Thinking of my dad and an update

Three years ago (on Oct. 28th, 2007) my dad passed away after a battle with cancer.  I decided to post as I think about him tonight because his death brought me to running.  I started running not to get a time.  I started running after his death because it was a lifestyle change.  It was about being active and doing an activity that could keep me healthy.

I did not smoke like he did (which caused his cancer).  But, I was overweight and at risk for high blood pressure and diabetes.  I used to like running in the past (shorter mileage), but it had been years since I ran.  I decided it was time to start running again.  I also focused on changing my diet (less junk food and more fruit and vegetables).

Since I started running, I ran 4 marathons and a number of half marathons.  More importantly, I lost 50-60 pounds from my pre-running weight.  I have done so doing an activity I love.  I can thank my dad for bringing running back into my life.

. . .  As for an update.  I’m still running.  My next big marathon is CIM in December.  I used “big” marathon because I signed up for a “training” marathon on Nov. 7th (the Morgan Hill Marathon).  It is a bit crazy to think I’m running a marathon as a training run.  Not sure what that means yet, as it is my first training marathon.  I guess I think I’m going to take it easy.  Not go for time.  Just try to relax and have fun.

Sorry for not updating this blog.  It has been very busy at work and with the baby at home.  Brooklyn is doing great.  She is 10 months old.  She is crawling now!  Moves all over the house.  It is such a blessing to have her in my life.  She had her first fever last week.  It was horrible . . . for me.  She did okay.  She was a little miserable at times, but overall she generally stayed happy.  Just less active and hot.  Yet, for a first time dad (with my wife away on business for two nights) it was so stressful.  I was scared and unsure of what to do.  I talked to my sister, neighbor, advice nurse, people at work . . . trying to get a understanding of what to do.  But, we got through that first fever.  I have much more appreciation for my mom after that.

I have some great pictures of the baby that I put up soon.

Oh – I also ran the San Jose RnR Half Marathon.  My wife and sister also ran it.

Back from Vacation and two barefoot runs

I spent last week in Maui and had a very good time.  It was great to have a week to spend with my daughter who turned 8 months today.

Here is one picture from the trip:

I ran three times in Maui – one being a 10.38 mile run.  And, I ran 7 miles the day after we got back.  The best thing about the 7 mile run was that I took Brooklyn in the Bob stroller.  We now sit her up in the Bob (i.e. we don’t use the car seat).  It makes the run a lot more exciting for her . . . she can actually see what’s going on around her rather than stare back up at me.

The problem with the Bob stroller is that I think it throws my running form off.  After the 7 mile run, my knee was hurting.  I’ve hurt my knee during my first marathon in 2008 and it always seems to flare up.  I can’t go on a run without wearing a brace to help prevent any injury.  It is very frustrating as I wish I could just run pain free or without the worry have getting injured.  It’s been two years since I recovered from my injury and it still flares up.

So, I’ve decided to give barefoot running a shot.  Reading born to run did help push me over the top and go for it.  But, I also read blogs and articles on barefoot running.  From what I’ve read it can help you with injuries.  Not sure, how long this will last or whether it will cause more problems.  But, I thought it was worth a shot.  I’ve tried ChiRunning (and it has helped me with my form), but I think I need to try something else.  The concept of barefoot running makes sense to me (even though today someone told me I’m crazy).

I ran 2 miles on Tuesday barefoot after a short run with shoes.  I then ran 4 miles tonight barefoot.  After tonight’s run the bottom of my feet are sore.  Likely due to pushing up to 4 miles too soon.  But, my knee actually feels much better after the run.  It has been sore all week.  For the first time this week, it actually feels good.  I find that a bit odd, but I’ll take it.

I’ll see where this goes.  If it seems to work out, I don’t think I’ll stay completely barefoot (I’m a wimp) and would buy FiveFingers to provide some protection for my feet.  At least, I’ll have something more to blog about.

First (and second) run with Brooklyn

Brooklyn is now over 7 months old (almost 7 1/2 months).

This past Sunday, I took her on our first run together.  A short 3 1/2 mile hilly run at the Stanford Dish.  Here is our picture at the end of the run:

We left her in the car seat which fits in the BOB.  I have taken her on many walks in the BOB (with the car seat), but not yet on a run.  I really wanted to run with her seated in the BOB (not in the car seat).  She gets board just looking back at me for 30-40 mins.  She loves being outside and likes to look around (when we go on walks I tend to carry her unless she needs to sleep), so I suspect she will enjoy being seated in the BOB where she can actually see.

She is only about 16 pounds.  She can sit up, but is a little light so we decided to wait maybe another month.

