Runs

Whew.
---Andrew =)

Sun Practice #2

Alright, I need to get better at posting these runs on the day of my running, not days later. Anyways, we had our second TNT practice on Sunday and went out for about 45 minutes...



P.S.: see that's weird... the time is correct now and I didn't even change anything! Weird iPod... don't know what happened last time.

Wed Run

So I met up with Jim, a TNT mentor from last season, for a run on Wed at West LA College. We did a very easy run around the track and talked, so I didn't keep track of my laps.



---Andrew =)

P.S.: okay I just noticed the time and date are WAY messed up on this run and I don't know why. I just checked the time/date on the iPod right now and it's correct, so wtf?... anyways, the correct time for this should be ~6:45pm on Wed 11/5. Weird.

1st TNT Run/Walk of Spring 2009 Season

Well today was the 1st practice of the new spring season. We're training for the Carlsbad 1/2 Marathon (1/25/09) and the LA Marathon (2/16/09).

Anyways, today I woke up and threw up. I got food poisoning on Friday and I had thought that I was all recovered by Sat night, but I was wrong. So today's run felt a little weird (and it felt like I shouldn't be running due to illness), but we only ran for about 30 minutes at a slow pace... so I guess if I had to pick a time to get food poisoning this would be a great time. I'm really glad I didn't get it right before/during the marathon and our 5K race. That would've been terrible! The last time I had it was 2 years ago about a week after our first pumpkin race... whew!

So yeah, here were the results...


---Andrew =)

PUMPKIN 5K 2008 STATS!

On Sunday, the 3 of us went out and ran our 3rd Pumpkin 5K. Here were the stats...

Pumpkin 5k--> Sun, October 26, 2008, 8a @ Legg Lake, Whittier, CA

Andrew Horng Bib 247 21:55, 19-29 male division rank **5th of 9 (12/77 overall) 7.1 min/mi pace
Andrew McAllister Bib 238 24:43, 19-29 male division rank 7th of 9 (27/77 overall) 8.0 min/mi pace
Emily Schultz Bib 239 31:19, 19-29 Female division rank 8th of 12 (46/77 overall) 10.1 min/mi pace

** = if the divisions were like normal, I would've been 3rd in my division!... there was a 19 yr old and 21 yr old who beat me!

RANDOM THOUGHTS...

Overall it was a great event like always. Too bad that the numbers keep dropping every year... the 19-29 division was kinda rough, but I think they did it due to lower participants.

Also, we learned that signing up online was probably the best, since they raise the price after a certain date and you're not guaranteed a t-shirt on race day.

What else? We also learned to not go out too fast which we all did... I ran my fastest "official" recorded 1-mile ever... 6:33 in the first mile, and Emily and I PR-ed in the 5K. Andy was close to a PR but had to "scoop" out his enormous flem and tie his shoe... taking up some time.

I didn't tell you guys this but I was MOANING really loudly that last mile. I was in real pain and wanted the race to be over with haha. I think the people passing me were like WTF?

Oh, and always remember for next time to stand in front of the coordinator guy during the raffle so that he can call out a number. Emily won something, Emily & Andy won "the stick" for having the best costume, and I won some Asics socks!!

Until next time...

---Andrew =)
P.S.: I didn't record this run with my Nike+ cuz I couldn't find my sensor (the thing you stick into the iPod)... but just the other day, I found it in the bathroom trash! It had been there over a week since the marathon! WHOOPS! My mistake... glad I found it.

Nike Women's Marathon Stats

384 runners/walkers from the Greater LA Chapter (raising over $1.5 million)
~5000 TNT runners/walkers nationally (raising over $18 million)

Over 20,000 individuals were at the start line, including people from all 50 states, 25 countries, 1089 brave and brilliant men, and 400 5-time or “legacy” runners.

Alright, and now on to Andrew's TNT Race Stats...

The Nike Women’s Marathon (5th Year)
Sun, October 19, 2008
San Francisco, CA
Bib#: 5893

Overall Time: 4:14:10.480
Overall Pace: 9:42 per mile

Male Rank: 86 of 346
M25-29 Division Rank: 23 of 67
Overall Rank: 654 of 4897
(although, Nike+ says I finished 680th overall... maybe that stat includes non-TNT runners)


SPLIT TIMES...
(marker) (time) (pace)
5k 0:31:19.850 10:04
10k 1:01:10.770 9:50
15k 1:31:43.210 9:50
13.1mi 2:04:23.390 9:29
25k 2:28:45.100 9:34
30k 2:58:04.660 9:33
35k 3:29:30.630 9:37
40k 4:01:49.040 9:43
Finish 4:14:10.480 9:42

Oh and here's the Nike+ graph of my run (taken from the chip I guess)...
http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/race/nwm08.html#/graph?user=5893
(actually accurate, unlike my Nike+iPod... man that thing was messin' with my head!)

See you tomorrow for the 5K,
---Andrew =)

The Last 4 Runs (including Marathon!)

