Nike Women's Races

Ever since the last Nike Women's race finished in San Fransico I am itching to know when the 2016 races will be held. Especially for Taiwan. I may be going to Taiwan again next year and it would be nice to plan a trip around the race or maybe even consider another country. Well so much for Japan. The registration started in August and now its closed. Bummer. Hong Kong maybe? Well even if there isn't a race in Taiwan there are so many other races I can do there. I never realized that Taiwanese people loved running. For a small country there's a different race every week and in every major city/district. They have lots of fun runs like the Hello Kitty run, but Taiwan is also host to the Ironman. That shows that running or just fitness in general is big in Taiwan.
I figured that if I knew early if there was going to be a Nike run in Taiwan then I could think about maybe doing the half-marathon option. I've been going back and forth about doing a half marathon mainly because the thought of running 13.1 miles freaks me out. I know to some people its nothing, but to me I'm still getting over the fact I could even run a 10K. Plus I'm just starting to incorporate more long runs regularly. When I was running my 5 miles on Sunday I was thinking about my grandfather and that if there was a half marathon I'd do it for him. The more I think of my grandfather the more I tell myself to stop thinking so much about it and just go for it. I mean might as well go big. Once they post the races up I'll start thinking more about it. Why can't they just post it already. I want to know.

Pile on the Miles 2015

My goal for RunEatRepeat's Pile on the Miles challenge was 36 miles. I figured I should at least be able to keep up 3 miles 3 times a week for a total of 9 miles a week.  I totally surprised myself and did a total of 40.5 miles! Pretty good since last year around this time I was sick. This challenge kept me in check with my running and made me challenge myself with longer runs. I would never really run over 4 miles unless I really needed to, but now longer runs are not as daunting. I can't wait to do this next year.

First Long Run

Last Saturday I ran my first non-racing long run of 6 miles. I know for some people this is considered an easy run. I would say this is a bit of a harder run since max my runs go up to 3 miles on a good day. Sometimes when I read other running blogs and they blog about their easy run of 6-8 milers I'm just like I don't know how they consider that easy. I know everyone's different with their running abilities, but sometimes its easy to forget and be envious of other people runs. Since I had a goal of 9 miles for the week for Pile On the Miles 2015 and I only ran 3 miles during the week I really wanted to see if I could do 6 miles. So glad I did and accomplished my goals. I did take stop to take a photo and stopped for a min to answer a phone call so the run wasn't as bad as I thought it would be even though it was pretty warm around noon when I was running. Once again my run outside was met with another animal. This time a dead mouse. I mouse is better than coyote, but when you don't expect any animals except maybe squirrels it really totally freaked me out. This past week I'm not even close to my goal of 9 miles, but I'm not going to stress out about it. The main point is that I'm running regularly.

Fit Foodie Finds Friday

I'm loving Enlightened broad beans. I discovered them on one of YouTuber or as I like to call fitness YouTubers FitTuber Josie Mai's vlogs. After watching her video I had to try it. While watching another YouTuber buying it that I realized it was sold at Fresh & Easy. The next time I was in Fresh & Easy I saw the 3 versions they sold. Sea salt, Siracha, and Mesquite BBQ. My favorite is the BBQ. This is one of my favorite healthy snacks. The problem is that the bag isn't big enough, but at the same time the broad beans are addicting. I could probably eat the whole bag in one sitting if I wasn't paying attention. The macros are good, but I could use a bit less sodium. Only sad thing is Fresh & Easy is closing. Hopefully the price difference at other markets isn't too much. I wonder if its cheaper just buying it direct from them.

Pile on the Miles 2015

I'm participating in Run Eat Repeat's "Pile on the Miles" challenge again. I forget which year I participated. I didn't see a post about it on my Instagram so it might have been in 2013. If it wasn't on Instagram then it probably didn't happen. Hahaha! Though I probably signed up but never met my goal. This year I'm keeping it simple. 36 miles is my goal which averages to 9 miles a week. If I can't keep that up I may have to reevaluate if running is really my thing. Hahaha. After the coyote incident my other goal is to do more cross trainer, circuits, hiits, & anything to improve my running so I'm not running at turtle speed if I ever encounter another coyote. 

