Quick review of On Cloudflow Running shoes

All of this past year, I have been trying out new running shoes and figuring out what works for my feet. Prior to this journey, I ran in Newton Distance Elites. I loved them but my running store stopped caring them and it was just getting much harder to get my hands on them.

I tried a variety of Nikes, Brooks, Hokas and I just couldn't find any shoes that gave me what I wanted and didn't make the balls of my feet burn after a few miles.

Yesterday, I tried the On Cloudflow for 4 miles on an asphalt trail. My legs definitely needed to get used to them as my legs felt a little sore during and after (but that could easily be chalked up to my strength training session the day prior). But overall, the responsiveness is exactly what I was looking for after such a long search!

This morning, I took these shoes on a 11 mile run. I was worried how they would hold up - if I would get blisters, hot spots or just overall discomfort. But this morning, they felt great! Lots of responsiveness and easy to wear. I will update more as I continue to run in these but for now I am so glad I tried out this new shoes brand!!!

Santa Rosa Marathon Recap

First Marathon Back after Baby!

Being a mama is hard work, ya'll! Its the most amazing job that I could ask for and I am so thankful to have such a spirited, high-energy, little boy. Because of my life and work obligations, I haven't felt that I had the time to train for a marathon until now. I had fought the mom guilt and it crushed me hard for a long time but now, I know for my own sanity and happiness, I need to carve out time just for myself. I feel that I am so much stronger for it! I followed my Impala racing team's 18-week  marathon training plan as well as the Crush the Marathon Train Like A Mother program. I chose to pay for the program because I wanted to chat with a like-minded community. Its a group of mothers who are also training for marathons while trying to balance the family-work-training life :) 

I can say I did a majority of my training plans. It was difficult with 3 summer trips (all involving flying) and just trying to stay motivated to do long runs alone. I admit that I did not follow the training plan to a T. I did my long runs super slow and I did not often do tempo or speed workout (at least not the amount that I used to do before my toddler was born). But I felt confident that I was going to complete the marathon. I was not confident at all that I would hit my A Goal pace (goal was to finish in 3:30 - slower than the previous 2 marathons but I felt obtainable with where I was at physically).

As for the marathon, it started out just as I had planned. The weather was cold and sprinkles (not my favorite but I assumed it would warm up and my muscles would warm up with it. The the first half, I was hitting my pace, I was feeling calm and I was smiling. I kept chanting to myself "I belong here". Through mile 20, I was still hitting 8:00/mile pace or faster...

Then I felt defeated and crushed once I got halfway through mile 20. I lost the woman who was running my pace with me the whole time. My hamstrings were shot and my glutes were so tight. I blame the cold and that I had not run further than 21 miles during my training. My body was thinking I was crazy! I ended up allowing myself a walk for a few minutes at the start of every new mile then pushed to "jog" until the next mile marker. It was rough! It was so hard. I wanted to give up! But I couldn't! I was determined to at least stay close to my goal. 

I finished the marathon and cried once I saw my husband and son! (My son was so excited to see me - cause he wanted to nurse! I plopped down a few feet from the finish line and just sat and nursed my little boy as I weeped). I finished in 3:38. I gave every bit that I could during that race! I was happy with my finish time but so disappointed in myself for not getting the time I wanted. But instead of letting that hurt me, I allowed it to burn my fire within. I was already signed up for the California International Marathon in December and I cannot wait to put it all out there and see what my body can do! I really believe its about my body knowing I could handle that distance and now I can work on crushing it!

And this time, I have a whole fleet of teammates hitting up this race and I am loving the training so far!

Don't call it a comeback

     My son recently turned 2 and it made me think about how this entire time i have been so hard on myself to get to my pre-baby shape and speed. Getting back to shape was easy since I became a body pump instructor. But getting my running speed back is a continued struggle. 

