w a n d e r l u s t » running

Post It or Lose It

Jeff Nguyen — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 07:27:15 +0000

Been a clumsy few weeks and killed my ex-hd with all my pics. More reason to post pics of my beautiful life more often.

Soundtrack of Mi Vida: Rich Girls Poor Girls- Everybody Else

1/2 Marathon Man

Jeff Nguyen — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 16:44:12 +0000

Checked in to the race at 4:45am this morning along with almost 10,000 other runners. The sun hadn’t even risen and it was already 80 degrees; it was 90 degrees by the 6:00 am start. We were put into corals, like the bulls in Pamplona before they are set loose on the red scarfed runners. Well, instead of bulls I was shoulder to shoulder with some seriously fast moms. Did some small talking and it seemed like most folks had a few marathons under their belts already. It was a great vibe.

The beginning was slow going since everyone was jockeying for position and the gradual divergence amongst the runners, joggers, and walkers. The sound and rhythm of hundreds of pairs of sneakers hitting the pavement got the juice going. My concentration was little distracted by trying to figure out “passing” etiquette, group conversations, and a dude who must have over hydrated and so peed on tree within the first 100 yards of the race. Guess public urination in the happiest place on earth isn’t against the rules.

The course started in the park for the first couple of miles with the staff and Disney characters (who must have been cursing Walt in the heat) cheering us on. 8 miles were ran around the wide industrial streets surrounding Disneyland with cheerleaders, school bands, a mariachi band, and hula dancers stationed at every other mile cheering us on. The 9th mile was my favorite part of the course where we got to run around the outfield of Angels stadium. The last 2 miles were through downtown Disney. My face started to soften during the last mile or so and I started to have a mini-Rocky moment. With an ear to ear smile and happy drops of sweat rolling down and out the corner of my eyes, I thought “thank God, I almost forgot what accomplishment feels like.”

Finished 13.1 miles in 2:02.

Now I’m gonna hit up the Highland Park Swapmeet and get me a matching grill for my big ass, blinging medal.

Soundtrack of Mi Vida: I’ll Follow the Sun-The Beatles

13 Miles Later

Jeff Nguyen — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 08:34:00 +0000

My knees are sore but I done did the 13. Not gonna celebrate just yet, though. *little proud pat on the back*

One thing of note that I’ve enjoyed during my runs is all the smells I come across. If you know me, you know my nose. Dinner cooking, Jasmine flowers, wet grass, fast food grease, lingering perfumes, soapy shower steam, and the confluence of all those smells when you are running through dense apartment flanked streets.

Street art by Swoon, “I don’t buy that some absentee landlord neglecting the side of his factory is better than citizens participating in what happens to it. What if I can make something twice as powerful, so much tinier, and right at the ground where everyone is? What if I made something with my hands that became more important to people’s experience of the city?”

Dish of the Day: Comfort food classic, Chicken Fried Rice

Soundtrack of Mi Vida: Twirling of the ceiling fan and Low Stars – Calling All Friends

Running Through Your Mind

Jeff Nguyen — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 08:19:43 +0000

Friends and family sometimes ask what I think about when I am running. Besides thinking about the pain in my knees and occasional thoughts of “if I get hit by a car, can I roll off the windshield like Jacky Chan?” Physically, form follows function when I am running : keep a good pace, breath at a regular pattern, have your arms close to your side, be aware of peripheral things but focus and envision the finish line. Running puts me in a similar state of mind about my thoughts and emotions. Its an opportunity to organize my mental workspace–to sort and make sense of the tenuous clutter on my desk and tower of things in my inbox. There are emotions and thoughts I put hide in folders and bury under other seemingly more important matters. So step by step I lay them all out, examine, piece things together, keep what I need and toss out what I don’t. Efficient, mind and body.

2 months till 13 miles of huffing and puffing through the happiest place on Earth. I ain’t gonna go out like a punk and get picked up by the Micky Mouse golf cart. Lock down begins.

Soundtrack of Mi Vida: Honest Goodbyes – Bic Runga

Denouement

Jeff Nguyen — Fri, 11 May 2007 04:10:11 +0000

Taking a break from work. Been staring at the orange carpet pills on these cubicle walls for the last 15 minutes thinking about how the week went. Mind is kinda full, turgid with wishy-washy thoughts. Ok, gonna go run until it all sweats out through my pores.

Word of the Day is my horoscope…
Denouement
1. The final resolution of the main complication of a literary or dramatic work.
2. The outcome of a complex sequence of events.

Soundtrack of Mi Vida: So Sorry – Feist live video on KCR-Dub