running in South Korea

Marathon training means having to run many miles even while on vacation.  I knew the hotel we were staying in had a treadmill, so I could do the shorter runs there, but there's no way I could do my two long runs on the treadmill.  I searched for places to run and asked my friend who's living in South Korea what she would recommend.  She told me nobody really runs on the streets in and around Seoul, but there is the Han River that has a bike path along most of it where many people go.  Sounded good to me.

While not all runs went exactly as planned, or hoped, I would say overall I was pretty successful in maintaining my training while in South Korea.  Here's what happened:

Friday:  35-40 min easy was on the schedule.  If you read my last post, you know that we left Thursday morning and did not arrive in South Korea until Friday night due to the time change.  I was exhausted when we got there and went straight to bed.  No run.

Saturday: I woke up before my alarm went off...around 4:30 I think it was.  My body just didn't want to sleep any more.  I went to check out the gym at the hotel and use the treadmill.  The gym was small, 3 treadmills, a bike, some dumbbells, and a massage chair.  There was no fan, or air conditioning.  It felt warm before I even started running.  I ran 45 min easy + 4 x 100m strides.  I was drenched from head to toe when finished.  Oh how I love running on the treadmill (sarcasm).

at least the view wasn't so bad

Sunday: The plan - run 20 miles along the Han River while my mom, brother, and Ryan entertained themselves for a few hours.  The plan did not go quite as planned.  The food in Korea is very different than home.  There are not as many gluten free options, so my dinner Saturday night was very small (chips and guacamole).  Sunday morning I woke up starving and had a Picky Bar I brought.  We went to Dunkin Donuts and I had a couple eggs with cheese (no bread), coffee, and water.  I hoped it would be enough, but I had a feeling it wouldn't be.

eggs served on a real plate
Dunkin Donuts in S. Korea > Dunks in the US

We took the subway to the stop we thought was the right one for the river.  We ended up walking in circles for probably 20 minutes before we found it, only to realize another stop was right next to it.  Live and learn.  When we first saw the river my first thoughts were excitement and awe.  It was beautiful.  I was pumped to have the chance to run in such an amazing place.  

waiting for the subway

do I really get to run here??

My plan was to run 5 miles one way, run back to where I started, and then run 5 miles the other way, and back to where I started.  As soon as I started running I felt off.  I felt like I hadn't had enough to eat and I could feel the intense humidity immediately.  I tried to take it slow and focus on the views around me.  I ran 5 miles, turned around and headed back.  I felt hot and thirsty and had drank a lot more than usual for how far I had gone.  Around mile 7 or 8 I decided to take a few chews to see if it helped my energy.  I ate three, had some more to drink and continued on my way.  It didn't help.  As I approached the area where I started and reached 10 miles, I knew it just wasn't going to be my day.  My clothes were soaked from sweat and I didn't have anything left in the tank to continue.  I planned to meet my mom, brother and Ryan 3 hours after I started.  I tried to walk a little more to kill some time while I waited for them, but even that felt difficult.  I sat on the steps and waited.  After only a few minutes I heard Ryan yell my name.  They had come back early thankfully and were having something to eat close by.  I was happy to see them, but bummed it was much sooner than I had hoped.  I felt defeated and upset that I didn't have a long run in me that day.  But I knew the reasons, which helped keep my frustration at bay.  I knew I could give it another shot the following weekend.

Monday: Woke up early again and ran easy on the treadmill for 40 minutes

Tuesday: Back on the treadmill, 15 min warm up 10 x 1 min on, 1 min off @ 10k pace, 10 min cool down.  The treadmill pace was kilometers/hour, so I didn't really know what pace I was running.  I just ran harder for a minute, and then easy 10 times.  This workout typically isn't too hard for me, but this day it felt tough.  I was still struggling to find enough food to eat and it was taking its toll.  Being able to eat the foods I need and fuel the way do for running is something I took for granted before this trip.  I definitely realize now, more than ever, how important it is.  I was definitely feeling the effects of lack of fuel.  

