Modern Day Runner

Exploring A Different Side to Eating.....

2011-08-23T19:06:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been into cooking up vegetarian dishes. There's something about how my body and mind feels after eating a vegetarian meal and I love it.

I'm not saying gone are the days of me enjoying a big juicy steak. I do love me a big hunk of meat.

But these days, I'm just trying to adjust my lifestyle to where I incorporate more vegetables and fish into my lifestyle. I'm trying so hard that I even committed myself to a Vegetarian Cookbook.

So far, from the book, I've made Saag Peaneer.

and Roasted Chickepea Tacos.

Source

Oh, and I can't seem to break away from these yummy roasted green bean fries. They are so addicting!

So far, I'm enjoying the vegetarian recipes. They are super easy to put together and not to mention, so fast! Personally, I think my favorite out of the twoso far is the chickpea taco's.

Mr. Dubyah isn't missing the meat....yet. He says he feels pleasantly full but I do think he compensates the healthy vegetarian meal by indulging in a bowl of ice cream.

NKOTB + BSB Concert.

2011-07-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

On Monday July 4th, I slept for nearly 20 hours. It was that much of an epic weekend. Loved every single moment of it.

First up, on Saturday night, I headed down to San Jose with some of my girlfriends to attend the most wanted concert of the year: New Kids on the Block and BackStreet Boys, aka NKOTBSB. Who's with me on this?

A few of my friends are big time NKOTB ~~fans~~ groupies. They always splurge on the VIP packages that usually cost around the $500 mark and go on the NKOTB cruises. Lucky girls! At this concert, they spared no expense.

One of them shared what was in their VIP swag bags. I was perplexed.

NKOTB panties. It even came with a eye mask. Really???

My swag were these $30 tshirts!

While our friends settled into their seats on the floor, we settled in ours which were pretty good. We were on the lower level and dead in the center.

The stage was shaped like a penis (I'm not even joking.)One of the Backstreet Boys, AJ, mentioned it in the program calling it the penis stage, so I guess it really is shaped like a penis shaped.

We were seated at the tip of the penis.

The concert was awesome! I totally relived my highschool days.

Dinner Fail.

2011-06-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I attended my first turbo kickboxing class and had a blast! I was a little nervous as I was afraid I wouldn't catch on to the routine and look like a fool, but, thanks to my experience with Billy Blanks back in the mid 90's, I was able to look like a semi-fool.

I loved the energy and the music. My friend warned me that I was going to feel very achy in the morning. Sure am! It's a good achy though and I can't wait to return!

For dinner, I made some stuffed squash and zucchini's after seeing a recipe and picture on Pininterest. (Love that website, by the way!!!).

I wish I could tell yah how these turned out but I got the sudden craving of having a slice of pizza and a salad instead. Yeah, I know! I'm bad. Will find out how these taste today though!!!

Have you guys ever done that before? Cooked dinner and then eat something else? It's probably just me, huh?

4th of July Colored Inspired Lunch

2011-06-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

This is my third smoothie that I've made so far within the week and I'm loving it! I just can't seem to break away from them. This morning, I made it with:

1 packet of Vanilla Protein Powder
1 Frozen Banana
A Handful of Spinach
About 1 tsp of Xantham Gum
1/2 Cup of Strawberry Kefir

It was really good and creamy! I think the added Strawberry Kefir helped with the creaminess this time, which by the way was my first time ever to try Kefir.

My coworker has been raving about this stuff since he's been on a diet. I think I'm going to be another raver, too about this stuff! It's yummy!

For lunch, I made a tuna melt on sprout bread. I tossed the tuna with some lemon juice, olive oil, and a bit of salt and pepper.

Perfect for a hot summer lunch as it was refreshing!

Ok, off to watch Pretty Little Liars for the day. I'm addicted to the books. Just received disc 1 in the mail today via Netflix!

Better than a Fish Filet!

2011-06-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

I bought a box of grilled mahi mahi burgers from Trader Joe's awhile back and when I initially had them, I thought they were good, but then I just suddenly stopped eating them and forgot about them in my freezer.

Today, I got to finish the last one in the box (I love cleaning out my pantry, freezer, fridge, etc--makes me feel as though I'm doing my part in not wasting food.) and thought to myself, what the heck was I thinking risking these to get frost bitten?

I put it on a toasted bagel thin, fresh spinach leaves for some crunch and nutrients, and spread a good layer amount of tartar sauce with dill and jalopeno's that I recently picked up at TJ's too.

I definitely think the tartar sauce made the sandwich--no doubt! If you are like me, I love anything mayo based. This tartar sauce hit the spot with the sandwich. Had just the right amount of kick from the jalopeno's. I definitely think the tartar sauce made the sandwich--no doubt! If you are like me, I love anything mayo based. This tartar sauce hit the spot with the sandwich. Had just the right amount of kick from the jalopeno's.

It was a fantastic lunch served along side with some juicy plump grapes!

First Time Shakes

2011-06-08T16:06:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to trying my hand at making my very own protein shake. After reading about them, here, here, and here, I gathered up my ingredients at the store such as protein powder (vanilla flavor), bananas, and some xantham gum (that stuff is so expensive!).

I can see (and taste) what all the hype is about. This stuff tasted good and I was full instantly. I didn't think I would be able to drink all if it, but I forced myself to in hopes that I will stay full for a few hours, which I did.

Next smoothie experiment, chocolate banana but with spinach!!! Oooooh!!!

p.s. I'll be hitting the pavement very shortly again! I'm excited!

A Hot Day with a Refreshing Snack!

2011-05-04T19:36:00.001-07:00

Today'sweather high was 90 degrees!!! It's only 4 days into May and we arealready at 90 degrees--crazy! I'm wondering if these are signs of usgoing to have a sweltering heated summer.

Today, I spent the early afternoon with the BFF. She was craving sushi and I couldn't say no! Plus, I wanted to try out some DavePops at our local farmer's market.

They arenothing like the icy popsicles that you buy at the grocery store. Thetexture is smoothie like--thick and creamy, which I later found out ishow they are actually made--just like a smoothie! Oh, and they are notbad in the nutrition department. About 100 calories per pop and theyare made of whole fruits, juices, and some are made with soy or nutmilks. I saw that some are made with soda drinks and energy drinks, butI didn't try those out at all. A Red bull pop doesn't sound appealing.

Taste of Summer.

2011-05-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

It already feels like summer is here on the west coast. The weather has been nothing but gorgeous. All I have to say, is keep the sun shining!

Last night's dinner was some yummy chicken with asparagus and mushroom stir fry compliments of Mr. Dubyah. I always tease him that since his ethnicity is Chinese that he makes the BEST stir fry ever. Hah!

We indulged after dinner and went out for some family ice cream at a local creamery called, Leatherby's. I just wanted a scoop of my favorite flavor, toasted almond.

Even Maddie got in on some family ice cream. We bought her favorite peanut butter and banana ice cream cup. It's an organic dog ice cream called Yoghound.

She always seems to know when we buy it that it's her "special" treat. I love that! I can tell that she loves it because usually when a dog passes by, she'll try and greet them, but when she's busy licking away on her ice cream, she pays no attention to them. Oh Maddie, you are so funny!!!

A Relaxing Weekend

2011-05-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

I had a very relaxing weekend this past weekend. I got to spend the day with some of my closest girlfriends, aka, "PLC" (Puma Love Club) at the spa and then have a very indulgent dinner at Tyler Florence's restaurant, Wayfare Tavern.

One thing we wished we did was have earlier appointments so that we could use the amenities much much longer. So, what do we do? We plan for our next spa day in a month!

We spent majority of our day at Burke Williams Spa in San Francisco. Its located inside the mall which is a girl's dream to be in a spa surrounded by all sorts of stores.

They think of everything to have from the facial moisturizer, makeup remover, to the curling and flat irons and hairdryers. You really don't have to bring anything from home except your swimsuit and change of clothes.

Dinner was pretty exciting as we were hoping and praying that Mr. Ultimate himself would show. Unfortunately, he was a no show as he recently opened two other restaurants. One in Mill Valley and the other in Napa and so his time is split up between all three restaurants. Boo.

The husband surprised all of us by purchasing a bottle of some yummy Prosecco in celebration of our friend's upcoming nuptials and birthday. Awwwww :)I was a very proud wifey, needless to say.

The food was good, but to be honest, I wasn't blow away by it. I did enjoy my 48 hour cooked pot roast and the fresh green peas that were sprinkled about. Look how ginormous those green peas are!

Trying Out Something New.

2011-04-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

Every time Peanut Butter Fingers posts her breakfasts that consist of an Alternative Bagel, slice of cheese, and a spread of jam, I get curious about it more and more.

Weird combination, yes, but for some odd reason, I think it does mesh well.

So this morning, I gave it a go since I was able to find Alternative Bagels at my local Henry's store.

I toasted my bagel and melted the cheese for about 15 seconds in the microwave.

and here we go....

The verdict: I thought it was pretty good. The bagel is really a good alternative as it's only 140 calories versus a big ole' regular bagel at close to 300 calories. I purchased the Sweet Wheat flavor and spread the bagel with grape flavored jam and a slice of Colby Jack Cheese. Can't wait to enjoy it again!

Thanks PBF!

What a Week!

2011-04-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

I know it hasn't been quite a whole week yet, but for me it has. Since I work 12 hour shifts, every two weeks or so, I get 7 days off and currently, I'm on my 7 days off. Woohoo, for 12 hour shifts!

During my 7 days off, I try to take advantage of stuff to do around the house as much as I can and cook some real food dinners, ofcourse!

What I got completed this time around was plant my flowers, herbs and veggies for the season. I've been growing tomatoes for the past two years now and so far so good.

I have to admit, I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to these things. I have no clue what I'm doing and I especially feel that way when I read articles on growing your own veggies and herbs at home.

This season, I planted Roma tomatoes, Jalopeno's, Cilantro and.....

and... for the very first time and I'm totally freaked out by it, I planted a dwarf Eureka lemon tree.

I'll just be happy if this tree last a week with leaves and all.

I can't wait for summer to enjoy this loveliness.

Save the Dolphins!

2011-04-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ever since Mr. Dubyah purchased spontaneously (which he rarely ever does) a blue ray wifi dvd player, we have been Netflix fiends.

The recent movie wewatched was The Cove. I've always heard that this documentary wasextremely sad and I was a little bit scared to even dare watch it. But,I wanted to know what it was all about, so I braced myself.

It really opened my eyes to dolphin captivity. Makes me want to ban Sea World.

What I can't understand and it's mind boggling to me is that why do they have to kill every single dolphin they capture?

Have any of you guys seen this movie? What are your thoughts?

Food Truck Heaven

2011-04-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that food trucks have taken over the world, well except for the capitol of California, Sacramento, which is unfortunately, the city of where I reside. No bueno.

Sacramento imposes regulations for food trucks making it hard for them to stay in a spot for more than 30 minutes and park at certain places in the city.

So, what do we Sacramentoans have to do? Well, this Sacramentoan, travels to San Francisco to attend the Off the Grid food truck event at Fort Mason. Yes, I'm officially crazy and guess what? This isn't even the first time I've travelled to SF for a food truck event. Can you just call me insane? Or a fatty!

{Imade by SF Eater}

I already mentally knew what I wanted when we arrived at the event and that was, Spam and Egg Tacos from the WOW truck and peking duck musubi's from the Musubi Kings.

For those that loveSpam, and I know there are alot of you especially closet Spam lovers!, the Spam taco was awesome! At $3 a taco, you definitely get yourmoney's worth as it's not a itty bitty taco and it's chock full of lotsof goodiness.

The peking duck musubi. Oooooh, yummy! Yah'll know how I love musubi's. This musubi was absolutely deeeeeelicious!

We also noshed on buttery dulche de leche cookies and fresh buttery empanada's from the El Porteno truck.

Oh, and tikki marsala burrito's from the Curry Up Now truck that was to die for! At a whopping $7 and change, it was pretty tasty and very satisfying. Definitely a burrito to share with people.

This food truck was definitely fun. Good times shared with my lovely fam-bam.

Fit Flops and Bestie Visits

2011-04-15T12:13:00.000-07:00

One of my besties from Las Vegas came into town a few weekends ago. Yay for "bestie" visits! Anne is a long time friend of mines dating back to the highschool days. She was even a bridesmaid in our wedding and we were able to plan our weddings together as they were only a couple months apart! 

 FYI: Anne is the beautiful bridesmaid to the left of me. 

Ofcourse, there was some good eating involved. We started the day with having some lobster rolls at Old Port Lobster Shack in Redwood City. Been hearing tons of good things about this place. Needless to say, I was excited. More excited than everyone else in the party which was pretty lame. 

 I got the "maine" lobster roll which is the basic roll with lobster and mayo mixed in. Comes with fries and coleslaw. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. It was lacking in flavor =( Boooo. So much for that! But, I was really excited and enjoyed my very first root beer on tap. Never before had root beer on tap and I have to say this is the only way to go when it comes root beer. You taste all kinds of flavors ranging from vanilla to molasses. 

 Since her husband is notoriginally from California, but from West Virginia, we played touristin San Francisco for him. Walked a ton around the city in differentneighborhoods. Can you believe I've never in all my 30+ years havenever been to the Haight Ashbury district? It was tons of fun seeingall the different stores and smelling the "lovely" fresh air. 

We also wandered the Mission district because our favorite ice cream shop is there. It's called Bi-Rite Creamery. If you are ever in the SF area, specifically the Mission District, you MUST try this place. Long lines, yes, but I promise you, you won't be disappointed. They have the most unique flavors that are out of this world. We had our usual, roasted banana. But, I tried a new flavor which was their Earl Grey and holy! It was sooooooooooooo good!

It was such a beautiful day, we thought we'd take Anne's husband to the Castro area.  

