A girl and a guy

Going Pescetarian

2012-01-21T15:31:00.001-08:00

So, Sam and I started off the new year by going Pescetarian. After months and months of contemplating different reasons for and against leaving meat and poultry behind we have come to a compromise. It's called Seafood Sundays and Meatless Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, and Sat. Now, everyone has their reasons and most Vegetarian/Vegan blogs will tell you that your reason alone is the best reason to do it. There is no right or wrong motive, there is just the result. In our minds meat concentrates many more industrial impurities, all ranging from hormones, antibiotics and pesticides to mistreatment of animals and the very fact that Red is not Green. To produce a pound of soy requires just a fifth of water and bio fuels compared to that of meat. So it's really a win win situation.

The "diet" also involves not eating any conventional desserts, no Splenda or other artificial sweeteners, no soda (esp. diet), no going out to eat as often as possible, and as few processed meals as is feasible with a baby on board. Today is day # 21 and I'm feeling pretty good. Yesterday I did have some chocolate as I've posted on Twitter, but I got some strength back from the hash tag #dietingsucks posts in which people confined in similar cravings.

The meals that we have been preparing at home have been pretty easy to make, delicious and nutritious! Some examples are the cranberry and almond organic quinoa pilaf. Quinoa and organic banana pancakes for lunch with a side of sautéed veggies. Lots of raw veggies and fruit, organic oatmeal with soy milk, flax, raisins, sunflower seeds, walnuts, chestnuts and chia seeds. Morning fresh organic brewed coffee with soy milk and organic challah bread that's raising in the oven as we speak!

In the process of all this as some of you may know, we are currently staying with the inlaws and it has been particularly hard to stay on track with this new diet. My mother in law on daily basis rotates chicken, meat, fish or pigs feet for every dinner. On the side is usually white rice and some kind of cooked vegetable. Never raw. She strictly prescribes to the belief of hot and cold which means that raw vegetables are bad for digestion, while an egg dipped fried tomato is good for digestion. Not to mention that amongst the "good for you" foods are also Costco pizza, madeline cookies, and donuts, but chocolate is bad for you. Hmm, try to discern THAT line of reasoning. The only reason I still respect her cooking though is because she cooks everything mostly at home from breakfast to snacks to lunch and dinner. That takes love and dedication and I would only hope to be as half as dedicated to her family as she is.

In other Santa Cruz living news is that Sam and I found a really fantastic chicken farmer who sells her eggs at the Cabrillo College Saturday Farmers market. The chickens are all pasture raised on vegetarian feed mostly of food scraps and limited grain. The best part is that it's only $5 per dozen. If you ask me that's well worth my money. That is why we made the challah bread, to taste the fruits of the Santa Cruz pastures and mountains. mmmm

I fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans.

2011-12-18T08:19:00.000-08:00

Well, I am happy to announce that Kai and I grew in reverse in the past few months. He is a heaping 21 lbs 3 oz and I'm sans all of my pregnancy weight gain, and some more. The magic potion? Breastfeeding. Try to keep a baby of the average weight for a one year old full on breastfeeding alone, the result: feedings every 1.5-2.5 hrs and lots of weight loss.

Otherwise, exercise has been hard since I've stopped running due to some back/hamstring issues and biking is on and off I would say. It's hard to leave the house with a baby, period. But hey, there isn't a pageant coming up anytime soon, so there will be plenty of opportunities to get back into shape.

Until then, keep eating healthy and don't forget to get good sleep~

Down the Good Life

2011-09-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

Milkshakes, Paxi's Pizza, Blue Bottle lattes and waffles. That was when I was pregnant, but last night, nearly two months after birth, cruel reality set in. My pre pregnancy jeans barely closed and a soft, generous fat blob set right over the edges like the bread dough that has risen over the rim of a too small pan. Not a pretty sight. It was my low point, the rock bottom. No more looking at post pregnancy pictures noticing only the "skinny" parts as I hoard the chocolate in my night stand so my husband wouldn't see me mechanically place it in my mouth after dinner hours, like a bad tick.

It's depressing, it's embarrassing, it has to change. Yet knowing my own over abundant enthusiasm, I jacked myself up on caffeine with skim milk and splenda, now pacing the house frantically back and forth in a panic attack, wondering how in the world will I pull this off. But as with anything, if you want it badly enough, if it's that important, then it has to be done.

Right now it's 1pm and so far I had a banana and a cup of low fat kefir. I'm feeling good. In another hour and a half I have a 7 mile long run. I ask the spirits of nature to give me the strength

to do this. Running long and dieting is a sure recipe for disaster, but I signed up for a half in early November, so who wants to throw $80 down the drain? Not I sir, I will sweat the trek and cry for hunger, but will emerge as a true champion of the Park house (inside joke).

Dieting no doubt is hard, if it were easy, Rochester Big and Tall and Lane Bryant wouldn't grace the mall outlets. Instead Coney Island's Gyro Corner would be named "Only 2 Points!" for your Weight Watchers diary collection.

But, Sam thinks it's easy. He says it's the easiest thing a person can control. Really, so a person with bulimic tendencies and nightly dreams of all you can eat bouffe's is just needlessly "complicating" things for herself? Perhaps if it were true, no such notion would exist as 'it's in your head." I wish it weren't, but biking up a steep hill and feeling like you're about to pass out from the effort all in the hopes of kicking serious ass at the next triathlon sure sounds a lot better and "easier" than dieting. Have you ever sat on a couch trying NOT to think about the sushi on the table? Only if you have the iron will of my husband. Sometimes I think he was abducted by aliens and they implanted tiny emergency shut off doors between his certain synapses, so when the dough rises too high they automatically sound an alarm, and boom, out of mind and a month later he loses 30 lbs. Freaky...

Day trip to SF

2011-09-02T07:38:00.000-07:00

High winds, cold misty fog and un-new yorkish streets were some of the reasons why we left San Francisco. But SF is a nice place to visit, especially when it's one of those rare warm sunny days were the wind isn't howling. We spent the day walking on Chestnut St browsing amongst the well heeled in the Apple Store and the upscale baby store Giggle.

Sydney Walton Square is opened to the public but is privately owned. It's named after a San Francisco banker who lived between 1901-1960. The landscape architect created grassy knolls that is supposed to mimic a meadow and the buildings of downtown San Francisco are the mountains. Interesting idea. We walked to the Ferry Building and had lunch at Gott's - cheese burger and onion rings for me and a free-range organic hot dog for Anna - we split a chocolate milkshake... up the good life! The hot dog wasn't too good - it was a bit bland and my burger was ok but I've had better - most recently at the Garden Grill in Guernyville. We stopped by a couple of chocolate shops - TCHO and Recchiuti Confections.

Finally we wrapped up our SF adventure in Los Gatos. Nice cute downtown with plenty of upscale restaurants and boutique clothing stores. 7pm and it was 81 degrees!

Rolleiflex SL35 - returning to a classic

2011-08-24T07:09:00.001-07:00

There are four venerable names in the world of optics - Zeiss (Est. 1846), Rollei (Est. 1920), Leica (Est. 1913) made in Germany and Hasselblad (Est. 1841) made in Sweden. Although there are many fine cameras and lenses now a days from Asian based companies and optics manufacturing has ubiquitously moved to China, Thailand and Taiwan for almost all mass-produced consume products, optics made during the heyday of lens making has a special place in collectors hearts.

Rollei, along with Hasselblad, is primarily known for their medium and large format cameras. Rollei's first foray into the 35mm film format came in 1970 with the introduction of the Rolleiflex SL35. They were late into this film format as Japanese manufacturers Canon and Nikon were creating exceptional 35mm cameras, the Canon A series cameras being a prime example. Rollei didn't have the engineering manpower to devote to the SL35 project team thus it's simplicity in design. The light meter employs a Wheatstone Bridge, which in grossly oversimplified terms is a circuit design that measures an unknown electrical resistance (which is the intensity of the light being metered) to a known resistance reference - thus the bridge. Compared to modern metering systems the Wheatstone Bridge is arcane, slow and suffers from a memory effect when metering a bright scene. However, when used in systems that don't have EV compensation it works perfectly well. There's a stop-down button adjacent to the shutter release that activates the meter.

Production of the SL35 moved to Singapore from West Germany after 1972 thus the 1970 to 1972 models are the most sought after models by collectors. The two lenses that were used most commonly with the SL35 were the Zeiss 50/1.8 Planar T and the Zeiss 50/1.4 Planar T. The later being made in Germany in small numbers. The German made Zeiss 50/1.4 Planar T is one of the sharpest 50 prime lenses ever to be produced.

My Rolleiflex SL35 was bought new in 1977 by my father in Iran. It's a 1970 model and is in amazing condition because he only used it for a couple of years while stationed in Tehran as an engineer for Korean Airlines. Although it's perfectly capable of being used for everyday shots, autofocus and complex metering are really new inventions, where this camera really shines is for pictures that have high dynamic range such as landscapes captured on transparent film - the best of which is Fuji Velvia 50 slide film. Digital cameras are still unable to match the resolution and color fidelity of film when captured with a good lens. I'm excited to try out this camera and I'll post scanned shots soon.

Time Warp

2011-08-24T06:54:00.001-07:00

Ok, so it's been too long since I last posted. But my wife's been better about posting so you know that our LO is here now. For all of you not in the know about baby acronyms, LO stands for "little one" - ya, I know it's kind of silly but hey we've been up fully submersed in baby world for the past year.

Too many things to recap so I'll just start on the new stuff. So after a long absence from working out we're both completely out of shape - well at least compared to what we normally are at. We did go on our first run together post-pregnancy a few days ago. A planned 20 minute jaunt turned into a 45 minute run to Capitola - not a surprise, what is surprising is it wasn't even longer. I'm reminded that we need to take it easy and gradually get back into it to avoid injury though. My weights been fluctuating like I'm on the Biggest Loser though. But instead of going down I've been all over the place. Went down to a bit under 135 lbs when we first moved to SF but bounced back to 168 lbs now. Not ideal. But I do tend to be range bound between 145 lbs and 160 lbs, depending on which cycle in my training I'm in. My near term goal is to get back into cycling and running and drop down to a more reasonable 150 lbs again.

Me @ 135 lbs

Me @ 168 lbs

Baby Products Review for a Santa Cruz mom

2011-08-14T22:52:00.000-07:00

Note, Santa Cruz. Initially we were researching everything for NYC, or at San Francisco. Only later did we realize that city life is much different than the SC mountains/beach life. Basically, you will need different things for your baby. Some will be the same, some different.

First off, the stroller. We have the Uppababy Vista. Lovely, just lovely, but impractical. If you live in an apartment that directly comes down to a walkable street, well then the bassinet is just a gem. It's stylish, has a retro feel, and you feel like you got the best gear out there. But, if instead you have to put your little one in a car seat and he falls asleep, which they always do, then why would you go through the hassle of taking him out, placing him the in the bassinet, risking him waking up, wanting to be picked up, etc. you get the picture. Also, West Cliff has a nice walk way, but it's pretty rugged, and the Vista wheels are too small for it. No wonder virtually every person I see has the mega wheel BOB stroller.

Next item, the nursing pillow. I was recommended the My Breast Friend. I think all in all its a great pillow, but I have a small problem. I have a really fast flow, which makes my little one choke and cough at every feeding. So instead I have to feed hime completely reclined, thus eliminating the need for a pillow.

My next item, the nursing stool. Just get it. And the rocker. Dutallier is great. They have a better bearing system than the Shermag. Will rock smoother.

As for the play yard, we have the Chicco, but I still wonder if it was necessary. We have a crib and unless you have an individual nursery, which we don't at the moment, and you really do want him to sleep in the room with you, I suggest just getting the crib and putting it in your room. Will look more stylish. And while he's really small, let him sleep with you, and get one of those in bed sleepers so that he has his own space and you don't roll over him. In the city we had a nursery, all equipped nicely for show and tell. In the city it's like you have more friends that come over and all you want to do is show off your pretty blew room. But here, life is more laid back for us, minus the city friends. So in the end, less is more.

Some other things I find useful is the Medela breast pump, NUK bottles and pacifiers (for emergencies only), fisher price bouncer, First Years bath tub, aden and anais swaddle blankets, the ergo carrier and the nojo sling.

The breast pump is a life saver. Despite the fact that every reputable baby site recommends against using the bottle for the first month, I needed sleep, so we introduced it at roughly 2 weeks. He did well. Now he's 4 days shy of being a month old, and I can at least get a 3 hour stretch without being worried that he'll be starving without me. I understand the concern with the nipple confusion and I've read that it's quite possible. It was a risk, but I guess we were lucky enough for him to take on both well. He sleeps longer after the bottle because he gets a bit more, since he falls asleep at the breast constantly and nurses more often during the day because of that.

But, whatever is best for your family is the right thing to do, so whatever you choose, don't beat yourself up about it. :)

Kai's birth story.

2011-08-14T22:05:00.000-07:00

Ah, after 32 hours of labor, Kai has finally arrived. Well, actually he was born on the 22nd of July, but boy have we been busy. Let me just say it's the hardest F.O.E. that we've done so far. (Feat of Endurance). :)

Labor was hard. It hurt, it was long, and nothing seemed to have helped. I tried my hardest to pull it through, but since I only got 2 hours of sleep before labor and the overall duration of actual labor, at some point the energy required to pull through was simply exhausted. I think sometime after about 24 or so hours I asked for Fentanyl, thinking that since I never really had narcotics, perhaps it will take some of the edge off. Well, I wasn't the lucky one. Only after 30 minutes the effects (which were minimal at best), wore off and I was left with the exact same sensations and sheer exhaustion as before. But I still asked for all 3 doses, 1 hour apart. After that, I was ready to lie down and give up.

I wish I could explain the feeling of deciding to get an epidural. Sam has been asking me to get it for good 5 hours already, but I wouldn't budge. Didn't we talk about it honey, it's going to be hard and this insane amount of pain is just part of it. But I guess when my eyes became glazed over and Sam was literally scared for my own dear life, did he start pressing on it harder. When I finally made the decision I cried like a baby, thinking that I have failed myself. But another thought crossed my mind as well. If I am this tired now and I'm not even past the transition yet, what if I won't be able to push hard enough and will need a C-section. So, c-section vs epidural, I took the epidural.

