Il Giornale di RaDragon

Archive for July, 2009

Need new shoes?

Friday, 31 July 2009 | 09:53 am

I might have to finally retire my Nike Pegasus 2007. My last run on Wednesday, a short 3 miles, did some havoc on my knees that I can still feel up to now. Then again, I worsened the symptom by walking in 3-inch heels last night. >_< But I still think I need to switch to a new pair — I’m sure I’ve had over 300 miles on this shoe, more than any mileage I’ve put on my previous running shoes and I’ve replaced those earlier. I guess I just really love this pair that I don’t want to let it go! LOL.

I’m seriously considering the Nike LunarGlide+ but a part of me says that I need to stick with the tried and tested Pegasus, especially since it’s part of the Bowerman Series. Eastbay has the Pegasus 25+ on sale, which I’ve read is much better than the newer Pegasus 26+. Again, it doesn’t make sense because it’s supposedly Bowerman Series (i.e., fit, cushioning and response should be the same but there are some niggly changes here and there [colour, style] that might determine a reviewer’s input.) Maybe I’ll go to Road Runner Sports this weekend and finally get fitted properly. Maybe run around the store in the LunarGlide+ and see how they feel. I gotta remember to bring my orthotics, though.

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Race Report: SF Marathon (Half-Marathon)

Tuesday, 28 July 2009 | 01:29 pm

Race: The San Francisco Marathon (Half-Marathon)
Date: July 26th, 2009
Location: San Francisco, California

Notes:
What can I say, this race kicked my arse! The first few miles were mellow and flat. By the time you’re warmed up (and it was a nice nippy/chilly morning), the first steep climb greets you, or rather, smacks you in the face! Never have I, in all the races I’ve ran, encountered such a steep incline. This was around mile 5. So the climb started with a really steep grade and it kind of levelled off but you were still climbing and felt the burn on your quads. The funny thing was, they had these signs posted on the side of the road. Like, trivia questions that the race organizers put up to read as you ran past them. It was really funny that I had to take photos of it (please forgive the quality of these photos as they were taken with my mobile)!

Read the rest of this entry »

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Nike LunarGlide+ Contest

Friday, 24 July 2009 | 11:51 am

After watching the Boston Marathon on the Universal Sports (US) channel and seeing Kara Goucher nab 3rd spot, other than the thought that she could’ve gotten first (before overtaken by two Africans at the tail end of the race), I was also thinking that I really really liked her shoes! lol.

Anyway, fast-forward to a few months later, and Diana sent me an email forward that she thought I might find interesting… and interesting I didst foundst it! ^_^

Apparently, Universal Sports is working with Nike to find 3 runners that will run in the LunarGlide+ for 4 weeks and blog about their experiences. I know I probably won’t be one of the winners (I’m not exactly your typical runner type!) but I signed up anyway and thought that my other running pals might be interested, as well:  http://www.universalsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=23000&ATCLID=204761839

If you do end up being chosen, deffo message me as I wanna follow your progress! ^_^

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Abridged Updates!

Thursday, 23 July 2009 | 04:27 pm

Let’s see, since my last post on July 12th, I have:

  • Ran 11 miles (Monday, 13th July)
  • Went to Disneyland for the second time in my lifetime (Wednesday, 15th July – 1pm to 10pm)
  • Met up with Jo and Sheryl to watch the 6th Harry Potter film at Downtown Disney and had waaay too much Cherry Coke to drink (Wednesday, 15th July)
  • Went to this “upscale” burlesque club in Manhattan Beach where my sister, her friends and I were the youngest in the club; plus had one too many cocktails that…
  • I ran hungover the next day (Saturday, 18th July) and was only able to do 6.5 miles out of my scheduled 12-mile run!
  • Played in a soccer tournament for the first time in 85°+ F heat AND was on the winning team (Monday, 20th July AM-afternoon) 
  • Attended my soccer supporters’ group “Legends Night” and met some great former-Chelsea FC players and made new friends (Monday, 20th July – evening)
  • Continued the party by going back to Pasadena for some more Chelsea FC festivities at Lucky Baldwin’s
  • Watched her beloved Blues beat Inter Milan at the Rose Bowl (Monday, 21st July)
  • finally, walked a 2-mile recovery run on Wednesday, 22nd July.

