75: Marina Monkey Bars to Hopper's Hands and Back

On a random day off, self discipline dictated that I run. Since I'll be missing my long run this weekend and heading to LA to watch the USC vs. Oregon football game, I need to make sure to get my runs in ahead of time. We've done parts of this run before as a group and since I like the gravel and bridge view, I decided to do this on my own. I started at the Marina Monkey Bars, just past "singles" Safeway and before the Marina Green and turned around at Hopper's Hands, just below the bridge at Fort Point for a total of 4.98 miles (or as I like to say 5 miles!).

77: buddy run near ocean beach

Recently, I heard myself saying to someone, "Today was just did a 5-miler."

Afterwards I couldn't believe myself. Just 8 weeks ago I was killing myself over TWO miles. And now, 5 miles is a short run. Crazy.

It's funny too how hydration and rest really do make a difference. I'm tired today still after our "easy" 5-miler on Sunday. I showed Clay the Lands End Trail by starting at Ocean Beach, heading through the Sutro Baths, down the El Camino Del Mar Trail towards Land's End and back.

Yes, I "borrowed" these pics...they are not mine but I wanted to share with you the view we enjoyed while running!

Cause for Celebration

So they gave us the night of from training to celebrate together in what they coined a "Cause for Celebration."

This catered event was a social gathering and blood typing drive. Also, if you raised at least half of your fundraising minimum by this date you recieved a spiffy TNT sweatshirt. I know you're jealous lol.

80: Did you know…the average 32 oz jar holds about $60 in change?

Did you know that if you put your change in a Coinstar machine, you have the option of donating that money directly to LLS? There are over 13,000 Coinstar machines (most in supermarkets – go to www.coinstar.com to find a machine near you). Collect your change and (anyone else’s - but you should probably ask them first). When you use the machine, simply select the "donate" option at the beginning of the transaction and follow the on-screen prompts to select LLS as your non-profit organization of choice. Then pour in your change; the machine counts the coins, and then provides a tax-deductible receipt for the full value of the donation.

You can fax the receipt to my team captain at 415.625.1159 and give credit to my fundraising efforts! Easy! Plus Coinstar doesn’t charge their regular fee for nonprofit donations. http://www.coinstar.com/us/PressReleases/941379

Growing Circle of Concern

I think it's worth mentioning this again because it's amazing what we blind ourselves to until forced to actually observe and ask questions: When I started this fundraising mission for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, I thought I knew no one who was affected by the disease. Now, I am aware of 5 people in my personal circle of friends and family connected to the cause.

#1: You know that distant uncle who you sometimes saw at family gatherings but hadn't in a long time? You though maybe he was sick or just too far away to visit. For me, I re-learned that he had suffered from Leukemia AND had a bone marrow transplant some years ago.

#2: A friend and co-worker's mom

#3: A fellow trainee's best friend

#4: A friend's 5 year old kindergardeten student

#5: A close friend's cousin

How many people do you (not) know of? If you start talking about the cause, I bet you'll be amazed at how closely you are connected to those who are living through blood cancers.

82: balancing act

So you think, "I ran X number of miles this weekend. I can eat whatever I want!" The nutritionist warned us that we might whisper this to ourselves. It's so easy to overcompensate and reward yourself not only on the day of your run, but for days after. In effect, you cancel out all the physical good of running by intaking gi-nor-mous amounts of calories. You feel like you should be shedding weight but in reality you are maintaining or (gulp) dare I say actually putting weight on! Like the nutritionist said, "Of course, treat yourself after the race! Just don't treat yourself every day for the whole next week."

Fortunately this hasn't happened to me (yet) but I have had the "I can eat whatever I want!" moments. I use this site called The Daily Plate to track net calorie intake (gross calories eaten less calories burned through activity) as a tool to work towards overall weight management. You input your height, weight and goal (for example, maintain weight or lose 1 pound a week) and it spits out what your net calorie goal per day should be. Then using the food journal, you track what foods and what activities you do each day to monitor yourself. It's a pretty eyeopening experience and tell you exactly what you should be cutting out all together (i.e. - a super grande carne asada taco salad with all the fixings - 1000+ calories) and what things are reasonable to splurge on occasionally (i.e. - a cone of Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough Ice Cream - 360 calories).

