For the past three years I’ve heard nothing but great things about this race. Schedule has always stopped me from registering because it has always been a few weeks before the big race, the San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon. It’s up in the Bay Area, and people dress up from crazy themed outfits, to body paint, to nothing at all. I’ve heard stories of people pulling beer kegs on pull wagons, no one really taking the run seriously, and meeting some cool and interesting people. Damn! I wish I could go this year, but I’ll be vacationing in cancun the week before for a bachelor party. What would you choose? I guess Bay to Breakers will have to wait.
I participate whenever I can on other activities and sports. Another interest of mine is snowboarding. Although I still have that fear of falling while snowboarding (I dislocated my left shoulder a few years ago at Mountain High), I still love it. Honestly, I’ll only go after a rainstorm or if it’s Mammoth or Utah.
If you’re in LA this weekend from December 4-7, you should check out the Ski Dazzle® – The Los Angeles Ski Show & Snowboard Expo® at the Los Angeles Convention Center. They have really great deals everything you can think of for the next snow season – that’s where I purchased my snowboard, binding, and jacket. Also, some vendors would honor in-store discounts if you happen to go there and they don’t have the particular item you want.
Hours
Thursday December 4th: 4:00pm to 11:00pm
Friday December 5th: 4:00pm to 11:00pm
Saturday December 6th: 11:00am to 10:00pm
Sunday December 7th: Noon to 6:00pm
Prices
$17.00 – Regular Admission*
*Includes FREE $53.00 value Bear Mountain Resorts Lift Ticket Voucher!
$5.00 – Children 6 – 12 years (No Lift Ticket Bonus)
FREE – Children 5 and Under (No Lift Ticket Bonus)
Everyone loves themed-out parties. Last Sunday I went to my friend’s fundraiser at South in Santa Monica. It was called the Logo T-Shirt Party & Sunday Funday. Here were the details of the party:
Put on your hottest/funniest Logo T-shirt and come celebrate Sunday Funday with us!!! For $5 admission you receive DRINK SPECIALS!!! $3 Beer / $5 Well Drinks!!! Pay only $5 for Beer Pong or to enter our Flip Cup tournament!!! We will also have a silent auction – AMAZING PRIZES!!! YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS!!!
And finally, our LOGO T-SHIRT CONTEST – GRAND PRIZE TO BEST LOGO T-SHIRT!!! Football Fans – don’t worry, the big game will be on ALL of the TV’s for your viewing pleasure! After football game- KARAOKE for all of you SINGERS out there!!!
Sunday has never looked so good! All profits and proceeds go toward The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera (I know, I know… bad me), and I also got there late. I still donated $5 to the cause, but there still seemed to be a lot going on . My friends were still playing beer pong, people were singing Karaoke, and I could see the winning prizes from the silent auction on some tables. I enjoyed the drink specials, as well as seeing some of the funny t-shirts people had on. My favorite was on my friend – “I Need a Stiff One.” Go ahead and interpret that yourself.
Last night, I was honored to be a judge of my friends’ TNT Fundraiser at Joe’s Tavern in Los Angeles, CA. It was called “The Battle of the Unsigned Bands“, which was also promoted by a local radio station Indie 103.1. Four well respected LA bands performed in hopes to win the grand prize of a two-page spread in Obscene Entertainment Magazine.
The bands were (in order of appearance, with links to their MySpace Music Profiles):
Each band had such unique styles and sounds, from elements of punk, hip-hop, rock, and ska. It was difficult to judge, but it was overall very fun. I was able to meet some of the bands afterwards, and it was awesome to put on such an entertaining show for free, to help out the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. There was also a silent auction going on at the same time, which included Autographed UCLA Football by Coach Rick Neuheisel, DVDs, iPod Shuffle, Fox Lot Tours, Reebok.