     I read about moms who had their babies and became faster runners than they ever were before. I imagined using my new found pain tolerance to my advantage. Little did I know that this was not in the cards for me. Trying balance my family, full-time and part-time jobs, and find the mental capacity to focus on running is tough! I remember the 2-a-day workouts Pre-baby and myself pushing deeper into the pain cave. I loved those days! But I'm so far removed from that. I am working hard to get back there but I'm allowing myself the time to do it. 

     It's a constant battle in my head. I should be faster. I used to be faster. It's so much negativity! Instead, I need to give my body the appreciation it deserves. Yes, it brought me to an Ironman 70.3 world championship but it also created the most amazing little boy I could have asked for. The human body is an incredible thing and I can't wait to see what else I can do with it!

     My current goal is to run. Run a bunch of races to remind myself of the joy of toe-ing the line and pushing to see what my best is for that day. I'm using my summer to build and strengthen for the Santa Rosa Marathon. And after that, join my teammates at The California International Marathon. 

     I know I placed lots of expectations on myself but I'm at a point that I want to push my body and mind. I don't want to hold back. There is more that this momma can do and I can't wait to find out what that is!

My son is my inspiration

My son is the happiest when he is running 😁

For so long, I let myself give the excuse that I am not running to the ability that I wish I were I'm because I had my son. I sit at home with my son thinking that I can't leave him to go on a run cause he will miss me. This is my mom guilt. Though I know I want to run and need it to achieve my goals, I feel that my constant presence is equivalent to my love. I know this is not true and that we will both be the happiest when we both get what we need. So today, after I had already decided I would run tomorrow, my son and husband feel asleep on the couch (for a nap), there was no longer an excuse. I was already wearing my clothes (cause that's the first step, right?) and just threw on my shoes. I got out and ran. It felt beautiful. I felt happy that I was talking my steps towards my goal!

My son is  not my excuse, he my inspiration. I want to be the happiest and healthiest that I can be. I want him to see me training hard to reach my goals. 

2018 Race Schedule

2017 was a year of newness. My husband started a new job, I started a new job and my son started daycare. Trying to keep up with training on top of all of these changes was too difficult than I was willing to accept. Training for a marathon was draining. I was adjusting to the struggles of work (after taking a year for maternity leave) and trying to make sure my son got as much Mommy time as I could give, they whatever energy I had left went to running miles. My mind, body and heart were not ready to train the amount that I knew I needed to put in for the results that I wanted. So instead, I made the decision to focus on letting myself happy. I trained with my team for enjoyment and ran on weekends to stay sane. I am so happy with choice I made. But now, 2018 has started and I'm ready to give it my all!

On top of teaching at my new high school, I have also become a bodypump instructor (and am working on my cycling certification) - and absolutely love it! 

2018 Race Schedule

• January Pacifica Foothills Trail Half Marathon
• February 4: Kaiser Half Marathon
• March 11: Reach for a Start 5k
• April 8: SACTown 10 miler
• April 15: Napa HITs Olympic Triathlon
• May 6: Danville Mile of Truth
• June 24: One Mile Bang
• August 26: Santa Rosa Marathon
• December 2: CIM Marathon

Quick catch up on life

I've been away from my blog for far too long. Since I have not been racing much, I felt I didn't have much to say. But now I realized I still have many opinions and knowledge, it's just the topics have been adjusted.

Rather than line up my calendar with races each weekend, I am working on being more focused on fewer races and hoping for greater output. But along with that, I've realized that I have to learn about BALANCE. As a new mom, I'm trying to take care of my son as well as take care of myself and continue to have a loving relationship with my husband. 

So with that, I can't train twice a day the way I used to. Not can I just wake up and go running or biking. Everything has to be well-planned and scheduled. This has made me very cognizant of my time. 

This year I have been very fortunate to get the opportunity to stay home with my son throughout the day (all thanks to my husband). I am so thankful that I get to wake up and spend my entire day with him. I know that my own training will further be adjusted once I return back to work at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year but I look forward to growing as an athlete and a mother. 

Things that I love right now:

• My beautiful family

 

• The YMCA and their child care service YKids. This has been so essential to my training! My son can play at the Y while I go for a run, swim a few laps or take a cycling class! 

