Just being thankful and some helpful tips

This last week was something I dreaded, which was getting sick before a race.  Race day alone is very stressful let alone have other factors that may hinder your performance and overall time.  Life isn't perfect, there will be times that obstacles are thrown at you and you will have to respond.  This is a great saying that I ran into before.  Not sure how accurate it is but it is true.

There were definitely days leading up to the event where I was just down and not sure if I could do it....even hours before the race.  Sometimes you just have to man up and take what this life throws at you and respond to the best of you ability.  A good friend reminded me that we aren't guaranteed to run again or do anything so we should just do it because we might regret it one day.  And boy was she right, after completing my third half of the year I was very thankful I completed it.  It was my worst time out of the 10 half marathons I have completed in my life but I learned a lot and finished under 3 hours.  I know if I look back on this day that I will not regret running that half marathon.  I may regret during the race but never after.  For those of you that are reading this, which I'm not sure why you are because I'm a terrible writer, live in the now and don't worry about what if because if you continue to ask what if then you may end up not doing much with your life and not be able to experience life.  With that said I will end this part of my post.  The next part below will take about helpful tips in saving if you want to participate in races.

Finish Line - Arbuckle to Ardmore Half Marathon

Photo credit - Carly Nguyen

As you know running can be expensive, well maybe not running but all the things to prepare you for running and running events.  First off lets talk about travel.  Under this umbrella term of travel you can include gas, hotel, food, drinks, etc.  Travel can get very expensive quickly so it is important to be very strategic in your planning.  If I am traveling out of state or maybe a longer distance I will try and pair up different events so that I can get my monies out of it.  Such as scheduling to go see a concert and running a race event (which I did this weekend), site seeing and race event, visiting family and a race event.  This way you aren't spending a ton of money just on race.  If you can find a pal to run with then you can split the cost.  I can go on about how to save but one thing I want to hit is registration fees.  Registration fees can pile up quickly, for example I have been documenting all of my races for this year and the price I am paying.  At this moment of time I have spent about $500 on race registration alone.  Yes it is expensive, but this does include 8 half marathons, 2 15K, 1 10K, and several 5Ks.  People ask me why I'm spending so much to run.  My answer is because I like the bling and it is an accomplishment for me to complete these races.  Back in high school I was very overweight and could barely run a mile without stopping.  Now I can run several miles and even complete half marathons.  Anyways back to talking about registration, there are various ways you can save, such as signing up earlier, attending race expos to get coupon codes for races (they are almost always free, I haven't ran into one that is not free), google searching for coupons, groupon, and signing up for a running membership with a club.  The cheapest way I found to paying the least for a race is signing up when at the very beginning.  For example, back in November I did a 5K in Tulsa and it was a very big race.  Well the next night I got an email that stated good job if you want to sign up for 2017 races you can and here are the prices.  In total it was $75 for a half marathon and a 5K (before all the fees), which was a steal so I registered for the race.  The registration is just opening for the first time since that deal and the price nearly doubled.  Generally registration is not double the cost but you never know.  Another example is I attended a race in Fort Worth TX and spun this wheel to see if I can win something free.  I didn't end up getting a free shirt or free gear but I did win 10% of a race in Dallas.  The code was cowtown10 and so me thinking of trying to save more I changed the code to cowtown30 because I remember it was on the wheel when I was spinning it.  Guess what it worked?  I was able to get 30% off of a race, which saved me almost 20 bucks.  I will admit you probably shouldn't do this but you have to save money any way you can.  I did try cowtown50 for the code but that didn't work.  Little things like this can help you save a lot during race time.  There are moments in life if you should not pay retail value.  At that point you are just wasting your money.  I hope this helps you in anyway possible.

If you have any questions or would like more information on something please let me know and I can comment on it or write something small in this blog.  Future topics will include rewards credit cards and other ways to save money in the racing world and just in general.

Thanks

Chris

Things we take for granted and moving forward

Earlier this week I got a sinus infection, which really sucks because this week I am supposed to be running my third half marathon of the year.  This week I took a lot of time off of work so that I didn't get my coworkers sick but also get better.  Luckily I was able to get a steroid shot to help get better.  A lot of us take for granted the little things in life, such as going to work, exercising, being to eat regular food, so on and so forth.  It is important to take the day by the horns.  There are so many people in the world that can't do the simple things in life.  There are various times in life that I take for granted, this last week put things back into perspective to cherish every moment we can.  Yes I am sick now but I will get better and be able to run on Sunday.  I am sometimes hard on myself for not being able to do my best but this Sunday it is okay to not run as fast but I should still put my best effort forth.  I will do my best and as long as I finish it would be worth the time and money.  Even if I don't finish, I tried and can move on to the next half marathon.  The nice thing about this race is I have 6 hours so even if I walked the whole thing I will be done before 6 hours haha.  For anyone going through a hard time remember that God has a plan but we just don't know what it is. If you are not religious, know that someone is watching over you.  

