motivational monday: one thing at a time

i wrote this long blog post last week thinking i'd post it, but i never did. what was it about? umm... about m and i, running for 30 days straight. actually, i think it was 32 straight since we started on january 26 and ended on february 26. yeah, pretty crazy, i know... and we actually did it too! we set out to run for a whole month with 1 mile being the bare minimum and we did it. like for real, no crazy excuses thrown in, nada, zilch, period. was it hard? you bet it was. it was insanely hard, especially during the first week. but as the days went on, it got a tad easier. i'm not saying it was easy towards the end or in the middle or at any point. every day we fought the urge to skip our daily runs. and each day the running won. we went out and ran. period.



last month i personally covered 67 miles (see graphic above) – the most i've ran in a long time. i think if i look back at my nike+ history, there are definitely months that i've ran more than the 67 i did last month. but 67 miles last month was a big accomplishment for me, especially lately anyway. i haven't been running a whole lot the last several months so it's a big deal to me. i'm just so proud of myself for sticking it through and so thankful to have m around who inspires me everyday to keep at it and stay positive.

with a few days of rest out of the way, this week is the start of a new challenge. i look forward to conquering another fitness goal. i'm just hoping that my eating habits will be better and that the number on the scale will actually reflect that. okay, maybe not the scale entirely, but other areas such as loose clothing, etc. you get the point.

below is the new challenge i hope to conquer by the end of the month. feel free to pin it for later, do it now, or whatever you like. and here's to us all getting fit, being healthy(ier) in our own body, our way. :)

this year's holiday running streak: run 1 mile a day, every day starting on thanksgiving day until new year's

you heard that right. i saw this on my fb feed and decided i would do it too! it's from runner's world mag website and they're pledging to run at least a mile a day every day starting on thanksgiving day and going all the way through until new year's day. it's only a mile, so how bad can that be? what's that? at least 12 minutes of my day on super slow days. but a 12-minute mile is too easy. i can probably nail this down in 10 or less. actually, it would be pretty awesome to see how fast i can run this mile come new year's day. anyway, my running pace at the moment sucks, so who knows. i'd be lucky if i could do it in 12!

okay, so there you have it. if you'd like to pledge to run a mile a day starting thanksgiving day and going up to new year's day... join in on the fun. it can't be that bad. let's see how many days you can do it in a row or if you have to take a rest day, run an extra mile the next day. not too difficult right? i am so looking forward to this. i have been slacking in the running department the last month or two. it's really bad. and we have many holiday festivities coming up, so it should be interesting to see how i will fit in the mile runs (rain or shine, or snow!) and doing everything else. :)

we survived the 2013 sf marathon

yes, we survived this year's san francisco marathon! :)

i had so much fun running the 1st half marathon at yesterday's san francisco marathon. so glad i only ran the half because there was no way i could have done the full. my mind wasn't set on running the full (hah! because i knew i wouldn't have trained for it properly, let alone i didn't even train for the half marathon except for throwing in a few long runs here and there). m ran the full though. he did okay (4:34:51). would have done better (he was on pace to finish around 4:15-4:20) than his time from last year (4:30) but he felt so nauseous/sick towards mile 23 and had to run slowly all the way to the finish line. still, his time was pretty good for being sick with 3+ miles to go.

i'm just so proud of us. we did incredible! okay, my time wasn't that great (2:11:58) but good enough considering i didn't know what to expect. my running pace since baby #2 has been very slow and i have yet to get it back up to pre-baby #2. i think i was just glad that i finished the half in a decent time. during the race i had hope i would do it under 2:10 but being only 2 minutes behind, i can't be too upset. especially if before the race i told myself i'd be glad if i did it under 2:20-2:30. of course, some day, i'd like to run a half under 2 hours. my best half is 2:04:27 and that was 2-1/2 years ago during the nike women's marathon. i was at my (running) peak, and doing so well. i hope i get back there again. i know i need to incorporate some mini races here and there. thinking of starting up that again and joining some running club sunday races. running with other people in a race setting will force me to run faster. i know i definitely ran faster during yesterday's race than i would typically on a normal run.

