10K PR: 46:06!

I chose the CSUN Run, Walk & Roll, held at the Northridge campus of Cal State University, as one of my only two 10Ks all season because it is a flat and very fast course, and I figured I could set a personal record there.

I did not choose this race for its scenic course, its atmosphere, or its expo/party. Because this is one of the Students Run LA-attended events, I knew that it would have none of those. Not that I have anything against SRLA, I think its a great program. Unfortunately, there are many SRLA participants who behave badly and exhibit everything from rude behavior (such as preventing faster runners from getting past them by forming block) to downright cheating by cutting the course.

I was shooting to break 48:00, which means keeping a pace slightly under 7:45/mile. I started off slow, trying not to expend too much energy getting around the SRLA kids, and trying to loosen up my legs, which have been tight all week. On the long Zelzah straight-away, I picked up the pace, and then dropped it down when we went back to the campus. By the end of the first loop (half-way point), my time was 24:30, slightly off the pace I wanted, but I was feeling good and running effortlessly. At mile 4, I picked up the pace, pushing myself to around a 7:20/mile pace. In the middle of the fifth mile, there came the Zelzah straight-away again. I really picked up the pace, running the next mile in less than 6 minutes. I also had to scream at some slow SRLA kids, still running the 5K, to get out of my way since they were connected by a rope and I was about to trip over it. I kept up the pace through the last half-mile and had enough to sprint to the finish. Unfortunately three rather wide SRLA girls, who were finishing the 5K, meandered into blocking my way in front of the 10K finish chute. I had no choice but to plow right through them--there was no way I was going to slow down at that point. After the, more forceful than expected, collision, and with barely enough breath to muster a "sorry", I crossed the finish line and into the chute, setting a personal record for a 10K of 46:06.

In the meantime, Dimple decided at the last minute that she would participate as well, and push Josh with the jogging stroller for a 5K. She started slowly, in the back of the pack, gradually making her way past the SRLA-ers. Josh was excited to be part of the race and directed Mommy to go faster by yelling "beep-beep" and telling the SRLA blocks "Bye-bye" as he and Mommy passed them. With Josh's competitive spirit as inspiration, Dimple finished with an official time of 29:08, a remarkable 5K time for someone pushing a stroller. Her watch time was closer to 28 minutes, since it took her a long time to reach the starting line, starting at the back of the pack. At the finish line Dimple said to Josh, "We did it!", to which he confidently replied, "I did it!"

Roy's Restaurant

Thursday night Dimple and I went to Roy's Restaurant to celebrate five years of being together. The place is owned by celebrity chef Roy Yamaguchi and serves "Hawaiian Fusion", which means a fusion of Hawaiian, Asian, and Western cuisines. Their specialty is fish, and the menu changes every two weeks.

Dimple got the Masters Sashimi Sampler, which was incredible. The sashimi was creamy, sweet, and very fresh with the consistency of toro. This was the kind of sashimi that you put in your mouth and close your eyes to really concentrate on the incredible texture and taste. She also got the Chilled Edamame Soup which had a very nice, rich flavor. It was so rich we had to soak it up with some bread. Last was the Mixed Greens Salad with Basil Dressing.

I got the Appetizers Sampler, which included a sweet & succulent grilled shrimp, a seafood dumpling (which was okay), and a tender, incredibly delicious baby back rib that just melted in my mouth with bursts of smoky Szechuan spices and went perfectly with my glass of Domaine Chandon. For my main course was a macadamia-crusted whitefish. The sauce, spices, and crusting were very good, but the fish was more than a bit overcooked. Considering that I specifically requested that the fish was to be cooked medium-rare, this put a bit of a damper on our culinary adventure.
Fortunately, the dessert, a melting hot chocolate soufflé, helped end the evening on a positive, sensual note with its decadent lava flow of rich dark chocolate.

More Earth Day photos

Here is a slide show from the photos we took.

Earth Day

On Saturday, we went to World Fest 2006 at Woodley Park, in Encino. Most of the (vegan) food left a lot to be desired in the form of taste. The vegetable oil-powered cars were cool, but all of the leftist attitude was not.

Nancy took some photos.

Josh at the Park

There is nothing Josh enjoys more than a day at the park. We try to take him as often as we can, weather and schedule permitting. Here is a slide show I put together from the past year or so from photos taken while we were at various parks.

Downtown Disney

Last Sunday, we decided to give Josh a good time and take him to Downtown Disney in Anaheim.