What is crazy is that after running for 130 minutes or 2 hours and 10 minutes straight for my long run this past Saturday, I had burned 1273 calories!! Basically I could eat twice my normal daily "allowance"...CRAZY...! It totally screws up your perceptions of good vs. bad and what to eat and what not to eat. You literally have to pull your reigns in and teach yourself how to have self control again when the next day when you are so sore you can barely walk, let alone work out, and therefore are not burning all the calories you think you deserve to eat just because of the activities of the day before!

So I'm back to reality and thankfully today, I squeezed in a 2 mile run...which justifies me to eat another 294 calories. Don't you love how I quantify exercising in terms of how much it means I can EAT?! I do.

Project Michelle

At the TNT Kick off event, we met our teammates for the first time and I happened to sit down next to Mabel. Two weeks later, I strolled through the Nihonmachi Street Fair and participated in a Project Michelle drive, requiring only 10 minutes and no blood, just a simple cotton swab of the mouth. Then on a Saturday TNT run, as Mabel and I jogged through Chrissy Field, Mabel shared the story of her personal honoree, the one who inspired her to take action and run for the LLS: Project Michelle.

Funny how things come full circle. Michelle is Mabel's best friend, practically from birth. 26-year old Michelle was originally diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a cancer of the blood, on February 27, 2007. After undergoing 5 rounds of chemotherapy, Michelle reached a state of remission and slowly began to reclaim her life. She also dedicated herself to helping others by creating Project Michelle, a campaign focused on recruiting people to become potential bone marrow donors. Mabel and her also choose to celebrate life and vowed to certain things, like go to Spain (check!) and run the Nike Women's Half Marathon together this October.
Then, In April of 2008, two months after returning to work, Michelle began to feel symptoms similar to those she had felt prior to her original diagnosis. Michelle’s fears became true on May 7, 2008 when her oncologist confirmed that she had relapsed. She was also blindsided by the results of an MRI that revealed a mass on her brain. For Michelle to be cured of her leukemia, her treatment plan will include even more intensive chemotherapy, radiation, and a bone marrow transplant. Unfortunately, Michelle does not currently have a bone marrow match and will not be able to undergo a transplant without one. Michelle is determined to win her battle with leukemia, but she now needs the generosity of others to succeed.This October, Mabel and I will keep their vow and run the Nike Women's Half in Michelle honor. She has two registered bibs originally for her and Michelle, but I will carry one of them and the Finisher's Necklace will be given to Michelle's mom.
I hope you are as touched by this story as I was and choose to do your part and register if you haven't already. Go now, to register.

85: 11 miles down, 15.2 more to go!

Have you ever sat in a jacuzzi in the rain? Well that the mental image I was trying to sell to myself as I sat in an ice bath from the waist down with a sweatshirt on, holding hot tea in my hands after completing my first ever 11-mile run!

I hadn't seriously run for a week, so I was a little worried. The past week had been busy with work, self-dubbed pseudo-crossing training (aka staging), and running didn't get squeezed into the schedule. So the mere thought of running 27% longer distance than the last longest run I had completed was daunting. I did make sure to get plenty of rest, hydrated well and woke up an hour early (ahem, 6am and I am not a morning person) before the run to eat oatmeal and drink plenty of fluids so that I was properly prepared for the run.

For the first time, our group run had staggered start times. 7am for the 13+ min/mile, 7:15am for the 12+ min/mi, 7:30 for 11+ and so on. I played conservative and started with the 7:15am group.

The route: We started at Sports Basement Presidio and headed away from the GG Bridge towards past the Maritime Museum, the smell of fresh bread baking at Boudin and turned around at fisherman's wharf back past SB. Mentally this was the hardest part as it felt like this should be the end of the run since we were running back to where we started, but we were really only about 1/2 way through. We continued on towards the Bridge, turned at the road to go up the hill, eventually landed on the Bay Area Ridge Trail, went under the Bridge, down the stairs, back up to Fort Point then turned around for the final leg back to SB.