Halloween Run

 

That was my face happy to be done with my run. I figured why not run on Halloween plus I had a pumpkin shirt to wear. I was running a different route this time. Less than a mile into my run, I head one way and realize that there's a coyote running around. It wasn't heading towards me, but it was pretty close. I've heard of coyotes running around my neighborhood, but at night. I didn't think it would be walking around in broad daylight. That was my cue to head home. I ran as fast as my little legs could. I hope the coyote didn't get hurt itself or hurt anything because there was lots of people walking their dogs out that morning. Not sure why coyotes are running around the burbs'. Well this is a wake up call to do more cross training and tempo runs. Glad I finished my 2 miles for the Tone It Up #100forcharity. Now I'm just not sure if I'm going to be running outside anymore. I may go back to running at the gym.

Rock N Roll LA 2015 5K Recap

I was excited to run the Rock N Roll 5K again. Last year was my first year & I couldn't wait to do this years. Instead of driving like last year my friend and I took the metro which was easier. There was a lot of people also who took the metro. We got to the race around 6:30 and the race started at 7am. I was suppose to be in corral 2, but I stayed back with my friend in corral 7. Nothing much to say about the course since it was just a 5K. For some reason after 2 miles I started feeling a slight pain in my right side. I was like is this a joke. I have never had any pain around my abs/stomach area while running. I actually contemplated walking for a bit. Glad I didn't though. It wasn't really anything and then I was able to finish in 30:32. I think last year was about 31:00. Just like last year the my Nike+ said the course was 3.21 which is fine. More miles for me to log. Overall I love this race. Seeing all the people getting into it and dressing up. Maybe for next year I'll think about doing the half marathon. I've been having a hard time wrapping my head around doing any half marathon. I think because a 10K is just 3 more miles than a 5K, but a half is like doing two 10Ks back to back. I think one of these days I just need to stop thinking about it and just sign-up for one.

Rock N Roll 5K LA

So excited for the Rock N Roll LA 5K I'm doing tomorrow. This was the costume/outfit I was going to wear last year, but the Jeremy Lin shirt didn't come in time & now he's not on the Lakers anymore. I accidentally put myself into corral 2. Some how I thought I'd be able to run the race in under 30 minutes. We'll see. I'm probably just going to start with my friend in corral 7. It's just exciting to see how many people this race brings out. Last year there was over 30,000. 

TIU #100ForCharity

Before my birthday I week Tone it Up posted their #100ForChairty. They other years I've always wanted to participate, but either I found out too late or got sick. Just my luck during my birthday week my body decided to get allergies. 

Well after 2 weeks I was able to get back to the gym today. I thought it would be hard to run since I didn't workout really for 2 weeks, but I was surprised to pull off over 3 miles today. Through the app Charity Miles, I'm running for WWF. I was thinking if I could reach 100 miles before winter then I would donate some of my own money to the American Heart Association and the Lung Cancer Foundation of America in honor of my grandfathers. I wish the Charity Miles app was connected/associated with the Nike+ Running app. It would be great to be able to log my Nike+ miles too. If I was averaging 3 miles each run I would need 30 days to complete the 100 miles. Hopefully I can bump up my mileage a start running more longer runs so I can reach the 100 miles faster. 

July Running

Finally I was consistent with my running last week. I was reviewing my Nike+ App and found out that March I ran pretty consistently, but after March that's another story. I guess it would help if I bothered to look at the little tally of how many miles I've ran that month. I never really noticed that was there until now. This is actually motivating me to run more next month. My main goal is just to keep up the running consistent and enjoying my runs. The miles don't really matter to me as much as keeping it consistent. There were some months where my running was on and off. When I don't keep the running consistent getting back into running becomes a struggle. When my running starts struggle that's when I start to question and doubt my running abilities. Well last week was good and this week wasn't that great, but started I August off with a an interval run. This was my first time using the Runtastic Pro app. I like how it has features like interval runs, but I guess since my GPS was off it didn't record any of my miles. 

