Tag Archives: 5K

26.2 (or No Marathon For Me)

Posted on March 18, 2013 | 1 comment

It was the LA Marathon here in LA yesterday. I had a bunch of friends running, so I had the news coverage of the marathon on my tv this morning hoping I’d catch a glimpse of one of them running (sadly, I didn’t).

I’ve never done a marathon (the farthest I’ve ever done was a 5K and that’s walking), and at one point in my life, I dreamed of being able to say that I ran a marathon. I even had a personal trainer at one point who was training me to run. That stopped pretty quickly due to my hip hurting. So I gave up on that dream for a while.

Then they started doing marathons on The Biggest Loser. Some of those people were in much worse physical shape when they started and they could do a marathon. So I tried starting with the Couch to 5K program. And I had to give up on that again because of my hip.

I’ve pretty much given up on the idea of running. I know that high impact workouts are not the best for me.

And then one day, I came across this post on Daily Garnish. And it made me realize that it doesn’t matter if I never get to do a marathon one day. That shouldn’t be an end goal for me. For some people, all they dream of doing is a 5K. I have lots of friends who don’t think that they could do one. And I do it. Sometimes I’m a lot slower than I’d like to be, but I still cross the finish line.

And running isn’t for everyone. For me, it’s just not something that I should do because of my health restrictions. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to be healthy or that I don’t get good workouts in. I push myself so far in spin class. I drip sweat and I know that even though I’m not do all the standing work, I’ll get there one day.

So maybe I can take the approach I wanted to take with doing a marathon to spinning. Doing a 5K is the same as being able to do an entire class without a break. Doing a 10K is like not taking a break and making sure I use all the resistance that the instructor is saying. And finishing a marathon is being able to do the entire class, standing up work and all, exactly how the instructor wants it to be.

I might not be able to do a traditional marathon, but I can make my own marathon with what I am able and love to do.

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The Color Run (or Why I Still Look A Little Like A Smurf)

Posted on February 4, 2013 | 3 comments

On Saturday, I participated in the Color Run 5K! It was the first 5K for me for the year, and it was one that I had never done before.

I’ll admit, after looking at photos of what people looked like after the run was over, I was a little nervous about how I would get all the color off of me. So I decided to try to protect my hair and face, since if the color didn’t come off from there, I’d have a hard time covering it up.

The morning of the race I got up nice and early and got ready.

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I met the rest of my team (named “Hue Did It”) over at Dodgers Stadium where the 5K was taking place.

The team looked nice and clean before the event started.

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When we got over to the start area, I put my phone in a plastic bag so I could still take pictures but the phone would be protected a bit (smart plan since everything else in my hip pack was covered in powder at the end).

Before we actually started, people started to throw the bags of color that we got for the finish early, so I made sure to put all my protective gear on.

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(Wig for the hair, glasses for the eyes, bandana for the nose and mouth).

I didn’t really get any pictures during the event, but it was a doozy.

First of all, it was all hills. And I hate hills. My hips were killing me the entire time, but I kept going (only took one break when the pain was making me feel a little dizzy). I thought maybe it would only be one hill, but every time we turned, there would be another hill staring at us.

Fortunately, my friends who were walking with me were very understanding.

The color part of this was pretty crazy, and I wish I had gotten a picture, but I’ll try to explain it. Every kilometer you entered a color zone. There would be volunteers lines up on each side with a ketchup bottle full of colored cornstarch in the color for that section.

The first section we went through was blue. You could either walk in the middle for less color or one of the sides for more color. We decided that we might as well go for it. The blue volunteers were probably the craziest of all the volunteers. We walked out of that section looking like Smurfs. One volunteer even managed to get a whole thing of blue down the back of my shirt.

After it was all said and done, the team looked like this.

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When you looked at our arms, you could really see the craziness between where the shirt covered you and where the color got you.

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(you can see my Smurf hands)

When we were ready to leave, there were volunteers with leaf blowers that got a lot of the powder off of you. You were still fully colored, but most of the excess was off of your clothes.

To drive home, I covered my seat with a towel and just wore the tank top I had on under my shirt. And all those clothes went immediately into the washing machine (I tried following the instructions to preserve the color on my shirt but it didn’t work).

