Cole Haan + Nike = Score!

Sunday afternoon, fueled by the need to send some gifts along to my young nieces and nephew (okay, they’re really my cousins’ children but I’m not sure what their relationship to me is technically), I headed out to prop up the struggling American economy. I was very successful at Osh Gosh Kids and couldn’t make it by the Cole Haan store without stopping in. Big mistake. Well, I guess that depends on how you look at it.

As I entered the store, the scent of Italian leather washed over me. I’ve heard people talk about how this smell can be intoxicating, but never experienced it until Cole Haan on Sunday. Yes, beautiful leather bags and shoes lined the store. My go to black leather pumps need to be retired in a pretty desperate way…the leather has faded and the insoles have started to come up, which makes them both unsightly and uncomfortable to wear. We had a business meeting in L.A. on Thursday and I was kind of embarrassed I had to wear them. As I continue to push higher in the corporate ranks, I figure I need to at least look the part (enter the rationalization).

Although I perused the store for a variety of different shoe options, eventually I gravitated toward the black leather pumps. I have a few pair of Cole Haan shoes but haven’t tracked the brand’s evolution since it was acquired by Nike. Initially I thought the proposition of having “Nike Air” soles in work shoes was just a gimmick. However, after slipping the eloquent heel on, I realized I get a nice pop in height and my forefoot is comforted by the cushy sole. Amazing! Maybe there is something to the Nike Air soles. After debating about the steeper-than-desired price tag, I decided to go for them. Day one of wear did not prove disappointing!

Biggest Waves Since the Move

This weekend Southern California experienced monstrous waves. Definitely the biggest since I moved out West about a year ago. According to news sources, the combination of very hot weather (I’m guessing in-land because the weather in San Diego has been a steady Eddy 75 degrees or so) and “50-knot winds that developed off Tahiti” and blew toward Southern California led to unusually large waves – Surfline was calling for waves of seven to ten feet at La Jolla Shores.

I took advantage of the unusual conditions by rushing to Windan’sea Beach Friday evening after work with Reggie. Since low tide Friday was at 5:30p, Reggie and I were able to scoot around the big rocks on the main part of the beach to the side of the beach where the life guards couldn’t see her splashing around in the ocean without a leash on (gasp!). By the time we settled in around 6:45p, a crowd of spectators had gathered on the hill to watch the surfers brave the waves. It was truly spectacular to watch the talented surfers catch waves of this size. It was also horrifying to see a surfer miss a wave and then get beat up by another wave rolling in before he could recover. The eight to ten foot waves kept rolling in on Friday. And Saturday morning. I was trying to imagine what thoughts would be going through my head if I was out on my board. Probably nothing appropriate to publish on the blog.

Other than a quick dip in the water Saturday morning after a run, I didn’t make it out with my board. I heard the undertow was pretty wicked and that life guards spent a significant amount of time in the water over the weekend pulling out folks that got whisked away by the powerful waves. I did notice when I was throwing the ball out for Reggie that the waves were unusually strong and therefore we were careful not to get out too far. She is definitely getting braver in the waves but I figured it wasn’t a good weekend to push it too much.

First Experience at Black’s Beach

Since relocating to San Diego about a year ago, I’ve heard various people joke about the infamous “naked” beach, Black’s Beach. According to Wikipedia, part of the beach lies under city jurisdiction and part of the beach lies in a state park. Apparently, nudity in a state park is legal. And Black’s is notorious for attracting all the local nudists/naturists.

Black’s is located just north of La Jolla Shores and south of Del Mar. When the tide is low enough, as it was this Saturday morning between 8 and 10 a.m., you can get to Black’s Beach from La Jolla Shores by climbing over a bunch of rocks. As I was running along the beach, I first encountered a ton of surfers, as the waves were wicked/gnarly/etc. and up to eight to ten feet. So far, so good. I started to think that this naked beach allegation could have just been an urban legend.

However, as I continued further north, I spotted a really wrinkly behind. Yes. Wikipedia failed to mention Black’s really attracts 70-year old men. And they were the only naked people I saw on the beach. It reminded me of the “Seinfeld” episode about “good” versus “bad” naked. If you need a live picture of “bad” naked, go for a run on Black’s Beach when the tide is low enough to get there from La Jolla Shores. Yikes.

