Oh look! I have a new post!

Or maybe the more apt title is “Wow! I finally logged in to WordPress again!”

Anyway, today’s post is brought to you by my morning run, which is my first training run for my next race, the Condura Skyway race. I’m running 10km on this race, and I’m really, like really, looking forward to improving my awful 10k timings from my last 2 races. For this race, I’ll be using a Couch to 10K training app to guide me properly. In all my previous races, I’ve only ever used my Adidas miCoach app which, while awesome, seems to assume that my legs are long enough for me to stride large enough to finish 5KM in 30 minutes (trust me, it’s not possible when you’re 4’11”, unless you move like a cat escaping the vacuum cleaner). My training runs following the miCoach app has been very short, because that’s what the app designs for me. I’m hoping that a C210k app will help me build endurance for longer running periods.

Oh and since I conveniently forgot to mention what C210k app that was, it’s the 10K for Pink by Zen labs. I’m using the pro version, and have had it on my App Store account for quite some time. Just never got around to using it because I’ve always used miCoach.

And on to other running stuff:

I changed something else besides my running app today: I think I’m finally switching away from my New Balance Minimus Ionix racers. I’ve put in about 150km on these trainers in the past 4 months, and using them in my last training run, I felt that my knees were getting way too much stress, and my feet arches were hurting from the lack of support on minimalist shoes. I think these shoes could still be good for another 200km, and I’m pretty sure I will continue to use them for races. This pair is my lightest pair of shoes, and it’s the one I’m most comfortable with, so I’m keeping it in my racing kit still.

Most fashionable part in my running shoe arsenal too!

It’s a little hard to let this pair go. It just looks so happy and cool and putting this pair on always gets me psyched for my runs because it’s so pretty, but I suppose all good things come to an end. I’m scratching it out of my trainers kit and replacing it with this:

See how many foot pods I attach to my shoes? I’m nuts about my running, I tell you.

I’ve had my Brooks PureFlow for about a month now. I got it for my Run Happy race last week but never got around to training with it, and so never used it for the race. It’s another minimalist shoe, I know, but somehow, it just offers better cushioning, particularly for my heels, than the Minimus flats. This also surprisingly has pretty good arch support for my flat feet. Might be because of that lame-ass strap-band running across the shoe.

The main difference between the 2 shoes is really the fit. I don’t think any other shoe can match the NB Minimus’ fit on my feet. The size I bought is a good half size larger than the correct size of running shoes for me (for some reason, athletic shoe brands here do not stock sizes smaller than 6. I think ladies who have small feet, like me, are expected to make like 12-year-olds and shop in the kids’ section). But even though it’s slightly larger, the fit is perfectly snug in all the right places, including the are around the heel and the shoe mouth.

My PureFlow has a snug fit on the foot but it’s kinda loose at the ankles. I’ve managed to remedy that by just tying the laces a little tighter. Hopefully, the difference in fit doesn’t change my gait. I quite like the way I run now.

Lastly, I’ve finally decided to try the protein shake/meal replacement thingy I got from Forever Living. The shake is ridiculously expensive wtf, so don’t ask me how much it costs. I put 2 scoops of the sucker into a blender, mixed about 150ml of strawberry yogurt drink, a bit of sugar, and another 200ml of water.

Presto! Yummy shake!!

This was surprisingly delicious and didn’t taste at all like Sustagen, even though the protein powder sure smelled like it.

It was a pleasant surprise that this tasted so good. I think it might have been the yogurt. Having it again after my run tomorrow. 🙂

Til then, see ya, pretties!

Stop reading and start running.

This didn’t happen today. Bed got too comfy, magazine article got too interesting, and boy, am I hungry!

The truth is, while I am pleased that my running has improved vastly from whining to actually running for about 3 minutes straight (that’s a feat; I’ve previously declared myself unfit to run because I’m lazy and fat!) it’s really still a struggle for me to convince myself to change into my running gear and get out of the house. I just feel so lazy, sluggish and bored. But I totally need to get running some more! I still haven’t broken the 5km mark, and I need to really improve my time.

I have joined the Adidas King of the Road in Manila for 5km, Great Eastern Women’s Run at 5km, and lastly, the Brooks Run Happy event for 9km. How am I going to survive if I’m sitting here, typing this blog entry? I have no idea.

But I’ll think of the solution on my next run.

And that’s going to be tomorrow. Now I need carbs.