1.) Easy Run At University High School's Track...
-I decided to take it easy on this one and not try to do a fast 5K.




2.) Last "TNT" Practice...
-YouTube girl wasn't there. We did only 8 miles.




3.) Last Mid-Week Run...
-I went back to West LA College to practice running a "fast" 5K by myself. This time I for sure went 11.5 laps. I broke my record of 23:19 but then again, my clock on my iPod has been a little off in the past, so maybe I tied it or went over. We'll have to see how I officially do at the Pumpkin 5K.




4.) Nike Women's Marathon...
-This was it. I got cocky at the end as I high fived everyone and then went from pure joy and elation at the finish to total depression upon seeing YouTube girl crying with her family and being held and kissed on the head by her boyfriend. I kinda wanna redo this run just to get that horrible "after taste" out... it really bummed me out seeing that. Anyways, that dip in the chart isn't me hitting the wall... I didn't hit the wall at all... it's probably went I stopped at the water stop and stretched for a little bit. My muscles above my knees were very tight. Also last note: my iPod was being VERY inaccurate this day. It was giving me credit for doing too many miles EVEN MORE than it usually does. I told myself to look at the mile markers instead of what was on the screen cuz it was messin' me up. Also, my official time was 4:14:10 (not 4:13:06... see how it's inaccurate with the time?).




Get ready for Sunday,
---Andrew =)

HMMMMM...

Okay, I went to West LA College's track tonight to run a 5K. I really tried pushing myself and ran for speed and it was really very very very hard.

I swear I ran 11.5 laps (=5K) in Lane 6, but I dunno... looking back at my previous data, my Nike+ hasn't been totally accurate. Now it's saying 3.16 miles which is really really really accurate. It usually, with these shoes, credits me a little bit more... I think. I'm not even sure of that either cuz I haven't been running on official tracks lately. Hmmmmm...

Anyways, I ran what I thought was a 5K and ran it in 22:17, unofficially my best time ever. But there is a chance that I miscounted (dammit I should've used my cellphone to lap count!) and if so then that means I should've ran one more lap, which means that I should add at least 1:30 to that score which frightens me cuz that isn't an improvement to my 5K score then. But if I did indeed run 11.5 laps then it is an improvement. Dammit! I wanna know the answer!

I guess I'll have to run again for speed and find out. Maybe next week or Sat? I dunno... I guess then we'll know if I really ran a 5K tonight.

Good Job Man

Hey dude,

Didn't run today... not yet at least, but just wanted to say that sub 8 min per mile is AWESOME and you're logging that BY YOURSELF in practice! I've been running a lot but there's a difference between training for a 5K and a training for a marathon... there's still a chance to get McAllisterized and McAllistung! Plus, I hope the one week recovery from the marathon is enough.

Anyways, keep it up and know that you're still in it! I think that you'll be able to improve your time (since you improved last year) if you keep it up with the practicing. My best time is 23:19 so hopefully I can improve on that. Ever since that 23:19 run in early '07, I've been getting worse with my 5K's for some reason (age maybe? training?). My 5K time this year was my worst--> 25:05, and I was not happy about that.

So anywho, that's my spiel and I'm really excited for this 5K (maybe even more so than the marathon... well, let's just say maybe it's a tie with the marathon, cuz the marathon's gonna be frickin' exciting!). Main thing is for me to beat my personal best, then get an award, then do some Hornginatin' haha.

---Andrew =)

<5k saunter

Hmm, will probably be no contest for you since you are training so hard. But I'm still going to try to improve on my last year's speed.

22.9 min / 2.9 mi = 7.9 min/mi....

Leading =)

Today was our final TNT practice all TOGETHER... by that I mean that I will still have practice next Sunday, but next Sunday some of the folks will be in Long Beach running their marathons (so not everyone will be there). The week after that is my marathon in San Fran.

It was pretty cool today... last week was our 21+ mile run, so this was the official start of the tapering. We did about 12 miles today... I was leading the pack with another guy who's really fast. During the run, he was talking about how he usually runs 5K's in 14 minutes, so I was like WHAT THE HECK!? I was also trying to absorb whatever running knowledge he gave to me, hehe.

By the way, near the end of the run a stranger woman who was pretty fit for her age (maybe late thirties) was kinda hitting on me I think... she was talking about how she was staying at this one hotel and said that she'd think about me on the day of my marathon.



Anyways, I've been thinking a lot recently about the 5K. Maybe that's not a good thing to be thinking about and focusing on since I'll be running a marathon soon, but the 5K this month is just as important to me. The first Pumpkin 5K was great, but the second one kinda blew. You (Andy) got 2nd place the first time, then 3rd place (beating me by 14 seconds!) the second time... and you (Emily) didn't place the first time, but placed 3rd the second time. I know placing shouldn't matter and it's all about finishing the race blah blah blah, but I really want to place this year. I've come in 4TH both years!!! Missed it by that much for 2 straight years. It's an ego thing, but I want my Pumpkin mug or trophy or whatever haha. This is really the only 5K that I can compete in and have that goal be within reach.

