Good afternoon, friends and fellow Active.com users! It's been what, 2 months since I've written a blog post here? I am obviously off my game! I have to be honest. It's not the lack of blog posts that I'm referring to. I'm talking about my lack of activeness in the past two months, with or without my blog! It's crazy! I feel really guilty for not running and exercising as much as I used to. With job hunting, finally working, and now more job hunting and graduate school researching, I am mentally too drained to get myself out the door anymore. However no more excuses! I need to pick up my running again. There are no races in store for me in the near future, so I'll just casually get in short distance runs to build up my motivation for the time being. Also, I'll do some more weights, make an effort to go hiking, and all that other good active stuff! My mind and body need to become one again! Anyways, this post might be the last one you see for awhile until I run a race or do something of interest. Just letting you all know.

I now leave you with my last completed donation run! In case you don't know what I'm referring to, I ran the San Jose Rock N' Roll Half Marathon in October 2010. It was my mission around Dec. 2009 to start collecting donations for the Lazarex Cancer Foundation with the goal of about $750.  To reach my goal, I had an incentive around March 2010 that stated I'd run 1/4 of a mile for every dollar donated. That's like 187 miles. Since then I've been running those extra runs for people and writing them a nice little blog post. I was really good at running them, but after I graduated and got a job, it was difficult to find any time or motivation. Considering it's not yet October 201, I haven't passed my deadline in finishing these donation runs, so here's my last and final donation run:

My last donation run was for my good friend, Khang Vu, who donated $40 to the Lazarex Cancer Foundation! A little bit about Khang! I officially met Khang in my 2nd year at UC Irvine. I was at my other friend's apartment (Grace's), celebrating Jenny's birthday! Along with all my other friends, Grace invited her friends, Josh and Khang. We had cake, played pinata, and batted around skittles or M&Ms, I forget. The next day, I find a Facebook invite from Khang. From that point on, I would see Khang more often when I get invited (through Grace) to their apartment to hang out and we would become great friends! Overall, Khang is a very easy person to talk to! We hit it off pretty quickly. I think it's due to our geeky / nerdy common interests and sarcastic remarks haha. He's very nice, chill, and helpful, especially if you're asking for computer help! Coincidently, we're both from the same city. Khang is Grace's high school friend and it so happens they go to the local rival high school! Rawr! Not that I really care anyways... Now that we've both moved home, he's one of my reliable friends to hang out and just chat with! Oh, I forgot to mention we both have an affinity for coffee! He's the only one who likes getting coffee with me! Anyways, if you're reading this Khang, thanks for being an awesome friend! I know that $40 could have gone to more guitars, computers, or whatever it is you always buy, but thank you for making such a generous donation instead! Sorry you waited so long for this post, but it's finally here!

As for the donation run itself, I was to run at least 10 miles for Khang and that's what I did. My race ended a long time ago so my endurance has declined dramatically. I'm only able to run about 2 miles at a time now so that's why I've done 5 separate runs. I was supposed to finish it within a week or two, but I started working around this time. With a long commute, I never had the time and energy to get the runs in quickly enough. Fear no more, I'm done! I'd go into detail about the runs, but frankly it would be boring and I don't remember them anymore haha. All I can say is that they were all run on a tedious treadmill either at 24 Hour Fitness or at home. If it was at home, I was probably watching endless episodes of Friends!

Here's the proof:

Alright, that's it! I'm finally done with my donation runs! Yay! ::victory dance:: See you all next time!

Greetings! My donation runs are being completed ever so slowly! I’m sorry, I know it’s taking forever! Trust me, it hurts me more than it hurts you. My motivation and energy levels are dwindling so that’s why I’m taking so long. Now lets log in a donation run which I should have already done a week earlier.

On April 16, 20, and 28, I ran a total of at least 6.25 miles for my good friend, Minnie Low, who donated $25 to the Lazarex Cancer Foundation. A little bit about Minnie! I knew OF Minnie in middle school, but I actually didn’t get to know her really well until the summer before our junior year of high school. During that summer my friend, Sita, invited me over to her house for an all girl’s hangout. That’s when I was formally introduced to Minnie. Honestly I didn’t think I’d get along with her so well just because other girls are hard to talk to and I’m a shy person. However, Minnie and I hit it off fairly quickly! I think it helped that we were in a lot of classes together our junior year. We started developing many inside jokes and unspoken languages! I’m glad I met her that school year, especially since junior year is supposed be the “hell year” of high school. She was always there to listen to my problems and brighten up my days! To this day, we’re still really great friends! During our college years, I very much enjoyed my visits to her in San Diego and her visits to me in Irvine! I only wish we were still that close in proximity, but sadly I am back in San Jose. Still, I make sure to talk to her from time to time! If you’re reading this Minnie, thanks for being such an awesome buddy all these years and thank you for the donation! <3

Now about the run… I originally wanted to run Minnie’s donation run in one run, but so much time has passed that my motivation and my endurance has declined. Normally I’d at least do it in two runs, but as you can see, I did it in three. That’s how out of shape I am haha. Hopefully Minnie will forgive me. I’d also go into details about the run, but again, they’re not very interesting. 24 Hour Fitness treadmills. Enough said!

