Monthly Archives: March 2014

Marathon Training – Week 10

Posted on by

1

What a great first week of spring! Loving this March weather we got. Besides running, I have been doing some spring cleaning for the boyfriend and cooking a bit. I made an awesome Coconut Shrimp Curry with cabbage the other day, but I’m too tired to post the recipe here since this week I did over 35 miles!

Shrimp Coconut Curry
The pups enjoying the spring

I also added a new workout (besides my 3 short runs, my weekend long run, and my 2 yoga classes.) There is a new CrossFit place in Midtown and they offered a free one-month membership for the people who went to their Grand Opening. I hate group workout classes so I know I won’t go to many of them, but I wanted to at least give it a try. Good thing I did it on Wednesday, after 2 of my short runs, because for the next two days I couldn’t move. I was only able to do my long run after I got a massage on Saturday. It was by far the most challenging run so far. The first 8 miles were easy and fast, but I hit the wall on mile 9 and was almost giving up. It was hot, I had a stomachache, and I started asking myself why I was training for a marathon anyway. Around mile 13 I got my second wind for another couple of miles, but by mile 16 I was out of water and miserable again. All I wanted to do was lay on the pavement and go to sleep. Finally completed my 18 miles in 3h40 (12 min/mile). It’s great I didn’t give up, but I’m concerned I won’t be able to finish the marathon in 5 hours at this pace.

Eating: Crepe N’ Roll

Posted on by

5

Last week  I used some Groupons to try a few new places: Hussong’s Mexican Cantina and Crepe N’Roll. There was nothing special about the meal at Hussong’s (the original restaurant in Mexico is the birthplace of the maragarita), but it was a great place to go inside the Silver Legacy Casino before heading to the Lady Antebellum concert (which was awesome BTW).  However, the crepe place is something to rave about. It serves crepes Japanese style, which is even better than regular French ones. Who knew! For atmosphere, I’ll still go to La Crema, but if I’m craving a fast and filling crepe, I’ll definitely go back to Crepe N’Roll. Good thing I still have two more Groupons to use there.

Lady Antebellum Concert
Crepe N’ Roll

Marathon Training – Week 11

Posted on by

2

I just love daylight savings time! Now when I get off work, I can go home and still fit in a nice run before it gets dark. This past week I felt so good with temperatures in the low 70’s and flowers blooming, that I decided to change my training and do 16 miles on Saturday instead of my scheduled 10. A few months ago, when I was talking with the organizer of a race here in Reno, he said if you can do 16 miles, you are physically fit for a marathon, because the last 10 miles are just a mental challenge. Well, I’m glad to say I can do 16 miles without any problems (except that my GPS stopped working on mile 7 and I’m not sure of my exact miles… I went longer, so I probably did close to 17 miles)! So I signed up for the Downtown River Run marathon here in Reno on April 13th, which was actually my original marathon date. I’ll try to run as much as I can that day and if I complete the race in under 5 hours, then I’m done and can relax and get my life back, but if I don’t complete it, then I’ll continue training for the marathon in San Diego in June.

Downtown River Run
River!
Spring time is approaching

Marathon Training – Week 12

Posted on by

0

I didn’t run at all while I was away for a conference in San Jose, but I did make sure I jogged and did yoga the day before and the day after my trip, so I was actually able to finish my training for the week on time, which included a 14 mile run (2h48). Very proud of my high-mileage week, but not so proud of my eating habits… So far I have lost only .5 since Week 20. How is it possible to run 20-35 miles a week and not lose any weight?? Breakfast burritos, steak, wine, nachos, whiskey, pizza, cookies… That’s how. Decided that I needed a change, so I’m giving up Girl Scout Cookies for lent. Don’t laugh. It’s been a huge sacrifice already.

More: Oscar Party

Posted on by

1

For years I’ve been trying to host an Oscar Party, but it never works out, so this time around I decided to post it as a meet-up and let strangers with similar interests (basically movies, dressing up, eating, and drinking) come. The result: best Oscar party ever! Well, we actually knew most of the people that came, and between that and making new friends, we never really watched the Oscars.

Oscar Party Red Carpet
Oscar Party Red Carpet
Oscar Party
Oscar Party Red Carpet

 

Out of 20 people, only one person didn’t dressed up. Everybody else looked AMAZING, especially the boyfriend, who wore a tux with a bow tie and studs to match my dress. Our friend D. won the style contest for best dressed female with her creative outfit, while V. won best dressed male with his formal Indian attire. Everybody also brought drinks and mostly homemade appetizers, which made it the easiest party to host. I will definitely try to make it an annual event from now on!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Oscar ballot winner!
Best dressed winner!
Best dressed winner!

Marathon Training – Week 13

Posted on by

1

It was a crazy stressful week trying to fit it all in before my Oscar party and the conference trip. I had to split one of my weekday runs in half again, but got the boyfriend to go with me for one of them, which is always nice. Not sure what this coming week will look like for running since I’ll be out of town and busy all day long. Good thing I’ve schedule a floating week off in my training anticipating a situation like this. Nevertheless, I’ll bring my running shoes just in case.

Ps.: Made a delicious crustless quiche the other day with all the vegetables I had left over. Yum!

Steamed vegetables + 5 beaten eggs + 350 degrees for 45 min. = Delicious Quiche

Steamed vegetables + 5 beaten eggs + 350 degrees for 45 min. = Delicious Quiche

Marathon Training – Week 14

Posted on by

0

Super slow training week: completed my long run of 13 miles with 13 min/miles. That’s barely jogging, but at least I did it. However, I’m glad to report that my hip pain went away after a trip to the gym. The personal trainer made me do a super hard full-body workout and the next day my hip pain was nothing by comparison.

Fitness for 10 Gym

Fitness for 10 Gym

Running, Eating, and Traveling in San Francisco

Posted on by

0

As a continuation of our Valentine’s Day, the boyfriend and I went to San Francisco after Napa. The weather was perfect, sunny, and in the 70’s, so I couldn’t be more excited about running by the water. My friend J. and her boyfriend just got a new place in this cool part of town and from their apartment it was only 1.5 miles to AT&T Baseball Park and another mile to the Ferry Building.

AT&T Ballpark – San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Run
San Francisco Run

 

Tons of people were out enjoying the beautiful weather, so after the run we got a table outside at “The Ramp” for some drinks, guacamole, and crab egg benedict. Then, after a nap, more drinks and food at a Senegalese restaurant (“Bissap Baobab“) that was having live Brazilian music, which was the next best thing after trying to find a Brazilian restaurant open on a holiday without success.

Crab Egg Benedict
“The Ramp” Restaurant
J. and J.
San Francisco at night
Drinks
San Francisco at night

 

The pattern of drinks/food/sleep was repeated throughout the weekend, although we did walk what it seemed over 10 miles uncovering clues during the Chinese New Year Treasure Hunt. The first part of the clues had to do with the name of a San Francisco street, and since I don’t know much about the area, I wasn’t much help. We teamed up with a group from the Bay and eventually figured out all of the clues, even if it look us forever to cross the Chinese New Year Parade that was going on at the same time. We felt pretty good about our accomplishment, but ended up getting 30th place 😦

This slideshow requires JavaScript.