H.M.T. III – Week 7 Recap

January 6, 2013February 9, 2013Leave a comment

HMT III: Week 7

Monday 12/31/12

New Year’s Eve!! I spent New Year’s Eve at my Sister’s place and kept it pretty low key because I had a New Year’s Day 10K the following morning. I did take 3 shots of Henny, but my brother-in-law was kind enough to make them half shots because he knew what I had planned that next morning. I didn’t strengthen this day because I wanted to rest my body for the 10K, BUT I did stretch (somewhat). On my way to my sister’s place, I stopped by a running store and bought this bad boy:

The Stick

So I was rolling out my quads, calves and IT Band the whole day. After eating and playing with my nieces, I went to sleep around 9pm and asked my sister to wake me up for the countdown…. she forgot! But she did wake me up right after the countdown and I was able to wish all my family Happy New Year.

Tuesday 01/01/13

Check out my New Year’s Day 10K! post.

Wednesday 01/02/13

I was supposed to run, BUT I was still recovering from my 10K, so I just relaxed this day.

Thursday 01/03/13

I did strengthen my back, shoulder and triceps this day. After resistance training, I hopped on the treadmill for my 4.5-mile run and ended up only running half a mile; my legs still weren’t ready after that 10K (that hill was nuts, for me anyways).

10K Elevation Chart

Friday 01/04/13

Rest Day!!!! Yes please!!!!

Saturday 01/05/13

My lady and I started off this Saturday by volunteering a food bank with a few of my staff from the Y. It was a great experience and we had a lot of fun doing what we were doing. After the food bank we had lunch and after lunch I KTFO!! My body, my legs still needed some good rest.

Sunday 01/06/13

Today was my 7-miler. I wasn’t too sure how this run would go because I haven’t really ran since my 10K and my legs still felt a little tired. Here’s my run:

Lake Merced

7 Mile – Lap Times

My legs felt really heavy today and I think its because I have been eating way too much Quinoa! I just started eating that shtuff and I have fallen in love with it. I spoke to my buddy about my run today and he told me that Quinoa definitely makes you feel a little heavier. So after I spoke with him, I went to Chipotle and got me a Chicken Fajita Bowl with EXTRA RICE! I think I haven’t been consuming too much carbs this past week (because of Quinoa) and that’s why this 7-miler was a little tougher than usual.

I you haven’t noticed yet, I have posted something every day this year! This is one of my goals for 2013: to post something on my blog everyday! I hope all of your running is going well! Cheers to 2013!!

New Year’s Day 10K!

January 1, 2013January 1, 20131 Comment

New Year’s Day 10K

Brazen New Year’s Day 10K. @chabeez finished 3rd in our age group with a time of 47:01. I finished 5th in our age group with a time of 55:46. I don’t know what it is, but both races I’ve run with Charlie have had some crazy hills! The first 1.5 miles was the same as my 5K on Saturday; it was smooth and easy with a few small hills, but once you get passed that 1.5 mile marker, the course becomes ALL trail. And from mile 2 to mile 3.2 it was all uphill! I tried my hardest to not walk up the hill but half way up I had to. Once you reach the top (the turnaround point) it was all down hill. My big take away from this race: schedule some hill runs into my workout from now on. This race was important to me for a few reasons. The main reason was my momma @ruelyn. She’s been so strong since her diagnosis and she has motivated me to be stronger, better, healthier, and more faithful. No more excuses in 2013. If my momma could fight and stay strong through all this, I should not have any excuses whatsoever. Keep fighting, stay hydrated and remember to take your meds mah! I love you! I also wanted to start the New Year the way I want the whole year to go. I literally want to “RUN” 2013. I want running to be my main thing this year. Ever since my Lola passed, running has been my “escape” and my “therapy,” and I love that I’ve gotten to that point with running. I’m not running to win the race, I’m running just to run; I’m running because it feels so damn good. The medals and the health benefits are just by-products. I share with you my “WHYs” because those are the most important things in life; WHY do you do what you do? Remember your “WHYs” and all the “HOWs” will be easy. If your “WHYs” are powerful enough, you can and will achieve anything and everything. I wish you all a very happy and very blessed New Year! God Bless #ypowr #health #wellness #fitness #run #running #brazen #10K

And check this out:

New Year’s Eve Medal

New Year’s Day Medal

NYE & NYD Medals combined!

