Lately...What I have been up to

This semester has been quite relaxing compared to last semester. Remember last semester, I took 19 units, one of which was chemistry? It was so stressful and I was so busy. Take into account that I was training for my first half-marathon during that time, I was pretty wiped out. I don't know how I survived last semester. 

This semester has been quite different. I am not taking any classes for my major (the upperclassmen got priority). However, I am taking classes for my General Education (GE). I'll be pretty much done with my GE. I am taking 13 units this semester. They are all cultural classes. Asian American Woman, Society and Culture of the Middle East, Spanish and English. I am loving my classes. Even though these classes are not for my major, they will help me in my career. I'll be in contact with many people from different cultures. Learning about these cultures will help my understand my clients/patients better. Along with that, I have been volunteering more. It's a great resume builder!

As you see, I am trying to balance my workload with volunteering (and from last semester). Anyway, there is something that I have been wanting to talk about. 

Listen to your body. That is something I should have done after my half-marathon. Training for one puts a lot of pressure on your body. I was running 30+ miles a week, along with doing boot camp. I slept an average of 5-6 hours a day. I was so busy with school. I overworked my body. I felt my calves tightening and starting to hurt. My knees started to hurt as well. I still worked out after my half-marathon. Even though I wasn't putting in as many miles, I should have let my body rest. 

I am paying the price for it now. I feel more tired and exhausted. My body still feels sore. After my half-marathon, I should have given my body a week rest to recover. Instead, I'll be doing it now, starting tomorrow. I may do pilates, yoga, and walk. But for the most part, I'll be resting. My body needs it. Hopefully, my muscles recover and grow. Hopefully, I won't feel as tired anymore. 

Have you ever overworked your body? If so, how did you deal with it?

What have you been up to lately?

My Typical Day

I thrive on routine. I have to have a schedule to get things done.

image from http://www.powellriverminorhockey.com/

Some people may say that life gets monotonous and boring from sticking with a schedule. It means doing the same thing every single day. Where is the spontaneity? 

Well, here's one thing I have to ask. How can one be productive if they don't have a set schedule? It means that you do what you want, when you want. It doesn't necessarily mean getting things done nor really enjoying something if you are always jumping back and forth. 

Having a schedule doesn't mean that you have to always follow it to the T. Life gets in the way and you have to be flexible. However, it is still nice to have something to follow just in case you don't know what to do. 

Here's a sample of my day. 

• 4 AM: I naturally wake up. I check my phone for the time and then fall back asleep for an hour.
• 5 AM: My alarm rings. I turn my alarm off, stay in bed for a few minutes and get up, change, and workout. 
• 6:30 AM: Shower
• 6:50 AM: Eat Breakfast
• 7:30ish AM: Commute to school
• 9 AM: Get to school and do some homework, study or blog. 
• 10:30 AM- 1: 30 PM: Class
• 1:30 PM- 2 PM: Lunch
• 2-4:15 PM: Homework/Study/Blog
• 4-30-5:30 PM: Bootcamp
• 5:30-6 PM: Shower
• 6-7 PM: Homework, eat a snack
• 7-7:30: Commute home
• 7:45 PM: Get home, eat dinner
• 8-10:30 or 11ish PM: Homework, Blog, Study 

Two days of my week goes something like this.

• 4 AM: I naturally wake up. I check my phone for the time and then fall back asleep for an hour.
• 5 AM: My alarm rings. I turn my alarm off, stay in bed for a few minutes and get up, change, and workout. 
• 6:30 AM: Shower
• 6:50 AM: Eat Breakfast
• 7:30ish AM: Commute to school
• 9 AM: Class
• 12:15 PM: Workout
• 1:45 PM: Eat lunch
• 2 PM: Study
• 3-4:30 PM: Commute to another college, eat a snack
• 5-9 PM: Night class
• 9:15-11ish PM: Get home, eat dinner, shower, sleep

My schedule is not set and stone. Sometimes, I hang out with friends. Sometimes, I have to work on group projects so I have to switch my bootcamp time to an earlier workout time. It really all depends! Just be flexible. 

If you have a lot of things to do, having a schedule really keeps you organized. Keeping a to-do list for the day is another good way to be organized. Check things off as you get them done. Be sure to prioritize which things need to be done first and do them in that order. 

Do you guys follow a schedule or do you like spontaneity? 

Weekly Goals + Half Marathon Training Update

Hey hey everyone. How are you guys doing today? It's a fine Sunday, isn't it? Well, it was a great day for a run. But, it rained yesterday. Oh, the rain.

Anyway, let's recap on my goals I set last week. I actually completed all of my goals. I'm so happy. I did study for my chemistry exam. I did create a new schedule. And, I did improve my mile time this week. My long run was actually today. I'll talk more about that in a bit. But, first, here's this weeks goals.

