Thoughts become Things

Gift Idea for 2-4 year olds: Inflatable Punching Bag

2012-05-26T07:00:00.000+08:00

On my nephew's second birthday, one of the things I gave him was an Inflatable Punching Bag animal. I thought it would be really cool because the toy was of the same height as him. I decided on a tiger design because he likes the movie Ice Age -- we also started calling the toy Diego.

He was so happy when he got it. We taught him how to push Diego (gently), just enough to show him that Diego bounces right back. He got so excited! He inspected Diego head to "foot" and started naming his body parts.

I'm not sure if he understands that Diego isn't alive... I don't even know if he cares. I guess it's like being able to touch one of the cartoon characters he watches on television... And to be as tall as him!

Funny thing my nephew did was start running from Diego, and when he looked back, he said "habol! habol!" (run after me!).

My Second 10km Run (Race)

2012-05-25T07:00:00.000+08:00

Pic from racingnews.runnersworld.com

I signed up for a 10km race. The event is 5 days from now. Plan is to make my legs work hard - last training day is 2 days before the race. Day before race, I'll mildly load on carbs.

Yesterday was squatts + lots of walking in the mall. Today was AM and PM runs. I ended up running under the rain. But I've had worse rainy day runs so it isn't a problem.

I'm hoping to get up early for a yoga class then I'll add some upper body free weights. So I can count tomorrow as a rest-the-legs day.

I have to trade one or two of my gym days for more runs or more rest so I can invest on a long run... I haven't figured out how to do it though... I'm supposed to be running at least 30km a week. I'm only logging between 15 and 20.

It's been a couple of weeks and I'm still scared of sprinting. Like until the very last second when I'm to take off for the actual sprint. It's still too hard for me. So I still cant enjoy it as I'd like to.

Eat here: Palaisdaan in Tayabas, Quezon

2012-05-24T07:00:00.000+08:00

SERIOUSLY. EAT. HERE.

In our trip to Quezon, our first stop was lunch in Palaisdaan. There are other restaurants with similar names or names that include that word, but this one is just plain "Palaisdaan".

The ambiance is serene. The food is great. FRESH. FISH!

This is where I first tried Pako Salad... I miss it so much it hurts (Scrubs. Season1. I knooow it's 2012).

Angeles City Thai Restaurant: Siam House

2012-05-23T07:00:00.000+08:00

I love our Filipino cuisine. I'm proud of it. Especially since I grew up with Kapampangan food which is the best kind of Filipino food (you may contest this by presenting your best version of sisig).

Second to Filipino food, I'd go for Thai food next. It is amaaaazing. It's the primary reason why I'd like to live in Thailand if I were to be exiled from my home country.

I was so happy when we finally arranged our long awaited roadtrip to Angeles City, Pampanga. We were supposed to eat in a Thai lady's house that she converted into a restaurant but we found it closed and out of business (the walls were torn down).

Although we were dejected, we chanced on Siam House along the road. It says "Thai" and that was good enough for us!

It doesn't look much, but their papaya salad is great!

PAD THAI! PAD THAI! PAD THAI! The kalamansi wasn't that huge, it just looks like a dalandan in this picture.

After lunch we went to Marquee mall to walk off what we ate. Then we went back to Angeles for some Shawarma!

Lucban and Liliw, Quezon tour

2012-05-22T07:00:00.000+08:00

What a touristy day!

We left the survivor island at 6.30 am.

Like I said, we had neither fresh water nor electricity there. So breakfast was also out of the question. We tried looking for a breakfast place in Lucban town proper but we were too early and all the establishments were still closed.

Walking towards a restaurant called Buddy for some pansit but it was still closed.

So we went to Graceland where we planned to stay for the night (but we ended up leaving for Manila on the same day because of the weather). Owmaygod Graceland is such a beautiful place! I cant stop thinking that we should have skipped our impromptu camping and went straight there to relax!

View from Graceland's cafe where we had a civilized breakfast.

