I beat him by a good 18 minutes, a full seven of those minutes were gained over the 10k run. During last year's Wildflower half-iron distance triathlon, my half marathon was 10 minutes faster than his.

But I didn't count on two things: 1) Fernando decided to run with us, and 2) Benjamin has been running twice as much as I have. And he got pretty fast.

I was a little worried when my heart rate soared over 160 in the first mile, but I figured that if Benjamin could keep Fernando's pace, so could I. It was a very annoying whenever we each called out our heart rates, and Fernando's was consistently 10 bpm slower than mine. Right up until mile 6, however, I had no problem holding pace. At that point, I made the mistake of reminding Benjamin that I beat Fernando to the top of Mandeville canyon on a bike ride a few weeks ago. Actually, my mistake was speaking loud enough for Fernando to hear, because he immediately gapped us.

But a funny thing happened at mile 7--I started feeling good! I closed the gap to Fernando, and on a short downhill, I shot right past him. For about 5 minutes I really thought that I was going to be the first to the end of the run. I was feeling so euphoric when I realized that Fernando wasn't making up ground that I didn't take heed of my heart rate monitor screaming at me to slow down. I stopped looking at it. I didn't want to be reminded that I wouldn't be able to sustain 90% of my maximum heart rate for more than a few minutes.

To make a long story short, the wheels flew off the wagon when Fernando effortlessly passed me. I couldn't even think about keeping up. By the time Benjamin caught up, my body wanted to shut down. But good 'ol Benjamin was nice enough to keep me company. We ran together as he scolded me about challenging the machine known as Fernando. Then at mile 9, he dropped me.

I now know that it was a conspiracy. Fernando drew first blood. Benjamin finished me off. Thanks a lot guys.
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My heart-rate chart tells the entire story. I was in over my head from the get-go:


I'm actually proud to say that this was the fastest 10-mile run of my life--I averaged a 9:02 mile. Yeah, I know. I have a long way to go to reach my goal of a sub two-hour half marathon.


-Arnold

Midnight Ridazz, Ride On!

I always look forward to the second Friday of the month, because that's when my favorite party rages. Like any other party, there is loud music, blinking lights, and plenty of drunk people. Unlike any other party, this one is on wheels. Midnight Ridazz yo!

Last night's ride was themed the UFO ride, and people showed up wearing space helmets and masks. There were a couple Elliots with their trusty E.T.s as well. It was a nice leisurely 16-mile ride through Pasadena and around the Rose Bowl. There were a few challenging hills, and some fast descents. It was a bit scary going downhill at 35 mph in pitch dark and with hundreds of bikers around, many piss-drunk. And it got more than a little cold.

There's nothing like getting in a nice workout at midnight on a Friday. It makes the end-of-ride Tommy's chili burgers all the more satisfying.




Click here for more pictures from the ride.

More GPS Fun

Being the über-geek that I am, I took my Garmin 305 GPS wrist watch with me to Mammoth this weekend so that I could track where I went with my snowboard. Just looking at this map makes me miss the mountain.

Saturday was a very long day. I woke up at 2 a.m. to meet my cousins in Pomona. We got to Mammoth around 9, played for about 6 hours, then drove back. It was a punishing experience encompassing over 10 hours of driving in a single day, but it was well worth it. The coverage at the resort was very poor--there were lots of exposed rocks on the bowls that I love so much. But even on a bad day, Mammoth is my favorite place in California.

-Arnold

New Years Day Run

The second annual New Years Day invitational was successfully held this morning. Participation was up a whopping 100% over last year as I was joined by Fernando.

It was cold at the start, with temperatures around 40-41. To be honest Fernando looked pretty bad when I arrived. He told me that he had been at a party the night before and didn't get home until 4:30. He had also had a bunch of beer, which is not known as good way to carbo load. I thought, who knows? Maybe I'll be able to take him for a change. Of course, it was not to be.

I had measured the course via Google earth and Fernando and I both had GPS units (my Garmin and his Timex). I don't know why but mine went haywire right after we started. It started clicking off miles every minute or so and it ultimately said we had run over 30 miles. Not too shabby.

In any event, we ran from the Jefferson overpass to the bridge at the end of the causeway and back. According to Google, that's exactly 13.1 miles. My Garmin gave me a total time of 2:03:34, which translates to 9:25/mile. Of course, Fernando pulled away from me in the final mile and finished about a minute ahead. I'm not sure what I have to do to beat that guy. Whatever.