Weight Training & Getting Injured

I feel like its been months since I last picked up weights or done any weight training. The last time I picked up weights was at the barre which was several months ago. Few weeks ago I told myself I needed to start doing more weight training if I wanted to see any results. Plus weight training is great for preventing osteoporosis. Last year I came upon the Fitness Blender YouTube channel. I subscribed to their channel since they had tons of great videos. Since I wasn't doing weights on a regular basis I need to be able to see how to do the moves. My brother has taught me a few moves before, but not doing it on a regular basis its easy to forget the moves and the proper form. I loved doing this weights video from Fitness Blender. At the end of the video they say feel free do a HIIT or some other video. Since I was feeling great I figured I could maybe try a HIIT video. I didn't really want to over do it so I choose at 10 minute HIIT video. Oh boy was I beat after the 10 minute video. HIIT workouts really make you work. After a bit a stretching I felt good and accomplished. The next day was when I started feeling some back and neck pain. I've never really felt this kind of pain before so I took some Advil. I figured all I need to do was not workout for a bit. Those jumps in the HIIT video was probably what caused the whiplash of my next plus the doing the whole weight routine. Couple days later a friend wanted to take a spin class together so I said why not because I was feeling a bit better. After the spin I was still feeling some back and neck pain, but it didn't get worse. I thought as long as I wasn't doing weights I'd be fine. Few days later I decided to run at the gym. Everything was going great till I felt a little something on my neck. I knew that was my cue to stop. The next few days my neck felt really bad. I didn't have as much back pain anymore, but there would be sharp pains around my neck area. Sometimes I would even feel this pinch in my neck just when walking or sitting. That was when I told myself not to do anymore exercise till I recovered fully. The pain the next few days and not being able to turn my neck properly I debated about going to the doctor to get a checkup because I couldn't take the pain anymore and pain medication wasn't cutting it. That night I figured before calling the doctor I'd give some yoga videos on YouTube. I found some videos on helping with back and neck pain. Those videos were a big help. The pain was much better and I was able to move my neck more. Now I'm feeling much better so trying to do more stretches and yoga videos. I'm going to try to incorporate more yoga into my workout routines. Hopefully I can easy back into working out and doing the weight exercises. Now if I can find something to help with my nasal allergies. Back to YouTube I guess.

 

Nike Womens 10K Taipei, Taiwan

This is a late post of the Nike Women's 10K. Since the day I signed up I was super excited to be running my first Nike Women's race. I was so amazed at the amount of people running the 10K and the half marathon. The shear excitement of running a race where my parents was born helped me run this race. My training before the race was on and off. It wasn't the best, but going to run clubs helped me keep my running consistent. I was also able to make to Nike Run Club Taipei and was able to do some speed training. There was quite a few people at Nike Run Club, but not same as run club back in the states. I feel like run club in the states can rake in a ton of people some nights. Few days before the race my mom was trying to arrange a cab to come and pick us up at 4am, but I guess taxis don't really run around that time, unless your going to the airport which is far basically more money. Thank god for my dad's best friend from college. He volunteered to bring my mom and I to the starting line. I arrived at the starting line area around 5am since I didn't need to check anything in. The 10K didn't start until 6am. They had warm-up activities for each race. Stretching & a bit of Zumba. The race started at 6am and we started running. A few minutes into running I started to feel a bit of cramping in my stomach. Since it was the beginning I didn't want to stop, plus it wasn't that bad. After a few more minutes of running it went away. It was fun running the streets & freeways of Taiwan. Since there was over 9,000 people running the 10K running was sort of packed, but it was easy to weave around the slow runners if necessary. When we were crossing this bridge/freeway there was an local high school orchestra playing classical music. That I've never seen at a race so it was different and unique. When I was nearing the end of the race I had one of those "when is this going to end" moments, because every corner I turned I thought it was the end. When ran through the finish line I got a bit emotional because so happy that I was able to run in the country where my ancestors was from. After finishing I was greeted with a single rose and the finishers necklace. It obviously wasn't Tiffany's, but I still loved it. Seeing how many people ran the half marathon it is something I may consider doing one day. I never knew Taiwanese people were that into running. I've always had this misconception that Taiwanese people in general didn't like to workout. Especially the women since they were always super skinny and pale. Well now I know that they probably run to stay skinny. I can't wait to get back home to run club. Going to run club here is literally a trek with the metro system.

