Posted on Jun 22, 2009 under Race |
The Bonita 5000 5K Race is the 2nd race of my ‘season’ and I finished at 20:05 at 6:29 pace, 74th out of 387, and 9th in my age group. Looking at the finishing time, you can say that it was a pretty good run. But if you read on, you’ll see that I probably could have run a lot smarter and faster! So the last few workouts that I’ve ran before this race have not been that great. I would start off ok, but after each mile, I would just feel really tired and not be able to keep up the pace. I was afraid that I would come into this race and not run as fast as I was able to to run in the UCSD Grove Run 5K. And the fact that it was a 30 minute drive to this race would have made it even more disappointing to not run well. But I guess that didn’t really happen since I improved my time by about 15 seconds, and again, it probably could have been faster if I were a smarter runner..
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Posted on Jun 16, 2009 under Race |
Race Pictures: UCSD Grove Run 5K
So the race pictures for the UCSD Grove Run 5K has been available online for a while now, I just didn’t have time to actually post them on the blog. These aren’t even all of them, just the ones that summarize the race and ones that I’m (sort of) in. Read the UCSD Grove Run 5K Race Report or view all the pictures from the race.
Note: I wanted the gallery to display using Lightbox (like the race banner), but I can’t get it to work. Maybe for the next race.. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on Jun 12, 2009 under Reviews |
I bought my first pair of Skullcandy Ink’d Earbud Headphones back in February of 2008 when they were on sale at Circuit City (when they were still in business). It was around that time that I started running again too and only one earphone of my current Sony headphones were working, so this was much needed for my runs. I am far from being any type of audiophile, but I was very pleased with those earbud headphones. The sound quality was really good, they actually stayed in my ears while running (can’t say the same with the headphones that come with iPods) and I had no real issues with them while they were functioning. The only reason that they died on me was because after I was done using them, I would wrap them around my iPod shuffle and after doing that so many times, the wires seem to have gotten loose and started receiving static noises and eventually died. I got another pair to replace those and have learned my lesson about wrapping the headphones around the iPod. The problem now is that transporting them from work and back home is a little bit more difficult as they get tangled with other stuff in my bag. But if that means that they will last longer, it’s definitely worth the trouble.
Posted on Jun 07, 2009 under track |
Workout: 1 mile warm up, 4-1 mile repeats at 6:40 pace, 1 mile cool down
Time: 6:39 (172 bpm, 127 calories); 6:38 (181 bpm, 137 calories); 6:39 (183 bpm, 140 calories); 6:23 (186 bpm, 138 calories) 1:24 all out last lap. Peak HR: 201.
Weather: Sunny and windy around the backstretch and final 100 meter
The last time I ran on the track, I ran one mile all out just to see what kind of shape I was in. I was pretty happy with running a 6:02 considering it wasn’t that long after I started running again. Fast forward a couple of months after a lot more miles and even an actual race under my belt, I decided to try mile repeats on the track, which is an interval workout which I used to do in high school all the time. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 30, 2009 under Random |
Running in the Rain
I just got back from a run this morning and I’m hoping this will be my first post right after a run. I’ve always been a fan of running in the rain and feel that there are many positive benefits for many reasons. Now don’t get me wrong, it is never safe to be running in the rain when it is pouring outside. Even though today was just drizzling, my New Balance 768’s weren’t gripping to the road as well as I would have wanted them to. In fact, there were sharp turns on the road where I felt like I was going to slip a little. So you definitely need running shoes that will be able to grip the slippery roads. And you need to know when it is raining too hard to run because running with soaked clothes and shoes is just like running with added weights. But other than that, I think that the benefits of running in the run outweigh the disadvantages.