So here are my Pumpkin 5K goals...

4.) Hornginate, slaughter, and embarrass you both (haha you know I love you guys)
3.) Destroy and shatter my personal best of 23:19
2.) place in the top 3 in my division
1.) do all of the above while wearing a Halloween costume

---Andrew =)

Easy Saturday Run =)

---Andrew =)

5 Runs

Hey hey...

Dang, things have been so hectic recently that I didn't get a chance to post my runs...


1.) This was supposed to be one of my "40-60 min easy" Sat runs... I decided to walk to University High School near my apt. They have a soccer field with a dirt path around it which is the same distance supposedly as a regular track (I measured on Google Earth). It felt smaller though but I dunno, maybe it's all psychological. I could've run longer but I was in a rush to get somewhere afterwards and needed time to shower (deadlines deadlines).

I think I'll run here more often now instead of Drake Stadium since I recently (Tues 9/30) got a stupid parking ticket at UCLA. So that means no more going to their track and feeding the meter to balance things out.




2.) Did my run at practice... it was a hard run cuz I was trying to keep up with the fast peoplez (and did).




3.) This was supposed to be a hill workout but the coaches changed it to a track workout, since they felt that we're done with hills. YouTube girl showed up to this mid-week workout for the first time since her first time at one. Yup. We ran at a little faster than marathon pace for 10 minutes and did 3 total sets at the same 10 minutes with a short break between sets. It was really easy for me and I was out in the lead.




4.) Alright this one is a weird one... I decided to keep it safe and conservative and slow since I was feeling tired bad after the previous runs... that meant that all the top runners went ahead of me and beat me, including YouTube girl. So I ran alone for most of the run. My battery died at a little over 17 miles, but I really ran 21+ miles. Either 21.1 or 21.5 miles probably. I'm not sure what the time was, but it was definitely under 4 hours. Probably 3:30 or 3:40. Damn, I'm getting screwed on the logging of my long runs.




5.) We did some quick 200's on the track with short breaks in between.


---Andrew =)

FARTLEKS

Yesterday at track practice, we ran fartleks. We slowed down around the curves of the track but then sped up to about 80% during the long stretch of the track. We did 2 laps of these, then after 2 laps we did some pushups, squats, situps... then 2 laps again, then lunges, side lunges, and bicycles... then 2 laps, etc. etc.

Results...

The Worst Run I've Ever Had + The Worst Day Of 2008

I've designated today as "The Worst Day of 2008"-- Sun, Sept 14th, 2008.

Anyways, "The Worst Run I've Ever Had" was today, and it didn't start off too well... I woke up at 5:30am and was rushing/speeding to get to my practice on time at 7am. It was way down in Palos Verdes, not the usual close Santa Monica location. Anywho... I realized when I got there that I had brought everything except my Nike+ sensor that you stick into the iPod. So this was practice #2 in a row that I didn't log my mileage.

Well, I got there and we started running... my YouTube crush was there and she ran with us and actually did a great job. She was last in our group in the beginning, but ended up finishing #2 overall, whooping my ass at #3. Before the run, I was concerned that she was going out with this one musician that she collaborated with (they looked like they were together in their last video), but then during the run she was talking about how she had some meetings this week with people who wanted her to star in reality tv shows... they were pitching her ideas about how she'd have a fake boyfriend, etc.

So when she mentioned a "fake boyfriend" I thought this meant that she didn't have a boyfriend, and that I shouldn't be worried about the musician. But something was a little different this practice (and I think maybe even the last practice 2 weeks ago that she went to)... I don't know but I wasn't getting a vibe.

Anyways, the run was really exhausting and I was tired throughout. I used to be able to run 15 miles no problem, but what happened? Anyways, she was way ahead of me at the end. Finally I finished and was obviously tired and stretching and not feeling well. I was stretching my back (by bending down) and I overheard her talking to this one girl who was in the entertainment industry. The girl was an assistant and talking about her job when my YouTube crush said that her BOYFRIEND was doing the same thing. I heard her voice and I was like "dammit that's her voice saying that"... she said it twice and I felt sick. On top of that, her boyfriend is a writer and doing the same thing as me. That guy is really lucky.

Anyways, I should've listened to my other friend who said that he thought he heard my YouTube crush saying that she had a boyfriend in the beginning of the season. There was no mention of a boyfriend at all until now. Dammit... all this time she had a boyfriend. All that wasted effort, attachment, and getting my hopes up. I felt so embarrassed (cuz I think she knows) but seriously-- I know it's terrible to say this but I was a fool to think that someone like her would ever be interested in a guy like me. I'm embarrassed cuz I really thought there was a great chance. I really do not understand women, and this is not the first time this has happened. This girl though is very different from the past failures; it might take some time before I get over this one.

