6 days until my 10K!!!

I wrote out this elaborate post, only to have it deleted. I hate it when that happens :(

Anyways, I was saying earlier how excited I am for my upcoming 10K race this Sunday, Dec. 6. It seems so surreal that it's finally almost here! Only 6 more days baby!

To prepare myself physically for the run, I ran my longest run the other day (7.5 miles), and now I'm slowly going to taper aka reduce my mileage runs and cross-train more. I ran 5 miles today, and I'll do simple 3 mile runs for 2 days this week. The remaining days, I am going to cross-train, whether I jump-rope or ride my bike, and on Saturday, I am just going to REST and sleep early to be fresh for the race! Sounds like a plan, doesn't it? Booya~

It's crazy how 5 miles does not seem like a long run to me anymore. Just back in October, I though running for 30 minutes was such a challenge. But now, I am able to mentally push myself further. I love that! It's so true how running is more of a mental challenge than a physical one. My friend Megan was right: If you can run 3 miles, you can definitely run a marathon. You just need to train yourself mentally. I'm hoping to run a half-marathon in the spring. Here's to a-hopin'!

My knees have been feeling weak for a bit. I need to start doing knee exercises! Here's one I found on this website (http://www.bigkneepain.com/knee-exercises.html):

Quad Strengthening Contractions:
Sit in chair. Extend legs, heels to floor. Keep knees straight (or as straight as possible if you have arthritis.) Tighten thigh muscles. Hold for count of 10. Relax for count of 3. Do 10 repetitions. You can do this several times throughout the day. You can build up to 2 or 3 sets of 10 repetitions at a time.

And for this week, I have lots to do. I must finish immediate homework assignments, catch up on reading, study for Clinical Nutrition Intervention & Assessment quiz, and start assignments for next week. Can I do this, or can I do this? YES I CAN... I just need help on focusing from the big G =)

How do you guys try to concentrate on your work? I wouldn't mind some tips from y'all!

Home is for the lazy

I swear everytime I go home to NJ, I never ever get any work done! Something about home makes me just want to sit back, relax, and enjoy my sweet time. This is not good when you have loads of work to accomplish!!

Lucky for me, I get to go back to my apartment in the city this afternoon (sigh). Once I go back to the city, reality hits me again, and I realize that I can't just be a lazy bum. Plus finals are just around the corner!! Crunchtime baby! Keep my eye on the prize~

Oof, my legs are so sore. This week, I focused on increasing my mileage. I went from 3 miles on Monday to 7.5 miles today! I don't think I should've done that actually... because my leg muscles didn't get to rest and repair themselves. But tomorrow will be my rest day, and I'm slowly going to begin tapering for my 10K run next Sunday!! I'm really excited for the run, but I'm nervous about the hills too. I didn't get to hill-train that much; today on my run, I added some hills, and they killed me. It took all my strength to keep going and not stop, even though I wanted to sooo badly.

So, like I said, I ran 7.5 miles today. I've been noticing on my runs that the first 2-3 miles are rough for me, in the sense that I am aware of my legs being stiff and I get tired, but once I pass the 3rd mile, I suddenly get this extra energy that makes me run a little faster and feel good. It's like my body knows when the run is halfway over!! My goal was to run the 7 miles in an hour, and I ran the total course in 75 minutes. Not too shabby I suppose. 7.5 miles in 1 hr 15 min. I think I can do better next time though! =)

Pre-run meal: 1/2 bagel with cream cheese and jelly, 3 wheat roll crackers with jam and butter, 1 cup of orange juice

Post-run meal/ lunch: 1 bowl of Swiss muesli and jam with skim milk, a lot of leftover mac 'n cheese pasta, 2 clementines

I love to fuel my body! See you all later!

Gluttony at its best

Whew! Another Thanksgiving dinner has come and gone. All the food my mom and I prepared has been demolished, for the most part. Everyone ate loads and is happily watching a Korean TV program right now while I snuck away to write this blog entry hehehe =)

Our Thanksgiving meal was a combination of two cultures: Korean and American. My mom prepared yook gae jang soup, which is a spicy beef and vegetable soup. It's super yummy and stock full of vegetables ranging from green onions and bean sprouts to portobello mushrooms! I made the classic mac 'n cheese from scratch, using 2 types of cheese (cheddar and monterey jack). But it was little dry for my liking... too many noodles and not enough sauce! Next time, I'll perfect it~ Then, we obviously had a huge turkey roasting in the oven; we marinated it with olive oil and red pepper flakes. Koreans like their food spicy, what can I say :P Other side dishes we had were corn, cranberries, and salad. Overall, I would say that our Thanksgiving meal is healthier compared to other families'.

What y'all been waiting for... PICTURES!! P.S. Please excuse the poor quality of pictures; I left my camera at the apartment.

