I think I found a running buddy!

Maddie turned a whopping ONE YEAR old last month and ever since then, I was contemplating of taking her out with me for some runs. I had a hunch that she would be a good running buddy. The long legs, lean body and rambunctious personality. Plus, I tested the waters at times on our walks and would run with her for a few seconds or so and she seemed to like it alot. She was total game.

Well, today I decided that this was the day she was going to run. So, on with her harness and her leash. We walked for about 5 minutes to warm up since it was a bit chilly outside and then I asked her, " You Ready Girl," She looked at me with a, " huh?" Then I started to run and she started to run. She did zigzag diagonally every now and then making me a bit annoyed, but once I called out her name, she ran straight once more. Ofcourse, there were the few run in with other dogs which I wasn't so much afraid that she was going to attack them. She's a very sociable dog. I knew that she was going to try and go to them and get them to play. So, we had to stop for a bit whenever we saw the dogs walking. Ugh. Gotta work on that! Other than than, she did awesome! Our pace was between 10:40-11:00 and honestly, it seemed like a measly stroll to her --that punk! LOL

I'm loving that she's going to be a great running buddy. She kept me on pace and I'm just hoping that she'll make me a stronger and faster runner. Yay!!!! Go Maddie!

Backyard is Done!

Our backyard is done. Yaaaaay!!!! So happy to be looking outside to trees and plants, instead of dirt and weeds. The even better part, Maddie can go out and do her biznatch-- privately! For a year, we've been taking her outside to the front lawn and I would get embarrassed when people would walk by and see her do this. It's bad enough that our lawn showed it, too! We would have random yellow patches on the lawn.

The stain lady did a really good job. She's a one woman worker and I can't imagine how she does lots that are way bigger than ours alone. Much kudo's to her! Thank you, stain lady. You rock!

This is a picture that is in front of our door. I caught Maddie doing "sprints" back and forth and through the bark causing some of the bark to get loose onto the cement. Oh yeah, also caught her putting her nose in the bark. Luckily, I caught her in time before she got to the tarp to do some serious damage. So, needless, to say, whenever we catch her on the bark, we tell her to get off. Sorry, girl! It's way too early to be messin' up the backyard.

Now, all we need to get now is some patio furniture. Having to wait on that since patio furniture is pretty expensive. It's like shopping for indoor furniture all over again. If you have some places where you can suggest for some reasonably priced patio furniture, send them my way!

Great Deal!

Love the store, See Jane Run. I think it has to do with more of the name. They have some cute shirts that have statements written on them. Two of my favorites are the,
" I Run for Chocolate," and the other one being, " If you can run a mile, you can run a marathon." So, true, yes?

The " I Run for Chocolate," shirt is on sale for $17.99. Thinking of purchasing it as a Christmas gift for my dear friend, " No Fear." She has a strong weakness for chocolate and she makes no qualms of admitting it a whole lot. So, I think it's perfect for her.

Right now, they are offering a fantastic deal. You can purchase a gift card that is valued at $50 for $25! The deal is going on for 2 days, so make sure that you get on this asap! Click here to be taken to the deal.

I'm planning on using it towards a pair of new running shoes. My friend, who is a physical therapist assessed me as I was complaining about my feet aching badly whenever I go on long runs. I suspected it had to with my shoes coupled with me having flat feet.

My suspicions were correct as he checked out my shoes and bent them in half which told me that I had no support whatsoever! We also headed to a sports store so that he could show me what kinds of shoes I should be purchasing as to not purchasing.

Here's what I learned. For you overpronaters, the key to a good running shoe is looking at the side of the shoe (arch area) There is usually a foam part at that area. What you should do is press down onto that foam. If your fingers can instantly and easily press down on it, then that isn't the shoe for you. However, if the foam doesn't easily press down, then it should provide good support for your feet and not allow you to overpronate. He also added that you can insert food inserts in order to give you additional support.

Three shoes I have in mind. One is the Brooks Addiction 8. It retails for $94.99. If I use the gift card, I would ultimately pay $69!


The other shoe is the Asics 2150.
It retails for $99.99. I would pay $74.

The third one is the Asics Kayano's 15. I keep reading and hearing how wonderful these shoes are, especially for flat feet people such as myself. It retails for $139.99 which would have me paying $114. A sweet, sweet deal for these shoes.

