Tag: #health

7 Mile - Lap Times

H.M.T. III – Week 7 Recap

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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!!

Hungry for Change

15 Minutes of… “Hungry for Change” Part II

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Hungry for Change

Hungry for Change

I want you all to know that it it takes me a good 60 to 90 minutes to watch only 15 minutes of this documentary because I am constantly pausing it to research and truly understand some of the shhhtuff that they are talking about. Here are my takeaways:

  • “the food companies engineer addictions, I believe, into many of the foods”
  • “MSG and free glutamates are used to enhance flavor in about 80% of all processed foods.” – Raymond Francis M.Sc. MIT
  • MSG and free glutamates can be hidden behind over 50 different names
  • a processed, refined, sugar-food or soda will deliver a biochemical change in your brain and make you momentarily uplifted and happy. People get used to that feeling and want to get that momentary feeling back again and they will, but then that feeling will soon drop off and they are left empty, with their bodies and brains looking for the nutrients and the other things that they need to function properly.
  • the food industry wants you to buy more food, that’s what their main goal is. They’re not thinking about your health and wellness; they’re thinking about what they can do to make you buy more of their product. So they manipulate the chemical structure of  the food, so that it gives the impression that it is the most fulfilling thing that you ever had.
  • diet cola has a combination of aspartame and caffeine; these 2 together create a very unique blend of excitotoxin that kills off brain cells, but before they die they have this “excitement” this “buzz.” So what you find with diet cola addicts, they’ll drink Liters of cola a day to get that “Excitement” and “buzz” again; just like drug addicts.
  • Aspartame causes formaldehyde buildup in the brain, frontal lobe inflammation, migraines, visual disturbances, symptoms that mimic multiple sclerosis, headaches, neurological problem, cognitive problems, and seizures (in more serious cases); formaldehyde is put in foods to extend their “shelf life.”
  • when a food additive (like aspartame or any other artificial sweetener) is manufactured, the process of getting approval is: (1) the manufacturer wants creates a new additive, (2) the manufacturer funds (controls) the studies that of course will show evidence that their new additive is safe , and then (3) these studies are submitted to regulatory agencies (ie., the FDA) for approval.
  • The FDA doesn’t have their own scientists that do food analyses. They just evaluate the studies that the manufacturers submit.
  • food companies are just like the tobacco companies, but instead of using nicotine to get their customers addicted, they use MSG, processed sugars, aspartame and other chemicals.
  • many food labels are deceptive; it’s like these major food companies are naming these products based on what they hope you might imagine you’re eating, rather than what is really in the box. And then there are stuff in that food that they don’t want you to know about, so they don’t put it on the label (or they come up with a name that doesn’t sound as bad as the real name.)
  • when you see “Fat-Free,” on a label, it normally means that it is loaded with sugar; you could get a 2lb bad of sugar, label it “Fat Free” and it would be allowed to be put on shelves. Technically, there is not fat, BUT once the sugar is ingested, it will turn in to fat in the body because it sends the sugar levels sky high and the pancreas needs to secrete insulin in order to bring that down so that you don’t die. And insulin [can be] is a fat producing hormone. >> the reasons I, JR, say it can be a fat producing hormone is because insulin allows glucose to go from our bloodstream into our individual cells. And once its in our cells, we either use it as energy OR we store it and those cells become “fat cells.” The issue is that people intake so much sugar, but they are not moving enough to use it as energy; so most people store this sugar in the cells which eventually become “fat cells”
  • fat is really good for you, if its the right type of fat. we need the correct fats and proteins to feel satiated.
  • the worst kinds of fats are the partially hydrogenated fats. These are the hydrogenated oils in baked items, crackers, cookies, butter spreads, margarine, etc.
  • healthy fats are the natural plant based fats like in avocaods, chia seeds, flax seeds and even healthy fat from salmon

15 Minutes of… “Hungry for Change” Part I

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Hungry for Change

Hungry for Change

Here are my takeaways from the first 15 minutes of this documentary:

  • we are not eating foods anymore, we are eating “food-like” products and they are adorned and made to look better and smell better so that people are attracted to them. They are made to have a long shelf life and the main objective is not really to give us a healthy product, its to give us a product that will make a lot of profit for the company that is producing it. 
  • we’re moving less and we’re consuming so much nutrient-less calories; these two things combined is the issue. these things combined create an obesity epidemic, a low energy epidemic, a fog in cognition, and we begin to lose the will to take self-responsibility. When we lose the will to take self-responsibility, we turn it all over to a doctor who is only able to prescribe a pharmaceutical pill that doesn’t address the real issues, which are buried and complex.
  • “the average American consumes more than 150 pounds of sugar and sweeteners each year.” – US Department of Agriculture
  • “we are overfed, but we are also starving to death”
  • as a species, the big challenge is to find calories and our body is biologically adapted to this; we seek calorie sources, particularly fats and sugars
  • when we taste something fatty or sweet, our bodies want more of it because for our hunter gatherer ancestors, fat and sugar meant survival
  • our bodies are programmed to “store up” for the “winter,” but the “winter” doesn’t come because we have so many sources of “food” today.
  • hunter-gatherer “gardeners” have an extremely HIGH amount of nutrition and an extremely LOW amount of calories in their food. Compared to our society: we have a high amount of calories, but a low amount of nutritional value
  • we have so many calorie sources, but our body still has the same signals that are ancestors had. so when we eat sweets and fatty foods, our body wants more because it is programmed to behave in a “feast or famine” environment. The problem is that we have FEAST, but there is no famine.
  • we could eat 10,000 calories a day, but if we are not getting the specific nutrients we need, then we are starving on a nutritional basis. and if we are starving on a nutritional basis, our body will remain hungry to get those specific nutrients. man-made foods (like bread and sugar and table salt) trick our body into thinking we’re getting those nutrients.
  • the biggest cause of obesity is addiction
  • we know we shouldn’t eat bad foods, but we don’t know WHY we continue to eat those bad foods

New Year’s Day 10K!

