So. I had my last NFTY event this past weekend, which means that last week I didn't even KIND of get on my bike. It was a little pathetic really, but I was relatively swamped with work stuff so it's not like I was sitting around doing nothing at least.
I tried to get back on the horse for this last week of 'real riding' (ack, after this week no more riding 'cause it'll be too close to the ride!! SO SOON!) and thusfar I have managed to commute to work once via bike and do my 50-mile Topanga/Sepulveda loop. Which is better than nothing. If I get in another one of those loops tomorrow, or get in some 50+ route, I'll feel okay about this ride. I think.
Totals:
05.19.09: 8.3 miles via bike - work commute
05.20.09: 52.3 miles, OrangeLine/Topanga/PCH/Montana->Sepulveda loop
Thursday
Monday
05.11.09 (but really in regards to 05.09.09)
I shall quote you from an email I wrote a friend: "Yesterday I actually drove to meet up with a training ride (because I knew otherwise I wouldn't get on my bike =) and we did a ride called "Climb Every Canyon". It was 70 miles of HELL. I hate hills. You know I hate hills. This ride was made up, aside from a couple of nice (but not worth it) downs, ENTIRELY of hills. By the end of it I was really really mad at the streets. BUT. I had done two 'real' rides in a row, so mission accomplished. And I'm only kind of in pain today because of it."
...in short, I managed a back-to-back total of 120 miles. Wahoo!
total:
05.09.09: 70 miles via bike
...in short, I managed a back-to-back total of 120 miles. Wahoo!
total:
05.09.09: 70 miles via bike
Friday
05.08.09
I can't focus on anything right now, the SB fire is just making me restless - and I'm not even THERE! I just...Binky (well, her dad, but her HOUSE so she's there helping out) and Kristen and probably Rick and all of my CBB kids and NFTY kids have been evacuated and I want to help but there's nothing I can do and it just makes me feel helpless =(
...but, that's not the reason I'm posting. I'm posting because I finally managed another significantly lengthy ride. I basically did the Victory to Topanga to the water and back over Sepulveda ride, but I made some slight route changes (they didn't really do much to the mileage, but they did loads for my sanity) - for one, I stayed on the Orange Line bike path and so I cut out some of the street-riding on Victory, which was nice. I also stayed on PCH until I got to the Santa Monica pier and then I took Santa Monica Blvd to Sepulveda, which cut out Sunset (godsend, Sunset is a BITCH - full of cars and potholes and hills and just generally unpleasant). Also, while I was on PCH I saw dolphins! My first LA dolphins, I haven't seen any here yet. They were really close to the beach too, I was kind of surprised.
Right. I also biked to work on Wednesday and forgot to mention it on here.
totals:
05.06.09 - 8.3 miles via bike, reg. work commute
05.08.09 - 52.0 miles via bike, wahoo!!
...but, that's not the reason I'm posting. I'm posting because I finally managed another significantly lengthy ride. I basically did the Victory to Topanga to the water and back over Sepulveda ride, but I made some slight route changes (they didn't really do much to the mileage, but they did loads for my sanity) - for one, I stayed on the Orange Line bike path and so I cut out some of the street-riding on Victory, which was nice. I also stayed on PCH until I got to the Santa Monica pier and then I took Santa Monica Blvd to Sepulveda, which cut out Sunset (godsend, Sunset is a BITCH - full of cars and potholes and hills and just generally unpleasant). Also, while I was on PCH I saw dolphins! My first LA dolphins, I haven't seen any here yet. They were really close to the beach too, I was kind of surprised.
Right. I also biked to work on Wednesday and forgot to mention it on here.
totals:
05.06.09 - 8.3 miles via bike, reg. work commute
05.08.09 - 52.0 miles via bike, wahoo!!
Tuesday
05.05.09
This morning's ride was full of interactions with people, which is weird for me - usually when I'm biking people tend to leave me alone.
I was planning on leaving the house around 8 am and doing a three hour-ish ride before heading to a meeting I had in Malibu, but I woke up feeling awkwardly nauseous and had to sit around for an hour and a half and drink tea and eat toast before I felt like I could actually GO anywhere. I ended up heading toward Griffith Park. About 5 miles in, I was passed by an old guy who then proceeded to bike JUST a little slower than my pace. I stayed behind him 'cause I didn't want to leapfrog all the way to G.Park, and eventually we started talking. He's 72, his name is Richard, and he's really nice! He gave me the card for a bike shop he frequents and he showed me a new bike path that I swear I've passed fourteen times and never even noticed! He was meeting up with some friends of his so we split ways. On my way home I got stopped by a dude in a car who was looking for some store (and hadn't gotten te address before leaving his house? Weirdo.) Anyway. Lots of interactions.
Total: 24.5 miles via bike
I was planning on leaving the house around 8 am and doing a three hour-ish ride before heading to a meeting I had in Malibu, but I woke up feeling awkwardly nauseous and had to sit around for an hour and a half and drink tea and eat toast before I felt like I could actually GO anywhere. I ended up heading toward Griffith Park. About 5 miles in, I was passed by an old guy who then proceeded to bike JUST a little slower than my pace. I stayed behind him 'cause I didn't want to leapfrog all the way to G.Park, and eventually we started talking. He's 72, his name is Richard, and he's really nice! He gave me the card for a bike shop he frequents and he showed me a new bike path that I swear I've passed fourteen times and never even noticed! He was meeting up with some friends of his so we split ways. On my way home I got stopped by a dude in a car who was looking for some store (and hadn't gotten te address before leaving his house? Weirdo.) Anyway. Lots of interactions.
Total: 24.5 miles via bike
Monday
05.04.09
Quick post before bedtime: did a short ride before heading to work today and also did the bike-to-work commute, so ended with a 24-mile day - if only I could get myself to do that + 10 miles every day this week, I'd at least be almost at where I need to be mileage-wise. I'm nowhere near where I need to be endurance-wise, but life will go on.
The ride is less than a month away, which is TOTALLY surreal. Mostly just exciting though - California coast and best friends, here I come!
total: 24 mils via bike (15 m + an almost immediate 4ish m to work + the 4ish m return home ride at 6pm)
The ride is less than a month away, which is TOTALLY surreal. Mostly just exciting though - California coast and best friends, here I come!
total: 24 mils via bike (15 m + an almost immediate 4ish m to work + the 4ish m return home ride at 6pm)
Sunday
05.03.09
Gah. I am such a failure at getting on my bike this last week. I hang my head in shame.
Long story short I was going to go on a bike ride but roommate plans changed and I ended up at Costco for an hour smack dab in the middle of when I would have been out on the road. Biking failure.
I did however manage to get out on a run this afternoon. When Matt was here on Friday we discovered a tunnel off of Ethel that runs under the 101 to the neighborhood area on the other side, so I ran through there (usually I head the other way, further into the valley).
Total: 4.31 miles via my own two feet (in almost exactly 50 minutes - I am SUCH a slow runner)
Long story short I was going to go on a bike ride but roommate plans changed and I ended up at Costco for an hour smack dab in the middle of when I would have been out on the road. Biking failure.
I did however manage to get out on a run this afternoon. When Matt was here on Friday we discovered a tunnel off of Ethel that runs under the 101 to the neighborhood area on the other side, so I ran through there (usually I head the other way, further into the valley).