It took what seemed like eternity for the anesthesiologist to get to the hospital, he already left for the night. When he did finally arrive, it took him just minutes to get the procedure done and it felt like an angel has descended next to me, took his gigantic wing and curled me up and took ALL of the pain away. I didn't think it was possible, but it is.

I was able to sleep for an hour, after which Sam has informed me that my contractions were about only a minute apart, lasting for about 4-5 minutes each, spiking really high (meaning would have been VERY painful) and after the nurse has checked me I was fully dilated, and Kai was in +2 position ready to come out!

So the pushing has begun. Before I could though of course, the nurse had to teach me how to do it since the natural sensation wasn't quite there. It took me a little bit to get the hang of it, but soon I was under way. I pushed for 4 hours, and one hour into it, it seemed like all the pain has come back. My OB said that the epidural does not take away the pressure sensation, boy was there a lot of pressure! The pushing was hard, probably even harder than the contractions before. With each push I was loosing more and more of my energy, but I was determined. I was determined not to have him be pulled out by other means. And I have succeeded. Well, I got a 2nd degree tear, but I still call that great success.

Out of this whole experience, I had three most surprising things: one, that labor could be so long and painful, two, that an epidural can make it bearable, and three that the "ring of fire" did not really happen to me because if you think the stretching of the skin would hurt more after feeling like your entire uterus is being run over by a train, think again.

But in the end, the experience was the most AMAZING experience of my life, and I have Kai to prove it. Will I have kids again, I doubt it, but that's just me.

In any case, that was that. :)

Stationery card

2011-08-07T13:14:00.001-07:00

Hello Baby Boy Birth Announcement

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Move to Santa Cruz and Natural Birth

2011-07-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

San Francisco did not work out for us. So, at 36 weeks pregnant we packed up the boxes, rented a storage place, and moved in with Sam's parents in Soquel, just like that.

We've been here 3 weeks now, and loving every minute of it. I started hiking again and was able to build up my endurance to and hour and a half in Niesene Marks Park, a total of a 4 mile loop. We've also been doing a second walk either on East or West cliff, getting in the last few days of relaxation and tranquility before the baby arrives. (And spotting Johnny, Sam's brother do the usual car loop on West Cliff or by Capitola Library).

At home Sam has been working, I've been making sock monkeys and embroidering random stuff. The food has been good to us too. I still do my fresh fruit smoothies in the mornings, sometimes with a small side of white rice, or the Korean Dtuk. For lunch usually either the last night's leftovers, some salad at Whole Foods, or the latest favorite Carpos. They have great grilled cheese and tri-tip sandwiches with a yummy salad bar that includes fresh fruit. I am delighted to say that I have gained somewhere between 30-35 lbs in this pregnancy, and that works for me just fine.

As for the birth, we are still planning to deliver at Sutter Maternity Center and we will most likely stick with the OB service (or switch to midwifery service last minute). As for the birth plan itself, we pretty much want to go with a Natural Birth. We read the Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and have been converted, so I think we will do our very best to do this the primate way. I had my doubts, but once you learn the stats, it's hard to look back. I still don't know how it will feel, but I just know it's something I have to do for me, for Kai, and for Sam. Unfortunately in today's western culture the art of birthing has been somewhat lost, no one tells you that a woman is fully capable of doing it without the multiple medical interventions currently available, but rather all we hear are the horror stories. I will try to change the history of it for myself. I will do my best and pass on the knowledge.

Apart from that I'm also looking forward to starting the diet after the birth and getting back into some hard core exercise. I am planning on joining the Santa Cruz Masters swimming, doing the runs with Sam in the park and definitely hitting the hills on our bikes. Just thinking of it makes me all giddy inside. It's been too long, I need to feel physically strong again.

I am also planning on doing the Big Sur marathon with Sam in the spring time and then possibly the Vineman Half Ironman in Sonoma County next July. That will be really the ultimate goal. Perhaps also find some local swim/bike/run competitions. In fact, if I can't find anything then I will make one up myself and have Sam time me and escort me on the bike! Whoo hoo!

As for other news, unfortunately my brother will not be visiting me this August, he might be flying out to see grandma instead. I think that's always good, he needs to spend as much time with them as possible.

So that's that for now.

OWLS!

2011-06-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

No not the Harry Potter examination O.W.L.S. but more like plush stuffed animals.

I looked up a free pattern online and decided to create these little creatures. I had so much fun making them and taking pictures of their adventures around the house.

Here's a link if anyone's interested. http://thetrendytreehouse.blogspot.com/2010/04/guest-blogger.html

LA trip and BabyMoon

2011-06-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

So for our baby moon we took a drive down South to LA. To make it more scenic we decided on HWY 1, but starting past Santa Cruz since we drove the SF to SC route via hwy 1 quite a few times already. Everything was going well, all the way past Big Sur until we hit a road block at a remote gas station/convenience store. Apparently the road was getting some construction done on it, but you'd think that the city would set up a Detour. Perhaps they did, but then the gas station would not get their customers, so I have this stinking suspicion that somehow the detour signs might have been meddled with.

So with some advice from motorists we turned around and headed back North on hwy 1 looking for a road that would cross the GIGANTIC mountain terrain and bring us onto 101 and then the I-5. The road came some 6 miles later, as narrow as a trail, two way rediculousness. It took like an hour to cover some 18 miles of this winding road, until it spat us out at the Hunter military Base. The way we came to realize that was because there you are, driving in the valley, surrounded by nothing but wilderness and mountains, and in the middle of a field there is a tank. So I yell out, "look there's a tank, let's take pictures!" Until we get to it and there is a sign that pretty much says "keep going, open fire"and a few soldiers walking towards it. Haha, wow.

So some 6 hours later, which would tally our 380 mile trip to a total of 12 hours, we arrive in Downtown LA at the Omni hotel. Drink some water and pass out.

In the morning we consult the ever magical iPad and find a place to eat called the Nickel Diner near by. They are known for quite a delectable little treat called the maple glazed bacon donut. Say no more, this thing was fantastic! Sam's pancakes were good too (he didn't like them, but I did), but my eggs and potatoes were just ok.

Next we drove down to the Griffith observatory form which you can see most of LA and take lots of touristy pictures of the Hollywood sign. The observatory itself was really cool and we also paid $14 to see a star movie. It was pretty basic, talking about the start of the universe, some black energy and what not and telescopes.

For lunch the iPad directed us to Umami burger on Sunset Blv, yummy! I got the manly burger with chunks of bacon in them stuck in a thick chunk of cheese and crispy onions on top, Sam went with the Umami burger. I don't know why, but I guess he had to get the popular item. It was ok.

Then I don't quite remember what we did, I think we might have gone back to the hotel for a much needed nap for me. I was exhausted!

For dinner we followed my own reserch and headed over to Chichen Itza over by the USC Park Campus, a small authentic Yukatan place. Yummy! I'll show you in the picture. And then back to the hotel for a quick swim at the pool and then to bed for the next day's adventures.

The next morning for breakfast we drove back out to Sunset Blv to get some coffees at the Intellegencia cafe. We both got lattes, they were ok compared to our usual blue bottle. but not bad. Still didn't need sugar, so that's a good sign. For breakfast we walked two feet and sat down at the Stella cafe. Sam got eggs benedict, they were the best I've ever had. But my sunny side up eggs with toast and sausage were just average. Unfortunately we were planning on coming back, but they were closed on Memorial day, so I guess I'll have to try my eggs benedict some other time.

Our next destination was the Getty Museum. Very beautiful. I absolutely loved the architecture and the garden tour was very nice too. The views were spectacular, overlooking all of LA and the ocean too. For lunch we made reservations at their restaurant which in ambiance reminded me very much of the Cliff House in SF. Bright with lots of views. We should have gotten brunch but it was 2 pm already so I decided to go with fish and Sam with the pea risotto. Well let me tell you, when I saw EVERYONE ordering the delectable looking eggs benedict and all I got was a tiiiiny piece of dry fish for $24, I decided that our lunch is going to go into the "let down meal" category which means, it was very disappointing, and even worse because it was disappointing and expensive. Anyways, that was not my only memory, the place itself really made up for it all.

So I will cut short the review of our baby moon here. We came back home the next day, it only took 6 hours via the I-5 to get back, so I'd say it was a successful return trip. On the way back I learned all about the grass fed beef and potato fields and also the grain fed, dirty, stressed out beef too. It was kind of sad seeing those cows so close to each other, no grass to lie on just dirt, picking fights with each other. And the flies! Oh boy, our car got rained on by the cow flies. It took Sam like 2 hours to scrub it clean back in SC. So I guess I'd say I had a bit of a revelation there. I buy happy cow meat now, just like my grandma does. She raises organic grass fed beef.

So there you have it, our baby moon adventures recorded. Until next time.

Half Marathon

2011-05-08T10:10:00.001-07:00

I signed up for the US Half Marathon in San Francisco that takes you across the Golden Gate and back on November 6th. Baby Kai is not due until mid July, but I should still have plenty of time to train for this thing adequately.

We also had our very first BBQ the other day, the Weber grill is pretty cool, made some AmAzinG shish kebobs with veggies, meat and chicken. The weather was a bit chilly, but nothing too crazy.

Also started making fruit and low fat protein shakes for breakfast. Decided to switch it up a bit, and helps me keep hydrated. It was so delicious. I used organic frozen peaches, blueberries and bananas. Also a few walnuts, some raisins, cup of low calorie almond milk and Aria women's protein powder with high Calcium, Folic Acid and protein.

The pictures above are of the baby crib, and Sam grilling up the shish kebobs. Yummy!

Pregnancy shoot @ 7.5 months

2011-05-06T10:46:00.001-07:00

This is me at Stinson Beach, posing for a preggy photo. The weather was quite perfect, and I was having a good hair day...rare.

For dinner that day we finally tried Pizza Orgazmica in the Embarcadero. It was ok, I definitely need to find a better slice. Like maybe in my own oven, :)

Feeling pretty good about myself

2011-05-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

Today, I have made my very first roast vegetable dish. That's right, I am no longer a broke, inept college student in the dorms who makes cold cereal for dinner. The vegetables were actually really easy to assemble, the prep time was quick, and once you pop them in the oven I had plenty of time to finish up the potato salad. My biggest fear was dealing with the oven. I hate hot things. Like camp fires and ovens, and just open flames in general. In fact I was so nervous, I almost called Sam to guide me through via the phone. However, I did want it to be a surprise, so I toughened up and stuck that casserole dish in there. The potato salad received high praise the last time, so I made it again today. It's really yummy actually. I use turkey bacon instead of regular and light mayo.

The photo of my feet is of my new shoes. I never wear sandals, but I moved to California and my feet have been sweating pretty badly in the sneakers, so I decided to change my own trend. I actually didn't get them in pearl, I got them in gold. Matched my dark complexion on my feet better. My scar tissue tans much more than regular skin. Weird.

Also today it was uncharacteristically warm here in the Bay Area, almost 90 degrees! So we went to the Muir Woods national Park and Stinson Beach. The red woods walk was nice, but the beach was so much better. A lot of people were out and it wasn't very windy, which I appreciated a lot considering that the wind hasn't taken a break for over a month here already. We also did some pregnancy pictures, they look lovely. Will post once Sam uploads them.

As for the birthing class yesterday it was a ton of fun, can't wait to go back next week. And I felt so much better about the whole birthing experience. It's almost possible that I might go with a natural birth.....yeah right. :0 But to get back to the post's theme, I feel much better with the idea that I will be a mom soon. Not my mother, not my sister, not any of my friends, but me. I get to raise him, love him, take care of him, and be the best momma he can have. aaww. lmao

Tri gear

2011-05-02T21:18:00.000-07:00

I've moved into the 3rd trimester. The digestion is slowing down, I can't bend down to tie my own shoelaces without regurgitating breakfast contents at like 2 pm in the afternoon, and my legs are restless at night, keeping me up. So as I sit here and type this, I am testing out the CEP compression calf socks. As I thought, the calf-sters wouldn't be enough, I need a full sock if anything because the restlessness originates in the foot and travels up to the calf. So even though the calf is nicely hugged and compressed, I am feeling the crawly feeling on my upper foot. However, Fleet Feet ensured me that I can return the socks within 30 days, no questions asked, so I decided to spend the $40 for a chance to have relief.

Despite the lack of full relief I do feel pretty cool though in my triathlon gear. I imagine that I have done a long bike ride or perhaps a long run and am now "resting" at home with the calf things on my legs, recovering. Ahh, that word "recovery", so precious. Always makes me think of muscle growth and capillary expansion in the lungs.

As for other news, Sam put up the book shelves in the living room, looks pretty nice. We just have to pick out the rug for the corner that the shelves create and conveniently situate the baby play yard.

For dinner we ate at the "Tacolicious" taco bar in the Cow Hollow/Marina district. They're the guys that show up with a tent at the Ferry Building on thursdays. The aztec chicken soup was pretty yummy but a tad too oily, and the tacos were hit or miss. The beef and chicken were nothing special, but the asparagus mushroom and the fried cod tacos were great. I would definitely come back after the pregnancy for a nice beer and a few of those tacos that made the cut. Unfortunately the soup was also a tad spicy and had cheese, so on top of taking a lactose pill I also had to have 3 extra strength Tums. It seems obvious to Sam that HOME COOKED is the way to GO during pregnancy. But it is very hard for me to get something like that through my head sometimes. But all that is an old record playing.

Ahh, and of course I have to mention the baby massage class that we went to. It was kind of fun. We practiced massaging plastic dolls for two hours. Did I learn anything, I think so. But I guess we will have to wait and see. But some of the important pointers were: massage is NOT for when the baby is fussy, only when he is in active alert or passive alert. And you have to ask "permission," which made little sense to me because how in the world does the newborn know what you're asking him.

Tomorrow we have the childbirth prep class at the Serramonte plaza in Daly city which we will pair up with a trip to Motherhood maternity store for some swim suit shopping and some more maternity clothes. I feel like I already look like 9 months pregnant, and other pregnant women told me that as well. So either Kai is taking up an unusually large space, or I had more hidden belly fat than I was willing to accept in my conscious state by always sucking in. And I mean it, I am the Queen of sucking in my stomach. I'd do it so much in public that I'd get home with sore abs thinking, how did my abs get so sore?

