Welcome to the E-Life: July 2006

Monday, July 31, 2006

Bling-Bling Running Ain't a Thing!

Wow, I haven't blogged here in a week! Must be some kind of record. Well it's easy to guess I have done absolutely nothing in terms of training since my run in Santa Cruz. No worries I plan to run later tonight around the neighborhood because honestly I feel like crap. I ate some nasty fried stuff last night and as a result got a major headache. I lied on my bed to rest and konked out around 10 pm.

As you can see to your left, I finally got my heavy made-in-china medal from Elite Racing today. Just like their water stops, this medal is "best quality"....(btw...that's sarcasm). Actually I kinda like the medal. It's big and heavy and pretty such says I tortured myself for the 52.4 miles in Arizona and San Diego. This medal will remind me everyday to never race in any hot weather climates again.

The Fall Season has officially began! I'm pretty excited. I got 4 mentees and now that's it my second time at this mentoring thing....I have a better grasp on how to do it. Everything will be a notch better than it was last time. I've even upgraded my old weekly e-mails with a new fancier PDF "Mentor Newsletter" with lots of bright colorful graphics.....OOOH-AAAHHH right?

*Update: I ran for 26:41 right when it was getting dark.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Wharf to Wharf Race

I have to say the Wharf to Wharf must be the most fun 6 mile race ever! I must thank Natalie for letting me know about it and getting me to go with her. It was slightly hot today as it was about 80 something degrees. Yeah, it's nothing like the 100+ heat back in the Bay, but 80 degrees is not prime running weather.

The hype for this race is all true. There is a band/entertainment at almost every block, which makes the run go by so much faster. We saw Scottish bagpipe bands, two Taiko drum bands, Ukulele bands, bands where members wear chicken and gorilla suits, and even where a restaurant where their kitchen employees formed their own band and began banging on their pots and pans. All the residents got into it and many were spraying their water hoses at us to cool us down.

The 6 mile run began in Santa Cruz and finished at nearby Capitola. The course was fun as there were plenty of small hills and revealed many great views of the beach. Although it was 80 something, there was some breeze which made it comfortable. Unfortunately the downfall of the race is that because of the 15,000 participants it was crowded because the streets are not wide at all. The start resembled a marathon race. As a result of the small width streets, from start to finish, we were constantly weaving around other runners/walkers. Another bad was the first water stop was at mile 4. A lot of runners did not look good as many were not prepared for the heat. Many were already drinking out of water hoses before the water stop. The second water stop was at mile 5.5, but since the organizers ran out of cups, there was no second water stop for those back in the pack.

I still say the good outweighed the bad by a lot and I would probably go back and run it again. It was a good workout and because of the dodging of runners, I was able to enjoy it without going at normal marathon pace. Just a relaxing fun run.

Time: 1:21: 12
Distance: 6 miles
Pace: 13:32

Friday, July 21, 2006

Join the TEAM!

Fall 2006 Team In Training Events (Greater SF/Bay Area)
Training begins July 28

Triathlon

*NEW* Red Rock SOMA Triathlon, Tempe, AZ -Voted the Best Year End Triathlon by Triathlete Magazine

Treasure Island Triathlon, San Francisco

Ironman USA, Lake Placid, NY

Ironman Canada, Penticton, BC

Run and Walk

Honolulu Marathon, Honolulu, HI

P.F. Chang's Rock N Roll Marathon, Phoenix, AZ (Run only)

Nike Women's Marathon, San Francisco (Half Marathon)

--Not just for women!--
*The Nike Women's Marathon (full & half) is sold-out out to the general public. Your race entry is only guaranteed through TNT!

East Bay Informational Meeting

Saturday, July 22 - 10 a.m., Courtyard Hotel, 5555 Shellmound St., Emeryville
Saturday, July 22 - 2:30 p.m., Pleasanton Middle School, 5001 Case Ave., Pleasanton

Changing Lives, One Mile at a Time.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Wimping Out or Good Judgment?