She did great.  She looked at me puzzled for about 10 minutes and then feel asleep the rest of the run.

As for me, it was different running with a stroller.  Going up a hill was hard.  It takes a lot of energy to push that stroller up a hill (while you are running).  It is also difficult going down a hill.  The problem is that the stroller wants to fly down the hill and you have to keep it under control.  So I constantly have to slow the stroller down.

The front wheel also locks (which is suppose to be used while running with the BOB).  Thus, I spent of lot of energy moving the stroller in the right direction (and to prevent it from going off road).  I think with the front wheel locked it is not as easy to maneuver.  However, it could be just because of my inexperienced running with the stroller.

In addition, my running form/gait, I think was completely off.  I really have to work on making sure I keep good form.

Overall, I had a great time and was really excited going for the run with Brooklyn.

I also went out during the middle of the week for my second run with her.  A run around my neighborhood.  Also, about three and 1/2 miles.  On the second run,  Brooklyn did not fall asleep.  She looked at me a lot, likely wondering why I have this funny struggling look on my face (as we went up some steep hills).  The rest of the time she played with some toys.

I had great time running with her.  I can’t wait for her to be able to sit up in the stroller.  I really hope he comes to enjoy her time with me as we run around and around.

I also changed the title of this blog since I want to also focus on moments with Brooklyn.

12 weeks old and 12 miles run

This Sat., Brooklyn turned 12 weeks old!  The time has went by really fast.  I can’t believe she will be three months old on the 19th.  We are reading to her at times.  We have a number of baby books, but I wonder why we have to stick to baby books.  I started reading her Shakespeare and my wife is reading her Marley & me.  The baby books are fun though.

By coincidence, my scheduled run this morning was 12 miles.

Because of “The Hill” at Oakland I wanted to get in a good hill run.  I thought about driving to Oakland and running The Hill, but that takes an hour both ways . . . which means less time with Brooklyn on the weekend.  So I decided to go to Rancho and run up to Black Mountain.  Well, not all the way up, just 6 miles up.  I thought that would give me a good hill workout and would be harder than running “The Hill”

Thanks also for the comments, much appreciated.  I know that I can complete the marathon.  I might not get a sub-4, but I need to stay positive and just do the best that I can.  I mean . . .  I need to just enjoy the experience and challenge of the marathon.

I’m also using Windows Live Writer for the first time. Seems easier than blogger . . . still need to get used to it.  Thank you Aron for your post suggesting it.

I got out to Rancho before 8 am and started my journey up in elevation.  My legs were really tired (it is time to start tapering).  They did not want to get climbing.  I pushed myself really hard this week in my speed workout (10 x 800s, at 7:00 pace, resting pace at 8:34 for .25) and a 5 mile temp run at 7:30 pace, last mile at 6:30 pace.  I did both on the treadmill so I used an elevation up to 2.  The elevation made the workouts harder, but it felt good to complete them.  My legs though still felt the workouts and were tired.  As I was running, I told myself that I need to start tapering to get my legs rested for Oakland.

It was a great day out.  It had rained the night before so some parts were muddy, but not like the 30K race two weeks ago.

I made it to 6 miles and decided to run to the 2K elevation rather than turn around.  I made it to 6.5 miles when I hit 2K elevation.  I noticed that twice I climbed over 500 feet in a mile.  That was great because the Hill climbs 500 feet over 4 miles.  The problem is that going uphill means I go slower.  At the 6.5 mile mark my avg pace was about 10:30, which means getting a sub-4 in Oakland could be very tough.  On the way down I was about to drop my avg pace to 9:25.  It was a tough run, but I’m glad I did it.

Here are some pictures from my run (I had to upload them from blooger, windows live writer would not let me):

Brooklyn is two months old today and Joseph D. Grant Trail Run

Today, Brooklyn turned two months old.  It is very exciting.  At times, it seems like she has been with us for a long time.  But, other times it feels as if the two months went by very fast.

Here is a picture of her on 2/14 with the dress I bought her:

I love her so much!

Last week, I ran 21 miles a the Joseph D. Grant Park. The run was very long. There were alot of hills and we took 1 wrong turn which caused a 18 mile run to turn into a 21 mile run.  The trail itself was okay.  There were not many trees to provide cover so during summer it would be tough to do a long run.  There were a lot of hills (many ups and downs).  Going up to 2800 or so feet.  I'll show the run through my poor quality pictures:

As you can tell, lots of hills with little cover.  For the winter it is great though.  You get a lot of good views especially when you get to the top of the hills. 

