More Marathon pictures

One of the great things that running has done for me is introduce me to a great running community.  Here are some more pictures from this monumental weekend in my life!

At the Marathon Expo at McCormick Place.  This is where the dry heaving began

@suegelber @jen_ni_fer @runningcouple @chanthana @deekindotnet at the Expo

I liked Isis's watch!

Deep thoughts with Chanthana

Craziness at the Nike section of the Expo

Night in the city.  Just across the street from the start line

Me and Jaz in the city

I'm ready...I think

And the 38,000 are off!

Umm...Go Team!?

Me at 13.1 miles.  Drying off and slowly dying

Applying some sunscreen.  I forgot I didn't put any at the start

Aww..."Team Jao" I love these kids!

Making sure I hit up my neck! In reality I was just stalling!

After the race, just glad to NOT be on my feet!

Me and my cousin Nina! It was her second marathon!

Me, Jaz, my two brothers and my nephew

Me and Jaz's parents

My medal and my name at Niketown

At the huge wall name thing at Niketown

Liz and Chanthana...speedy ladies!

Jenna and Isis

Connie (@MarathonMissFit) and Lee

It's Jen! In real life!

Some more of my twitter "runnerd" crew!

As Chanthana said "Asians Gone Wild" Haha

Finally was able to put on this sticker! Yeah I did!

Chicago Marathon - ONE WEEK! Reflection...

1 week away - 17 weeks of training - 2 years of fantasizing - 30 years of disbelief.  Let's go through each of those phases starting with the largest.

30 years of disbelief.  Since I was a kid, I declared I would never run for leisure.  Basketball was my thing when I was a kid and always will be, and I always thought that if I was going to do anything from a cardiovascular standpoint, it would have to be basketball.  No questions asked.  And a marathon? No chance! Not only does that require running, but running for a very long distance.  I question driving that far much less using my feet as the mode of transportation.  People who trained and completed marathons were not real.  They were people that would only be seen on a 2 dimensional screen or newspaper.  I would never know someone who would even attempt this...

 

2 years of fantasizing.  My goals in life shifted.  After years of playing basketball casually, the reality kicked in.  I get hurt all the time playing it.  Ankle sprain, back injury, concussion, pulled hamstring, etc.  Another reality kicked in.  I am dangerously out of shape.  I had issues with blood pressure as well as panic attacks, even sometimes chest pains.  Time for a change, time for someone new...time to run?! Couch to 5K program is introduced into my life.  Got addicted QUICK! Signed up for multiple races, soon enough bumped up to 10Ks.  Loved running, loved the feeling of finishing a race, PRing, a new distance.  How far could I go? 26.2? Man, that would be great.  I don't have that kind of patience.  I am not fit enough for something like that.  I've seen some of the fast runners at the races I've done, they definitely have the drive to run a marathon.  It just amazes me.  Maybe someday...

 

17 weeks of training.  Friends have done it.  Family has done it.  Tens of thousands of people have done it.  Why can't I be one of those?  What makes me incapable of even attempting a marathon.  I couldn't come up with even one good excuse.  Midnight on February 1st comes...SUBMIT! Officially registered for the 2010 Chicago Marathon.  Training starts in July and I meet one of the strongest groups of runners I had ever met.  I'm not just talking about technique...I'm talking about heart and support.  Saturday morning after Saturday morning I find myself listening and talking to complete strangers.  Some of them like me running their first marathon, others running their 20th.  I now KNOW people who have done this.  I find strength in them.  I find support in them.  I'm also finding support in my fund raising.  With my dad not here to see me in person, I had to make sure he heard me.  As of today, I've raised over $2000 in donations for the American Heart Association.  I couldn't believe I could raise that much!  Just more motivation for me.

 

1 week away.  I've never believed in myself more than I do right now.  The past 17 weeks, 2 years, 30 years have led me to today.  I've run as far as 20 miles.  Ask 16 year old Joey if he ever would run that far.  He would say "hell no!" and then proceed to eat his Wendy's frosty with fries (man those are good).  Running has taught me what inner strength really is.  At any given moment, you can look inside yourself and find it, especially when you are running for hours on end!  But with enough patience, faith, and practice, you find that your inner strength is ENDLESS!  I've seen people amaze me everyday.  I've read stories that make me yearn for greatness.  I've heard people say that I am inspiration.  Not yet folks...I got one week.

Chicago Marathon - 3 WEEKS AWAY! *GASP*

Sorry it took so long for an update.  Had a little more fun with this one :)

15 miles...oh..dear...God

I decided to opt for the written post as opposed to the VLOG for this week's training update.

