June 17th, 2014
I took a left on a familiar road leading to Shannon because I wanted to go up Shannon and Kennedy. But that familiar road led me to some new territory. I got semi-lost. When I found Shannon, I realized that I was on a time crunch so I decided to opt out on Kennedy and rode hard. It felt good. My legs were awesome! We did 20.3 miles, my legs and I.
I figured I will do a short run after work but I ended up working late. By the time I got home, I was exhausted and my feet were not happy since they were on the concrete floor all day long. According to my Walking Mate on my phone, I walked at least 6.1 miles today. Who knows how accurate those things are but my feet felt beat. So, no run day equals rest day.
The question about food came up. My body operates on a plant-based diet. Here's what my food intake looks like for a typical day:
Breakfast - Post-run/bike - 12oz of Almond milk, 1/2 scoop of RawFit powder & 1 tbls of maple syrup
Lunch - Salad, seasonal fruits, and/or rice with mixed veggies
Dinner - Rice with mixed veggies or veggie pizza or veggie soup
Snacks throughout the day as needed - energy bars or baby food pouches
I recently started reading Eat and Run by Scott Jurek. There is a recipe for Rice balls or Onigiri that I like. I make my own version, which is similar to sushi rolls but I only use brown rice, tamari, sriracha and half of the Nori sheet. A couple of those rolls sit perfectly in my jersey pocket for long rides. I haven't yet started to eat while I run. So far, I don't feel the need to do it.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Monday, June 16, 2014
Day 9 - Short and easy
June 16th, 2014
The air was a bit chillier than usual. Even my long sleeves and compression sleeves weren't enough. I am still working on dressing right for the weather. It is something that I have struggled with for so long because I tend to overdress. As I continued on running and the sun rose a little higher, it got a little warmer. It was almost perfect. Not too cold, slightly on the warm side, perhaps because my long sleeves were a little too thick for summer's mornings.
I don't recall much from my run at all except that the trail was fairly empty. Too early perhaps. Getting to sleep at 10:30pm is a challenge for me. These days I can't seem to get myself to bed until after midnight. I blame it on the loft bed. It's too high and too difficult for my old body :) Even with my morning run (3.5 miles), I felt tired and sleepy all day. It's definitely due to lack of sleep I concluded.
Tonight, tonight I will go to sleep early so my body won't suffer.
The air was a bit chillier than usual. Even my long sleeves and compression sleeves weren't enough. I am still working on dressing right for the weather. It is something that I have struggled with for so long because I tend to overdress. As I continued on running and the sun rose a little higher, it got a little warmer. It was almost perfect. Not too cold, slightly on the warm side, perhaps because my long sleeves were a little too thick for summer's mornings.
I don't recall much from my run at all except that the trail was fairly empty. Too early perhaps. Getting to sleep at 10:30pm is a challenge for me. These days I can't seem to get myself to bed until after midnight. I blame it on the loft bed. It's too high and too difficult for my old body :) Even with my morning run (3.5 miles), I felt tired and sleepy all day. It's definitely due to lack of sleep I concluded.
Tonight, tonight I will go to sleep early so my body won't suffer.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Day 8 - Rest Day!
June 15th, 2014
Maybe I have too many rest days! Yesterday's long run made me feel hungry and I skimmed on my stretches. I did not foam roll my IT bands. Today I paid for it... a little. I was getting restless so in the early evening I decided to take my old-school hardtail out for an easy spin.
Trail rule number one - no motorized vehicles! Of course I saw two people cruising on the trail above speed limit. The guy was using a motorized scooter. The woman was carrying her dog on some kind of two seat motorized scooter as well. I suppose they were doing their workout without working out. The loud sound penetrated the cool air and traveled for miles. It disturbed the peace that the trail provides. I was a little annoyed but then I saw a bunch of little baby geese. And voila!
