Charity Miles - Run/Walk/Bike and Save the World

If you have a smart phone Download this free app - Charity Miles. 

Its awesome.

For every mile you walk or run, it will donate $0.25, and $0.10 for every mile you bike. And that's just for doing your Normal workout!
This app doesn't interfere with your other training apps, you can use MapMyRun or Nike+ or other apps at the same time.

Workout and Save the World!!

Stress and Snacking

I know everyone talks about stress, depression or any unhappy feelings leads to overeating, but I never "really" understood it until it happened to me. I always thought it was a lack of willpower on the person, but its much more complicated than that.

Now I wasn't going through anything traumatic, but I had was having a tough day at work and an overall stressful day. Suddenly deadlines, fire-drills, urgent projects, and my dog wasn't helping being mischievous every other minute.

I felt at my wits end. And all I wanted to do was eat. I felt hungry, even though I just ate, so I snacked and snacked and snacked.

Near the end of the day, I had an out of body experience where I mentally stepped away from myself and realized what I was doing.

My day wasn't going in a positive direction.. but what 'was' positive? The candy bowl in front of me, the chips and pretzels, etc. It was something I was "doing" that was "right". It gave me continuous "positive" reinforcement. I wanted more and more to fill the void of my crappy work day.

I now understand how a person can get lost in that. Luckily tomorrow, will be a better day, and all my deadlines will hopefully be gone, and I will need to workout to burn off all the candy I ate. :)

Cheat Days?

Do you condone or forbid cheat days? 

I love fitness, health, and working out.. but what I love even more? Brownies, cheesecake, and food (plant and animal)!

I went to a seminar where a very well respected author and weight loss doctor talked about his extremely stringent diet that he holds himself and with his patients. He did water fasting (fasting for days to weeks with just water), and only ate veggies, rice and beans. Beans were his sole source of protein. 

What really shocked me, was that he compared "cheat days" the same as giving a recovering alcoholic a drink. 

I know his methods do work, but I believe through the power of training and fitness, you learn self control and you learn how eat right. And with that control, I believe you can have that snack, dessert, 'cheat day'. 

I understand its important to watch what you eat to perform at your best, except the Michael Phelps diet, but we're not all training to be Olympic athletes, and whats the point of doing all that if you can't enjoy the simple brownie bites in life. 

Train hard, and don't forget to treat yourself :)

Burn-out & Recovery

After a few years of events and races, I was burned out. I was upset at myself because I hit a plateau and I couldn't get myself out. Worse, with back to back events, there was no time to train or improve, so I was just rolling with the motions. I actually dreaded all the events I was participating in, because I could already forsee the results.. they would be the same, the same and the same.
It was like Groundhogs day,  over and over again.

At the end of 2011, I told myself, no more races in 2012, (except for a very select, but awesome few) but I had nothing planned, (event-wise) except to cross-train, strengthen and improve. It was weird when people would ask me what events I had coming up, and I'd reply "Nothing". Then they would ask, "well then what are you training for?" and I'd answer, "Nothing."

Nearing the end of 2012, I'm quite happy I took this year off. I feel so much stronger and better. I see results when I train, and even the very select few events I did, I saw a lot of improvement even without much training.

I'm looking forward for this year to end and for 2013 to begin. I have some events lined up, and a training schedule set. But most of all, it feels great to feel excited again.
:)
happy racing!

Barb's Race 70.3 Fundraising

Hi Everyone!
http://www.active.com/donate/vineman13/RunLily

After a long time of prepping, I'm finally going for my 2nd Ironman, Barb's Race. (info)

This year, 2013, they are requiring all 450 participants to raise $250 which will ALL be donated to fight cancer.

Even $1 can be made as a donation, which is Tax-deductible.

Thank you very much for your support in the fight against Cancer!

http://www.active.com/donate/vineman13/RunLily

The Worse Part of the Run are the First 2 miles.

Ever since High School Cross Country, I've always noticed that my feet are BRICKS for the first 2 miles.
I've always thought there was something wrong with me, or my shoes, or the terrain.
But shoe after shoe, run after run, asphalt or grass, the same thing would always happen.

