Lock Laces on My Brooks, I Run Happy!

Hello everyone! 🙂

How was your weekend? Have you guys adjusted to the time yet? I dislike the abrupt change but I’m ready to spring forward! Weather is getting nicer and I can’t wait to run outside in shorts again!

As I was browsing my FB yesterday, I saw Lock Laces’ status about their special offer for this spring on their page.

I use Lock Laces for my running shoes and I’ve had these for over 9 months now. It’s still there and I love them. 🙂

Before I discovered Lock Laces, I always had issues with my shoe laces. They tend to be too long for my narrow feet. I double tie them but still dangle too long and I am always afraid the laces will be caught when biking or step on them when running. When I got Lock Laces in the mail, I immediately put them on and went for a run. From then, the issues are gone. No more loose laces when running. I want my shoes snug on my feet and since these are stretchy enough, they don’t constrict your feet when you tighten compared to the original lace. I’ve learned that this is popular among triathletes to save time during transitions. Good thing I learned about this as I am considering training for sprint triathlon in the future. For now, I am a happy runner. I will be getting another pair for my Newtons and for my future new running shoes. This is the best product since sliced bread! 🙂

I definitely recommend this product. If you want to give it a try, take advantage of their offer and redeem your free Lock Laces. I am mailing mine now! 🙂

I love running gear innovations like these. They make our runs more comfortable and more enjoyable.

Have you tried one of these before? What other cool running gears have you tried so far?

-XoXo-

Sweet Victory! – Hudepohl 14k Run Update

We did an awesome race last Saturday. It’s called Hudepohl 14k Brewery Run. My husband & I had a blast and I’m so excited to share the best finisher medal I have ever received…and seen so far. 🙂

Yes, it’s a bottle opener! The moment I saw a picture of the medal in their facebook page, I felt even more excited to run this race. I was so excited when it was handed to me at the finish line.  I thought it’s so cool and functional too. 🙂

Party after the race + a cool medal, it is indeed a sweet victory.

The race started at 8:00 am. We got to the place at around 7:30am. We still had time to do our stretching and take pictures before the race.

It was a bit chilly and windy that morning. Fall season is definitely in the air =). I had to wear my arm bands. I like my arm bands because I can easily remove and tuck them in my spi belt when I am already feeling hot from running.

The after-race party was held outside of this restaurant Moerlein.

Some ran in teams in their costumes and this team was my favorite!

Ghost Busters!!! 🙂

Some people I met from that day are running this race as part of their training for their Fall Half Marathons and Marathons. I’m running a half-marathon too (my second one! yay!) in November and looks like we all thought of same thing. The fact that we are getting a cool medal out of our training, definitely a great idea, right?! 🙂

I finished in 1 hour and 34 mins. And this is me, so happy to finally get hold of that precious medal! LOL! It is definitely run-worthy! 🙂

After the race, my husband and I went back to our car to freshen up, change our clothes and get ready to party. Our bibs have actually stubs attached to it that we can peel off to redeem our free food and beer.

Photo courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/hudy14k

My husband looks like he’s enjoying his share of beer.

There were 2 stubs for each individual for beer. One glass of beer each was enough for my husband and me. We had to give away our other stubs to other people. Those two guys who we gave our stubs to were so happy. Hey, never turn down a free beer. 🙂

But we got use of all the food stubs we had! We were so hungry after the race.

I can turn down alcohol, BUT NOT free food! LOL! 🙂 …Especially after a run. :p

One more pic before I end this post. I just want to share this beautiful view at the party – one of the bridges connecting Ohio to Kentucky. 🙂

I absolutely love Cincinnati races. I did the Flying Pig Half Marathon last May and I fell in love at the beautiful scenery in both Cincinnati and Kentucky. You guys should come check out races here in Cincy! You will definitely enjoy it. 🙂

That’s it for now! Hope you all had an amazing weekend too.

Happy running everyone.

Why I Love Running

Running got me to start this blog and today marks my one two three four five six seven months of blogging!!!

I am enjoying it so far. I am having fun sharing my everyday journey to the world and reading all your comments and emails. 🙂 It gives me so much happiness when I meet people who loves the sport too.

I am asked what is it about running that I love so much. I am never really able to give an answer right away.

