Tri Training: Day 1

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Days left to Wildflower: 101

Today was my first day learning how to swim! The weather was gloomy all day and even scattered showers found its way to San Jose. Today was also the first day of Spring semester, so with classes, I can already tell training is going to be tough. So if you don't know already, I have decided that I will do my first triathlon in 2013! The goal is do the Olympic course at Wildflower, and I have 101 days left! In a future blog, I will talk about why I want to do a triathlon and what this means to me, but not today! 

Before the swim

I went to school around 7:30 AM because parking is really crazy the first few weeks of school, and I wanted a good spot. I decided to go to the gym for a bit before my 9:00 AM class. I cycled for about 30 minutes and then went to go do some stretches. I realized I definitely need to pick up a Yoga class or something, I have 0 flexibility! When it was time for classes, it was the usual go through the syllabus and talk about what to expect for the semester. All I can say is... it's gonna be rough. On the up side, this is my last semester, so I'm kind of excited for that! I have 3 classes on M&W and just one on Thursdays, so it'll be nice not to go to school on Tuesdays and breathe. I got out of my last class really early, so I met my swim teacher.. aka Kelvin and got to the first lesson!

My first swimming lesson

I have never been in a one piece bathing suit. I have never been in a bathing suit alone, so imagine the insecure horror running through my body at this point. Not to mention, the women's swimming team was practicing. Instead of doubting myself and throwing on my tank top I had in my bag, I sucked it up and said to myself, "At least I'm out here trying". I can't say I owned it, as I tip toed out of the locker room wrapped in a towel, but I'm getting there! The lesson lasted 45 minutes, and mainly involved a kick board and me trying to get the water out of my ears. I learned how to splash around in a less barbaric way. I'm learning how to raise my elbow a little higher out of the water, and swim in a relatively straight line. Thankfully, I know how to float and I'm not too scared of the water so I hope I learn quickly! Poor Kelvin was shivering as he was watching me practice technique and making sure I was keeping the form or whatever form I had. Hopefully he'll get to swim a bit more next time! The weather was sad and gloomy, but no rain! My face hurts a little bit, but apparently that's normal for newbies and I'll get used to it. 

After the swimming lesson

I feel good. Not frustrated. I'm glad I set my mentality in the locker room and didn't psych myself out. The next swim day is tomorrow, but not really a lesson-- just for me to practice what I learned today! Alright, gotta run. No, literally.. it's time for speed workout with Go Far Run Group! Stay tuned!

Disneyland Half Marathon 2012

Disneyland Half Marathon 2009

Once a year or so, I convince Kelvin to step away from the podium, and do a fun run with me! This year was no different when we took on the Disneyland Half Marathon 2012! So how did we discover this Disneyland half marathon business? Well, it all started in 2008 when we were shopping at The Great Mall in Milpitas! Disney was having their warehouse clearance event, and we were looking through the t-shirt rack. Kelvin noticed a shirt that said "Goofy's Challenge" and oh yeah, this was around the time I was barely getting into long distance running (still weighing 155 lbs). We decided that we were going to do it! We got home and looked it up, and saw that it was in Florida -___-. Bummer. It was only then that we saw there was one held in Disneyland, but it was for the following year -- 2009! After thinking about for about a week or so, we decided we were going to register! Then in 2009, we geared up and ran it! I managed to lose a little bit of weight, but really gave it my all! I bought Cinderella colored clothes, and Kelvin dressed up like a Jedi. This was my official finishing time of 2009! After that run, we were hooked! We saw so many creative and innovative costumes! The one that really caught our attention were a group of 3 friends who dressed up as Huey, Dewey, and Louie! Their costumes were original, and they were fast. I wanted to be like that too! So the mindset was set... from now we were going to do the Disneyland Half Marathon every year!

And the rest was history...