Saturday came.  I hadn't run in 10 days prior to the 15 miler.  The week prior, I felt like I may have tweaked my knee and/or achilles again.  They were just tightening up on me.  Plus Jaz and I were going to Florida for vacation, so I decided to take a little break, probably thru the weekend.  The weekend comes and goes, and they haven't healed completely.  So I extend it till when we get back...still tight.  Decided to just wait until all felt better.  And that day came on the Friday before the 15 miler.  Oh dear.  So here I am on Saturday, carrying some extra vacation Florida weight, not run a mile in 10 days, drank a lot of vacation Diet Cokes and Smoothies w/rum in it.  I knew that the run was going to be much more difficult than it should be.  And I was right.

Right away, my right knee was tight.  I normally don't worry too much about any nagging tightness because I know they normally work themselves out through the run.  And I was right.  4 miles in, and I felt looser, but my calves still felt tighter than I would like.  Now I drank water and gatorade the day before on Friday, but I found out later that maybe I needed to start hydrating even before then.  We hit the 1/2 way mark at about 8 miles and I was already fatigued.  The site coordinator was there too, and he even asked if I was ok.  I must have also LOOKED bad as I felt.  Oh yeah...and there were like A MILLION mosquitos out in the forest.  I was falling back considerably from our pace group.  Luckily, one of the group leaders decided to hang back with me.  For a bit I thought I was getting dehydrated, but I was ok.  At the 10 mile hydration stop was when thing started going downhill fast.  I almost cramped about 6 or 7 times.  So I had to stretch and walk each time.  It would almost happen one after the other.  Cramp....stretch....walk....start to run....cramp....repeat.  It SUCKED! By then a couple of other runners decided to walk with us as well.  Tim, Kim, and Michelle saved me that day.  I just couldn't go on, but they pushed me to finish.  In fact, they made it bearable.  They told stories and we laughed a lot.  So it was a good time in spite of the constant cramping and swarms of mosquitos.  Then finally after 3 hours and 45 minutes, we were done.  15 more miles on my shoes and 133 mosquito bites on my back, legs, and arms.

One of the faster runners in our pace group made this for me.  Isn't she sweet? Thanks Lisa!

Lesson: WATER WATER WATER! I need to shed some more weight so it will be easier on my joints, knees, ankles, achilles, etc. I am going to concentrate on my diet this week.  No junk food, no pop, good carbs and lean proteins.  And some strength training is necessary.  I have been majorly slacking in that department, and I think it is time for me to pick that up again.

Thank you again to Michelle, Tim, and Kim!  Without you I wouldn't have made it out of the forest and would have succumb to the mosquito villages.

VLOG 6 - 13 mile group run

VLOG 5 - 12 mile group run

VLOG - Marathon Training Week 6

Training on vacation

It is week 6 of the 18 week marathon training program for this year's Chicago Marathon.  It also is the week that I had to really prove to myself how serious I really am with this training since I went to the Wisconsin Dells with my family all week.  I have yet to actually run all three runs during the week that I am supposed to be running up until now.  I normally get in one of the two 3 mile runs in, and then the longish run in as well, and then of course the long run during the weekend with the CARA group training.  This week I could have easily blown off the runs during the week and just been ready for the long run this weekend since it was a cutback week of 7 miles.  With the motivation of my two brothers, I have completed two of the three runs during the week and looking to finally hit that third run also tomorrow (later today).

It has been pretty humid here in the Dells, but I took it as an opportunity to get some heat training in too.  You never know what kind of weather will hit on October 10th this year!  I also took the opportunity to do a little bit of hill training today during my 5 mile run.  Just before the end of mile 2, I hit various levels of inclines and declines for the remainder of the distance.  Being back home, I normally just hit the same flat land.  This was a little tougher for me and I found myself huffing and puffing more than usual.  Again, I don't know what the conditions will be come race day, so I gotta have some different kinds of training out there as well.  We do our fair amount of steady incline/decline runs during our weekly long runs with CARA, but nothing like some of the hills I hit today.  It was hard work but also a nice change of pace too.  I kept thinking about my ankles and my achilles through these inclines, and it seemed to hold up, not pushing too hard off it.  I still do my proper stretching and extra cold shower after each run to cool off the body.  In addition we have been hitting the water parks everyday so I get a little more "swimming" in as well as a nice little hot tub session every now and again.  The sleeping has suffered a bit, and I just don't feel well rested in the morning.  It might be because of the small, not entirely comfortable bed we have been sleeping in the past few nights.  Also that night we hit the casino till 3:30 in the morning probably didn't help much either!  I know it definitely did not help my pocket!

Tomorrow (again, later today) I plan on running 3 miles, some of it with my oldest brother to finish strong this week to get into the 7 mile run on Saturday.  I can't believe I'll be a 1/3 of the way through this marathon training.  I will admit I am worried about next week's mileage of 3/6/3 during the week then 12mi long run on Saturday (GASP).  Remember, the mileage of the long run scheduled for next week is what did my achilles in a few months back.  I've been waiting for this distance for some time, so I can't wait to hit and then move on and up!

