Tsunami Watch 2k10 [Cont'd]

As if one tsunami watch wasn't enough, here's the rest of tsunami watch 2k10 as written by Condeleeza McSqueeza himself, Mike C. Man, that guy is doofy.

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11:45am - Alex, now emaciated from lack of food....oh wait, that's normal! Grunts as he climbs up on a poolside table. Since he's turned sideways, I can barely see him. A shudder of fear overcomes me at the thought that the slight gust of wind perchance might sweep my friend and host from his precarious pool-side perch. I take a picture to capture his tsnuami watch stance. I snap a second photo [see previous blog post, Alex with green short shorts] as the first one turned out to be ummm....taken at a poor angle. I now know who the song "who wears the short shorts" is referring to.....shudder.

ALEX'S RESPONSE: You douchebag.

12:05pm a.k.a. almost an hour past when the tsunami was supposed to happen, the live twitter feed is overflowing with reports that the tsunami has just reached the big island. I watch the waves in the distance....They are starting to look a little choppy. The streets are nearly deserted. Alex continues to complain about how hungry he is....he's nearly on the verge of tears that subway is closed from the evacuation.

12:15pm - I wonder if I managed to miss the tsunami. No destruction. No power outages. No epic walls of water washing its way down Waikiki. I am seriously underwhelmed. I feel bad the second time for not realizing that I was actually looking forward to something catastrophic. I mean....I didn't want anyone hurt. I certainly didn't want people to have to go through the trouble dealing with the damage such a wave would cause; but, I thought that there would at least be SOMETHING. I was worried about a 13 ft wave traveling 500 mph; we got a 1.5 inch wave that might have stirred some fish around. In this case, the motion of that ocean didn't thrill me. I'm glad.

ALEX'S NOTE: Is that a song?

1pm - We exit the building. Alex needs food, as I've so often told him.

ALEX'S NOTE: See first note.

I ponder the annoyance of the loud tsunami warning sirens that punctuated my morning and kept me off the beach. I decide that it's better safe than sorry. Everyone is complaining about the evacuation on the radio, but hindsight is 20:20. Nobody would be laughing if that wave actually hit us....and that woman on the radio would not have been so sorry to miss her Starbucks.

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Stay tuned, the epic finale of Hawaii Part 4 up next. Until then, good night Canada, let's toss it back up to Sportscenter.

Hawaii Continues Tmmr

Reason why we stopped was
a) It was the weekend
b) That's Flemish for "I'm going on a cycling gastro tour for Vegan Burritos"
c) Betcha didn't know I could speak Flemish huh?
d) I need to steal some more photos of Mike's facebook page.

Once I do d), then we'll get back with Tsunami Watch 2k10.
Oh and by the way, Amy's Soy Cheese Vegan Pizza <<<<<< Amy's Pesto Gluten Free pizza.

In fact, that pizza [soy cheese] was absolute shit. If it were me, I'd put it on fail blog.
Oh and I'm onto this really, really good granola right now. It's 'creamy' [soy protein powder] blueberry, raspberry, grape, banana granola. Whoa it's good. So good makes you wanna slap yo mama! Will get to that too.

Hawaii Part 3 - Tsunami Watch 2k10

The highly anticipated blog post, Tsunami Watch 2k10 is rolling in straight sets [no pun intended]. Alex would like to take this time now to say this ENTIRE blog post has been written by Micahel which means the following:

1) It's probably not true

2) Well....some of it is.....

3) ....and some of it is darn right jealousy! =) He's sitting there now thinking "damn, those vegans sure do eat well." Damn straight we do. And don't you forget it.

4) Re-read 1)

Let's give a big Hawaiian sized welcome for the tomfoolery that is known as Mike's Writing:

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*************** HOLY SHIT************* you can't copy and paste into blogspot!!!! AAAHHHH

Okay here's part 1. Part two tomorrow so you'll just have to wait.

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9am: I'm showered and listening to the radio for reports on the tsunami. Alex is out biking for the umpteenth time this vacation. I know that when he returns, I'll have to listen to the painful but oddly melodic, metronome of his grunts as he walks, if it can be called walking, on those skinny chicken bones he calls legs [21 miles running after 2 months of no running = oww]: oooO aaaAH oooO aaaAH. I can already picture the: "I had an unpleasant meeting with the business end of a broomhandle" stance he'll have upon his return. I heat up some ramen.

9:30am: The radio commentators drone on about the, then expected 6 - 13 ft waves traveling Hilo side of Hawaii traveling at speeds of 500mph! All coastal areas are evacuated, and people in high rise buildings are urged to go to higher levels. Sitting peacefully in Alex's 6th floor condo, I laugh as a commentator takes a call from a woman that is complaining about Starbuck's being closed: "seriously ma'am, there's a tsunami, and you're concerned about your Starbuck's fix?"

9:40am: Alex texts me me to meet him at Jamba Juice....which is even closer to the beach. I tell him he's crazy if he thinks I'm going CLOSER to the beach before the tsunami. Jamba Juice is closed btw.

10:30am: The boy wonder returns....oooO aaAH oooO aaAH....there it is. He's starving....well, more than usual! Ha! Stupid Weee-gan!

10:45am: We evacuate to our rooftop pool to begin.......TSUNAMI WATCH 2K10!

11:09am: The tsunami is supposed to come....it's late.

11:25am: Talk to mom on the phone while sunbathing and drinking a cold Corona [see pic]. She's freaked out but I tell her I'm fine....I'm more than fine, I'm actually ENJOYING tsunami watch! Then I feel bad. I shouldn't be enjoying waiting for a tsunami. People in Chile died during the tsunami there....BAD MICHAEL!

11:30am: Still no tsunami. Live twitter feed tells me that "even our natural disasters our are on island time!"

Hawaii Part Deux - [More] Eating

Continuing with the double-blog-duty post, this particular one shows one of Alex's favorite places to eat. It's actually a grocery store that ONLY serves vegetarian and vegan foods. In fact, when you sit outside, a sign says "No meat products or outside food". Of course, I'm skeptical but Alex tells me they have outstanding gluten free pizza. What I can't wrap my hands around is where do all of those calories go in him? I swear, that pip-squeek eats and eats and eats a truckload of calories and yet, he's still thin with his faux hawk and skinny tshirts. Heck, I eat a salad and my thighs jiggle for a week! Whoops...tmi...tmi. Fest your eyes on Down to Earth foods ladies and gents, an establishment that will never see Anthony Bourdain make a visit to.

Anyways, we eat an outstanding meal [can you tell, this is clearly Alex]. I pig out on TWO slices of vegan pizza [gotta be like 500 cals each!], AND some brown rice and thai coconut curry. Kapow! That's my daily quota? Hardly. That's lunch suckaaaaaz. Of course, I explain to Michael that spam and other such crap products cannot be found at such a clean, respectable, and socially responsible establishment. However, I tell him that there's a Burger King across the street but also that this gluten free pesto pizza loaded with veggies will be good. He listens. Smart kid. We sit down and he stuffs his face and you'd swear, the kid had never heard of veggies in his life. It's like, you could smack him in the grill with a cauliflower and he'd be like 'word?'. Hehe, nah I'm just playing, apparently, he enjoys fruits and vegetables.......and spam.....and fried chicken......and steak.....[going to get carried away].

Next we took some pictures from Diamond Head view point overlooking the pacific. Man it's pretty up there and wouldn't you know it, Alex struck pay-dirt and found ----- an awesome photo. NOT a bikini-clad-surf-board-toting-model, but certainly a wonderful shot indeed. I doubt she knew though, tough to tell whose snapping a photo when the photographer is all legs and no arms. I swear, if Alex turns to the side, you can hardly see his upper body and only his legs show. Thank god he's cycling and eating more. If he loses any more weight he would just float away and away and away and away......

We hope you've enjoyed this doofy post. We decided to dedicate a FULL BLOG to tsunami watch 2k10 which will be tomorrow.

p.s. doesn't Alex look like a young boy in these photos? 12...or maybe 13?!

Alex's response: Don't hate. Veganism and Cycling keep me a yung lookin' brotha. AND I got nice legs!