Recently I attended a "Shoe-Lab" and I brought up the question to the presenter, to my surprise he said almost everyone goes through that. It seems like it takes 2 miles for the body to "warm up" and for the blood to finally circulate its way down those little toes.

Quote: "The first 2 miles are the worse! Those starting out, if you never get past 2 miles, you never get to see why people love to run. You're always stuck in the worse part. If running a marathon felt like the first 2 miles, I'd never run again."

So if you hate running, but have only been in the <2 mile range.. that may be the reason.. Keep going, keep running.. I promise it gets better. :)

Happy Running!

1st-Distance, 2nd-Speed

A while back, I was working with a newbie runner. She had never ran in her life, and she quite out of shape. She set her sights on a completing a half marathon within 6 months.

This is a goal that can easily be completed by sticking to a good training plan. And 6 months was more than enough time to train.

I worked with her for the first few miles, assessing her fitness levels. Working up from .25 mile runs, we were up to doing 3+ miles comfortably with a 12-14 min mile pace. A really good pace for a newbie and for her fitness level.

However, after the first few weeks, she got the idea stuck in her head that she needed to be faster.

Rookie mistake. I've been there. We've all been there. 

You tell someone, "Hey I'm training for a half marathon"

and they (non-runners) instantly ask, "how fast can you run a mile?"

and honestly NO matter WHAT number you tell them, it most likely wont impress them if its not Kenyan time. 

So I usually reply, "How fast can you run a mile?" and change the subject.

So she ditched our training plan, and said, she didn't want to run any more distance until she could run a mile in 7:30. Then at that point, she would run mile 2.

umm.. 7:30? that's a really good pace, that even experienced runners have trouble getting towards. To drop from a 14 to a 7 min pace in < 6 months, and then to add 12.1 miles to that.. is gonna be a little tough, (aka.. nearly impossible)

I kept urging her to just focus on doing the distance. Don't worry about the time. Once your body can handle the endurance, the speed will come. You will get faster.

In the end, she didn't get past mile 1, and she never made it to her race.

Remember to just focus on distance. Don't be embarrassed by whatever time you're coming in at.
You have the courage to start, which most people will never have.
Focus on finishing the race. That's all the counts.

Happy Racing!

Taste your Food

Recently I read the book "Way of the Peaceful Warrior" and certain parts of the book really stuck with me.

The author/protagonist writes about how he inhales his food, and how he learned to slow himself down to really taste all the flavors in his mouth.

Now I know this is not a new concept, but for the first time, it really made sense to me.

During an insanely scrumptious meal I was inhaling, (like I've always done with all my meals), I paused and thought to myself..
"Wow I want to eat more, even though I'm getting full, I want to eat more!"
Then I thought to myself, "why?"
"I want to consume more of this food because it tastes so good, I want to taste more of it"

Then I realized, I can taste more of it if I just chewed it a few more times, instead of consuming more food.

For the "math geek" in me, I thought, I chew 3 times before ingesting.. If I chewed 6 times, then I would have doubled my amount of "taste" without consuming more food.

At your next meal, ask yourself if you're really hungry for more food, or are you not really tasting your food?

Happy tasting

Diversify, Diversify..

As you all know you should diversify your 401k and IRA's, its also best to diversify your workouts.

Doing the same thing over and over, no matter how many body parts are moving, will become stale, mentally and physically. You will find yourself reaching a plateau.

If you're primarily a runner, add in cycling, yoga, and weight/strength training.
If you're primarily into aerobics or zumba, try adding a spin class and stairs.
If you're doing bootcamp and circuits, get some long distance cardio in.

Embrace change and embrace something new. Your body will thank you for it.

Nike Women's Marathon 2012 San Francisco

aka.. "The Tiffany Run"  (because you get a custom made Tiffany Necklace as your "medal") Its actually the only "medal" I wear around and show off. hehe

Entry into the Nike Women's Marathon is by a random drawing lottery system. Around April, they will open the registration period for 2 weeks. During that time I think +40k people try register for the 20-25k spots they have available. You register, and if you get "chosen" your credit card will be charged the registration fee of $100-150.

