Week 9: Day 1 - Feb. 29, 2016

• easy bike ride = 7.35 miles
• easy WALK with dogs = 2.5 miles

Almost 100% better, but not quite. I didn't feel strong cycling as I did last week. I finally got a battery for my bike pedometer/speedometer/computer, but I'll start using it on my next ride.

Week 8: Day 7 - Feb. 28, 2016

• easy trail RUN with one dog = 5.1 miles, time = 1:00:46
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.1 miles

Total Running Weekly Mileage: 16.65

Total Running Monthly Mileage: 70.81

Total Running Yearly Mileage: 146.90

Total Running Shoe Mileage: 291.40

I had a sore throat and a little bit of coughing on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I didn't mention this before because it wasn't a big deal and it stayed in my throat. I didn't have a congested, stuffy head, nose or chest. Then on Friday morning, I woke up with a very stuffy nose and a little bit of a stuffy head. I was lucky that I was still able to sleep on Friday night and last night even with a stuffy nose. Sleep has helped me feel better...enough to go for a run this morning. The run this morning has sweated off any virus or bacteria that I had, that I'm feeling much better now. Not 100%, but much better than the last two days. I ran a little slower than usual and I did take a little walk break, but I pretty much ran the whole way which was good considering.

Week 8: Day 4 - Feb. 25, 2016

• easy road RUN with one dog = 4.87 miles, time = 54:07, pace @ 11:07
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

Yay, sleep and rest day tomorrow!

Week 8: Day 3 - Feb. 24, 2016

• easy trail/road RUN with one dog = 4.48 miles
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

I just need to get through tomorrow's run and then I can take a break (no run or bike) on Friday. I think I need to catch up on sleep. I started the run feeling like I needed some sleep, but after ten minutes, I had a bit of a runner's high during my run this morning, so I know that I'm not bored or unmotivated with running. I don't work on Friday, so I'm in no hurry to be anywhere and I can sleep in until whenever. Walk the dogs in the morning and then sleep a few more hours until it's time to walk the dogs again.

Week 8: Day 2 - Feb. 23, 2016

• hilly trail RUN with one dog = 1.1 mile, time = 14:46, pace @ 13:25
• warm up = 1.1 mile
• cool down = 1.1 mile
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

It was so nice and cold on Sunday morning at 6:30am at the race location. This morning at 6:30am was not the same. WHY?!?!?!??!?!! What happened? I was enjoying the cooler weather on Sunday morning and now it's gone!

Week 8: Day 1 - Feb. 22, 2016

• easy bike ride = 7.35 miles
• easy WALK with dogs = 2.5 miles

My bike computer (speedometer thing) hasn't worked in a few months because it needs a new battery. I have to get a new battery for it soon. I think I'm getting better on my normal bike route that I do at home because the usual hills don't seem so bad anymore. I'd like to think that all the "mountains" that I trained/ran on had something to do with that.

Week 7: Day 7 - Feb. 21, 2016

• Firecracker Run (with one dog): 10k (6.21 miles) Official race time = 1:08:28, pace @ 11:01
• easy walk with four dogs = 2.1 miles

Total Running Weekly Mileage: 18.33

Total Running Monthly Mileage: 54.16

Total Running Yearly Mileage: 130.25

Total Running Shoe Mileage: 274.75

10K race is over...I can now relax and take it easy with running. Surprisingly...after eight weeks of running with four days a week, my motivation didn't crash and I didn't get so bored that I was in desperate need of a break. I don't need a break, so I'll continue running for awhile longer until I do get really bored and really lose motivation.