Overall the hills were challenging and I'm discovering I definitely like running on the gravel paths more than the asphalt. My total time was 2 hours and 10 minutes for an average of 11:50/mile.

Since I braved the ice bath, I was hoping to avoid major muscle soreness. I don't know how much it truly helped, but I can say that my quads aren't sore, but my calves sure are dammit.

Sports Basement ROCKS!

Me and Jim Krause, Marketing and Community Relations guy for SB Potrero Hill. He helped organize this event and generously supplied food, drinks and the 10% off coupon for all guests!

My first guest, John. A fellow runner training for the October San Jose Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon.

Stefanie comes through, like a champion rally monkey, getting her friends to help the cause and join the party! Andrew, even biked here and partied in socks. Thanks for coming guys!!!

Aileen, Brennan and I posing behind the spread.

All in all, we had 13 lucky shoppers! Yasmin and I proudly are showing the sign in sheet (with some funky red color accent setting on my camera being used).

A BIG THANK YOU to Stefanie for encouraging me to have this party...wouldn't have done it (or been half the fun) without her!

87: Fundraising Shopping Party Tonight

This is what I'll be doing instead of running tonight. I have 9 RSVPs. Typically 20% attendance rate is expected for guest lists so that means it'll be me + 1.8 of my friends. Someone please keep me company lol.

88: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

"If you're resting on your laurels — or worse yet, your daydreams — What I Talk About will come as a rousing reminder that there's no substitute for hard work. Indeed, practice makes perfect."

Review by J.K. Glei

For acclaimed Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, the act of running and the act of writing are inextricably linked — like two sides of the same track-shaped Möbius strip. As his new memoir, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, explains, one begat the other: with the start of his writing career at age 33, the sedentary nature of the activity necessitated an exercise regimen to stay fit. Thus, the book artfully marries two topics that many people don't often see as going together — sports and creativity. The result is a fantastic read with broad appeal; beyond just runners and writers, What I Talk About holds inspiration for anyone who's passionate about an athletic or creative endeavor.

As Murakami writes about the evolution of his running career — from his first marathon to his first ultramarathon (62 miles) to his first triathlon — he constantly circles back to how his athletic experiences have impacted his writing practice, and vice versa. Throughout, he stresses the importance of training in both disciplines, debunking misconceptions about the writerly life as he goes: "The whole process — sitting at your desk, focusing your mind like a laser beam, imagining something out of a blank horizon, creating a story, selecting the right words, one by one, keeping the whole flow of the story on track — requires far more energy, over a long period, than most people ever imagine."

Sure, such advice can sound a little self-congratulatory at times, but Murakami's tough-love take on writing seems bracing in the context of an unending stream of "craft"-oriented tomes.

Whereas a classic writer's book like Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird deals in trade-based tips — "The very first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop is that good writing is about telling the truth" — Murakami jettisons such undeniable (but not particularly helpful) truisms in favor of stressing the importance of elbow grease. Or, writing as sport.

If you're resting on your laurels — or worse yet, your daydreams — What I Talk About will come as a rousing reminder that there's no substitute for hard work. Indeed, practice makes perfect.

==================

Too bad, I've been daydreaming of running lately more than actually running. Kaori would say it's a "terrible excuse for not running. it's B.S. KEEP RUNNING!!!"

91: a sunday "stroll" down the embarcadero

This may be complete psychological BS but my knee has been bothering me since Thursday's run and I feel like I hurt it because I was tired. Thursday I pushed myself to run on the frontage road at a quick pace for me and felt heavy, as though every step had a resounding "thud." Anyway, I didn't run Saturday and ran a laid back 3.88 miles today. Clay and I started at his office on 3rd and Brannan, ran down Brannan towards the water, up the Embarcadero to Battery and back. Weather was perfect...sunny and beautiful, not too hot and a little breezy. I feel better for having run but am still pooped and I slept in until NOON today...who sleep in until noon anymore?!