Thanksgiving dinner (BEFORE)

Thanksgiving dinner (AFTER)- we killed it.

My mac 'n cheese

And to mention what else I ate before this delicious Thanksgiving meal... For lunch, I had some of my mom's yook gae jang soup with dumplings and a side of pickled vegetables. YUM! I also had an apple as a mid-afternoon snack.

Hope your Thanksgiving was as foodie-licious as mine!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Seriously, time flies by as you age. I cannot believe it's already the end of November and that this year is almost over. Can we please slow down time so I can enjoy life more!!!

This year, I am so thankful for many things:

*I am thankful for my lovely roomies who are patient with me and supportive of what I do.

*I am thankful for all my friends who accept me and continue to stay by my side.

*I am thankful for my parents, especially my mother who drives into the city and back every Sunday and Monday to take me home for my fieldwork at Englewood Hospital.

*I am thankful that I have an internship, a job, and a volunteer position that help me to comprehend more about my major and the real world, particularly since I'm almost out of college!

*I am thankful for DPD and GSNs as we work together to help KCCC at NYU to grow and become more God-centered.

*I am thankful for my cutie-wootie dog Hammie for always embracing me with a huge hug and kiss =)

*I am thankful for my blog readers who continue to check this site. Please continue to read and comment! I'd love to know what you think!

*I am MOST thankful to God for being the loving Father He is and continually reminding me how much I need Him.

There is so much to be thankful for when you start listing them out! Ahh, the spirit of Thanksgiving~ I love it. What are you thankful for?

On another note, today I planned a 6.2 mile run through 4 towns (Demarest, Closter, Haworth, Cresskill), but somehow while I was running, I ran a slightly different route and ended up running a 6.8 mile run!! Around miles 2 and 3, I got a little tired but I kept thinking, "God is waiting for me at the end, God is waiting for me at the end" and "Temporary pain for eternal gratification." Cheesy, but they work! These phrases helped to push me forward and continue running.

My pre-run meal: Cinnamon-raisin toast with crunchy peanut butter and banana slices, a cup of coffee, and a cup of orange juice

My post-run meal: Swiss muesli with skim milk and a dollop of strawberry preserves, string cheese

Mhmmm, can't wait for Thanksgiving dinner tonight! I'm excited to make my mac 'n cheese dish and probably dessert too... I haven't decided yet. My cousins and aunt are coming over; it's going to be a nice family reunion!! =)

I'll try to take pictures of the food and update y'all on dinner! See you later!!

It's the Gobble Gobble Season

Gobble, gobble.

I bet so many turkeys get killed during this time. Thank you turkeys for all your delicious white and dark meat! You help make this holiday so freakin' yummy!!!

Yesterday was KCCC's annual Thanksgiving Banquet. And it was a total success! I think this was the first year where we actually didn't run out of food! We had so many leftovers that people could come and get seconds, thirds, fourths...!!! Talk about gluttony :P

We had turkey (props to Eric Cha, Yooie, Susan!!) and side dishes like stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberries, and green beans from Whole Foods. The plated food looked so pretty with its different colors that I wanted to take a picture so badly! Too bad I had no camera... so you'll just have to use your imagination.

Today I scheduled myself to go on a 5 mile run through Lower East Side and Chinatown. It went alright... but I probably won't ever run through Chinatown again. It wasn't my cup of tea: the narrow streets, the busy commercial shops, the smell of fried foods, and the sight of meat hanging were not so pleasant. Plus, I felt a little bit uneasy running in certain parts. Let's just say I have never entered that deep into Chinatown before!

My snack before my run: 4 Whole Wheat crackers from Trader Joe's with peanut butter and jelly. Mhmmm, nothing beats peanut butter~

My brunch after my run: 1/2 cup of Swiss Muesli with Almond Milk, an omelette with cumin, garlic, and red pepper flakes, and 2 slices of pork belly. Yes, pork belly! I have been using it as my version of bacon haha. Hey, whatever works right? They're both from the same animal...

Well, I do have a lot to do today before I go to work at 4. I am planning to finish reading my chapter on diabetes for my class Clinical Nutrition Assessment and Intervention. Hopefully I can continue to work on my personal statement after that.

See y'all later!

Andddd it's taking a toll on me

My knees hurt :(

All this running is really killin' my knees. Any suggestions you recommend me doing? I'm all ears to listen!!! Especially with my 10K race coming up...

There's no place like home

Another Sunday night, another weekend come and gone. I'm back in New Jersey again, in the comfort of my childhood home. And it is soooo nice to be here.

I know I complain a lot about how much time gets eaten up when I travel back and forth from Jersey, but I'm not going to lie, I love going home every weekend! I get so pampered by my parents... starting from getting picked up in the city (no need to hate!) to getting ridiculous amounts of good food prepared by my mom. Today's dinner was spicy kimchi spare ribs in kimchi jjigae with multigrain rice and typical sidedishes. YUM~ I lurveee Korean food. Can't live without it baby!