Total: 4.31 miles via my own two feet (in almost exactly 50 minutes - I am SUCH a slow runner)
Thursday
technically 04.30.09
Today was odd. I set an alarm for 5:45 am and then five-minute snoozed until 7:45 am and then procrastinated further (I theoretically was going to go on a bike ride this morning) and eventually wound up on skype with Dave for a LONG time, after which I was in such a good mood that I went on a 5 mile run (which, as I have mentioned before) is a very long run for me.
Also, I forgot to mention Monday and Tuesday's rides. Because they were minuscule. I'll put them in the list anyhow to make myself feel less useless.
04.27.09 total: 8.3 mile work commut
04.28.09 total: 4 (yes, really) miles. To and from a bar. Yes. Really.
04.29.09 (aka today) total: 5 mile run
Also, I forgot to mention Monday and Tuesday's rides. Because they were minuscule. I'll put them in the list anyhow to make myself feel less useless.
04.27.09 total: 8.3 mile work commut
04.28.09 total: 4 (yes, really) miles. To and from a bar. Yes. Really.
04.29.09 (aka today) total: 5 mile run
Friday
04.24.09
Well. I didn't end up getting a ride in yesterday. I woke up and turned on my computer and started mapping one and then I remembered that I had a conference call to be on at 11:00 am. And that there was no way in hell I was going to be back fro my ride by then. So instead I went on a run. I haven't run in a long time. It wasn't bad at all, though it was also a fairly short run. Either way, I was hell-bent on getting a 50-mile ride in this week.
SO, today I did an almost-50 mile loop over Topanga Canyon and then back home via Sunset/Sepulveda. It was a good ride with lots of uphill and LOTS Of downhill (whee!) and I think I gave myself enough time and drank enough water and ate enough food that I'm not going to be completely waylaid for the rest of the day. Which is a good thing, since I really need to figure out what I'm doing with my CBB kids tomorrow (we're having a synagogue sleepover, oy).
04.23.09 total: 3.0 miles ruuunning
4.24.09 total: 47.15 miles on bike
SO, today I did an almost-50 mile loop over Topanga Canyon and then back home via Sunset/Sepulveda. It was a good ride with lots of uphill and LOTS Of downhill (whee!) and I think I gave myself enough time and drank enough water and ate enough food that I'm not going to be completely waylaid for the rest of the day. Which is a good thing, since I really need to figure out what I'm doing with my CBB kids tomorrow (we're having a synagogue sleepover, oy).
04.23.09 total: 3.0 miles ruuunning
4.24.09 total: 47.15 miles on bike
Wednesday
04.22.09
YAAAWWWWNNN.
So I biked a total of 45 miles today, which is ALmost what I wanted to do, but only by accident. I wanted to try and do 50 today and 50 tomorrow (and that isn't even really enough, I should be up to 70-mile rides by now (oy)) Yes. That was a double parenthesis. Anyhow, the reason the 45 miles was by accident is because it wasn't all in a row. I did 34 miles this morning, came home and ate a bit, biked to work and set up my computer and stuff, THEN biked to Mel's (diner, not the person) and had lunch with a couple of my TYG advisors and THEN biked BACK to the office and then biked home. So I don't feel like it was a real ride but it was. Kind of.
Either way, I will go on a ride tomorrow as well and maybe even one on Friday and MAYBE, depending on whether I feel like stuffing my bike into the backseat of my car, one on Saturday morning IN SANTA BARBARA. I miss riding in SB, I really really do. A lot.
total: 45 miles via bike (broken up into 35, 4, 1ish, 1ish, and 4)
So I biked a total of 45 miles today, which is ALmost what I wanted to do, but only by accident. I wanted to try and do 50 today and 50 tomorrow (and that isn't even really enough, I should be up to 70-mile rides by now (oy)) Yes. That was a double parenthesis. Anyhow, the reason the 45 miles was by accident is because it wasn't all in a row. I did 34 miles this morning, came home and ate a bit, biked to work and set up my computer and stuff, THEN biked to Mel's (diner, not the person) and had lunch with a couple of my TYG advisors and THEN biked BACK to the office and then biked home. So I don't feel like it was a real ride but it was. Kind of.
Either way, I will go on a ride tomorrow as well and maybe even one on Friday and MAYBE, depending on whether I feel like stuffing my bike into the backseat of my car, one on Saturday morning IN SANTA BARBARA. I miss riding in SB, I really really do. A lot.
total: 45 miles via bike (broken up into 35, 4, 1ish, 1ish, and 4)
Thursday
04.16.09
I did it!
I got up in the middle of the dark, biked to the meeting point, did a ride with the "East Side Posse" as they call themselves (which really just means they're ALCers who meet up at a Coffee Bean on the 'east side'..maybe of Griffith Park? I don't know what kind of East Side they're talking about). Anyhow - I'd done this ride with them once before and I drove my bike to the starting point, but I really don't like driving to bike so I'd been meaning to actually BIKE to the starting point but the ride meets at 6:30 and the meeting spot is a good 13 miles away from me, so as you can imagine, there is some motivation required to wake up at 4:45 am and hop onto a bike in the dark (yes mom I have a back and front light =) The upshot of this is that a) there are NO cars on the road at five am and all of the lights stay green for me and b) I rode 39 miles before 9:30 am.
total: 39 miles via bike (part of which was a massive ugly hill of pain and anguish)
I got up in the middle of the dark, biked to the meeting point, did a ride with the "East Side Posse" as they call themselves (which really just means they're ALCers who meet up at a Coffee Bean on the 'east side'..maybe of Griffith Park? I don't know what kind of East Side they're talking about). Anyhow - I'd done this ride with them once before and I drove my bike to the starting point, but I really don't like driving to bike so I'd been meaning to actually BIKE to the starting point but the ride meets at 6:30 and the meeting spot is a good 13 miles away from me, so as you can imagine, there is some motivation required to wake up at 4:45 am and hop onto a bike in the dark (yes mom I have a back and front light =) The upshot of this is that a) there are NO cars on the road at five am and all of the lights stay green for me and b) I rode 39 miles before 9:30 am.
total: 39 miles via bike (part of which was a massive ugly hill of pain and anguish)
Wednesday
04.15.09
Happy turn-in-your-taxes day!
So I didn't post yesterday but I actually managed to get myself out of bed at 6:23 am and bike into Griffith Park and back - I biked past the Zoo and up to the point where you continue to Crystal Springs Dr. or whatever and then turned around (I did need to go into work yesterday or I would have gone further).
I was going to do something similar this morning but when my alarm went off I didn't have the motivation to...I'm going on a hike with Mel though, so it kind of counts for crosstraining? I really need to bike more during the week, since I'm losing all of my weekends. Sigh.
04.14.09: 20.0 miles via bike
So I didn't post yesterday but I actually managed to get myself out of bed at 6:23 am and bike into Griffith Park and back - I biked past the Zoo and up to the point where you continue to Crystal Springs Dr. or whatever and then turned around (I did need to go into work yesterday or I would have gone further).
I was going to do something similar this morning but when my alarm went off I didn't have the motivation to...I'm going on a hike with Mel though, so it kind of counts for crosstraining? I really need to bike more during the week, since I'm losing all of my weekends. Sigh.