Hawaii Part 1: The 'dual-post'

Aloha you poor souls putting up with cold and miserable weather. Oh wait....that's us huh? Cuz right now in SF it's raining, cold and dark - adjectives that would normally describe our personality....at least Alex's =)

Yes indeed, this is a blog post by Michael and Alex...we would say M&A but two reasons prevent this:

1) M&A stands for mergers and acquisitions
2) Sounds a little limp-wristy. Heck, it's bad enough Alex shaves his legs and is vegan.

Anyways, time to write in the third person! Alex's trip was on time while Mike's was delayed like a mother due to some shotty plane technicians. Heh...maybe that's a good thing though ya? Nonetheless we both made it to Hawaii on Wednesday night. Weather: a 'balmy' 72 degrees. BRRRRR. Thank god we wore our overcoats.

We spent the better part of day 1 walking around magic island and recalling witty family guy lines. Our personal favorite said by Mr. Peter Griffin:

"Excuse me sir, is your fridge on? Because if it is it probably runs a lot like you do.....very homosexually." Honestly, this makes no sense whatsoever but we had to laugh.

Mike - being the NON-vegan - decides to try some of the local fare. Of course, Alex cannot persuade him that Hawaiian papayas and Thai bananas are his crack so instead, he partakes in spam [puke], fried chicken [again] , and hot dog [one more time for good measure]. Oh and dig this, he had that almost daily! [but where does it all go?!]

The wather was clear and the breeze refreshing. 80 degree weather in February. Whew. Can't beat that huh. Anyways, feast your eyes on the natural beauty that is Oahu, Hawaii. Stay tuned for part deux.

WAIT!!!! Blog posts coming!

Hawaii parts 1,2, and 3 are on the way. Mike and I are writing the blogposts now and we will be sure to post them ASAP! But until then, you'll just have to sit and wait....perhaps with a banana? papaya? Coconut water? hmmmm..............

Be right back, I got some chilled ONE coconut water in the fridge in fact. =)
Coming soon...promise [that's what....sigh.....nevermind]

Holy F....I cannot run anymore!

Well first off, ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHA.
The weather? Do you really wanna know?
The food? Do you really wanna know?
The people? When do you want me to stop?
Bikini-clad-women-holding-surfboards? Umm....yes.
Giggling when they see a skinny runner with shaved legs running towards them?
Let's just say, I heard this comment uttered by 2 japanese tourists as we waited at a stop light
[you can tell they're burning holes through my pants]: "Oishisou ne"
That means: [literally] Delicious looking.

Now surely, I thought they were referring to my fabulous euro hawk. Why? Because honestly, I say the same DAMN THING!

Okay but onto serious matters, since I started being a devoted cyclist, I haven't been running at all for the last 2 months. And what do I do after a hard set of V02 intervals? Run 7 miles at a 6 minute pace. Whoa nelly. I'd rather suffer on my bike than go through that experience. I felt sooooooooooo slooooooooooooow. Not only that, everything hurts! And so I'm reminded that my body is - despite being vegan - fragile. It's going to react when you throw down 7 miles miles 'just cuz'. But did it feel good? Yezzir.
Did I do it in my favorite pair of running shoes? Yezzir.
Did I rest up in the jacuzzi with a vegan protein shake and THREE Cashew cookie larabars.
Oh yeah.
Jealous? Bet you are. Just ask your cousin. She knows whatsup. =)

But aloha everyone, the weather is fine. And now onto the finer things in life: MORE LARABARS!!!!

Oh snap, Vegan Pizza part deux!

Yup, mom and I had vegan pizza [again]. Was it good? Eh...this one was okay. I had something called the smiling cow....soy sausage, pepperoni, onions and bell peppers. Mom had a forgettable stuffed cabbage dish. But hey, at least I got a chance to try the soup and hummus! She was generous tonite! thank you mom!

So those are the pics from the evening. I enjoyed the meal and am happy. Weather today in SF: Rain and 50 degrees. Weather in HI: 81 degrees, sunny. Hmmmm...guess where I'll be this weekend?!

Hard workout tomorrow. Ugh....'Nice...umm...not really'. Those would be the words that come to mind. BTW, am reading a really cool book called 'Heft on Wheels: A field guide to doing a 180". Awesome book about a 260 lbs dude turned 175 lbs lean cyclist. Funny book. Guy was an alcoholic and chain smoker, gave that shit up and started cycling and eating better.....but not vegan so we can't say 'Bestest' but you get the idea.

What's this?! Vegan Pizza?! Oh yeah.

Two right here please....and thank you.

What's all that goodness you say? That would be vegan with melted 'cheese' pizza consumed at Fellini's restuarant in Berkeley. That day, I put in a solid 85 miles on the bike with some of the 35+ Master pros on Cal Giant Berry. And let me say, I think 50 is the new 24 cuz those blokes can drop some serious wattage. Bulging thighs and lots of horsepower made Saturday's ride epic.

Some of the boys at Clif Bar came out for the fun too which was good....good for me because I can steal all their Clif Bar products when they are guzzling their coffee [yeah, 2 shot blocks with no caffeine please].

I digress. Mom and I decided to try vegan pizza at this famous place in Berkeley. Berkeley, for those of you that don't know, is the 0nly communist city in America. The aesthetic is ripped courdery jeans with fixed gear bikes and people with scruffy beards named Zach or Josh. Yeah, a bunch of hippy, Birkenstock-wearing wannabe vegans. They're wannabe vegans because they dont walk around with a tshirt that says "Go Vegan" which is underneath another tshirt that says "Distance Runners Do it Longer". Word son.

I digress....yet again. Mom started with a kale and soyrizo soup which she promptly finished....and then she finished my hummus and garlic pita bread. How was it? Gee, I wouldn't know. Thanks mom. =) Next up were 2 fabulous pizzas with hefty dousings of Parma. I had something called a 'Paisano'. This was roasted red bell pepper sauce on gluten free dough, potatos, chopped tomatoes and soy cheese. Mom had a garlicy pesto with tons of greens and soy cheese. All in all, we stuffed our bellies and then we ate some more. As if being vegan wasn't already la dolce vita, this meal affirmed that yes, vegans [wee-gans to some] do have it good. Combine those pizzas with a skinny, faux-hawk-wearing, shaven-legged cyclist and you've got a cheerful guy whose excited about....

RETURNING TO HAWAII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH YEAH! VACATION TIME. WHY? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID. Wait. That didn't make sense. Let's start over. WHY? BECAUSE IT'S 80 DEGREES, MY FAVORITE RUNNING SHOES AWAIT AND I JUST SO HAPPEN TO BE CRAVING HAWAIIAN PAPAYAS.

Mothers, hide your daughters. Okay, no need to go that far. But rest assured, papaya farmers, your ass is grass.

Are you a....Wee-gan?

Today, I was referred to as a 'Wee-gan'! Of course, this guy had a heavy Indian accent which is fine but it was interesting at first. I didn't know what to think! I was like 'okay asshole, I get it, I don't eat meat and you do. Okay.' But no, this guy was genuine and I soon realized that 'wee-gan' = 'vee-gan'. Of course, many Indians are vegetarian and I can also respect that. But you can only imagine my facial expression when I replied 'A what?'.

So I was doing some V02 intervals on the bike and the most ironic thing happens. The song 'Dont Worry Be Happy' comes on. I mean, seriously? Gimmie a break! Here I am suffering, getting ready to go into oxygen debt when lo and behold, I hear a guy whistling tellming to smile more. Hah. Gotta love that coincidence.

This San Francisco weather is very strange as of late. One day I'm out soaking up some Vitamin D, next minute I'm freezing my okole off, inside eating a middle eastern dish. And it was really good and I want to try and replicate it soon. Basically she uses rice [I'll probably use Brown rice], lentils and grilled onions. That's it. Yep, nothing more, nothing less. Maybe I'm going to add in some Spike and Bragg's liquid aminos? Hmm....I think this occassion calls for me attempting to make risotto in the rice cooker...the true athletes lazy-guide to cooking I think. All right you wee-gans and fellow non-wee-gans, keep those feet moving and let's have a good weekend. For the first time in weeks, I won't be racing my bike. Sigh....a much needed weekend off. Whew.