Graceland's cafe.

Breakfast: Spanish omelette for Php99.
If only it comes free with coffee,
then it would have been perfect.

We used their campsite bathroom to shower and make ourselves presentable again. I don't know if my charming best friend had to convince anyone to let us do that even though we were not [yet] registered guests.

I wanted to walk around but we had to leave as soon as possible so we can cover our main goal: food trip in Lucban. We were already making plans: running, swimming, betting on obstacle courses for when we came back... weather ruined our plans.

Pako (fern; for salad; awesome; delicious) for sale! This small store is a few hundred meters from Kamay ni Hesus.

We've been looking for a place to buy Pako. We went to the market but there were only a few bundles available. The vendor said there isn't much on sale because it's getting hotter and drier into Summer. We were so happy to find it in a small by-the-road store! We bought three bundles each -- we'd have gotten more but we couldn't figure out how to transport a lot of it.

Before Lucban, we went to Liliw. It's a place that specializes in locally made footwear. It's actually in Laguna, not Quezon.

Welcome to Liliw's festival!

FEETflops anyone?

Along the street full of footwear stores is a very special unmarked store that sells rice cakes and the most awesome bibingka made of coconut.

When I said they have no signage, I meant they have no signage.

These ladies are waiting for their pictures posted online. Here they are!

We also found an interesting shop that sells... interesting stuff. I wanted to sing...

Look at this trove, treasures untold

How many wonders can one cavern hold?

Looking around here, you'd think
Sure, she's got everything

Interesting shop!

Then after a lot of window shopping and a lot of buko juice, off we go to Lucban. They were celebrating Langgonisa festival!

Note: "Longganisa" is how we call the normal longganisa. "Langgonisa" specifically refers to longganisa made in Lucban.

Your regular longganisa meatshop

They have longganisa everywhere!

And a beautiful old church.

For souveniers, local delicacies that you can buy for your friends/family we recommend that you go to Eker and Ely. That's also where we bought our langgonisa because it was the most popular store -- tried and tested by locals and tourists alike.

More longganisa! Eker and Ely display their famous langgonisa.

Don't be scared to try out their streetfoods and their fresh fruits. We had Okoy (dried shrimp) with spicy vinegar sauce. We also had some kamote (sweet potato) fries with powdered cheese.

Streetfoods galore

We're fans of green mangoes.

Next stop habhab. It's canton (noodles) served on banana leaf. You eat it without utensils... and without touching it with your hands. You just scoop it all into your mouth. The locals encourage you to put vinegar.

Your regular habhab place

BEST SIOPAO EVER. I'm so sorry Kowloon House, you're now a far second on my siopao list.

Pahiyas. These are fried and served as chips. But you'd see them hanging as displays during Pahiyas Festival.

They're doing it right

Decorations

After eating so much and walking around so much, it was finally time to drive back to Manila. We stopped in San Pablo, Laguna for dinner. We had some "liempo" (they look more like fatty lechon kawali) from Liempo Republic. Then had some dessert in nearby Circle Cafe. It would have been a more relaxing experience to skip Liempo Republic and go straight to Circle Cafe.

No. Don't eat here.

Cheap meal from Liempo Republic. Not happy with it.

Yes. Recommended.

Circle Cafe menu (part1)

Circle Cafe menu (part2)

Padre Burgos beach island - camp at your own risk

2012-05-21T07:00:00.000+08:00

It's 2.30am in Padre Burgos Quezon's tourist island number 2 (tourist island number1 is Borawan)! And Im holding on to this iPod for assurance that there still is civilization waiting for me when the boat comes to take me back.

How did I get here? It all can be summarized into a simple explanation: someone thought it would be funny and exciting to invite us to Padre Burgos and then suddenly dumped us all in an island with zero amenities. Oh he did assure us that it would be relaxing and fun especially since he'll be joining us soon enough with tents to keep us warm for the night... He didn't.