In the Works.

Our postage stamp backyard is slowly coming along. The landscapers started working on it about two weeks ago. Starting with putting in all the drainage. We were and still are a bit worried since our backyard had a bit of a slope. We got mixed reviews from our estimators saying that we should put a small retaining wall because of the slope to no retaining wall is necessary; it's all in the draining placements. Ultimately, we decided to not place a retaining wall and go with placing a proper draining called "decko draining."

The area we are located in is partly known to flood. So far, we haven't experienced any flooding the few times it has rained. Let's hope it stays that way!

Last week, they just slabbed on the salt cod concrete. So far, it looks really good! I can't wait for the acrylic lady to come and stain it with the chocolate brown/light brown colors we chose together. We chose to go with the salt cod concrete because it was more reasonable. What I would give to have either stamped or pavers, but it was just way out of our budget. I guess you can say that the salt cod concrete is a ghetto version of stamped? They place salt all over the concrete for a few days . After a few days, they wash off the salt and BAM, you see all kinds of dibbits in the cement.

Here, we plan on putting lawn. All for Maddie. Parents kept insisting that we get the fake grass. The one that looks and feels like grass. It doesn't look like the Brady Bunch backyard grass or the mini golf turf anymore.

But, I just kept thinking about when she poos and how gross it will be to wash that stuff off. Like, what if it still smells and such? Eww. Plus, since we weren't asking for alot of grass, alot of landscapers won't give you the fake grass or recommend against it because it cost more. So, that basically solved our dilemma.

I can't wait for it all to be finished. I'm hoping that once its all finished, we can throw a little bbq to celebrate and break it in.

The hubs has been doing quite the research on gas grills. Fortunately, we have a gas hookup for a grill, so we don't have to deal with propane stuff.

We found out that all Webers hardly ever go on sale. They are like Apple Mac's. The closest to a good deal we found on Webers was no tax, free delivery and no additional fee to put it together at California Backyards. That's how they compete with the other competitors who sell Webers. It's a good deal and we nearly got one there. So glad that we found out this information as we would have been going through all these stores comparing prices of Webers. As much as we would love to splurge on a Weber, I think we are going to go with Weber's other brand called, Ducane. Its made by Weber and has all the Weber like qualities, has great reviews, but not the price.

And So My Hill Training Begins....

Running the half marathon at the Nike Women's in SF definitely got me wanting to do hill training. Those hills at the marathon were killers for me!

So, I took the opportunity and decided to drive 30 minutes away from my house and join my friends, No Fear and FitChick for some good old fashioned hill training in their neck of the woods. The place was Rocklin, CA (home to where the San Francisco 49er's used to train back in the day, for all you football fans).

There's a neighborhood in this city that's called, Whitney Oaks, that has a whole bunch of hills. One specifically called, " Big Mama." My friends talk about this hill quite often and mention time and time again that she is one big hill and can eat you alive if you let her. Ugh, really?


We meet at 0600 where it's still fairly dark at this time. The weather was awesome by the way. Not even cold. Kinda humid. Felt like a summer night. Perfect for doing hill training. The last thing I needed was it to be windy.

We start to jog up the hill, which by the way, wasn't Big Mama. Ugh, how are we going to have a hill before Big Mama? So mean!!!

Then, after jogging up the little hill, there she was! I didn't get any pictures because I think I was just overwhelmed by the first hill. So, up we go. Tiny little steps is what, No Fear said. Breathe. Tiny little steps.
Breathe. I don't think I was breathing enough as I started to get a little headache. Getting a little hypoxemia? haha, maybe. I probably am exaggerating though.

I had to walk/jog but more walking up this hill. Beyonce couldn't help me up the hill as I had her tune, Single Ladies playing. No Fear said I should have had Britney instead. The incline was so steep. I knew it was steep because when I finally reached the top, the view of up top was gorgeous.

I can't wait to give Big Mama another shot. I look forward to her beating me up again.

Post Race Thoughts.

Since, I've been pretty much elevating my feet and poppin' Ibuprofens left and right, I've been thinking these past few days about the good and bad of my first half marathon.