Wednesday: 40 minutes easy on the treadmill, felt ok

Thursday: The sky was pretty hazy most of the time we were in S. Korea.  However, Thursday morning the sun decided to show its face.  What's worse than a run on the treadmill in a warm gym with no air?  A run on the treadmill in a warm gym with no air in the sun.  It had to have been 80+ degrees in there.  Not fun.  I did a very slow 15 min warm up and 4 sets of 1000/400 (1000's @ 10k pace - 7:55, 400's @ 5k pace - 7:09 with 30 second rest in between and 3 min rest between sets).  Other than being extremely warm, I felt pretty good.  I went extra slow on the rests and drank as much water as possible.  I was happy to have my last treadmill run in S. Korea done. 

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 20 miles along the Han River, take 2.  This time I made sure to eat a decent dinner the night before, and we went to the buffet in the hotel for breakfast so I could have more than just eggs.  In S. Korea they have rice, or would have rice, with every meal.  I love sticky rice, and it was a great substitute for my normal pre long run breakfast.  I had rice, an egg, some fruit, and was ready to give it another go.  This time my mom, brother, and Ryan were going to rent bikes and bike along the path close by.  Ryan carried some extra water for me, and they checked in with me every now and then to make sure I was doing ok.  It was a huge help.  This time I started out going the other way, ran 5 miles, turned around to look for my family.  When I met up with them, I turned around again and ran a few more miles before heading back.  The weather was beautiful.  It was a little warm, but the sky was clear, there was a nice breeze, and most importantly, there wasn't much humidity.  I took my time, enjoyed the views, and finished all 20 miles.  It was perfect. 

beautiful views...obviously pretty happy

me running, my brother and Ryan biking by my side
loving it

Sunday: Rest - traveled home 

Overall I feel pretty good about how training went.  I didn't feel as well as I have been, but considering the conditions, I think I managed ok.  We walked constantly while there as well, which I think contributed to some of my fatigue.  I feel very fortunate to have been able to run along the Han River.  It was definitely a highlight of the trip for me, and one of the most beautiful places I have had the opportunity to run.  

South Korea Part 1

I could probably write a novel about my trip to South Korea, but I'm going to try to just highlight the good stuff.  This first post will be about what I saw, did, and ate.  I'll write a separate post about running and training while there.  Many pictures included.

Thursday, April 24th, I got on a plane for a very long flight to South Korea.  My younger brother, who is 17 now, was born in South Korea.  He was adopted by my mom when he was 5 months old.  My mom always told him when or if he was ready to go visit, we would.  He decided that this was the year he wanted to go, so we went.  We got on a plane Thursday morning at 8:00 in Boston, flew 6 hrs to Seattle, got on another plane and flew 11 more hours to South Korea.  South Korea is 13 hrs ahead of the east coast, so it was Friday night around 7:30 by the time we got there.  Needless to say we were all zombies by the time we got there and went right to bed.

waiting to board the plan at Logan

Mountain poking through the clouds close to Seattle

Flying in to Seattle

Lunch at the airport in Seattle

Back on the plane, Korea here we come!

Saturday we planned to meet up with a friend who is currently living in South Korea teaching English as a second language.  She's been there for a few years and knows her way around.  She offered to show us around for the day, so we obviously took her up on that.  We walked around the city, visited Gyeongbokgung Palace, had our first authentic Korean food experience, did some shopping, more walking, and then crashed early.  Adjusting to the time change was not easy.  It took about 3 days before we were able to sleep past 6am and stay awake past 8pm.  

View from hotel

thank God for Starbucks

lanterns were hung around the city for Buddha's birthday 

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Shopping in Insadong

when in Korea...do as Koreans do. Peace.

Day 2 we went to the Han River so I could go for a long run.  I'll write more about that when I write my next post.  When we got back from the river we got a late lunch at a Mexican restaurant my mom read was good.  When in Korea...eat Mexican?  Anyways, it was delicious.  

Han River

Trying to find Mexican food

Found it!  Obviously needed a margarita

South Koreans wear matching "couples clothes".
...this was the best we could do

Day 3 we went to an aquarium.  It was inside a mall that was being built.  We took the subway to most places.  Their subway system is really great.  Clean, huge, and easy to navigate even if you don't know how to read or speak Korean.  Most things are written in English as well, which helped us out a lot.  