I plan on getting a VLOG out there again soon.  There are about 5 people who like them, so I gotta keep them happy! :)

Happy training!

Blogging from above

No I didn't die.  I am currently on a flight to Vegas for my cousin Rodell's wedding.  I am pretty excited about getting to see all of my relatives that I have not seen in a while. Obviously all of Rodell's brothers and sisters will be there.  I don't even know the last time I saw all NINE brothers and sisters together.  It must have been one of their weddings or something.  I have no idea who got married last...too many to keep up with!  I haven't seen Rodney, Rodger, or Jun in it seems like forever! It will be a great family reunion with TONS of pictures.  I brought my 75-300mm lens so I should get better than usual shots of the wedding.  When I am so far the normal lens doesn't help a lot.  I'd like to buy a new camera body, as this one just doesn't do all I would like, but that will have to wait until I strike it a little rich.

Chloe gave Jaz and I some good luck smurfs for our trip.  Legend has it that when Chloe had these smurfs in her bag at school, she got 100% on her test.  I like to think it was just that she was smart enough to earn that 100%, but I guess that lesson will have to be taught a little later on in life.  I will still bring them with me when I hit the tables, because quite honestly, I can use all the help I can get!

Now onto the important task at hand for the year: The Marathon!  Training has been going pretty well.  Take a look at the past couple of posts, I have some VLOGs up on youtube talking about some of the training, trials, and tribulations.  This weekend would mark the end of week 4 of the marathon training.  I will admit, I have not been doing as good with the runs I am supposed to be during the week as I had hoped.  I have only been doing two of the scheduled three runs during the week.  According to the schedule, I am supposed to run each day Tuesday-Thursday with varying and progressively increasing short runs and then Saturday I do my progressively increasing long runs (which I have been running with CARA).  This week was kind of screwy because of the vacation we had scheduled to Vegas.  I originally was going to run my long run as scheduled in Vegas on Saturday.  After checking the weather was going to be over 100 degrees, I quickly changed my mind.  I ended up running the long run today of 9 miles.  Problem is that I had a pretty good 3 mile run yesterday as well. Normally the long run is preceded by a rest day.  Since it was "only" 9 miles, I figured I could tough it out, and I did.  This run did make me want to scrap my Polar HRM and footpod though.  It just appears that the Polar is making me "faster" than I really think I am.  I am pretty sure it has to do with the fact my laces are diagonal on my new Asics Nimbus.  (Oh I didn't even take a picture of my new shoes!  Remind me to do that!)  Again...gotta strike it a little rich to score a Garmin. :)

The CARA group runs have been very helpful and motivating.  My normal pace is about 12 minutes per mile, but the slowest pace at the group is 11:30, so I have been running with that pace group.  It hasn't been so bad running a little faster, but I guess we will see what happens when we really turn up he mileage around 15 miles and such.  I'm dreading it, and looking forward to it at the same time.  I should really get that third run during the week, maybe that will help me out even more during the long runs.

Day 4 of my Marathon Training - VLOG

Day 1 of my marathon training - VLOG style

So I decided to give video blogging a try.  I'll get the hang of it sooner or later, and try to not look around so much while talking.

Anxiety and running

So I’ve been running with some kind of consistency for the past two years now. I would think that I would feel comfortable whenever I knew I was going to for a run. But that is not the case. Every single time I run I think I am going to fail or I doubt my abilities. I just noticed on my Polar Heart Rate Monitor/Running watch that I have run over 250 miles since May of last year. It may not be a lot compared to a lot of other real runners, but it is more than I ever thought I could. And maybe that’s where this anxiety stems from. For 28 years I never had even a thought of trying to run for long distances. The only running I would do would be on a basketball court. Must be just force of habit to think that I cannot finish? Over the past two years, I have constantly pushed my limits with running. In 2008, my goal was to run a 5K and I was successful. In 2009, my goal was to run a 10K and maybe longer. I was able to get up to 15K in training, but couldn’t run the 15K race because of the damn H1N1 flu...grrr. And now this year...the marathon. I AM going to finish it in October. But till then before every run, a tiny part of me doubts my abilities to finish the training session. Whether it is tempo run or speed run, I am just not fully confident in myself. It is a very odd feeling. Normally I am confident in my life, but running constantly makes me question myself.

What do you think of this? Anyone have any suggestions or tips?