Anyways, right when she said this I kept my pose (bending towards the ground) but I felt terrible. I actually tried walking around cuz I felt a little dizzy and my arms and chest were all of a sudden numb. It was a sickening feeling. I immediately asked the assistant coach what time it was and said that I had to go and then just left. As I was walking away my YouTube crush said bye to me and I just waved at her without turning around. It was a tough walk to my car, partly cuz we did 18 miles, the most I've ever done in my life. I was sore, tight, but also heartbroken.

Anyways-- after I drove away I was thinking about it so much that I missed my first turn and my backup turn that I would've taken if I had missed my first turn which I did. 2 turns! I just kept driving straight into nowhere. I had to pull over eventually and take out the Thomas Guide to figure out where the hell I was. Getting lost made me very late in coming home, and I was going to go over to my in-laws place to watch the Bears game with my brother (that's a whole different thing but we got into a little fight over the phone cuz I thought the game was at noon, but it was at 10am, etc... that didn't help the day). Plus the Bears lost. Fuck that.

Anyways, the worst day of 2008 is when I ran the worst run i've ever had. A couple of people I've talked to have brought up the positives in all this and that it was out of my control, yada yada... but seriously, I never want to like someone cuz I know it always ends up like this (but it's hard to control emotions/feelings). No good ever comes from liking someone.

Anyways- now I don't even feel like running anymore, but I'll continue to go and do it. This day and run has taken the shine off my marathon training experience to be honest. I mean, I ran 18 miles today and wasn't happy about it. Call it corny, but I felt that if I had completed this marathon it would be an example to me that anything is possible (and same goes for if I ever ended up with my YouTube crush)... but even if I run and complete a good race I don't believe any of that now. 26.2 miles? Who cares!

Anywho-- I'm really REALLY motivated to like, finish and sell my script before next week's practice. That'll show her writer boyfriend. Dammit. Sorry for the long post but I'm really bitter and I'm sorry but I haven't gotten any in 4 years. What the heck? Do you know anyone who has had a dry-spell that long? It's pathetic. What's wrong with me or them or me and them? Dammit. I really don't feel like running anymore. This day sucks.

Anyways--- here are my results... ran 18 hard stupid miles in I dunno about 3 hours or so = ~10 min slowass pace = burned a ton of calories but wasn't hungry. Whatever. It's all meaningless to me now. Sorry for ranting and writing lots, but I'm just trying to do anything to feel better about this.

Sincerely,

Andrew "The Most Failed, Unsuccessful Piece of SHIT Guy In The World" Horng

Wed Hill Workout #3

So I went to the TNT Hill Workout tonight (YouTube Crush wasn't there). I did 7 trips up/down a "hill" with the team.

At the end I forgot to push "end workout" so it was still going for a few minutes haha. So really my pace should've been on the lower end of 8 minutes/mile.



---Andrew =)

The 'hood

52.2 min / 4.6 mi = 11.3 min/mi

Sunday is Runday

23.1 min / 2.6 mi = 8.9 min/mi
ES totally motivated me to run this one. She's getting really good at staying on a schedule. So she ran a much longer run, but I at least got out the door ;) Figured I'd run and try to catch up with her. Ran with no iPod - it was nice. Tried the 60 sec pacing you told me about Andrew - Left foot hit 80 times in 60 seconds. You said it was supposed to be 90 hits though? I'm not sure how I could get to that - I'd have to really be bookin' it to get that many hits. If I'm below, does that mean I need to go much faster?

DAMN YOU, IPOD!!!

So on Sunday, before going to practice my iPod wasn't working. It was frozen, which has happened before and I've been able to reboot it. But for some reason it wasn't even rebooting so I went to practice and ran without it.

I ran 16 miles though and I asked my teammates how long we ran for. One of them said about 2 hours 15 minutes not including water-stops and the other said about 2 hours 30 minutes including water-stops.

---Andrew =)
P.S.: YouTube crush wasn't there either... she overslept!

"Easy" But UNCOMFORTABLE Run

According to the run schedule, we were supposed to run a 40-60 min EASY run. I decided to go do that today which made this week my first 3-run week (ran on Sun and Wed of this week too)...

Anyways, I had calibrated my Nike+ on Wed but this was the first test to see how accurate that was. I went over to Drake today at about 3pm, thinking that it was going to be crowded. But it was totally empty and dead. There were only a few guys there, and for some reason today was "take your shirt off while you run" day haha.

I put on sunscreen before I left but as I was getting there, my inner right forearm felt like it was burning. So I reapplied some sunscreen before I left my car. I wonder if my sunscreen wasn't very good or if it was just an intense time of the day (I usually don't run around that time).

Anyways, I ran 18 laps in Lane 6 (479 yds/lap) but for some reason I ran on the very VERY outer edge of it (practically on the line separating 6 from 7). It was an easy run, but also a very UNCOMFORTABLE one too... which made it hard in that way. I had my sleeves rolled up so that I could tan my arms, but they kept getting undone. So for about 40 minutes, I ran and constantly re-rolled my sleeves up. Also, it was just burning hot at that time and I was concerned that I was getting sunburned (even though I had sunscreen on). Since it was burning, I was sweating profusely which made things nasty. Also, before TNT I never really wore sunscreen while I ran... but today I did and my sunglasses kept slipping off my face because of the lotion. And, because it was so hot, my sunglasses would fog up. The sweatiness made the sunscreen go into my eyes and it stung. I had to wipe it away and it was all difficult while carrying an iPod, cell phone, car key, and while wearing headphones.

