5K- run united

I ran 5k last sunday. Nov. 21. It was my first. 

Was I prepared enough? I don't think so. 

Did I try to prepare? A little bit, when I had the time and energy.

The run was organized by United Laboratories, a big pharmaceutical company. The singlet was nice as was the freebies.

My goal was to finish near the time my husband finished. about 38 minutes. I wanted to be able to sustain my pace for the longest possible time without stopping to walk. Here is how it went:

When the race started at 5:40AM, my husband and friend was already going ahead of me. (they have longer legs..) I told them to leave me behind. There were 4400 people racing in the 5k and it was difficult to run. I knew they had water stations every 1.5km so I guessed it was a good marker for me to guess how far I had to go.

I clocked 6 something minutes my first kilometer. The second kilometer, about 7 minutes. At the first station, there were CROWDS of people standing taking a drink.. (I skipped that station) I  kept going... quite proud I was still running strong (by my standards anyway). By the third kilometer, I clocked in at 22 mins (better than my first try- 28 mins).

It was a little bit past the 3k that I was losing steam. I found my legs straining to keep my pace. (the under training showing I guess). I walked a little and tried to jumpstart my pace every so often.

When I reached the sign "last 1k" I suddenly had a surge of energy. I wanted to finish strong. Besides, it is where most of the photographers were stationed and I wanted an action picture.. hahahaha. I kept looking for the big arch that was the finish line. How come it felt like the longest 1k of the whole race?

I finished a decent 38:15. It was better than my expectations.  We are planning another 5k in december. Hope to do a better time- The funny part is, I never imagined myself ever getting into running at all.. Now, both me and my husband are buying "running stuff"- watches with laptime (wish list is the TIMEX ironman watch with GPS, heart rate monitor and individual laptime),

no pictures of me running yet... (you don't realize how big you are until you take a picture.)

Hairy Tales (part2)

I was scared. If you had asked me what my greatest fear was before I entered the salon, I woudn't be able to give you an answer.. 30 minutes later, I figured it out.-- It was, going BALD.

The cold water eased much of the sting of the chemical they used. The smell was like something you would put down a drain and not your hair. After a few more rinses, my head was back to normal. I returned to my seat and (thankfully!) still had a full head of hair.

The stylist started cutting and I tried to ignore him by reading a magazine. It was painful to watch my hair fall on the ground like globs. Although I was reading a magazine, my eye was still monitoring the cutting process. I didn't want it to be TOO short. My face would look like a big bun (I have big cheeks)

In 5 minutes, I could see the floor was covered with a year's worth of hair... I felt regret. I was like saying goodbye to an old friend or donating a favorite teddy bear. You have to do it, but it doesn't make it less painful. (remember the last scene of toy story 3?)

Ok. my hair did not turn out to be a disaster.
------The side view is better than the front. (my cheeks are really huge)
------ I dry it faster-- but it is more high maintenance than my previous hairdo. (with all the layering)

Time to let it grow again.! Countdown: 1 year

Hairy Tales (part 1)

Its been a hectic hectic week. I even did not have time to write my assignments for my writing class for TWO WHOLE WEEKS. I am a delinquent. So sorry to my instructor.

However, I finally have time to write and blog.. so here I am. (submitted those assignments last night- FINALLY!)

I really have a lot to blog about and let me start on HAIR. Most people are emotionally attached to their hair (men and women alike)- just look at shampoo and hair regrower ad. As they say, it is our crowning glory.

My hair has been long for 3 years. It was straight, black and reached the middle of my back. Two days ago, I had 6 inches chopped off. (this equals 1 year of hair growth- 1/2 inch per month).. 6 INCHES!!

You know the feeling on going on a blind date? The one your best friend set you up with and said "He's a nice guy.. give him a try".. that was how I felt when I entered the upscale salon in a posh mall uptown. I had mixed emotions. I was excited and ready for a change but part of me wanted to go home.
With one foot in front of the other, I entered and was met by a smiling gay receptionist.

I told him I wanted a new haircut- not too short but short enough to be a noticeable change. He ushered me into a seat. I noticed a garment bag hanging by the side of the chair- it contained a robe. The kind you see in hotel rooms. The asked me to put it on.

"Ice tea Ms Imelda? We also have coffee and juice" the thin lady with an apron/uniform asked, her hair a perfect multicolored hue of blonde/brown. I opted for the ice tea- it was, after all- FREE.

The senior stylist (also gay) finally arrived to "assess" my hair. I quietly told him I wanted a hot oil treatment with color and a cut. The hot oil treatment is different from a full color treatment- its gentler on your hair.

A few minutes later, they were finishing applying the "dye". They started putting the stuff on my scalp and I could feel a burning sensation. Whenever they applied it, my scalp started burning up.

"uggh... it stings..." I said meekly. I was afraid they would tell me I was ignorant and it was all part of the beauty process.
"Maybe you scrubbed too hard when you shampooed this morning...." but his face had a look of concern. (this was not good)

"Mel..." he said, feeling personal enough to give me nickname. "could we go over to the shampoo area?" I kept asking him if this is what I asked for.. a cellophane treatment (the hot oil) and not a full on dye.

"I opted to wash out the darker shades of brown from your hair Mel..." He said flipping his hands in the air. So I did a dye job plus we will do the hot oil later after the cut. I was pissed. The assistant kept washing my hair in a mix of hot and cold water. My head still stung.

"Are you sure my hair won't fall off? because it feels like it will....!" I was growing nervous by the minute..

-- to be continued--

Wanderlass and the Candie Shop

Lilianne, and her two sisters are great travellers. (they actually have another sister- but she lives in Japan and I haven't met her). Aside from travelling, they are foodies and  great story tellers too.

Lilianne has a great travel blog- www.wanderlass.com and has had her works published on magazines. She has been cited by one website as one of the top 40 travel blogs. She is also an avid photographer.If you love to hear stories about travel, check out her site.

Her sister, Candie, has her own blog too.. most of the time, she blogs about food. She is part time tour guide if anyone is interested in visiting the Philippines. her blog is - www.thecandieshop.blogspot.com (this is a cute play on words of her name).

If I ever have blog envy, these two women are on top of the list.

Beach

I mentioned i got my camera back. I am also learning to use it more because we are planning to go to Israel next year. (in the itenerary is Jordan ~ petra, Jerusalem, and Egypt). So you see, need to get the photo skills together to get nice pictures for the trip.

here are some of what i took last weekend on a trip to the beach