94: east bay frontage road path

For the next month, my training life will not be "as usual" since most weekdays I won't be able to make the group training events. I'll be at the store in Berkeley until 6pm :(

So for the first time today, instead of making it to the track, I drove to the Ashby exit off highway 80 (basically Berkeley), parked and ran along the paved path parallel to the frontage road back towards University and then back. I forgot my iPod and didn't know the distance so pushed myself to finish as quickly as possible. I used my phone as a stopwatch and clocked in each way at 11:52min. Total distance was 2.54miles out and back which converted to a 9:20/mile!

The nice part about this exercise was the view. The sun was setting and the ocean breeze kept me cool. Now that I've mapped it, I know that I should be running farther and can slow my pace to increase my mileage successfully.

95: pseudo cross training

I swear I'm still pooped from last week/end and on top of that Harmonique is staging a house in Fremont to be put on the market. The thought of staging brings glamorous thoughts of Design on a Dime or While You Were Out programming to mind for some, but the reality is grueling, sweaty days of schlepping, schlepping and more schlepping.

So while this doesn't count towards the traditional definition of cross training, I'm going to go out on a limb and says since my arms, shoulder and back muscles are SORE from STAGING, this pseudo crossing training counts.

Here are some before/after photos in our portfolio so you can get an idea of what is involved with staging a home. Ideally, the house is empty and you fill it up. The particular project we are working on now, the clients are LIVING THERE WHILE WE ARE STAGING. It may sound like no big deal, but imagine having your 3 bathrooms and kitchen torn to shreds for new appliances, cabinets, and fixtures, new paint and new furniture all moving in and out AT THE SAME TIME.

96: Nike+ calibration

I just learned that the inner most ring of a track is 400 meters. (I knew it was a 1/4 mile but never did the conversion). My last run from Beach Chalet was 7 miles. I knew this because the coach had pre-mapped it with his podometer. Yet, my Nike+ iPod gear said I ran 8.94 miles (yeah right! i wish). So obviously something was a little off.

Tuesdays are Buddy Run days but I ran late and didn't make it to the Embarcadero by the group start time so I decided to go to the track and calibrate my iPod.

It still fascinates me that there is a whole counter culture of athletes among us. Before this whole marathon training thing, on an average Tuesday or Thursday night I might be doing laundry, cooking dinner or meeting a friend for drinks never once aware that there was a whole portion of the community that was t-r-a-i-n-i-n-g. Maybe they were doing a 5K, a 10K, a half or full marathon, a triathalon, speed trials, or just trying to stay in shape. But their Tuesday or Thursday involved meeting at the track and working it. UP and DOWN the stairs, around and around the track, leg lunges, side stepping across the field, and on and on and on. I just looked around in awe. The placed was packed. The solo (white) guy doing Tai Chi in the corner, the pairs of girls who came together to casually run the track, the teams preparing together, the running groups focusing on speed -- all levels, all ages, all focused.

I calibrated my iPod and became one with the counter culture.

97: still recovering

Sunday I went shopping and chilled. Did nothing really, especially no working out.

Monday was the toughest mental challenge yet...to force myself to get into the gym. Just walk the 16 steps. Go from my front door, down the elevator and into the seat of the exercise bike. I mean really, how hard is that? Terribly hard when all you want to do is go to bed at 8pm.

But I did. 22 minutes on the bike. 22 minutes free weight and exercise ball strength training. Hugh! (imagine an emphatic gutteral exclaimation, something like a muscle bulging meat head might make).

99: 8 mile run on the Coastal Trail

After baking Okinawan Sweet Potato and Haupie Pies until 3 in the morning, I was more than a tad delerious upon arriving at 8am at Ocean Beach. We were tasked with running somewhere between 4-10 miles, depending on what race you were training for and what level runner.

