Gym Rant...

Just a heads up, this post is kind of ranty and has no photos. #blogfail

This was supposed to be a post about my adventures and gripes with meal planning & prepping. Instead, I want to talk about something I (re)realized:

I think there are three kinds of people at the gym. 
     (1)  People who know how to use the machines*.
     (2)  People who don't know how to use the machines. 
     (3)  People who don't know how to use the machines but are at least with someone who does or are not alone in trying to figure it out.
           *treadmills and ellipticals don't count. 
I am People #2. I desperately want to be People #1 or People #3. 

Monday marked Week 2, Day 1 of my 6-week fitness journey. I was armed and ready with a list of exercises I had to do, complete with a cheat sheet printout of how-to's and photos of certain machines I had never used before. I was actually kind of patting myself on the back because this was my 2nd visit to the gym for the day since I had gotten up early to work out before work. That feel-good feeling went away as soon as I walked into the weight-room side of the gym. 

It's not like I think I'm hot $h!t and that all eyes were on me, but it felt like the first day at a new school... and I was the new kid... who started the semester late...and unknowingly wore mis-matched socks. UGH. 

Here were some of my issues:
--  It was hard for me to adjust the machine to my height/body. It felt like I was pulling knobs and levers at a kids playground because nothing was happening. 
--  Of the two rowing machines, one of them didn't have the triangular handle thing. Are you supposed to bring your own?  really!?! The one that did have a handle was being hogged up by some huuuge guy who was sweating, then texting, then sweating, then texting and texting some more. I think I must have checked for about 30(!) minutes to see if Mr. Texter was tired of rowing. NOPE. 
--  The assisted pull up machine looked ridiculously intimidating.  Step, kneel, grab, pull, WHAT??  I think I would have attempted this except... 

All of these machines were in plain view of all the people in the room who knew and could see that I had no idea what I was doing. Thinking about yesterday, I still feel like an idiot, and I'm kind of dreading to go back. 

After doing what I could on the machines that wouldn't make me feel like a complete loser, I did a few free weights and then I left. I wouldn't say I gave up.. but maybe I did. I was there for a little over an hour and I felt like so little was accomplished. 

I got in the car, called Ric and whined about how I felt so uncomfortable, so out of place, so embarrassed, so DEFEATED. It's so embarrassing to admit this but I teared up a little telling him my non-story. I felt so stupid getting worked up over all of this. And then to top it off.. I couldn't even drown my sorrows in food (lol) because I had already prepared my dinner the night before (fish, avocado, veggies...). boring. 

So what have I learned? I learned that I'm probably going to check out the weight rooms in the morning since there are wayy less people there. I wish I could say that I learned something else (be stronger, who cares what they think, etc), but I think it's too soon for that. 

On another note, if anyone reading this wants to be a People #3 with me, I'm with LA Fitness. Sigh... 

#PureFit

At the beginning of the year, most people like to make resolutions which usually go to crap in a few weeks, months if they're lucky. A few years ago, instead of making a resolution that would be impossible to keep, I decided to make it my "Yes Man" year. Unlike the movie, I wasn't going to say yes to every single thing, but it just meant that it was the year of no excuses. How many times have people asked me to go out and instead of going, I just stayed at home and did nothing? Or didn't go somewhere to avoid an awkward situation? Or didn't do something because of this, or that, or him or her? Whatever. So that was 2009. 

In 2010, I decided that it was the year that I would try to do things I had never done before. It didn't matter if they were big or small.. but just new things. I watched a movie in the theater alone. I learned how to juggle (not well). I learned how to cartwheel (also not well). 

if anyone can teach my how to embed this without it being huge... please do.

I think the years after this, I kind of kept with this theme. I wanted to DO and SEE different and new things. I went to the Virgin Islands. I went to Chicago.. New York. I traveled to New Zealand & Australia.

#nofilter

I flew to San Francisco and New York alone (this was a big one, as I am kind of a scare'dy cat when it comes to flying). I ran a 5k... and then I ran my very first marathon. 