Josh was pretty happy to be there:


...although he was a little afraid of the parrot near the entrance:


...but he really loved the Lego store:


We built a Lego house:


He even didn't mind when we made him wear a silly hat. Daddy also wore a silly hat:


Josh was just happy to be there:


When it was time for lunch, we had to wrestle him out of that store. He didn't want to leave. But they had live jazz at the restaurant and he quickly got into the beat while Mommy and Daddy were waiting to order:


He was just loving the music:


But when Mommy's smoothie came out, all attention turned to that:


We wound up waiting forever for our food, but Josh was a trooper (and handled the situation much better than his Daddy).

After lunch, we had ice cream, and then went into the Disney store. Here is Josh asking for more ice cream at the Disney store while Mommy tries on a wizard hat:


Josh was fascinated by how many toys there were:


He loved all of the stuffed toys:


He tired Mommy out with all of his running around:


He found a make-shift slide where Daddy was sitting:


After the stuffed toys, we went to look at the figurines:


And tried on some hats:


Then, Josh played with the soccer balls:


After a long day, we rested next to a fountain:


After a brief photo-op, it was time to go home:

The Rack

Last weekend, Dimple and I went to The Rack for dinner and a game of pool. The Rack is located inside the Westfield Promenade mall where Dimple works.

Overall, dinner was very tasty. The pool game was reasonably priced and we only had to wait 15 minutes for a table (on a Saturday, 9 PM). The beer on tap was adequate but the wine list was small and full of no-name value wines.

We went back for happy hour the following Friday. Happy hour is 4-7 M-F with appetizers and beer half-priced. This time, the food was average (chicken quesadillas and beef satay). Next time we'll order something else. But the was beer good and cheap and the atmosphere was fun.

Seder

Last Thursday, Dimple and I (well, mostly Dimple...) put together a seder on basically no notice.

Thanks to Rose, we got some pictures!

I have the best job in America

I have the best job in America according to Money Magazine. See here for the article. And, of course they are never wrong.

Well, actually my job is, comparatively, quite nice.

I am just wondering why they picked Mark Dochtermann, some manager at EA, to write a blurb for this article, considering that EA has reputation as being a horrible place to work.

Here is a quote from Mark:

I make a good living, and I'd rather work on a game I don't care for than write code for a financial company. I'm building a product that entertains. Unlike engineers in commerce or aerospace, I can push the envelope without someone getting hurt.

Sorry dude, but I work for a financial company, and hacking repetitive low-level code to do Fourier Transforms and geometrical manipulations for 16 hours a day is not my idea of a good time. What is? Solving a real business problem with a clean, beautiful design and using the latest tools and a modern, high-level language to implement this design and see real-life impact to real people.

Lets just agree to disagree Mark, and leave it at that.

Who is your pharaoh?

Passover is arguably the biggest Jewish holiday. It is not as holy as Yom Kippur or as commercial as Hannukah, but it is by far the most popular.

It has everything one can ask for in a holiday: family, food, lots and lots of wine, fun, games, a very compelling story, and more food.

Everyone can relate to the story of Passover in some way. For my family, it is quite literal. Our Egypt was the USSR and our journey to freedom in the United States was, to us at least, nearly as eventful as the Exodus itself.

But even for those who have not experienced such an event, Passover can have a poignant meaning. Who among us does not have a pharaoh in our lives that keeps us slaves to something?
Whether its drugs, smoking, a bad relationship, or a dead-end job, we willingly stay and serve our pharaohs instead of throwing off our chains and setting a path to freedom.

But to go from slave to free can be a very difficult journey, because freedom is both mental as well as physical thing. After all, God waited 40 years to let Israel into the Promised Land. This was enough time for a completely new generation, not constrained by the mentality of former slavery, to come to be.

So who is your pharaoh? And what are you doing to free yourself?

As Bob Marley said:

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.

Happy Passover everyone!

What's at the end of Calabasas Road?

I decided to find out, and knock out a trail run while I was at it. It turns out that this is Las Virgenes View Park, which is not to be confused with Las Virgines View Trail, which is not in this particular park. This park is right next to the 101, so hum of traffic is often in the background.

I drove down to the end of Calabasas Road, parked the car and went out to the trailhead, which is where the De Anza Trail begins. The nice thing about this trail is that it has lots of interpretive kiosks, and features a section of the original, stone El Camino Real. The bad thing is that the trails are completely overgrown. At one point I got completely off the trail and was chin-deep in grassland and had to backtrack to find the trail again. Also, I kept getting pricked with these prickly-leaf plants which grow right in the middle of the trail. (I wish I wore nylon pants instead of the light mesh pants.)

Inspite this, this is the worthy trail because of the many scenic points and solitude. At some secluded parts of the trail, I could imagine myself as a pre-Columbian Indian running messages from one village to the next.

