This is what I say when people ask me about my short term goals when it comes to running. Running, for me, is a long-term affair. It starts slow and when you get hooked, you cannot get enough of it.
I have been wanting to join my running peers on what they call an LSD (Long Slow Distance). But I always chicken out at the very last minute. Most of their LSD’s are a minimum of 20k and the farthest I have gone was 10k. I believe it takes patience, determination, strong legs and lungs to be able to run farther than 10k. Proper gear would also be ideal.
1. Wear comfortable clothes. It will be a LONG run so comfort should be your number 1 priority.
2. Chafing is a personal problem of mine, even if I’m just running a short 3k. Use products like Body Glide to avoid this.
3. Make sure you’re properly hydrated 48 hours before your LSD schedule. A hydration belt would come in handy. Fill it with your favorite sports drink. Sometimes, water might not be enough to replenish lost fluid and minerals.
4. Run with a group. I notice that some even have a support vehicle to meet them in certain pit stops.
5. Plan your route. It helps you internalize and manage your expectations.
so my friend tin have been convincing us to go running with her… syempre for us certified mga tamad — no thanks! but the need to get ourselves fit and the need to lose extra lbs have prompted me to start long walks… but never run. recently, our other friends have started to join fun runs. they got hooked as well! iba daw ang feeling after the run. there is fulfilment.
so during jogging mornings at UP diliman, they would run while i kept my brisk walk pacing. i agreed to join the smash and run sponsored by the company where one of my friends work for. na pressure na ko to run to prepare myslef for it. so i did. little by little i would run short distance, purposely ignoring the fact na reyna ako ng pagka lampa. i even invited my brother and her girlfriend to join us. i even treated myself with a new pair of running shoes as well — the new adidas adizero
august 30, 2009, we’re up as early as 4:30am to be able to make it to the 5:30am gunshot for the 10k. nope, hindi ako nag-10k but 2 friends who were with us joined that category. we joined the 3k. sabi nila pambata — what can i do??? that’s all i think i can achieve for how. it’s my first run afterall…
it’s was a very exciting morning for me! donna and i tried to ran side by side. sinamahan nya ko because she knew it was my first run and i need the moral support. it was a run.. walk… run… walk… run routine for us. we don’t know if we made a good time yet, siguro mga 40 to 45mins.
with donna...photo by my brother
waiting for the 10k 'ers
it was a very good experience. i feel really good after the run and the fulfilment you experience after finishing your goal — it’s priceless.
RUN NUS 2009, which I had eagerly awaited for so long was cancelled today morning due to rain! It felt really disappointing since our race was to start in a few minutes when it began to rain. The Running Clinic, held last week had really amped me up, what with triathlon winner Mok helping with training information and all that!
I arrived with Harish at the NUS tracks at ~0815 for our 12K NUS Mens race, which was to begin at 0900. I stood in the baggage deposit queue, which was long and was moving slower than a snail. The 12K Mens Open had been flagged off at 0800 already. At this point, ominously dark clouds moved in, turning day to night and the skies opened up. My heart sank and we took shelter in the grandstand at the side of the tracks. Our hopes of the rain passing by faded with time and at ~0930 the organizers announced the races cancelled due to inclement weather.
Not one to give up so easily when I had been so close, I waited for the rain to stop. It petered down to a drizzle at ~1100 and Harish and me decided to run the 12K route on our own, to fulfill our satisfaction of having finished the run. But, Nature was not on our side this day and after ~2K the rain turned up the knob to hellish again and we had to beat a hasty retreat. All in all, a dull day!
Had a slight hiccup with this race, got the time wrong – as we were walking towards where it started people started passing us running – oops. Set off 14 minutes after the start with no other runners around us. I didn’t want to get lost on my own so kept pace with Katie, who had set off at lightning speed! That first kilometer about killed me, infact I think the first 4 were hard but then I settled into my stride and mostly it flew by.
When I got to the 2km to go mark I was very relieved having just felt the blister on my big toe burst. Felt like I’d gone a fair way and came across another 2km to go sign, was very confused and hoped they had just put the wrong sign there and it was meant to say 1km to go. It had been raining slightly all of the way around – which I was quite glad for, don’t think I could have done the speed I did if it had been as warm as last time. For the last 2km though the rain was coming down hard, complete with thunder and lightning – I couldn’t have been more wet if I’d jumped into a swimming pool!
