Pre-Training Season

Yes, I know it’s been a month since my last post and a lot has happened since!

I’ll be honest up front that training hasn’t been too consistent lately since life has been busy with various things. November used to be a quiet month, but this year, there’s been a lot of running around and getting things done! So lots of running around during busy weekends and weeknights, but not actually running running. Haha.  

For one thing, I finally got my long awaited volunteer trip down on my calendar for next July and the decided destination will be South East Asia! After all the debates and consideration, I’m going to end up in the bustling world of Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia!  Very exciting stuff indeed, but still lots of work to be done to get this trip hammered out and going. I’m looking forward to the long nights writing applications, organizing fundraising and researching about the trip.

On another note, since October was a solemn month where I spent a lot of time staying at home like a hermit, a huge chunk of November involved meeting up with random people and friends and catching up. Sometimes we went out physically and sometimes, it was just hours on the phone or hours on skype or hours on msn, whatever communication works! A friend I met in Jamaica, who resides in Southern California/ Arizona came up to Canada for the first time to visit, so it was interesting bringing him about the city and showing him what Canadians like to do! I think I’d learnt a few things myself!

But more or so, November was slow in terms of training.

However, now that I’m conversing with Jane Peng regularly and now that I’ve finally started using Nike+, training has started to fall nicely into place. I’m still not doing the hardcore training as Jane did or some of the Nike Run Reporters are doing, where they train pretty much 5 times a week, but I think I will start doing that in January once the new year begins and I’m actually in the mindset to prepare for my first race. But for now, especially since it’s holidays season and there will be tons of stuff going on, I’m only going to run maybe 3 times a week and this will be my “pre-training” season where I’m just getting my legs, muscles and joints used to running the distance. Later on, I will start training more frequently and training longer and training for speed. But I’m just taking it one step at a time, and don’t want to injure myself. I’m especially watching out for my weak knees and training my core too so I can have good form when I run.

My free Runner’s World magazine came in the other day and I’m loving the read; it’s so motivating and interesting to read about other runners. Now that I’m reading the Nike Run Reporters’ blogs and running magazines, I’m really getting inspired to stick this out and work hard at it and accomplish this goal! I’m reading a lot more about running and the various techniques, gear, training schedules, trails, everything!!! Which makes me more eager to go home, get my gear on and just run!

I’m learning though that recovery is important and stretching is a must! I had a full body massage this weekend and boy, it was so good because it took away all my soreness that had built up during my past 10 runs. And stretching and doing cross training felt so good because it’s still working out your body, but it’s so much lighter on your legs/knees. I’m going to keep in mind to get massages when I come home on weekends next term and I’m also thinking of joining the yoga club at school next term so I’ll keep my muscles stretched and relaxed, on top of all the training of course.

But yeah, basically I’m pumped about getting the real training started in January and I’m excited to start up running during this holiday season to lead up to January! 

I’m thinking of maybe posting my Nike+ run times on facebook to keep myself motivated to keep running since other people will be watching. And I think once training starts in January, I’ll be blogging once a week to log down my progress.

Right now, I’m clocking 5K regularly and am moving up the mileages slowly!

Just do it!

The Treadmill

As Winter approaches and the weather is getting super extremely cold, it's proving difficult to get motivation to run outside. I'm going to need to find a way to continue training outside; I’ve seen it done! People still run in minus 20 weather! I’m thinking I need to train my body to be a little bit stronger first and then find the right gear to keep myself warm, but light. I think it’s do-able.

But anyway, for now, the treadmill comes into play! I hopped onto the treadmill last Tuesday (Oct 26) and ran for about 25 minutes. I don’t really know whether the distance was miles or kilometres, but man, did I feel those muscles in my calves burn after! I stretched and everything, but they were still burning for a couple of days, so I took a break and didn’t run for a week now. Stretching really helps to loosen the muscles. I’ve just been doing some light stretching this whole week.

I think I’m eager to try again tonight and see how I can do. After tonight, I think I’ll have a pretty good idea of where I’m and start putting together a personalized training schedule! I’m pumped for this new drastic change! J

Let’s run!

don't stop running

This weekend was a good weekend by far, in terms of training.

First news is that I signed up for Runner's World Magazine and am excitedly awaiting my first two trail version to read up on running and other runners around the globe. I'm proud that I didn't spend the extra money to buy it on the spot in the Newstand. But the wait would be worth it, I have a good feeling it'll be a good read throughout the year :D The stuff online is already pretty good, giving me a good training program and great tips on how to start.

