A Case of the Runs

Does your neighborhood walk the walk, or just talk? This site, WalkScore , determines how "walkable" (which extrapolates to "runnable") your neighborhood is by calculating the distance between a location (e.g., your home) and commonly used places such as the library and market. I'm not sure how accurate this thing is. I mean, yes, I can walk to the library and have two big-box retailers with groceries within 2 miles of my home, but it does not take safety or pleasantness into account -- like I expect technology to know that I hate walking under freeway passes due to loudness and dead/alive pigeons and eggs. Errrrr.... Anyway... give it a try! Here's my parents' home score. The image isn't working too well on my current PC, but maybe it will on yours?): This home’s Walk Score: ® 73 out of 100 — Very Walkable View on WalkScore.com Walk Score

Things That Are Going Well: - yoga and making slow gains in flexibility - consistent running habits - adapting to pace - ability to finish a workout in an hour or less if necessary - regular strength training and stretching Things That Aren't Going Well: - extreme sluggishness in the morning in spite of decent amount of sleep - temptation to eat poorly, mostly resisted but sometimes not - stomach issues while running!! - lack of track workouts - wondering how I'll ever run significant distances again Goals for This Week: - get out to the track one time? might defer this one more week as I get in better shape - increase some of the strength training weight by a LITTLE because I don't want to bulk up at all - avoid stomach issues ------ This Week's Workouts : Sunday - rest Monday - 20 min standing poses yoga, 6.5 mi @6.5, 20 min stretch/abs So today was my longest training run since maybe a month and a half ago. Although I haven't been running any faster than last w...

Now that I've been playing with my camera more often, I love posting all of these random photo entries ! All of these photos are very recent (from this past weekend -- also see my entry about The Shojin ). And here they are: Above: Earlier in the week, I made a tuna salad. But unlike tuna salad, there was no tuna -- I subbed in chickpeas, added a bit of soy sauce and nutritional yeast flakes, and here it was, tasty VERY similiar to the real thing! I ate these for dinner one night. Above: On Friday, I found nobody else in the locker room, so I decided to take an embarrassing, if not unflattering, photo of myself and post it up for the world to see. Those shorts are from Forever 21's workout clothing line. Yes, that trendy clothing store also came out with workout clothes, although they are cotton so not really good for running. I will also note that the sticker on that mirror is just a part of my company's safety culture! Above: I randomly got a pair of trendy shoes. Yes,...

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of going to The Shojin in Downtown, LA (Little Tokyo). It was "The Ukrainian"'s idea, which scored major man points for sure. Due to the amount of pictures, I made a collage ( Tip: you may want to right-click the picture and Open In... New Window ). The Shojin is a vegan organic Japanese restaurant that throws around the words "raw" and "macrobiotics" everywhere. As you can see in the picture of the restaurant front, there was a lot of unique artwork around the restaurant. We were sitting inside right near that place that says "Organic." The prices were moderate, though definitely NOT cheap. Here's the fare we had: - Cranberry Apple Detox drink: I've had a detox drink before, and this one definitely followed suit with the kick of cayenne pepper at the end. - Avocado Salad : SO yummy! The dressing was so creamy and cheesy that I thought it was dairy. Edamame and pumpkin seeds added gre...

Please excuse my morbidity, but I came upon this website ( MyWebWill.com ) that manages your online accounts after death. If it wasn't for the $10/year charge, I would already be writing some blog posts for this blog post-humously. You can also request things such as changing your Facebook profile picture or making status updates/ tweets . I've known a couple of people who have passed on and noticed that their walls start crowding with messages from friends and family, so maybe a post from the dead could prove consoling (or freaky)? So what say you guys to this slightly morbid concept?

Note: I have this categorized under "Running Gear" because I am using this as part of a rehabilitation of sorts (see the post here). I bought this Rodney Yee AM Yoga DVD [Gaiam] from Target for about $15. There were other videos and even other yoga ones by the same instructor Why this particular one? Well, it has five 20-minute workouts on one disc, whereas the others are generally one workout only. The premise of this DVD is that you can do a short yoga session to wake you up in the morning before work on each workday, but I have moslty been doing them at night. The five workouts are called: Standing Poses Twists Backbends Forward Bends Hip Openers The first time I did this, I picked " Backbends " because it was the middle one, and it was Wednesday. Once things got underway, the cat became interested and plopped herself right next to my mat. The poses were not easy but doable, except this one where you have to lay on your belly and grab both ankles from behind wit...

This week, "The Ukrainian," who has now taken on the temporary role of coach, has given me permission to run up to 40 minutes and up to 6.5 mph. Thank goodness, as the slower speed was killing me because I am not good at being consistent in pace nor do I like going unnaturally slow. But I must say that it did make the transition back to running a little less painful than it could have been. My hamstring was mostly quiet last week. Due to my desperations, I'm actually going to listen to him even though he has no real credentials whatsoever. But he has two things working for him: 1) his PRs (1:29 half, 3:20 full), and 2) the more important thing -- he knows me and my general capabilities. He probably knows what I can do more than I do, which is how I get myself into these sorts of messes in the first place. Other note: My bunion (yes, I just admitted once again to the world that I have this issue) has been hurting more over the past year or so and sometimes is really a nag...

