Harvestation (tomatoes)

Woohooo!!! Tomatoes are ready to be harvested. They are super duper cute. Just that they are not as "big beef" as I expected. But we need to pick them before the squirrels fight with us and eat them all.

We sliced and garnished several of them on mixed spring salad. Homegrown organic tomatoes are sure more sweeter and juicier. Love love love!!!

Sweaty Weekend

The weekend was full of actions. Saturday was our long run - 18 miles and Sunday was the 45 miles of Tour de Ride. Both days, Walt and I were our feet for as long as 3.5 hours. But, we concluded that 3.5 hours on the bikes was much less painful than running 2 hours.

Here's a recap of the tour. It was a well organized ride and for a great cause. I raised $745...woohoo!!! Thank you to all friends and family members who contributed to this cause. I'll be back next year!

24 hours a day is not enough

Wish there is 36 hours in a day. With a full time job and training for a marathon, there's no time left to plan my wedding. I am starting to get really nervous with the list of DIY list!

On a usual day, I wake up around 7:30am, clean myself up, do some P90X Ab Ripper X, and get to work by 9:30am. It would take me about an hour to settle into work. First of all, check work emails, personal emails, facebook, and enter contests (mostly from Real Simple and fashion magazine sites). 11:30am comes around when I start replying to work emails. Hahaha...then it's time for lunch. On days where I bring lunch, I could use the hour or two to do some wedding stuff. Real "work" begins after the long 2 hour lunch break. Then, my brain shuts down at 5pm and start to ponder on wedding stuff again. So, the next hour before I head out would be dedicated to wedding research.

My day doesn't end here. Training begins after I get home at 6:30pm. Some day is 5 mile and some day is 6 mile. But to build up miles I have to run 4 times on week nights. Dinner doesn't get to me until 8:30 or 9:00pm after showering. The rest of the night, I just want to catch up on Real Housewives, the Voice, American Idol, or some sitcoms on TV. Even if I want to work my brain automatically shuts down. No inspiration whatsover. By 12am, it's bed time.

Weekend is even worst. Other than long runs I have to do, there is always a friend gathering or event to attend. By the end of the run or night, my brain is deadly drained to think about wedding.

So, do you see how desperately I need an extra 12 hours added to my day? Mmm...or I just want to put off the planning? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~~~

Soon will have home-grown tomatoes

Our tomato plants are growing tall and healthy. I spotted a big one the other day and 7 or 8 small ones are sprouting.

I am very excited for some home-grown tomatoes to make some delicious pasta or tomato soup this summer.

16 Miles

During the past weekend, Walt and I put in a total of 25 miles with a total of 37 run miles weekly.

On Saturday, I wanted to do an easy run before a long one to put in some more miles for the week, but it turned out not so easy. We ran from my house to Alum Rock Park, without remembering it was a slight slope on the trail for 4.5 miles. But on the way back, we had plenty of recovery time. I wore my old Asics and they felt fairly heavy and the strides were as smooth as the Saucony Grid Type A4.

Yesterday was the long run - the 16 miler at the Coyote Creek Trail in San Jose. Running new route really makes it more fun and short. The weather was in the low 70s and most of the paved trail was shaded. A few hours before the run, I had Hidden Valley fruit & nut and one of the two honey n' oats bars. Then, about 45 minutes before the run, I took a few spoonful of fried rice. I was really surprised that the fried rice didn't give me cramp at all during the run. That was great! I wore the new shoes (Saucony Grid Type A4) and felt so light on the feet. These shoes really force me to run with my forefoot/midfoot. My ankles and lower calves would get sore after the second half of the run. It was a lot less yesterday. I think that part of the muscles are getting stronger. Like usual, we took a water break at the half way point. This time, I took my Gu at mile 10 - 11, finished in 3 or 4 gulps. I really felt the caffeine and energy from the gel up till mile 13. It wore out after that. On the next run, I will bring 2 and more water. I was dieing for water toward the end.

I am glad my ankles and lower calves recovered so quickly. I am not sore today!!! But soaking in the jacuzzi and have a glass of wine tonight would be great!

Andy Schleck was 100ft in Sight!

