Mount Doom

There’s 10 days left of Ramadan, and about a month and a half since my last post. It’s been busy to say the least but I thought i’d do a quick update on where i’ve been and what’s next for me.

First week of Ramadan went really well. Started off the first day of fasting with a 7mi run. Second week was a little weaker because I didn’t have a lot of time. Third week, so far is going well, hoping not to have to miss any runs. I’ve been sticking to my run schedule more or less except for my Sunday runs – they have all been over 10 miles, and it’s a little tough to account for, but i’m hoping I can do at least one 9-10 mile run while fasting.

I’ve had to shift a few running days and unfortunately miss a few as well because of the heat, prior commitments but mostly lack of time. It hasn’t been as super consistent as I was hoping but at least i’m running twice a week. I even did a very short run while pushing my nephew in the stroller the other day! I have a new found respect for running moms, they truly are superwomen!

This Saturday, my sister and I signed up for Yoga on the beach which includes a morning run before yoga. I haven’t run in the morning during ramadan for two years, so i’m hoping to just stay super hydrated and not overexert myself for the rest of the day.

Lastly, I ended up signing up for a different half marathon after finding out that one I originally signed up for is on a trail known “Dead Legs Trail” AND “Mount Doom”. I’m all for LOTR references but that one terrified me, lol.

So I signed up for The SF Marathon which is the next day on July 26th! That worked out perfectly 🙂 Especially because the max elevation is less than 300 feet! This’ll be my first time to run in the city, i’m excited because I can tell it’s gonna be one of those races where everywhere you go people are cheering you on. That said, I am starting to feel a little nervous for my race because I haven’t really run anything over 7mi in a few weeks. I know I can do it, but my brain keeps throwing doubts at me. I’m hoping my body recalls that less than a year ago, it ran 13.1 miles and it can definitely do it again.

Mantra Monday

While i’m training for my marathon, i’m trying to write down mantras for every mile, so when it comes to race day, I can use them as personal milestones. I read this awesome post by rUnladylike that inspired the idea. A few people had commented suggesting to get athletic tape and writing the mantras on the tape, and placing it on your arms, and remove them with each passing mile. So from today until a week before race day, i’ll be trying to share mantras on mondays and compile 26 of them for my half marathon & first marathon.

So for this Monday, the mantra I chose is…

“Everything will be alright, go boldy and find your happy!”

I just love that this begins with “everything will be alright,” it reminds me that no matter what hardship or obstacle you face at that moment, it will eventually pass.

Holding myself accountable

I’ve recently been trying to become more responsible for my actions. I am the world’s biggest procrastinator and it always binds me in tight spots. I love the thrill of crunch time, but I am learning that it is not the best way to grow. A few years ago, if you were to ask me what my schedule was like, i’d tell you I was super busy, and had no idea why I did this to myself. I was constantly taking classes and learning, and while I don’t want to go back to school, I do like to feel like i’m growing in someway or another. That’s part of the reason why I fell in love with running, it gave me so much motivation, and the final test wasn’t something I had to learn facts for, I could just live in the moment, and wish for the best while knowing I prepared for it.

I picked up, “Believe Training Journal” by Lauren Fleshman and Roisin McGettigan-Dumas. I stumbled upon an ad for the journal while reading my Women’s Running Magazine last month. I immediately fell in love with the concept and bought a copy. Unfortunately due to my workout hiatus, I couldn’t use it until last week. I was so excited when I pulled it out to write down my first activity of the week. As you can probably tell from my blog, I love to mark down my activity and write about my fitness progress as much as possible. My first week with the journal I tried to just get back into a routine, I ran three times (including my race) and did one session of yoga. I’m hoping that my pages will be a little more filled as I get back into my regular running schedule, i’m sure the pages will be very filled with writing and tatters in no time. 🙂

In terms of trying to grow, I am really trying to open myself up to new opportunities, and experiences. But most importantly i’m trying to just live in the present, and stop fussing about over things that aren’t important. Before the race last Sunday, I was getting all sorts of nervous, I kept thinking maybe i’m not ready to get back into this and it’s too soon, and maybe I should just walk the 6 miles. Something came over me though when I woke up in the morning for the race, I just told myself to just let it all go, and just take it one step at a time, if I end up having to stop and walk, then so be it. I can’t begin to describe the insane amount of energy that you get at this race. All the women that are running or walking, and cheering everyone on, it’s electric. I ran the whole way with my sister, it was her first 10K, and I couldn’t be prouder of her. She rocked it so well, we ran side by side most of time, and when we passed that 6mi marker, I couldn’t even believe we were already there. When I let my doubts go, a calm washed over me, and running that race was so much easier than I expected it to be.

Progress Report: It’s already the end of March, and I can’t believe we’re already one-fourth into the year. I still haven’t forgotten my goals from the beginning of the year, I just signed up for my 2nd half marathon on July 25th! I’m looking into a solid training program to start for my marathon that I hope to run by the end of the year. AND starting a strength training workout today (so excited!), and last but not least, going to start another Simple Green Smoothie Challenge on Wednesday for the month of April!

Turkey trottin’

Woke up thanksgiving morning and went for a 6mi run with 30,000 people. This was my first time participating in the Turkey Trot, it was SO fun. I’ve never been in a race where there are people constantly around throughout the whole race. As I ran through the streets of San Jose, people played music, held out signs, and cheered for all the runners and walkers that came by. It was such a pleasant experience, and I can’t wait to do it again next year.

Before Thursday, I hadn’t run 6mi in a couple months. I have been consistently running 4mi every sunday with my run club, but it’s been a while since I ran over 4, and it was surprisingly challenging. I kept getting in my head and trying to convince myself to stop running and just walk a little, but luckily the part of me that hates to quit won the battle in my mind and I ran the whole race (stopping only once at the 3mi mark to drink water).

Yesterday, I officially started re-training, I signed up for the She.Is.Beautiful. 10K in March, and I am hoping that I can significantly improve my time over the next couple months. My training program is supposed to help me to run a 10K in approximately 65 min, which would mean I would have to cut down my current time significantly. I’m not expecting miracles but will try my absolute best to start increasing my speed. I’m really excited to start this new training program because I feel like i’ve been super slacking in the running department, which is making me super lazy in general.

Progress Report: Usually after my runs, I have really bad knee pain, but for the past couple weeks when I go out for a run, my knees haven’t been hurting as much, which means yoga and cycling have actually been helping strengthen my knees, yay!!

Song of the week: Stronger by Britney Spears

Lately, i’ve been running to the Cardio Playlist on Spotify, I don’t know more than half the songs, but they are so fun and keep you moving to the beat. Check it out below if you’re interested!