It took 3 showers, but I’m almost all clean again. My back is pretty blue still. Those blue volunteers got me pretty good. And I have one blue foot too (not sure how the color got through my socks and shoes).

Overall, I had a great time. I’m not sure I’d want to do this again at Dodgers Stadium with the hills, but maybe next year I’ll think differently.

And if you are considering doing a Color Run, do it. It really is a ton of fun and an experience that you have to see for yourself.

1 5K down, hopefully at least 4 more to go this year!

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Another Busy Day Off (or Getting Everything Done and Nothing Done At The Same Time)

Posted on January 29, 2013 | Comments Off on Another Busy Day Off (or Getting Everything Done and Nothing Done At The Same Time)

Yesterday was my day off for the week. But that’s hopefully about to change! As of right now, starting February 4th I will be back to my old work schedule. I will still be working 6 days a week, but 2 of those days will be half days that end no later than 2pm (so I can still get things done during the day).

And this week will be a short work week for me since Saturday I will be doing my first 5K for the year, the Color Run! I’ve decided that I really want to protect my hair (I think my hairstylist friend, Erin, will appreciate that), so I made a stop today to Party City to pick up some supplies.

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I’ve decided to go pink for the 5K. So I have a pink wig, pink gloves, possibly pink shorts (I ordered them online and waiting for them to arrive before I decide), and I wanted to find some pink sunglasses but instead found some blue and silver Elvis style ones. I will totally be looking awesome.

And I’m excited because 2 of the 3 people on my team have said that they are thinking of walking with me! I had been preparing myself to walk solo again, but now I’m looking forward to maybe having some buddies with me to enjoy getting covered in colored cornstarch!

I also spent my morning on Monday at my usual spin class at SoulCycle with Sal. I’m sad because I’ll have to find a different class when my schedule goes back to normal, but fortunately Sal also teaches a Sunday evening class and I should be able to attend that one (any readers want to come with me sometime?). I really love Sal’s class. He is so motivating and never points out that I’m not doing all the jumps and standing up moves in class.

I left class sweaty like I like it.

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(I’m wearing one of the new tamis I ordered when I wrote this post)

And I spent my evening catching up on some TV and just enjoying the calm of my house. It’s exactly what I needed to get me ready for 4 days of work leading up to my 5K!

BTW, the podcast I work for is doing a fitness challenge. It’s a 90 day challenge and most people are going to be doing P90X. I won’t since I have to be careful with high impact activities, but I’m still participating. If you are interested in joining us, here’s the link for the FB group.

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My 2013 Goals (or I’m Not Calling Them Resolutions This Time)

Posted on January 1, 2013 | 4 comments

Welcome 2013!

I’m excited to see what I can get done this year! In the past, I’ve always made resolutions, but for this year, I’ve decided to call them goals. Somehow they don’t seem as scary that way.

Here are my goals for 2013:

Continue on my weight loss journey. I didn’t lose as much in 2012 as I would have liked, but I did lose. And I’ve got my brother’s wedding in September and you know that those pictures are going to be around forever. I want to look back and not be embarrassed.

Continue paying down my credit card debt. Again, I didn’t do as much as I would have liked in 2012, but I’m working on it. I may not reach my goal of being debt free by my 30th birthday, but that’s ok.

Do at least 5 5Ks. I do enjoy walking various 5K events. In 2012, I did 3. This year, I’d like to see if I can do 5. I have my first one planned for February (unless I decide to do another one sooner).

Do my first 10K. There’s going to be one at Disneyland 6 days before I leave for my brother’s wedding. Unfortunately, due to that timing, my parents won’t be able to come and see me do that, so I’m looking at maybe finding one another time so they can come see me accomplish this.

Find alternative income. I love my day job, and I don’t plan on leaving it anytime soon. But I also need to find a way to make more money to help me work on my debt. And if I can find a way to support myself without having to go to a job 6 days a week, that would be great for my future.

Take an improv class that counts. I’ve taken improv classes in the past. I did a few years at LA Connection Comedy and also studied weekly with Kip King for almost 8 years. But in the commercial world, they want you to have classes from one of the main schools. So I’m looking at maybe taking classes at UCB this year so I’ll have that competitive edge on my acting resume.

Keep blogging. I think this one is pretty self-explanatory.