I'm glad it's going to Thanksgiving break now though. I just cannot WAIT for the semester to be over. I am not liking all this studying and reading I have to do at the moment! So much work to catch up on =( I just want to focus expanding this blog, cook delicious food, run in races, and spend more time on my hobbies. Sigh~ That's only in my dreams though. I want to do so much, but I am so limited.

I stopped by Trader Joe's before I went back home. I bought some teeny groceries for my meals this week, not that I have many meals to cover before I'm back home for break! I bought pumpkin butter and peanut butter for my oatmeal, as well as some Sweet 'n Savory trail mix! I love this trail mix from Trader Joe's because it totally satisfies my sweet tooth and salty needs. I'm one of those crazy people who like the sweet 'n salty combo!! The pumpkin butter I bought is interesting... I remember I bought it last year and I thought it'd be more like butter with pumpkin flavor, but it's actually very similar to jam. Not very buttery at all, but it's still oh-so-delicious, especially with toast. I'm excited to try it with oatmeal!

And finally~ it's officially 2 weeks before my 10K race! Eeks! I have to practice 1 run at Central Park before the actual race. I gotta get familiar with the route, naw what I'm sayin'? I'm excited to pick up my souvenirs and stuff next week hehehehe.

Today I ran 4.2 miles. It was a harder run than usual, maybe because I didn't sleep a lot the night before. Also, my sneakers have been feeling a bit tight on me. I think I didn't buy a big enough size for my poor toes. Oh well~ I must suffer because I just bought these sneakers! =(

FYI, if you read my blog, I'd love to hear back from you (ahem!). Leave me some lovE!!

Why I love Running

Andddd I am back from my run!

This was the route that I ran:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3330989

I am so proud of myself! 6.5 miles? I wasn't even planning to run that much, but while I was running, I really felt good and knew I could push myself to run a little further. I can't believe I ran past the Grand Central Station and actually went all the way to PJ Clarkes, where I ate dinner with my roommates last night.

Can you believe that just a month ago or so, I could only run around 2 miles maximum? Now, I can run past 6 miles! This is a huge improvement and makes me feel so empowered. I think this achievement just shows how you really can do anything as long as you are determined and

believe in yourself.

But I have to take it even one step further than that! Many times, I think we believe in ourselves so much, that when we fail, we really go down this downward spiral of negativity. This is when we have to remember that it really is not about just believing in ourselves. It is about God and trusting that He has a wonderful plan for our lives. It is about knowing that God already accepts and loves us, whether we "succeed" or "fail" according to the world.

This is why I love to run. Running is like therapy to me. During the times I run, I seem to be able to speak to God more intimately and personally. He reminds me of His love for me. Not to sound cheesy, but He's my personal trainer and counselor hahaha.

So, to all my readers out there, don't forget that God loves you and He is the one who gives you strength! =)

(Picture 1 is at Grand Central Station; Picture 2 is taken right on 1st Ave, near the Trump World Tower and UN)

Shining

Good Morning!
The sun is shining and bright... perfect day to run outside!

After a not-so-good week, especially the last couple of days, I am so glad it's Friday and extremely happy that I don't have classes until December! It is a most needed break for me... a good time to step back, think, and focus on what is necessary.

My week was horrible this week, with work just being bad and my concentration to study being limited. I was wondering why... and I just realized that I haven't been spending enough time with God. If anything, my mind was so focused on school and other things... God > all the things in this world. He knows what's best, so I don't know why I decided to not turn to Him.

Thank God that God is always still faithful and He is patiently waiting for us to turn back to Him. I am currently reading Deuteronomy, and it's so crazy to read about all the rules that the Israelites had to follow. There are so many specific rules that I wouldn't have guessed to be even mentioned. And then the punishment for breaking a lot of these rules is death.

Reading Deuteronomy makes me so thankful that God sent Jesus to die for our sins. Seriously, Jesus took away my punishment of death, hurrah!

Anyways, lots to pray about and think about during my run for this morning. I am attempting to run 5 miles and towards Grand Central Station. Wish me luck!!

Breakfast before run: 1 medium banana with peanut butter (yum~)

The Life of a Student

I can't call myself a student if I don't spend SOME time in the library... Currently I'm at Bobst trying to study for a Clinical Nutrition quiz tomorrow. 'Cept, it's one of those days where you just can't seem to process through the materials. STILL, if I can run, then I can plow through this stupid stuff... Onward I go...!!!

Tomorrow's my rest day. But I want to run. I shouldn't though. I need my muscles to recuperate and repair. I haven't been eating enough protein though to help with the muscle repairment process. All I've been eating these days is carbs, carbs, carbs! So bad. I need to be more nutritiously balanced!

