Not a good week.

It has been a week of bad decision making, negative emotions and stuff beyond my control going wrong. The idea of this blog is to write it all down and let it all go as of midnight tonight. So starting tomorrow (Monday) a wonderful week will start.

My motivation to workout has been non-existent. On Monday I went to a morning yoga class and then made excuses for every other day of the week. So for the whole week my exercise consisted of standing at work and the little bit of working out I do while I am coaching gymnastics. At the beginning of the week I thought, "Well, running is supposed to be fun, so I will take a day or two off because my mind clearly needs a few days." But that obviously turned in to a whole freakin week.
So my lack of exercising made me feel guilty and lazy which lead to mood swings (which were already bad enough with Aunt Flow in town) and then to bad eating decisions. When I run, I tend to crave food that is actually good for me ... food that fuels my body so that I can perform better. But because I was getting into a lazy pattern, I was sleeping more and craving sugary foods and coffee. And of course I caved to almost every craving.
I attempted to go to the gym last night, but they closed early for cleaning. I was 9pm, so it was too late and dark to run outside. Today I also attempted the gym, but that fell through and I remained on the couch for the evening. In order to make sure I get back out tomorrow, I text Pam. We are running together at 11am.

The whole student loan thing came up again this week. After they had declined me due to my immigration status a few months ago, I had put it behind me and started looking for other options. But last week a letter came in the mail to say that I had been accepted for the loan after all. I afraid to get excited. Dad called the loan company to see what it meant. After they explained to dad that all I had to do was accept the terms etc I called them to get ready to do so. I started getting excited thinking that I was finally going to return to school and finish my degree. Then on Friday morning I get a voicemail from the loan company saying that they were ready for my signature and that they just needed a few documents.
My heart sank at the word 'documents' because I knew they were talking about my permanent resident card, which I do not yet have. The tears started rolling before I even called them. I didnt want to call because I wanted to hold on to that tiny bit of hope they had given me. But I plucked up the courage to call. After a ten minute conversation I had come to realize that I was not getting the loan. I was devastated all over again and cried on my drive to work. Fool me once, shame on you ... fool me twice, shame on me.
A few months ago I told them to cancel my application ... they obviously didnt. It feels like they are dangling my future on a string in front of me and it is just out of reach.

So that has been my week. I am now taking a deep breath and hope that midnight will bring me to the greener grass. But dont get me wrong, there were some wonderful moments in my week ... My anniversary, I love my job at Native Foods and I love coaching gymnastics. So may my jobs and my love continue to fuel my life :)

ABC's of me.

A fun little blog so that my Blogger friends can get to know me a little better  :)

A~Age: 24

B~ Bed Size: Queen

C~Chore you hate: Laundry, because I have to plan my whole afternoon around it. But I do love having all those clean clothes once it's finally done.

D~Dogs: 1: Rat terrier mix named Brutus.

E~Essential Start your Day Item: A filling breakfast, whether it's cereal, eggs, or something more. I cannot leave the house without breakfast. If I do, it better be because we are going to Ihop or something.

F~Favorite Color: Don't really have one. I like all colors ... but most of my clothes are black.

G~Gold or Silver: Silver or white gold. I am really not a fan of yellow gold.

H~Height: 5 feet 1 inches ... well, almost haha

I~Instruments you play: I have tried and failed to learn many instruments. I will leave all the musical stuff up to my sister.

J~Job Title: Student/Server at a Vegan restaurant/gymnastics coach

K~Kids: Brutus is my only child.

L~Live: Irvine, California

M~Mom’s Name: Paula

N~Nicknames: Little Taco (which was shortened to LT), Mini ... those are the main ones.

O~Overnight Hospital Stays: Absolutely none :)

P~Pet Peeve: When other people make me late. Taking food off my plate without my permission. Talking on your cell phone while ordering food with me (at the restaurant).

Q~Quote from a Movie: My all time favorite comes from 'Finding Nemo' --- "Just keep swimming ..." because it can be applied to anything in life.  

S~Siblings: One little sister, Laura who will be 18 this month. Guess that means she isnt so little any more.

T~Time you wake up: Different times everyday ... but anywhere between 7:00am - 10:30am ... It just depends on my work/running schedule for that day.

U~Underwear: Necessary. But I will happily admit that I chose comfort over style.

V~Vegetable you Dislike: Do pickles count? --- I like almost every single vegetable that I have ever tried.