New Year’s Eve (12/29/12) 5K

January 1, 2013January 1, 2013Leave a comment

New Year’s Eve 5K

I like to post my post-race pictures on Instagram and write long captions, so I’ll just share with you what I wrote on IG:

Our third 5K in the books. This was a really nice 5K course. It was all paved with small rolling hills and lots of trees. This was by far the coldest I’ve been for any of my races. I felt good throughout the entire race; I didn’t push it too hard at any point because I wanted to run “comfortably.” As I was approaching the halfway/turnaround point, I saw this pack of 5 or 6 kids who were probably 11-12 years old and I immediately thought: PEDs! But anyways, those kids were absolute beasts. No, literally. They had hairy ass arms and legs, which bolsters my assumption that they were on that Melky Cabrera shtuff. I finished 2nd in our age group with a time of 25:52 and @gojwong finished 3rd with a time of 28:12. Another great race with my bro @gojwong. 2013 is going to be awesome bro, we start our “Race in Every State” with @chabeez. #run #running #5K #brazen #lakechabot

Training for my 2nd Half Marathon!

October 20, 20121 Comment

So after the Western Pacific Half Marathon, I took a few weeks off from running to rest my feet and legs from all the miles it had covered during training. And then I decided to plan for my 2nd Half Marathon. This time around I decided to follow Hal Higdon’s

Hal Higdon’s Half Marathon Novice 2 Program

This training program had me set a goal for my 2nd Half Marathon, something that the Novice 1 Program didn’t have me do. I decided to set a goal of 01:45:00, which works out to be an 8-minute pace throughout the course of a Half Marathon. I figured it was a little ambitious, but I went with it.

Here are my Instagram posts from my 5K and 10K experiences:

Bear Creek Trail 5K

My first race in my Vibrams

“Another 5K under our belts. It was my first official race wearing my Vibram KSOs and it sucked!!! Well, not that bad, but it did slow me down a little bit and I got a bruise on the side of my right foot. The “swag” we got at this race was by far the best of all the races we’ve done: 2 shirts, a really nice medal, 2 cans of coke for our gfs (btw, thanks for the support ladies), good post-race food, a purple bag of goodies, etc. And the race cost only $29 to register!! One thing I learned: don’t wear my Vibram KSOs on future trail races. Happy Saturday everyone!!”

Drag-N-Fly Trail 10K

10K #2

“Drag-N-Fly 10K…. Charlie 2nd overall, 1st in age group = 48:26 (7:19 pace). Me 23rd overall, 4th in age group = 1:02:44 (9:29 pace). This 10K was no joke! I never knew Antioch had hills like the ones we ran up. Definitely one of the tougher races I’ve participated in. S/o to my brother Charlie for running his first official race since his Cross Country days in high school; my homie killlled it. #brazen #brazenracing #dragnfly #10K #run #running”

So those were my most recent races. I was supposed to run the San Jose Rock ‘n Roll Half, but registration was way too expensive. So my next race will be the US Half in San Francisco on November 4th! I haven’t been able to run or work out these past few weeks because I bought of pair of Kobe’s to hoop in and they realllllly messed up my feet. They’re healed now, so I’ll be training hard these next 2 weeks. I hope everyone is running well! Cheers!

HMT: Days 13, 14, 15, 16 & 17 “What the Bikram!!”

April 12, 2012April 12, 20121 Comment

HMT: Days 13, 14, 15, 16, & 17

Day 13 – 50 min cross

This day, I decided to do a few things. I started with 20 minutes on the stationary bike. I wanted to stay on for 30 minutes, but it was just too boring and my glutes weren’t enjoying the ride. After that good 20 minute warm-up I did 15 minutes of jump rope. After this, I finished up with 15 minutes of shadow boxing with 5 lb weights. I would say that this day was a pretty light day. I definitely did not want to push it too hard because I had a 7-mile run the following day.

