Korner Talk

Running has been one of my life long nemesis. I’ve never considered myself a runner and I really don’t see myself becoming a hardcore runner in the future. My feet are flat, my back is wack, and I’m bored to tears by running. That being said, I’ve been pounding the pavement and putting on about 5 miles a week the last couple weeks. That might not sound like a lot but for me, that’s like running a marathon.

Tiff actually inspired me to start running. She was telling me about her training regime for her upcoming half marathon and it got my competitive sibling rivalry juices flowing. I thought, if she can run, then so can I. At least for a mile or two.

Surprisingly, I’ve been running every two days or so. With the extra time that I have now that school apps are done, what else do I have to do? I’ve gotten serious enough about my running that I bought an issue of Runner’s World magazine, bought a new pair of running shoes, and stole my mom’s yoga mat so I can stretch. Along the way, I’ve come across a couple of surprises.

Creaky knees: I’ve avoided running for the longest time because I was afraid of hurting my back. That was a legitimate excuse until now. My back is still funky, but turns out what hurts the most are my knees. Having banged up knees is the last thing that I want, so I’ve taken some preventative measures to protect my knees including adding more leg strengthening and stretching exercises and buying a pair of running shoes that fits my running style.

Don’t stretch: When Tiff told me that stretching before a run was bad, it was as if she was telling that the world was round. Ever since my first PE class, stretching was the first thing I did before exercising. How could it be that stretching can be bad for you?! I haven’t looked too much into Tiff’s claim but apparently there is some research that shows static stretching before running could lead to injuries. The jury is still out and the debate rages on. Regardless, I still do some light stretching before a run and some heavier stretching after.

Getting over the hump: It’s easy to think of running as a purely physical activity but the biggest challenge with running is getting over the mental road blocks in your head. I’m hungry so I’ll run after I eat. I’m too tired, I’ll just turn around and go home. I don’t have the right shirt, guess I’ll run next time. It’s easy to make excuses and avoid running but the challenge of getting over those thoughts, pushing myself to run instead of walk so I can get home faster to eat, taking another path that extends my run but allowing me t0 explore the neighborhood, are things that have made running enjoyable these past couple of weeks.

It’s TBD on how long I can keep this running thing going. I think one way I can sustain this is if I enter some races, perhaps a 5k as a starter. I might as well run for as long as I can because once school starts, I don’t think I’ll have the time or energy to exercise.

Quick! Name a Chinese NFL player.

If you couldn’t think of one, don’t blame yourself. If you said Dat Nguyen, shame on you because he is Vietnamese.

Well, if you’re waiting for a Chinese NFL superstar you might not have to wait much longer. Ed Wang, a 6′4” 300 lb OT from Virginia Tech, is trying to become the first Chinese American to make it into the NFL. I didn’t think that Chinese people could be built that big. OK, there’s Yao Ming and that wacky  Mongolian guy, but they were cooked up in a lab. Ed Wang, however, grew up in Virginia! Close your eyes and listen to him talk and you’d think that he was a black guy. But then it all makes sense after watching his bio. His parents were former Chinese Olympians who probably received the premium grains enhanced with special performance enhancing vitamins given by the CCP.

I guess it’s not that surprising that the offspring of two world class athletes would turn into a world class athlete. Maybe if I hooked up with the world’s biggest, baddest female athlete, Serena Williams, I could have myself a little Reggie Bush. Yikes.

Anyways, good luck to Ed. Make us proud.

The road is a dangerous place, especially for those crazy people who ride bikes amongst cars. The new LAPD police chief, Charlie Beck, said yesterday that he’s going to implement additional training for officers on how to handle incidents involving bicyclists. I’m not sure that’s going to make riding on the streets any safer, but at least the cops will give bicyclists a fair shake when they get mowed over by some shmuck who was texting his homeboy on his iPhone. Bicyclists have a pretty big presence down in my area but I still don’t feel comfortable enough to ride in between cars like most people around here. It’s scary enough watching motorcyclists do it. I think I need to ride in a pack. LA Times article here.

On another note, I found out last weekend that if I wanted to ride at night, I need to have a headlight and a taillight on my bike. Why? Because it’s the law. Apparently Culver City Police is pretty liberal with handing out tickets for headlight/taillight-less infractions so I bought a LED headlight and taillight at the local bike shop. I don’t ride over to CC that often, but it’s a good idea to be illuminated as much as you can @ night anyways. Maybe I should just wrap my bike with my Xmas tree lights.

Coming this summer on the heels of the A-Team movie is another 80’s classic, The Karate Kid. The remake stars Will Smith’s son as Daniel-san, Jackie Chan as Mr. Miyagi, and  Beijing as the Valley. I’m not sure this 21st century remake can match the original but it looks like a lot of fun. Youtube won’t let me embed the video so the link is below.

Sweep the knee!!!

Trailer

I saw this article from the LA Times on another blog today about how two bike messengers chased down a would be bike thief. The best part of the article:

As the thefts have increased, some people have taken matters into their own hands. Last month, bike messengers downtown caught two suspected thieves, teenage boys who attended a local Catholic high school, and stripped them down to their boxer shorts before taking their cellphones, backpacks and clothes.

Hurray for vigilante justice!

The article also brought back memories of when my bike was stolen right from under me. For those of you that haven’t heard this story before, a bunch of cholos* stole my bike one day while I was playing tennis. I didn’t think about locking up my bike because it was inside the tennis court right next to me. I couldn’t believe it was happening when the cholo walked into the tennis court and rode off with my bike. After I realized what was happening, I gave chase for about a block but gave up because 1) he was too far ahead and 2) what was I going to do after I caught up? Take him and his homies on?

Bottom line: Do not support those that lean like a cholo and buy the thickest u-lock and chain to lock up your ride!

*I didn’t realize that people on the east coast or people outside of SoCal in general don’t know what a cholo is until a friend who has been working out in NJ told me so. Here’s the def from urban dictionary for those of you who might not have had the pleasure of encountering one <clicky>.