W~What Makes You Late: Facebook! Or sometimes walking to dog.

X~X-rays You’ve had Done: ummm, dental, foot, chest ... so 3.

Y~Yummy Food you Make: I love experimenting with vegan and vegetarian dishes. My seasoned roasted carrots are pretty awesome  ;)

Z~Zoo Animal Favorite: Elephant, hands down! 

Personal Record :)

I cannot believe that it has been almost a week and I am only getting here to write about my 5k race now. Last Saturday, February 26th, I had a 5k race. It was called the Hope and Harmony 5k and it was benefiting cancer patients.My goal for this race was to beat 30 minutes, which I did twice during my training. Almost a year ago I ran a 5k race in just over 34 minutes, so just to beat that would have been cool.
Anyway, long story short, I totally blew my last time and my fastest training time out of the water! My fastest 5k training time was 00:29:40 ... I ran the race in 00:23:44!!! Can you believe that?! I ran three 7.5 minute miles in a row. I have never ran a mile in less than 9 minutes before. I guess the training has been paying off and determination has a lot to answer for!

L-R: Travis, Lisa, Amanda and Myself before the race.

We had perfect running weather. It had rained all night long and stopped just about two hours before the race started, so the air felt clear and crisp. It was a little chilly though, so layers were necessary. Feeling pretty confident I stood near the beginning of the pack with plans to stay upfront as much as possible.
In the first mile quite a few people passed me, but having trained quite a bit, I knew my pace and stuck with it, even though I felt like I was being left behind. I just had to stay in my zone. My friend Pam, who I have been running with, told me that when it starts getting psychologically tough (around mile two), just focus on passing one person at a time, and to count every person that you pass. I did exactly that.
Around mile two, a lot of people that had passed me started walking. Having kept my pace, I didn't need to walk. So I started counting all the people I passed to keep my mind off of my tiring body. I passed a total of 14 people before I was just keeping up with the people running the same pace as myself. By the time that happened I was in my groove and there was no longer a need for distraction.
I remember only one person that I was keeping up with. It was a male runner probably in his 40's. I only remember him because of his lime green shoes hahaha.
I remember rounding the last corner and thinking, "What? I'm finished?? Noway!" I couldn't believe that I had completed the race already. I crossed the finish line and suddenly felt exhausted, but the runners high set in almost immediately and I felt great.

Getting ready to cross the finish line.

My finishers Medal

I was a great race to start off my year. I have plans for a 10k race on March 26th and a 10 mile race on May 14th. So I am upping my miles slowly and Pam is sticking right by my side  :)
Onwards and Upwards my Fellow runners!
Keep Running  :)

Long time no post!

Time has just been getting away from me lately! But not to worry, because I have been running almost every day :)  Its just under a 2 weeks before my 5k cancer run and I am feeling more than ready. Something awesome happened last week ... I reached a personal goal! My goal was to be able to run my 5k in under 30 minutes before the race. Last week I finally did it!!! I ran the 5k in 00:29:40 and just a few days later I ran it in 00:30:03. I was very proud. The runs felt strong  :)  Since I did it those two times (and will do it again before the race) and have no doubt I will succeed during the race with the adrenaline that will be running through my entire body. I am stoked!

I discovered something new this week. Zico coconut water. Only the mango flavor though. Did you know that it has more potassium than and banana? No matter how far or hard I run, a little pouch of the coconut water and I feel amazing. I'm sorry I didnt find it sooner!

My running buddy, Pam, has been awesome. She gets me up on the mornings that I dont want to run and gets me through the tough runs (the mentally tough runs). It's always easier when you have a running buddy!  :)

Anywayz, I want to try blogging more often, especially coming up to the race. But no promises.
Happy Running!

It has been a wonderful week to run.

It has been a while since I've had time to blog ... but don't worry ... I've had plenty of time to run! I ran every day last week except last Monday and yesterday (Sunday). I took the time to post it all on my daily mile profile just so that I can keep track.

The most exciting thing this week was that I gained a fabulous running buddy. Her name is Pam and she is a fellow gymnastics coach who used to run and is trying to get back into it. She ran with me on Wednesday and Friday morning. The cool thing about having a running buddy is that you stay out of your own head. We also keep each other going. I am less likely to walk or slow down when we run together. I look forward to our morning runs!

Also, it was Josh's birthday this past weekend and I bought him a bike ...  a beach cruiser to be exact.

