Just in case you haven’t heard yet, last week I won the iFitness' giveaway to run the Disneyland Half Marathon. This race is ON my birthday, September 4th. I am still in disbelief. I need start looking for a fun running costume. Here are some inspiration images:
Rapunzel
Mrs. Incredible
Sleeping Beauty
Cast your votes!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
America's Finest City (AFC) Half Marathon Recap
Race Course
Elevation
Saturday, August 20th - Race Expo at the Sheraton Hotel
After picking up my running bib, I stopped by the iFitness stand to say hi and thank them for the BEST birthday present ever. I also purchased two bottles for my hydration belt. I couldn't talk very much since my little kids started playing around with the belts in the table ;-0
Then, I swung by Glam Runner and bought my first tutu. I talked briefly to someone that looked very familiar. This morning, I found out it was Monika with a K. I read her blog a while back when I checking for other Bikram yoginis that love to run. She had posted a picture in a tutu with a caption "Bending It Like Bikram" :-)
Finally, I went to pick up my technical t-shirt. Unfortunately, it was too big. I ordered a women's small-size but they gave me a men's small-size. What a shame! I talked to one of the event organizers and he mentioned I could exchange it after the race, as long it's not worn. OK, I'll do that. Next to this area, there was a stand were you could get your running bib printed on the shirt. How nice! This is something I've never seen in an expo before. Since, mine didn't fit, I bought a new shirt and did that. My husband had his official t-shirt printed too.
After the expo, we drove to my new favorite vegan restaurant, Love Hut, to carb load. On the way there, I was checking my husband's shirt versus mine to see how big they were and realized that he had printed his bib on my technical shirt instead. Oh noooo! hahaha, no luck with t-shirts today.
Sunday, August 21st - Race day
My husband and I woke up at 4:00 am and drove to Balboa Park. We actually parked at the Zoo, as many people suggested the day before. Parking was relatively easy. We walked for 5 minutes and picked up the bus right away. The ride to the Cabrillo National Monument seemed an eternity. It reminded me of the Rock 'N' Roll Las Vegas bus ride from the Staples Center to the Griffin Park. We arrived at the park at 5:30 am and met some friends. The next hour and a half went by really fast.
I usually take pictures before the race at the starting line, preferable holding the corral 1 sign, which is usually reserved for the fastest runner. I am not one of them yet but I like the idea. It's all about visualization. Here, there was not a glamorous starting line nor corrals. We decided to move to the front of the line to avoid the crowds. I started fast. Not a BIG surprise here. The uphill rollers were pleasant. It was nice running with a breeze. The temperatures were perfect. Not too cold, not too hot. I've been training during lunch time lately when it's extremely hot and almost unbearable.
I picked some time during this part of the course. I was concern about the upcoming plunge into Point Loma. I am not too thrilled about downhills, especially after running La Jolla Half Marathon. I find them more challenging than uphills. This was my main concern. I ran and ran and ran and waited for the downhill without realizing that I was running it. I guess I was expecting some crazy incline like the one that followed Torrey Pine.
Next time I checked my Garmin, I was already in the Lindbergh Field Airport area. This part of the course was flat, a little too long and boring. I felt like stopping a couple of times during this stretch but I kept going thinking "you gotta finish this race. You either run it or walk it all the way to the end. It's up to you". I ran out of gas when we reached 6th avenue but kept going at a much slower pace. Soon enough, we were at beautiful Balboa Park. Once we crossed the bridge, I gave it my 100% and hammered it all the way to the end. To my surprise, I PR'ed on this race, 2:10:44. I am happy but I feel I could have run harder the 6th avenue ( 11 min/mile ouch!). I need more hill training.
Overall, I am overjoyed. This is exactly how I wanted to finish the Triple Crown. This is my favorite out of the three races. My husband PR'ed as well with 2:15. Yahooo!
