"American Idol"

Today's run was okay, my legs were still stiff and soar from Sunday's race. For the first half of the three mile run, I was in a little bit of discomfort. After I turned around to head back, my leg muscle had warmed up enough to make it much easier to run. I took a long time to stretch and I felt much better by the time I had to walk home. I feel bad for missing yesterdays interval exercise, but I definitely needed an extra day of rest. The best part of the day was going to see "American Idol" live at the Blaisdell Arena. It was such a fantastic show! I had front row seats and was delighted to see everyone up so close. The only downside was that after 2 1/2 hours of craning my neck up, I was in serious pain. It was all worth the extra discomfort. I even had no problem walking back home after the concert. Weight: 118.5 pounds

What is there to do? Only Pain...

Youch! My legs muscles are in so much pain. It took a long time to walk to work. I took two Advil, but they haven't helped out much. Hopefully I will be able to walk better tomorrow, I'm just going to keep stretching throughout today. Weight: 119.5 pounds Breakfast: 1 piece of toast, yogurt Snack: 1 garden vegge pattie Lunch: left over Mahi Mahi, shrimp, and mashed potatoes

Race Day!! 15.5 miles

I did it! I made it through the entire 15.5 mile race today. It turned out to be more like 16 miles because at one point, a group of us got misdirected and ended up going 1/2 mile in the wrong direction. We had to turn around and go back. My neck was in a lot of pain for the first 4 miles or so. After that, I must of relaxed it enough and the pain subsided.
I felt very strong throughout the entire first lap. It felt so great to make it to the second lap. However the first 3 miles of the laps were all uphill. The second lap hills wore me out a lot, but I pushed through and still felt good. Around mile 13 my muscles were in such agony, I needed to stop and walk for a bit. It was hard to walk, but even harder to keep running. After about a mile, I was back to running. The end was very near. I don't know how but I managed to find energy to sprint the last 100 meters to the finish. It felt so great!
The Moon & The Sky "See how the moon, she cries. Cool how the tears fill up the sky as snow"
I have seen more sunrises and moon sets than I ever thought possible in my life time. As we drove out to Schofield Barracks, the Moon looked so beautiful up in the sky. It turned a nice brown color as it set towards the ocean. The moon looked giant! After we parked and were lining up at the start line, the stars in the sky were so brilliant and bright. It looked so neat like in the movies. The sun rise during the race was spectacular over the mountains. There were big fluffy clouds which the sun cast an orange/pinkish glow.
In the evening, the sunset was as always beautiful. But I could also see the bright white moon in the sky again. It's almost a full moon! The universe is so neat :)
I did take a 2 hour rest in the middle of the day. It helped a bit recover, but my leg muscles were still in lots of pain. It was hard to sit down and walk. After dinner I took a hot bath which dramatically soothed my aching muscles. I don't aniticipate running again until Wednesday. My legs need the rest time.
Weight: 118.5
Pre-Race: 1 Harvest power bar, Oatmeal Post-Race: 1 garden soy pattie Lunch: Chicken Fetucinni Alfredo Dinner: Mahi Mahi, mashed potatoes Dessert: Cheesecake, 1 glass white wine

Rest and Food

Today was a rest day as tomorrow is the 15.5 mile race. I'm trying not to think too much about how far 15.5 miles really is. I know I've done my preparation work and can manage the race. Waking up at 3:45 am is going to be the hard part :) It was a nice and relaxing day. Brunch: Banana Pancakes Dinner: Ravioli's with tomatoe sauce, Garlic bread, Ginger cookies

A Different Excercise

Today I went for the new Friday excercise even though I did not do Thursday's workout. It was fairly simple to follow and I felt great throughout. 3 x 10 min run / 5 min walk. I'm hoping that I am prepared well enough for Sunday's race. I feel good and I am confident. Weight: 118 pounds Breakfast: Oatmeal, yogurt Lunch: 2 garden vegge patties Snack: Reese's peanut butter ice cream sandwich (whoops) Dinner: Chicken Pot Pie, Brown Rice