Currently playing:
Knock You Down- Keri Hilson (ft. Kanye West and Ne-Yo)

This one's for You

This one's for You God.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3326757

My run planned for tomorrow morning =)

I can't seem to focus right now! Why?!

Sunrise, sunset

It's 6:25 AM, and it's still dark outside. This makes me not want to run...

----------

It's currently 7:41 AM, and I got back from my run at 7:08 AM. 38 minutes for a 3.7 mile run? Not bad! At least I think so... haha. I ran across the city today between 14th and 23rd St, from 1st to 9th Ave. It's harder running across than up and down the city. I don't know why, but somehow the run feels longer. Still, it was beautiful running back towards 1st Ave today because I saw the sun rising, splashing its rays of red and pink across the sky in bits of layers between darkness. Ahh I wish I could have taken a picture!! As I was running, I couldn't help but smile in knowing that God was watching over me.

Eeks, I'm going to be late for morning prayer!

Mid-November already?

The month of November seems to be flying! It's going by way too quickly. Can we stall time a bit please??? Next thing I know, it's going to be December with Christmas coming, not Thanksgiving!

This week is Monica's birthday so I'm super excited because it's just another reason to celebrate! I can't wait for her birthday dinner at PJ Clarke's and then her party on the weekend. It'll be a good way to relax after a busy busy week (as usual)!

I've been spending so much money this month so my groceries for this week were light. I just bought some steelcut oats to make yummy oatmeal, skim milk, organic baby carrots, cilantro and jalapeno hummus, and nonfat french vanilla yogurt. Yum! I still have some eggs and pork belly left over, and my mom got me some muesli, so I think I'll be fine in terms of food. I'll just have to eat lots of oatmeal and muesli, but that's fine with me. It'll make my meal at PJ Clarke all the more worth it =)

Running is a lifestyle for me now. It doesn't take much to get out the door and start running, but I do need to push myself a little harder so I can improve my speed! Ah!

Tomorrow's attempt run: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3322766
I'm excited!!!

Tryin' to be money efficient

I'm currently at my fieldwork site (EHMC) right now in Jersey. I love being here, even though sometimes the work seems tedious and useless. In the end, I know I'm helping out Joanne (the chief clinical dietitian), so as long as I can be a help, that's alright with me.

So, this month, I've already spent a good portion of my budget money going out for meals. All these birthdays is making me spend lots of money! That's why for this week, I didn't even go grocery shopping really, and I decided to make use of the things I have at home.

My recipes for this week: fire-roasted peppers and onions quinoa and teriyaki grilled chicken. I also have some oatmeal left to make me some hot pipin' oatmeal breakfast! And eggs, how can I forget my delicious, brown, CAGE-FREE eggs. Note the emphasis on CAGE-FREE!!! Everyone should buy cage-free eggs because otherwise you're supporting these poor chickens that are cooped into tiny pens. Did you know that they are injected with tons of antibiotics so that they don't get sick from one another's poop and urine in those tiny pens? So inhumane... so stop supporting these kinds of animal-farm institutions!!

I went for a run this morning right before coming to EHMC, and I ran 3 miles! A 3-mile run got nothin' on me now! I am positive now that I can do a 5k. A 10k... I'm not too sure, but this upcoming 10k run will be good. It'll challenge me and test my endurance =)

a u t u m n

I have huge, major updates since my last post. What have I been doing?

1. I've been officially training for the 10K run that I will be signing up to do this coming December!!! So I've been trying to run almost every day (with a rest day scheduled in) in the mornings, waking up as early as 6:15 AM. It's crazy, but definitely has been rewarding so far.

2. I've been busy with school, WORK (especially last week because of Halloween), and dietetic internship apps (that I have yet to start filling out!). I had a major midterm for one of my classes last Thursday (which I totally aced!) and a project also due that same day but by God's grace, it was pushed to this past Thursday!

3. I made some delicious stuff since my last post, including kimchi-pork belly pizza and banana chocolate-chip muffins!

4. It was my dad's birthday this past Tuesday, and he likes to run too, so I got him Aasics running sneakers =)

-P I C T U R E S -

10/22/09- Best late night meal snack= grilled cheese and tomato soup from Cafeteria on W. 17th and 7th Ave!

10/29 Sisters' Night- Brooklyn Bridge and Grimaldi's yummm

10/31/09 Halloween- I caught me some Hamburglersssss

11/5/09- Our delicious kimchi-pork belly pizza, all made from scratch!

11/7/09- Biking all over NYC, 15.7 miles!

I also went running this morning, covering a distance of 3.6 miles. I don't think I ever did so much physical activity like this in one day! I am pretty sure my body is going to be dead tomorrow...!!! But I love it. I love knowing that I can push my body to accomplish such crazy distances! That's why I love running. You can ALWAYS improve =)