I crossed the finish line 1 hour and 25 minutes after I started feeling very confused about how it could have possibly taken me so much longer than last time. Fair enough the conditions, although cooler, were harder to run in as I was dodging ankle deep puddles in places and had to switch to running on the pavement when the rain was really bad for fear of being hit by a car – so much harder than the road as the pavements are really uneven and you have to skip around trees and street stalls. I still didn’t feel like that would have caused me to be so much slower though and felt sure it must have been further that we ran. Google maps is a great tool - just mapped out the route and discovered we actually ran 12.86km!
So I didn’t write yesterday. About the goal I completed before 9:30, which was to go out for a run. Why didn’t I? Because I was trying to establish a pattern of writing in the evening, probably right after dinner. But when you go out for dinner, and then stay out, because Hofbrauhaus has pretzels that you can dip in bier cheese, and you’re seeing friends who appreciate excellent beer even though you can’t partake because you’re the DD, well – posting moves to the back of your mind.
I did run, though. In the morning. And I could have written about it at 10, but I didn’t, because it seemed “too early.” I will be happy when I have a more regular (albeit much busier) schedule.
My relationship with running may or may not be interesting whatsoever, but my fascination/obsession with health is something that will be prominently featured here. Like many young women my age, I have issues with body image, and have for most of my post-pubescent life. My weight has yo-yoed, my perception about my own body has yo-yoed, and so on and so forth (this story is probably identical to tens of thousands others out there, so I’m going to leave it at that and most of you will be able to fit in the rest). But I’ve always liked exercise, which may be the unusual thing. I’m just very unaware of how one goes about doing it (the who what when where…I got the why: because it was fun and good for you), thanks primarily to an incredibly sedentary family. I wanted to do sports growing up, but we moved often and my parents didn’t understand why I was interested because they weren’t interested (the fact that they pushed my brother to is something I wonder about often). So, when I came to college, I knew the basic rules of a lot of sports and had a basic ability to play thanks to gym class, but that was pretty much as far as it went. I was nervous about intramurals because I’d never participated and because it seemed like a lot of athletes used them to keep in shape during the offseason. The swim team had such an irregular practice schedule, so I could never rely on the pool to be open.
So I did what’s been natural to me since I could walk. I danced and ran.
I have very little formal dance training – the usual gymnastics classes until I was 9 or so, and those cute little dance classes where the parents care more about the costumes at the recital than whether or not their kid can do the moves. But I’ve been the kind of girl who dances in the elevator to Musak, who choreographed my own dances to my favorite pop songs. So I took introductory dance classes in college for fun. I got credit for them and it wasn’t a curse to be a beginner – everyone else was, too. But since college, there aren’t many opportunities for dancing unless you’re willing to be grinded up on by some guy you don’t know while the bass is too loud, and you’re willing to cough up a hefty cover.
So I run. I like it – it’s freeing and has practical purpose – to move with your legs fast when you need to. Everyone runs differently, people of all sizes and ability levels run, and unless I run in an actual race (which I intend to sometime in the future), I’m not actually competing. At all. I love that. It also doesn’t cost anything more than a pair of shoes.
The particular program I’m following right now is called “Couch to 5k” and it’s intended to work someone up to the running ability needed to complete a 5k in a reasonable amount of time. It’s perfect for me, someone who hasn’t run regularly or with a particular goal in mind before, and who needs some practice to work up and get better. It’s interval training, and I’ve downloaded podcasts that time the intervals for me so I don’t have to count at the same time as I run. I meant to do a lot of it over the summer, but in the heat (and frankly, my laziness), I didn’t commit as much as I should have. So I set the goal to run. And I did. And it felt good.
On September first I’ll be posting my first monthly goal, which I will write about every Saturday noting any progress and what still needs done. It’s going to be about establishing an exercise routine – because I love it, and because I need it.