Fun Anne's Husband Fact: Did you know he thought Berkeley was in Oregon? 

So, yeah we head over to the Castro area and we couldn't get over the fact how there were so many "fallic" names for stores. We saw a store named " Mobey Dick", then "Hand Job" which was a "spa" shop. Riiiiiiiiiiiiight. 

All the walking we did around the various neighborhoods had my feet screaming in pain. I was wearing flip flops that had absolutely zero support and to make matters worse, they were thin and flat. It was mucho no bueno. I was so envious of Anne's fit flops that she purchased and was happily walking around the city with no problems whatsoever. Whaaaaaat?? I need to get some of those asap and I certainly did! 

I love them, too! I ordered the Pietra style in black just like Anne.  I love how they can be dressy when worn with jeans that are a bit flared or boot cut because it has a jeweled tone thong. A bit pricey, yes, but in my words, worth it. I already took Maddie on a walk with them, too!

iPad is finally here!!! i

2011-04-06T13:44:00.000-07:00

When we arrived back to the mainland, our iPad was waiting for us at. It basically arrived the day we left. How messed up is that? Whatevs, Apple! You are lucky, I heart you.

I justthought the above picture was kinda cool. I like how Apple decided toblow up the smart covers in all its colors for its display. So freakin'cute, yes?

Cue the dancing, like how Oprah did on her favorite things show when she presented her viewers with the iPad. That was me, too!!!!

Read my first magazine on the iPad courtesy of the app, Zinio. You get two free magazines just for signing up with them by the way. I love reading magazines on the iPad!!! What I love about it is not only do you not have to worry about what to do with them after you are done reading them, but that you can click on the websites that they place in their articles.... so freakin' genius!!!!

Mini Vacay to Hawaii

2011-04-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

Mr. Dubyah and I just returned from our mini vacay to Honolulu, Hawaii. Back in October, Pleasant Hawaiian was having a fabulous airfare deal. $300 per person roundtrip. We are hardly the spontaneous couple to take far away trips, but when we saw the deal, we just couldn't pass it up. Plus, we've been fiending for some good ole' Hawaiian food as you can see through the pictures below. All we did was eat, eat, eat.... But that's a good thing, right?

In fact, right when we landed, we checked in our bags and headed straight a Ramen place. I swear, I'm obsessed with finding the perfect ramen place. Whenever we are in the bay area or somewhere in Southern California, I try and search for ramen places to try.

On this trip, we got to try two ramen places, Ramen Nakamura and Gomaichai Ramen. The two places are different as they specialize in two different broths. Ramen Nakamura specializes in oxytail broth (the hubby had the oxtail, while I had the hakata) and Gomaichai specializes in a tan tan broth which is a very spicy pork broth that takes roughly 12 hours to cook. This was my first time to try a tan tan broth and while I thought it was good, I do prefer a miso or hakata based broth.

{Hakata Ramen @ Ramen Nakamura}

{Tan Tan Ramen @ Gomaichai}

We ate tons, and I mean, tons of musubi's. Another food item I am obsessed with. It's funny though, because it's such a simple type of food, too!

If you aren't really sure what a musubi is, it's basically a rice ball that's filled with some type of meat such as spam, sausage, tuna and it's wrapped in a nori seaweed wrapper. Basically it's Hawaii's version of sushi and I'm so obsessed with them.

We were buying them nearly everyday of our trip and heck, for our trip back home.

See, I told you I am obsessed with musubi's. Look how many are in that bag!

We did find time to lounge in between our food adventure's. Sitting by the pool and drinking lava flow's were my cup of tea. It was kinda hard to get "comfortable" in Oahu. There are so many people there and the streets are always hustling and bustling with cars, people, restaurants, etc that you hear tons of noises. So, I must admit, it wasn't the best relaxation but don't get me wrong, I'd take this type of relaxation anyday!

I can never get bored of this view. Who wouldn't?

The only picture taken of Mr. Dubyah and I was this one. Pretty funny. All of our pictures are of our food.

Cake Pops. Yay or Nay?

2011-03-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

Since the Bakerella era days, I've always thought cake pops were so adorable. I subscribe to Bakerella's blog and with each blog, I would drool over her pretty little cake pops and dreamed of a day when I could try a cake pop. Seriously. I would dream....

Well, Starbucks has jumped on the cake pop bandwagon recently. Read the news about them! In fact, they had a promotion last week giving them out for free. Where was I? I had no idea. Not a dam clue! It's because of Facebook that I heard about the cakepops. All of my friends were getting their grubby hands on them.

I finally trudged into Starbucks and scooped up one of each flavor that they had on hand.

Starting with the pink one, known as the birthday cake pop was waaaaaaay to sweet. I needed water to wash it down. Not my fave at all.

The tan colored with the espresso bean is the tiramisu cake pop and it was my favorite out of all three. It wasn't too sweet and the flavor of the tiramisu was just enought. I think it would taste great with coffee.

The dark chocolate is the rocky road cake pop and again, it wasn't my favorite. A bit too chocolaty for me and too sweet.

Would I buy these again? Probably not. Each is supposedly under 200 calories each. That's a whole lot for something that is eaten up within 2 bites. Not worth my elliptical gym time. Plus, they are a bit on the pricey side. $1.50 each, $2.50 for 2, 6 for $7.50.

iPads and My Favorite iPhone App,

2011-03-17T15:56:00.000-07:00

I've been anxiously waiting for my iPad 2 to arrive. Everyday I keep checking if there is any change on my order status delivery date. Still, no to avail, it still says, " March 22nd through March 29th. F. This is the sucky part about purchasing new Apple products online--- no immediate satisfaction of having the product in your grubby hands the day it comes out.

Any one else buy the iPad 2? How do you like it?

I've been using this application on my phone called, " Fitness Pal" to keep track of what I eat, calorie-wise, exercise, and water, etc. I think it's my new favorite app! I love it because you can enter recipes and it will automatically calculate the calories of the recipe. There's already Filipino food in it which I love and made me immediately fall in love with it! Plus, it has a pretty extensive food database. Like, for example, I ate a couple of Russian Cabbage rolls. I entered cabbage rolls and low n' behold, they were listed as 125 per roll! WTH? Amazin, right?

Lent Season.

2011-03-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

I love to cook and try new recipes, but sometimes, I hate it when my house smells like food. For the past couple of days, I've been on this curry kick. I made a Thai Coconut Curry with Tilapia dish and just yesterday, I made a Indian curry with Cauliflower and Tofu. Both were super yum and I for sure will be adding these two entree's into our dinner rotations.

These recipes have been a sweet introduction for what I gave up for Lent: red meat. This year, I've decided to participate in Lent this year. It's been years since I've done Lent and for the first time, it's something I want to do on my own without feeling the need to do it just because.

For 40 days, I'll be munching on vegetables, fish, chicken, and yes, pork! Hey, it's a white meat, right? I'm kinda excited about this challenge as I want to see if I can do it. I know it's going to be hard as I love me some In n' Out burgers, but hey... it's only for 40 days. What I'm really hoping to gain out of this Lent sacrifice is to hold off on red meat for the long run.

My mom recently had to undergo an angio procedure and they found some blockage in her left main artery and had to put in two stents. It really hit home as she's only 63 years old. I've known heart disease runs in my family on both sides. All of my dad's uncles and aunties including his mother died from heart attacks and they were all under the age of 65. So, yes, having to see my mom go through her stent placement has made me take a double take on the foods I consume. It really makes me think twice now when it comes to eating certain foods and the way I take care of myself.

Working Nights + Exercise

2011-02-01T20:51:00.000-08:00

I just came off from working 4 12 hour shifts. At work, I try to walk and take as many stairs as I can. But, really, it's never enough, which kinda bums me out because I feel like I'm losing out on the exercise. I gotta think of a master plan on how to combat this issue. Any ideas?

Tonight's dinner was mighty tasty. I baked some pork chops using Japanese panko crumbs. In the past, just dredging the meat with panko crumbs and shoving them in the oven makes for an albino looking dinner. I took a tip from Annie's Eats and browned the panko crumbs in a pan with a tablespoon of oil. Albino meat is resolved! On the side were yummy mock mashed potatoes using cauliflower. Looooooooove this side!

Wanted to share my new iPhone 4 bling that I snagged in San Diego. The gawdier, the better, right? I absolutely love it! I ain't gotta lie. It's shiny. I can't stop looking at it.

Spin Instructor Down! Repeat, Spin Instructor Down!

2011-01-26T15:17:00.000-08:00

I'm really enjoying spin class these days. So much, that I'm contemplating purchasing some spin shoes to make it, a la official.

Yesterday's early morning spin class was interesting though. I usually go on Tuesdays because I love the instructor. He plays really good music to spin to. Music that I know, which helps me immensely to keep the motivation going. I've been to spin classes where I can't even relate to the music and I've noticed that I clock watch throughout the class because I'm disinterested.

Anyways, going back to yesterday's spin class. The last 20 minutes of class, our instructor all of a sudden says, " he'll be right back." Kinda strange. We see him outside with another gym employee and he looks like he's in some kind of pain or discomfort.

Turns out that he was going to nearly pass out from the class he was teaching. Ain't that kinda crazy??? A instructor about to pass out from his own class. That's just crazy!

Last night's dinner was semi-homemade pizza. I bought a couple of whole wheat pizza dough from Trader Joe's. One pizza was topped with sweet chicken italian sausage, mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese. The other one was topped with bbq sauce, chicken, mozzarella cheese, and cilantro (love me some cilantro-yum!)

They turned out pretty good! I opted for the Chicken Italian Sausage because it was only 190 calories as opposed to the Pork Italian Sausage at 300 calories. No bueno!

One of the answers to happiness is being surrounded by good friends.

2011-01-25T19:51:00.000-08:00

Just returned from a trip filled with lots of eating, dancing, social drinking, and laughing with my college besties. Back in October, Southwest was having an awesome sale to fly to San Diego for $30 each way. It was a total spontaneous trip planned in a matter of minutes and we all managed to swoop in on it and get a flight arriving around the same time with each other. I should add that many of us came in from all parts of Sacramento, the Bay Area, and one even came from Arizona! Now, that's love, yes?

There was tons of eating. Ugh. You can say my diet was thrown out the window. Heck, when I arrived, I drank a cold beer and shared some yummy appetizers such as tater tots, buffalo wings, nacho's, sweet potato fries, pork sliders. Oh, I did order a salad just to balance it out. It's like ordering a diet coke with an In N' Out hamburger meal. Oh yeah! It was delish!!!

We got prettied up and did some dancing in the Gaslamp district, which is party central in San Diego.

Ate some awesome Japanese Ramen and noshed on the absolute best place for desserts in the whole wide world at a place called Extraordinary Desserts! It was featured in the Food Network show, " The Best Thing I Ever Ate."

If you are in San Diego, this is the place to go. It's very Zen like with a modern twist. You will be swooning!!!

Now, it's back to reality of exercising, eating healthy, and going back to work. Waaaah!!!

Something Smells Fishy.

2011-01-20T19:50:00.000-08:00

After feeling at my " not my personal best" last week, I proclaimed profusely to the hubby that we need to eat more chicken, vegetables, and fish. He needs to stop buying a bunch of red meat just because it's on sale. Gah, men sometimes. (hehe) I'm fine with an occasional steak, but not more than twice a week. Heck no. Not having it.

So, my lovely husband brought home these babies. All were on sale for $2 each. Could-not-believe-it! I know they aren't exactly " fresh," but they are pretty convenient when you are fiending for a fish taco. Plus one serving is 2 points in WW world. Hell to the Yeah!

I decided to bake the Garlic Butter flavored fish since I was making fish taco's. When I removed them from the box, I have to admit, I was a bit perplexed with the shape of the fish. So square! So compact looking. I began to imagine a big ole factory that pounds out these fish by the second. Le Sigh. That's what you get when you buy things like this, right?

But, boy! Did these produce a fabulous meal that was a 9 pts!!!! Check out the entree. As you can see, I am in love with cilantro. I served my fish taco's with some leftover cilantro-lime rice from yesterday's meal. Still tasted yummy!

p.s. Found a trail mix granola bar recipe that I"m dying to try at Eat, Live, Run.

Beautiful Day to be Out n' About!

2011-01-20T18:06:00.000-08:00

Spent the day with my lovely, BFF.

Weather has been quite confusing this week. Yesterday, it was cold and windy Today, absolutely beautiful!

Breakfast was just a multi grain english muffin with a smear of light cream cheese, a banana, and coffee. Gah, I need to learn how to drink my coffee black. I envy people that can because the creamers are messing my diet up!

Lunch was a big ole' salad at Pluto's.

I have no clue how many points this salad was. It was a pretty big salad that I think had 3 cups of mixed dark greens, beets, corn, cucumber, carrots, croutons (i couldn't resist), mushrooms, all mixed up in a gorgonzola vinaigrette. Oh, and a fabulous small slice of focaccia bread.

To get an idea of how big the salads are at Pluto's, here's a picture taken from here.

Whatever it is, it's all in my belly now. Heh. To not let me think about it, I did some shopping and came out with these pretties.

Trenta, Really?

2011-01-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

It was all over the news yesterday. Starbucks released a new size above the Venti size, called Trenta.

.photo from starbucksmelody.com.

Greeeeaat. Just freakin' fabulous. Another contribution to obese America. Does it ever end? It baffles me already with the amount of empty high calories there are in the Starbucks drinks. It baffles me even more that I see people order Venti sized empty high calorie Starbucks drink. So, to just imagine people actually ordering Trenta sized drinks, just makes me sick to the stomach. Why? Why? Why?

Difficult Day 2.

