nike women's marathon 2012

photo courtesy of adoremai @ instagram

i didn't run the nike women's (half) marathon this year, but my lil half-sis (MN) did. she's totally not a runner – wait, i take that back. she doesn't typically run on your normal basis, at least not like me anyway. she barely trained for this event, but nevertheless, she ran the half marathon distance of the nwm race yesterday and did fantastic! 13.1 miles in 2:37:21. that's pretty impressive for someone who's never ran longer than 5 miles in her entire life until yesterday's race. way to go girl!

below are our instagram photos from the day's events. :)


MN before the race @ NWM 2012


All done! :)


C and I with MN at the finish line

making use of my lunch hour

this is the fourth straight week that i've ran during lunch. i'm not running a whole lot, just twice a week. there are 5 lunch opportunities in a week, so why not sacrifice two of them to get in some running? especially when the days are getting shorter and the sun rises so much later! yes, a big change from summer for sure.

anyway, i've been running during my lunch period the last few weeks. like i mentioned above, this is my fourth week and so far, so good. since my last post, i've kind of stopped the nike training app stuff. i know, so awful. that only lasted 7-8 days, not even 2 weeks! well, i'm hoping i'll stick with this running during lunch. i know they say you gotta give yourself at least 21 days to make a new habit stick. i'm hoping this one will stick. i've gone past the 21 days, but of course, that's just what people say. let's see what my body/mind says. now, i just need to watch what i eat and add in some strength training exercises. maybe i'll pick up the nike app again, or do something else. oh, i do have all those workout pins on pinterest. maybe mix in some of those with my 4-5 runs throughout the week, we'll see.

whatever it is, the number on the scale isn't diminishing and that's not good. it's almost a full year since baby #2, so yeah.. very disappointing. i told myself i'd do better this time around. i guess in a way i am or is better, but then again, i didn't or it's not any better. i must really just do it! i know, like my motto that i keep telling myself, "a year from now you'll wish you had started today" – no way, i don't want to have any of that! i don't want to be wishing a year from now i'd started today. so i guess like nike puts it best, "just do it!"

my diet so far today. it hasn't been super, i really need to plan my meals better.



breakfast: 1/2 spam musubi + starbucks tall coffee w/ half & half + 2 packets of raw sugar
lunch: 1-1/2 spam musubi
dinner: spaghetti + steamed green beans (planned)

yes, and drinking lots of water!

today's exercises: walked 1.2 miles (25 minutes), ran 2.7 miles (27 minutes)

26.2 miles it is!

mark and i got spots for the full sf marathon last week courtesy of a very cool friend from work. we're so excited! i can't believe we'll be running 26.2 miles at the end of july -- it'll be our first ever marathon race. i can't wait to check out the sights/views of san francisco. i know, we live here... but still, it would be so cool to see random things along the course; including running the golden gate bridge out and back (we've walked it before). i just hope that come race day we'll both be ready (better be!) and that the weather will be awful! yes, i like running in awful weather. what's my definition of awful? let's say i hope it's a typical july day -- ugly and miserable-looking in the morning with the fog and drizzly mists. that way, the weather will be super cool, perfect for a race! running in cold weather is so much nicer than running in hot weather. the colder it is, the better -- that just means my time will be better! of course, the fog can clear up and the sun can come out, once the race is over. now, it would really suck (to run) if come july 29 and it's a gorgeous sun-shining day. ahhh... guess we'll just have to wait and see.

alright, enough said. in the mean time, i got to get training (or just run!). need to get my pace back down again. it's been a struggle, still is... since october, post-baby. my pace is still extremely slow. i need to keep at it to ensure i can run this marathon under 4:30. that's really wishful thinking. of course, if i was back down to normal pace again, a 4 hour time would be most ideal. lalalala.. we'll see! stay tune. :)

1,000 miles ran milestone :)

on saturday, september 3, i finally hit that 1,000 miles ran marker. yup, i was determine to get there before i stop running until december. of course, as you can see from my last post, running at the moment is a bit tricky. it's tough carrying that extra weight. amazing. i guess you can say i somewhat can relate or feel what it's like to be carrying extra weight now. especially if that weight is unwanted due to laziness or plain ignorance -- whichever. basically, let's just say i don't intend on being overweight in my lifetime. let's hope i can do everything in my power not to get there too. it just sucks trying to work out when you have 20-30 extra pounds. it's tough -- period.

