"Because I'm loving every wonderful, horrible minute of this" (a workout tracking blog)

week 10 = SICK :(

2012-02-08T20:17:00.001-05:00

I've been M.I.A. from both this blog and from physically running. After my really awesome Custis run the other weekend, I got super sick and was in bed for almost 3 days straight. Surviving off a cocktail of DayQuil and NyQuil, Airborne, orange juice and chicken soup. I felt pretty pathetic all week. Just as I was getting closer to health again, I had to go to Nashville for work for a few days. And a super busy few days they were, which also cut into any attempts of running. I know I know, excuses excuses.

I am now back from my unintentional week off from running, and my running is suffering. My endurance went down significantly, my muscles are sore and I'm still not breathing properly while running. Ok, so maybe I'm not back to completely normal yet, but at least I'm trying to run. I guess. I ran 4miles on both mon and tues, though neither felt like good runs to me. Today I went to the track, but same thing... my body just wasn't up for it, so I left about halfway through. I hope my body will be ready for the long run on saturday morning.

Week 9

2012-01-28T18:28:00.000-05:00

Once again, I did not hit all my weekday runs (for one excuse or another). I got 2 of the 3 workouts in, including the track session on Wed. However, I felt guilty for missing my thursday run. I knew we had a 9 miler coming up this weekend, on the hilly Custis Trail and was pretty nervous that I won't make it all the way. So I spent Friday evening resting and mentally preparing for the run. We started from the running store as usual and ran down to the Theodore Roosevelt Island to do a (~2.5m) loop and then onto the Custis. I was feeling a little sluggish at first, especially on the first hill. We were running from Rosslyn up to Ballston and back down (backwards of my long run last week). I was running with two other girls and we collectively griped together the first couple hills. But somehow around mile 4 or so, I found this groove and I stayed with it. The other two girls started falling back, so I kept going on my own. I eventually caught up with the two girls who were a bit in front of me and surprisingly at another hill, I passed them as they fell back. Before I knew it, I hit Glebe Rd (the turnaround point) and started descending all those hills I just ran up. My legs weren't even feeling that bad. It felt awesome. I was going at a really comfy pace and passing by the other groups, cheerfully yelling "great job runners! the turnaround point is so close". Dude.. when did I become one of those runners??!?! I cruised back to Georgetown and though the last half mile was starting to hurt, I was feeling awesome. I had an overall 10:29 pace for 9.20 miles. That was possibly one of my best runs ever!

Side note: We have now completed the "Mt Rushmore" in our weekly runs and have run by all four presidents :)
-Washington Monument

-Jefferson Memorial

-Lincoln Memorial

-Roosevelt Island

My toughest workout week so far

2012-01-23T11:58:00.003-05:00

(that is since I started training for this half marathon).

Last week, I pushed myself so hard while training that I'm pretty sure I was a little delusion on wednesday night after my track workout. The week actually began on a lazy note as we got a free catered lunch (steak fajitas!) at work on Monday. I love steak fajitas, so I ate more than I normally would for lunch. Big mistake. I was still so full by the time I got home from work, I just couldn't get myself to go run outside or the gym. Plus the new tv show Alcatraz was premiering that night and I wanted to check it out. So I bummed instead :)

Tuesday morning, I went to the gym with the idea of running on the treadmill to make up for not running the night before. What can I say? I felt a little guilty! I ran about a mile on the treadmill and remembered why I run outside even when it's not good weather! My body just hasn't been trained to be acclimated to treadmill running. So I decided to go into the studio and do some core work and call it a workout. Tuesday evening was our first of 2 indoor soccer games for the week. Normally we play monday nights and it doesn't interfere with my running schedule. Last week, I had to do a little planning ahead to make sure I could do my running and soccer without literally dying. And lucky for us, we had no girl subs. So the game consisted of all of us running around the little court for 50 minutes. It was a tough game, but we pulled off the W! Wednesday morning, my legs were hurting (every fiber of muscle was sore). However I pushed through and went to the track workout that evening. 5 x 800s with 400 recovery. As I got into my car afterwards, I honestly had to just sit and make sure I was ok to drive. I felt a little off. I figured I was hungry, so off to Trader Joes to find food.

Since we had a second indoor game on friday night, also with no subs, I decided to do my long run on thursday and let my body rest and recover on saturday morning. I'm sure my legs would not have been able to run the entire 8 miles the morning after an intense soccer game. So I went out during a long lunch break and ran on the Custis. Have you run on the Custis? It's hilly. Here's the elevation I did... let's just say the 2nd half of the run was very hard (esp the last mile).

Friday night, I played in the soccer game and then I finally got to rest up over the weekend. My legs/body certainly deserved to get a break.

The hill at the Nat'l Zoo

2012-01-16T15:52:00.000-05:00

I was curious, so I mapped out the elevation of the hill we ran at the zoo. I learned the road/trail is called the Olmstead Walk, it is about 3/4 of a mile and is indeed all uphill. Not steep, just a long continuous hill. One that nearly kicked my butt, however I stayed tough and refused to walk.

7 weeks down, 9 more till Raceday!

2012-01-15T13:59:00.001-05:00

I can't believe we just finished week 7 of our training program. And it's pretty cool to notice improvement in my endurance and speed (at least on the shorter runs). I've been working really hard to put in my weekly mileage and even made it to the track workout on Wednesday night in the cold, rain and windy conditions. Our head coach was impressed that 9 people made it out, as he didn't expect anyone to make it. I admit it was a little miserable at times, but in the end, I'm glad I went.

Yesterday we ran the 7m zoo run, which starts in Georgetown and brings us on the Rock Creek Parkway up to the zoo and through the zoo (think of the long gradual incline!) and then back to Gtown. The hill was hard, since it was curvy and although I don't mind hills for the most part, I usually like them more when I can see the top and know how much longer I'll have to be running up. One of the coaches was at the top of the hill to make sure he could document everyone finishing the hill. This might be the first picture ever I'm smiling while running. Totally posed ;)

Next weekend we step it up to a very hilly 8miler! We'll see how the weekday runs go. Happy Running!

bacon!!

2012-01-09T08:56:00.003-05:00

HAHAHA this is hilarious! (Taken from: http://sale.images.woot.com/MotivationlezDetail.png)

Week 6 was a good one!

2012-01-08T18:16:00.001-05:00

I hate to sound all full of myself, but I'm so proud of myself for putting in all my intended miles for my training plan this past week. I haven't been able to do that prior to this week for one reason or another (i.e. laziness or lack of time). I even had my first track workout on Wednesday night in the cold. I was pretty nervous and intimidated of what the workout will entail, but it went totally fine. Almost fun at certain points ;)

Saturday, my running group and I had a 7miler and we ran from Georgetown down to the new MLK Jr Memorial and back. This was pretty cool since I haven't had a chance to see the memorial up close and personal before. It is BIG! And beautiful and downright breathtaking. And to see if before the city gets packed with tourists is an extra perk.

Hopefully I will be just as good about getting all my weekday miles in from now on. It really made a difference... this past run vs the previous one (where a coach had to come back and check on me). Happy Running!

Happy 2012!

2012-01-02T16:47:00.000-05:00

I just completed my first run of the new year. 5.25miles in the chilly 30 degrees and windy temperatures outside. I picked my favorite ballston-to-courthouse route which only had one main street that was affected by the wind and a few hills. Overall a good run for me. Yay for starting off the new year on the right foot :) Cheers to another year of running!

Now time for some college football viewing and doing some work in preparation for the work week.

Week 5

2011-12-31T11:25:00.003-05:00

I'm back in the DC area and ran my last run of the year this morning with the running group. We ran this 6 mile route which went well, but that last half mile was very tough... I had to stop and walk a little to catch my breath and hydrate a little. Thankfully one of the running coaches who was a little ahead of me noticed me and came back to chat with me and help me finish the rest of the run. Thanks Coach!

This was the route we ran. I've never really run in the Mt. Vernon trail before, so that was pretty cool. I'd like to explore the trail a bit more in the future.

The head running coach informed all of us that this is the last week we can "fake it"... as in not really get our weekly mileage in and still be ok with the long run on saturday mornings. This was a little bit of a wake up call for me since although I have been getting in most of my weekday runs, they weren't necessarily good runs. So I will definitely have to get better about that. Not a bad new year's resolution either.

Happy New Year! and be safe if there is drinking involved (especially if any driving is also involved).

Week 3 + 4 and Merry Christmas!

2011-12-16T10:02:00.002-05:00

Man, it's tough to stay on track for pretty much anything when you're on "vacation"! I put that in quotes since I've actually been physically at work all week, but my brain may or may not always be as present ;)

I admit my weekly runs haven't been that great, but I really will put more effort once the holidays are done. Last saturday, we did this 5mile route (below) that went by the White House Christmas tree display. It was pretty cool, but the little walking area was blocked off, so we couldn't get too close to the trees. Afterwards, we were treated with bagels from Brooklyn Bagels (in Courthouse)... the best bagels in the area that I know of.

Tomorrow, I am aiming for a 6 miler. Hopefully it'll go well. Anyways I'll probably be away from the blog for a bit, so Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays (if applicable) to you!

Here is a link to one of my favorite Christmas SNL songs. I remember watching it in college and this was pre-DVR days; so my friends and I had it taped on a VHS tape and literally watched it over and over and over again. Laughing each and every time. It still makes me giggle. PLUS, the most recent episode of SNL had Jimmy Fallon as the host and they did a remake of this. It made me happy when I watched it :)

http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/blogs/2009/12/jimmy-explains-the-origins-of-i-wish-it-were-christmas-today/

(I couldn't figure out how to embed the video into this entry... so I'll just put the link up instead.)

Week 2

2011-12-07T09:19:00.001-05:00

We received our training schedule for the half marathon program this week. I didn't do very well this week with the shorter runs... too much work/travel, that I wasn't able to put in all my runs this week. So needless to say, I was a little nervous about the 5 miler we had this morning. However it wasn't too bad. We started in Georgetown and ran along the trail/Rock Creek by the Potomac and then onto the mall along the Lincoln, up to the Washington and right back the way we came.

Sidenote: The Reflecting Pool is currently having some major construction going on, but no one in the running crowd seemed to know what was going on there. There is no real pool anymore.. I wonder what's going on.

Anyways, I held about a 10:20-10:30 pace for the run and didn't stop, which is great for me. We actually ended up running about 5.4 miles according to my Garmino. Next week is another 5 miler where we will find Christmas trees in the city. Hopefully I can get my shorter runs in and can enjoy the run even more so next week :)

The Washington Monument Out and Back route.

Week 1 of half marathon training

2011-12-03T09:58:00.000-05:00

I joined DC RoadRunners' Half Marathon Training group. Our first run was this morning at 8am in Georgetown. A 4 miler along the canal. I've never trained with a group before, so it's definitely a different experience than training solo. I met a couple people today and they all seemed nice. Hopefully it'll be a good 16 weeks of training.

