San Jose Rock and Roll Half Marathon Race Review

After the San Francisco Half Marathon that I finished two months ago, I wanted to focus on getting a better finishing time in yesterday's San Jose Rock and Roll Half Marathon. Unfortunately, I can't say that my intended plan worked. My atrocious finishing time for the SF race can be attritbuted to my lack of proper training. I had only been completing my usual minimal running routine, without building up on distance. So after that fiasco, did I turn things around? Truthfully, no. Yet again, I let the excuses pile up: my birthday, Reno Ribs Fest, a climbing trip, etc. and I never made it a priority to fit in my long runs. So, not only did I not beat my finish time for the SF race, I made it worse:

SF Half Marathon (8/03/08) - 3:18:02
SJ Half Marathon (10/05/08) - 3:25:45

I think I'm mildly depressed now and it's all my fault. Finishing a race like that always gives me a rush and a huge sense of accomplishment. But this time when I crossed the finish line, I couldn't help but feel a big let-down. The only thing that I proved to myself was how bad my time can be when I attempt to run a race out of shape and ill-prepared. Not to mention that my body is in a world of pain that I've never felt before now. I think it's time to retreat and let my wounds heal before I attempt another race. I've always thought of myself as a positive person, so I'm determined to start over with the basics and remember why I loved to push myself this hard. But for now, I'm feeling the full force of my own disappointment.

There are good races and bad races for every runner. Obviously this was a bad one for me, but I didn't want to let this one go without a review. So here are my highlights:

Highlights:

• I finally got one of my friends, Victor, to run a race with me. However, Victor has been a serious cross country runner since highschool, and he took off. Also, with the way the course is laid out (double-backs on itself), you can see people on their way back to the finish line. So I caught up with Victor when I was at mile 6, while it was his mile 11. As I saw him waving and cheering me on at that intersection, I wanted nothing more than to kick him in the ass for being so fast. Oops, I mean cheer him on all the way to the finish. Yeah, that's what I meant...
• The world-famous Kenyans ran this race! I had the pleasure of seeing them charging towards the finish while I was maybe on mile 5 or so. Gilbert Okari's finish time: 1:01:46.
• I also got to see the winning female from Japan whiz by me. Yuri Kano's finish time: 1:10:03.
• The race course was flat. That was a refreshing reprieve from all the hills in SF.
• There was a live rock band performing at every other mile.
• I saw these two women runners, dressed in silver sequins, stop at every stage and dance around like disco balls. Obviously, they had a blast.

Alright folks, that's my recap. FYI, my next race will probably be next year, but I haven't decided yet.

Wick Away

Last night I was unfortunately stuck running in the gym again instead of outside. Now, I've never really had a problem treadmill running before, especially if something is good on TV. But, it really doesn't beat running on a trail and smelling the newly blooming summer blossoms. And considering last night's incident, I'm overdue for a nice outdoor peaceful run.

Upon arriving at the gym, I found only one treadmill available. So I immediately hopped on even though it was between two very big, potentially smelly men. I just didn't want to wait another half an hour to get my workout started. For the first mile or so, I didn't have any complaints because my running neighbors seemed to be taking it easy. But, halfway into the second mile I started to smell a peculiar odor coming from my left. And on top of that, I began to feel little specks of wetness landing on me from the same direction. Ok folks, body odor is one thing, but when my running neighbor starts sweating so profusely that he starts sprinkling on me with every step that's crossing the line! He invaded the sanctity of my treadmill bubble.

Luckily, I behaved myself and even finished a three mile run before giving up and going home. For that feat alone, I would like to be rewarded with many brownie points and universal good karma. I think I was so traumatized afterwards, that I scrubbed extra hard during my shower. Shouldn't there be gym-going etiquette included with every membership packet? Wear deodarant or wick-away clothes that absorb your sweat as a courtesy to the runner next to you! Alright, I'm done with my rant. Maybe I'm over-reacting. There are some sports where people pay to be sweated on by other people, like Bikram Yoga. So I apologize if I come off as judgemental. It's just my reaction to being grossed-out. It could've been worse, he could've been gassy too.

Cause I would walk 500 (thousand) miles...

As some of you may have noticed, my latest goal bar over the last few weeks has been empty since I put it up. It's not really because I've been slacking in my running (although, I sort of have been), it's because I haven't uploaded any of my recent runs to the Nike+ system. Well, that's about to change because I just found a new form of motivation. Instead of prescribing my own running goals, I'm going to enter free Nike+ challenges that are hosted by Nike.

This particular one is the Nike+ Marathon Charity Challenge. The big-wigs are slated to donate up to $100,000 to the Children's Memorial Hospital and the Imerman Angels. But, that total amount only gets sent pending on Nike+ runners hitting 500,000 miles by 10/12/08. Now that's pressure. I think that's a great cause to be running for and I can't think of better motivation to run than helping out a sick child. If any of you out there on the internet have the Nike+ system, please consider jumping on this bandwagon, especially if you're going to go out and run anyway. Stay tuned to the Latest Goal Bar over the next couple of weeks to monitor our collective effort.

Recipe of the Day: Zippy's Chili

So for the last couple of days I've found myself pretty homesick for Hawaii's Zippy's Chili. But, what am I going to do when I'm about 2000 miles away from home, unwilling to eat the frozen stuff, and in need of a healthier version of it for training? Well, I went online and found a Zippy's style chili and modified it to my needs. As you can see, it turned out pretty close to the original chili! And after inhaling a bowl full of it over brown rice, I can attest that it tastes extremely close to the original as well. Give it a try!

