beyond the finish line :)
yay, we did it! =) thankful for the bead gallery girls Jo Ann & Anna, mom, and the yu family for hanging around kapiolani park ’til I finished! Michelle beat me by over an hour!
It was an amazing experience — so much energy in the air from all the enthusiastic volunteers and sheer number of participants. I usually run solo or with Michelle and usually in the dark so it was quite a change, especially after the sun rose! I was worried I’d “hit the wall” early on and not be able to continue… but I guess all the Melaleuca sustain drinks, Melaleuca access bars, and shot blox worked, because I was well hydrated and didn’t suffer as badly as I thought I would. Having Reyes carry all my beverages and snacks was a HUGE help (I’m super spoiled!) — he rode practically the whole marathon route on his bike and we rendezvoused every few miles. So nice to have my own personal cheerleader, secret restroom stop attendant, and refreshment-carrier (he even bought me shave ice from Uncle Clay’s in Aina Haina)! =D My feet were noticeably sore by the time I got to triangle park, but muscle memory kicked in and I got my second wind that last stretch down diamond head. I’d run that route tons of times and knew that it was almost over.
After I crossed the finish line, things were ablur. I saw the long malasada line and skipped it, heading over to pick up my shirt. Somehow found my family and friends and we headed home after taking a few pictures.
Would I do it again? Didn’t think so until they announced that early registration for 2013 was $1/mile again. What would I do differently? Not use new shoes =p I needed socks that were thicker by the ankles, ’cause that’s where it chafed.
What would I do again? Definitely use the hoka hoka one shoes (for heavy people like me, they are noticeably easier on the feet than other shoes) and the injinji (toed) socks. NO blisters! and i ALWAYS got blisters with regular socks — need to use them during training too, so my feet don’t get trashed. Definitely keeping my Melaleuca access bars, Melaleuca sustain drinks and shot blox. I didn’t like having to grab drinks from the stations and getting my shoes wet from all the spillage – nice that i could steer clear from the congestion too. If reyes is up for it again, he can definitely do the same thing he did this year =) The Melaleuca products plus their proflex protein drinks helped me recover with minimal soreness. The post-marathon recovery yoga class was AMAZING too. Better than a massage! =)
final countdown…
Wow. Can’t believe the day we’ve been training for is practically here! It’s been a pretty crazy year—i really don’t think i can take so much time to train in the future. There’s so many things that were put off or put on hold this year because of our training. No regrets, but that’s part of what makes this a bucket-list event more than the beginning of a marathon career!
Unfortunately, a foot injury from a stoopid accident this week is hindering me from running a decent time, slow as my normal running pace was… i’ll be happy if i’m able to put on my shoes without passing out and manage to hobble across the finish line. in training, as in other aspects of life, crap happens. we can dwell on it, choose to be bitter & give up or make the best of things & move forward. I choose the latter.
“…i consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” acts 20:24(NIV) Even though, in the grand scheme of things, my participating in this marathon is not a big deal at all, it’s huge for me. I hope it’s encouraging to someone who hears about my story. it’s never too late to change and it IS possible to go from non-running couch potato to long distance runner, even with health challenges like diabetes and high blood pressure.
I’m grateful for all the support and advice from fellow runners, family, and friends. michelle has been an awesome running buddy—getting me to get off my butt when i didn’t feel like going or when the weather was less than ideal. reyes has been extremely supportive, patient, and encouraging. from being bodyguard on my night runs through sketchy parts of town to post-run masseuse, he’s put up with a lot this year! 🙂
cheers to everyone involved with the honolulu marathon this year~ participants, volunteers, and supporters!
❤
grandparents day <3
been slacking with the cross-training. lots of stuff going on. visiting relatives, grandma coming back to honolulu from boston. i’m glad she’s happier here. seems more genki – definitely had a strong grip and lots of smiles when we came to visit. since mom’s tending to grandma most of the time, i get to hang out with sakura a lot. =)
Week 4 workouts: glad it was a ‘recovery week’
4.1 – 3x1600m dash
4.2 – 3mi run
4.3 – 10mi run
marathon training week 3
The mid-week “short” runs are my favorite. Not too long, and we usually make it in time to watch the sun set… =)
#3.1: 6x800m dash
#3.2: 7mi run
#3.3: 13mi run
marathon training: week 2
2.1 – 4x1200m fast runs. nice that it was just four laps, but omigosh, SO long. hard to keep up an elevated speed for that length of time! =p
2.2 – Kapiolani Park—> around Diamond Head—> full circuit around Kapiolani Park = 5miles
2.3 – 12mile run
Slacking on the cross-training. So much going on last week. Last weekend was just insanely busy in general. Plotting out my schedule, the only time slot that fit for both me and Michelle was 5am sunday morning. It concerns me that the longer our long runs get, the larger block of time we’ll have to carve out…and that probably means getting up at crazy hours to run. It’s surprising how many people we saw out and about even in the darkness of 5am! But then again, marathon clinic and other marathon prep groups are in full swing. I actually enjoyed seeing the sun rise and the feeling that I accomplished quite a bit before most people even got out of bed. It gets hot pretty quickly and I do like the cool, crisp pre-dawn air. Unfortunately, come marathon day, the majority of our running will occur after the sun rises.
