First 15km Run Training: Week 3

Start of Week 3 of 4.

I had a 10.4km run yesterday morning. I thought I would be able to finally reach 15km but my schedule got messed up - bad planning. I should have woken up 30minutes earlier. It got so hot at 7.30am that I thought I'd get skin cancer if I don't get under a shade asap.

So I'm shuffling my schedule this week:

Day	Activity
Monday	[REST] Body Balance
Tuesday AM	Run
Tuesday PM	Upper Body Power
Wednesday	Lower Body Power
Thursday AM	Run (15km!)
Thursday PM	Upper Body Hypertrophy
Friday	Run (short)
Saturday	Lower Body Hypertrophy
Sunday	Run

Looks OK. I'll keep tabs on how long and how far my runs go. I plan on doing at least 40km a week. I'm not sure if that's too much, I'll just have to listen to my body... maybe I can fix my lifting program so it will be more beneficial to running.

I've been reading up on sport-specific training but I'm not convinced that circuit training will be more beneficial than strength training. But then again I've also recently read about "convict conditioning" where they claim that body-weight training is healthier for the joints (my kneeeees!!!) compared to lifting heavy weights (bodybuilder-style)... so... I'm still undecided on that area.

ANYWAY, speaking of "convict conditioning". Boyfriend wants to do hand stand push-ups in 2012. I just want to do a hand stand. So every opportunity I get, I'm practicing my bird's pose and the goal is to hold it for a full minute before 2012 arrives :D

First 15km run training: Week 2 mileage

My 13km on Tuesday was the longest run I've ever had. Ever.And reviewing this week's mileage... I have a scary realization... my first 15km is [including this coming week] 2 weeks from now.

Day	Distance (km)
Tuesday	13
Wednesday	5
Friday	12
Sunday	10

I don't think I planned this well enough.

I'm pretty confident I'll finish 15km because I felt good in my 10km and above runs. I have the same feeling I had when I was training for 10km and I was running 6.5km on my "short run days".

But I feel like it will hurt after.

Oh so this morning on my run, there was this girl (I think she's in my age group) who overtook me four straight rounds (1 round is approximately 1.3km) at approximately the same spot everytime. That means... she did two rounds for every one I did. So whoever you are, DAAAAMN GIIIRL! YOU RUN FAAAST!

First 15km Run Training: Sports bra issues SOLVED!

I now consider myself as an amateur runner. I don't just jog, or exercise, I am an amateur runner. I specifically  train to improve my running. And I train pretty hard (...but no, I don't party harder... I don't party at all. I drink coffee and eat cakes and play with my nephew and niece and spend a lot of time programming and I looooove talking to my mommy, daddy, brothers, sister, best friend, I loooooooove going on dates with my boyfriend and spending time with him in the gym, we OWN that place, or at least that's how we act =D)

Only after a month of running, when I crossed my 10km limit, I had sports bra issues. There was NOOOO WAAAY I'd let that stop me from running. So after that blog post, I went to a Nike store and got myself the cheapest (why the hell does that word keep creeping up??) pair of high impact sports bra that fit me. It was mildly surprising that that happens to be an XS.

It kinda looks like this but it's not... It's the closes thing I found to what I bought.
Pic is from Nike Store.

I got an XS because it's the size where I can just fit in two fingers in. It felt tight but kinda comfy when I was trying it out - I did several jumps to test its "support function". The next bigger size (small, duh) was too big - and I only knew it was too big because I read How to choose the best sports bra.

I did 12km in 1hour 10mins with it. No chafing or whatsoever. It was just perfect :)

First 15km Run Training: Sports bra issues

My running gear:
1. Tops : cotton shirts, a couple of Nike DriFit tops, cheap racer-back tops
2. Bottoms: ONE Nike slim-fit pants, cheap jogging pants
3. Sports bras: cheap ones. They're like Php100 each. Yes, from Greenhills.

Got this pic from a shopping website
because the Nike Legend Slim-fit would look less appealing on my not-yet-flat belly.

See the common denominator? "Cheap". I don't like spending on my gear because I'm already spending on gym membership and nutrition and, of course, my TIME. And with weight training, as long as my clothes fit nicely, I can lift properly. But today I learned that I should probably review my gear for running...

I already have the perfect shoes (a pair of Adizero's). I still don't have a second pair of shoes - everybody says I should have a second pair and change shoes every other day, etc. etc. I get the point. But this pair is new, so I'm still saving up a little and am looking for a good deal before my second purchase.

