A Case of the Runs

After nearly a month since I took my comprehensive exams , my very impatient self found the below PDF file in my Inbox. Me = doctoral candidate. Whew! What a relief! Now if only I can muster up the mojo to start on my dissertation... In other "good things happen..." news, I ran 16 miles yesterday after I got off of work. The temp was below 80, slightly breezy. Granted, it was still hard for me to start up in any weather warmer than 60 degrees, but it got easier as I went on, and I finished in 2:41 (counting walk breaks). My fuel was one Clif Shot and two cubes of Clif Shot Bloks (getting rid of the old stuff). I have to say that the caffiene in the gel really helped me along because I was sleep-deprived from having class til 10 PM the night before (and I wake up before 5 each morning). I got home and showered just in time for a conference call about a client facilitation I'm taking part in next week! In celebration, I am home early due to skipping the gym. Okay, not rea

I could sure use some of this today! ***Disclaimer (and this applies to all samples I post): I have not necessarily confirmed the veracity of these samples, so I don't know 100% if they actually come or abide by their Privacy Rules.*** ------ Link: http://www.sorenomore.com/sample.html

Above: The swag!! In spite of my complaints , I did my 5-miler yesterday evening. When I got off my vanpool to get to the gym, I felt like I was going to pass out in what felt like 100+ degree heat and slightly smoky air. So much for Fall, huh?! So Cal is awesome.....? I hopped onto a treadmill at my workplace's gym, turned the industrial fan toward me, and started off running an 8:57 min/mi pace. It was around 3:30 PM. My goal was to finish this run in 45 minutes, hoping to get it done before "The Ukrainian" showed up. As usual, the treadmill TV kept me entertained. I was watching an episode of Full House on ABC Family. And also as usual, my iPod was on. I felt pretty good as I rounded out the 5K mark. It was slightly after that point that "The Ukrainian" showed up early and asked me if I was going to FitMoves class. I said I'd be done by 4:15, but he was like, "Probably more like 4:18." Grr, he of little faith. By the last parts of my run, I w

Yesterday, I ran 8 miles on a stomach that felt like it was carrying an ocean inside of it (ugh). I'm not sure what happened, but some combination of peanuts and baby carrots could be the culprit. I haven't really shaken that feeling since, and although I have still been able to eat, I've had to be selective about it. Since I didn't fuel up as properly as I should have post-run, my body feels a bit achy/beat-up today. I can't really tell at this point if I'm feeling ill or just tired from staying up too late to watch Heroes . I had a decaf latte and banana for lunch, though I honestly could have gone without anything if not for my gym time later and the long night ahead of me with a group project meeting. I still want to run my Fall Five Miler today and will give my utmost effort to get it, but it might have to wait. So flu (not swine) shots are going to be offered at my company in about two weeks, and I am leaning toward not getting it this year. I've got

Ah, another Monday. I have never liked them and grow to dislike them even more since Monday is school day in addition to work. Worst of all, Mondays always make me miss the weekend and wonder when the weekend will roll around once more so that I can finally just do what I want to during the day instead of being at the confines of this desk in this very dull city in which I currently work. Add scorching hot and humid weather to the mix and you have one very depressing environment. Let me forget about Mondays for a moment. This video is pretty darn funny. Nike Frees are shoes designed to make you feel as though you are running barefoot. I don't want to run barefoot. I always see people doing just that in races, and it looks painful. In addition to rocks and glass, I just think that I need bounce/cushion. Anyway, enjoy! ------ Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=m474JNTLKnQ

EVENT: San Francisco Half-Marathon (1) DATE: Sunday, July 26, 2009 LOCATION: San Francisco, CA RACE BEGAN: 5:31 AM (wave start) FINISH TIME: 02:13:46 Prologue This race marked the greatest distance I have traveled to run a race (my "lucky" number 13th half-marathon), as part of the California Dreamin' racing series. This event offered a full marathon as well as two different half-marathons, of which I chose the earlier/former one because it traversed the Golden Gate Bridge, a sign of my tourist mentality. San Francisco is a strange city. There is a lack of parking, and the houses are all up in each others' faces, and the wintery weather in the middle of summer just brought smiles to my sun-logged face (that is not sarcasm). But I had a lovely time walking through Golden Gate Park, going to the huge farmer's market, and eating ice cream (caring not to set off my stomach) at Ghirardelli Square. Thanks to my high school BFF and "The Ukrainian's" great-

Hope this works for you! I've never tried any GU products before (I know, strange!), so I'm looking forward to giving them a test-run. I'm currently an Accel-Gel slave! I was peppy this morning in spite of waking up at 4 am. I got more restful sleep than I have in a while. The lack of sleep and tired legs made for one cranky person. I heard somewhere that sharing a bed does not make for good sleep, but I beg to differ. Though it could all just be relative. And when will I stop waking up feeling like I've been hit by a bus? So tomorrow, I am going to attempt a 12-miler. If I finish this distance, which I should, no matter how slowly, I will have done 37 miles this week, which is high for me even whilst training for a marathon. I've been coming along pretty decently out of my two-month injury, though I honestly felt burned yesterday when "The Ukrainian" started his run after me and beat me sometime during mile 5 (of my 6.2 mi run and his 10 mi run). I'