Frankly, I regret not training hard enough for this marathon. I was not motivated enough to be more disciplined in my running and not to mention eating. I ain't gonna lie, I was eating as if I had a free pass to eat whatever I wanted. I wasn't even putting in the miles necessary to have a great marathon.

After looking at my time for the 5K and my half marthon I am pissed. Post race photo's is another topic to be covered, but I ain't going to go there now. It's funny. After finishing up the last of my boards, I was just complaining of how bored I was with life. I'd come home, make dinner, watch tv, etc. I didn't have a goal to achieve. But, now! Oooooh, but now, I do!!! Yes!!! Does this mean the beginning of becoming obsessed with marathons?

I've already started eating a whole lot better. I vowed to not drink any diet soda's, just water. No more fried foods. Maybe I can sneak in a few fries here and there....hehe, hey I'm a girl! I can't help it. But, really, no more fried foods. Just straight fiber, whole wheat, fruit, and oh yeah NO SUGAR!!!!! Ugh. With this new inspiration, I went ahead and got me a new look. I got bangs!!! I feel super Asian! Like, REALLY SUPER ASIAN with this new look.

I Came. I Saw. I Conquered.

I have officially popped my half marathon cherry. Yeah-Uhh!! Can I get a what, what?

Now, for my "official" post race report. {smiles} But, FYI, this may be a bit too lengthy and wordy and probably boring. So, if you actually read this word for word until the end, props to you my friend.

Saturday morning, the hubs and I head down to San Francisco to attend the expo and pick up my race bib. I knew it was going to be chaotic since it was the last day of the expo.


Once we stepped foot into the tent, my suspicions were right. It was a chaotic hot mess! Literally. There was so many people in there that it felt like a hot sauna.

I did think it was pretty cool that Nike used volunteers who were young teens checking us in, handing out water at the various stations and even cheering us on and holding up their hands to receive high five's!

I wanted to get my gait analyzed and after the hubby coming back with two food freebies and not moving an inch, I just left.

Also, wanted to get a manicure. I mean, I needed my hands to be all stylin' while running, right? But, it was a 90 minute wait. Dam. So, with that, we headed off to Niketown to check out the shiny red wall to see my name.


But first, had to take some pictures in front of this sign!





It was a big ole cluster F at the wall. Thank goodness I'm a "dubyah!". My name was at the bottom and much much easier to find. Once you find your name, I swear it was like a big halo surrounded it making it seem it was the only name there.

We headed on into Niketown to check out the NWM paraphanlia. I knew that I could have waited until all the hype went down and purchased them at a much lower price at the Nike outlets, but it was my first half. I needed to make a splurge, right?

I got me a orangey-red sweatshirt. Ain't she pretty? By this time, we were hungry and plus the hubs wanted to watch his Cal Bears kick UCLA's ass. Go Bears!






While he watched, I looked to see what was in my goody bag. Goody bag was a straight joke. Really, Nike? It contained nothing but coupons! Ok, wait, yes there was a bag of Luna Moons and a fruit strip, but dude! Come On! You can at least make it worthy and put either a water bottle in it or a pair of running socks. Hah! That bag was so light. It felt like nothing was in it.

I also laid out my running attire which I learned to do from reading all the running blogs. I swear, sometimes, reading the blogs are making me OCD. Its fun though! I really thought I didn't forget anything and was so proud of myself. Really proud. Am I thinking too soon? Why, yes! I am. The morning of, about 30 minutes to meeting up with a friend, I find out that I forget my freakin' headphones. Noooooooooo!!!!! I started to panic and aimlessly began to do a websearch of the nearest 24 hour Walgreens. Thankfully, my friend whom I was meeting had an extra pair and I was able to use them. Phew!!!! Thank the Sweet Baby Jesus!!!

Ofcourse, I had a pasta dinner with fellow running friends. Some came from Los Angeles to NYC. The NYC people arrived on Saturday and left Sunday afternoon. Talk about in and out.

I left so stuffed and was scared that I wouldn't be able to sleep right away. We got home around 9'ish and luckily I fell asleep around 1030'ish. But, I did wake up around midnight and managed to fall right back to sleep. Then, I woke up around 330 and tried to get 30 minutes more of shuteye since my alarm clock was scheduled to buzz at 0400. I pretty much just laid there and at 0350, said screw it and began my day. It was race day, folks. Woohooo!!! I was stoked.

