Digital mm of Fun.......

Desert Road Stop

Magic Paramount Wall

120 mm of Fun......

Port of Long Beach

Seal Beach Brunch

Apple Picking way back in October

More Apple Picking way back in October

Sunday Morning Run

Miles covered: 6.7
Terrain: asphalt, concrete and 2 miles of dirt path
Route: Angeleno Heights to Sunset, left on Parkman, north on Silverlake Blvd, curve left round the reservoir all the way back to Silverlake Blvd back to Sunset and home.


So after yesterday's workout, I completely derailed by eating way too many peanut butter filled pretzels followed by a gargantuan dinner at Carousel. Kebabs, hummus, fried cheese otherwise known as Fatayer and Fatoush Salad. Today my goal is to eat somewhat decent and refrain from stuffing my face.....which is hard because this increase in running is causing an increase in appetite!

I beefed up my iPod with some new tunes to keep me going. You see, as much as I really do love Bon Iver, For Ever Emma Forever Ago just doesn't give me the push I need to keep going. However, Bon Iver as backing vocals to Kanye West's track 'Monster'? Now that is something that is a must on the running playlist. Pop aside, this indie gem by Baltimore based band, Future Islands, really put a smile on my face as I made my way around the end of the reservior:

Heat

Los Angeles has been pretty warm the past couple of days. I braved the heat yesterday and ventured out on a 4.2 mile roundtrip endeavor to the Silverlake Reservoir. However, once I arrived to the entrance to the reservoir I realized that the additional 2 miles around was going to be a bit much in the sun.

I turned around and headed back to Echo Park. I figured I will save the 6.2 mile workout for tomorrow morning. I was going to attempt to do it today but David and I went all out and made killer breakfast burritos this morning. Knowing they would need a bit of time to digest, I was looking at an afternoon run. Unfortunately, the heat came back full swing today and sent me to do some running on the treadmill at the Y instead.

I know that treadmill running is not the most reliable when it comes to timing and pacing, but I let out a minor "boo-yea!" when I was able to break the 10 minute mark on one of my miles (9:41) and run consistently at 10:30 for a couple of other ones. It is crazy though thinking back to being able to run 3.1 miles in 24 minutes back in the day.....I have some serious work to do! ;)

At least I have some killer tunes on my Shuffle to keep me motivated. Here is one that got me through today:

On Running....

So I have been yearning for the olden days in which I could run a mile in less than 7 minutes. Scratch that...under 10 and I'd be happy! With speed not being my strong point, I have been gradually been getting back into the sport. A couple weeks ago I decided that I would run the Santa Monica Classic at the end of May. Since then, I have been heading out about 4 times a week to get my bad self in gear to run the 6.2 miles around Santa Monica. It has been both easier and harder than I imagined. Having been working out often at my Y, the endurance kind of just came out of nowhere. If the hills are minimal, I got the wind to keep going. It is my body that wishes otherwise. Leg pains, knee aches and the like. Damn.

Today I decided to head over to A Runner's Circle to get a more proper pair of shoes following a gait assessment. The clerks determined that I had a natural gait and with the distance I was running this was one of their recommendations and what I ultimately decided to purchase:

The Asics Gel Cumulus 12. Exact color. While aesthetics are not the striking feature here, the interior memory foam kills it! I took them out for a 5 mile test run today and they proved to be worth every one of the $99.00 I shelled out. I think I may have selected a winner.....

Today's Distance: 5.2 Miles (Ran first 3 miles and then combo walked/ran remainder. Attempted to do final leg with purchased Gatorade bottle....large size....not recommended.)

Some tunes that got me through: Everlong by Foo Fighters, Ice Cube's It was a Good Day, Regulators by Warren G and Nate Dog, Dance Yourself Clean by LCD Soundsystem, Dancin' in the Dark by Springsteen.....among others.

Church and State

I have a new favorite restaurant here in Los Angeles. This one, Church and State, resides in the Nabisco Lofts in a somewhat industrial area of DTLA. I had been wanting to try this place for sometime now and tonight was the night to do so. Church and State is definitely a reservations required kind of place. I booked 8 days prior for a Saturday at 8:15PM time slot. The awesome thing though was that upon arrival, our table was ready to go. According to other Yelp reviews, this practice is common. Major stars for that!

David and I both started out with the French Onion soup. Cheesy, soupy, giant crouton-y delicious-ness. Seriously. I was very into the soup. The taste coupled with the chilly LA evening made this one of the evenings best! For the entrees, I had the Steak Frites (which as the name implies, a juicy steak ad fries) and David, the Bouillabase (a seafood stew). Both were nothing shy of wonderful but for me, the richness of the soup and the fresh bread that accompanied it was impacting my ability to finish my food. I made sure to eat and enjoy every bite of steak, but left a pretty hefty pile of fries. David was also in the same boat. While both of our French Onion Soup bowls were eaten clean, his main entree as well had more than the usual amount of leftovers. Don't get me wrong, the entrees were spectacular but also incredibly filling.

The service was outstanding. Plates were interchanged, silverware traded out depending on the next plate arriving and two never empty water glasses were next to us at all times. We definitely are going to add this into to our rotation of favorite restaurants. While pricey, Church and State was worth every cent this evening.

And this image made my evening......

If...

...I could afford a summer trip I would go here:

Unfortunately summer airfare to Paris takes a serious backseat to student loan payments. Maybe next year! ;)