Until then, my goal for the weekend (because on Saturdays in the future, I’ll be writing about the monthly goal): write down the basic concepts for the story that’s been kicking around in my head for the past week or so. I usually write short stories, but this one might become novel-length and so I need to do a bit more advance planning than usual.
I’ve had a few thoughts about running a 5k or any kind of race.
After doing some research, I found out about Disney’s Princess 1/2 Marathon in March 2010.
Now, I’ve never even considered a 1/2 marathon, but if I’m going to do one, this would be the only one I’d be interested in. I think it’d be worth my while!
Problems:
-I really don’t think I can do it. I’m doing good to run a couple miles, here and there, without passing out.
BUT this would be a huge motivation. I think I could do it if I really committed to it.
-Money. It’s $120 for the race, plus hotel room, flight, and park pass. Bleh.
BUT it’s very promising that I’ll have a job by the end of September.
-I need to find another girl to do this with me. I’m not sure who’d be up for this type of trip and would be willing to pay the $$ for it.
There’s no BUT for this one. Well, except that I have time to ask around.
I’ll give this a month. I may be over this whole idea by then. Or I might still be thinking it over.
So, anyone else want to put a pink tutu over your running shorts and go with me!?
As per regular perusal of Marathon Foodie’s blog, I am keep abreast with the various upcoming races for the next couple of months. Its cool that there are many races to choose from. You will never be “raceless” so to speak. You always have the prerogative to either sign up for that particular Sunday’s race or just do your own run.
I’ve joined in various 5K races already since I started running. I have to say, I am beginning to like it. ( and it’s not just about the photo-ops during race day) Another race is coming up this Sunday but I will not be joining in it. Need to do something unrelated to running.
Anyway as I was thinking back to the time when I first mentioned to Joy that I am interested to join the 33rd Milo Marathon, I can’t help but grin at myself. She did not look surprised at that time but the first thing she asked me was that, am I willing to wear shorts outside, in broad daylight? For a moment, my lofty thoughts of running in a race was brought down to earth, crashing. I was like, do I really have to wear shorts? Is it compulsory? ( I have nothing against wearing shorts, I’m not just used to wearing it except when I sleep) So, I was disappointed for a moment but I wasted no time to searched on the Internet about running in races. I even paid the Milo website a visit. I learned that you can wear anything. So, I reported this back to Joy and even manage to convince her to join too. That was the start of my “love affair” with running. I can still remember feeling excited when we finally registered and got our race packets and t-shirt. We started “running” our asses off at Abellana , three weeks before the race day. I could not stop singing ” We Did It” ( Dora’s song) over and over again while we made our way home after finishing our very first 5K. I was very happy despite feeling dog-tired.
After that initial taste of racing, we’ve become determined to join every races we knew of. We fought off the urge to stay inside when there was deluge of a rain on a particular race day, instead, we forge ahead and still run. I had the best experience, running in the rain. ( though afterward, my foot hurt so much)
Joy gradually improve her time since she started running. During races, we’ll start running side by side then a few minutes later, she would be ahead of me, while I lagged behind, huffing and puffing like crazy. She had become mindful of her time that once, she threw me an “impatient look” when I asked her to wait for me, during a race. I kidded her about it every chance I got. I’m glad that I am able to get her into this. I’m secretly hoping that I can outrun her one day:D
Its been three months when I first immerse myself in running. Nothing much has changed worth mentioning. I don’t look at the scale anymore to see if the numbers budge. Though, I have discipline myself to forgo watching movies on TV so late at night. I’ve always been a morning person so waking up early is not a problem ( but I still set the alarm, just in case). My reading repertoire has now include anything about running. I spent hours reading other runners’ blog. I read articles that interest me at Runner’s World. And now, I’m keen watching on TV, shows that relates to running ( still, Roger Federer top my list) On the physical side of things, I still run slow. I need to work on that.