I have a love/hate relationship with running

When I was a kid I was definitely obese.  I was that fat kid who was made fun of and couldn't run to save my life.  Flash forward to 2013 I signed up for my first 10K and little did I know that it would be the start of my non competitive running career lol.  I wanted to say non competitive because I'm not a quick runner but I can run...well maybe jog but still.  As of today I have completed 9 half marathon, this even includes almost a two year break of not running in races.  I started running because I wanted to beat my brother, yes the rivalry still exist even though I am an adult.  I started running in Disney Race, which were amazing and an experience you had to go through but looking back at them they were way too expensive.  After a year of doing Disney Races I had to stop because of the cost.  The registration cost alone was expensive, let alone the flights, hotel, food, rental, and other expenses.  I enjoyed those races but now since I have bills and debts to pay it is time to buckle down...for the most part.  In 2016 I moved back to OKC and I am so thankful I did.  I have great friends and was able to get back into running.  I got very ambitious and started to sign up for races left and right...which sounds wonderful but after taking a long break it was tough.  I remember doing my first race after my hiatus, which was a 5K and I could hardly breathe when running.  At that point I knew I was out of shape and had to get my stuff together to get back into shape.  I got back in the gym and started the grind.  Being overweight isn't easy, I have struggled for years trying to get down to my goal weight but there are always obstacles and short comings that come my way.  Registering for races helps me be accountable for my weight.

Flash forward about four months I will start my first half marathon in almost two years.  I signed up for the Cowtown Challenge in Fort Worth Texas, which included two races in a weekend.  Being sort of stuck up I signed up for the 10K and half marathon challenge.  I have done a challenge like this before but it has been about three year.  I was definitely nervous about running.  I had a lot of challenges in my way but I wasn't going to give up.  Just want to remind you I'm not a small guy, I am 5'5 and weigh about 215 lbs so I'm definitely not an elite runner by any means.  I had some issues starting both the 10K and Half Marathon but with some determination and will I was able to finish both races with a good time...in my eyes.  I finished my 10K at 1:10:50, which isn't bad.  That is only about 10 minutes shy of my fastest 10K which is at 1:01:13.  I was able to complete my half marathon under 2:45 at 2:43:55, I was hoping under 2:30 but knew it was not going to happen.  I was happy under 2:45. Little did I realize that I signed up for three more races the next two weekends after Cowtown.

I get nervous about a lot of stuff and running is one of them.  Little Rock Half Marathon was my next race and I only had a week to recover.  I didn't exercise much the week before because of the soreness and wanted to make sure that I did not hurt myself before the race.  Since I had some time off I went down to Little Rock the day before so that I could volunteer.  That morning I really did not want to get up but you know I am glad I did.  I met two lovely ladies by the name of Mary, who was from LR and Pat, who was from Maine. They were both very nice and we had some great talks about running and life.  I enjoyed checking in runners and wishing them a good race because I know I needed it.  That night I looked at the forecast and there was a 50% chance it was going to rain.  I started to prepare myself mentally because running is one thing but running in rain is another.  It was hard to sleep knowing that I just did a half marathon last weekend and having to do another one very soon.  I got up on Sunday the 5th and looked at the weather.  Well it was going to be a wet race.  I grabbed my gear and headed off.  Luckily I have done a race in the rain, but my main concern was not slipping and not getting my phone wet.  What I did was bought some ziplock bags and stuck my phone in it.  This was the cheapest way I could keep my expensive phone from not getting wet.  Some may say why do you have to have your phone on you?  Well it's because I track all of my races and keep a log and then it's hard for me to run without music.  During the race I was definitely checking my phone to make sure it wasn't wet.  There was some moisture because of the heat that I was putting out but my phone was good.  The race started slow because of the large crowd, I was able to break loose and chose my own pace.  The race was not easy but there were parts that were really fun, especially when the course went in a semi loop and I was able to cheer on/high five other racers.  That made that short distance a lot easier. Needless to say I was able to shed about 4 minutes off of my Cowtown run and get under 2:40.  I was definitely proud stepping over that line and receiving my medal.  Granted I'm not number 1 or get any special prize but you know it is an accomplishment to finish a race.  In addition to being able to push yourself to the max.  In this race I was able to run/job for 10 miles without stopping, for me that is amazing.  Never in a million years did I think I could finish a half marathon let alone run 10 miles without stopping.  Push yourself as far as you can (without hurting yourself), you will be surprised and what you can accomplish.