Disneyland Half Marathon 2010

Disneyland Half Marathon 2011

Photo credit: Brightroom

....Last year we didn't get a picture with Russell & Dug from "Up", so I really wanted to run as the same characters so we could finally get that picture!! After a brief conversation, Kelvin agreed to dawn that Kevin head once more :).  Unfortunately, Russell and Dug were not a part of the characters on the course this year!! :( Kelvin was not happy about that one, but I was even more upset! Oh well.

Disneyland Half Marathon 2012

Photo credit: Joey from MouseInfo

The day before the run, we found out that there were age division awards for this run. With that said, we will be back next year but it's unknown if we'll be trying for awards or if we'll be back in costumes! Nonetheless, thank you to everyone who complimented our costumes (mainly Kelvin's haha), and if you have a picture of you in a costume or a picture with one of us, or both, please send it! I want to make a collage haha. Oh! And one last thing, THANK YOU TO RUN DISNEY FOR PUTTING ON EVENTS LIKE THESE!!! :D :D :D :D

Photo Credit: MouseInfo.com

Can you find Kevin and the house? :)

Let's Hear It For The Dads!

"A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society." -- Billy Graham

     As the post title suggests, this post is to the dads who've stepped up their game! So let me sit and thank the dads who have, at different parts, entered my life and left their mark in my livelihood. Before you go off thinking that this is a post talking about my father, it is not. This is about the MEN who stepped in when he stepped out.

     So it's no surprise to any one who knows me, to know that I grew up without a dad in my life. He exited it when I was 5 years old, I've been without him longer than I've been with him; I'd like to think that it's better that he isn't in my life, so don't feel sorry for me because I don't feel sorry for me. I was fortunate enough to have a grandpa  who took on the task of becoming my constant babysitter. He literally took me everywhere with him. He took me to the Lion plaza when he'd go shopping, looking around, or gambling during New Years. He made sure I had my peanut butter and sugar sandwich before I left for school everyday, and a homemade Vietnamese dinner to eat when I came home. He was my first karate instructor and pushed me to do a talent show (home video hilariousness) when I was in the third grade. When I think about dad, he's the first person that comes to mind. I miss him so much, and even when he's older now and not as swift as he once was... he will always be my one and only G.Pa! 

     Another little fact about myself (not one I'm particularly proud of) is that I have a genuinely hard time maintaining valuable relationships. More times than not, I tend to be alone whether it be a conscious effort or not. It really take a conscious effort for me to maintain friendships and relationships because I'm actually used to being alone --and for the most part it's ok by me. This is where I bring in my god-father. He came into my life when I was 14 years old as my track coach, and 2 years later as my god-father. He inspired me to believe in myself, and bought me my first pair of actual running shoes. Until the day I met him, I was rocking some all black basketball shoes from Marshalls. I remember the running shoes were a size 7 red & white New Balance shoes. A serious and dedicated man, once he's got something in his mind, he is determined to make it work even if he loses sleep! He is one of the most hard working men that I know, and puts 150% in everything he does. Even until this day, he is unrelenting to maintain our relationship. Although sometimes it is difficult for us to get together just to have lunch and catch-up, he makes sure that it happens and instead of letting this relationship fall at the wayside, this is one relationship that's worth fighting for.
     Last but not least of these lists of father figures in my life is the man I've only started calling dad approximately 6 months ago. I've been dating his son for about 7 years, and for those 6 & half years, I've always called him uncle. Strong and silent is how I like to describe him. He won't ever ask how I'm doing to my face, but he'll always ask Kelvin or ask his wife about my whereabouts and my well-being. The title "dad" hasn't been exactly a practiced habit of mom unlike the words "mom" or "sisters". Honestly, I don't even know patriarchal nouns in Vietnamese. He is a simple man with a complex heart. Again, I'm practicing the term dad with him and sometimes it feel extremely unnatural, but not because he is not worthy of the title. It's hard to describe a man who does so much and sacrifice so much to make and keep his family happy, safe, and secure. When I think of an image of what a dad should be, I think of this man because he is truly the dad of the dads. 
     I have been fortunate enough to have 3 men come into my life when I wasn't looking for anyone to fill any type of void. I have been fortunate enough to have 3 men come into my life when I thought I was fine by myself. Overall, I have been fortunate enough to have 3 exceptional male role-models in my life to lead, motivate, and help me reach any goal-- no matter how difficult. If anyone out there is reading this post and you have an awesome dad, go over to him and give him a hug and say, "thanks for being awesome." If your biological father hasn't been there, don't sit and cry over someone who you're probably better without. Why want someone to be in your life who obviously doesn't want you in theirs (that goes for anyone)? In science blood may be thicker than water but when it comes to family that isn't always the case. Be strong, do you. Life is funny, when you're not expecting it, people will come into in your life and fill voids you didn't know you had.