So while 40 minutes of running with TNT with people is super easy, running 40 minutes alone by yourself at the track is really hard! My goal was to last that long and I did so I was happy.



Anyways, here's my per lap time...
Lap 1: 2:03.66
Lap 2: 2:10.77
Lap 3: 2:09.29
Lap 4: 2:14.41
Lap 5: 2:14.47
Lap 6: 2:13.31
Lap 7: 2:16.68
Lap 8: 2:16.57
Lap 9: 2:16.04
Lap 10: 2:20.35
Lap 11: 2:21.95
Lap 12: 2:23.23
Lap 13: 2:22.56
Lap 14: 2:25.35
Lap 15: 2:21.51
Lap 16: 2:23.54
Lap 17: 2:24.04
Lap 18: 2:21.31

If you add all that up, you'll notice that it does not equal 41:07, but 41:19... what the heck? I said it before, but either my iPod isn't keeping accurate time or my cell phone or both.

Also, you'll notice that when I wore the Nike+ on the other running shoes, it always short-changed me. This time it seems to be the opposite but a little more accurate (the variation isn't as big).

Anyways, after the run Tiger Woods told me over the iPod that it was my fastest pace per mile... but I'm not going to totally believe that because it seemed to have said that I did more miles in an amount of time that might be shorter than what it really was. My pace was probably 8:25 or so if I had to guess.

Anyways, time to go to sleep and do more running tomorrow at 7am!
---Andrew =)

Wed Workout

Yo yo!

So on Wed we had our 2nd track workout. I got there a little earlier and recalibrated my Nike+iPod thingy... I ran exactly one lap in Lane 1 and then walked exactly one lap in Lane 1. Hopefully things will be more accurate since I calibrated the thing incorrectly when I first got it. Whoops!

So after the calibration, we did some strides back and forth to warm up. Then after that, we did a little "experiment"... our coach had read in Runner's World that you could predict your marathon score by how fast you run 4-6 sets of 800's (2 laps). For instance, if you run one set of these 2 laps in 4:35 minutes, you'll get a total marathon score of 4:35:00. He was very skeptical about this (cuz it seems too easy) but was also curious so we were his guinea pigs haha.

Anyways, here's how it works... you run 2 laps fast, but not all out (since you have to do 4-6 sets of them. And they should all be consistent. After you run one set of 800 (at let's say 4:35 min), you're supposed to cool down for the time that you just ran (so... 4:35 min cooldown)... then you run your 2nd set, then have a 2nd cooldown, 3rd set/cooldown, etc.

So here were my results for the 6 sets I did...
1.) 3:20 min
2.) 3:20 min
3.) 3:18 min
4.) 3:18 min
5.) 3:22 min
6.) 3:12 min (I went all out at the end)

I was pretty consistent. But I'm also skeptical too, cuz even if you take the lowest score (3:22 min), I don't know if I'll be able to run a 3:22:00 marathon. That's a 1/2 marathon in 1 hour, 41 minutes... I ran my practice 1/2 in 1:57:56, although really it was probably 1:50:00 or so... and there were a couple hills... hmmm, maybe it might be accurate. Or at least, close. But then again, just cuz you run a 1/2 in less than 2 hours doesn't mean you won't have a full marathon score over 4 hours. Cuz there's that whole thing with "the wall" and average pace is slower when running farther, etc.

I don't know-- we'll see. Anyways, my YouTube crush wasn't there again but it's all good cuz I'll see her Sunday hopefully.

---Andrew =)

Ooops, I also forgot to mention that I kept the Nike+ going even during the cooldown (cuz I needed to know what time it was to go back)... anyways, I didn't realized this until we were in the middle of the practice but that meant that my pace probably got messed up since I was just standing there or walking/cooling down while it was still going.

In Need Of RECALIBRATION

Hey all,

First off, congrats on the 1/2 marathon! I look forward to hearing about it tonight. Anyways, I seriously need to recalibrate my Nike+iPod thingy. This was the first LONG run I did with the new shoes + the Nike sensor. I did 12 miles but it said only 10.51 which is a HUGE difference!

Also, I think I calibrated it incorrectly when I first got it. I didn't know you had to go to a track and run exactly 400m. I thought you just had to run until the thing said it reached 400m. Doh! I'll try to recalibrate it at the track on Wed.

Anyways, I ran today and I accidentally ended the workout at a waterstop. Then, when I got to the waterstop again later, I did it again! DOH! So that's why there are 3 parts...