Here's the base recipe that I modified: Zippy's style chili.

And here are my modifications:
-No MSG
-4x the amount of vegetables listed
-No chili beans to leave more space for the increase in vegetables
-use 93/7 beef. After the beef is browned, drain the rest of the 7% fat out so that you're just left with 100% beef.
-substitute cajun sausage for portugese sausage. I only did this because I didn't have time to run to 99 Ranch market to get portugese sausage.
-No ketchup
-use 2x as much ginger. I just did this because ginger is good for you.

Thank you AlohaWorld for being a fabulous source of local recipes for this homesick girl!

I'm old and lucky

Jog In Ocean is going to take a little detour today to do some celebrating. Today is my birthday. Now, I normally hate a big hullaballoo made about myself. But, I'm lucky enough to have a girlfriend who can cater a whole weekend involving things I like to do while everyone else is having fun in the process.

Before I get into that though, one of my dearest friends has decided to interview me today. So have a gander at my interview. Thanks May for making me feel like a special celebrity!

Now, on to the festivities...The weekend started off with dinner and drinks with a bunch of my closest friends currently in the Bay area. Dinner was a smattering of Hawaiian food and brightly colored drinks at the Hukilau in San Jose. Then, we wandered over to Hunter's to have some more drinks and unexpectedly watched a bachelor/bachelorette auction for charity there. Raquel and I didn't buy anyone, but we seriously considered certain muscular men to clean our house. I love drinks with entertainment.

On Saturday, she took me to an amazing breakfast at Los Gatos Cafe. This is a place that is known for their Omelette Souffles. I had the Crab one, and it was amazing. They had whole chunks of real crab and the hollandaise sauce was perfect. They also came with sides from the bakery: Kahlua Pound Cake (amazing) and a Peanut Butter Chocolate Muffin (just the right amount of peanut butter). Even Raquel loved this breakfast, and that's saying a lot because she doesn't like breakfast foods. Then, we went to go work some of that food off on the lake next door at Vasona Park by paddle-boating. As expected, Raquel got tired after a bit and I ended up peddling us around the lake, but it was still a lovely afternoon.

On Sunday, Raquel took us on an excursion to Monterey Bay. We drove down and explored the town, watched the locals, and wandered around Monterey Bay Aquarium. Now, as you can tell from my username, I LOVE surfing and the ocean. Any time I get to be near the water and learn about it's creatures, I'm going to be giddy. I must say that I was pretty impressed with their aquarium, but I haven't seen Maui's aquarium yet either. Finally, we ended the day with an amazing place that we found on Yelp: Monterey's Fish House. Now, if I yelped I would've given this place 5 stars. It was outstanding. If you ever find yourself in Monterey, you should definitely go here, but go early because it gets packed late at night.

Alright folks, that was my weekend. I'm extremely happy, well-fed, and pooped. Raquel even gave me enough time to go for a little run, so I at least got 4 miles in. Thank you Raquel, I had a wonderful time.

Recipe of the Day: Koto Kapama and Quinoa

After our little race, I was searching around for a good post-race meal to refuel us for another week of training. I have to say that Runner's World has never failed me. Koto Kapama is a greek cinnamon chicken dish, and this particular version was created by one of my role models, Iron Chef Cat Cora. Essentially, it's stewed cinnamon chicken and onions in a greek tomato sauce. I loved the flavors so much, that I doubt I'll only be eating this after a run.

Chef Cora recommended that it be served with quinoa. Ok, move over brown rice and whole wheat..Farro and Quinoa are definitely my new favorite grains. If you haven't tried it, try it! I also had an arugula salad (not pictured) with Tyler Florence's ultimate vinaigrette, as another shout-out to the Arugula Gap.

Quinoa Pilaf
Ingredients:
1.5 cups Quinoa (rinsed)
a handful of pine nuts
1 tsp of chopped fresh dill
a handful of sliced grape tomatoes
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Boil the quinoa in the chicken broth on medium high for about 15 minutes, until all of the liquid is absorbed. Toss in nuts, dill, and tomatoes. Stir and serve.

Recipe of the Day: Blackened Chicken Pasta

In anticipation for the increased running and race that I did last week, I was definitely in the mood for some carbs. So I sort of invented this dish on the spot. It's actually inspired by this cajun restaurant in Palo Alto, called Nola's, which Raquel loves. They make an amazing Cajun Chicken Pasta that has just the right balance between creamy and spicy. And while we love to frequent this place, I'm sure this particular dish is loaded with fat and bad calories. So, here's my version. I think it was a reasonable facsimile and at least I don't feel as guilty. Try it out!

Ingredients:
For the Chicken:
Chicken
Keawe rock salt /pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
extra virgin olive oil

For the Pasta:
about a pound of pasta (your choice)
couple cloves of minced garlic
1 sweet onion, roughly chopped
1 bag of frozen peas
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups heavy cream (I actually used light cream)
Hawaiian Sea Salt and pepper to taste

For the Chicken:
Pre-heat the grill to medium high. Season the chicken with the spice rub and olive oil. Grill for about 5 minutes per side. Set aside to rest for a few minutes, then slice.

For the Pasta:
Cook the pasta and set aside. Saute garlic for a minute. Throw in peas and onion and cook till onion is caramelized. Turn up the heat and pour in the cream. Add in the sliced chicken. Simmer the sauce until it has reduced to the consistency of your liking. When the sauce is done, turn off the stove and stir in the cheese, pasta, salt, and pepper.