Sunny California

2011-04-30T17:37:00.000-07:00

Today is Saturday, April 30th. It was a beautiful, warm, windless day here in SF and we enjoyed it by meeting up with the SF expectant mothers group at the Lake Merced Park for a nice beach walk and brunch. The hike itself was amazing and I'm so glad that Sam came along because other husbands came as well and the views were absolutely spectacular. For brunch we went over to this really cool fast food Hawaiian place, and I got myself some loco moco dish, a beef patty with gravy, rice, sunny side up egg on top and macaroni salad, yumm! And next time I'm going to dry fried spam for the first time of my life. I had a really good time meeting new people and I really hope that I ill make some friends because I really miss my NY peeps. :)

PFD 8

2011-04-26T15:10:00.001-07:00

Today is April 26th. It's a gorgeous day out there, nice, sunny and warm. I had a great swim session at the Gateway outdoor pool. There were plenty of swimmers, and some really good, so it was nice to reminisce about the college swimming days.

We also received our bed today, that thing is huge! Going from a Queen to a King makes a big difference. The water delivery guy brought some more water too, since the water quality here is questionable, we decided not to risk it.

For lunch we had salad, egg-white salad and a turkey meatball, chicken sausage, tofu veggie saute. Yummy in my tummy. But for breakfast I sort of gorged out on mini almond biscotti, kashi cereal, and clementines. But hey, I felt like a power boat in the pool!

PFD # 7

2011-04-25T13:54:00.001-07:00

Well, two things u see here. Above is today's lunch, eaten at 11:30 am. For most people that's probably breakfast time, but Sam got up at 4 am this morning and I went swimming, so by the time noon roller around we were both hungry. I made a sweet potato, chicken sausage and tofu veggie sauté, and a salad with avocado. Filled me up pretty well, but I really wanted dessert so I had a fuji apple.

What you see above the lunch plate is our new addition to the house. Our very first art piece as a couple together. We got the gigantic tree cutout piece at HD Buttercup, supposedly it's from a chinese artist, from China. We love it, and we call it "the wave." I imagine it having shark teeth and then having friends come over and take group photos pretending to be swallowed up. I have grave humor, I got it from my mom.

PFD # 6

2011-04-24T20:18:00.000-07:00

MMM, yumm. Above was our April 24th lunch. Yam, corn, meatballs, and sweet peas. I got so full I could barely get up. I made Sam the same thing, I'm thinking my blandness will only help his BP. It's genetic for him, I feel really bad. I'm the one with all the weight issues and a kick ass BP and he's the one that suffers. At least his heart rate is like 45. lol

Otherwise, we did a lot today. Put together the crib, cut up a whole bunch of boxes, went for a walk and did some more furniture and food shopping. Ordered some more things online like pots and pans and can openers since the movers decided not to give our stuff to us. A long story. But besides that not bad. And that's it for today. I feel exhausted. Will write more tomorrow. :)

PFD #5

2011-04-23T12:41:00.001-07:00

Today is Saturday. That means Sam doesn't have work and so we're home, doing home improvement projects. We assembled 2 more West Elm dining chairs and an Ikea bedroom dresser, cut up boxes and now are applying test paint on all the rooms walls. We still have to assemble the Davinci Emily baby crib, and after that we might go to Ikea to look at an office desk for me and maybe a king size mattress.

For breakfast we went over to the ferry building and had some really delicious blue bottle coffee and an Acme ham and cheese turnover. YuMm! The line to Acme was past the Cowgirl Creamery, but its always worth it. In the line I was contemplating on what kind of sandwich bread I should get to start making turkey, avocado, mayo and tomato sandwiches. The sweet loaf looked good, it's not going to squeeze the innards out like most rustic breads do and it will toast nicely also.

The plate that you see in the picture is from Heath Ceramics and it's a place we've been eyeing for quite some time now. They're made of earthenware clay, and the glaze options are subtle and concrete. The food looks great on them, and I like the heftiness. Initially I was skeptic because I got used to our New York Corelle plates, but it's nice to have a plate that doesn't jump up when you stab your fork too close to the edge to grab a salad leaf.

Since breakfast was somewhat on the heavy side and I haven't exercised for the day yet, we made lunch on the lighter side. What you see is an organic salad with some peas, carrots, and heirloom tomatoes. The dressing options were Newsman's Own "Lite Balsamic Ginger" and "Lite Honey Mustard." I love honey mustard, despite my lactose intolerance. But what you see is not all, we also had a bowl of Quaker Rice crisps, the Rosemary Garlic and Ranch. Ranch was better, more slaty and tangy. Kind of like the 365 Whole Foods brand BBQ flavor. I must say we've been subsisting on Costco chicken meatballs, all kinds of rice and soy crackers, organic Fuji apples, decaf with organic lactose free milk, and organic yams. Oh and Sam eats an organic banana a day. Gotta love it.

The 2 Hour Glucose Tolerance Test

2011-04-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

So today, I had my glucose tolerance test at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Santa Cruz. I was instructed to fast for 10-12 hours, which wasn't too hard because I had a hearty meal the night before, and we went over to the clinic first thing in the morning.

At first I had to give one set of blood for the fasting glucose baseline, which was at 9:10 am. Then I was given a VERY sugary drink to down, which I must say made me feel very nauseous. I love sweets, but this is by far the sweetest thing I've ever had to eat.

The first hour went by uneventfully, I was not hungry because of the 70 grams of sugar I put into my system. In the meantime I was told not to wander too far off, as to not "burn" any of my calories. In the meantime I took the elevator over to 3rd floor to register my insurance info, and after that went back down and waited for my second blood draw. The second draw was quick also, and before I knew it I was called back in for the third, and my final blood draw. All the phlebotomists have been very nice and above all efficient! And the time flew by whils reading a good book. :)

After Sam and I left the building I was still a bit nauseous from the drink, but we decided to go to Gayle's bakery anyways because it was almost our lunch time and I figured it'd be good to get some solid food down my system. As we got there the line was huge as always. We grabbed our number (49) and waited our turn, (8 was being served at our arrival).

But, as we were contemplating our food choices I suddenly got a pang of hunger, and in less than a minute I got the sweats, and my vision became weird, not blurry but I could not concentrate. All classic signs of hypoglycemia. Strange, because I had almost 300 calories of fast glucose, but for some reason, maybe the stress of the blood draws, paired with no solid food, and a little one in there sucking in all the juices for his own brain development, my sugar just plummeted. Of course we still haven't ordered, so by the time I got my meal I scarfed it down in seconds and kept glaring hungrily at all the sweets that Gayle's so proudly exhibits.

But despite the weird sugar drop, I still think the food was AMAZING! We both got a tuna melt on some yummy white country bread, and a manhattan clam chowder. The soup was the best Manhattan chowder I've ever had, and we're 3000 miles from Manhattan! For dessert we split a tiny strawberry shortcake cookie. I was so hungry that I did not have the chance to snap a picture of my delicious meal, but I assure you that even if Gayle's discontinues their yummy tuna melt, I will be making those suckers at our town-home as soon as I get a baking sheet!

Right now we are at our favorite LuLus coffee place in downtown Santa Cruz. I read for about an hour, still reading the Unbreakable, but my back started to hurt, so I decided to log online for some distraction. Overall, it's almost 2 pm now, and I feel exhausted and a bit guilty for eating such a rich lunch, plus a cookie, a decaf, and a scone! But then again, I had to get the test done, and how can you blame me when my hunger instinct kicked in and I was shaking and sweating like a hospital patient. Boy I feel bad for people with sugar problems. I always had patients at the hospital where at 11 am I'd check their sugar and it's be a 39! And all the while they'd be sitting in bed smiling. Blows my mind.

I am not sure yet what our plans are for the rest of the day, but I sure will be in control of my eating! And I will make sure to get in a nice walk too. I wish I could go for a swim, but a walk on the beach should do the trick too. Kai has been kicking plenty, which makes me happy. And that's all I have to say about that.

PFD # 5

2011-04-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

April 21st lunch. I browned some fresh organic veggies and then threw it all in with some israeli cous cous. Yumm. For breakfast, I guess the usual, a small microwaved yam with banana and lots of water. Later went for a class at the gym, got a bit dizzy. Don't think I will be going there again. I mean it was all good, but then I just couldn't keep up so I think it's time for me to hit the pool with my new gear that should be coming soon and take some walks. And stretch, I really can't forget to stretch. I've been doing so well with the classes because they force you to stretch, so I need to keep it up. For dinner we drove over to Santa Cruz because tomorrow I have the glucose tolerance test, I need to fast for 10-12 hrs. We ate at the Palomar, some yummy fajitas. Sam has the picture. Will post later. I'm also reading the book Unbroken, about the great Zamperini. A runner who tells an amazing war survival story. I like it so much I wish all the books were like that! Ok, talk later.

PFD # 4

2011-04-21T20:43:00.001-07:00

April 20th lunch and dinner above. To the left is lunch at the Green Bar, big salad with potatoes, fish, mushrooms, and chicken. On the right, dinner at home. Sauteed tofu with veggies and some rice. For breakfast a banana with decaf coffee. I swam yesterday, 40 minutes this time. Very proud of my accomplishment. Ordered some fins and paddles at swim outlet. Wanted to get a maternity suit too, but I think it's a tad expensive. We also got our dining table chairs from west elm, very pretty. Light blue color with dark wood legs, u can see one of them in the right picture. And then in the evening Sam and I had a really nice walk through the Marin area and through the House of Fine Arts, gorgeous! And that's that!

PFD #3

2011-04-19T14:01:00.000-07:00

I forgot to take a photo of my meals yesterday, but here's a quick recap: breakfast a banana, soy crackers, and coconut water. Lunch at the Green Bar, organic greens, tofu, grilled chicken, potatoes, and some sea bass. Dinner was at home, consisting of chicken meatballs and lots of sautéed vegetables.

Today, I got up at around the same time I usually do, which means I slept a total of 10 hrs, which by the way has been my bear minimum plus a nap in the afternoon just to keep myself functioning. I was really sore from the class at the SF Bay club, so I decided to forgo the Dance Fusion class today and instead cut up some boxes at home and then went for a brisk 1 hr walk. For lunch, since we lack a lot of our cook-ware, I made us some fresh organic salad with heirloom tomatoes from the market and a curry tofu salad, and for the main meal I sauteed chicken meatballs with rice and fresh organic bell peppers. We try to do as many organic leafy greens and other vegetables as we can find really. Especially things like apples, grapes, and strawberries. But the root veggies aren't so bad, but I think it helps, especially if you're like me and like to eat your yams with skins on. :)

Otherwise the life in SF has been going pretty great. I am getting more and more adjusted, and I also think it will help once all the furniture has arrived, and the rest of our things. kai has been kicking well, so that pleases me because I get so paranoid when I don't feel him for a couple of hours. :)

Pregnancy Food Diary #2

2011-04-17T20:36:00.000-07:00

Today we got our dining table delivered from CB2, a really cool piece of wood I must say. Its called the Darjeeling and it derives its name from pieces of wood taken from the real Darjeeling trains in India. Of course from the cars that are no longer in service. We also received our giant floor lamp, coffee table and Sam's office desk. All really nice, I am so happy we cancelled the Pottery Barn delivery.

This meal was our tonights dinner (on the new table) which consists of fresh organic greens, egg white salad with chives, clementine, organic tomatoes and bell peppers. And for the hot dish, yummy nitrate free chicken meatballs with some bean sprouts. The salad was ok because I didn't put any dressing on it, but the stir fry was yummy! For dessert I had a chocolate chip cookie from Safeway with some decaf coffee. I'm so full, I should have gone for a walk, but it's sort of late and Sam has to go work tomorrow early.

Pregnancy Food Diary #1

2011-04-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

This may seem a bit late, but I am going to record most of the meals that I eat from now on (27 weeks) until I give birth. First in order to keep track and two to give Kai an idea of why he will turn out the way he will be. This dish was prepared by Sam's mom, and it consists of a seafood sauté, steamed rice, fresh garden greens, and a marinated in sesame oil chinese broccoli with bean sprouts. For dessert some California strawberries.

The MoVE!!!!

2011-04-06T21:52:00.000-07:00

Ahh, we have relocated to San Francisco! At last all the the planning and contemplating has seized. As we speak I am sitting in our Embarcadero Gateway town home, in the empty nursery, updating my life's adventures.

The move has been easier on me than on Sam because I mostly just worked at the hospital till the last moment, while he did all of the planning. We didn't even have to pack very much because we hired movers to do that for us, and the best decision ever. We've moved so many times together, and who knew that the cross country move is going to be easier than a move from the dorms to a one bedroom sublet in Inwood? Good times.

Before I left the lovely nurses of 6GN threw me a baby shower. I loved it, I never quite felt so special before. It's like the best birthday ever only better because it's for your little one at the same time. A celebration of new life. Ahh, can't wait for baby Kai to be here already.

The plane ride was not too bad either, we got lucky and had an empty seat in our row, so I was able to lie down and sleep for like 3 hours. I really needed it since we got up at 3 am.

Once we got here it's been sort of surreal. For one, Embarcadero is no Washington Heights, and two, I don't work anymore. Feels crazy, so I've been enjoying my free time. There is still plenty to do, but at least it's what I want to do, and when I want to do it. And the best part, I can nap!

The baby registry stuff has been going quite well. I found a lot of really good stuff on Amazon, and deleted most of my other registries because Amazon has a really great return policy. So if I don't use those unopened boxes of diapers, I can return them within a year! Awesome.

My favorite thing to do here so far has been swimming in the outdoor pool, and shopping for maternity clothes at Old navy, they're the best. Really.

And of course today is/was my birthday. It was really fun. I mean for one I got the best present ever, and that's moving to California. As for the rest of the day, Sam surprised me with coming home early from work. We went to the Bay Club together, I swam and he did the eliptical. Then we got a really healthy salad for lunch at Whole Foods upon my request, then a nice nap, and for dinner the Cliff House. Ahh, so amazing. Lots of light and the food was really good too. I got my candle and a wish, and what else do you need.