I had trouble finding a comfortable pace at the beginning, especially since there were so many people around. I started with the 11:00 pace group, but ran past them and kept a 10:40 pace for the first mile. Then I started talked to a girl who was running around the same pace and we had about a 10:30 pace the second mile. We kept chatting and following the few runners ahead of us and went down to a 10:10 pace the last 2 miles. Not a bad run for me.

5 miles!

2011-11-30T09:13:00.001-05:00

TODAY (!!!), I ran 5.3 miles. I ran with the Pacers running group out of Clarendon. They were much faster than me, but thankfully a couple girls stayed behind and talked to me during the run and kept me distracted and motivated. I'm not going to lie and say the run went great... it didn't. The hills of the Custis Trail did not offer me a warm welcome back. My muscles are hurting a lot right now and I'm icing my ankle while typing at the moment. But I met some nice people and I completed the run (with one walking break at the top of one of the steepest hills). It was a good running day.

Physical Therapy Complete

2011-11-23T17:30:00.000-05:00

Today was my last session of physical therapy. Although I'm glad it's finally done, it all feels a little anticlimatic. I honestly don't feel like the last couple weeks did much. Generally after the massage part, the rest of the session consisted of me doing the exercises on my own. No real supervision, and only one of the exercises was still a little tough. Oh well, maybe that's what it's supposed to be on the last couple sessions.

Exciting news: I started playing indoor soccer again about a month ago (1 game a week) and the running around has been more helpful in getting the ankle back to "normal" than those last few PT sessions. Though tiring (esp since my cardio's not what it used to be), it is awesome being back on the field. Even if it's only indoor for now.

Pumped up kicks

2011-11-17T15:19:00.000-05:00

My new running shoes!

Last week, I went to Road Runner Sports in Falls Church to go shopping for some new running shoes. The reason why I chose that store over the other running stores near me was because I am a VIP member there (meaning 10% discount) and I had recently received a $15 off coupon. I have never actually been shopping in the store, but over the summer, I purchased a Bosu from the online store. And joining their VIP membership to get free shipping was cheaper than paying for shipping. So I figured it was worth checking out the store and their selection.

I got my running stride reanalyzed as well as my arches and my weight distribution. I am currently favoring my right leg about 10% more than the left leg. Thought that was interesting to see. After trying on a few pairs of shoes, *surprise surprise*, I ended up getting the Asics 2170s pictured above. I have been wearing this same series since the 2090's back in 2004.

Anyways, I have two tidbits of good news. The first is that I got new shoes :) The even better tidbit of news is that I ran 3 miles today! My runs have been hovering around 1.5miles the past month or so, and my goal has been to just reach 2 miles without taking a walking break this week. Today, as my garmino watch displayed 1.5m and I was still feeling pretty good, I decided to keep going on the trail. Then 2.0m was displayed and I got ambitious and told myself to try for 3 miles. And I did it! Woohoo!

2011 DC Tweed Ride

2011-11-13T17:23:00.001-05:00

Today I attempted my best to dress up in vintage/hipster fashion and ride a 10.5(ish) mile bike ride in DC in that outfit. I participated in the 2011 DC Tweed Ride. The bike ride was very fun and there were probably a good 400+ people who participated. Imagine that many bikes on the road at one time in one long parade... and umm some angry drivers (mostly cabbies) and a few somewhat rude pedestrians that had to wait an extra 5 minutes to let the group of riders pass. The ride went well and I love my new padded bike shorts! There was only one stretch of incline that I was starting to get a little winded, but changing to a lower gear got me to the end of the ride without having to take a walking break. THIS was the route we took.

My personal "style" is mostly made up of business casual leaning very heavily on casual and casual (jeans and tshirt or hoodie and workout stuff (sweats were invented for a reason!) ... soooooo... I didn't have much to work with to try and get the right look for the event. Nor did I even really know what the look was. In addition, I didn't have much free time this week to go shopping for an outfit, so I dug up a light brown herringbone patterned skirt that I bought for like $5 at Ross a couple years ago. It ended up being a weird length and I didn't like it, so I threw it in my storage boxes. Anyways, I thought of that skirt when I thought of the tweed look, so I dug it out. I decided to throw a sweater on top (one I didn't mind biking and sweating in) and some fun argyle knee high socks. I definitely chose function over fashion. I felt a little self conscious when I saw how fun and well fashion-over-function almost everyone else was. I knew it wouldn't be the greatest outfit, but I thought it would be ok. I was wrong, I just looked frumpy...

So I need to really just donate the sweater and skirt to goodwill sometime and now I have a year to find a good outfit for next year's ride :) I want a fun hat for sure.

Here are some better dressed participants at the ride today.

One of the organizers

We took a little break on the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail

This little guy rode in that box the whole time

I highly recommend others to join in next year's Tweed Ride. It's just a fun hipster event. Something this city totally lacks sometimes. I'm glad I went on the ride, hopefully I'll find a buddy to join me next year.

Body Pump Class Update

2011-11-02T14:05:00.002-04:00

Being functional at 6am is tough for me. 6am workouts are even tougher, if not miserable at times. However the 6am Body Pump classes make it less miserable... to be up and working out and dare I say it, are even fun. I have been going for a couple weeks so far and thankfully am no longer as sore after each class, like the first week. I still haven't figured out the best weights for each song/muscle group, but I'm enjoying it and trying to stay challenged the whole time.

For those who don't know what Body Pump is, it's basically a group weight lifting class with upbeat music to motivate you and keep you going. You use a barbell (not 40lb like standard bars), but you can pack on as much weight as you'd like (2.5lb, 5lb and 10lb plates are available). You go through the different muscle groups/exercises (squats, chest, back, shoulders, triceps, biceps, abs, lunges) and each song is dedicated to one muscle group/exercise. The program uses the idea of focusing on many reps with lighter weight compared to less reps with heavier weight to help tone the muscles.

I am not a huge fan of lifting, so I am glad I finally tried the class out. Hopefully I can keep waking up by 5:30am to make it to these 6am classes. It's only twice a week, I can do it :)

Happy Holla-ween!

2011-10-31T11:17:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween! I like Halloween a lot. I like the idea of dressing up and playing a different role for the night. Though I liked it A LOT more when it was about how funny or clever or creative a costume was... as opposed to how slutty someone can be (and not be "judged"). Last year, I missed all the festivities due to the Marine Corp Marathon and basically rested the entire weekend. So needless to say, I was a little bummed about that. However putting in my 2nd marathon was pretty cool and kinda worth it.

This year, I dressed up twice, to make up for last year. Friday night I was Nyan Cat.

My costume was not as cute as the real thing, and only one person knew what it was at the parties I went to. So that was a bummer.

Saturday night I was a Queens Park Ranger soccer player. I finally got to wear my "vintage 1998" QPR jersey in public... but the blue horizontal stripes made everyone assume I was a rugger instead of a soccer player. However, funny story.... a girl asked me if I was a rugger at the party. I misheard and proudly said, "YES! I am a runner!". hahah It took me awhile to realize she was talking about rugby instead.

Anyways I'm kinda halloweened out now, and forgot today was actually the real day. Well, be safe everyone and have fun.

Owwwwie

2011-10-19T09:23:00.002-04:00

This week, I went to my first two BodyPump classes at my gym. Mon and Wed 6am classes. Let me just say that it's really hard to actually get up at 5:30am again, now that I start work an hour later than I used to. But I forced myself to not be lazy, despite the rain this morning! and made my way over to the gym. The class is really good (so far) and really challenging (esp for someone who isn't a fan of lifting weights). It is a group class setting with fast paced music, which keeps everyone going. Two classes in and my whole body is crazy sore this week, especially my triceps. Let's hope it gets less painful :)

{Not running related} Rest In Peace, Joy

2011-10-11T13:43:00.002-04:00

This morning, I received news from the Davis Christian Fellowship pastor (and friend) that an old college friend, Joy, passed away last night. Not just passed away... she was suffering deep bouts of depression and took her own life. I am deeply saddened and am still not really sure how this news will really hit me once I leave the office and no longer have to keep up my brave face.

Joy was a sweet sweet girl. I met her very early on in our freshmen year. She lived in the building next to mine. She was always inviting me to have a meal with her at the dining commons, or to go for a walk or to just sit and spend time and chat. She always gave me the impression that she was happy, carefree and genuine. When I was having a bad day, she would give me a hug and say a prayer for me. She was one of a kind, in a good way. She was full of love and I always thought her name was so appropriate for her.

Joy, although we haven't been in close contact since we graduated, I cherished our time spent together and getting to know one another. I wish there was more I could have done. I will truly miss you. Rest in peace my friend.

My deepest condolences to your family.

http://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=167&subsectionID=468&articleID=44253

Rumming?

2011-10-09T18:07:00.003-04:00

I went to cheer on some friends at the Army Ten Miler today. So proud of all the runners. And slightly jealous, since I had to transfer my bib this year due to the ankle injury. But as my aunt always reminds me... there's always another race.

I also went to the ATM Expo yesterday. I resisted buying new shorts, shirts and shoes... but I finally got a running hat and picked up some magnets from the One More Mile stand.

This one is my absolute favorite:

Rundies

2011-10-05T16:39:00.001-04:00

Even though I've been sidelined for a few months from running and most sports, I still keep up with the various running blogs I subscribe to on my google reader. Today I saw a post about Oiselle's Rundies.

They're so cute! This really wants me to get back to a training schedule, but it's just not time yet. I'll just keep with my mile-ish long runs for now and build up from there.

baby steps...

2011-10-01T12:35:00.001-04:00

The ankle is still a bit unsteady feeling and therefore, I'm still not running too much... I almost feel like running should be in quotes at this point. I have so many friends either running their last LONG RUN this weekend or already tapering down in prep for the Marine Corp Marathon at the end of this month. Needless to say, I'm a little jealous of them.

Today I decided to enjoy this nice fall DC weather and go for a short run. I only did a loop around my neighborhood resulting in about 1.2miles. However I actually held a 9:34 min/mile pace, so not too bad. Now to work on strength and endurance and build on that. I'd like to build up to a 5k in the next couple months, but of course won't push myself too hard. So we'll see how that goes :)

"...You either ran today or you didn't."

2011-09-27T23:24:00.002-04:00

After a little over 3 long months of recovery, I can finally say I ran today! Not far, not fast but definitely a step in the right direction :)

Thumbs up

2011-09-19T09:30:00.003-04:00

I had my follow up appt with the orthopedist and it went well. He said the ankle is much stronger than the intial appointment and he's "cutting me loose" from his care. He still recommended PT for another 4 weeks or so, but expects me to "graduate" early from that. That is super exciting!

I am not sure when I'll be able to run on a regular basis yet, but I jogged 2 minutes on a trampoline in PT last week. That was the most running/jogging I've done since June 20th. Crazy to think that.