Have a great night, everyone!

Hey guys! Time for my donation run update!

On April 1 and April 5, I ran a donation run for my friend, Kevin Yu, who donated $15 to the Lazarex Cancer Foundation! Now a little bit about Kevin! I met Kevin in my sophomore year of high school in track and field. I was a sprinter and he was a distance runner. I don’t know how we actually started to talk to each other. I think it was through our friend, Mike, who was a year younger and also a distance runner. In one way or another, we formed a small track and field circle of friends in which we called LAM KLAMPZ (the letters each representing the first name of someone in the group). From then on, I started to talk to Kevin a lot more both in track and online. In our junior year, I joined the distance team instead and got to know him even more. I swear, I don’t think I’ve had any class with Kevin, but that doesn’t stop him from being one of my good friends that I still talk today (even if I don’t see him often). Overall, Kevin is a sweet guy. He’s very reliable and always there to cheer me up if I feel like I’m stuck in a rut. Seriously, one small Facebook status about me having a bad day and Kevin is there with some comforting comments! I talked to him way more in high school, but even today, I can IM him or meet up with him and feel totally comfortable. He’s a great guy and I hope he continues to stay that way. If you’re reading this Kevin, thanks for everything and the donation!

Alright, about the run… I had to run at least 3.75 miles for Kevin. Normally I’d do such a distance in one run, but I’ve been out of conditioning and my endurance is declining. I have to build it up again, so I apologize to Kevin for not (wo)man-ing it up and doing it in one go. The runs took place at 24 Hour Fitness and went well. I won’t go into details because it’s boring. Here is my proof:

Have a great evening!

Hi, guys! Time to log in my past donation runs!

On February 3 (Thursday), I ran my donation run for my good pal, Long Lam, who donated $15 to the Lazarex Cancer Foundation! I know, I know! That was 23 days ago! I'm clearly very behind in updates! Alright, a little bit about Long. I first met Long in the 8th grade in my math and PE class. He transferred part of the way during the school year. I didn't talk too him too much in math, but my fondest memory of him was in PE. Every Wednesday, students are required to run a mile (which by the way, I terribly hated). In alphabetical order, he sat behind me on the blacktop. Each Wednesday after the run, I'd ask him how fast he ran the mile. It became routine. He didn't talk much English back then, but he was really nice! I wouldn't really run into Long again until our junior year of high school in which we had the same AP Physics class! It had only been two years, but boy he was a differen't person! He was much much taller, could speak English fluently, and was quite talkative. Junior year was THE year that we would become great friends from that day on! Overall, what you need to know is that Long is an awesome person! He's very intelligent, reliable, and outgoing! I wouldn't trade him for the world! Even though we're pretty opposite in certain ways (me an introvert and him a big extrovert), he's always had my back in everything and doesn't judge me if I'm not as exciting as he is haha. He's also quite a character. For example in high school English our senior year, he knew I had many great ideas, but was too shy to express them. What does he do? He raises my hand for me and tells the teacher I have a comment to make. That's Long for you! If you're reading this Long, thanks for the donation and being a great friend!

About the run... Since Long donated $15, that meant I had to run 3.75 miles. That's exactly what I did! Unforunately I don't remember anything about this run since it was too long ago! I apologize, but I bet Long doesn't really care for a detailed description of a tedious run. All you need to know is that I ran it on a treadmill at 24 Hourt Fitness like I always do. Here's the proof of my run for Long:

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic day! My day has been long and tiring, but quite rewarding! If you can't tell by the title of this blogpost, I ran the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco 5k today with a few of my friends, which was a real treat because I've never run an event with other people before. Let me begin by first telling you how this group run started! My friend, Kristy, has been wanting to enter races so as a Secret Santa gift, her cousin, Tiffany, bought her registration for the KP 5K! To make the event more lively and fun, Kristy and Tiffany turned the 5K into a group event and invited friends to run and that's how there came to be a group of 6 people entering the 5K run: Kristy, Tiffany, Kevin, Christine, Steven, and me! On a side note, this was my first 5K.

