Monday, January 31, 2011

“Just use Vaseline”

“Hey man, what do I use to prevent bloody nipples?”
“hmm, I use band-aids but you can just use Vaseline.”

Not a conversation I really wanted to have and be overheard here at work. But It happened. And it was overheard… with the strange look that followed.

Note to self, keywords to avoid at work: nipples, Vaseline.

Herd Mentality



I had a great run today at lunch with two co-workers. For some reason, it seemed so much easier than when I’d run by myself. What part of our programming says run with peers = run faster, easier? I am a running loner. For the most part, I like the time alone to just reflect, think, and find that happy place inside my mind. But today I took off the headphones and chatted a bit with Travis and Greg on a pretty brisk 6 miler. It felt relatively easy and I was a little surprised to see the time of 7:46 at mile one. I think I pushed them a little and to their credit, they hung on for the first three. I took it down a notch between 4-5 before pushing again at mile 6. I can clearly see that group running has its benefits especially if you have a competitive bunch.

I miss running with Yoda. I had my best runs with him running at my heel. Is there anyone out there up to the challenge of pushing this pedestrian runner?

One race, one mile, and one step at a time,
Jeff
1/31/11
6M - Group run (notch down back ½)
746/745/741/857/829/803
http://connect.garmin.com/player/66096297

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Sunday Potpourri

Pot.pour.ri (noun)
1. A collection of fragrant dried flowers. A collection of dried flower petals, leaves, herbs, and spices that is used to scent the air.
2. Miscellaneous mixture. A mixture of miscellaneous things

• Happy birthday to my 3 year old daughter! She has the meanest “runner face” when she goes on our runs. Love her.
• There is no such thing as sweat-proof sun block. Do not apply over eyes.
• guess the song and artist:

You can go the distance
We'll find out in the long run
We can handle some resistance
If our love is a strong one
People talkin' about is
they got nothin' else to do
When it all comes down we will
still come through
In the long run

One race, one mile, and one step at a time

Jeff

Friday, January 28, 2011

Biggest loser

This exchange from my facebook page yesterday:

Marathon Liu (status) 185 after dinner. 15 to go
Mike S.: 6 ft 1 in and you want to weigh 170??? What are you thinking!!!
David K.: He wants the 'waif' look.

Now, now... not sure if I can get down to 170 lbs but here is some science that supports my theory that dropping 20 lbs can take off 20 min in my marathon time. Excellent Runners World article below:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-304--11903-0,00.html

Yep! and an excuse to buy new threads :) Still debating if I should run or rest today. leaning heavy on rest.

One race, one mile, and one step at a time

Jeff

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Running on fumes

Five straight days of running and I am running on fumes. I think I might take a day off tomorrow because today’s “recovery” run didn’t feel easy. Was very close to resting today but talked myself into running anyway. Last four looked like this…
1/24 7 – Hard (7:55 avg)
1/25 4 – Hard (8:13)
1/26 6.2 – Easy (8:46)
1/27 6.1 – Recovery (8:55)
If I ran tomorrow I am not sure if I’d be able to put in a good effort. Let’s see how it feels tomorrow morning.
I will definitely get up into the 30 mile range for the week… maybe 40?

One race, one mile, and one step at a time
Jeff
1/27/11 6M 52:31
840/846/903/822/833/904
http://connect.garmin.com/player/65412230

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Gotham City

A frequently asked question is “what is your favorite marathon so far?”
I’ve only ran 15 States (20 races) so far. Every town and race has been unique in its own way. From the revitalized downtown of Phoenix to the serenity of Emerald Bay (Tahoe), there was something special and memorable from each race. I love Los Angeles, but… If I had to choose one race as my favorite, BY FAR, it would have to be the New York City Marathon (1998, 2002).
To experience the sights, smells, and people of all five boroughs of NYC is really an awesome experience on its own. Now add 30,000 marathoners from around the world and millions of New York’s finest in the crowd is really a life time experience. In particular was 2002. That was one year after the 911 attacks and emotions were still high and the runners and the city felt absolutely united on race day. My favorite memory of the race is near the 16 mile mark when one exits Queensboro Bridge and enters back onto Manhattan. To hear and see the roar of the thousands of fans gave me an emotional lift and sent goose bumps up my spine.
This is a very special race, difficult to get in (lottery system), but something that given the chance, every marathoner should experience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boauNvB9h6I

Oh, a funny little story about the NYC marathon. A week before the NYC marathon, my wife was given the chance to attend a party (w/ guest) at the Playboy Mansion that took place the same weekend of the race. She asked if I would consider not going to NY in order to attend the party. I said, “There will be other opportunities to go to the Mansion in the future...”
Well, I am still waiting.