The Best Long Run Ever

Relating to the title of this post, “best” does not refer to the quality of my run but rather to the quality of the scenery during the run. The themes of my posts from this past weekend are all related to the unusual water conditions experienced over the weekend in Southern California (more on that in another blog post). Saturday morning, driven by an unusually low tide and a running group starting point just down the road at La Jolla Shores beach, I had one of the coolest runs ever. The tide was so low we were able to run all the way on the beach from La Jolla Shores up to Del Mar and back. Overall for me it was a 10.2 mile run.

Part of the reason the scenery was so amazing was the waves were up to seven or eight feet, which drew an unusually high number of surfers out to the water by our 8 a.m. start time. In fact, I wasn’t able to park in the regular lot down at the beach and had to look for a parking spot in the neighborhoods. After a rocky start – I realized as I was walking toward the group my iPod Shuffle was dead and I had a hole in the cap of my water bottle – I was excited to have dragged my butt out of bed for the run. The most challenging part of the run was at the end of La Jolla Shores beach. Both there and on the way back the runners had to stop our running and climb over a bunch of rocks to get to Black’s Beach. On the way back, my body was glad to have several minutes to rest from running.

We continued through Black’s Beach (more on this later also), up toward Torrey Pines State Reserve and to Del Mar. Kirk, Sara and I stopped for a brief rest/stretch/bathroom break at the bathrooms at the beach at the foot of Torrey Pines State Reserve and then headed back to La Jolla Shores. We also enjoyed a bit of cloud covering, which kept the weather nice and cool during our run. I learned that Sara had just completed the San Diego Marathon in May and Kirk also has a lab puppy – though his boy Prince is just a pup compared to Reg at 10 weeks. We recounted puppy stories and shared the joys of being a puppy parent during our run.

After climbing back over the rocks and finishing up through 10 miles on La Jolla Shores beach, we took a quick dip in the ocean. The lifeguards whistled at us and we had to move because we were swimming in an area designated for surfers only. After running 10+ miles, the water felt amazing and I was a bit slow to react to the scolding. All in all, probably the coolest run I’ve been on and nearly perfect conditions.

The Urban Sprawl That Is L.A.

Although I’ve lived in Southern California for nearly a year now, prior to Thursday I had never been to L.A. Based on aggregate reviews from people I’ve chatted with, my thesis was that it probably wouldn’t be my scene: lots of people, lots of concrete, lots of fakeness. Thursday’s visit was brief but I learned firsthand there is one thing that would drive me nuts about L.A.: traffic. The U.S.’s second largest city is home to 3.8 million people, less than half of New York’s 8.4 million people but without public transportation. Yes, a mini-NYC without the subway. Already sounds like a recipe for disaster. It took my co-worker and me about 2.5 hours to get a solid 30 miles outside Century City during rush hour. Ouch.

During our brief trip we also cruised down to the beach and took in the famous Santa Monica pier. I’ve seen the view on “Private Practice.” Generally speaking, anytime a roller coaster is involved, the crowd on the beach tends to get a bit dicey (based on a sample size of one from my experiences around Mission Beach). It just screams, “Come hang out here! This is the most tourist-y place to be!” Needless to say, although the beach is always great, I didn’t see anything that led me to believe the beaches around L.A. could top San Diego beaches.

The spectacular view from the office we visited revealed a vast urban sprawl covered in a layer of smog. It was kind of depressing. I prefer the view from my hood in Windan’sea: the ocean, with a fresh breeze, even if there is the occasional stench of seaweed (particularly as you drive south on La Jolla Boulevard toward PB just as you’re passing “The West End”). While I would realistically say I haven’t spent enough time in L.A. to pass judgment, the initial takeaway is that my original thesis is correct. I think it will take a lot to drag me back up there to conduct additional research. San Diego is more laid back, less trafficky and for Reg and I, the beach is right down the street…

Nine Miles Starting in Del Mar

As the AFC Half inches closer (it’s now 27 days away), I find myself consistently running between 9 and 11 miles on the weekends. For some reason, I’ve been getting stuck at 10.5 miles. I believe that when I’m out there with those other runners, the collective energy will help propel me the last several miles (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it). If I manage to run at a sub-9:00 minute mile pace I’ll also be happy. This weekend I made it just over nine miles through Del Mar, up through Solana Beach and I turned around just north of the main beach in Cardiff. It was a nice jaunt at just over a nine minute mile pace.