… even if you don’t have to. That is one lesson learned from yesterday’s San Jose Rock N Roll Half Marathon. You see, 4 miles into the Half Marathon, I had that urge to go pee. Usually I’d go find a bush on the side the road, but the San Jose course was primarily residential, so I waited until the next port-o-potty, which was at the end of a Farmer’s Market. 4 restrooms, BUT only one was operational, and the rest had padlocks on them. What?!? So the line was extremely long. By the time I was back on course, it was mainly the walkers. (Not that there’s anything wrong with walkers, but I started at a mid-area corral, and I just wanted to illustrate how much has passed)
I did play a little catch up, picking up my pace, but after a while I just realized that it’s not going to do me any good, and I wouldn’t want to risk any injury, so I continued to enjoy the course. It was pretty much flat the whole way. Tree-lined residential streets, great crowd support, and perfect weather. I couldn’t ask for anything more. This wasn’t a “TNT” event, so many of us who registered came into it thinking it’s just a “fun run”. Who would’ve thought 13.1 miles is considered “fun”? Well, I finished in 2:52:12. I was a bit disappointed, but hey, I’m just glad I finished injury-free (especially since I have not ran since the Disneyland Half / Nike+ race a month ago!)
Yes, we took our sweet ass time on this one. I mean, c’mon… we did 13.1 miles that morning. The Nike+ Human race was a nighttime run in Los Angeles (near the USC area) which was another 10K (6.2 miles). The main motivation for this run was to watch Kanye West perform at the end. To our surprise, we found out that Common was also performing.
Some of us were sore from the morning, or just plain ol tired, so we did 3:2 intervals. If you thought we were kicking back in the Disney Half Marathon singing songs, we took this one to another level. Some of us had drinks (yes, alcoholic drinks) in our water belts. Bad idea? Yeah, maybe, but we had our fun! We continued the singing, the taking pictures, and the games. We all started together, and we all finished together. No matter what pace group you’re in… we did this as a team, which was the most rewarding. We finished just in time because once we crossed the finish line, the Kanye West performance just started. He was amazing. He played most of his hits, and Common came in for a song or two.
Yesterday I missed the cutoff time at the Anaheim Expo due to your friendly traffic from LA to the OC. Because of it, I wasn’t able to get a goodie bag nor my race singlet. This morning was event #1 of 2 in one day. Even then, no matter how early I woke up, I caught traffic to the event. That’s LA for ya.
Ok, enough about my whining, and let’s get to the event. I was able to finally get my singlet at the info booth, and I was off to the corrals which was a bit different than I’m used to. They were more vertical, rather than horizontally sectioned off like the Rock N Roll Marathons. The sun wasn’t out yet, but I could feel that high energy from everyone. The crowd consisted of all ages, coming in all shapes and sizes, meaning, some people were dressed either Disney costumes or running gear.
We ran through Disney California, through Disneyland, through the sidestreets of Anaheim, to the Honda Center, Anaheim Stadium, then back to Downtown Disneyland at the ESPN Zone. It was such a fun race because through the parks, we stopped and took pictures of the rides, the characters, and the crowds. We would pass our times singing to old school jams by Boyz II Men and Jodeci. We would play games splashing water on each other, tell funny running (and drunk) stories of our past, and the usual antics we would do during our training. I ran with a few TNT alumni, and also some first-timers. It felt great not thinking about the time we’ll finish. I was afraid the day would be too hot, but it was manageable. It was a little humid at first, but I got used to it. We ran at a 5:1 interval the whole way, taking it VERY easy considering there was one more race to go that night!
The Nike+ Human Race is on August 31, which I believe replaced the ever so popular One Hit Remix. Sure, the One Hit Remix was fun, but the acts were all “one hit wonders” or performers who are out of the scene. This time around, Nike went all out and booked some talented acts. It’s going to happen all across the world in cities such as Austin, Chicago, New York, London, Paris, and much much more. Every city will have a different performer. Here in LA, we’ll have Kanye West, partying it up for all the finishers in this worldwide 10k event. I’m now officially signed up. It’s only $35, so hurry and sign up before it’s sold out!