Last night (the night before the race), I had to end my Chinese / Vietnamese New Year festivities early, leaving my grandpa's house by myself at 11pm. I got home, picked out some songs that would pump me up for about 35 minutes, got my clothes and stuff together that I was going to bring ready, and hopped into bed by 12am. Of course falling asleep was a tragedy. I just kept tossing and turning. It didn't have much to do with nerves... Though I was a tad nervous. It had more to do about worrying about not getting enough rest (since I had to get up at 5am) and the fact that I volunteered myself to drive to San Francisco, which is not something I've done before. I feared I would make the wrong turns and half of us would miss the race because we had to split into two cars (Steven wasn't able to borrow his dad's SUV).

So today as I said, I woke up at 5am... I brushed my teeth, ate oatmeal and a chewy bar, drank coffee, and watched part of Scrubs on DVD. I really wanted a banana, but of course on the day I want to eat one, I don't have any. I get into my brother's car and it's pitch black. I am disoriented, thinking it's still night time. I get to Kristy's at around 6:05am and chat with Kristy until she was ready and got to Tiffany's house around 6:30. We left into our two cars (with Kristy and Kevin in my car) towards San Francisco at 6:40 and get there at around 7:30am. The drive actually wasn't bad at all! No traffic... pretty straight driving... I made all the right turns until we get to the parking structure and I'm in the wrong lane. With everyone antsy to get to the race, there was no chance we'd be able to get back in that line so we ended up parking in a visitor parking structure at St. Mary's hospital. I wasn't aware it was a hospital at the time... We were now running late and pretty far from the starting line, so we just left most of our things in the car, including my camera. Instead I brought along my iPhone. We started walking to the starting line untilwe found out it would take about a mile to get there, so a majority of us starting jogging (especially since a good majority of us needed to hit the porta potties beforehand). Kristy and I go on ahead in our jogging... We get to the race in time, but didn't realize we were standing in a slower corral so it took us a lot of time to weave in and out of the crowds at the beginning of the race. After the race started, I ran at my own pace with Kristy disappearing from view. By chance I ran pass Christine and Tiffany who cheered me on.

The race was scenic, being in Golden Gate Park and all. It also went by really fast... The 1 mile jog to the starting line wore me out so I was already kind of tired after the first mile! There was water at the 1.5 mark, but I decided not to get any. I felt excessive by having a iPod nano strapped to my arm and then my iPhone in my hand haha, but for the record I hadn't planned on bringing my phone. I just needed it for the camera. The race itself was over in an instant, with Kristy finishing before me and cheering me on! After the finish, I continue to walk down and get free water, a shirt, and a goodie bag! I then run into Kevin who has also finished the race and we go find everyone. In the middle of searching, we hears cheers! It turns out a guy was proposing to his girlfriend who was running the 5K race! It was really cute! Once we found everyone, we took pictures and then checked out the expo, getting free samples. Next we were figuring out how to get to the shuttle to take us back to the start, but ended up watching the half marathoners, taking more pictures, and attempting to get back to the parking structure by foot... Little did we know it would take forever.

Instead of reaching the parking structure, we went to go eat at a Japanese Noodle place, which wouldn't open for another 15 minutes so we sat outside like hungry, tired, bums... After a fulfilling meal, we walked to the parking structure, said our goodbyes to the people in opposite cars and drove back home!

I got home, took a shower, and finished off my day by sleepily watching the Steelers vs. Packers Superbowl! By the way, Go Packers! Yup, and that was my 5K! It was very enjoyable and I hope to do it again with lots of people! It's always fun to race with others!

Here are some pictures I took with my iPhone:

At the finish.

Me with my former college roommate, Kristy! Our first race together!

One more group picture! Behind us are the half marathon runners!

And my results (pretty decent for someone who paces for the half marathon; I'm not trained in 5K):

Alright, have a pleasant night everyone! I'll report back with my two donation runs I did last week in my next blog post!

Hi guys! It's that time again... A donation run update! I am really lagging in logging in my donation runs. As always, I apologize. I'm just so lazy. Lets get to it!