Probably my favorite part of the run was at the very end, when I walked along the beach in Del Mar and into the water. After spending three straight days in the ocean last weekend, it felt like the water temp had dropped about eight degrees (but the cool water felt great on my legs post-run). Del Mar is such a cool place, each time I visit I debate if I’m making a mistake by not living there. A couple of the drawbacks include the crazy traffic during the summer, driven by the Del Mar Fair and the racetrack. However, when I strike it rich, it’s definitely on my short list of places I’d buy my first beach front home. Especially because it has an awesome dog beach, which during my run was crammed with people playing in a bocce ball tournament. Good times.

Jen Gets Eyed Up By A 65-Year Old

One of the drawbacks to being new to an area is that you’re not always “in the know” about important little factoids. For example, local watering holes are much better to check out on certain nights of the week. During my days in Chapel Hill, the soccer team knew that Thursdays and Saturdays at Top of the Hill/Player’s were much more happening than Friday nights, which most of the college athlete population used as a recovery night.

Now that I’m a resident of La Jolla, I no longer have the luxury of being able to walk to four or five cool spots like I did when I lived at Icon in East Village downtown. Many of the places in LJ are overrun with cougars or creepy old men. The PB scene is too college-y for my taste, and it has been a bit of a challenge to find the hip young professional scene in the North PB/Birdrock/LJ area. Some places I’ve had success with include Turquoise Bar, Firehouse, La Jolla Brewhouse and Beaumont’s. Unfortunately, this Saturday night at Beaumont’s made me think it is much more of a Friday night bar.

Several weeks ago I spent a fun Friday night at Beaumont’s. Live music played and the bar was littered with late 20/early 30-year olds having a few cocktails and just kickin’ it. Overall I was impressed and glad to add a fun spot to check out just over a mile from the new casa. Unfortunately when Jen and I headed down to Beaumont’s for a cocktail this Saturday there was a completely different vibe. I guess it could be summarized as something like a 50-year old birthday party rockin’ out to Led Zeppelin and The Doors. The guitarist was actually pretty impressive, but the crowd was notably older (by an average of 25 years or so).

By the time we arrived, I think they had all already been over-served. I later learned Jen was highly distracted from our conversation by an older, and I mean mid-60s older, man giving her the eye. It was entertaining and overall quite a scene but I’m going to need to further research the trends at Beaumont’s. Is this a Friday night/Saturday night trend or just random?

Surfing Update: Where are the Waves?

There is no surfing update. There were no waves bigger than “1-2 feet with poor conditions” this weekend, per Surfline. Boo. My hopes are high for this weekend.

Ode to Netflix and My New Favorite Show = Weeds

Although I am typically an early adopter of new technology, for some reason it has taken me a bit longer to move to Netflix. Maybe it’s because I feel guilty watching TV when it’s 70 and sunny every day and I’m typically cramped in a small cubicle for ten hours a day. Maybe it’s because until recently, when I acquired the ability to recite large chunks of most episodes from memory, I had been content to watch re-runs of Sex & The City on the Time Warner DVR system. Whatever the reason, I recently signed up for a free month of Netflix and have been loving it. Not only do you avoid the run to the retail Blockbuster locations but you also pass the breakeven on the “On Demand” movies through the cable companies if you watch more than two DVDs a month. That’s not too high of a hurdle rate, especially if you choose your movies wisely. Luckily, Netflix has a list of recommendations for each user based on his or her movie ratings.