so yes, 1,001 miles ran to be exact. i'm so proud of myself. that's not bad at all. i can't wait until december to pick it up again. in the meantime, i'll enjoy what little peace and quiet i have until the big arrival. plus, it's nice being lazy again... and not having to wake up so early for that morning jog. although, i do have to say, i kind of miss it. or more like, miss the feeling of accomplishing something before the start of day. when that ugly morning mist hits my face, it feels so good. well, it won't be long i guess. only 3 more months to go and i'll be back out there hitting the pavements again assuming everything goes according to plan. :)

it's been a looooooong while...

oh, so much has changed since the last time i've written something here. can't remember when that was.

alright, here's all the goodie updates. let's just say we're expecting another bundle of joy to add to the mix this october. in the mean time, this prettiee mama is packing on the necessary pounds required for this task, and at the same time, is striving to run as much as possible leading up to the big day.

yup, you heard that right. i'm pregnant and still running! only 74 more miles to go to reach 1,000 miles ran since i picked up running again 3 years ago. oh my, has it really been 3 years? i guess so. i remember precisely it was after that last birthday back in july 2008 that i made a commitment to start running again. well, 3 years later and even with a bun in the oven, i'm still running. i'm so proud that i'll be reaching the 1,000 miles marker soon. not just that, but the initial 150 miles ran before october is coming up. only 18 more miles to go to get to 150 miles. i say at the rate i'm going right now, i'll get there within the next few weeks. shouldn't be a problem... assuming nothing crazy comes up from now til then. :D

alrighty, that's all for now. just thought i share this little news. will definitely be sure to post when i reach 1,000 miles ran! can't wait to get there. will be one crazy cool accomplishment. :)

500 miles ran & counting... :)

I am so proud of myself. Almost 2 years later, a minor groin injury in between and over 10 lbs lost since that day back in July 2008, I’ve finally reached my 500th mile ran (according to my Nike+ iPod device) on Sunday. That just sounds so cool. Of course, the mileage doesn’t count all the times the Nano and Nike+ gadget died on me while running. I swear I’ve lost at least a good 10-20 miles on it. But anyway, 500 miles, that’s super. Only 120 more miles to go until I hit the blue level on the Nike+ website. Let’s hope I reach that sooner than later injury-free. I say if I do a proper training for the SF marathon coming up this summer (in July), I should reach 1000 km in no time. We’ll see how things go. Now, let's get working on getting 'em sexy abs (minus baby pouch?) for summer. Stay tuned. :)

Posted via email from Mai's posterous

23.1 miles down, 3.1 more to go

Yes, Mark and I just finished running our last 3 miles this morning to make up the 23.1 miles we have to run before the SFM progressive marathon 5k race we'll be running this Sunday. Ahhh! So excited. It'll be so much fun, I just know it. The atmosphere is just phenomenal at events like this.

Alright, tomorrow's our first ever (indoor) rocking climbing event. I'm so excited! Let's hope I do good. :P

Okay, that's all... more later.

weight gain, socal, golfing, sfm, rock climbing + more?!

so i've gained 2lbs since my birthday. yeah, we were in socal for the weekend this past weekend. actually, more like thursday thru sunday morning. anyway, did tried to eat okay, but of course, you know how it goes sometimes, on vacation, bad food. or more like, anything that's easy to grab. so yup... that's not so great. so yes, mark and i are trying to get back into the routine of things again. we ran the lake yesterday. it's our first time in months! i haven't ran the lake since my leg injury back in early february. omg, it was brutal, but we made it through. :) im just glad to say i can still do it, within a reasonable amount of time. still can't believe the first time i ever ran that lake. my time was like 53 minutes and something second. now, it's anywhere between 42-45mins. okay, of course, im sure there will be times when it's longer than 45mins, but just the fact that i've shed 10mins off of my first ever time, that's pretty amazing. every time i run that lake, im always trying to beat my pr. right now, it's 41:59, yes, just a second under 42mins. would be nice to do it under 40mins one of these days. well.. im not a speed runner, so... dunno when that will happen, but we'll see. i know i should be working on some mini interval running drills, every now and then, but just haven't done it. we'll see about that anyway. im sure mark will enjoy that more than me.

