Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Attention! Attention!


Valentine's Day is just around the corner and I'm selling Chocolates to fundraise for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Please contact me for chocolates! I'm selling them for $2 per chocolate and the best part? They're from Purdy's!!!

Email me at crystal_wong86[at]hotmail.com to get your chocolates! Please indicate how many you would like!

Thanks!


Please visit this page to sponsor me in my run on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.

Monday, January 26, 2009

OH NO! Scary GTS #8

Whooaa what a crazy day!

So we ran 10km yesterday according to Coach Mike, but Bonnie has told me that when she mapped it out, we actually ran 11.5km :) No wonder I'm in pain today.

Yesterday's weather was awesome, a bit chilly in the morning but when we started running, it was actually quite nice. The fog that was covering the city last week seems to be gone for now. It was a bright beautiful day, but I felt very tired as if I didn't get enough sleep, and honestly, I probably didn't.

On Saturday, Viet came over to play Playground on the Wii with Julian and I. It was really fun playing dodgeball, but we got carried away and played until 12am. During the GTS, not only was I tired, but my arm was very very sore.

Our route on Sunday started at Granville Island, we ran Eastbound towards Science World, then around the other side at False Creek, stopping at Edgewater Casino for a washroom break, then ran to English Bay where the Inukshuk was. After a quick Gatorade Break with Amy, we headed across the Burrard St. Bridge, along W. 1st to end up back at Granville Island...

BUT WAIT!!!!

Right before we were back at the starting point, we heard a LOUD THUD and I looked up quick enough to see a girl go up and down very quickly. SOMEONE GOT HIT! It was very scary. She was still conscious but she was in a lot of pain. The car that hit her had broken the headlight of the car. Within minutes, the Firetrucks, Policemen and Ambulance all arrive. She was hit at the crosswalk. The car didn't stop. She didn't see it. It also looked like she had her iPod on.

BEWARE ALL RUNNERS!!! PLEASE STOP AT ALL INTERSECTIONS!!!!

After that scare, we all headed to the coffee shop for our weekly drinks. Poor Bonnie hasn't slept in 14 hours, so I drove her home.

Today, I'm very sore, once again. My arm cannot reach back and my foot sort of hurts today. I remember Laura saying that my foot is hurting and I have shin splints again probably because my shoes are not good for me. So today, I spent a few moments looking up Orthopoedic Shoes/Insoles. Seems like Industrial Alliance covers both up to $300, but I need a doctor's note.
Sometime this week, I will be visiting Kintec Footlabs, hopefully it won't cost more than $300.

Please visit this page to sponsor me in my run on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Training This Week

I've been really good with keeping up with training this week. I ran both on Tuesday and Today, today I even ran 4km! :)

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

GTS #7

This week we ran an awesome 8km. I feel rather ashamed that it took me 1:08 to run only 1 km more than last week. At the end, I didn't try as hard as I could.

The road conditions in and around the Vancouver Island area has drastically improved since last week, though the weather was much colder than before.

I played badminton the day before our GTS and it kept me sore throughout the run. I felt really good after that.

I'm posting today to commemorate a very special day in history BARACK OBAMA IS THE 44TH AND FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN PRESIDENT today! WOOT WOOT *CELEBRATE*!!!

The economy is pushing slower and slower, I hope everyone's still in a job! :(

I'd like to thank my latest sponsors:

Gary Lobley of POLAR CLEATS has sponsored my run! I appreciate your support. Everyone, get your polar cleats today! Especially you Torontonians and all the snow!!!
Kevin Yan of CCF, I'd also like to thank you for sponsoring me. I hope you like your current job and you will be able to stay on after the contract is done.

Please visit this page to sponsor me in my run on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.

Monday, January 12, 2009

GTS #6?

I think yesterday's run was the 6th GTS, but I've missed a few and that made me feel extremely guilty. The night before, I was attending an event for work where I had a few glasses of wine and a Caesar, but nothing serious enough to cause a hangover.