2011-01-19T22:53:00.000-08:00

Man, trying to keep within 29 daily points is a pain in the bootay. Today was very difficult. The problem. Dinner was so good, I wanted seconds and I had seconds. (ohmygodican'tbelieveisaidthat!)

But, let's start off from the beginning, shall we?

I started off with a good ole hearty bowl of oatmeal mixed with 1 tbsp of brown sugar, 1/4C of Horizon Organic Lowfat Milk, and some slices of banana. Oh, and a cup of coffee mixed with 2 tbsp of hazelnut creamer. It's the creamer that got me up in points dammit. All of this was 8 points.

For lunch, I had a whole wheat wrap with honey ham, cheddar cheese, a little bit of mayo, and lettuce with a tangelo for fruit. It was really yummy, but I seriously need to find some whole wheat wraps with lesser points. This meal was 8 points, too!

And then, I got curious after seeing this interesting snack found on Meals and Moves. Loved it! Maybe my favorite snack so far and I might even make this my breakfast tomorrow! It is Wasa multigrain crackers with lowfat cottage cheese sprinkled with some cracked pepper. It is deeeelish! Oh, and it's 4 points.

So, yeah if you haven't already tallied it up. I already used up 20 points, leaving me with 9 points for dinner which isn't much....again! Doh!!!

Oh, but it was all worth the seconds.

By the time I had my seconds, I just naturally assumed that I went way beyond my daily points. So, another day, another adventure. At least, I ate pretty healthy for the most part, right? haha

I Found the Secret Way to Eat Chipotle!

2011-01-19T10:18:00.000-08:00

I gotta say, eating healthy is somewhat tiresome. I mean, you really gotta plan out your meals if you are determined to lead a healthy lifestyle. Well, with my lifestyle. No planning, no meals which means, eating out. Maybe I'm making it much more complicated than it really should be, yes? I tend to look for healthy recipes to keep me "interested". Otherwise, I'm dunzo.

Tonight's dinner I'm quite excited about. I absolutely love the Chipotle burrito bowls. I swoon over them. But, after finding out how many calories is contained in one bowl, I wanted to literally puke my brains out. So, when I discovered this recipe at Gina's Skinny Recipe's blog, I was jumping up for joy!! Yes! Yes! Yes!

.Photo From Gina's Recipes.

Instead of making the Sweet Barbacoa Pork, I'm making the Puerto Rican Pork, aka, Perril, meat. Right now, the meat is slow cooking in my lovely crockpot. My mouth is going to be watering for 8 long hours. Shall I leave the house for a few? Hehe.

I Survived Day One!

2011-01-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

Phew! What a day it was to begin Day One of WW. All I have to say is that, " I Survived!" I was a little bit ~~stressed~~ worried that I wasn't going to meet my daily point of 29 points. After eating my morning breakfast, snack, and lunch, I had a mere 6 points left. In WW world, that pretty much equates to pinto beans, figurative speaking. But, I was determined. Oh, yes I was....

I made Baked Panko Crusted Chicken Strips using a simple recipe found on Moves and Meals. Although the recipe stated it was only going to take 25 minutes, it didn't. More like, 1 hour. I kept flipping the chicken a couple of times hoping that the panko crumbs would get browner. But, sadly, they didn't and I just said screw the look. If it taste good, it is good and that's a winner in my book, right?

My side dishes were zuchinni and mock garlic mashed potatoes using.... get this... cauliflower!!! Holy! I was in pure heaven and didn't miss "real" potatoes whatsoever! I remember making this side dish when I was following the South Beach Diet. I enjoyed it, but I think this recipe is much, much better than the SBD recipe. It only called for 1/2 tsp of minced garlic and that small amount of garlic really rounded out the cauliflower well.

So, thankful that the new point plus in WW calls for all vegetables and fruits to be zero points. The fruits are my saving grace right now when I'm starving!

Right now, I am itching to get back in the gym for some spinning classes as well as head to the yoga studio for some hot yoga. Unfortunately, I had a procedure done last week that is not allowing me to exercise just yet.... so frustrated!!!!

Weight Watcher Addict.

2011-01-18T12:15:00.000-08:00

I think I've joined Weight Watchers about a handful of times within the last 20 years. I've done countless diets ranging from the South Beach Diet, Jenny Craig, to Nutrisystem. Classification: Yo-Yo Dieter.

Being at home during the day doesn't help me neither after watching countless commercials of Jennifer Hudson's new svelte body. So, I took the plunge once again and re-joined Weight Watchers, but only this time, online. My schedule is kinda erratic, especially working night shifts. So, I'm hoping that I won't be swayed too easily. I know in the past, attending the weekly meetings helped me stay on track. Maybe if I post up my day by day meals, it will help me become more accountable and stay on track, yes?

Right now, I'm given a daily allowance of 29 points. Seems pretty generous, but wow, after adding up the points of what I've eaten in the morning, morning snack, and lunch, I've pretty much expensed majority of my points away. For example, today's lunch consisted of the following:

2 Slices of Whole Wheat Toast (Orowheat)
1/2 Cup of Egg Salad
1/2 Serving of Trader Joe's Baked Cheeto's
1 Medium Sized Apple

This meal was a whopping 16 points. Thankfully, fruits are zero points. So, I can fully load up on those, but man, 16 points? That's insane! This calls for a re-evaluation of what I am going to eat these upcoming weeks-months. Seriously. No freakin' joke.

Happy 2011.

2011-01-18T10:29:00.000-08:00

Hey Folks! Happy New Year!!!!! 2011, I welcome you with open arms and hoping for the best year ever!

This year, I made a pledge to live a healthy lifestyle. I know, this is typical cliche. But, since 2008, I've gained about 30lbs. I can list a long list of excuses, but I'm not. I'm going to take ownership and get back on track. Fortunately, I began this journey before the new year. I began taking up spinning classes at the local gym, choosing healthier choices when it comes to eating, and basically trying to feel good about myself overall.

Running has taken a sideline, unfortunately due to personal reasons that I'm not yet ready to fully divulge. But, it hasn't stopped me from being active. I do plan on getting back into running as it's one of my favorite things to do. But, for now, I just have to put it aside sadly.

Recently, I ran into a great deal at LivingSocial.com for a month long unlimited Bikram Hot Yoga Classes. All for $25. It was just too good to pass up, yes?

Two weeks ago, I went to my first first Bikram Hot Yoga. On Facebook, I wrote: Ready or not, here I come Bikram yoga. Trying it out for the firsttime. 90 minutes of 105 degree heat. Let's hope I don't get nauseatedand pull over to the side to throw up like the last time I did semi hotyoga.

Unfortunately, I did end up throwing up right after class and fortunately, outside of class. But thereafter, I was able to attend classes with no problemo's. I think I got the science down for my body on how to handle Bikram Yoga.

My formula is to not eat 3 hours before class. Drinks plenty of water all day and a container of coconut water an hour before class. Also, have an apple right after class to help level out my blood sugar since I tend to get low blood sugar'd when I do eat for periods of time.

I love the way Bikram Hot Yoga makes me feel. It challenges me, balances me, makes me feel good, and most of all, allows me to sweat out all the toxins away. Right now, the biggest pose that is a challenge for me is the Camel Pose.

To bend backwards feels so unnatural to me and at the same time, creates alot of fear in me. But eventually, I know that I will be able to do this pose and when that day comes, I will be celebrating!

Here's to hoping for a fantastic 2011. I wish nothing but positive healthy vibes to all of you!

Coastal Camping

2010-08-02T15:36:00.000-07:00

I'venever really been a fan of camping up until this past weekend. I'm anewly reconverted camping fan! In the past, camping to me was dreadful.Dirty all the freakin' time, dry hot weather, dreaded taking a showerin the less than clean showers, bugs, bees, bears, etc. But, I thinkI've found a solution to my camping dilemma and that is, find acampsite that is near nice places such as Pismo Beach.

PismoBeach was my saving grace. We were able to hang out in cool, breezyweather, and then return to our campsite in the evening hours where itwas finally in decent weather temperatures and lounge for the remainderof the night. It was the perfect combination!

This past weekend, we drove down to the Central Coast and camped out at one of the KOA campgrounds in Santa Margarita. I have to give much props to KOA asthey were exceptionally good at making sure the bathrooms andcampgrounds were clean. Heck, even their porta potty was clean. Well,that's what I heard from my fellow family members. I didn't have theheart or the courage to go into the porta potty. My rule, go in a porta potty unless its absolutely necessary.

Thistime around, the weather was perfect to set up our tents. Last year, itwas so windy making it difficult to even hold down the tents to stakethem. Below is our humble abode for 4 days/night. Inside, we had cotsthat took up majority of the room inside and made me a wee bitclausterphobic. I thought I was going to have a panic attack.

Thenext day, Friday, we all decided to head to Pismo Beach. I was veryexcited because I've never been to Pismo Beach. The weather, at first,was foggy and cold, but the sun began to come out mid afternoon makingit perfect to walk around and explore the little beach town.

Weencountered the infamous Splash Cafe that my lovely Facebook friendskept telling me to check out. The line was super long, but fortunately,it went by fast! We ordered a bowl of their award winning clam chowder,with seafood topping and a loaf of sourdough bread. (Thank you V for giving me this tip!). It was very, very, delicious and needless to say, worth every minute of the wait.

Noshed on a seafood platter combo which was next door to Splash cafe at a place called Brad's Restaurant. that consisted of clam strips, shrimp, halibut, and calimari and oh, some good ole' chips! It was oh-so delish!

Thenon Saturday, we headed over to Grover Beach. This was my favorite partof the trip! We were able to drive onto the beach and have a littletailgating beach party all day long.

Dogsare allowed on the beach, so long as they are leashed. Fine by me.Maddie is a rebel when it comes to being off leash on the beach. Thelast time we off leashed her, she went ballistic. She started chasing abird and kept going farther and farther into the ocean. We seriouslythought we were going to lose her because she wouldn't respond to our voice commands.

I can't wait for next year to camp again! It truly was a enjoyable weekend! I heart summer days.....

All Natural

2010-05-26T09:13:00.001-07:00

Believe it or not, I had my very first visit to a Whole Foods during our trip to the coast. We have a couple of Whole Foods near us, but I never felt the need to go there especially since it's very expensive and I get my satisfaction from Trader Joe's.

I decided topick up a couple of dinner items to eat while I watched the infamousLOST finale. The husband and I are still debating about the ending andits theories associated. We can't help ourselves. I love it! Any LOSTfans out there? What are your thoughts?

Oh, as I digress. Getting back to Whole Foods. Ahhyes. So I wanted to purchase a couple of items for my dinner. Iremember reading a review about Whole Foods and their wonderfultasting natural honey roasted peanut butter. It wasn't a high praisingreview, but for some reason, it clenched my curiosity and I just had toswoop up one!

I didn't getthe opportunity to run the peanuts threw the intimidating machine, butI was able to snag an already pre-packed one.

Yesterdaymorning, the hubs decides to make himself a peanut butter and jellytoasted sandwich for his breakfast and I remembered that we bought theau natural peanut butter. I was ecstatic to try it, and man, oh, man,this stuff was gooooooooood!!!

What I lovemost about this peanut butter, or natural peanut butter in general isthat it has no preservatives, but what I dislike about it is that it ispretty expensive!

Back In the Saddle, Again!

2010-03-16T14:11:00.000-07:00

Been on a 3 month hiatus. I've been very bad. I know it's no excuse, but this was my first time to experience the glooms of running through the ugly rainy months and well frankly, I suck at it! After running the Las Vegas Rock n' Roll Half Marathon in December, I was over the cold weather. Couldn't seem to get my brown bootay out of my flannel sheets and onto the pavement. Yup, I caved but now I'm back. Out of hibernation and it feels really good!

Weather has been super gorgeous these past few days and it just has inspired me to get out there! I finally put on my running shoes for actual running and hit the roads. I got my ass kicked, really bad. Only did 2.5 miles, but I know that eventually I'll build up my endurance once again.

Upcoming races that I plan on doing is the 12K Rocklin Run in April and the Cowtown Half Marathon, err I mean Urban Cowtown in October. They had to change its name because in Forth Worth, Texas there was a race with the same name.

I'm trying to stick to local races as last year just kinda burnt me out with the traveling out of town and money spent on driving and staying at hotels for races. Plus, I'm finding that the local races are more reasonable in price, too! Can't beat that!

So what have I been up to? Absolutely nothing. Discovered some really good foods though. My latest obsession: Kellog's Cinammon Pecan cereal. Oooh Yeah. It totally reminds me of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and I just love it!

2009-12-21T00:22:00.000-08:00

Ithas been quite the busy weekend for me. My weekend began on Thursday.Only had to work 2 nights last week. Yes!!! I just have to mentionagain how I love working 12 hour shifts. They are the best!

Let’s start from the beginning shall we?

Friday I turned a whopping 34. Big Fat F.I can’t believe I’m 34 and inching closer and closer into my late 30’s.Life is moving way too fast for me. My mom was right when I was a young18 year old. She said, “ Stacy, just you wait. Once you turn 21, itwill all go way too fast for you. “ I wanted to grow up so fast sobadly. I hate to admit it, but she was so right on the money. Everyyear seems to go by faster and faster.

I spent the day with my good friend, No Fear.We brunched on some French food and ended it with some good ole’Mexican Hot Chocolate. I’m so blessed to have No Fear in my life. Wespoke for hours about running, work, relationships, our fears, ourdoubts. It’s so good to have a friend where you can pour out your heartand soul to.

The hubs and I dined at a local restaurant called Boulevard Bistro.It’s located in a part of Sacramento that I would never have thoughtwould hold such a place. No offense, Elk Grove, but when I think offine dining, it’s really not the first place that comes to mind.