For the past few years, I've tried to get into Nike, but I never won the "lottery". I would get the sad email saying "Thanks but no thanks" from Nike and I'd feel depressed and defeated.
However, every year, I've noticed that 1 month before the race, they'd send out an email saying, "Hey you can still register with this 'last minute entry code!' " but by that time, I would have had no flight or hotel booked and it would be impossible for me to get to SF. So I'd pass.

Finally, last year, 2011, I won the "lottery" and it was amazing.

Fast foward to 2012.. during registration period, I felt that I was going to be a sure win. I booked a hotel during Day 1 of registration. Then after the 2 weeks, I instead of a "congratulations confirmation" email I was expecting.. I got the dreaded "Thanks but.. No thanks" email..

I read it over and over and over again.. This can't be.. I felt sad. I felt angry. I felt cheated.

However, I never put 2 and 2 together until this year 2012.. I decided to keep my hotel and wait for the 3 week "last min entry" into Nike. I waited and waited.. It usually happens around 1 month before the race.. As that week approached, I started to give up hope and made other plans.. The day before I was about to cancel my hotel, my runner friend Pam, who won the lotto this year, got the last min entry code and informed me about it.

I raced to the nearest computer and quickly registered. Hooorray!!! I was IN!

Now the tough part.. I didn't train, at all, all year. The most I ran was 5 miles.. So I had 3 weeks to train for a half marathon.

I know I could do it without training, but I wanted to race well, and to finish strong. I didn't want to walk and half ass it, since I wanted this all year.

So I trained hard for the 3 weeks leading up to the race. I had a bad case of runner's knees. Every night my knees ached and throbbed. But I pushed forward with my training.

Finally race weekend arrived. My running partner Connie and I drove up from LA to SF early Saturday morning.

Sunday Morning, Race Morning, we "planned" to leave the hotel around 6:15 and arrive at the starting area by 6:30, however it didn't happen. As we repeatedly hit 'snooze' we remembered, it took us 30 mins to get to the start line last year.. We can wait.. So we left our hotel at 7am, (race starts at 7am) and got to the area in 12 mins. The corrals were still slowly walking to the start line. Perfect timing!

As we ran, we felt strong. We didn't need to stop or walk, but we did have to pee. We passed through the 3 massive hills during the course. I love hills because its a great way of passing people who see the hill and immediately give up.

If you do have to pee, during any race, wait for mile 5 or 6. the lines will be significantly less. Mile 2 port-a-potty will have a crazy long line. Even though I had to pee really bad, I wish I didn't have to stop because I'm sure my end time would've been 5+ mins faster. after we collected our T shirts and our necklaces, I grabbed all the food I could, and headed straight for my $20 shuttle ride back to our hotel where I got a late checkout and slept until housekeeping woke me up. :)

Overall a fantastic weekend.


Tips for Nike Women's Marathon

1. If you don't get in, try again during the 3 week "last min entry period" 
2. Buy the shuttle ticket when you register $10. The Price doubles at the expo $20. 
3. If you don't buy a shuttle ticket during registration, but really need to take the shuttle at the last min, try to sneak on. They didn't even check if we had our tickets. Then use the $ you saved and donate it to charity!! Karma will get you. 
4. Pee after mile 5.
5. Run to the END of the water station. Everyone crowds in the front. 
6. If you need to walk, Move to the right, and don't form a line with the person next to you. Leave space for people to pass you
7. LOOK behind you when you stop and move out of the way. You will most likely get run over the by runner behind you.
8. There are 3 major hills, which get progressively worse. 
1. After Fisherman's Wharf. ~mi 3
2. When you see the Golden Gate bridge on your right ~ mi 6
3. When you're out of the park and enter a residential area, (worse hills)  ~ mi 9
9. After when you enter the Great Park, you only have 3 miles left, and its pretty flat. 

great video from RW.com

Off Your Butt: 8 Exercises to Combat Sitting Too Much

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR04Qvjf-6A

Cool Down with some Dynamic Stretching

Love to Multitask? I certainly do.

one of my favorite ways to "cool down" is to do dynamic stretches. With dynamic stretches not only are you stretching to recover your tired muscles, you're cooling down, and getting a muscle endurance workout at the same time.
Most of the time people focus on the warm up but not on the cool down. Its good to do some static and dynamic stretches both before and after your workout to prevent injury and promote recovery.