Finally!!! I dragged Walt along and went up on the hilltop of Sierra Rd to see Andy Schleck who finished second of Stage 4 of the Amgen Tour of California. It was sort of disappointing to not see him kick butt. BUT he is still my favorite and cutest rider :)

Some sponsored booths were set up on the bottom of Sierra Rd for fans. We spent the most time at the Nissan booth and each got a T-shirt as souvenir.

Home-made bagelwich...so good even looking at it now.

Most cycling fans rode up the hill, not just once, twice but three!

One looked painful but the other is comfortably riding in his wind-resistant womb.

He was paid by Team Sky to chalk the logo.

It was crowded. The crowd was fairly old-aged too. Figured. Which youngster would be like me to ditch work for this?

Chris Horner blew out all his competitors, even Andy Schleck >.< It's pricelss to see one of the fans facial expression seeing how effortless and fast Chris Horner raced up the hilltop.

Here comes Andy Schleck!!! He also has a scar on his elbow...except mine is on the left side.

Make way for the peloton. They took up the entire width of the road.

Look at these sexy shoes...

I first spotted them at Fleet Feet in Sacramento while picking up the race package for the 5th Annual American River Parkway Half Marathon. Yes, I have to admit it was the colors that drew the attention of my eyes. So, the very next day, I did some researches on the shoes and ponder on which site has the best deal. Amazon.com sealed the deal.

My fiance held them today and said "they are lighter than a tissue paper, dude!"

I'll have to break them in now :)

Happy 22nd Anniversary!

On this very day, twenty-two years ago, it was not a Cinco de Mayo celebration for the Mexicans, it was also an independence day for the Chen and several Luo members families. This was what we looked like when we first touched the American soils. Can you make out which one is me?! hahahahaha~~~~

I appreciate life.

Engagement Anniversary Race - American River Parkway 1/2 Marathon

Past Saturday was a great day, for me and for Walt. Both of us recorded our new personal bests for our half marathons. Absolute awesomeness that it was in the same race! Walt has to thank me for keeping him on top of his training program :P

Race Result
 Age Group Rank - 33, Gender - 144, Overall Rank - 438

Age Group Rank - 16, Overall Rank - 111

May is Bike Month, Time to Get Outside

Happy May, everyone! Did you know that it is bike month? It's the perfect reason to get outside and get some exercise. Not only is riding a bicycle a great way to get around, but you can burn a ton of calories, even on a leisurely ride.

For every hour of biking (think a ride to the park, not the Tour de France), the average 160-pound person burns about 292 calories. Not to shabby for a relaxing ride.

To stay safe when riding, follow these tips from the League of American Bicyclists:

1. Follow the rules of the road.
2. Be visible.
3. Be predictable.
4. Anticipate conflicts.
5. Wear a helmet.  

2011 Valentine's Celebration

It's always interesting about celebrating Valentine's Day with Walt. During the dating time, in 2008, he took me to Chapeau, a romantic French restaurant, where we got free appetizer and desserts. Our first "real" Valentine's in 2009 was celebrated at the San Francisco Zoo with McDonald's for lunch. Then, last year, Walt filled the kitchen with flour and baking pans to make me some heart-shaped cookies with "I <3 Beanie" written on them. He always could surprise me with his special plans. So this year, he wanted to take me on a hike to spend some quality time in the wilderness together on a Sunday afternoon, the day before Valentine's Day.

It was a gorgeous day at Almaden Quicksilver County Park. The parking lot is quite large and I liked the fact that it was not packed which meant the trails weren't crowded. We started on the Hacienda Trailhead entrance. 

Due to some bad weather conditions, Randol Trail was closed. That was a major trail that we planned on taking. So we took a few minutes to redraw the hiking route to equal to 7 miles with the provided map. It is not a workout if it is not at least a 7 mile hike :P

Mine Hill Trail was the starting point with mostly uphill but well shaded for 1.1 mile. You will find lots of trees  and sometimes one or two branches of yellow flowers. They are small and cute. I could use some for wedding decoration :) On the way up, you could oversee the valley yet it is quite hazy (must be from the carbon footprints we created). Not sure if this was the highest point in the park but it could reach up to 1,700 feet (518 m) above sea level.