Monday, August 22, 2011
NYC Marathon Training: Week 6 & 7 ( Aug 8th - 21st) - The week I went LOCA for running
I am head-over-heels in love with running. I've never realized until last Wednesday (August 9th), when Run Faster, mommy! announced in her page that iFitness was giving away an entry to the Disneyland Half Marathon. Let me explain. The race is ON my birthday, September 4th. I can't think of a better way to spend my special day than running at Disneyland!
This was the Facebook post on iFitness' wall:
We love making your dreams come true…and not just with our belts. :-)
As the proud Official Race Belt for runDisney we are excited to giveaway a FREE entry to the Disneyland ½ Marathon on September 4, 2011.
Rules:
1. Get 5 people to “like” us on Facebook or “follow” us on Twitter.
2. We must know that they came from you, so they need to post your name in a comment or tweet.
Example:
FB: John Doe sent me!
Tweet: @JohnDoe sent me to @iFitnessRunning #runDisney #Free entry.
3. Per 5 people you send qualifies you for 1 entry into the giveaway.
So basically, the more people you send, the more entries you get.
Ready, set, gooooo!!!!
By: IFitness
The winner was to be announced 7 days later, on Wednesday 10th
OMG! This was my second chance. When I went to signed up for it a couple of months ago, it was already SOLD OUT! I even sent an email to rundisney and they came back with "run for a charity or 2012". Well, the 2012 race is not going to be ON my birthday. I had to win this or wait until 2016.
Needless to say, I went a little loca! I "campaigned" tirelessly for this giveaway. I emailed, called, tweeted and facebooked my entire world. Guess what happened next? With alittle LOT of help from my family, close friends, friends of friends, friends of friends of friends, a few strangers and a couple of awesome bloggers (Heather from Run Faster, mommy! and Caitlin from Healthy Tipping Point ), I was able to get enough entries and WON!
Thanks again to everyone that voted for me. To my friends at iFitness, thanks for making my dreams come true. It's the BEST birthday present EVER!
As for NYC training during these 2 weeks, I stuck to the program. On week 6, I ran 20 miles and took 4 Bikram Yoga classes. I put in more miles than scheduled. On week 7, I miss two 3 mile runs and 2 Bikram Yoga classes due to work schedule and kid's summer school events. I don't feel bad about it. I PR'ed in the AFC's Half Marathon with a 2:10:44. Recap coming up soon ...
Week 6 (Aug 8th - 14th)
Week 7 - Aug 15th - 21st
This was the Facebook post on iFitness' wall:
We love making your dreams come true…and not just with our belts. :-)
As the proud Official Race Belt for runDisney we are excited to giveaway a FREE entry to the Disneyland ½ Marathon on September 4, 2011.
Rules:
1. Get 5 people to “like” us on Facebook or “follow” us on Twitter.
2. We must know that they came from you, so they need to post your name in a comment or tweet.
Example:
FB: John Doe sent me!
Tweet: @JohnDoe sent me to @iFitnessRunning #runDisney #Free entry.
3. Per 5 people you send qualifies you for 1 entry into the giveaway.
So basically, the more people you send, the more entries you get.
Ready, set, gooooo!!!!
By: IFitness
The winner was to be announced 7 days later, on Wednesday 10th
OMG! This was my second chance. When I went to signed up for it a couple of months ago, it was already SOLD OUT! I even sent an email to rundisney and they came back with "run for a charity or 2012". Well, the 2012 race is not going to be ON my birthday. I had to win this or wait until 2016.
Needless to say, I went a little loca! I "campaigned" tirelessly for this giveaway. I emailed, called, tweeted and facebooked my entire world. Guess what happened next? With a
Thanks again to everyone that voted for me. To my friends at iFitness, thanks for making my dreams come true. It's the BEST birthday present EVER!
