Tag: #california

HMT: Days 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 & 23

Leave a comment
HMT: Days 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, & 23

HMT: Days 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, & 23

Day 18: 4.4 run + Strength

HMT: Day 18s 4.4 Miles

HMT: Day 18s 4.4 Miles

I wasn’t too excited about this run because of my Bikram ass kicking the day before, but it actually went pretty well. These short runs are getting really really easy. And that’s crazy to me because before training for this Half, I would dread running 3 miles. Lately, I’ve been pushing hard on the last mile or mile and a half on my treadmill runs because I want to improve my kick at the end of my races. On this day I finished my last mile with a 7-min pace and it felt gooood. For the strength portion of this day, I did a very quick circuit of chest, biceps and legs.

Day 19: Rest

Hell yes!

Day 20: 50 minute cross training

Today I took a spin class at Crunch called “‘The Ride.” This was my second spin class and I wasn’t sure what to expect because the first spin class kicked my ass real bad; it was a Bikram type of ass kicking that day. John was the spin instructor and he was awesome. He had someone else ride his bike while we walked around yelling and motivating us. The best part of his class was the music. He had a great mix of new and old school hip-hop and if you know me, you know I love hip-hop music when I work out. I also liked his class because he gave us 2, maybe 3, 2 minute rests after a crazy hill. I think I’ll start attending his class every Saturday from now on.

Day 21: 8 mile run

Sundays 8-miler around Lake Merced

Sundays 8-miler around Lake Merced

Let me start off by saying that I looooooove Lake Merced…… except for that damn hill. A full lap around Lake Merced is 4.4 miles, so in order for me and Gordon to do 8 miles we had to run a few parts of the lake again and the damn hill was part of it. Quite honestly, I may be the only person who calls it a hill, cuz it just a very gradual rise over a about 100 yards. The rise isn’t too sharp, but its definitely the toughest part of the run and it definitely slows me down. Other than the hill, the rest of the run is very doable and we actually had a good pace the first time around. Before the run, I thought the toughest part was going to be tackling the hill the second time. Surprisingly, I felt really good going into the hill the second time around and decided to attack it. I went as fast as I could and it felt pretty good. I know it was just an 8 mile run, but an 8 mile run around Lake Merced is a huge mental win for me. To even take on that hill once is a pain for me, so running it twice in one day was a great feat and I know its going to prepare me well for my Half on May 5th.

Day 22: Stretch & Strenghthen

Stretch & Strengthen…. HAH! After that 8-miler yesterday? Hell no! I decided to listen to my body and take the day off. So what did I do? I slept til about 12, woke up, showered, went to American Sushi House and had all you can eat sushi and finished the day by going to the San Francisco Giants vs Philadelphia Phillies game. It was Timmy vs Halladay, so it was a great game to go to. Yes, Timmy stunk it up real bad that day, but I still had a great time with my love and my friends. If you haven’t been to AT&T Park yet, you’re def. missing out. I started the game like I always do, with a Crazy Crab Sammie, Garlic Fries and a Stella. It was my first game of the season and it felt really good to be back at the park. It was a great day off!

(Top Left) My Lady & I - (Top Right) Crazy Crab Sandwich - (Bottom Left) Garlic Fries - (Bottom Right) AT&T Park

(Top Left) My Lady & I - (Top Right) Crazy Crab Sandwich - (Bottom Left) Garlic Fries - (Bottom Right) AT&T Park

Day 23: 5 mile run

HMT Day 23s 5 miler

HMT Day 23s 5 miler

Ok, today’s gym session started off horribly because I left my headphones at home!! I hate when I do that!! I decided not to make it a big deal though and convinced myself that it was a good thing I left them at home. I felt that it was sort of a challenge, and recently I’ve been more accepting of challenges, especially those that pertain to my running. Besides that, today’s run felt really really really good. I usually start my treadmill runs at 6.5 for a good 5 minutes, but today I started off at 7.2. And I would increase it every couple of minutes by .2 or .3. Again, I finished off the last 2 miles pretty fast (to my standards). I ran mile 3 at 8.0 and ran mile 4 at 8.5. Like I said earlier, these shorter runs are getting a lot easier and I’m lovin’ it.

I hope you all are having a great week. I’m going to read some Born to Run now, cheers!

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

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

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: 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

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!

Training for My First Half Marathon

3 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"

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

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!

Born to Run

2 Comments

20120308-151545.jpg

I’ve always been a physically active person; I’ve loved playing basketball since I was a kid, I played tennis in high school, I’ve been lifting weights since my freshman year of college, and all that good shhtuff. Running, though, I was never in love with; until recently.

Back in 2010, my grandmother (or “Lola” in Tagalog), had a minor stroke and was placed in the ICU at California Pacific Medical Center. I remember the call that I got from my mom who was obviously scared and in tears, “Lola, might be dying. She’s at CPMC.” I immediately dropped what I was doing and rushed over to the hospital. My Lola made it through the night, but was still in the ICU.

That next day, after I got off work, I headed over to CPMC again. When I got there, the nurse said that my Uncle had just left and that I was the only family member there at the moment. So I was at her bed side talking to her, letting her know that I was there and that I loved her. She was obviously not herself; the nurse said that the drugs were really strong and that she wasn’t “all there.” Although I wasn’t able to hold a conversation with her, she was still able to speak. And when she did speak, she would be counting out random, consecutive numbers: “78, 79, 80, 81, 82…” and after the last number she would say, “Continue.” She would say it in such a way as to have me continue counting on those numbers for her. As if she were back at her school in the Philippines, in front of the classroom, teaching all her students.

A few days later, my grandmother was allowed to leave the hospital and head back to St. Anne’s Home. After a few days back, she was back to her normal, talkative self. As the months passed though, her health started to slowly deteriorate just like the Doctor at CPMC had told us it would.

On February 5, 2012 my Lola passed away. It was def. hard for the whole family especially because it was the first death in our family since her husband (my Lolo) passed away on New Year’s Day ’95. I like to think that I went through the normal grieving process that everyone goes through when someone passes: lots of tears, lots of laughs as we reminisced about the past, a lot of praying and wondering where she was at that very moment, etc. As my cousins and I talked about our memories of Lola, I remembered that one day at the ICU at CPMC when my Lola told me to “Continue.”

This one word has taken on a different meaning ever since she passed. It’s stronger now. It means so much more now.

So how does this relate to Born to Run? Well, whenever I used to run, I would stop whenever I was tired and didn’t want to run anymore. I would set a limit to my runs: 1 mile, 2 miles, 20 minutes, etc., but not anymore. Whenever I’m on the treadmill, whenever I’m running Lake Merced, whenever I’m hiking up Mission Peak, I choose to hear my Lola telling me to continue. I hear her and I see her and she keeps me going; she helps me CONTINUE.

So this is the beginning of a new me, I want to “love” running. And I know that in order to “love” running, I have to do more than just run. And that’s why I bought “Born to Run” off of Amazon for $9.

My Lola

My Lola

I want to learn as much as I can about running. I even went to Fleet Feet in SF to get my new pair of Brooks Ravenna 3s instead of just going to a Foot Locker and choosing the coolest looking Nikes.

“Born to Run” marks the beginning of my journey to fall in love with runnning.