I slept at around 11 that night and was terrified I'd miss my run the next day, so I woke up at around 12:30 to open the door for my sister (who forgot her keys AGAIN), then I woke up again at 3:30am because I thought I slept through the alarm, then I woke up AGAIN at 6am to realize I had 50 more minutes to sleep in. Finally at 6:50, I got up, got dressed, washed up and made myself a very balanced meal.

For breakfast, I had the following:
1 slice of flaxseed toast
1 tsp of peanut butter on the toast
1/2 banana sliced onto the peanut butter on the toast
The other 1/2 banana I eat on its own
1/2 cup of 2% Milk enriched with Horlicks

...and I was ready to go!

I got to Bonnie's house earlier than expected, so we waited inside the condo lobby. Veronica came to pick us up and off we were to Granville Island.

Coach Mike told us we were running 7 kms today!!!! For someone who had not run (much) since before the holidays, I literally thought it was impossible. Our route was along the seawall from Granville Island through the Olympic Village to Science World and back. After I hit the halfway point, I started feeling a lot of pain in my shin. After talking to Sharon at work, she told me I had something called Shin Spints

According to Wikipedia:
(def.) Shin Splints: A general term used to refer to a painful condition in the shins. It is often caused by running or jumping, and may be very slow to heal. A formal medical term for the condition is medial tibial syndrome. One cause is an overused muscle, either as an acute injury or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). The muscle pain is caused by any activity that involves running, jumping, also sometimes even walking, swimming, roller skating, or other basic physical activity. An individual not accustomed to running may experience pain in the shin muscles the next day even after a single, short bout of intensive running. Sometimes shin splints is also a result of stress fractures in the shin.

After reading it more, it really seemed like it was quite serious, but I didn't feel as bad as Wikipedia described it, so I think I'm ok.

After the run, I felt great! Not as sore as I thought I'd be....until of course the next morning.

This Monday morning I woke up feeling quite sore. I had a horrible nightmare last night of cutting people to pieces and disposing them in garbage cans (?!) Apparently the person we cut up was a really bad guy that the cops couldn't catch....I swear I have NOT been watching too much Dexter.

In fact, last night, I watched "My Best Friend's Girl" with Dane Cook, the American Pie dude and Kate Hudson. All you need to do is look at the last person on that list and you already know what type of movie it is. Though I must admit, for a 29 year old with a 5 year old son, she's got an ASS I totally COVET.

In the movie yesterday, she ran a lot, and talked while she ran, that's an excellent pace to be running at. But then, I noticed how beautiful she is while she's running. If you're unfortunate enough to be one of my running mates during our GTS, you'll totally realize that I look like CRAP when I run. I have my headband, my cap, my capris and windbreaker. My face gets red and blotchy and my clothes get sweaty and stinky. How does she look like she's GLOWING when she runs? Sigh the magic of Hollywood.

That's enough of a rant today. I feel horrible I didn't get the dri-fit socks (You have to fundraise $1000 by January to get them).

Unfortunately, I haven't had any new sponsors in a while, so I have no one to thank. But please, keep passing the word on!

Please visit this page to sponsor me in my run on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Happy New Year!

I totally have been slacking off at posting since the holidays plowed in (literally). I've been busy with family and friends. In addition, Vancouver has been screwed this year with a LOT of snow, and training has been halted for....three weeks now, I feel extremely guilty.

But! I have been training at home myself!...Kind of...I feel rather set back.
But! The new year has come and I'd like to wish you and the ones you love a great new year. I wanted to get back on track so I did some research over the last few days for my fellow runners. Here, I thereby publish, The Best Traction Devices Available

Option #1 YakTrax Pro

This was the first option I looked at. I heard about it from my boyfriend's cousin who works at an Outdoors store. Unfortunately, they were all sold out, so I started researching online. This system works through a band that goes around the sole of your shoe and then a velcro that wraps around the top of your foot. The traction system works through a series of coils that wrap around the elastic cords and they help create traction in snow and ice.

The reviews I have read about this system have been good and bad. It's great when it's on tightly packed snow, it's all right on solid ice, but it's horrible on smooth surfaces (surfaces not covered by snow/ice) - as the coils tend to make it actually more slippery than it should be.

