Healing Holiday

I fell into a little rut around Thanksgiving Holiday. For weeks, I had kept my mind and heart open for the upcoming face-off and calamity I had anticipated. I played them out (in different scenarios) over and over in my head. Then the dreadful week came sooner than expected, and it unfolded into a rather turbulent storm ---a much unplanned course to end 2008. It seemed like my life was on the brink to collapse from all fronts: my job, my 1.5 year relationship, and the acute possibilty of my all-around adored father battling cancer.

Entering into the start of my 30's, I think I learned a thing or two over the years. I've learned that during the bleak times hides some of the biggest opportunities to heal, grow, and rebuild into a stronger and happier person. I believe happiness is simply knowing and believing that "happy" is a state of mind --- a comfortable state of being. My master-key to everyday life is about being happy, even in the most unhappiest moments. There are many people who have engaged in my personal journey of happiness, a few people to thank and a few people to forget. At the same time I continue my life of happiness, I also continue deepening my need and my love for running.

My long work hours and solo evenings could easily caused me to slide into a mess, however, I once again turn to running as a safe-zone to recharge me, and more importantly to help me find my happiness. I learn to borrow from my past personal successes and running experiences to keep me pressing forward to better days awaiting for me.

I will need the longer milege these next weeks ahead. 50 miles this week. My rockstar coach Joe League was worried that he hadn't heard from me, and so he offered the perfect words of encouragement, "Marathon is 5 months out. Stay focused over the Holidays and don't let anyone/thing get you down."

This is indeed healing holiday time.

To be continued.................................................

Tempo Training

I am two weeks into my start of tempo training. It consists of a 3 mile warm-up at an average 150 heart-rate, 5K tempo starting at heart-rate 165 mile 4, 175 mile 5, and 185 at mile 6, followed by a 2 mile cool-down ~ 8 miles total. My first week bruised my confidence as I felt I was going to die during mile 6 and my heart-rate hit a maximum of 187 at one point. Tempo Run Attempt #2 exactly 7 days later restored my self-confidence as the work-out felt shorter, the breathing was easier, and the legs felt a bit lighter. In hindsight, I did have a generally bad week for my first tempo run: another financial market downward rally, work stress, relationship stress, start of monthly period cycle, fatigue, all factors that can contribute to the physical and mental endurance in any given day.

It is still 9 weeks out until my Carlsbad half-marathon on January 25th and I still don't quite believe that I will run a personal record by January. Coach Joe reassured me that I am looking very strong and responding very well to the base training. I am right where he expects me to be. We shall see. I've started acqua-jogging once a week for 1 hour in the pool and it hasn't been too bad so far. I am conservatively still increasing my weekly mileage, logging in a total of 47 miles this week before my weekend trip to the Bay Area. Things are feeling great.

San Francisco and More

I ran the San Francisco Nike half-marathon, following the same strategy as I did at Long Beach the previous Sunday. It was definitely a much colder day and a hillier course compared to Long Beach. I didn't expect to find any of my friends amongst the 20,000-plus women runners at the race. Around mile 10-11, I somehow found myself just behind my girlfriend Jennifer So, who I had originally signed up for the race with. She looked great, despite her telling me that she was ready to pass out in 2 seconds.

We chatted for about a mile or two, until we slowly created some distance between us as i was ready to finish as quickly and get back for a hot shower. I had not been feeling well at all that morning and I started to really struggle after a couple of miles.

All in all, SF weekend was great, I got some hang-time with my good buddy Quinton (who I learned that he has a strange fetish for crisp brand new bills) and my college dorm-mates: Sailor, Sam, Monica, and Monica's BF Chris. I was quite happy to drag Monica out for a 4 mile run Saturday and inspired her to train for her first half-marathon this November.

This week for October 21st, Coach Joe has me scheduled to run total of 40 miles and still keeping up with my push-ups and crunch drills. I am to start double session runs one day of the week. He tells me no more running 2 half-marathons in a span of one week. I smiled.

Personal Worst?