New Swimsuit

2011-02-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

I ordered a few swimsuits from Swimoutlet.com just now. A few suits in bigger sizes to accommodate the pregnancy and a pair of vanquishers on sale. Too bad they didn't have them in pink, so I got them in violet. Otherwise, swimming has been great at Riverbank. Lots of lanes, few people, a view of the Hudson, and all for just 2 bucks! I feel like I can spend my entire day there. The best part has been feeling the baby kick as I swim. He seems to get very active while I'm doing freestyle. I like to imagine that he's doing his own version of a doggie paddle in there.
Today I signed up for a 30-day pass at the NYSC. I will try to do some eliptical perhaps, maybe some treadmill running, some light weights, and a good long stretch. Afterwards laundry, then lunch and later tonight we're meeting with friends to get some burgers! Yumm! I've been addicted to burgers, really. Mostly turkey though from the Gramercy Diner on 17th and 3rd. And the onion rings, are to die for.
Yesterday I got a haircut for the first time in 3 years. I must say I did not get what I had in mind, but it looks good and Sam likes it. That's all that matters. Next time I'll be getting one in San Fransisco because we're moving!!!!! And maybe some highlights too, but then again I like the natural highlights I get when I swim outside. So I'll think about it.
The diet has been going well, lots of light and fit yogurts, fiber for breakfast with tea, and veggie soups and plenty of turkey meatballs with salad. Need to get my protein in, need to!
Alright, I need to go, but here's a few songs to check out: Crystal Castles by Untrust Us, and Sweet Disposition.

We're Pregnant!

2011-02-08T09:09:00.000-08:00

So, after all the feats of endurance, this one "knocked me off the bike" for sure. This F.O.E. is called being pregnant. And since it's my first, it's the hardest thing I've ever done by far. Except maybe the last mile of the D.C. marathon, haha, but I'm quite sure the actual birth will surpass that moment by light years. And then I'll be sprinting the last miles of marathons and ultras like it's nothing. Right, the body doesn't quite get used to pain. In my opinion. But maybe you have a different experience.
So far, I'm 17 weeks along and counting. gained 10-12 lbs, depending on how much water I'm retaining, since I've been eating plenty of salty foods. And tomatoes have been my biggest craving. What's up with that, am I gonna have a cabbage patch baby?

The first three months I was incredibly fatigued and nauseous. I stopped working out completely, slept and ate takeout like every day. Gained the 10 lbs then, and now for the duration of the last 5 weeks I've been eating as mindfully as I can, have been walking for about an hour every day, drinking plenty of water, and started swimming. I'm still the same weight, so hopefully the gained fat is reintegrating itself a bit after that ridiculousness.
Don't get me wrong, I do want the baby to be healthy and to eat enough to provide all the necesary nutrients, but I let myself down, and gained too much for the health of the baby in the first 3 months, so in my mind I'm only doing the right thing.

Went out shopping for some pregnancy clothes yesterday, which was a lot of fun, got some funky things, like tights with an expandable belly band. And some cute shirts, Sam came with me, and he had fun picking out the clothes as much as I did, and we both tried on the "7 months belly!" Sam looked like he had a beer belly, and I looked like I was 20 months pregnant with the fake belly atop my current belly. Can you visualize the image, lol.

Ok Ok, I have work tomorrow, so I will go take a nice long nap. And dream of horses, because I love horses and I saw the Secreteriat yesterday. Good movie, like really cool actually. (in the photo I am 27 weeks)

A Complete Diet Disaster

2010-10-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

Hey there, yeah it's me Anna again. So remember how I said I was taking a week off the diary thing, well that didn't last too long. I did 2 days of no recordings of my calories, then got back on track for 2 days. Then, I ate a whole box of cashews for dinner once, and sesame chicken and bagels with cream cheese at work, and chocolate, and Wendy's frosties after a Korean BBQ restaurant, and a McDonalds milkshake after a chicken burrito filled with cheese, and a giant homemade stake, and pork ribs, and I don't even know what else. Geez, I'm so tired of eating. I want Reno dieting back, lmao. That was pretty extreme what we did there. I think I dropped like 30 lbs in 2 months? And kept it off, for a year and a half almost, with a 5-8 lbs increase. I think it's the stress, yeah that must be it. But as I sit here and look to my left, I see my honey typing away at his blog, looking all cute as a cupcake, that's what life is all about, love. :)

The Long Run

2010-10-14T16:44:00.000-07:00

A lot has changed in this household. Within the span of just a few days we came to a few conclusions about certain things. Some of them had to do with my sister, some with regarding Sam's parents. And yet some regarding our own future children. But in the end, we're on the same page and a closer family. I personally am feeling a bit torn apart about certain decisions yet still, and sometimes I wish that I was away from New York City, living on a small farm out in the Santa Cruz mountains. Waking up in the morning and going out for a good run, or a swim with the local swimmers, or hitting the Eureka canyon on the bike. But we're here now, desperately trying to make sense of the circumstances in which were in. And in the meantime, as I've said earlier I have a Marathon to keep my distracted mind on in November, a possible "fun" marathon in the summer or late spring, and possibly even Chicago next fall. Here's how it has been looking so far:
Yesterday I went out for a long run, where my job was to do 18 miles, with the last 12 miles at marathon pace. I wound up doing first 6 at 9 mins/mile, then next 7 miles sub 8, two of which were at 7:30 and a cool down. I felt pretty good, but spent, and basically done enough damage to consider yesterday a half marathon "tune up race." At mile 10 or 11, I had Sam catch up to me on the bike on an easy spin after his hard effort during last weeks marathon. He was passing me water and keeping me company, it was of so much help. One of the best long run experiences ever actually. :)

A Run to Remember

2010-10-14T16:43:00.000-07:00

I've heard it said that the road to the Boston Marathon is littered with lost dreams, of hopes raised only to be extinguished and perhaps most of all by a soul searching that every runner encounters at one time or another in their running career. My road was planned out in the early summer. My hopes were high for a strong time, perhaps as much as 20 minutes faster than the required 3:15:59 for my age group. My training went well at first. 70 mile weeks progressed to 80 miles. 80 miles to 90. And finally that number that I thought I would never run, +100 miles a week was breached with relative ease for several weeks. My pace was strong - long runs at 7 minute mile without too much difficulty. Tempo and VO2 Max at low 6's. As the mileage accumulated my body naturally dropped body fat. Matt Fitzgerald's book "Racing Weight" claims that top pro marathoners and runners have a body fat percentage of 5 to 8%. I was at 5% and was on my way to drop another 5 lbs by race day. Then the inevitability of every runner happened to me. INJURY. Painful shin splints on my right and left leg made it hell to run sometimes but I was still able to push through most of my runs. What I couldn't push past was an inflammation of my right medial tendon. I might have sprained it playing tennis but however it happened I was left waking up in the middle of the night with a throbbing sharp pain. I was unable to run even half a mile before the pain made me change my stride too much to run. In short I went from +100 mile weeks to low teens on a dime. This happened on and off for two months leading up to the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon, due to be run on the memorable date of 10/10/10. I got a bit depressed. I gained a bit of weight - well quite a bit of weight (about 10 lbs). There were moments when I actually thought it might be ok. I would go out for a run with Anna and feel marvelous - we would bang out 14 miles and I wouldn't feel a tingle in my knee. But that bliss of fluid movement were you're not so much running as gliding, flying wouldn't last. The pain would come back. But those few days of joyful running maintained me. There's not much that can come close to the serenity and peace I feel with I run with Anna. We knew got to know each other through it. A communication deeper than words when you hear each others foot steps, the wind rustling past the leaves in Central Park and the rhythmic breathing of someone who enjoys that moment as much as you do. It's something I never felt before with anyone before and it's what left me with the indelible drive to run my marathon - even when deep down I knew Boston was a bend in the road just out of my reach, at least for the moment.

Race Day: 10/10/10
Albany. What can I say about it? Well, it's the capital of New York. That doesn't depart what one would otherwise think as a glorious effect. The capital of a major state no less. But somewhere the good fellows in Albany missed the memo. Half the businesses in the downtown area, mere blocks away from the capital building were vacant spaces. The only restaurants open raised questions of food hygiene let alone taste. It was urban blight without the garbage. But we didn't come here to merely to sight-see. The temperature ended up being much colder than predicted. By the time we got to the bus that was take the runners to Schenectady at 6:45am it was hovering in the high 30's. Chattering teeth were clearly heard from those with less dress.

I was hopeful on the bus ride there. My leg felt good. My knee wasn't hurting. I only ran a handful of miles in the previous 2 weeks. I admit, not the best marathon plan. A long string of yellow buses pulled into Schenectady Park. Only 40 minutes to go. It seems like the entire bus has to go to the bathroom. Everyone looking sheepishly if they can go in the bushes. Many of us are not that lucky to have that as our an option. Long line for the loo - I mean looonnnnggg. I'm waiting 30 minutes - I'm lucky. I'm able to go with 5 minutes to gun time. Probably a good several hundred are not that lucky. I run, yes run, to the bag drop off. My legs feel good! Could it be one of those miraculous days? I line up close to the front. The air is crisp. The golden bloom of autumn leaves surrounds us. Someone on a loud speaker says 10 seconds to go. We all collective move forward closer to the line one last time - a communal exhaling that creates more space. I don't hear the gun but we're all running. Running fast but I don't feel like I'm running. I feel that familiar glide. Relaxed arms swinging and most important I can't hear my footfalls - a good sign. 1st mile marker, a tad above a 7 min/pace. Everyone is relaxed and feeling like a million bucks. Several more miles. I'm still feeling great. I spot several Ironmen. You can always spot them out. If not for the obvious calf tattoo, then from the gear. They love their gear. They're talking up a storm. They pass me. I take 2 cups quickly on the run at each water stop. One water and the other Gateraid every 2 miles. Mile 9 comes up. I'm still clocking it steadily in the low 7's with a group of runners. Runners naturally coalesce around other similar pacers. Wait I see some of the Ironmen. But they're not running they're walking. Half way mark arrives, a clean 1:37 half marathon split. On perfect pace. Then disaster. Did I mention the road to Boston can be long and circuitous?

Pain. Pain. Pain. With every foot fall my calves knot up into a ball. My stride shortens up and I can hear my shoes skidding across the road. Not good. Pace drops. A thought flashes in my head. I won't qualify for Boston. Should I walk? Should I save myself from injury - further injury? Then a picture pops in my head. Those Ironmen walking. Big talk turning to a walk. The other picture is of all those people you hear about, read about, see on TV. Finishing Koni against incredible odds. So I start to repeat a mantra to myself. If I can't qualify for Boston that's fine, but "I will not walk". I repeat that to myself, "I will not walk". The pain migrates to my knees finally. I'm a hobbling mess but still running. My pace slows down to 8, 9, then as slow as 10 for one mile. But I'm pushing through. Trying to enjoy the scenery. It is truly is beautiful. I wish Anna were running with me. "I will not walk." The miles tick down as slow as I've ever felt on a run. 2 miles to go. My legs are destroyed. I've been hobble running for the past 10 miles. But the prospect of ending the pain sooner drives me to pick up my pace. I start to actually pass people. 0.2 miles to go. The pain is there but I'm resigned to it. The finish is within sight. I hear someone yell my name. I see Anna on the sideline cheering me one. I cross the line. It's difficult to walk. What emotion did I feel? Well pain was there front and center. But most of all pure JOY. I finished the hardest run of my life.

Sick Days get me sidetracked

2010-10-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

I worked three shifts in a row at the hospital, then for the next two days off the weather was horrendous, so I was not able to do a long run or anything. Then I went back to work for two more days and today, on my day off, I got the cold. I feel all fatigued, and incredibly achy, and cranky. I have no energy, ate like the entire contents of our fridge today, and did not write in my food diary. I took a protest. I'm giving myself a week of no recordings, and I'll see how that goes. When I get sick I get very discouraged, eat too much, and because I can't exercise, feels like I'll never get back on track. Anyone else feel the same on these types of occasions?

PS I posted a pic of me drinking Thai Ice tea after the DC marathon for motivation sort of thing.

Crafts

2010-10-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

With all this running, there needs to be plenty of rest in between. And what is better than sitting on your comfy couch making lovely stuffed animals and holiday decorations/gifts while your leggies get a break? Thus, I am imparting on yet another adventure, to become good enough to make the kitties and the bunnies look "good." I absolutely love it, and you'd be surprised as to how much fun it is making something yourself. A few years back I started a policy, that every gift needs to be handmade because that is the best way to relay to how much one might know their gift recepient. So I encourage all of you to try something, and you'd be surprised at what you can do, and how happy you will make your spouse when you show them a hypoallergenic kitty, lol. (We're both pretty allergic to cats...and dogs...and like everything).

Goals: #1: make a plush dog, horse, and little Halloween monsters.

#2: learn embroidery (what could be better than embroidering your own shirts for the upcoming events?)

#3: someday I really want to learn how to make quilts, so pretty.

Making stuffed toys, banana bread, and training for Marathons!

2010-09-30T17:53:00.000-07:00

Ha, so there, Sam picked up my sewing machine from my parents house and we have created....a bunny! Great success.

As for the banana bread, we had like 10 ripe bananas that I like to save for my breakfast oatmeal, but they turned out to be too ripe, so we had no choice but to make use of them. Yumm. And we also made the splenda/apple sauce version. Not bad, and like 1/3 the calories.

With regards to training, I have another event to look forward to: the Baltimore Road Runners Club North Central Trail Marathon on November 27th. I just need a 3:39 to run Boston, and hopefully Sam's knee will magically feel better on the Mohawk-Hudson marathon (Oct 10th), and he will be able to qualify for Boston too, and then we can run it together because we have realized that the two of us training for two separate events is not working out. One is doing the diet and the training, the other is eating Chinese food and doing easy runs.

Alright, I am feeling very tired and my thoughts are very scattered, but all I'm saying is that I love what we do, and I love my husband, and I'm just greatful for what we have.
And with that, I thonk I want another slice of banana bread. Cheers!

