Here are some race pictures from the Carlsbad Half Marathon a couple of weeks ago. There were actually more, but they were either very similar or really bad pictures of me..But if anyone is interested or daring enough, from Brightroom. Read the rest of this entry »
I was contacted on behalf of thriv many months ago asking if I was interested in testing out their new and unique fitness apparel brand. It sounds like a new company using a grassroots campaign to get word out on their new products. What sets them apart from other companies is how their apparel is made: eco-friendly bamboo and cotton. Who would have thought that it was possible to wear bamboo? Anyways, the combination of the two creates a natural and light-weight solution as opposed to other synthetic polyesters. The fabric is able to wick sweat a lot better than the mega-giant brand Under Armour and has a higher SPF. It doesn’t hold odor in which is nice and it’s extraordinarily soft, which I can vouch for after washing it numerous times. Read the rest of this entry »
I was asked to test and review the iSkin DuoBand silicone skin and armband for the iPod 5G, except I didn’t even have a 5G. I do have an iPod 4G, which I got for my birthday (2 months before the new one came out..talk about timing). Anyways, when I got the product in the mail, I didn’t know that it was for the 5G and just went ahead and tried it on my iPod.
My high school cross country coach told me that you see your biggest improvement in the second year of running. I could definitely understand why, unless you are just a natural born runner, which most people aren’t. But I would never imagine that I would see such a huge improvement after running my second..half marathon. In the Carlsbad Half Marathon, my first race of 2010, and first one as a proud member of the Brooks ID program, I ran one of the smartest and fastest races I could have ever imagined. Official results: 1:28:53 (PR), 6:47 min/mile; place: 6/143 AG, 102/7105 overall. Flashback two months ago after my first half marathon: 1:38, almost 10 minutes faster! My goal for the first race was to break 1:30 and I was on pace to do so for the first 7-8 miles, but flopped. My goal for this race was to break 1:35, much more reasonable. What happened instead? Not only did I shatter my goal of 1:35, but I reached my goal from the first half. I think there are a lot of factors that contributed to my success, which I will get into below, but some of the things that helped was: not getting discouraged from a disappointing first half, ‘getting back on the horse’ and just running, longer runs with less speed work, and of course, being encouraged by runners from all over. As always, I’m very grateful for the last part. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m sitting here, a little over 24 hours before my half marathon, reading about race information I need to know so that I don’t have to worry about something as trivial as logistics before the big day. But what I should really be doing is focusing on the upcoming race. Unlike many other runners that I’ve known or read about in blogs, I get pretty tense around race day. The pressure just seems to build up, and it’s always been like this even back in high school running cross country and track. Before and during each meet, I would see my teammates joking around having fun, while I’m sitting down, listening to my CD-Player (iPod not invented yet!) trying to concentrate on the upcoming race. Maybe it’s because I was never as talented as them or they just didn’t care as much as I did about doing well. But the truth of the matter is, that’s just the type of person I’ve always been. Even for other things like tests, I would always be nervous and not want to do anything ‘fun’ until I got the test over with first. It’s sort of like that saying, ‘work now, play later’.
I think when other people know about your race, it just to add to that pressure. I never talked to my old boss that often, but one day he asked me what I was doing for the weekend. Other than races and visits back home, I never have anything eventful planned. But my boss happened to ask the week before my first half marathon, so I told him. He wasn’t necessarily a runner, but he had ran a marathon the year before and he did work out pretty often. So knowing that my boss knew about the race and would most likely ask how I did made me feel pressured to do well. The same for my upcoming race. I just found out one of my new co-workers is a frequent runner and was training for her first marathon, got injured but still managed to run a half while training for the full. So the Friday before my race, out of nowhere she asks me when my next race was. I mean, what are the odds? So I’ll be going into the race with more pressure than I would have wanted.
That’s why when I read about runners who ‘had so much fun’ at race xyz, I’m thinking, ‘Really? Was it really that fun running so hard, being so tired?’. But I think that’s just the pessimist in me thinking out loud. Or else, why would I keep doing it? Why put yourself through so much pain for months at a time all for one moment, one event, which itself is no picnic? Because I can. And I will keep doing it until my legs give out. End. Rant.
Update: Apparently the pressure didn’t get to me and I rocked my Half marathon the next day, 1:28:53, 6th AG, 102 Overall. Full race report of the Carlsbad Half Marathon.
I was asked from Invigorators to see if I was interested in testing and writing a review of the Invigorators Compression Socks. It was a great opportunity to test out and review different types of compression socks to find the pair that best fit me. I had previously tested and reviewed a pair of Zensah compression socks and was very pleased with the product. When asked to review the Invigorators Compression Socks, I needed to give my height and shoe size. The Invigorators came in a more custom fit, which is very helpful when you want to get the most of out your compression socks.