As for NYC training during these 2 weeks, I stuck to the program. On week 6, I ran 20 miles and took 4 Bikram Yoga classes. I put in more miles than scheduled. On week 7, I miss two 3 mile runs and 2 Bikram Yoga classes due to work schedule and kid's summer school events. I don't feel bad about it. I PR'ed in the AFC's Half Marathon with a 2:10:44. Recap coming up soon ...
Week 6 (Aug 8th - 14th)
| Mon: | REST |
| Tue: | 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:00am + 3 mile lunch-run (hills) |
| Wed: | 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:00am + 3 mile lunch-run (hills) |
| Thu: | 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:00am + 5 mile run |
| Fri: | 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:00am |
| Sat: | REST |
| Sun: | 9-mile (hills) |
| Total: | 20 miles + four 90-min BY classes |
Week 7 - Aug 15th - 21st
| Mon: | REST |
| Tue: | 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:30pm |
| Wed: | 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:00am |
| Thu: | 6 mile run (hills) |
| Fri: | REST |
| Sat: | REST |
| Sun: | America's Finest City Half Marathon |
| Total: | 19.1 + 2 BY classes |
Thursday, August 11, 2011
NYC Marathon Training: Week 5 ( Aug 1st -7th)
Less than 100 days until the New York Marathon. I can't believe it !! I am extremely excited about this race. For the first time ever, I find it relatively easy to get motivated. It only takes a song or a picture taken in NY to get me going. This is my "new" favorite commercial. Lady Gaga for Google Chrome, running in the streets of New York City.
I should mentioned that I am not a "Gagamite" and I definitely don't like to be called a "little monster" but I am starting to like this artist. My opinion changed recently after I saw her in "So You Think You Can Dance". She seemed authentic and honest.
In regards training, this was my weekly summary:
Areas that need improvement:
The first one is hydration. I understand the benefits of drinking LOTS of water. Especially when practicing hot yoga and running. It is essential to replenish the body with electrolytes. I still don't do it. I just don't like drinking water, not even with a drop of fresh squeezed lemon. I need to work on this.
The second one is organization around the house and my workouts. This week, I forgot to bring to work my sport socks, my Garmin and my hydration belt. I also need to sync my Garmin to my computer more often and keep it charged. I have completed a couple of runs without it.
To take care of the hydration issue, I purchased some Ultima Replenisher. It has no sugar, carbs or harmful ingredients.
To deal with organization, I ... well, that's a different story. It's crazy sometimes. I have a baby, a toddler, a hubby who is also training for the NYC Marathon, a full-time job and a busy BUSY schedule. There is one thing I can do, though. I will pack everything up the night before. Starting today. This is my new challenge!
I should mentioned that I am not a "Gagamite" and I definitely don't like to be called a "little monster" but I am starting to like this artist. My opinion changed recently after I saw her in "So You Think You Can Dance". She seemed authentic and honest.
In regards training, this was my weekly summary:
| Mon: | REST |
| Tue: | 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:00pm + 3 mile run (hills) |
| Wed: | 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:00pm + 3 mile run (hills) |
| Thu: | 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:30pm + 5 mile run |
| Fri: | REST |
| Sat: | 90-min Bikram Yoga at 10:00am |
| Sun: | 10-mile run |
| Total: | 21 miles + four 90-min BY classes |
Areas that need improvement:
The first one is hydration. I understand the benefits of drinking LOTS of water. Especially when practicing hot yoga and running. It is essential to replenish the body with electrolytes. I still don't do it. I just don't like drinking water, not even with a drop of fresh squeezed lemon. I need to work on this.
The second one is organization around the house and my workouts. This week, I forgot to bring to work my sport socks, my Garmin and my hydration belt. I also need to sync my Garmin to my computer more often and keep it charged. I have completed a couple of runs without it.
To take care of the hydration issue, I purchased some Ultima Replenisher. It has no sugar, carbs or harmful ingredients.
