Tag: running

My Half-Marathon

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A Distant Goal

One of my short-term goals is to run a half-marathon (and someday a full marathon), probably at the Austin Marathon in 2015. My sketchy plan was to build up my miles in preparation for that race, maybe running 3-5 miles Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, a rest day Saturday. On Sunday I’d do a long run of about 10 miles followed by a rest day on Monday. I felt this would be a nice, do-able routine.

But, when I injured my knee in October, I had to suspend my running for a few weeks to let it heal up. So, the routine got messed up. In November I slowly started running again and finally got back up to running my normal distance of about 5 miles, but taking at least one rest day between runs.

Weekend Run

Sunday morning, I began my normal run around the neighborhood.

It started out on a good note with the weather just about perfect. There were plenty of clouds to block the sun and keep the sky beautiful, a nice breeze, and mild temperatures. About a mile into the run I saw a turtle sunning itself in the middle of the boulevard, so I picked it up and put him by the nearby pond (where I assumed he came from). That immediately put me into an even better mood and I continued the run with a smile on my face.

Can I Run All the Way?

At this point the thought of running 13.1 miles crept into my head.  “Can I run all the way? Does it matter that my half-marathon is not at an official event?” These questions were floating around in my head while I started to calculate how many laps around my usual route I would need to make. I figured I would aim for three laps, but I had my phone with me telling me how long and far I have run every 10 minutes. I didn’t have to worry about getting the course perfect. With that in mind, I just kept running.

Lap 2 was uneventful but towards the end my legs started getting fatigued. I also started thinking that I didn’t really fuel up before the run since I didn’t think I would go for long. In fact, my breakfast consisted of two cups of coffee, a single glass of water, and about five macadamia nuts – not the best pre-race meal!

What’s Important about 13.1

I was also pondering why running a half-marathon was important to me, or rather, why it was a goal of mine. I guess it’s all about completing the distance, and not actually competing in an official event. I’ve run 5k and 10k races before and although they took place at nice locations and were fun, they don’t seem to have the appeal to me that they do to other people. I guess I am kind of a solo runner (and motorcyclist too). I really look forward to running alone. So the answer to my second question above – “Does it matter that my half-marathon is not an official event” – was “No”. I’m doing the distance, albeit at a slow pace. But 13.1 is 13.1, isn’t it?

Back to the run. Halfway through lap 3 (at around the 10 mile mark) I started to get really thirsty. My mouth was getting dry and my lips felt chapped. I also started to feel a little bit of pain in my right calf muscle, as if it were cramping up a bit. I was so close to my goal! Of course I didn’t want to risk my health or suffer dehydration, but I could taste the “finish line”. After a quick check of the rest of my body’s condition, I came to the conclusion that I could go on. I was pretty much in the home-stretch, heading back towards the house.

Success!

Continuing to watch my body condition closely, I kept chugging along and before long, I had passed the 13.1 mile mark! It kind of felt like when I passed the 1,000 mile mark on my Saddlesore 1,000 motorcycle ride. I knew I had achieved my goal, and any extra distance I ran was just the icing on the cake!

When I reached home, the total distance was 13.9 miles and it took me about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Now that I have completed my goal, I am looking forward to upping the distance and have learned a few things. Most important is that I need to fuel up properly, and even maybe plan a water stop at my house. Also, I learned that I need to allot about 50+ minutes per “lap” and I should be good!

I’m so happy to be running again!

Follow me on Strava or Runkeeper.

Running on Vacation

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I recently returned from a vacation to Japan and Hawaii to visit family. I almost didn’t bring my running shoes, but at the last minute decided to throw them in the suitcase (along with socks, shorts, and a shirt). I didn’t know if I would have a chance to do any running on vacation but I really wanted to try, plus my running gear is so light and takes up hardly any space, so I didn’t have much of an excuse not to bring it. Honestly, my primary motivation for bringing my gear was that I thought it would be cool to add some new data to my Runkeeper and Strava profile (gotta expand my running outside of Texas!), but it turned out to be so much more rewarding than just recording the data!

Osaka Castle Manhole Cover
Osaka Castle Manhole Cover

When I arrived in Japan, I suffered from a bit of jet lag and woke up at about 4:30am – an hour earlier than usual. The sun rises pretty early in Japan as compared to Texas so I was able to get out the door and start running around 5am, but I usually decided to wait until around 6 to hit the streets. I didn’t do any research as to what route I would take on that first day but I just wandered around the neighborhood and let the route decide itself. Surprisingly, I saw a few runners out there on the city streets with me! I noticed however that my neon green tank top was really different from the more conservative running t-shirts that everyone else was wearing. I was a little embarrassed, but whatever – I was on vacation! :) I ended up running over 3 miles that day, and when I returned home everyone was still sleeping so I could enjoy a nice long shower and then relax on the balcony.