His very first ride was with me while I was running. He wants to go with me on my long runs, to keep me company and so that we can spend more quality time together. I love it  :)  He can also carry my water bottle and snack on the long runs! hahaha  ;)

Lastly, we had lunch with Josh's cousin Jeni and her husband Mike yesterday. We went to Native Foods (the Vegan cafe I work in) because they are Vegan. Josh loved it ... it was only his 2nd time to eat the vegan food. Mike hasnt been vegan for very long but almost instantly felt the benefits! Josh was inspired and motivated by Mike and so we have decided to eat mostly vegan from now on. We will still eat fish, chicken and beef from time to time, but we want to have a diet consisting mostly of plant and soy based products as well as lots of veggies and whole grains so that we can be healthier as a couple.

Today Josh prepared his first vegan dish ... Fajitas baby!

We used Tempeh, lots of onions and peppers, refried beans, soy cheese, whole grain tortilla and home made guacamole. It was delicious! We both very much enjoyed it! Tastes just like the real thing!

Anyway, I must sign off. I am quite tired and would like to get an early night  :)  Sorry for the chaotic blog haha.

A Glorious Day for a Run in the Sun!

Yesterday was a gorgeous day here in Southern California and so I decided to explore a new trail. With it being a new trail, I didn't want to explore it alone and so I took Brutus along for the exercise. Before this run he hadn't gone more than 4 miles ... I mapped out a 5.6 mile run ... I guess it was 6 miles if you count the warm-up/cool-down walk to and from the trail. So I brought plenty of water just to be safe.

Brutus and I before the run

We set out on the trail and man was I excited when I saw how pretty is it. It's away from the main road, surrounded by trees and next to the Newport Bay.

 

There were many other people on the trail. Some running/walking alone or with friends. Some biking. Others looked like they were on their lunch break as they donned business attire. There were even horses on the trail! I felt like I had left the city and found some kind of nature bubble.
Brutus did fantastic. There were a few times where he started to fall behind but there were also times when he was pulling me to go faster. We completed the 5.6 miles in 01:06:03. That is around an 11 1/2 minute mile which isn't bad. Especially considering I stopped to take pictures!  :)

I cannot wait to complete this run again! I am thinking that I want to do it tomorrow, but we will see how I feel. Today I did some cross training of bicycle and rowing ... but I also worked a double. But after a full nights sleep I just may be ready to hit Brown Trail again :)

Happy Running!

Fighting for every last second!

Awesome 5k run today. It was a little chilly to start off, but the sun was shining and it wasn't long before I was nice and warm. Before today, the fastest time I'd ever run 5k was 00:32:00. Going out, my goal was to try beat that, if only by a few seconds. However, less than a mile into the run I could feel how tired my legs were from the 11 mile bike ride yesterday. But I kept going. I figured I could at least try to maintain my 32 minute 5k.
There were a few times that I looked ahead and felt like I wasn't getting anywhere, and you know how that can just get inside your head and ruin your entire run. So I pulled my visor down closer to my eyes so that I could only see 10ft in front of me. It worked because I didn't stop or slow down.
I completed the first mile in just under 10 minutes. That excited me, because I knew that I was ahead of myself. It was enough motivation to make me push a little harder. I could vision a little me 1/4 mile behind me and Lordy knows I couldn't let her beat me!  ;)
After a few minutes of pushing harder I wanted to walk ... perhaps I pushed a little too hard. Never-the-less I kept going, determined to beat myself. I got to the half-way point in just over 15 minutes. I was slowing down. But I could still make up time if started trying now. But my legs were aching.
When I could see the end of my run, I checked my watch. I was still winning, so I pushed. I ended up finishing the 5k run in 00:31:13! I was stoked. I had pushed myself hard considering my legs were tired. Funny what we can do when we really try. Unfortunately I felt like I was going to pass out for a brief moment after stopping, but that didn't dampen my spirit.

Beating your own time feels good. But I wasn't even home when I started asking myself if I could beat 31 minutes next time. Because what is 13 seconds?! Nothing really. I have been thinking this entire time, "In a few weeks running will be soooo easy!" ... but if I keep wanting to do better, I need to keep pushing hard, so it will never feel easier. So if some day it does feel like a cake walk, then I'm not pushing myself, and I could do better.

Anyway, I am working a double tomorrow so no running. Guess I have to take at least one day off a week  ;)  
Still feeling my runner's high ... hope you have one too  :)