04.14.09: 20.0 miles via bike
Sunday
04.12.09
Posting from sunny Santa Cruz and my sister's definition-of-a college apartment - leaky bathroom sink and all. I drove up on Wednesday for Passover and took some extra time to detox with Tatty. It's kind of lame that I don't know the next time we'll be living in the same city, we're good for each other. Either way, my aunt Sue lent me her (beautiful gorgeous well-kept three-steps-up-from-my) bike so that T and I could go on a couple of rides (Tatty's joining me on the ride this year so I wanted to train with her at least a teensy bit).
Our first ride was a short one; we mostly just wandered around S.Cruz for a little over an hour. It was still definitely nice to get out on the road though, especially on a bike as nice as Sues. It reminded me of how much I need to be thinking about saving a bit of my next couple of paychecks for a pre-ALC tune-up trip to the bike shop with my poor bruised and battered biiicycle.
This morning we grabbed Tatty's boyfriend Graham and the three of us ventured out on a bit longer ride - took the 1 north past Davenport to a road that Tatty had heard about from Sue. We wandered down that road for a bit and then took a break before wandering back. 'Twas nie to get out and the weather is absolutely GORgeous today. I'm not excited about the amount of time I'm going to be spending in the car on such a beautiful day, but it's time to get back - too much to do, the real world awaits.
04.08.09 miles: 11.6 via bike
04.12.09 miles: 31.8 via bike
Our first ride was a short one; we mostly just wandered around S.Cruz for a little over an hour. It was still definitely nice to get out on the road though, especially on a bike as nice as Sues. It reminded me of how much I need to be thinking about saving a bit of my next couple of paychecks for a pre-ALC tune-up trip to the bike shop with my poor bruised and battered biiicycle.
This morning we grabbed Tatty's boyfriend Graham and the three of us ventured out on a bit longer ride - took the 1 north past Davenport to a road that Tatty had heard about from Sue. We wandered down that road for a bit and then took a break before wandering back. 'Twas nie to get out and the weather is absolutely GORgeous today. I'm not excited about the amount of time I'm going to be spending in the car on such a beautiful day, but it's time to get back - too much to do, the real world awaits.
04.08.09 miles: 11.6 via bike
04.12.09 miles: 31.8 via bike
Monday
04.06.09
Today sucked a little bit. I think I was still recovering (bad sign! bad sign!) from yesterday's ride, and as a result I was sluggish all morning and REALLY didn't want to get on the bike and go to work today. However, I forced myself to anyway, since I'm going to be in Santa Cruz for the larger half of this week and will not be able to bike much of anywhere. I left work a bit early so that I'd have time to drop off my backpack and wander down Riverside - I wanted to see if I could actually find Griffith Park. Mission accomplished.
totals: 24 miles biked (8.3 for commute and 16 for post-work Griffith Park discovery mission)
totals: 24 miles biked (8.3 for commute and 16 for post-work Griffith Park discovery mission)
Sunday
04.05.09
I AM POOPED. But if I don't document now I won't get around to it until three days from now and then I'll feel lame.
In short, I finally managed to plan and execute a 50+ mile ride in the Valley! I used Tyler's house and Michelle's house as my points to get to and then connected the dots - Sherman Oaks to Tujunga to Chatsworth and back to Sherman Oaks. Some significant climbing in the beginning and a nice happy downhill. Multiple water (and consequently urination) stops. Still managed to get myself a headache, lame.
Also, on Friday (04.03.09) I added a bit onto my end-of-day commute home, which brought my total ride-mileage to 19.5. I would have ridden much more this week but I was at security training in Pennsylvania (no I am not kidding). I feel like SOME of that journey has to count as cross-training though, we were punching the stuffin' out of some of those pillows! My pecs hurt for day afterward.
Totals:
04.03.09 - 19.5 miles via bike (4 in the am, the rest in the pm)
04.05.09 - 54.5 miles via bike (avg 14.2 mph, which is really good for me!)
In short, I finally managed to plan and execute a 50+ mile ride in the Valley! I used Tyler's house and Michelle's house as my points to get to and then connected the dots - Sherman Oaks to Tujunga to Chatsworth and back to Sherman Oaks. Some significant climbing in the beginning and a nice happy downhill. Multiple water (and consequently urination) stops. Still managed to get myself a headache, lame.
Also, on Friday (04.03.09) I added a bit onto my end-of-day commute home, which brought my total ride-mileage to 19.5. I would have ridden much more this week but I was at security training in Pennsylvania (no I am not kidding). I feel like SOME of that journey has to count as cross-training though, we were punching the stuffin' out of some of those pillows! My pecs hurt for day afterward.
Totals:
04.03.09 - 19.5 miles via bike (4 in the am, the rest in the pm)
04.05.09 - 54.5 miles via bike (avg 14.2 mph, which is really good for me!)
Saturday
03.28.09
So I was supposed to go on a third ALC training ride yesterday but apparently all of these early mornings gave me the beginnings of a cold, and since I'm flying to the East coast tomorrow for work schtuff I decided that I'd take the beginning of Shabbat to heart and rest up.
As a result, I was able to get up and do a wonderfully pleasant ride this morning-ish (didn't start until 11 am, which I was totally okay with) through the Valley. Started at home and googlemap-ed my way to the general vicinity of Michelle's house in Chatsworth, mostly to prove that I could bike to her house if I really wanted to. The ride was pretty flat and pretty strightforward, maybe five turns total and all major streets, but it was a longer ride than I'd done recently so it still had merit. Not to mention that I STILL have a headache three hours later (which I'm fairly accustomed to, it happens when I don't properly hydrate. Both Angie and Matt tend to yell at me for this (which is totally legit), to which I generally reply 'but I THOUGHT I was drinking enough?!' And I did. As usual. Lame.) I'm just not used to the heat I think. Excuses excuses. The majority of the pounding throbbing part is gone, so I'll be fine. I just need about another gallon of water =)
totals: 37.08 miles via bike (wahoo!)
As a result, I was able to get up and do a wonderfully pleasant ride this morning-ish (didn't start until 11 am, which I was totally okay with) through the Valley. Started at home and googlemap-ed my way to the general vicinity of Michelle's house in Chatsworth, mostly to prove that I could bike to her house if I really wanted to. The ride was pretty flat and pretty strightforward, maybe five turns total and all major streets, but it was a longer ride than I'd done recently so it still had merit. Not to mention that I STILL have a headache three hours later (which I'm fairly accustomed to, it happens when I don't properly hydrate. Both Angie and Matt tend to yell at me for this (which is totally legit), to which I generally reply 'but I THOUGHT I was drinking enough?!' And I did. As usual. Lame.) I'm just not used to the heat I think. Excuses excuses. The majority of the pounding throbbing part is gone, so I'll be fine. I just need about another gallon of water =)
totals: 37.08 miles via bike (wahoo!)
Thursday
03.26.09
Yesterday was the perfect day.
Woke up at 5:30 AM, stuffed my bike into the backseat of my GTI, drove to West Hollywood, biked Nichols Canyon (Creek? You never know here) with an ALC training group, came home and showered, dealt with work email...basically the day continues in pleasant fashion. The point is that a 11-mile bike ride up and hill and back down it was a WONDERFUL start to my day. I think I'm going to make this one of my every-week rides.
Today I did much the same thing except I'd left my bike in the car from the day before so there was no stuffage needed and I drove to Los Feliz instead of West Hollywood and biked Griffith Park instead of Nichols Canyon/Creek.