We enjoyed the restaurant very much. It was a good “bang” foryour buck. I especially enjoyed the cozy warm feeling of therestaurant. It’s a house that was built in 1908. Inside, it still feelsand looks like a regular home; just without all the typical furnitureof a home. We sat in front of a huge fireplace that had a gorgeousmantel. Poor hubs was taunted every 20 minutes or so about the gorgeousmantel. I've been wanting a mantel for our fireplace and have beensaying to him every single day with our Christmas stockings in handthat, " I wish we had a mantel to hang these!"

Attimes, I did forget that I was in the city of Elk Grove, but when Ilooked out the window and saw the lighted "open" sign across thestreet, I was taken back to reality. Dam.

OnSaturday, it was my little brother’s college graduation from SacramentoState. He graduated with a BS in Biological Sciences and I’m so happyand proud of him. Attaining a degree is no easy feat. It took him about6 years, just one year more than me (phew!). But, he did it and I’m anextremely proud big sister!

Hisgirlfriend and friends made some pretty cool signs and blew up hisgraduation picture. I thought it was pretty funny and cute at the sametime!

OnSunday, we were supposed to attend our annual Christmas gathering withour friends. But, sadly, we couldn’t make it. So bummed about it, buthence there is always next year! I can’t believe that we’ve beenkeeping up this annual Christmas gathering for quite some time now. Ithink it’s been over 10 year now and we still manage to gather evenwith all of life’s changes.

Ipretty much spent the day baking all day on Sunday. I don’t think Iever baked this much in my entire life! It was fun though. I made abatch of Mexican Wedding cookies that I’ve been dying to try. I evencontemplated making these as our wedding favors. What stopped me is thethought of baking a gazillion of them a week before the wedding. Ididn’t want to deal with the stress. I also made Giada’s Florentine Sandwich cookies.Instead of using semi-sweet chocolate, I used Nutella. Can’t go wrongwith that right? Finally, I had to make some good old fashionedchocolate chip cookies. They looked pretty basic when paired next tothe other two cookies, but I’ve been wanting to make them for some timeand drink a heaping glass of cold milk.

I’llbe working the next three nights, but I do get to have Christmas dayand the day after off! I can’t believe Christmas is literally justaround the corner. I have a few more Christmas gifts to purchase andprobably will do that all tomorrow. I’m crazy, I know. But hopefully,it won’t be as crowded. Here’s to wishful thinking! Pray for me,please!

I have a slight contusion on my heart.

2009-12-11T12:45:00.001-08:00

I've been on the fence about posting this. Not sure why. Still trying to figure out what I'm afraid of. But, I can't help it. It's what I'm feeling at this moment and have been off and on all week. While, I love my parents to death. They are the best parents anyone can have, or for that matter, any Asian children's dream parents. I say that because, really, they aren't your atypical Asian parents that scoff when you tell them you want to major in Art or Music. They fully understand the American culture as they grew up in the American culture.

But, needless to say, their parents did not and they often at times, display the atypical Asian parents personalities because it's what they know and grew up with.

Here's why.

In highschool and throughout college, I wasn’t the athletic type of person. I was more of a girl that participated in clubs and sororities. For a few months however, I was on the track and field of my Varsity Highschool Team, but I had no idea what the hell I was doing. All I knew then, was that I enjoyed running. So, it just seemed logical to join the Track Team.

I quickly discovered that the Track Team was all about sprinters. I was far from being a sprinter. The only time I think I was ahead of my team was during a practice session around the track . Everybody was doing an easy “jog” around the field while I was treating it as if it was a race.Yeah, don't know what I was thinking.

What I should have done was join the cross country team. Dammit.

I had a few meets and was quite saddened that my parents didn’t really show any support by attending any of my meets or even inquire about my running. It saddened me, but I moved on.

Well, here I am again. The feelings I’m feeling are all too well known to me. I’m heartbroken. Sad. Deflated. Curious and Intrigued.

Intrigued and Curious because I’m wondering why they don’t even ask how my training is coming along or in fact how my marathon went knowing that I participated in on one just recently.

Deflated because they laugh when I told them that I did two half marathons and wonder why I do such a thing. Their question to me was, “ Why do you do these?”

Sad because I would love their support.

Heartbroken because I wished that they would on their own come to the races that are local and cheer me on.

I realize that I’m not a teenager no longer, but I still long for the support of my family. When I see parents, siblings, in laws, cousins, aunts, uncles come and show their support for their beloved family member with a huge glittery sign and shouting out, “ You Can Do It” with so much enthusiasm it makes me a bit envious that I had the same type of support group as well.

Don't get me wrong. I have a wonderful support of friends that keep me going and ofcourse, all of you guys, too! Plus, I do have an uncle, who is my mom's brother that runs marathons and he attempted to come out to the race during the Nike Women's in SF since he lives in SF, but we just couldn't get a hold of each other post race. I hate the fact that after post races, the cell phone lines are all tied up that its very difficult to text or call someone.

And my parents thoroughly support me in any way they can, it just can suck when every now and then you aren't really taken seriously when you tell them all about your latest passion in life.

A Gripe and Races for 2010

2009-12-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

During the RnR Las Vegas, I used the race belt I purchased at my local Fleet Feet store for the very first time. While, I enjoyed wearing it as it stayed secured around my waist. It didn’t even bounce with a small pouch attached to it holding my iPhone and iPod, too!

But, I do have to gripe about the race bib holders. I purchased the Amphipod Add On Race Number Tags. Throughout the race, one of the holders kept releasing the bib on one end. It was frustrating and after several attempts of reconnecting it, I said, “ To Hell with It” and just let it go. So, I was pretty much running with my race bib holding onto my belt on one of the race number tag. Thankfully, the other tab secured it well and I never lost my race bib and remained legit throughout the race. Hah!

After running in Las Vegas, I’ve realized that I need to do more local races. While I love travelling, I just don’t love the inconvenience it can place on you.

Here are my inconveniences:

MADDIE. We have to think ahead of where to place our dog Maddie for a few days. I’m starting to run out of favors with the parents, although they never complain about taking care of her, I just feel bad for having to drop her off a lot.
FUNDS. My wallet hates me. Travelling is quite expensive even if you are travelling by car or by plane. It can add up. Plus, you gotta factor in the hotel costs. Thank goodness for the hubby being somewhat of a high roller as were able to get comp’d for the rooms and only pay $80 for the entire weekend. But, when we travelled to San Francisco, the hotel costs was about $100/day. A steal of a bargain for San Francisco, but still, it’s $100 less from your bank account.

NOT MY BED. Okay, so this may totally not be an inconvenience to alot of you, but to me, it is. I've been spoiled by the comforts of our Four Seasons Bed. I've never before had a bed that was so comfy, yet alone spent the money on a comfy bed before. So, whenever, I sleep in a friend, relatives, or a hotel's bed, I don't really feel as though I get a good sleep.

With that said, here are some local races I am anticipating of registering for 2010:

Shamrock Half Marathon on March 14th
Run Rocklin 5K on April 18th
American River Parkway Half Marathon on May 1st
Nike Women's Fitness Festival 5K on June 6th

Rock n' Roll Las Vegas Race Report 2009

2009-12-09T09:23:00.000-08:00

Busy week leading up to the RnR Vegas race weekend. I worked three night shifts prior to the weekend and left the following day after my last night shift was done. I was bone tired and hoped that I packed everything. I nearly forgot to pack my running shoes. Can you imagine flying into Vegas and realizing that the ONE thing you actually need are your running shoes? Good Gawd, I certainly cannot. Heck, I don’t even want to fathom the thought of what that nightmare would have been like.

We arrived into Vegas around 8pm Friday night. As we exited the airport and entered the long line for the cab rides, you immediately felt the brisk cold of the night. It pretty much gave me a preview of what I had in store come Sunday morning. Big F.

I went to bed right away as I was still recovering from my night shift schedule. It usually takes me about 2 days to recover. Saturday, woke up bright and early so that we could head over to the Mandalay Convention Center right when they opened to pick up my race packet and bib. I knew it was going to be a mad house there later in the day and wanted to get a head start.

The crowds were already piling up, but it wasn’t as bad. I was able to get my race packet, bib, and tech shirt right away within a span of 20 minutes or so from entering the door. Sweet! Gave me more time to check out my first race expo. I really don’t count Nike Women’s as a real expo as everything there was pure Nike. So, I was pretty stoked to see all the race gear out there.

Spied a Spibelt and thought about investing in one. But, since I already had a race belt with a pouch attached to it, I opted to not buy it Boo because I thought it was pretty cool that the sales guy managed to fit a whole can of Coke in the belt.

After perusing the expo and grabbing all the freebies I could muster to get my grubby hands on, we took off and headed on our merry way to enjoy the rest of the day.

We had a pasta dinner at Maggiano’s with some friends that live in the Vegas area. It was so good to see all of them especially since we haven’t seen them in a long time. I totally carb overloaded at the Maggiano’s and managed to eat a delicious crepe post dinner at the Paris Hotel where we were staying at. I got the D'anjou. It consisted of pears, caramel sauce, crème, toasted walnuts and a fatty ole dollop of whipped cream on the side. Yuuuuuummy!!!

Once I was done with my dessert, I bid my friends an adieu and headed up to my room for some much needed sleep. Got to sleep around 9:30pm/10:00pm and set my alarm for a 4 am wake up call.

On Sunday, I was able to wake up once my alarm went off. No snooze for me! Got up and got ready. My stomach wasn’t really feeling it though which made me a wee bit nervous of how I will be at the race. Unfortunately, being that I had a semi yucky stomach, I only had a bite of my muffin. I know, I know. Bad Stacy for not eating at all and racing on an empty stomach. Believe me, I kept thinking to myself that I pretty much f’d up with that.

My friend, No Fear, and I were in the same corral which was #25. There was a total of 29 corrals. We didn’t get to start until an hour later because of it. Oh wells. Once we hit the start line, I hit my start on my Garmin and we were off. No Fear and I decided to take it easy for the first mile and then start our run after it. The first mile went by fast as it was a big fatty U-turn with a band right at the U-turn playing. I was pretty stoked that when we made that U-turn that a mile had already passed.

I couldn’t believe, however, that moments after the start line, people were already lining up for the porta potties though. Interesting, right?

It was a pretty cool thing to be running along the strip. We were passing each hotel one by one and I ain’t gonna lie. When I saw my hotel, Paris, I thought for a split second to just go back inside and head into my warm cozy bed. Just for a split second though. Really.

Passing the Paris hotel, meant that we were at mile 3.5 where we hear the group wedding ceremony take place that warranted many cheers from us running and passing the event. Only in Vegas will you see that, right?

Saw many Elvis’ in all sorts of costumes. We saw a pack of Elvis’ that had these inflatable Elvis hair do’s on top of them that I thought was pretty cool. I tried so hard to take a picture of them. But running kinda got in the way. I didn’t want to be too obvious too!

A couple of shirt quotes that had me cracking up was " Please God, let there be someone behind me" and

" I'm running for Holly's Ass". The event was for Crohn's and Colitis disease. In case you are wondering, Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease and Colitis is the swelling of the large intestine.

No Fear was a great partner to run with. This was my first race to be able to run with someone side by side. No Fear is just too sweet as she kept saying that she loves running with me and that I’m way better than an IPod. Awwww, she’s too kind. Really, better than an IPod?

We kept plugging along and the miles kept going away. I knew that once we hit the Stratosphere we were near the turnaround, but man, once I saw the Stratosphere, I felt as though I kept running and the Stratosphere kept going away from me farther and farther. Ugh. It didn’t’ help either that you see people returning to the finish line on the other end of the strip. Such a tease it was. Kinda made me a bit frustrated to just want to finish already, yanno?

So, finally, finally, we get to do our turnaround at or about mile 7.5-8 mile. Was so happy to return back on the strip once again and this time heading towards the finish line. Woo to the hoo!!!

At mile 9, 10, 11, I started to get tired. It was a mental game with me. I kept telling myself that I really wanted to break my gawd awful time I made at the Nike Women’s ½. That kept me going but I started to gain another mental game in mile 12. Mile 12 for goodness sake!!! You would think that once I see mile 12, that I would be zooming with adrenaline. Nope. Slowed down quite a bit. But I managed to pick up the pace at 12.5 mile. I knew I was close as I got constant reminders from the crowds on the side. I kept chugging, and chugging and yay, I see the inflatable finish line sign. The crowds are louder as ever and finally, I see the end and bam I’m finished with a PR for myself. Shaved off about 20 minutes from my original half marathon time and am mighty dandy proud of myself!!!!

Garmin Time: 2:55

Official Race Result: 2:56

I'm Back!

2009-12-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

I'm alive and well after a great race in Vegas. Made a new PR. But, I'll have to post a race recap this weekend as I have tons of errands to do before working the next two nights. Cheers!

Post Thanksgiving, and Race Bets

2009-12-02T11:34:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving came and went for me this year. It was such a blur as I worked the three nights prior to the day of , spent it with my family all day and night and then headed off to LA the very next day to spend time with the in laws.

Experienced my very first holiday traffic returning home that I am just spent. So glad that I had a day to recover from all the Thanksgiving madness. Sad that I didn't get to take home any leftovers or eat any leftovers and make me a turkey/cranberry sandwich in a roll. It's usually a tradition for me the very next morning.

But, as usual, had a great time spending time with the family by eating, playing board games, drinking a few beers, and perusing the newspapers for the next day's shopping adventure that unfortunately, I didn't partake in.

Las Vegas Rock n' Roll Marathon is this weekend. To be honest, I'm actually dreading this marathon. I'm hoping to come out of this little funk of mine's by trying to read all of your running blogs and gain some inspiration and motivation, but it's hard at times especially since I work night shift and have been working alot of them lately leading up to the race that it's just draining my energy. I really need to re-assess my schedule and plan out my runs more efficiently.