One of the trainers at my gym e-mailed me the magazine clipping above. According to Competitor Magazine , this Friday, September 18, 2009 is "Run @ Work Day." I usually run at work... inside its gym on a treadmill... between 3 and 5 PM. But I believe this article is trying to promote running during lunch outside. This is something that I used to do (see previous post where I mention this) but have long stopped. At any rate, I sometimes do run on Fridays but very short and fast, followed by circuit training (the main focus of the day) and more running/biking. Though not knowing about this event, I was planning on doing my long run this Friday, anyway, since I have an obligation that will keep me from working that day. So maybe my rendition of the day will be called "Run from Work." ------ Speaking of Competitor, they are sponsoring the Las Vegas Marathon , which is less than 3 months away now. My classmate got me all excited about it (although she's not runnin

So this weekend was the first one in a while during which I got up early to go running. I did 10 very slow miles that required walk breaks to complete. Slow or not, it's been done and will hopefully instill that habit back into my sleepy self. This rounded out a week that also contained a 6- and 8-miler! The hip has not protested much, so I hope it keeps cooperating as I feel like I'm starting all over again in getting in half- and full- marathon shape! In other weekend events, I went to LA Greek Fest on Saturday and had a good time with free Greek yogurt, Greek rice, and salad -- perfect post-run fuel (minus the sip of Greek beer I had while watching the UCLA game)! Since I didn't really get any good pics at the 'Fest (I didn't want to take pics of the beautiful Greek church, even though it seemed allowed), here's a kinda rare self-pic, resting on perfectly fake grass! "Dinner" was a teaccuino from Real Food Daily in Santa Monica. It was overcast the

It's good to be back at work, I think, after nearly a week of being away. Yes, I spent more time away for an exam than any vacation I've taken within the past three years (which included the end of undergrad and other times where such a break really should have been in order!). Anyway, on one of my days off, I went to Ralph's and procured this never-before-seen bar for $2.79. This is much more than I am usually spending on bars, but my curiousity and stress drove me to this apparently vegan bar. [Note: Actually, considering the stake of the exam, I did not have an urge to overeat or anything, which warrants a pat on the back for me! However, since then, I have seemingly become a bottomless pit (though being very careful about that) even though I've been sleeping as much as I should be -- finally!] I wish I had remembered to take a picture of a cross-section (it was melting in the heat and looked unappetizing anyway), but imagine a chocolate outside with a green inside!

The unofficial theme of this entry is " DONE !" And no, I didn't make this all jumbo-sized on purpose. Above: This is a really old screenshot of the first time my virtual restaurant ( Restaurant City ) reached the top rating (50.0). This is how backlogged I've been! Above: More backlog... From July 4th -- a zucchini bread that I baked. Above: This was the stack of papers I tossed in the recycle bin this morning. Now that I have (presumptiously) finished with my exams in grad school, I am no longer afraid to let go of this stuff. Of course, I kept some stuff for future reference, but besides this stack almost hurting my back to carry, I am happy to get some extra space back! Above: This is a necklace that "The Ukrainian" brought back to me from Hawaii. I think it's very pretty!! Above: One night recently, I whipped up a small pot of pumpkin oatmeal with just a tiny bit of Splenda but otherwise no sweetners. It tasted great cold! Above: Finally, the b

Gotein: reviewed by Tea Time Today I am reviewing Gotein - which is a play on words for "protein on the go". So I came across this stuff because one of my running coaches works for Gotein. He gave some samples out and even made some for us after practice one day. I have to start by saying that I have a love/hate relationship with protein powder. I love how they are a convenient snack and great for recovery after working out but I hate the way that most of them taste. You know what I am talking about...that weird chalky after-taste. With most protein powder, I just use my blender and add fruit and such to cover up the chalky protein taste. This is not very convenient when I am not near my blender obviously. Now I am not paid to say this but Gotein is just great stuff. It seriously taste just like chocolate milk when I shake it up in my shaker cup with just water. It is yummy enough for me to have as a snack. I also love that it comes in it's own single served pack that yo

Hello readers - since my sister is hard at work studying for her exams this week (Good Luck!), I thought that I would fill in and do some posts for her site. So here is my review of Recoverite from Hammer Nutrition. I have a couple more reviews that hopefully I can post this week. Recoverite: reviewed by Tea Time A long time ago, I had placed an order at the Hammer Nutrition website and got a bunch of samples of all their products. Hammer is pretty generous with their samples. Hammer makes alot of great products for endurance athletes. One of my favorite Hammer products is Endurolyte . I still use it to this day and don't know how I ever managed without it. It has saved me from lots and lots of cramping. Their products are pretty pure which means that it may not taste that great to some people but works well. So I was looking through my sample stash one night before one of my long runs and found a sample pack of citrus-flavored Recoverite. I thought I would try it out just to see w