Still going and keeping things exciting!
It’s been a really busy week at work and also with my training, but I’m glad to say that everything is going well with plenty of energy and spirit left in me to carry out the rest of this week. And crazily enough at this time, which is a little past nine post meridian, I’ve yet looking forward to taking out my bike to roll around the city as soon as the weather stabilizes as nicely as how it was today at near 60 degrees fahrenheit. As always, to me, it is a good day when it is 32 degrees and raining, but it gets really exciting if the weather turns a negative degree or a positive one!
Kicking things off this weekend…
While sidelined during this weekend’s USA Track and Field Masters’ meet of 30+, it was back to business as usual with training and getting back to shape after a long stint of injury related time loss.
After about a 3K run with some sprints at my usual training location, my healed foot felt 100 percent but my cardio felt…kinda bad. Ooof!! All-in-all: mental work=check, form=check, strength=check, cardio engine=NEEDS WORK (even after swimming tons of laps during my injured foot recovery period). So I need to do some base work, which is the hardest part for me. While keeping my cards closely to my chest on training, I’m happy to say that I was able to savage my form and physical strength.
After my track run, I went inside to do some anciliary work. Below is a picture of the college gym I used to train at during the years I attended the school. Since the time I graduated, which is ions ago (ouch!), the school has definitely updated many new workout machines. It’s nice to know that my school has grown not just academically –especially world famous in the fields of psychology, economics, and law– but also in athletics. I’m sure its [GMU’s] positive reputation and massive influx of revenue have got lots to do with the Final Four run back in 2006, and as a result of that, the athletes are probably pretty lucky to be there using its state-of-the-art fitness facility. Yeah, because of that, I kinda wish I’m still attending that college!
Here I am doing some plyos!
An echo of my February 11th post to one of my students.
This post is an extension of what I had written on February 11 on knowing someone who shares a similar passion. This time, the shared passion is not with any of my training or running partners, it is with one of my students who shares similarly the spirit of competition. To reiterate that extension from my February 11th post:
“Although the both of us don’t run or train together often, it’s amazing how much one can know about someone else just from running with him or her. To realize genuine happiness when someone’s doing well and to feel sadness when someone’s hurt or not doing well in a shared passion while still supporting the nature of the sport’s positive and competitive edge is something that contributed to my taking notice of how lucky I am to be a part of this sport.”
Today, one of my strongest students (by that I mean emotionally, mentally, and physically) was pacing intensely with me for a solid 10-minutes until she ran directly into a cage that protects the school’s fire alarm system. As I saw her collide forcefully into that stiff surface, my heart sank. Her face showed grimace, not the kind that she normally shows in a tough fight to finish the hard run, but the kind that showed confusion, anger, hurt, dissapproval. Although she was in pain, she kept on running to the finish for the next five minutes, albeit slower, but again, she was determined to finish. I believe she had showed herself to have a heart of a champion, but to me, all I can feel was hurt for her. At that moment, and still now, I wish the impact had happened to me instead of her, and I believe I will always feel that way. Through her pain, she kept her composure and poise, until she finally broke down teary eyed at the end of the run. At that moment, I too completely broke down because, for some reason, I feel that I have understood the relatively similar levels of hurt she had felt. The passion for the sport she and I have in common, I believe makes us stronger as individuals and, just as well, more compassionate to be even more human.
Many of her friends, including me, her teacher, are inspired by her and at the same time feel humility by her strength and humbleness.
Gary Hustwit’s Objectified and Helvetica
With a simple look around the world we live in, we are filled with objects that all have a certain aesthetic appeal we may or may not give much thought to, let alone a simple bat of our eyes toward objects that were carefully designed by someone who made not only the object itself, but engineered how it will affect us, the consumers, in our everyday life. The objects may not only serve its function, but may also serve as form, which also, only to the awared eye, may ultimately transform how we live and gain awareness and new perspectives in our every-day life. The movie, Objectified, tells amazingly, by Gary Hustwit, how all this happens and how it affects us all, even if we may not be aware of it. I’m super excited about about the upcoming documentary! Check out the Objectified movie trailer below, then scroll down to see a trailer from the same creator who explored the breadth and width of how a single typeface, Helvetica, transformed how we see graphic design and its influences in our culture.
Objectified Trailer
Helvetica Trailer
Milstein Photography
If you are like my friend Tice and I who are almost constantly seeking out and taking scenic, realestate, architectural, event, urban, industrial, and travel photography, you may very much appreciate Jeffrey Milstein’s work. It may be cliche to say but his photography brings out significant aesthetics from a seemingly ordinary view of the world. Check it out, Tice! Click on his name from above. I think you may like his work just as much as how much I like your’s.
Spring is almost here!
Despite some minor dips in temperature, the weather overall has got nicer by each passing day, and I’m definitely getting restless for Spring to come even faster! Almost time to get out the light sneakers, my timeless plaid shorts, and my favorite simple tees. Anytime now, the hot sweltering sun will beat down upon me like life’s rites of passage of childhood to adolescense to adulthood to old age. Some would argue about how much they dislike the summer heat, but all I can say is it’s all copacetic, or how the Kenyans would say: “Hakuna Noma”…there’s no problem.
