It all comes back to footwear

If you have been reading my blog lately, you know that I have a strange obsession with the show Cheers at the current moment. Well for a while I had jumped around, not necessarily watching episodes in order. Recently I started, I believe, in season 8, and yesterday, I finally made it to the series finale. Of course I cried, because heaven forbid I don’t cry at something these days. But I also learned an interesting lesson. If you recall the final episode, it was a 3 parter when Diane comes back, Sam contemplates leaving, and Woody gets everyone a job for the city. But at the very end of the episode, the gang is sitting around the bar talking about how much they all *cough* love *cough* each other.

At one point, they talk about what makes life complete. Carla says having kids, Frasier says life is a cosmic accident, and Cliff says footwear. Without comfortable footwear, no great accomplishment would have been made, that life is chaos without good footwear. At the end of the episode, they all say how glad they are that Sam has stayed, and that if he had left, someone would have some pretty big shoes to fill. Cliff then says, “See! It all comes back to footwear!”

My favorite running shoes, Nike Free v7.0 with side laces

 

Well Cliff is right in many aspects, in regards to my life anyway. Running for example, is a very trying task if you do not have the appropriate footwear. You will have knee, back and hip problems if your shoes are worn out or not activity appropriate. In marketing, you need to view the idea or promotion from the public’s point of view, or “walk in their shoes” to determine if something if going to work for your brand. A squeaky shoe, wet shoes, or broken shoes can ruin your day. People have shoe addictions, or their baby’s first shoes hanging over the rear view mirror in their car. A new pair of shoes can change the way you feel.

 

I went looking for some new shoes yesterday, as I have been having a few foot problems with my training schedule. With 44 miles scheduled this week, I don’t expect them to get much better, so I am trying to figure out the best solution so I am not in pain… (odd metaphor to my life right now, but I won’t go into that). So once again, my success, failure, and comfort come down to footwear.

Quite odd, but Cliff Clavin had a good point.

Random Thinking on a Friday

I have been having a lot of random thoughts pop into my head today, always for that matter, so I decided to throw them all into a post for you to understand why I am so scatterbrained.

1. The lady at the bagel shop was super nice to me this morning.

I had to wait a long time for them to take my order, but when I got to the register and the lady said I had to spend at least $5 to use my debit card, she made an exception because of my wait! Thank you lady! That was very nice of you, although I would have bought a bottle of Naked Juice if I had to. (One of my favs!)

2. I found a Caramel Apple Pop in my purse today. It is from Ike’s Sandwiches, which are completely delicious. I forgot how much I loved these suckers! Really I just like the caramel, and could do without the rest.

3. I am completely and unbelievably obsessed with Cheers right now. Norm Peterson makes me laugh just by looking at him. I love Seinfeld, but this may be the best show in the history of shows. I laugh incredibly loud while watching it, which is something I don’t do very often.

4. I have committed to running the 2014 Oklahoma City Marathon in April and am highly considering running the LA Marathon in March and another marathon in Phoenix in February. This would get me close to qualifying for the Marathon Maniacs, which is something I am working forward to. It would also get me 3 states closer to my 50 state accomplishment.

5. Last night I woke up at 2 AM and was so thirsty I could barely stand it. After coming back to bed, I watched my cat, Roll, chase his tail for nearly 5 minutes before he got so dizzy he couldn’t take it any more. He’s so cute… and so dumb.

He also thinks he is a human...

He also thinks he is a human…

Well, that’s what my Friday has been like. I’m sure I will have some more random things to post about after my weekend running escapade. Have a great weekend all!

Run Shaming

A few months ago, a mom posted this picture on her Facebook page:

My first thoughts when seeing this photo are: 1. Those kids are darn cute, 2. She looks amazing, and 3. I hope I look half as good as she does when/if I have kids in the future. But people didn’t feel the same as I do. Apparently, people felt like she was “Fat Shaming”, or making fat people feel bad for looking the way they do.

