There's an Imelda in Everybody

Imelda is the widow of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. She is the best known shoe collector in the world owning over 3,000 pairs! Can you imagine if she was a runner?! Her shoe closet would definitely be the envy of us all, right? I don't have the money to buy even a hundred pairs of shoes but this weekend, I managed to start with a tiny 0.1% start to building my personal Imelda Running Shoe Collection.

{Brand Testing: Asics, Mizuno, Adidas}

Each pair fit me really well. I gave them a test run at the shop and they feel exactly the way my favorite and well worn running shoes do. My plan is to test out these three different brands and then decided which one I feel best with. Then I'll probably stick with that brand after. We'll see. Another shopping score this weekend were these organic goya (bitter gourd) and cucumbers! I was hesitant on picking up the goya since the ones I had before very too bitter for my taste. Thankfully, these ones had just the right bitterness level and added a different flavor to my bento today. :D

{ODed on Veggies and Shoes}

After my first ever 12 miler, I didn't run on the weekend and cross trained with power yoga and biking instead. I did register for the November half marathon and only need to pay by September to make it official. Jo (Aki's husband) wanted to join to but he's expecting family from the States by then so it's a no go for him. Hopefully Rea will want to run at least the 10K. She's vacationing back in the Philippines so I'll ask her when she gets back. :D

After looking over some half marathon training guides, Hal Higdon's seems to be the best fit for me. With just two months' running experience, I think the Novice program's ideal. After all it would be my first race and I wouldn't want to overtrain and get injured. However, having done well with distance and wanting to work on my speed, I'm tempted to follow the Intermediate plan which includes speedwork. What do you think?

I had plans to ride a train to Nagoya to watch the World Cosplay Summit but the rain kept me from going. :S Maybe that explains why I ODed on shoes instead. :P With the rain turning everything gray outside, I had soulful food to warm my tummy.

{Udon}

Also, I had the last slices of the banana bread on a weirdly cool Sunday morning. This loaf lasted a week which was a miracle for me, a banana bread monster. A slice (plus some other food) before or after my runs was my "secret" running fuel the past week. As a matter of fact, I baked another loaf for this week's runs. Hope that one lasts at least until Friday. :D

{BB with Honey Roasted Peanuts and Coconut Flakes}

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Here's to a fantastic start to a brand new month!

Weekend Wii + Wee Bit of Sleep

I'm suffering from the Manic Monday Syndrome right now. I can't wait for the workday to end so I could nap, try a new eggplant dish, and go for an evening walk, then SLEEP. My weekend in bullets:

. Found some great produce Saturday morning.
. Made new friends and bonded over Wii, faith, books, and good conversation. This might become a Saturday Evening Socials kind of thing. They even created my own Mii! :P
. Nibbled on freshly baked brownies and okra tempura at said socials. Would love to try making the tempura with my okra but the heat is killing me.
. Ruined my optimal sleep streak by Wii-ing way past midnight. It was my first time playing it. I'm so behind, I know. :s Although it was fun, I'd still prefer real exercise any day of the week. You a Wii fan?
. Slept over at Rea's but couldn't really fall asleep. Hate it when that happens. Before I knew it, the sun was up and we had to go out for the scheduled run.
. Completed the entire lake loop on Sunday morning. Even if Rea opted to bike instead, I still pushed for a run.
. Learned about how a friend's eating habits are significantly different from mine. It's not a matter of who's right or wrong. As I don't like being judged for what I eat, I accept that what works for me doesn't necessarily work for others.
. Biked around to parts of the city I've never been to. Spent the rest of Sunday at the mall where I drank good coffee and snacked endlessly. Checked out running gear and bought some fun and soon to be tested snackies. :P
. Got rained on my ride back home but it did not bother me. It was a refreshing break from the heat.

That's it. It was a fun Wiikend and my only regret is not sleeping early last night. Now, I certainly feel like crashing. Must not underestimate the power of rest again!

{Hope this relaxing image helps me last the day. :P}

Here's to a great weekend! Unlike me, I hope you balanced all the fun with enough rest in preparation for the new week.

Biking Around and Free Vegetables

Before going out for another bike ride and have some Sunday shopping with friends, I'll leave a quick post. Yesterday, I biked 8 miles to meet with a couple friends just so we could run around the lake. I am so jealous they live so near. Rea and Del also climbed Mt. Fuji with me last year. They are going again this month! While Rea has been regularly running for a year already, Del does not run at all so he just biked along. Rea got busy around April and stopped running to focus on work (like me, they are also IT Engineers). Yesterday was her first run since April and she got really tired 30 minutes into the run so we had to walk the rest of the course. Goes to show how running should be a regular thing if one wants to maintain endurance. She promised we'll run the entire lake perimeter next time so I'm hoping this will be a regular weekend workout. We'll see.

{Lake: Pic From Google}

As if my veggie supply is not enough, I've been getting free veggies from workmates. Some of the people I work with have farms and they sometimes share their harvests with us. I have received the biggest reddest tomatoes, potatoes, and melons in the past. This week, I received another big bag of potatoes. It was just too much I had to share the rest with friends. Hahaha!

{Unfamiliar (for me) Melons}

The melons I received before where not the usual melons that I know of. It was my first time to try these and I didn't know how to cook them. They told me these were pickled. Having no pickling skills at all, I just randomly added them to soups, sliced and ate them just like cucumbers, and added them in sandwiches for the crunch. I'm still alive so I guess that was okay. :P Have you tried pickling? What fruit/veggie have you tried for the first time recently?