One race, one mile, and one step at a time
Jeff
1/25/11
4M 32:55 Easy
816/824/759/814 http://connect.garmin.com/player/65137880

Monday, January 24, 2011

Return of the Jedi


"Do, or do not. There is no 'try'." – Yoda



This email exchange between me and Mike L. (aka Yoda)

me: I lost my HRM. Don’t know why I keep losing my stuff. Ergh!
I want to be able to have a solid base of 30 miles and go into a 18 week training cycle this time. 3:45 means 8:30/mile. Going to be a test.

Yoda:30 miles base - Is this miles per week? If so, we need to get you up to at least 50!

me: Yes sir. 30 mile solid pre-training. 50+ during.

Yoda: 50 miles year round, unless you are building up to a race, then 60-80.

Damn Yoda! I thought you were banished to a far away planet!

1+1=?

It seems that so much of marathoning is the constant counting. My brain hurts.

Today marks 22 weeks until the Seattle marathon, which is 4 more weeks until official training begins.
In order to hit my goal of 3:45 (225 minutes), I will need to average 8:34 min/mile.
Today begins the building of a 30-40 mile week.
In order to hit 30 miles for the week, I’ll need to run a 6-8 miler during lunch.
In order to make a 6 miler at lunch with shower time, I will need to average roughly a 8 min mile =48 minutes which gives me 5-7 minutes to shower and 5-7 minutes to change and walk to and from my desk to the gym.
Get the picture?

I LOVE my Garmin 405… it provides me with real time pace and distance as I am running. But it has been a blessing and a curse. I can’t get myself to stop looking at the clock as I run. I seriously need to get a few runs in w/out my Garmin and try to enjoy the run and feel the run.
Sigh, well not today. Maybe another…

One race, one mile, and one step at a time,
Jeff
1/24/11
7M – 55:30 felt incredible
803/759/810/808/732/744/751
1040cals

Friday, January 21, 2011

Everyone is doing it...

Running Marathons that is!

Lance Armstrong, 2006 (2:59:36) and 2007 (2:46:43) New York City Marathon
William Baldwin, New York City Marathon 3:24:29
John Edwards, Marine Corps Marathon 3:30:18
Michael Dukakis, Boston Marathon 3:31:00
Natalie Morales, New York City Marathon (3:31:02) - I have no idea who she is
George W. Bush, 1993 Houston Marathon (3:44:52)
Ed Norton, 2009 New York City Marathon (3:48:01)
Anthony Edwards, 2003 Chicago Marathon (3:55:40) and 2009 NYC Marathon (4:08:20)
Will Ferrell, 2003 Boston Marathon (3:56:12)
Sarah Palin, 2005 Humpy's Marathon (3:59:36)
Bobby Flay, 2010 New York City Marathon (4:01:37) I am impressed!
Sean Combs (P. Diddy) 2003 New York City Marathon (4:14:54)
Alanis Morissette, 2009 New York City Marathon (4:28:45)
Oprah Winfrey, 1994 Marine Corps Marathon (4:29:15)
Lisa Ling, Boston Marathon 4:34:18
Al Gore, Marine Corps Marathon 4:58:25
Subway Jared, 2010 NYC Marathon 5:13
Katie Holmes, 2007 New York City Marathon (5:29:58)
Mario López, 2002 Boston Marathon (5:41:42)

Thursday, January 20, 2011

I am runner

Who qualifies as a “runner”? Is there a magical pace that separates a jog from a run?
I often get questions from people who are curious about my running. I think for the most part people are genuinely interested in the topic of marathons and running. But sometimes, I get a line questioning from THOSE OTHERS to gauge whether I am a “real” runner. Sometimes it is followed by a kind of a dismissive smirk (I am not fast). Yet some others will arrange another line of questioning to illustrate the (admitted) absurdity in participating in “so many races.”
What’s your PR?... oh…
Have you ran Boston?
Didn’t P Diddy (insert name of celeberty here, Oprah, etc.) run faster than that?
Do you win in these races? Do you win any money?

