Bridge and Hills

On Sunday I ran the SF Half Marathon.  Joy, Susie, and Eleanor also ran the 1st half of the full and it was a lot of fun but a lot of hard work too.

It all started with the alarm going off at 4:30 am.  Yep, you read that right.  We met up with Susie downstairs by 5:20 and walked down the street to the start line.  Brother also came along and brought the dog for moral support.

The race started at 6:00 am but we probably didn’t pass the start line until 6:20.  The first half was a very familiar route: down Embarcadero, through Fisherman’s Wharf, over the Fort Mason hill, and past Chrissy Field.  THEN there was the hill.  It was a steep one and ended with the on-ramp to the Golden Gate Bridge.

On the bridge, we got to run along one of the traffic lanes, turn around at the parking lot on the Marin side, and run back on another traffic lane.  It was cold and foggy and really crowded.  So, we weaved and sprinted through the crowd and also found Susie and Eleanor, who we lost track of during the first 6 miles.  Joy and I had a little 5-hour energy drink right before the bridge so we were feeling goooood.

Once off the bridge, we were faced with another series of hills for the last half of the race.  We went through a tunnel, past the really big fancy houses in the Presidio, and then up and down the 19th street.  The rolling hills were brutal and felt more like interval training.  Our half ended in Golden Gate Park while the 2nd Half was starting and the Full Marathoners kept going.

I finished in 2:20 and Joy came in just a minute later.  She looked really strong most of the way but then started cramping on the last 3 miles.  At the finish line, we got our medals (also doubles as a keychain!) and warming capes.  They also had lots of goodies and water for us to inhale as we got in line for the shuttle back to the start where Johnny was waiting.

For brunch, we had dim sum at Yank Sing and it really hit the spot.  Overall, it was a fun race but it’s got some pretty challenging hills.  Luckily I had three training sessions this month and the trainer got me conditioned for them.  I ran strong and felt strong the whole way.  I probably could have had a faster time but I’m happy with the way I felt throughout the race and afterward.

Here is the finisher’s medal, my dri-fit shirt, and bib.

Here is the route that my GPS recorded.  After all the races I’ve finished, I’m still amazed at how far I can go sometimes.  So…where and when is the next race?!

Back in Cali

For those of you who didn’t already know, after 8 long years away in Medical School and Residency, Dayantha is back in California and brought Krissy with him!  They’re living in Sacramento for a year while Dayantha finishes his last year as a Fellow at UC Davis.  On top of that, they recently got engaged during their EuroTrip to Italy and Spain!  Woohoo!

We finally got to see them this weekend since they drove down for Scotchfest and stayed with us all weekend.  It was fun hanging out and catching up while eatin’ up a storm and doing some walking around the city.  They arrived on Friday night and we took them out for a good Southern fried chicken dinner.  On Saturday morning, they walked to the Ferry Plaza with us while we had to shop for the party and picked up some kimchee fried rice and Korean tacos.

On Sunday, we had brunch at Bar Tartine before driving them to the Rockridge BART station where they parked their car all weekend.

They both look good and happy to be in California. We happy to have them back in California too.

Scotchfest 2010

Saturday was Scotchfest 2010 at our place and we had a great turnout.  Friends from all over came to partake in the festivities – including Dayantha and Krissy!!  We had a total of 11 different whiskeys to taste and some were much better than others.  Here’s the lineup:

  • Glenrothes
  • Glenlivet 18
  • Clynelish
  • Aberlour
  • Glenmorangie
  • Auchentoshan
  • Glenkinchie
  • Talisker
  • Bowmore
  • Coal Ila
  • Laphroaig

Each participant got a shotglass labeled with his or her name and the different whiskeys were poured and tasted one by one with some food in between.

Meanwhile, Jack was snackin’ on cheese and crackers, watching “Up”, and feeding carrots to his pal Koa.

We served salami and cheese as well as smoked salmon with creme fraiche as appetizers.  Then the main item was the prime rib sandwiches with sauteed onion, horseradish aioli, and arugula on an Acme roll.  When eaten with some salty Kettle potato chips, it was perfect.

Everyone had their favorite Scotch of the night and pretty much everyone did not appreciate Talisker, which most said tasted like Band-Aid.  Nice.  By the end of the night, some were drinking more of their favorite while others broke open the 100-proof Captain Morgan and Coke.  I think everyone had a good time.  Most left before 12 am but some of us were still going until 4 am…including me.  Good times…

OK…let’s try this again.  Click here for photos.

Bananas are only good in muffins.

I hate bananas but for some reason, I like banana-nut bread.  I’ve been using the same recipe since 2003 and it has never failed me.  I also make muffins instead of a loaf so I get a little extra crust.  They come out moist inside, not too sweet, has a light banana flavor, and crusty on the outside.  Jes had a bunch of bananas that got neglected last week so I made some this weekend and thought I would take some photos of the process.

Here are all the ingredients:

I mixed all the dry ingredients together and then all the wet in a separate bowl.

In the meantime, I creamed the Crisco.  Yes, I used Crisco. You got a problem?!  Then I added sugar and eggs.  Once that’s all creamed, I alternated between adding the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients for a total of 4 additions.

Next I added the chopped walnuts (instead of pecans) and greased the muffin tin.

I used a disher to scoop out equal portions that filled the tins half-way.

In the 350-degree oven they went for about 30 minutes (until golden brown on the top) and then cooled on a rack.  Tasty.

It makes about 24 muffins if you fill the tin only half-way.  Make sure they cool completely before storing in an open or loosely-closed container.  If you close it all the way, they sweat and get sticky.  I like them on the drier side to keep the crust chewy.

Weeee!!

The Sokol-Juns invited us for dinner last night and they made a mean bunch of ribs and potato salad.  I brought creamed corn and Tracy made peach pie.  Jack was on hyper-mode and he’s in the stage where he wants to just show off all his toys and tricks.

This kid has 4 different vehicles parked in the livingroom and took each one out to show us his stuff.

After dinner, Jes was playing around on Ryan’s new iPhone4 and got hooked on the Angry Birds game.  The animation and sound effects are hilarious and Jack got a kick out of watching Jes play and saying “Weeee!” just like the birds do when you let go of the slingshot.

After dessert, Jack went back to Jes and asked “Uncle Jesse play more weeee?”  Haha.  Cute.  And so he played and Jack watched with such delight.  It’s still funny to see a kid that is totally unafraid of Jes.  In fact, he would every once in a while tackle Jes and then nuzzle his shoulder.  You can tell in this photo that even Jes is confused by all the spunk.  What a goofball.

Black vs. Lime Green

On Saturday, I went to lululemon to shop for a new gym bag.  I looked at 4 different designs and finally decided on this one called the Classy Classic II Gym Bag.  The next decision was the color and material.  It came down to the black neoprene with black trim or the gray leathery one with lime green trim.  Given away by the photo above, I chose the sassy gray and green one.  I figured that I had enough boring black bags.

Anyhoo, the bag has handles that are big enough to sling over my shoulder but also has a longer strap to cross over.  Inside it’s HUGE with lots of little pockets along the inner lining.  It also has a pocket that’s big enough to fit my laptop if I want to use it as a carry-on.  The bag also comes with a handy-dandy waterproof pouch that’s perfect for my stinky shoes.  The outside has pockets big enough for my water bottle and it’s in the shape of the omega, which is their logo.

Call me silly for blogging about a bag but I don’t get around to buying things like this very often.  Can’t wait to use it this week!