The Ventura wine scene

When Dimple and I are able to get a babysitter for Saturday night, we try to go out and enjoy some nightlife. Clubs, pubs, and the whole Sunset Strip thing doesn't really work for us anymore. We tend to enjoy live music, good food in small plates, and especially wine. We never buy a bottle at a restaurant, because we like to compare and contrast many different kinds and pair them with food. Unfortunately, the wine-by-the-glass menu at most restaurants, even highly rated ones leaves much to be desired. Enter the wine bar, where you can a wide selection of wines by the glass or even half-glass.

The largest concentration of wine bars in Southern California is not in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, or Santa Monica. It is in downtown Ventura.

On Saturday, we brought Nancy along and visited Alegria, Rincon Cellars, and J's Tapas.

Alegria, which used to be tucked into the back of a coffee shop, has expanded to a new, much bigger location. The food and wine menu has also expanded, with around 30 wines available by the glass or the half-glass.

Rincon Cellars is inside a historic bank building, and shares the space with Natalie's Eclectibles and an art gallery, Ghost Gallery, upstairs. They only pour California central coast wines, and for $10 you can taste 7 of them. The menu changes every week. If you like a particular wine, you can buy a glass or a bottle. The wines they carry are very interesting, sometimes obscure, often excellent and always good values. Every one is hand-selected by the owners. The space itself is worth a visit. While tasting, you can help yourself to a complementary cheese plate.

J's Tapas has live jazz, a very tasty international tapas menu, and a decent wine list, although it could have more by the glass selections. The live music and atmosphere make up for that flaw.

Dimple and Nancy at J's Tapas:


More photos here.

Large numbers

What is the largest number you can think of?

In the article, Who Can Name the Biggest Number?, Scott Aaronson's quest for the answer takes a fun and fascinating journey through math and computer science theory.

My run home

I was nervously excited the whole day, since the distance from work to home is one of the longer distances I've ever run and certainly the longest since my injury, by about 4 or 5 miles.

I changed into my running clothes after fueling up on a half-serving of pasta with red sauce & vegetables and hydrating myself. I was out of the office door around 4:00. I turned on my Garmin Forerunner and waited for it to find a GPS signal so I could start my run. After 15 minutes of the Forerunner searching and not finding GPS, I came to terms with the fact that I will not know my exact distance. This is only the second time the Garmin failed me, and it came at a rather bad time. At that point I started the timer and headed onto the sidewalk of Agoura Road with a course set for Cheeseboro Canyon.

This first third of my run was not so great. I felt sluggish, from the high-protein lunch I had (poor choice) and the fact that I hadn't had a good night sleep in a few days. Also, Agoura Hills is laid out as subdivisions so the only way to get anywhere is to take the main roads. These main roads (Thousand Oaks, Reyes Adobe, Kanan, Agoura) are too busy to run on, so I had to stay on the concrete sidewalks. Concrete is, depending on who you ask, 4 to 10 times harder than asphalt. For my joints, it certainly feels like closer to 10 than 4. With every step I could feel my knees and ankles getting more sore. I had to stop and stretch them often. Nevertheless, my right leg was starting to ache. Finally I got to Old Agoura, a horse community, where instead of sidewalks they have dirt trails next to roads for horses. I even saw a community park. I made a pit stop there and stretched out on the picnic tables. My spirits were finally soaring. I got back on the horse trail, my ankles and knees finally getting some relief. Shortly after getting to Cheeseboro Canyon Road, and approximately 50 minutes into my run, I saw Liberty Canyon trail.

I'd never taken this trail before since I always park at Cheeseboro Canyon trailhead. Overall, it was a very nice trail. Mostly grassland and oak groves. It has an abandoned ranch and bridges over a large creek.

At around 1 hour into my run, I got onto Cheseboro Canyon trail, but not before some self-doubt as to where I was. The trail was full of runners, mostly high school kids, presumably from Agoura HS. I made a right onto Cheeseboro Ridge Connector. I was a little concerned about the trails since it had been raining all week, and the trails were soft, but luckily not too muddy. At the intersection Cheeseboro Ridge trail, my trail became Las Virgenes Canyon Connector trail and proceeded to turn into a steep downhill. With the pounding of the downhill, my soreness in the right leg returned. I passed a runner puffing uphill. I am sure we both were wishing we could switch places. I was hoping Las Virgenes Canyon trail would come quickly!