Something new about something new

I ran on Saturday morning around my mom's neighborhood. I ended up going a total of 5 miles a little over an hour. I have started not wearing an iPod while running. Surprisingly I am not finding myself bored without the music. I find myself concentrating more on my form and posture. After Christine sent me information on Chi Running I have been trying to figure out what is the best running technique works for me. I've been incorporating some of the methods mentioned in Chi running, like leaning, swinging my arms properly, keeping lower back loose, etc. Just like I did last year, I quickly realized what I was missing over the winter months. I've been talking about running with so many people during the winter, I forgot how much I actually enjoyed it. This year, I've got a little added motivation and support group. After I signed up for the marathon at the beginning of February [dry heave], I started following some people on twitter. Some of my favorites to follow are @gargal, @runnergirl33, @awboonstra, and of course @FleetFeetChgo, and @chanthana amongst others. It's amazing how supportive internet strangers can be about running. So I send tweets to them about their training and they do the same for me. It's quite an interesting and supportive community, and it's definitely something different than what I had the past couple of years. So hopefully it all pays off, especially with the marathon coming up in October [dizziness].

My first run of 2010

March 1st is the first day I ran outside in 2010. I only ran two miles at lunch just to see how I felt after the run. I would have loved to do more, but I am always worried I won't have enough to finish or I may get injured on the first run back. Just too many worries, I know! I didn't even think about getting ready to go run at lunch. When 12pm hit, I just walked downstairs to the locker room, changed, had a quick conversation with Lisa and Ingrid in the aerobics room, and then went outside. I find if I stick around too long, I end up making excuses why I shouldn't do certain things. Running being one of them. So I figured if I just occupied myself with smaller tasks [walking downstairs, getting ready, etc] I would not realize that I was about to go running. It reminds me of Chandler on the day of his wedding to Monica [that's right, a Friends reference!] and how he was terrified to get married, so Ross took him to so small tasks like putting on his socks and just going to the church. So I always try to take that approach. Who says that you don't learn anything good from television?

Anyways, back to the run. When I went outside it was probably around 35-40 degrees out. It was a comfortable cool and I completely overdressed with the under armour hoodie. Once the crisp air hit my lungs, I knew I was ready. It's a different feel when that same crisp air enters your lungs when you're just going to or from the car. It's almost annoying then. In this situation it's a wake-up call for the task you are about to accomplish. The first 1/4 mile I started feeling my left knee click, or just tighten up. This was not what I expected since I have been having issues with my right knee for the past few weeks. I thought to myself that I just need to get through it and that my body is just not used to running right now. Sure enough by the 1/2 mile marker, I was warmed up and felt great.

Last year after having run for a few months, this "good" feeling could last a few miles. Today...probably about 3/4 mile. Ugh I'm pathetic. But I knew this was a possibility so I tried not to set my expectation too high [good thing I didn't]. The second mile I just tried to concentrate on form and my breathing. When I am good and focused on it, it doesn't feel as bad. But when my mind drifts, that's when we have issues. I droop my head, I lean a little too much, drag my feet, it's a mess. After 25 minutes I finished off the 2 miles. About 30sec slower per mile than what I would normally like, but hey, this is my first run.

Went back inside to the gym, had a good post-run stretch (per the massage therapist), got dressed, and went back to work. I was ok the rest of the day, of course a little tired from running, but I was glad I got out and did it.

Next Run: Thursday, 2-2.5 mi

Just waiting to register for the Chicago Marathon...

I'm not even running right now, and I feel like I'm going to puke. 11:46PM right now so I have 14 minutes before I make a decision that will change and own the rest of my year. I can't believe I am even considering this. I had a good last year of running right? Was able to run up to 9 miles within a few months when I really started pushing myself. I mean, I just have to TRIPLE that effort, right? Starting out this year of working out, I think I finally found some workout and some good resources [my cousin Joe and my friend Jeremy]. And it's amazing how helpful it is to just be on twitter and tweet with other much more experienced runners and see what kinds of tips they have with running. Also the support is simply AMAZING in this community! Of course I have my running friends who I go to often - CJ and Lisa [10 min now], and they totally have my back. Hundreds of thousands of people run in a marathon in a year, if not in an actual marathon, but on their own. There's a guy I am following on twitter who is trying to run 250 marathons this year! Just an amazing story! So what's my story? I don't have some crazy story about possibly never being able to ever walk again, or have the courage to run for someone who battled with a terminal disease. I am simply running for the ones I love. I have seen lives end too soon whether it was something that could be avoided or not, and time and time again, I wonder how much more life did that person have in them? How many experiences in their life were they supposed to have? What did they not get to accomplish? Whenever God says it is my time, I don't want people to think I did not live a full life [5 min left]. I want people to know I went when I was supposed to, and I did everything in my power to accomplish the goals I set. I am not a motivational speaker but I would love to be the person to tell everyone that they can. They can do whatever they want to in this life if they work hard and stay focused. And there is only one way to prove this theory. It is to show everyone that anything, is indeed possible. Years ago, I would have NEVER tried something like this because I thought I couldn't. Now I realize I never did it because I wouldn't. I thank you all in advance who will be supporting me throughout this year in this seemingly improbable goal...I promise you, I will do this for you. 3...2...1...