Any of you have some goals for this year that you are really excited about?

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Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Family, Fitness, Food, Fun Stuff, Saving, Weight Loss, Work

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Trying to Gain The Fitness Bug (or I Wish I Was More Motivated)

Posted on November 28, 2012 | 6 comments

I’m not doing too shabby on eating better. I eat breakfast every day (normally some toast with peanut butter and some fruit) and I’ve been pretty good about trying to bring my lunch to work. Dinner is still a bit tough because I never want to cook when I get home after leaving work at 9pm, but my parents just bought me a slow cooker, so hopefully that will change soon.

Where I’m struggling is working out. I like to go hiking, but with my current schedule, it’s tough to find time to go. Maybe that could change when I’m unemployed for a few months. I’ve tried yoga, and while it’s fun, I don’t think I’ll continue on a regular basis after my Living Social deal is done. It’s pretty expensive. I like doing 5Ks, and I’m signed up for another one next year already, but I need something to do on a regular basis.

I have a fitness bike in my house that I really like. It’s right in front of my tv so I can catch up on my shows while I work out. I try to get on it 3 days a week, but lately that’s been tough. Part of it was my travel schedule and trying to fit everything in before I went home for Thanksgiving. I find it easiest to workout on the days where my shift starts at noon. I can work out when I wake up and have time to shower before heading to work. Since it’s in my house, I don’t have to worry about driving to a gym or if I have gym clothes without holes.

I’m pretty steady in my bike workouts, but I want to push myself more. It’s hard to self motivate, especially when you are working out alone in your house. I started by wanting to add more minutes to my workout. But now, I want to try to increase the resistance. I’m going to try to go slow (that’s what worked for increasing the time), but I wish it was easier.

I know plenty of people who are essentially addicted to exercise. They crave it every day. I want to be one of them. I just don’t know how to get there.

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I’m Back (or Planning On Keeping My Routine)

Posted on November 26, 2012 | 2 comments

I’m finally back home! I had a great Thanksgiving week with my family. Lots of quality time with everyone. And lots of funny memories and stories were said. Some of my favorites were from my cousin’s kids. Her 5 year old was convinced that my older cousin was Superman and called him that for 2 days (we explained that his cape was at the tailors being hemmed). And her 3 year old had one of the funniest quotes of the week. On Friday at dinner, she suddenly shouted “roll me in sugar and bake me in the oven!”. None of us know where she got that, but it was pretty entertaining.

Yesterday I spent the day unpacking and then spending time with my brother and his fiancée, who came to town for the USC game.

But today, it’s back to usual. I’m back to my 6 day a week job (at least until the season is supposed to end in January). I’m back to my own food. And I’m back to the schedule that I’ve gotten used to for the past 6 months.

I’m trying to plan out things to do when it’s the off-season for my job and I’m unemployed. My mom and aunt are coning to visit me in February to see a taping of one of our favorite tv shows “2 Broke Girls”, and my future sister-in-law and I are thinking of taking a trip to NYC sometime in the winter as well.

I have no idea what life is going to look like for me in the off-season (which is supposed to be January until the beginning of May). But I’m trying to schedule things for myself that I would have done even if I was working.

I just signed up for The Color Run in February. I decided to create a team (called Hue Did It!). Right now, I have 3 members on my team, and need to have at least 4. So if any of you readers are interested in doing The Color Run, you can sign up for my team here.

While I can’t plan too much since I don’t exactly know what’s going on, I’m trying to plan on doing things that I would want to do whether or not I’m working. I’m hoping that this will help make the transition to being temporarily unemployed (whenever that may be) easier.

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Another 5K Done (or I Did It Again!)

Posted on November 5, 2012 | 9 comments

Yesterday was the weSPARK 5K at Universal Studios. Even though I had done 10 or so 5Ks in the past (and this one last year), I was so nervous. I was going to do this one by myself. I’ve always had a buddy or two to talk to and distract me or push me to keep on going. This time, I had to push myself, and that’s not something that I’m great at.

On Saturday, I went to the bib pickup location to get my race stuff. The swag bag actually had some great things (anyone want my coupon for a free haircut?), and I got my number.

I’m the sort of person who looks for signs of things, and I felt that this number was a good sign. My favorite number is 9, and this number had a 9 in it. And the other 3 numbers added up to 9. I might be reaching for something positive, but I needed it to calm my nerves.