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I wanted to take this opportunity to explore the possible routes for my morning runs. Every little dirt road I saw that seemed to lead somewhere new, I took. I stumbled upon a couple ponds with no water. The earth was so dry and cracked that it gave me a chill. I started thinking about my own skin. My skin could look like that if I don't take care of it. Hydration is the main point. I started feeling bad for the earth. Was I too selfish to only think of hydrating myself? What about all the creatures that lived in that pond? What could I do? It hasn't rained for months in California. We are in a serious drought. The government recommended that we reduce our water usage by 20 percent. The images of Ebay and other suburban households watering the sidewalks flooded my mind. Sadness weighed me down.
My bike kept rolling. The endorphins kicked in. The breeze carried my sadness on her back and traveled far away. 9.5 miles later.
Maybe I have too many rest days! Yesterday's long run made me feel hungry and I skimmed on my stretches. I did not foam roll my IT bands. Today I paid for it... a little. I was getting restless so in the early evening I decided to take my old-school hardtail out for an easy spin.
Trail rule number one - no motorized vehicles! Of course I saw two people cruising on the trail above speed limit. The guy was using a motorized scooter. The woman was carrying her dog on some kind of two seat motorized scooter as well. I suppose they were doing their workout without working out. The loud sound penetrated the cool air and traveled for miles. It disturbed the peace that the trail provides. I was a little annoyed but then I saw a bunch of little baby geese. And voila!
I wanted to take this opportunity to explore the possible routes for my morning runs. Every little dirt road I saw that seemed to lead somewhere new, I took. I stumbled upon a couple ponds with no water. The earth was so dry and cracked that it gave me a chill. I started thinking about my own skin. My skin could look like that if I don't take care of it. Hydration is the main point. I started feeling bad for the earth. Was I too selfish to only think of hydrating myself? What about all the creatures that lived in that pond? What could I do? It hasn't rained for months in California. We are in a serious drought. The government recommended that we reduce our water usage by 20 percent. The images of Ebay and other suburban households watering the sidewalks flooded my mind. Sadness weighed me down.
My bike kept rolling. The endorphins kicked in. The breeze carried my sadness on her back and traveled far away. 9.5 miles later.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Day 7 - Must be a Post Friday-the-13th-Super-Full-Moon kind of thing
June 14th, 2014
I partied too hard at the Giants game last night. The big and yellow honey moon, the huge flock of seagulls, the crazy 9th inning and the spectacular fireworks at AT&T Park took me home at 2am. My body woke up at 7am but my mind did not. Usually, it's the other way around but today it's different. Today my body remembered its scheduled morning run. My mind couldn't decide what to do. It was either a scheduled 10 miles or however far I could run, safely.
It was relatively late when I set out to my local trail. The sun was high and the heat was on the rise. I blamed myself for not following Haruki's advice. When you decide to be a runner, there are things you have to sacrifice, like give up socializing and go to bed at 10pm every night. Even if my body pumps all the endorphins to my head, it could not be saved from cloudiness.
It was a busy Saturday morning. I saw water stops, signage and many people dressed in red and orange tees and kids with their mommies and strollers walked in two or three across. There were bicycle riders zooming by at about 20mph in a 15mph zone full of pedestrians. Hot. Crowded. Noisy. I could not find my thoughts, my inspiration. I kept trotting along at a very easy and slow pace.
At the 5 mile mark, my phone rang. I let it ring. As soon as the ringing stops, it decided to dial someone and a 911 operator answered, "911, where's your exact location?" I had to get my phone out of my homemade sock armband, "I'm sorry my phone dialed 911 on accident." Unbelievable! My crazy device!
I continued on running, checking my heart rate every now and then because I had a feeling that somewhere within the first mile, my heart rate monitor and my phone decided to not talk to each other anymore. I got home at an 8mile mark with my heart rate never exceed 165 bmp. It was slow and easy but it was more like slow and hard. I struggled a bit physically and mentally.
I partied too hard at the Giants game last night. The big and yellow honey moon, the huge flock of seagulls, the crazy 9th inning and the spectacular fireworks at AT&T Park took me home at 2am. My body woke up at 7am but my mind did not. Usually, it's the other way around but today it's different. Today my body remembered its scheduled morning run. My mind couldn't decide what to do. It was either a scheduled 10 miles or however far I could run, safely.