alright, that's it. so glad we finished and did alright. can't wait to sign up for next year's sf marathon! enjoy the instagram photos and a few others below, documenting yesterday's events. :)


yup, that's me before the race early yesterday morning, with the gorgeous bay bridge in the background.


i don't have the best camera for taking pictures in low light, but that's us before the race.


our colorful shoes, standing around and waiting for the race to start.


the start line @ sf marathon 2013


this is why the first half of the sf marathon is so awesome! running on the golden gate bridge in that gorgeous weather – no fog! :) photo via rocky arroyo and sf marathon fb page


yup, nothing like a finisher medal. photo via rocky arroyo and sf marathon fb page


me after 13.1 miles. happy and smiley! :)


i opted for a homemade curry noodle dish as a post-race meal instead of in-n-out burgers like last year.

running the sf (half) marathon this sunday!

can you believe it? it's here already! if you're in the city, come out and cheer on all the runners. i'll be one of them too, tackling the first half of the sf marathon. yay! thank goodness i'm not doing the full this year.

2013 boston marathon tragedy, 30-day exercise challenge update, new challenge

yesterday's tragic event at the boston marathon was just awful. it really hit close to home. we don't run big race events very often, but the boston marathon was definitely one race we'd hope to someday be able to run. i know it's one of those races where you'll have to qualify to get in or be a part of some kind of charity group. i figure if we can't qualify it ourselves, maybe we'd consider raising money for charity and running it that way. yes, all of this one day in the future as we tackle city marathons one at a time.

i heard about the bombings at this year's boston marathon 3 hours after the incidents. i know, a little late. but when i heard about it, my heart just dropped. i felt so bad for all those spectators, participants and event members near the explosion sites. just thinking about them how moments before they were cheering on all the runners (maybe even a loved one who was running the event) who were approaching the finish line or approaching and crossing the finish line themselves. oh, it's just awful. i think i went to bed thinking about it. i had to tell myself i needed to get to sleep because i had a 4 or 5 mile run this morning. i needed to keep up with my half marathon training as i will be running the sf marathon in june. i'm sure and hopeful that after yesterday's tragic event that security will be tighten around all marathons or big events. i heard the london marathon is this weekend and that the event will go on. the london marathon is also one event on our list we'd like to run in one day too. i told m we'd have to get an england address first before we can even apply to run. actually, he already has an england address, i just need to get one myself. or he'll just run it without me, and i can cheer him on. (you see? it's terrible right, just thinking about how it could be anyone, at any event.)

okay, moving onto other things more on a lighter note. how have i been doing in my 30-day exercise challenge? not bad actually. so far, i've passed the halfway mark and i am proud to say i have been going strong, still is and i hope to reach the finish line in top form. i did however modified what i had set out to do once i got going on the exercises though. instead of resting on the 7th day, i work out 5 days straight, then rest on the 6th day. after each rest day, i bump up my reps on the different exercises. i'm proud to say i can do 110 squats easy – yes, just like that. so far, so good. i think after this 30-day exercise challenge i'm going to do another one but with much tougher exercises such as lunges and arm strengthening moves. yeah, i'm not a big fan of lunges so that will be tough. we'll see how many lunges in a row i can do. ugh, i hate lunges, just thinking about it. hehe ;)

modified 30-day exercise challenge:

• day 1-5: start with 50 squats on day 1, increase squat count by 5 (should be at 70 squats on day 5), 30-sec plank, 20 pushups, 15-sec side planks (each side), 20 dips
• day 6: rest
• day 7-11: start with 80 squats, increase squat count by 5 (should be at 100 squats on day 11), 45-sec plank, 30 pushups, 30-sec side planks (each side), 30 dips
• day 12: rest
• day 13-17: start with 110 squats, increase squat count by 10 (should be at 150 squats on day 17), 60-sec plank, 40 pushups, 30-sec side planks (each side), 30-sec plank, 40 dips
• day 18: rest
• day 19-23: start with 160 squats, increase squat count by 10 (should be at 200 on day 23), 75-sec plank, 50 pushups, 45-sec side planks (each side), 45-sec plank, 50 dips
• day 24: rest
• day 25-29: start with 210 squats, increase squat count by 5 (should be at 230 on day 29), 90-sec plank, 60 pushups, 60-sec side planks (each side), 60-sec plank, 60 dips
• day 30: 250 squats, 2-min plank, 75 pushups, 75-sec side planks (each side), 90-sec plank, 75 dips

oh, i've joined a bunch of groups on fitbit to keep my motivation going. in one of the group forums, someone started an independence day (july 4th) challenge. it's for anyone who wants to lose or maintain weight or be able to do a certain set of exercise or whatever by july 4th. so my goal for that challenge is to lose those last 10 pounds! yes, it's so frustrating. 18 months later and i'm still not back to my pre-baby #2 weight. ugh, i know.

independence day challenge (as of 4/15/13):

• starting/current weight: 106 lb
• memorial day goal: 101 lb
• independence day goal: 97 lb

i think if i really discipline myself, i can get there. i'm also trying to eat better, so hopefully that will help a bit? i don't know. i haven't been eating very good lately, even with all this exercising and half-marathon training. so today i've decided that if only i can get myself to eat very good (strict 1200-1400 cal diet) 2 days in a row, i can splurge a little bit on the third day. so eat good 2 days, splurge a little 1 day, and just keep repeating. when i mean splurge, i don't mean eat all the crap i want. it just mean if i want to have ice cream, i can have some. just not the entire carton! so yes, with that said, good luck to me! :)

alright, we'll see where i am come july 4th! i'm excited. now i say, if you want to set a goal for this independence day challenge, why not?! whether it's losing weight, maintaining weight or having the ability to do 50 or 100 pushups in a row or 250 squats, etc… you can certainly join in!

okay, stay tune for updates. :)

---------------------------

random stats i'm throwing out there (more for me, personally):

• miles ran this year as of today (according to my data on garmin): 137.73 miles
• lifetime steps with fitbit as of this morning (member since feb 24, 2013): 749,254 steps
• weight lost since january 1 of this year: 3.2 lb
• today's weight: 105 lb

just run

it's already 17 months after little miss v and i still have about 10 pounds to shed (ideally 12). it's so awful! a year ago i was so much better off, with only 5 or 6 pounds. instead, i've gained a good 5-6 pounds since! it's terrible.

well, i've decided that i'm not going to beat myself about it. what i've decided to do is to take little itty bitty baby steps. losing weight is a tough thing to do. i should know, since i did it before after c. i just need to really put my mind to it, and i know i will get back to pre-baby #2 weight again. of course, get there and stay there.

these are the tiny steps i am currently taking and plan on keeping/sticking to it. i've recently been testing out the fitbit one (a wireless activity plus sleep tracker) and i say it's fantastic! it's given me this little extra motivation i need to really push myself. so below are the things i'm currently monitoring with the fitbit one device and other stuff on my own.

go get it, girl!

• walk at least 20 minutes during lunch (monday-friday)
• accumulate at least 10,000 steps every day (the more, the better!)
• have at least one 20,000 steps day in a week
• run 4x a week, 2-5 miles
• strength training exercises, 3x a week (no time limit required… just need to do some!)
• be watchful and careful of what i eat. eat more fruits as snacks. and remember to drink more milk or have a piece of cheese for that calcium requirement!

i think that's it. nothing fancy, but i must really try and stick with it. :)

start today

a year from now you'll wish you had started today.

yup, that's my little saying i tell myself, all the time whenever it comes to exercising and losing those last several pounds. about a year and a half ago we welcomed our little miss v and yes, even after all this time i am still trying to get rid of those pregnancy weight and regain my pre-baby figure. ideally, i'd like to be more fit and in much better shape than pre-baby, but first before i get there, i just need to focus on getting this first part out of the way first.