alright, the sfm is this sunday. mark and i still have 3 more miles to log/run for our 23.1 miles before the race. so yup... probably will do that today or tomorrow.. well, definitely by the end of the week, before saturday. oh, we're going indoor rock climbing saturday morning. ahhh! i'm so excited. it's my birthday gift from mark. been asking him forever to go do a rock climbing session with me... he finally said yes! okay, actually, we finally made time for it. so yup... im super excited. gosh, i hope i do well. it'll be both our first time.

oh, speaking of trying out new things, etc... over the weekend while in socal, at our stay at the hyatt in newport beach, they had a 9-hole golf course onsite. we paid and played the course. omg, it was seriously crazy. i mean, i now have a new profound respect for people who actually have the patience to play and finish all 18-holes. not just your eeny meeny short distance holes, but them 200+ yards holes. the course we played yardage range from 50-100 yards for the holes and omg, it was still brutal. by the second hole i was seriously ready to give up. like how am i going to survive all 9 holes? crazy?!!! anyway, i persevered it through, so that was good. very proud of myself for that. but yeah... still brutal. will definitely have to really give it a good thought before i play golf again the next time around. mark did okay. hahaha... but we all still sucked! my score was like 68 and i only played 9 holes (all the holes were par 3's!) hahaha... i think mark finished somewhere in the high 40's and laura in the high 50's. yeah, we sucked! or i mean, i sucked more. :P oh well.

okay, that's all. more next time. :)

i'm running again!

yup, you read that right. my leg's doing all better now. i don't feel that awful pain in my right groin area anymore... so that's great! so far i've ran 3 times. the first one was a mini warm-up. mark and i only ran 1.8 miles. oh, while i was on a running hiatus, he was too. so yeah, we ran together for the first time in like 4 months, on june 27. since then, we've ran twice, at 3.2 miles and just recently, yesterday, we ran 4 miles. okay, i ran more than 4 miles, mark only ran 4 miles, but yeah... it was still 4 miles. oh, we're counting all of these runs for our progressive marathon that we're doing w/ the sf marathon come july 26. so let's see... i think we've got 9 miles done and only 14.1 more miles to go to reach the necesssary 23.1 miles we needed to run before race day. anyway, with the distances we're tackling now, i think we can rack up the last 14.1 miles in 4 runs. we want to run the lake again, so that's 4.5 miles there already. with that, we'll only need one of each 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 mile runs. i think that's correct. well, all of our runs should add up to 23.1.. if not, ahhh... iono. we'll have to run a tad bit more if it's not enough. but im pretty sure from now until july 26, we'll have ran more than 23.1 miles. omg, just exciting. i can't wait until race day. im just so glad im able to run again now. i really hope my body stays healthy. it's hope it's all good the rest of the way. :)

oh, yesterday's 4 mile run felt so good. we did what we called "the lawndale route," where we run straight to this one street call lawndale and back. it's a nice simple run with a few hills or lumps? whatever you want to call it, but yeah. there's times throughout the run where the street goes up and down, so you get your inclines and declines along with the straight/flat ones. :) oh, it just felt good yesterday. i feel like my heart could totally handle it, like i was in great shape; everything was just super. hmm... but maybe that could have been due to my pace. well, it was definitely not as fast as i normally would have ran it or anything, cuz i wanted to slow down with mark. but i still finished it in like 40mins, so.. iono. ahhh.. could just be that i kept a pretty consistent pace. anyway, mark didn't want to run too quick this last time. just funny how he was so slow though, he really fell behind. i waited for him one time and then after he caught up to me, he fell back again so i just took off and finished the course. of course, i went back out and finished it with him as well. he did very well, considering having drank 2-1/2 glasses of white wine before the run! hahaha.. yeah, drinking and running isn't such a great combo. so silly!

anyway... let's hope my legs/whole body stays healthy. i want to be running for a really long time. we still need to do our half-marathon/full marathon one of these days, not to mention the triathlon (as soon as i learn how to swim/float!). so yup. :)

ok, n/m, more later.