On January 18 (Tuesday), I ran a donation run for Maryann Freitas, who donated $15 to the Lazarex Cancer Foundation! I first met Maryann in high school. I want to say it was in a class, but honestly, I can't remember if we had class together haha. My best memory of meeting Maryann was in the track and field team of our sophomore year. She was a thrower and I was a sprinter. I don't know Maryann too well, but from what I remember, she was a very nice person! She's also our best girl thrower, helping us get them points for our team! My best memory with Maryann was when I was at the track with Diana Dang and Cathy Le on a nonschool day to do some runs. Diana Truong might have been there too, it's been awhile... Anyways we were there at the track doing some runs and Maryann was on the field practicing her throws so we went up to her to say hi. Then she taught us how to throw... I forget what exactly we were throwing. It was either the shotput or the discus. I want to say it was the discus. I attempt to throw it and utterly fail! I already knew I couldn't throw it very far, but turns out I can't throw it straight either. Maryann watches us throw the discuses a few times, probably smiling at how horrible we are haha. Anyways, Maryann is awesome! Such a throwing arm! I applaud her... Those things are heavy! If you're reading this Maryann, I just wanted so say thanks for the donation and being so nice to me! I know that was awhile ago when you donated it, but it's difficult to get a lot of my runs in every week! Hope you're doing well.

Now the run... I ran at least 3.75 miles for Maryann at 24 Hour Fitness. As usual, the run went fine. Nothing bad I can really say about it. Afterwards, I worked out my biceps, triceps, hamstrings, and quads. I didn't do much weights cause the run took up a lot of my time. Here's the proof:

On January 19, I decided to just work out on the bicycle at 24 Hour Fitness for about 25 minutes. I wanted my muscles to heal so I could run 6.25 miles for Jaydi the next day. After bicycling, I worked out my legs: hamstrings, quads, calves, hips. I even tried out a new leg machine... I think it just works the hamstrings/quads. I also did back workouts and crunches. My healing / light workout didn't go as planned because the next day I was really sore and couldn't do my long run. I took the day off instead.

On January 21 (Friday), I did my donation run for Jennifer Dang (aka Jaydi), who donated $25 to the Lazarex Cancer Foundation. I met Jaydi in my senior year of high school in Californians for Justice (CFJ), a nonprofit organization / on-campus club. I think she was a sophomore at the time. I'm actually her older sister's friend, but that's some side information! Anyways, I joined CFJ and Jaydi was one of the members to give me a little tour of the CFJ office which was off campus. She was really friendly. I always enjoyed talking to her because she's so energetic and entertaining! She makes me laugh with her crazy nonsense haha. Jaydi was also a very dedicated member! She'd volunteer to lead certain meetings, do assignments, participate in the rallies, etc.! I wish I was THAT dedicated, but sadly I was not. I blame half of it on seniorits! Hm what else? I remember her calling me, Diana, and Cathy crazy a lot for running so much. Of course there are more memories, but I'm getting really sleepy and can't recall anything more at the moment. I apologize, Jaydi! If you're reading this, I just want to say thank you for donating so much to the Lazarex Cancer Foundation! $25 is not a small amount!

The run... I ran at home on the treadmill. I didn't want to run it on the treadmill at 24 Hourt Fitness because people would think I was crazy for running so many miles on a treadmill. I keep it private at home haha. I don't run outside because I'm not allowed to run alone. Boo! Anyways, I pop in my Aladdin movie and hope onto the treadmill with my iPod and get started. The first 3 miles went swell! Then walked for a bit. Then I ran another 2 miles or so until my legs started hurting. No fear though because I pushed forward. Overall, it was an okay run! I think it could have been better, but it wasn't bad. I am beginning to realize that 6 miles is my average distance before my leg muscles fail on me haha. Maybe I should stop doing halfs and do 10ks! Note to self: Get a knee brace already. Alright, here's the proof of my run:

Have a good night, everyone!

Happy New Year, everyone! It's the first week of the year and you know what that means! Reflection and resolutions!

I think 2010 treated me really well, in terms of both running and life in general. I had a wonderful 4th and last school year at UC Irvine. Grades were good, classes were interesting, went to Disneyland about 2-3 times, and had a blast with my friends and family. I did some new things for the first time like finally driving the crazy fast 405 freeway in Socal and going to a spa haha. And of course, I graduated college with lots of my family driving down to see me! Also, my dad (who had been laid off) and brother eventually found jobs so I'm very grateful for that! In terms of running, 2010 was my best year yet. I ran my second half marathon (the San Jose Rock 'N Roll Half) and even after the race, I'm still running a decent amount thanks to my donation runs! I'm serious... When I finished the OC Half, I stopped running for a LONG time. If I ran, it was very sporadic when I would do it. My 24 Hour Fitness membership keeps me busy! Now that I'm back home, I'm making up for lost times (from being in college) with my family and that's been going great! I really love being around all my cousins! Overall, a great year! Alright, now lets take a look at my running stats for 2010, which my Nike+ has recorded:

This chart makes me laugh. I really wonder what happened in March and June. I assume it was finals week in March and I was on Spring break. Then for June, it was finals week, graduation, and post graduation break. Yeah... That's probably it. According to the Nike+ site, I ran about 223 miles, although I probably ran about 20 miles more than that because of the SJ Half and other runs I might not have recorded. I average 2 runs a week and 5 miles a week. Apparently I burned around 18,675 calories and my best month of running was in August, when I ran 54 miles. Pretty decent right?