Second news is that, after spending a whole day at Vaughan last weekend, I managed to purchase a long sleeve, under base dri-fit shirt from Nike, which was quite the epic story itself! It was harder than I thought to find a woman's long sleeve shirt for running that wicks away the moisture. So after trying addidas, reebok and champs, I finally entered nike and started looking in the men's section. Which wasn't a bad idea cause in the men's section, they had so much more style than the women's section! So yeah, you'd probably figured out by now that the shirt I got was men's dri-fit. But it's okay, because it still works the charm! 33 whole dollars off my budget, but totally worth it! I went out for a run on Saturday and clocked 5K and wore them inside a short sleeve, and I was completely warm the whole run through. Awesome :) And I didn't need to buy extra gloves or neck warmers cause the makeshift ones I have at home works just fine. SO I have the makeshift gear to start training now! :)

Third news, well other than finally getting my butt out there and clocking 5K, my heroin CONFIRMED me as a friend on fb AND she sent me a personal email to thank me for encouraging her through her race AND we are now conversing on fb. It's so good to see her pictures and talk to her and to hear more about the Sahara race. I think I want to do it in the future. She's such an inspiration and a great person!

Life is good.

Commitment - Staying in the Game

"Ah, the pleasant ache of well exercised muscles"

Now that's a quote that I need to be stating the next time I go for a run. The positivity that some people have, it's inspiring. I mean, most people would be complaining how sore their muscles are and whinning about how their legs are about to fall off (I know I'm one of those!). But some people, and I fully admire these people, can always see the positive in things. They express their burning, sore muscles as a pleasant feeling of well exercised muscles. And that should be the way that all of us think because we know in our heads that the only reason for our muscles to be burning is because we've pushed ourselves to work hard enough.

And for starters, I need to get back out there to start running again!
I haven't ran for almost 13 days. And if I don't kick myself in the butt to get back out there soon, I'm never going to run again. I'm always like this, I get an idea and I'm so super excited about it but then my fire always burns out and then I always just stop half way. I'm a very bad person at committing. This can apply to every part of my life. I get tired of something quickly and I'm not stable. I fluctuate a lot and I always want what other people have. I don't see what I have in front of me and I don't know how to appreciate what I have. I would fight so hard to get what other people have and then when I have it, again I want something else. It's like a cycle. I gotta learn to apprecaite what I have and I gotta learn to be STABLE. I need to be grounded. I need to learn to stick through with something and accomplish a goal, my goal. I need to be independent. I don't need anyone to do this with me, I gotta do it myself. and the key part is, I gotta do it. So I need to stick through with all the training, all the running, and I gotta get back out there and run. Run like the wind!

This is a bit sad because when Jane Peng committed herself to the Saharas Race, she got out there and trained. She trained hard and she ran every day and every night. She trained her core, she did weights. She trained man! She was all out woman! And she worked HARD for what she hoped to accomplish, while loving every moment of it! I think that's really key, to be able to do something and to ALSO love doing it. And she also had to juggle work and other activities (organizing a roof top fundraiser party, interviews, reading, karate, LIFE!). So me, I ONLY have work and nothing else going on really, so I better get my game back on and get my butt out there and train. If I don't, there's no way ho-se that I will be running a half marathon next September.

I'm committing myself to do this and I need to do this, it's all I've got. I can't lose this one.

Simba has held me down for too long, run. Run as fast as you can!

Jane Peng

Yesterday night I tried to run 3K right after I got home from work, but it was not my day. Maybe I was too tired from work, or that I was starving, but I just couldn’t do it. So I ran for only 1.5 K and then went home for dinner, feeling shitty that I didn’t meet my easy goal. And I felt even shittier after dinner because both my knees were burning after merely 2K of jogging.

I kept thinking where I went wrong and how I can improve. And eventually I gave up and went to bed.

So I came to a conclusion this morning that it was just not my day last night. Some days are just not meant for running and yesterday was probably one of those days. Not only was it gloomy outside and felt as if it’s about to downpour any minute, I was super exhausted from work. I guess the better time to do my runs would be an hour after dinner around 7, instead of right after work. I noticed I had trouble breathing big breaths too as the air was full of exhaust right after work when everyone’s driving home. So I’m not discouraged, and I will keep training with that half marathon goal in mind!

I’ve been doing a lot of research online to find a good training schedule and good techniques to train to run so I won’t get injured. There’s SO many routines and workouts and advices online for running, I don’t even know where to start! Now I’m worrying about endurance, speed, distance, balance, abs, core, joints, and all those stuff AND learning to juggle that with having fun (which is key) while I run. But I can do this. J

And I will do this! So I’m going to take it slow and try everything and see what works best for me. I think I def need to start with building a good run base and getting back into shape first before I aim for the tough long distances and rigorous interval training.