Full Moon "White Night" Ride

2011-09-11T18:05:00.002-04:00

I finally took my bike out for some riding yesterday. My main thoughts are 1) that was way fun and I am excited to bike around the city more from now on.. and 2) dang my seat hurts! I changed my seat a couple years ago to one of those "anatomically correct" seats, but it sure isn't comfy in any way! Not sure if it's one of those things you adapt to as you ride more? Or it just doesn't work for my tush. hahah

Anyways, my biking adventure began from my apt into the city (Chinatown area) which was approximately 6 miles. I took the Custis trail in, so it was a lot of downhill. However I was an idiot and took a wrong turn and ended up getting stuck on M st in Georgetown behind the gazillion slow walkers before I could swing down to Water st to bike into downtown. So that took awhile! I met my friends at the bar to watch some Hokie football (not a great win, but a win!) and at 7:30pm-ish, we headed to Bicycle Space to join in on an organized bike ride in the city called the Full Moon "White Night" Ride hosted by the bike shop and the Dandies and Quaintrelles group. I've heard of the group before, but never participated in their events till last night.

The bike ride was great! We biked around the city (running red lights and stopping traffic due to the critical mass effect) and ended up in Logan Park for popsicles and a little picnic. There was a guy who pulled a little trailer playing music (french/new orleans-esque music) and everytime we stopped traffic, everyone would ring their bells or wave at the drivers and say "Happy Full Moon" or "Yay Bikers". It was a refreshing amount of hipsterness in this group and I will have to check out the group a bit more for future events.

As for the ride, it was doable and not too too challenging, except for a uphill stretch in the Kalorama area that was close to kicking my butt. I was on a low gear and pedaling as much as I could, hoping the road will flatten out asap. I made it and thankfully didn't have to get off my bike and walk a bit. I am not exactly sure what the route we biked was, so I'm guessing it was a 8-10mile ride. I should have used the mapmyride app on my phone, but didn't think about it till partway in the ride already. Oh well. Overall, fun fun night, except the bikeseat issue. So not a bad day of biking, esp for me who hasn't really biked regularly in a couple years.

Happy Full Moon and Yay Bikers!

Two weeks of PT so far

2011-09-09T11:59:00.003-04:00

I've been going to Physical Therapy for the last 2 weeks and I think it's really helping. It definitely helps to have someone tell me which exercises to do and whether I'm doing them correctly. And it is also nice to have someone massage the swollen area and break up the muscle fibers, so it heals better. My PT said the swelling has gone down a bit, which is great news. Though it is still pretty swollen! No fun.

Not sure how many more weeks I need to go, but I have a follow up appt with the orthopedist next week, so fingers crossed that he sees improvement. And I'm closer to getting a thumbs up for running soon.

It's been raining non-stop here for the last few days. I admit I've been less than motivated to go to the pool or gym due to not wanting to go outside (if not necessary). I plan to change that this weekend.

my new fitness goal

2011-08-28T18:53:00.000-04:00

After surviving the earthquake and Hurricane Irene this week, I went to the pool this afternoon to get a swim in. Not realizing till I was a couple laps in... man, I haven't done this in about a month! My strokes felt much weaker than before and I couldn't get too many laps in a row before needing a breather. I was pretty bummed.. but it's something to work on. My new fitness goal is to swim a mile. The pool I go to is 25m in length, so that means 64 lengths of the pool to equal a mile. I think my current workout is a total of maybe half a mile (with breaks). This will take some training, but I think that is a good and realistic goal to work towards.

Physical therapy begins this week, so hopefully that means I'll be back up and running in the next couple months. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery!

MRI results. Next steps... blah

2011-08-16T09:45:00.000-04:00

The MRI results are back and my primary care doctor's diagnosis is a torn anterior talofibular ligament and a partially, if not completely torn deltoid ligament. Awesome. I'm seeing an orthopedist this friday to have his expertise opinion on the bum ankle and figure out whether surgery is necessary and what the next steps will be in general

Overall, it's not that painful, but just feels weaker than before. Toe raises are still tough to do, but I feel stronger about them than in previous weeks. Side to side motion still hurts though. And in addition to swimming, I have now added pilates (minus some of the more active movements on the ankles) and riding a stationary bike. I still need to work on strengthening and balance, so I may give a low intensity yoga class a try sometime... but haven't figured out which one will be best (of the ones offered through my gym).

Fingers crossed for good news on friday!

MRI scheduled

2011-07-20T17:00:00.000-04:00

I went to see my doctor for a follow up on my bum ankle. She was not excited about the slow progress of my healing. Though she probably doesn't really realize how swollen and bruised it was to begin with. Anyways, she prescribed me to get an MRI to see if there is any structural damage, so I just got an appt tuesday night. Fingers crossed that it's not worse than I already think it is!

asics ad

2011-07-14T14:17:00.000-04:00

I like this ad. It's so very true.

I miss running so much for so many reasons right now... but I guess swimming like Nemo has been an ok alternative for now.

swimming like nemo

2011-07-13T09:59:00.000-04:00

Last night, I went to the pool again to swim some laps. I started with the usual laps using the pull buoy, but wanted to try "real swimming" again. So I would swim about 100m with the pull buoy and then 50m without and then do some toe raises and alphabet writing to stretch/strengthen my ankle a little. And then repeat several more times till I was tired out and ready to head home (~45 min workout).

Swimming without the pull buoy felt... for lack of better word... sloppy. My biomechanics just felt a little off since my kick isn't very strong still and wasn't quite matching the motions of my arms completely. Also, with one foot healthy and one not... I felt a little like nemo here.

I know my biomechanics will click once again, when my ankle gets stronger. So keeping with the Finding Nemo reference... as Dory says... I'll just keep swimming!

~3 weeks post accident

2011-07-10T20:44:00.000-04:00

Well it's been about 3 weeks since the spraining of the ankle and I'm glad to say that the healing process is going well (I think). The swelling has reduced significantly, but still some resides right in the immediate ankle region. Duh, that makes sense! I can walk without crutches, but feel more comfortable about it if I tape it with athletic tape, wrap it in an ace bandage and wear sneakers (vs. my chacos). The up and down flexing is pretty painless now, but the side to side movement still is quite limited. There is a nerve that keeps getting hit when I rotate my foot in a circular motion, so hopefully that will "fix" itself soon. I might go to the doctor's for a check up on it if that pain doesn't subside soon.

As for being "active", I'm still going to the pool about every other day. I'm mostly swimming laps with the pull buoy but I recently started kicking with the kickboard. Wow, that is a very slow motion! I finally braved up and tried to swim normally today (without the pull buoy) and was able to do 50m. So that is exciting!

The ankle is still pretty stiff, especially in the morning and the side to side motion still hurts... but I think I'm slowly making good progress. Half marathon is still TBD though.

quick update

2011-07-04T21:10:00.001-04:00

The ankle is still healing, but is slowly getting stronger. I'm able to walk around without crutches as long as I tape it and then put a wrap around it for support. I tested out how far I could walk on Thursday by walking to a coffee shop to meet a friend. I mapped it to be about .5 miles each way. Not far by my normal standards, but it was definitely more distance covered at once since the injury. Friday and Saturday I was out in DC and did more walking around. By sunday, my ankle was starting to hurt--I may have overdid it a little, but it was worth the fun. I've been resting the remainder of this long weekend. Hopefully it'll continue to heal well and I can jog on it soon.

On another note, I can't believe it's already July. The first half of 2011 went by pretty quickly (despite it feeling very slow at times). I can't say it treated me that well though. Hopefully the 2nd half of 2011 will be a lot better....

small victory!

2011-06-27T21:45:00.000-04:00

Yes, I realize it is my 2nd post of the day. It is now officially a week since the incident and a week since I've worked out at all. I have been getting antsy and as much as walking around with crutches is kind of a workout, it's not rewarding in any way. So I looked into rehabbing in the pool and decided to give it a try today. I headed over to the Skyline pool and used a pull buoy and swam (using only my arms and torso) and did a good number of laps (I didn't keep track). It was peaceful and it just felt good to do something active again. And the best part was one of the regular swimmers (a 75 yr old Argentinian man I met at the pool a couple weeks ago) complimented my form and called me a "real swimmer". So flattering, esp since I'm so not a real swimmer! :)

My slooowwww road to recovery...

2011-06-27T10:07:00.000-04:00

It's almost been a week now (just short 12 hrs or so). I can honestly say my ankle has healed quite a bit, but it's still got a LONG ways to go before back to "normal". I put that in quotes, cause I hear it's never going to be back to normal... it's always going to be a little weaker than before :(

I've been pretty good about R.I.C.E.-ing, and popping the advils. I did go out this weekend, but I tried to be sitting and resting most of the time. Granted standing up and waiting for a cab on friday night was not the greatest, but overall I wasn't putting too much stress or weight on it. Plus my beer intake was very minimal. The swelling has gone down and you can finally see my foot's veins and bone outlines, meaning it's no longer as plump as before. The cankle issue has also improved, and there's a defined ankle again, but it's still thicker than my right ankle due to swelling. There is still significant bruising, which seems to scare many of my friends, but honestly it doesn't hurt as much as it probably looks like it would. It's the tendons (I think they're tendons.. my ankle anatomy is rusty) that are stiff and weak and causing the pain. I didn't feel this pain directly before as the swelling was probably protecting the tendons from moving too much. Hopefully with some more rest this week, the tendons will get stronger and won't hurt as much.

I am still on crutches, but can walk for short distances without them--in the fashion of a mummy dragging its leg or a pirate with a peg leg. Anyways, I'm hoping I'll be recovered to still take part in the SF half marathon at the end of July. Obviously not PR quality (though with those hills, that was not expected!) but at least just do the course since they don't allow refunds, transfers or deferments. And earn teh shirt that says "Worth the hurt"... but having a different meaning to that hurt.

Will update on ankle situation again in the future.

This was not part of my training plan :(

2011-06-22T14:15:00.001-04:00

Monday I had the unfortunate experience of severely rolling my left ankle in a soccer game. I was going for the ball at the same time as a guy on the other team. Our strides were matched up and both of us saw an opportunity to go for the ball. Too bad it was at the exact same moment, and as I reached out, his foot kinda swooped in under mine and we both got tangled and went down. With my horrible luck, I had no balance and my dumb ankle decided to try and stop the fall... and I severely rolled it. I immediately started screaming because I had never felt that much pain from my ankle before. It was awful. My friend Brian had to drive my car home that night and rolled me up to my apartment in a hotel baggage trolley and plopped me on the couch before he headed home to his family. I felt so pathetic...

Almost 2 days later, it is still quite swollen, but it is definitely improving. I was able to drive stick shift (creatively yet safely) yesterday to go to the hospital and got xrays (nothing broken thankfully). It is a really bad sprain. I'm R.I.C.E.-ing as much as I can and today I can even stand on both feet. I can't actually walk without crutches though.

This picture (from this morning) doesn't actually capture how swollen it was/is, but I promise I do NOT have cankles, nor are my feet that plump looking. That is due to the swelling. The bruising is pretty noticeable though.

Will update when something good happens!