Considering that last year was 2:10:39, or 9:57/mile, I guess I met my goal. Maybe next year I'll break 2:00.

Benjamin

The race heats up!

2007 Ford Ironman 70.3 California Entry Fee
Fernando Hernandez	$210.00

T-Shirt Size	Large
One Day USAT Insurance	yes - $10.00
USAT Membership Number
Emergency Contact	Yuman
Emergency Contact Phone	323 290 2235
Occupation
Please list any other significant medical information:
List any past half or full Ironman events in which you have participated:
Will California Half Ironman be your first Triathlon at this distance?	yes
Personal Insurance Carrier	Kaiser
Policy Number
Company
Race Classification	Age Group For Awards and AG Kona Slots
Have you ever dropped out during a race for medical reasons?	No
Age Division	M 35-39

That's right. Mr. Hernandez is in - competing for awards and Kona slots.

GPS

I take my Garmin with me on business trips. I'm trying to collect routes from all over. Here are some from the last year. Click on them to see the maps at a decent magnification.

1) Legendary Central Park. It was nice, but I'd go crazy if that was the only place around to run. I don't know how NY'ers do it.



2) West Palm Beach. Eerily deserted last week. And the ocean was on the wrong side.



3) Chicago. Very cool. Lots of tri folks out swimming along the edge of the lake. Mile markers and everything. Really very nice.



4) Washington D.C. If not for the idjit living there, running near the Whitehouse would be nice. Too humid though.



5) The famous Beverly Hills High School. Not very far away but it is a different city.



6) Dallas, Texas. A pit. Hot, ugly, and boring.



7) Orlando, Florida. A city that's just a huge strip mall.



8) Philadelphia, PA. Right past the Rocky steps. Pretty nice.



9) San Francisco. I love that city. I'd gladly move there.



Happy New Year everyone.

B.

Desire

Not too long ago, I challenged my good friend Jason to run his first half marathon. He begrudgingly accepted, and in October Stacie and I paced him to the finish of the Long Beach Half Marathon in under 2 hours, 45 minutes. An excellent time for a guy who never ran more than 6 miles only a few months prior.

But I wasn't satisfied. If Jason didn't cramp, we would have finished close to the 2 and-a-half hour mark. So I issued another challenge: finish the inaugural City of Angels Half Marathon in under 2 hours, 30 minutes. He gamely accepted.

We arrived at Griffith Park this past Sunday ready to demolish our Long Beach Time. The conditions were perfect: it was nice and cool, and the course, a point-to-point route ending in downtown, was very scenic. We had a game plan: follow the Galloway method and take one-minute walk breaks every five minutes. I was confident that we would accomplish our goal. But it was not to be. Although described by the race director as "flat and fast," the race featured more than twice the elevation gain of the Long Beach course.

We maintained the requisite 11:30/mile pace up until mile 11, but as we trudged up and down the rolling hills of Sunset Boulevard, Jay was attacked my massive cramps. I knew then and there that 2:30 was not possible, but he battled through the cramps, and thanks to an epic pain-filled sprint to the finish (see picture inset), we broke 2:40 (2:39:52, to be exact).

It was humbling to see my friend scream, grimace in pain, and continue running with the finish line in sight. That's what I call desire.

For the half marathon's course profile, click here. My entire flickr photo set can be found here.

The Dangerous Dance

Riding your bike aggressively during rush hour along a main thoroughfare is an exercise in faith. You place your life in the hands of the hundreds of strangers who share the road with you. You have to trust that drivers and passengers won't open their doors as you ride only inches away. You pray to God that the bus won't clip you as it passes on your left. You hope that the guy signaling to make a right turn in front of you checks his mirrors and sees you approaching.

Yeah, I suppose you could ride conservatively, but where's the fun in that? You can't get your heart rate up by riding like a granny (no offense to the grandmothers out there). There's something to be said about the rush you get when doing the dangerous dance called bicycle commuting.

Well, my faith was shattered today when BMW in front of me on my ride home from work tonight was cut off by a bonehead in a pickup. The BMW stopped on a dime. I didn't, and I ended up sprawled out on its trunk. I know what you're thinking, but let me assure you, the bike is fine. I just need an allen wrench and 10 minutes to get her back in riding shape. On the other hand, I suffered an extreme blow to my ego. Rear-ending a car while riding your bike is pretty damn embarrassing.

Note to self: Use more caution when drafting off of BMWs. They have really good brakes. Now excuse me as I read this Bicycle Commuter's Guide.