Even though I am a level one runner, I still wanted a challenge so I up'd my mileage to 7 miles since I ran 6 a couple weekends before. We discussed the course -- starting at the parking lot across from Beach Chalet, up past the Cliff House, down thru the Sutro Bath, along the Coastal Trail that sort of parallels El Camino del Mar, thru the Sea Cliff neighborhood, up the highway and back. The course was pre-marked by the coaches in white flour denoting the turn around points for 5-10 miles.

And off we went!

Randomly part of the beach was closed for a photo shoot with these LIFE SIZE wood cutouts of Native Americans on horseback. The Chronicle dubbed it as a tribute to the Wild West. We passed these on the way up to the Cliff House.

After passing the Cliff House, we started our decent down past the Sutro Baths and up towards the Coastal Trail.

If I had to be stretching at 8:15 anywhere on a Saturday morning, this place would be hard to beat.

Lots of stairs.... (and me looking totally dorky).

The UNBEATABLE view made running 8 miles after 4 hours of sleep totally worth it!

101: stride by stride at the track

Last week was a blur and I'm writing this a week late. This particular day at the track was cool because the beginner runners got a small group session from Hazel Wood, the founder of Stride by Stride, a Chi Running program that brings the benefits of Chi Running to runners of all abilities. She worked with us one-on-one and then had us run in pairs while VIDEOTAPING us! Then we were able to watch the video of ourselves to evaluate what we were doing right and where we could improve. I felt like I was taking professional golf lessons or something! So coooool.

Other than that, I'll leave you with a Chi Running tip from Hazel:

Feeling an Efficient Lean

Exercise: Sometimes it is hard to tell if you are leaning from the waist or from the ankles. Try this exercise:

- Stand tall and lean (bend) at the waist. Notice where the weight in your feet is. Usually it will still be in the middle of the foot or even in the heels. Note that you can stand in this position without feeling much forward pull; and that your back is working to hold up your torso.

- Now stand in your ChiRunning posture, drop your focus to your feet and lean from the ankles moving your nose forward just 1 inch. Notice how the weight has come forward to the balls of your feet or to your toes. Also notice how you feel the pull of gravity forward. You are leaning so your foot is on the gas pedal. But you are not moving so you must also have your foot on the brake. The brake is being caused by the tension in your ankles. If you consciously shut off this tension in your ankles, you take your foot off the brake and you must fall forward.

This exercise helps to feel how inefficient leaning from the waist is. It also highlights how tension in your ankles is a form of braking.

You can also use this exercise to feel the impact on the lower back/hips/glutes and quads when moving while bent at the waist. Stand tall and lean (bend) at the waist. Now take step and notice what you feel. You will likely feel many of the back/hip/glute muscles and quads tensing in an isometric contraction to stabilize the torso with each step. Take a few steps in succession and get a sense of the impact to the body.

102: cross training and feeling buff...lol

Having ridden a real bike just a few days ago, the exercise bike was a sad follow up, but I did it nonetheless. Then, for an added challenge I increase my free weights up from 5lb sets to 8lb sets doing the following:

• sit ups on the exercise ball
• shoulder presses on the exercise ball working both arms and abs
• leg lifts working the quads
• side leg lifts working the IT band
• the bridge
• ...not sure what its called but you start in all fours with your opposite arm and leg lifted then contract in so that your elbow touches the opposite knee. This works your core and gluts
• push ups
• side arm lifts
• biceps 21s...7 from your thigh to your waist, 7 from your waist to your shoulder, then 7 all the way up and down from your thigh to your shoulder
• triceps
• then repeat, and repeat again

103: incorporating LT training into our runs

Today was our standard buddy run on the Embarcadero with a twist. We were to run at our normal jogging pace -- where it is comfortable to have a conversation with others -- for 5 minutes. Then we were to repeat two timed intervals of 5 and 2 -- 5 minutes of running, at a pace where you can't have a conversation, say 70-80% of capacity, followed by 2 minutes of recovery -- or as slow as you want so you can catch your breath -- and repeat, then finish the run at your normal jogging pace.

The coaches say it's a great way to have a challenging workout in a short period of time. I calculated the distance and we ran 3.5 miles today in 32 minutes...that translates to a 9:08min/mile pace! That is crazy time for me. I'm usually at the 10:00min/mile pace.