Since I talked a lot about myself here are some information that may help you.
1) Aren't race registration expensive?  Yes they can be but if you do it right you can save some money.  For example, I try and register as soon as I can to save the most money.  Some times the difference in only several bucks or so and others it can be 40-50, it just depends on the race.  You can also defer your race or trade it to someone if something happens.  Sometimes there is a fee sometimes you are SOL.  Check the rules because every race is different. Also if you attend expos you can get some discounts or if you are on social media you can win entries into races.
2) Aren't hotels expensive?  They can be, but if you get a group together it can be cheap.  There are several things you can do, such as book on priceline or hotwire express deals.
3) Doesn't priceline/hotwire express deals hide the hotels?  Yes, but by using filters and using the percent off you can calculate which hotel you most-likely will get.
4) Don't you have to eat out all the time? You can or if you hotel has a fridge you can make your own breakfast, lunch and dinners.  Some races will give you food afterward, which can save you money.
5) Do races have time limits?  Yes most of them do, and some of them are very strict.  Review the rules and make sure you can finish or you may have just wasted your money.  I completed a Disney race and there were about 1500 people that didn't finish and that is definitely a waste of money.

If you have any other questions for me please let me know.  Until next time.

Getting started

I am not an expert in running but I have some helpful tips for you...well at least they were helpful for me.  I used to be the guy that never trained and just ran but after taking some time off and having issues with my body I started to take care of myself more.

1) Choose an app on your phone that will help you track your runs.  This will help with being able to analyze your times and being able to reach your Personal Record (PR).  My first mistake was switching apps at the beginning of my running "career" not really career but I like the sound of saying career.  I currently use Runkeeper and have so for about 4 years and love it.  I did use Nike + Run Club for a little and liked it but someone told me about Runkeeper just kept using it.

2) The next thing is a playlist, you can always run without music but for me the music distracts me from running and helps me go longer distances.  I have a race playlist that has all most of my favorite music...mainly country music.  You don't have to create a playlist as there are some playlist already created on Pandora and Spotify but I like running to music I know and my songs.

3) Purchase good shoes. I was against paying a lot of money for shoes because my cheap $40 ASICS were amazing.  Well the shoes started to get old and hurting my feet so I ended up buying other ASICS.  About four pairs in I still couldn't find a good shoe, I even tried to buy the same model but couldn't find it.  I ended up purchasing Brooks Ghost 9 and they weren't good until I got inserts.

4) Purchase inserts.  I tried purchasing inserts from Walmart and Amazon and putting them in my shoes but after four or five different inserts I gave up and went to a running shop.  The only reason why I went to a specialty shop is because I have been there before and know their staff is knowledgeable. I purchase these inserts about 2 weeks ago and have completed three races (2 half and 1 10K) and they are just amazing.  I purchased Superfeet Cooper due to the way my feet are shaped.  They aren't soft but when running they feel great.

5) Purchase gear.  These gears can be anything really.  I am very cheap and so when I first started running I just use my gym gear.  After some time I have transition and bought some running gear, such as compression socks, compression pants, compression arm things, running shorts, running shirts, running jackets...and the list goes one.  There are many reasons why I started to buy running gear and it's because they are made for running.  I'm not saying to go out and buy running gear at full price.  Ease into it and find stuff on clearance.  Most of the things I have were on discounts.  For guys please avoid cotton, because it will hurt when you run a lot.  Trust me.

It looks like you are ready to run.  You don't have to run 10 miles the first time.  Take some time and ease into it.  I remember in high school I could barely run a mile but now I can run miles and miles without stopping.  It will not happen over night.  There are many different strategies in running, some like a run walk system and others like me like to run as much and then do a run walk system.  When I train I try to run four miles without stopping.  If I am having an off week I will do a run walk because I don't want to injure myself.  I like running as much in a race because once I stop it is hard to start again and sometimes it hurts more when you walk instead of run.  You will figure that out shortly. There is no right way to run, do whatever works for you because you know your body better than anyone else.  Also you don't want to hurt yourself running.  I have experienced some issues and it really sucks so take care of yourself.  You are probably tired me of me talking so I will leave you to this.

Me

Thanks for checking my blog out.  I figured I would start one to give helpful tips.  Most of my blogs will probably be about traveling, education, running and some random stuff.  I will also share strategies on saving money.  I love traveling and saving money any way I can will help support later trips.  I will start off by saying I suck at writing so don't judge me.  Anyways for those that don't know me, my name is Chris Lee and I grew up in Southern California.  Spent majority of my life there before moving to Oklahoma City where I currently reside.  I get a lot of questions about why am I living here and the reasons I give people are the cost of living and my friends.  I moved here in 2013 knowing that I was going to move back after graduation but God had a different plan and I love living in this city.  I don't want to ramble about my life so lets get going.  My next post will be about running.