by ·Comments Off on Road to Chicago Marathon: My 8.5 mile long run

Last Sunday was my long run.  On my plan, I have to  run at least 8 miles.  The course I layed out happened to be 8.5 miles.  Having just come back from a cruise where the primary activity was eating, I knew I had to take the run easy.  So I did. 

Since the run was long, I decided to bring a mini-water bottle which I held in my left hand for the entire run.  I took a sip of water at about every two miles.

The pace I ran–about 9:15 per mile–I think will be my marathon pace.  At this pace, I’m not gasping for air, but am able to breath comfortably.  I was doing pretty good, even at mile 4.   Even at the 6 mile mark, I was able to run uphill (on the Union Ave freeway overpass).  However, what I found is that after mile 7, I started noticing that my legs were getting sore.  I wasn’t tired, but needed to focus more on my form to ensure that the most minute sloppy movement doesn’t cause more problems.

Within the last half mile, I was able to increase my stride and finish the 8.5 mile run strong.  I then drank what was left in my mini-water bottle.

As I finished the run, I thought to myself…”this is just less than a third of a marathon…can I do this run 2 more times?”

The pessimist in me said “my legs are sore, I don’t think I’ll last”, but the optimist in me said “hey, I think I can make the entire marathon!  I’m not even tired.  My legs are sore, but with training, it will be better.”  So I listened and leaned more towards the optimist in me.

by ·Comments Off on Road to Chicago Marathon: Now committed

Before I left for the cruise this week, I made a reservation for a round trip to Chicago for me and my wife.  I also reserved a rental car.  My wife and I will arrive there on 08 Oct 2010, and we will depart on 11 Oct 2010.

There is no backing down now.  I am now committed to training and doing the Chicago Marathon.

All I have to do now is make sure I get registered early enough before they meet their 1000 45,000 quota.

by ·Comments Off on Road to Chicago Marathon: My second hill

This is a continuing account of my training towards the Chicago Marathon.  This week was a tougher one–training-wise that is.

Almost everyone knows that when you go on a cruise, the number one activity there is eating.  Well, this week I was on a 4-day cruise on the Carnival cruise ship Paradise.  This was my first cruise, and this cruise took me and my family from the port of Long Beach, Catalina, Ensenada (Mexico), and back to Long Beach.

It was one fun cruise!  Training-wise it was a little tougher. 

On Tuesday (12 Jan 2010), I decided to give it a go by running on a treadmill for at least 3 miles.  That’s the last time I run on a treadmill.  I was able to maintain a 6.5 mph pace, but my middle toe nails took a beating and a bruising.  I had this problem long ago, but I haven’t experienced it since I began my training over a month or so ago.  I think it is because of the way my foot hits the treadmill surface at it moves past me.  When my foot lands, the force of the treadmill mat moving and my shoe landing combine to push my toes into my shoes and against its tip.  It was at this point I decided to take my running to the Sun deck of the Carnival cruise ship Paradise.

On Wednesday and Thursday, I ran on the Sun deck.  The Sun deck track is pretty short.  One lap it equivalent to about 0.1 mile.  So I had to run at least 30 laps to do my 3 miles. 

The Wednesday run was weired.  It felt like I was short of breath.  This is how I felt long ago and running at very high altitude (back in New Mexico, on one of my temporary duties in the USAF).  Nevertheless, I completed my 3-mile run.

On Thursday, I took it easy.  I was able to do 3 miles no problem.  However, the ocean was rough and as I ran, the track under me would go up and down–sometimes giving me a feeling of running downhill, and sometimes giving me a feeling of running uphill; hence, the article title of “my second hill.”

On Friday, I took a rest since the debarkation process needed us to be ready by 7:30 am.  As I write this, it is Saturday.  I’m taking a rest as well today, for tomorrow, I’m doing an 8-mile long run.

Overall, the weekk was great!  I had fun in a cruise and was still able to maintain a training program.

by ·Comments Off on Road to Chicago Marathon: My first hill

I just finished my long run today.  It is at least 6.5 miles, and guess what…I ran over my first hill today.  The reason this is a momentous event is that where I live it is very flat, but the route I took today got me running over a freeway overpass.  It gave me about a 1/10 mile uphill run.  I actually felt pretty good going up that hill.

The nike+ sensor/pedometer I was using said that I ran 6.97 miles for the entire route; but I know that as I as get tired my stride tends to get a bit shorter; that is why I think the run is around 6.5 miles.  So my pace is probably about 9:15 minutes/mile since it took me just about 1 hour to finish the run.

Based on this run, I think I should be able to maintain this pace for a long time.  So this might be my marathon pace. 

Next week, my long run will be 8 miles–week 10 of the 26-week training plan.  This will be a challenge since I will be on a cruise during the week.  As you know eating is the main activity on most cruises.

by ·Comments Off on Emergency Food Bank Charity Drive

This year we are looking to give aid to the Stockton community by helping the Emergency Food Bank (EFB) gain funds needed to help those less fortunate than us.

If you wish to help, please write your check out to EFB, and we will match what you donate–meaning that if you give $20, Koryo FTC will donate $20 also to match what you donate.

The last day we will collect donations is Tuesday, 29 Dec 2009.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

If you wish to know more about the Stockton EFB, feel free to visit their web site at http://www.stocktonfoodbank.org/about-us.htm.

by ·1 Comment

One of my life’s goal is to run at least one marathon–a 26.2 mile run.  To that end, I’ve been reading about various information on how to do it.  One inspirational book I recently read was “50 50” by Dean Karnazes.  Dean is an endurance runner.  He set out to run a marathon everyday for 50 days; he achieved it!