Background story of my current emotional state: Let me just make it clear that I specified "zero camping" when we were planning for this Quezon Province trip. I already made an exception when I agreed to the Graceland camping site (day2) because there would be mattresses and it would be "fake camping" since it's basically in a garden, by the pond, near a cafeteria and a condominium.

So it's 2.30am. I slept into the same clothes I've been wearing for the past 21 hours. And by slept I do mean I'm wide awake now; I have a towel for a blanket-slash-pillow, my bed is a shed bench, of course, uncomfortable in every way but two: I get a good breeze from the sea a few meters away, and I'm not on the floor where a thousand ants are scuttling about (I forgot about them when i reached for my bag. I now have battle scars to show you). Our dinner was a couple of hotdog sandwiches each - it took all of the Bear Grylles in us to whip that up with dried barks from a coconut tree and twigs from the floor.

Is this place recommendable?
It has white sand but its not as pretty as boracay sand. And it's a small place with an even smaller "safe swimming area" where a fishing net is used to keep the "bad, itchy" insects?animals? away. There is no good food here. Heck, there isn't any affordable food on this place considering that it costs Php300 for a drum of fresh water (that does NOT translate into drinking water).

The taxi boat originally costs Php1200 but since we said we'd skip the Borawan tour, they agreed to provide their services for Php800. Our overnight stay should have been free because of the promised tents, but now it's 1000 for the ant-infested shed.

It's been a really stressful trip to this island. The only consolation is the company I have. If I were with a less perky group, I wouldn't have been able to recover my emotions. I enjoyed my friends' enthusiasm. Everybody put an effort into making everybody else feel better about the situation.

So, no, I do not recommend going here if all you have is one night and zero preparation. Although it's a nice beach, we couldn't even swim because then we'd have to shower after and it's been raining the whole time so it's cold... imagine if my hair was wet and it was this cold... nope.

I have no plan of coming back.

On a sort of lighter side...
If you actually enjoy the uncivilized and would like to spend your time here, be prepared to camp. Like fully prepared with pots and coal and light and your own tent and cooked food and insect repellant and the right state of mind.

Those tents that never arrived keep reminding me of Napoleon Hill, you can't get anything for nothing

Wait I have to end this with by saying something nice.
In Padre Burgos' "bayan" where you can buy stuff like your groceries, there's a small unnamed shop that sells meals and halo-halo. We had some halo-halo there and we were surprised by a special ingredient: ripe mango.

It's sooooo... common sense!!!
We should be doing this ALL the time. It's so simple and it tastes perfect!

Sleep Personality

2012-05-20T07:00:00.000+08:00

Pic from http://pescrusaderf.blogspot.com/2011/03/why-do-babies-need-more-sleep-then.html

Is there a best way/position to sleep or is any position good as long as you slept good?

There are magazine articles and online sites telling us that how we sleep reflects our personalities...

and a thousand more quizzes just search them through Google!

But what if I want to sleep in a certain way but can't because my legs start to hurt so I resort to a position that is comfy but somewhat against what I want.

So from these psych(?) stuff, does that mean that how I want to sleep is the reflection of my personality? Or is it how I actually sleep that defines it?

How much do you drink when you run?

2012-05-19T07:00:00.000+08:00

Pic from http://breakingmuscle.com

I used to hear that runners have to keep themselves well hydrated during their runs, especially long distances. But recently, I read that experts warn runners against over hydration - that it can ruin your runs just as bad as dehydration.

Beware of hyponatremia, a potentially fatal condition caused by taking in too much water and too little salt. Hyponatremia, or "water intoxication," usually happens only during long, hot runs, when a runner loses a lot of sodium through sweat and consumes a great deal of plain water.Drink This by John Brant from http://www.runnersworld.com

It makes sense that you have to be well hydrated even before the run starts, like a day before. But I find it hard to restrict my water intake while running.

I tend to need to swallow at least a gulp or two every couple of kilometers. If I don't then my throat dries up and instead of enjoying the workout, i can't think of anything else but how parched I am!