-2lbs :)

alright, i weighed myself this morning and it reads 99lbs. that's good. so that means for some reason i've lost 3lbs since the last time i weighed myself... which was either yesterday or sunday morning. can't remember. bottom line is though, i still have 2 more pounds to lose to get back to 97lbs. yeah... i know. iono, let's hope those 2lbs can just melt away. of course, im sure that's not going to happen. it'll take lots of discipline and effort from my end. ugh! i haven't exercised in over a week too! on top of that, my diet has been pretty bad.. i didn't do too well yesterday either. now, i must really buckle up and pay attention to what im eating. bottom line, i can't overeat. omg, i swear, i can eat so much, yes... even past the point of being full. hahaha... that's what i did sunday night. i mean, i ate like a pig at the bbq, then came 6pm and mark wanted a nice juicy burger meal from carl's jr. i said, sure, i'll have one too. so i got a famous star burger meal w/ fries and a sprite. thank goodness i didn't finish the burger or the fries... or the drink, but of course, i sure ate a good chunk of the burgers and a few french fries, w/ a few sips of the soda before i said, "no more... im so full!" hahaha.. my tummy was seriously bulging. eww, i know. yuck!

anyway, i feel much better today... although my tummy still feels fat and i still feel a bit bloated. i know i must do better today. will be a bit tricky though, i must say. today at work everyone's going out for my big big boss's 40th birthday at this one Mediterranean restaurant. their food is always so yummy. i can seriously eat so much pita bread w/ hummus. i know... ugh! i can't do that. okay, let's hope that doesn't happen. anyway, i'll just have to be good today. we'll see. :)

ummm... ok, more later. and yes, i know, i need to start running! must do, cuz the sf marathon's 5k is only in 26 days. ahhhh!!! =/

tomorrow's weigh-in day... yikes!

Alright, I have to say straight up that I haven't been so good all week this past week. We'll see how that gets reflected tomorrow when I do my weigh-in. Hopefully it won't be too bad! Now I have to say, I did keep up with my running, running 3 times this past week like I have in previous weeks. The distance is pretty normal, your usual 3-4 miles, etc.

Anyway, tomorrow's Mark's birthday so we're all going out to breakfast. That should be good. Of course I already know I'm going to be bad at breakfast, feasting on 'em yummy pancakes, sausages, bacons, eggs, and you guessed it, hash browns! Seriously, I love American breakfast, especially when it comes from IHOP or Denny's. Dunno why, but just do. Now, if you ask me if I eat that kind of breakfast food at home I would say very rarely. It's just funny that I love diner breakfasts, etc... but when it comes to good ol' home cooking, especially with American breakfast meals (at home), it's awful. I rarely eat a normal breakfast... you know, whether it's eggs & bacons, sausages, pancakes, waffles, good ol' cereal, oatmeal, toast, etc., etc., you get what I'm trying to say here. Yes, I don't like breakfast food. I hate traveling and stopping at McD's during breakfast hours cuz they only serve breakfast food. I used to have to kind of starved myself cuz I couldn't eat/don't want to eat them anyway, breakfast food. It could just be that coming from an Asian background, especially my culture, we eat the same meal 3 times a day. I feel like it just feels me up more. I always tell my in-laws I could have my dinner for breakfast, or breakfast for dinner.. or lunch or whichever. It could be the same exact meal, twice or three times and I'll still be perfectly content with that! Now, if you ask me to eat cereal three times a day or something like that, no way! Let alone eggs & bacons, or toast or pancakes, etc... Lalalalala... I know I'm going on and on about this now. So enough of that.

So yes, tomorrow's breakfast at IHOP, for Mark's birthday. It should be great! I'm really looking forward to it. Now after that, for a late afternoon lunch/maybe early dinner (depends), I'm making my delicious baked garlic bbq chicken wings w/ sticky rice (maybe on the rice?!). Mark requested them, so I guess I will make it. They are absolutely delicious.. I'll see if I can take some pictures and post them up. What else? I don't know... maybe if the wings aren't enough, we'll have something else, and oh yes, of course, his favorite, good old-fashioned English style beer-battered homemade fish 'n chips... follow by a scrumptious birthday cake. That should be good enough. I know we're not totally celebrating his birthday tomorrow like we'd like to just cuz the girls won't be able to make it (more celebration to come later in the week when they're here)... but I just know it'll still be great!

Alright, enough said. I'm done. Oh yes, btw, ran two days in a row... taking a break tomorrow. Will probably run again on Tuesday or Wednesday. Dunno yet... still have two more run days to go this week. Should be fun. :)

OMG! who knew?!