To deal with organization, I ... well, that's a different story. It's crazy sometimes. I have a baby, a toddler, a hubby who is also training for the NYC Marathon, a full-time job and a busy BUSY schedule. There is one thing I can do, though. I will pack everything up the night before. Starting today. This is my new challenge!
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
NYC Marathon Training: Week 4 ( July 25h -31th)
This was a crazy week. I was supposed to run 4 miles on Thursday but I forgot to bring my running shoes to work that day. Since I didn’t wake up at 5:00 am to go to Bikram Yoga, I decided to go to class in the afternoon and do my run the following day. On Friday, I forgot my sport bra. There is no way I was going to go for a run without it. On the other hand, I didn’t want to miss any runs this week. I decided to wake up at 6:30 am on Saturday and go for a 5 miles run instead(4 miles + interest☺). I had a 10 hour Bikram Yoga seminar scheduled for that day. You can read more about it, here
As you can imagine, on Sunday, I was extremely sore. My hubby and I took turns running and playing with the kids. As you know, he is also training for the New York City Marathon. We are following similar training programs. We both had to run 9 miles that day. He went out first. I started around 11:30ish. It was hot. Too HOT. It is unusual for me to complain about the heat but going up the hills with temperatures reaching 90s was not fun. Next time, I’ll start first.
This was my weekly summary.
I don't think you will hear me complaining about low weekly mileage anymore. I am sore. I am feeling it now !
As you can imagine, on Sunday, I was extremely sore. My hubby and I took turns running and playing with the kids. As you know, he is also training for the New York City Marathon. We are following similar training programs. We both had to run 9 miles that day. He went out first. I started around 11:30ish. It was hot. Too HOT. It is unusual for me to complain about the heat but going up the hills with temperatures reaching 90s was not fun. Next time, I’ll start first.
This was my weekly summary.
| Mon: | REST |
| Tue: | 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:30am + 3 lunch-run (hills) |
| Wed: | 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:00pm + 3 lunch-run (hills) |
| Thu: | 90-min Bikram Yoga at 4:30pm |
| Fri: | 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:00am |
| Sat: | 5-mile run + BY posture clinic + 90-min class |
| Sun: | 9-mile run |
| Total: | 20 miles + six 90-min BY classes + |
I don't think you will hear me complaining about low weekly mileage anymore. I am sore. I am feeling it now !
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Nuggets of knowledge from Jim Kallett's seminar
OMG, I am in trouble. I only have 20 minutes to write this post. OK, here we go:
On Saturday, I attended Jim Kallett’s second annual Bikram Yoga Posture Clinic. Besides being extremely knowledgeable, he is an amazing narrator, full of passion for the subject. I usually have a hard time paying attention for long periods, especially when the language spoken is English, because it’s not my native language. But I must say that the 7 ½ hour seminar flew by so quickly, I found myself wanting more.
It’s practically impossible to summarize in one post what we covered in the seminar but I’ll just scratch the surface. Jim talked about quantum physics, the unified field theory and how it pertains to yoga. He talked to us about Swami Vivekananda and Paramahansa Yogananda, the key figures in the introduction of yoga to the Western World. He also talked about Yogananda’s younger brother, Bishnu Garan Gosh (a well-known physical culturist, lawyer, doctor, engineer, philosopher, hatha yoga master) and his most favorite and devoted disciple, Bikram Choudhury.
Many people know about Bikram's life in great detail but I am summarizing for those who don't. Here you go, his life in a nutshell ( feel free to skip to the next paragraph if it sounds too familiar):
Bikram Choudhury began studying yoga at the age of 4. At 12, he was the youngest ever National Yoga Champion of India, holding the title three consecutive years. At the age of 17, a weight-lifting accident crushed his knees. The doctors told him he wasn't going to be able to walk again. Under the guidance of his guru, he created the yoga series and restored his health. Six months later, his knee had totally recovered. On his guru’s request, Bikram went to Mumbai to see a patient and soon became ‘the guru of Mumbai’, healing politicians and other celebrities. Later on, on his guru's request, once again, he travelled to Japan and saved the life of a member of the Japanese imperial family. During his time in Japan, Bikram also healed the Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka. In 1972, president Nixon came down with an attack of phlebitis while visiting the South Pacific. Tanaka recommended Nixon to see Bikram. Few weeks later, with the help of some Epson Salts, massages and lots of yoga, Nixon was cured. Nixon offered Bikram an open invitation to come and live in the US. I think we all know what happened next. If interested in learning more, I recommend you read “Bikram Yoga: The Guru Behind Hot Yoga How the Way to Radiant Health and Personal Fullfillment” (the red book).