My very 1st Triathlon

2010-09-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

This will be a short review of the Mighty Hamptons Olympic Distance Tri.
The swim was a 1/2 mile and back, parallel to the beach in the very beautiful Noyak Bay in Sag Harbor. A plus because there were almost no currents churning about, and the water was warmer. I did not need a wetsuit as so many other people seemed to have had, for the 71 degree water. I came the day prior and did a test swim, and was pleasantly surprised that the water was a comfortable racing temperature.
The bike ride was full of rolling hills, I'd say not your typical flat tri course. A tri bike might be more challenging to use. I enjoyed getting off the seat a couple of times and then being able to accelerate fast on the downhills. Some of the turns were a bit too sharp, but if you practice the traffic control was excellent.
As for the run, I felt like my legs were made out of something spongy and hard at the same time, but I did warm up going into the false flat and was really able to speed up at the turnaround point. It was very straightforward, and beautiful of course.
I was wave 6 out of 6, all women participants 34 and younger. I was dissapointed that I had a lot of catching up to do, but at least I stayed with my age group because I had no clue until race day that I'd be that way.
I placed well, 1st in my age group (20-24), 5th woman overall, and a time of 2:34:59. The swim really was my worst part, which I wasn't expecting since I have a swimming background. However I've been out of the pool for 2 years, and 2 months might not have done enough justice. As for now, I am planning to do a couple of 5 and 10Ks, plan a half-ironman for sometime next year, and the eventual goal - to complete an Ironman someday. In the meantime I will take the winter season off to hit the weightroom and "fitten up" those arms and tummy of mine. Also get in some really good long distance runs to build a strong base.
As for the Mr. Athlete there, his marathon is just around the corner next month, can't wait!

Hiking in Harriman

2010-08-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

Today was a pretty hot day here in New York. Started out with a Santa Cruz chill in the low 60s and went all the way up to mid 90s before 1pm. The morning workout was nice, we did an easy 12.5 miler on Riverside Drive at 7 am, soaking up the beautiful city and morning breeze. Afterwards, the usual routine: protein/gatorade/OJ shake, stretch, legs up against the wall, self massage on the legs, and of course, at least a 40 minute nap. I cannot function without my nap, I have a nickname for my nap-less days: Crank-Set. But, today I completed the routine as per the homemade training manual exactly, so I had plenty of energy to get ready for a short, flat hike in the Harriman woods. Once we got there, it was pretty hot, I was sweating, a bit miserable. I cannot function in the heat well unless I acclimate. But since I train early early morning, hang out in the house during midday, and otherwise work from 7 to 8, I think this summer has been quite nice for me. :)

So to tie all the random thoughts, the morning was nice and cool, wished I could run forever. The afternoon was hot and I wished for fall, so that I can wear my new Columbia and L.L. Bean hiking stuff.

Then at home we made mashed potatoes with all the potatoes we've accumulated in the fridge, thinking we'd eat them, and some veggie-Costco spicy sausage stew concoction for lunch at work tomorrow. I love homemade food, especially when it reminds me of my farm in Latvia. I love it so because I grew up with a mom who thought fast food was the way to go in America.

On a happier note, today was quite splendid. Oh, and yesterday I was learning how to play tennis! It was really hard, and I kept missing the ball. I tell you, I can move in one direction well, but not side to side. And in running, swimming, biking you don't have to keep your eyes on the ball. You can day dream if you want to, no problem!

Mighty Hamptons Tri and keep on trying

2010-07-18T08:28:00.001-07:00

So as you might have noticed just below, my husband has signed up to qualify for Boston this upcoming year. Since I came so close to qualifying this past March, I've decided to leave the marathons behind me (just temporarily) and take on the challenge of a triathlon. As I am known for making rash decisions (signing up for a marathon 3 months away with two years of ZERO running), it took me a suggestion of one acquaintance, and one day to mull it over at work to sign up. Here's a race, looks good, let's do it! And just like that, $175 later, and with only 2 months to train, I need to get in the training for an Olympic distance. (BTW that feat of endurance I attempted during my birthday week to run 75 miles - was a very bad idea). So, since it takes time to get "good" and "fast" I am taking it all in stride and am keeping the weekly mileage to a bear minimum considering I have to work 12.5 hr shifts at the hospital. This has puored out to look something like 100 miles weekly total on the bike, about 3 hours in the pool, and occasional trips to Coney Island, and 20 or so miles running. And don't ask about hours trained, I'm still trying frantically to figure out the triathlon lingo.
But, the idea of finally doing a triathlon is awfully exciting, and I hope that my husband and I can reach our goals, his to run a sub 3:15 this October, and me to break a 2:45 tri time.
Along the road we had to switch back to a lower calorie diet, alter the timing of foods to mostly consume only low GI products, and high GI only during and after exercise. Works magically, you feel more full longer, and no sugar spikes. We have also tried going vegeterian, did it for three months, but then the training tempo picked up and we were't getting in enough protein, so we had to go back to lean chicken and turkey breast. And of course the best change of all has been no dessert. Not fruit or anything like that, but no ice cream (which doesn't help I just found out I'm lactose intolerant), no cookies, white breads or brioches, no muffins or biscuits, no cake or biscotti, and the list goes on and on. Three months in, and I don't feel a singe difference, meaning, the human kind can live without those things, and I have noticed the number on the scale gradually go down. :) I do miss the idea of it, but considering I've struggled with weight issues my whole life, making such a a small insignificant change only serves my health better, or so I tell myself when I dream of eating a tub of cherry-vanilla ice cream. I guess that's what the pro's feel like during season. Who knows, who knows.

Training in heat

2010-07-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

We're having a full blown heatwave in the Northeast. Been in the low 90s to 100s for what seems like 2 weeks now. While everyone is enjoying the comforts of A/C I decided to go for a 12 mile run when it's 95 degrees. Hydration, hydration, hydration - with electrolyte replacement, long-sleeve UV 50+ technical shirt, cap, sunglasses and MTA card for bailout option.

Boston Marathon Training

2010-07-06T06:06:00.000-07:00

The Boston Marathon is the mother of all marathons. It's the oldest continuously held marathon in the world and has one of the toughest courses. My goal is to qualify for the 2011 marathon with a time of 3:15:59 or better (QT for 35-39 age group). Registration opens on October 18, 2010 at 9am. Which is perfect because I'm running the Mohawk-Hudson River Marathon on October 10th. The field at Boston is limited to 25,000 runners and 2011 marks its 115th anniversary. My goal is to qualify and run a good race. My dream is to qualify and run it every year.

2010 5 Borough Bike Tour

2010-05-03T07:05:00.000-07:00

Started off the biking season as marshals in the 2010 5 Borough Bike Tour. Only time of the year where 30,000+ cyclist rule the mean streets of New York passing through all 5 boroughs and in the process enjoy riding over the FDR, Queensborough Bridge and the Verrazano Bridge into Staten Island. 42 miles of bumper to bumper cyclist but this year will probably be our last. We did it last year in while getting drenched under a spring thunderstorm - Anna's first, my 5th or 6th - and really enjoyed it. This year was a bit different. About as perfect a day as we could have asked but I think we just got used to longer rides. Granted we biking down there and biked back up to our apartment adding another 20 some odd miles. In the end the long roads with verdant shading is calling us across the Hudson.

2010-04-24T05:49:00.000-07:00

Just about perfect day in Central Park. A bit cloudy but we warmed up playing Frisbee. Not many people around in late April. That's going to change with summer rolling around the corner.

Seven days, 75 miles

2010-04-12T08:38:00.000-07:00

Perhaps attempting to do 100 miles was a bit too much, but I did get to the 75 mile mark. Partially I did not finish because it rained the last two days, but the real reason was my knees. The muscles were holding out perfectly, barely a sign of any soreness, but the kneecaps would hurt as I would walk up the stairs, and to me that was a clear sign of over-training. I still prodded on, and completed as much as my legs would take me. Yesterday (Sunday) I did a very easy 5 miles, slept during the day and minimized my walking, and this morning my kneecaps no longer hurt, but I would have to make up a full marathon in one day to catch up to the mark I set, in 8 days, in pain. No thank you. What I think of doing is starting a weight training program to increase strength and agility, get back on the bike, rehab the legs from all the pounding, and start thinking of the Ironman training.

Birthday endeavor.

2010-04-07T19:09:00.000-07:00

I got really lucky with my vacation time from the hospital, somehow out of all the nurses, no one was interested in having the first two weeks of April off, so to my very luck I got it, and lo and behold it's my Birthday! So we got tickets ASAP to fly to California and spend the two weeks in Santa Cruz. Doing what you might ask, well, it is the best land out there, but specifically to run. We landed on Sunday, went out for a 30 min run. Monday, 10.8 miles. Tuesday, 14 miles. Wednesday 15 miles. Tomorrow 15, etc. By next Monday I want to log 100 miles in one week. Oh, and the marathon was 2 weeks ago. :)

I feel great. I feel so great in fact that I decided to do this. The longest miles I've logged in a week is 50, this will be double. But, like the marathon, the 100 mile week has been my wish and dream for a long time. As a XC runner in college on the day before my very last race I realized that the only way I would have a chance at going to Nationals is if I have logged the miles that the other girls log, and that my friend is somewhere in that vicinity. Not the 45 milers that I was doing, hoping to make top 15 to qualify. Well, my career in college is long gone, but the dream to be a the best runner I can be is still there, and my 24th birthday is going to be the time to try it.

I am not sure if I can yet finish this, but I already did 40 so far, and I have 4 days to log 60. No problemo.

We get up, run, eat, sleep, read, run, eat, read and sleep. Oh and in between go see the Pacific ocean, day dream about a goat farm, lol, and take rides to San Francisco for some city life.

Oh, and my birthday was nice too. Ran on the beach, made a little video, walked around Santa Cruz, ate homemade sushi for dinner and delicious carrot cake, my favorite.

The next Feat of Endurance is to do the Ironman. Just like that, no half, no olympic distace, the whole Ironman. In a year. With a road bike. And maybe lose some weight along the way, maybe drop back to 138? I wish, man it's haaard.

First Marathon

2010-04-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, running a marathon was a great experience. Of course it helped that the weather was in the perfect 70s and the course was somewhat flat and there was a GU stop every 2 miles or so. We did great for the first one. We trained for about 3 or 4 months, I am not quite sure of the specifics, but not long is the point. I was able to run about 3 days a week, Sam a bit more, but a month before the marathon he lost inspiration, and became a "kolobok" Russian for a jelly doughnut. So, he decided to run it with me, as a pacer bunny if you will. And a pacer bunny was he, my best prediction was 4 hours? So I did 3:41:25. Without knowing it I missed the Boston qualifier by 26 seconds. What? Hey, I trained to run a 9:15 pace best case, turned out we pounded at a blistering 8:27 pace. And did a negative split, fist half in 1:53, second in 1:48. I'm still confused at how I was able to pull this off, but hey, it was ONE of the best experiences of my life.

Along the route there were some really great posters, some of my favorites were: "it's not sweat, it's your fat cells crunching," and "you're not a runner anymore, you're a marathoner." Oh, and "your legs hurt because you are kicking so much butt!" Haha, loved it.

But, right after I finished I must admit I could not even sit down I was in so much pain. From hips down I felt numb and in pain. The first 22 miles or so we're OK, but then, it kind of just started hurting. I kept pace, no problem, but the pain in the joints was quite disheartening. My cardiovascular capacity was A-OK, but the joints were screaming, stop! Basic principle, I did not do enough training in 3 months after a complete 2 year layoff for the joints to adapt to a whole lotta 14o lb 5'9" lady that I am.

With regards to post recovery meal, well, I was so nauseaus after so many GU's that I did not opt for the GIGANTIC chocolate chip cookies at the finish. Instead I downed 2 cinnamon raisin bagels, 2 powerades, and water. Sam had 2 bananas and a bagel.

It took me a week and a half of NO running to recover. Yeah. I gained 5 lbs in doing so. Well, I'm upset and all, and it was tough not doing anything on my days off from work. And eating lots of Chinese food did not help either, I was having this absolutely nuts craving of chinese food. Must have been all the salt I depleted myself of, haha, yeah right.

Ok, next post to follow ASAP.

The cold winter '10 update

2010-02-23T13:47:00.001-08:00

It seems as thought it has been absolutely forever since the last post. Therefore, I will do my best to sum it up short. We've signed up for our very first marathon! We are planning to run the Washington DC Sun Trust Marathon on March 20th. We have been training for it since November, only 3 months! Well, it's been a rough three months. Basically I had to follow the less is more approach since I work 3-4 days a week, and I don't even think about training after a 12.5 hour shift, I get home looking like a zombie. But besides that, this would leave me with approximately 3-4 days of training. Worked out pretty well I must say. Instead of doing interval training and tempo runs I primarily focused on being able to do the distance, so each week I increased my daily miles until I was covering on average 35 miles a week on 3 days of running. Of course, knowing me, I got pretty bored with a 3 month plan, so before I could even finish the marathon I decided that I am also someday going to finish an Ironman, so I threw in some pool swimming and spin biking. How fun! No really.

The food on the other hand has been a struggle. With the normal day of working out about 3 hours a day, I'd try to maintain weight etc. But on the days that I work it would/is hard to be very disciplined. I crave foods that are not part of my diet, and on occasion I'd slip and have a bit too much of sweet cereal. And I'm putting this out there only because even though it may seem that once people have a goal it's "easy" for them to to stay on track, but I think that even the best of athletes out there wish they could just sit and eat fried chicken and cheesecake every day. Well, maybe not very day, I think I would come down sick with that kind of diet, but you get the point. No?

Ok, so what else has been going on? Well, the "guy" has managed to run a whole marathon for a long run day, like a month ago already, so I guess DC isn't going to be his truly 1st marathon. He's also learning to swim, yeah that's right, even the superman needs to put in time to learn the proper technique before he can attempt an iroman. So that's our goal for now, to do it in 2011? Or 2012? I need to ask him. :)

Whaaat else? Oh, I leaned how to make really good quinoa with mushrooms and how to roast a whole chicken! And I also know how to make my own bread, dumplings, and mack n' cheese from scratch. So who want's another cookbook, anyone anyone? lol

Yeah, so that's that. Until next time.

Halloween Tradition.