Here are a few of my favorites to do after a good run.

1. Walking Lunges
• Advance : Add a side twist to work the obliques and abs ( if the left leg is stepped out in front, twist torso to the left side)
2.  Squats
• Advance: Squat Jumps
• Advance: Squat with side step
3.  Toy Solider March
• With an arm outstretched at shoulder level, back straight and legs straight, swing your leg up so your toe touches your hand. Repeat on other leg and arm. For me, I sometimes swing opposite arm/leg or same side arm/leg. 

Happy Cool Downs! :)

Long Beach Sprint Tri 2012

My goal was to take 2012 off from participating in events. I felt September was 'late' enough in the year, and my 'training' has been pretty good. So I opted for the Long Beach Sprint Tri.

In 2010,  LB Tri was my first triathlon, and what started the addiction, so I was excited to do this race again and have some fun to PR. I recommend this race to any 1st-timers. Its not super crowded and everyone is insanely nice. Other "hard core" events I've been to have some "serious-no-nonsense athletes" who aren't too forgiving to the newbies. LB Tri is full of newbies, so everyone just has fun, and shares the love.

While doing this race, I forgot how FUN events can be. I loved, LOVED, every single second of this race, and can't wait to do it again.

I had so much fun, and I bet my previous time by 6 minutes.

Why Run?

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-520--14403-F,00.html
By Marc Parent
From the July 2012 issue of Runner's World

Honestly one of the BEST articles I've read in a long time. Loved every single sentence. 


my favorite parts which are so super-duper true!!

"Now that I've been running for a while, I have less advice to give. That's because advice is a recommendation to do something in one particular way. But if you run long enough, you'll do so in every conceivable way. You'll run smart and stupid, fast and slow, short and long, in good weather and bad, with dogs, with friends, with children, alone, on a full stomach and nearly starving, in fancy shoes and old beaters, on college tracks and over mountains, on country roads and city streets. Identical runs will be easy one day, grueling the next. You'll have long runs that fly by, short ones that grind on forever. One day the syrupy waffle bogs you down, the next day it fuels the final sprint. "

"I hated running for over a year. I know, hate is a strong word. You know what a stronger word is? Superhate. In my first year and a half, I superhated running every time I went out."

Running makes you beautiful. Look around and you'll see unattractive people on every corner. I used to see one when I looked in the mirror. Pick out a random unattractive person and imagine what they'd look like running. I've never seen an ugly runner. Running changes everything. I know, never is a strong word–you know what a stronger word is? Supernever.


I read this article on the plane, and the guy next to me thought I was crazy for laughing and smiling as I read this.

HUNGRY....

Due to heavy rain, I had to opt for training at the gym on the "dread-mill".  One of the many things I dislike about the "dread-mill" is that you're stuck facing a mirror, staring at yourself while you watch all your unflattering areas jiggle around.

As I stared at myself in the mirror in front of the "dread-mill" to my surprised, I wasn't focused on how bored I was or how time literally stands still on a "dread-mill." Instead, my only thought was how "hungry" I was to hear these 5 words; "Lily, you are an Ironman."

Oh how much I want it, it makes me ache. The thought consumes me. The 'want' consumes me.

During my workout, I didn't care about how heavy the weights were. I didn't care how my sweat burns my eyes. I didn't care how tired I felt. I didn't care how my lungs burned. My only thought was, 'everything I will endure, will only make me that much closer to my goal.' It makes me feel so alive with such passion. I love every moment of it.

Be Hungry..

