RUPM 2012

10kms at 1 hr 16 mins :) Shaved off 6 minutes from my KOTR 10km! Boo yeah. Both Les and I ran a better 10km while Van was brave enough to run the 21km! And did so with a very good time of 2:35! :) that's the exact same time it took me to run my first half-mary :p I'm looking at running 21kms in the QCIM (Quezon City International Marathon) by December 2. Other runs:

November 11, New Balance Power Run (10km)
November 25, Run BGC (15km)
December 2, QCIM (21km) (as written above)
February 3, Condura Skyway Run (21km)
And of course, the mother of all runs in my list, February 24, TBRDM (42km)

RUPM // PowerRun

This running thing is getting to be expensive! It used to be that I liked running because all you needed was a pair of good running shoes - a one time big time expense.  But now, I realise it's not as cheap as a  I thought! I guess I could just run and train and not join any official races, but where's the fun in that? :P

 

Here's the run I have this Sunday which, according to CA, the goal must be 1 hour 15 minutes.  For my November 10km, it's going to be:

The New Balance Power Run with a goal of 1 hour 5 minutes.  My best ever 10k was at 1 hour 6 minutes so... we'll see.

On a happier and lighter and more positive note, I stood on the scale today and saw that I lost 6 pounds!!! Praise God! :) I'm really loving how my teacher uniforms have gotten more comfortable.  I hope to be able to keep it up.  After all, I do have only 4 months to prepare for my full marathon.  The new motto? Eat well, to run well! :) 

Speaking of that marathon, I was looking at my notepad and came across my answer to the question, WHY do you want to run a full marathon, in the TBRDM application.  To keep me motivated, here's my answer:

"Running a marathon would be my second dream come true.  I was so ready to sign up for TBRDM 2012 but got my first dream come true when my husband and I found out we were having a baby.  So I had to postpone my marathon dream.  Now, with a 4-month old baby, I am so ready to train and run.  Having my husband and little boy at the 42km mark, I'm sure I'll finish strong!"

:)

Running Blues

So I've registered already for my Unilab 10km and I'm a week away from it.  I'm half excited and half nervous for it, knowing that I HAVE to do better than I did in the Adidas KOTR (1:22).  According to CA, my goal should be 1:15! Gahh, that's 7 minutes that I have to shave off!

I don't really know which is better - to run in the mornings or the afternoons but to me, I've always enjoyed the early morning runs.  I used to run in the mornings last year when I was training for the half marathon.  It was manageable since I was still in the corporate setting, having to get to work at 9 AM.  Now that I'm back in school, with a 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM time, long runs in the morning just seems too impossible - unless I start at 4:00 AM! That would be insane.  Or...hmmm (someone's considering it).

But since I really do prefer running in the morning, I've made it part of my training to run every Friday, 6AM in the gym.  On Fridays, the Husband works from home so it's the driver who brings me to the gym.  I run for about 45 minutes, take a shower at around 6:50 AM and walk to work (it's a 5-minute walk to school).  I did it last week and again this morning.  Nothing like a morning run to keep me energised for the rest of the day! For the past runs, I've been trying to finish a 5km in 35 minutes and so far, it's not happening :( Last Wednesday, my time was 37:57 and this week's Wednesday was 37:28.  Just seconds shaved off.  Today in the gym, I had to finish at 4kms since I had to head to work.  So I did 4kms in 34:45.  Kind of just walked the past 500 meters.

UGH.  I HAVE TO GET FASTERRR.  Will run again on Sunday and Monday.  Hoping for a better 5km then.

KOTR ++

I ran my first race last Sunday, September 30 in the Adidas King of the Road.  Although my husband thought I was insane for signing up for 10km category (he thinks I should have joined the 5km run instead), I managed to finish the run in a pretty decent time of 1 hour and 22 minutes.  My fastest was at 1 hour 6 minutes and longest, first ever 10km was at 1 hour 30-something.  So, I conclude, that my time is not so bad at all!

I've also found a running group!

Van, my grade school classmate and Leslie, my college blockmate (both batchmates from high school)

We train separately but got together when we decided to join this run.  We plan on joining one run each month! 

October - Unilab 10km

November - New Balance PowerRun 10km and RunBGC 10km

December - I know there's a Nike Run, just not sure when it's going to be and if there's going to be a 15km run for that 

All these runs will hopefully prepare me well for my February full marathon! Phew, just thinking about me gives me a million butterflies in my tummy.  A mix of excitement and nervousness for The Dream Marathon. 

I'm glad I've been regularly running already - save for this week when I've just ran Thursday so far and had gotten sick today :( I have a feeling my body's had too much.  Been running lately (both under the rain and not) then not eating as much (in the hopes of losing weight) and doing teacher work.  Ugh, it's crazy.  And on top of all that, I never really get to sleep a straight 8-hours anymore since Liam was born.  I'm not complaining but my body seems to be.  For over a week, I've just been having milk for dinner except tonight when I had a full plate of spaghetti (today's menu for dinner) in the hope of gaining back my energy.  In my mind: I have to get better so I can ruuuun.  Yes, call me obsessed.  

I mentioned the baby a while ago and my is he growing up so fast! He's turning 6 months in 2 weeks and here he is now:

My little big boy! :) Lately, it seems that every waking moment is spent shrieking and shouting! In as much as I hate having my sleep interrupted, he really does make it so worth it <3 Oh, motherhood.

**

I don't know if I'm biting off more than I can chew trying to manage so many things at the same time... but I'm glad to have the feeling of being tired.  To me, being tired means being productive.  I'd rather do so much and be tired rather than not do anything at all! :) 

So thank you Lord, for the blessing of my many roles in life!