This tells you what the human body can do if the mind is set to do it.

In his book he lays out a training plan for would be marathon runners who has never done one before.  I summarize it for you here:

Week Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
1 Rest walk 20 min Rest walk 20 min Rest walk 20 min walk 20 min
2 Rest 10X: walk 1 min, run 1
min		 optional: walk 20 min 10X: walk 1 min, run 1
min		 Rest 10X: walk 1 min, run 1
min		 10X: walk 1 min, run 1
min
3 Rest 7X: walk 1 min, run 2 min optional: walk 20 min 7X: walk 1 min, run 2 min optional: walk 20 min 7X: walk 1 min, run 2 min 7X: walk 1 min, run 2 min
4 Rest 5X: walk 1 min, run 3 min optional: 10X: walk 1
min, run 1 min		 5X: walk 1 min, run 3 min optional: 10X: walk 1
min, run 1 min		 5X: walk 1 min, run 3 min 5X: walk 1 min, run 3 min
5 Rest 4X: walk 1 min, run 4 min optional: 10X: walk 1
min, run 1 min		 4X: walk 1 min, run 4 min optional: 10X: walk 1
min, run 1 min		 4X: walk 1 min, run 4 min 4X: walk 1 min, run 5 min
6 Rest run 2 miles optional: 7X: walk 1
min, run 2 min		 run 2 miles run 2 miles Rest run 3 miles
7 Rest run 3 miles optional: run 2 miles run 2 miles run 3 miles optional: run 2 miles run 4 miles
8 Rest run 3 miles optional: run 3 miles run 3 miles run 3 miles optional: run 3 miles run 5 miles
9 Rest run 4 miles optional: run 3 miles run 4 miles run 3 miles optional: run 3 miles run 6 miles
10 Rest run 3 miles optional: run 3 miles run 3 miles run 3 miles Rest run 8 miles
11 Rest run 4 miles optional: run 4 miles run 4 miles run 4 miles optional: run 4 miles run 9 miles
12 Rest run 5 miles optional: run 4 miles run 4 miles run 5 miles optional: run 4 miles run 8 miles
13 Rest run 5 miles optional: run 4 miles run 5 miles run 5 miles optioanl: run 4 miles run 10 miles
14 Rest run 4 miles optional: run 4 miles run 5 miles run 4 miles optional: run 4 miles run 11 miles
15 Rest run 4 miles optional: run 4 miles run 4 miles run 4 miles optional: run 4 miles run 9 miles
16 Rest run 4 miles optional: run 4 miles run 6 miles run 4 miles optional: run 4 miles run 12 miles
17 Rest run 5 miles optional: run 4 miles run 4 miles run 5 miles optional: run 4 miles run 13 miles
18 Rest run 5 miles optional: run 4 miles run 6 miles run 5 miles optional: run 4 miles run 14 miles
19 Rest run 4 miles optional: run 4 miles run 5 miles run 5 miles optional: run 4 miles run  9 miles
20 Rest run 5 miles optional: run 4 miles run 6 miles run 5 miles optional: run 4 miles run 15 miles
21 Rest run 5 miles optional: run 4 miles run 6 miles run 6 miles optional: run 4 miles run 16 miles
22 Rest run 4 miles optional: run 4 miles run 5 miles run 5 miles optional: run 4 miles run 10 miles
23 Rest run 6 miles optional: run 4 miles run 6 miles run 6 miles optional: run 4 miles run 18 miles
24 Rest run 6 miles optional: run 4 miles run 8 miles run 6 miles optional: run 4 miles run 20 miles
25 Rest run 5 miles optional: run 4 miles run 6 miles run 6 miles optional: run 4 miles run 12 miles
26 Rest run 7 miles optional: run 4 miles run 5 miles run 4 miles Rest MARATHON:  run
26.2 miles

Critical points to remember:

  • Make sure you are hydrated every 6 miles
  • Watch what you eat before a run
  • Get good shoes; any minor annoyance can become serious when extended for many miles; you can get blisters or irritate a knee or hip

To track your progress, think about signing up for an account on active.com.  There you can get a free account to help manage your training.  You can even map out running routes around the neighborhood.

Another site where you can track your progress is at nikerunning.nike.com.  There is you use a Nike + enabled shoe and a sensor, you can easily track your distance, calorie usage, time, and pace.  Information is logged on their site where they provide you with fancy looking graphs to see how you are doing.  And if you’ve gained around 1 year of experience, you can use their training plan there to achieve better marathon races.

by ·Comments Off on Home Rules for Children
  1. Children shall greet their parents with “Hi, Mom! and “Hi, Dad!” when they enter the home and tell their parents “Goodbye!” when they leave.
  2. Children will always be respectful of their parents, teachers, and elders.
  3. Children will be kind to their brothers and sisters.
  4. Children will keep the household neat and clean.
  5. Children will keep their hair, body, and teeth clean  daily.
  6. Children will not interrupt adult conversations.
  7. Children shall fix The Recipe for Straight ‘A’s Daily!
    • When you come home from school, open the refrigerator and have a glass of milk or juice. 
      Open your book to review what you studied today.
    • Do your homework.
    • Preview what you will study tomorrow.