This year, the race organizers changed the course for both the 5k and 10k. I didn't realize that it would be the new routes until after the fact and I guess I will be running this new route next year and the following years. I just noticed the new change because it wasn't the same as last year or other previous years. In previous years, the hills that we (both 5k and 10k) had to run in the beginning seemed like mountains. They seemed like mountains to me. For me, there are hills and then there are mountains. I was starting to feel a little disappointed in the first three miles today because we were running hills and I was expecting a mountain. I even trained on mountains at home (I live in a city that was built on hills and these hills are not that easy). The mountain finally came somewhere between mile 3 and mile 3.5. The steep incline was short, but was so hard that I had to walk a little bit because it was worse than the mountains that I ran at home!

While I think it was great that the race organizers wanted to change the course and scenery for us because sometimes we needed that, I didn't like that the 10k people had to share the road with the 5k people who were trying to finish their race/run. I had to start at the back of the pack because I had a dog and there were so many people doing the 10k. I had to dodge all the people who were slower and it was harder to go around them when the 5k people were trying to run/walk and we had to share the road with them going the opposite direction.

Week 7: Day 6 - Feb. 20, 2016

• Firecracker bike ride = 20 miles
• easy walk with dogs = 1.1 miles

I can now say that I shouldn't "hope for the best and just ride" when I'm cycling. I got a flat tire four or five miles into the ride. A tiny stick from a tree punctured my tire. Luckily, there were several event staff on bike for this kind of problem (as well as other emergencies like when a cyclist get hit by a car) and I got tons of help. I didn't have a spare/extra tube. The event staff did, but unfortunately, tubes are not "one size fits all". While they did great in helping me get back to the ride and I did finish/complete the ride, they struggled to help me because they didn't have a correct size tube for my tire. I wasn't mad or disappointed that it took them a long time to help me with my tire problem. I'm a little disappointed that I got a flat tire. The City of Los Angeles is so cheap that they don't want to pay someone to drive a street sweeper once in awhile. The city is also so cheap that they don't want to improve its streets and repave the streets. The streets there are so bumpy/rough and have lots of pot holes. The streets at home are cleaner and smoother with less pot holes!

I warned my boss that I would be late to work today. I didn't know how late I would be and I was expecting to only be late by a few minutes. Between the flat tire and all the traffic (why was there so much traffic on a Saturday???!!?! There were no car accidents, stalled vehicles, etc), I was late to work by 45 minutes. I think next year, I will either skip the event (don't sign up), don't work on the same day, or get another job where I can start later in the day like 2pm.

I do my 10k run tomorrow morning. After the run, I will sleep the afternoon away. I'm desperate for sleep!

Week 7: Day 5 - Feb. 19, 2016

• trail/road RUN with one dog = 5.14 miles, time = 1:00:45, pace @ 11:40
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

I wanted to do a run yesterday, but it was raining in the morning. By the time I realized that it had stopped raining and it was safe to head out for a run, it was late in the morning. I wanted to run yesterday and use today as a rest day because I wanted to sleep in all morning, possibly into the early afternoon without feeling like I had to be somewhere like work. I had to work yesterday afternoon, but I'm off today and because I did my run this morning, I feel tired/sleepy and I want to nap, but I can't fall asleep.

Training is done and I have my 10k this weekend, on Sunday February 21. I also have my bike ride event tomorrow morning. I've warned my boss that I may be late to work tomorrow afternoon. I signed up for the bike + 10k run event back in August or early September before I knew that I would be working at 12:30pm on Saturdays.

Anyway...normally, I would take a few days off (rest) from running after a 10k or half marathon, but I plan to keep running next week and the following week after that. I'm a little ahead of schedule on my total miles year to date, but I'm saving up those extra miles for when my motivation really crashes. I've been running for eight weeks (since the last week of December) without my motivation crashing or boredom kicking in. This is very good and I'm so happy with this because my attention span usually last about four to six weeks before boredom kicks in. I also think that for the next few weeks, I'll have Fridays as my rest days (no running or biking except for walking my dogs) so I can have some extra sleep. I was doing pretty well and not feeling tired after running, but I think it's catching up with me and I need to catch up on sleep now.