Sports drinks and carbonated drinks need getting used to for me.

If thoughts can do that to water (part 2)

2012-05-18T07:00:00.000+08:00

Going back to What the Bleep Do We Know's water scene...

It shows that consciously focusing thoughts on objects, and therefore also on ourselves, brings about change. And if you consider beauty as good, versus chaos as bad, then we can assume that focusing good thoughts on anything brings about good things.

This is a huge thing for me that I can't stop thinking about it.

I used to think things are what they are. But I never considered the limitations I have when I perceive things -- they really are what they are, but that doesn't mean that I see all of what they are.

Consider this: why do we often hear people say "It's not what you say, but how you say it." Are we talking about proper choice of words and proper intonation? No, I don't think so. You can tell two people to say "I'm sorry" in exactly the same way, but unless they meant it, unless it came from deep inside and are not just words, you won't feel it.

And how the hell do we do that? How do we feel someone being sorry about something?

What about attending mass, or a bible study group, or a prayer rally, or anything religious involving the faithful (especially if it's voluntary)? You know that feeling? Like you're being physically lifted up but at the same time, you feel the ground more solid than ever? I've always wondered what that was. Now I believe it's the good vibes from everyone else. That's powerful stuff!

So now Holy Water and the Holy Eucharist also makes better sense. Imagine being blessed by a priest -- sure he's human, and sure he's a sinner, but beyond all of that, how much time does he spend meditating upon the goodness [of God]? So it makes sense that his blessings are more "effective" than other people's. He had a lifetime of training or practice or whatever you call it -- but he can look inside and pull out the goodness from within at will.

I can't forget what I heard about Pope John Paul II's visit to the Philippines. Someone said that being in the same area as the Pope felt different. That it didn't matter if you were Christian or not, it was his presence that felt holy.

Old and getting younger

2012-05-17T07:00:00.000+08:00

We met a 70 year old personal trainer at the gym this morning. He approached us when he saw us struggling on our last reps and assisted us... Actually pushed us to go beyond our range. Then he introduced himself; he's here visiting Filipino friends/colleagues.

I couldn't believe how young he looked. I thought he was in his fifties. He said he started lifting when he was 15 and reached his peak at 55.

So is it really true? When you reach max level, you stop leveling up?

The guy didn't seem to be older than 55. My dad is in his fifties as well, and the only difference I noticed was that my dad's skin is smoother. But that's because he didn't grow muscular and shrink in old age, leaving his less elastic skin to look loose.

There's this popular belief that doing strenuous activities - running, weight lifting, sports, anything that pushes your body, especially your heart - logs as mileage on yourself. They compare our bodies to cameras with shutter limits.

I got bitten by that fear myself. I thought I'm doing things wrong. That instead of improving on my health by giving my body enough challenge, I'm actually doing damage.

But after seeing this young looking old man, I should know better.

Ernestine Shepherd. 75 years old and looking fabulous!

Running @ BHS (Bonifacio High Street)

2012-05-16T07:00:00.000+08:00

Pic unrelated

There are a lot of places to run in Global City. Most popular would be in BHS. But one look at Global City and you know you can run anywhere because the size of the sidewalks permit it and traffic is organized (translation: traffic rules and stop lights are followed).

I did test runs around BHS at night and in the morning.

At night, you get to enjoy having other runners alongside you. Some find that feeling reassuring. I personally like knowing that there are a lot of people who enjoy an hour of pounding the pavement, and I'm not crazy to be doing it all the time. However, others find the crowd discouraging because they turn out to be moving obstacles, especially groups of runners who start walking side by side, causing a barricade.

In the morning, there are far less young runners. Most are busy getting ready for work or catching up with sleep. The crowd is generally of old people. There are also far less cars so there's less smoke. And more bikers. And if you're really early, a lot of construction workers staring -- so leave the backless, cleavage showing, nice tops and put on a boring shirt.