…I just do.

source

I run for my sanity.

I find inner peace in running. You can talk to yourself and figure out your thoughts. It is when I do some of my best thinking…. really! Sometimes I would find myself narrating in my mind the process of Glycolysis and Krebs Cycle when I’m running. 🙂 Seriously!

I remember the day that hooked me to running. I know I talked about it a little in my About me page the reason why I started. It was because I was packing it on…the pounds that is. I started to feel the urge to become active and healthy. I signed up for 5Ks and eventually for a half marathon last May. The pounds started to drop off slowly, and then I started feeling good about myself. I feel lighter, healthier and more alert everyday. Once I realized running was my ticket to weight loss, and then maintaining it, there was no turning back. My passion for running grew so quickly that I continued to train to improve myself.

My first Half Marathon – May 2012

I know I lost only a small amount of weight and you might think this is just nothing compared to other people’s 100+ pound weight loss success stories. But like most of them, losing weight was never easy for me. I certainly had ups and downs too during the process. This may not please everyone, but I am not here to please everyone. At first it was just about losing the extra weight, which is a good thing, but then NOW, it is actually becoming strong and healthy. I am sharing this to give you the motivation that anyone can start doing this. You don’t have to wait until the scale says a certain number and become overweight before you start living healthy. Yes, I have a lot more to learn, I do admit. I strive to learn as much as I possibly can each day.

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Running introduced me to do other workouts, like kickboxing and pilates which became my favorite now. I learned that it is important to incorporate other exercises to your training plans to workout other muscle groups of your body.

Lastly, running makes me feel good.There is not a run that I “regret” doing. It’s not always easy and it’s not always enjoyable especially when it’s 100+ degrees outside. But, I have never returned home from a run sad.

I love this running quote.
source

If you have ever thought about running, I encourage you to give it a try. What you can accomplish may surprise you. 🙂

There you go, now it’s your turn! I’d love to hear your thoughts on what you love most about running?

Interval Training

I did it today! I think that’s why I’m having a hard time typing this. I’m shattered! I’ve been doing interval training the past few weeks to improve my time and pace. My goal was to finish 3 miles in 30 minutes. I was able to do it in 32:10 minutes last time. Today, I did it in 30:50! 🙂 Well… almost! 🙂 Almost there! 🙂 Few more practice and I will eventually hit the goal.

To many of you fast runners, this is nothing, but for someone like me who just started serious running this year, I’m happy with my progress and I am hoping to improve more as I continue my training.

To run 3.00 miles in 30:00 minutes (using the 3/1 run/walk technique), I have to be in walking pace of 15:00 per mile and my running phase pace should be 9:00 minutes per mile.

I tried! 🙂

At split 16, my pace turned out to be like that because I was trying to figure out how to end my watch timer. 🙂 Next time, I will set my watch properly.

By the way, I injured my feet yesterday but this did not stop me from running today and attend kickboxing class yesterday.

I accidentally hit my right foot at the corner of our computer chair. It hurts a little when it rubs against my rubbershoe but I’m okay, pain is bearable. 🙂

Good night everyone! 🙂

Happy Weekend

Ok so, I have a lot of catching up to do.

Let’s start with my Friday.

My husband and I went to our favorite grocery store – Jungle Jim’s International Farmers Store. This store is a little far from our place (about 45 mins away), but we make sure we do our grocery shopping here at least once a month for our stocks of international goodies.

Source: sonrisemorningshow.blogspot.com

You may have an International market in your area, but maybe nothing like Jungle Jim’s. This is THE place to go. They have just about everything you can imagine. Beer and wine selection are awesome, freshest fruits and veggies, fresh seafood, etc. They have a huge variety of cheese, dips… EVERYTHING. If they don’t have it, then probably it doesn’t exist.

Source: http://365cincinnati.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/bottlesofbeer.jpg

Source: http://www.frontdoor.com/city-guide/cincinnati-oh-usa/cincinnati-essentials

We picked up a lot of vegetables & fruits, including cherries. When I picked up the cherries, I also picked up one of these.

It’s a cherry/olive pitter and it was about $12 at the Kitchen Tools section of the store. I’m sure the pitter will become one of those tools that I’ll seldom use and will simply take up space in our drawer but it was 100% worth the purchase with a bunch of cherries I had to pit. 100% worth it!