The best part to come are during the mid-Summer nights where my friends and I drift aimlessly downtown, waste time in and around the harbor, and watch all the lively arts that are displayed at almost every street corner. During this time, listening to high beat tracks for me is a must to savor all the excitment that goes with Summer! If you’re a junky music kind-of-person and love some tunes for this upcoming season, click on: Boeoes Kaelstigen. They’ll get you mov’n! They are definitely high on my list for this summer’s best band!
Back on the Saddle!
Well, maybe not exactly on the saddle, and not racing yet, either. But its been a long two months off from doing anything spectacular but this past week was different, and I’m feeling better about it.
This past weekend had been saved for seeking out any last weaknesses that I may have and then making gross and fine motor adjustments to strengthen those weaknesses in order to prepare for the upcoming meet invitations of relays, 800s, 1000s, 1500/1600s, master’s divisions, and any local 5K and 10Ks during the upcoming spring and summer seasons, and as I update my blog this Sunday evening, I know I have regained my racing form and composure due to some key workouts this past week. The most obvious weakness was my cardio-conditioning, which adversely affected my running rhthym, which ultimately had affected my pace. Fortunately, my cross training and swimming during my time off for healing my foot injury has reasonably helped kept me healthy to get back to running in no time. I feel fortunate to have learned through this time off that top performance means always being aware of my weaknesses, and then strengthening them. My biggest lesson through this set back was that no matter how good I might feel, my body may know otherwise; thus it is so important to listen to my body and how it feels, especially after an intense, or a long, workout session. So rest is hugely a must now, especially during my work days during the week because my schedule today is so different than the schedule I had during my high school and college years for training and racing.
For next week, one more tempo run and one long run, I should be back to true racing form. I have regrouped with Jeff, my pacing/training partner, and we’ll have some serious track workouts in the coming weekends ahead. Hopefully we’ll take ourselves to new heights this coming track season.
Here is a picture of an amazing track field that I had trained at this past weekend. It is in Loudoun County, which is far from the city and perfect for some solitude training. Next weekend I will return back to my alma mater’s track field for track work.
Awesome!
Putting all politics aside, our President, our Commander in Chief (!), enthusiastically said it best for those hard working people who do the best with what they have, passionately! Never a day is a regret when one works hard at what he or she loves with passion, pride, intelligence, verve, spirit, strength, energy, enthusiasm, etc. etc. etc. towards a dream! You rock, Julio!
Beyond Lactic Threshold Training
If anyone knows me best, it’s probably one of my running / training partners. She’s seen me at my best, and she’s definitely seen me in my ruts. Just as well, she seems to know my personality quite well; in other words, she knows that I like to push myself–everytime! Although the both of us don’t run or train together often, it’s amazing how much one can know about someone else just from running with him or her. To realize genuine happiness when someone’s doing well and to feel sadness when someone’s hurt or not doing well in a shared passion while still supporting the nature of the sport’s positive and competitive edge is something that contributed to my taking notice of how lucky I am to be a part of this sport.
Two new Indoor American Records Set!
Two new indoor American Records were set this past exciting weekend in Boston, Massachussettes! Shalane Flanagan set a new PR for herself, and accordingly, she SMASHED the old 5000 meter record by 20 seconds set eight years ago by Marla Runyan.
On the evening of February 7, 2009, the women’s middle distance event turned out to be a spectacular show with the first two 5000 meter specialists racing to the finish line, shoulder-to-shoulder, at a blistering speed that caused everyone to stand on their feet to see who finished first. After the start gun, the pace was set and the racers settled in with Shalane positioning first behind the rabbit during the first five minutes of the race. After 10-minutes into the race, the rabbit had already left the pace up to the runners to stride at high pursuit, but this time Shalane was left alone to carry the lead. She looked controlled and focused being well-aware of her competitor, Sentayehu Ejigu from Ethiopia, right on her heels.
The final laps, especially the last 3/4 of the race, is most daunting to the runner. But if he or she trains deliberately, the race should be won without strategy.
Without a doubt, Shalane trained smartly for the track as that was her specialty, but she had also trained herself to become a top world athlete who was to be at the best at her running game–that is, to be at 110 percent fitness, too! The training paid off as she screamed through the finish line breaking the old indoor American Record by a whopping 20 seconds. Although she came in second place at .005 seconds (5000’s of a second!) behind first place, she cannot deny her incredible achievement of setting a new indoor American Record that may not be broken for another decade or so.
Another indoor American Record was broken by another Olympian, Jennifer Stuczynski, this time in Pole Vaulting. After her heartbreaking performance at the Beijing Olympics, she redeemed herself Saturday night by vaulting over perfectly 4.82 meters at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games Track and Field meet! Congrats, Jenn! Hard work and dedication pays off and what a feeling!
On the men’s side of track, American Record holder in the one-mile run, Alan Webb, looked sharp! However, his winning performance may not show now, but after talking with his dad (I see and swim laps with his father almost every morning), he says to be on the watch out for some of his son’s to-be amazing performances this year. I agree as I’ve had a few run-ins (not literally–thank goodness!) with Alan at the track and he has been training intensely well! Another runner who did exceptionally well at the Boston Games was Chris Lukezic, who I’m happy to say had did exactly what he set out to do after returning from altitude training. Good job, Chris! Will try to catch up with you on the track again–literally! Ha ha! Will try to keep up with you this time by maybe drafting behind you!.
Here is Alan at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan.
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