Nike+ FuelBand

I like this video and Nike's message: "Life is a sport. Make it count"



"Running counts. Jams count. Style counts. Splits count. Basketball, soccer, tennis, football, snowboarding, skiing, lacrosse, baseball, softball - those all count. Walking, flying, training, cardio, jumping, stacking, taking the stairs - they all count too" ~ Nike

I am just not sure I'll spend $150 in a Nike+ FuelBand. What is it? It's a wristwatch that measures your everyday activity through a sport-tester accelerometer. It calculates the calories and energy burned and syncs it to your iPhone via Bluetooth or integrated USB. I don't know. What do you think? $$$$ counts too :-)

By the way, I love that Nike chose Groove Armada's "I see you baby (shaken that @ss)" song for their commercial. I would have left it unedited! :-)

Madrid Marathon Training: Week 3 ( Jan 16th -22nd) - Kids Marathon Mile at LEGOLAND

Two major positive events happened this week. First, I found out that my Team Victorious won an entry to the Nike Women's Marathon. No lottery entry required. You can read more here . Second, my little ones participated in the Kids Marathon Mile at LEGOLAND last Saturday.

As you can see in my picture, it was purple rain. Ok I must admit. I Photoshop'ed the picture. But YES, it was pouring!. My kids (a 3-year old and 6-year old), however, didn't care. They proudly ran it all the way. Actually, my 6-year old daughter tricked me to think she was tired towards the end. "Let's walk, mommy" she said. When I slowed down ready to walk, she took off with a big smile on her face. LOL. I think we have a future competitive runner in the family.

I totally recommend this race to anyone living or visiting SoCal. It's a pretty nice deal. For $20, you get:

- Legoland race shirt.
- Finisher's medal
- Free 1-day child Hopper ticket LEGOLAND California and Sealife (valued $71)
- 50% discount for an adult ticket
- Complementary drink, snacks and lots of entertainment.
- And the satisfaction of completing a race. My daughter was all smiles after it.

This was my weekly workout summary:

Mon:	REST
Tue:	90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:30pm + 200 crunches
Wed:	5.5 mile run (hills) + 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:30pm + 200 crunches
Thu:	3-mile run (hills) + 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:30pm + 200 crunches
Fri:	200 crunches
Sat:	Kids Marathon Mile at LEGOLAND
Sun:	5-mile run (tempo)
Total:	13.5 mile

Notice the low mileage? On the not-so-positive side, on Thursday night I pulled a muscle during yoga. It was extremely painful. I finished the class but I couldn't return next day nor complete my usual lunch run. On Sunday, I was planning on running 10-miles but stopped at 5. I didn't want to push too hard before my Tinkerbell Half Marahon coming up next weekend. Well, at least I cross-trained, right?

YESSSS, Feeling Victorious!

Last Sunday, I ran the Nike+ Virtual Half Marathon. I ran it for a couple of reasons: 1) To benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 2) For fun and, 3) The finisher's bracelet.

My virtual half was cold but nice. I finished in 2:20:19. Not bad considering that this was my last day on the juice fast! I talked more about it in my previous post. Check it out! You don't want to miss my delicious juices :-)

Then yesterday, Nike made a big announcement:

"Thousands of women came together as one this past weekend for the Nike+ Women's Half Marathon. Over 75 teams were formed, and one came out... VICTORIOUS. Over 1000 women joined this team, and for that they'll be rewarded! Welcome to NWM SF 2012. That's right, NO lottery".

YES, my Team Victorious made it! I am so happy.

For those of you that don't know, what's cool about this race (besides running in the streets of San Francisco with spectacular views) is that all runners get a Tiffany necklace as the finisher medal.

I was planning on running the Chicago Marathon this year but since the NWM is the week after, I have decided to go for this one instead. Now the question is: 13.1 or 26.2? Decisions, decisions! If you are reading this and you've ran both the NWM half and full, I'd love to hear from you. Any recommendations? I am worried about the hills.

Woo Hoo, San Francisco here I come!

Madrid Marathon Training: Week 2 ( Jan 9th -15th)

After 15 days of juicing and blending fruits and vegetables, I proudly announce that the "Reboot Your Life" challenge has been completed. I am officially booting the Rebooting. It has been tough. I thought it would be easy since I eat very clean and I've done the Master Cleanse before.

With the "Lemonade Diet", I felt fantastic, full of energy, light. With the "Rebooting Your Life", I felt moody and hungry. I never experienced hunger pain but the grumpiness was obvious. Towards the end of the week, I found out through a friend of a friend who followed this plan for 37 days that I should have increased the juice intake per day, based on the amount of activity I was doing. I burn an average of 900 calories in a Bikram Yoga class and 100 calories per mile ran. It makes sense.

Now that this is over, would I do this ever again? Not for 15 days straight! Would I juice again? Absolutely! I learned about some new delicious blends and I plan to incorporate smoothies on my diet at least 5 times a week.

These are some of the juices that I made:

I must admit I had a lot fun taking pictures of my "potions". Beside my moodiness, the "creative juices" were there throughout the process. This could be a second career for me. Of course, I'd need to buy a good camera, flash, etc... Everything in life is about having the right tools!

The highlight this week was completing this challenge and the Nike+ Virtual Half Marathon on Sunday. I learned about it at the beginning of the week. I blogged about it here.
I was not sure if to sign up for it but since I had to run 10-miles anyway, I went for it.

I ran roughly over 2 1/2 loops around Lake Miramar. It was cold but nice. I finished in 2:20:19. Not bad considering that this was my last day on the juice fast!

