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

Me?? A Runner?

3:30 am... wake up call.. YAWWWWN  (am I really doing this???)

shoes --- check
racing shirt--- check
race bib (my number)--- check

I couldn't imagine myself waking up at this hour to run...much less run 3 kilometers!

After splashing some water and getting dressed, (The racing bib definitely does nothing to my profile)
I grab a banana and head out the door. Outside, it was still dark and everything and everyone was still asleep. The streets were deserted as we drove to  our friend's houses to pick them up. (we were kind of a big group)  As we neared the venue, I could see the big globe in the middle of the grounds~ it's the symbol of SM Mall of Asia- the largest mall in this part of the world.

  We park near the starting gate and head for the different booths stationed at the race. This is my first race and it was organized by a bluewater dayspa.

We take souvenir photos at the starting gate and the winner's podium as we wait for the start of the race. It was about 5AM and the sun has not risen yet. The 10k runners were the first to get going at 5am and the 5k (where my husband and my friend were participating) followed at 5:20 am. By the time we assembled for our run, it was 5:30 and the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon.

Admittedly, I DID NOT prepare for this race AT ALL, but I was determined to do my best and finish. a picture says a thousand words and mine says... you need to get to the gym PRONTO! (LOL)


The buzzer sounds and the girls and I start running. I start slowly trying to pace myself. I kept thinking...Breathe in breathe out.  Some runners were like bullets, running past the slower ones and whizzing through the crowd. After a few meters, I look around, trying to see how the girls were doing. My friend (the thin one) was right beside me, and Dulce, was already about 20 meters in front... WHAT??? She was faster than me! (well, she was part of the track and field team in high school after all)

I feel my lungs giving out on me (good thing my friend was as out of shape as I was). WHEEZE.. PANT....WHEEZE.... (I kept my mind on breathing.. I don't want to be the person who collapsed in the middle of the road)
I slowed down and started a fast walk. (my friend is also beside me). By this time, the sun was already up and the temperature was a comfortable 27C. We were in the middle of the running pack. Around me were young ones, old ones and the one's who were passing us... (the fit ones)

I was sweating and panting and was doing a run/walk combination. I was thinking...you can do it!

We round the corner. My other friend Dulce, was nowhere in sight. A water station at last! We get our fill and get our second wind. I urged my friend to start running again. My shins were kind of hurting.... Further down the path, we see the sign "LAST 1KM"~ I look at my watch. 19 mins. has passed. I tell my friend we can make it to the finish line in and clock in in less than 30 mins. (by my standards, its a good time).

Behind me, I hear the group from the 5k gaining on us (their route was longer than ours but would converge on the same path on the last part)... it was the local police force. They had Tshirts with POLICE on the back and were in a pace, chanting while jogging. I was tempted to join their group but was so winded I couldn't pace myself with them.

Beside me, my friend urged me to go ahead and run if I wanted to as we already was about 500m from the finish line. (she was more tired than me). I opted to stay with her.

Finished 28 mins. (not bad at all considering my shape at the moment).  Everyone was happy and satisfied we got to get our picture taken with local celebrities.

Me and Daniel (a brazilian model/actor).. isn't he cute?






We were inspired by our run and vowed to run another race next month. I need to train after all... bought shoes, registered for another race and scheduled my training sessions. (hopefully lose weight too).

But for now, we have to get breakfast!~~~

addendum:

got the results: placed #294 out of 659 runners... official time- 27:50

cookie cookie cookie

I should have titled this YUM YUM YUM....

I tried the recipe I found in a application I had in my iphone (BIG OVEN)

Crispy Oatmeal cookies

3/4 c Margarine; softened  (you can use butter)

3/4 c Light brown sugar (I think if you use white sugar, you'll get a crispier cookie.. it all boils down to preference)

1/2 c Sugar  (I think you can reduce the amount of sugar to 1/4 cup)

1 lg Egg

1/2 ts Vanilla

1/4 ts Salt

3/4 c All-purpose flour

1 1/4 c Quick-cooking oats

1/2 c Chopped nuts (optional)

finely chopped

1/2 c Raisins, seedless (optional)--- I hate raisins so I didn't put any.

Instructions

Recipe by: Womans Day (19xx) Preparation Time: 0:12 Cream butter and sugars until fluffy with electric mixer. (see above pic)...

Beat in egg, vanilla and salt. By hand, stir in flour, a 1/4 cup at a time. (see side picture)

Stir in oats. (Add nuts and/o raisins now.) Crop by rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart. They will spread. But if you want them thinner still, flatten each one with a glass bottom thats been coated in granulated sugar. Bake at 350. About 12 minutes (not too dry!) but browned. Cool on wire rack. Yield: 3-4 dozen If raisins are dry, they will draw moisture from batter as they bake. So use real fresh or plumb (soak) them with a little hot water..

The cookies turned out great. The kids loved them. This one is something I would try again.

now off to cookie land!