I can cite all the myriad thoughts that goes through my mind during a race, fortunately, I manage not to give in. I think it’s so tempting to just stop and quit when you’re feeling so slow and almost out of breath, while faster runners speed past you, what I do is I’d always imagine the finish line and the feeling of getting there….it work, always:)
I recently got an iphone a week ago and so far navigating between applications is heaven for any user. I basically use my Mac Book Pro for most ,if not all my work in the office and photography. Integrating my new iphone to my laptop has never been this easy merging both professional “to do’s” and my calendar of events to one device. Anyway, along with getting my new iphone, I also got a third party application called Run Keeper Pro (there are actually two versions, the RK and RKPro) The app is generally like the nike + ipod system where the device (in this case the iphone) tracks your current location and beams it up using GPS. Keeping this in mind, RKPro has a set of workouts from a 20 min easy run, to intervals and custom made programs that you can set for your self. Moreover, RKPro enhances your workout by integrating your music to the app and plays it when you need it. The basic settings are km or miles, distance and pace for each workout and of course duration.
Run Keeper Pro: What you see on your screen
After understanding the basic operating procedures, I took it for a test run at Legaspi Village Makati, where i live. I only lasted for 30min as i had to be in the office by 8am today. As expected, the measurements and speed were close to perfect. Each bar graph tracked my progress for each 5 min duration while giving me updates in my pace and distance. What I also find amusing was the female voice over stating my progress! aint that cool or what. Anyhow, more testing to come in the following days. For those iphone users who happen to be runners or cyclists as well, do check out this great app for your next workout.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
First off, hello to my new readers! <3 I feel like no one ever reads this blog except for my fam and a few others. It’s nice to know that someone out there is reading.
Do you ever feel like not titling your posts some days? I just can’t think of a title today! ha. Things are busy on this Alaskan’s forefront. I am about to leave for my Anatomy and Physiology lab in a bit. School is so fun and I really do miss it. It’s been hard to get things done this week as my mother in law is visiting us from Texas and I’m having to entertain while the geophysicist is at work. No chance to work on the resume at all yet.
Anyway, in running related news. Monday did 5 miles on the coastal trail – flat! Tuesday 5 miles in Kincaid park with Steve my running buddy. It was so hilly and I thought I was going to die. The uphill portion at the very end lasts for about 3/4 of a mile! Well, I know where to do my hill repeats now. Yesterday I took the day off and saw my PT. She taped up my knee and I’ll try it out today on my 6 mile run after class. On Saturday I’ll attempt 8 miles – the longest distance post injury. Marathon training starts Monday.
Also thinking of joining this circuit training class so I can get my core strength built back up again. I was so strong when I was training with Hai in Denver. I miss that feeling. I truly believe that my strong core help ward off injuries and improved my running form and times for my last marathon. Strong core is key people! Write that down.
This afternoon’s workout was fabulous. I was scheduled to run 400 meter repeats @ 10.5 mph with 3 minutes of rest. My goal was to run eight of them, but when I did this workout for the first time two weeks ago I only finished six. On that day I was gassed after the very first one.
Today was completely different and I felt comfortable with the speed. I motored right on through the eight I had planned, then did two more. I even bumped it up to 11 mph and ran 500 meters on the last one. It was a huge improvement in a very short time.
My goal for the masters pentathlon is to run 1000 meters at an 11.5mph pace. While I’m still a long ways from being in the kind of shape I was six months ago, this has given me some hope that regaining that fitness level may not take quite as long as I had thought.
I haven’t quite figured out which direction to push myself on these running workouts. There are a lot of options; I can stay with the eight 400s and either run them faster or shorten the rest interval. I can keep the speed and rest intervals the same and lengthen the distance I run. Or I can keep everything the same and just increase the number of repeats.
I am leaning towards increasing the volume before I start speeding up too much. Patience isn’t my strongest trait, but in this case I think that may be the way to go. The stronger the base, the easier it will be to start pushing on the throttle….I HOPE!
I haven’t been to the track for the past two days. I feel tired and my leg is still bothering me. Another race is coming up this Sunday and we’re kind of planning to join again so I will myself to get up this morning. As usual, I went to bed early. I had to forgo watching Air Crash Investigation. My eyes were still heavy with sleep when I groped for my phone in the dark to stop its noise from disturbing the “neighbors”. I looked myself in the mirror and Panda stared back at me (okay, I’m just kidding). Anyway, I hurried to the shower before I give in to my bed’s tempting invitation to go back to sleep. Afterward, I dressed then had my usual drink and watched MTV for awhile before heading downstairs. As I went down the stairs, my legs felt like they were glued in place. Slowly, I made my way.
