April 20, 2013

spring cleaning lite

Source
I'm attempting to actually do this blogging thing (for the 19019350th time), and I've been making a couple of small changes here and there to the blog layout. I have labels! Things are labeled! You can sort by label! Whoooooo! I know, I know... total amateur hour.

And I've listed my race schedules for 2013 and 2014 (so far). Over that-a-way ----->! Under the picture of me jumping! I'll write more about being a really slow amateur runner some other time. Because I'm sure people really want to read all about the gruesome details of chafing and shin splints. ;)

Maybe one day I'll add things for social media, too! Y'know, those fancy little buttons so you can find me on Instagram and Twitter and all those other things that bloggers generally have on the their blogs! One baby step at a time, people.

This has nothing to do with anything... I just think it's funny.

April 16, 2013

boston

I don't really have any poignant or wise words to share with you.  

Yesterday morning, I posted about Marathon Monday and how fun it is to be in Boston during this particular weekend. In light of the shocking events on Monday, I seriously thought about taking that post down. It seemed so flippant, given the tragedy that struck the city just a few hours later.   

But I won't be doing that. 

If we are too afraid to enjoy the many good and wonderful things in life, then evil has won. 

There really is nothing like running that final stretch towards the marathon finish line. I only ran 3 miles before I got to cross that storied finish line. I can't begin to imagine how emotional it must be for someone who has run over 26 miles to reach that point. 

On a personal level, I pledge to run in next year's Boston Marathon. I feel as though I need to run in this race. I won't just be running for myself - I'll be running for all those who didn't get to cross the finish line this year. And I'll be running for my beautiful city. 

I'm so proud to be able to call myself a Bostonian. 

April 15, 2013

marathon weekend!

Today is Marathon Monday in Boston! There are 29,000 PEOPLE attempting to run 26.2 miles in this fair city of ours this year. That's a lot of runners! The city basically shuts down to accommodate for the race - most businesses in the areas around the race course close, too.

Before the main event, the Boston Athletic Association hosted a 5K. B and I signed up for the BAA Distance Medley - it's a race series (a 5K, 10K, and half-marathon) spread out over 6 months. "Only" 6,500 runners -including me! - participated in the 5K on Sunday. I've been attempting to run more over the last year as a way to challenge myself. The fun part of the 5K is that it ends on the marathon finish line! It was pretty cool running towards that big banner in the last little stretch.

This is me NOT running the Boston Marathon dressed as a ninja...
I'm not a fast runner... well, no, that's a lie. I'm a fair sprinter, but I'm not good at keeping a steady pace over longer distances. I run fast for short spurts, but then I have to "rest" for a while between spurts; this doesn't really work for running marathons because I burn out quickly. Maybe one day I'll be able to run the full marathon in Boston. It's on my before-I-turn-30 bucket list! For now, I'll stick to training for the rest of the races in the Distance Medley, and also a couple of runDisney events I'm signed up for in the fall and winter.

There was also a huge fitness expo the entire weekend with all kinds of running gear and accessories. Since I'm not actually running the marathon, I didn't think it was appropriate for me to buy one of the cool jackets. You can see (parts of) the jacket on the women standing behind me! So no jacket for me, but I couldn't resist picking up this little guy!

Spike the Unicorn!
The BAA logo is a unicorn, and I can't resist fuzzy stuffed animals. He's going to sit on my desk and remind me to keep working towards Boston 2014 (or 2015... I'm in no rush). 

Good luck to everyone running today! 

April 5, 2013

tokyo, japan (2012)

For some reason (laziness), I never posted about the rest of my Great Asian Adventure from last year, when I traveled to Korea, Thailand, China and Japan. Whoops! You can check out my photos from Seoul, Korea (aka the motherland) that I shared last May. Heh. 

Tokyo Sky-Tree - now the tallest tower in Japan!
How cute is this Domo bus?! Wish we had them in Boston!
I have a "Girls Bar" named after me in Tokyo, sorta... haha...

IF YOU DO NOT LIKE LOOKING AT PICTURES OF FISH OR SEAFOOD, STOP HERE.


I had a couple of "bucket list" items for my trip to Tokyo. 

1. CONVEYOR BELT SUSHI - Okay, I've actually done this before back in 2010, when I took an overnight trip to Osaka during my teaching-in-Korea days. But, y'know... IT'S TOKYO. Conveyor belt sushi is so much fun. They charge you per dish, and different-colored dishes are different prices. I had a pretty tall stack of dishes by the end. 

OISHII!

2. MORE SUSHI! Yeah, all I wanted to do in Japan was stuff myself with sushi. I got to try sushi from one of the tiny shops along the famous Tsujiki Fish Market, and have pretty much ruined sushi for myself forever... every time I go out to a sushi place in Boston, I find myself comparing it to the meal I had here. 

Fish on display at the market
I hope I get to go back to Japan soon! My younger brother's actually going to be doing the JET program, so maybe I'll use that as an excuse to visit him. And I may post pictures of China next... or maybe I'll forget until 2014. 

Last meal in Tokyo = the best sushi EVER + egg things