A Case of the Runs

The day before I went on vacation last week, I stopped by Whole Foods to pick up a few bars to pack and also picked up a pouch of their soy protein powder to try. I had been thinking about getting a can of the stuff, but I definitely wanted a trial run before that. Fast forward to a week later. I was sore from weights and such for the second day in a row, which reminded me that I had the pouch. I've had protein powders before, though in whey form. I used to swirl them around in ice water, and it really didn't taste half bad. Expecting the same thing, I mixed the soy protein and drank away. To put it simply, it was gross. No flavor, thick, gag-worthy (I nearly vomited, but I guess you didn't need to know that). I looked on the label and noticed that there were no carbohydrates, 110 calories per serving (the whole pouch), and 24 grams of protein. So I guess it tasted like that for a reason. I ended up having to chase it down with additional water and the skin of a muffin that...

EVENT : Rose Bowl Inaugural Half-Marathon DATE : Saturday, December 8, 2007 LOCATION : Pasadena, CA RACE BEGAN : 8:00 am FINISH TIME : 02:05:04 The start time for this race was supposed to be 8 am, but I think they lingered and started at 8:03. The national anthem could barely be heard, even though there were maybe about 1000 people out there. This was the first of many things that made me wonder why I signed up for an inaugural run that pretty much cost $90!! The course was definitely tough. Pretty tough incline between miles 2-3, then the trails began at around mile 6.5. Oh yeah, and I should probably mention that my speed-demon sister passed me shortly before mile 6. My 10k split was probably around 0:57, not bad for me. At mile 7 as we were about to turn a corner, a guide said, "If you see people walking, just run around them." I turned the corner and found myself at a rocky, VERY steep, VERY narrow trail, where falling would mean serious injury. I obviously walked there...

In this entry, I talked about how Aquaphor helps with chafing, so now it's time to get a sample of your own (while supplies last)! ------ Link: http://www.eucerinus.com/aquaphor_newsletter0506/

Running makes your heart big (I'll probably write more about that later), but it also gives you more guts. At my first track meet ever in the spring of 2000, there were not enough JV hurdlers to sweep up points in the 100m hurdles. I had trained with the sprinters for about 3-4 months, and although I was already signed up for other sprint events, my team duty was salient. I had exposure to SOME hurdling, about 50m worth during a "hexathlon" that took place to find our strengths, and no, hurdling was not one of my strengths found that day. I rememeber kneeling in the blocks, wondering how this would go. Gun. Boy, those hurdles are a lot taller in the 100m than the 300m, I thought. I probably cleared the first five hurdles and then started faltering. Anyone who hurdles knows that once you lose your rhythm, it's VERY difficult to settle back into it. So I was intimate with the ground and slowly finished the race, even though everyone else had long finished. My finish wou...