Speaking of work, one of our Pulmonary Rehabilitation peeps is participating in the Las Vegas RnR, too! There's a big round of {money} bets going within our department as to when he's going to quit the race. Why? Well, he's not a runner and hasn't even ran a few steps since signing up for the race.

One of the reasons why he signed up was because his son in law and daughter runs marathons and I guess him and his wife were consumed with "awesomeness" while watching them compete in the RnR San Diego that they signed up for the Vegas one.

A board was made that represents the Las Vegas strip and pictures of his head are along the strip. People making the bets just bet which mile he's going to croak, err, I mean stop. I think our bosslady has him quitting at the start line. Poor guy. If I had this board made up for me at the office, I think I'd feel a tremendous amount of pressure just to prove all them fools wrong. Wouldn't you?

Anyhow, Pulmonary Rehab coworker was so nice enough to give me and my other coworker VIP passes into the event. His son in law works for the company that is putting on the marathon. Right on PR coworker!

10 Days

2009-11-25T13:03:00.000-08:00

10 days remaining until it's time to attempt another half marathon. Going to participate in the Rock n' Roll Las Vegas. Kinda excited about this one as it's a " Rock n' Roll" event. Keep hearing good things about this marathon.

Excited to see:

* The Running Elvis'es . My friend suggested that we get Elvis costumes and run the event. But, I wasn't really keen to this idea. I think I would get way too hot in that bell bottom jumpsuit coupled with that big black wig I would have to wear. What a hot mess these guys look like, huh?

* 85 couples getting married at mile 3.5 of the course in front of the Eifell Tower of the Paris Hotel. There will be a special corral for the lively couples, their bridal party, an running Elvis and a running Reverend.

Most of all I'm excited to be running on the Las Vegas Strip sober and with water in my hand.

New Shoes, New Clothes, and Warm Ears

2009-11-23T11:27:00.001-08:00

The very next day after the race, I headed to Fleet Feet to return the clickity clunk shoes, aka New Balance 1011's. Tried on a few other pairs and came out with the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10. Sounds like a cool car, huh? Went with these as they felt much lighter to run in and still had the arch support that my Flinstone feet needed. Thanks Dad for blessing me with these lovely feet.

I also headed to the Nike outlet because I've realized that I was in super dire need of some outdoor winter running clothes. My stars were aligned because when we arrived to the Nike outlet, they were having a pretty good sale. Additional 30% off all the clearance items and other items around the store which so happen to be items that I was looking at. Score!

I picked up two dri fit pants, two dri fit long sleeve tops and one snazzy headband/ear warmer for $2.49!
I've never worn a ear warmer before and I'm not sure how to wear them, so I tried it out in front of my bathroom mirror. I think I need to fiddle with this warmer, yes?

My First 10K

2009-11-22T17:49:00.001-08:00

Saturday, I ran my very first 10K with one of my EG running gals, Bern. It was the Davis Turkey Trot and it was freakin' cooooooooooold! Like 37 degree weather cold. I know this is considered warm to most people living in the midwest and east coast, but for us California people, it is freezing!

I watched New Moon near midnight the night before and was on cloud 9 coming home because I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Had butterflies from Robert Pattinson, le sigh. Made me worry that I wouldn't be able to go to sleep right away. But, fortunately, I did and woke up grudgingly around 6:30 am.

Immediately prepared some coffee and a bowl of cereal with organic milk.

Bern came over around 7:30 am so that we could carpool together. She had no one to watch her kids and her husband had to forego participating in the 5K and stayed home with the kids. She was kinda bummed that her family wasn't able to come with her and cheer her on. I was so bummed for her as I know how much it means to have support at a race. Like, I tell my husband all the time, " still waiting for a cool glittery sign." Heh.

We line up near the front of the race. Remembering our last 5K together, I didn't want to be in the very front. Too much drama up there. So, we scoot ourselves just a little bit behind the front and wait for the countdown to begin and the blare of the horn. It finally goes off and we bid each other adieu and best of luck! I wish I could run with Bern, but unfortunately, we aren't each others pace. Hopefully, someday....

I'm running and chanting to myself, " Don't gun it, just stay your pace." At the same time, I'm thinking,"Man these new running shoes feel like cement blocks on my feet." F.

The run takes you through some streets of Davis and then it turns into the back trails behind houses. Miles 2.5 through 5 took place in the back trails and then it went back onto the streets of Davis.

On mile 4, my right shin was hurting and I know it's from my new shoes. I did try breaking them in earlier in the week and I felt the same way in them which was my feet felt heavy and my shins are hating them. I have already decided by the end of mile 4 that I'm returning them to Fleet Feet for another pair.

I got to see my friend, Joy midway through mile 4. Almost didn't recognize her as she was covered up big time. Joy just did the 20 mile run at the Clarksburg Country Run and finished within 4 hours. Yay, Joy!

Once, I saw her, I used her as my pacer. I just stayed right behind her and kept running along. Thanks, Joy! You don't know it, but you helped me.

Finally, I see the finish line around Mile 6 and feel the adrenaline kick in. I hear the crowd and I just want to finish.

Unofficial Time: 1:20. Eh, I was hoping to finish within 1:00 but oh wells.

I think I have a memory of a goldfish--3 seconds.

2009-11-20T17:51:00.001-08:00

So, I'm one of those uber Twilight fanatics. I have been patiently waiting for the movie, New Moon, to come out since I bought my ticket via Fandango about a month ago to watch it at midnight tonight! By the way, I'm Team Edward and I'm going to dread this movie because there's a whole lotta' Jacob in this one. Ewwww.

Well, I f'd up. Three weeks ago, I agreed to sign up with my friend to do the Turkey Trot 10K in Davis, CA. Always heard good things about the Turkey Trot in Davis and since I wasn't working, why not? Well, I just realized this week that dam, I'm watching New Moon @ midnight and dam I have a semi-early wake up call for the 10K. Totally forgot that the movie comes out this weekend.

Eh, whatevs. What can you do? I'll just have fun with it tomorrow and not worry about the time. I hear it gets really crowded at the Turkey Trot because it's a very popular family event. Funny thing happened as I was waiting in line to get pick up my packet this afternoon which by the way was across the street from Fleet Feet and outside in the pouring rain. They did provide tents, but it was still wet in there. Anyways, the guy in front of me kept asking people around him, " So, what are you running...the 5K or 10K? Oh yeah, what are you hoping your time to be?" I just kept thinking to myself, " Really, dude?"

New Shoes.

2009-11-18T14:21:00.000-08:00

I finally purchased a new pair of running shoes. This time, I walked into the store with a much more educated mind about running and what type of shoes are best for me. Unlike my first experience when I had no clue and trusted all of my knowledge with the running lady at the store. Grrrrr.

I wanted so badly to try on the Brooks Ardrenaline, but they didn't have my size. They didn't have my size in the Asics 2150's, either! She said that Asics may be too narrow for me anyways since I have wide feet. Ugh, really?

So, she brings out what they have as far as stability shoes. One was the Brooks Addiction and the other was the New Balance 1150's. The Brooks Addiction felt great, but when compared to the New Balance 1150's, it didn't hold up. I felt more support in the New Balance's, especially in the arches. The only thing I was concerned about with the New Balance 1150's was that they felt a bit heavy. I buy them despite the heaviness and decide to try them out. Love Fleet Feet's policy of being able to return the shoes if you aren't happy with them.

This morning, I try them out. Kinda excited, actually. That was really what got me out the door this am was being able to try them out and the fact that I actually needed to try them out since I'll be using them in the Turkey 10K Trot this Saturday.

I was a all a mess. Decided to bring Maddie with me which I really shouldn't have. I just couldn't find my groove in these shoes especially with Maddie doing zig zag's in front of me and pulling me a bit making me go much much faster than I really wanted to. Ugh. I started to get shin splints and my right arm was getting tired of holding onto the leash with a big ole' counter hold to prevent Maddie from going even faster. So, this AM run was a huge fail. Going to try again on Friday evening. I have to work the next two nights, so hopefully, I can make a run on Friday evening.

Facebook Inspires.

2009-11-17T19:15:00.000-08:00

It really does help to have running friends. This past Sunday, I met up with two of my girlfriends for a morning running date in their neighborhood. One of my gf''s, whom I'll call PK2, has been inspired with my running updates I make on Facebook that she decided to give running outdoors a try. So, she messages me on FB and we set a date. I was excited and she was excited! I love gaining more running friends. The more the merrier, right?

Boy, was it a hard running date to make. Since the Pacquiao fight was the night before, I didn't get to sleep until 3:30 in the morning. Ugh. I was so tempted to cancel, but I didn't want to disappoint PK2 since she was excited to run outdoors for the first time. That would have been just too cruel.

With that said, I feel so much accountable to keep up the running especially on days when I'm just not feeling it. A few more of my friends on Facebook have expressed to me that they have been getting motivated to start running because of my updates. Strange, but true. I feel so humbled that my little running updates inspire them.

One of my EG girls came along. Actually, since I wasn't familiar with her neighborhood all too well, she told us where to meet her. Pk2, EG Girl, and moi did a cool 3.6 mile run along the trail. We were able to talk and catch up with each other lives which I enjoyed very much as it made the time go really fast. Unfortunately, every now and then, I kept experiencing aches in my arches. I knew it had to do with my awful shoes.

Pk2 really enjoyed the run. She was surprised that she didn't get tired at all and thought it was a great start for her. Hopefully, I can meet up with her more often.

2009-11-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

Took Maddie out for another run this morning. I swear, she is the best motivation to get me out there. Plus, I think she pushes me to continue running at times when I just want to walk.

This time, she was a bit too fast for me. I looked down at one point and saw that we were going about 9:41 pace. Eeeks, Maddie slow down! I know this girl has potential, but I'm holding her back as I can see.... sorry girl. One day, we shall run at that if not a faster pace for you.

Wore my Berkeley shirt today while running as today is the last home game. Go Bears! Passed a fellow runner that yelled out, " Go Bears!" as we ran. That put a smile on my face.

Sadly, me and the husband aren't attending it tonight as we are hosting a Pacquiao fight party at our house. It's pretty much a requirement of every Filipino household to throw a party for the Pacquiao fight. Isn't it?

When we got home, I could see some religious people making their way to our neighbors doorsteps to talk with them. Ugh. Gotta run faster to get in the house, close the blinds, and hope that they didn't see which house we ran inside of. Maddie immedately drank some water and ate up all of her food. Cracked me up that she needed some carbs after running. After that, she passed the heck out.

I think I found a running buddy!

2009-11-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-09T09:14:00.001-08:00

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!

2009-11-06T11:23:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-11-02T11:51:00.001-08:00

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....

2009-10-29T11:29:00.001-07:00

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.

2009-10-21T17:36:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-10-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

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.

First Half Marathon

2009-10-16T22:41:00.000-07:00

I'm running my very first half marathon this weekend. It's the infamous, " Run Like a Girl, " Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. Wooohooo!!! I am so excited right now. The nervousness hasn't hit me yet. But, the race dreams have surely arrived! I swear, the day before running my first 5K, I had some crazy race dreams. Now, yet another race has arrived and I'm going through them again. What's up with that? Do any of you experience race dreams a few days before your races?

Right now, I'm packing my suitcase. The hubby and I are staying in the city tomorrow night to pick up my lovely bib and race goody bag as well as attend the highly anticipated expo! Oh yeah, pasta dinner with friends, too!

I'm packing two race outfits because I can't make up my mind of which outfit to wear. I'm pretty sure I'll be sporting the green and black/white ensemble, but you never know. I may not be feelin' that fit the day of the morning.

Uploaded a ton of songs last night onto my iPod. I'm diggin' the new Britney Spears song, 3. It's pretty upbeat and fast. Got several kick ass DJ mixes as well that are each about 4 hours long! If any of you are into hip hop, r&b, old school 80's and/or 90's songs, check out Scotty Fox's remixes here. He's a San Francisco DJ for the radio station, KMEL. The songs automatically upload onto your iTunes. Loooooooooooove that!!!!

Ok, gotta go back to packing. I hope I don't forget anything. Good luck to everyone who are running marathons this weekend.

Miss Domino Mag?

2009-10-01T09:57:00.001-07:00

Miss Domino magazine? Check out LonnyMag.com.

My college friend, Michelle Roque is the design director for this new and upcoming online design magazine. They just released their first online issue today and I am super duper excited for her and the magazine. They have received alot of support from vendors such as West Elm, Williams Sonoma, Design Sponge, Shelter Pop, etc. So, hopefully, they'll be able to produce more issues. Word is that more issues may come out since the editors are going to Paris for the next issue. Let's keep our fingers crossed for this online magazine's success!

Michelle was one of my kick it buddies back in college. I'd always go to her house after class to just hang, eat, and whatnot. I remember, I was taking a pottery class in my last semester of college. I really thought I'd enjoy the class. Shit, that class was hard as hell. The movie, Ghost, made it looks so easy, yes? Anyways, the stuff I put out was so fugly. They were heavy, thick rimmed and just plain shitty! Till this day, I'm surprised I got a B in the class. At the end of the semester, we had to take the stuff we made home. I thought it would be nice to gift some of the stuff I made to Michelle and her roommate. Now, I was planning on gifting them the best of the best, which was probably like 2 or 3 items, if that.

The looks on their faces when I dropped off my pottery was priceless. I wish I could hear the shit talking after I left their apartment. Boy, oh boy. What is sweet is that they still have the stuff I gave them because, well, I made it and gave it to them. So sweet, huh? I think it was. They are too, too kind.

She was one of my first friends to take the fatty risk and move to NYC to attend Parson's college. Parsons as in Tim Gunn. Gotta give it to her for making that change. It takes alot of courage to decide to up and move to NYC and on your own for that matter.