Dory and Nemo

Hey there 

Day 4 we went to the National History Museum.  When we got there their were a bunch of school boys waiting outside the building.  A few of them approached us asking where we were from.  We told them Boston and their response was "baseball"!  They started telling us they were on the baseball team and talked to us for a few minutes.  They were super cute.  

Day 5 my mom and brother went to the DMZ.  Ryan and I stayed back and walked around Seoul some more, and did some shopping.  We got lunch at a Korean BBQ restaurant, which is really popular.  The tables have burners in the middle of them and they give you the meat uncooked to cook on the burners in front of you.  Included are a bunch of side dishes, which always includes Kimchee (fermented cabbage with spices and sauce, it's sweet, spicy, and they eat it all the time).  Later that day we bought some Soju (very cheap rice wine), which they often drink and I had heard a lot about.  Obviously, I had to try it.  We were pretty tired from the previous days, and took the afternoon to relax in the hotel and drink some Soju until my mom and brother got back.  When they got back we went to yet another Mexican restaurant that was absolutely delicious!  South Koreans definitely know how to eat and have lots of good food available.  

Korean BBQ, selfies, and Soju

Day 6 we went to another palace and toured the (not so secret) secret garden.  It was beautiful.  There are many palaces in South Korea, where the kings used to live.  They keep them preserved and are big tourist attractions.  Later that day we went up to the top of Namsan Mountain, which is really just a big hill.  The views from the top are amazing.  We took a tram to the top, and walked back down.  At the top of the mountain there is Namsan Tower.  We went to the top of the tower, which has 360 degree views of Seoul and South Korea.  It was incredible to see all the buildings and mountains surrounding the city.  Also at the top of Namsan Tower are "love locks."  There's a fence where couples have put locks to signify their forever love. Ryan brought a lock with him to put on the fence for us.  I didn't know he did that until we arrived in Seoul (awwww), it was really sweet.  

walking through the secret garden 

   

view from the tram

view from the tower

after placing our lock,
you can kind of see them on the fence behind us

Namsan Tower all lit up

Day 7 we went to the Korean War museum.

cheesing in front of the museum

Namsan Tower in the background

Day 8 we went back to the Han River so I could do another long run (again more about that later).  When we got back from the river we met up with our friend again for a late lunch.  She took us to a restaurant to try Samgyeopsal, which is another popular meal where they bring the meat raw, and it cooks on a grill in front of you.  It's typically pork, we also got beef.  They serve a bunch of side plates with it, rice, and lettuce leaves to wrap everything in and shove it in your mouth.  It was delicious!

the Han River was beautiful! 

Sunday it was time to go home.  We got on the plane at 10 and landed 13 hrs later in Toronto.  From there it was an hour and half on another (very small) plane to Boston.  We were very sad to leave, but ready to go home.  The flights didn't seem quite as back coming back as they did going out.  The trip was an amazing experience and one that I am so lucky to have had the chance to take.  

back at the airport, sad to leave

view of the sunset from the plane, when we left Korea it was morning,
we flew in to the night and then back in to the sun...it mind boggling

Final notes: Seoul is so different than anywhere I have ever been before.  I was blown away by the number of people in the city at all times.  We looked it up and there are over 10 million people living in Seoul, almost 15 times as many as those living in Boston.  You are constantly bumped in to and weaving around people walking through the city.  It took some time to get used to that, as I'm not a big fan of extra large crowds.  There was no escaping it.  There is shopping everywhere.  There are various different areas throughout the city that are lined with stores, restaurants, carts set up to sell things, and carts full of food.  They have tons of different street foods.  We made the comment that South Koreans love to walk, eat, shop, and repeat.  It was definitely an incredibly eye opening experience that I will forever remember. 

Up next: running in South Korea.        

a new 10k PR

On Sunday, April 6, I ran only my second 10k.  I've decided really love this distance and want to find more 10k's to run asap.  I'm pretty sure about an hour after the race I was already saying I want to run another one NOW.  I had been looking forward to this race because I ran it last year and, in all honesty, I was excited to try to beat my time.  I had a pretty disastrous first race  of 2014, so I was ready for redemption.  Training had been feeling much stronger lately than at the start of the year, and I was ready to give it my all.