Through this newfound relationship with Netflix, I discovered my new favorite TV show, Weeds. I had heard people rave about the show and was skeptical it wouldn’t be able to live up to the heightened expectations. It has, however, and has also scooted its way right into my top five list of favorite TV shows of all time. This list currently consists of: Sex & The City, 24, Weeds, 30 Rock and Grey’s Anatomy. Honorable mentions go to The Office, The Mentalist, The Sopranos and What About Ted. If I could resurrect any dead TV shows, they would be Lipstick Jungle, Eli Stone and John From Cincinnati. At any rate, over the past month or so, I’ve made it through the first four seasons of Weeds and managed to catch up with real time. I’m now faced with the dilemma of whether or not to add Showtime to my Time Warner package or just watch the latest episodes online (I’m leaning toward the latter).

Watching the adventures of Nancy Botwin and gang has led me to several conclusions: I would never make it in the drug industry so maybe having a legitimate career isn’t such a bad thing; be nice to people so everyone doesn’t hate you (like Celia Hodes – she is imprisoned for crimes she didn’t commit and taken hostage by her own daughter); and don’t ever cross a Mexican drug lord or DEA agent. I guess these are all relatively common sense observations but it has been fun watching them play out through the show. It is very dark and just when you think Nancy’s hit bottom, she takes it down another level. I highly recommend watching it if you haven’t already.

Reggie's Boyfriend and Best Friend, Hagar

The Near Decapitation

If there is a doggie heaven, Jen and I think that Hagar and Reggie were it in yesterday. We took the kids for a walk around 7p, just as the weather was cooling off and there was a nice ocean breeze. We hiked down toward Windan’sea, away from the crowds and toward the beach access further north. Unfortunately the tide was too high to access the beach from Jen’s usual spot so we hiked down to the Sea Lane entrance. There were a few beachgoers and surfers, as well as a fisherman. However, we had plenty of room to let the dogs off-leash, where they had a ton of fun playing in the water.

Reggie and Hagar were having a blast playing and they hung out with a couple of new friends, including Oliver, a very cute golden retriever that lives just up from the beach on our walk home. Oliver’s parents brought a whiffle ball and bat, which were both huge hits with the dogs. After plenty of playtime and much practice with swimming in the waves – an area in which Reggie has significantly improved as she managed to swim through several of them yesterday – we began our walk back home. We ran into Oliver and his family on the way. Oliver has a nice iron wrought fence in front of his house. Being a golden retriever, and weighing less than 140 pounds, he can easily manage to stick his head through the fence. Hagar, however, is a bit larger and that’s where we ran into problems…

Hagar stuck his head through the fence to visit with Oliver and family. No sooner than this happened did it get very quiet because Hagar’s head immediately got stuck in the fence and he started to panic. Lucky for him, Jen and Oliver’s family managed to stay calm. After about 30 seconds they managed to un-wedge his head without decapitating him, which would have been heartbreaking for all involved. As we walked back home, Jen and I recounted stories we’d heard about dogs getting into things they shouldn’t with horrific outcomes. All involved are glad Hagar escaped that fence with only a little struggle (and his head in tact). Reggie would be heart broken without her boyfriend.

The Best Soccer Pitch Ever

Point Loma Nazarene has one of the best soccer fields I’ve ever played on and unquestionably the best rec soccer pitch I’ve ever seen. Even as our team struggles with mediocrity, having squandered several quality scoring opportunities and given up a PK goal to lose 1-0 in last week’s game, I take joy in stepping onto the pitch and looking at the ocean over Sunset Cliffs Natural Park. We face a much tougher opponent this week and will need to bring our “A game” to stay competitive. The team has already started recruiting girls to replace our numerous injured female players. I hate to admit it, but it was difficult for me to do a hard workout after last week’s game. My quad was incredibly sore after our game last week and it made running a big challenge. Hopefully the body is slowly getting back into soccer shape and the soreness won’t be as bad this week. More to come…

The Comeback

I don’t think I’ve ever been as happy to tie as a soccer game as I was this Wednesday. Our StepStone team (plus friends and family) came back from a 3-0 deficit to tie 3-3 in the last 15 minutes of the game. The scoring fiesta was kicked off by a Scott Hart diving header which could have made SportsCenter’s Top 10 if it would’ve been in an MLS game. It was picturesque – something I haven’t seen live in a couple of years. The second goal was also strong (but not quite Top 10 material). Our comeback was almost thwarted when the ref called a crap PK. However, Kristin Hamlin came up with an unbelievable save to keep our hopes alive. The last goal, well, it was about as ugly as it gets – Tyler crossed the ball in, we had all overrun it and the other team scored on themselves just after the ref called out, “One minute!” When the ball went in, the cheering from our fans was nearly as loud as a World Cup game. It was amazing and made this old lady feel good about being on a soccer pitch again.