She also does freelance design work. --just sayin'. :D I was lucky enough to have her design my table/menu signs to match my invitation design. Loved her for that. She even was able to do some very last minute changes to a couple of them on the day of my wedding. OMG. I think that and my hairdresser team coming late was my two stressful moments.

Anyways, check out the magazine and I hope you like it. Don't forget to bookmark it!!!

Free Run

2009-09-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

The Sacramento Fleet Feet "free" run last night was awesome. I honestly didn't know what to expect when I arrived. Was I going to meet an empty store? It was already 5:30 pm when I parked a couple blocks away. The run was set to start at 5:30 pm.

Upset that I left my fuel belt at home as I realized when locking my car that I was going to have to run with a set of janitorial keys. F.

When me and fast girl arrived, people were just signing in. Woohoo, we weren't late! Also, they provided a shoe box which we could dump our keys and such and they were later going to lock it up. Love you Fleet Feet!

As soon as everyone signed in, one by one we went out the door and boom we were hitting the pavement. No time to stretch. Just go! Hah. A little bit caught off guard by that. Ofcourse, Fast Girl takes off immediately and I don't see her throughout the entire run. Luckily, my friend (picture with the glass) who wants to get into running ran with me. I enjoyed it as I actually increased my pace while running with her. Interesting. Very, Very interesting.

The run alone was awesome. Awesome because the weather was perfect. Awesome because it was through a nice neighborhood and a nice park that had dirt mixed with sand on the trails. I just love hearing the crunch with every step.

Throughout the run we saw couple of groups partaking in yoga. Need to find more info about that. Yoga outside sounds like fun! Also saw another group that had its own tent that said, " Total Body Fitness." This park was seriously a fitness park for sure. Kinda inspiring to keep up with the fitness as you see everyone around you active.

Ended the night by having the most fabulous fish tacos at Zocolo's with the hubs. It was truly a great night!

Burr, it's cold. Well, not really.

2009-09-29T12:15:00.001-07:00

I am so loving the weather these past couple of days. Usually, I'm a strong advocate for the sun and all its glory. But, since I've taken up training for two half marathons this Spring and Summer, my true love for the hot sun has demised.

I dreaded hearing the alarm clock in the dark AM and wanted so badly to stay in the covers and keep dreaming. Oh, I hated it. I really hated it. So, when I heard the weather man say that it's going to get cooler this week, I was praising to the cloud Gods up above.

Yesterday, I went out for a 5 mile run around the good ole' neighborhood. A bit windy, but heck, it was 60 something degrees and 4 in the afternoon and I didn't really care. It's been a long time since I had the opportunity to run at 4 in the afternoon. Usually, in Sacramento, 4pm is scorching hot and is really unheard of to be out and about running on the hot pavement.

Today, it's projected to be in the 60's all day and get this.... it's freakin' hazy and grey!!! I loooove it!!!! It's like I'm living in the bay area!

I plan on trying something for the first time this evening with a couple of friends. Fleet Feet of Sacramento puts on runs that are free on Tuesdays and Sundays. My friend, who is interested in getting into running, has been wanting to check it out ever since she heard about these free runs. I decided to join her because it's in one of my favorite places, midtown Sacramento, where the houses are gorgeous. There's a reason why a part of midtown is called the Fab 40's. There's a section of houses that were made in the 1940's that are huge, charming and gorgeous mansions. Ronald Reagan, when he was governor of California resided in one of the houses there. I've included a picture of the house him and Nancy lived in.

Random Shennanigans. This post makes no sense!

2009-09-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

Socks.
Bought 2 new pairs of running socks the other day. I keep losing my running socks and am starting to think I should start a running sock only drawer.Do any of you guys have a drawer dedicated to your running gear only?

I have been running with two pairs of running socks because I've just been too cheap to purchase them. Dude, they are like $9 for one pair! I could get a cool color of an OPI nail polish for that amount. You totally understand where I'm coming from, right? Right?

My socks have to be thin. I hate the thick socks. Don't like my feet feeling stuffy. Oh, and they must, must, must be below the ankle. The husband just couldn't understand why I wouldn't purchase a pair of above the ankle running socks that were on sale. I just couldn't do it. I saw his thought process with the sale and all, but I just couldn't do it. One needs to feel good in their clothes in order to run good, yes? It's all about feeling the zen moment.

OMG. The Best Luna Bar Flavor.
Grabbed a sample Luna Bar at the 5K race. The flavor was Lemon Zest. Should have grabbed a handful as I just tasted this flavor for the very first time and Oh. My. Gawd. It was that good. Just smelling it alone enticed my senses. Why didn't I try these before? Has any of you already tried this flavor?

Sandwich Thins.
Ever since seeing this on NHerShoes, I just had to try them. Was intrigued with them. She made them look so freakin appetizing especially when she toasted them, put peanut butter, sliced bananas and drizzled honey. Now, I'm hooked. I like how it's not so bready and it's only 100 calories. Makes an excellent choice for breakfast, especially an egg and turkey bacon sandwich, or a regular sandwich. Dying to try it with a hamburger patty.

Oh Yeah, that 10 miler.

2009-09-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

So, as silly as this may sound to the veteran runners, I have been putting off running 10 miles for awhile. I was comfortable with the usual 8. 8 was cool. Not too long, not too short. Plus, in Chinese culture, the number 8 is guarded as a lucky number, yes? So, let's all roll with 8.

But, I knew since my Nike Women's 1/2 was fast approaching (Hello T Minus 27 days!) I finally got over my lame excuses and put in a 10 mile last week. I ain't gonna lie. It was grueling and made me question, why again do I enjoy running? Left at 0715 and came back at 0943--WTF? Was I glad to see my precious green front door? Yes. Was I glad to see my puppy dog greet me with so much excitedness? Hell Yeah. I was celebrating with her my return home.

Later that day, however, my feet were killing me. I could barely walk. Decided to soak them in some Epsom salt. But, that really didn't help. I had work the next day and oh, Lord, I had the ER and it didn't help that we were busy like crazy! So, I did what any normal person would do, I called in sick the following day. I know, lame, right? But, I just wanted to rest my feet. They were on fire. What the hell did I just do to myself?

I'm better now. But, I dread my long runs now for fear that my feet are going to react the way it did on my first 10 miler.

I'm still alive!

2009-09-21T10:37:00.000-07:00

My apologies for the severe drop in blogging. Work has taken over my life these days. Making me feel so "bleh" lately. Like I've said before, working night shifts makes it harder for me to train. Just when I'm thinking that I'm going to run on a certain day in the AM, I find myself extremely tired when it's time for me to wake up. Ugh. Nigh shifts. I have a love/hate relationship with it.

This past weekend, I ran my very first 5K. It was the Race for Her at UC Davis Medical Center. I ran it with my EG girls whom I'm so happy to have friends that enjoy doing athletic activities. It helps to have friends who share the same likes as you. Makes the event more fun, I think.

In my college/sorority days, I would normally participate in these events by walking. So, really, there was no pressure on me. But, this time around, I found myself feeling nervous and anxious and I honestly, have no idea why. Is this a normal feeling?

The race started at an odd time of 5:30 pm. Let me tell you. I was a lazy bum all day. Slept pretty much and had no idea what time I should eat lunch. I didn't want to too early, nor did I want to eat too late and have stomach problems.

We all followed Bernbaby into the group of runners and why did she pick to be up front where all the elite runners were at? Her response: I've never been in the front!

As they were counting down, my heart started beating fast, my palms started to sweat and I pretty much felt all the adrenaline building up especially watching people around me jump up and down and move around alot.

I knew, after reading all of your blogs to NOT take off on a fast start. I knew it. I knew it, dammit! What did I do? I took off at an extremely fast pace for myself and burned myself out pretty darn quick. F. My throat was on fire and later that evening I was coughing as if I was having some kind of asthma excacerbation. WTF?

The race shirt was pretty swell. New Balance Dri Fit. I wasn't expecting anything as fancy as this, but hey, I'll take it!

The goody bag was pretty cool, too! It was stocked full of little snacks like almonds, lara bar cherry pie filling, chapsticks, a spongy keychain (anyone want it?) , Go Girl Aloe Vera flavor, chocolate chip granola bar and bare naked granola.

I ended finishing #206, pace sucked at 13:00 and I finished within 41 minutes. My EG girls, however, paced at 10:00 and finished within 31 minutes. Oh but wait, a 54 y/0 man who was a member of the Fleet Feet team finished within 16 minutes. Talk about awesome! Dam.

California State Fair

2009-08-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

I have been running, but nothing really to document about. I also have been pigging out like crazy!

The hubs and I try to attend the California State fair each year. Its been a tradition since we started dating 11 years ago. I think, the entire time we've been together, we only missed one year. Not too bad, yes?

I think over time, we've unconsciously developed a nack for eating the same things every year. One is hands down, having a buttery ear of corn and a jumbo corn dog. However, I, have started to get rebellious and a bit more daring.

Last year, I ate a fried snicker bar and that was just bleh.

This year, I had an inkling to try the fried smore. I love smores, so I really thought it was going to be absolutely delicious! In my mind, I was picturing two graham crackers, melted chocolate and oozing marshmellow goodness falling out as soon as I cracked that beautiy open.

Nope.
The gooeyness of the chocolate and marshmellow was there, yes, but the graham crackers and deliciousness wasn't. There were just mere crumbs of graham crackers and the rest was fried batter, which made for an absolute mess and disgusting taste.

I have to tell you that prior to purchasing the fried smore, I did endulge in some berry forest gelato. I don't know why I got it. I wasn't even feeling it, but when I saw the BFF and her baby daddy have one in their hand, I just had to get one.

These zuchhini curl were just nasty. Too. Much. Grease. Was not worth $8. Heck, a zuchhini doesn't even cost that much. WTH?

Had my traditional jumbo corn dog. But, my friend was feeling frisky and got a SUPER corn dog. It was 10 inches long and he finished it way before I was even halfway done with mine's.

Ever since tasting these bad boys last year, I knew this had to be on our list for years to come. I just love their cinnamon rolls. Wished that I had a cup of joe to go with it.

We had a great time at the fair. Amazingly, I didn't waddle out of the fair. I can't wait for it to come by next year!

A Movie Must See!

2009-08-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

So excited to open up my mailbox and see that I received the movie, The Spirit of the Marathon today. Knowing that I had a couple of hours before it was time to be a good wifey and cook dinner, I popped that baby in the dvd player and hit play.

Why was I smiling the entire time I was watching the movie? I caught myself just grinning from ear to ear. At times, too, I was crying in happiness for the runners.

Everything about this movie was inspiring. I loved some of the quotes that some of the runners said. One being, " The challenges you face can sometimes define who you are." So true, yes? It got me thinking of more disciplined I should be. How I should challenge myself even more during times when I just want to be a "wogger." {walker-runner}

I enjoyed seeing an elder man run and run with his daughter. How intimate is that to be able to share an event as challenging as a full marathon with your father? Most of all, how incredible to still be running at his age??? Awesome!!!!

In other news, I signed up for my second 1/2 marathon for the year. I will be participating in the Rock n' Roll Marathon in Las Vegas on December 6th. Woohoo, Vegas here I come!

Emotional Run

2009-08-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

I finally was able to get out there and pound the pavement this AM. Seems like ages since I've been able to get outside to run. Working night shifts definitely interferes with workout activities. Yes, I can go to the gym, but where's the fun in that?

This morning's run was quite emotional for me. I was trying to get my legs to warm up. Trying to normalize my breathing pattern. Trying to just fine my "spot" of autopilot. Then, the song came on. One that I forgot I uploaded onto my running playlist.

I Run for Life by Melissa Etheridge.

It's when this song came on that I mentally checked out. I was just running and thinking of all of my close friends and family that have been struck by cancer. Tears started to run down my cheeks, pain in my chest started to uproar, and well, I was just running and running.

I was inspired. Motivated. Driven. Passionate. Strong.

I started to think of my father who was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2005. Fortunately, it was in its early stages and he was able to rid of it. But, till this day, he wears the yellow band around his wrist, Live Strong, to remind himself of the vulnerability all of us felt when the doctor mouthed the words, " You have cancer."

I started to think of my best friend who recently was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and is currently undergoing treatment to rid of the small cells the doctors weren't able to get to.

I started to think of my sister in law who was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo a uni-masectomy.

I started to think of my father in law who was diagnosed with bladder cancer to which all of us hold our breaths when something significant happens such as bleeding or pain.

The Women's Nike Half Marathon is coming up in just a couple of months. The cause is for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's lifesaving cancer research. I am completely inspired {even moreso} to run this race for my close friends and family and to those that have been affected by this ferocious disease. You really cannot grasp the power it has on your emotions until you or your loved one has been stricken by it. I know, I wasn't prepared for the mental and physical emotions that came with it when we got my father's test results back.

So, with all that said, I definitely will be putting this song in areas where I think I need to strength to continue on when I feel as though I just can't go any further. Live Strong!

Mind Over Matter

2009-07-31T12:53:00.000-07:00

Had an AM run on Tuesday. Looked for any indications for a mountain lion. None. That means, it was a green light to G.O.

Unfortunately, I had a horrible run on Tuesday. Planned for a 8 miler, ended up doing a 6 miler. I really don't know why. I just couldn't battle my mental ability to keep pushing. Keep going. F. What is everyone's secret during these unfortunate times? What makes you keep going even though your legs and feet feel like lead?

I really thought it was going to be a great run since I amended my route in order to avoid those weedy areas that I always feel so vulnerable. I was excited to see a new area. Maybe it was the garbage truck that I was sadly behind and had to run soooooooooooooooooooo fast in order to beat it. I thought I was going to seriously gag there for a bit.