The race didn't start until 1pm.  It's always strange not racing first thing in the morning, but I enjoyed knowing I could sleep without an alarm set, and being able to take my time getting ready.  Plus an added bonus was that my super speedy friend, Monica, on the west coast was also running a 10k that started at 10am.

10am west coast = 1pm east coast.  Perfect!

Sunday morning started just like any other race morning.  Get up, make coffee, make Nuun, sit on the couch, drink said coffee and Nuun, catch up on twitter, make breakfast consisting of a gluten free bagel w/ peanut butter, nutella, and a banana on top, sit on the couch some more, stretch, foam roll, and make multiple bathroom trips in between.  Around 11:45 I was ready to head to race with my chauffeur and head cheerleader, Ryan. 

<3

We headed out the door with what I thought was everything I needed.  I made the comment, I need to be there by 12:30 to get my number so...uh...step on it.  A few minutes later it hit me.  I forgot my watch.  Cue freakout.  OMG I forgot my watch, I need my watch, what am I going to do, tears, AHH.  Ryan was on it, we got off the highway, banged a u-turn and were on our way back.  I grabbed my watch and we were on our way again.  Deep breaths.  Ryan helped me calm down and refocus.  Everything would be fine.

We got to the race at exactly 12:30.  Ryan dropped me off so I could grab my number and he went to park the car.  I got my number, found Ryan, and had plenty of time to spare.  Few.  My mom and brother also came down to cheer me on.  We found them and it was time to go shortly after.  I lined up somewhere between the front and the middle of the pack.  There was a 5k and 10k option for this race (as well as walkers), so I was trying to decide where to go so I could pace myself for the 10k but also not get trapped somewhere in the back.  

 being weird as usual

I was really hoping to finish this race under 49 min.  I felt like I was capable (and still do).  I started out strong and on pace to finish where I had hoped.  I felt strong through the first half and was ready to fight for it.  Unfortunately, the last mile decided to give me a good kick in the butt.  The wind was strong and the hills slowly wore me down.  

Mile 1: 7:44

Mile 2: 7:50

Mile 3: 8:02

Mile 4: 7:56

Mile 5: 8:02

Mile 6: 8:16

Last 0.2: no idea, I forgot to stop my watch when I crossed finish line.  This is becoming a bad habit. 

I crossed the finish line at 49:32.  I didn't break 49 that day, but I did finish with a new PR.  

I think it's easier to be disappointed with yourself than it is to be proud.  Initially was I disappointed?  Sure.  I so wanted to cross that finish line and see 48:xx.  But I didn't.  Instead I saw 49:32, which was 17 seconds fast than last year.  Yes, I wanted more, but ultimately I wanted to run faster than I did last year, and I did.  I am proud of myself for that.  I am making progress, and I know I still have the potential to run faster.  

Some take aways from Sunday: 

• I didn't give up.  There was more than one time in that last mile or so that I wanted to stop.  I wanted to walk.  I was hurting.  Bad.  I didn't stop, I didn't give up, and I didn't walk.  I didn't finish it as fast as I had hoped, but I kept pushing even though I was in pain.  That in itself is a huge accomplishment for me. 
• I am not exactly in what I would consider the best shape.  I put on some lbs over the winter months that I am still struggling to get rid of.  Even with the added weight, I still managed to run faster than I did last year.
• Training over the past couple months has exactly been all rainbows and butterflies.  Only in the past few weeks have I really started to feel like myself again, which gives me hope that more good things are to come.  
• My average pace was 7:59.  If you had told me a year ago I would be running races of any distance with an average pace of 7:xx I probably wouldn't have believed you.  Now, my 5k and 10k PR average paces are under 8 min/mile.    
• I experienced a runners high on Sunday like I haven't felt in a while.  I walked away saying I love running and feeling like my race fire was re-ignited.  I felt like over the winter I lost it a little, but with the return of the warmer sunshine and a better race under my belt, my confidence and drive have been restored.

Most importantly, I must always remember this quote from Kara Goucher that I love so much and holds very true in this case.  "Don't try to rush progress.  Remember - a step forward, no matter how small, is a step in the right direction.  Keep believing."  

I am making progress, and I will keep believing that I can do great things.