Saturday Palos Verdes Ride

Most Saturdays I wake up around 6AM to make the 25 minute drive north to the Palos Verdes Peninsula where a group of LA Tri Club members meet at Malaga Cove. At 7:30AM we leave for a 22 mile loop (and normally more) around beautiful Palos Verdes. Normally there are 8 - 10 riders, but this morning there were just five us. The ride started out very cold as my car thermometer was reading just 48 degrees, but it quickly warmed to the low-60's and I had to shed some layers to keep from overheating. It was a clear sunny day so I decided to bring the camera along and shoot some photos along the route.

As part of the route we ride along the Pacific Ocean and pass the Trump National Golf Club which is a beautiful course right along the coast.

Its a truly a beautiful ride and the camaraderie and breathtaking views (not to mention the exercise) are a great way to start any weekend .

Our Little Chubster

So we've always known that Liya was a good eater. She feeds about six times a day and is very efficient at it. Well at her eight week checkup the doctor informed us that she's in the 75 percentile for height (she's quite tall) and...the 95 percentile for weight (she's a chubby little baby). Of course the doctor said this was a good thing and is characteristic of breast-fed babies. We think its absolutely adorable and are so thankful that she's healthy. Here's a photo of our little chubster!

The Ryan Hall Story - Olympic Hopeful

I first heard about Ryan Hall a few months ago in a Runner's World article where he spoke about breaking the long-standing American Half Marathon record in a blistering 59 minutes 43 seconds.

It was obvious from the article that Ryan was not only one of the fastest distance runners in the world, but also a stand-up guy in all respects.

The day before the New York City Marathon, November 3, 2007, the Olympic Marathon Trials were held in Central Park and Ryan broke away at 16 miles, running the second half in 1:02:45 to cross the line in a stunning 2:09:02 and win the race, qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

Ryan, 25, lives and trains in Mammoth Lakes, CA (where Kyra's family has a condo).

Below is a very inspirational video about Ryan's faith and motivation for running. Its one of the more powerful messages I've seen lately and will definitely stay with me for a long time (and the run splits aren't too bad either)! Enjoy!