Hollywood Trip: Day 2

Day 2 started out with a trip to Santa Monica Pier, about a 20 min drive west of Hollywood.  First we had to drive through Beverly Hills, which we visited again later in the day during a driven tour.

 

Later in the day, we decided to go on a open top driven tour.  The tour lasted 2 hours and brought us through Beverly Hills to see many of the movie star homes, some of the fancy shopping stores, Hollywood Hills, and finally to the Hollywood sign.

 

"Father of the Bride I"

 "Halloween" House

 The Viper Room (use to be owned by Johnny Depp)

 Wolfgang Puck

 Elton John  in the Penthouse on top floor

 David Spade

 Christina Aguilera (Use to be The Osbournes)

 Dr. Phil

 Ringo Starr

  

Al Pacino

 Yes, that is a $1 million dollar car outside of this furniture store...

 Stores on Rodeo Drive $$$

 LA Ink Studio (Tattoo Studio on TV)

 Jim Henson

 Johnny Depp

Quentin Tarantino

Hollywood sign in the background

After the tour, we decided to go to the Chinese Theater to check out some of the signature stones.  In order to get your name on one of these stones, each person has to have their opening night at the Chinese Theatre and pay $30,000.

 Melody and Marilyn Monroe

Hollywood Trip: Day 1

Some pictures of Hollywood Blvd in Los Angeles, California:

The Great Hans Zimmer Star

Grauman's Chinese Theater

Kodak Theater

Hollywood Sign

ISSA Certified Training/Nutrition Certified Now Available!

Hey guys, incase you haven't heard yet, I recently received my certifications in both personal training and fitness nutrition through the International Sports & Sciences Association (ISSA). If your interested in getting training advice, nutrition advice, personal training, triathlon/running training programs, check out my website at UltraFit Fitness & Nutrition. I'll be doing some weekly podcasts coming up, but in the meantime keep an eye out for discussions on fitness and nutrition!

A View Into 2011 Race Season

Running From an Angel 50-mile 2011:

This year started out with a bang, with a 2nd place finish overall at the Running from an Angel 50 mile Ultramarathon, which took place January 8th, 2011! Total time was 7hrs and 32mins (click here for race results). The next big race was going to be the Twin Peaks 50-miler, but due to a horrible amount of rainfall this year, the course is destroyed so the race will be postponed until Oct 2011. Unfortunately, a deployment got in the way before I could get a second race in.




IT Band Problems:

One issue that I have been fighting since November has been IT Band Friction Syndrome. Not a pleasant experience! In Feb, we attempted a cortisone shot to the right side of the knee which gave relieve for about a month and a half, but here I am back to fighting the issue. I have recently began a new mobility/stretching program and a IT Band Fix training program, which should last about 6-8 weeks, so we're going to see how things progress. Let me know if your having the same issues and I'll let you know what I'm working on.

Upcoming Races:

Upon the end of this deployment, I'll be preparing for Leadville Trail 100 and the Wasatch Trail Front 100. Goals this year will be to complete Leadville in less than 25 hours, to get the silver buckle, and for Wasatch will be just to finish! If things go well, then I may attempt the Juveline Jundred in Nov, but we'll see if my legs can handle that many 100's in a year.

Stay tuned and I'll keep you up to date with progress on races!

Leadville Trail 100 Ultramarathon

Pre-Race Brief and Medical Check-In:

Friday, the day before the race, is a mandatory briefing and weigh in at the 6th Street Gym. Each runner recieves a medical bracelet that informs medical staff of weight before the run, medications and allergies, so that throughout the race, each runners weight is monitored to ensure you not losing too much. A loss of 7% or more, may result in disqualification so knowing how to refuel during the run is extremely important in order to continue to the finish. I had the opportunity to see Christopher McDougall, who wrote the book Born to Run which really gave a lot of publicity to the Leadville Trail 100 Ultra and Vibram shoes. The creator of the LT100 also gave the speech, Ken Choulber, who created the race 28 years ago to save this small mining community of Leadville, CO.

(Ken Choulber)

Race Day:

Saturday morning at 0400AM, race start. Eight hundred and fourty-five runners line up for a 30 hour cutoff run through the Colorado Rockies.






Getting a quick snack and changing my shirt at the second aid station, Fish Hatchery (mile 23.5).



The next aid station I met my crew was at Twin Lakes, around mile 39.5, just before Hope Pass.

(Mom meeting me at the bottom of Twin Lakes Mountain)

Here are the mountains I got to climb after Twin Lakes.

(Twin Lakes Mountain)

(Hope Pass)

To view a map of the course, you can click on the blue hyperlink which will automatically open the map in pdf format.... click here.

Below is the race elevation profile. This is a 50-mile out and back, so you run this profile twice!



Starting at mile 40, you have to cross a swamp and then a river before climbing the 3000ft Hope Pass, which is was the most painful part of the entire race. After you get to the top, you must descend all the way back to the bottom in order to weigh in at an Aid Station named Weinfield and the re-climb Hope Pass again.


Awards Ceremony:

Race results was 26 hours and 3 minutes which put me in 113th place. Out of the original 845 that started, only 363 runners crossed the finish line.