Vibha Dream Half Marathon

UPDATE POST JULY 18 2011:
     So after I wrote my review on Yelp and posted it here on my blog, I received a general e-mail from the Vibha committee about the successes about the run, and things that they can work on. In that e-mail, they addressed all my issues in the "thing they can work on" section. It made me feel really heard that they actually took the time and listened to the people who participated in the event. Also, a few days after that e-mail, I received a package from someone (I'm assuming) in charge that enclosed a certificate and medal for my age group! Although the medal was the same one I got at the finish line, I felt appreciated for my hard work and they tried to right they wrong -- even though they could've easily said "oh well, we'll fix it for next year". Due to these turn of events, I will again consider doing the run again since I do love what the organization is doing! Will update the Yelp review as well as soon as their done with their maintenance. Thanks, Vibha!




So I ran a half-marathon today. I registered for it about 3 days ago, not much prep work for this race in particular but I have been feeling strong lately so I decided to go ahead and just do it! Here's my take on what happened (you can also see it on Yelp!). No pictures because I was pretty disappointed and exhausted afterwards.

THE BEGINNING:

It's hard to be mad a non-profit that throws this run annually to help aide non-profits in India, but I can't help but feel a little ripped off. I signed up to do the Vibha half marathon this year (2012), and paid the full price of $60. The start of the day was a bit frustrating because in a confirmation e-mail, they said that there are 2 main parking lots which were free of charge since they covered it . One of the parking lots they showed we could park was right by the start line... SWEET! The other parking lot was about a 5-10 minute walk, meh. However, when I got there at 6:00AM even though start time wasn't until 7:30AM, I was told to park in the parking lot that was a 5-10 minute walk away, no, I don't mind that if I was late... but I'm pretty sure I was one of the first people there! Fortunately, there was a neighborhood near by that parking lot and I could easily park there and not walk as far (I know.. I'm about to run a half marathon and I can't walk an extra 5 minutes? Well.. suck it. I didn't want to walk that extra 5 minutes back to the car). Turns out, no one was allowed to park at the parking lot near the start line except for volunteers and vendors. If that was the case, it would have been easier to just say... hey everyone park in this lot and not this one.

THE COURSE:

Yes it is at Hellyer park, but no dirt trail at all. The entire thing was paved and essentially flat. The mini hills that were on the course were welcomed with a pretty instant downhill right after you hit the peak. Aid stations every 1.5 miles with Gatorade, water, and some even had Gus. There was always someone in the fork of roads to make sure people would continue down the correct path and not end up on the highway or something. There was also a guy biking back & forth making sure everyone was ok. I would say this run was pretty well shaded but there are a few straight aways where you are completely exposed! Oh! and you go under some overpasses so expect your watch to potentially crap out like mine did for me. Overall, the course, water stations, and volunteers were awesome.