I tried not to limp while we walked towards Abellana. Joy suspected that I took another painkiller, I assured her that I did not. We did our routine one lap warm-up then started running. I think it’s appropriate for me to say that we don’t run together or side by side anymore. She’s way too fast for me now and I can’t catch up with her no matter how much I want to. So I run “alone”. I planned to run an entire 5K course on the track–that is, roughly more than 12 laps. I only managed 8 laps before I had to stop. I ran very slow that it felt to me that I was not moving at all. I know my run is only a warm-up compared to those of the more experienced runners. Still, I’m glad I went out this morning. Sooner or later, I will get there…..
For this race, race day meant not only race proper but 2 separate pre-race runs for both Mariel and I.
PRE-RACE MORNING RUN
I was scheduled for a long run that day and the plan was to meet up with Jaymie and Miguel to run atleast 15k (in knee-friendly asphalt roads )since we will be running only 5k at the race. Mariel, who promised our daughter that she’ll be the one to take her to practice that morning opted not to join us to fulfill her commitment and planned instead to run in the cemented roads of our village.
Rains (or was it just a threat of rain and the stronger pull of the bed? hehe) prevented Jaymie and Miguel from meeting up for our scheduled run. Already geared up, I decided to join Mariel instead on her planned short run. On cemented roads, I’m willing to risk a 5k. It was short and very laid back.
Hah! Of course, his laid back run isn’t laid back for me at all! I ran at a faster rate than usual. I’m not complaining though. It was a good 5k run for me, one that I felt pushed me a little more. Every now and then Jun would be asking if I was okay and I surprisingly, I was. Though breathing a little heavier, I felt I could take it and was happy about managing a faster pace.
After our morning run, time for some mommy duties. After that, I managed to take a sweet, restful nap waking up upon Jun’s arrival from picking up Sofia from practice. Now, it was time for his nap.
I wasn’t as successful as Mariel taking a nap. I went to bed but couldn’t quite get a restful sleep. Anyway, soon after, it was time to pick up Bea this time from practice and reminded Mariel to be ready for our pre-race run with Jaymie and Miguel at the BHS (take 2).
This time the planned run materialized. We met up with the Pizarro’s at around 6:30pm at Runnr. Finding long lines to the restroom we decided to start running and headed towards McDonald’s for that much-needed restroom break for the girls. Aljo joined us until McDonald’s and decided to head back after. We then continued our run and headed towards the outer streets of Fort Boni passing through the condiminium area, back of S&R, towards Serendra and back to BHS completing one loop of 5k. Mariel dropped out at 5k and Miguel at probably around 8k. Jaymie and I continued on and completed the 2nd loop to finish a 10k run.
It was another enjoyable 5k run for me. With Jun setting the pace, it couldn’t be too easy for me. It was an easy pace for him and our running buddies but definitely a faster than normal rate for me again. Whew, the perils of running with bulls and itchy blue soles! hahaha No, don’t get me wrong. I ‘m not complaining. Tired but really enjoyed every minute of it. It’s always great running with friends!
After a change of running clothes, met up with my sister Jen and couple friends and first-time 5k runners Popoy and Cielo at Runnr as we waited for Jun to finish his run. The chatter was fun and upbeat centering on the couples’ attempt at pre-Kenny race training, weight-loss, gears and future races. We met up with the Pizarro’s again and proceeded to the iamninoy booth where I finally met couple Jamike & Mayi whom I only get to communicate with online. Also met Rapa Lopa and wife Didi. It was a pleasure meeting you all.
We drank in the sites and sounds of the race here. The atmosphere was truly festive and fun. As we watched the 10k race start, we awaited with much excitement for our first-time race participant friends the call for the 5k runners. When it came, we positioned ourselves almost at the end of the pack as we squeezed ourselves in the corral. The runners were in high spirits and we joined the howls of the runners psyching up for the race. The air was charged! It felt like everybody was having fun! We certainly were!