In addition to the comeback on the field, I was able to connect with my high school friend and teammate Amy Cabaday (now Cabaday-Pavis) who I recently found out is living in San Diego with her husband and two kids. Scott’s wife Katie was kind enough to bring orange slices and Gatorade to the game, so it was truly flashback to high school. It was awesome. Top it off with the fact that the field and surroundings at Point Loma Nazarene above Sunset Cliffs Natural Park are unbelievably beautiful, and we have ourselves an amazing soccer league. Thank you Scott for organizing!

Surfing Update: There is Hope

Three days in a row of surfing. I was initially trying to figure out a way to get out there today so I didn’t have to break my streak but don’t want to ditch the evening Victor spin class. Contrary to my experience with LJSC’s 6:00a Monday morning spin instructor, Victor’s class is amazing. His energy is palpable and he calls people out for slacking during class. It’s great.

Back to the surfing update…while I’m not Kelly Slater yet, I am now consistently standing up on my board. Although the rides are short, I’ve made progress which has given me a little confidence (which I think will go a long way). I invested in a couple of new pieces of surfing gear – a 2/2 short suit, which is much less painful to put on than the 4/3 full wetsuit – and a 0.5mm jacket. My arms feel so much better paddling out in the short suit and it is a lot less restrictive. The water’s back up to 64-66 degrees so once you get in and move around, the temperature is perfect.

My goal is to be able to catch a few waves and ride them for longer than three seconds by StepStone’s party at LJ Shores in August. Only a few more weeks left to get it done, but I’m feeling pretty good about my chances.

Hooray for Summer

May Grey and June Gloom have lifted. After several months of not seeing the sun until 2p, this weekend was fabulous – sunny and hot. Hot for San Diego is in the mid-80s, which, during a run, can feel like 90. I made the mistake of sleeping in a bit on Sunday and then heading out for a run. When you’re used to 65, 85 is a bit much and I cut the run way short. I told myself I’m going to get a 10-miler in sometime during the week this week. We’ll see how that goes.

In addition to running, over the weekend there were two days of surfing, Reggie catching up with her buddy Bella, laying out at Windan’Sea beach (which was crazy busy) and the Sunday evening hang out with Hagar and Jen. She loves Hagar and he is so good with her, despite her frequently jumping on his head and acting like a crazy dog. There was apparently a dead squid down at Windan’Sea, as I heard several people call out, “Ew, gross, look at that dead squid!” That didn’t stop several guys from throwing it back and forth at each other, which they then complained made their hands smell horrible (which I’m sure was surprising because why wouldn’t throwing around a dead animal make your hands smell like anything but roses).

All in all, it was a great weekend and I’m glad that summer is finally here.

Reggie Will Never Be A Mom

Little Reggie’s spaying is complete and she has recovered nicely. It was quite sad for the seven day “leash-only walk” period. Since it was Hagar’s birthday on day number six, I cheated a bit and let her play with Hagar, Sage, Snouffie, Siena, and the other dogs at his birthday celebration. I don’t think it had an adverse affect on her. Surprisingly, she’s done a great job of leaving her wound alone and we go back to the vet Tuesday afternoon to get the stitches removed.

When I dropped her off, I felt a bit of panic. My little girl going under the knife. This must be a little of what parents experience when they are worried about their kids. In order to cope, I went shopping at the outlet malls – the Trestles surf outlet in San Clemente and the Carlsbad outlets. My grief helped to prop up the struggling economy. I got really lucky and Banana Republic was having a random “40% off” everything in the store sale. So I didn’t feel as guilty about spending money because I was able to get nice work clothes for more than half off (because I also used my 15% birthday gift card).

By the time I made it back to Windan’Sea, Reg was done with surgery and groggy. Although she was out of it for the rest of the day, by the next morning she was back to normal. Not too bad and now she is all healed up. Whew!