2009-11-09T18:30:00.000-08:00

We were supposed to spend the evening of Halloween with friends in the West Village, watching costumes parade in front of us, making us believe that maybe just for one night the world can turn upside down and let you forget who you are. Instead, we packed the car and headed for Bear Mt. park, setting out North on the Long Trail path. On it, Sam embarked to tell me the story of Jesus and from there we decided that story telling on Halloween along with Charlie Brown and the Pumpkin Special DVD will make a good family tradition for many years to come. Specifically, when we have kids, we will dress up in costumes and go hiking, tell stories. Then come back home, watch Charlie brown get rocks in his trick or treat bag and make pumpkin cookies. :) Neat huh? It was my best Halloween ever. Maybe next time he can tell me a story about the Big Bang and evolution.

The good, the bad and the ugly

2009-11-02T17:34:00.001-08:00

The good, the bad and the ugly. That sums up our house search thus far. Let's start with the ugly. Well, there's just too many examples of ugly looking buildings, apartments and duplexes. Mind you these are just the aesthetically challenged, the end product of some misguided 1970's architect who thought fake oak wall paneling looked good. Let me tell you without a doubt it doesn't in 2009 and I doubt it did in 1970. The bad is reserved for those places that are not only visually challenging for the eye but have owners with the audacity to over charge for it. These are the places that reek of that mysterious funk that you don't quite want to name. The surfaces of the kitchen and bathroom seem to have a ubiquitous greasy film covering everything, as if a grease fryer once resided front and center spraying the counters with an invisible oily mist. Avoid at all cost and count yourself lucky for leaving the Bate's Motel alive. That leaves us with the real estate equivalent of the good, or like Woolf's proclamation, a place that we can call our own.

Recent Cravings Menu

2009-10-27T17:42:00.000-07:00

So personally, I fluctuate with regards to the foods that I eat, so just as a reminder to myself in a few years, here I am jotting down some of the things that I have been craving to have and have had. Generally I've abandoned the oatmeal for breakfast and instead started making cornmeal with apple sauce, walnuts, cinnamon, and milk. My snacks, particularly at work have been a banana and an apple, then lunch has been dinner leftovers, whatever Sam has made the night before. Usually we've been packing in on the veggies, like acorn squash with brown sugar and less than a gram of butter. Then the all favorite stew with cabbage of some sort. I'm telling you all those eastern European foods have been on my mind lately. Sometimes he'd mix in beef, sometimes chicken. He has also made some pretty good lentil soup, a kickass beef brisket, and my favorite, the balsamic vinaigrette/honey chicken. Then on the days off we've been making our own bread with rye, corn, and whole wheat. That with a fresh cup of coffee and some brie for breakfast has been quite irresistible. Then we'd go to Stew Leonards, oh man, my favorite place to shop! You have to try the maple bagel with powdered sugar on it with a glass of milk. Yup, it's that good. Oh, and the the chocolate milk, my guiltiest pleasure. Alright, it's getting late and all this talk of food is making me hungry. I have to go in tomorrow. So that means canned soup for lunch...I ate all the leftovers. :)

ps. I've also been listening to Ben Sollee a lot, really good new album. I need to go buy it and listen it on the evening car drives accompanying Sam to his star (as in planets and such) hunting adventures.

Going back to the roots...Farm life

2009-10-27T17:26:00.000-07:00

Did I mention I grew up on a farm in Latvia? Well, not 100%, but I sure did spend 50% of my free childhood life on my grandparents farm, the rest in the city of Riga going to school. Ironically, the majority of my memories are from the land of horse plows, potato fields, chicken eggs, frothy cow's milk, and pig sausage. :) And a few other things. So, how am I taking the move? Pretty well. Yes I will be much further from the hospital where I work now, I have been enjoying the ten minute walk, but I will drop poop-de-ville Washington Heights streets for a nice trail in no time. In an ideal world where money falls down from the skies like meatballs, I would most likely prefer a nice apartment in the Castle village, but this ain't no Pixar movie and a $1000 rent for a house in the middle of nowhere sounds pretty good to me. Ok, so perhaps you're sensing some tint of sarcasm in my words, but really, I'm just really particular about the amount of sleep that I get before and in between work, AND the time that I spend with my favorite buddy Sam. So knowing that I will truly have a wonderful opportunity to have a city free environment and yet spending more time to commute, are things to think about.

In any case, this is life, and perhaps I will enjoy my days off so much more. Aha!

Looking for a new home

2009-10-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

I've started the tedious and generally not so fun search for a new place to call home. It's not that we don't like where we live now - on the contrary it's quite convenient for work as it only entails a 5 minute walk. But the call of the wild has been beckoning us for a while now. Our best estimate is that we have about a year, maybe a little bit longer, until we move to California and we truly want to use the time we have here well. Invariable that means spending a lot of times outdoors, cycling, running, hiking, ect and living in the city isn't the most conducive of environments for such activities.

We've narrowed down our hunt criteria down to some must haves. It must be within 30 to 45 minutes from work by car, it must be in a semi-rural area close to trail heads and good cycling roads and lastly it would be ideal if it had some decently dark skies for astronomy. Added to that list is of course the basics of liking the apartment, or more ideally house, and its immediate surroundings. Not too demanding right? Well, around the tri-state area you find yourself either too close to the metropolitan area or too far away from it. The only nice place in the middle is luckily for us the place that we love to trail run the most, Harriman State Park. So we decided to try our luck with the towns and villages to the west of the park. Craigslist isn't the most useful of tools since the area is pretty small. We might have better luck with a local real estate agency - even though we would rather not pay the brokers fee. We'll see what we can find this week!

Herschel 400

2009-10-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

There are a few musts on the to-do list in life for me. Some of them are travel related, such as riding the train across India and biking across Europe, others are sports or endurance related, when finishing a 100 mile ultramarathon comes to mind. Then there are those obscure accomplishments that are appreciated and acknowledged only by its devotes.

The Herschel 400 is my challenge. It is a list of 400 astronomical objects picked from the much larger catalogue known as the New General Catalogue. The NGC was compiled by John Herschel, one of histories best visual astronomers, in 1864. The Herschel 400 was created in 1980 to highlight the best and toughest selection from the NGC that an amateur astronomer can observe. Light pollution in 1980 was much less of an ubiquitous concern as it is today. Much of the natural beauty of the night sky has been washed away by artificial sky glow that leaves only a handful of stars visible from metropolitan areas. The astronomical objects listed in the Herschel 400 are both very distant from us and very dim - none are directly visible by naked eye even from the darkest of locations. Most amateur astronomers who have completed the Herschel 400 use a telescope with an aperture of 8-inches or more, sometimes significantly more in the case of the big dobs in the 18 to 25-inch range. But there are those who find the challenge of observing these elusive celestial wonders in a small refractor rewarding. I say to those of you who have a 6-inch or smaller reflector and 4-inch or even 3-inch refractor that this challenging list can be done with your equipment if you are well prepared and use the right observing techniques. In the end you'll end up accomplishing something that only a relatively small percentage of observers ever do and in the process learn to "see" more than you thought was ever possible. I hope you join me in this challenge.

How to clean your optics

2009-10-25T13:47:00.001-07:00

Blog entry also on cloudynights.com

My optics were certainly not visually that dirty, in fact they were pretty clean. However, it's just under a year old and I'm the second owner. I have no way of knowing what types of contaminants ended up on the lens from its previous life in Hawaii. With the knowledge that modern coatings are pretty darn tough and proper cleaning technique will do absolutely no harm to it I decided to clean the front element and Everbrite diagonal today.

I asked several knowledgeable sources that I trust how often I should clean the front element of my TV-102. The answers all came back roughly the same. 1st Rule - similar to the medical mantra, "do no harm." Clean only when needed and when you do clean it do it correctly for dirty optics are better than scratched optics. 2nd Rule - Clean only in a clean environment - never try to clean in the field other than using a bulb blower. 3rd Rule - Dust is not evil but acids from skin oil and pollen are.

With this information I set out to buy some cleaning and maintenance essentials. I needed to do a run today so I decided to run down to B&H Photo, a nice easy 7 mile run. 70 minutes later I was in photo mecca. There's a lot of different options and opinions concerning which cleaning fluid is best. Normally I always err on the side of caution and listen to what the manufacturer states. However, in the case of Televue they don't endorse any specific product, other than to say to choose a product with minimal additives that can be corrosive, act as an abrasion agent or that can leave an oily residue. I thought about using reagent grade acetone, a highly economical yet highly combustible product. I decided I wanted something that involved less volatile organic compounds. That lead me to Astro-Physics's website. I take what Roland Christen has to say about optics seriously. And if he endorses a product I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't risk his reputation to make a few extra bucks on cleaning supplies. Thus, I decided to buy a 4 oz bottle of Purosol Optical enzyme based cleaner. I also picked up a Giottos Rocket Air Blower, the large 7.5-inch version, and a 100 pack of Photographic-Solutions 4X4-inch PEC-PADs (advertised as 99.999% free of contaminants and lint-free). I also have a supple of Nitrile latex and powder-free sterile surgical gloves and sterile packages of cotton swabs, Q-tip style.

I worked in a room with all the windows and doors shut to minimize air movement. I made sure I had all the supplies that I needed on top of a clean work surface and that I had extras of everything. I don't have kids to contend with but it would also be a good idea to let others know not to interrupt you for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. I started by blowing off as much particles as possible - which ended up being not too many since the last time I observed dew dried and cemented dust particles onto the surface (I'm building my own phase width modulated dew heater). Next I put on the sterile gloves and sprayed the Purosol cleaner onto a 4X4-inch PEC-PAD. Using the PEC-PAD only once per side I moved in a circular pattern from the center out, using only the weight of the pad. I used about 20 pads by the time I was done with that stage. NOTE: Purosol works as advertised - it left absolutely no residue behind and took off most particles. Also PEC-PAD's are indeed lint-free (although I didn't cut them, which might produce some lint). Luckily I didn't have to use spit, per AP website's advice, but just finished by using my breath to fog up the front element, which is a nice way of producing distilled water vapor. I gave each section a final run through with new pads. I used the same stages to clean my Everbrite diagonal.

I now have a front element and diagonal that are as clean as from the manufacturer and in the process learned not to fear cleaning. It also highlights the point that preventative measures are important and I will be using the bulb blower after all observing sessions - and soon will be using an active anti-dew system for both front element and EP. Thanks for reading and clear skies and clean optics to you all!

A change in the leaves

2009-10-24T11:15:00.000-07:00

Cold crispness in the air has returned to the northeast along with the firecracker explosion of colors on the trees that line the Hudson River. There's nothing that reminds me of the Fall season more than the smell of damp earth sodden with new fallen leaves of yellow, red and gold. And the the best way to explore the wonders of Fall has to be trail running. We went out for the past couple of days to Harriman State Park for a couple hour runs with a mix of trail running and uphill scrambling. Nothing too serious but it was spectacular to run with Anna again. I've always known her has a great XC runner - the best in her college conference several years in a row - but that all to familiar twang of running injury has side tracked her running career for the past 2 years.... Wow, has it really been that long? A dozen doctor's office visits along with a plethora of x-rays, MRI scans and even a neurological electromuscular test (where they place a long thin needle into your muscles and give you a "mild" shock) have come back with the same inconclusive response, "there's really nothing that presents itself medically." Pain is taught as a subjective vital sign but that subjectiveness often is misconstrued in the medical field as "just in your head syndrome". For all of us runners, bikers, swimmers or those who have had a nagging back injury because of work or the daily chores of family life, the worse prospect of pain/injury besides the pain is the added insult of people looking at you like it's all in your head - makes it worse when you're paying that person in the white lab coat as they look dismissively at you.

It's been 2 years now since her injury. We don't know the specific pathology of the injury but we have our theories. It's gotten better for sure. I'm still amazed and delighted after watching her run lightly over technical terrain yesterday. We've kind of lost hope in the possibility of finding the exact cause but she's decided that the best course of action would be to rule out a neuromuscluar/skeletal problem (specifically in her spine) with a specialist. I'm expecting the same answer we're heard all along - "we can't find anything on the film". With that OK, the next step will be to do a complete rehab program from the ground up. Think of it as a bionic woman remake without the bionics. Stay tuned!

Cup of Joe?

2009-10-10T10:21:00.000-07:00

Not much you can do when you only have a day off in between 3 days of work before and 3 days to come - so we went on search for good coffee. No not the cup of coffee from the store in the picture - although believe me when you're in a small little town in the middle of god only knows where and you see a Sbucks, well it's pretty well received. We went downtown to West 23rd and 10th Ave to "Joe The Art of Coffee". We had good luck there before with a drip coffee that felt velvety smooth with rich bold flavors ( yes it actually tasted like coffee!) without any hint of bitterness. The place gets packed with locals which is a show in itself with its collection of Meat District hipsters and established Chelsea inhabitants - described in two words, skinny and fashionable. This visit however with my Americano and cafe didn't bring back the holy shit moment that defined our last visit. Completely the opposite the flavors were lacking and it tasted like.. could it be, like the watered down "coffee" they serve on the street with 3-day old pastries. Very disappointing. I guess it just highlights the need to continue making our own coffee at home and to continue the search for that perfect cup of joe.

Review of TV-102

2009-10-10T03:54:00.000-07:00

Tick, tick... the clock showed 9 minutes past 7pm EST. According to UPS's website the truck was out for delivery since 8am and I should expect delivery anytime between the hours of 9am to 7pm. "Ok, I'm going to check outside again. Just in case he needs help finding the building" I tell my wife. It was the 5th time I hopped outside during the past 20 minutes as I hoped the act would magically create a UPS brown truck out of my wishful thinking into fruition. We were running late. I planned to meet CN member Helder tonight so he could take us to AAI's headquarters in Cranford, NJ for a talk about Halley's Comet and a look through the club's 10-inch f/15 refractor. I looked at my watch again - if that damn truck get's here in the next 3 minutes and we don't hit traffic on the GWB or I-95 then we should make it in 30 minutes, just enough time. Just as I'm about to tell my wife, "screw it, let's just go and he can make a delivery it tomorrow" I see the big brown truck that's been carrying my long awaited cargo. 3 huge boxes emerge with not a dent or nick on any of them. Hummm, very surprising but a very welcome sign. I place the boxes in our bedroom, punch in Helder's address in the Garmin and we're off to Jersey in a

heartbeat. We arrive 27 minutes later with 5 minutes to spare.