I personally prefer morning runs. I feel lighter because I barely had anything to eat -- I do eat a small snack, but that's it, no full meals. From experience, even though I'm not in a full fasted state on my runs, my body reacts better to it.

Are we ever alone?

2012-05-15T07:00:00.000+08:00

(Watch Justin Bieber get shot)

You know how CSI Las Vegas (or any CSI franchise for that matter) always have these tacky (is that the right word?) dialog? I love watching CSI, don't get me wrong. Except for Miami, it's not my style.

So I really liked this one conversation that went,
CSI_A: That's a lonely way to die.
CSI_B: It's the only way we do.

Get it? You can't die with someone. Even if you actually die next to a person, you'd each be dying by yourselves. You can't take anyone with you through death, so it's simply lonely.

I liked it and I remember it still even though I don't remember the episode or the crime or any other part of the story. I liked it because I realized it's a truth when I heard it.

I've always known we die alone. It just felt weird to be aware of it.

And I'm suddenly thinking now, by myself, right before bed, "But do we really?" Do we really die alone?

Does that mean I'm alone right now?

Do you ever feel alone?
Not "alone" like your family and friends aren't around. But "alone alone" like there's nothing to hear you speak or think.

If thoughts become things, that means Someone is listening.

Talk to your younger self

2012-05-14T07:00:00.000+08:00

If you can see your younger self in someone, and you think you can push him/her in a better outlook on life, how would you do it?

From experience, I think I respond well to organized, simple literature so I'd probably say, "You need to read this (hand over The Secret). And when you're done, talk to me."

From http://thesecret.tv

I'd most probably respond with a "pssshhhh" but would have gone ahead and read it anyway.

Did the tree make a sound?

2012-05-13T07:00:00.000+08:00

Philo101. There's a forest. And in that forest a tree falls. There's no one to witness it. No one around. The question is: does it make a sound?

Pic from http://www.wallpapermurals.co.uk/mural-gallery/forest-murals/nordic-forest-wall-mural/

That was the first question from the teacher on our first class in our first ever philosophy course.

It resulted to an hour and a half of melted brain.

If you stepped into our room, you'd have heard squishing sounds in every step.

I haven't forgotten the question. It's what taught me to start asking questions that concerned the truth. It's not even justice kind of truth, just truths.

And the answer to that question varies, but I've finally accepted one as the truth (as far as i know it) and that is: it does and doesn't make a sound at the same time. Until an Observer is present, then all possibilities are.

How important are shoe brands?

2012-05-12T07:00:00.000+08:00

I've always had sensitive feet. When I was in grade school, I tried out Aikido (a type of martial arts) with my sister. She ended up being the first female black belter in our province, while I quit before getting the second belt.

I remember complaining how my legs hurt so much after training. My mother, who've also always had problems with her feet and legs, quickly pulled me out because she can relate to my problem and she doesn't take it lightly due to her experiences.

In college, there were days when walking home, I feel like I was about to burst to tears because my feet hurt so bad.

After more observation and several experiments with walking gait, speed, sports/exercises, I discovered that the kind of shoes and slippers I wore had the most impact on comfort, and therefore, pain.

That's when I started becoming brand conscious with my footwear.

Samuel L Jackson in FitFlops
Pic from FitFlop website: http://www.fitflop.com

For the past four years, I have regularly sported FitFlops. They're not very pretty to look at, but they keep my feet happy. My mother loves her FitFlop pairs, too. We each have a couple of pairs at a time.

The first time the FitFlop closed shoes came out, I wanted a pair. But I was kinda happy to discover that they're not as comfy as the slippers because they're also hella expensive.

I discovered that Skechers ToneUps sandals works for me.

Addidas is where I go to for running shoes. I'd like to try out Nike but I haven't found a good (within budget) pair.

mary grace for the ladies

2012-05-11T07:00:00.000+08:00

I'm not saying Mary Grace is a girlie restaurant, I simply observed that their patrons are mostly ladies. There was a nice group of white haired women across our table, and another a group of mums who seem to have just started attending yoga.