Not shabby San Francisco

Had a pretty cool moment today at lunch. I got my favorite vegan falafal sandwich with all the fixins' [hummus, eggplant, lettuce, avocado, hot sauce, tomatoes and cucumber] and sat outside in the San Franciscan sun. It was a nice moment. Add to this a full stomach and a reclining chair and chances are good that the work day would be over. Unfortunately, this wasn't possible just like previous dream of becoming a pro NBA ball player. Sigh....

Apparently, Lindsey Vonn won in the olympics for the downhill ski event. I wish I knew what the hell this was and why it's significant but truth be told, I could care less about winter sports with the exception of the winter olympics. So after it's through, let's give it a 4-year breakup and talk again in 2014. Wait...holy shit....in 2014, I'll be 29!?!?!?!?! Oh HECK no!

Scary thought, let's shift gears. Speaking of shifting gears, had a good day on the bike but my legs are still fried from 3 hard days over the weekend. My form of active recovery comes in the form of banana-kale-smoothies, larabars, and pasta. I have it in my mind that the more I eat, the better I can recover. Not sure if that's working but I am eating like a spoiled vegan with too much Parma on his hands. Yeah...it's been good. And what better way to call it a night than to sip on a glass of red wine [gasp! a rare sight!], watching the 10pm Sportscenter.

p.s. Tiger Woods apparently will make a statement on Friday. Should go something like this:
Tiger: "I want to apologize to Lucy, Carrie, Mary, Sally, Susan, Margaret, Jennifer, Sarah, Amy, Jennna, Danniele, Alexis, Rachel, and Kara. I enjoyed our time[s] together but now, I have to spend time[s] with Eilen. At least, I still got the big bertha.....I meant the driver by the way."

Nice to know that today is Tuesday already!

But it came at a price...my legs were hurtin' today. Safe to say that I broke people off a new one on some of the climbs yesterday and Pine Flat RR but I also tore a new one into my okole [Hawaiian for 'ass'...you prolly guessed that didn't you?]. Consequently, I opted to stand whenever possible, thank you very much.

In other news, today was my first attempt to eat 3500 calories. Did I do it? Nope. Truth is, it's just hard to eat that many calories especially when it's not coming from the lovely kitchens of Cafe Gratitude, Herbivore, my mom's kitchen or when Emily's mom force-feeds me Chinese food [good food at that though!]. I swear, she buys half the damn store when she goes grocery shopping for the week!

Oh, that reminds me, I forgot to share pics of grocery shopping yesterday but I pretty much remember it by heart.
30 bananas [4-5 days AT MOST]
5 Clif Shot Blocks [no caffeine of course]
1 Box of Cashew Cookie LaraBars cuz the Coco Cream ones blow. ;-) [I know you know!!]
Lots of Steel cut oats......my vegan anti hero friend....there's MORE THAN ENOUGH for you and me....but only for a day or so. Then the fangs come out.
Brown rice pasta [3 bunches]
Whole Soy Mixed Berry Yogurt
Arrabiatta Sauce

k, question: I thought pesto was made WITHOUT cheese. So how come every damn jar of pesto I looked at had like 4 types of cheeses in it? Frankly, it's been so long since I've had cheese that I wouldn't know the taste but really, can you honestly say that pesto is good cuz of the cheese or because of the fresh basil, pine nuts and EVOO?!?!?!?! I ended walking out empty handed cuz all the pesto sauce was not vegan. Whole Foods Pesto: FAIL.

What else, what else....oh but of course, happy valentines day to all of my female readers [even if you get hit on by older men!]. Look at it this way, at least you didn't spend your valentines day after a bike race, thoroughly throttled legs, eating a vegan sandwich at whole foods and listening to italian trance music. Evelyn and I had a great day, she was obedient and responsive to all of my needs. Perfetto.

Not too much worth mentioning on the Tuesday Download. Only song I've decided to download was off the Armin Van Buuren State of Trance February, Track 1, 'And we flew away'. A decent track to put in some miles on. And on that note, it's time to throw back a Stevia-sweetened, gluten-free, corn-free, vegan cola. Bottoms up.

Living the Pro Life...sorta

Let me get rid of the 800 lbs. elephant in the room: YES! I completed the faux hawk and it is now officially a 'Euro-mullet'. Not only that, my barber left a little 'ponytail' at the end as a kind of icing on the cake...or rather the parmesean on the pasta?!?!?! any takers? Rats, I was 'trying' to be Euro for a moment. Sigh...guess I do need to start wearing ripped jeans and get diamond studs?!

Now, about that pro life.
Saturday morning I departed for the Cantua Creek RR in the middle of nowhere, CA. Google it and you'll find it really is in the middle of nowhere. Not surprisingly though, this place fills up with crazy-ass cyclists bout this time each year. My group was full with 50 peeps and the race was a nice 52 miles. Not too bad. What made the course interesting were the long, LONG straight sections. Which made attacking really stupid cuz now we can all see you down the road! Simply put: It's like a bull chasing the red. Anyways, attacks went on and matches were consistently burned left and right. Pointless...almost like Oprah magazine. Not that I know, mind you!

Anyways, second lap begins and I throw down 600 watts for 30 seconds and no one is there. Soon enough 2 guys bridge and we have a break that sticks! Woo hoo! We start motoring and then I realize how in the red zone I am! I am truly suffering just to stay in the break! And that's when I stand up out of the saddle and realize I had been riding with a flat all day. Of course it gets worse and I'm forced to pull over and the break goes on with out me. And to think, those guys went 1 and 2! AAAAAHHHHH! By the time I replaced the wheel, the main group had long passed. I hopped on the bike and was bound to TT it all the way in. Crossing the line I knew I was gunna make people pay tomorrow.

That night, I found the whole foods in Fresno, pounded 6 bananas, a Stevia Cola [cola sweetened with Stevia and caffeine free! yes!] and a quality vegan sandwich [I was also introduced to 'field roast' a tofu alternative to a roast...super good!]. The hotel I stayed at was clean, friendly staff and that's about it. Rap music blared out at odd hours but I slept soundly for the most part!

Up at 5am to race Pine Flat. A climbers course with a 2 mile club at the end and then one more climb to the finish. The type of people that showed up for this race was very different than from yesterday. No big thighed guys but instead, slender and lean folks all with climber physiques. Of course, me not knowing what the hell I am I just went along and said 'in my country...they would go crazy for this one! that one...eh...not so much' [from Borat the movie]. Race began and the bunch stayed together. People were nervous about the major climbs and as well they should be. I was gunna f their shit up. No doubt.

Climb begins and pace is fast. I'm in the top 5 group and I see a lull - legs not turning correctly - and then I attack [there was one guy up the road at the time] @ 500 watts for 30 seconds. Only one guy can hang and he and I decide to jam it on the downhill together. It was narrow and windy but very cool to hit speeds at 77 km/h. Suddenly, I drop my chain and he pulls away. Oh well to second place. At which point, I TT it in for a podium spot and third place. Not too shabby I say. =)

p.s. I ate field roast again tonite. Go get you some and holler at a brother when you try it. Don't say I didn't warn you about it's addictive properties though...

What's this? Michael Chua? Veganism?

Made ya look huh? Suckaaaaas.

Not but really though, does this mean Mike Chua is a v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-very vegan man?

As Homer Simpson says..."Communism, in theory, works too." So the answer is no. He is not. He is still in the dark but from our discussion today, I hear he reads this blog [boo-yah!] and decided that he needs to incorporate some of my diet in his life.

Hmmmm....more fruits and vegetables? Is it really that tough to do? Let's ask Chairman Mao.

Alex: So Mr. Chairman Mao, what are your thoughts on fruits and vegetables?

Mao: Wine is made from fruit...drink wine! I do with my 4,596 hostesses! Vegetables...good for digestion! Why do you think I can continue to..to....to.......wait, what the f**k was I talking about?

In short, if Chairman Mao thinks it's a good idea, you probably need to eat more fruits and vegetables too [or rather, roots n' shoots!].