the countdown begins… week 1
Last December, we were finishing up the #5k in 100days program, wondering what we’d do after the program was over. At around the same time, there was a lot of buzz on fb and twitter about the Honolulu Marathon’s 40th anniversary early registration special. $1/mile… okay… $26 really isn’t a lot to lose should we chicken out before next December. It’s definitely a bucket list thing for me and if not this time, then when? Besides, Reyes has done it a number of times before, and if anything, he’d be a great coach and support. I’m turning 40 this year too, so maybe it’s part mid-life crisis… =D
After the #5k in 100days program, we continued with @bradgansberg’s graduate program: #10k in 100days. We completed that and moved on to Athleta’s half marathon training program. Athleta has a wonderful free training guide you can download. It was rather difficult for me to stick to the 4days/week training schedule, especially since our workouts were limited to evenings after my sister got off from work. I found a 16week 3day/week marathon training schedule featured on the runner’s world website. The actual run schedule is listed on page 6 of that article. I got out a calendar and plotted out all the workouts on it. We started a week early to plan for a recovery week somewhere in the middle (I’m thinking we’ll need it after the first 20mi run). The plan also includes 2days of cross-training. My sister will probably stick to a 4day run schedule plus her weekly yoga class. I really like Midori’s jazzercise class (M/W/F) mornings at Foster Village and hope to make it at least twice a week. I love variety, so am planning to mix up workouts including zumba, hiking, yoga, swimming, and surfing. Who needs a gym membership?! =p My doctor will be happy—I’m SUPPOSED to be exercising 5days/week to help get my numbers down. Haven’t been so successful with that until recently. Now, if only I can start eating healthier. I’m happy that marathon training & carb-restricted diets don’t mix—I may have to consider marathon training for the rest of my life just so i can enjoy my beloved carbs! =) I definitely have to up my veggie intake though.
ANYWAY, week one will be done tomorrow. The speed workout (1.1) made me want to throw up because I started off too fast. Went a little slow on the short run (1.2) since i was still recovering from the first workout and jazzercise’s legwork. We’ll have to do 10miles tomorrow. Hope my GPS doesn’t get screwed up. Since the last endomondo app update, i can’t run that and my fitradio app simultaneously without messing up the distance tracking. 10miles is a long way to go without some tunes! If anyone has solutions to that dilemma (including ANDROID app recommendations) or any tips/advice/links for running, marathon training, or eating healthier, I’d love to hear them! =)
new beginnings…
got around to overhauling my much-neglected blog. woo! =) i don’t like the idea of having everything on my facebook page, so i’m mainly keeping the sordid details of my health and fitness journey here…hopefully, interspersed with other stuff i’m interested in as well… i’ll be starting my 16-week countdown to the honolulu marathon soon, so i thought i’d better get prepared. most of that adventure will be chronicled here… ganbarimasu! =)
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plus one =)
before
Last week, I’d mentioned the running program to my sister and was met with, “I HATE running. Have fun. No, i don’t want to join you.”
After seeing me survive my first workout & looking through the program details, she asked to tag along on today’s workout. I was ecstatic! Exercise doesn’t seem like so much work when you’re not alone and I’d been trying to schedule a walk with her unsuccessfully for months! She’d actually started walking on her own around the neighborhood with baby Sakura on her back a while ago, so it’s not like she’s TOTALLY out of shape. She’d wanted to go running while carrying Sakura too ~mom & I talked her out of it today, but may need experienced runners to talk her out of attempting that in the future. I can’t imagine that would EVER be a good idea…
We walked/ran around our neighborhood, planning our route so that we ended up at Starbucks so she could pick up her daily caramel macchiato. She did great & wants to go again on Saturday! Encourage her on fb~I’m excited for the next few months! =)
after
♥ ussan gordita 愛 