I think the highlight of my run was tasting a fantastic Hammer gel flavor. Slurped it down around mile 3.75. I know, right? So close to making it to mile 4, but I like I said, my mind was seriously tripping. I was weak. Apple Cinnamon was the flavor. OMG. It was like apple pie filling sans the crust. Freakin' awesome. Wonder why it was on sale at REI? This should be a hot selling flavor. For reals. It's that good.

Oh, and the fact that I got to try out my new Nike Tempo shorts out. Love, Love, Loved them. Why didn't I wear these before? They are very comfortable. I like how the mesh just embodies your legs. How the fabric is so soft and loose. How it lays well on your body. Everything about these shorts are pretty fan-freakin'-tastic.

Probably not going to get a run in until either Monday evening or Tuesday morning. It's my weekend to work which means 4 lovely nights at the hospital. F. Camping next weekend at Lake Camanche with the friends. Need to see if there are any trails I can run at.

Easy as Sunday Morning....

2009-07-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

Did a 4 mile run this AM in my parents town. Kinda glad that I opted to run here instead of at home. Word is that there is a mountain lion loose in my neighborhood. Say What?

It's loose in the area where I normally run, too! Remember how I told yah how vulnerable I feel whenever I pass tall weedy areas? Well, now I am feel even more vulnerable. Added to my lists of possums, and rats, is now a mountain lion. Don't think I can outrun him either as my slow ass pace is 11:20.

The news advises that if and ever you were to come face to face with a mountain lion, to stop and put your arms and hands up. No shit? You want to appear larger than the animal. Other tips are open your jacket if you are wearing one, throw stones, branches, or whatever you can grab without crouching down or turning your back. Wave your arms slowly and speak firmly in a larger voice.

Hah, I'm screwed. I'm 5'2 and run at 11:20 pace. There's no way in hell that I will appear larger. WTF?

Let's hope that I will remember what they advised and not freak the hell out.

I felt a bit productive by bringing my running gear and actually working out in another city other than mine. It felt good. But, I wish I could say that the run itself felt good. It was a wee bit of a challenge for me as it had several inclines. It's good since I need to have some inclines and start finding runs that have hills in training for the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. But, it got me thinking and actually chuckling as I was getting winded while running the small inclines. I mean, these were not even high inclines, either. More like little slopes. Sad.

Was starving by the time I got home. Didn't eat breakfast this time. Made me wonder if it was me not eating breakfast that was making me struggle at times during the so called slopy run.

Made myself a hearty egg and bacon sandwich with whole wheat toast and it was so yummy I could have had another one if I really wanted to. Alas, I didn't and I felt so relieved that my fullness finally kicked in.

My First 8.

2009-07-24T20:53:00.000-07:00

I ran my first 8 miles this AM. Hit the pavement around 0600 and didn't even bat an eye when it was time for me to wake up. Guess the suggestion of "getting it over with" is powerful to me.

Couldn't believe that I burned 841 calories. The fact that it's near 1,000 kinda freaked me out! Plus, I was able to shave about a minute off my pace. Ran comfortably at 11:40 and finished it within 1:50. Slow, yes. But, so glad that I finished it. There were times where I could have take a short cut home. Twice, I was tempted. But, it would be very disappointing to come home and know that in my mind I cheated. Cheaters don't win! Heh.

Saw alot of walkers and dogs at 0600 and was starting to get a wee bit lonely being the only runner out there. Finally, around mile 5, I saw them. Yeeeeeeah! I felt like such the jogging nerd as I had all my gear on: iPod, Fuel Belt, and Garmin. They, however, were such the purist. No iPods in sight, no fancy schmancy watches, and no fuel belts. Just a running hat and their jogging attire. How do they do it?

Also, saw a guy run bare foot. I've been reading about these barefoot runners and never thought I'd run into any them in ummm..Sacramento? Was a bit concerned and weirded out as he was running on pavement that had dirt and dog poo in some areas. Yet, at the same time, it looked like it felt great! Since, right now my feet are killing me! I found some Q&A's about running barefoot. Check it out here.

Had a vanilla bean flavor Gu this AM and I must say, it wasn't that bad. I think I actually enjoyed it more than the chocolate flavored one because it was less sweet. It didn't require me to chase it down with a gallon of water. Chose it because it was the only one in the bunch that looked the most popular. I tend to choose items like that. Sometimes, this theory works and sometimes, it doesn't.

Good luck to everyone participating in the San Francisco Marathon!

Fleet Feet Rocks!

2009-07-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

Fleet Feet in Vacaville, CA is having an overstock apparel sale this coming Saturday, July 25th. Everything in the clearance will be $15. I'm so there. I'm hoping I can find some sport bra's and dry fit long sleeve tops. The last time I did my long run in a tank top, I got burned bad and very tanned. This Filipino gal does not need to get any darker.

They are also opening up registration for their half marathon training for those participating in the Las Vegas marathon in December. Hi, that's me! I need this. But, it's in Vacaville which is 30 minutes away from Sacramento. Dam. Not sure if I want to spend the gas money to drive all the way down there. I looked to see if the Sacramento Fleet Feet location has any training for the Las Vegas and unfortuantely, there is none. Right now, they are offering training for the Fall Half Marathon which starts on the weekend of August 7th. But, I'll be camping that weekend with friends and plus working a night schedule is not condusive with their training days. Its times like these that I really wished I worked day shifts. It's so frustrating finding a program that works with my schedule. F.

Great Find.

2009-07-21T12:27:00.000-07:00

I'm always on the lookout for some running attire-gear. Didn't expect to find a good deal at the Nordstrom Anniversary sale though. That's the last place I'd expect to purchase athletic wear. I'm surprised I even clicked on the athletic gear link to even peruse.

Thank goodness that I did, because I wouldn't have found these cutie patooties. I was able to snag a couple of Nike Tempo Track Shorts for $17.90. Post sale, they will be $28. Got them in black and white and in mid fog/blue. Hurry UPS man. Ring my doorbell already!

Since I didn't go into work last night, I was going to do a run in the AM. But, given my extreme soreness, I decided to take a break and just run as scheduled which is on Friday. I think that was one of the best decisions I ever made. I feel alot better today as I should be. I know I'll have the ER tonight and probably will be running my tail off anyways. So, it's a good thing.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Uneventful Running Weekend.

2009-07-20T15:04:00.001-07:00

I finally got a chance to get out there this morning. Did 6 miles and fortunately my legs and feet were in autopilot. Love it when it's not a mental game.

Been itching to get a run since last week as I had a very busy week at work. Isn't it cool when your mind craves a workout when stress hits you? I'd take craving a workout over a fattening meal any day, yes?

Went to the Renegade Craft Fair at Fort Mason on the good ole Presidio base on Saturday. Anticipated this fair all week as I am a fan of Etsy. Being there felt like it was Etsy in person and I just couldn't get my heart to stop pitter pattering with each booth I passed.

Felt good to get out of the 100+ heat. I enjoy living in Sacramento, but man, the heat is something I do not enjoy. It has been like living in hell last week and this week is no exception. San Francisco was a welcoming relief to me. Made me think for a hot minute to move, especially after seeing a man jogging on the pier at 3 in the afternoon. Can't do that kind of stuff at 3pm in Sac. 8:00 am you are already pushing it with the heat. F.

Looks like I'll be registering for the Rock n' Roll Marathon in Vegas soon. Half Marathon, ofcourse. Spoke to my friend, No Fear, who is a fellow coworker that runs too, and she is wanting to sign up for it. Can't wait. December. Birthday Month. Cold Weather. What can be better?

Just wondering if it'll be just a wee bit too much since we are both running the 1/2 in October for the Nike's Women's in San Francisco.

Plans for the week:
Monday: RAN 6 miles
Friday: Run 8 miles
Saturday: Run 4 miles
Sunday: Rest
Monday: Run 8 miles

Total: 26 miles.

2009-07-14T13:12:00.001-07:00

I struggled yesterday to succumb to my ever annoying alarm clock at the ripe ole' time of 6:00 am. Poor husband, since he sleeps right next to the alarm clock, had to endure the blaring noise every 15 minutes or so. But I gotta love him even more as he never once complained that I wasn't getting up. He just continued to push the snooze button after I finally said, " okay, I think I'm just going to sleep in, turn it off."

This morning, the same thing happened, only it begun at 5:15am. I had every intention the night before to wake up bright and early. Heck, I even slept early so that I can wake up. Yeaaaaah, that didn't happen until 5:45 am. The poor guy. But, I did it. I woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast and hit the pavement at 6:15 am.

Too freakin' late though. I could feel the sun already, but it was still enough to tolerate as there was a breeze every now and then.

Need to wake up earlier. Need more discipline.

But, I had a cool 3 mile run. Saving my long run for this coming weekend. Realizing that my comfortable pace, aka, my zone pace is 12:25. Dam, I'm slow. I did get as fast as 10:30, but that's because I was too excited to get out there initially and was running off of excitment. Totally slowed it down as I was getting way ahead of myself.

Had to get a new running hat as Maddie chewed my running hat. Dam. The pains of having a puppy. She's lucky she's so darn cute.

I'm not a heffer!

2009-07-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

" I'm J.J. Fad and I'm here to Rock!" were words that helped me with my morning run this morning. My arch on my right foot was still a slight bothersome for me, but I decided to screw it and just go. That, and the hubs saying, " I think you should go for a run since you'll be working the next few nights and won't be able to get in another run for a few."

F. Dam You! Why do you gotta play that card???

I found my foot arch supporters that I bought when I initially purchased my running shoes at the Fleet Feet Store (which is another narcisstic whole story in itself to tell sometime.)

and can you believe that they were in a spot where they should have been?

I think my feet seriously let out a cry of " Thank You Jesus!" as I was able to run a 5 mile run with no problemo's whatsoever. Post run, my feet still felt great.

I noticed that on this run that whenever I see other people running or just people walking in general, I tend to pick up my pace. Does this happen to any of you? I get excited to see others out there running. It's like if I was a dog, and saw another dog coming my way, I would get super excited, wag my butt-tail so fast and just go! Well, that's how I felt like because our Maddie does this all the freakin' time.

Another thing I noticed is with my running hat. The lid keeps me shielded from the sun and almost too good from my blind spots. I'm in my own little world when I wear that hat. But, I've realized that when I'm in my own world- own zone, I can get a little startled at times.

Take for instance, Black and White song of MJ came on and I completely forgot that in the beginning of the song there's this kid playing some music and his dad bangs on his door to tell him to turn it off. Well, dude, that banging on the door scared the living daylights out of me. I was totally freaked out and thought someone was yelling at ME!

What the hell?

Okay, now you can officially post the " I'm strange" badge on my blog. Is it me or do you guys get startled at times when in your "zone?" I think it's just me. HAH.

Taking a Rest Day, For Reals.

2009-07-08T08:53:00.000-07:00

I spoke about how hard it is to find a great time to get in some runs, both long and short, while working the night shifts. I'm lucky to have a set schedule which means that I usually get a 7 day stretch of days off once or twice a month.

It's in this 7 day stretch that I try to get as many runs as I can because I know that once I have to go back to work, I won't be able to run for another 5 days!

I did a semi-long run for the first time on Monday. I did 7 miles and boy, did my feet pay for it afterwards. Is this a normal pain after doing long runs? The sides of my feet (the big toe side), especially my right foot was hurting so bad that I couldn't even lay it flat on the ground so easily if I wanted to or walk without a gait for that matter. Two days later, they are still hurting, but not as bad as the day of.

I'm thinking the reason for my soreness is my flat feet as my arches are on fire. I blame my daddy! So, I'm going to head over to the store and seek out some arch supports for my shoes. Right now, I've been rolling them on some kind of cylindrical item. It never felt so good.

So, I'm spending my rest day organizing my iPod's running playlist. I'm sure this subject has been touched already multiple times by other running blogs. But, I just gotta ask. What's in your iPod runnign playlist?

I like to run with music that is kinda fast, happy, inspiring, or basically something that would call me out to the dance floor because it will make me happy and just want to get out there and move.

Right now, I currently have:

1.) Black and White by Michael Jackson
2.) Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson
3.) My Life Would Suck Without You by Kelly Clarkson
4.) Please Don't Leave Me by Pink
5.) Friday, I'm in Love by The Cure
6.) Bust a Move by Young MC
7.) Eye of the Tiger by Great White
8.) Supersonic by JJ Fad
9.) How Far We've Come by Matchbox 20
10.) Mickey by Toni Basil

A Mild Hot Week.

2009-07-07T08:54:00.000-07:00

That's what the weather forecaster predicted for the weather this week, " a mild hot week." Hearing this put a huge smile on my face. No pressure to wake up in the wee hours of the AM to get a run in before the burning sun gets out.

In fact, yesterday I was able to put in a 7 mile run at 10:00 am! There was a breeze every now that I loved that hit my face giving me some relief. Got to try for the first time a Hammer gel, chocolate flavor on mile 4. I felt like I was guzzing down chocolate frosting. Needed some water as a chaser as it was a bit too sweet.

I honestly, was expecting some big jolt of energy to kick in. I guess after reading many blogs about gels, I began to think like that of these. But, it did give me some stamina to keep pushing on times when I wanted to stop oh-so-badly.

On Sunday, I had intentions of doing a 4 mile run, but had to stop abruptly at mile 2 as I saw two big stray dogs come out of nowhere. Had to call the hubs to come and pick me up. I'm a scaredy cat like that. I knew I shouldn't have gone down this pathway as it's nothing but weeds on both sides. Felt a little vulnerable here as I kept thinking a big possum or a gazilion of field mice is going to come out and spring at me.

The good news about this run is that I got to use my fuel belt for the first time. Felt like such the nerd with it. I ain't gonna lie. If I were to compare the feeling, it would be a stereotypical nerd with a pocket full of pens and pencils in their pocket. I know. I'm just not used to it and I'm sure people whom I pass by aren't phased by it, either.