Mark and I finally did it! We ran from Peter's house all the way back to our house. The run was about 5.8 miles long and took us under an hour... 59:07 minutes to be exact! I'm so proud of us... now, we just have to run there and back and that would be another great accomplishment! :)

Anyway, the reason why it was so huge was the fact that there are these mountains between Peter's and our houses. Coming from Peter's house was tough cuz about 80% of the run was uphill and the last 20% downhill. Overall, I'm very proud. Before, seriously, the thought of running from here to there or there to here was such an awful thought. Now that we've done it, it doesn't seem so hard after all. Thing is, both Mark and I agreed that the run did not seem tough at all (okay... well, maybe a bit about 40% in, but overall it was okay)... we both felt like we could go on forever! Now, I honestly feel like I can so do that half-marathon now. Maybe I should start thinking about signing up for the SF Half-Marathon taking place this summer. Ahhh.. we'll see.. stay tune for this I guess. :)

Lalalalala.... one final note, it was just a bummer I couldn't record this great run on my iPod/Nike+ cuz I wore the wrong shoes! Can you believe it? I ran 5.8 miles in my casual Adidas sneakers. Hahahahaha.. yeah. It felt fine though.. Mark used to do it all the time when he first started running (cuz he didn't have any running shoes).. and it was fine. :)

Alright, more later.

my longest run to date...

..I tried, I really tried! I mean, I really tried to run 10 miles today, but I just couldn't... or more like gave in. I ran past Westlake on the way back and the thought of sitting down and having a nice cup of frozen yogurt was too good to pass up. That was after I've already ran almost 9 miles! So I decided that when my iPod/Nike+ thing tells me 9 miles, I would stop. And I did, then walk around the shops to cool down. I went into Trader Joe's first and grabbed myself a banana and some water. For some reason my body craves bananas after a long run or any run actually. Anyway, got that.. and seriously, gobbled it down in like 2 seconds. After that I made my way to the frozen yogurt shop. I guess at this point I could have passed up on the yogurt, but since it was the reason for my stop I decided I'll just have a bit. Well, all and all, I think I ate up as much calories as I've just burned from this run. I'm sure the banana and frozen yogurt w/ all the gummy bear, fresh fruit toppings and sprinkles made up for all the calories burned. Who knows! With the toppings and yogurt together my yogurt came up to .52lbs, so I don't know?!

Anyway, I'm just really proud of myself for actually just going out there and doing it. Of course the thought of any runs longer than 5 miles sounds dreadful, but to have actually done one pass 5 miles feels wonderful! I'm glad I did it... at least now I know how/what my body feels like after running 90+ mins. :)

So, I think I'm done w/ all the runs for this week. Today's run was run #3. But hmmm... maybe I'll run w/ Mark sometime this week to finish off his 3 runs... that is if it's tomorrow or Friday... well, before Saturday ends anyway. We'll see. I just know I won't be able to run again today because my legs are sooooo sore!

Alright, more later.

i ran almost 50 miles in december!

That's right... almost 50 miles of running in the month of December! 48.97 miles to be exact! That's the most I've ever ran in a month... like ever! Well, actually, I know I used to do cross-country in high school running miles and miles a day, but I can't remember how much and how long. Anyway, I'm just super proud of myself. Now... goals for this year? To really just keep it up. Hopefully I'll run a few more miles extra this month than last month. Let's hope I do good. :)

So I've joined more challenges on the Nike+ website. There's a bunch of running challenges that users put on and you just join anyone you like. It's really cool in a way... cuz you get to see where you are and how far you've ran, etc... or where you place after the challenge's over. I can't believe I finished 146 out of 586 runners in the Healthy Holiday Challenge w/ my 48.97 miles. Of course the first place person ran like 527+ miles in the 31-day challenge... but that's okay, I'm never going to be a super long distance runner like him/her. I don't know, overall, I say it's pretty cool I guess. As much as I despise Apple sometimes... I can't say too much bad stuff about the iPod Nano and Nike+ running gadget. It's pretty neat cuz it helps me keep track of my runs and tells me how I'm doing when I'm running... so. :)

So far this week, Mark and I have put in our two runs (especially after tonight's quick run)... two down, just one more to go. We've decided that we'll run three times a week and do some cross training on the weekends. We'll probably go for a mini tennis match this weekend and/or a bike ride/hike. It all depends on how the weather is I guess. We'll see. :)

Oh, I know I've ran twice already this week... but maybe for some crazy reason I'll run again tomorrow. I've been pondering w/ this idea of doing the Lake twice. I hate loops, but hmmm... maybe I should just do it. I don't know... good luck to me?! Let's see if I do go out tomorrow and run... and not just run, but actually run 2 laps (which is about 9+ miles)! Ahhh! =/