It was relatively late when I set out to my local trail. The sun was high and the heat was on the rise. I blamed myself for not following Haruki's advice. When you decide to be a runner, there are things you have to sacrifice, like give up socializing and go to bed at 10pm every night. Even if my body pumps all the endorphins to my head, it could not be saved from cloudiness.
It was a busy Saturday morning. I saw water stops, signage and many people dressed in red and orange tees and kids with their mommies and strollers walked in two or three across. There were bicycle riders zooming by at about 20mph in a 15mph zone full of pedestrians. Hot. Crowded. Noisy. I could not find my thoughts, my inspiration. I kept trotting along at a very easy and slow pace.
At the 5 mile mark, my phone rang. I let it ring. As soon as the ringing stops, it decided to dial someone and a 911 operator answered, "911, where's your exact location?" I had to get my phone out of my homemade sock armband, "I'm sorry my phone dialed 911 on accident." Unbelievable! My crazy device!
I continued on running, checking my heart rate every now and then because I had a feeling that somewhere within the first mile, my heart rate monitor and my phone decided to not talk to each other anymore. I got home at an 8mile mark with my heart rate never exceed 165 bmp. It was slow and easy but it was more like slow and hard. I struggled a bit physically and mentally.
Day 6 - Met a kind soul
June 13th, 2014
Talking about riders' behavior versus runners', I met a kind soul on the road today. I was stranded on a short bike route during the dawn hours, where only asphalt, trees and birds were my company. As I changed my gears pedaling to the top of Pierce, my chain fell off. New technology sometimes is not necessarily your best friend. The chainguard that was supposed to keep my chain from falling failed to perform. My chain fell through the gap between the chainguard and my chainring. There wasn't enough space for me to pull it back on unless I took the chain guard off... with a tool.
Tool. Such an important item that I haven't made any effort to carry since I got my new bike. No emergency kit. No tools. It's funny I stressed so much the importance of needing to carry a little repair kit while on a ride to customers but I failed to follow my own advice. Here I was, 10 miles from home, on a somewhat quiet road, at the crack of dawn, struggling with my greasy hands trying to push the chainguard out of the way so that I could put the chain back on. I had no choice. What was I to do but to keep trying.
Then I saw a fellow cyclist approaching. I knew help was on the way. Jim was kind enough to not only lend me his multitool but also fix it for me. I told him he saved my life and thanked him profusely. We got to chat a bit. I found out that he works for Giro, hence he liked my helmet (the Air Attack Shield). We rode together a little bit and then waved goodbye as I turned onto my road heading home.
I was saved by a kind fellow cyclist. Later, I wondered to myself if I were to sit by the side of the trail because I was hurt, would a runner ask me if I was okay? The probability of that somehow seems so slim but I don't really know. I would have to try it and see.
Today I rode 22 miles up two hills with 1089 ft of climbing. I felt strong and happy.
Talking about riders' behavior versus runners', I met a kind soul on the road today. I was stranded on a short bike route during the dawn hours, where only asphalt, trees and birds were my company. As I changed my gears pedaling to the top of Pierce, my chain fell off. New technology sometimes is not necessarily your best friend. The chainguard that was supposed to keep my chain from falling failed to perform. My chain fell through the gap between the chainguard and my chainring. There wasn't enough space for me to pull it back on unless I took the chain guard off... with a tool.
Tool. Such an important item that I haven't made any effort to carry since I got my new bike. No emergency kit. No tools. It's funny I stressed so much the importance of needing to carry a little repair kit while on a ride to customers but I failed to follow my own advice. Here I was, 10 miles from home, on a somewhat quiet road, at the crack of dawn, struggling with my greasy hands trying to push the chainguard out of the way so that I could put the chain back on. I had no choice. What was I to do but to keep trying.
Then I saw a fellow cyclist approaching. I knew help was on the way. Jim was kind enough to not only lend me his multitool but also fix it for me. I told him he saved my life and thanked him profusely. We got to chat a bit. I found out that he works for Giro, hence he liked my helmet (the Air Attack Shield). We rode together a little bit and then waved goodbye as I turned onto my road heading home.
