San Jacinto with Patrick, Christina, Laura and Chad

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Andrea Bocelli @ Hollywood Bowl

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2009 Los Angeles Marathon - My second marathon

It has been said that the best marathons reflect the character of a city. Such is the case for the City of Los Angeles Marathon. Though the course has been modified through the years to make it flatter and faster, it has always run through the multi-cultural heart of the city. This year's course is different from last year's -- it follows the loop course from 2005 and 2006, which begins at 6th and Figueroa streets and ends at 5th and Flower streets. It is reported to be the fastest course in the marathon's history, meandering as far west as La Cienega Boulevard. Given that the race takes place in the entertainment capital of the world, it also offers more on-course live performances than any marathon in the world. Along the route are various bands and performance groups, cheerleaders and water stations. There are more spectators that come out each year than any other marathon (over 1,000,000) and cheer on the 25,000+ runners by name, thanks to personalized bibs."

Further pictures available in the web album or as a slide show.

My Time: 4:29:08 [hrs:min:sec]
Avg. Speed: 5.85 mph / 9,41 kmh
Pace: 10.25 min/mile / 6,3 min/km
Overall Place: 3,172 [of 17,307 Starters / 14,115 Finishers]
Gender Place: 2,578 [of 8,930 Males]
Div. Place: 367 [of 1,018 Men 35 to 39]

Overall [14,115 Finishers]
Minimum Time: 02:08:24
Average Time: 05:31:46
Maximum Time: 11:48:22

Gender [8,930 Males]
Minimum Time: 02:08:24
Average Time: 05:16:03
Maximum Time: 11:46:13

Division [1,018 Men 35-39]
Minimum Time: 02:17:54
Average Time: 04:59:27
Maximum Time: 09:24:20


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Sea World, San Diego

Pictures available in the web album or as a slide show.

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4.7 earthquake shakes large stretch of Southern California (Lennox)

Los Angeles Times

"LOS ANGELES - A magnitude 4.7 earthquake shook a large stretch of Southern California on Sunday night. There were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries, though some broken windows, falling dishes and minor property damage occurred.

The quake hit at 8:39 p.m. and was centered near Lennox, a community between Inglewood and Hawthorne and east of Los Angeles International Airport. Lasting about 15 seconds, the temblor could be felt as far away as the High Desert, Indio, Carpinteria and San Diego County.

The earthquake was "a bit deep," said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Susan Hough -- originating 8.4 miles below the surface. "That tends to make it less sharp -- less of a jerky, abrupt motion," Hough said. As a result, most of the region felt the quake as a rolling motion, though some closer to the center may have felt a jolt.

Automatic sensors initially logged a magnitude 5, but as more data came in, seismologists downgraded it to a magnitude 4.7. A brief aftershock, registering 3.1, followed the quake at 8:45 p.m., also centered in the Lennox area.

Los Angeles city and county fire officials said they had not received significant damage reports in residential or industrial areas, including the coastal refineries."

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High Temperature Records Set in Southern California

FOX News

LOS ANGELES — High temperature records were set throughout Southern California on a scorching spring Sunday — many in the same areas that also set records a day earlier, the National Weather Service said.

A high-pressure system that settled over the West Coast baked Los Angeles International Airport with temperatures of 96 degrees (36ºC). The previous record was 90 degrees on the same day in 1947.

Long Beach topped out at 95 degrees (36ºC) on Sunday as did Camarillo and Westwood in Los Angeles.

The Santa Monica Pier heated up to 86 degrees (30ºC), breaking the record of 78 degrees set on the same day in 1993.

The temperature soared to 97 degrees (36ºC) at the San Diego Wild Animal Park near Escondido, the highest for the day in 24 years.

Small brush fires broke out amid the dry, hot conditions in Los Angeles and San Diego counties, but both were quickly extinguished.

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Las Vegas

Most people go to Vegas to gamble, party and drink ... While we were there for an extended weekend, we went running (of course!) at Lake Mead (near the Hoover Dam), Red Rock Canyon and early in the morning along the Strip. In the afternoon, we relaxed at the (beach) pool of our hotel (Luxor and Mandalay Bay) and in the evening we did some of the activities that I mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph.



Pictures available in the web album or as a slide show.

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Ironman 70.3 California

This weekend I participated in my first Ironman 70.3 in Oceanside, CA - Swim 1.2 miles/2 km, Bike 56 miles/90 km and Run 13.1 miles/20 km. With a little over 7 hours, I was very satisfied with the overall result. Especially during the swim and the bike legs of the triathlon I was able to achieve personal best times. The run took longer than expected due to cramps in my quads. The transitions will need further improvement in the future.