Okay, more later. :)

my own personal 4-week challenge

Yes, so it's the new year. Like everyone else vowing to lose weight, look better, etc etc, I've decided to give myself a four-week challenge. I really do hope I can stick with it... as that's always my problem. Everything's fine the first week or so... then of course comes week 2 or 3 and I get side track or distracted w/ other stuff. We'll see how this goes. :)

For now, here are my starting measurements:

weight: 101.4lbs
bust: 30"
abs: 26.5"
belly: 32"
below waist: 30.75"
hips: 33.5"
L thigh: 20.5"
R thigh: 20.25"
L calf: 13"
R calf: 12.75"
L arm: 9.75"
R arm: 9.8"
neck: 11.25"

I'm not super sure how accurately my arm measurements are... just cuz I did them myself and was having difficulties trying to get the tape measure to be in the correct place, read the measurements, etc... so... but I do hope that the measurement on it either improves or if it doesn't... that when I do look at myself in the mirror and even at my arms in person, it'll look good... I mean, notice a difference, somewhat. :)

Okay, so yes, today was the first day of this thing.. I did count my calories.. but of course, I'm already doing bad. I feel like I'm not quite 100% invested in this just yet.. especially when it comes to the eating part. It's so cold here, that I baked some cookies to keep the house warm. Madeleine cookies, that is. I asked for a Madeleine cookie pan this past Christmas and got it. I figured I attempt to bake some cookies. Of course the first batch was awful (just cuz it was too brown on the shelled side).. but the rest of the other batches turned out great. I think you just have to bake them for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees instead of 375 and you'll be just fine. For my last few batches I did them at 8 minutes at 350 and it turned out great. Bad thing about it all was, I "had to" test them to make sure they were all cooked through. That of course, led me to eating about six cookies. Oh well. Anyway, I'm running tonight w/ Mark so hopefully that will kind of make up for the six cookies. What a waste of calories huh? Each cookie had about 105 calories in it... oh well. Oh, for the recipe, you can go here.





Lalalalalalala... just an update, I don't think I'm doing the KP Half-Marathon come Feb. 1st. I haven't really trained for it. And right now the thought of running more than 6 miles isn't so appealing to me, let alone more than 5 miles. I know I still have until Friday or something to sign up for the race, but I really don't know. For me to really do that, I would have to attempt to run 13.1 miles sometime this week (raw) and do it under 3 hours to even register. Well, there's a backup.. and that's the 5K. I'll probably just do that... we'll see. The KP HM is a huge event, so it should be fun. We'll see.

Alright, more later. :)

i need a rest day...

Oh man, my body needs a break, badly. Today's run of Lake Merced was tough. I felt like my body was super heavy throughout the entire race. I just wonder if it was from the constant physical activities I've done over these past few days, plus all the unhealthy crazy holiday foods I've been eating. Anyway, it was tough, but Mark and I made it. Our time wasn't too bad... did it under 42 minutes, so that was good. Of course we thought we were on pace to do it under 41 minutes, but somehow there just wasn't enough steam at the end to get it in. Well, we still did great though. Seriously, during the entire run I felt like giving up, but I somehow I keep telling myself I couldn't let Mark down. I couldn't just stop or slow way down and tell him to just go ahead without me... he wouldn't let me do that, I just know it. I mean, because he knows I can do it and I'm just being lazy. Of course if I really couldn't do it physically he would understand and it'll be fine. But of course, I know I'm just being lazy if I slow down... cuz I so know I can do it.

Lalalalala... anyway, on Friday we ran a new course. It was down Hillside, passed Serramonte to Lawndale and back. Boy, that was tough. I mean, it seemed like it took forever to get to Lawndale... but somehow we made it and turned around. The second half is always so nice and goes by way quicker.

Yesterday's physical activity was something new. We went for a bike ride.. me, on my new bike of course! About 90 minutes worth of cycling... not bad. Of course it wasn't super hardcore or anything like that, but there were some hills in it... so that was a bit tough. Now, today... after tonight's run... I just feel a bit warn out. Today is a total rest day, for sure. :)

Oh... 2009 new year's resolution coming soon.... that's it for now.. more later. :)

Christmas came and went....