If it were me though, I'd throw in a couple more bananas. Check that, a butt load of bananas....the size of Kathy Lee...errr...scratch that. Bad image.

But seriously, my night was good. Felt like superman on the bike. After V02 max intervals, I did 8 more intervals just cuz that's what she said. That doesn't make sense. Sigh.....

Dinner was with mom and she bought some delicious mushroom and barley soup, brown rice pasta and spiced cole slaw with almonds. Not bad.

Pics:

1) Mike Chua 'faking' Veganism. But hey, gotta fake it till ya make it you know what I'm saying?

[Amelia: Yes, I know what you're saying!]

2) I went so fast, I can't even take a picture without moving.

3) Where the pain [magic] happens.

Euro-trashing continues on Saturday

In a few days, I'll be ready for the true italianization of my life. It's been almost two weeks since I got the faux-hawk a-la Damiano Cunego & Giovanni Visconti [I added him, he seems to be the next in line for bad-ass italians that sport faux-hawks too]. If you recall, I was ordered to give it 2 weeks for 'the hawk' to grow, at which point, it gets cut short. How short? Well, they will take a 3 to the sides to make it truly sand out! Errr.....

And now for the finishing touch, they're going to leave a little bit of the end long like a pony tail of some sort. Apparently, this sort of thing is popular too in Europe. Am I excited? Umm....hell yes! Thus far, the euro-mullet has been turning heads and bodies =). The big jump will be getting a total wardrobe change to match the haircut. What's that mean? Well, I won't dive into detail but most likely tight -fitting jeans [do they get smaller than a waist 29?], skinny tshirts and a compulsive need to crop-dust Parma and Spike on everything [my version of Parmesean].

Today was my first V02 max interval workout. Safe to say at times it really, really, and I mean REALLY blew the entire horse's...ya know. Yeah. I'm coming to terms with the notion that 'training' must be done around 180 bpm which is high enough to put most meat-eaters in cardiac arrest. Hah! Serves you right! jk. What if I'm not? =)

An Alex moment happened at lunch today. I was sitting down, getting jiggy with my Italian language book when I overheard someone say 'dammnit! do I have to be on top of you 24/7'. I took a bite of my sandwich, mulled over it a moment and thought.........

.......c'mon, do you REALLY need me to tell you what I thought! ;-)

D-Day +1, So far so good

Per the last post, last night was my first official night in my new place. And for the record, I was freezing my little ass off. Wanna know how hot it is right now? 70 degrees F inside! Am I still cold? Hell Yes! Truth is when I burned all that fat from meat, I lost my insulation [thank god] along with my sanity =)

Mondays are always rough for me not because of the hard weekend of cycling but because...well, it's Monday. Who likes this day anyways? Good news is: It's over. Bad news: Tuesdays will be a painful effort on the biccicleta. V02 max intervals = blows. What makes it all better? soy yogurt? That's one! Chopped strawberries with agave? Two! Chocolate-soy Oatmeal with a nice spoonful of almond butter? Perfetto.

Seriously, if you do one thing this weekend, go out, get some steel cut oats and make oatmeal. Simple, add water, boil, light simmer, done. Then pour in some chocolate soy milk to give it a solid flavor and a generous spoonful of almond butter. Stir up and throw in a banana or two [or three] and you've got the Anti-Atkin Vegan form of heaven in a bowl. Trust me, I'm a Doctor! [cue cheesy ass Dr. Pepper ad]

So the Saints won....more basketball?

I'll admit...I had the colts by 5. And then Peyton Manning throws a pick...wham, bam, thank you ma'am. And just like that, I owe a latte to someone tomorrow. Sigh.

In other less astonishing news, I've officially moved into my new place. Yes indeed, this bachelor pad is set and catered to the endurance athlete. You're probably thinking [actually, you're probably NOT thinking] what's in the fridge?
6 Whole Soy Mixed Berry Yogurts. Wow. Stupid good. So good, you feel stupid.
2 bins of California Strawberries. Yes, life is good in Cali.
18 bananas. How long will that last? Maybe...maybe, 4 days.
6 lbs of low-fat Meusli
2 jars of Pasta Arrabiatta sauce. This stuff is fire - literally!

Outside of the fridge, packets of brown rice pasta, fettucinni to be specific.
And as far as condiments go....let's just say I got the essentials covered.
Spike - what doesn't go well with Spike?
Parma - Why else become a raw vegan?
Agave - My crack.
Chalula Hot Sauce - cuz Tabasco = Wack.

And so tonite is the first night in the casa bianca. It's definitely got a rustic Italian feel to it. Now all I need is a personal chef, 5,439 boxes of Chocolate-Coconut LaraBars [cuz 5,438 wouldn't suffice], a stunning Italian super model for a language teacher, good weather, good food, good company and some good vibes and this place will be happenin'.

Until then, the laundry calls, and I'm getting tired of this particular song on my iPod [currently BEEN listening to:Pharrell, She's an Angel]. Hope you weekend was good and restful. Early night for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Friday...it was a good day

Nothing says Friday quite like sitting in your [reclining] chair, listening to Stacy's Mom on the iPhone. Yes indeed, I enjoy the good life. Complete with all the vegan goodness that comes along with it. And what would that include: Well, let's start off with 2 uber-ripe bananas tossed in some low-fat [hah] museli with chocolate soymilk. Add to this some agave nectar and you've just made the breakfast I have been consuming the past ump-teen-months now.

So it started off well and then at work, Stacy's Mom came on the screen...I dont mean like came on as in....ah...you sick people. Grow up will you! No, it started playing and from there things went a little like this:
1) Broke around 10:45 to have a wonderful coffee break with CJ where we discussed all things euro and how i need to pierce my ears with diamond studs.
2) Met up with Chua for lunch and I had the non-saturated-non-greasy-non-animal-non-gross-non-gee-I-want-to-vomit-now vegan wrap. He, on the other hand, did NOT have the vegan alternative =)

After that, we walked around the ferry building and it was a 'nice' San Francisco day. Nice = not raining and some sun. Alex's version of a 'nice' day = Honolulu. All. Damn. Day.
3) Had a choice encounter with Pearle who tried to persuade me to eat Lard candies. Yes, candies made of lard. Let me puke. ************puking*************
K, back. Then she had a salami sandwich to 'top it all off'. Puke again, hold on.
**************puking****************
k, back.
And now, it's almost wine-o-clock and I'm off to drink with some buddies before getting take out at my favorite vegan burrito place. Yeah, Fridays are good....just not Hawaii good.

Testing Hell - O.M.G.

As I hinted on in an earlier post, today was a test day for Evelyn and I to see where we stand in our relationship. What was the test? No, it was not who could eat more bananas [I'd win], cause more suffering [she'd win] or snort the most lines of wasabi [loooong story, dont ask].

Testing today was a 5 minute test of my power to see where I'm at. There were 2 five minute tests and as you cna see, I left little to chance on the first one while the second, I totally laid an egg.

Test numero uno:
Time: 5 minutes [duh]
Heart Rate: 180 bpm
Cadence: 113 rpm
Power: 340 w

Test numero due [pronounced dooh-eh in Italiano]
Time: 5 minutes
Heart Rate: 179 bpm
Cadence: 109 rpm
Power: 312 w <--Yeah, that was pretty slow.

That first test hurt so much, I walked away feeling grateful about a lot of stuff in my life =)
Like how tests like these make that 'bad burrito' more appealing, or Angelina Jolie's lips less gargantuous [why do people like her?]. Ya know, stuff like that.

In other news, I made a boo-boo at work that took a huge chunk of my time and I was FORCED to eat a massive vegan falafal. It wasn't me, it was....YO MAMA! =) Her falafals rock my world.............


.......among other things. ;-)

Bad Burrito

To say that my vegan burrito sucked would be like calling the battle of little big horn a discouraging afternoon. I got out eager to try this new mexican join that supposedly serves a mean vegan burrito:
tons of guacamole, blackbeans, red rice, steamed veggies, lettuce, salsa all between a whole-wheat wrap? All this for under $7. Okay, I'm listening.