Biking really will save my soul.
03.25.09: 11 miles biked
today: 12.5 miles biked
...and while these may sound like piddly little numbers mileage-wise, there was SIGNIFICANT more-than-two-miles-of-climbing intergrated into each ride. So there.
Woke up at 5:30 AM, stuffed my bike into the backseat of my GTI, drove to West Hollywood, biked Nichols Canyon (Creek? You never know here) with an ALC training group, came home and showered, dealt with work email...basically the day continues in pleasant fashion. The point is that a 11-mile bike ride up and hill and back down it was a WONDERFUL start to my day. I think I'm going to make this one of my every-week rides.
Today I did much the same thing except I'd left my bike in the car from the day before so there was no stuffage needed and I drove to Los Feliz instead of West Hollywood and biked Griffith Park instead of Nichols Canyon/Creek.
Biking really will save my soul.
03.25.09: 11 miles biked
today: 12.5 miles biked
...and while these may sound like piddly little numbers mileage-wise, there was SIGNIFICANT more-than-two-miles-of-climbing intergrated into each ride. So there.
Tuesday
03.24.09
Biked to work on Friday but didn't record it:
03.20.09 = 8.3 miles bike
Yesterday was really really windy and Mel had stayed over the night before and needed a ride home anyhow, so I drove to work, which I never do on Mondays usually. It turned out to be a good thing because I had a meeting I'd forgotten I was having and it was nice to be in real-person clothing rather than the getup I wear in the office when I bike in (which is bike clothes under oversized jeans + Polish slippers + an XL balck hooded sweatshirt with R.C.V.P. on the front, D.A.R.E-style from when Jer was RC.)
Today was much less windy and a balmy 77 degrees, and on my way home from work on my bike I decided that there was still some sun left in the day so I dropped my backpack off at home and just continued down the street I live on (Riverside) for about 6 miles and turned around and came back. I like doing that. Going straight on a street for a long time is beautifully mind-numbing, and you usually end up somewhere interesting, and it's fun to see what kinds of things are further down a street you've only seen a little bit of.
Tomorrow I have RSVPed for a real live ALC training ride (something I've been meaning to do for looong time now) at 6:30 am. Gah.
total miles biked 03.24.09: 21 (8.3 counts as my commute, the rest counts as exploration =)
03.20.09 = 8.3 miles bike
Yesterday was really really windy and Mel had stayed over the night before and needed a ride home anyhow, so I drove to work, which I never do on Mondays usually. It turned out to be a good thing because I had a meeting I'd forgotten I was having and it was nice to be in real-person clothing rather than the getup I wear in the office when I bike in (which is bike clothes under oversized jeans + Polish slippers + an XL balck hooded sweatshirt with R.C.V.P. on the front, D.A.R.E-style from when Jer was RC.)
Today was much less windy and a balmy 77 degrees, and on my way home from work on my bike I decided that there was still some sun left in the day so I dropped my backpack off at home and just continued down the street I live on (Riverside) for about 6 miles and turned around and came back. I like doing that. Going straight on a street for a long time is beautifully mind-numbing, and you usually end up somewhere interesting, and it's fun to see what kinds of things are further down a street you've only seen a little bit of.
Tomorrow I have RSVPed for a real live ALC training ride (something I've been meaning to do for looong time now) at 6:30 am. Gah.
total miles biked 03.24.09: 21 (8.3 counts as my commute, the rest counts as exploration =)
Thursday
03.19.09
Today was a feel-empty day. I'm just not on top of my game recently. Not sure if it's the URJ stuff or general slump-ness, but I need a kick or something.
Just the general work commute for movement today: 8.3 miles via bike
::sigh::
Just the general work commute for movement today: 8.3 miles via bike
::sigh::
Wednesday
03.18.09 (with news from 03.11.09!)
Sometimes I'm inexplicably lazy about the most random things. I forgot to post my run last Wednesday and it's taken until today to actually sit down and post.
Here goes:
1. A week ago today I did my first 5 mile run (!) in almost two years. It was quite the accomplishment. I'm still proud of myself a week later. (Coldwater to Burbank to Hazeltine to Riverside to home.) I almost ran all the way to Melanie's, I probably could sometime if I plan it out.
2. This morning Mel and I went on a morning hike up to Eagle Rock. We got to see a herd of deer right at the beginning of the trail and then about 500 m from the beginning of the end of the trail, there was a RATTLESNAKE!!! The first one I've ever seen on a trail; Mel heard it and jumped ahead on the trail, I heard it and it was still ahead of me so I got to see it slink off into the undergrowth. Scary as fuck. I eventually passed the place where it had been and we continued to the top, but it was quite the adventure!
3. After I came home from work this afternoon I did a fairly short run - I figured I might as well since I was still in my hiking clothes and it's 88 degrees according to Charlotte (my car) which is SO NICE.
Sigh.
Totals:
03.11.09: 5 mile run
03.18.09: 4-ish mile hike, 2.1 mile run
Here goes:
1. A week ago today I did my first 5 mile run (!) in almost two years. It was quite the accomplishment. I'm still proud of myself a week later. (Coldwater to Burbank to Hazeltine to Riverside to home.) I almost ran all the way to Melanie's, I probably could sometime if I plan it out.
2. This morning Mel and I went on a morning hike up to Eagle Rock. We got to see a herd of deer right at the beginning of the trail and then about 500 m from the beginning of the end of the trail, there was a RATTLESNAKE!!! The first one I've ever seen on a trail; Mel heard it and jumped ahead on the trail, I heard it and it was still ahead of me so I got to see it slink off into the undergrowth. Scary as fuck. I eventually passed the place where it had been and we continued to the top, but it was quite the adventure!
3. After I came home from work this afternoon I did a fairly short run - I figured I might as well since I was still in my hiking clothes and it's 88 degrees according to Charlotte (my car) which is SO NICE.
Sigh.
Totals:
03.11.09: 5 mile run
03.18.09: 4-ish mile hike, 2.1 mile run
Tuesday
03.10.09
Listening to one of the mixes my Regional Board made me for my birthday. Music is a wonderful gift.
I went on a wonderful run after work today. I maybe could have kept running even. Maybe I'll try tomorrow. It will mean running more than I've run in a long time, because today I ran 4 miles which I've considered a fairly 'real' run for awhile now.
Also, I forgot to post my work commute yesterday, so I'll include that here too.
03.09.09 - miles biked: 8.3
03.10.09 - miles bikes: 8.3, miles ran 4.0
I went on a wonderful run after work today. I maybe could have kept running even. Maybe I'll try tomorrow. It will mean running more than I've run in a long time, because today I ran 4 miles which I've considered a fairly 'real' run for awhile now.
Also, I forgot to post my work commute yesterday, so I'll include that here too.
03.09.09 - miles biked: 8.3
03.10.09 - miles bikes: 8.3, miles ran 4.0
Sunday
03.08.09
Mmm. I'm feeling fairly content right now.
This morning was daylights savings (a fact I was not reminded of until about 11:00 PM last night while out to dinner with friends for a birthday) so I got a bit less sleep than I would have liked to.
