Last Night's Beers

Uncle Rob is visiting from Hong Kong - always off the charts fun when he is in town. We had a great weekend hanging out, swimming, running, hanging with the kids, etc. We celebrated our long trail run by tasting a few special beers. The Eisbock in particular was truly excellent.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from Howard Solomon

New glasses

What do you all think - yay or nay? A bit different than my existing ones.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from Howard Solomon

Greetings from NYC

Greetings from the BIg Apple. I am here for a few days of whirlwind meetings and I apologize in advance to anyone I was unable to see. Not a lot of free time. In fact, so little free time that the past two days I have forced myself to wake up early - 7 am (4 am according to my body clock) and run. Yesterday I went to Central Park, which will always be hallowed ground for me (it's where I resumed running back in 96). I left my hotel room wearing the remaining "warm" clothes that I own - and I proceeded to freeze my ass off. I mean that almost literally. It was so cold it was staggering. It wasn't the temperature per se, but the wind chill. I thought I was being a wimp (note: I probably was) but later on I heard several other people complaining about the wind in particular. Yowza - that was as cold as I have been in a long, long while.

But - it was a great run regardless. Central Park is just such a cool place to run and is a quintessential New York experience in and of itself.

And beyond that - while I am *very* content living in San Francisco and wouldn't change it for anything, NYC is still one hell of an awesome City.

Chinese New Year Parade

We were lucky to get invited by friends to the VIP section of the Chinese New Year's parade in San Francisco last night. It was quite a scene, to put it mildly and very entertaining. The kids had an absolute blast. The highlight for them was a tie between the dancing dragons and the constant fusillade of firecrackers.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from Howard Solomon

Golden Gate 30k, Er, Half Marathon

I ran the Golden Gate 30k trail run as a build up to Way Too Cool 50k in a few weeks. Actually, I intended to run the 30k; apparently I missed a turn off at the first aid station and as a result, ended up running the half marathon instead. Which was too bad, because I was on a *very* good day; felt strong throughout. Once I realized the error of my way, I went through the finish line and kept on running. Ran another 6 miles at the same pace and felt terrific throughout. Must be getting in shape.

Finish time was 2:07 which was good for 18th overall. If I knew I was running that race, think I could have gone at least 5 minutes faster.

The photo is me and my friend Emily, who rocked the 30k. I'm predicting she's going to kick ass at Cool. And props too to my boy Berkeley Dave, who straight up won the 30k. He is one fast dude.

More Fun in the Snow

What a fun morning. A two mile hike up Mount Tam (a pretty arduous one at that) an hour playing in the snow, and then two miles (maybe more - took a fire trail road) back down. My kids are still over the moon with the snow. Note to self: get to Tahoe soon.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from Howard Solomon

Snow!

We had snow this weekend on Mount Tam - a serious rarity. So we hiked a few miles today to check it out. First time the Little Girl sees snow (though born in Chicago she has no recollection whatsoever).

Download now or watch on posterous

IMG_2127.MOV (2139 KB)

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from Howard Solomon

And in other news.....

... really not too much to report. Been working like a madman these days and when I'm not working, I'm running. Or listening to my kids fight with one another.

Gearing up for a 100 miler is not easy. I suspect I'm going to be happy when this is all behind me. To that end, third race of the year coming up, this time a 30k trail run in the Headlands. Gameplan is to take it out relatively easy - been saddled with a stomach bug that has been bothering me upwards of a week now.

And .. that's about it for now. More later when I I'm hit with something inspirational.....

See a Dead Elephant Get Consumed in Just Under Two Minutes

I thought this video was super cool. A little gnarly and not necessarily for the faint of heart, so open with caution. The circle of life, baby.