I walk there and it's kind of in the sticks - sometimes a good thing. In this case though, I was greeted by loud-mouth, wide-nosed, heavy-breathing bankers/brokers/jokers/tokers/smokers all looking for their mexican fix. Only good thing was the 'big boys' had gotten their burrito[s] before I did and so there was no line. Having said that, I wish there was a line so that I could haul ass outta there.

It was unremarkable and totally forgetful. I guess that's why I'm feeling a bit blue today. That or the notion that it's a rest day and I don't like not doing anything. I feel so Kylie-Monogue-ish [what the hell does that mean?]...ya know...skinny but I really don't do shit and am undeserving of it. Only good thing is the Tuesday Download.
Robbie Rivera put out a new album called 'Closer to the Sun'. Not too shabby except he's a few months early for that. Oh wait but if I was still in Hawaii I wouldn't have that problem. Correct-o-mundo senorita.

And now, time to do what I do best: Fantasize about all the crazy running and cycling apparel I only wish I could buy. Sigh....

...it gets worse

For those that thought the faux-hawk was bad enough....I got news for you young lady.

Not only is the faux-hawk here to stay but....I've decided to learn italian. Whoa man. I know what you're thinking "well that's easier than Japanese". Yes indeed, it is. No dealing with kanji, katakana, hiragana and all kindsa-drama.

La bella lingua as it's called, is a very cool language simply because I exaggerate everything to the nth degree. Rolling of the R's is more than just making your tongue flop but for me I'm like RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrr. Yeah, safe to say this faux-hawk thing is having an effect on my learning.

How's the faux doing in public? Tough to say really. San Francisco is kind of a silly city to begin with full of people who order frappachinos and mochachinos. So to say that this was something new to the average gay guy on the street would have been foolish. One thing was for certain though, people did notice at my job. And with great pride [shame], I told them I had gone euro. Naturally, they wanted to swap currencies with me but I told them to hold onto their bloody knickers before I stuff some parliaments up their fannys. Ahem.

Anyways, today's food log is above. Under 2000 calories for once! Oh thank heaven. Err...maybe close but I think I got it under 2000. Didn't think I could do it myself.

Faux-hawkin

Okay so like I said in the previous blog post, it's not the total 'Damiano Cunego' look yet for a few reasons:

1) I'm not 130 lbs.

2) My hair has not grown out enough to be truly "euro-trashy"

Now that we've got that out of the way, go ahead and feast your eyes on that.

Turns out I have to blowdry my hair and use this paste crap every day to get the true feeling of undeserved accomplishment with which to go parading and gallivanting across San Francisco.

Again, it's not truly there but give me two weeks to make it grown and then things will happen. Hopefully in those two weeks my fatass can finally lose some weight and put together some new test data [Wednesday and Thursday are test days].

My dad on my hair: "Why?"

Phase 1 Euro-ization Complete

Straight faux-hawk-in son! Building on the momentum from last post, I've decided to take my first step into renouncing my Hawaiian running genes and coming to terms with my European-cycling genes. Sigh...it's been difficult but I figured hey, gotta start somewhere right?

And so...the shit storm begins. Starting with.................
The faux-hawk! Yes indeed, it's an E-P-I-C haircut. Let me rewrite the dialogue that went on about this:
Alex: Hello, I'd like this [flips open laptop, shows picture of Damiano Cunego].
Stylist: You can get this YET as parts of your hair just aren't long enough. But, what we can do is get everything ready so that in two weeks, you'll have 100% Euro hair.
Alex: Great.
Stylist: For the full effect, I'd like to go with a 4 on the sides. Also, you have typical asian hair so you're going to need to buy some paste to hold up the backside. And with that, take a seat.

Some 20 minutes later and with tons of hair on the floor, it is done.
Pics to come later. Honestly, from the front is doesn't seem different [that's what she said!] but apparently from the back it's noticeable [that's what she....ahh, nevermind. You get it by now.]

Stay tuned non-euro-trashers...

Euro-Trashing 2k10

Yes folks, 2010 is the year I REALLY REALLY begin to acknowledge that Italian part of me [thanks dad]. Part of this decision has to do with my ever-increasing love for cycling and how I get to wear cool Oakley sunglasses [when the weather permits, which is a nice way of saying not right now]. Another part of it has to do with my relationship with all things vegan italian. Didn't think there was such thing did ya? I got news for you sister....you can 'veganize' pretty much anything. From creamy mushroom alfredo to stacked 'lasagna', it's doable. Let me stop right there before I drool all over my keyboard and cause some serious problems for my computadora [yeah, betcha didn't know that's italian for computer huh?]

Along with my endeavors to get 'Euro-pro' skinny, certain quality upgrades need to be made along the way - granted some of it is aesthetic. For example:

1) Faux-hawk - haven't done the deed yet....just need to.....

2) Buy ripped jeans, gucci loafers and tight, tight fitting ribbed t-shirts. I think that's italian?

3) Listen to 'Italo' house music. This is pretty much Euro-trash music that typically is upbeat with a female or male voice in the background speaking english or italian. Youtube it to see what I mean.

If I could pinpoint a 'style' that this resembles, just image.google who 'Damiano Cunego' is. One of my favorite pro tour riders and get this, that little pip-sqeek can push 430 watts at 20 minutes. At 128 lbs [61 kg], that's a whopping SEVEN TIMES his strength-to-weight ratio. F**kin-hell man!

Anyways, I've done a few things:

1) Picture of our dirty ass garage where I keep Evelyn away from cold weather and cold looks.

[that's me and the red SRM].

2) Picture of Damiano Cunego or Il Piccolo Principe [the little prince] and Pipo Pozzatto [two of the italian stallions in the pro tour!]

3) My fit day son! Get off me!

What I eat on a daily basis Part UNO

(Click to make larger....that's what she said?)

I've been getting some interesting questions from people asking me what EXACTLY I eat on a daily basis. Apparently, my response: "Everything except meat, dairy, cheese, refined-sugar-anything, honey, eggs, seafood, Subway Sandwiches [based on principle], Starbucks" didn't fly. As a result, I've decided to take a snapshot of my www.fitday.com nutrition intake.

First thing you'll notice: My diet is the evil step-child of Dr. Atkins. Protein? Eh...mas-o-menos. Carbs? ASS-LOADS. Fiber? Don't even get me started....

On a given week, I probably consume more fruit than people do in a month. Why? Well, I like sugar and I like carbs. And when I get both in CHEAP SUPPLY = one happy vegan. My weapon of choice? The trusty banana. A close second: HAWAIIAN-grown Papaya. Throw in a LaraBar and I could live off these three foods indefinitely.

You'll notice a nice balance of raw and cooked foods. This is the happy medium that I have reached in my diet. I'll admit, I love fruit. And by love, I mean like the love I got for yo mama =) But I also enjoy cooked vegetables a lot such as roasted zucchini, eggplant, red bell peppers, thai curry [hungry yet?].

If I were truly King Shit, I'd make fruit "burritos". Just think, what if you could:
Brown rice tortilla, agave-drizzled brown rice, strawberries, bananas and cashew butter?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
I digress.

Let me also take this post to give a big filipino shout out to my boi Kenji. After Brown, he changed his life, got his eating "right" [in quotes because he's not a vegan so I can't say it's 'correct'], fixed some lifestyle issues, got in teh gym, does muay thai kick boxing, has BICEPS!, and [gasp] is courting a woman I hear?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? The romantic in me wants to believe he got the inspiration from reading my blog but most likely he got it from watching some old-school Sean Connery 007 film and thinking "damn, why can't I be like that? Hmmmm...."
Alex's Guess: From Russia With Love.

Okay so, I JUST discovered FailBlog.org

HOLY CRAP!

that website is awesome!!!!!!!

Someone, anybody just go there and have a laugh. I have been neglecting my blog and faithful readers to fulfill my childish needs for laughter. I've made it to page 86 over the weekend! That's how epic failblog is. Just go there and you'll see EXACTLY what I men.

Best fails: Best Man Fail.

Boat Launch Fail.

Weight Lifting Fail.