Now I am waiting to hear from Nike to see if Team Victorius won the challenge. If we did, we go straight to the San Francisco Nike Women's Marathon. We don't need to wait for the lottery in April. I believe Nike will make the announcement this coming Wednesday which is fantastic. Perfect time! You see, I want to run the Chicago Marathon which is the week before the NWM in October. However, registration for Chicago is usually in February and sells out very quick, within weeks. The NWM lottery registration is usually in April. But if I know this week, I will be able to make a decision.

This was my weekly workout summary:

Mon:	REST
Tue:	90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:30pm + 200 crunches
Wed:	90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:30pm + 200 crunches
Thu:	4-mile run (hills) + 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:30pm + 200 crunches
Fri:	4-mile run (hills) + 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:30pm + 200 crunches
Sat:	4-mile tempo run with West Coast Runners + 200 crunches
Sun:	13.1 Nike+ Woman Half Marathon
Total:	25.1 miles run + four 90-min BY classes

Nike+ Virtual Half Marathon

I just found out about this Nike+ Virtual Half Marathon coming up this Sunday. Here are the details (from Nike's website):

When: January 15th.
Where: Run where you are, anywhere in the world. Plot the course of your choice with Nike+ and join us in crossing a virtual finish line on the big day.
Distance: Minimum of a Half Marathon (13.1 miles or more).
Register: Cost is $40.
Registration site: https://www.signmeup.com/site/online-event-registration/79166

My pros:
- I need to run 10-miles on Sunday anyway.
- It's only $40 and it benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
- I can plot my own course and determine my own starting time.
- The finisher bracelet is beautiful.

My cons:
- It's 3 miles more than scheduled.
- Sunday is my last day on the "Reboot Your Life" program. I am not sure I can survive a half marathon distance on juices. Hmm... Debating, debating.


If you are reading this and decide to sign, join Team Victorius. If they get the biggest team you win an automatic chance to enter the SF Nike Women's Marathon on October. Now, I haven't ran the SF Nike Women's Marathon yet but the idea of getting a Tiffany's necklace instead of a finisher medal brings a smile to my face :-)

For more info @ Team Victorius, do a Facebook search for "Victorious 2012 Nike+WHM".

Madrid Marathon Training: Week 1 ( Jan 2nd -8th)

My official 18-week training program for the Rock 'N' Roll Edinburgh Half Marathon (April 15th) and Rock 'N' Roll Madrid Marathon (April 22nd) was supposed to start the week of 12/20. However, because of the holidays, I decided to postpone the "official" starting date until last week. I still ran a couple of 5-milers on Christmas and New Year's Eve, in preparation for the upcoming Tinkerbell Half Marathon but they were easy runs, nothing too serious.

In a previous post, I wrote about My Goals for 2012 , one of them is to successfully complete the RNR Madrid Marathon. In order to do so, I need to be able to run at least two 20-miler before heading to Madrid. To be honest, the idea just scares me to death. But like the saying goes “if your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough”, right? With this thought in mind, I signed up with the West Coast Road Runners Club. They will be able to provide me with the support needed during those loooong runs.

Another goal of mine is to have visible abs. To accomplish this, I've been doing a couple of things. First (besides going to Bikram Yoga 4x/week and running), I have been doing 200 sit-ups 5x/week. Second, I am following the "Reboot Your Life" program. Basically, I am juicing and blending produce as well as eating raw and cooked vegetables and fruits for 15 days.

These are pictures of some of my "potions" :-)

Although I am madly in love with my kale smoothies, I must admit that it has been difficult.
I don't know how anyone could be following this program for 60-days straight. The good news is that I am not craving cookies, my biggest weakness. The bad news is there are still 5 days to go.

This was my weekly workout summary:

Mon:	90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:30pm + 200 crunches
Tue:	45-min Core strengthening class + 200 crunches
Wed:	3-mile hills + 90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:30pm
Thu:	90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:30pm + 200 crunches
Fri:	90-min Bikram Yoga at 6:30pm + 200 crunches
Sat:	4-mile tempo run with West Coast Runners
Sun:	10-mile tempo run + 200 crunches
Total:	17 miles run + four 90-min BY classes

One more thing, I recently discovered a great fitness personality, model and coach. Her name is Natalie Jill. Her website is: http://nataliejillfitness.com/. She is very good at keeping you motivated and focused. You are going to love her posts.

Happy New Year 2012!

May 2012 bring you love, peace, health and many happy miles! Do you have a fitness resolution for 2012? These are some of mine:

- Have visible abs by Sept 4th, my birthday.

Like Elizabeth Amber's minus the PhotoShop'ing

Challenges:

-Do 200 crunches, sit-ups and/or pushups five times a week until April 12th

- Rebooting For Life (Entry Program - A 15 day journey to wellness). Basically, I am going to be juicing and blending produce as well as eating raw and cooked vegetables and fruits for the next 15 days. More info here

- Run a half marathon in less than 2 hours.

- Successful complete the RNR Madrid Marathon and the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.

- Practice Bikram Yoga x4/week, minimum.

- Eat 366 apples or 1 apple a day. Learn how to peel an apple in a single long strip.


Talking about apples, I just signed up for the New York City Marathon lottery. IF When I win this year, I need someone to remind me that the plan is to run it in 2013 and not this year. I am just signing up this year to increase my chances. Winning an entry to the NYM really feels like winning the lottery. I totally recommend it to everyone. It's the mother of all marathons. Although, some people might argue that this title is reserved for Boston :-) Hey, I am a true New Yorker, at heart.