my pre-baby weight was 97.8 lb. right now, i'm about 7-8 lb off. i know, that doesn't sound like a lot but for a tiny person like me who stands a couple inches shy of 5 feet, it is. a year ago exactly, i was much lighter, at 101. so you can say i've gained 4-5 lb since. that's just awful and must be stopped right this minute.

earlier this week, starting with monday, i told myself i would incorporate more calisthenic type exercises in. you know, you typical pushups, crunches, lunges, squats, dips, etc. and i have been very good about it the last two nights. it doesn't take long and they're fairly simple to do. it's just a matter of doing it and getting it done, on a regular basis. of course, i will need to watch what i eat too. that's half the battle, in edition to regularly exercising. you see, i still run, just not as often and long (in miles) as i used to. i'm slowly building that back in as well. i'm hoping in a couple of weeks i will be running at least 10-15 miles regularly before i officially start my half-marathon training (m and i will be running the sf marathon in june -- i'm only doing the half though while he's tackling the full again). i also want to improve my speed/pace, so i will be doing a lot of speed work and anything else to help me run faster. i'd love to break the 2 hour mark for the half, but i may be setting myself up for failure as right now i can barely sustain a 10-min/mile pace for long runs. maybe if i aim to run the half at a 10-min/mile pace that would be a better goal? we'll see how these next few months are like.

below are some of the different types of exercises i've done and am hoping to do on a daily/weekly basis. these are great pinterest finds that i've pinned onto my board. if you have pinterest, i say go ahead and pin them yourself. good luck!

again, a year from now i want to look back at today and said i've really done it, made that change to be better, faster, stronger, fitter… for my tomorrow.


i love this leg exercise routine. it's so easy and simple, and really just takes 15 minutes to do! you think 15 minutes is long, but it goes by quickly! :)


simple and easy. piece of cake, right?


i love this one especially in that all of the workouts i can do without any equipment.


ditto. well said. motivation IS what gets you started and habit is what keeps you going. it's so true. these days, on mornings i don't run, i feel so blah. and i say, it's totally the habit. part of that daily ritual/habit kind of thing.


i want to look back a year from now, two, three, four, 10 years from now and said i've done something today i am thankful those many years from now. i know i am capable of it, so i must get out there and just do it!


anyone can look like this if they keep at it and believe. sure, maybe not exactly like this, but their version of it. i say if you believe, anything is possible. i sure hope i can look back at this a few years from now and say, yes, i've done it. believe!

super bowl sunday!

m, c and me before the kaiser race this morning :)

finally, the big day is here! m, c and i ran our kaiser race this morning. i have to say c was such a good sport. we did it in 40 minutes for his first ever 5k run. pretty awesome. m finished his half marathon in under 1:50. i think it was 1:47 and something second. pretty sweet there as well.

below are some pics from this morning's race. now, we're going to enjoy the super bowl and watch those 49ers bring home that 6th super bowl win. #questforsix

***UPDATE 2/4/13***

yes, i am so bummed the niners lost the super bowl last night. we were so close, but close isn't good enough. such a downer! oh well, better luck next season. it was a great season, just not great enough. but no doubt, only more great things are on the horizon. i know we'll be epic again. we've got a great coach and an awesome team. we'll get there again, and win it all. you can't always be perfect sometimes. #goniners.


c trying to get warm before the race


m at the 12-mile marker, on his way to the finish line!


all done!

running on super bowl sunday

that's m & me before the start of the 2011 kp half marathon & 5k fun run race. m ran the half and i ran the 5k with a friend.