I don't have enough good quality running tops and pants. That seems OK... I realize that that only matters on long runs and I only have those long runs once a week. Unfortunately, on my most recent long run, I was blessed with rain, an hour and a half of rain... I ended up with

1. terribly chafed under the arms (on the arms, near the armpits, do you know that spot?) while I was wearing what I though was my best running top.

2. chafed chest; right in the middle of the boobs. Yep. Putting Neosporin and band-aid on that spot is extremely weird and funny and really, really sad. I never thought I'd "injure" that part of my body EVER.

For these, I was prescribed hydrocortisone cream. I applied it the same night and on the next day, the chafed spots looked much better. It says to clean the area, and then apply three to four times daily. I think I'd only have to do this for a total of three days.

I'm just happy my feet still look normal and I haven't lost a toe... yet.

First 15km Run Training: Week 2

History: Training for my first 10km run: Part I. Part II. Part III.

My first run was on early November 2011. I joined a 10km run to encourage myself to run. Not run farther, or run longer, just to run; because prior to that, I only jogged whenever I forced my dad to exercise with me, or brisked walked (with 5-10min jogs and sprints) for cardio. With my scheduled weight training, I didn't think I could fit in running.

The problem was: whenever I see professional runners on television, they have abs.

Some are too skinny for my taste, but that can be easily remedied with food and free weights. So I decided to run and I've been running four or five times a week since mid October.

Yesterday I reached 13.5km in 1.5hours. That was my comfortable, "I can probably do this for three hours"-pace. That's the farthest I've gone ever. And the goal is to be confident that I'd finish 15km in a couple of weeks for my second run.

I'm feeling pretty good that I'd reach my first 15km next week. And I'd do 16km the week after that. And that I can just keep adding 1km every week until I can join a full marathon - hopefully by December 2012.

The only problem I have with running is that I get these terrible stomach cramps after. But based on what I've been reading on Runners forums online, mine is a pretty mild case because I can still survive the day at work while some of them can't leave home because of diarrhea.

For those stomach cramps, I just suck it up and go on with my normal day. And I force in a huge breakfast (as my post-run meal) even though I have zero appetite. I tend to feel better five hours later, after lunch.

Because I used to suffer from chronic stomach acid attacks, I always make sure I have a small pre-run meal composed of: cereals in whey protein shake (instead of milk). I take it 15mins before I leave, but most articles say that I should give it more time to settle... unfortunately, I don't have that time, and fortunately, I already started doing it and found out it works for me anyway.

I'm still looking for the best pre-run cereals... So far I've tried:
1. Kashi's Original Go Lean Crunch!
2. Quaker's Oatmeal Squares

The Kashi package I bought lasted so long that half of the stuff was chewy instead of crunchy when I had them. I think the calories are pretty high, but since I'm in a hurry to be off and running, that's a good point. The Quaker Oatmeal Squares are 'meh' in taste, but it's cheaper and serves its purpose. Also, I'm already eating my cereals with protein so I don't really need the extra protein from GoLean.

What do you eat pre-run if you go first thing in the morning?

Dear fellow healthy blogger

Dear Harlow,

Great blog! I got it while searching through Google Images for "Runners body". Then I just started reading some of your older posts.

I started running mid-October this year. I signed up for a 10k run and my goal was to survive 10km. That was early November.

Now I'm preparing for a 15km run next month. I don't know how to train myself really. I just check out running schedules online.

Like you, I am not genetically endowed with my preferred body type, which is "eat as much as I want without getting fat or flabby". And it's more distressing because my older sister is. But that's life. So I've been lifting weights for a year - gained muscles but didn't lose as much fat as I thought I would.

Running seems to suit me better. I plan on sticking with it until mid next year and re-assess its effects on my body then made a conscious decision if I'll continue running (with free weights) or if I should invest my time on other more effective endeavors/exercises.

I hope you finally reach your goal!
It sounds exhausting to read that you've been trying to become "smaller" since 2010 - but that's exactly what I'm going through :D

Good luck and God bless!

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I guess I'm not going to Power Plant Mall tonight

Singapore Trip Day 4 of 5

• Good Thai Cafe/restaurant
• Vivocity
• Cable ride to Jewel Hotel something then to Sentosa. We didn't have time to get off, but we saw that they were building a giant water park... WE HAVE TO GO BACK IN A COUPLE OF YEARS!!!
• Back to Lau Pa Sat for dinner

And that's it! We spent our last day sleeping and packing for our flight home.

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Singapore Trip Day 3 of 5

We went to:

• Little India
• Sim Lim (eletronics)
• Bugis
• Lau Pa Sat - awesome dinner
• Orchard Road - to walk off the Chili Crab and satay