8 miler during the lunch break

2011-06-15T07:24:00.000-04:00

I had an 8 miler planned last weekend. Except I had some minor obstacles that didn't actually let it happen. 1 or 2 too many beers friday night made me sleep in later than planned on saturday morning. And then by the time I was ready for my run, it was so hot and humid, it was not going to happen. So on saturday, I tried! Too bad I ended up going for only 3 miles though. I eventually went to the pool to do some laps though. I'm not a real swimmer, but I'm trying to be. And I actually do like lap swimming esp after joining Masters Swimming several years ago. I am going to try to make lap swimming a more weekly occurrence now. It is always a good workout, since it works out different muscles from running and soccer. Plus I am always so hungry after swimming, that I'm convinced it's a really good workout, even for half an hour.

After a couple days of busy with other things, fast forward to yesterday... I decided to take a longer lunch break and went for my [make up] 8miler run. Pretty good weather: gloomy, not too hot, though still a little humid... but I kept going. 8 miles is kinda hard when you haven't really run in a couple days! I had some walking breaks, but overall, it wasn't too bad of a run. The hills were kinda tough at times, but I think I did alright. My legs were definitely really tired afterwards and I think I totally earned my heavy rich italian dinner last night after that run. yum.

I'm planning to do a similar route on friday or saturday, so maybe I'll feel better about the hills then. Wish me luck!

busy work week, finally gymmed it yesterday

2011-06-10T09:49:00.000-04:00

I was in the Rockies earlier this week for work. As usual with work trips, I worked ridiculously long hours and get very mentally, physically and even emotionally tired as a result. I was originally planning to go for a short run on tuesday morning before work, but who knew the pollen in Denver was going to cause me to feel stuffy and gross. So I opted to not run in the morning and just started work at 5:30am instead. I put in 14 hrs on tuesday.... like I said, long hours.

Anyways I flew back to DC on Wednesday and was welcomed by heat (98 degrees, not even counting heat index calculations), humidity and tiredness. I rested and finally got myself to the gym yesterday after work. I stretched and jumped on the treadmill. I ran 4miles at a good pace (for me) and didn't need a walking break. Then followed up with some weights... and after taking a week or so off from that, I could tell I was feeling weaker than before. I've been doing research on sports nutrition recently for work, and it's really interesting to be able to apply this knowledge to life. I have never been much of a resistance training person, so now that I'm trying to get more into it and have a fuller understanding of how the muscles work, especially with nutrition... it's kinda cool and encouraging. I'm still a total weakling with weights, but I have a bigger appreciation for weight training and hopefully I can stick with the workouts and get stronger :)

long run with Gu

2011-06-05T21:08:00.000-04:00

This morning, I woke up nice and early (for a sunday) to go for a run. Except at 7am it was pouring rain outside. So naturally I went back to bed and fell asleep again. I woke up an hour later and got ready for my run. The rain cloud had passed, so I was good to go. I was aiming to go for 8 miles. Generally for runs over 4miles, I take a Gu before the run. And preferably one every 4-5 miles (though I didn't do that today). So I grabbed a strawberry banana flavored one since it's expiration date was the soonest from my stash. It was nasty... I can't do anything banana flavored before or during a run apparently! But I think the Gu did help keep me energized for my run. I only ended up running 7.5 miles, before going home, but the run itself felt good. I had a constant comfortable pace of about 10:45 min/mile, and did well on the hills. I only took a couple short walking breaks, but overall, it was a good run for me. The temperature was about 73 degrees and 70% humidity, but not sunny (yay).

I was feeling very hungry at mile 7... I think if I brought another Gu, I prob could have finished it off on a better note. 100 calories really could have helped. Anyways though I didn't complete the planned 8 miles, I was only half a mile short but overall it was a pretty good run... I'm not going to complain.

new training plan

2011-06-02T11:49:00.000-04:00

I just wrote a blog entry about the Couch to 5k Plan by Cool Runnings on a different blog. I wrote it for a friend who had previously asked me what a good way to "get into running" was. I wanted to find a good and encouraging way for him to increase his physical activity in a non intimidating intensity way. So hopefully he will take on the challenge and maybe we can even run a 5k together in the future, when he is a little more confident and ready. Fingers crossed!

This got me thinking about my own training plan. I have been sticking to it mostly (except for the Rapture weekend... and the speedwork and tempo runs which have been hard for me). But I've been pretty good about covering the planned distances on the "easy" and "long" runs. However I don't feel like I'm really ready for the half marathon in 8 weeks. I'm not feeling like I'm really working as hard as I should be. So I decided I needed to up the intensity (basically more hillwork and more mileage) of my own plan and include more consistent weight training (maybe 2-3x a week). I guess I'll see how it goes this weekend, with the increased mileage for the long run.

good timing

2011-06-01T18:56:00.001-04:00

I must say, I had some luck with good timing today . I headed to the gym for a planned 4 miler, since it was still 93 degrees outside at 5:30pm. You walk outside and you hit a wall of humidity. It's gross. Anyways the gym was fortunately not too crowded, even though it was during the busier after work hours. I quickly stretched and hopped on a treadmill. I started at a slower than normal pace and each mile increased by a little bit. I can say the run wasn't too bad and I'm so proud of myself for not wussing out and thinking up of some excuse to end the run early. I'm quite good at that.

Afterwards, I headed over to Starbucks to pick up some gift cards for my cousins who are graduating this year. 3 cousins! one high school, one college and one with her masters. Gosh how time flies. On the walk home, I could hear some thunder in the near distance... and as I walked closer to the gate of my courtyard, I started feeling fat drops of rain. I felt a little bit like an idiot, but decided to sprint from the gate to the building door to the lobby. An older man who was just opening the door was probably wondering why the heck I was sprinting. During the couple minutes of the escalator ride to the 2nd floor, I unlock my apartment door and hear the heavy heavy rain that was outside. It was like drip. drop. monsooon!

The cloud(s) has passed now, but it was some heavy rain. I'm glad I didn't get caught in it :)

Oh yah, Happy National Running Day. Now go out there and go for a run. It's good for you!

heat wave

2011-05-31T09:16:00.001-04:00

"There is a heat advisory in place until 8 p.m. this evening, with highs in the mid 90s and a heat index approaching 105."

That means it'll be treadmill runs for the next day or two before the sauna conditions outside go away. With the long holiday weekend, I took full advantage of being a lazy bum and rested sunday and monday. Mostly poolside :) This morning was back to the grind and I got my butt out of bed at 6:15am and to the gym. I only ran for 3 miles, but it was good to just get up and go run for a little bit. I had been sleeping in till double digits the last couple days simply due to laziness. Yay to waking up and being productive, which was actually a nice change.

the season of long sweaty runs begins

2011-05-29T19:53:00.000-04:00

Oy humidity... oy east coast summers... oy...

The season of long sweaty runs with tan lines and chaffing begun this weekend. I went for my long run yesterday morning around 8am. It was warm (~74 degrees) and humid (73%) already. But there were plenty of other runners and bikers on the trail, so that was encouraging to keep going. Plus I ran into Amanda and Jennifer and chatted for a quick second. That was a nice little surprise :) I ran about 3.25m without stopping, but after that was a mixture of running and walking in no particular pattern. However I did end up covering 7.37 miles, which is good for me. Hopefully that is a sign that my endurance is finally improving.

The next couple days are going to be in the 90s. I am hoping I can get my butt out of bed early enough to run in the morning while it's still relatively cooler... else it'll be treadmill time for me. meh.

It's NOT the end of the world afterall

2011-05-24T16:39:00.001-04:00

With the minor minuscule, less than minuscule chance that Saturday was indeed Rapture time*, I did not want to spend it doing anything except having fun. That said, I did not do any of my scheduled workouts last week, esp the long run on saturday! Instead, I ended up playing a random saturday morning soccer game out in Reston, followed by a shower and quick nap before heading out for a jello wrestling theme party (I didn't wrestle), dinner with a good friend and a party out in Adam's Morgan. The night ended with scarfing down a quesadilla and chicken tenders at almost 2am before going to bed.

* this was just a silly excuse for slacking on training last week ;) Actually I had soccer on monday night, which kept me tired through tuesday... was in denver wed-friday, where I never seem to have the energy to workout after work and I opted for the saturday morning soccer game over running 4-5 miles. But the world is still here (thank goodness) and I'm going to try and be better about my training schedule! I went for a 3miler run/walk during lunch and was greeted by 86 degrees weather and humidity. Yay DC summer... not really.

5 mile long run and other fun things on a saturday

2011-05-15T12:53:00.000-04:00

I went on my long run yesterday morning. It still had some walking breaks, but it was ok overall. It had downpoured in the morning, so I decided to go right when that cloud passed. I didn't bring my garmino watch or ipod or well anything aside from my keys in case it downpoured again. I was hoping the whole running in the rain was going to be therapeutic, but no, it was just another run... where I wanted to watch out for puddles and slippery spots on the road. Maybe this week will go better.

After the run, I took a short nap and then headed to Pentagon City to play some flag football (well we're not that organized, it was more like 1-hand touch) football with some friends. A whole lot of fun, even though I missed a few catches that were easy ones toward me. I did have an interception touchdown though! Yay, that's right.. I am a Hokie! ;) Super fun and glad the predicted rain held off.

In the evening, I headed to RFK to tailgate and watch the DC United game. They had a 1-1 tie to the Colorado Rapids. That held off rain decided to no longer be nice and came down HARD just after the game, and the quarter mile walk to the metro station suddenly included treading through a half foot of water. Disgusting! Of all the things I did yesterday, that walk probably tired me out the most! haha

4m speed workout

2011-05-12T15:47:00.000-04:00

I had a 4m speed workout scheduled for yesterday on my training schedule. It didn't happen. I had indoor soccer on tuesday night and tweaked my knee a little during the game. I didn't think it would be too bad, so I went to the gym at lunch to go for a run. Literally half a mile in, I gave up and decided to rest my knee an extra day. Instead, I joined the burly men in the weight area and did some weights.

Today, I attempted the 4m speed workout during lunch. And it went well enough. It was a total of 4 miles, but two of the 1-mile increments are at a faster pace than usual. And inbetween you go at whatever pace you want to rest. Wednesday workouts are usually scheduled for speed and tempo runs... which are always the hardest for me. So I'm at least glad that the first one was successful enough.

half marathon training has officially initiated :)

2011-05-07T12:59:00.000-04:00

Last night, I went ahead and registered for the SF half. I was honestly a little nervous filling out the registration form, since it's really been quite sometime since I've run. But I think I can at least gain the mileage and endurance for a distance over the next 3 months. Maybe not the speed I'd like, but we'll see how it goes.

Last night also ended up being a much much later night than expected, so naturally I slept in this morning. And eventually opted to run at the gym vs. outside (because it was starting to get a bit too warm for me). 4 more miles down... plenty more to go! And I'm extremely proud that I didn't wuss out and take a walking break today... though that was probably due to the slower pace I was running it. haha

4miler

2011-05-05T13:50:00.000-04:00

I have a 5-6pm call this evening... so I decided to take an extra long lunch break. I slept in a bit this morning, so I didn't make it to the gym as I wanted to. So instead, I decided to go out for a run/walk during lunch. I had some well-paced half mile intervals and overall covered a little over 4miles. However I also had to take some walking/breather breaks. And I still have a bruised sternum from soccer, which made it a little bit uncomfortable at times, but I kept going. Slowly but surely I'm going to get this running thing down again ;)

It's been awhile...

