Tag: #runner

FMT 3: Week 1

3rd Time’s a Charm

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FMT 3: Week 1

FMT 3: Week 1

“There are two types of pain in this world: the pain of preparation and the pain of regret.” – Dr. Cellini

I now have two marathons under my belt and I am extremely grateful and blessed to have been healthy enough to complete them both. If you told me two years ago that I would have completed two marathons before my 29th birthday, I would have thought you were crazy.

There comes a point during a 26.2 mile run that your brain tries its best to make you quit. It tells you that you won’t finish, it tells you to stop at the next water station, it calls you stupid for not training as hard as you should have, it tells you that you don’t need to be running right now, that you could be at home sleeping instead. There comes a point during a 26.2 run that giving up seems to be the best and only option. During my first marathon, that point came at about mile 17. For my second marathon, that point came a lot earlier around mile 13.

When I think about my first two marathons, I can’t help but hear Dr. Cellini’s words “… the pain of preparation and THE PAIN OF REGRET.” By no means am I saying that I regret running these marathons. I have become a better person because of these marathons. What I am saying though is that I regret not training to the best of my ability; I regret not preparing.

My training always starts off well, but then I fall off. I have so may reasons (excuses) why this happens and quite frankly, I’m tired of thinking about these reasons (excuses). I am determined to stick to my training program for my third marathon. All I have to do now is, “GET IT DONE”

A Beautiful Combo

Chia!

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A Beautiful Combo

A Beautiful Combo

 

You want to lose weight? Stop drinking crap (soda, diet soda, Monsters, etc.) and start drinking more water. Even try this beautiful combo: Green Tea and Chia seeds! Weight loss is ALL about Nutrition! Your workouts definitely speed up the weight loss process, but nutrition is 85-90% of the battle.

1 Tbsp. of Chia has 70 calories (40 from fat), very little sodium, 6 grams of fiber (makes you feel full longer so you don’t get hungry and eat more than you need to), 2.9 grams of Omega-3s (this is the ‘good & healthy’ fat that our body NEEDS, as opposed to the bad fat found at fastfood restaurants), 1 gram of carbs, and 3 grams of protein. I get my Chia from Trader Joe’s and my Green Tea from Target. I also put chia in my yogurt (the few times I eat yogurt), in my protein shakes, and other shtuff.

 

No more excuses fam, let’s get to work! Start paying more attention to your nutrition and you will start seeing the results that you work so damn hard for! Ch(ia)eers!!

 

“What you eat in private, you wear in public.”

 

Flaxseed

What the Flaxseed?

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Flaxseed

Flaxseed

It reduces your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. It may help protect you against breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer. It helps you lose weight and it helps clean your GI tract. You could add it to pretty much anything that you eat and it doesn’t really taste like anything so you wouldn’t even notice. And it doesn’t cost much. You can find it for less than $4 online or just get it at Trader Joe’s for a little more than that. If those aren’t reason enough to start adding flaxseed to your diet, I’ve added a few facts about it’s three main components (Fiber, Lignans and Omega-3s) below.

FIBER:

There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Flaxseed has both!

  • Soluble fiber is good for us because it attracts water and together they combine to form a gel. This gel helps slow down our digestion which means that we have that feeling of ‘fullness’ for a lot longer. Soluble fiber also helps lower our LDL blood cholesterol levels by interfering with the absorption of dietary cholesterol. LDLs collect in the walls of blood vessels and causes blockages and blood clots that may cause atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in the arteries) which in turn may lead to a heart attack, a stroke or even death.
  • Insoluble fiber is considered ‘gut-healthy’ because it has a laxative effect and prevents constipation. Because it’s insoluble (it doesn’t dissolve in water), it goes through our GI tract and grabs on to all the crap in our body and then we poop it out.
  • How much fiber do we need?
    • 35-40 grams a day for men
    • 25 grams a day for women

Lignans:

Lignans are a chemical compound found in plants and have antioxidant qualities. Just like fiber, lignans help lower our LDL levels. The lignans found in flaxseed help reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke because they have been shown to reduce atherosclerotic plaque buildup by up to 75%.

Omega-3 Fats:

Omega-3s act as an anti-inflammatory by helping block the release of pro-inflammatory agents. This reduction of inflammation associated with plaque buildup in the arteries may be another reason that flaxseed helps reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. And because there is less plaque in our arteries, our heartbeat and blood pressure normalizes.

Give flaxseed a shot! What do you got to lose?

Triple Crown 10K

Triple Crown 10K

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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!!

8 miles - Lake Merced

“Long Run” Sunday

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8 miles - Lake Merced

8 miles – Lake Merced

This was by far the best Lake Merced Run that I’ve ever had. I’ve run 10 miles around Lake Merced before, but this 8-mile run was fast (to my standards) and I felt so damn good after; I wasn’t too tired, I wasn’t breathing hard, nothing was aching, and I just felt gooooood.

And this is the first time that I used the my Garmin to challenge myself. And what I mean by that is, I set my Garmin to a 8:00 minute pace, whereas in the past I wouldn’t set a desired pace and just used the watch to track my current pace, overall distance and overall time. And to be honest, at the start of my run, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to keep up with that pace, but as I mile 2 came along I was feeling good. And after mile 3, I felt the same. By mile 4 I was in the zone! My strides felt good, my breathing felt good and I just felt goooooood. I’m glad that I used that desired pace function because I think it pushed me and challenged me and it showed me that I can absolutely run an 8:00 minute mile (over 8 miles at least). And to be honest, I think I could have gone another mile or 2 at that 8:00-minute (or faster) pace.

This watch is definitely one of the best Christmas gifts I’ve ever received and I’ve thanked my girlfriend every day since I received it.

Well, that was my “Long Run” Sunday. I’m not gonna lie, I don’t think I’ll post my whole week recap anymore. I’ll keep my running updates short and simple like this post. I hope you all have a great week! Cheers!

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!!