Yeah, that was her intent. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?

If you want to be fat, be fat. Nobody is stopping you… except maybe the Mayor of New York City. This woman isn’t stopping you from eating to your heart’s content, so eat, be fat, and be merry. Period.

tumblr_mwbjwxVEKs1swh542o1_500

Have you see the latest rant against runners? Mr. Chad Stafko, who I can only imagine is about 400 lbs. decided that runners are too proud, as was the poor woman in the photo above. Here’s his post from the Wall Street Journal.

Runner’s World posted a response that I cracked up about for 20 minutes. In fact, lots of people have responded… with that being said, I wanted to respond as well.

I would like to call Chad’s article ‘Run Shaming’. Isn’t his purpose in this whole thing to make runner’s feel bad for being so proud of  accomplishing great things on the road? He obviously hasn’t run a day in his life. Where does he get off having the right to make us feel bad for being runners?

Why do the healthy people always get griped at? You know, I have a very good friend who lost a ton of weight and I have actually heard someone say that he is crazy for doing it? He looks amazing, is healthier than ever for his kids, and people have the nerve to say he is being unhealthy by getting healthy.

If you want to be fat, be fat. If you want to be thin, be thin. Be a runner. Be a couch paperweight. NO ONE CARES! Be whatever you want to be, and be proud of it. If you don’t want to be something that you are, change it. Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do or be what you want to do or be.

In conclusion, I would just like to say, to each their own.

 

 

What 42 miles will teach you

It’s like duct tape for your body.

Over the past week, I ran a staggering 42 miles—my longest week ever. That’s right, folks, I’m basically an Olympian now. Good for me! But as I trotted along the roads and trails, I couldn’t help but gather a collection of observations that range from mildly amusing to outright absurd. Naturally, I feel compelled to share them with you. So, here goes:

1. Asian Men and Hot Pink: A Love Story

Let me preface this by saying I am not an expert in fashion trends, but it seems that hot pink is having a moment among Asian men—or at least the ones who frequent my running route. On Sunday’s long run, I spotted not one but two men sporting hot pink. The pièce de résistance was one gentleman wearing wind pants with hot pink stripes down the side, paired with red high-top Nikes. Yes, red. Because why not double down on clashing colors? Oh, and he was smoking a cigarette while strolling casually in this ensemble, which somehow made the whole scene even more surreal. It’s like he woke up and thought, “Today’s vibe is rebellious disco meets casual athleticism.”

2. Miley Cyrus: Unexpected Muse

Here’s something I never thought I’d say: Miley Cyrus saved me at mile 19 of a 20-mile run. Her song “We Can’t Stop” came on my playlist, and for reasons I still can’t fully explain, it felt like the most profound anthem of human endurance ever written. For about three glorious minutes, Miley was my spirit guide, urging me forward with her oddly motivational lyrics. Then reality hit—I realized what I was thinking and burst out laughing mid-run. Cue dirty looks from—you guessed it—the man in hot pink wind pants. Life is a vicious cycle.

3. Santa Clara Needs Me (and My Ticket-Writing Skills)

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from running through my neighborhood, it’s that parking violations are rampant here. On Sunday alone, during my 20-miler, I counted 43 cars parked illegally—most of them blocking fire hydrants like it’s some kind of trendy new pastime. If the City of Santa Clara wants to rake in some serious cash, they should deputize me as their parking enforcer. Imagine me sprinting from car to car with a ticket book in hand—justice served at marathon pace.

4. Safeway at 5:00 AM: A Runner’s Paradise

There’s a Safeway across the street from my apartment that opens at the ungodly hour of 5:00 AM—a fact I discovered when I realized I was short on gels before my long run. Let me tell you, grocery shopping at dawn is an experience like no other. The aisles were empty, the checkout line nonexistent, and the only challenge was dodging the occasional weird look from employees wondering why someone in running gear was buying nothing but energy gels and KT Tape at sunrise.