This site is just way too funny. Honestly, do yourself a favor and go there. Works especially well if you're tired, sore and had a not-so-stellar weekend of off-bike related crap. Sigh...why can't life just be: Eat vegan food, sleep, run, cycle, Failblog.org, Iron Chef?

Tomorrow is my FIRST road race!!!!!!

Whoa nelly! My first ever cycling road race is tomorrow. My hope is to just sit in and learn from people. Listen to noises, watch faces, and drink the tears of human suffering =) Okay no really, prolly won't be doing that but my hope is to just enjoy racing my bike. It'll be a first for me because unlike running, one must strategize, think about fellow competitors, stay alert for accelerations and all this other kablooey. Whereas in running, you throw on the shorts, lace the shoes and keep the appointment you have with yourself. No need to think about drafting, accelerating or all that other stuff. Just get out and run. Simple. Fastest dude wins. Cycling however, I've learned that you don't have to be the strongest guy to win. In fact, you need to be fastest guy to react to things. And that's different.

Think of it as missionary vs. dog...ahh, nevermind. I'm drifting off somewhere in the gutter. In other exciting news, I'll be getting the faux-hawk tomorrow. Yes, you read correctly. If you've been following the blog, I've been contemplating this decision for a while. Truth is 2 folks at my job have this and every day I see them I go 'I love you hair and am jealous'. Well no more! Now that the banking shackles are off, it's game-on for tomfoolery! And so...the shit storm begins! =)

Know what you get when...

...you turn 2-3 around? Triple-double's baby. ALL DEE TIME! ALL DEE TIME!
HAHAHA I absolutely LOVE these Nike-Lebron-Kobe commercials.
Just awesome....

Peep this one out: LEBRON KOBE MRS. LEWIS

I love the last line especially:
'Oh that was Mrs. Lewis....she said you ain't go no defense!'

Much needed recovery day. On a cool note, the kind folks at www.srm.de decided to give me a brand spankin' new PowerControl 6 [asked for the 7 but didn't get it, of course!]. This computer alone is like $900 but it's been the best investment as it helps my training. On a completely lighter note, you need to watch this one too:

Tuesday Download - Straight Slap

This Tuesday, iTunes and Armin Van Buuren are on the same page. And thank the lord too, it was suckin' for a bit with the 'best albums of the year' thing running forever and a day.

My tip: Go get the entire Armin Van Buuren state of trance January CD. Really good tracks to throw down to, let alone keep awake at work ;-)

In other news, been flirting with the idea of a faux hawk a-la David 'Becks' Beckham. Check that photo out...and get your thrills as this will be the FINAL time I have him on this blog. Grossing me out already in fact.

So far, I'm getting mixed reviews.

Some say 'sure, why the f-not.'.

Personal favorite response: "Just. Say. No."

Thoughts?!?!?!?!!?

Vegan Alfredo??? Say WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?

This weekend, dad and I made plans to make a vegan alfredo sauce. Truth is, my dad isn't getting younger and he won't kick his caffeine addiction anytime soon; thus, he wants to eat better and of course, I was first to blurt out 'VEGANISM!'. So after careful thought and planning we set out to make a vegan alfredo sauce.

Ingredients:

Soft tofu

Nutmeg

Salt + pepper

Onion powder

Garlic powder

Vegan margarine

-----------------------

We blended this nonsense all together until it was a creamy sauce. Then, we transferred to a sauce pan which included........

1/2 onion chopped

4 cloves of garlic

5 shiitake mushrooms

-----------------------

Simmer on low flame and there you have it! Vegan alfredo! And the outcome? Well...I was certainly happy! I haven't had alfredo since....since....before veganism!

P.S. had the subway veg-patty today. Barf Barf Barf. Truth is someone at work was buying and what can I do except accept? Despite the heaploads of veggies piled on top, I still remain firm in my assessment of all things Subway: It sucks balls.

Anyways, from dad and myself, try this vegan recipe and then go out and get a lottery ticket.

"You're going to like the way you look, I guarantee it."

-The dude from Men's Warehouse commercial.

Crits = Suck

Criteriums....the simplest of races; riding around in circles for 45 minutes over 30 mph. HR's north of 170. Yeah, it blew. I've been a bad guy and haven't been blogging. Truth is, I've been sleeping! Yes, you read correctly. Sleeping 8 hours these days and loving every minute of it. Truth is, interval training is taking a lot out but that's no excuse. Anywho, I'll get to what you really wanna see. The weekend log:

FRIDAY

Wasted day and I didn’t do my intervals. I had to get my tire replaced [again] and didn’t want to risk anything one day from racing and hence, the reason why you’re not seeing any Friday data. I got a provisional tire until my training tire comes back in [this one is a ‘wire’ tire and will hold up a bit better than my road tires].

So I decided to do some light yoga at my gym and spent the time with my dad. We got some vegan thai food: spicy eggplant tofu, green coconut curry with seitan. Wow. Add to that some brown rice and some ass-kickin mint tea? Umm, hell yes.

SATURDAY

The best day I’ve had on my bike since I’ve been back home. For the first time, I rode with my team, the Berkeley Bike Club. There were a bunch of people around that had really, REALLY expensive bikes. Anyways, we got to the first climb which is about 1.5 miles up and I set the pace and noticed I had some company. About mid-way I up I start throwing down watts and no one is left. At the top, I ride back down to be with the bunch and then cycle up again. Second climb was awesome too because I got up and would hear people behind me saying ‘going in the small ring’ while I kept going and grinding. Looking back, there was no one there and it was great. Pretty sure I solidified myself as a climber.

We went 65 miles on the day and it was great. There were 3 climbs. 2 short but gnarly ones and I had a blast just tearing legs out there. Then, on the last climb, it was 3.5 miles [an actual long climb!]. Coolest part about this was prior to the climb, a team mate had a flat tire so I pulled over and waited while 6 riders went ahead. 5-6 minutes later, we started back up again and I had an awesome climb. Once we started, I immediately separated from the bunch and then, little by little, I caught the rest of the 6 riders. Each time, they got on my wheel for as long as they could but couldn’t hold. It was great. Super super watts. HR’s north of 190, just ripping it out there. My descending was great too! Man, I LOVE CLIMBING!

Worst part of the day: SRM didn’t download data correctly so there’s no way you could see how it was. Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo disappointing. But not as disappointing as….

SUNDAY

Woke up quite sore from yesterday but not tired; Implemented my pre race rituals. One thing: Seems that I have to use the restroom a lot. This is true when I was running. I was so nervous that I had to use the restroom a bunch!

First thing I noticed: pace was really, REALLY fast and part of this has to do with the super Saturday I had yesterday. Legs were a bit tired but that was no excuse. I stuck my head out there and moved up with the pack little by little. I noticed a lot of little breaks at the front and a lot of wasted energy. These were mainly small breaks that would be reeled back in over time.

I was doing my best to identify the thalweg and I was in a really good draft. There were times I was barely pedaling but moving up somehow? Another thing was I marked 2 people and noticed where they were in the pack. One lap to go and I start to move up when they move. I love how people will go up and I just hop on the train where possible. But again, pace was FAST this time; that or I was just tired and had to work a lot. Not so sure yet. Anyways, I was in the bunch when the sprint happened and right when I was getting up to speed, I heard weird sounds from my bike and realized 2 spokes were bent and coming off. Bike was wobbly and I decided to not contest the sprint and just keep it safe. It was crappy, finished in top 20 but that’s pretty sorry in my head. I mean, might as well not finish at all.

I am feeling disappointed in myself and frankly, I just don’t like crits. No hill climbs and places where I can really rip legs apart. But re-reading what I just typed, I’m motivated for this weekend. I know I’m not good at crits but I also know I have the potential. But wow, if you look at the SRM HR’s were well over 170 for the duration so there was some serious work being done. Looking at the past .SRM files over time, I realize that each time, I’m getting faster, cadence is up, HR is up and power is up so there’s improvement. But I can’t help but get down on myself when I think ‘man, I should be killing these guys up and down’. There time will come soon.

Rest Day! OOOOOOOH YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Does the title give it away? Hmmm....