Day 14 – 7 mile run

AT&T Park: Home of the San Francisco Giants

AT&T Park to the San Francisco Maritime Museum and back to AT&T Park

AT&T Park to the SF Maritime Museum and back

Day 14 was a pretty awesome day. First of all it was Easter Sunday and I just felt good when I woke up. I started my run early because I had 12:00 Mass. I got to the city, found parking right in front of AT&T Park, and started my run around 9:30am. This was my first outdoor run where I listened to music and my goodness did it make a difference. I love music, but I never really wanted to listen to any when running outdoors; before this day, I always wanted to hear “nature” when I ran outside. The music actually helped me during my run, especially the last part of my run. And I shouldn’t say I listened to “music” because in actuality I had one song on repeat: Tygas “I’m Faded” Listening to this song on repeat helped me zone out a little easier because I liked the song and didn’t have to fidget with my iPod to change the track. At about mile 5 or 6 I began to get a bit tired, but I kept up with the rhythm of the song and it prevented me from slowing down too much. I finished the 7.12 mile run in 1:03:22 and I felt really good after. It was a beautiful day in the city and the running conditions were just perfect for me. During my run, I saw a few runners who had just completed the US Half Marathon and it motivated me to keep running; I can’t wait for my first Half on May 5th!

Day 15 – Stretch and Strengthen

Stretch & strengthen?!?! HAH! I didn’t bother to do anything but sit on the couch and watch these beautiful little girls all day. Sometimes I need to remind myself WHY I run and these 2 girls are 2 big reasons why. I want to be healthy for them and I want to be a healthy father when it’s time for me to have children of my own. I love these girls!

My precious nieces: Caeli Rosel (2) and Chloe Jordyn (5 months)

My precious nieces: Caeli Rosel (2) and Chloe Jordyn (3 months)

Day 16 – 4.5 mile run

Lake Merced on a rainy day

This is what I posted on my Facebook account when I checked-in to Lake Merced:

“It’s going to be a grind: rain, sweat belt, beanie, gloves, sweater, 4.5 miles. Get some!“

I’m glad that I ran despite the rain and wind because I know that race day conditions won’t always be favorable. I focused on attacking the hills, letting my legs “go” during the downhill parts and pushing through the wind as opposed to allowing it to slow me down. It was a great/challenging run and it made me a better runner.

Day 17 – 3 mile run or cross

I don’t know if it was because I skipped my workout on Monday, but I felt pretty damn good today! Not only did I do a 3 mile run, not only did I do some strengthening exercises, but I also went to my first Bikram Hot Yoga class this morning! Ok, for all of you who have been to a bikram hot yoga class before or for those of you who go on a daily basis, let me say this: YOU GUYS ARE FREAKIN’ NUTS!!!! OMG, that had to be the craziest 90 minutes of my life!! No joke, I was in the “Savasana” pose for the last 45 minutes of the the class (for those of you who aren’t familiar with yoga, the “Savasana” pose is better known as the “Corpse” pose where you just lie on your back like a corpse and just breathe). The first 20 minutes of the class I was an All-Star though, attempting each exercise, not wiping my face with my towel, not even touching my bottle of water, etc., then the downward spiral began. My heart was racing, my vision was getting blurry, I was disoriented, every breath burned and I felt like there was absolutely no way I was NOT going to pass out at some point during this class. I looked over to my girlfriend 30 minutes into the class to see how she was doing and it seemed like she had been in Savasana for a good 10 minutes already, so I joined her LOL. Even in this corpse pose I felt like I was going to pass out; it felt like there was no escaping this, everything I did just made me more hot and miserable. It was such a crazy experience, but I’m glad that I did it. After the class I felt rejuvenated and refreshed; I felt gooooood. And I’m so very proud of my girlfriend for staying in there for the whole 90 minutes, she’s such a trooper. Oh, and we’re going tomorrow morning again! But we’re not going to try and be All-Stars like we did today, we’re going to take our time, take more breaks, and put lots of ice in our water bottles.