The crowd adds to the homey ambiance. And you have to admit, it's hard to look gloomy when the food is good in taste, portion, and price.

It just doesn't look like the place a group of men would hang out in... But that doesn't matter at all. They're doing well with their crowd! Maybe it's actually their niche.

We had two pastas:

Spanish Sardines and Olives

Pasta Pasta Amatriciana with Italian Meatballs

Both were filling and good and savory and worth it. Really, really worth it.

The only bad thing about it was that we were too full to get a slice of cake. And I was really looking forward to dessert. Oh well, we can always come back for more!

The Avengers eating shawarma

2012-05-10T07:00:00.000+08:00

They said that the US-version of the Avengers has a special scene at the end of the credits. It's the Shawarma scene!!!

So when Ironman invited the Avengers for shawarma after their epic battle, he meant it.

Here's a link from youtube:

It's all up to you

2012-05-09T07:00:00.000+08:00

I've just finished reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. At the same time, I had a rerun of The Secret (TV) and I watched What the Bleep Do We Know for the first time. I'm currently reading Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

That list would have looked weird and unappealing to me last year. But because of a series of fortunate events, here I am enjoying the experience of testing the soundness of their philosophy.

Believe it or not, all those items help me run faster, lift heavier, concentrate on my day job, and spend more meaningful hours with my loved ones.

Here's a brief how:
(1) Ayn Rand's Objectivism says that to be human is to think. It's not enough to exist as a Homo Sapiens Sapiens to be considered human, you have to think. That's the most basic concept in her philosophy. You can read more about it on the link. So moving on... according to Objectivism, man is the ultimate value. In simpler words, self sacrifice is irrational because the betterment of yourself is what's rational.

Does that makes sense? It makes sense to me. So just read about it and you'd find everything intriguing and mentally stimulating, and none of it is a waste of time so just go right ahead.

From the small philosophy background I have, I relate Objectivism closely to the Nietszche's Übermench (superman) under Existentialism. Both Objectivism and Existentialism state that humans are born to make whatever they want to make out of their lives. There is no "divine plan" to figure out, or to wait for to unfold. There is just you, your thoughts, your actions. That's who you are.

Some people find this disheartening. But it's actually the most wonderful thing I've head/read/studied about. You're human! What fortune! What could be greater than to be human and to have full control on your fate?

(2) Now surprisingly, you'll hear the same message from The Secret, What the Bleep do We Know, and Think and Grow Rich.

We're humans. We're beings of thought. We think all the time - although that does not mean we always think of the right things all the time. But we do think and we have full control of our thoughts. And that is enough. That is exactly what we need. That is exactly all we need.

Thoughts are the driving forces in life. Even Ayn Rand's heroes are always people of intelligence/reason.

Here's one stark contradiction: Ayn Rand considers emotions as byproduct of thoughts and cannot therefore be trusted over reason. Whereas the rest considers emotions as guides to values and should therefore be trusted.

That sounds like a contradiction but from I've read of Ayn Rand's novels, even her protagonists are emotional. Sure they're all statue-like, but when it comes to feeling good about life, they're first to shout Alleluia!

Napoleon Hill takes both points together and although his book was written first, seem to understand better how reason and emotions affect us practically - how to rely on both, neglect neither, when setting a goal for yourself.

If thoughts can do that to water, what can it do to our bodies?

2012-05-08T07:00:00.000+08:00

What the Bleep do We Know's Water Scene is the my favorite part of the film. Watch it and you'll see why!

Must rest... No!

2012-05-07T07:00:00.001+08:00

This morning was murderous. I did pretty well on the run, but the cumulative effect of the rest of the week hit me hard.