2011-05-04T17:23:00.000-04:00

It's been two months since my last post. I can't say that I was a complete slacker this whole time, but I have been (and am still going) through some... ummm... "life challenges". And well blogging just wasn't a top priority on my list. Though I admit, neither was running.

This past weekend, I spent some time with my future sister-o and she told me that my "marathon running" had motivated her to start running on a regular basis. And she's now training for her first 10k and she looks amazing! (Not that she didn't before!) Anyways, we got to talking and within the conversation, she inspired me to start running again. I do miss running, but I just haven't been in the best state of mind to really focus on it recently. After some more future sister-o time, I convinced myself that I am going to get off my butt and start running again. Plus it'll be nice to tone down a little in time for the Wedding of the Year. Since I will have to go dress shopping sooner or later!

So I think I'm going to run the SF half again in July. (I still need to check with work to see if I can be out of the office then). The race is 12 weeks away. I think I can whip my butt into half marathon running shape again. And this time I know to expect hills. LOTS and LOTS of steep hills. Hopefully my knee won't fail me this time. Incorporating hills in my training should definitely help too.

Today I did a 4miler run on the treadmill, and although it was a little tough, it felt good afterwards (esp mentally). Cheers to running and to trying to figure out my life again.

afternoon jog

2011-03-04T14:36:00.000-05:00

I like working from home on fridays. I generally can't take my entire lunch break on most days during the week due to too much work or being on a call. So fridays are sometimes my "make up" days, meaning I am ok with taking a little longer of a lunch break than the other days. Today I went for a little walk outside to take care of a couple errands in the neighborhood and then went for a little run in the area. I mapped it out to be about 4.4 miles. And I only had to take one short walking break, which was immediately after running up a steep hill. A little huzzah to me :)

Running at 1pm vs. 5:30pm makes a world of difference in terms of stress. Afternoon drivers are A LOT nicer than "rush hour" drivers. They actually look before they turn somewhere, they back up when on a driveway to let you by rather than ignore you and almost hit you cause you got in the way, and there just aren't as many cars on the road. And I only heard one car honk at another.

R.I.P. Sean

2011-03-02T21:48:00.001-05:00

I wanted to pay tribute to my buddy Sean who recently passed away from a heart attack. He was only 26 :( I met Sean through soccer and kickball and through the last few years, he's been a pretty consistent person in my life. And all I can say about him is that he was truly a great guy. He was nice, easy to talk to and knew just what to say to put humor into the situation. He was also my goalie for two of my soccer teams and literally had my back (on field and off). I'm really going to miss our chats on our drives to soccer and just seeing him and his smiley face in general. He touched so many of us. Sean, we all love you and are missing you so much. Rest In Peace.

On Monday this week, we honored Sean with green ribbons at our indoor soccer game. We won 14-12 :) That win was for you, buddy. <3

a couple afterwork runs

2011-03-02T21:39:00.000-05:00

I've been trying to psych myself up to go run in the mornings before I start work. However it hasn't happened yet. Maybe it is because it's still dark and kinda cold outside in the mornings. Maybe I'm just still tired and want to sleep for another hours. So instead, I have opted to run after work. Yesterday, I put in a 4.5 miler outside (watched the sun going down is always a peaceful sight, though running in the dark makes me a little uncomfortable) and then a 3.1m (5k) on the treadmill in the gym today. Both felt pretty good, and NO walking breaks on the treadmill today. YAY! Hopefully I can keep this up.

yay for running outside

2011-02-24T12:18:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to say it was warm enough yesterday to go run outside. I had a day full of conference calls galore, so after the last one, I decided to go outside and take advantage of the sunshine. I put on my new favorite running tights (Saucony! I salute you and your petite length running tights that actually fit me!), a long sleeve dry-fit and a short sleeve dry-fit. And off I went. I haven't used my garmino watch in awhile, so it wasn't charged. I took my ole' shark watch instead. I honestly didn't really have a route in mind, when I stepped outside. I didn't know how my energy level would be. So and I started running down the street, I ended up choosing the 4.5miler route. Possiby one of my favorites, since it has some incline work, some busier streets and then some quiet suburb sections. My run was peaceful and it helped clear my head a bit. I had to take a couple short walking breaks (lunch was still sitting in my stomach), but overall, it was a good run (for me). Can't say it was a fast pace but I am just glad I went out there. I miss running outside.

Fitness Test, 3miler, soccer

2011-02-15T09:22:00.000-05:00

I found a fitness test and gave it a try on saturday morning. I was feeling not particularly confident, but alright for the most part about it. Then I started counting each reptition of each exercise (6 total). I did well on the first two. Then I started getting really tired (duh!). Let's just say the last couple exercises' counts weren't too impressive. At least there's PLENTY of room to improve ;) The saddest part was that my whole body was sore the rest of the weekend! It was like a wake up call that i've neglected all these muscles in my body...

Sunday, I went for a 3 miler outside to try and loosen up those muscles. The run itself was pretty good (I sure miss running outside!) and although I think it helped with the muscles a little, I still felt sore most of the day. Yesterday, I was feeling much better... and had an indoor soccer game at night. The team we played was pretty good... and very physical. I got run into numerous times and my thigh was aching (most likely a bruise) by the end of the game. Oh well, it'll heal soon. At least the soreness from the fitness test is more or less gone now!

a little more treadmilling and some pilates

2011-02-11T12:29:00.000-05:00

This new job is seriously alot more time and energy consuming than my last. But honestly I'm not complaining. Though with the traveling, it's been hard to get into any sort of consistent workout schedule still. I'm hoping to get something a little more "concrete" soon though. Anyways yesterday after work, I went for a short 2.5 mile run on the treadmill. This was moreso just to warm up my body as I was getting ready to go to my first hour long (mat) pilates class. I had previously done an "express" pilates class which was only 30 or 35 minutes. And I felt it was a good workout. So I decided to check out the hour long one. Yup, definitely feeling soreness in my core. Everytime I go to these types of classes, I get reminded of how inflexible I am nowadays. I used to take dance classes when i was little and was much more limber! But yah through the years, I haven't always been the best about stretching. So I'm excited to add pilates into the mix.

yay! I ran a 5k!

2011-02-08T14:34:00.000-05:00

Yes, my post's title was supposed to rhyme! I haven't been posting much lately as I have been traveling a lot for my new job the last couple weeks... and this will continue for a few more months. Unfortunately, hotel gyms haven't been too friendly to me. Either they are too small and uncomfortable (some more than others) or they have been filled to the brim (as in every machine and the weight area was taken). I've decided I really need to invest in some workout dvds to use in the hotel room.

Anyways, I'm home this week. I've been to the gym yesterday and today. That's good for me! Yesterday I did a run-walk of 4 miles. I did the running in 1-mile increments, but allowed myself some recovery in walking in between. Today I must have felt a bit more energetic and started off walking 5 min, ran the entire 3.1miles (5.5mph--still slow, but like I said, still getting used to the treadmill again), and then 2 min of cool down. I know this is kinda pathetic compared to my 20 milers that I've done in the past, but it's amazing how much endurance you lose when you take an extended period of time off from working out on a regular basis (and throw in some gluttonous holidays into the mix). So running the entire 5k distance on the treadmill without taking a break is sadly an accomplishment for me at the moment.

With all the upcoming traveling, I don't think I will be registering for the SF Half Marathon that I intended to run this year. I just don't think I'll be able to put my all into training. I admit I half-assed all my races last year. Yes, that includes the marathon. I just don't want to do that again. So until I can put more time and effort into my training schedule, I'm just going to run for fun (amd to burn calories). Perhaps I'll look into another race later in the year, once my traveling lightens up. But in the meantime, I'm going to keep going to the gym and hopefully find some good workout dvds to use in the hotel.

a nice "warm" run in january

2011-01-26T10:03:00.000-05:00

It has been sooo cold here in the dc area. Not much snow (well that will probably change this afternoon!) but definitely very chilly temperatures. I have been trying to go for a run outside on weekends, but that doesn't seem to always happen. Yesterday was one of our "warm" days, reaching a high of 45 degrees! Seriously, when is the 40's considered warm?!?!?

Anyways, I put on my running tights, a couple long sleeve shirts and my shoes and made my way out the door a little after 5pm. The sun was on its way to setting, so I also decided to try on my new reflectors vest my aunt got me for xmas. Sure I felt a little dorky with it, but I bet it was better than me just wearing my black tights and dark grey top. Ha, yah...

I did my usual ~5miler route, and it felt pretty good. I felt really strong in some parts, but still ended up taking a couple short walking breaks along the way. overall, it was a good run just to be able to get out there! Hopefully the snow isn't too bad and I can go for another outdoor run soon.

lunchtime pilates

2011-01-25T08:58:00.000-05:00

I started a new job last week and so far I am liking it, especially compared to the previous job. However it's going to include a lot more traveling (i.e. alot of time devoted to flying and hotel living) than before and also working remotely from my apt. There are obviously some pros here: I work from home! I don't need to take the metro during rush hour anymore. I can have a good hot meal for lunch if I want that doesn't rely on coming out of a tupperware container. And amongst other pros, I've also scheduled in an hour lunch break. My gym is literally 2 blocks away, so I've decided I'm going to go to some of their lunchtime classes. I went to their lunchtime pilates class and although it was a little slow paced, it was good to stretch. I think I'm going to try and go to a couple a week, more consistently :) Well.... when I'm in town. I'm still looking for some good exercise dvds to get to bring with me on my trips, so I can get some sort of workout in the hotel rooms, esp since running in a high altitude may not be the best option sometimes. Plus their little "fitness center" is kinda pathetic. My colleague suggested getting a day pass at a gym out there, so I might look into that to get a little more of a comfortable and satisfying workout.

So sadly, I am not sure how much mileage I've actually covered since I posted the 30 in 30 challenge. I've gone on some runs (really I have), but I have been so busy about posting. *Shrug* oh well, I guess I'll just keep going with the flow till I figure out more of a consistent schedule for me and hope I can fit in some runs as well :)

Today's temp is warming up to mid 40's... I am thinking of going for a run outside after work later. Hope it'll be a good one!

4.3m

2011-01-16T18:15:00.000-05:00

Since I'm just starting to rebuild endurance and distance at the moment, my "long run" this week was for 4 miles. Saturday morning I decided to brave the cold and run it outside. Turns out it was about 36 degrees and not that cold. It was actually perfect running tights weather! I ran about 4.3 miles, and didn't even have to stop! I didn't run with my garmino watch, so I can't report a pace, but it was a comfortable one. I'm also liking running outside without music lately, maybe cause it's still kinda peaceful on weekend mornings in the winter. It was probably the best run in a few weeks for me :)

I still can't do the treadmill yet!