that's right! this coming super bowl sunday m, c and i will be running in the kaiser permanente half marathon and 5k fun run. actually, m will be running the half marathon again (he did it in 2011) while c and i tackle the 5k (i ran the 5k in 2011 with a friend, since it was her first ever 5k race). this year, i'm so excited and so is c. the 5k will be his first ever running race, or any sports race for that matter. i think i am more excited than him... just the fact that our little baby is finally old enough to be running with us. i can't believe it! i just hope the experience is a good one and that he'll want to keep on racing. i have lots of little kid-friendly races i'd love him to join in with us.

now i have to say, running is definitely in the family. everyone runs: m, me, l & p! now with c running, that makes 5. we just have to see if little miss v will be joining us when she's no longer a baby. hehehe.. how exciting!

okay, stay tune. i'm sure i'll have some instagram photos to post after the event. and of course, the best part about this sunday? it's THE super bowl and our fave team, the san francisco 49ers are in it! we need that #questforsix, 6-0 record that is. it's been forever since the last time they've won it all. i was just thinking about that and i think it's really been 18 years. yeah, the 1994-95 season. it's a long time coming, so let's hope jim harbaugh and the boys bring that lombardi trophy home. little bro needs to win it this time around. john can have a super bowl ring, just not this season, and definitely not against us. :)

my new garmin forerunner 410 gps-enabled sports watch

my new garmin forerunner 410 gps-enabled sports watch, perfect for keeping track of my runs!

for christmas m surprised me with the garmin forerunner 410 gps watch. it was very unexpected as i did not have that down on my christmas wish list. of course since sometime last year i had been eyeing it but the price was still above $200 and i told myself and him that i wouldn't want to get it just yet or was not in any rush to get it. i still had my nike ipod + receiver i was using and that worked just fine for keeping track of my runs.

now, i'm so glad i got that garmin watch. shortly after christmas i went out on a run with both the watch and my nike+/ipod and discovered that the nike+ receiver had died on me. it was taking forever for the ipod to find the receiver/sensor. i guess after 4 years and 5 months, it finally gave out. it was okay while it lasted. we definitely went through our ups/downs. actually, it was more like a love/hate relationship. i loved it when it synced all my runs properly and hated it when it'd die (freeze up) on me halfway through my runs or didn't sync up my runs properly. i put over 1,500 miles on that thing! pretty impressive for myself personally. who knew i would run that many miles in a 4-year span?!

with the garmin gps watch plus heart rate monitor, i am loving it. i like the fact that with the gps my mileage are actual and not a guestimate. i mean, c'mon?! it's a gps and it's garmin! what's great is with the heart rate monitor, i can see how fit or unfit i am after i've synced my data up onto their site. the initial sync setup was a bit annoying, but after the setup, syncing runs was a piece of cake. i love seeing my average heart rate during a run or the maximum heart rate. my goal is to get my average down to a pretty good number. anywhere within the 140-150 range is great. right now it's a little higher than i'd like. maybe around 160ish? that's still not bad, but i'd like it lower. plus, my pace/speed's not very fast at the moment. i'm hoping over time my pace will pick up and i can get back to what it was before baby #2. right now i'm very slow.

overall, i'm loving the garmin watch + heart rate monitor. i don't miss nike and apple at all. with the sf marathon coming up in june, i'm hoping to do lots of training runs with this gadget. i know it'll be great. i look forward to many years of running data collected with this device. i can't wait to see where i am a year from now, two years, and so on. :)

if you're interested in getting this exact gamin 410 gps watch yourself or any other garmin gps watches, you can definitely check them out on amazon.

nwm 2012

C and I with MN at the finish line

yesterday was the nike women's marathon and i wasn't a participant, but a spectator. i decided to skip out on it this year a few weeks ago when i heard about their last chance spot on facebook. i'm so competitive with myself and knew that if i ran it this year i wouldn't beat my time from two years ago. that's because since baby #2 i haven't gotten my pace back to where it was before. anyway, i didn't run it, but my lil half sis did. she did fantastic for someone who's never ran longer than 5 miles in her entire life until yesterday! yeah, you can say she didn't train for this event. her "training" was going on a few runs prior to yesterday's race and finally running about 5-1/2 miles 5-6 days before the race. she did pretty darn good for a first timer, i say – finishing the half marathon in 2:37:21! great job girl! :)

running at lunch time

for the last three weeks i've been running during my lunch break, at least twice a week, in addition to my other morning runs that i do 3-4 times a week to start my day. so i guess you can say i'm running a lot, but really, it's not. sure, maybe i am running more often (5-6x/week), but my total distance is still not that much; averaging 15-20 miles a week isn't too bad.