Bill Russell and Stan Musial

I think it's absolutely fantastic that Bill Russell and Stan Musial (among others) were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom today. These guys are national treasures who are deserving of our nation's highest civilian honor. Like they were today, they should be hailed not just for their athletic accomplishments of yesteryear, but for their philanthropy, kindness and contributions to society, post both of their respective playing careers. You simply can't compare these two graceful, philanthropic gentlemen to today's ego-driven, narcissistic athletes (read: James, Lebron).

And their sporting accomplishments? Absolutely otherworldly. An Olympic gold medal, NCAA championship and 11 NBA titles for Russell. And Stan the Man? An immortal. 3630 hits, three world series titles and he was a 24-time all-star. I can't even wrap my head around that - 24! And again, both carried themselves with dignity and grace - and were lauded by their peers as being among the greatest team mates in their respective sports.

All I can say is that I hope today's athletes watched the Medal of Freedom ceremony. They sure could a thing or two from these two old-timers.

Unbroken

Sorry so quiet; was in LA for business form Wednesday through yesterday and got sick Thursday night. Feel better today but boy - yesterday was an epic slog of a day. Fell asleep on the couch at 8:30, woke up in a sweat in the middle of the night - and then slpet through until around 7:30. Been a while since I've slept 11 hours - and I still feel wiped out.

Anyway, enough bellyaching. I'll be better soon. As I think I posted before, I've been reading like a madman since getting my new Kindle 3 (which I LOVE) and am currently deep into Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand. Al I can say is this is one hell of a story and an incredibly captivating read. Definitely add this one to your list; it doesn't disappoint. I never read her previous bestselling book, Seabiscuit, but might need to put that in the queue next, because she is an amazing writer.
Unless anyone has a better recommendation, I think next up is Endgame, a biography of Bobby Fisher.

Monkey Bars

I could watch this kid all day on the monkey bars; they are effortless for her. Not sure where she gets it but she is a natural athlete.

Download now or watch on posterous

IMG_2040.MOV (2099 KB)

Sent from my iPhone

Posted via email from Howard Solomon

San Francisco Half Marathon: Race Report

Ran the SF Super Bowl Half Marathon with Coach Phil early yesterday. I trained through it (much as I did with the LA half) with virtually no taper, and was curious how it would go. I felt *really* good for the first nine miles - probably too good, considering I ran a 7:07 mile 4 followed by a 7:07 mile 5 (too fast) and thought I might be on to a good day. And then I hit the Great American Highway (beautiful beyond belief; runs right alongside the Ocean and you feel like you are in a coastal Californian town, not a large City) and out of nowhere, an Orangutan jumped on my back and stayed there for the next 4.1 miles.

Just as it was getting hot, mind you (not to rub it in but it hit 80 here yesterday. We are having a record breaking run of insanely great weather). Anyway the last four miles were a death march and I was in AGONY. I faded pretty badly but still came in under my goal time of 1:40, which I'm proud to say I beat by 8 seconds.

So, that's that. Considering that I have been training hard and again, with no taper, I'm pretty pleased with my first two races of the year. Hope that bodes well for my next big one, Way Too Cool 50k in early March.

This season is officially on like Donkey Kong.

Best.Commercial. Ever

This just speaks for itself. Maybe my favorite commercial ever. The Little Boy and I must have watched it ten consecutive times last night.

Thanks for the Memories, Andy Pettite

So, the news in Yankee-ville is that Andy Pettite is going to call it a career tomorrow. Given the Yankees very thin rotation, I was *really* hoping he'd come back for one more year, but had a pretty strong feeling that this news would come to pass. So, the Core Four ... in no more.

For us Yankees fans this is definitely the end of a terrific era.

It's a bummer, but thanks for the memories all the same, Andy Pettite. I think Yankee history is going to be very kind to you. While you weren't always our number one guy rotation-wise(see: Clemens, Rodger and Sabathia, CC) you were one hell of a gamer and you seemed to always come through when we needed you most. Enjoy your retirement and your four kids and don't be a stranger to Yankee Stadium. Hopefully we will one day see your jersey get retired. You've most definitely earned that honor.