Sunday 3.2km run
Monday 3.9km run
Tuesday Weights [Deadlift]
Wednesday AM 3.9km run
Wednesday PM Weights [Back]
Thursday AM Weights [Bench Press]
Thursday PM swimming
Friday 6.5km run + 4 sets of sprints
Saturday Weights [the week isn't over]

I didn't even do squats yet! If my legs can take it, then I'll do squats tomorrow.

So this morning after 5.2km, I wanted to just stop and go home. Then I checked the time and found out that I still had thirty minutes left. I was supposed to do a long run, but by the time I got dressed, I knew that that wasn't going to happen -- I want to stay injury-free!

So I concentrated on my breaths for a couple of minutes and completed the rest of 6.5km. By that time I'm wondering why I felt so spent. I know my week was busy but was that it? Should my legs be this sore? Maybe it's my actual runs... I've been lifting my legs slightly higher. Just enough to look like I'm actually running and not jogging. That improved my time by a couple of minutes per round. But that also seem to eat more of my energy.

After that round, I walked and started jogging for another round because I still had so much time left. Then I just slowed down to a walk... and that was it. That was the moment my body said "Nope."

So I walked for a couple of minutes then, did a few sprints.

I don't know why I was able to do sprints but my body wasn't willing to do another full round. I'll have to read up on it.

I want to rest, but I don't want to do nothing. I don't deserve that much rest. I want a really nutritious meal after a good workout and spend the rest of the day watching Scrubs (I started watching it; finished first episode of the first season and it looks like I'm really going to like this series).

Running: Exhausted legs

2012-05-07T07:00:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I did that 40min 6.5k run. Then we played lazertag after work. Today is a holiday so it’s a definite morning gym schedule for us. That also means no run. I tried running thenlifting on the same morning, I felt so tired afterwards that that tired feeling lasted for more than three days. And it wasn’t even worth it because the exercises I completed after the run were half-assed. So if I’m running and lifting on the same day, I need at least an eight hour rest in between.

Pic from TheBarMethod: Runners' Legs vs Dancers' Legs

Today I wanted to do some upper body strengthening exercises because it has been a full week since I did that. But I reassessed my schedule and figured out that if I want a long run at the end of the week, then today was the best day to do some deadlifts. So I did.

Excluding warm up, I did 3x5 60kg. I’m still not as strong as I was last year; gains are slow but steady and reliable. I could have added a couple more kilos but decided to work with the movement instead. I surprised myself; on my last set, I didn’t drop the bar on the floor at all. I felt really good with that last set that I had to calm my ego down. I was so tempted to do another set and test how heavy I can go.

I’m glad I stopped when I had to. Or that would have ruined my scheduled runs.

My legs are exhausted. I keep thinking about that article I read from RunnersWorld, about this one guy training for a marathon. His trainers kept his legs exhausted that even though he didn’t do a test-marathon-run (his longest runs were 90mins at most), he not only survived his marathon, he even beat his own personal record. His trainers told him that those runs were training him for his final 90mins in the race, not the start.

I know I feel like my legs are exhausted, but I’m sure they’re not as exhausted as that guy’s legs were. I know that’s a shallow comparison because he has run a dozen marathons and I haven’t done one. But if he can survive his training, then I can definitely survive mine.

Tomorrow, I’m having a good morning run!

Ideal body shape

2012-05-06T07:00:00.000+08:00

It’s a bit awkward to see what Google images I browse through on my free time. I usually stare at beautiful women because it reminds me of my goal to get a lean, strong body.

Well you can just imagine what “female body builder” image results will get you – beautiful women in bikini!

Juliet Cotterill

Female body builders help me point out which parts I want to really develop for aesthetics and which parts I’d let develop without assistance exercises because they’re not my priority. They’re huge and lean and they really psych me up well, “if they have it, then it’s possible to achieve”. Right? Those abs are ripped!

So if your goal is to get a flat stomach, girl, you are well equipped to get them!

Running exercise: distance vs time

2012-05-05T07:00:00.000+08:00

I am, of course, an amateur runner. I don’t even do all the basic running training; I just make time for runs and try to do my best at either time or distance. Last Monday morning, I tried to do well at both.