two years ago to get ready for my first half marathon (nwm in october 2010) i started running during my lunch break. that was the only time i could squeeze in a run because the days were getting shorter. this time around i'm not training for any particular race, i'm just running to be running. six o'clock in the morning is no longer light and by the time i get home from work, i don't have time to go out and run. of course, i'm not sure if i'd be up for after work even if i did have time. so to find any kind of time to run during daylight, i decided to pick up running at lunch again. what's great about that is that the weather is usually always nice. it's typically sunny in downtown sf where i work; not too hot or cold. plus, i only run such short distances, anywhere between 2-3 miles that even if it was hot, it's okay. of course dodging people along market street can be tricky at times, but that's part of the fun you can say. i also don't enjoy stopping at red lights but i've since decided that red lights are good for me because it forces me to slow down and pick up again. may work for what some call it "interval" training. ;)

so what's on my current playlist? right now i love running to these:

Primadonna – marina and the diamonds
You Make Me Feel... (Feat. Sabi) – cobra starship
Yeah 3x – chris brown
Domino – jessie j
Young Forever (Feat. Mr Hudson) – jay-z
The One That Got Away – katy perry

looking forward to a year from now

so the olympics have been on the last week and a half. seeing all these athletes and their crazy amazing bodies is… what's the word? well, let's just say i've been inspired to get back into shape again. i mean really get back into shape and for good this time around. it's another added motivation. of course i know my body will never be as rock hard as theirs, but close enough will work for me. i just want to be lean and toned; in shape and healthy. i'm thinking i'll be approaching 30 in a couple of years, i really should try to enter my 30's at the best shape of my life and keep it.

 since baby #2, i've been easing myself back into exercising and eating better. but the last couple of months i've fallen off the wagon and the numbers on the scale are not good. i want to say i'm almost the same weight as i was exactly at this time (9-10 months post baby) compared to baby #1. i was hoping with baby #2 it would be different. it was for a while, until recently. and i can't go on with what i've been doing recently; eating whatever i wanted, skipping runs and strength training workouts. my weight has creeped up to 108 lb from 101 lb. i cannot be 108 lb this time around, no way!

to help me get into the best shape of my life i've decided to take baby steps, as we all should know, losing weight and looking good doesn't happen overnight. it takes a lot of time, effort and commitment. you must want it and do something about it to make it happen. you can say i'm making that first step today. with 2 months to go before my baby turns 1, i want to ensure that come her first birthday, i'm a step closer to my ideal figure. i'm not exactly sure what ideal is, but for now, let's say something in the ballpark of lean, toned (with muscle definitions please?! =/) and 95-100 lb.

these are the things i'll be doing for the next 2 months (and beyond):
- run 3-4x a week, 15 miles total to start, then slowing increasing to 25 miles/week
- strength training 3x a week (pilates, yoga, basic strength moves)
- 2 sets of 20-rep modified pushups, dips and lunges every night
- drink lots and lots of water
- eat at least 1 piece of fruit and 2 servings of veggie a day (i'm terrible at this, sometimes i'll go on for days without eating a single piece of fruit! veggies on the other hand i'm much better at, but still not good)
- portion control, really pay attention!

here are some things i'll keep as reminders along the way. the quotes below are great. they've helped me a lot in the past and i know they'll do the same this time around.


i love this quote. i try to tell myself this every day... i want to look ahead a year from now and know i've really done it or at least is getting there because i've made the commitment to start today.


this is my favorite all-time no slacking quote. no excuses, just do it!