Let's just say I'm THRILLED tomorrow is a rest day. 2 interval days in a row = punishing. Right about now, I've got a full stomach of pasta [wasn't very good, eggplant and kalamata olives...err...not so good] soy yogurt and banana. Man that's good.

I had this sobering moment today. Whipped out the iPhone and checked the 7-day forecast for San Francisco. What did I get? Temperatures in the 50s with rain almost everyday. Switched over to Hawaii and found temperatures in the 80s, sunny. Sigh....that's life eh?!

In other less exciting news, I've become a huge fan of baked falafals! Man these are good! There's this place around the office that makes them vegan style. Spicy baked falafal, roasted potatoes, eggplant, hummus, lettuce and tomato on a homemade lavosh wrap = $6.75. Yeah, the weather sucks but the food [most important!] ain't that shabby at all. =)

Legs are screaming right now...

I think Lance Armstrong put it best when he described the sport of cycling - let alone all endurance sports. It is simply about being in total denial over everything. You have to be in denial that there is a tremendous amount of pain, be in denial that you love and respect yourself and most importantly, be in denial that you are fatigued.

For me, there comes a point in both my cycling and running where the mind is ready to roll, where there is a limitless supply of passion and drive, but the body cannot respond. Great example was today. I had to do some intervals on my bike and the targets were pretty good considering the workout [2 intense interval sessions, all within the SAME workout]. The first half, I went all out and left it on the 'field'. The result: a cespool of sweat and misery left around my bike and garage floor. My dad came down to get some paint for his art and said "wow, this looks like the aftermath of a World War 1 battlefield." The second half was so, so painful. There was a constant struggle between my mind and body. Simply put, my body just refused to turn the pedals despite my mind trying to 'will' it to do so. In the end, I ended up missing my target wattage by a significant amount but I feel good about it. Good that I didn't leave some in the tank to finish strong; instead, I went as far as I could, and then did the best job possible with what was left in the tank [which was already on 'E' for empty].

So there's my bit of training advice. When you have intervals, dont half-ass it until the last one and then blow it out of the water. Rather, all the REAL work is done prior to the last interval and EXPECIALLY the two sets prior to the final. Those are the ones that the legs will be totally fried but you have to will yourself to get through it. To give you an idea, my 'RESTING' heart rate [in between intevals] was between 170-163 bpm. Which means everything else was north of 170 bpm.

Know anybody going to bed early tonite? I sure as shit do. Night.

Man: 1 Machine: 0

Wanna know how the day starts off?

Typically, I'll have my alarm set for 5:20. Do I get up at that time? No. Hell No. Who does?! So I turn on the snooze and then roll around for the next 20 minutes, doing my best to wrestle with the morning and gain courage for stepping on a cold floor [man, I miss carpeting].

Bam, the TV goes on and I'm awakened with the Bloomberg Channel's opening bell show to see how markets are doing. Turn on the espresso machine cuz hey, what's a Monday without a decaf soy latte [many of you ask: "Alex, what the f*ck do decaf soy latte's do for you?". My response: "They help me whoop your ass up and down the hill."], and a big ass bowl of fruit salad. Add to this some raw vegan granola and Monday's start to look up.

Full stomach and bright-eyed, I open the door and am slapped in the face with 40 degree weather. At which point, my courage retracts inward and my covers look all the more appealing. Hop in the ride [94 Accord, cuz I roll real dirty like that....] and it's off to BART [Bay Area public transporation thingie]. While on the BART you can find me reading one of following magazines:
1) Runner's World
2) ProCycling Magazine
3) Road Magazine

And the job? Well, that's looking pretty good actually. I like and respect the people I work with and am THRILLED that I can roll to work in jeans, tshirt and my Inov-8 shoes. I see those poor blokes in shirts and ties and I sigh, nod my head and think "son, I have been to the top of the mountain...and it is good"

And that's the Monday commute.
In response to the lovely Miss Amelia - What the heck does 475 Watts look and feel like? Well, let's break it up piece by piece shall we? The light bulbs we have here are 60 Watts. Divide that into 475 and you get roughly 8 lightbulbs. In this room that I'm typing this blog post, we have 7 light bulbs plus the hallway makes 8. So basically, I can power half my house =)

In terms of what that feels like? Well, it's not so bad. It feels like a good level of resistance at first. Keywords: AT FIRST. And then the next 20 seconds roll by and your legs are absolutely screaming. 10 more seconds of insanity and it'll all be over. 10..9..8..7.......6........5.........4............3...........2.......................1...........................Done! Feels like friggin forever. And get this: You got 11 more to do.

Turns out that Kitchen-Aid also makes a plug-in appliance that people use for mixing. I have a picture of it above. That can generate power of up to 475 Watts. What I'm saying, is I can beat that egg faster than the machine. Yes. Man: 1, Machine: 0. So yeah, if you ever need flower mixed, or eggs beaten....ya know.....

Weekend Insanity

To make up for my weekend, here's a nice and long post =)

Friday - After my Thursday rest day, legs felt better but still sore. This being the second week of dedicated cycling, some of the interval days leave me a bit tired. Nonetheless, I got up and pounded out my intervals. Typically, I find that in the PM when I'm 'awake' and coming back from work, I do better in my training but there was no excuse that morning. Almost all of them were under 430 watts [target] but over 410 watts. In the PM, the session was okay but it's tough to do around here when it gets dark. Sigh...my how I miss Hawaii [and of course, the bikini-clad women holding surfboards!]

Sunday - Earlybird #2

We did cornering practice so the mentor ride dealt with cornering vs. pedaling through a turn. I tend to be a corner-guy myself, but it seems a lot of people favor the pedaling through. I also took notice of the field and recognized one of the guys that was in the break with me last week. I 'marked' him and was firm in my staying behind his wheel for a bit.

My strategy was to do nothing for the first 5 laps [back of the bunch] and then move up. Then on the final lap with one turn to go, I was going to try and get in a break to where it would come down to a sprint with a few guys and then turn on the afterburners.

2 laps into the race, I witnessed the chilling sound of carbon fiber hitting the ground and witnesses bodies gyrating in the air as some people touched wheels ATTEMPTING TO PASS ON THE INSIDE! Hmm, no thanks. I was caught behind the 4-person crash and 'threw' my bike [pushed my butt way back on the saddle while applying the brakes] and then clipped out to avoid the crash. I was worked back into the group but man, that was just ugly, ambulances came and everything. Yikes.

5 laps to go and I figure I might want to move up and begin grabbing wheels wherever possible, always conscience never to touch the wind. I also take note of the marked guy that I wanted to be behind. Anyways, laps 6-8, I begin to move up and up, getting into the top 15 and not surprisingly, so is my marked buddy who noticed that I was behind him. There was a team at the front driving the group which was pretty much single file for the most part.

Bells go off and there's the sign for the final lap. This lap is kind of hairy because most of the folks in the rear burned a lot of energy and caught up to our group so I found myself in a group of 20 guys going into the second-to-last turn. We take the second turn and I notice the legs from others aren't really turning the way they should and so, I figure let's have a small, small attack [a light one too, didn't even get out of the saddle] to see if we can break some people up. The guy whose wheel I had been on [the 'marked' guy] followed me and I put in a light attack just to get some room going into the turn. The marked guy went in front of me and I caught his wheel. However, I noticed we were slowing down significantly and you can see this on the SRM [sharp decline at the end].

Going into the final turn it was myself, the 'marked' guy and this other dude that had bridged the small gap. Suddenly, a group of 10-12 guys comes roaring by as we head into the final 200 meters. I realized that we had missed 'the real' break and the winners were well ahead. Upset, I motored ahead and beat my small group at the line and placed a miserable 11th.

Off-Day [finalllllly!] + failed photo shoot =(

So today was the first off-day I've had in 6 days. And man, this was sorely [get it!] needed. 2 days of back to back 2-a-day interval sessions = suck. Off-day filled with friends and family = better. I got up and slept in till 6:20am [wow, can't believe I said that!] and got up with a nice smile. Man, I do love me some off-days. Had some muesli with soymilk and then threw in about 20 strawberries, 2 bananas and a hefty sized orange. Wow. That was an awesome breakfast.