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New Year's Day 10K

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 Eve Medal

 

New Year's Day Medal

New Year’s Day Medal

 

NYE & NYD Medals combined!

NYE & NYD Medals combined!

 

 

New Year’s Eve (12/29/12) 5K

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New Year's Eve 5K

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

Half Marathon #2: US Half Marathon

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The US Half Marathon on November 4th, 2012 was my 2nd half marathon and boy was it a tough one. The course had a few hills, but that wasn’t why this was a tough race for me. My training for this half marathon wasn’t as good as I had hoped it would be. I had a Vegas trip that made me miss a week of running and I also bought some new basketball shoes that literally tore up my feet, so that took me out for another 2 weeks. I also think that the running program that I was on was a little too aggressive for me. It had a “pace run” once a week and I think that I may have set too ambitious of a goal for only my 2nd half marathon. My goal for this race was 1:45, which is an 8:00 minute mile pace and about 10 minutes quicker than my first half. The reason why I didn’t like this program and the pace runs was because it took out the fun and the freedom from my running. I started thinking about my finish time a little too much and stopped focusing on my love for running. There were a few times during the training that I knew I was over-training, but I decided to push through it thinking that that was the only way that I was going to improve. Over-training: the one thing I caution my own clients about every week, yet it was something I was doing during this training. The good thing is that I learned from this experience. Not that I have strayed too far away from it, but I want to get back to the point I was at when I first read “Born to Run.” I want to love running like I did when I first started running.

 

As for the race, I finished at 2:14:52. There were a couple of times I walked, I tied my shoes a few times, and use the potty once. It wasn’t my cleanest race and I blame it on my lack of proper training leading up to it. But like I said, I learned from this experience and I’m excited to run my next half.

 

I just started training for my 3rd Half Marathon and this time my only goal is to run. Cheers!

 

Mile 10

Mile 10

Training for my 2nd Half Marathon!

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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

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

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

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!

I Was On the Radio!

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HELLLLOOOO!!

It’s been so long since my last post, but I’ve been super busy! It’s not that I stopped caring about my “ypowr” or WordPress, I just had something else come up; something new and exciting! On May 21, 2012, I started my new job as Program Director for Health & Wellness at the Central YMCA in San Jose, California!!!! Woot woot!! It’s such an awesome position and I am very blessed to have been given the opportunity. It’s a lot of work, but I’m lovin’ it!! I’ll let you all know more about it on my next post, which will be a video post!

But this post is about my experience on KSFS: The Cycle. My good friend Mr. Conclara was (and I saw “was” because he just graduated, woo!!) a student in the Broadcasting and Electronic Communication Arts (BECA) Program at San Francisco State University and actually hosted a radio show (The Cycle) every Tuesday during his final semester. He asked me if I would be a guest on the show and I immediately said yes. So here’s is the recording, I hope you all enjoy it!

Sorry again for not posting much lately, but I’m back on it! I promise! Cheers!

Just click on this link and enjoy: KSFS: The Cycle

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

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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: Day 29 “The Stick”

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Stretch & Strengthen

Stretch & Strengthen

 

Day 29: Stretch & Strengthen

 

So this week I am skipping Week 10 and jumping straight to Week 11 because my Half Marathon is on 2 weeks. As I look at Week 10, it doesn’t seem like I’m skipping a lot so I don’t think it should be a huge deal.

 

Today was a light day and that is exactly how I wanted it to be. I went straight to the foam roller when I got to Crunch and spent a good 25 minutes on that bad boy. I worked on my IT Band, my Quads, my Fibularis (Peroneus) Longus and Fibularis (Peroneus) Brevis, and my calves.

 

The Peronei.... well, 2 of them

The Peronei.... well, 2 of them

 

I highlighted both the Peroneus Longus & Peroneus Brevis because these muscles piss me off. My right ankle has been sprained so many times before (inversion ankle sprain) and during my 10K on Saturday I rolled my ankle again. Thankfully there was no swelling and I’m able to walk, but today these two particular muscles were really tight. You see, when you have an Inversion Ankle Sprain (when your foot falls inward, towards mid-line) the outer muscles of your lower leg are overstretched or damaged, and these outer muscles of your lower leg are the Peronei Musculature (Longus, Brevis & Tertius).

 

So majority of my SMR with the foam roller was focused on these 2 Peronei. The massage I had yesterday definitely made it feel better, but it was still tight today. I even used “The Stick” when I was training my client tonight. If you don’t know what the “The Stick” is, you should get one, it works wonders.

 

The Stick..... it works wonders

The Stick..... it works wonders

 

As for the Strengthening portion of my workout, I did 2 back exercises, 2 tricep exercises, 2 shoulder exercises, and my ab routine. Today was a good day at the gym, I’m anxious to see how my 5 mile run goes tomorrow. I hope you all had great Mondays! Cheers!