...and it was FABULOUS! I had a lot of fun this Christmas despite a little drama here or there. Mark and I did really great with our shopping, getting it done early and just pretty much trying to relax during that last week. Anyway, we all went ice skating last Saturday and had a lot of fun... totally puts you in the Christmas mood/spirit. OMG, it sure was cold though! No snow, but COLD!


mark & laura ice skating @ union square :)


me (on the right, that is) ice skating @ union square :)


yes, my cruiser bike i got for christmas :)

So I guess I had been a good girl this year cuz Santa (aka Mark =P) got me some pretty neat stuff. And for my big gift I got an Electra 3-speed beach cruiser bike. I'm really going to put that to use. Of course it'll be a bit tough riding in the crazy San Francisco/Daly City streets... but I say it should be fine. Whenever I come upon hills that are too steep, I'll just have to walk it or something. Well, we're going biking today... so that should be fun.. I'm excited. Anyway, we'll see about navigating through or around those hills... so yes, stay tune. :)

Oh, another gift I'm super excited about is my tennis racket. Mark took me out to play tennis Christmas day... it was fun! I didn't even realize I was decent at tennis. I told Mark I was terrible at it.. and he just kind of wanted me to try it anyway. Well, I told him the last time I remembered playing tennis was like 9 years ago... and I was suck at it! This time around, I think I did pretty good. Mark and I were able to rally a several times, and even played a mini game. Of course I never won any game, but I did managed to get a few points. Other than that... I sucked, but hey... that just mean I have room for lots of improvements! :) So yes, I think we've got next year figured out. More running, biking, tennis and of course, hiking! We really need to get back into hiking. Oh yes, as a "i should totally make this my new year's resolution" kind of thing, I really need to learn how to swim. So if I could somehow get to that and really make an effort to find a pool, and have someone teach me how to swim, I think we'll be set. I would absolutely love to complete a triathlon one of these days. I really want to do it. I'd like to think that if I can somehow swim/stay afloat, I can totally try distance swimming. We'll see.

Okay, that's enough. More in the new year.. maybe. :)

half-marathon, etc.

So I've been pretty consistent lately with my running. Thing is, I still can't get myself to run longer than 5 miles or well, more like 4.75 miles at a time. It just sucks. For some reason, I'm just not mentally prepared to run longer than 50 minutes or 4.75 miles, etc. So for now, I can honestly say I am so not ready for that half-marathon this coming February 2009. The thought of finishing a half-marathon feels wonderful, but I'm just so not ready for it mentally. Physically, I really do think I can do it... it's just that I feel it's more mental than physical.

Well, today's the 11th, I still have until early January to decide. I think the deadline to register for the Kaiser Permanente half-marathon is like January 10th or something... so maybe by January 5th or so, I really should make up my mind on whether or not I'm going to run that half marathon. First, I know I just need to get in some 8-9 mile runs and see how I feel. Maybe I should try doing that before Christmas. Or maybe the next time I run I should try to go longer than 4.75 miles. I know I've been working on my speed/pace lately. I'm getting better at it and is able to sustain the pace, but it's still tough. Yesterday I did the Lake in under 42 minutes. I remembered the first time I ran the Lake... I think I finished it in 53 minutes and something seconds. My pace was more like a 12-something minute pace. Yesterday, my pace was 8:49 a mile. It's just crazy... to see that I've improved my Lake time by over 10 minutes!

Overall, I'm just really impressed with what I've accomplished so far. I could totally remembered back in mid-July after my birthday and telling Mark that I was going to attempt to run again. I was so out of shape. I haven't ran in months, years even! And to see where I am today, the physical (positive) changes it's doing to my body and health, it's just great! Anyway, I know I really would like to complete a half-marathon one of these days. I just hope 2009 will be the year... but to get there, I know I have to really prepare myself mentally for all that running. I know that if I put the effort and just do it, I can run that many miles and complete my first half-marathon!

All and all, we'll see. I guess for now if I can gradually add some extra distance or minutes to my runs, that would be great! We'll see. :)

running really makes a body feels GOOD!

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I absolutely love running now. Of course, it's still hard to get up, get out and run (every now & then).... but the after-feeling feels wonderful that you just have to... just do it!

Well, I've been running (on/off) for about four months now... let's just say since late July after my 24th birthday. I've already noticed that I'm getting curves in my legs that I've never really seen or noticed before. They're not just any kind of curves, they're cool-looking muscle curves like... "OMG, my legs are fit!" kind of thing. Pretty neat, I say. And also, my abs are flattening themselves without me even having to do a single sit-up. But of course, I really need to get those strength training workouts in. It's a must-do on my list. Just have to do it!