RACE PROPER
As soon as the starting gun fired, the continuous beeps coming from the timing chips were heard and we slowly inched our way to the starting line passing the metal platform that would record our official race start. Jun initially ran easy which allowed me to keep pace. The road was packed with runners and it took effort getting ahead of the runners/walkers. He motioned for me to run behind him as we criss-crossed our way ahead. I was able to keep up until the turn-around loop but as soon as we passed the half-way turn going towards the incline, he asked me one last time if I was okay and as soon as I gave him an affirmative answer, he motioned he will go ahead and he was off. That was the last I saw of him during the race. I knew he would not be able to hold back for long. haha The itchy blue sole was at it again and on his heels was a seemingly mad bull. hahaha Wait, where was Miguel? Guess what? He actually finished ahead running on race mode all the way! I guess he was a madder bull that night. Way to go Miguel! hahaha
Jun was at the finish line waiting for me and we went to get our freebies and certificates together.
This is one race that erased my fears and exceeded my expectations. While I was apprehensive about running in the dark, the entire route turned out to be well-lighted during the race (atleast by the headlights of cars held up by the race traffic). While I knew this would be a really fun race, it turned out to be much more fun than I thought it would be. While I expected to run slow and even walk, I was able to run faster and hit a PR thanks to Jun who served as my pace-setter for the first half.
Finished at a PR time of 35.3. Considering the hilly route and of course factoring in the darkness, this was really unexpected. Previous PR for a 5k at 36.4 set at a flat route and morning run at Condura. WOOHOO!
This day was totally fun. Thoroughly enjoyed my 5k easy run with Jun that morning within the village and the pre-race run around Fort Bonifacio with Jun, Jaymie & Miguel. The 5k race completed a 15k mileage for me for the day. Happiness!!!
POST RACE
After getting our fill of powerade and getting our bag of freebies, we converged again at the iamninoy booth for a lot of chats and a few photo-ops as we waited for my sister and our friends to finish and get their freebies. The lines were long by the time they finished so there were a lot of opportunity to chat and just people watch.
OUR STATS:
The results of the race was just as fun to see …
Highlights:
Jun - passed 359 runners and 0 passed hi. Cool!
– finished 14th place in division
Mariel – finished upper 12% in gender category
(middle packer at the globe 10k)
– finished 16th place in division
– PR finish at 35:3 (net). Cool, too!
Our RunPix stats …
and our running pics (thanks photovendo). I have not been fortunate enough to have good shots though Well, better ones next time, i hope …
As for the usual after race meal? NADA! It was full house at Pancake House and after waiting and chatting awhile decided that were not hungry anyway. We comforted ourselves with the fact that we did not put the days work-out to naught. We just chatted some more and tried to plot out our next races with our new running recruits. Before calling it a night, we remembered our standard photo-ops. Perfect!
with only sis, jen, on her 2nd 5k race now. Woohoo!
Jun and I with good friendws, Popoy & Cielo, our new running recruits
Jen, Cielo and me
I’m so happy when friends start getting excited about the sport Jun and I so passionately love. We just truly love encouraging our friends to take up running. I even find myself talking about running almost everywhere I go — at work, the parlor, gym, spa and even at the derma while undergoing cautery session. The joys of running just pleasantly fills my thoughts. I remembered the time when I noticed Jun talking about running all the time and managed to squeeze in the topic almost everytime. Hah, now i find myself doing the same! The running fever is really contagious! I hope more of our friends get it.
Great friends, great chat, great race. What more can we ask for? Probably a great meal at KR? (We would have opted for the KR meal if my pretty sister could just find her and our friends meal stubs)
Fabulous time anyway… with or without a meal!
Just had to include this even if it's blurred. Won't be complete without the usual Sole Mates pic!
Today due to an all-day meeting plus my leg injury, I ran very little. It was done on a treadmill; so the impact was gentler than usual. No sharp pain, but it was a short run. There is still some tightness in there.
While in the fitness room, I also did a little bit of strength exercises. It had been a long while that I did any of such workouts.
Injuries are frustrating. Can’t wait to be fit again.