Back Pain

Today was a light run 3-4 miles. We ran until the Cheesecake Factory which is probably 3.5 miles. I felt great for the entire run, but still not very fast. My back has been increasing in pain. I've been trying very hard to sit up straight at work, but most of the time I fail and just slump over. This has also aggrivated my neck as well. I just need to make a concious effort to stay sitting up straight. Breakfast: 1 piece of toast, yogurt Snack: pear Lunch: 2 garden vegge soy patties Dinner: Ravioli with sauce

"A Dreamlike State"

Yup, I overslept yesterday. I felt so drugged and very out of it when I woke up. It was as if I was still in a dreamlike state, "I can see clearly now As the crazy haste of night turns to morningI lie in a dreamlike state. And wonder if the fear will go away" It was the oddest feeling. Today I felt a lot better so I awoke and did yesterdays' very complex exercise. It went a lot better than last week, although it was hard to push through the two sets of 500 meter threshold sequences. I can feel my leg muscles gaining strength. It feels great to have accompished so much. I'm excited about the upcoming race, it will be tough but I know I can dot it. Breakfast: bagel, yogurt Lunch: 2 garden vegge soy patties Dinner: Ravioli's with sauce

The Hill's I Have Conquered

Today's group meeting was at Kapiolani park, which meant we had to run up the hills of Diamond Head road. We also had to meet at 5:30 am instead of 6, which meant adjusting my alarm clock. It wasn't too bad waking earlier. Starting out on the run, I felt a little slow, but I felt good. The hills did not wear me down and I was able to stay in rythm for the entire run. It was to be 2 hours and 15 minutes. We made it to the gas station where the aide station was. It was nice to have a little break. I took some gatorade and orange and then was off again. We actually went down a different road which would loop back around to Kapiolani Park. It was great to go down a different path. The neighborhood was beautiful and there weren't as many hills to climb. By the time we made it back to the start point, I still had 15 more minutes to run. I ran a little bit past the starting point and then turned around, but it was still only 2 hours and 6 minutes. But it didn't matter to me, I had already accomplished a bit feat keeping up pace through out all the hills. I felt so great after the run. Weight: 118 pounds Breakfast: Vegetable Omlet, biscuit, hashbrown cassorole. Lunch: Chicken Sandwich Dinner: Seafood buffet, lots of dessert, 2 glasses of white wine

Fish

Today is a day of rest. Which will be well needed because tomorrow's run will be 2 hours and 15 minutes up and down the hills of Diamond Head. I bought two fish today. They are Betta fighting fish. I bought one tank with a divider in the middle so that the two fish wouldn't kill each other. I put some rocks and fake plants in the tanks and then added the two beautifully colored fish. I name the red/pink fish "Vince" and the red/pink/teal/blue fish "Andy" after Erasure. Yes, I know it is sad, but they bring a smile to my face. At first "Andy" was eating a lot of food and kept wanting more, I'm thinking he was starved at the pet shop. "Vince" did not even touch any of his food. This left me a bit concerned as I would have to leave them for the weekend. I made sure to feed them both extra food before I packed up for the day. I'm not looking forward to waking up even earlier tomorrow for the run. Breakfast: 1/2 bagel, yogurt Lunch: 2 chicken soy patties Dinner: 2 pieces of frozen pizza

Improvement

Today I did the same exercise as I did on Tuesday. It felt so great to run really fast. It was still a hard challenge, but I can feel myself improving. My right calf muscle was still sore even though I've been stretching it out a lot. My left hamstring and glut is getting stiff and sore from sitting at work all day. I've been trying to get up and stretch every half an hour. I'm still nervous about this Saturday's run. I'm so glad tomorrow is a rest day. Weight: 118.5 pounds (darn those evil ravioli's) Breakfast: 1/2 power bar, 1 piece of toast, yogurt Snack: pear Lunch: 2 soy chicken patties Dinner:

A Little Bit More

Today's assignment was to run between 3 and 4 miles. I headed into Waikiki feeling pretty good. I seemed to hit every single traffic light, so it was a lot of stop and go. I made it to the 1.5 mile mark and went a little further. I'm not positive, but I think I ran 3.5 mile. I felt a little sluggish on the way back up the hill, but I finished the exercise. My right calf muscle is sore and tight again today. I will have to make sure to continue stretching. I'm getting a little nervous about Saturday's 2 hour 15 min run. It will be up and down the hills at Diamond Head. It's going to be a really hard exercise. Weight: 117.5 pounds Breakfast: 1/2 power bar, 1 piece of toast, yogurt Snack: pear, 1/2 power bar Lunch: 2 soy chicken patties Dinner: Ravioli's

Threshold

I rested on Sunday as usual and yesterday as I attempted to get up, I just couldn't manage. I was too tired due to a hard time falling asleep. So, today I did the Monday's practice. It was new and exciting. I didn't know how I would react to it, so it gave me a rush. I started out with a 5 min easy run and then a 3 minute walk. This was great to warm up my body. Yesterday my right calf was a little bit sore and stiff. Then it was a sequence of 3 min hard run with 2 min walk in between for 25 minutes. This was quite a challenge, however I felt great running fast. I was tired but still had more to do. Next was a threshold sequence. Yup, I reached my threshold. We were instructed to run 500 meters of threshold and then rest for 60 seconds and then repeat once more. This was a challenge and I was struggling a little bit. But after it was all done, I felt great like I had achieved a lot in today's practice. I will have to do this exercise on Monday's and Thursdays for the next few weeks. I hope it gets easier and that I see some improvement. I like the challenge. Weight: 118.5 pounds Breakfast: 1/2 power bar, 1 piece of toast, yogurt, 1 cup of green tea Snack: 1/2 power bar, pear Lunch: 2 soy chicken patties Snack: frozen yogurt cone dipped in chocolate Dinner: lemon pepper chicken, brown rice, apple sauce Snack: 1 piece of toast

September 11th 2004

Yesterday I took the prescribed rest day, which really helped a little bit to catch up on my sleep. I did not sleep well last night becuase the power went out and the fans and airconditioning in the condo were not running. Aside from the heat, it was so quiet I could hear every cockroach scuttling around (just kidding, but it seemed like something was making little noises in the condo.) It was so hard to find parking becuase of the Aloha festival going on this weekend. I ended up walking a lot to get to the practice area. On the way out, I felt fine, average until we got to the aide station. I ingested a Power Gel packet and some gatorade and started heading out again. I felt so wiped of any energy. I slowed down to a walk for a little bit which helped out. I was able to run with some energy for a while. My energy was quickly depleated again and I stopped for another walk. Even though I was able to run most of the way back, it was at a very slow pace. It took me and extra 10 minutes to get back. I definitely needed a nap during the morning. I did not sleep well last night and today's run completely wiped me out. I felt a little better by mid-afternoon. I did take some time throughout the day to reflect back on the horrible tragedy of 3 years ago. It still bothers me. :( Weight: 117 pounds Breakfast: 1/2 power bar, yogurt, 1/2 bagel with cream cheese Lunch: Vegetable omelet, biscuit, potatoe cassorole Dinner: Manicotti, Chocolate cake, 1 glass red wine

Thursday

Today's excercise was smooth sailing. It was another 4 x 5min run/5 min walk sequence. I was still a little bit sore from the race on Sunday. I'm still trying to gain my strength back. Breakfast: 1/2 power bar, 1 piece of toast, yogurt Lunch: 2 soy chicken patties Dinner: lemon pepper chicken, brown rice, apple sauce

Back to Running

Yesterday we were supposed to run in the morning. But, unfortunately my legs were still very weak and sore. I still needed another day of rest. Today I went out for the 3 mile run. It wasn't too bad, my quadriceps were still a little sore. But after Sunday's 12.2 miles, 3 miles didn't seem so awful. Weight: 118.5 pounds Breakfast: 1/2 power bar, 1/2 bagel with cream cheese Lunch: 2 soy chicken parmesean patties, grapes, 1/2 power bar Dinner: Lasagna