Anyways, my YouTube crush was there today and we ran together for most of the way. In the beginning it was me, her, and another guy, so I didn't really talk to her as much as if it was a one-on-one conversation (which is good, cuz I didn't wanna give too much Andrew). But I did talk to her a little bit. At one point in the run she fell behind so I just talked with the guy until we reached the waterstop. After we got our water, she ran and came to the waterstop with another girl. When we started running again I talked to my YouTube crush one-on-one which was nice while the girl talked to the guy up front. It was good cuz it was the end part of the practice.

She showed me her new Nike+ wristband thingy she recently got (the same thing except without the iPod) and so I just challenged her today on the website. Muahahahahahaha...

---Andrew =)

Wed Hill Workout #2

Went to the TNT Hill Workout last night.

We started out doing a couple of warmup laps and after the 2 laps I forgot to pause my workout for a LONG TIME while we were stretching... so long, that the Nike+iPod just paused the workout for me (so I'm not sure how long it was going for)... anyways, after stretching we did sprint strides and I didn't resume the workout for 2 of the first laps for that, oh well.

But it's all good... just a few minor things. I got fitted for new shoes yesterday (there will be a video about it) before practice and then wore my new kicks there-- Brooks Adrenaline GTS shoes with a little stability (I found out that I have mild pronation). Almost $100 bucks ouch! Next time I'm getting them online or something.

Anyways, the hill workout was intense but good. I definitely feel that I OWN the run whenever the ground is flat, but once there's just a little hillage the run owns me haha (or, maybe not owns me but I at least don't OWN the run anymore). That being said, I was still the #2 runner in practice last night.

---Andrew =)

3 RUNS

YOOOOO...

I did three runs since my last update but didn't post them-- whoops!

1.) Anyways, last Sunday the 17th I ran an EASY 15 miles during TNT practice... the fact that my YouTube crush and I ran together alone and talked for a while helped. We told stories and just yapped on for a while and that helped me.





2.) Then, on Wed the 20th, I went to West LA College to do a track workout with TNT. My YouTube crush wasn't there, but it was all good. We ran a 1200 (3 laps), then 800 (2 laps), then 400 (1 lap) with very short breaks in between and tried to get faster with each one. Then after we did that, we took a longer break for a few minutes and then did another set of 1200, 800, and 400. By the second set I was exhausted.

Here's the results...



And afterwards we did 2 "cool down" laps (I didn't know we were going to do this so that's why I had ended my workout)...





3.) Then, on Saturday we did a practice 1/2 marathon. I pushed myself and ran hard (but not too hard in the beginning) and felt that I had a good run. There were 2 big hills that we had to go up and down. The course was VERY confusing and I'm surprised most people didn't get lost. I felt like an idiot because at the end I made a wrong turn and ended up running the long way to the finish line (probably an extra .5 mile or 1 mile)... I felt embarrassed and dumb and didn't feel like wearing my plastic medal. All the people that I worked hard to pass were already there at the finish line when I showed up. There should've been a person to direct me at that fork but there wasn't so I just ran straight instead of making a right turn. Oh wellz... the course I heard wasn't exactly 13.1 (but more like 12.87 if I heard correctly)... so maybe I was the only one that really ran a 1/2 marathon. My time that I kept for myself was *1:57:56 (it really deserves that asterisk)... based on other people's run times and where I was in relation to them, my guess at my official time should've been around 1:50 (or, let's just say 1:49:59 haha). Anyways, if we do another 1/2 marathon I'll try to be faster.



Oh and my YouTube crush actually flirted with me on Sat... I had thought the game was over after Sunday's practice and had given up, but now the game is back on...

---Andrew =)

8 mi @ the beach

Ran up HB yesterday morning. 84.5 min / 8 mi = 10.6 min/mi. Our goal was "10 min/mi" so I think we hit it no problem. This was in spite of a very slow upset-stomach start. Temps were good until the last half mile when the sun came out and it got muggy.

WED HILL WORKOUT

Yesterday, I went to my first ever hill workout with TNT. It was the first time for my YouTube crush too... more on that later.

Anyways, I showed up at 7am all ready to do the workout-- but then found out that the practices were held at night... WHOOPS! I had even written 7PM on my schedule. I'm dumb.

12 hours later, I was ready and nervous. Nervous cuz I was going to ask out my YouTube crush while running. It was a tough series of going back up and down and doing squats and pushups at the bottom each time. I forgot to pause my workout a couple times when I went down and did my squats and pushups... whoops again.

Also, before asking her out I was NERVOUS... so nervous that it was hard for me to speak to her... there was some silences during our run, but then I asked her if she wanted to see Batman. She seemed interested but said something about her roommate wanting to see it too, so I took it as a rejection and didn't really run with her or talk to her until the end of the night when we said goodbye. Everyone's been telling me that I overreacted so yeah, my bad. Whoops a third time.

Anyways, the hill workout was good but I hope to redeem myself in the female dept on Sunday. I've been wasting too much time dwelling in it... grrrr!!!

---Andrew

Alright-- running is going very well. I ran today and also last Sunday (didn't get a chance to post last Sunday's until now)...

LAST SUNDAY...




TODAY...




