Eat Teach Blog

Yes, I realize that it’s not Monday anymore. I also realize that I’m not going to hit my goal of 31 posts in the month of July. But, life’s been hectic driving up and down the state of California. Speaking of which, I’ve signed my lease and am going to be a resident of Campbell, CA starting August 4th!

Just a quick update on the half-marathon training. Last Saturday, I had a 5-miler to run. I was a little nervous about it all week because I haven’t run 5 miles since 2009. It also didn’t help that we were out late at a Brad Paisley concert the night before. And laser tag. And buying 30 people food from Taco Bell.

Pre-Concert Tractor Picture. Fitting, right?

Let’s not get too detailed about how this bike was acquired…

Pink Drink. TaylrSwift. Rad. And Rocketeer. We failed.

So, after an adventurous night, I wasn’t too sure I was going to complete the daunting task of 5 miles. Yet, I still managed to get myself out of bed and to the Creek Trail to attempt it. The Los Gatos Creek Trail seems to be quite the hot spot for Saturday morning training runs. Teams in Training was there. The San Jose Running Team was there. Some group called the Red Divas (I think?) was there. People passed me. People ran FAST. I just had to keep reminding myself to focus on me. And just me.

It wasn’t easy…..I started off slow…..but I was able to complete it!!!  Without walking. Without stopping. Aside from the 15 seconds I pulled over at the water fountain (<—-People go on and on about how hydration is so KEY. But I don’t think I’ve ever been on a run long enough to really realize it. I’m going to need to start running with my CamelBak!) 

5 miles in 58 minutes.

I’m doing it…

I’m back! And boy was it amazing……

But before I share a recap of my week up at camp, I just want to share the last two days of running. I’m still kind of exhausted/sore/not quite adjusted to life back here. But I wanted to make sure I started back up with my training program. I’m going to be repeating week 1 (probably the remainder of this week and then next week) and I will be in line with the schedule counting down until the day of the race! =)

Yesterday was a little tougher than I expected. I was pretty active up at camp – I, along with my 3 co-advisors, were responsible for the high school kids and we spent a good chunk of the week doing service learning projects. There were very few moments where I was sitting down….we were always moving around (which ended up paying off in the weight department. Came home 4 pounds lighter, but more on that later…).

But yesterday, when I got myself back onto the treadmill, I felt as though I was starting from scratch. I ran a mile before I had to stop and start walking to regain my breath and strength to continue. I was able to complete two miles in 22:46. Hard to swallow…I used to be such a good runner and now I run a mile and want to call it quits.

Today, on the drive to the gym, I kept thinking about all the posts I’ve read and all of the advice I’ve gotten from runners. It’s my first half marathon. I shouldn’t be pushing myself to increase my speed and PR with each run I have. My goal is to start and finish. To do something I’ve never done before. If I want to challenge myself with PR’ing in my second half marathon, that’s fine. But right now, completing this is enough of a challenge.

Today on the schedule was a 3-mile run. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve run 3 miles straight for quite some time…..I decided to decrease my speed to between 5.8 and 6.2 on the treadmill today. And that made all the difference. I was able to run without stopping. Run without walking. Run without feeling pain. Run with ease. And run….while remembering that I’m still a runner. 

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What do you think about when you run? What’s the mantra you play over and over in your head to keep you going? 

This guest blogger shares with us her journey in becoming a runner. She has motivated me to push harder, continuously challenge myself, and be 110% dedicated to my training. Please welcome Leticia from Running around Hungry:

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Hello everyone!  My name is Leticia and I have the privilege of being Divya’s guest blogger for today!  When I found out I was going to be guest blogging, I must admit I was quite nervous.  It is, after all, my first time doing this.  Actually, I am new to the blogging world altogether; I only just recently started my own blog after years of following and reading others daily running/eating/cooking/fitness adventures.

Lucky for me, Divya posed a rather intriguing question.  She asked me what it was that inspired me to take the plunge and decide to run a half marathon, and if running had ever been a difficult thing for me.  It was then that I knew what I had to write about.  The truth is, up until about a year and a half ago, running had always been a difficult thing for me! 

You see growing up I was a basketball player.  And pretty much since I started playing at the age of nine, running was used as a form of punishment for us.  We ran when we missed a free throw, we ran when we made a bad pass, we ran when we lost a game.  We ran to get into shape, we ran to stay in shape, and we ran because we weren’t in good enough shape.  I didn’t care, though, because I ate, slept, and breathed basketball and I would have done anything to be able to play.  Actually, I did do a lot to be able to play, like having three knee surgeries, two of them being major ACL reconstructive surgeries.  All of this for the love of the game!

What I did not love, however, was running.  I hated it, actually.  I’ll never forget the first time I ran three miles.  It was in the middle of volleyball season my junior year in high school and my volleyball/basketball coach decided to have us run in a Cross-country meet.  Being that I was from a very small town (we’re talking one stoplight, here!) there wasn’t exactly a plethora of athletes to choose from.  So what she did was take her volleyball team, suit us up and made us run in the meet.  The meet was on Saturday and so the Wednesday before that she took us out on a “practice run”.  She loaded all nine of us into the back of her truck, drove us three miles out into the back roads in the middle of the surrounding fields, and dropped us off.  We knew it was either run back or be stuck out there in the middle of no where!  Despite the fact that I had NEVER run three miles before, and neither had most of my teammates, I managed to finally make my way all the way back at the school.  When I got there she handed me my uniform for the upcoming meet.