Long Beach is special to me in many ways. It marked my first marathon in 2001, clocking in just under 5 hours of 4:53 --- on my 22nd birthday. I returned four years later in 2005, to set a long-standing personal record of a 1:54 half-marathon race. It was one my proudest moments not only in my running experience, but I had personally navigated through a rather turbulent time of my young adult life, and I had grasp onto running like dear life. I turned to running as my outlet and a source of personal strength and confidence. I had transformed into a renewed and stronger person. And most special, I had discovered new personal limits.

Now, with my 3rd race in Long Beach this year, I finished the half-marathon distance with a 2:10 time, my "Personal Worst (PW)", by far. Coach Joe was very stern and adament that I needed to really treat this race only as a training run, and run by heart-rate. I was to follow his guidelines strictly, using the first 3 miles as a warm-up, heart-rate under 130 and then maintain an average of 150-155 for the remaining 10 miles. Sound easy?! Alot harder than it sounds.

Among me and my co-workers, we made up a First Q Team to coordinate carpools in the morning and run together, which added some exuberance and excitement to the day. We made it to Long Beach just in time before the gunshot. My IPOD played its first song where I decided to put on repeat for the entire 2+hours. I figured the monotony of the song will help me keep balanced and even-paced. Change of new songs would get me pumped up and give me the natural urge to pick up the pace. I saw my two friends Jennifer and Jomel about 1/4 mile into the race! My heart-rate spiked but I had to slow down to a walk to bring my heart rate back down 130's.

It was definitley an enjoyable learning experience. I should have brought my camera to enjoy and capture some moments of beautiful long beach. Next time perhaps.

Although I enjoyed the easy run with more than 18,000 other runners, it was challenging to hold-back at times when I started to feel almost my best. I constantly reminded myself to keep my eyes on the prize and it would be completely dumb to risk any type of injury at this early point of the game. Although I may have set a new "PW" with the time, I like to think of it as "Personal Wisdom".

I repeat this same run next Sunday at the Nike half-marathon in SF.

My final Stab at Boston

I have been wanting to train for Boston the last few years but I did not have the capacity to invest in the training required. As most of my family and very good friends know, I was inundated with work and my "hellish" exam since 2003. I took a break in 2008 from running to accommodate other priorties (for better or worse) and I had missed it whole-heartedly. So I decided that I'm going to start 2009 differently, and focus my time and energy on what I love and truly can't live without "Running".

I hyped myself up that I can qualify for Boston. I'm healthy again, I can manage my hip pain, I'm almost at my ideal weight, I have the capacity and time, AND most IMPORTANTLY I don't have that "hellish" exam to study for. I even tested my circle of runner friends to guage their support and encouragement. I found a rockstar running coach (Coach Joe League). My friend Duy is creating new song lists for my IPOD. I've blacked-out my social calendar and mentally prepared to jump back on the wagon. I think I have everything I need to make it happen.

Coach Joe has picked the OC marathon on May 3, 2008 to target, which gives me 9 months to train. I have just started to run consistently the last several weeks. Coach Joe has scheduled me to run 33-35 miles for this week of September 29th, incorporating crunches, push-ups, and pull-ups drills every other day, and a recovery bike ride on Sunday.

I am feeling strong, but I remind myself that I need to be smart and increase my mileage conservatively, and make sure I am giving my body enough recovery time. I still have long road ahead of me before May 3rd.

This is Why I run.....And you should too.

My first Blog:

There's a closeness about people who run together. We become better friends, better runners, and better people by the company we keep. As our mileage logs grows, so does our ability to speak the truth to each other and our courage to confess our daily weaknesses, sinful pleasures, and bad moments. We expect only the best for and from each other, yet on any given day feel comfortable enough just as we are. With my music tunes and laced up running shoes, no make-up, no status, and no BS/negativity allowed, I let the running purify my friendships and myself included. We all have a tendency to lose patience and get edgy with the people we love most - friends, family, and little people. Running friendships offer a safe zone where we can relax, recharge, and take our best back home where it belongs, making us a stronger person, a stronger runner, and more importantly a stronger partner in friendships/relationships. Call me crazy but this is why I run.