Things are going pretty well with me and YouTube girl but there might be a couple of roadblocks. I'm probably going to go ask her out tomorrow so I'll keep you both posted on that schtuff.

In terms of running, I'm just getting better. I tried out my first Gu gel ("chocolate outrage" flavor) at about 50 minutes of working out and it definitely gave me a boost. Running was easy after that point. I finished first today amongst my huge group (finished with 2 top runners today as a group) and I wasn't even that tired after finishing.

In less than 2 weeks we'll be doing a practice (but official-like, with bibs and gunshots etc) 1/2 marathon at the Rose Bowl with the other TNT groups from different parts of LA. I know it's not a competition, but it would be awesome to whoop the other teams. It would also be awesome to finish first out of my whole running group, or dare I say-- out of all the other LA TNT chapters???

---Andrew =)

51 min / 5.2 mi = 9.8 min/mi
I had some terribly greasy tacos for lunch and was feeling extra jiggly. I needed to run to at least recoup some of the damage from those tacos. I read recently that 1 mi running is the same caloric burn as 1 mi walking. So I'm going to concentrate less on the pace and more on the distance. I think that will benefit me more, and probably it will be easier on my legs/ankles if I incorporate a bit more walking here and there. I'm going to try to keep my heart rate up though - I think it has to be in a certain range to do the fat burning, but I don't really know. :P

HAHA yeah I'm doing the full 26.2 miles. I had originally signed up for the 1/2, but then training's been going well so I decided to "push the envelope" yet again.

Oh and the Facebook thing sounds cool. Since we're doing a good job, maybe the next run we'll post it on there. Although... my Nike+ is always inaccurate and short-changes me. Maybe that's why I haven't posted anything yet.

So I Sunday's practice, I accidentally ran with the fastest group! We didn't slow down to walk or anything. I had originally started with Group "O" (the 2nd group), but then somehow thought that "G" (the fastest group) was the faster 1/2 of "O". My YouTube crush followed me into the fast group too, muahahaha. I know that she at least likes me on a friendly level and feels comfortable with that... just gotta work on the flirting and game-playing! (I hope she doesn't have a bf).

So we ran supposedly 11.5 miles on Sunday... I accidentally ended my workout during the run, but then re-did it again.

Going a bit further

41.1 min / 4.6 mi = 8.9 min/mi
Decided to stretch the distance this time - was feeling good going out, and mid way through wasn't too achy. Ran at dusk like usual. Lots of dragonflies eating the gnats, and some waterfowl were flying around sort of chasing each other - it was interesting to watch. No iPod this time or anytime recently - running without the electronics is nice, especially when I spend a lot of my day listening to music or watching video on the iPod.

Wait, you're running a marathon? Nice - I thought it was a half for some reason. Will be interesting to watch your training through October!

Hey, should we be linking this thing into FB somehow? Just an idea. I don't want to be bragging or anything on FB, but seems like just about everything is linking in with FB these days.

One more thing...

Oh and it was also the fastest mile pace that I've recorded with the Nike+. A recording from Tiger Woods told me so after the run!

---Andrew =)

5K+ Before Work

Hey hey!

So today before work, I went to Drake Stadium and ran a 5K (technically... a little more than that). It was a really good run and I didn't think I'd do a 5K before work haha.

Anyways... we all know that my Nike+ is inaccurate (it always short-changes me with distance) but it also gave me a different time than my cellphone. Either my Nike+ is wrong or my cellphone or both. My cellie gave me a time of about 24:54 and the Nike+ said it was 24:47... not a big difference but still a difference.

Here are my stats...
12 laps in Lane 6 (although I did have to go out of the lane a couple times towards the end... not a big difference though)... = 5748 yd = 3.27 miles in 24:54 min.

It's interesting to note the lap times though...
LAP 1: 2:05
LAP 2: 2:07
LAP 3: 2:04
LAP 4: 2:04
LAP 5: 2:06
LAP 6: 2:04
LAP 7: 2:06
LAP 8: 2:07
LAP 9: 2:05
LAP 10: 2:08
LAP 11: 2:08
LAP 12: 1:50

With the exception of the last lap (which I hauled ass towards the last maybe 1/4 lap of it), my lap times were really consistent. I mean like REALLY CONSISTENT! I don't think it's ever been like that. I think this marathon training is really helping out. Also, I should say that I was pumping my arms more efficiently today and I could feel it helping during the run-- took less work off my legs.

Anyways, this may have been the best run I've ever had at Drake-- actually, I just checked my records and it is the best run I've ever had there. It's the first time I've done 12 laps there (my previous best there was 11 laps)... the laps, the consistency, the arm pumping, the fact that I did it before work, etc.

Yay,
---Andrew =)

6th TNT Run/Walk (Griffith Park)

Hey hey,

On Sunday, we all went to Griffith Park to run (the ground was hilly). I forgot to pause my workout at the first water stop and I think that was the only flub on the results.

---Andrew =)

TNT Practice

Hey hey...