This made my car-packing a little comical this morning. Today was the Purim carnival at Santa Monica Synagogue, so I didn't have to teach so much as supervise. Additional perks included free pizza and hamentashen and 1/2-hour early dismissal. In light of all of this, I had decided that today would be a great day for a post-teaching bike ride with my co-teacher Daniel. Which brings me back to the car-packing. Overtired Dustys should really refrain from attempting to stuff bikes into small cars.
Either way, I got both myself and my bike to Santa Monica in one piece, did the Purim thing, and then Daniel and I rode down to the water and over to Manhattan Beach and back. Daniel hasn't really ridden all that recently, so we took it a bit slower than I usually would, but as a result I'm not in pain! After yesterday's hills, it was really nice to just chill out and dodge pedestrians for a bit.
Total: 30.44 miles!
That's three days of biking in a row - FINALLY! Truth be told, I'm mostly just preparing for when Kate comes to visit. I don't anticipate much EXERcise while she's visiting, she's not huge on movement for the sake of movement. Which is okay with me as long as I prepare for it.
This morning was daylights savings (a fact I was not reminded of until about 11:00 PM last night while out to dinner with friends for a birthday) so I got a bit less sleep than I would have liked to.
This made my car-packing a little comical this morning. Today was the Purim carnival at Santa Monica Synagogue, so I didn't have to teach so much as supervise. Additional perks included free pizza and hamentashen and 1/2-hour early dismissal. In light of all of this, I had decided that today would be a great day for a post-teaching bike ride with my co-teacher Daniel. Which brings me back to the car-packing. Overtired Dustys should really refrain from attempting to stuff bikes into small cars.
Either way, I got both myself and my bike to Santa Monica in one piece, did the Purim thing, and then Daniel and I rode down to the water and over to Manhattan Beach and back. Daniel hasn't really ridden all that recently, so we took it a bit slower than I usually would, but as a result I'm not in pain! After yesterday's hills, it was really nice to just chill out and dodge pedestrians for a bit.
Total: 30.44 miles!
That's three days of biking in a row - FINALLY! Truth be told, I'm mostly just preparing for when Kate comes to visit. I don't anticipate much EXERcise while she's visiting, she's not huge on movement for the sake of movement. Which is okay with me as long as I prepare for it.
Saturday
03.07.09
Well. Today was supposed to be my try-out-a-route-in-my-1992-"Touring the Los Angeles Area by Bicycle"-book-day, and try I did. Unfortunately, I missed a turn somewhere 15ish miles in and ended up coming back via a totally different route...which was actually okay because the route went straight up and down mountains. That's maybe a bit of an exaggeration but truly, there were some HUGE, LONG, WINDY ups. My body is legit tired and it wasn't even that long of a ride! Great reminder that I need to start doing this more regularly though.
Also, I was graced by the sight of roadkill skunks not once but twice. Yum. And by yum I mean gross.
Total movement: 26.37 miles via bike (Coldwater to Sunset to Sepulveda, basically)
Also, I was graced by the sight of roadkill skunks not once but twice. Yum. And by yum I mean gross.
Total movement: 26.37 miles via bike (Coldwater to Sunset to Sepulveda, basically)
Friday
03.06.09
Well. After three days of letting my body recuperate from its short but angry 'fever-and-headache-and-sore-throat-and STOP OVERWORKING YOURSELF' stint, I decided enough is enough and went on a bike ride this morning. My thought process went like this: "If I bike down Coldwater Canyon and then eventually turn L and then eventually turn L again, I'll end up back in my world!" Right. Not exactly.
Things I learned today:
1. Laurel Canyon, which I previously thought ran parallel to Coldwater Canyon, in fact CROSSES Coldwater Canyon.
2. Van Nuys Blvd. is a LONG street. Not straight, but long. And it was the only street I recognized while minorly confused out in the boonies of San Fernando.
3. When you go on a bike ride at 8:30 AM, don't expect any bike shops to be open to help with directions - they aren't open until 10:00 AM. Duh.
All in all it was actually a really fun ride - I got to explore a new part of the Valley (though a different part than I thought I was exploring, go figure) and there are some nice quiet streets if you go out far enough.
Route: Coldwater toward Magnolia, L on Glenoaks, L on Maclay, L on Laurel Canyon, R on Van Nuys, L on Woodman aaaall the way back to L on Riverside.
Totals: 23.57 miles for the mornin + regular 8.3 mile work jaunt.
Things I learned today:
1. Laurel Canyon, which I previously thought ran parallel to Coldwater Canyon, in fact CROSSES Coldwater Canyon.
2. Van Nuys Blvd. is a LONG street. Not straight, but long. And it was the only street I recognized while minorly confused out in the boonies of San Fernando.
3. When you go on a bike ride at 8:30 AM, don't expect any bike shops to be open to help with directions - they aren't open until 10:00 AM. Duh.
All in all it was actually a really fun ride - I got to explore a new part of the Valley (though a different part than I thought I was exploring, go figure) and there are some nice quiet streets if you go out far enough.
Route: Coldwater toward Magnolia, L on Glenoaks, L on Maclay, L on Laurel Canyon, R on Van Nuys, L on Woodman aaaall the way back to L on Riverside.
Totals: 23.57 miles for the mornin + regular 8.3 mile work jaunt.
Tuesday
03.03.09
Hoping to get back into the swing of things now that it's March, I went on a 4 mile run last night which was quite pleasant, except that then I woke up this morning with a sore throat and REALLY don't want to get sick so I'm going to not bike in to work today which makes me a little sad because I was kind of excited to start biking in regularly again. However, I MAY ask David if I can stay at his house on Thursday night and bike on Friday morning - I teach in Santa Monica on Thursday afternoons and this Friday is our 4th and 5th grade family shabbat so I'd just have to drive straight back to Santa Monica. And on a Friday afternoon? Yeuch. Plus, maybe I can trick him into helping me with my taxes....
Anyhow:
2/24/09: forgot to mention it, 8.3 mile bike - work commute
3/2/09: 4 mile run (riverside to woodman to magnolia to hazeltine back to riverside and home again home again jiggity jig.)
Anyhow:
2/24/09: forgot to mention it, 8.3 mile bike - work commute
3/2/09: 4 mile run (riverside to woodman to magnolia to hazeltine back to riverside and home again home again jiggity jig.)
Monday
02.23.09
Sad. It's actually been over two weeks since I moved. Shame on me! To be fair, I've been out of town and doing lots of worky thingys and kind of didn't have time. Still, I should probably have found some time, cuz it only takes three seconds to get out of the habit and so much longer to get back into it.
I am pleased to say, however, that I DID move this weekend - Sarah and Angie were in town for my birthday (yahoo!!) and we went on a legit hike. Well, not Dave-legit, but most other people legit. It was slow but steady uphill 1 1/2 hours and then back down; we're estimating around 6 miles, but it for sure could have been more or less. All I know is that when we were done we were tired and muddy and I felt SO much better than I had in weeks.
And! For the first time in over two weeks, I actually had time to bike to work! Yay!
So: 2/21/09 = 6 mile hike
2/23/09 = 8.3 mile bike
I am pleased to say, however, that I DID move this weekend - Sarah and Angie were in town for my birthday (yahoo!!) and we went on a legit hike. Well, not Dave-legit, but most other people legit. It was slow but steady uphill 1 1/2 hours and then back down; we're estimating around 6 miles, but it for sure could have been more or less. All I know is that when we were done we were tired and muddy and I felt SO much better than I had in weeks.