We got to the race area about 0645. Pushing it yes, but I was in the 10:00-11:59 pace group and knew we weren't going to start at exactly 0700. It was such a great feeling to be in a race with 20,000 people. Everywhere you looked, you saw nothing but smiles. Loved it!

Finally, it was our turn to start and as we made our way to the starting line, the music was blaring getting me all hyped, crowds aligned the sidewalks cheering us on making me near tears, and everyone around me was just ecstatic that we were finally moving.

When the gun went off, I bid my friend an adieu, wished each other good luck and see you at the finish line! Plus, I kept telling myself, do not gun it. Do not gun it. I didn't and kept a steady pace of 11:30, sometimes 10:30 and felt pretty comfortable. It was really hard to weave myself through the walkers. It was like blind spot running. I always had to look to my left or right before I passed. The last thing I wanted to do was trip and fall or have someone trip and fall.

Mile 1-3. Flat course and loving it. I've always wanted to run along the pier. So, I made sure to fully enjoy the run once we got to the piers. I was smiling and watching runners pull aside and take pictures of the bay behind them. Passed by the gospel singers that were wearing Nike shoes. They started to sing just as I was passing them by. Dam.

At mile 4, I had the feeling of needing to go pee. Dam. Why?? Why now? I never had the urge to suddenly go pee on my long runs or for that matter, short runs. F. I decide to skip the porta potties at mile 4 and just suck it up. But, by the time Mile 6 came along, I really had to go. Only, there was only ONE FREAKIN' porta potty. Say what? Why would you do that??? I got in line and called the hubby and told him where I was at. Then, I just said, "screw it." " I'm gonna suck it up until I see more than one porta potty." I didn't want my time to be all screwed up because I had to go pee. To hell with my kidneys.

So, I go up the big ass hill. Saw a slew of old men dressed in speedo's. I guess they were swimming in the bay. But dang, why you gotta sport yourself like that? Put on a towel! I wanted to take a picture so badly, but didn't want to make it so obvious. Oh, but my friend got one! Hah! Seee!! They didn't give a F!

Ok, as I digress.....

Man, that was quite a hill. Never did any hill training and man, was I short of breathe. But guess what! When I got to the top of the hill, I saw a row of porta potties. Ran in and pee'd and bam I was out there. Loved all the downhills. They were like a relief to me. But, man those hills. It felt like they were never ending.

Going up another hill at I think is about Mile 8. Saw all these " Blah blah like a girl" signs along the way. I think I was getting delirious because at one point, I think one sign said, " Trach like a girl." Did a double take and it said, " Teach like a girl."

At Mile 9, I started to feel my toes cramp on BOTH feet and my right achilles tendon cramp. Had to pull aside to stretch it out. I kept telling myself, " come on, relax toes!!!"

Mile 10, I hardly remember. I think there was another hill at this time. Dam, those hills.

Mile 11 I started to cramp again and was getting pissed because I only had 3 more miles to go and was bothered that my muscles decide to cramp on my then. Ugh. So stretch it out again it was! By the way, there was another hill here, too!

Mile 12 I was cruising in Golden Gate Park and saw a few of my friends there. That was a great site to see as I have been running alone throughout the course. I envied the TNT runners with all their support, coaches, and mentors. Cramps were coming and going a little bit and I had to walk a bit as I didn't want to fall or do something embarrassing. Yeah, the last thing that was on my mind was embarrassing myself. I'm so vain. I swear.

Anyways, I can hear the crowds getting louder and I began to run once I did. It was cool to finally see support and cheer us on. Once I saw the finish line, I began to gun it because I wanted to get this done already.

I was so tired by the time I crossed the finish line that I didn't even look at the SF firefighter who was handing me my blue box. So embarrassing and how rude of me. I cringe when I look at this picture. I mean, the dude is smiling as he's giving me the blue box and I'm just like just hand me the box.

Final time 3:20. I really really wanted to make my PR of under 3 hours. I blame it on my lack of hill training to which I decided to walk up the hills and run down the hills. I guess, you can say that I've learned my lesson and will begin hill training more now. But, I finished my first half and am so happy that its over and done with. Next up is Turkey 10K trot in Davis, CA and Las Vegas Rock n' Roll Half in December.

p.s. Here's my Tiffany necklace.