Today we ran/walked for 10.5 miles, although my Nike+ short-changed me yet again... GRRRRR!!!

Here are the results...

Longish solo run

3.2 mi in 27.75 min = 8.7 min/mi

4th TNT Run (Sunday)

Hey hey,

So I did my 4th TNT run practice this Sunday. A significant amount of people were absent due to the Holiday weekend. My YouTube crush wasn't there... =(

Anyways, we did an easier run instead of upping the mileage. Also, the group I was in didn't walk at all (if I'm remembering it correctly), but we did do a couple stops for water of course. By the way, going up the steps near the beach is just killer.

---Andrew =)

Tues Morning Run

Hey hey,

I didn't get a chance to post this until now but I ran on Tuesday morning... I also filmed it too for my YouTube channel, though the video won't be ready on my site until probably this weekend.

Anyways, it was a pretty good run. I think my body is getting more and more in shape with TNT, cuz I lasted a lot longer than I though I would with this morning run. I also went up the steps of Drake at the end, a la Rocky... I didn't pause my workout at 3 different times... one was when, in the middle of the run, I ran to my camera and picked it up (there was some time that passed), the other was when I made it up the steps of Drake and caught my breath, and the other was at the very end when I finished (I didn't end the workout right away).

---Andrew =)

INTERESTING RUN! (3rd practice)

Hey hey hey...

Guess what!? I met my YouTube crush today!!!...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JadjTiutKw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_tU3V38JWY

Turns out that she runs with my Greater LA TNT group and missed the last two practices! (which were my 1st and 2nd). She also joined my running group (Group O)... dang, it was interesting and I got to talk to her for a bit whilst running next to her.

Anywho, the run was good and beautiful. We did a run/walk and when up and down some steps and even ran on the sand which was tough. I was trying to get rid of my farmer's tan.

I forgot to pause my workout yet again at one point, but it was all good. I'm going to start running during the week this week to become one with my body (haha). Check out the YouTube channel for video updates!

---Andrew =)

Avoid Injury Run

2.7 mi, 24.5 min. Was feelin' gimpy, but wanted to get out there at least for a bit. Keep up the schedule.

2nd TEAM IN TRAINING RUN/WALK

So yesterday, I had my 2nd TNT run/walk practice. It was blazin' outside in the morning... I moved up to the next level group which was supposedly faster, but they weren't so I ditched that group for a faster group (the 2nd fastest in the TNT group) and it was much better. I got some feedback from the coaches on my running form... two things I need to work on: a little more knee lift and tilting my head down to reduce my neck/shoulder tension.

I should mention that these practices are run/walks... we don't run full straight through the whole time. The first practice was really easy... this practice I upped it a notch and though we did do some walks in between runs, I took fewer than last week (I ended up ditching that 2nd faster group with another guy closer to the middle-end cuz they stopped to walk and we didn't).

Oh yeah, and my pace time and time of the workout is a little off since I forgot to pause the workout on my iPod during our first waterstop... so there are a few minutes on there when I'm not really doing anything. Ah wellz.

---Andrew =)

Toasty Run

It was well past sunset today when we ran, but it was still hot. I'll be glad to move closer to the beach to avoid these scorchers. Did alright anyway, 23 minutes flat, probably 2.5 miles or so, not sure exactly.

Running with the laday

Ran with ES today, 29:54 over 2.9 mi.

1st Team In Training Run

Hey hey,

So yesterday morning (Sunday morning) I went to my first practice for TNT. We split up into groups and ran/walked in Santa Monica outside. The coaches wanted me to keep it easy on the first practice, so I was with a relatively easy paced group. I might try out a faster paced group (maybe) next weekend or keep being in this one.

I kept my iPod on even during the walks, but if we stopped at a light or water station or something I paused it. Thus, my average is worse, but that includes required walking. At some point during the run, my iPod wouldn't let me pause it again so it started a whole new workout. I thought it was an error and that it erased everything I had done up to that point (but it didn't which was good). So here are 2 results from yesterday...







---Andrew =)

Strange Occurance Run

Ran ~2.8 in 24 min or so. Just was feeling jiggly again.... I think I'm converting muscle weight into fatty weight (despite my overall weight not changing). I feel more rotund. So at the last possible minute, I decided to go run (at dusk).

BUT as I'm running, first, there's a fire truck and ambulance responding to some emergency at the park that's along my route. Looks like a kid got hurt on the playground, but didn't want to rubberneck too hard.

THEN as I'm running back, 3 sherrif cars are zooming down the road (it's a back road that they use to move around quickly due to low traffic), one was hilariously blasting some girly pop music over the PA system.

AND THEN I'm just about home and I see some kittens in the grass between the sidewalk and the street. They were black cats with a white stripe down their backs.... with fluffy tails... and it hit me that they were actually baby skunks! 4 of them foraging for something in the grass - food or something. Sort of cute. I got some photos (see facebook). Whenever I got close to them to take the picture, they'd turn around and point their stink canons at me, so I gave them their distance =P