And to keep my going through all of this is of course Jane Peng. She is truly inspiration and an amazing woman! I’ve been reading up on her lately and she’s done so many fantastic things in life that are motivating me everyday!

First her education has taken her from China (Guangshou), Singapore, Scotland, England (Oxford) and Upstate New York (Cornell University). She knows how to speak a lot of different languages, and she wants to pick up French and Japanese again (as if it’s so easy to just pick up!). And she’s only graduated last year (2009) and already has a good full time job with Pan Pacific Hotels as a business analyst (a quite renown international organization!).

But above that, her passion for life is truly magnificent! She has co-ordinated and completed a 1,000 km bicycle expedition along the Nile River in 2006 during her first year in university. Her desire to fully experience and understand the world has brought her to all seven continents! This includes at first a solo trip to Argentina, which eventually led her to the southernmost tip of the Earth (Antarctica) for a photographic trip. Not only was she a top ten finalist for the International Photographic competition organised by National Geographic in Australia last year (2009), but her work has also been selected for exhibitions by Singapore’s National Arts Council. This year she has trained and completed her Shitoryu Karate Black Belt Shodan (Dan 1).

Additionally, Jane has a long-standing commitment to humanitarian causes. She dreams of a better future, a world where no child would have to dig through a heap of garbage to seek the next meal, where no one wakes up in the middle of the night because of rain that’s leaking through the corrugated roof of a makeshift home, a future where tears come from laughing too hard and not from too much pain, a future where children can stay off the streets and instead go to school to learn about the wonders of the world and how, in turn, they will play a part of shaping it one day.

She raised funds for breast cancer research as part of her Nile River cycling expedition. She has also built brick houses in Nicaragua for underprivileged communities. And quite recently, without ever running even 10K, she has signed up to do the Racing the Planet Sahara Desert Race (250 km in 7 days) to fundraise for WorldVision Microfinance. The Sahara Desert race is a 250 foot race across the Sahara Desert. It’s listed as one of the top ten endurance challenge race in the world. Competitors will navigate the sand dunes and plains of the Sahara in Egypt while carrying all that they need on their backs! This includes 7 days of food supply, sleeping bag, clothes and survival tools!

Jane is so inspiring. She is a firm believer in the tenacity of the human spirit and has always striven to challenge the status quo, while aspiring to greater heights in all that she does.

I think the most amazing thing about her is that every step of the way that she trained to run the Sahara, she took in all the pain and still smiled and did it with so much energy! She finished each leg of the race smiling and enjoying it! She has so much passion for life and it’s amazing!  

I’m learning SO much from her every day. Jane, you make every step of the pain worthwhile!

So yeah, yesterday I was not quite at the top of my game, but today I will grind the day out and get back to the top.

“The pain tells you that you’re alive, that you’re putting in effort and stretching your limits.”

35 BABY!!!

October 3rd, 2010! Today marks the day that I attempted and FINISHED my first real race ever (if the CIBC Run for the Cure counts as a race??). Actually, I don't really know whether the CIBC run is more of a charity run or an actual race race too? But anyhow, that's besides the point because the point is, I RAN 5K AND FINISHED IT WITHIN 35 minutes!!! Originally I thought it was going to take me a full hour and my goal was actually to finished within 45 minutes. SOOOOO not only did I finished it within an hour, but I finished with the time of 35, meaning 7 minutes per 1K. Not bad for the first race without training or running since... ever!

I do admit it was a bit of a struggle at the beginning to get myself going though. But I think the strong mind pushed through and kept me going till the end! Especially props to my cousin for making me chase him (which helped keep me running!). Kodos to Andrea Lam also for impulsively signing up with me!    Cheers to a successful first real run! I'm feeling sore, but good!

Now, let the real training begin! 

running the planet, one step at a time.

And so it begins!

Usually it all begins with an idea, but this time round, it all began with a grudge. We'll save that story for another time. But essentially, this blog is going to be my testimony to a new goal: running.

Ultimately, the life goal is to run in one of the RacingThePlanet series Desert Race during my lifetime. Hopefully. If I get can physically/mentally do it, and if I ever get the opportunity to.

But for now, on a shorter term basis, I hope to be able to run in next year's Scotiabank Half Marathon in September. Now, if you knew me, you'd probably be laughing and grabbing your stomach by now because I don't run. I hate running as a matter of fact. But I'm going to do it. I'm going to run 21 km and cross that finish line next September. I really should figure out a trianing plan soontimes, but for now, I impulsively signed up for the CIBC Run for the Cure 5K run tomorrow! eeeks!!!  I haven't ran in ... ever.

Yup, I'm going to die.