Earn the right to shower

Commonly, we "treat" ourselves after we accomplish something. Often we say, if I run 5 miles, I'll get to eat that cookie. Instead of making the reward a treat, make it something you want to/need to do, like shower.

For me, it first started off as laziness. I didn't want to shower twice in a day, (do you know how long it takes long hair to dry?), so I'd make sure I'd schedule my workouts before I needed to shower. And if I showered before I worked out, I knew I wasn't going to "work out" later on that day, no matter how much I told myself I would. So in order to make myself workout, I wouldn't be able to shower until I did. Subconsciously, I've made my "treat" the right to shower.

if you're having trouble keeping up with your workouts, try to make you treat the right to shower. You'll be much more inclined to get it done, or face you family and friends being really stinky. :-D

Lots of people practice this in their own way. What's your treat?

happy showering :)

Travel and Packing Tips

I love the thrill of packing light, as odd as it sounds. I love to have a goal of making weeks worth of necessities fit into a carry on, with room to spare. If not a carry on, then a regular size piece of check in luggage.

Tips: 

1. Plan your outfits
•  This is the best way to save space and not carry extra outfits. How often do you come back from a trip and think, "I didn't even wear half the stuff I brought"
•  I know this is tough for girls who are more indecisive about what to wear.. So ladies.. try to make some "tough decisions" and pick an outfit. 
2. Bring easy mix and match items
• Pants - If you think about it, normally, we wear the same 2 or 3 pair of jeans repeatedly for months. So why change it? Bring 2 pair of jeans, (1 that is darker so you can use it at a fancy restaurant), and wear 1 on the plane/bus/train/car, etc. (if your traveling during the winter, bring 1 more pair so you can rotate if 1 gets wet from rain. 
• Tops - bring a different shirt for each day, shirts are easy and thin enough to pack. Bring 1 fancy shirt in case you go to a nice place for dinner
3.  Shoes
• Shoes take up the most room. So wear your biggest pair (ex running/tennis shoes) and pack your dress shoes or flipflops that take up less room. 
• Ladies - look for fancy sandals that can double as casual everyday/walking shoes but can also be worn to a fancy restaurant. 
4. Wear your biggest items
• examples - wear your sneakers, jacket, sweater, etc that your plan to bring. It will save you space in your suitcase. 
5.  Reuse Old Contact Lens Cases
• This is my favorite tip that I learned from another friend. Since you're only gone for a week or so, you dont need a WHOLE bottle of bathroom amenities. Just squeeze the amount needed into the lens case. Lens cases are dishwasher safe. 
• Also you can grab small sample containers at Sephora.
6.  Use Samples
• often samples will last you enough for a weekend trip.
7. Unless your camping or away from civilization, buy things when you get there. ex. Buy toothpaste. You don't need to pack it. 

Now putting it all together. 

1. Roll your clothes
•  Biggest/heaviest on the bottom, smaller/lighter/thinner items on the top
2. Put items that take up more volume (shoes) on the bottom because you can squeeze smaller things in-between spaces. 

Happy Traveling! 

8 Weeks of Master Swim

Today was my last class of Master Swim.

I never participated in a swim class before so I didn't know what to expect.
For the 8 weeks, classes @ 530am, Mon- Thurs, and Sat&Sun. Classes were not mandatory, (since we are paying adults), and I was able to go Mon - Thurs. In the first few weeks, I went everyday Mon - Thurs, but then as the weeks went on, I would go miss a day here and there. I made sure to go at least 2 times a week. On average I went to 3 out of the 4. (Most Monday mornings were just too hard to wake up.)  I didn't really know most of the "swim lingo" terminology, so the Coach always had to dumb it down for me, hehe :)

For 7 weeks of the class, we swam the Width of the Olympic pool which was 25 meters. We did drills and were able to have a lane to ourselves the whole time. Coach Louis knew that I was training for Open water Triathlons, so he would give me different drills to do which would help me in Open water. The 8th week, because its summer vacation and high school kids train at the same pool, the lanes were switched to lengthwise @ the 50 m Olympic distance. I really like swimming the longer distance, 25 just seems so short.