I think what qualifies a person as a runner is simply his/her commitment to the act of running. A runner moves her body to improve herself. She lifts her mind, body, and spirit with the physical act. She inspires others. That is a runner.

He is an extraordinary runner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbKp2HeUpkY (2:08)
And so is she: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x32P3eiZDkc (10:04)

I am proud to be a pedestrian runner. Each of us has our own race, pace, and goal. Get out there and run. We are all runners.

One race, one mile, and one step at a time,
Jeff
1/20/11
http://connect.garmin.com/player/64330976
6M – 50:18 sick/cold
836/842/834/802/804/816

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Need Inspiration?

...there are days like this when things aren't exactly peachy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPLCaAu_H2U

this vid reminds me of all the wonderful things I've been blessed with in my life and everything is about perspective. It also shows that nothing is impossible and we all have to power to overcome insurmountable obstacles...

one race, one mile, and one step at a time

Jeff

1/18/11
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/64033147
7.39M
813/824/827/826/756/748/754

Monday, January 17, 2011

The Chinese Dad and Running Kids

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html

I am sure some of you have already read the above article. It has certainly create a storm of controversy and debate over many Facebook pages. Being Chinese and having been raised in "the Chinese way" but raising two kids in America and living "the American life," made this article particularly difficult to process. Looking at how I am raising my two kids, I definitely see more of the "Chinese parent" in me than the "Western parent." The article has led to some self reflection about about my parenting style and raised the question of "am I pushing the kids too much?"

Take today for example, if anyone and witness the run with me and A at the track, they most definitely would have called child services. My son A is seven years old and has been running the track with me since he was four. While I have no real aspiration for him to have a track/field scholarship in college (he's got my slow genes after all), he is a fairly athletic kid. Last year at the OC kids marathon, he ran a 9:46 mile. Not bad! I was very proud of his time (while being astonished at his classmate's winning time of 7:02). He surpass his race time last year during one of our runs with a PR of 9:40... My offer to A was simple, run faster than 9:40 then he can have a pack of Pokemon cards...

So we start running today and we are rounding the first lap at 10:40 pace. I tell him "you'll need to pick it up A or you are not going to be close" "But I am running as hard as I can" "No you are not" "But you said to start easy then run finish strong" "but you need to pick it up" "But I am (now in a whining voice)" "we just hit 0.5Ms and you are at 10:20, you need to pick it up or you are not going to do it" "stop teasing me dad" "I am not teasing you, stop whining and pick it up" "I am running as hard as I can dad..."

We finish that first mile at 10:30. As we finish, he was near tears. I said to him "go sit down over there and pout, or play by the swing, b/c I am going to run some more... B/C there is no whining in running... you are NOT running as hard as you can b/c I've seen you run much faster and you are not doing that kid." "I want to run some more" "nah, you just go sit and pout" "I want to run!...." So I take off and he follows, running past me. We finish that second mile at 9:28... he was so happy. I was very happy and proud.

Am I pushing him? Every day! I am trying to teach the kid that whining and crying is not acceptable and he must push himself to achieve things! Am I pushing him too hard? I don't think so. Am I wrong? As we walked home, I explained to him what the expression "sand-bagging" meant... as he was clearly doing on the first mile. I will not and cannot allow him to grow up thinking that is ok.
So the next time you see a father pestering his son to go faster on their run in the neighborhood... know that its just this pedestrian runner trying to do the right thing.

One race, one mile, and one step at a time,

1/17/11 3M - Vibrams
1030/928/657

Saturday, January 15, 2011

So Cal Winters


Its harsh ain't it? 79 degrees today in sunny southern California. I am truly blessed to live here where its almost always running weather. While my 7 year old had his basketball practice today, I ran near the foothills of Irvine and had a great little run. It was HOT HOT HOT! Only 5 miles today with a mile walk earlier in the morning with the family.

