Mary from A Merry Life came to LA yesterday and I met my first blogger! We’ve had some interesting adventures, and thanks to Google Maps, have been able to find all of the places we’ve wanted to go to.

I took her to eat Korean Soon Tofu last night. It’s from a 24-hour restaurant called BCD Tofu House.

Other than the delicious tofu soup and the homemade kimchi, my favorite thing about the place is THE BUTTON.

In order to get service, you press a button which makes a doorbell sound. Your table number gets illuminated on a screen and only then does the waiter come to help you. It’s brilliant!

You crack an egg into the hot steaming tofu soup bowl and let the egg slowly cook. So delicious.

Today, we decided to tackle Venice Beach. Venice Beach is filled with street performers, lots of tattoo shops, too many medicinal marijuana doctors and smoke shops, and plenty of gorgeous beach scenery. There’s an outdoors gym, for big, bulky spandex-clad men to pump iron. There’s a few outdoors basketball courts, where they filmed American History X. There’s bums asking for money so they can go buy booze or weed (no joke). There’s a very particular atmosphere about Venice Beach. It’s just one of those places you have to see for yourself.

I’ve been to Venice Beach plenty of times but I’ve never had the opportunity to rent a bicycle and just ride along the pathway. I finally got to do that.

I’m glad I got to cross bicycling Venice Beach off my list of things to do. Because I went to UCLA, I always assumed that I’d get around to doing the things I wanted to do in LA, so I kept putting them off for later. Pretty soon, I had graduated and then decided to leave the country for a year. Now, in a month, I’ll be moving from California to Washington DC, where I’ll be for three years.

Opportunities to explore LA don’t happen often any more. I’m excited that I finally seized this one.

It’s funny how life works.

When you live somewhere, you take a lot of things for granted. When you move away, you realize that there’s a bunch of things you should have and could have done but never got around to.

What have you been wanting to do in your city? On your life list?

Related posts:

1. A Merry Life
2. Day 24
3. Day 114: Eating the Stress Away

Unfortunately, I did not magically transform into a marathon runner overnight. If I had run 28.04 miles yesterday, I would be ecstatic and screaming at the top of my lungs for the world to share in my joy and accomplishment. It’ll happen one day, I know it. Just not today.

Even though I didn’t run the 28.04 miles, I rode it. It was only a stationary bike, but better that than nothing.

Why did I ride 28.04 miles?

For fun. For challenge. For a pledge.

Last month, I pledged to complete a workout challenge with Mary from A Merry Life. Last pledge, I ran my farthest and longest: 7.53 miles in 90 minutes. That day, I proved to myself that I could run a 10K. So I signed up for a 10K and a Half Marathon.

This month’s A Merry Workout Pledge is hosted by Steve from 265 and Falling. Instead of 90 minutes, it ended up being 110 minutes and 30 seconds.

At first, I was a little overwhelmed because I was still sore from my five-mile run. But I quickly shoved my excuses and self-doubt aside. Quit whining, Jess, and just do it.

Putting it into perspective helped me. 110 minutes 30 seconds is less than 2 hours. A half marathon will definitely take me over 2 hours. So what’s 110 minutes? NOTHING.

I wasn’t up for running this time though, so I settled for the stationary bike. Trust me, if I had a road bike, I would’ve used it. In order to incorporate cross-training into my routine, I decided to start biking.

According to Runner’s World, if you want to achieve overall health, you should branch out to different exercises, such as weight lifting, swimming and cycling. Cross-training develops cardiovascular fitness and prevents injuries by correcting muscular imbalances.

No wonder triathletes are so fit. Swim. Bike. AND Run.

Most people doing cardio at the gym either love the treadmill or are married to the elliptical. You have the Stairbeastmasters, too. The bike usually doesn’t get much appreciation. If it IS being used, it’s usually by somebody reading a magazine about Sandra Bullock’s divorce while riding slower than my walking pace. That’s not exercise. That’s called a waste of time. It’s a misconception that biking is not as effective for burning calories as other exercises are. Look at Lance Armstrong. Look at Jure Robic.

After 110 minutes on the stationary bike, I was sweating BUCKETS. My shirt was completely drenched and my legs felt a little bit like jello. The resistance on the bike ranged from level 6 to 12, and I averaged a little less than a four-minute mile. I biked in my Vibrams, and it felt great. Super comfortable. Surprisingly, my butt didn’t hurt that much.

I found that if I leaned forward, I was able to pedal more efficiently. My legs exploded with more power but I felt like I was using less energy. After the first hour, I started to focus on my pedaling. Maximum result, minimal effort. For you cyclists out there, is there such a thing?

This was the farthest I’ve ever ridden, stationary bike or not. Cycling, a new hobby? I think so.

Do you cycle?
If so, what tips do you have?
If not, would you ever try it?

Veggie Chow Mein – Dinner: noodles stir-fried with garlic, onions, mushrooms, spinach, Chinese yu choy, cabbage, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and Sriracha.

Spicy Lemongrass Chicken – Dinner: chicken breast marinated in fish sauce, shallots, garlic, sugar, and chili pepper flakes and stir-fried with garlic, chili peppers, chicken broth, and fish sauce.

Consumption: 1663 calories, 37.8g of fat. Total steps: 10,669

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Related posts:

1. Day 82
2. The Sunday Wrap
3. Day Four