The highlight of the AAI trip was taking a look at the club's 10-inch f/15 refractor. Completely hand built by AAI club members during the 1970s it's a beautiful thing to behold. It's amazing how much engineering marvel came out of the tri-state corridor. Now a days one might think of the west coast and select research universities pumping out cutting edge technology but much of that backbone was started right here - Bell Labs, IBM research center, Cold Springs, the list goes on and on. Going to school at Stanford I half dismissed the engineering genius that took place a generation ago, much of it from every day engineers who did their work passionately but without much fanfare. As I looked up to the 500 lbs counterweight and the massive GEM mount that I could move with a gentle push of one hand I felt that past history in the present. I was an amazing feeling.

Back at home as Anna got ready for bed - she went out to Jersey with me even though she had to wake up the next morning at 6am for a 12.5 hour shift (I have an amazing wife!) - I slowly and methodically unwrapped the boxes like it was Christmas morning. To my surprise and delight everything was fastidiously packaged for protection. It was obvious that there was going to be no damage here. I admit I had a pang of panic right before I opened the big grey case with the Televue logo - what if there's nothing but crumpled newspapers in there with a bunch of rocks for weight..... I opened my eyes and I big grin formed on my face like I was a drunk toothless idiot. The TV-102 was there and it was beautiful. I had a little taste into Televue's famous craftsmanship and attention to quality control when I bought my eyepieces from them. With the TV-102 I get that same tactile satisfaction and obvious quality but just much more of it. This thing is much bigger than I expected - and not in a bad way. Picking it up in my hands the scope feels much heavier then it really is. Read any review on them and people marvel at something I thought was kind of a sidenote - the paint job. But seeing and feeling it firsthand I know why people say it's the best in the business. The glossy pebble white finish seems like it can take years of use and even abuse without nary a complaint. The R&P style focuser is also deserving of all the praise it gets. Smooth and buttery without any hint of misalignment during it's entire movement. Dual Teflon tension screws on top provide the perfect amount of tension when using heavier EPs. The dielectric 2-inch diagonal is CN'ed from one solid piece of aluminum. It's big, it's heavy and it's absolutely gorgeous to look at.

I'm due to take it out for first light tonight, weather permitting, and I think it's safe to say I'm going to be pleased with the results. I have to make a list of objects I want to observe - write out a description and history on each and print out a sketch and observation log. Should be fun!

Catskills

2009-10-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

The Catskill Mountains has hundreds of miles of hiking trails, perfect roads for cycling and beautiful dark skies for astronomy - needless to say we love the area and have been considering building a house there. Ideally we're looking for around 20 acres on the north/north western corner of the park. That shields us from the light dome coming from the south east from Poughkeepsie and New York City, yet is around 25 miles to shopping and the accoutrements of life. It's going to take us several months of visiting various areas to narrow down the location that's going to be ideal. But that's not a bad thing as it will give us time to get to know the culture of the area and even meet some of the locals. Thinking of joining the local cycling club and astronomy club as a primer into the area. It will be a lot of work in an already busy life but it's something that we both have wanted for a while. Let's see where it goes!

3,000 miles in 3 days

2009-09-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

So my 3 week emergency visit back to California ended with a 3,000 mile cross-country drive back to New York City. My option boiled down to taking a leisurely drive back, enjoying all the sights along the way, or booking it as fast as possible. In the end I decided to do something in the middle and take about 4 to 5 days. I prepped the car, stopped by AAA and picked up all the required maps, filled my Starbucks card with money and bought a Garmin 765T GPS unit.

In the end the trip took 3 days, 2 nights to do. I drove 60mph or less on I-80 to the chagrin to passing motorist but hey I didn't have to worry about getting a ticket and got close to 40 mpg in my Honda Civic. The Garmin was a life saver. Never did I feel lost and it helped immensely when driving at night - knowing which way the next turn would go helped during mountain crossings. Loaded the unit up with 3 audio books - "Born to Run", "The Time Traveler's Wife" and "The Help". If you love to run or into sports you'll absolutely love "Born to Run." The audio books on the Garmin made the 20 hour/day drives fly by. Only complaint about the unit is the weak FM transmitter - not really a problem outside of major metro areas, and wish it had voice activation.

Taking Woodstock

2009-09-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

So we rented a car, loaded the bikes, got off in Newburgh, rode through New Paltz, through Kingston, into the park, and into Woodstock. Total roundtrip 95 miles. Awesome. I absolutely loved the town of NP, Kingston, and Woodstock, of course. We did not get any food anywhere, we had delicious homemade pb&j sandwiches and cornbread for fuel. I think that I can scratch off my food testing now on the rides because I felt strong and little fatigue and everything seemed to digest easily and not give me any stomach cramps.

The next day we did a recovery ride of 70 miles down to Piermont, over to Nyak, back Piermont via the backroads and into Suffern and back. The weather was gorgeous, nice and crisp. Discussed touring together, what gear we will need. My assignment is to look up qualifier brevets. Paris Brest Paris is in August, 2011. Just enough time to do the preliminaries. talked about doing the NY-Boston-NY. Ok, I'm all distracted from watching la Vuelta a Espania. Peace

"One Year Challenge"

2009-08-28T06:55:00.001-07:00

The start was July 6th, 2009 in Reno. That's right, we took a drive out to Reno, and we were so sad there with all the heat and wind, that to keep ourselves entertained, we "challenged" each other to a two month Costco weight loss shake diet, for two months. We had to lose 10 lbs each by September 6th by eating no more than 1200 calories a day with absolutely no exercize and studying only for the Nursing Boards. Today it's August 28th, I went from 147 lbs to 135. I ride by road bike over the GW bridge nearly everyday, I replenish workout calories, and then start from zero and count 1200 for the rest of the day. But, I was having so much fun doing it, and have done so well because mind you I am a food addict and will do anything for a pastry, I decided that the only way I can guarantee my success is by challenging myself to do this for a year, instead of two months. I'm excited and anxious at the same time, partially because I'm afraid of the peer pressure I might encounter at the 12 hour nursing shifts, where a cake pops up often in the nurses lounge to celebrate someone's success and I might find it hard to stay on track. However, it helps me think of my future kids and what a good example I can set by being fit. I think about all my relatives that teased me about my weight when I was younger, I think of my husband who is proud of me that I can pick a task and complete it, I think of all the crazy sports adventures ahead of me and how much fun it is to get nice pictures out of them. And then, there is also a possibility of a reader out there, who also needs inspiration and a true life example of someone who loves buttercrust apple pie and can still manage to keep the weight down to a reasonable European standard. :)

(Above is a photo of a 300 calorie lunch my husband made consisting of a serving of Israeli cous-cous, a boca veggie burger, onions, cucumbers, and ketchup! It was delicious!)

Harriman State Park and the AT trail

2009-08-28T06:37:00.000-07:00

We had a friend drive us out to Harriman State Park yesterday, where the three of us at 6:30 am ventured out on a 12 mile loop hike following the historic AT trail, for a whopping 7 hours. It was the longest hike I've done in my life, with a load...of water and food that is. The night before my husband suggested that instead of buying bread we should bake our own, to make pb&j sandwiches. The experience was quite something for me, I don't cook, but he does, and cooking is probably my happiest place in life, right next to sports, and my husband of course. In anycase, the sandwiches were made, so were the butter biscuits on the side, and we were ready to take on the perfect 70 degree sunny weather out on the trails. Doing the hike was hard, but manageable with food. I figured I'd burn roughly 300 calories and hour, so I had to make sure to eat approximately 200/h. It worked out well, and I was able to finish strong. Today, I can barely move my sore muscles, but it feels so good. Icing most definitely helped. On a side note, I have challenged myself to a year of good eating and excercize, so you'll see me mention silly things like calories here and there, but it has been nearly two months into the "challenge," and I've managed to drop 12 pounds and ride, hike, swim nearly everyday with no malnourished feeling of fatigue. I love it and I want to finish the challenge, so if you're ready to follow I will let you know how I'm doing. :)

It's a new beginning and I must reintroduce myself

2009-08-28T06:26:00.000-07:00

Well, we're married. I feel that life feels quite different now, there are responsibilities and expectations that I learn and embrace now everyday. I did not come from a so called traditional family, where parents lead a good example of marital life, rather I drew many of my understandings from American pop culture, as I imagine many immigrants of my age have done as well to get a glimpse of what it means to be American. In any case, I don't quite know whether I should try to understand the expectations that of my husbands Korean family, or dig deep into my own Russian/Ukranian/Latvian background. Better yet, I like the American way...and from here on I will share with you my life's adventures of what it means to be a newly wed, stuck between three continent's worth of cultures, fresh grad girl, trying to make it work and pursue happiness in my own way.

Wonder Power Duo get's hitched!

2009-07-31T13:01:00.001-07:00

As the blog bio states we've been partners in all our activities for a while now. Yesterday we took the step that officially recognizes that fact and we were married at City Hall. Luckily, the offices and the procedure in getting one's marriage license and ceremony performed in New York City is both painless and in the end nice. So this guy and this girl are a husband and wife duo now. Since we only had one of our friends attend to be the required witness, we're planning a ring exchange ceremony in Jan.

Dahon trip to Edgewater NJ and uptown Fairway

2009-07-28T14:19:00.001-07:00

Don't let the pretty picture fool you. The ride out to Edgewater NJ from Washington Heights was not fun. Made the mistake of taking River Rd going south from the George Washington Bridge - thought it's such a pretty road going north, how much different could going south be? Well, the difference was tornup roads with little to no shoulder for bicycles and New Jersey divers that don't seem to have any peripheral vision. On the plus side the Barnes and Noble in Edgewater is not crowded at all - although a bit on the smaller side. And for those with iPhones B&N has a promotion giving away a Starbucks Tall coffee if you show that you downloaded the B&N app. Didn't take them up on the offer - as usual made our own scrumptious and delicious coffee this morning. The ride back to the GWB was better. Rode on Anderson Ave all the way to Fort Lee.

What you see above you is the gastronomic cornucopia known as Fairway. This one happens to be just a few minutes ride from our apartment. The Dahons fit perfectly folded in the cart. There are 3 Fairways in the city. Uptown, which we went to, Upper West Side and Red Hook, Brooklyn. The best one is probably the one in Red Hook - large and well stocked, yet not too busy. The worst is the Upper West Side - way too busy and a bit more pricey. This one has a gaint cold room the size of a small supermarket - they have large parka's at the door so you don't get frost bite. In and out in a few minutes and off we go with everything packed in our bike racks.

2 RN's and 2 DAHONS!

2009-07-27T16:11:00.000-07:00

So we have successfully passed the NCLEX, which means that shortly we will receive our licenses in mail, but if you think that's exciting how about this: we purchased two Brand spankin' new Dahons to take our feats of endurance's (FOE's) to the next level. Having a road bike is one thing. That's more technical, more serious, more Tour de France. The Dahons on the other hand let you hop on and off like the San Francisco trolley. No sweat, and only the pretty views. We even talked about maybe getting sponsored by them to do some crazy races, especially after the guy came back home, drenched! Mind you there was no rain, he said he pacelined in Central Park with triathletes. Even more so, told me that he was beating them on the uphills. On a Dahon! We wear a lot of Pearl Izumi gear because our friend has "connections," but soon you might see a couple outdone in Dahon logo's entering Paris-Brest-Paris. :)

crazy days

2009-07-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

We just moved into our new apartment, which by-the-way has amazing direct views of the George Washington Bridge and the Hudson River, a couple of days ago. Unforunately we still only have an air mattress in there along with a couple of carry-on bags. The fun awaits after we take the Nclex tomorrow morning at 8 - cross fingers and toes. We'll know the results after 48 hours and if all goes according to plan we'll be working at a major teaching hosptial within 2 weeks. Crazy days but all well worth it.

Digital Graveyard? Not quite yet!

2009-06-18T23:56:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since my last post and there have been too much that happened to cover everything in this post. I can know say I understand now why so many blogs start out with the best of intentions - who doesn't want a little soap box to stand on and tell the world, or the hand full of readers what your thoughts are - yet end up as digital graveyards. In simple terms it takes a lot of work and life dosn't stand still in between it all. And in my life I graduated from a nursing program, had to move out of a shoebox of a dorm in Manhattan, went on a 3 day 1,300 mile trip to Toronto and ended up vomiting after one to many drinks the night before our flight to California. All the while I'm feeling a bit discombobulated since I was really enjoying a renewed discovery of Manhattan just before we left. Does this spell doom for this little blog? Not quite yet. We both have new jobs we need to start, another move to do and yes, best of all an apartment to find in New York. It might not be therapeutic to go through but it should make for an interesting follow up.

Studying means no more FOE's...for now

2009-06-18T23:18:00.000-07:00

Too bad, but hey, you want a lisence in this country, you better study hard. The result so far has been that all this beautiful Santa Cruz weather is just sitting outside, while the bikes are inside with the riders for company, confined to a table, reading lot's of Nursing content. Not to mention answering NCLEX style questions until you start eliminating choices in your daily living. Like ok, first: do I want a salad or an icecream? Second, is a salad a physical or psychosocial need. Physical. Is an ice cream a phsychosocial or a physical need? A psychosocial need. Can we start eliminating, yes! Physical is more acute, I go with the salad. Hmmm....too much you say? If this will help me pass the boards, I stick with it.
On a lighter note, I get to go to lake Tahoe! I will post pictures and tips on good foodie places, of course. Until then, enjoy your summer!

Doors of Philadelphia

2009-05-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

These are just some of the very lovely doors. We took a one day trip out to Philly, just to walk around and have some good food. Along the way I decided to snap photos of doors and then again, have something to show on the blog. My overall opinion of the city was that for one, I did not spend enough time there to truly judge it and two, philly cheesesteak is WAY better on 34th and 3rd in Manhattan. Oh, and the Rodin museum was spectacular. The fact that it was a very small place gave us time to read each caption under the sculpture (there really weren't that many), and also it was not crowded at all, talk about the Met.