THE ENDING:

Here's where things started to crumble. The straight-away leading to the finish line is on the grass (FYI, I HATE grass) and the cones separating people who've already finished and people who are going to finish was extremely big so I had no real idea where I was supposed to finish until I saw this itty bitty sign the said FINISH. I raced with this one guy during the finish, that was fun. Everyone gets a medal, goody bag, Indian meal-- looks homemade and smelled so good, bananas, & cotton t-shirt. The only thing that bugged me was that today was a very hot day, even though it was only approximately 9:30 when I finished. To quench my thirst, they only had little dixie cups that your dentists usually have and large jugs of water you had to pour into your mini dixie cup. I know that after that race, I definitely needed more water than that! Poor people were surrounding the table like vultures looking for dixie cups and waiting in line to pour water into it, including myself!

AWARDS:

So, first of all, the age groups were kind of funky-- nothing I've ever seen before. There was overall & age division; both normal. However, age divisions were broken up in something along the lines of 12 & under (kind of normal), 13-21 (not normal), 22-something (more not normal), and then 55-90 (REALLY not normal). The run consisted of a 5k, 10k, & half-marathon. This is where the jipped feeling comes into play. They gave awards to overall and age-divsion top 3 for the 5k and 10k, BUT NOT THE HALF-MARATHON. Why?! I paid twice as much and ran twice as long, and I don't get anything? Considering I came in first in my age division, is really upsetting. Not only was that really bad, the person in charge did not make an announcement that there would only be age division awards for the 5k and 10k, so I literally stood around half-dehydrated and really tired waiting for my award for an hour... only to have her conclude with, "ok that's it". Ugh that is NOT ok.

THE EXTRA: They are a great non-profit and have some really sweet volunteers, but I just can't shake the feeling that they could've put forth more effort in this event. I have run in other events that have benfeciaries and still throw an awesome run and shows that they appreciate the people who are trying to help them. Also, they had a cute henna tent and some balloon animals for the kids. For a run that apparently has been an annual thing for 14 years... I'd expect a little more. :|

Oakland Running Festival 2012

What's the one thing you don't want to do after a 2 week battle with a cold & flu? Easy, run a flipping half marathon!

Oakland Running Festival 2012

As a personal trainer I knew that it was dumb that I would even consider running a half. However, as a stubborn athlete who's already paid for registration, and missed a run last week... I was NOT about to miss another one. All I can say is that I'm an idiot for thinking I could PR after two weeks of non-training, I knew it was not possible, it'd be a miracle if I could. On the flip side, I am very happy that I went out there, ran my little heart out, and did my best.


Kelvin and I got there to watch the marathon start, and at 9:15 it was time for the approx. 4,000 half-marathoners to get to the start line. I was feeling adequate and mile 1, but I knew something wasn't right. I don't typically wheeze during runs, but this time I started wheezing at mile 3, so I knew I had to listen to my body and slow the pace down. I knew there was no way I was hitting 1:50, so I took a deep breath and told myself, "there will be more races in the future, do you really wanna  be stupid and run hard when you know you're still recovering?" Yes. I do talk to myself like that haha. Alas, as I struggled through the rest of my mileage, I ran into a man named John who was running his first half-marathon, he's such a great guy! He was cheering on the volunteers! Honestly, I think he could have ran much faster, but for some reason he stayed at my pace and encouraged me along the way. Sweet guy; I hope I see him again in the future. I finished my half-marathon and almost burst into tears because I was so upset that I finished in 2+ hours. Of course, my better half came along and made me feel better by putting my training in perspective. He has a great way of telling me how it is without being a jerk about it. He told me, "you want to redeem yourself? Sign up for another race and train for it. You know that you've been sick and had midterms, you know this, so why did you expect to PR today? You should look at the positive side and look that you even came out here.You're still a competitive athlete, but even the pros get sick." Man, what a guy. I let it go and accepted the fact that my training has been poor and I should take my own advice! I always tell my clients that it only take 1 week for your body to completely decondition, and my body gave me a lesson about that today! Now, I'm sitting with my feet up and waiting for our trip to Disneyland!! Don't worry though world, we're bringing our running shoes! :)