And! For the first time in over two weeks, I actually had time to bike to work! Yay!
So: 2/21/09 = 6 mile hike
2/23/09 = 8.3 mile bike
Saturday
technically 02.07.09
I am POOPED, but if I don't document this now I may forget to and I am too damn proud of myself to not document it:
On Thursday I biked my Carp route backwards in the rain. Not literally backwards, obviously - I just mean I started in Carp rather than in IV. It was pouring the entire time, took a full hour for me to regain feeling in my feet afterwords (no exageration, it was legitimately frightening), and I averaged something like 14.5 mph, which is ridiculously normal considering the circumstances.
01.05.09: total miles biked = 50.36
Booyah.
On Thursday I biked my Carp route backwards in the rain. Not literally backwards, obviously - I just mean I started in Carp rather than in IV. It was pouring the entire time, took a full hour for me to regain feeling in my feet afterwords (no exageration, it was legitimately frightening), and I averaged something like 14.5 mph, which is ridiculously normal considering the circumstances.
01.05.09: total miles biked = 50.36
Booyah.
Tuesday
02.03.09
This month sucks. I need Hermione's turn-back-time doo-hickey from Harry Potter, there are not currently enough hours in the day.
So after my non-biking weekend that was supposed to be bike-FILLED, I decided that it was NECESSARY that I bike to work this week. Which I have done. And while it is good that I have been riding, I'm thinking maybe the powers that be are trying to tell me something:
1. Yesterday's bike ride was uneventful except that as I was leaving the house in the morning I noticed that the front of my rear bike light had fallen off. It still worked so I didn't worry too much about it. There's daylight in the morning.
Then I got back to my bike in the evening after it was dark and a new piece was missing from my bike light - the battery. Which mean that I no longer have front OR rear bike lights. Pretty much my mother's nightmare.
I then called her and told her that my birthday present should be bike lights, for my safety and her sanity.
2. On the way to work this morning I fell. I was moving from the street onto the sidewalk to avoid a large number of angry about-to-get-on-the-405 cars and I moved over to get onto the sidewalk and there was a little lip in the pavement and my wheel got caught in the groove and down I went. I fell away from traffic and I wasn't moving fast, but I also haven't fallen off of a bike in awhile, so it was kind of lame. I have a nice battle wound on my right side-thigh. Yummy.
Tomorrow I have to drive to work because it's SB day, but I'm taking my bike with me, staying at Kristen's tomorrow night, and doing an SB ride on Thursday morning before heading back to LA. Maybe not the smartest decision time-wise (as I don't HAVE any time) but I've been craving a Carp ride so screw it, sometimes you just have to itch a scratch. Scratch an itch?
02/02/09: 8.3 m bike
02/03/09: 8.3 m bike
So after my non-biking weekend that was supposed to be bike-FILLED, I decided that it was NECESSARY that I bike to work this week. Which I have done. And while it is good that I have been riding, I'm thinking maybe the powers that be are trying to tell me something:
1. Yesterday's bike ride was uneventful except that as I was leaving the house in the morning I noticed that the front of my rear bike light had fallen off. It still worked so I didn't worry too much about it. There's daylight in the morning.
Then I got back to my bike in the evening after it was dark and a new piece was missing from my bike light - the battery. Which mean that I no longer have front OR rear bike lights. Pretty much my mother's nightmare.
I then called her and told her that my birthday present should be bike lights, for my safety and her sanity.
2. On the way to work this morning I fell. I was moving from the street onto the sidewalk to avoid a large number of angry about-to-get-on-the-405 cars and I moved over to get onto the sidewalk and there was a little lip in the pavement and my wheel got caught in the groove and down I went. I fell away from traffic and I wasn't moving fast, but I also haven't fallen off of a bike in awhile, so it was kind of lame. I have a nice battle wound on my right side-thigh. Yummy.
Tomorrow I have to drive to work because it's SB day, but I'm taking my bike with me, staying at Kristen's tomorrow night, and doing an SB ride on Thursday morning before heading back to LA. Maybe not the smartest decision time-wise (as I don't HAVE any time) but I've been craving a Carp ride so screw it, sometimes you just have to itch a scratch. Scratch an itch?
02/02/09: 8.3 m bike
02/03/09: 8.3 m bike
Saturday
01.31.09
So I woke up this morning and realized that I'd planned to meet up with a friend RIGHT SMACK DAB in the middle of my Saturday-bike-ride opportunity so I went on a run instead. It was less than satisfying. First un-fulfilling run I've had in awhile. And just to mock me, I was passed on the corner of Riverside and Fulton by a group bike ride. Sigh.
Total: 3.0 mile run
Total: 3.0 mile run
Friday
01.30.09
Whew! So I DID, as promised, go on an actual factual bike ride today; Riverside to Woodman, Woodman to the Orange Line, Orange Line (which is a busway and has a bike lane next to it) to Balboa, Balboa to Roscoe, Roscoe to Reseda, Reseda to Victory, Victory around Balboa Park and back along the busway/Orange Line home. And all before noon.
I also biked into the office for a bit, so that puts me at an almost legit amount of ride time for the first time in a loooong time.
Total ride time: 33-ish miles, bike (24.96 - I kid you not, short by .04 miles - in the morning, and my normal 8.3 work commute)
I also biked into the office for a bit, so that puts me at an almost legit amount of ride time for the first time in a loooong time.
Total ride time: 33-ish miles, bike (24.96 - I kid you not, short by .04 miles - in the morning, and my normal 8.3 work commute)
Thursday
01.29.09
Morning run prior to dealing with my day. Nothing yesterday, I got home rather later than I usually do from Santa Barbara.
I feel like I've been half-assing things all week. I HATE feeling like that.
Tomorrow I'm going on a bike ride, dammit.
total: 3.0 m run (yes, a full 3, because I ran the extra short block to the corner of Coldwater and Riverside and back)
I feel like I've been half-assing things all week. I HATE feeling like that.
Tomorrow I'm going on a bike ride, dammit.
total: 3.0 m run (yes, a full 3, because I ran the extra short block to the corner of Coldwater and Riverside and back)
Tuesday
still 01.27.09
I just ran almost four miles! And could have run farther!
It felt good.
I also made a decision. A decision I don't plan to tell anyone about. A decision I hope to maintain without telling anyone.
total movement: 3.87 mile run
It felt good.
I also made a decision. A decision I don't plan to tell anyone about. A decision I hope to maintain without telling anyone.
total movement: 3.87 mile run
01.27.09
It's gotten chilly in the Valley! Not that LA ever gets THAT cold, but I was wearing my long warmers and my jacket biking to work yesterday and I was still kind of cold. I even broke out my long-fingered gloves! Maybe I'm just a wimp. Either way,
1/26/09 - 8.3 m bike
Today I have to drive to San Diego and back for work, which probably means I won't get home until 9 or 10 pm. Seeing as how I have to spend my Wednesday in a car as well, I'm hoping I have the motivation to go on a run tonight.
Either way, I have decided that I am no-excuses-valid going on a REAL bike ride on Friday and maybe Saturday too. When you arrive home from work and wish you could keep on biking past your apt, even WITH your laptop on your back, you know it's time to get a legit ride in.
