Triple Crown 10K

Triple Crown 10K

You know the routine: after a race, I eat food and drink water and post a picture with a long caption on my IG account. So here’s what I posted on my IG after my 10K today:

Triple Crown 10K

Triple Crown 10K

“4th 10K in the books. This was a very familiar run because I’ve run Lake Merced plenty of times before. The only difference was the direction we ran for this 10K; I usually run counterclockwise, but this race was run clockwise. I placed 1st in my age group and 1st overall in the 10K field!!! Woooo!!! In yo face Usain Bolt!!!  Yea, the field was 4 deep and I was the only male and the youngest female of the group was 46, but hey, shut your mouth :). Now it’s time for a fresh cut before I see the gang. Happy Sunday everyone!

I was really happy with my overall time. Ever since I got this Garmin, I’ve been pushing myself a little harder. This was a faster pace than my 8-miler last week on the same course. I have a crazy week ahead of me, so I hope I can make time to do my runs and get some good rest; we’ll see how that goes. I hope you’re all doing well! Go 9ers!!! Cheers!!

7 Mile - Lap Times

H.M.T. III – Week 7 Recap

HMT III: Week 7

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

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

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

Lake Merced

7 Mile - Lap Times

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!!

HMT: Days 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 & 36 “Just Around the Corner”

HMT: Days 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 & 36

HMT: Days 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 & 36

Day 30: 5 mile run

5 miles in 39 minutes; one of my best treadmill runs

5 miles in 39 minutes; one of my best treadmill runs

This 5 mile run felt really good. I started with an easy pace and gradually increased the speed throughout the run. This was def. one of the best runs I’ve ever had on a treadmill. I have to thank my brothers Ant and Gordon for pushing me through this workout. For the past week or so, we’ve been texting each other each others runs, and these texts have served as motivation to keep pushing.

Day 31: 3 mile run or cross

Today was a very light day. I chose to do some cross training so that I could conserve my legs for the 10 mile run that I had scheduled for the Sunday upcoming. I chose to do 30 minutes of boxing drills with my brother Jeff. We did a few rounds with the mitts followed by a few rounds of light contact drills. Jeff has been training Muay Thai for close to 3 years now and has always been the go-to-guy for everything boxing. He’s really helped sharpen my boxing skills and has always given me a great workout with the mitts.

Day 32: 5 mile run + strength

5 miler

5 miler

Today’s run was just an ok run. I wasn’t really feeling it today, so instead of forcing myself to run a good time, I listened to my body and  took it real easy. I would run a mile, then walk a quarter mile, run a mile and then walk a quarter mile and continued this for the entire run. It’s getting real close to my Half Marathon and I don’t really want to push too hard during my running days if I’m not feeling up to it. It took me 55 minutes to complete these 5 miles and I was absolutely ok with that. After this run, I did some back, shoulder and tricep exercises.

Day 33: Rest

If you ever come to my neck of the woods, you MUST visit Little Lucca . On this rest day, all I did was watch the SF Giants game and consume this bad boy (I did not eat the remote. I just placed it in the photo to show you how ginormous this sandwich is.)

Crab Sandwich from Little Lucca... MmMmMmMmMmmmmmmm

Crab Sandwich from Little Lucca... MmMmMmMmMmmmmmmm

Day 34: 60 min cross

Ok, I approached this cross training day a little differently: I just hit the “Start” button on my iPhone stopwatch and did anything for an hour. I do not remember exactly what I did, but there was jump roping, burpees, lunges, pull-ups, bicep curls and much much more.

Hit start and work for an hour

Hit start and get to work

Day 35: 10 mile run

Oh hell yes, my first 10 mile run! And this wasn’t just any 10 miles, it was 10 miles around Lake Merced. Gordon and I started off with a very easy pace, but then picked it up every mile. At Mile 4, I had some water and walked while I drank instead of running while trying to drink. I tried to run while drinking during my 10K, but that did not turn out well; water in my nose + water in my eyes = not good. At Mile 8, I was about to reach into my pocket and pull out the GU packet that I had but I decided to push through, but I don’t think I’ll do that during the Half. I think I will have water and Mile 4, GU at Mile 8, and water and/or GU at mile 12. Here’s the break down of our run

My first 10 Mile run, I loved it!

My first 10 Mile run, I loved it!

Day 36: Stretch and Strengthen

Today I spent a lot of time with the foam roller. I took the knots out of my IT Band, adductors, quads, and calves. I also did a good amount of static stretching for my hamstrings and hip flexors. For my strength training, I did 2 chest, 2 bicep and 2 leg exercises. I didn’t push too hard today; I really want this week to be an easy week because my FIRST EVER HALF MARATHON is just around the corner! Holler!

I hope all is well with you all! Cheers!

HMT: Days 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 & 23

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!