ORF 2012 Half Marathon Course & Vibes

Oakland never seems to fail! The organizers deserve a round of applause because for the 2 years that I have run this event, it is always smooth from registration to expo to race day. Even though I was pretty exhausted, I think it could have been much worse if it wasn't for the awesome volunteers out there! Aid stations were plentiful, and people were awesome! I saw many many volunteers cheering us on, and even people who walked out of their houses, or from the stores to cheer us on! A few people who were Raider fans came out to cheer us on! Raider Nation, you don't mess with those folks! Oakland PD weren't as nice and cheerful this year as they were last year, but the Oakland Fire Department were smiles all around and I'm pretty sure all of them were cheering as I chugged on by! The half-marathon course was fast flat and consisted of maybe 1 overpass, but that was pretty much it. However, the pot-holes of Oakland are still very prevalent. I could have easily broken an ankle or face planted had it not been for my eyes constantly looking ahead for pot holes. I love the vibe of Oakland during this race, and I knew I had some worries because of the Occupy Oakland Movement, but they did not disrupt the run or I didn't even have a run-in with them at all! After my run, there was still lots of oranges, apples, Chewy bars, kettle chips, etc.! Also, thanks to the volunteer who gave me my 13.1 medal! My only issue (I'm pretty sure the race organizers couldn't do much about this) was the location of the post-race expo. I don't like grass, I don't like wet grass, I don't like mud or anything that looks like poop hahah so I wasn't too ecstatic about the Snow Park location. I didn't hang around for much longer because my gross out level was rising exponentially as I saw dogs poop and the owners didn't clean it up, so Kelvin & I left. 

Overall, Oakland Running Festival... you can expect me back! Sick or not!! 

Midterm Week and Oakland 2012 Prep

Wow. Really? My last post was one picture about Tinkerbell? Bahah! Well, I think you all deserve a well-thought out post.

Midterm Week

 

Midterm week at SJSU is no joke. You know what's worse? Having the flu during midterm week! Luckily, my Audiology professor (LOVE her) had her midterm one week before the madness had begun; so I only had midterms on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. It all started on Sunday when I woke up with easily a high fever of 100+F. I ended up missing Emerald Across the Bay 12k, but my better half had convinced me that a hospital bill and missing midterms would be a much less fortunate fate since I don't have health insurance (thanks U.S.A!). I laid in bed all day and slept on & off for about 10 hours. I woke up at 7:00pm and drilled everything I could in my brain, but came 12:00A.M. the Nyquil had started to kick in and I was out. Oh! I forgot to mention that I had a small presentation on Monday as well, I presented, but 'til this day I have no idea what I said. The test was easier than I thought, but then again I couldn't process information for the life of me thanks to the meds from the morning. All I can remember is laughing at my awesome friends, laughing at me. I tried to study on Monday night for Tuesday's huge midterm.... HUGE midterm, but alas I succumbed to the meds and consequently did not do very well on that midterm. After a good session of feeling down & out, I picked myself up and studied for Thursday's midterm. Long story short, Thursday came & went, and I'd rather not think about my results, just hoping for the best! Now, let's get to the fun stuff!

Oakland Running Festival

Other than not running for about two weeks, I'm ready! Now let's be serious, I'm pretty much terrified that I won't finish. I have never not run for this long, and to run 13.1 miles on a whim, that's a bit scary. You may be wondering, why haven't you been running for 2 weeks? Well, let me tell you. Although I was sick this past Sunday... I was also sick (albeit not as bad) the Sunday before that as well! Now back to my story. I went to the expo today and got my number, t-shirt, and free stuff! The forecast for tomorrow calls for showers in the A.M. but it should break as the race is underway! I like to run in the rain so it shouldn't be a problem, I just hope that I don't have another relapse in sickness! Tomorrow I will update (hopefully) with results and my impressions of the course, volunteers, set-up, etc.! Wish me luck! .....I'm going to need it.

Tinkerbell Half Marathon

Getting geared up and ready for Tinkberbell Half Marathon in one week and one day! :) :) Goal time: 1:51 or better. Wearing a costume... <2 hours :)