So, today was a course preview run. I decided to go, so that I can get a feel of the course before the actual run. We all met up at 7:30 am and it was a bit cold (since it rained yesterday). Thankfully, there wasn't too much mud. There were two options: 11 miles or almost a full half (12.5 miles) . I opted for the longer run.

We started running around 7:45 am and it was exciting. I didn't know what to expect, especially since I haven't ran with a group for such a long time. The course was great. However, I didn't expect a couple of huge hills along the route. What was great was that I was ahead of most of the group.

For some reason, my best time was today too!I think it was due to the excitement. I was so happy. Me and two other people (Lynn and Russ) ended up getting lost near the end, because we didn't see the arrows marked on the ground. We found our way back. We still finished ahead of most of the group. It ended up running 12.8 miles, in 2 hrs and 2 minutes. I have to say, I was impressed with myself!

They had coffee and pastries for our post-run meal/snack. I ended up just going home and making myself a whole wheat peanut butter and jelly sandwich with coffee.

Anyway, that's today. The past week was also cool too. I got to do homework, study, and hang out with friends. Work was fun too. I spent half the day selling root beer floats to raise money.

On Tuesday, my cousin and I went to eat at the school's restaurant. This is what I ordered.

It was sweet potato fries and a grilled veggie sandwich on focaccia bread. It was delicious! They really stuffed the sandwich with veggies.

On Wednesday, I went to Fluid and I ordered coffee and their new egg white spinach breakfast sandwich. It was on a homemade biscuit. I hadn't eaten a biscuit in so long. It was so good! I also ended up eating some ice cream from the root beer float sale.

And, here are some other food of the week:

I've been obsessed with trail mix! I love trail mix. 

I made a pizza with a whole wheat tortilla.  I added marinara sauce and cheese. 

This is new. I haven't eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a while, so I decided to buy a healthier jelly! 

And look what I bought yesterday. I bought a hello kitty lunch box (to put my lunch in) and new running shoes (for after my half-marathon). 

Well, I guess that's it for now!

How was your weekend?
What are your goals for this week?
Do you prefer running with a group or yourself?
- Personally, I like running by myself. It see it as "me" time. But, it's fun to run with a group once in a while. 

What Running has done for Me

I never considered myself a runner. I was that overweight kid in junior high that hated PE.  I hated that I got tired and sweaty after running. I used to think that running 1/2 a mile was a lot. However, that changed near the end of junior high. I wanted to lose weight before entering high school.

I started off my weight loss by running. My mom made me wake up early in the morning and run in the backyard. I ran for 10 minutes. That's how it was when I was in 8th grade. It was either running in the morning or a little before dinner time. I was happy when I was able to run for 14 minutes!

I didn't really think about the benefits running gave me until my junior year of high school. I started running for longer periods of time and it really helped me deal with the stress I was going through during that time. Talk about an hour of running! You can say that running is a type of therapy for me. After dealing with the stress, I started running for shorter periods of time (30 minutes instead of an hour). I had already lost the weight half-way through freshman year of high school and I just needed to maintain my weight. I didn't have that stress anymore.

Come to freshman year of college, my uncle started to pick up running (the one that loves to drink Dr. Pepper, if you've read my weight loss journey post)! He joined a local running group and told me all about it. He runs 5ks and runs when he can. He motivated me to start running even more.

By the end of my first year of college, my weekly mileage increased! Starting mid-July of this year, I decided to start training for a half-marathon, which my uncle fully supports. My training has really helped me deal with the stress I dealt through during college and the summer. I noticed that I tend to run better when I'm stressed.

I don't know where I'd be right now if I hadn't picked up running. It really has helped me get through the hard times. I also supplement my running with yoga, which helps quite a lot!

There are so many benefits to running. You should try it out if you haven't already. All you need are shorts, a t-shirt and a good pair of running shoes (sneakers). That's the great thing about running. You can run anywhere and at any time. There's no need for fancy equipment either!

What's your favorite activity to do?
Do you run?

Tip of the Day

Hey everyone. How are you guys doing today?

I can't believe that finals are over. It's summer vacation for me now. And, my first year of college is over. The year pasted by so quickly! I enjoyed my 2nd semester better than my first. I guess it was due to the adjustment. Anyway, it is summer until I start my summer classes next month. What was scary there was an earthquake in Northern California yesterday and my city felt the aftershock of it. I was so surprised! My cousins who live 10 miles north felt it but I didn't feel it. But, then, someone 1 mile East of where I live felt it. Strange.

Anyway, I know that I posted about HoW and the Spanish post each week but it's too much. I'm sorry I haven't been doing that. I will be discontinuing it. Instead, I will have a daily tip of the day.

The daily tip of the day will be about nutrition, health, and fitness. It will be a quick tip. I feel that having a daily quick tip is more beneficial than doing a HoW. Having a daily tip will reinforce the idea of living a health lifestyle.

I will be starting this on June 1st, 2013. If you guys have anything you want me to post tips on, feel free to email me or comment on this post. You can also follow me on twitter and tweet me. Thanks!