It's Tuesday and I didn't run! Did I just hear you gasp? Yup...this week has been mighty hot inland and running in 90+ degree (I determined) would not be smart. Some may say I wimped out, but I like to call it good judgment. Having done 2 marathons in hot weather, I think i'm (now) wise enough to know when it's too hot to run. Today was it. So what did I do instead? I had ice cream. Not very proud of myself, but it felt good. It felt just as good as the slurpee I had Sunday after the 106 degree bbq. I haven't been eating pretty good during the heat, but at least it's been keeping me cool.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Burnt to a Crisp

A big thank you to O for organizing this weekend's run, otherwise I may not have ran. O, Karen, and I met at Danville and did a 4-5 mile run this morning on what turned out to be a HOT day. I think we did 2.25 out and 2.25 back. It heated up on the way back and I was sweating bullets. PF is still bugging me, so I don't know what's up. I'm guessing from my pace time....I was going too fast for my own good.

Date: July 16, 2006
Location: Iron Horse Trail (Danville)
Weather: 72 starting, very hot later
Run Type: Disneyland Training Run
Miles accomplished: 4.5 approx
Time: 47:37
Pace: 10:34

Today was also the finale for the Spring Season. You can officially hang "Team Balance" up. I spent most the day "helping" the helpers with water balloons and bbq-ing my chicken which felt like an hour. During that hour...I burnt to a crisp, kinda like my chicken. My face is all burned up and should have took O's advice to apply some (more). I'll miss Team Balance, but it's time to move on. Training for Fall Season begins this coming week and a new team will be assembled soon. Can't wait!

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

The Mystery that is Lake Merritt

Lake Merritt - The Jewel of Oakland

If you get pass the disgusting bird droppings and crooked crowded paths, Lake Merritt is truly one of the most beautiful places to run. Lake Merritt is a unique fresh and salt-water lake, the largest such lake located within an urban area consisting of 3.4 miles around the circumference of the lake. Besides last season's one training run where we ran around the lake twice, the last time I ran Lake Merritt was Fall Season 2005, my first as a participant w/TNT. In fact, it was my place to run every Tuesday night. However, those of you who have followed my blog from the beginning know I have always had issues with Lake Merritt. My plantar fascitis aggravation is somehow intensified twice as much more when I run here. I have a lot of excuses...umm I mean reasons why.

Tonight was no different. I joined the Summer Team out in good 'ol Oakland because I wanted to escape the heat of the inland. I ran around the lake once and felt good the first 2/3's of the run. Then my damn feet was tingling again. I could feel it shoot up my leg, but I ran through it. I think a lot had to do with me running faster than what I was comfortable with. I probably should have also taped up my feet. All in all, it was my typical Lake Merritt run, but at least it was nice to change it up a bit.

Date: July 11, 2006
Location: Lake Merritt
Weather: 68, cool and breezy
Run Type: Buddy Run
Miles accomplished: 3.4
Time: 35:11
Pace: 10:20

Monday, July 10, 2006

Everyone Has a Beginning

It was about this time last year when something clicked in my head and I wanted to run. I was tired of not being active. I took my New Balance trail shoes to my old middle school track and was going to try to run 4 laps for one mile. Instead I ran only two laps. Out of breath and drenched in sweat, I decided to head back home. For whatever reason, I came back the next Friday and tried at it again. Again, I ran only two laps. In fact this became my routine for the next 3 weeks with the furtherest barely making 3 laps. I wanted to run, but was having a hard time doing so. I then recalled a friend joining Team in Training to run in honor of a family-friend who passed away from Leukemia. She completed the inaugural Nike Women's Half Marathon after never really running in her life. To be honest, I didn't donate. Till this day, I regret not donating to her run. I guess I didn't donate because one, I didn't understand the difficulty in completing an endurance event and two, I didn't take the time to understand the cause.

I remembered she had done an endurance event and I thought if they could make her into an endurance athletle, I could do it too. I shot my friend an e-mail and asked her some questions about the TNT program. She provided some info and referred me to the TNT website and I signed up. If you know me, I do things impulsively.