Welcome to 2010, runners! I hope everybody had a safe/fun holiday the past couple of weeks. For me, it was filled with lots of driving, eating, visiting family, lounging around and a little bit of running on the side. My half marathon was in mid-November and my next one is in late January, which meant I was supposed to start my 10-week training right after that half.
My 2009 year end report according to DailyMile.
I took a couple of days off to recover from my half and then didn’t really follow any training plan after that. I have been trying to continue to run so that I didn’t get out of shape and maybe even run more miles to build up my base. What I learned from my first half is that I definitely have the speed, but not the endurance. To compensate for that, I have been trying to run more miles than I did from my last training. One way to help is by running 7 days a week, instead of 6. Another thing I did was just have a regular run instead of intervals since that is usually 3-4 miles total. Read the rest of this entry »
I was contacted by an editor from Archie Grand, a notebook publishing company in Sweden. From his email, it sounded like he used to be a runner, but now with three kids (and probably many years later), he doesn’t run much anymore. As a thank you, he offered to send me one of his notebooks, Runners I Met And Liked. It was a very nice gesture and like always, I am very thankful for it. If you go to the site, you’ll see that they make these small notebooks with random “[type of person] I Met and Liked” notebooks. These are pretty nice notebooks: the paper is really thick and the binding and cover is very sturdy and smooth. But it’s so nice; I don’t want to waste the pages on just anything. I used to have a notebook to write down my runs, but then went digital and posted them online. Also during my first half training, I wrote down some of my splits during intervals. I’m still thinking about what would be the best use of this really cool notebook.
Writing about this book gave me the idea to talk about running in 2009. I ran for a short time in 2008, but it just got too hard and I wasn’t really motivated or had much support. I tried again early this year and was on a running forum and someone mentioned a website where you can post your runs and talk to other runners. Runners on DailyMile were very supportive and provided me with that bit of motivation needed to keep me running. That, integrated with Twitter really got me into running and racing for the first time in years helped push me over the top. Since then, I have ran 3 5K’s (including an AG win), a 10K and my very first half marathon. That half marathon was my greatest achievement to date; I never thought I would be able to race that many miles. With that under my belt, I know that a full marathon is just around the corner (Rock n’ Roll San Diego). I have quite a few half marathons planned throughout 2010, admission into the Brooks I.D. program and like I just said, my first full marathon.
I’m not necessarily going to name runners that I met and liked, mostly because I haven’t really met any runners, per se. I have gotten to know, received support, and talked to many runners in 2009 from: DailyMile, Twitter, blogs, forums, Meetup.com and Nikeplus.com. I probably wouldn’t still be running today if it weren’t for all of the people from these great places. I have also received many running products from some generous companies for me to test and review. Although that is very nice of these companies, I have to say that getting to know all the runners is the best gift I can ask for. I feel very thankful this holiday season; I know not everyone can say the same. It has been a very tough year (economically) with so much happening around the world; you’d think it’d never stop. 2010 is a new decade, which can mean many things: a new year, new job, new running season and just a fresh start all-around. Hopefully everyone enjoys their Christmas and New Years to get 2010 started off right.
Keep on running!!
SDrunner
The Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10 won Runner’s World “Best Update” award in the Winter 2010 Shoe Guide in its December 2009 issue. Read on to find out why..
As part of the Brooks I.D. (Inspire Daily) sponsored athlete program, I am required to race and train in Brooks gear and apparel. But I also enjoy a 40% discount on said products, so it’s a win-win situation for both sides. I was well overdue for a new pair of running shoes (over 500-600 miles on my New Balance 768), so I started to review and look at potential Brooks running shoes to choose next. I had my feet and running form analyzed courtesy of Road Runner Sports and found out I had normal pronation (but feels more like over pronation) and needed a pair of stability shoes. I was deciding between the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10 and Trance 9, but when I tried on the Adrenaline 10, I knew I was sold. I didn’t know a pair of running shoes could feel so comfortable! On a side note, my brother had his feet looked at (on a different occasion) and was really interested in the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10’s as well. What are the odds? Read the rest of this entry »
“You have been accepted into the Brooks Inspire Daily Program!”
“Brooks I.D. stands for Inspire Daily. These two simple words guide the principles of the program. Brooks I.D. is made up of over 2,000 members who are active in their running communities and share a passion for the Brooks brand. They are runners who are winners in their own right: Winning their age divisions, accomplishing their personal goals, pushing their own limits, and, by extension, encouraging others to do the same. They are coaches, mentors, and leaders.” Read the rest of this entry »
A running blog for training, race reports, product reviews and lessons learned..