Soon enough, it did. After dodging a gaggle of kids on dirt bikes, I turned left and started heading up Las Virgenes Canyon trail, when I came upon the water crossing. Normally, this is a small stream that can be easily hurdled, but with the recent rains, it swelled up to decent creek around 8-10 feet wide, certainly not a distance I can jump. I spent a good deal of time looking for a narrow section, but it was not to be found. I decided my best bet was to jump to an oak tree in the steam, closer to the other side, and use what appeared to be a large bird's nest near the bottom of the tree as a platform to jump to the other side. It almost worked. I nearly caught the trunk with my hands, but my right foot slipped and got wet. No big deal. I wondered why I didn't just run through the damn thing in the first place?

East Las Virgenes Connector (ELVC) trail came up soon after, and I crossed past the fence that marks the boundary of the old Ahmanson Ranch. At that moment, I had mixed feelings. On one hand I knew that from this point, it was exactly 3 miles to the Victory trailhead. On the other hand, ELVC is mostly uphill and fairly steep at certain points. I was also starting to feel the distance, and my whole body was getting tired. I remembered that just 15-20 minutes ago I was wishing that I was running uphill instead of down, and realized I was crazy. On the very first steep portion, I was smitten and forced to walk for a short time. Finally, the intersection with East Las Virgenes trail came. I made a left and was on very familiar turf. By this point most of my muscles were aching and my nipple was chafing. Muscle pain is easy to ignore, but the chafing nipple was a big nuisance.

Along East Las Virgenes, there is a point where you can continue on the main trail and take the high road, or take the low road on this single-trek trail running parallel to a creek that meets up with the main trail later. Since I didn't feel like running uphill anymore, I took the low road. Several minutes into it, the trail was getting muddier and muddier. I saw that up ahead, this trail was completely underwater, swallowed by the swelling creek. To turn back was demoralizing, but there was nothing else I could do. The uphill was brutal, and once again I had to walk much of it. On the rest of the trail, there were many muddy spots and at one point my shoes were carrying an extra two pounds of mud. Luckily, I was able to wash some of the mud off in a puddle. Soon I saw the rooftops of the houses off of Victory, signifying I was close to the trailhead. And, boy, was I glad to get there. By this point I was completely exhausted and was getting really hungry. The pasta had long been digested and burned off. Also, I was completely out of all my water and getting thirsty. I had been running for 2 hours.

I called Dimple to let her know I was ok. She tried to convince me to let her pick me, but I told her that I was intent on finishing unassisted. After I told her that I loved her and hung up the phone, I headed down Victory on the final leg of my journey. I ate an energy bar and tried to migitate the pounding of the steep downhill on concrete by going as slow as possible. My left foot was really starting to hurt, bringing painful memories of my plantar fasciitis injury.

At the bottom, where Victory intersects with Valley Circle, I stopped by a gas station and bought a bottle of Vitamin Water and a bottle of Fiji Water to replenish my water supplies. I headed towards Platt and made a right, and then a left on Calvert. From there I knew I had exactly 2 miles left till home. There is a very small hill on Calvert, something that wouldn't even be considered a hill on a trail. But today, this hill kicked my ass. Once again, I had to walk a bit to the top, feeling the lactic acid burning my muscles. By this point, keeping proper form was a constant struggle.

Coming up on Fallbrook, I was already anticipating the end. Unfortunately, Fallbrook is a very busy street and since there is no traffic light or stop sign at Calvert, crossing it is not easy. When I came upon the street, there was a break in traffic, so for safety I sprinted across to the other side. That sprint was quite costly, as my muscles, full of lactic acid, burned like fire. They felt like they couldn't take another step anymore. But there was only a half mile left, and I knew that I was almost done.

Two hours and forty five minutes after I started running, I finally walked through through my front door and asked Dimple if we had anything to eat. I was exhausted, all of my muscles were sore (especially my lower back) , my left nipple was completely red and excruciatingly painful, but actually I was feeling pretty good. As I sat down to have dinner with Dimple and Josh, I was thinking about whether I should repeat this experience next week.

Running home today

Today I plan to do my first ever run home from work. Everyone is asking me if I will be running on The 101. The answer is, no. Not only is it illegal, but I will probably choke to death from exhaust inhalation. Instead my course will meander through scenic Agoura, Cheseboro Canyon and Upper Las Virgenes open spaces, and (mostly) side streets of Woodland Hills. It will be approximately 4 to 5 miles of roads, 5 miles of trails, and another 4 miles of roads for a total of around 13 or 14 miles. If it works out, I plan to do these runs on a regular basis.

Dimple's Head

At the gym where Dimple works, the management decided to take black & white headshots of all of the trainers to post up on their wall. I managed to scan in three of Dimple's before they went up:

Blueberry joy

I'd like to take a break from my trail running opus to bring you the following message:

At some point in our lives we forget the simple joy of eating messy blueberries. Let Joshua remind you...