2012 LA Marathon, 04:47:06

It's so corny to say but running that marathon changed my life. I say in my previous posts that before my marathon, I was never-- in any sense of the word-- an athlete. After months of training, I didn't want to stop and lose all my hard work. Suddenly, I was running everywhere. I would even bring my running gear with me if I traveled. When 2013 rolled around, I decided that this year would be my fitness year. 

Sometimes I look at older pictures and wish that I had taken better care of myself at that time. What if 3, 5 or 10 years from now, I think the same thing about present-me? I figure, this may be the best I'll ever look, the best shape i'll ever be in, and maybe the strongest I'll ever be. I decided that this year would be the year I would really focus on my fitness. I ran my 2nd LA Marathon, and my 3rd marathon in June in SF (damn those hills!).  I also sprinkled in 2 half marathons and participated in the SoCal Ragnar series. When the heat of the summer sun rolled around, I decided to give my feet a break. I wanted to try something different. 

This past Monday, August 12th, marks Day 1 of a 6-week program with my #PureFit coach.  So far, I've eaten something I haven't eaten in years (oatmeal -- and i like it!), worked out before going to work (which means waking up at 4:45am), and tried protein powder shakes for the first time.  

All of this is new, strange, somewhat scary and is definitely challenging my taste buds.  The feelings and nervousness I feel about this program remind me of the concerns I felt when I was training for my first marathon.  Stay tuned for updates and maybe progress photos!

JahJah needs JuJu !!!

Dear blog,

I'm so sorry I have been neglecting you. To be fair, it's not for lack of content! -- I actually have lots to write about.. which means I had a ton of things going on towards the end of 2011. Eventually, I'll do a recap and you will be bombarded with pictures of the art shows I went to, musicals I've seen, the film photos I have taken in class, my awesome family, the food that I ate and all the shopping that I've done! Soon soon soon... I promise!

But for now, here's a marathon-training update.

In December, I was feeling good and was up to 14 miles (Can I interrupt myself and just say that this is AMAH-ZING?! who am I?). The weekend we were scheduled to do 16 miles, my left calf started cramping up at around mile 12. I tried to shake it off but the pain persisted and the second I slowed to a walk, it was GAME OVER. It was so bad that a LARoadRunner volunteer called a car to drive me the last 2 miles (ego bruiser).

I knew LARR training would be on hiatus for Christmas & New Years, so I skipped the last 2011 training in order to heal whatever injury I had. Maybe I didn't stretch enough or maybe I stretched too much-- is there such a thing? Maybe my shoes are wrong. Who knows?! I don't! I keep saying this, but I have never been a runner or any type of athlete. This being said, I don't really know the difference between a strain, sprain, cramp, ache, shin splint, or something more serious.

Last week, I bought new shoes, a custom insole, gu packs, salt tablets (? whaat?) and compression bands for my calves. Honestly, I have no idea what I'm doing.. I'm wishing and hoping that the nice people at the running stores are giving me sound advice and not hustling me. So I started running again (3, 7 then 5 miles). I really wish I hadn't done the 5 miles because a new pain entirely has surfaced. It hurts whenever I'm on my toes lifting off or landing to take a step/run. The pain seems to be on my inside leg, inbetween calf and shin. It hurts on both legs but seems to be worse on the right. What is going on?!

Sigh. The marathon is a little over 2 months away and I'm getting nervous, scared and worried (not a good combo). I've put in a lot of time, energy and money(!) into this training/marathon and these pains are frustrating and slightly discouraging. Don't get me wrong, I expect to be in some pain.. but definitely not after a short run. This is a 26.2 mile challenge that I'm determined to conquer! Please pray for me and send my legs all your good ju-ju vibes. I need it!

juju for jahjah (please)!

ps: And lastly, because I believe posts should never be picture-less. Here's a pic of me taken by the bf during cicLAvia when I was doing homework for my photo class. I honestly have no idea how he took this becauseI didn't even notice him but he seems to be right in front of me.

Hello Cookies!