Okay, moving on to 2011. To be honest, I think 2011 might be rough... Or at least, I'm going to have quite a shaky start. Since I've graduated in June and since I've started looking in late September, I haven't found a job yet. It's making me really worried. I really wish I had some internships or past jobs during my college years to make me competitive, but sadly I do not. Not that I am lazy, but because I was a little scared I couldn't juggle everything. That, and I didn't have a car in Irvine so it was difficult to get around. In my first year, I was a biology major and that took up so much of my time. My grades were bad and there was no time to think about internships and jobs. I changed my major to English halfway through my second year, but my experience in bio still made me too scared to really do anything else. Then 4th year I learned too late of such opportunities and how helpful internships could be. I really hope to find an editor position (or something related, like a copyeditor) or technical writing position very soon. Better yet, I think my ideal job is to do anything to do with running, exercising, and writing/editing all together! Anything, but stay at home and be a bum all day for a year. I have to stay positive right? Let the doors open!

Usually I'm not much of a resolution kind of person, mostly because I can't really think of anything good to improve on. I hate general, broad resolutions, but this year I've decided to make some resolutions. Here they are:

1. Run at least a total of 300 miles by the end of 2011.

2. Run 3 races, one of which is another half marathon in another city (possibly San Francisco).

3. Do at least one Nike+ Challenge.

4. Go to at least 3 turbokick boxing classes at 24 Hour Fitness (since I've had trouble finding the time and courage to go now that I don't have Irvine's ARC membership to have Kristine as my instructor).

5. Buy new, legit running shoes! No more $35 shoes!

6. Find a job.

Hm, I can't think of anymore right now, but if I do, I'll add it onto the list. On a slightly random note, this isn't really a resolution, but more of a fun goal. I hope to attend a showing of Conan's late night show in 2011!

Have a great new year, fellow family, friends, and Active users!

Good evening, everyone! Since my last blog, I've ran three donation runs, but I haven't logged any of them in yet in this blog. I warn you that I am currently very sleepy and you have to forgive any major grammar mistakes I may make while writing this post. I can write this later but I know that I'll just keep racking up the runs and I'll never blog! Lets begin!

About a week ago on December 22, I ran a donation run for my cousin, Stacey Ho, who donated $10 to the Lazarex Cancer Foundation. A little bit about Stacey. Stacey had complained a few days prior to the run that I was running all these runs for everyone but her. I told her it was because I was trying to go in order of who donated first with the exception of some runs fitting conveniently into the little time I sometimes I have. Considering it was going to be her birthday soon, I figure I'd run one for her on her birthday and then blog about it the same day! However, I failed at this. Her birthday is on December 23 and I ran it on December 22, THINKING it was the 23rd haha. I guess I could have ran it again on the real day, but I didn't have time the actual day. Instead, I figure I would just blog about it on the right day, but I didn't have time for that either. So if you're reading this Stacey, I apologize for my lateness haha. Anyways, Stacey is a high school sophomore. My cousin, Tiffany, and I agree that she's very similar to me... a younger version in terms of our quiet, yet sarcastic personality. Though I have to admit, Stacey's cooler, more carefree, and has a much better fashion sense. Stacey and I have talked a lot more since I've graduated and returned home from college. We joke around a lot together and I like to tell her how annoying she is (because she is!). She's a big Harry Potter fan just like me. Oh and she's in cross country and can kick younger me (and probably current me) in a 5k race. Overall, Stacey is an awesome cousin and I'm glad to have her company! However, not too much company cause she's annoying. Just kidding! Thanks for donating, Stacey! I appreciate it!

Now the actual run... I owed Stacey at least 2.5 miles. I ran at 24 Hour Fitness on a boring treadmill. It was a good run. As you can see by the picture beow, it was a nice, constant run. No problem at all while bopping to my music haha. Afterwards since I had a lot of time, I worked out on every machine I usually like to use: triceps, biceps, quads, hamstrings, calves, lower back, and abs. Yeah that's all. My runs at the gym are very boring to describe. It's always the same. I need to learn how to use more machines or do other workouts. On a side note, I've been going to the gym around the same time and I'm beginning to recognize people. It's pretty cool. Maybe I'll learn names.

Here is the proof of my run for Stacey.

Alright, I am way too tired and lazy to write the next two donation runs. I'll update tomorrow or the day after. Have a great evening, people!