Overall
07:03:20 (Time)

Swim 1.2 miles / 2 km
41:45 (Time)
2:12 (/100m)
12:29 (Tr1)

Bike 56 miles / 90 km
3:31:56 (Time)
15.9 (Mile/hr)
7:35 (Tr2)

Run 13.1 miles / 20 km
2:29:37 (Time)
11:26 (/Mile)




Pictures available in the web album or as a slide show.

Culver City (where we live)

I just came across the official Culver City web site which allows some very nice impression of the city. "Then & Now" shows how much (or little) Culver City has changed over the years in an animated gallery of historic photos compared to their modern day recreations. "Images of Culver City" lets you browse through photos of Culver City and seeing the beauty of the city.

To wrap it up, here some excerpts from Wikipedia about Culver City and its interesting history:

Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 38,816. The community is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also has a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. ...

Since the 1920s, Culver City has been a significant center for motion picture and later television production, in part because it was the home of MGM Studios. ... Home to Sony Pictures Studios, Culver Studios, and the former Hal Roach Studios, hundreds of movies have been produced on the lots of Culver City's studios. These include The Wizard of Oz, The Thin Man, Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane, Rebecca, the Tarzan series, and the original King Kong. More recent films made in Culver City include Grease, Raging Bull, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, City Slickers, Air Force One, Wag the Dog, and Contact. Television shows made on Culver City sets have included Las Vegas, Mad About You, Lassie, Batman, Arrested Development, The Andy Griffith Show, Jeopardy!, and the night version Wheel of Fortune. ...

Two of the most famous natives of the city are Drew Barrymore and Helen Hunt. ...

Culver City is centrally located close to the beach as well as downtown Los Angeles: Santa Monica, Venice Beach and Marina del Rey to the West (~5 miles); downtown Los Angeles to the East (~11 miles); Westwood, Beverly Hills and Hollywood to the North (~6 miles); LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) and Manhattan Beach to the South (~12 miles).

Solstice Canyon hike with Liz and Patrick

Pictures available in the web album or as a slide show.

Nanaho visiting

Nanaho came this weekend from Washington, DC to visit us here in Los Angeles. As always, time was too short, but besides Aviva and her having had a lot of catching up to do, we took some trips to Santa Monica and Universal Studios.





Pictures available in the web album or as a slide show.

Tour of California (Pasadena)

Overall results:

Pos.	No.	UCI Code	Rider	Team	Time
1.	1	USA	LEIPHEIMER Levi	AST	31.28'21"
2.	38	USA	ZABRISKIE David	GRM	31.28'57"
3.	28	AUS	ROGERS Michael	THR	31.29'06"
4.	16	GER	VOIGT Jens	SAX	31.29'31"
5.	26	SWE	LVKVIST Thomas	THR	31.29'50"
6.	66	ITA	NIBALI Vincenzo	LIQ	31.29'58"
7.	2	USA	ARMSTRONG Lance	AST	31.30'07"

Pictures available in the web album or as a slide show.

Monterey (01/30 - 02/01)

20090130-20090201 Monterey

Pictures available in the web album or as a slide show.

Franklin Canyon Trail Run

Location: Franklin Canyon
Start: 2600 Franklin Canyon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA
Distance: 5.07 mi
Time: 1:11:20 hrs
Avg. Pace: 14.04 min/mi
Avg Speed: 4.3 mph
Max Speed: 6.7 mph
Altitude: 830 - 1,100 ft
Elevation Gain/Loss: 1,639 ft/2,011 ft
Comments: Beautiful canyon between Hollywood and Beverly Hills; amazing that this run is only 20 minutes from downtown LA; next time, take trail west of Franklin Canyon Lake down and continue on Lake Drive and Hastain Trail to the summit; then try to continue north (or west) and make way back as a loop

Mount Lukens (5,074 feet / 1.547 meters)

Location: San Gabriel Mountains/ Angeles National Forest
Elevation: 5,074 feet, 1.547 meters (highest mountain in LA city limits)
Elevation gain: 3,200 feet / 975 meters
Nearest city: Tujunga, CA
Trip: Stone Canyon Trail - Mt Lukens - Grizzly Flat
Distance: 13+3 miles round trip
Hike time: 7+1 hours
Comments: Spectacular views of LA basin from summit; got lost after 13 miles due to trail condition at Grizzly Flat; ended up in the wrong canyon after coming back down; searched for over an hour to make it back to the trail and find our way back to the car; overall nice adventure, but would hike it the other way around next time to avoid getting lost



Pictures available in the web album or as a slide show.

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