A few random weeks, Coach had us swim on the deep end of the pool without lanes to simulate open water swimming. He also had us practice diving (which I've never dived before). I didn't belly flop, but my hips and thighs took a bad beating hitting the water. We dived about 30 times. After that session, my hips and thighs were all bruised.

When I first started the class, my 50 meter sprints were about 90+ seconds. Mid way through the course, my 50 m sprints dropped down to <60 seconds. My 100 meter sprints dropped down to <2 mins.

I definitely feel that I am a much stronger, faster and better swimmer, but I know I still need alot more training and practice. The ladies next to me, can do a 50m sprint in  <40 seconds.

I'm excited to keep training and to get faster and stronger. :)

happy swimming!

Ruptured Achilles Tendon - Physical Therapy Session 2

So far, for the next month, Kevin will got o PT 3 times a week, MWF.

Today, Kevin had a 5 min warm up on a station bike (the ones where the chair leans back). Then Aaron (the PT) did a massage to the injured leg, really rubbing into the thickened tendon.

(I get foot massages often, but I always hate when the masseur touches my Achilles, It scares me that they will snap it or injure it. So, watching Aaron rub the crap out of Kevin's Achilles, I had to hold back the squirms) 

Session #2-

2x10 - Seated Toe lifts
2x10 - Seated upright, foot inversion (foot toward the center of the body), eversion (foot away from the body), plantar (point down) and doris flexion (point up - toes to the nose) with a light resistance band.
* New - 2x10 - eccentric Doris flexion with a band.

• In a seated position, point toes downwards (plantar flexion) with a light  resistance band over the toes, and pull the band tight. Then Slowly bring foot towards neutral position, using the calf muscle to fight the resistance of the band. 

2x10 - Wood peckers

• Standing about 6 inches facing the wall, slowly lean towards the wall til your nose almost touches the wall, then slowly lean back. 

2x30 seconds standing on 1 leg.

2x10 heel raises while gently putting pressure on injured leg to come down. 

2x10 Clams

2x10 leg lifts

2x10 side step with medium resistant band. 

The Gout Attack

I'm not a newbie to gout, I've had it ever since I was in my teens.. the pain in your big toe.. it would come for a day or so, and then go.

So for the past few months, I've been having a sharp stabbing pain on the top of my right wrist.

I know its a ganglion cyst,  (which I named "my lumpy")  forming because I have one on my left wrist and went through about 2-3 years of pain. For my left wrist, I removed the cyst several times, but "My Lumpy" would always come back, and hurt more.. However, I started to realize when the lump was there, the pain was gone, and when the lump was gone, pain would return. So I learned to live with the lump if it would mean I would have no pain.

My doc said that because of the lump, the extra fluid has an area to escape, and not press on the nerve = no pain.

Now the same thing is happening to my right wrist. However, I can't ignore it. Being right handed, I can't go 2-3 years with pain. I am unable to carry things, and do certain movements. I can't flex or extend my hand in a 90 degree angle. (My workouts are suffering because I can't do burpees or pushups). If I fell on the ground, I can't even push myself up. Stupid right hand..

So I finally went to see an orthopedic surgeon, hoping that he could just do some magic surgery to make everything all better.

But his diagnosis was something much worse.. He said.. GOUT..
and what makes gout even worse, the remedy..... RESTRICTIVE DIET!

He said the build up of fluid, is getting trapped on the top of my wrist, and pressing on the nerves = pain.
So... reduce fluid = reduce pain..

I love meats, and seafood (purine heavy foods). To greatly reduce it, really sucks. :(

I've started to do some research, and a new theory, is that gout, isn't caused by the purines in food we eat, but instead by glucose and insulin = sugar and carbs.. AHH my other 2 favorite things..

I actually do believe the sugar and carbs would have a greater effect than just purine only in meats and seafood.. I'm still researching, but somehow it just seems to makes more sense than just purines alone. But I'll let you know what I find out, and what I end up doing.

So.. what will I eat now? :(
The doc said a restrictive diet for 2-3 months to reduce the pain.

I'm a sad panda..