Going back to the seminar, the lecture part was 3 hours "short". Here are some of the notes / nuggets of knowledge that I took (every single one could be a separate post) :
- "To become more human is to become more conscience" - JK
- “The mind is like a drunken monkey stung by a bee”. Meditation quiets the drunken monkey.
- If you don’t have fear of death, you will never die.
- Success in life comes from concentration (bring everything to a single point)
- Karma Yoga (your words, your actions, the reason why you are here) = Hatha Yoga + Raja Yoga (the mind, the king)
- Energy consists of nutrition and relaxation. The number 1 nutrient is oxygen. No oxygen for 2 minutes and you are gone. You gotta feed nutrition to yourself. How do you do this? Breathing.
- Take hwy 5 don’t take hwy 99. Build the neuropath. Lock the knee. Lock the knee. Lock the the KNEE
- What connects your body and mind? Your spine. The spine is the most important thing in human life.
- You can’t start a Cadillac with a Toyota Key. Bikram Yoga is the right key. We call it pissing in the wind.
- Western medicine emphasizes in surgery and drugs.
- “When one has become successful in asana then pranayama is perfected”
- You travel 6 inches all your life, from your brain to your heart.
- “Emma was born in a noodle factory in Milan. I was born in a steel factory in Chesfield” - JK
- Suffering Discrimination? The fight starts internally. The heart fights with the lungs, the pancreas with the kidneys, the thyroid and pituitary glands.
- Yoga is a tool. Don’t blame the hammer.
- Achieving is the easy part, maintaining is the hardest part. It’s a process, 3 steps forward 2 steps back.
- The 5 aspects of the mind are: 1) Faith/Trust in the process, teacher, yoga. 2) Self control/self-discipline 3) Determination / will power 4) Concentration and 5) Patience. It all starts with trust and faith.
After lecture, we had posture clinic for 4 ½ hours. We only covered standing postures as we ran out of time. At 5:30pm, we started class. Jim went through the standing series rather quickly and focused more on the floor postures since we didn’t cover them. I am happy, as he was able to give me a correction during locust pose, my most challenging at the moment. He basically lifted both of my legs almost vertical. It felt amazing. I wish I would had brought my camera with me.
I strongly recommend this seminar to anyone in San Diego. It was 10 hours of pure yoga bliss. By the way, this was my second year attending. The material covered was similar to last year's, yet so different. It's like the Dialogue, it never gets old. You always learn something new every time.
Namaste
This was 25 minutes, including picture ;-) Not bad !!
On Saturday, I attended Jim Kallett’s second annual Bikram Yoga Posture Clinic. Besides being extremely knowledgeable, he is an amazing narrator, full of passion for the subject. I usually have a hard time paying attention for long periods, especially when the language spoken is English, because it’s not my native language. But I must say that the 7 ½ hour seminar flew by so quickly, I found myself wanting more.
It’s practically impossible to summarize in one post what we covered in the seminar but I’ll just scratch the surface. Jim talked about quantum physics, the unified field theory and how it pertains to yoga. He talked to us about Swami Vivekananda and Paramahansa Yogananda, the key figures in the introduction of yoga to the Western World. He also talked about Yogananda’s younger brother, Bishnu Garan Gosh (a well-known physical culturist, lawyer, doctor, engineer, philosopher, hatha yoga master) and his most favorite and devoted disciple, Bikram Choudhury.