(above: so fast, i'm blurry...lol)

I'm pretty pooped now but excited to have another try at it to see if this will really impact my speed overall :)

(and yes, I took yesterday off...no training on labor day for me!)

104: okinawan sweet potato and haupia pie...mmmm

(the inspiration)

This coming weekend is San Francisco Hukilau's 7th Annual Sam Choy Poke Festival. I look forward to this event each year! They graciously offered to allow me to sell dessert as part of my fundraising efforts for TNT (thank you, Al, Eric, Kurt, and Mike). Truth be told, the idea was Clay's since until today I had never even tasted this yummy creation, let alone try to bake it.

Last night my place turned into "Kimi's Test Kitchen" -- picture flour puffs and purple pototes. (I'm going to come back here and add my own pics) because it's truly amazing how the potatoes transform into vibrant purple!

I used the following recipe from māʻona:

Between the cooking and chilling, it takes several hours to make the recipe, and then a couple more to cool the pie at the end. Allow yourself plenty of time, otherwise you'll find yourself like me, trying to accelerate the cooling phases in the freezer.

Crust
3/4 c. cold, unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
2 Tbsp sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1 c. macadamia nuts, well chopped

The very first thing you need to do isn't a "crust" step, but you'll be glad you got it out of the way. Peel your sweet potatoes (from the Sweet Potato Layer section just below). Okinawan sweet potatoes come in wildly different sizes, so I can't easily tell you how many potatoes you'll need to make 2 cups. Just use your best judgement, and if anything, make a little extra. Boil the potatoes until a fork slides easily into them. Drain and mash them, then set them aside to cool while you make the crust. Isn't that purple color amazing? How thoroughly you mash them depends on the final texture you want. I don't mind little chunks in my pie, but other people prefer a creamy texture.

(boiled potatoes before being mashed in the bowl at top and raw potatoes before being boiled at bottom)

Oh yeah, now would be a good time to preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Now we can get started on our crust. Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium size bowl. Add the chopped nuts and the butter. Cut the mixture with two butter knives, pulling them across each other in a scissors motion, until the crust mixture is crumbly and no large butter chunks remain. Press the crust mix into the bottom of a pie pan, continuing it up the sides of the pan. You don't need to create a substantial or fancy lip to the crust. Place the crust in the refrigerator.

Sweet Potato Layer
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened (1 stick)
1 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 c. Okinawan sweet potatoes, mashed
1/2 c. evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 t. salt

Wash your medium size bowl that you used to mix the crust. Cream the butter and sugar together in it until smooth and... creamy. Add one egg at a time, mixing them each until completely incoporated. Add half the sweet potatoes, mixing thoroughly. Add the other half and mix again. Finally, mix in the evaporated milk, vanilla and salt.

Spread the sweet potato layer into the pie crust, making sure not to add too much. The potato layer should fill the pie no higher than 1/2 inch from the top edge of the crust, so that we still have room for the haupia layer. Bake the pie at 350 for 30 minutes, or until the edge of the crust is golden and the potato filling is lightly browning in spots.
Cool the pie completely in the refrigerator.

Haupia Layer
1 can coconut milk (usually 13.5 oz)
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. cornstarch

When the cooked pie has cooled, begin preparing the haupia layer. You do not want to prepare the haupia early or it may solidify into an unwieldy block of coconut goo.
Place the coconut milk and water in a saucepan, but don't turn on the heat just yet. Mix together the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl then add them to the liquids. Heat at medium, stirring constantly, until thickened. You can tell it's thick enough when you lift your spoon out, and the bits that glop off the spoon back into the saucepan basically hold their shape.
Immediately pour the haupia mixture over the pie and return to the refrigerator to chill for several more hours. Serve when cooled, making sure to step back so that you don't get trampled!

Credit where credit is due: there are many recipes out there for this pie, all very similar to each other but no two identical. I borrowed the idea of evaporated milk from the Honolulu Advertiser, and macadamia nuts in the crust from Reid.