Week 7: Day 3 - Feb. 17, 2016

• trail/road RUN with one dog = 4.78 miles, time = 54:19, pace @ 11:22
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

Supposedly, tomorrow calls for rain. I hope not. I hope for dry weather or light drizzle/mist because I want to run tomorrow morning and use Friday as a rest day. I don't work on Friday and I want to sleep all day after my morning walk with my dogs.

Week 7: Day 2 - Feb. 16, 2016

• hilly trail RUN with one dog = 1.1 mile, time = 14:53, pace @ 13:32
• warm up = 1.1 mile
• cool down = 1.1 mile
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

So warm today! I think I had about 1.5 GALLONS of water today. I would really wish that this weekend would be cooler or cold, so I wouldn't feel like I was melting away. I think mother nature likes to play this joke on us. It was so nice and cold two weeks ago. And now it's warm and I'm uncomfortable!

Week 7: Day 1 - Feb. 15, 2016

• easy bike ride = 7.6 miles
• easy walk with dogs = 2.8 miles

What an interesting day. I had to take a little detour and go off roading by taking a trail to go home during my bike ride. The main strip of a road that I normal go on to get home was closed off due to a runner getting killed by a driver. Who knows why this driver hit a runner/pedestrian. Drunk? Drugs? Angry at the world? Bad driver? It could have easily been me or anyone else since it was half mile from home and it was a main strip for me and many walkers/runners/cyclists to be on. Life must go on, but I hope it doesn't happen to me!

Week 6: Day 7 - Feb. 14, 2016

• trail/road RUN with one dog = 6.68 miles, time 1:17:04, pace @ 11:32
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

Total Running Weekly Mileage: 18.86

Total Running Monthly Mileage: 35.83

Total Running Yearly Mileage: 111.92

Total Running Shoe Mileage: 256.42

I've come to realize that I have to use a calculator to add up my total mileage for the week, month, year and shoes. I can't seem to do simple addition on paper even if I show my work. When I did an update last weekend, I was ten miles off (ten miles more than where I should be). To make it worse, I was also counting/adding my beads incorrectly for my jar and I was 20 miles/beads off (more than where I should be) even though I was actually adding them immediately after each run and doing exact miles that I did for each day/run. I'm still ahead of schedule with the total mileage, but still. I don't like or want to cheat myself by adding more miles like that because it doesn't help me. Even though I don't really want to count my beads because it's just inconvenient especially when there are hundreds of them, I feel the need to make sure that the count is actually accurate.

Week 6: Day 5 - Feb. 12, 2016

• easy bike ride = 7.35 miles
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

This morning, I raised the bike seat a little bit. My usual bike route has semi-easy hills, and they felt a little easier this morning because I had better leg extension. I finally learned to feel ok getting back on the bike from a complete stop at a red traffic light, but I have to learn how to get off the bike so I can stop to wait at a red traffic light.

Week 6: Day 4 - Feb. 11, 2016

• easy trail/road RUN with one dog = 5.35 miles, time = 1:01:29, pace @ 11:22
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

Five more training runs and then race day. I'm almost there and I can't wait!

Week 6: Day 3 - Feb. 10, 2016

• trail RUN with one dog = 4.63 miles, time = 53:30, pace @ 11:33
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.4 miles

I decided to head out for a run at 6:30am this morning. I don't know why I didn't think of doing that yesterday morning. It was light enough at that time that I shouldn't have to worry about running in the dark. It was slightly cooler at that time, but not by much, so I'm still going to complain about the weather until it feels cooler.