1/26/09 - 8.3 m bike
Today I have to drive to San Diego and back for work, which probably means I won't get home until 9 or 10 pm. Seeing as how I have to spend my Wednesday in a car as well, I'm hoping I have the motivation to go on a run tonight.
Either way, I have decided that I am no-excuses-valid going on a REAL bike ride on Friday and maybe Saturday too. When you arrive home from work and wish you could keep on biking past your apt, even WITH your laptop on your back, you know it's time to get a legit ride in.
Sunday
01.25.09
You know those days where you get back into bed in the middle of the afternoon with your jeans still on? It's one of those days. I'm feeling lazy.
Biking to work on Friday was an unpleasant experience. I knew it was drippy out, but I thought it was just a little bit drippy. About halfway to work it went from 'a little bit drippy' to 'quite drip-droppy'. I had worn my full-leg biking pants too and had NOT brought a 'normal' pair of pants to change into, so I spent the afternoon in damp biking pants. As I said, unpleasant.
total biked 1/23/09: 8.3 m
I had a board meeting this weekend, so there was no movement to be had. Hopefully I'll work on that in this coming week. I really want to try and get out on an ALC training ride, but I have an odd aversion to driving to a meeting point and THEN riding, so I've been waiting to hear about something happening in my corner of the world. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself.
Biking to work on Friday was an unpleasant experience. I knew it was drippy out, but I thought it was just a little bit drippy. About halfway to work it went from 'a little bit drippy' to 'quite drip-droppy'. I had worn my full-leg biking pants too and had NOT brought a 'normal' pair of pants to change into, so I spent the afternoon in damp biking pants. As I said, unpleasant.
total biked 1/23/09: 8.3 m
I had a board meeting this weekend, so there was no movement to be had. Hopefully I'll work on that in this coming week. I really want to try and get out on an ALC training ride, but I have an odd aversion to driving to a meeting point and THEN riding, so I've been waiting to hear about something happening in my corner of the world. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself.
Thursday
01.22.09
Well. We officially have a new president. Let's see what he can make of this mess. I've got confidence in this one, but people have said that before. I'm proceeding cautiously with my inside-fuzzy-feeling.
I spent this past weekend in Santa Rosa at Camp Newman, helping my regional board run West Coast Party Jr. This means that I did not have a chance to move until last night. It's been kind of cold and drippy down here in SoCal, which I'm not complaining about - it makes for a much more pleasant run. And then I biked to work today.
Someday soon I'm going to have to break out of my 2.87 mile run/8.3 mile roundtrip bike to and from work, or I will be sorely (literally) unprepared to ride 545 miles in June. Maybe I SHOULD join a gym.
Wed. Jan 21st: 2.87 m run
Today thusfar: half of an 8.3 m bike work commute
I spent this past weekend in Santa Rosa at Camp Newman, helping my regional board run West Coast Party Jr. This means that I did not have a chance to move until last night. It's been kind of cold and drippy down here in SoCal, which I'm not complaining about - it makes for a much more pleasant run. And then I biked to work today.
Someday soon I'm going to have to break out of my 2.87 mile run/8.3 mile roundtrip bike to and from work, or I will be sorely (literally) unprepared to ride 545 miles in June. Maybe I SHOULD join a gym.
Wed. Jan 21st: 2.87 m run
Today thusfar: half of an 8.3 m bike work commute
Wednesday
01.14.09
Well then.
Tuesday I biked my regular 8.3 miles roundtrip to work. Then I proceeded to drink a bottle of wine over the course of the late afternoon and early evening. So. That's that.
Today was my lots-of-driving day, but I came home and ran 3.08 miles like a good little Dusty, which was probably smart of me because I'm driving to Santa Rosa tomorrow night and that's a LOT of car time. On the 5. Gah.
Tonight's run was mostly uneventful (which is always good for a nighttime run, eventful usually means something bad happened)...AND I got to see some stars! In LA?! It has to be REAL clear to see stars in Sherman Oaks. I may have almost tripped on a branch due to my stargazing-while-running. Don't judge.
Tuesday I biked my regular 8.3 miles roundtrip to work. Then I proceeded to drink a bottle of wine over the course of the late afternoon and early evening. So. That's that.
Today was my lots-of-driving day, but I came home and ran 3.08 miles like a good little Dusty, which was probably smart of me because I'm driving to Santa Rosa tomorrow night and that's a LOT of car time. On the 5. Gah.
Tonight's run was mostly uneventful (which is always good for a nighttime run, eventful usually means something bad happened)...AND I got to see some stars! In LA?! It has to be REAL clear to see stars in Sherman Oaks. I may have almost tripped on a branch due to my stargazing-while-running. Don't judge.
Monday
01.12.09
work + return trip + Trader Joes + return trip = 11.2 miles.
It was SO warm today. The pleasant comfortable kind of warm. I biked home in the dark in bike shorts and a jersey and was comfortable. In January. LA is craaazy.
In other news, Tatty's on her way to preparing for the ride*. The boyfriend is no longer joining her but SHE'S still in. It always amazes me when people join me on this ride; for some reason I don't feel special for doing the ride, but when people I know make the choice to ride, I find them incredibly special. And not in a 'he's not weird he's special' kind of way, in a 'but you're actually going to take the time to DO this? you must be crazy wonderful!' kind of way.
*AIDS/Lifecycle 8, hereafter referred to as 'the ride' is a 545-mile ride from SF to LA that raises money for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and LA Gay and Lesbian Center, two organizations that provide medication and support for those living with HIV and AIDS and also work to spread awareness about HIV. This is the real reason I'm keeping this blog - it keeps track of my pitiful attempts to quote-unquote train.
It was SO warm today. The pleasant comfortable kind of warm. I biked home in the dark in bike shorts and a jersey and was comfortable. In January. LA is craaazy.
In other news, Tatty's on her way to preparing for the ride*. The boyfriend is no longer joining her but SHE'S still in. It always amazes me when people join me on this ride; for some reason I don't feel special for doing the ride, but when people I know make the choice to ride, I find them incredibly special. And not in a 'he's not weird he's special' kind of way, in a 'but you're actually going to take the time to DO this? you must be crazy wonderful!' kind of way.
*AIDS/Lifecycle 8, hereafter referred to as 'the ride' is a 545-mile ride from SF to LA that raises money for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and LA Gay and Lesbian Center, two organizations that provide medication and support for those living with HIV and AIDS and also work to spread awareness about HIV. This is the real reason I'm keeping this blog - it keeps track of my pitiful attempts to quote-unquote train.
Sunday
technically 01.11.09
Do we sense a pattern here with all of these 'technically's? I don't sleep at normal times. So sue me.
I found a bike path today! Well, that's not entirely true. I knew it was there but I hadn't gotten around to biking it at all, and today I decided that enough was enough, I was a biker, NOT a runner, and I needed a bike ride so there. Just to spite me, it decided to be windy as fuck all morning, so it wasn't as enjoyable a ride as it could have been what with me struggling against invisible obnoxiousness. However, I managed to stay on bike-laned roads and bike paths for most of my ride, which is a major coup in L.A.
16.8 m total for the day. Not impressive, but it's a start. I wish I still had the Santa Monica beach bike path right down the street, that was quite convenient.