Anyway, I'm still working on those runners' legs.. and 'em sexy calves. I know it'll take even more hard work and consistency, but I'll get there one of these days. And if I don't ever, just because of crazy genetics, that's okay too... as long as I know I can sustain a decent pace running and feel okay afterwards. :)

Alright, what else? Oh, we got our Christmas tree this weekend. It's all decorated and there's even presents under the tree now! Thing is, Christopher's getting into everything! So we really have to tell him no... I mean, he's still just a baby.. okay, more like a toddler, but he doesn't totally understand everything. Anyway, I'm just super excited for Christmas. Christopher's going to have a blast opening up his presents come Christmas morning. I really have a feeling he'll enjoy the wrapping papers more than the gifts. LOL, actually, we'll find out. :) Ahhh, the holidays, it's wonderful! Absolutely love Christmas, can't wait! :)

Btw, I weighed myself this morning and the digital scale reads 101 lbs! Now, I also weighed myself on Mom's (the old one Mark and I were using months before), and it reads somewhere in between 99-100 lbs. Not bad.

Okay, more later.

last week

Oh yes, I've been so busy last week that I haven't had the time to jot this down on here. Anyway, I got laid off last week, Monday, Nov. 17 to be exact. The way the current US economy is along w/ the way the company I was working for was heading, I wasn't surprised to get the walking papers last week. Everyone in my company got it, so. So yes, I now have the opportunity to just kind of hang out until I find another job. I've already filed my unemployment papers and all that good stuff. I just have to make sure I do/get all the necessary stuff in to start collecting my unemployment dough.

Okay, so yes, more about last week. Well, after my layoff on Monday, I had some side projects that I had to do and get down by the end of the week. Boy, did it take a while. I literally spent almost all evening Wednesday, all day/evening Thursday and almost the entire day on Friday to work on these projects. It was like my booty was glued to the computer chair the whole time. I barely stepped away from the computer to use the bathroom or eat! Crazy. I know, usually when I'm really deep into a project, I barely take breaks to do other stuff, just cuz I just want to get it done. Anyway, of course, I did take little breaks here and there... so it wasn't that bad! Overall, I'm glad I got them done. Let's just hope the end result is good. I'm really keeping my fingers cross. But hey, if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. :)

Now, because I was so busy w/ these side projects, I didn't really have the time to stick to my running schedule. So on Friday afternoon as soon as I finished the last bit of things, I got out of the house and ran! I ran the Lake on Friday and did pretty good. I wasn't trying to beat any previous time, but instead to just run/keep a decent pace. At the end, I recorded a 44:52. So to date, 44:52 is my best Lake time. I doubt I'd do that again, or if I was to... I really would have to run at a steady/faster than usual pace and keep it up. We'll see, I guess. I do know I've been getting lots of practice on this Lake course and my body's used to it... so I'm not super surprised if I do improve on my time.

Okay, what else... oh, I ran on Saturday morning w/ Mark doing his new route around the house, about 3.2 miles. It was a tough course. It only took us about 32 minutes, but OMG, it was brutal! Lots of slight incline/hills here and there, especially towards the end.. ahh! It was just tough. I don't think I will be looking forward to that route again anytime soon... but then who knows. We'll see.

Yesterday was the DSE Great Highway 4 Miles race. Mark and I both ran it and we did pretty good. I accomplished the goal I set up for myself... to run it under 40 minutes. I did it under 38 minutes, which isn't bad at all... so I'm quite impressed. I think Mark said he did it in like 36 minutes or something. We'll see what our actual time is when they post the results later this week.

All and all in regards to running, I like to think I made up for it with three consecutive days of running. Today, I'm debating if I should take a break and rest, or go out and run. I'm pondering w/ the idea of possibly doing two laps of the Lake... so it would be about 9 miles or so if I do it twice. I've never ran longer than a 10k before, so two laps around the Lake would be a real milestone and accomplishment. I don't know... we'll see. :)

Oh, btw, I weighed myself this morning... lost a pound I think. The digital scale says 102.8.. that compared to last week's 103.8.. I guess I did lose a pound. Yay! Now, I just have to do good this week cuz it's Thanksgiving this Thursday and I know I will be eating all those yummy food and be baking lots of goodies. Ahh! Can't wait... love the Holidays.. especially Christmas. It's going to be soooooooooo merry and FUN! :)

Alright, that's it. More later.