Many people know about Bikram's life in great detail but I am summarizing for those who don't. Here you go, his life in a nutshell ( feel free to skip to the next paragraph if it sounds too familiar):
Bikram Choudhury began studying yoga at the age of 4. At 12, he was the youngest ever National Yoga Champion of India, holding the title three consecutive years. At the age of 17, a weight-lifting accident crushed his knees. The doctors told him he wasn't going to be able to walk again. Under the guidance of his guru, he created the yoga series and restored his health. Six months later, his knee had totally recovered. On his guru’s request, Bikram went to Mumbai to see a patient and soon became ‘the guru of Mumbai’, healing politicians and other celebrities. Later on, on his guru's request, once again, he travelled to Japan and saved the life of a member of the Japanese imperial family. During his time in Japan, Bikram also healed the Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka. In 1972, president Nixon came down with an attack of phlebitis while visiting the South Pacific. Tanaka recommended Nixon to see Bikram. Few weeks later, with the help of some Epson Salts, massages and lots of yoga, Nixon was cured. Nixon offered Bikram an open invitation to come and live in the US. I think we all know what happened next. If interested in learning more, I recommend you read “Bikram Yoga: The Guru Behind Hot Yoga How the Way to Radiant Health and Personal Fullfillment” (the red book).
Going back to the seminar, the lecture part was 3 hours "short". Here are some of the notes / nuggets of knowledge that I took (every single one could be a separate post) :
- "To become more human is to become more conscience" - JK
- “The mind is like a drunken monkey stung by a bee”. Meditation quiets the drunken monkey.
- If you don’t have fear of death, you will never die.
- Success in life comes from concentration (bring everything to a single point)
- Karma Yoga (your words, your actions, the reason why you are here) = Hatha Yoga + Raja Yoga (the mind, the king)
- Energy consists of nutrition and relaxation. The number 1 nutrient is oxygen. No oxygen for 2 minutes and you are gone. You gotta feed nutrition to yourself. How do you do this? Breathing.
- Take hwy 5 don’t take hwy 99. Build the neuropath. Lock the knee. Lock the knee. Lock the the KNEE
- What connects your body and mind? Your spine. The spine is the most important thing in human life.
- You can’t start a Cadillac with a Toyota Key. Bikram Yoga is the right key. We call it pissing in the wind.
- Western medicine emphasizes in surgery and drugs.
- “When one has become successful in asana then pranayama is perfected”
- You travel 6 inches all your life, from your brain to your heart.
- “Emma was born in a noodle factory in Milan. I was born in a steel factory in Chesfield” - JK
- Suffering Discrimination? The fight starts internally. The heart fights with the lungs, the pancreas with the kidneys, the thyroid and pituitary glands.
- Yoga is a tool. Don’t blame the hammer.
- Achieving is the easy part, maintaining is the hardest part. It’s a process, 3 steps forward 2 steps back.
- The 5 aspects of the mind are: 1) Faith/Trust in the process, teacher, yoga. 2) Self control/self-discipline 3) Determination / will power 4) Concentration and 5) Patience. It all starts with trust and faith.
After lecture, we had posture clinic for 4 ½ hours. We only covered standing postures as we ran out of time. At 5:30pm, we started class. Jim went through the standing series rather quickly and focused more on the floor postures since we didn’t cover them. I am happy, as he was able to give me a correction during locust pose, my most challenging at the moment. He basically lifted both of my legs almost vertical. It felt amazing. I wish I would had brought my camera with me.
I strongly recommend this seminar to anyone in San Diego. It was 10 hours of pure yoga bliss. By the way, this was my second year attending. The material covered was similar to last year's, yet so different. It's like the Dialogue, it never gets old. You always learn something new every time.
Namaste
This was 25 minutes, including picture ;-) Not bad !!
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