The verdict: It's an okay belt. I don't like how the bottles and little bag when pushed to the back of me creeps back to the front after running for a bit. Also, I don't like how I have to tighten the strap every now and then. It's a bit distracting.

This morning, I had a easy run/walk with the BFF. I was there to support her as she just had a beautiful baby boy and wants to get back into shape. So, we woke up at 6:00 am, and headed out there at 7:00 am. Was a bit excited as I was going on a trail I've never been before. So, my adrenaline was slightly pumping with that excitment.

Since this was her first time in a long time to go running, we did interval training. I initially set it up the Garmin to where we can run for 5:00 minutes and walk for 2:00 minutes. But, she was getting tired quickly even with slowing down our pace and so we ended up doing the reverse. Hah. Oh wells, with time I guess it'll get easier for her. Let's just hope she gets into running and enjoys is as much as I do. I would love to have another running partner. The more the merrier.

The Weekend and The Goods.

2009-06-30T01:01:00.000-07:00

Had a wonderful yet sweaty balls weekend. I can't believe it was 112 on Sunday. Hoooooooot!!! It was the gathering of my girls over the weekend, too! I was in dire need of some girl time. Haven't seen or spent time with them in days.

We decided to have a little tea gathering at my house since a couple of them haven't seen my new digs yet. Spent about 4 hours of just gabbing away about absolutely nothing. Absolutely loved it and can't wait to see them again!

I finally purchased a fuel belt for my long runs. I'm officially a jogging nerd. I never thought I'd be one of those people that would be sporting these and I have a confession to make. I used to make fun of those people. Sooorry!! I know, this is the time where you can slap me silly and roll your eyes at me. Dam karma!

I purchased the Amphipod RunLite Waist Race Fuel belt. What I like about it is that it's not really bulky and I can add on some little bags for some extra stuff I need to carry like gu's and such.

The only concern I have is that it doesn't have a snap belt. Instead, it has velcro. So, I'm hoping that when I run, it won't start to slowly unvelcro. Knowing myself, it probably would do that. Remember my falling pants incident?

I also got to purchase some sport gels. REI was having a sale on them for under $1. So, I bought a few. I got a couple of chocolates and a apple cinnamon. Let's just hope that my stomach can take these.

Annnd, my favorite part, I got my first running hat!!!! Heh. My friends keep raving how much better a running hat is than that of a regular hat. Usually, I run with the hub's Cal hat and I finally pluckered down for one.

I also have to mention that I got my little Maddie a backpack for when we go camping next month. She looks absolutely petrified in this picture, I know. Like, wtf? You are making me carry my shiz and YOUR shiz? HAH.

The packs only came in red and blue. I wanted to get her the red one since she's, duuh a girl. But, dam, the hubs and his Stanford hating didn't want to get red. F. Whatevs.

Plan on doing a long run and testing out my new goods this Friday. Stoked that the weather is going to not be in the 100's. It's going to finally start to cool down, just a tad bit.

Planning Out Your Running.

2009-06-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

Call me crazy, but I enjoy and prefer working a night shift schedule. I've tried a day shift schedule for about a month and absolutely hated it. I had to sleep early, wake up early, get my ass kicked, and do it all over the following day. Yucks. No thank you.

So, I went back and I became a happy bee.

Now, I'm having the frustration of combining my work schedule with a running schedule. I feel as though when I work that I lose out in running. Take for instance, this past weekend. It was my weekend on and I worked 4 nights in a row, which meant, I lost 5 days of running. 5 days!! F.

Here's my running schedule this week. What do you think?

Tuesday: Run 4 miles
Wednesday: Run 6 miles
Saturday: Run 4 miles
Monday: Run 6 miles

Total Mileage: 20 miles

This morning, I was so anxious to get out there. I woke up around 6:30 with the encouragement by the hubs because he knew that I've been wanting to get a morning run in. Got up, had a whole wheat toast with some peanut butter and a glass of OJ and I was out.

I thought, dam, 7 am is a bit too late to get out there and run. So, I'm going to try my hardest to wake up at 6:00 am and be out the door by 6:30 am. It's going to be hard to wake up this night shifter, but I'm sure going to give it a good ole' try.

Talk about Anti-Climatic!

2009-06-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

Have you ever pumped yourself up for something for so long and then come to find out that you can't do it. It's a no freakin' go. Nada. Zilch. Nooooooooooooope!

So, I work the night shift schedule which is a sometimes grueling 12 hour shift from 7pm to 7am. It's really hard to plan a workout schedule, yet alone a running schedule during the summer months ( I'm finding this out REALLY quick since I live in sizzling Sacramento!).

I had every intention last night to go for a 4 mile run after work. I kept telling myself that I could do it. It's the best time to go since it'll be semi-early in the morning where the sun isn't so much beaming on my skin. It'll be perfect!

Well, I get home. Debate whether or not if I should go or not because I was getting sleepy on the drive back home. ( I have about a 30 minute commute). Decide, what the heck. I'm going to do it. At this time, the adrenaline is pumping from the excitement of me daring to go for a run despite me having to return to work for another 12 hour shift.

Here's where I f'd up. I opt to wear these running capri's that I haven't worn yet and head out the door. Set the Garmin and off I go................ to about 585ft. Throughout the entire 585 ft, my pants just wiggle down and I'm struggling to not make a fool of myself and pull them up. From a bird's eye view, I probably alread look like THE FOOL as I'm fidgeting with my pants throughout the entire 585 ft run. F. Boo.

I head back home in defeat. Call it a day and decide to give it a try the next day. But, right now, it's 11:17 am and I'm still up? What. The. Hell????? I hope it happens.

To guide me to sleep I made a pretty good potsticker salad. It contained organic red leaf lettuce, tomatoes, avocado's and ofcourse, the fresh beets that I cooked the other day.

Inspired by NherShoes' blog about trying to live the simple life challenge that she's been doing, I decided to see what's in my fridge/freezer.

It was a very delicious salad, if I must say so myself. The potstickers added a whole new level of a crunch texture. Ofcourse, what helped it even more was my favorite salad dressing in the whole wide world! Japanese Miso Dressing by Red Shell. I swear, if you haven't tried this dressing, I highly suggest you go out to your nearest Asian market or high end market and purchase yourself some. It makes any salad taste so yummy!!!!

I'm Beet.

2009-06-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

The hubs and I have recently made a tradition of going to the Farmer's Market every Sunday and purchasing our vegetables, fruits, and breads. So far, we have been able to stick with this tradition for the past couple of Sundays and I love it.

I feel so Alice Waters when I am using the fresh ingredients bought at the Farmeris Market. Recently, I made the most delicious Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, and Avocado sandwich on whole wheat bread. All of the items were bought at the Farmer's Market sans the bacon. Although, I can purchase some bacon there, but it's a bit pricey. It's like $5.99. No thanks. I can get it on sale for $1.99.

It's very exciting for me (at least) to get up early, make my cup of coffee to bring with me, and see what kind of vegetable I can bring home that I've never tried cooking with before. Something that I would only eat at restaurant, but wouldn't have the courage to buy fresh and make something of it.

Last Sunday, we brought home fresh beets. They are quite a site to see in person. They have ginormous green leaves attached to them. It's unfortunate, that we have to chop them up and not use it. At least, I think we can't use them. Can we?

I didn't quite know how to cook these. I honestly thought we could just peel them and viola, we have beets! Not. It's a good thing I looked it up online because that's exactly what I would have done.

Turns out, you have to boil them for about an hour, just until you can stick a fork into them. Once you can, you take them and their skin easily comes off of them. Easy, but messy.

I plan on making a huge salad with these. I can't wait!

Now, that we go to the Farmers Market every Sunday, it got me re-thinking about subscribing to the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) that I blogged about. I find it more exciting to see what produce I can purchase in person. Plus, I'm still supporting the local farmers and not to mention, I can get homemade bread and cheeses from other vendors.

Gadgets and Gus.

2009-06-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start doing more longer runs within the next few weeks which means trying out for the very first time those infamous Gu's. A little nervous, I must admit, as I have a sensitive stomach.

First though, let's discuss fuel belts.

I've been avidly perusing the internet for some cool fuel belts. I don't think I'm ready for the hardcore fuel belts that contain 2 or 4 bottles of water. I got enough jiggle I need to contain. But, this one sorta shouted out at me when I saw it.

It's simple. But, my question is, will it ride up as you run? The reviews were good and it didn't mention it riding up. But, then again, they weren't concerned about that. One reviewer was concerned about ensuring that it will securely hold his gels and it did as he tested it out on his marathon.

It comes in array of colors like black, surf blue, hisbiscus pink and kiwi green. It retails from $13.95.

I'd probably add a little pocket to hold my essentials such as iphone, keys, and ID. Lately, I've just been hooking my house key onto my shoelace and running with no iphone or ID. I know, bad, right?

I found these neoprene pockets that retail for about $10. I think I'd probably go with the large 5x5 Neoprene pocket pictured to the left.

I could just easily run with a fanny pack, which I've done in the past. But, I've found that it was a wee bit distracting as it would bang against me as I run. I need something lighter.

Onto Gu's. Any suggestions on what flavors?

I'm Back on Track.

2009-06-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

Stayed true to my promises and ran my 4 miles this morning. Can I get a whoop, whoop?

The Stats:
407 calories burned
Highest Pace: 9:07
Average Pace: 12:35

I really enjoy running through our neighborhood. It's like a park in some ways. There are man made lakes around the houses and sometimes, I'll just pause and reflect here....wondering what it's like to live with a lake in your backyard? or Are you afraid of getting West Nile? You know... reflective things like that....

I didn't quite get out the door at 6:00 am, although I wanted to as I felt the cool crisp wind pass by on my face, plus the lick of my puppy dog Maddie on my barefoot. But, I just couldn't get out of bed. Instead, I opted to go out at 8:30 am and it wasn't too shabby. The winds today were a bit gusty. At times, I felt as if I was on an incline because of the resistance.

Stupid me couldn't find my running socks, so I just picked up these regular ankle socks. Bad idea because I got these now!

I felt a bit stupid and these are one of the times where I wished I wore contacts. I left before the hubby took off to work. I was on a road that I thought I would run into him going to work. I thought I saw his car coming at me and so I was smiling and the guy smiled and waved back at me. So naturally, I yelled, " Hi Honey!" My so called hubby, rolled down his window and as soon as he peeped his head out, I felt like a complete idiot! Dam eyes.

Cramps = Fail.

2009-06-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

I thought I could just go out there and just run. I promised myself that I would run the entire 4 miles at a slow pace since my cramps were still acting up despite taking some Ibuprofen. Then at about a mile, I said, " F, it." My cramps beat me and I ended up walking the entire 2 miles. Didn't do the entire 4 miles as I planned to.

So, on my way back, I thought a whole lot. I'm going to treat this as " cross training" day and give it a shot tomorrow morning. Wish me luck.

4 Months and Counting.

2009-06-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

Shouldn't have drank that heaping cup of green tea at midnight last night. It sounded like a great idea at the time after reading that one of my friends on Facebook was enjoying her cup of tea. But, boy did I really pay for it for the next 3 hours throughout the night. I freakin' couldn't sleep and on top of that, I had huge excitement vibes going through me in hopes of getting up at 0600 to run.

By the time 0300 rolled around, I knew that there was just no way I was going to wake up at 0600. Oh, but I did because my cramps were really bad this morning. So bad that I layed in a fetal position and just cried silently. I was so disappointed that I couldn't go for a run this morning and be able to feel the crisp air hitting my face and body. Being able to run while it's still peaceful outside before the hustle and bustle of people getting into their cars and taking off to work. So, with that, I'm going to go this evening. Going to do a 4 miler around the good ole' hood.

I need to start seriously training because......

It's 4 months till the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. This will be my very first {half} marathon I will be participating in. Heck, this will be my first marathon ever! So, I finally sat down and planned out my runs for this week. It was a bit tricky because I work night shift coupled with the fact that this coming weekend is my weekend ON which means that I'll be working 4 nights in a row.

Here's my plan.

Tuesday: 4 Mile
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 4 Mile
Friday: 4 Mile
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest
Monday: 8 Mile
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 4 Mile
Thursday: 10 Mile

Total Mileage: 34 Miles.

Thinking about just signing up for a 5K in Elk Grove, CA. It's their Run 4 Indepe ndence Day Run and it looks like a cool flat loop. The cost is $25 and it'll give me a little peep as to how marathons are.

Bur, Bur, Bur. Bur is the Word.

2009-06-15T21:02:00.001-07:00

Totally unrelated to running, but....

Totally blog worthy. I think.

I got in the mail a super, duper, adorable, make you want to scream OUT LOUD iPhone case. Okay, so I'm probably overhyping this thing up, but I can't help it. It's just too cute.

She's even got back. Oh yeah. Sexy thing, isn't she?

The Details: Purchased this online here.
Retails for $8.99. A heckuva lot cheaper than those rubbermaid thing-a-ma-bobs at the Apple store. Yes?

Peeped that they other cuties, but resisted the temptation to rescue them all.

Cramps.

2009-06-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

I had every intention to run this morning and this evening. But, I had a visit that I was expecting not for another few days. Grrrreeeat. Rather disappointed a little bit. I wanted to run as I hadn't ran in a week or so. I gotta say that it takes a lot of motivation for me that makes me question, Do I even enjoy running?

Some days, I'll be on this high of being motivated to run, where on some days, I'm all about the couch and tv.

But, as I digress, my cramps are killing me. It always does the first few days and I wonder if I'm just being a big ole' wuss by using it as an excuse not to run. Hmmm, maybe since I actually said it, that perhaps it is true. I'll test the waters tomorrow and run through the cramps. I promise.