here's me with my cutie pie (baby #1) at the nike women's marathon (nwm) expo in october 2010. i was at my lightest weight (96 lb) post baby #1, and before baby #2 of course. i want to get there again.


me before the nwm. i must get there again... not only with my figure, but also with my running speed! ran my first ever half marathon in 2:04. i know i can do it again. :)

we survived our first ever full marathon!

i cannot tell you how happy i felt when i crossed that finish line on sunday after having ran 26.2 miles. it felt soooooo good. just knowing that i put myself through 5+ hours of constant running and actually finishing it, it felt amazing. i felt so accomplished, so proud of myself. who knew that i would be running a full marathon, ever?! 

mark ran the full marathon as well. and like me, it was also his first. his pace was so much faster than mine so he started 2 waves ahead of me. i won't bored you all with all the details. but all i can say is, everything you've ever read about running a marathon, the stories from people who've ran it… yup, i agreed with all of them. it's all true. at some point during the run, you think to yourself, "why did i sign up for this? am i crazy? i'm never doing this again. ever!" that's exactly how i felt. your body starts to hurt in so many places, you're not sure you can keep going. it's a lot of mental as it is physical. mark can say the same too. but funny how the human brain works. we sure have a short-term memory or something. later that day after the race, mark went out for his usual evening walk. when he got back, he told me, "i'm going to run every san francisco marathon until i get my time under 4 hours; even if it takes me several years to get there. no other routes but this one because i want to compare my times." i'm thinking… "are you crazy?" i'm not so sure about running every sf marathon, but i know i will run that race again. i just don't know about next year. it's too soon to make a decision right now after having just ran it. 

i must say, we felt fantastic (okay, maybe a little tired, burnt out, whatever you may call it) after the run; but overall, it was a great feeling. again, like i said above, the thought of knowing that we've ran our first marathon was so great. it's one of those things some people talk about, say maybe.. maybe not, and just leave it at that. we're the ones that said, "okay, let's do it" and actually did it. one item checked off our bucket list. now mark cannot wait to run his next one. you can say he's got the bug. i think i kind of have it too. i just don't want to make any quick decisions right now. i want to make sure that when i do sign up for a full marathon again that i put in the time and commitment to train for it properly. i really want to improve on my race time. 

so how did we do and what were our times? i finished in 5 hours, 25 minutes and 16 seconds. mark finished in 4 hours, 30 minutes and 10 seconds. not too bad for our first marathon run -- especially without proper training! and for me personally, anything to make me feel good about myself (hehe), it's not too bad considering i did it 9 months post baby #2. that's quite a fete! now, i just wonder if we did train properly, would our finish time had been better? i don't know. we'll have to see how we do on our next one. right now, the only race i would do without thinking twice is a half marathon. yes, having ran a full, i feel like i could run the half in my sleep! with my eyes closed.. whatever! it's nothing like the full. and plus, you can go so much faster… no need to reserve any energy because it won't be as long. of course, i must train for it properly too. but i also know that if i don't really have the time to train, i can still wing it and do okay. of course, i want to improve my half marathon time so i may have to put in some effort and train for it. do it right or something to see if i can improve my time. the last time i ran one (the nike women's marathon in 2010 -- half marathon distance), my time was 2:04. i think i can do better.

oh, how am i feeling 2 days after the race? i will have to say my body is pretty awesome. it remembers very well or was much more forgiving this time around compared to 2 weekends ago when mark and i did our practice marathon run (i ran 24 miles, he actually ran 26!). i still feel a little sore, a little stiff, but i also feel like i can definitely run today if i have to. of course, i didn't and won't for the next several days. the earliest day i'll run again is next tuesday -- at least a good week after the race. it's pretty cool how i didn't get anything major or minor like i did that last time. yes, after that 24 miles, my body was in so much shock, my left foot hurt so much, i could barely walk. but this time around... easy peasy, i'm up and about doing a-ok. just still a little sore, but no biggie. :) mark on the other hand? ahhh... he's still in pain. but he said that's probably because he didn't give himself enough recovery time that last time (he ran 2 days after that practice run while still feeling achy and some pain). i'm such a chicken these days, any hints/signs of pain and i stop. i don't want to injure myself and have to stop running for weeks, months, years, what have you! i should know better as i've experienced it first hand 3 years ago.