Call it marathon withdrawals, but I still have the itch to do another race! What did I do? I signed up for the San Jose Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon! Elite Racing had a $15 off coupon, so I just had to jump on it. I mean, after a 26.2 run, what’s 13.1? I think of it as another training day. It’s just another Sunday, or is it? By the time of the race, I won’t have a TNT training plan, but I do have the knowledge of setting something up very similar to it. I just have to be determined and focused. I know that if I do drop off in training, or some kind of cardiovascular training, my risk to injury is increased. I plan to do other small races until the event, so hopefully the San Jose Half won’t be a problem.
It’s finally here. Pub Crawl is in a few hours.
Remember, if this is your first Pub Crawl, whether you’re an alcoholic or a lightweight, you should focus on completing the event and not on your speed. For many of you, this will be an incredible personal milestone. Repeat with me now:
1. Not resting the day before.
I’ve already broken this rule, staying up late to do this, but we hope you got some rest. Get your mind off the pub crawl. We know you’re nervous about the big event because there’s so much alcohol. You’ve been training all year. You got this!
2. Eating too much the night before.
Don’t overload on pasta! You don’t want to be in the restroom during the pub crawl. The party may move to another bar while you’re in there!
3. Trying new equipment/food/drink on race day.
Nothing worse than finding that the new beer you’re trying gives you gas, that new shot gives you a migrane, those new jeans chafe, or that new drink makes you sick to your stomach.
4. Going out too fast.
The #1 biggest mistake. Don’t let the adrenaline take over. If you take too much alcohol early on, it can take a long time to recover. No sense getting to bar 2 really fast then struggling for another 2.
5. Not taking your walk breaks early.
If you trained with walk breaks, take them from the start and regularly. You’re going to be excited, so use your mental discipline. Walk around the bar, and meet people!
6. Drinking too much/too little.
Drink as much as you can in an hour. JUST KIDDING. You know your limits. We want to see you at the end. Fill up at the bar and keep tabs on how much you’re drinking.
7. Not maintaining proper form.
Don’t slump over when you’re drunk. Don’t pass out, or else we’ll pose behind you and take pictures.
8. Getting down on yourself if you start to hurt.
You will hurt at some point. Expect it, and know you’ve put the time in to get through it. It’s ok to admit that you’re weak sauce.
9. NOT Drinking with a stranger.
We encourage that you meet new people! There will be a lot of people at the event you don’t know. Feel free to introduce yourself. There is at MOST 3 degrees of separation of the people there. We’ve invited nothing but wonderful people.
10. Forgetting to enjoy the day!
Have fun! Remember why you’re here! To have fun!
—————–
Pub Crawl Details
1:00 – 2:00 pm Hooters (Half off on all appetizers. $3.99 domestic beer)
2:00 – 3:30 pm Ye Olde King’s Head (Happy Hour rates including $2.50 beers, price varying by beer, $5 margaritas and discounted pub snacks.)
3:00 – 4:30 pm Yankee Doodle’s ($1 off on beer, plus they’re hosting us downstairs in their special party room with dance floor and pooltables. People who want to play pool must pay for their own game,though.)
4:30 – 5:30 Barney’s Beanery ($1 tacos – beef, chicken or veggie – $9 Blue Moon and Coors Light pitchers or $3.50 per glass, $17 for 15 wings and a pitcher of beer. They will reserve the whole downstairs area for us.)
For the past three years I’ve heard nothing but great things about this race. Schedule has always stopped me from registering because it has always been a few weeks before the big race, the San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon. It’s up in the Bay Area, and people dress up from crazy themed outfits, to body paint, to nothing at all. I’ve heard stories of people pulling beer kegs on pull wagons, no one really taking the run seriously, and meeting some cool and interesting people. Damn! I wish I could go this year, but I’ll be vacationing in cancun the week before for a bachelor party. What would you choose? I guess Bay to Breakers will have to wait. 