Not until I went to the info meeting was when I learned the importance of the society. This was no longer about a selffish goal, but it was running and fundraising for a great cause. Going in, I still had some concerns about being able to run 13.1 miles. I vividly remember asking Coach Al amongst all in the crowd, could a novice runner actually be able to complete an endurance event. His hands clapsed together pointed back in my direction and said reassuringly, "YES." I was sold.

I don't think I have to go on to explain what happened after that. Since that moment, I completed 2 full marathons, 1 half-marathon, a 10K, a 12K race and did a sprint triathalon. In addition, I fundraised the most ever in my life and mentored a group of other participants who joined TNT. I even dropped 15 pounds through training. Most rewarding throughout the journey is i've met so many incredible people and built so many new friendships.

I've definitely come miles away from a guy who could barely run 2 laps around the track last July.

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Back on Track

Joined my Disneyland Half training crew today for a nice run in Alameda. We did 4 miles and today's run was so much better than last weeks. It must have been the food from yesterday (see previous blog entry). The run felt great. It was a bit hot, even for Alameda standards, but was definitely managable. At least it wasn't running 104 degree heat in Walnut Creek.

Date: July 8, 2006
Location: Alameda - Harbor Bay Ferry Terminal Trail
Weather: somewhere in the 70s
Run Type: Disneyland Training Run
Miles accomplished: 4
Time: 45:55
Pace: 11:28

Friday, July 07, 2006

Yes, I'm a Pig!

I ate Brenda's dinner tonight while visiting her at the hospital. She told me to eat it since she wasn't going to touch it. Hey..since I didn't want it to go to waste....The menu tonight was a lightly flavored lemon sole fish with a side of green string beans and white rice. It's definitely a healthy alternative from what i've been eating the past 2 weeks. I'm off to a good training start.

Thanks to Carol for the pic. =)

Sunday, July 02, 2006

3 Things That Don't Mix!

Unhealthy lunch + 77 degree heat + Running = Unhappy Runner

This weekend was about to fly by with me skipping training. Going to ballgames and getting fat from ballpark food does not constitute good training methods. Ever since the Tri For Fun, i've been eating bad, really bad. Stuff that I had not touch for almost year such as soda and ice cream having been calling for me. Today I continued the disgusting eating binge with a lunch that consisted of garlic fries, chicken strips, beer, and ice cream. I came home, sat in my chair and could feel my belly explode. It looked like I was preggers.

I was going to let this weekend go by without running. I was watching the Tour de France this morning. Then my guilty conscience finally kicked in and convinced myself to run before the end of the day. So stupid me, I put on my running gear and headed to the Iron Horse Trail in San Ramon around 5 pm. It was about 77 degrees, but I had to run. I don't have tomorrow off and I doubt I will run on July 4th. This weekend's training schedule called for 5 miles, so I psyched myself to do it. I began the run and everything felt pretty good during the first mile. Then the burping of stinky garlic fries came out and I knew instantly it was going to be a long tough run.

Not only was I gaseous from my lunch earlier in the day, but I was super hot. It felt like 100 degrees out there. In fact I was the only "runner" on the trail. Everybody else was biking. Oh wait, there was one other runner, but she had an Ironman t-shirt. I guess it's easy to assume she's an Ironwoman and was hardcore enough to run in the heat. Well for me, there was not enough cytomax to combat the heat. I chugged along and was determined to continue on. I felt like crap, but knew with everything what Brenda was going through, what I was doing was not even bitchable. So, I just kept at it.

Unfortunately my stomach and the rest of my body was not feeling it. I only completed 3.7 miles, but it was probably one of my toughest 3 mile runs. The run also made me realize I wanna go back eating healthy (at least for most of the time). There is no reward in eating what I have been scarfing down in the past 2 weeks. Ok...I need to get serious in training again. No more slacking!

Date: July 2, 2006
Location: Iron Horse Trail (San Ramon)
Weather: 77 degrees
Run Type: Weekend Run
Miles accomplished: 3.7
Time: 39:12
Pace: 10:35

Jelly Belly Sport Beans

Is this stuff any good?

and does it work? hmm...

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