Mother, wife, runner, teacher... Signing off! 

What what?

What happened? Has it really been almost 2 months since my last blog entry?! Again, what happened? Well, school/work/Liam/going back to running happened.  And I can't complain.  I know that the busier I am, the more productive I am, too! :-) So this should be a good thing.

Updates on my 3-dimensional life:

On Running...
I am very proud to say that I have gone back to consistently running! I am back to running with A.  Although my progress seems to be quite slow, I am still very happy to say that yes, there is progress! We run every Wednesdays and this week, I was able to finish 7kms! Happy happy.  Next week seems quite daunting, though, as we aim to finish 9kms.  Of course, this is all in preparation for the Adidas KOTR Run which I signed up for:

Note: I registered for 10kms only, as CA thinks (and so do I!) that I'm still not ready for 16.8 :-) 

Photo from Adidas KOTR website.

So apart from this run, I also bravely registered for The Bull Runner's Dream Marathon happening in February 24, 2013! If you know me well, I have always wanted to run a marathon simply because I want that feeling of accomplishment I will get after crossing a 42-km-run's finish line.  Here's my welcome kit: 

Of course, CA will be helping me train for this ;) Two weeks ago, while running, he was talking about how, at the rate I'm going, I should just run with his wife (Lani).  I had to encourage him by saying, "Uyy don't give up on me! I'll get there again!" Parang baliktad, ako yung nag cheer on sa coach ko, hahaha! Anyway, it's all good.  I know it's harder to train this time since I haven't been running for over a year (sayang, I was halfway there with that Goldilocks 2012 half-marathon) plus, I gained so much weight so I'm heavier now, harder to run.  So it takes extra effort now, but I'm up for it.  After all, apart from that marathon dream, there's a lot of weight I still need to shed off!

On Liam & Family Life:
It's been a great almost-5 months with Liam.  He turns 5 months this coming week! How fast! Time really does go unnoticed, pretty soon, I'll be attending his grade school graduation.  HAH, fast forward much? Here's his most recent photo:

Here's the little one, after a 5:00 AM poo session ;) 

It's 6:30 AM now and he's back in his crib, sleeping. 

Ahh, married life is not a bed of roses, that's for sure.  It's a constant, everyday, learning experience.  Each day, I learn about my husband and his likes/dislikes - I've known him for seven years now and there are still so many things I don't know about him! As a mother, I started out with ZERO experience but I survived, thanks to my mom, mommy-friends and of course, Mr. Google (I find myself Googling almost everything like, "how to burp baby" or "how to sleep train" and many more).  I'm sure it will be a life long learning experience and I'm not complaining because as I discover more about parenting and homemaking, I also learn more about myself.

On teaching:
This year, I am very, very grateful to be blessed with wonderful students.  I can honestly say that I enjoy all 7 sections that I'm handling this year.  As I have said before, although teaching + being a first-time parent is never an easy combination (to add to this, training for a marathon), I find these 3 preoccupations of mine, that I strive hard to juggle, teach me so much.  Did that make sense? What I mean to say is that, teaching helps me become a better mom and vice versa.  Then, to get a break from both, I run - and as I run, I learn so much about myself and how much I can do physically, if I set my mind and heart to it - again, self-discovery and self-improvement.

***

Today's a Saturday and as a teacher, I've always looked forward to Saturdays as days when I can sleep in (having to wake up at 5:30 AM from Mondays through Fridays).  Since Liam though, sleeping in has been a foreign concept.  I know I have a nanny around but leaving him to the nanny, when I'm at home anyway, just feels so unsettling to me.  Nevertheless, I'm determined to have a busy and productive weekend:

Saturday:
7-8AM, run in the gym (cancelled or postponed to later time due to heavy rains - it's been raining since 12MN, I think?)
10AM, accompany mom to downtown to do some errands
1PM, leave for husband's basketball game - watching it with the little one!
6PM, go to the mall to get sister-in-law's birthday gift
9PM, watch a movie (last full show ;)

Sunday:
9AM, go to mass
10AM, go to the gym (if no work out today)
12NN, family lunch out
2PM, visit my dear best friend who's scheduled to have her cesarean section done 7AM, Sunday)
4PM, try to go to a friend's child's first birthday party

Edit edit: My best friend's waterbag just broke! So, looks like I'll have to squeeze in the hospital visit today! :) Wheee baby baby! :)

Of course, the nights are reserved for doing school work! :p

***

Ahh, life is good.  Thank You, Lord for a busy and productive life! :)

And So I Run

I saw two friends I haven't seen in a while and was so surprised to see them so skinny. This of course inspired me to stick to my diet and fitness plan until I see significant changes. This week I have been having only 3 spoonfuls of rice every dinner. Worked out only Monday, though. I weighed myself yesterday and scale says I lost about 4 pounds so hooray for me! :-)

On running, I was texting CA awhile ago, thinking I should really seriously go back to running again. I am 100% registering for the Adidas KOTR run which is on the 30th of September so I have to prepare for it! I texted CA in line with this, asking him if he could help me train. Of course he's up to it. I'm his favorite student, I think. Haha!

So we set a date, August 1. My plan is to run 5kms in the gym on Monday, rest Tuesday and run with CA on Wednesday. So help me God :p

TGIF

TGIF has never meant as much to me as it does now that I have my Liam. I love that it's Friday tomorrow because it means I can say "Happy weekend" in my classes! It means I can stay up late on a Friday night not worrying whether Liam will keep me up or not, since there's no work the next day.

I do have a seminar to attend the next day but who cares! At least it's only half the day :-) This weekend is pretty special, too! It's Liam's christening on Sunday. FINALLY! :-)

Here's Liam at 3 months :-)