A view of San Jose

A look out over the hills:

Another view of San Jose:

The trails were wide and open for the most part.  Lots of room:

People in my running group coming up a hill:

One of the lookouts (this one is about 2500 feet):

Another view of the hills:

We were not alone out there, here is someone that kept us company:

Six weeks old! And, January Update

I started blogging because I wanted to log my running activities and keep a record of important events so that I can look back and see my thoughts/words. I am going to try incorporating Brooklyn into my blog more and how she relates to my running (at times even how she does not relate to my running).
My running is very important to me (not as important as Brooklyn and my family). For me, it is very important to stay in shape. Before I started running, I was overweight and had high blood pressure. I am going to be 40 this year and with a newborn, I want to stay in solid/strong shape as she grows. I love running so it is something that I can do to stay in shape.  Here are two pictures before I got back to running (pictures in late Feb and early March of 2008) and a picture after my last marathon:

Brooklyn is now six weeks old (on 1/30/2010). I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. She was born on 12/19 (after a 48plus hour labor). I took the next two weeks off work . . . or at least tried to. I had some urgent client matters so I ended up having to work some from home. That was very stressful - trying to work from home with a newborn. I wanted to take a little more time off (at least 1 more week), but it was clear the client matters would not die down and it would be too stressful to be at home trying to get the matters done so I went back to work on 1/4.

Here are some adjustments that I had to make:

One big adjustment has been working from home. Before, I would always have my laptop open and be able to get back to clients even if it is 11pm or past midnight if something urgent came up or if I just could not fall asleep. My wife, Jill, is on maturity leave so she is with Brooklyn all day. When I come home I have tired to watch Brooklyn. Jill would go to sleep about 9pm or 9:30pm and then I would take the next feeding. Well, those days working an hour or two at night have disappeared. It seems that Brooklyn tends to get fussy from about 10pm until midnight or so. So I generally have to hold her or walk her. Although at times it came be frustrating (when a baby is crying), I'm thankful for the time it gives me to spend with her.

Another big adjustment is my appreciation for the treadmill. I am thankful for the Treadmill! Yes, the Treadmill! Brooklyn loves it. She can be fussy and crying and crying and crying. Yet, 95% plus of the time, all I have to do is turn on the treadmill and walk. Within a minute or two she relaxes. I generally get a mile to two in. Often she will fall asleep and I can put her down after. I do not walk too fast on it (maybe only a 20-21 min a mile pace), but generally I will use the incline and feel like I get a good walk in. I do read, on blogs, a lot of complaints about the treadmill . . . however; in my case I am so thankful for it. It is amazing to help calm her!

Another big adjustment is with running. It is difficult to get runs in. I can not plan on watching Brooklyn and hope to get a run in while she sleeps. However, the treadmill has also been a major help. In Jan. my running log for all my short runs shows either "treadmill at home or treadmill at work". If my wife is nursing (when I get home), I can jump on the treadmill for a 1/2 an hour or so and get 3-4 miles in. Or, I've been forcing myself to take my lunch (generally later in the day) on a treadmill at my office (we have a small gym with three treadmills, other machines, and weights. I will jump on it for 3-4 miles. So the treadmill has significantly helped me get my runs in.

Sleep is also a big adjustment. Generally, for the past 15-20 years, I have been able to function on 4-6 hours sleep a night. So it has not been too bad. The major problem is "falling back a sleep". As I mentioned, I take a night feeding as I watch Brooklyn. The time my wife takes over seems to vary it can be from 1:30am to 3am. It just depends on how Brooklyn is doing that night. Most times I fall a sleep with Brooklyn, either on the coach or in her room. Generally I only get an hour or two of sleep before it is time to wake my wife. The problem is falling back a sleep. There have been many nights when it is 4am, 5am and I'm still flopping around trying to fall asleep . . . knowing that my alarm is set for 7am!

I have still managed to get in long runs during the weekends. My wife has been great in allowing me to continue the long runs on Sat am. I try to get back before noon so that I can help out with Brooklyn . . . the rest of the weekend. My wife has also tried to get out of the house for a little while (dinner with friends or a movie). We also have a horse (she is not ridding now due to the C-section). But, after my runs, she will be able to go to the farm, while I watch Brooklyn. So it seems to work out.

Here are some pictures of Brooklyn in her first six weeks

Me and Brooklyn

Brooklyn taking a bath

Resting

Jenny and Brooklyn

So even with Brooklyn, I was able to continue running.  I logged nearly 120 miles this month.  One long run during the week and 3 times a week a run of 3-4 miles on the treadmill (at work or home).