Yodogawa River
Yodogawa River

I told Mariko about where I ran, and she suggested I run along the Yodogawa River and that I should be able to make it to the sea if I kept running that way. So for my next outing I traveled along the river and had a nice 2-mile run along the water. The path is popular with other runners, walkers, bicyclists, and people walking their dogs so it was always interesting looking at others (and their dogs). A lot of elderly people walk on that route too and they are usually very friendly offering a “Ohayogozaimasu” (good morning) as I pass by. This route would be my regular morning run while in Japan, and I eventually extended it to an 8.7 mile run to the sea! Actually, it didn’t really look like the sea because it is very industrialized, but still, I went just about as far as I could.

I modified my route a little bit to bypass one large intersection where I got delayed by a passing train that first day, and this alternate route was so cool because I got to see a sports field where people were playing gate ball, got to run through a tiny tunnel, ran on top of a wall right next to trees filled with cicadas (I had to cover my ears it was so loud!), and saw a bunch of cool scooters and motorbikes. That’s one fun thing about running – it’s easy to explore new places and see new things.

Every time I returned home from my morning run I felt so good and energized and ready for the day’s activities which included a lot of sightseeing and plenty of good food. The morning exercise really kept me going!

The next leg of our trip was in Hawaii where we stayed with my brother on the island of Oahu. His house is on the side of a steep hill which made the morning run very interesting. I actually only ran twice, but the first run was so memorable and one of the highlights of my trip. The first day in Hawaii, we went to the farmers market at Kapiolani Community College and picked up some fruit and had lunch. I saw a bunch of runners and my cousin Taylor said that many people run around Diamond Head and that it was probably the most popular run on the island. Well, that piqued my interest! So right then I decided I wanted to do that run, but I didn’t know if I needed to drive and park somewhere near the beginning of the run.

Diamond Head Crater Sign
Diamond Head Crater Sign

A couple of days later, though, I woke up before everyone else and went for a run down the hill and headed towards Diamond Head. Before long, I was at the community college we visited before, so I decided to try to run around Diamond Head. I stopped a few times to check Google maps to make sure I was going the right way but eventually I found myself running along with several others going east on Diamond Head road and completing the loop around the crater, then I headed back towards the house. I was on cloud nine! When I reached the steep hill I had to walk up it, but was still in a really happy state and that set the mood for the rest of the day, if not the rest of the trip!

If you like to exercise and like to travel, I highly recommend taking along some gear on your next vacation. Running gear is usually pretty light so it’s easy to pack, and running in a new environment is super fun and interesting. You’ll also have plenty of energy because the newness of the environment is so invigorating!

By the way, I ended up buying a more conservative short-sleeve running shirt while in Japan, so I didn’t have to wear my neon green tank!

Lunchtime Run

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Running Path
Photo info: SAMSUNG SGH-T999, 3.7mm, f/2.6, 1/2500 sec, ISO80
 Running Path

On my work-at-home day this week I went on a lunchtime run around the neighborhood. Every time I start running I have to gauge the condition of my left knee to make sure I am not putting too much stress on it. It’s still not 100% (I’d say it’s around 80%) and I don’t want to have any setbacks. Wow, I sound like a baseball player coming off the DL! But seriously, being injured and not being able to run really sucked. Just not having the option to run is so depressing!

That leads me to something I learned while I was a member of Koko Fit Club. The audio coaches there had some great motivational quotes that they would pass on. One of them was,

“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
-John Wooden

I decided then that I didn’t want to let a lack of physical fitness be a barrier to enjoying life. It’s a little different concept from what John Wooden meant, but it’s something that I want to keep in mind.

Below is another photo I took at the start of my run. The weather was so nice that day that I had to walk for a little bit while I took photos. But that was the only time I walked! The past couple months, I’d have to walk, run, walk with Koa. I called it “Run-walking”. I was pretty amazed that this time I had so much energy and the knee was pain-free so I ran the whole route. I could tell that the knee wasn’t back to normal, so I had to keep the pace extra-smooth and cautious. Still it’s a great feeling to have that sense of freedom again!

Nice Clouds
Photo info: SAMSUNG SGH-T999, 3.7mm, f/2.6, 1/7800 sec, ISO80
 Nice Clouds