Week 6: Day 2 - February 09, 2016

• hilly trail RUN with one dog = 1.1 mile, time = 15:02
• warm up = 1.1 mile
• cool down = 1.1 mile
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

A few weeks ago, a friend shared an article on facebook about February being the wettest month of the season for Southern California. It has not rained one day this month and this weekend marks the halfway point for the month. It was so warm this morning! I don't exactly like to run in the rain, but I would rather run in the rain than be in warm or hot weather! Because rain doesn't make me hot and uncomfortable! I felt slow during my run and my legs felt heavy. I also had to take two short walk breaks during my run. Not because I was out of shape. Because it was so warm! Although my overall time from my run this morning was eight seconds faster than last week on the same hill/trail...I ran the whole way and it was cooler last week! I hope all of next week including race weekend is cooler. I want to do my last hill training run in cooler weather because I want to know how much faster I got.

Week 6: Day 1 - Feb. 08, 2016

• easy bike ride = 7.35 miles
• easy walk with dogs = 2.5 miles

I woke up with a sore crotch this morning. I guess sitting on a bike seat for 20 miles will that to me since I wasn't used to sitting on a bike seat for that long. My legs felt great though. I still went on a ride this morning anyway. It was a little uncomfortable at first, but I felt totally fine after one mile and the soreness was pretty tolerable.

Week 5: Day 7 - Feb. 07, 2016

• trail/road RUN with one dog = 6.07 miles, time = 1:11:13, pace @ 11:44
• easy bike ride = 17.65 miles
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.1 miles

Total Running Weekly Mileage: 16.97

Total Running Monthly Mileage: 16.97

Total Running Yearly Mileage: 93.06

Total Running Shoe Mileage: 237.56

I went on a bike ride with a cycling group from meetup this morning. I hadn't done a ride with this group or other related groups in over a year (Nov. or Dec. 2014) and I hadn't done a ride longer than 7.3 miles since last February. It felt really nice to ride with other people. It's so hard for me to ride longer than 7.3 miles when I'm alone. I have no motivation when I ride alone. 

It has also been a very long time since I did a ride and a run on the same day/morning. Surprisingly, I am not sore! I must have been training great for my run, even though I've been kinda slacking off on the bike training (meaning I haven't been riding longer than 7.3 miles). I tell myself that I have to ride with a group on a regular basis just because I need some kind of motivation to ride longer than 7.3 miles and it's boring to ride alone. It gets lonely out there. The group's next easy 20 - 25 mile ride is on Feb. 21, however, I don't think I will join the ride on that day because I have my Chinese New Year 20 mile bike ride event on Feb. 20 and Chinese New Year 10k race/run on Feb. 21 (http://www.firecracker10k.org).

In other news, I think the two day rest/break from running has helped me. I feel normal again and not like I'm losing motivation or getting bored. I shall try this again for the next two weeks.

Week 5: Day 4 - Feb. 04, 2016

• easy trail/road RUN with one dog = 5.25 miles
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

I decided to go for a run today and use tomorrow as a rest day...just to change things up. I usually only give myself one rest day in between running days and I think I can use this much needed two day rest/break from running. While I felt good towards the end of my run, I'm starting to think that I'm slowly losing my motivation and boredom is slowling kicking in because it was hard to mentally get myself to head out for a run this morning. I hope I can make it until my 10k race before I go bonkers!

Week 5: Day 3 - Feb. 03, 2016

• easy trail/road RUN with one dog = 4.45 miles, time = 51:32, pace @ 11:35
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.5 miles

Before my run started, I was feeling a little unmotivated and a little bored. I was afraid that my motivation would crash and boredom would really kick in. I felt normal again halfway through my run and then I had a sense of accomplishment when my run was over. I'm two and a half weeks away from my 10k race and I don't need to lose my motivation or get bored of running before then!

Week 5: Day 2 - Feb. 02, 2016

• hilly trail RUN with one dog = 1.1 miles, time = 15:01, pace @ 13:38
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.3 miles

I'm finally able to run my super hilly trail without any walk breaks. I have two more weeks to train/run on this hilly trail to feel like it's getting easier. The Firecracker 10k run has a long uphill (three miles) in the beginning and it's pretty tough. I hope that hill feels a little easier this year and I won't take any walk breaks during the race, except to take some photos.