Nike Womens 10K Taiwan

About 11-10 days till the Nike Women's race in Taipei. I say "about" since technically Taiwan is a day ahead. This will be my 2nd 10k I've ever done and my first race abroad. I'm hoping I can get in a run or two before the race so I get used the weather & environment. Supposedly the weather should be still on the cold side, which I don't mind. Rather that it be hot and humid. Though normally in April Taiwan starts to warm up. I think global warming is bringing this cold air from the north. Interesting just like California, Taiwan is going through its own drought. I haven't gotten any recent email about the race so everything must be a go or there isn't major changes to the race if there is any. I do need to have my mom reread the rules I printed out that's written in Chinese. I wished they had a English version so it would be easier for me to figure out the details. Once a week of Chinese school wasn't much help. LOL. There was something about not being be allowed to get water from non designated water stations. I guess they are afraid of family members maybe handing a runner a Red Bull or something. I don't even know if wearing a tutu is even allowed, so I'm still debating if I should bother bringing it with me. On the Nike Taiwan Facebook page I was able to find the jewelry they will be giving out. I'd be surprised if it was Tiffany's, but either way I still love it. Training wise I've still been consistently running, but wished I had done some long runs. Main thing about my running is that I still love it. I've read articles where people end up hating running or stop running after training for big races and I would never want to get to that point.

Coaster Run 5K 2015

This is my 3rd Coaster Run 5k. Just like every year it's held at Knotts Berry Farm. Still my favorite race out of all the races I've ever done. Mostly because no other race can you get a Snoopy medal. If I could only do one race a year it would have to be this one. I didn't PR, but that wasn't really my goal with this one. Not sure if it's just me, but this race I found hard to really run without weaving around people. Apparently walkers got mixed in with runners. This year the Knotts Buffet brunch didn't land the same day as the race which was a bit of a bummer, but a good opportunity to try out Black Bear Diner in Buena Park.  I can't wait to do this race next year. Maybe I'll be doing the 10K.

Nike Womens Run Taipei, Taiwan

I'm so excited to be running a 10K in the Nike Women's Race in Taipei Taiwan. I heard about the race last year through Instagram post. Last year the race was held in June and it was just a half marathon. I thought maybe one day in a few years it would be a cool race to do. I wasn't sure if I'd every want to do a half marathon, but if I did I'd definitely put the Nike Women's Race on my bucket list. In January I was talking with my parents about taking a trip back to a Taiwan to see family. A few week later I stumble upon information about the Nike Women's run Taipei, Taiwan and got excited because they have a 10K as well as the half marathon. This year they have it set in April which I would think is much better weather than June. It was easy to sign-up and there wasn't any lottery system, but I'm not sure about the half marathon. Only thing I know so far from what my mom translate with the rules was that I can't take a drink from non designated water stations. I guess they are afraid that I might take a Red Bull or something from people watching me race. I've been trying to find blogs to tell me more information about last years race, but I haven't stumbled upon any Taiwanese running bloggers yet. Only thing I hope I'm allowed to do is bring my own water. Having to grab water at a station totally slows me down. Its just going to be amazing running with my fellow Taiwanese girls & other people from all over the world that also running. I never realized running was such a big thing in Taiwan until these past couple of years. Every month in Taiwan there are at least 10+ races going on all over the country even in the hot humid days of summer. Now I just need to work on getting more longer runs. I think I'll have to go on a 6 mile run with the Nike Pasadena run club one of these days & figure out how I'm going to get up for a 5am start time.

2014 Race Recap

 

Super late post about my 2014 races. 2014 was a great year for running races. I went a bit overboard with the different 5Ks I decided to run, but it was all worth it. My favorite race is always the Coaster Run, but I loved how the RnR Los Angeles was able to bring together so many people for a race. I have never been to a race with over 20,000 people. I was amazed just being with so many liked minded people. So bummed I didn't get to bump into Andrea Barber aka Kimmy Gibbler of Full House. Full House was my favorite childhood show.

 

Started off 2015 with a 5K in the New Years Race. I've never done this race before or run around DTLA so it was great to see Los Angeles at night. I was kind of winging the race because I wasn't running consistently in December. As long as I could do the whole race without stopping I was happy. Sometimes I get these bouts of self doubt, but then come race time its like I have my game face on and I can do it. My main goal for 2015 is to not doubt myself and eliminate negative attitude towards my running ability. I had a friend tell me her self doubt on her run ability and I was like why doubt yourself. These days I realized that self doubt just hinders me from properly running and enjoying running. Only thing I can do it to try and try my best.