2011-01-14T09:40:00.000-05:00

After that sunday run outside, my glutes were sooo sore. I don't think that's normal! Anyways, monday night we had an indoor game and luckily 4 girls showed up! But we all looked a little slow on the field and resulted in a loss. Oh well, at least we won't be forced to move up to the middle division next season :)

Tuesday night I rested. Wednesday after work, I intended to hit up S&H for a short run on the treadmill (still trying to build tolerance for it again!) and maybe go to a class. But the metro broke down in Courthouse and instead of waiting with a ton of people on the platform to try and squeeze onto soon-to-be-arriving trains, I decided to go to Fitness First for one last workout before my membership runs out at the end of the month. FF is way cheaper than S&H, but it was such a no-frills gym, I didn't like it. No towels, sub-par treadmills and poor air circulation (especially for a warm and sweaty person like me!). So after about a year with them, I am quitting and went back to S&H (for now). Anyways I went to the treadmills area, grabbed an empty one and ran for about 2.5 miles, with a little walk break in the middle. But once again it was getting pretty hot in the area and since there are no towels there, I was getting uncomfortably sweaty. So I decided to just get off and stretch and call it a day. When I got off the machine, there was literally 5 people lined up waiting for a machine to free up. I stretched a bit and metroed home (no wait this time!).

Well still building up tolerance on the treadmill as I said. I've decided I want to train for the SF half again, so at least I have a number of weeks to up my endurance level. Sigh, it sucks how quickly you lose endurance vs. how much time it puts into building it!

Baby It's Cold Outside

2011-01-09T11:43:00.000-05:00

Intended workout:
Long Run
Dist: 5 Mi
@11:59 min/mi

Actual workout:
5.09 miles
@ 11:18 min/mi
Today was my first outdoor run of 2011. It was definitely very difficult to motivate me to get out of my warm cozy bed to go into the 27 degrees with 20mph winds for a run. But I said to myself I HAD to get out there and not be lazy. So I layered up (including my new petite length running tights I just got from the Potomac River Running Store in Ballston last week) and went outside. The first mile or two was good, but then i started feeling a little tired. I took a few walking breaks, but tried to not walk toooo much. I opted to leave my ipod at home and I really enjoyed the quietness of a cold winter sunday morning in Arlington. Overall, it was a good first run after about 2 months of not-running. Hopefully tomorrow's run will be better!

30 in 30

2011-01-06T13:33:00.000-05:00

Has anyone heard mapmyfitness' new years resolution challenge? It's 30 in 30, meaning run 30 miles in 30 days. I think that is totally doable, yet I can't say I've racked up any mileage this month yet! I didn't register for their challenge, but I'm going to take it as a personal one. My first planned run is this weekend (hopefully Saturday) and going for 5 miles. I haven't run more than 3 miles in a couple months, so I will see how it goes!

the gym has reached its full capacity!

2011-01-05T16:00:00.001-05:00

Ok, so that's not actually true, but because it's the beginning of the year and everyone wants to be healthy (which I strongly support), I am not thrilled with the fact that the gym has been packed each time I've gone lately. And the split second I was able to claim a treadmill, I wasn't actually stretched, so I only jogged on it for literally 5 minutes before getting off again. So me and running on the treadmill aren't getting along too well yet ;) However I have tried a couple classes at the gym. One was Pilates--which was fun, I'd like to do it on a more regular basis. The other was CHISEL--- which was tough at times but also fun... it combines strength training (squats with weights, weight lifting, push ups), aerobics (fast pace music to keep up with) and even some ab work. I liked it, I'd also be willing to try and go to the class on a regular basis. Now I just need to decide which gym I'd like to be a member of. I'm having some issues with the membership I have with S&H, but I do like the facilities. So I'm trying to figure it out still. Sometimes I just can't trust "sales people"... since all they're after is a quota.

I WILL get back to running soon, I'm just feeling out of it lately for some reason. (Some reason = huge life decisions have to made soon) But maybe I just need a good run outside to fix that. Hopefully I can do that this week or weekend :)

Happy 2011!

2011-01-03T09:06:00.002-05:00

Can you believe it's already 2011? Last year flew by way too fast. With the usual ups and downs that come in a year, I'd say it was more of an up year :). Let's hope 2011 is even better! Well my most recent big news is I'm NOT moving. I know usually people think moving is bigger news, but I think my decision to give up a pretty good job offer and stay content in DC was a huge life decision for myself and I'm not regretting it. Though it made me think that I should probably attempt to cross off more things on my "DC Bucket List" this year, since who knows maybe I will get an amazing job offer that I would feel was worth moving for in the near future.

So that is my 1st new years goal. And on that note, maybe I will expand the blog content to include things aside from running. We'll see...

My other goals for 2011 are:
Run again!
Pick up my running routine again as I have been really slack about it since the marathon in October. I haven't decided what race(s) to run this year, and most local spring half marathons are already full, since I didn't sign up in time (as the potential of moving across the country held me back from committing to them). I think I may try the SF half marathon again and now that I expect hills galore, I can train for it better. It is at the end of July, so that is plenty of time to strengthen the knee area, so it hopefully won't give out again at mile 11. OMG that was so painful :( I will be back in the SF area the beginning of August, so timing wise this could be very feasible.

Learn to Crosstrain
I'm changing gym memberships again. I haven't decided whether it'll be Sport and Health or Golds yet. There are pluses and minuses for both (i.e. cost, pool access, workout buddy, etc). But I just had a trial personal training session the other day and Dalia (she was great!) just gave me a little introduction for some of the different machines. I usually stick to the treadmill (surprise surprise) but I am wanting to get more strength training in and if I choose pool access, then some swimming as well.

Eat better
Since I am a nutritionist, I eat pretty decent. But I know I indulge in some things that I shouldn't and not eat other things that I should. I just got the iPhone and downloaded a food intake program, so although it's not super accurate with the food entries (kinda limited), it gives me an idea of what I'm eating on a regular basis. I had a bowl of captain crunch with crunch berries today (I normally don't eat sugary kiddie cereals, but it was a random purchase last month). This program calls it "Cereal, Colossal Crunch, Berry", so I think it will be a little tough to locate some foods, even if it's IN the database.

I have a couple other goals to improve myself, but I haven't quite figured out exactly how to word them yet, or they are on a more personal level that I don't need to share on a running-focused blog ;) Anyways Happy 2011!

Warm California :)

2010-12-22T12:07:00.000-05:00

I am back in the bay area for the holidays. I escaped the coooooold cooold weather in the dc area and came to mid 50s but mostly rainy weather here. Fortunately I haven't really had to deal with the rain yet. It stormed last night, but I was inside in my parents' cozy home. I heard the rain fall and the drips this morning, but again I was in my nice warm bed. haha

I woke up and went for a run around 8am today. It was just a short 3 miler, though I haven't run in so long, it was a good distance to start with. Nice easy pace (prob ~ 10 miin mile or so) and ran the whole time. It was a warm 52 degrees, slightly moist due to the rain, but not humid! A nice start to my morning. Hopefully today will be a good day.

the slacker life

2010-11-30T08:44:00.000-05:00

I didn't intend to take this much time off from running or even working out in general, but the last couple weeks literally flew by. Some non-running highlights include:

my first happy hour (since the races) with a bunch of my friends--super fun to catch up with everyone... but the return of happy hour also meant return of the hangover (as my tolerance is WAY low now!)
going to a food and wine fest in Annapolis with my cousin, who I hadn't gotten to hang out with since Feb due to our busy schedules
a couple trips up to the Philly area, including Thanksgiving
trivia night at Hard Times with some of my favorites who I've known since high school (Hard Times food was also a plus)
6 month anniversary with Kev :)

I actually did end up packing running stuff for the Thanksgiving break last week. I wanted to go for a short run, do my own little turkey trot. But when I woke up and looked out the window, it was SNOWING! I did not bring a hat or gloves or even capris or tights! It was a little too cold for me to go in just a long sleeve top and shorts. The snow was only a dusting, and melted away into rain by the afternoon, but it was great to see snow. I love snow. I hope it snows once (not blizzard, just a light snow) before I head home for xmas.

I am currently doing a 30day trial period with Sport and Health. I still have my other gym which is $30 a month. I haven't gone in awhile :( S&H is normally $60 a month, but I paid $25 for the 30 day period that includes two 1-hr personal training sessions. I know they're going to try and get me to sign up as a full time member, but I thought the personal training sessions would be a good deal. I used to go to this gym and really really liked it. But it was just too expensive. Who knows, maybe after 30 days, I'll get suckered in and switch gyms again! Anyways last night, I didn't have much freetime, so I went to the Abs and Stretch Class (30 min) and then did a short jog on the treadmill. The class was nice, some crunches, some yoga stretches... a nice way to warm up for something. The jog was literally short... I maybe ran for 15 min. I had no music on me, so I was starting to get bored! So I headed back to the apt to shower and proceed on with my random errands for the night. Getting back into a work out routine is harder than I anticipated... but I'm gonna work on it!

resting

2010-11-11T17:32:00.000-05:00

and getting fat probably! haha

I'm taking 2 weeks off from running to let my body recover from the marathon. I've had a couple soccer games thrown in, but nothing has been overly too exhausting. I have been a little under the weather though... still not sure what the cause is, but it's been stomach issues and slight headaches the last few days. But I think I'm over the hump and it's almost gone. Thank goodness! I'll probably start running again maybe sunday afternoon. We'll see. I do not have a training schedule to stress about at the moment :)

photos from ATM

2010-11-04T14:54:00.001-04:00

These pictures are from the ATM with my buddy Lizzy :) This is us waiting at the starting line... it was a long wait, but at least we kept each other company.

This is us AFTER the race, a little sweatier ;)

I was really hoping for a fun finish line photo this year. I kinda did a punch in the air, or perhaps more of a Jersey Shore-esque fist pump, while crossing the finish line. However all the pictures they had posted were just me running... so they must have missed it. boo....

p.s. yes I wore the exact same outfit to both races. I think I need to get more running tops!

photos from MCM

2010-11-03T10:59:00.001-04:00

These are acceptable photos from the race.

Not sure where this is but looks like I actually tried to smile for the camera.

This is pretty much after getting corralled out of the finish line area. I look completely exhausted and forcing a smile! haha

Next running goal: SPEED

2010-11-03T09:25:00.000-04:00

So now I know that I have the endurance to run or at least run/walk for 4-5 hours at a time. Not a shabby accomplishment. But I think my next running goal is not so much distance but speed. I want to run more 5ks and 10ks and get some new PRs there :)

I was looking on Runners World, and saw this article about how to shorten your mile time. This is what they have to say.

BUILD STAMINA to be able to run 20 to 40 minutes at a "comfortably hard" pace.

THE WORKOUT: Two to six mile repeats at tempo pace (about half-marathon pace, or 5-K pace plus 30 to 40 seconds) with a 60-second rest between intervals. Newer runners may take a two-to three-minute walk break; the goal is to run each mile at close to the same pace.