They come in three sizes:
Small (Men's 5-8.5, Women's 6.5-10)
Medium (Men's 9-11, Women's 10.5-12.5)
Large (Men's 11.5-14+, Women's 13-15).

For about $30 a pair, I'd rate this item 3 out of 5 stars.

Yaktrax can be found at MEC at this site.

Option #2 STABILicers Sport
After some more intense Googling, I reached our second type of traction system, STABILicers Sport. STABILicers work by having tiny bolt-like objects that screw onto the bottom of a rubber sole. Rubber can really help when you're indoors to prevent you from slipping, but the bolt-like objects are what works best in the snow. Unlike the YakTrax system, there are no slippery coils, but I'd recommend you to keep these babies off your parents' hardwood floors.

Reviews I've read about this system are fewer than the ones I've read for YakTrax but there seems to be little complaints about these. The only thing I might see an issue with these is that as a whole rubber piece you put on, it might look awkward or funny on different shoe sizes (esthetics issues for us lady runners :)

These also come in three sizes:
Small (Men’s 4-7, Women’s 5-8)
Medium (Men’s 7½-10, Women’s 8½-12)
Large (Men’s 10½-13)

For $20, I'd say they're a good bang for your buck 3.5 out of 5 stars.

STABILicers can be found at MEC at this site.

Option #3 Kahtoola MICROspikes Traction Device
I first set my eyes on these babies at www.uncrate.com. I thought, "Wow, I totally need these! And I want them! They totally look badass!" And they indeed are. This is the first traction device that actually incorporates the use of SPIKES in the design. A whole 3/8" long spikes that is definitely to keep you vertical through any adventure you take in Vancouver's snowy weather. The band that goes around your shoe is rubber and water resistant and it looks totally cool!

The reviews I have read have all been positive and I would really like to get this but unfortunately, the badass-ness comes with a hefty price tag. For $51, these babies can be yours - you crazy avid marathon runners!

Three sizes once again:
Small (Youths' 4½-7 or Women's 5½-8½)
Medium (Men's 7-10 or Women's 8½+)
Large (Men's 10½-14)

I rate these 5 out of 5 stars.

Microspikes can be bought at their website for $59 or from your local MEC for $51.

Option #4 Polar Cleats
Of course! I save the best for last. I finally decided to choose the Polar Cleats because of their very simple, but informative website. Polar Cleats is the official sponsor to the Torino 2006 Winter Olympics. In addition, I've read some very positive reviews about this product.

I called the owner to discuss these cleats and he explained that if you don't have boots, it might be a bit more difficult for these cleats to stay on, but he has included two velcro straps that will strap to your runners better when we're training. He's a super friendly guy and even offered to ship it out next day for me.

It's lightweight, affordable and easy to use. In addition, these are handmade locally in Smithers B.C. The company supports people with disabilities and hires them to hand assemble each product that is shipped out of their plant. This makes me a loud and proud Canadian and I will most definitely support this company...you should too!

The final selling point for me is an article I read online from Runners World. Check it out!

There are two sizes:
Size one (Women's 6-8.5 and Men's 6-8)
Size two (Women's 9-12 and Men's 8.5-13)

$24 a pair + $8 shipping this is a sure-fire winner! 5 out of 5 stars.

Purchase your Polar Cleats at their website.

Now that my review is done, I'd like to shoutout to my wonderful new sponsors.

Am Sagarwala and Aliya who is expecting their first child soon! Congratulations!
Here's a link to Am's business - for all your IT needs!
James Wu from TCBC, thanks for supporting my run, you need to come back to Vancouver ASAP - you sure you don't miss Sundin and Wellwood enough to come back? :)
Brian "Pilsbury" Li from RCCF, thanks for baking with me in first year and also running into me during my electives - why didn't you ever take the same electives as me since we have the same set to choose from?!?!!? You gotta come visit Vancouver soon.
Almond Au also formally from RCCF but now with IBM working in a very special department. I hope you're holding up well while Lili is gone, but can you believe how quickly time has passed by??? Thanks for supporting me, please come visit in Vancouver sometime!!

Please visit this page to sponsor me in my run on behalf of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.