• Baby boot camp. This great company runs a program about 1.5 miles from my apartment. Having something like this on my schedule got me in a routine of getting out of the house with the little man, in the sun and focusing on getting my strength back! 

• Cloth diapers and cloth wipes! I felt like I was causing so much waste every single day from all of the diaper changes that we had! I finally decided to cloth diaper my little boy and I am so glad that I did! I'll definitely have to do a video of our routine some day!

Pregnancy Sacrifices

31 Weeks Pregnant

After coming back from the Philippines, I had an incredibly hard time trying to get back into running. I just couldn't figure out why my body was not allowing me to run without making me feel winded. My hubby chalked it up to my body still recovering from IM Philippines. I, on the other hand, swore that I had to be pregnant. Why else would I be having such a hard time?

Two weeks later, after many tests, it was confirmed that I was indeed pregnant! I was ecstatic! I could not wait to be a momma and I couldn't wait to love my child. I also had high hopes of becoming one of those pregnant women I've read so often about - a pregnant runner!

At first, it was mentally tough to deal with my pace constantly slowing each week. Other women online were able to maintain a great pace. I was not expecting myself to win any races but I was at least hoping to stay relatively close to my previous standards. But soon after, my body just wouldn't allow me to run. My body was not even getting much bigger but with the intense pain I was feeling and the occasional spotting, I knew I should put up my running shoes. This was incredibly hard for me to do. I love running. Running keeps me feeling calm and just feeling like me. But I was willing to hold off on that to ensure my baby got the chance to grow big and strong.

The next thing to go was cycling. Typically, I would ride my bike through 7 miles of hilly San Francisco to get to work. I loved riding my bike to work everyday! But once I got to about 21 weeks pregnant, I had a conversation with my husband and he was worried about the dangers of riding through the city. He was confident in my riding abilities but we can't always trust that cars would see us (cause I've had many close calls riding to and from work). So that was a tough decision but easy to agree on.

Losing cycling and running was really hard. I cried often from not feeling like myself. I didn't have the same outlets that I used to have. Both of these sports were also how I attained my social needs. I had friends who I always worked out with! (Like how some people have weekly brunch gatherings, I would have weekly cycling or running outings!) Dealing with this loss has been (and still is) a struggle for me. Those were 2 of my passions! I felt so free, independent and strong! Even just seeing people cycle or run across the Golden Gate Bridge has been really tough for me to handle. I miss it so much.

But I know this is only temporary! (I hope anyways!) I hope once my baby comes, I will be able to share with him the joys that I have of being outside and embracing such simple pleasures. I've even got my Thule jogging stroller ready just for him :) Well, and me!


In the meantime, I had to find other outlets for my exercise needs. I found comfort in swimming a couple times a week. Swimming has been a lifesaver, especially as I have gotten bigger, the weightlessness feels great! It also doesn't hurt that it feels incredible to pass others in the pool (when everywhere else in my life I have just gotten so much slower!). But my main sources of exercise have been walking, prenatal pilates, prenatal fit and prenatal yoga. These classes have been great in helping me develop strength while making sure I continually focus on the life growing inside of me. They provide modifications for whatever stage of pregnancy you are in. There has even been a great comfort in spending time with other women who are also expecting. The Pad has been such a fantastic resource for me! Many of their prenatal instructors are also doulas and have so much knowledge to share about the pregnancy experience.

So even though my life has greatly changed over the past 9 months, I am trying to take each step in stride and embracing the joys of being pregnant.

Hiking in Napa at 7 weeks pregnant - and I throught I was getting bigger! haha What was I thinking?! Little did I know how big I could get!

Felt like I broke my foot... Doctor said the baby gave me gout! Who knew this could happen in pregnancy?!

My wonderful family threw the most amazing baby shower for our little cowboy!

Hiking at 38 weeks pregnant. Continuing to get lightning bolt stabbing pains while walking but now with the addition of painful contractions. No one warned me about how painful pregnancy could be!