Given the abuse that I did to my hands yesterday, along with two fire ant bites and a spider bite (I think), cycling is out for a couple of days. Besides, I need to get some new grips for the handle bars. I’m beginning to have some numbness in my left hand. After doing a little research, it appears to be related to the Ulnar nerve and my hand positioning. This means more padding and more closely watching my positioning.
So, with cycling out of the picture for the immediate future, I decided to go back to running. While I’ve lost a few pounds, I’m still not at a weight where I want to be punishing my knees more than I have to. Given that the left knee never fully recovered from a soccer injury in Spring 2008, I have to make sure not to over do it. One thing that I did notice, however, was that the cycling has definitely increased my endurance. While I was struggling to do more than a couple of mile two weeks ago, I was able to complete a 4.5 mile run this evening with room to spare. While not the fastest pace on record (not by a long shot), it was an improvement, which is all I’m looking for at this point.
Knowing that I had about 45 minutes to run (the boss told me so), I got started on the 3.65 mile loop around the neighborhood. As I was approaching the 2.25 mile marker, I noticed that my time was about 25 minutes. I decided to reverse course and see if I could somehow manage to complete a 4.5 mile run in 45 minutes. It was a worthy goal, but not one that I could reach at this stage. I crossed the “finish line” at 51:11, which put me at an 11 minute mile. It just tells me that I have more work to do.
Morning Weigh-in: 200 lbs (First time in a month)
Exercise: Running
Time: Approximately 50 minutes
Maximum Heart Rate: 175
Average Heart Rate: 165
Calories Burned: Approx. 825
Caloric intake for the day: About 2000. Mostly low/no-fat (fruits, sushi, yogurt) and protein (Ham).
Tonight, I ran 10 miles for the first time in 2009. Hopefully I don’t throw my back out. It’s feeling kinda stiff now (about 4 hours after completing the run), so I just drank another G2 (20 oz.) bottle and am hoping tomorrow my back stays fine as I blog about the music I listened to on tonight’s run. The run took me a little over 2 hours and 13 minutes. This is actually a good time for me (I am not a great runner).
Here’s the playlist for tonight’s milestone run:
Digitalism : Pogo (Mentalism Version) // People Under the Stairs : Fly Love Song // The Daktaris : Eltsuhg Ibal Lasiti // Duncan Sheik feat. Youssou N’Dour and Neneh Cherry : Wake Up, I’m Going Back To Sleep Mix // Pursuit Grooves : Push Up // White Zombie : Real Solution #9 // Cabinet : Shifty Shaft // Fulgeance : Chico // Beastie Boys : Something’s Got to Give // Como Mamas featuring Mary Moore : Trouble In My Way // DJ Signify : Vanessa // The GrOOming : Glass Room // Dred Scott : Liar // The Ting Tings : Fruit Machine // DJ Wally & Swingsett : Yorkyosterdam // Fulgeance : Rubiscube // Rolancho : Calles De Papel // Soto : full Day // The Asteroids Galaxy Tour : The Sun Ain’t Shining No More // Beastie Boys : Flute Loop // Dred Scott : Swingin’ From the Tree // Digitalism : Apollo-Gize // The Ting Tings : Keep Your Head // Venetian Snares : Öngyilkos Vasárnap // Aphilas : Blind Matador Techniques // Morad Stars : Street wild lover // Aesop Rock : Citronella // Nosaj Thing : Aquarium // The Cure : Lovesong // KMD : Give It Here // Cage : Nothing left to say
The Cure’s “Lovesong” and White Zombie’s “Real Solution #9″ got me pumped tonight.
I have another race coming up on September 6th: The Runner’s HI 20K so tonight was preparation for the 12.4 mile run. On a side-note, September 6th is also Labor Day weekend, and the Okinawan Festival here in Hawaii! I am excited about the andagi, of course, and repping my uchinanchu roots. heh.
Today marks the conclusion of my second week of daily food blogging. If you’re new to the blog, I’m trying out daily food blogging for 3 weeks! I enjoyed it this week. I really like seeing my day unfold in pictures, and I’m finding it really helps me to make my food day healthy and balanced.
I’m also finding it very interesting to see how much of a story unfolds related to what I eat. Sometimes the day was uneventful, and perfectly planned. And other days life was crazy, and the food was too
Breakfast today was a new favorite – one egg scrambled with 2 T of 1% cottage cheese, with some red pepper flakes. The cottage cheese gave it a cheesy feel, and packed in some extra protein!