alright, that's it for now. so yes, again... we survived! and we're so excited for our next marathon race, whenever that will be -- for me anyway (mark's next june 2013). :D

me at the expo on saturday, getting my running bag for sunday's race


a quick smile at the start line, waiting to run



making our way up to the starting line @ 6:10am



all smiles at the finish line holding my finisher’s medal. pretty awesome. :D



somewhere along mile 20-21, i heard two people behind me talking about a nice juicy burger. i told myself after the race that's exactly what i was going to have. either super duper or in-n-out. this WAS the perfect post-race meal.

running 26.2 miles this sunday

alright, so mark and i are running our first ever full marathon this sunday -- SF marathon. we've ran in this event before but only the 5k. yeah, that was back in 2009, i believe. at about almost a year since i (we) picked up running (me, running again after years of hiatus). of course, when we first started running we never thought we'd even run a full marathon. now, it is really almost here. i'm just hoping we'll both be able to finish it a-ok.

a couple of weeks ago we did our (one) long training run for this race. oh my, trust me... if i could do it over again, i'd so do it differently. what's different? ummm, actually train for it properly! you see, being our typical self, we knew the whole 26.2 miles would be hard. we just didn't realize how hard it was and what a different beast this was until 2/3 of the way into our ridiculously long run. how long was long? let's just say mark's training run was your full 26.2 miles and i could only manage to complete 24 miles. still, it was 24 miles! who runs 24 miles before a marathon? yeah, most people would tell you to stop at 20 or something. and of course, you add on mileage slowly over time. definitely do not do what i did. what's that? ahhh.. yeah, running about 2-4 miles 4 times a week, and then suddenly jumping to running 24 miles. that's a giant no-no. crazy stuff you put your body through, not cool! well, yup.. that's exactly what i did. if you could look at my nike+ running logs, i went from running 1.8 miles 2 days before running 24 miles. that's pretty crazy. i hope to not do this again -- the (not) training part.

we are so excited for this sunday. we're picking up our running packets tomorrow at the expo and hoping to get to bed early for an early morning come sunday morning. i'm hoping and keeping my fingers cross that sunday morning will be awful. i know the weather reports say it'll be nice and sunny, but i'm really hoping the running gods are on our side and give us some of your typical SF gloomy foggy misty weather early sunday morning until around 10:30am?! yeah, that's about the time i'll almost be done with my race. of course, this may be too much to ask for. really, i just hope i finish within the course limit of 6 hours. anything faster than that is a bonus.

alright, stay tuned! will be back after sunday to tell all about it. :)

say hello!

hi there! as you can see, this is the official first entry of this newly created blog. design. bake. run. those three things are what i love to do most, apart from spending time with family and friends, of course. but as you'll notice as i get going on this blog, and hopefully i won't veer off course a whole lot here, but the majority of this blog will consist of anything design related, baking (cooking sometimes?!) and/or running (okay, exercise) happenings in and around my life. at least those are my intentions at the moment. so far now, sit back and enjoy some goodies i've collected for this first entry.


THE GIRL:


yes, that above is yours truly and my always so wonderful and supportive hubby!


while in paris this spring 2012, i got to try pierre herme. this is by far my favorite macaron place!


i love early morning runs. not the best terrain, but for now, this will do.


this is where we call home. i love this city!

THE GOODS:


coffee nutella and salted caramel macarons for sabrina & andrew; photo courtesy of sabrina ko


i love baking mini cupcakes


regular size cupcakes are delish as well!


but lately, macarons have taken over. i'm still trying to perfect these babies.

[note: all baked goods apart from pierre herme, of course, were baked by me! :)]