I had a very short run the day before (3.2km) at a not-so-flat road. The slope comes from the middle where the road breaks in half and slopes down to the sides.

Pic from http://www.bodycorethailand.com/blog/running-in-hua-hin/

I didn’t know where to run exactly, I tried right in the middle where the two slopes meet but there wasn’t enough space for my foot to decide if I was leaning left or right. I also tried all the way to one side and shift all the way to the other side every hundred meter but crossing the sloped road didn’t feel right for my legs.

But I have to say, this isn’t the first time for me to run at that site. And I do remember that I did worse before. My shins got so sore that when I press my thumb on the length of my shin, I thought something was broken. But I was walking fine so I ignored it until it recovered by itself.

Ok, I just wanted to talk about the road and how it hurt my shins, moving on.

So last Monday I gave myself a pat on the back when I did 6.5km at 40min flat :D That includes the 30sec-1min rests per round to drink some water and fix my shoe laces and stretch my adductors to make sure they’re working properly.

I know it’s not actually race-material but it was a personal best! I did a regular 32min 5.2km set and bargained with myself to add another 1.3km without extending time too much because I didn’t have much left – it’s a work day!

I ended up completing my last 1.3km in 8minutes J I couldn’t express how happy I am with that! That was my fifthround and I did it better than fourth round!

What’s even better than that was placing 10^th in our lazertag game that night HAHAHA! Those runs and squats paid off.

My legs feel alive!

Running exercise: sprints

2012-05-04T07:00:00.000+08:00

I incorporate sprints into my runs once in a while. Sprints usually take a toll on my legs and I end up messing up my Squat Day or Deadlift Day schedules. So when I do sprints, I don’t do too many and I usually have more than half kilometre jogs in between.

Pic from http://www.marieclaire.com/health-fitness/news/running-nike-reward

Last week I tried running in HIIT (Read more about HIIT)

So the plan was:

1. Do 8 times: 200-m sprints with 1:30min complete rest in between each sprint.

2. Do 6 times: 1:30min run and 1:00min jog

That was the plan… Stupid me should have known that I couldn’t sprint from rest. I thought about running [very slowly, for warm-up] 1km before doing the exercise. Instead I set my water bottle beside the path, did a minute of stretching and off I went running at full speed.

I ended up doing #1 3 times and #2 3.5 times (I missed the jog on the third round). I couldn’t catch my breath in between sprints. And the jogs barely helped me recover.

Lesson learned J My body takes time to warm-up before she’s ready for sprints. I’m still up for trying it out again! I felt like my butt got a good exercise from the menial run it did. I’m sure it will get a good beating when I actually complete it.

“Morning People” Attitude

2012-05-03T07:00:00.000+08:00

Have you ever met a person who seems to be so happy with life? He/she wakes up early in the morning, no alarm snooze, no 15-minute adjustment, just jumps out of bed and stretches out with a sound, “Good morning, world!”

I got this pretty coffee pic from http://www.kidneycn.com
Nothing spells "good morning" better than a good cup of coffee!

I know one person who lives like that. She’s a perky ball of unlimited energy and optimism. She’ll hug you even though she doesn’t even know you that well, just because she feels like you need one or deserve one. She’ll see you and she automatically maps out all the best things about you. She’s so good at it, she doesn’t even know it’s something that most people, like me, have to learn to do – that it even takes us years to realize the value of that attitude while she… she’s just that wonderful.

She’s my best bud.

Last weekend I had a wonderful time hanging out with my family at the mall. It was a particularly wonderful day. And I credit it to the attitude I had. Looking back tonight, trying to figure out what was so good about that day, I realized that if I were to describe my attitude, I’d say it’s probably how she handles every single moment of her life. She never taught me to look at life the way she did even though I know she’s always seen me struggle on how to deal with life/people but she never wavered to show me.

For all the people who are happy to be alive, thank you.