Stay on the left after the first junction as we continued on the Mine Hill Trail 0.8 mile. This part is fairly flat. There's more trees and shades. We took the outside loop onto the April Trail to check out a mine structure and the powder house. 






It was very interesting to learn the history. This park was home to more than 1,800 miners and their families over 135 years ago. There was a lot of mercury mining activities here in the 19th century. The mines were highly important during the California Gold Rush since mercury was used to extract gold from ore.

We reached another junction after another 0.5 mile. Part of this trail was fairly muddy. We made a left turn to go slightly up at the junction for less than 0.1 mile and reach the San Cristol Mine. Here we found a tunnel with a train track. I peeked through the gated door but it was too dark to see anything. A couple of kids were fascinated about the tunnel and asked so many questions to his dad. That was so cute. Even a family of two came in on their horses. It is a great trail to spend some quality family time. 

We enjoyed our lunch here at a picnic table. We were also too hungry (it was 2:00pm already) to walk any further. We each had a banana before the hike and that was our breakfast. By now, we burned it all off and even more. Walt packed a baguette, some Swiss cheese, maple honey ham, and egg salad. Other than the not-so-soft-for-my-brace baguette that I had to complain to Walt, the meal was delightfully delicious. The area was very shaded and it began to get a bit chilly.

We headed down and got back on the Mine Hill Trail for 0.3 mile to get to another junction. At this point, the area is wide. The view is awesome. There was a couple of picnic tables that you could sit and eat. We could had eaten here if we would hold our hunger for another 5 minutes >.<  



While I was checking and taking some pictures of the area, look what Walt had to do. REALLY?! He is on his Blackberry, again! Hmph Hmph Hmph! 



We made a left at this junction to get on Castillero Trail. Here we walked for 0.6 miles. There were some red rocks. It made you wonder why they were piled in that formation. 



There were lots of hairy bushes along the way. I picked up a broken one to pretend it was a magic wand or the broom in Harry Potter that would fly...hahaha. A water hose was in the middle of nowhere. Do you know what the purpose of having it? We saw quite a bit of people running and walking at this part of the trail.




There was an extremely steep uphill on the left side of the trail. Being a curious George of me, we got to check it out. It was not a long climb but could your heart pumping. But it was worth it for the extra climb. You could see a beautiful view of the valley and another mining structure. 

 
Heading down the hill was freaky. I don't know why but this image of me rolling down is always stuck in my head. 


Coming to the next junction, we head on to the Spanish Town, another landmark. Along the way, we saw this same family again :) The kids were so cute. We wondered where their mom was. This old house was probably where the Spanish used to live in this town?
 
The area was widely open. Some trees were all dry, leaving only naked branches. It looked a bit creepy.

I hesitated whether to walk further to visit the Hidalgo Cemetery. I didn't think we would see anyone along the way but a family was coming back from that direction. So, I guess they didn't get abducted by the spirits. What the heck...it's only another 0.5 mile. 


It's odd to see a spot of cactus. I had some fun with it and really got poked by the spikes.



After feeling like longer than 0.5 mile walk, we finally got to the cemetery.  Walt kept on walking so far ahead of me, it started to get on my nerve. Why did he leave me walking alone in the back? Did he not know I was scared >.<


The area was fenced. Grass and weeds grew all over the place. I guess it hasn't been clean up for a while. The branches of the trees around this area were thick and strong. Some kind of stuff was growing on the branches...not sure what it is. 



It's time to head back as the sky starting to get dark and the wind was blowing harder. We hiked the Yellow Kid Trail to get to the English Camp. There was a flagpole and a barn. I love barns. There is something just very sacred about barns. This area was probably the nicest of all. 

 
After this point, it was a long 1.6 mile of downhill on the Deep Gulch Trail (the name of the trail really give it away). We played some more category game to pass time - soap brands, pizza restaurants, soft drink, name of yogurt stores, etc. 

The end of the route took us to a piece of grassland where the canons (when we saw it at the start of the hike). The grass is so green at this time of the year. Thanks to all the rain we had in the past couple of weeks.


The hike was really nice and more so with the landmarks along the way. It was more shaded than I expected. We spent 4 hours in the wilderness walking, talking, and laughing, not to mention some hugging and kissing too :-)