Well that was my last 5 days of HMT, only 23 more days til my first Half! I’m so excited! I hope all have a great rest of the week, Cheers!

HMT: Days 7 & 8

April 2, 2012April 2, 20122 Comments

HMT: Days 7 & 8

Day 7 was 5K day! The 5K that I ran was Kaiser Permanentes First Annual Running of the Elk held in Elk Grove, CA. This race had a half marathon, a half marathon relay and the 5K.

Kaiser Permanentes First Annual Running of the Elk

I think I summed up my first 5K experience best when I Instagram’d a photo of me and my brother immediately after the race:

"JR: #2913 (22:47:36; 8th place). Gordon: #1936 (22:43:00; 7th place).... One of the best experiences of my life. I know it's just a 5K (~3 miles), but there was more to it. There was a mental component to it that I didn't really expect. Within the first 5 minutes I was like "wtf did I get myself into?! This a pretty fast pace!! I don't think I could do this"... But then I just kept running... S/o to my brother Gordon for running this with me. This is my first of many races!! Thank you Lord for today and thank you Lord for the opportunity and the ability to participate in this. All of this is yours and I hope you enjoyed this race as much as I did. Happy Palm Sunday everyone!" - Instagram: iamjohnross

And if you have an Instagram, please follow me at: iamjohnross

Here are a few souvenirs from yesterday. Another thing I didn’t expect after my first official race: loving all the free stuff you get when you complete the race. I could see this becoming a big reason why I run; I’ve always loved collecting stuff. I can’t wait for my first medal!

Souvenirs from the 5K

Day 8 was a “Stretch and Strengthen” Day. So today I spent a good 30 minutes on the foam roller, SMRing my IT, my quads, my ADductors, my calves, and my piriformis. I also did a good amount of static stretches after my strength training. My strength training consisted of 2 back, 2 shoulder, and 2 tricep exercises…… oh yea, and 1,000 bicep curls.

"Oh, I can barely lift my right arm 'cause I did so many." - Ron Burgundy

And one last thing: I found out yesterday from my friend at Racing the States that Caballo Blanco was found dead yesterday. I don’t want to say too much other than this: thank you, Caballo, for inspiring me to run, but more importantly thank you for inspiring me to be a better human being. If you’ve never heard of him before, please take some time to read up on his life.

Caballo Blanco

I hope all your weekends were awesome and I hope this week goes well for you all! Work hard! Cheers!

Training for My First Half Marathon

March 27, 20123 Comments

Yesterday, I officially started my training for my first Half Marathon (Western Pacific Half Marathon) on May 5th. I know what you’re thinking: YOU’RE ONLY STARTING NOW?!?!

Well, I have been running a lot more these past 2 months. For instance, this month I had weekly goals of running 35 and 42 miles, both of which I reached, and I also completed a 13 mile run earlier this month. So I believe I prepared myself enough to start on “Week 6” of my Hal Higdon Training Program (pictured below). Also, I will replace the “Week 10” workout with the “Week 11” work out so that this program will lead me right up to my May 5th Half Marathon.

Hal Higdon's "Half Marathon Training Guide: Novice 1 Program"

As you can see at the end of this 6th week, it says to run a 5K. So last night, I registered for my first official race: Running of the Elk Half Marathon, in Elk Grove, CA. I will be running the “Thrive 5K” portion of this race with my brother Gordon and hopefully a few more of our friends decide to come out and run with us.

Running of the Elk Half Marathon in Elk Grove, CA

I like this training program because it is very clear and it gives me something to follow. From what I read, Hal Higdon is an awesome resource for anything and everything about running so I am confident that this program will prepare me well for my first ever Half Marathon on May 5th.

Starting today, I will post my progress with this training program everyday up to and including race day, May 5th. Cheers!

ypowr

WHY > HOW

Tag: #5k

H.M.T. III – Week 7 Recap

New Year’s Day 10K!

New Year’s Eve (12/29/12) 5K

Training for my 2nd Half Marathon!

HMT: Days 13, 14, 15, 16 & 17 “What the Bikram!!”

HMT: Days 7 & 8

Training for My First Half Marathon

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