Feats of Endurance "FOE"

2009-04-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

We started this thing, called feats of endurance, where we just walk out of the house and start walking. Usually a particular food place will be in mind, sad how food is always our destination. That is why I love biking so much, then again, you put me in a herd of cross country girls and the blood starts to boil for the competition. But, college days are almost over, and with them the collegial sports, so now the competition is how much farther are we willing to bike, or walk to get something. Since Fairway doesn't give out medals, we settled for a biscuit. The other day we set out from E 25th street, crossed over to the West side and walked over to W 125 st, and back. The whole trip was approximately 12 miles, with detours. After that, the addiction was hard to break, so we started walking to China town and back (10 miles), just to get 3.50 Chinese food for lunch. Tomorrow I have to go to school, but the weekend is almost here and who knows, maybe we will make it to Yonkers! Oh, he just said Queens has good chicken wings. What goes there, the 59th Street bridge?

Pancakes and Eggs

2009-04-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

I tell him all the time that the girl gotta watch her figure, so he adds apple sauce instead of oil into the mix, thus luring me into the wonderful land of hearty pancakes, eggs, and fat-free yogurt-honey dip. Yes, this delicious picture depicts whole-grain pancakes made with applesauce as a substitute for the oil the recipe calls for, soy milk, and instead of maple syrup, we made a quite delicious fat-free plain yogurt and a tablespoon of honey dipping sauce. Then you top it off with some delicious, preferably range-free chicken eggs and you've got yourself a dreamy breakfast. Chew on my friends.

Kent, Connecticut

2009-04-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

We did this ride quite a while ago, in fact it was the day before my birthday...and boy, was it worth it. So we took the Metro North out to Harlem Valley Wingdale and started out towards Kent, passing the famous Bulls Bridge, pastures filled with fuzzy horses and lakes as blue as the summer sky. It was a very windy day, but the scenery was nothing compared to the inner city streets, so even a little bit of a breeze did not stop the two enthusiasts. After about 55 miles it was time to get some hearty Birthday lunch, so we stopped off at this lovely deli where I, for the first time, had smoked chicken salad sandwich AND egg-salad sandwich, and I've been in America for almost 11 years! But ok, perhaps I liked the sandwiches, but the best part came later...and it was called Belgique. It's this small, lovely, yellow house right off the main street in Kent which serves homemade chocolates made by the French chef right on the premises. But, my favorite part was the madelines, and sadly enough I used to think that Starbucks had good madelines, hmp!
After the lovely lunch and dessert we got back on the bikes and headed for the train, our bellies full and spirits up, but slightly sad knowing that tomorrow will rain all day. =)

Trader Joes Salad

2009-03-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

This is one is my absolute favorite:
baby spinach
a red or green sweet pepper, chopped (but salad is good w/o also)
baby carrots, chopped
cherry tomatoes, cut in half
firm tofu, cut into small cubes (half a carton for two)
Go Lean Kashi cereal (High Protein & High fiber cereal)
raisins, big handful
walnuts, chopped
balsamic vinegar, like no more than 2 Tbs
Olive oil

Mix the ingredients and serve immediately or the cereal will become soggy
Tonight for dinner we cooked whole wheat pasta with some TJs Spaghetti Sauce, then dumped the rest on top of the salad, it was good.
Dessert: mandarins and a handful of skittles...oops was that for the rides only?

Muddy Brooks Cafe - Pearl River, NJ

2009-03-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

It's me, the girl. Today was 70 Degrees out! I was supposed to ride 60 miles there and back and supposedly taste the best scone in town...and I was disappointed. It was a regular scone, but not enough to not eat anything on the ride, saving the calories for the scone. Word of advice: if you're going for a decent distance ride and don't know whether the food at the other end is going to be good or not, don't wait for it. Bring your own food that you like. And then when you're home indulge in ice cream or something. Or not.

How to save money

2009-03-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

Cycling can be an expensive sport. A basic road bike sells for $600 to $900 and "pro" models can cost upwards of $10,000. Buying used is always an alternative but it takes some background knowledge to look for damage and wear that one wants to avoid. Cycling clothes are expensive too - $340 Assos bib shorts anyone? However, one can always reduce the amount of money they spend on "sports food". Sports foods are those ubiquitous GU gels, Powerbars, CliffBars and a plethora of other over-priced carbohydrate sources marketed to cyclist, runners and triathletes. A general equation that many endurance athletes use is to consume 100 to 200 calories for every hour one spends training. As an example a typical 60-mile medium-exertion ride taking 4 hours to complete would require approximately 800 calories consumed during that period. A CliffBar has 250 calories and a GU pack has 100. Say one eats 2 bars and 3 GU's for a total of 800 calories - that just cost you $10 - ride 3 to 6 days a week and this adds up quickly.

The first thing that has to be debunked is the myth that the carbohydrate source in those expensive sports oriented products are special. They are not. Most products use a combination of fructose (fruit sugar or otherwise known as corn syrup), maltodextrin (a carbohydrate source derived from starches) and sucrose (otherwise known as table sugar). All these carbohydrate sources are readily found in many foods and for the purposes of consumption during a ride they are pretty much equal - although the specific metabolic pathways do vary. So in the end one wants to find the least expensive source of food that is 1) easily eaten during a ride 2) has the highest carbohydrate to price ratio and 3) is low in fat (although the most calorie dense at 9 calories per gram does not digest quickly enough for our needs). Our constant experiments with different foods narrowed the list down to theses foods:
1) Cheapest bars that suit our needs are Nature Valley "Trail Mix" bars - each bar has 140 calories with 25 grams of carbohydrates - of which 14 grams are quickly absorbed sugars and the rest are complex carbohydrates. Only 4 grams of fat and 3 grams of protein. We buy ours by the box full at Costco and each bar comes out to 25 cents - Yup, that's right - eat two bars and you get the same benefit as a $2 CliffBar for only 50 cents!
2) GU is ridiculously expensive. Two problems - first is that they only have 100 calories and buying them for $1.50 to $2 makes them one of the most expensive calorie to $ ratio foods out there. Second, they are extremely sticky and putting a used pouch into your jersey pocket will junk it up pretty quick. What is nice is the concept of GU - a quick source of carbohydrates that's primarily quick sugars that will raise your blood glucose quicker than bars to avoid bonking. We replaced GU with a bag of Skittles. Skittles are cheap - especially if you buy in bulk and have 250 calories, all in the form of quick sugars. You shouldn’t eat the entire bag at once but eat in smaller quantities, say in 3rds. As with GU it is important to drink water immediately after eating Skittles to avoid dehydration - high sugar content in your intestines without additional water will cause your body to pull interstitial H2O into your intestines. The general consensus is 8 ounces of water for every 100 calories in high sugars.

So as you can see one can decrease some of the expense of cycling or training in general. Remember that these calories sources are only really optimal during workouts and one should try to avoid foods with high sugar counts in their regular meals - complex carbs are the goal for meals to maintain a steady blood glucose range during the day.

Calendar of major UCI cycling races for 2009

2009-03-26T07:23:00.000-07:00

Tour Down Under - 1/18 to 1/25 - 6 Stages 853 km
Tour of California - 2/14 to 2/22 - 8 Stages 780 miles
Paris-Nice - 3/8 to 3/15 - 8 Stages 1,249 km
Tirreno-Adriatico - 3/11 to 3/17 - 7 Stages 1,095 km
Vuelta a Castilla y Leon - 3/23 to 3/27 - 5 Stages 654km
Coppi e Bartali - 3/24 to 3/28 - 5 Stages 768 km
Vuelta al Pais Vasco - 4/6 to 4/11 - 6 Stages 812 km
Giro del Trentino - 4/22 to 4/25 - 4 Stages 565 km
Tour de Romandie - 4/28 to 5/3 - 5 Stages TBA km
Giro d'Italia - 5/9 to 5/31 - 21 Stages 3,396 km
Dauphine Libere - 6/7 to 6/14 - 8 Stages TBA km
Tour de Suisse - 6/13 to 6/21 - 9 Stages 1,355 km
Tour de France - 7/4 to 7/26 - 21 Stages 3,435 km
Tour of Utah - 8/18 to 8/23 - 5 Stages TBA miles
Vuelta a Espana - 8/29 to 9/20 - 21 Stages 3,267 km
Tour of Missouri - 9/7 to 9/13 - 7 Stages TBA miles

Ride to Piermont

2009-03-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

On my way back form ceramics class I stopped by an art store to pick up some paper with the hopes of finally starting on the drawings for the school's yearbook. And so as I did, I thought maybe I would be better off going to Barnes and Noble and looking through some art books getting inspiration. But then I got home and "the guy" surprised me with the blog, finally he put it up. :) After reading it and looking at the bike pictures I was lured into going out for a nice ride. The weather was really something. High 50s, low wind, few riders and runners on the roads. Perfect riding conditions. We started out by going on the west side, right by the water. Then over the GW and onto 9W. I must say I kept complaining that I wanted to go faster, but then the usual happens: we hit a hill, I go up and die. And then, baby waiiit!
Anyways, two hours later and many backroads, we stop at the Bunbury's Coffee shop and share a cup of coffee: always half-n-half and sugar! My favorite.
5 minutes later I am rushed out of the shop because if I "sit too long" the whole point of the ride will be gone. I like to sit and enjoy my coffee, but he was right, it was getting late anyway.
Once we crossed the bridge on the way back around 6:30 PM the temperature dropped drastically and we got really cold. I'm still waiting for my neoprene booties and a winter jacket. And no it's not too late, I started biking a month ago, give the girl time to pick her clothes right!
At home we had rice, he decided it would taste better with a cup of soymilk in it! More protein he said. I just stuck with the usual - raisins. :)

Reynolds Assault Review

2009-03-25T17:27:00.001-07:00

I was in the market to replace my Shimano Dura-Ace WH-7850 carbon clinchers that got taco'ed by a cab that hit me from behind. After an exhaustive search that included the Zipp 404 clincher, Williams Cycling System 58 carbon clincher and Campagnolo's Shamal Ultra 2-way clincher, I decided to place an order for the Reynolds Assault carbon clincher through Competitivecyclist.com. The main reason for picking the Reynolds was I wanted an all carbon deep-dish clincher that wasn't too heavy - which excluded William's otherwise excellent System 58 and even Zipp's 404 clincher. Another aspect that won me over is Reynold's RAP (or Reynolds Assurance Program). For $200 Reynolds covers practically any problem that might occur with the wheelset for a 3 year time period - that includes rim cracks due to pot hole hits, ect. If anyone is looking to buy an all carbon clincher they need to seriously consider Reynolds wheels because of this program.

My first ride on the Reynolds Assaults was a 60 mile semi-roller trip out of the city, over the George Washingotn Bridge and into Piermont via Country Rd and Piermont Ave and back via 9W. Ride quality over city pavement was exceptional with Conti GP4000s tyres and Michellin Comp AirLight tubes. The bike is a 2007 Specialized Tarmac Pro (size 54) with full Dura-Ace components. At speeds between 16 to 20 mph the aero (46mm depth) qualities of the Assaults was noticable but not significant. Winds were varible but averaged 8 to 10 mph. The part of the ride that really showed the aero benefit of the Assaults happened on a descent in which I've previously averaged low 30 mph coasting with my Shimano wheels. On the descent I could literally feel the wheels slice through the air and when I looked down at my cyclocomputer it showed a speed of 40 mph. I was not tucked or trying to acheive speed but the Assaults gave me almost a full speed advantage of 10 mph over the Shimano WH-7850 carbons. I haven't ridden enough miles on different terrain to really give a full report on these wheelsets but if my initial impression from this first ride is any indication it's going to be a nice, fast riding season. Christmas in March.

Taco'ed Dura-Ace WH-7850 carbon clincher - wheel vs cab - wheel lost.

Missing California

2009-03-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the weather in New York has improved. Going from low 30s to low upper 40s makes riding go from painfully cold to almost nice but I'm missing me some California right now. Danny just told me that it's low 70s in the bay area and the forecast calls for... surprise 10 more days of sunshine and low 70s. Ahhhhh! Let spring come to the city already.

Ya, that's bikini clad volleyball players in early January in Santa Cruz - weather back in New York was about 11 degrees. Yet another reason to love it here.

Century ride out to Bear Mountain

2009-03-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you have a group of riders that includes a former commodities trader, an oil company executive, a school teacher, a commercial pilot and a college athlete on a 110 mile ride with over 6,500 feet of climbing? Answer - good times and nicknames.

This was my 8th or 9th time riding from New York City to Bear Mountain but the others were in for a treat since it was their inaugural ride. Besides the girl and the guy, we all met through New York Cycling Club - all participants of the A-SIG Classic. I sent out an email to the 70 or so riders doing the Classic and to the 2000 or so members of the club - I got 5 riders who wanted to do it - maybe it's too early in the season, maybe people became intimidated since this ride is what the A-SIG Classic does after 12-weeks of training as a graduation ride. Nevertheless, we hit the rode.

The winter freeze had just began to thaw and temps in the low 50s seemed absolutely balmy. I was worried that some of riders would bonk so I pulled the paceline up 9W on a 18 to 20mph pace. I don't think they expected so many hills but everyone pushed up them without complaint. After about 50 miles we were at the bottom of Bear Mountain.

Nicknames: from left to right - Greg the comedian aka captain america, John the pilot, Anna the rookie and Wen the warrior.

A girl and a guy starts a blog

2009-03-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

Not yet another blog. Well yes, another blog, but this is our blog. We're going to chronicle our adventures in sports, food, travel and life - and you dear reader get to live vicariously through it all! Back ground info: this guy met this girl in nursing school. One day after a pharmacology exam a bunch of us decided to do our own pharm experiment at the local bar. After a few rounds and with the sun long having set the girl asked the guy, "hey, I have to go run in Central Park. You want to go?" No wanting to seem like a loser who can't run while buzzed, the guy answered, "sure" as nonchalantly as possible - while looking the girl over and wondering how strong of a runner she might be. 6 miles later I found out - burning legs, blood tinged taste in mouth, and wanting to vomit because of the booze - not a good idea to run with a two time college XC running champion. Thus our adventure started with a mix of alcohol, food, friends and sports - all the things we love.