A Lazy Day of Rest

I felt a lot better today. The only thing that is hurting is the outside of my quads. I felt a little weak, but at least I had the strentgh to sit up straight. I took a hot bath in the evening which really helped my muscles relax. Breakfast: Banana Pancakes, Orange Juice Lunch: Dinner: Lasagna

12.2 Very Very Really Long Miles

Today was the 20K race. I can't believe I woke up at 4:30 am. It was dawn when the race started. I felt good for the beginning of the race. It went fairly smoothly. Lots of people kept passing me, but I didn't care, I was more concerned about just finishing. There was a man at the 1 mile mark calling out the time. I was running at a 12 1/2 minute mile pace. That was about right for my past experiences. Luckily there were water/gatorade stations about every 2 miles. It gave me something to aim for until the next walking rest period. The first half of the race was not so bad, it was very difficult but I managed. I tried out a Power Bar Gel packet. It was chocolate flavored. It tasted like Hershey's syrup. Around mile 5 in the first lap, I saw a blur out of the corner of my eye. It was Jonathon on his second lap. He was almost done. I couldn't believe how fast he was going, I don't think I sprint that fast. I later found out he won the race with a time of approximately 1 hour 15 minutes. I was so excited to see the halfway point. It was time to go around again in another loop. It was getting harder and harder to get back to running after a little rest period. At mile 10 I just couldn't continue running. I had taken another Gel packet but it had little effect on me. By the 11th mile, I had tried to run again. This lasted for another 1/2 mile or so, but it was stop and go until the finish. When I saw the finish line, I found the energy to run towards it. We finished in just about 3 hours. I'm just so happy I made it through the entire race and finished. I stretched a little before getting in the car, but still felt so tired. When I got home, I was completely exhuasted. I knew I needed some food. It took all my strength to make and eat a piece of toast. After the toast and more stretching, I felt a little better. I laid down for a nap and rest of my fatigued body. Everytime I started to drift off to sleep, I felt like I was going to die. I felt like if I fell asleep, I would not awake. I did get a little bit of sleep and then tried very hard to eat some pizza. I wasn't sleepy after lunch, but couldn't stay upright. I laid back down for another few hours. By dinner time, I was able to at least sit up straight. Weight: 119 pounds Breakfast: 1/2 power bar, 1 piece of toast, 2 Gel packs, lots of water and gatorade Lunch: leftover piece of pizza Dinner: Buffalo chicken, potatoe, salad, chocolate cake

Saturday Worries

Today is a day of rest, because tomorrow is the 20K race. I'm kind of nervous about it, but am trying not to think too much about what will happen. I tried not to do too much physical activity so that I'm not worn out by tomorrow. I also made sure to eat a lot of food, especially carbs. Breakfast: 1/2 bagel with cream cheese Lunch: Scrambled eggs, fried rice Dinner: frozen pizza, popcorn

Friday - A New Routine

It was different waking up this morning to go running. Yesterday was a rest day which helped me recover from the weary run I had on Wednesday. I was able to get through the 4 x 5 min run/5 min walk sequence without any major issues. I figured out that my knees hurt because I sleep on my side and the bones in my knees are pressing against on another all night long. I will have to think of a remedy for this. Weight: 118.5 pounds Breakfast: 1/2 power bar, 1/2 bagel with cream cheese Lunch: leftover chicken and white rice Dinner: Lasagna, Bruchetta, bread

Weak Wednesday

Yesterday was a nice relaxing rest day. I didn't feel any severe pain or fatigue. I felt great. However, this morning's 3 mile run was so brutal on my body. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get the strentgh needed for a proper run. I made it the entire 3 miles, but felt wiped out at the end. Not sure what caused this feeling of pure weakness. Maybe I did not eat enough food last night to fuel my body. When I stepped on the scale, I had lost weight. Must remember to eat a good dinner before long runs. Weight: 118.5 pounds Breakfast: 1/2 power bar, 1 piece of toast Lunch: Salmon, garlic fries Dinner: Chicken, brown rice, apple sauce