That Saturday we ran in the Cross Country meet and, having just recuperated from my second ACL surgery, I was forced to wear both of my giant knee braces.  The entire time I was running, my knee braces rubbed together where the joints hinged and occasionally caught and got stuck together.  Somehow I managed not to trip and fall and finished the race anyway.  The whole time I was running I could hear the on-lookers.  Most of them were cheering me on, but some were teasing me, calling me names like “Bionic Woman” because of the metal around ¾ of my legs.

This was nothing new; I was used to nicknames like this and didn’t let it bother me.  I just kept running and concentrated on finishing the race.  Eventually I did, and I came in – are you ready for this – last.  Dead. Last. I was embarrassed (humiliated, really, because I was really good in basketball but horrible at this) and exhausted.  Nevertheless, I was relieved to have that horrible experience over with.

As you can probably tell, that memory has stayed with me all these years.  That happened almost 20 years ago.  Yet I can recall it with such vividness that I can describe it as if it happened yesterday.  I guess you could almost say I was a little traumatized.  Why is it that in life it’s the painful things that stick with us the longest?

This is WHY I RUN.  I run because I can.

I run because I don’t have to wear two giant knee braces and my legs are better than ever.  I run to forget all those nicknames that people used to call me.  I run to show myself that I can keep going…for 13.1 miles, even…and not quit, no matter what, just like I didn’t that day.  I run because I remember the days when I hated it…and bask in the knowledge that I ACTUALLY ENJOY IT NOW!  I run to remind myself that it is a PRIVILEGE to get to run, because there are so many people in this world who couldn’t, even if they wanted to.  And most importantly, I run…every single day…to prove to myself that although I may not be the fastest runner in the world, I am steady and have stamina and I WILL FINISH, and I WILL NOT come in dead last. Ever. Again.

This brings a whole new meaning to the phrase, “I run because I can,” doesn’t it?

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Why do you run? =) 

Today was the first official day of half-marathon training. It was also the first official day of the Lose-A-Marathon challenge!

I had to run/walk three miles today so I excitedly threw on my new running shoes from A Snail’s Pace - a running store that analyzes the way you run and then chooses a shoe based on where you place most of your weight.

I was planning on jogging the whole thing, but had to stop about halfway through because my feet started to hurt. Not like a typical pain, but the bottoms of my feet were just in a lot of pain. I’m not really sure whether it’s because they’re new shoes and I have to break them in or maybe it’s just not enough support? I’m going to try out the same distance tomorrow with my old pair and see if it makes a difference.

So I walked for a bit and then continued running. So today, I completed 3 miles in 34 minutes. Not great, but whatevs. When I got home, I was eager to create a training log on Excel to start tracking my runs. I searched online to see if there was something already made. I came across this one from thinnmann.com:

I got ridiculously overwhelmed, so quickly closed that document and started creating my own. It’s similar…but a lot simpler. I don’t really think I need anything crazy like the above document. Just something that will allow me to see whether I’m making progress and my comments along the way.

Also got myself this nice, yummy salad from Wahoo’s. Chicken breast, banzai veggies, and avocado – yummy.

No dressing needed! =)

I also got Diet Pepsi – lots of it. But now my insides are hurting a lot. I’ve gotta quit it for real. No more DP this week for me. That’s a challenge – but I gotta do it. This isn’t a fun feeling….

Running Experts – any advice on the shoes? Should I tough it out and see how I feel in a week? Is this normal? 

I went for a 3 mile interval run this morning at William R. Mason Regional Park in Irvine. I actually wanted to go trail running and searched for some suggestions on Yelp. They gave me this. It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but it was a nice little discovery. The park was just 10 minutes from my house, but I had never been before. It’s a fairly large park with a huge lake, lots of trees and grass, picnic tables, a playground and a nice cement walkway (I’m assuming this is the “trail” Yelp is referring to). It’s also nice because there’s not many cars (because they charge for parking) so it really feels like you’re off in this distant place of peacefulness.

The only downside was that there were lots of ducks around the lake area. Which I initially thought was SUPER SUPER cool. And then as I got closer, I realized that I had to dodge a ton of duck sh*t on the run. Lovely.

After the run, I met up with Sister to grab lunch at Subway. Surprised? Well, turns out I’m much more of a Subway freak than I thought. I checked in on Yelp and suddenly became the Duchess of that particular Subway. Either people don’t check in as much as I do or I just go to Subway WAY too much. I think it’s the latter, but I’m too embarrassed to admit it.

After lunch, Sister and I went to Snail’s Pace to buy some new running shoes. Tomorrow is official starting day of my half-marathon training. There are so many training programs online – I’m not sure which one to follow. But seeing as how I’m kind of a noob at this long-distance stuff, I think I’m going to try this particular program:

HalfMarathonGuide2012-Beginner

Anyone have a better suggestion? Any advice at all for a first time half-marathon runner?