**I didn't work hard at my tempo workouts for the marathon, so this is something I should improve on.**

INCREASE SPEED by running short repeats at a speed faster than 5-K race pace. Enter the mile.

THE WORKOUT: Two to three mile repeats at 5-K to 10-K pace with two to four minutes rest between intervals. If you're aiming for a 5-K or 10-K, do this workout every second or third speed session.

Run Better by making it harder. Do mile repeats on a slight grade. The uphill mile develops leg strength, the downhill improves leg turnover. Both help you run faster.

How to Time Your Perfect Workout

Mile repeats provide benefits during every stage of your training

THE WORKOUT AND WHEN TO RUN IT

2 to 6 x 1 mile at tempo pace: Early season, or any time to maintain fitness
2 to 3 x 1 mile at 5-K pace: Midway in training; 10 to 14 days before racing
2 to 8 x 1 mile at goal race pace: Three to five weeks before goal race

I don't have a 5k race in mind yet, but I know there will be plenty of turkey trots and Holiday related ones coming up. SO once I'm done with my "recovery period", I will prob start doing some mile work.

MCM stats

2010-11-02T06:39:00.003-04:00

Oh here we go... you CLICK on your name to get more info.. duh...

5K 33:22
10K 1:06:34
15K 1:41:58
20K 2:20:20
Half 2:34:32
25K 3:04:43
30K 3:46:50
35K 4:32:18
40K 5:11:56

Overall Pace 12:29

Garmin stats

2010-11-01T23:02:00.003-04:00

I forgot that my garmino watch is kinda awesome and it tells you a lot of info about your run. Including map, elevation, splits, etc.

Total Summary:
time = 05:26:52
distance = 26.58
overall pace = 12:17

Mile      Pace                    Distance
1            00:10:33             1.00
2            00:11:21             1.00
3            00:10:32             1.00
4           00:09:53             1.00
5            00:10:33             1.00
6            00:10:37             1.00
7            00:11:55             1.00        -biggest hill was here
8            00:10:50             1.00
9            00:11:14             1.00
10          00:11:41             1.00
11          00:11:37             1.00
12          00:11:55             1.00
13          00:12:40             1.00
14          00:17:03             1.00     -this was a porter potty break
15          00:12:42             1.00
16          00:13:05             1.00
17          00:13:22             1.00
18          00:12:37             1.00
19          00:13:38             1.00
20          00:13:14             1.00     -walking on bridge
21          00:14:40             1.00     -more walking on the bridge
22         00:15:56             1.00     -major walking in crystal city
23          00:12:57             1.00
24          00:13:12             1.00
25          00:12:00             1.00     -better use my energy now
26         00:10:52             1.00    -sooo close! keep going!
27         00:05:59             0.58    - sprinting here at the end!

Finished!

2010-11-01T17:34:00.000-04:00

Well I finished the MCM. Not in any sort of record time, but considering I was only training somewhat harder the last month and a half, I'm not complaining. If I run another one, I know I need to work much harder on getting my training runs in and working for the pace I want. But nonetheless, I crossed the finish line and can now say that "I've run marathons". Yes, plural! :)

My final time was 5:26:47. I can't find breakdowns of 5k, 10k, 15k, etc though. I figure it'll be posted somewhere since they had pads at these marks on the course to record your time. Oh well. It doesn't really matter. I wonder how the photos came out... I always look terrible in those "in action" photos.

And I guess I met both my goals... I finished and I didn't die.

Interesting and quite tempting

2010-10-25T15:14:00.000-04:00

I was looking on the MCM website and saw this ad from Brooks. Brooks is the company that is selling official MCM merchandise. There is a special deal that if you spend $150+, you get access to the Brooks VIP Porta Potty.

Reading more on this, the "luxurious Brooks VIP Porta Potty" is a climate-controlled restroom trailer set up at the starting line. Running water, flushing toilets, and some surprises await. Interesting, right? And the experience I've had waiting in long times or just trying to find a portapotty to use before a race to get the nervous pee out... this might be a nice option. I plan to buy a shirt at the expo, but I doubt it'll total up to $150! Oh well, guess I'll wait and see ;)

Army Ten Miler 2010 results

2010-10-25T07:47:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Liz and I ran the Army 10-miler. We were two of the crazy 30,000 runners who were up and at the Pentagon before the sun was even up, waiting to run 10 miles, while "normal" people were still sleeping. haha I was really glad Liz was running too, it's always nice to have a buddy before and after races. Liz ran an awesome race and beat her PR by 2 whole minutes! So there was no hope of me trying to stay with her during the race. I ended up running this race more as a practice run for my marathon next week. I didn't run it as fast as I did 2 years ago (which was slightly disappointing, but then again, I haven't really been training for speed, but more for endurance). So my main focus of this race was to keep running and to try and keep a comfortable (but slightly pushing) pace. And based on my results, that is pretty much what I ended up doing. I wasn't even all too tired after the race, well a little because I literally sprinted the 2 turns (once I saw the arch of balloons). But overall, my legs were feeling pretty good for just running 10 miles (didn't really need to sit or rest or anything). My quads/thighs are a little sore today, but overall, I know I didn't push myself too hard on this race. And hopefully my body will thank me this weekend!

ATM has been one of the better DC races I've participated in. The course isn't too bad, though the last mile and a half are partly inclined, which can be a challenge. But it's a nice course, you run partly through the downtown area and along the Potomac and then on Independence Ave down to the Capitol and then up the 14th St Bridge/395-N towards the Pentagon. Since it touches a few metro stops, there are always plenty of supporters, which are helpful along the way.   I mean you can't slow down when people are cheering for you, right?!?

Anyways, my results are:
Net Time          1:42:24
Overall Pace   10:14min/mi
6.5Mi Split        1:07:48

Speaking of focus and goals for races... my goals for the marathon are simply 1) finish and 2) don't die.

ATM Expo

2010-10-22T15:09:00.000-04:00

I went to the ATM packet pick up today and it was amazingly NOT crowded like it was when we went 2 years ago. Granted 2 years ago, we went near closing of the 2nd day of the expo, so that explains a lot. I met my friend Ben there and we got our bibs, tshirts and the bag of fliers. Not too many freebies in the bag this year. Oh well, not a problem, since I tend to throw out a lot of that stuff anyways! I wanted to look at the "shops" but Ben was tired after working an overnight shift... so I figure these shops will be at the MCM expo next week, so I'll just shop then! Hope to get in a 2-3 miler before the race on sunday. But I'm looking forward to this one. The marathon next weekend? Not so much ;)

20!

2010-10-17T19:52:00.001-04:00

I went for 20 miles yesterday. I ran most but definitely had to walk parts. I had a cramp in my left ab area around mile 7, so ended up walking for a bit to try and hydrate some more. (I had gone out to the Grill the night before to see a really fun cover band, and even though I didn't drink anything except for a coke and some water, my body was probably still tired from being out till 1am, and not as hydrated as it should have been for a long run like this!) I think it was worth it though, I hadn't gone out to see a fun cover band in so long... in fact I just haven't been going out for a few weeks now. I keep telling people to "find me in November". Sad... such sacrifices when training. Well guess that's part of the whole learning to be disciplined and stuff ;)

And as usual, the last couple miles were really tough, but I can proudly say I went out and completed 20.

As of today, I have less than 6 days till the Army 10miler and 13 days till the MCM. I can only hope for no injuries (still have some soccer games to play) and for magical endurance and speed now.

17 miles (short 3m)

2010-10-11T15:45:00.000-04:00

This past saturday I went out around 7:30 to get started on my 20miler. I felt ok, but my feet were starting to bother me after a few miles. Around 8.5 miles in, my arches were hurting, like there was a blister on each one. Awful it felt awful. Anyways, I decide to turn around and head home, except I was in the middle of downtown DC. And WMATA decided to shut down Metro center, McPherson AND Farragut West metro stations for the long weekend. I decided it was best to just hobble back to Foggy Bottom to get home. I got there and still had to wait another 30 min before my train showed up. By the time I finally got home, I took my shoes and socks off. Turns out, I didn't completely wuss out.. I had a blister on my left arch with a 2 inch diameter... and one on my right arch (smaller but still about 3/4 inch diameter).

Sunday I had a soccer game but other than that rested a bit. And I tried again on that 20miler this morning. I started around 7am, just as the sun was coming out. My running belt was bothering me for the first few miles. The bottles kept shifting toward the front and it didn't feel secure at all. I ended up re-weaving the bottle holders and it's a little more sturdy now. Hopefully that won't be bothering me in the future. (One less thing to slow me down) The rest of the run was tiring and a whole lotta chafing going on. Even my sports bra which had never bothered me before... ended up giving me a line of red chafing (whatever that proper term would be). I kept going for as long as I could, but literally felt like the run was kicking my butt by mile 17 and I decided to head home. Even my butt cheeks hurt. Once again, a disappointing long run. I have less than 3 weeks to figure it out. I'm stressing... I need more time :(

18 miler

2010-10-06T14:04:00.001-04:00

I survived my first 18 miler in a very long time. The last time I ran this much was March 2009 when I ran the National Marathon. I remembered my first 18 miler while training for that one... I ran it with my Aunt in San Jose. It was hard, but because she was with me, I think I felt ok. This time I had to run it solo. It went pretty well, considering how training has been so far this time around and I did finish. Thankfully my knee didn't really hurt as much this run. I have been taking glucosamine supplements, since that painful run, so maybe it's actually helping! Anyways, the run was around the Ballston/Clarendon neighborhood, then on the Custis to go into Georgetown (just to run on the key bridge--always a pretty view) and then back up Custis and to the W & OD trail. I miscalculated a little and was off by a mile, when I got back to my neighborhood, but rather than going back on the Custis trail, I ended up running up and down the streets behind my apt complex, just to rack up the last mile. I think it was a good idea, since I didn't go too far away from my apt but still finished the 18th mile.

I took my first walking break around mile 9, and then a few more after that. I took Gu (blackberry) every 4.5 to 5 miles, and overall I felt ok. The last 3 miles were definitely tough, the bottoms of my feet were just hurting so much, my body needed to rest, but my brain kept me going. I had an overall 12 min mile pace--not great, but I did walk more than I should have, so I guess that's ok for now. Hopefully the marathon goes better than these training runs. I have 2 more long training runs left (20m each!), the Army 10miler and then it's showtime. Scary, but exciting, and definitely something I'm ready to be done with.

I want to run the SF Marathon next summer and I am going to be much better about training. I have to!

Training is kicking my butt =(

2010-09-27T13:43:00.000-04:00

9/18
I ran 6miles down in Alexandria on saturday morning before heading out to HFStival with my friends. The run was just down 3 miles on Franconia and back. I didn't feel particularly great during the run, but managed an overall 10 min/mile pace (which was pretty relaxed and not too tiring). I was fine the rest of the day without any tiredness or soreness to burden me.