On Friday, "The Ukrainian" told me to come over to his area a little early the next morning because he said he was conjuring up some plans. So after the work and gym on Friday, I quickly did laundry and other stuff piling up in order to go to bed, run the next morning, eat breakfast with the parents, watch a World Cup game, take a shower, and make that 35-mile drive. We went to More Than Waffles in Encino, CA. Here are some pics from my second breakfast: Above: The front. There were tons of people waiting, but the wait was only 15-20 minutes. The best part about this place was its FAST and friendly service! Above: Here's what I ordered -- a Mediterranean omelet: 3 eggs, feta and mozzarella with onion and tomato. I don't like bell peppers of any kind, so tomato in an omelet is the next best thing. For those of you who haven't read my blog in a while, I've been eating cheese again. Above: "The Ukrainian"'s lox benedict. Yeah, ...

It has taken me a week to get this post up. The week has been busy because of work, but I won't complain since I got to stay in a SWEET waterfront hotel. (my first attempt at a collage a la Picasa ) Anyway, I started this entry so I could talk about the weekend surrounding my first mud run and sixth marathon . Friday: My co-worker gave me a sample bag of military food. I have yet to try it, but it looks interesting and caloric! As I anxiously await the end of the work day, I start playing with my camera and my white board at work again. The office was pretty darn near empty... "The Ukrainian" ran out of glucosamine , but we made the harsh discovery that the prices in the San Fernando Valley are inflated compared to those in Los Angeles! After that discovery, I ended up having cereal and pita bread for dinner. Saturday: You can read the Mud Run entry for the details of the earlier hours. Here are some pictures from the afternoon... Above: Holiday Inn, Downtown San Di...

Okay, so I stole this idea from my sister, Tea Time (and various other bloggers, of course). I only document my workouts for challenges , but in reality, I am on a mission and challenge. Vision: To live a healthy life, which means looking and functioning like a healthy person. Vague, I know, but this is what visions are for... Mission: To get better at running without killing myself. My progress over the years has been slow and somewhat regressive at times. I don't feel too bad, as I did PR within the past six months, so I know I'm on the right trajectory. Goals : - Short-term: PR at my next marathon (as of today, I have about 5 months) - Mid-term: do my 10th marathon in 2011 (currently 6/10 and will be 7/10 year-end) - Long-term: not sure yet, but I want to see real improvement over time Intermediate Steps to Goals : - Get used to running again injury-free (note: haven't been able to do this since February) - Increase speed (slowly so that I don't incur anymore injurie...

Original Post, 6/16/09: Not too long ago, Tea Time reviewed a sports bracelet that claims to improve balance and such. It is supposedly worn by many baseball players and some runners, including Kara Goucher , who I had just seen finish third in the Boston Marathon on some NBC rerun last week and is now my latest athlete idol (yes, I have athlete idols, mostly runners/sprinters). I had also been at that same expo she bought it at and was very skeptical when they performed a balance test both before and after wearing the band. I decided to go do more research before trying it out. My findings were that very few people actually made negative comments (off of many different neutral sources); most were glaringly positive, and a few went something like, "Well, it can't hurt, and even if it's a placebo effect, it's an effect nonetheless." Tea Time had come home wearing one of these Phiten necklaces this past weekend. Phiten is a company that makes bracelets/necklaces wit...

This afternoon, I will have my first run in a bit over a week, the longest break from running that I can recollect within the past four years. I want to come out of my bad past marathon experience into good shape for the next one . But first, I need to get over my nagging injuries . I got these three pilates bands [Embark] (pictured) from Target . You see, I am thinking that Pilates will help me open up my breathing, regain my flexibility, and further my core strength. I already do a FitMoves circuit class 1-2 times a week to work on strength, but sometimes I wonder if it's more injurous than helpful. In fact, I had just made my return to the class after nearly two months due to worry that it would aggravate my hamstring tendons. My flexibility is now quite poor compared to what it used to be. Quite frankly, I have trouble fully extending one of my legs... and this is an attempt at getting some of it back. These bands smell very much like balloons because they are made of latex. I...

EVENT: Rock n Roll Marathon: San Diego DATE: Sunday, June 6, 2010 LOCATION: San Diego, CA RACE BEGAN: 6:15 am FINISH TIME: 05:16:37 The two most pressing comments that I have to make about this race are that the crowd support (when present) was great. Secondly, it was interesting to see that this huge, huge race was nearly like a Team in Training national convention... never knew the establishment is so popular! I woke up at around 4 AM for the race and made it to the start line with Tea Time and "The Ukrainian" with plenty of time to spare. I waited in Corral 9 with Tea Time and noticed how un-cold I was... not a good sign. As the race began, I ran with Tea Time for a little while and was glad that in spite of the 40,000 runners out there, it was not a total jam in the first few miles like it could get. Miles 1-9 Surprisingly, my hamstring didn't bother me much. In fact, I was feeling better than I had in a long time while running, probably because I had slathered B...

EVENT: Camp Pendleton Mud Run DATE: Saturday, June 5, 2010 LOCATION: San Diego, CA RACE BEGAN: 9:00 am FINISH TIME: 01:17:47 Never mind that I had a marathon to run the very next day , but I have been wanting to do a mud run for a long time ! Actually, the registration for this race opened on New Years' Day, 2010. In fact, I had logged on within the hour of the new year to register us, and sure enough... it closed before noon! I was definitely right to be that proactive! "The Ukrainian" and I woke up at 3 AM (yeah, gross!) to head down to Camp Pendleton. The drive was long, and on the way there, I heard the sad news of John Wooden 's passing. Being a UCLA graduate, his words of wisdom were frequently used as inspiration in pretty much everything. Anyway, after waiting in the cold for what seemed like hours, we were lining up at the start surrounded by teams in costume, older people, people with shoes duct-taped to themselves. There were about 5,500 people in this f...