A Case of the Runs

EVENT : La Jolla Half-Marathon DATE : Sunday, April 27, 2008 LOCATION : Del Mar & La Jolla, CA RACE BEGAN : 7:30 am FINISH TIME : 02:10:46 Part 2 of 3 of the Triple Crown . The idea of running the hilly La Jolla Half-Marathon had been looming for months, and when the morning finally rolled around, it decided to warm up to an unusual 85 degrees. Tea Time: Yeah it was one of those mornings that required no warmup wear. I wore one anyways and had to take it off shortly after I got to the startline. The day before, I had taken the Amtrak to my sister's ( Tea Time ) place in Orange County and drove the rest of the way to Del Mar in San Diego. We stayed at a really nice place that was just across the street from the start. As we stood in the starting corral, I was just hoping to come in under 2 hours and 15 minutes. I was taking into account the heat, hills, and the fact that I had to run without my beloved iPod because they were supposedly "prohibited." Tea Time: This was

This past Christmas, I received a V-neck T-shirt and a pair of black shorts with blue stripes on it. I think people were trying to tell me something (i.e., "Stop running in men's boxers!!"). Both of these products are from Adidas, made with Clima-Lite material that wicks moisture from the skin. I have worn the shirt once so far and realized I need to wear a better sports bra underneath (I took care of that later) due to a problem I won't mention but I'm sure most would know about. The pictures are not exactly what I have... the blue is slightly less "bright" than that, and my shorts have 3 blue stripes on the side, not black like in this one. I really love the shorts. They are some of my shorter ones, but they make me look athletic, which is always a joy. =) They are very secure and are comfortable. And the different length may help with my shorts tan, although exposing that extra inch or so of my gigantic thigh takes some guts. Of course, I'm sure m

On Tuesday, April 8, 2008, I had the privilege of running with a blind runner, Dave Heeley. Heeley is a 50-year-old from England. He embarked on a mission to complete seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. This record-setting attempt is also an awareness cause for the Braille Institute. The first two legs he ran were in Antartica and Brazil, and the third in America. And just by luck, he chose California... Southern California... Pasadena! So I put on my running shoes to join his entourage, which consisted of people running a lap or more from the Pasadena Marathon founders group and kids (contrary to the media releases of this event, I did not see college students). We were blessed with overcast weather and slight breezes at some parts of the route. The event seemed pretty low-key overall. One loop around the Rose Bowl is about 3 miles, so he pretty much did that loop about 8 times. It was a mostly flat loop with some minor inclines that I recall from walks / races I've

Not long ago I was walking around the expo the day before the Surf City Marathon and came upon a booth that was selling these "Z Glove", I know, so catchy right? Anyways, I talked to the people manning the booth and tried it on and took some pamphlets but did not buy them. When I got home, and especially the next morning in the torrid rain that has now made the Surf City Marathon that day be renamed to Soak City. I really wish I would've had these puppies that morning. It was so cold! Anyways, some months later while I was walking around the LA Marathon expo, I saw the booth again and this time around I purchased a pair. I dunno, maybe it was impulse, maybe it was nerves about the marathon, who knows. Also, who knows why I purchased it in hot pink, but I did. And I have since wore this pair of Z Glove(s) a couple of times. They are really nice. As the guy at the booth corrected me, they are not arm warmers. They are compression wear. Something to do with bloodflow to th

Another Christmas gift I received was this SPF 36 spray sunscreen from Bullfrog. This was my first spray sunscreen, so it took a while to get used to the "cold" feeling that occurs from the spraying, especially on a cold morning. But I think it has helped me protect myself better because I'm more willing to put it on before long runs and races because my hands stay relatively clean and greaseless. It is definitely a good idea to make sure that the spraying covers everything since you're not rubbing everywhere yourself. The California sun can be relentless, so if you miss a spot, you're a goner. Fortunately, the sunscreen leaves a clear layer that disappears after a while but is good for checking the coverage. I don't use this on my face, but I've used it on my scalp, which has prevented sunburn up there. The smell is pretty fresh, a little better than most sunscreens, though I really don't like the smell of sunscreens in general.

Nobel4Lit: On 2/5/08, Tea Time posted the following entry. Because I am growing to like these bars even more, I made some updates in green and will continue to add to this as I eat more of them. I am very surprised that I am diggin' these bars, because typically I don't like soft food. ------ I know these bars have been around for awhile but I just recently noticed them showing up at every pre-run expo. Larabar has been out representin' at almost every run expo I've been at. They are always really generous with their samples. I mean to a point. They allow you to pick two samples each time you come around, so depending on how many times you want to walk back and forth to the booths..haha, just kidding. So I think there are 12 Larabar flavors Pistachio: Tea Time's favorite Key Lime Pie: not as bad as I imagined; the one I had was chock full of almonds! Apple Pie: pretty good; tastes like a worse-for-you apple pie Cherry Pie: no medicinal cherry taste that is usual of

Guest Review: Amphipod Endurance Pack It's guest review time! I purchased this "fanny" pack thing back in February before the LA Marathon because the bouncing of the CD Logic case I was using to carry stuff for longer races was starting to bother me. I actually found out of this pack from reading an article from latimes.com about marathon preparation. I went to the website http://www.amphipod.com/ and asked the customer service person where I could get one asap since my marathon was less than 2 weeks away. The customer service person was so nice. She could not find a store near me that had one in stock so she offered to waive the shipping cost to me and I accepted. I was really excited when I got it in the mail. I couldn't wait to try it out. This pack is really cool and for $27 it should be. I still experienced some minor bouncing but the other features kinda made up for it. First, the pack is breathable, which means that it allows air to circulate between your back

EVENT: UCLA Run/Walk 5k DATE: Sunday, April 13, 2008 LOCATION: Westwood, CA RACE BEGAN: 8:30 am FINISH TIME: 26:36 This was my first 5k. I stayed over in Westwood to take a whack at this distance for the first time. The race began at 8:30 am with a loud firetruck siren. I sped off with my Facebook friend, from nearly the front of the line and got burned by so many college students. As soon as I took a breath, I realized how hot the air was, being amidst a heat wave in Southern California. And my throat was burning from the sudden illness I had picked up toward the end of the week due to my stress. Not good. The course was not too interesting... curved around from Wilson Plaza to the Court of Sciences and back. On the way toward the halfway point, I saw my friend and waved. My other friend said hello to me, but he said I was concentrating too hard and didn't notice him. I walked at every hill... a total of about 4 times, around 1/4-1/3 of a mile. I felt so guilty!!! I did not walk a

According to the article below, I might be drinking too much water. I think I get at least 10 glasses, if not more, per day! The article basically attests that there is insufficient evidence for these commonly believed benefits of "8 glasses a day": Weight loss/appetite suppression: I believe this because hunger is hunger... Flushing of toxins/clear skin: I also agree, though my skin woes are beyond a water issue Decreasing headaches: I had frequent headaches in high school that went away after drinking more water, and I hardly get any nowadays So take this article with a grain of salt, or a bottle of water. Of course, I agree that as a runner, one could easily overhydrate, but I sweat so much (ask anyone) that it would be pretty tough. ------ Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23921635/