5. Talking Makes Miles Disappear

Between miles 12 and 14, I employed what I like to call my “life lines”—essentially phoning a friend to distract myself from the monotony of running endless miles. First up was my mom, who gamely chatted with me for about a mile despite my breathless replies. Then came Chas (a friend who tolerates my mid-run ramblings). It turns out that having someone to talk to makes those miles fly by—though I suspect they’d rather not hear me wheezing into their ear next time.

6. KT Tape: The Miracle Worker

If duct tape is the universal fix-it tool for objects, KT Tape is its equivalent for the human body. Knees? Fixed. Feet? Good as new. Random aches and pains? Slapped some tape on them and carried on like nothing happened. At this point, I’m convinced KT Tape could mend a broken heart if applied correctly.

And that’s all for now because—shockingly—I have to go work for a living instead of running another marathon around town or ticketing rogue parkers. This week’s mileage goal is only 20 miles (a mere jog compared to last week), but rest assured there will be more absurd observations to come by week’s end. Stay tuned!

Beware of Lawnmowers

I found this very interesting image this morning after looking through Joe Rogan’s Twitter posts (I swear I’m not a stalker). I decided to post it here and discuss.

3020280-slide-s-3-world-things

My observations:

1. Who can’t love Canada… Maple Syrup is delicious.

2. If we ever, as the USA, are threatened by Brazil, I demand the whole country to stand up, point at them, laugh in their face and say, “Soccer?! Really???”

3. Note to self: Always wear sunscreen in Australia.

4. Since penguins are my favorite animals, a trip to Antarctica may be in my future.

5. If you ever want to see lighting strike twice, just head south of the border, to Mexico…

 

Ok, well besides that, this is my running blog, and today is the start of a 4 day, 35 mile running adventure as my Dopey training really starts to ramp up. 3 today, 3 tomorrow, 8.5 Saturday, and 20 on Sunday will make for a long weekend. I love training though, so I am actually very excited about it. I told you yesterday that I am vowing to post more, and this is a great weekend to do so…

No Strings

The last few months of my life have been a struggle. Not in the sense that I had no food, or was stranded on a desert island or anything. But it was a struggle none-the-less. Work has been crazy, wedding planning is overwhelming, and the freaks outs that came along with accepting the union of marriage were painful at times. But I am finally ready! I want to be married. I am excited about being married, and at this point, I just want to get it over with, mainly because I miss Chas so much.

map

We are currently in the longest stretch of ever being apart that we have gone through. When all is said and done, it will have been 3 full months. That’s a long time!

Bulletproof_Exec_003Anyway, I have come to the point where I am just sick of feeling awful all the time. For about the last 2 months, I have been trying to eat cleaner. I can tell a difference in my body, which is great, plus I feel like I am recovering faster from my long runs. I have been sipping some bulletproof coffee lately, and while I have to carefully watch my MCT oli intake due to what it does to my stomach (holy nausea), I really love it! I have started lifting again too, which I truly think is a runner’s friend. It’s very easy to end up looking like you are wasting away when you are running as much as I am at this point.

My mood has been so sour lately, mostly because I felt overwhelmed by all there was to do. Last weekend, on a run of course, I decided that I wasn’t taking enough time for myself, and I was bitter about it. Work, run, sleep, repeat has been my cycle over the past few months. So every morning, I am taking about an hour to do something that I want to do. Sometimes I read, watch tv or watch YouTube videos, but just that one hour makes my mood totally different for the day.

I have also vowed to start writing more. Most of it has been done on our wedding website (jenandchas.com) to this point, but I am working to ramp up this site as well, as I have found great inspiration in other’s blogs lately.

I am happy to feel happy finally. I am happy to feel in love again. I am happy to be excited about what 2014 will bring. And I am excited to put it into words for you all to read.

My World is a Treadmill

I think the title says it all. That’s exactly what I feel like. I am on a treadmill that doesn’t stop, keeps an insane pace, and I can’t reach the red button to stop it.