I also had about 1/2 C of raspberries. They’re almost tart they’re so ripe!
After breakfast ( a while after breakfast… I love lazy Sundays!) I went for a run. It went awesome! The first part was all uphill, so I did some running some walking. But the last part was all downhill. Much more fun!
After my run, I had a much better veggie sandwich than the FAIL for lunch the other day.
Spinach + Tomato + Onion + White Bean/Red Pepper dip + Whole Wheat Bun. It was excellent – the tomatoes are from the Farmer’s Market and so fresh and tasty!
I also had an iced coffee .
I had some more dip with crackers this afternoon ( I love this dip! 2.99 at Superstore )
And then we headed down to my parents house for dinner. I had a small glass of red wine while we chatted. (about half of the glass shown)
Dinner was great! A green salad, with romaine + tomato + carrots + cucumber + green onion + feta + ranch (about 1/2 T)
Turkey (I like the dark meat best!) + Mashed Potatoes (made with FF sour cream) + Corn on the Cob
A small glass of white wine with dinner (again, about half of shown)
And a teensy slice of cake for dessert.
I had made this cake from Smitten Kitchen – delicious! I subbed the rum for Kahlua (there may have been a leetle tasting of icing this afternoon!)
This is the view from my parent’s house – isn’t it gorgeous?!
Overall healthiness of today? Pretty good. A small slice of cake, but we were celebrating. It looks like I had more wine than I really did
I’m so glad I went for a run this morning though – I think it helped balance the day!
Beautiful 23 degree WINTER’S day in Sydney, so I took to the beach. It’s always more energy-sapping than I remember, but it’s a great workout. My right calf held up well so I should be fine for a long run on Wednesday. Only 4 weeks to go so I should be tapering from next week. I’m not sure I’ve done enough training, but there’s only one way to find out!
It would be impossible to write of all events of past few months so here are my tweets
Major family crisis in April (very distressing)
Moved house in May
Ongoing health issues with 11 year old
No running or any form of exercise in that time
Eating has turned to pure crap!
Returned to work
Home front situation slowly settling
Fast forward to late June/early July: I started John Binghams run/walk half marathon regime with the definite goal of doing the 10km at Melbourne Marathon and with the sneaky in my mind goal of maybe doing the half. I also started clinical pilates again at the sports clinic when I could get there for my ongoing annoying sciatica and imbalances which need to be sorted. Was going really well and quietly getting real excited about the half but my knee started to twinge on the longer distances and so now I feel as though I am back to square one I know I have to perservere with stretching, core strengthening stuff and quad work but I am annoyed. I have carried all this since I started running and have never ran without issues going on. The funny thing is all my niggles are now affecting me when I am at work on the wards walking. Last night towards end of shift, my sciatica and pf was killing me!! Unfortunately my othotics don’t fit in my work shoes so I may have to look into that.
So goals now are just to run sensibly, even if it is a meazly 30minutes, try for the life of me to get to Pilates, this always seems to go on the back burner when life gets in the way, keep stretching, self massage with foam roller and spiky ball, use the wobble board that I bought and find some really good vmo strengthening exercises. I can do this, I know I can! If I want to build up my running distances again I have no choice, it all has to be done
I don’t quite know my time (it is going to posted some time this afternoon). Overall I came in pretty close to last, but I finished under (I think) 90 minutes-my goal all along was do it in 90 minutes, so I’m happy. Next year I’ll actually try to have a competitive time.
Did some yardwork with the help of the dogs and Sarah.
Photos from the new camera.
After racing holding my prize- a bag of donuts from Sarah and Appi
Appi! So kind as to pick me up in his super fancy car
Waiting anxiously to eat my donuts (the last time I ate in Appi's car I made a huge mess...)
Slowly preparing for grass
Indi working hard in the yard
I will post a time if I ever get one. I did it in 1 hour and 15 minutes!!! But you have to subtract 5 minutes because it was like a cattle gate trying to get out the park. I did not go as fast as I wanted to initially.