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Posted on May 30, 2009 under Reviews |
I was sent a heart rate monitor watch to review from Timex, called the Ironman Road Trainer. It was pretty exciting to get since I didn’t know when it was going to arrive, if at all and when did get something in the mail, I actually thought it was another package that I ordered. The only reason why I realized that it wasn’t something I ordered was because it was sent via overnight shipping, and I never order anything overnight shipping. So I got the watch while at work and really wanted to start using it right away, but decided to wait to enjoy it from the comfort of my own home. When I finally started using it, it actually didn’t take that long to set up and worked right away.
Timex Ironman Road Trainer Heart Rate Monitor Watch
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Posted on May 27, 2009 under Race |
Race Report: UCSD Grove Run 5K
Course: 5K with hills during mile 2 & 3
Time: 20:19
Splits: Mile 1: 6:06 HR: 179; Mile 2: 7:13 HR: 192; Mile 3: 6:17 HR:193
Total Calories Burned: 446
The last time I competed in an official race was during the Track & Field season of my senior year in high school…2003! That is a very long hiatus from racing if you ask me. After that last race, I ran on and off the first and second year of college, but not very often and definitely not training for any competitive races. Working out at the gym helped keep me from gaining that infamous freshman 15.
I finally started running again a couple of months ago and to keep myself from being bored running the same distance every day and alone, I decided to also compete in a race, so that I was actually training for something. So I heard about a race at UCSD, called the UCSD Grove Run 5K, which is “Socal’s First Sustainable Race”. They were trying to run the greenest race ever: by not having race bibs (just writing your race # on your hand), having appropriate recycling receptacles, and even organic fruit picked straight from local farms. They also had something called the “Greenest Athlete Award” where you get a certain number of points for doing things to help reduce your carbon footprint. For example, if you biked to the race, you would get some points. Or if you carpooled or brought your own water bottle or donated any type of running gear too. That was a pretty cool idea, too bad I did almost nothing that was green. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 16, 2009 under Training |
Since I knew that I was going to run Lake Miramar today, I planned to have an easy run on Friday. But I wasn’t anticipating running as slow as I did. It might have also been that I decided to run an extra lap too. Either way, that just meant that I had no excuses for not running fast today. And after running the Lake Miramar loop today and seeing my time (36:00), it definitely looks like that easy run helped.
As I arrived at the lake, I noticed that there were significantly more cars today. I didn’t have the prime parking space like I did last time I ran at Lake Miramar. I noticed that there were two tents by the start of the loop. Apparently there was an event that was happening this morning called, “Ray of Sunshine Miramar Lake Walk”. The walk was going to start at 8, so I had more than enough time to finish before it started. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 09, 2009 under Training |
I’m a little late with this post, but better late than never. I have to say, people who do post the same day they run or workout must be very diligent bloggers. I probably should post right away though because it’s like a dream to me: I’ll forget all details of a run by the next day. Hopefully I can at least post a few days after a run. So last week, I ran this 5 mile loop around the nearby lake. Most of my runs have been just doing laps around these one mile loops by my place. It was very convenient because I would walk out the door and just cross the street to the loop. But the lake was a nice change of scenery though. The drive there wasn’t too bad, only like 5 minutes. I’ve joined the San Diego Running Meetup Group to see if there are any meetups that I’d be interested in doing. However, most of the runs are either early in the morning or early evening right after work but it’s just too out of the way to do. They actually have meetups on that same lake, but I get out of work too late to do it.
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Posted on May 03, 2009 under Reviews |
When I started running again about a year ago, I needed a pair of running shoes, but didn’t want to buy new shoes just for casual running. So I just asked an old runner friend if I could have one of his old pairs, which any runner knows is not a good idea. I was fortunate enough to get a pair of running shoes that was still in decent condition and didn’t give me any injuries (it probably helped that I only ran a couple times a week). I should have learned from that past to choose the right pair of running shoes. But I finally got a new pair this last week and took it for a run right out of the box the same day I got them in the mail. I think I’ve ran in every major brand of running shoes available, but got a pair of New Balance running shoes from New Balance Harrisburg. Here is my take on the shoes..
New Balance 768 Running Shoes
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