I also made myself a playlist to listen to. I have some music that I listen to when I workout, but I wanted something special. Since I worked at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios for 3 years, and the race began and ended very close to the area I worked in, I made an HHN mix of music. It was a collection of music from the Bill and Ted show that goes on during HHN and the music that the musical trolley would play when it would take us from where we got ready to our work area.

On race day, I got up early (but it didn’t feel too bad due to Daylight Saving Time), and headed to Universal. As soon as I got there, I ran into my friend David, who was running the 10K and was also going to give out the medals during the awards ceremony. David is awesome, BTW. He’s maintaining a weight loss of over 165 pounds!

Then it was time to get into our corrals. It was organized by 10K runners, 5K runners, and 5K walkers. We had to wait for all the runners to start first, so I got a before picture.

Finally, my group started and I started up my playlist. The hardest thing about this course is that the first mile and last mile are on hills. So you go downhill for most of the first mile, and uphill for most of the last mile. It’s tough, I hate it, but I knew I could do it. My big problem are my hips. My hip that has been operated on hurts going downhill and the hip that hasn’t been fixed yet hurts going uphill.

After the first mile was over, we got to go to one of the most restricted areas of Universal.

To get down there normally, not only do you have to make it through security at the normal gate to get on the lot, you have to make it through the security at the gate to get to this section. I also got this picture (please ignore the sweaty face).

Finally, it was time to go up the horrible hill. It is broken up a bit by the area that was Wisteria Lane for “Desperate Housewives”. My goal was to only take a breather once on the first half of the hill and once on the second half. And I did. I also got a bit of a boost because on Wisteria Lane, I saw David go by. He was running strong and gave me a high-five as we passed.

After conquering the killer hill (where I whispered choice words under my breath), we made it to Bates Motel/Bates House where I worked during HHN. I tried to get a picture of my old workplace.

And what I loved was when I was rounding the corner to Bates Motel, my playlist started playing the theme from “Psycho”. Loved it!

Finally, I crossed the finish line. My time was 1:03:18. Not my best, but considering my photo ops and the killer hill, I’m happy.

Of course, I got a victory picture with my medal.

I’m crazy proud of myself. I did something that scared me, and I did it pretty well. I’m totally going to do this 5K again next year. It’s a fun one and I think that I might have some family members trying to come to LA around that time so they can participate too!

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weSPARK 5K (or Come and Walk with Me!)

Posted on October 24, 2012 | 1 comment

Last year, I participated in the weSPARK 5K walk. I can’t remember how I heard about it, but I was so excited because it was on the Universal Studios backlot. I used to work on the backlot during my 3 years working Halloween Horror Nights, so I wanted to go back and visit my old home.

I like 5Ks. They are a doable distance for me, and I feel accomplished for finishing one. This 5K is a bit more of a challenge than most because the course isn’t flat, so it makes me feel like I’ve actually done a bit of a workout and not just walk on flat streets.

David (from Keep It Up David) was running the 10K last year, and my friend Emily walked with me. This year, I believe both David and Emily are running, so I’m walking solo for now.

Unless some of you fabulous blog readers want to walk with me! It’s a very fun low-key event. You get to walk all around the backlot before the park is open. You get to take fun pictures like this:

You aren’t forced to raise a certain amount of money (which I appreciate). All you have to do is register and pay the registration fee (you can register here).

You get a t-shirt and everyone who completes either the 5K or 10K gets a medal like this:

(please ignore the dumpster behind me)

I’d love to have some walking buddies at the 5K this year. If you decide to join in, make sure to let me know so we can look out of each other.

But even if I’m walking by myself, I’m going to do it no matter what. I’m going to try to do better than I did last year. The final uphill was a bit tough for me, so I had to stop to take a quick break. I’m hoping this year that I can do the entire uphill without stopping this year. I might pay attention to my time, but because I am planning on taking pictures on the course again, the time isn’t my main concern. I just have to focus on finishing no matter how long it takes. That’s the most important thing to me.

And if you don’t want to walk or don’t live in LA and still want to participate, you can donate to weSPARK on my fundraising page here. I have a goal of raising $500 and would love to reach it!

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