So yeah, in-between all that (but for Monday and Tuesday this week), it was work or volunteer work.

Oh, and am I ready for the San Francisco Half-Marathon this Sunday? NOPE. But I’m going to go easy on the run and just enjoy the scenery. I can always beat my personal best in October or December ;)

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Out…of…shape!

Sunday, 12 July 2009 | 12:22 pm

Okie, I had my first football (soccer) training yesterday at the grass fields next to the Rose Bowl… It was a 2-hour basics training with scrimmage in the end and that coupled with Pasadena’s 80+ weather made for a very very challenging mid-morning! It was loads of fun, though and I can’t wait for the actual supporters’ match on the 20th!

When I got home, I thought I’d drop dead but I was pretty much awake the entire afternoon and up until my evening meeting with KORT. I finally realised I was out-of-shape when I could not get out of bed at 6:15AM this morning for my 11-mile run! AHHHH. I’ve decided to do the long run tomorrow instead and using today as a rest/stretch & strength day. ZOMG. I really need to incorporate the cross-training back in my training regimen!

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Summertime

Monday, 06 July 2009 | 10:19 pm

I picked up my bro @ the airport today; he returned from his Egypt/Italy trip and as much as he enjoyed travelling (not really!) he’s glad to be back home (really!) Anyway, mum packed us some goodies, as usual. ^_^

If you may or may not have noticed, I updated my splash page’s photo. It was taken yesterday (Sunday, July 5th) inside one of the coves of La Jolla. My sis and I went on a kayaking tour and it was rather scary entering the narrow mouth of the cove! It was so narrow (and the waves were rather choppy) that our kayak hit the wall — Oops! Well, it’s my sis’ faultish! LOL I was taking a photo of the mouth of the cove and apparently she wasn’t steadying us. Hehehe. Still, we were able to enter where Wade (our guide from La Jolla Kayak) was in his fins, held onto our kayak to keep us stable whilst he spoke about what happens in the cove during high tide (think washing machine sloshing!) and other stuff that I really didn’t pay attention to because I was amazed at how creepy the inside was! And yes, it was dark.

I think that’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing to do. I’m not sure if I’d want to do it again! And I’m normally not that wimpy! LOL. Ok, maybe I am. >_<

Oh, I also updated my giornale’s background. It’s somewhat summery now. ^_^

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Happy 4th of July!

Saturday, 04 July 2009 | 06:41 pm

I’m in celebrating independence day here in La Jolla with my sisters and the day started off marvelously with brunch at our favourite crepe place, followed by watching The Hangover, then headed off to lunch at Karl Strauss Brewery where I realised I had left my ID at home (i.e., back in Torrance!) AHHHHHHHH. Of all the days one would forget their driver’s license. Anyway, I’ll prolly have a bottle or two of whatever cerveza my sis has in her fridge before walking down to the beach and wait for the fireworks.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! I’m sure my friends realise how great it is to live in this country. ^_^

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Long Run Training: 9.32 miles

Friday, 03 July 2009 | 05:52 pm

Notes:
Wow, talk about an easy run. I’ve never been this relaxed at a run evar evar! LOL. But let me step back — this morning, before heading out with my sis to do our long run, I decided to skim over what Sally Edwards wrote in her “Triathlon for Beginners” book on Heart Rate training. Since I wanted to build endurance and burn fat properly, I decided that I would run the entire 9 miles within Heart Zone 3 — which is roughly 133 to 155 bpm. I thought that would be an 11:30 min/mile pace but I was wrong! Apparently, I have to go on about a 13 minute per mile pace to be within that zone; anything quicker means my HR goes up and out of the targetted zone! Eek.

Well, you can imagine the pounding it did to my knees but not so much that it got painful — I just noticed it, you know? I actually stuck to my 6:1 intervals, too, even if I felt I didn’t need it. At the completion of the mileage, I did a short sprint just to wake myself up from the lull lol.

I think I’m going to do my Heart Zone training during the long runs and then definitely do speedwork on the short ones. I’m hoping that this combination of slowing down and listening to my heart (awwww! lol) will help get me that Personal Best at my next marathon (or half marathon — in 3 weeks!)

Nike+iPod has a new interface. Check out my stats here. Garmin Connect stats

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