I was saved by a kind fellow cyclist. Later, I wondered to myself if I were to sit by the side of the trail because I was hurt, would a runner ask me if I was okay? The probability of that somehow seems so slim but I don't really know. I would have to try it and see.
Today I rode 22 miles up two hills with 1089 ft of climbing. I felt strong and happy.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Day 5
June 12th, 2014
I was planning on doing a 7 mile run today; however my knees felt a little off. Even though they didn't hurt, I thought maybe my body tells me I need a break since I have been running every day for the past 4 days. Let's just go back for a little bit. Pre-marathon signup time, I would classify myself as an occasional runner, that is I run 5 miles every one or two weeks. Counting from my first day 'til now (4 days), I have put 17.3 miles on my knees. So naturally, they would tell me, "Honey, you need to let us rest today. We want to live a long long time." What do I say to that?
As night was approaching, I knew I had made the right decision. The dull ache in my knees came and persisted. I was doing everything I could, from foam rolling to heat patches (Salonpas). I have confidence that tomorrow they will want to go outside and breath in the fresh morning air.
I was planning on doing a 7 mile run today; however my knees felt a little off. Even though they didn't hurt, I thought maybe my body tells me I need a break since I have been running every day for the past 4 days. Let's just go back for a little bit. Pre-marathon signup time, I would classify myself as an occasional runner, that is I run 5 miles every one or two weeks. Counting from my first day 'til now (4 days), I have put 17.3 miles on my knees. So naturally, they would tell me, "Honey, you need to let us rest today. We want to live a long long time." What do I say to that?
As night was approaching, I knew I had made the right decision. The dull ache in my knees came and persisted. I was doing everything I could, from foam rolling to heat patches (Salonpas). I have confidence that tomorrow they will want to go outside and breath in the fresh morning air.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Day 4
June 11th, 2014
My normal workout heart rate generally stays around 186. I never seem to get it any higher than that. Today, I'm proud to say it was 194. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not. But it felt good, well, only an hour after the fact :)
I found out one of my co-workers, Ben is a personal trainer (Happy Toes Coaching). Got to pick his brain for a bit about tips on training for a marathon. When I told him I was doing my interval trainings on the treadmill, he told me to ditch that. Running on the treadmill is an unnatural process. It pulls your feet under when you run instead of you pushing off on your own, which in turn affects your gait and foot strike. To be honest, I don't even know what my gait or foot strike is. That's how much of a novice I am. But I'm learning slowly, one step at a time.
Treadmill? I have no problem saying goodbye to it because 5 minutes on it seems like eternity. Plus, I am looking forward to substituting the treadmill with my morning rides once again. My knees will be happier taking 3 days off a week from running. It'd be nice to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger at a red light and bid each other good day as the light turns green.
It was treadmill interval this morning. I ran 2.8 miles and worked hard on my legs. It felt a little more painful. I can't wait until the day that I won't feel any pain working out hard.
My normal workout heart rate generally stays around 186. I never seem to get it any higher than that. Today, I'm proud to say it was 194. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not. But it felt good, well, only an hour after the fact :)
I found out one of my co-workers, Ben is a personal trainer (Happy Toes Coaching). Got to pick his brain for a bit about tips on training for a marathon. When I told him I was doing my interval trainings on the treadmill, he told me to ditch that. Running on the treadmill is an unnatural process. It pulls your feet under when you run instead of you pushing off on your own, which in turn affects your gait and foot strike. To be honest, I don't even know what my gait or foot strike is. That's how much of a novice I am. But I'm learning slowly, one step at a time.
Treadmill? I have no problem saying goodbye to it because 5 minutes on it seems like eternity. Plus, I am looking forward to substituting the treadmill with my morning rides once again. My knees will be happier taking 3 days off a week from running. It'd be nice to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger at a red light and bid each other good day as the light turns green.
It was treadmill interval this morning. I ran 2.8 miles and worked hard on my legs. It felt a little more painful. I can't wait until the day that I won't feel any pain working out hard.
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