All I had to do was remove the stem and place the cherry in the center of the pitter and squeeze the pitter. I was left with a seedless cherry. 🙂 Pretty cool huh!

The cherries are now ready to eat or add to my oatmeal for breakfast.

So, let’s go ahead to my Saturday.

We had a beautiful weather yesterday here in Ohio. I woke up around 7:30 am. Good thing it wasn’t as hot compared to the previous days. It was actually gloomy yesterday so I went for a 3-mile run around our neighborhood.

I always have issues with shoelaces. They are simply too long for my narrow feet. I double tie them, but still dangle too long. So, I ordered Lock Laces online. I immediately tried them on as soon as I got it and the issues are gone! I want my shoes snug on my feet. Since these are stretchy enough, they don’t constrict your feet when you tighten it compared to the original lace. I love it and I’m a happy runner 🙂 Best product since sliced bread.

I just also want to share that when running around our neighborhood, I prefer running on the road instead of the sidewalk. Concrete sidewalk is a lot harder on the joints than asphalt (road). 

 After my runs, I love taking a shower with my Stress Relief Aromatherapy Smoothing Body Scrub (from Bath and Body Works).

I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS BODY SCRUB! It gives my skin fresh and clean feeling! This is a perfect treat for yourself after a hard workout or run. I would highly recommend this product to anyone who loves the smell of Eucalyptus mint.

At noon, my husband and I headed to the theater to watch Batman.

Don’t worry I’m not going to spoil the movie here with details. All I can say is you have to watch it because you are missing half of your life. It’s really good!

It’s surprising that the theater was still packed despite the news about the shooting. My heart goes out to the families who were affected by the shooting in Colorado.

After the movie, we headed back home right away. We invited our friends to come over for dinner at our place. I prepared lasagna, garlic bread and tomatoes with basil, mozzarella cheese, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. My husband was the designated griller. He is really good at marinating and grilling meats. He grilled some pork, beef, chicken and corn.

My apron says it all.

We decided to set up our table in our backyard to enjoy the cool weather. It was a fun night catching up with friends. 🙂

For today, Sunday = rest day! 🙂

Lots of  lounging around and relaxing in front of our TV today.

My husband and I still have a little hangover from the Batman movie so we decided to rewatch the first two films, Batman Begins and the Dark Knight.

Batman movie + root beer float before we call it a day. 🙂

That’s it! Hope you all had a great weekend as much as I did.

Trail Running Tuesday

I still have to get used to waking up early in the morning. I am sleeping late this summer because it’s tough to start feeling sleepy when you still have the sun so bright & shining at 9:00 pm! Yes, I’m blaming it on the sun :). Then, I’ll get to feel really sleepy around 12:00 to 1:00 am. Apparently, my supposed target time to wake up at 6:00 am today to avoid the heat for my morning run did not happen. I woke up late today at around 8:00 am and there was the sun, up and hot already. So, I decided to hit a nearby trail for my run instead.

It’s definitely nice to run in the shade in a hot, hot day and getting out there with nature. I’m happy to finish a 3-mile run despite the hot & muggy weather.

I love my Brooks top that I wore for my run today. I love how it kept me cool and held up to the heat and humidity. It is very thin and lightweight and has become my favorite top to wear for my runs in these summer days.

Women’s Epiphany Short Sleeve
source: http://www.brooksrunning.com

After my run, I made a bowl of oats for breakfast, with a dash of cinnamon powder, top with blueberries and splash of 2% fat milk, plus my coffee, of course. 🙂

A delicious and healthy breakfast gives me just the right start for my day. I really hope I can be out of bed really early and make great days ahead. I will definitely try harder next time.

I also want to share what I had for snacks earlier today. I love to snack on Wheat Thins with hummus…ohhh it is so delicious. I became obsessed with Wheat Thins when I tried it before with Laughing Cow cheese. Good stuff!

For lunch, when my husband and I crave for some southern style barbecue, we go to our favorite restaurant just minutes away from us. We love their smoked barbecue ribs. We usually eat it with spicy sauce, mac n’ cheese, and baked beans. Yum!