I found a bike path today! Well, that's not entirely true. I knew it was there but I hadn't gotten around to biking it at all, and today I decided that enough was enough, I was a biker, NOT a runner, and I needed a bike ride so there. Just to spite me, it decided to be windy as fuck all morning, so it wasn't as enjoyable a ride as it could have been what with me struggling against invisible obnoxiousness. However, I managed to stay on bike-laned roads and bike paths for most of my ride, which is a major coup in L.A.
16.8 m total for the day. Not impressive, but it's a start. I wish I still had the Santa Monica beach bike path right down the street, that was quite convenient.
Saturday
technically 01.10.09
This entry could be titled "Dusty and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". Remember that book? Alexander had a terrible horrible no good very bad day (without even COMMAS!) but by the end of the book it wasn't SO SO bad?
Right. Movement.
1. About halfway through my bike ride to work, my pannier (the little sidebag doohickey people put on the backs of their bikes to carry shit around) fell off of my bike and got run over by a truck. This ruined the hooks that enable the pannier to BE a pannier. So now it's my 'biking backpack'.
Work was stressful and full of upset people. But there was chocolate-chip challah.
2. After work I (quickly) ran errands (on my bike) in order to get home in time to change and find an apartment in which a guy was selling a kitchen table for $20.00. Upon finishing my errands and biking to my doorstep, I realized that I had left my keys at Wells Fargo. The bank is four miles away in treacherous L.A. traffic. And I was going to be late. So I hopped back on my bike (still carrying my newly converted pannier-backpack containing my laptop and various other heavy and awkwardly shaped items such as a pair of dress boots) and went straight to Table Man's house. Table Man is maybe the nicest human being in all of Los Angeles. No. Really. He helped me load the table (hereafter known as LAH aka Large and Heavy) into HIS truck. Then he drove me, my bike, and LAH to the bank, where I collected my keys. THEN he drove me to the apartment and helped my carry LAH up two flights of stairs and into my apartment. At the top of the stairs, I got that feeling you get when you stand up too fast. Except I was already standing up and it didn't go away. And then I got the tunnel hearing thing going too. And in front of a perfect stranger, I had an almost-fainting-spell.
Before he left, we finally introduced himself. Table Man is also known as Pete.
The rest of the day was pretty basic;
3. I ran approximately 1/4 of a mile (whee?) to the drugstore and back and then biked to the grocery store and back and then spent the rest of the night NOT moving.
Total miles traveled:
13.something via bike
.88 via sneaker
courtyard length + two flights of stairs carrying LAH.
Right. Movement.
1. About halfway through my bike ride to work, my pannier (the little sidebag doohickey people put on the backs of their bikes to carry shit around) fell off of my bike and got run over by a truck. This ruined the hooks that enable the pannier to BE a pannier. So now it's my 'biking backpack'.
Work was stressful and full of upset people. But there was chocolate-chip challah.
2. After work I (quickly) ran errands (on my bike) in order to get home in time to change and find an apartment in which a guy was selling a kitchen table for $20.00. Upon finishing my errands and biking to my doorstep, I realized that I had left my keys at Wells Fargo. The bank is four miles away in treacherous L.A. traffic. And I was going to be late. So I hopped back on my bike (still carrying my newly converted pannier-backpack containing my laptop and various other heavy and awkwardly shaped items such as a pair of dress boots) and went straight to Table Man's house. Table Man is maybe the nicest human being in all of Los Angeles. No. Really. He helped me load the table (hereafter known as LAH aka Large and Heavy) into HIS truck. Then he drove me, my bike, and LAH to the bank, where I collected my keys. THEN he drove me to the apartment and helped my carry LAH up two flights of stairs and into my apartment. At the top of the stairs, I got that feeling you get when you stand up too fast. Except I was already standing up and it didn't go away. And then I got the tunnel hearing thing going too. And in front of a perfect stranger, I had an almost-fainting-spell.
Before he left, we finally introduced himself. Table Man is also known as Pete.
The rest of the day was pretty basic;
3. I ran approximately 1/4 of a mile (whee?) to the drugstore and back and then biked to the grocery store and back and then spent the rest of the night NOT moving.
Total miles traveled:
13.something via bike
.88 via sneaker
courtyard length + two flights of stairs carrying LAH.
Thursday
technically 01.08.09
So I actually managed to glean enough self-motivation to go on a run after I got back from Santa Barbara tonight; another 2.87 miles, this may become a habit (gross).
I also bought dental floss, which is much more exciting than it sounds.
Running at 11 pm in Sherman Oaks is definitely not as frightening as running at 11 pm in say, Van Nuys. But Van Nuys is like, a half mile from Sherman Oaks (silly L.A.) so it's all a LITTLE frightening. Initially, I kept seeing something that looked like it could be someone out of the corner of my eye. Then I realized that the various streetlights gave me two shadows instead of one. And to think I used to walk home from the bus stop at midnight without a care in the world in ghetto-turned-Vietnamese South Seattle. At age 14. Hmph.
I also bought dental floss, which is much more exciting than it sounds.
Running at 11 pm in Sherman Oaks is definitely not as frightening as running at 11 pm in say, Van Nuys. But Van Nuys is like, a half mile from Sherman Oaks (silly L.A.) so it's all a LITTLE frightening. Initially, I kept seeing something that looked like it could be someone out of the corner of my eye. Then I realized that the various streetlights gave me two shadows instead of one. And to think I used to walk home from the bus stop at midnight without a care in the world in ghetto-turned-Vietnamese South Seattle. At age 14. Hmph.
Wednesday
01.07.09
Today is a non-movement day. Aside from walking to and from my car, I am stuck IN my car. I drive about 3.5 hours total on Wednesdays. Lame. Apparently, my car-to-office 'journey' is a .43 mile walk one-way. Do we think that counts as exercise?
Tuesday
01.06.09
I have always thought blogging a mildly pointless pasttime. Unless the blog is themed. Themed blogs are exempt. I just tend to stay away from 'life blogs'. The need to share my intimate thoughts about people in my life died somewhere around age 17.
That being said, tonight I inexplicably decided I wanted to start a blog. And I have no theme. Go figure, we are all hypocrites.
Most of these posts will consist of my daily movement documentation. See below.
1. bike to work, roundtrip 8.3 miles.
A note about biking to work in LA - when leaving for work, one should really consider changes in light over the course of the day. I wore all black to work today. And forgot my bike light. The return trip at 5:15 PM after sunset in rush hour traffic was probably not something my mother would have enjoyed watching me do.
2. run, roundtrip six long LA blocks (or 2.87 m, according to walkjogrun.net)
A note about running. I want to hate it. I have hated running for so long that I almost feel an obligation to hate it. But once in awhile I catch myself wanting to go on a run. I am very disappointed in myself.
That being said, tonight I inexplicably decided I wanted to start a blog. And I have no theme. Go figure, we are all hypocrites.
Most of these posts will consist of my daily movement documentation. See below.
1. bike to work, roundtrip 8.3 miles.
A note about biking to work in LA - when leaving for work, one should really consider changes in light over the course of the day. I wore all black to work today. And forgot my bike light. The return trip at 5:15 PM after sunset in rush hour traffic was probably not something my mother would have enjoyed watching me do.
2. run, roundtrip six long LA blocks (or 2.87 m, according to walkjogrun.net)
A note about running. I want to hate it. I have hated running for so long that I almost feel an obligation to hate it. But once in awhile I catch myself wanting to go on a run. I am very disappointed in myself.
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