Last night, I played around with my cookie receipe.

It's not easy trying to find the perfect balance of sweetness, choco chips, nuts and everything else since everyone's taste preference is different...

Good thing my friends/family don't seem to mind being my taste testers!

Run Happy?

On Wednesday, Kuya and I decided to run with the Nike Run Club at the Grove. Ever since I sprained my ankle at the Wet&Wild 5K, I haven't really been running since all my nurse-friends/family told me to stay off it. That 5k was almost a month ago-- my ankle is all better now, but I felt this month's inactivity in each step of our run. Sigh...

I struggled. Before the 5k, a 3mi run was starting to get routine, but this run was NOT easy peasy... I couldn't control my breathing which made my side hurt way too early in the run. Whenever I landed on the right foot's arch, there seemed to be a pain*. The distance felt way longer than usual. ...And I was just generally not at my best.

*I'm hoping that the pain is because I folded my too-long socks over my heel and it was irritating me. It would suck if it were my fancy new marathon-training-shoes because I just bought them at A Runner's Circle. I'll keep my finger's crossed that the pain was my fault... I can't afford to buy another pair of shoes!

Throughout the run, I was beating myself up about how much I sucked. How I should have at least hit the gym a few times during my injury to maintain myself, etc... I think yesterday was the first time I thought to myself that maybe my marathon aspirations were not possible. I think I'm being too hard on myself, but my backwards progress was definitely discouraging.

On the upside, I know that this is just a minor setback. I know that in a week or two, I'll probably be all jazz-hands-YAY-running again. Hopefully, this will teach me a lesson that conditioning and training are a MUST. Tomorrow, I'll be training again with the LA Roadrunners in Venice and we are doing the 5 mile run. Pray for me...

Maybe I should take the advice of the shoes I bought. Check out the tagline..

Marathon & Rock Climbing

This past weekend, I bit the bullet and signed up for the LA Marathon!! Just reading that sentence gives me nervous/scared feelings but I am also super excited at the thought of being called a 'marathon runner'. Now that I've paid my registration fee, I guess there's no looking back-- I'm doing this! (nervous) Yippeee! There will probably be limited late Friday nights since I will be training in Venice every Saturday morning with the LA Roadrunners. I am SOOO not a morning person! Wish me luck!

(26.2 miles of craziness!)

On a personal note, I want to put it out there that I have NEVER considered myself an athlete. I did not participate in any organized sports, never ran track or cross country, and I hated PE. Growing up, the marathon route ran right alongside my church and on Marathon Sunday, we would pass out water cups and cheer on the runners for a few minutes after mass. I never thought I would ever be one of those runners! (I still can't believe I'll be one of them!) When I used to think about the 26.2 mile run, it felt so far from my physical ability... but then I learned friends (and my brother!) finished the marathon. Slowly, the idea had been creeping into my mind that maybe it was possible and was within reach!

I know this is not going to be easy-peasy for me so please disregard the complaining and woe-is-me posts. Hehe... I will definitely be updating my progress here for the next few months, so stay tuned!

Oh, and I also went rock climbing at the Island of the Blue Dolphins (did you guys know that it's based on a true story?). Awesome Possums.

002:. Second First Post

Whenever I eat anything, I always think about what my last bite is going to be.

Salmon sushi with wasabi/soy sauce.

A cut of steak, a broccoli head and a smear of gravy'd mash potatoes.

The part of the pizza where slice meets crust... lightly dipped in ranch, parmesan and chili flakes (in that order).

These are examples of my last bites. I do this because I would rather end dinner with a delicious bite of steak&potatoes than one of my side dishes.

Lately, I have been trying to take this Last Bite approach with life in general. I want to believe that life should be one long last bite. We should be ending our days, weeks, months and years with savory high-notes and delicious highlights... or at least trying to!

I'm not sure what this blog is going to turn into.. but for now it's just a place to share my musings, pictures and life stories.

Here we go!

(Introductions to come...)

001:. hello world

awesomeness to come
...wait and see.