Went to work and programmed some SQL and for lunch, I'll be really nerdy and show you the syntax [in SQL].

USE Alex's Stomach

SELECT roasted eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, avocado, greens FROM

Cafe Cicils

WHERE bread = freshly toasted ciabbata

AND 1 banana

GO

BAM! Now some of you have wondered where those photos were. Sigh...they're coming. Truth be told, I ate all of it before I had a chance to do anything. Don't blame me...it was Tim Geitner, oh wait, the ex NY Fed Bank Chairman, errr...the devil =)

[if you don't know, check www.bloomberg.com].

Tomorrow won't be too pretty but hey, it's Friday and I can go to work at 10am. Best part about Fridays would be getting Vegan burritos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Vegan sour creme, black beans, brown rice, soy chikin', salsa and guacamole.

To summarize: Vegan burrito > Vegan sandwich

[not even close]

Training just hurts right now

Right about now, my legs are perched up on the desk as I write this blog...trying to drain the lactic acid buildup that is no doubt accumulating. The past few days, I've been a bit tired and difficult training really isn't helping the war effort. In fact, the past few days of training have been so hard, I'm beginning to question the meaning of life.

Apparently, buddha said life is suffering. Well friends, that rings ever true when I'm suffering on my bike. Interval sessions on the bike are similar to running sessions when one does interval training. Difference is, on the bike you can do MORE of them whereas in running the body really begins to break down [like...seriously].

I had this workout today that was so blisteringly difficult, even the pasta I made after it tasted bland! I mean, c'mon! That's pasta and for those of you following this silly blog, you KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE PASTA! That should tell you something.

So I'm going to make it up tonite and treat myself to a belgian beer. Ahhh, the simple pleasures. Work has been going well but I'm constantly freezing my brown-ass off in and outside the office. What is that Mark Twain once said? The coldest winter I've had was a summer spent in San Francisco? Some shit like that...can't remember.

Tomorrow: much, much, much needed off day.
Oh yeah...got this awesome sandwich I'll prolly snap photos of tomorrow.
Toasted ciabatta bread with avocado, ton of greens, roasted eggplant, peppers, zucchini and jalapenos to boot. All that and a freckly banana = one happy 25-year old kid. =)

Okay, on to the beer.
Cheers or as they say in Flemish: "Asmdjfklasngkn vjoebnjksenrjhb"
Okay that don't really say that but you get the idea!

New Job: Day Uno

So I'm working in San Francisco and let me just say, it's COLD. As in BRRRRRRRRRRRRR cold. Then again, my panzy-Hawaiian-sun-kissed self cant really say much especially to you east-coasters. Regardless, it's cold and thank god for warm tea. Chamomile is my preferred weapon of choice with some agave syrup. Hmm...think I'll go brew some of that right now.

-------15 minutes later-------------

Okay, we're good to go. Where was I? Ah yes, work. So I work at 388 Market Street which is near the Embarcadero in San Francisco. Really nice area and my commute is roughly 40 minutes. 40 minutes! That's way more than my get-out-of-bed-check-hair-and-go 10 minute commute in Honolulu. But here's the thing: There's a local and organic cafe across the street from where I work. So what was for lunch you ask? Grilled veggie sandwich with pesto on toasted french bread with a side salad. Yum.

Joined a gym called Equinox that was cool. Aside from awesome facilities, spa, indoor pool, lounge, cafe, juice bar, internet area, steam room and what not, the shampoo and soap are all from Kiehl's. Yeah. It's nice. Can you say 15-minute showers? Um. Hell yes.

My first bike race...

...well, it wasn't really a race per se as there were no 'placings' but rest assured, everyone one in my race [65 people] were all gunning to win. First things first: really good experience but I'm just no crit racer. I like climbing and road races and this was just off-and-on speed. Sometimes it was slow and other times it was getting fast.

Race - 10 laps, 4 turns.
Race started and that's when I switched the SRM on. First 5 minutes I was barely working and then the pace went up as jitters and attacks were thrown. Really kind of pointless in my opinion. This was my strategy going into the race [per recommendations of a good friend]: Sit tight in the bunch first 5 laps. At 5 laps to go, begin to move up. By lap 2, be in the top 10. On last lap, go with every attack but be sure to never touch the wind until final 100m, then go for it. First 5 laps, I just stayed with the bunch and never really was at the front. I just moved up where possible but let the idiots throw attacks for the first 5 laps.

With 5 laps to go, I decide it's time to break a sweat and move up a bit. Little by little I move up and start clawing my way to the top 20. With 3 laps to go, still stayed in the top 20 and moved up with people that were bracing the elements. Basically, I sucked wheel all day and tried to never touch the wind and have others do it for me. 2 laps to go, I'm in the top 15 people. Effort was mixed, sometimes I could feel it start to rev up and other times, I'm spinning at 180 watts or so. Really up and down and not one hard effort. With 1 lap to go, I place myself in the top 10 and it seems a lot of people are moving up so I think I slip into the top 20. Then approaching the final turn, this one guy [this was the winning move] launches an attack and I see 2 others following. I decide it's go-time and get down 2 more gears and go with this group of 4. We take the turn and this one fellow starts to sprint. I wait [my big blunder] for the other 2 to kick so that I can get a free ride up. In the end, I finished 4th and didn't even get out of my saddle!

So I KNOW I can go harder. Big lesson learned: Don't wait with final 100m to go.

Post New Year's Tomfoolery

So that's my dad doing what all painting-italian-studying-yogalates-retired guys do: make art out of anything, including my glass and my cousin's. Yes indeed, things in the Tellez family are pretty ho-hum.

Had my first ride today with a group of riders from the Clif Bar team. Fortunately for me, much of these guys go into hibernation for the off-season which meant I was in plenty good shape. Problem is the weather was in the mid-forties as we made fast desents and braced up to rain and strong headwind. Throw in the added benefit of thinned out blood from Hawaii and the fact that you're wearing cycling shorts and not long pants and well, you've got a sure fire recipe for freezing you ass off. And ladies and gentlemen, make no mistake, I FROZE MY ASS OFF.

As I was cycling, I looked left and right and was startled to find cows, green fields and cars, LOTS of cars. Palm trees? No. Mountain ranges? Nope. Bikini-clad women holding surfboards? Negative. Sigh...the choices I make.

In other news, tomorrow is my first bike race ever! An earlybird criterium in Fremont, CA. Oooooh boy, this will be interesting. Upon asking a good friend about crits, I was told "stay away from the idiots!". Yeah...problem with that is what the hell am I supposed to do if I'm an idiot myself?!?!?! More news at 11 =)

So this is home huh?

One night of restless sleep and dreams about playing poker with dogs, I woke up bleary-eyed at 3:38am to January 1, 2010. Upon pounding some water, I fell back to sleep, then got up again to the smell of coffee. Big whif of that is just what the doctor ordred for breakfast: 3 bananas and 1 Larabar. After that, I took Evelyn [bike] out of her box and realized just how fu*ked it was. There was a partially bent part and when I tried riding her, she complained all afternoon and I couldn't find the higher gears while climbing. so instead, I did 22 miles of hilly terrain in the big ring and middle cog - crap.

Soon after that, I took it to the only bike shop open today and BAM! Go ahead and light $120 on fire all for my Evelyn. Sigh...the things we do for love. But now she's good to go and after 3 vegan tameles [mmm mmmmmmmmmm!] and watching the OSU vs. Oregon game, I feel a lot better.

Right now, I should be excited about the new chapter in my life, full of zest and all that jazz. Instead, I'm a bit lethargic and am not ready to admit that Hawaii is temporarily gone. I guess it's because I make trips often and so I'm not 'feeling home' yet. It's like I'm waiting to go back in a few days but nope...not this time. And so my New Year's passed by, the real fireworks at the Tellez residence begins tomorrow. Whoa nelly.

Tomorrow, I'll be riding with the new team, Berkley Bike Club [BerkeleyBike.org]. We'll see how that goes...peace out son. Hope you and your's had a safe and vegan new year's.