The owners of the restaurant are very friendly and really know how to cook southern style barbecue. They are originally from Arkansas – true authentic southerners. That explains why they make their barbecue so good.

I served an easy and quick to prepare steamed fish fillet & asparagus for dinner tonight.

I seasoned the fillets with:

• Olive oil
• Cilantro
• Lemon pepper
• Garlic salt
• Cayenne pepper
• Lime juice to taste

And steamed them with the asparagus for about 17 minutes.

I love our Black & Decker Food Steamer. I think it’s the best purchase we had from Macy’s. We had it for over a year now and use it almost everyday. It not only steams vegetables and fish to perfection but also chicken and shrimp as well. We love to steam our rice in this too. The rice actually comes out perfect and fluffy unlike with the typical rice cooker that uses direct type of heat, it burns the rice at the bottom.

Once cooked, I drizzle the asparagus with

• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Salt & pepper

There is a lot of good TV shows every night. Our fave shows on Tuesdays are Hell’s Kitchen and Master Chef.  I’m going to take it easy and relax in front of the television tonight until bedtime.

Have a good night everyone!

Kickboxing Monday!

Yesterday was not a typical day for us. After church, my husband and I got busy house hunting. Yes, that’s right! We are looking for a house to live in next year. My husband got a job offer for next year and looks like we are staying here in Ohio for another 3 years or so.

We decided to look for houses close to the trails where we go for running and biking, -close to my husband’s future workplace too!  Here are some of the houses that we looked at:

I like the his & hers vanity sink multilayer design.

Leo likes a big entertainment space, while I prefer a nice kitchen. We also like the layout of the master’s bedroom.

It was a fun experience house-hunting yesterday. Good thing we started looking early. It’s fun to look at the model homes but choosing a house can be an arduous task. There are actually a lot of things we need to consider that we haven’t done yet when looking for a house. Well, at least it was a good start to see those model homes. It gave us ideas what to look for and what we need to know.

Okay, enough with the Sunday adventure. Every Monday is my schedule for a workout at the YMCA. I attend their 6:30 pm kickboxing class. We did mostly upper body strength work with hand-held weights today. It is a high energy workout but I find it a great stress reliever.

A pic from our garage. Just got home from kickboxing class.

I also just want to share one of my favorite snacks that I had earlier today. The heat is making me crave for frozen treats. Here’s green tea popsicle! Available in any asian stores. So good… and only 100 calories a bar! =)

I hope everyone had a great weekend and are ready for another awesome week ahead! Goodnight!

Beautiful Friday Morning

Every runner has a preference on what time of the day to run. For this summer, I usually do my runs at night. I normally wait until about 8pm when the sun is setting to get out and run. Last night, my husband and I checked the weather for today. The temps are cooling down, and it will be fabulous for running.

It was indeed a beautiful morning today. My husband & I woke up at 6:00 a.m. to start our day and workout. He did indoor cycling with his Travel Trac bike trainer and,

I geared into my running outfit and headed out running around the neighborhood at 6:30am.

I now find it fun to run in the morning and I think I’m sticking to this routine. I love the feel of the gentle cool breeze touching my face. It’s so quiet and so peaceful

I finished an easy 3-mile run. I’m proud of myself for waking up early and starting  the day right.

For my post-workout meal/breakfast:

2 eggs, sprinkled with cayenne pepper, parsley & dash of salt.  Ever since I moved here, I rarely eat rice for breakfast. But this time, I ate my eggs with a small serving of rice. There goes the Filipino in me. =P

Yum! Definitely satisfied & happy! =)

Welcome To My Little Blog World!

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to my first day of blogging. Please bear with me as I navigate this new endeavor.

I am just an ordinary girl who got off track and slowly trying to rebuild myself. I was never one for healthy eating or exercise, but I have lately developed a passion for those things. I just want this to be a well rounded blog. I plan to share anything about my life & my thoughts as I go through my journey of staying healthy & active. I’ll incorporate recipes, some of my favorite things and little bit of girly stuff (sorry guys!). I think even runner girls should still look cute, right?! 🙂 Just a reminder again that I am not an expert in any way. What worked for me might not work for you. I didn’t start out with any specific method – I JUST RAN! 🙂 I think I’m a living proof that anyone can become a runner. =)

So, stay tuned this is going to be exciting!