The frustration I am having with all of this is that I have no reason to feel like I do, depressed and alone. I should be on top of the world. I love my job more than I can express. I just got engaged. My running is better than it has ever been. There is logically no explanation for it.

So, I guess I am just going to try to write my way through this, because I am out of ideas. If you’re tired of my depressive posts, I understand, but I think it’s better that I talk to myself through here rather than try to deny what I am going through.

The Rolling Depression

I am so happy to be engaged. I want to marry Chas, and I want to start our lives together, but ever since we got engaged, I have felt more depressed than I think I almost ever have. The overwhelming feeling that I have with all that I have to do at work, plus the added stress and pressure of planning a wedding makes me dread life a little bit. I have multiple problems with planning a wedding:

1. I don’t want a reception. The reasons for this are two fold.

  • I don’t dance, I hate it, won’t do it, and don’t want to.
  • I don’t drink.

2. I don’t want to be the center of attention. I hate feeling like I am inconveniencing people in any way, so thinking that people are rearranging their lives for my wedding is something that is extremely bothersome.

3. I have about 0 friends, and Chas has like 1 million, so the event of making an invite list highlights this fact to no end.

I have this strange feeling of wanting to be left alone and wanting to be talking to someone at all times. Unfortunately, I still feel alone, even when I am with someone. Its not fun. I can’t shake it. But the only thing that has changed in my situation is the addition of an engagement ring.

It all basically comes down to this. I want to be excited to plan my wedding. I don’t want to completely dread it like I am now. This is supposed to be a fun, memorable time, and I am hating it.

Oh, and if anyone actually reads these things, please don’t comment with something like, “Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad.” I will literally come to your house and kick your ass. Don’t waste your energy, and don’t come back to my blog. It’s called my blog for a reason. Enough of that rant…

Regardless of how stressed and depressed I feel, my runs keep seeming to get better, and that is one thing that I can’t be upset about.

 

 

Disneyland Half Marathon Wrap Up

Well I made it through another half marathon!

Overall, I feel great about my body, great about my finish, and loved every minute of this race. One unusual thing about this race was that I got very nervous prior to the race. It was hot, crowded, and there were lots of other runners all trying to funnel through a small area. My brother came to cheer me on and be my pit crew, which was very helpful but not quite as comforting as when my mom is there to take care of me.

The Disneyland Half was the best I have run so far, proving to myself that I can run for time and can continue to PR if I push myself. In fact, I am finding it hard NOT to push myself for time. While I would like to take my time and enjoy the festivities on the course, I can’t seem to get over the fact that I am running fast and keeping a good pace.

Throughout the race, my per mile pace hovered right around 11:31 per mile, and my finish time was almost exactly 15 minutes faster than my last half. I finished at 2:30:56, and am sure that I could finish in under 2:30 in my next one.

it was really a great race, and a great course. I am excited to do more half in the near future, as well as this race again. I just can’t explain how special Disney races are. I wouldn’t be a runner if I hadn’t run my first marathon at Disney.

 

So Close, Yet So Far Away

Well it is the last day of August, and since my disappointing 4th of July showing, lots of things have changed in my life.

1. I got engaged!!!! It only took 6.5 years.
2. My brother moved into me. It is just till December, but it is quite a change, since I am so used to living by myself.
3. I have been training my butt off for a half marathon that I am running first thing tomorrow morning. Again my passion for Disney and running collide as I run the Disneyland Half Marathon.
4. My workload has nearly quadrupled. I’ve always been busy, but this is a different kind of busy.

Is that enough for you?

Anyway, I am sitting in my hotel, just waiting for my alarm to go off tomorrow morning. I am so excited to run a race again, and I am convinced that I have to run more, which shouldn’t be a problems since I have the Dopey coming up in January.

Hoping to post again this weekend, after the race with my results. Attempting to beat my PR of 2:43:05. Keep your fingers crossed!