9/26
I was in Chicago most of last week for work... and although I brought my running gear, I never even took it out of my duffel bag. By the time I got back home on Friday night, my body crashed. Saturday morning came along and getting up for a 16 mile run just didn't sound like a feasible idea. So I slept and slept and slept. Sunday morning, my soccer game got cancelled (we had to forfeit), but I decided to embrace the available time and go for my long run. I only ran about 11mile before I started feeling some pressure on my left knee (same as the half marathon!) and noticed it was much worse when I was running uphill. I took a break at mile 11 and stretched and massaged my knee and debated whether to just run back home (still 3 miles out) or continue on the route. I remembered how sharp the pain got as I proceeded to keep running during the half marathon, so I ended up jogging at a slower pace back towards my apt. I still ended up covering 14 miles (though 2 short of the goal). But my knee is probably thankful for not pushing myself to get those two extra miles. Plus I also think that if I properly prepared myself for the long run on saturday night (i.e. carbo load and sleep) rather than go out to see some fun cover bands perform, I might have felt better on the run overall.

The worst part is that even if I made it to 16m... I need to somehow go 10.2 miles MORE(!!!) in less than 5 weeks! Aiyah--- stupid east coast summer, foiling my training schedule all summer! (I'm shaking my fist at you!)

Race Countdowns

2010-09-14T10:44:00.000-04:00

Army Ten Miler
October 24
39 days

Marine Corp Marathon
October 31
46 days

I have a whole lotta training to go in the next 6 weeks.

14 miles!

2010-09-14T07:37:00.000-04:00

This weekend, I was scheduled to run 14miles. I had a tough soccer game on friday night (read no subs) and was heading up to Philly for the weekend. So being the planner I am, I decided it was best to run on sunday morning. This way, I would be able to scope out routes up there (via car) and have a day to rest from the soccer game as well as some yummy carbo loading. I admit I appeared rather dull on saturday evening since we went to a local bar to hang out up there, but I only had a coke and no beer. I even went to bed at a decent hour, planning to wake up around 6am to start my run.

6am came and I woke up. And I look out the window and saw that IT WAS RAINING!!!! Normally I'm not that opposed to running in the rain. However being on unfamiliar roads and it was cold and wet... running/walking for almost 3 hrs didn't sound like a good idea. So I whined a little and then went back to bed. HA!

So I ended up taking annual leave yesterday from work to put in my run. Yes. Seriously, who does that?!? Anyways I ended up running on the Custis and then the W & OD trails. 14 miles was tough. I had some trouble with miles 5ish-7 and then the last mile and a half. I still was taking some walking breaks every few miles to rest my legs a little. I hope to not need to do that soon. Although it wasn't the fastest run, it felt good to finish and I felt better about this run than the 12miler the previous weekend. Good sign :)

After napping a couple hours in the afternoon, I had 2 soccer games at night. Indoor followed by outdoor. Needless to say, my legs are a bit tired today! But feeling good.

12miler completed

2010-09-05T10:10:00.000-04:00

I did good yesterday and friday. I didn't stay up late and I had a good little pasta meal for dinner on friday night. Saturday morning, I woke up ( a few times before I actually got up!) to go for a run around 7:30am. The weather was pleasant which helped keep me going. I tried out the W & OD trail which was a pretty good trail, except there are NO public bathrooms anywhere! I had a decent run, a little slower pace that I wanted (it happens when you're not really training) and a few walk breaks to stretch and stuff. But I ran the 12 miles as planned and am feeling pretty good that I didn't wuss out and turn around early. 8 weeks till the race! AGH!!

OMG OMG OMG

2010-09-03T11:56:00.000-04:00

Less than 2 months now till raceday. 8 weeks. I am starting to freak out. And it's totally MY FAULT! I shouldn't have slacked so much on training this summer, even though I was always able to convince myself of whatever justification I had in my head.

AGH! I have a 12 miler tomorrow morning. I must do well!

Last Saturday I did a 9m, even though it should have been 10m. I made a HUGE mistake and gave into my gluttonous appetite and went to Ray's Hellburger for dinner on friday night. This was seriously the first time I learned by experience that carbo loading is important! Ugh my stomach felt horrible during the run. I was hurting the entire time. Tonight! Dinner = pasta! AND going to bed early so I am well rested!

I'm feeling much more motivated and determined now that I've had a wake up call today...

"Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it."
-Oprah Winfrey

MCM-65 day countdown!

2010-08-27T07:17:00.000-04:00

The Marine Corp Marathon is 65 day away! I am so not ready to be only 65 days away from the race!!! AGH!

I haven't really been blogging, but I have been running most of my runs. This fall, I am playing on 3 soccer teams and 1 kickball team (I know this doesn't really count) but the games are time consuming, so my mid week runs aren't always happening. I need to work on that. I have a 10m long run this weekend... weather is looking hopeful and not gross and humid. I hope it'll be a good run.

SF marathon result

2010-08-03T16:45:00.002-04:00

Just a declaimer of my time... my left knee gave out a little after mile 11, so I ended up having to hobble run/walk at the end of the race. Definitely my slowest half so far, but it's an amazing course. I will probably run it again next summer :)

Finish: 2:32:04
Pace: 11:36

Split Times
7.6 M: 1:22:18 Pace: 10:50

6m

2010-07-03T11:01:00.004-04:00

Slept in a little later than I was wanting to... so only got in 6m before it got a little too warm for me to run in this morning. Plus wanted to make it back in time for the Argentina v Germany game this morning ;)

6.07 m
1:05:24
overall 10:47 min/mi pace

8.4m run

2010-07-01T17:44:00.001-04:00

We're having a cold front here in the DC area. I'm took advantage of it yesterday (as well as not having to work) and went for a run on the Custis/W&OD trails. I wanted to run 9m, but since it's been quite some time since I've done a long run, I made it to 8.4m before my legs were completely jello feeling and I had to walk the rest of the way home. But it's ok, at least I was able to put in 8.4m, right?

4m

2010-06-29T18:32:00.001-04:00

I've been a slacker. I have no excuse this time.

But 4miles today after work on the treadmill. 5.8mph. Not a bad way to get back into it, right?

it's been awhile...

2010-06-17T09:04:00.000-04:00

I've really been slacking the last week or two with my training. I've had a lot of social stuff going on lately and then had visitors in town last week. But I am getting back to it. And to "punish" myself for my slackness, I ran outside yesterday. It was in the low 80s, fortunately not too sunny, but still pretty darn muggy. Ugh, east coast! (shaking my fist!) I can easily say that I worked up a sweat on my run, and it felt pretty slow overall. But I just mapped out my run and it came out to be 5.65miles, and I finished in about an hour. That's not too bad actually. I was thinking I only ran about 5 miles, which would have put me at a pathetic 12 min mile pace, which is VERY SLOW for me. An approximate 10:37 min mile pace is acceptable.

I'm planning a similar length run today after work, but haven't decided whether to run on treadmill or outside yet. Depends on temperature/humidity this afternoon. Wish me luck

~6.5m

2010-06-08T08:21:00.000-04:00

It was a miracle--- it wasn't ridiculously humid after work yesterday! So I opted to go for a run on the Custis. I ended up running about 6.5m into Georgetown and back, and felt awesome the first 4.5 miles. Great pace, under 10 min miles (great for me). But then I was slowly about to hit a wall... and the hills seems steeper and my pace got slower. I made it back to the Stafford "exit" and walked the last half mile to my apt. So about 6.5m run + 0.5m walk. Not too bad.

I am having issues with the Garmino watch... it keeps switching to the virtual partner screen, which doesn't report how far or how long I've been running... just telling me I'm slower than my virtual partner (per usual). Maybe I should read the instructions manual one of these days!

yeesh its hot

2010-06-02T18:31:00.000-04:00

88 degrees

I don't know why I thought I could just go run after work outside today. It was hot, very hot... had to catch my breath after running for 1 mile! I ended up run/walking 4miles but probably only ran about half of that. Maybe tomorrow's run will feel better. I think it's treadmill time tomorrow, anyways ;)

7m in dublin, oh

2010-06-01T22:13:00.000-04:00

I ran 7m on sunday morning along Dublin Rd in Dublin, OH. Nothing too eventful, but it was getting a little on the warm/humid side towards the end of the run. Overall a good enough run, I think I had an overall 10:11/mi pace, though I haven't figured out my watch to get the mileage breakdowns yet! Maybe that will be on this week's to-do list. haha

speedwork workout

2010-05-28T08:45:00.000-04:00

Wednesdays are my midweek speed or tempo workouts. They are generally the hardest for me since they're on a treadmill and the pace is faster than I am used to. It's definitely the most challenging of all my runs in the week.

This speedwork workout was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but I went to the DC United and AC Milan game on Wednesday. So I then was hoping to do it on Tuesday. Nope, exhaustion from the weekend and Monday night's soccer game tired me out and a nap took over on Tuesday night. So I forced myself to go yesterday, Thursday to the gym for this workout. Let's just say it was HARD! I ran 5 miles total, with two 1-mile runs at a 6.8mph pace. The first fast mile was doable, but I didn't enjoy that there was someone on each side of me and it was very clear that I was huffing and puffing. The second mile was really hard, my legs were spent after that! I have a couple runs scheduled for the weekend, which will be taking place in O-H!I!O! Last time I ran there, I found this road that is "Historical Dublin", with a nice paved path, so I hope to go back. Fun times in the Midwest.

saturday morning run

2010-05-24T18:08:00.000-04:00

The run began at 6:32am on a Saturday. I get brownie points for that, right?

6.74m
1:08:03
10:06/mi pace
812 kcals burned?? (I definitely consumed more than that the rest of the day though!)

I missed out on B2B this year =/

2010-05-21T08:13:00.001-04:00

5m tempo run

2010-05-20T22:28:00.000-04:00

Treadmill workout tonight. 5miles total with 3miles at 6.5mph pace. I split it up into two 1.5m (@6.5mph) with 0.25m "breather" in between. Even though I cheated a little, I am still really tired tonight. Guess this means it was a good workout!

5.3m+3m

2010-05-17T11:50:00.000-04:00

It was a busy but fun weekend. I was good and squeezed in a run on saturday morning. I wanted to go for 7m, but I got a late start and the humidity (and my dehydration from the night before) only let me go comfortably for 5.3m (in 51 minutes=> 9:41 pace). I probably could have pushed out the last 1.7m but figured it wasn't really worth it, since I had guests in town and wanted to show them around the city (and not be tired).

Today, I have the day off work :) So I wanted to once again go for a run. It's raining outside, so not wanting to go out for too long... I just did a good 3.07m run. Felt like it was a good comfortable pace (finished in about 30 min, making it a 9:46 pace).

4.2m

2010-05-14T07:34:00.000-04:00

~ 43 min overall
10.17 min/mile pace overall

I still haven't figured out how to upload data from my garmino watch to the computer, so I haven't gotten around to analyzing mile by mile.

I ran on the Custis trail, including the infamous "corkscrew" part. There were some parts that were hilly, and it was a tough run, especially since I haven't run outside in awhile. (Or at least so it seems). Good run, was definitely feeling the tiredness by the time I hit the Stafford exit on the Custis. Gonna run on it again this weekend, but for longer and see how it goes.