Oh, by the way, have I shown everyone my Vibrams? I have really grown to love these cushion-less shoes. I already see an increase in my overall stability and leg/feet strength after about two weeks of workouts in them. Word of caution, work them in slowly and build milage in them slowly... they take some getting used to.

one race, one mile, and one step at a time
Jeff

1/15/11
5M+1M Walk
838/832/802/800/750

Friday, January 14, 2011

Playlist

I know that some purists hate the very idea of running with music. Some consider it an assist and some consider it an impairment to the experience. I fully respect these views. But, I think of music as an essential element to my running. My iPod and I together on 99% of my runs. I do take the extra precautions when running w/ headphones. Hug the right shoulder and turn the sound down so that I can still hear some of the ambient noise. Safety first!

What better way to enjoy the miles with your own soundtrack? Here is a sampling from my race soundtrack entitled “no limits”:

Rocket Man Elton John
Empire State of Mind Jay-Z
Cinderella Man Eminem
NY State of Mind Nas
I Go To Work Kool Moe Dee
Yeah! Usher
Paid in Full Eric B & Rakim
Moment of Clarity Jay-Z
Hit the Road Jack Ray Charles
Run this Town Jay-Z
Unbelievable Notorious BIG
Eye of the Tiger (I know its corny, but I love it)


What's in your playlist?

One race, one mile, and one step at a time
Jeff
1/14/11 – Zero day

Thursday, January 13, 2011

If I can, so can you...



This is the old me (1993, 230+lbs honestly I stopped measuring after hitting 230, size 40 w)











 






 
 

 

2011 (187 size 34 w)








 





 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



 
 
 
 



 
 
 
 
2014 (175 32w)





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Focus focus...

The human mind is a powerful (and often weak) thing. Why is it that, when I schedule a 8 miler that I get tired at mile 7? But why is it that, when I then schedule a 13 miler that I don’t get tired until mile 12? Mental block! Self limits that hinders performance… has it happened to you?
Running has been a great test and training of the mind for me. I don’t always succeed but it is a constant practice to put away doubts and excuses. “oh, its too cold this morning” “oh, its too hot today” “kids kept me up last night” “im on vacation!”… the list goes on and on… I’m sure everyone has got some good excuses. (send me your best ones!)
The marathon race IS the ultimate test of will. As I have often said, I learn a little bit more about what I am made of at each race. There comes a point in the race that your body will overpower your mind… this is most commonly referred to as “the wall.” As a mid to back-of-the-pack runner, the greatest reward of the marathon is often how I overcome that mental wall.
Therefore, marathon training is the place to build the physical and more importantly, the mental strength to withstand the vulnerabilities. But even the casual runner can gain the same benefits with a consistent running routine. Just bring the running shoes and leave the excuses!
here is a great quote…
"Limits like fears, are often just illusions." - Michael Jordan @ HOF ceremony

One race, one mile, and one step at a time
Jeff
1/13/11
http://connect.garmin.com/player/63271111
6M – 49:15
821/820/826/747/806/812 – 918 cal

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

I am back...

It has been a long, long layoff since my last blog entry (yahoo 360 May 24th 2008). In that entry, I had just completed the Coeur d'Alene marathon for my 11th State with a 4:08 finish (PR at that time). So what's happened since? Well, four more marathons/states came off the map... Omaha NE, New Orleans, LA (new PR 3:58), Stillwater, MN, and Tulsa, OK. That brings the new state count to 15! Still a long ways to go but we are certainly making progress.

Goals for 2011? well, suddenly high on the list is to revive the blogging! I miss communicating with sentences... something Facebook just can't provide. As for race planning, a slight deviation from the previous few year. Instead of planning for 3 races into early, mid, and late calendar year, I've decided to give myself the first 6 months of the year for the first race of the year. The Seattle Marathon on June 25, 2011!
Last year, after the PR run in New Orleans, I just felt mentally exhausted... with 4 months between each of the following race, I had little left in the tank... resulting in fairly poor performances.
This year, I will push for a new PR in June and then pull back for two late year races where I will try to actually enjoy the run.

Also very exciting is commitments (actually registration!) by Larry C, Mike & MariAnne C, and Tito N to join me in Seattle. More incentive to train hard and put on a good performance.


One race, one mile, and one step at a time...

Jeff