Monday, March 9, 2026

Episode 38: Marathon 6 and ironically on my 38th Bday

 Woah its my birthday today and I'm posting my 38th episode on my 38 birthday!  ekkkk!! 

Yesterday I ran my 6th Marathon and the 4th time I've run LA Marathon. Here is my summary:


MILE 19:57Took a pee break immediately at the start of the race.
MILE 28:17
The first half of the marathon is my favorite part of the course. You run past Echo Park Lake/Silverlake/ Los Feliz and this year they had the entire set up for the Oscars in Hollywood which I don't think has ever been set up in all my past runnings of the marathon before. Unfortunately I didn't see anyone I knew during these miles.
MILE 38:27
MILE 48:16
MILE 59:12
MILE 68:46
MILE 78:28
MILE 88:30
MILE 98:36
MILE 108:33
MILE 118:31
MILE 128:26
MILE 1313:18I knew once I hit 10 miles is when I would need to start worrying about my body holding up. This was when I started to cramp up for the first time in my left calf but found someone with biofreeze to apply onto my calves. Whenever I had a chance I would take the opportunity to apply more biofreeze/icy hot to my calves.
MILE 149:30
MILE 159:02
MILE 1610:17Definitely the fastest I've ran down the big hill on Doheny St.
MILE 1711:24I won't lie, there was this women that was encouraging people on their run but way too aggressively. I did not like it.
MILE 1810:23Saw my friend Bryan and he ran with me for a little bit!
MILE 1910:18Almost all my friends were on this mile! Elaine, Frank, Matt, Devon, Lu, Peter, Garrett, Jason!
MILE 2011:45
MILE 2121:11I practically walked this entire mile and met a new friend trying to go for a PR but wasn't her day unfortunately.
MILE 2214:04
MILE 2312:54I started to feel "better" my calves weren't cramping up as much but were just super tight.
MILE 2412:51
MILE 2511:19Saw Chelsea and Huddy!
MILE 2611:13Saw Sylvia and family!
FINISH4:39:59Not my best performance but I'm glad I finished. I aim for next year.

This year has already had its ups and downs and this race was stressing me out so much.  I am glad its over.

I am so appreciative of my friends that came out to support me on NOT my best day.  It means so much more that people came out to support me under those conditions. I can't wait to actually put in the work for next years marathon.


Friday, January 16, 2026

Episode 37: 3 year Anniversary...

Please play this song while you read this post:


Its been a month since my last post and I won't lie... I've been struggling mentally.  EVERYTHING reminds me of her but that's obvious, right?  It was a significant time of my life with a person that I thought I would be together with for the rest of my life. Of course that came with my doubts but I was still hopeful. 

I've been finding memories and connections with whatever I do since that day.  I posted constantly while I was in NYC and it felt all performative.  The appearance of having a good time but in reality I was miserable. I was not myself while I was there.  Every market I went to reminded me of her let alone the entire city.  I connected NYC as the last place we broke up in 2023. It was the place we kissed in the rain running from scaffolding to scaffolding kissing passionately under each one prolonging the night as much as we could. At the end of that night in 2023 we ended up "breaking up" in Brooklyn and by the time I arrived back in the lower east side the sun was up and guess what?  I was miserable then too.

When I got back home in Palatine Illinois I finally felt comfort.  I had inklings of normalcy in NYC but it was more consistent in Palatine.  As soon as I got home I told my mom about Alice and immediately she asked, "Are you okay?" I know it's only a few words but how my mom said it is all I really needed.  My mom is my #1 fan and I know that. I wasn't going to talk about it with my mom, at least not yet, I want her to still have the best possible perception of Alice. The only reason I told my family was because I wasn't going to lie to them during the holidays.  Only my immediate family though.

We had a family shoot which was fun but was a reminder that I was alone too.  We had "couple" shots and the photographer asked if I wanted to take a solo shot.  I'm not sure if this actually happened but I felt my sister and sister-in-law look at each in a stare while I responded, "Nah, I'm good..."  These small interactions do make me feel seen by my family and I know they have my back at the end of the day.



Returning from Palatine I had my NYE party in LA, celebrated with friends, and then announced the countdown as a I watched my friends celebrate the New Year. Time seemed to stand still the volume lowered and I reflected as friends either embraced or have their New Years kiss. It was a tough moment but I was happy at least surrounded by my friends.

From then to now I ran a youth tournament and have tried my best to stay busy as much as possible.  Thinking of Alice will continue to be inevitable. Even running the tournament it just reminded me how she volunteered to help me in 2023.

LEIOUT 2026

I thought about not going to Leiout this year.  Mainly because I was going to the house where Alice and I first met and also the bank account ain't looking the greatest. But going was probably the best thing I could do.

So I ended up going.  I went to Lu's to carpool to Huntington Beach and as soon as I walked through the door he asked, "Have you seen Alice's story".  My heart dropped,  as soon as she broke up with me I blocked her in everything to assure nothing like this would happen. Lu apologizes but I NEED TO KNOW NOW. 

Her story was her in San Francisco, which I wasn't surprised about. She wasn't going to Leiout so I figured she'd use it to interview at different places. She practically has no days off left until she's done with residency. In her story she says, “I can get used to this.” And that’s all it takes to have my weekend start spiraling.

I was determined to still have a good time.  This weekend I was a yes man and I was ready to party hard. Friday I stayed out until 4AM talking with a friend about her relationship issues well into the night.  She had no idea about my own but it was nice to hear how much she loves her husband and what they're doing to work on things.

Saturday was definitely fun. It just started off a little rough. Tiffany, Alice's roommate, was at our Airbnb before the party and she handed me all of my belongings that Alice was holding onto. So guess what?  I spiraled, but I fought it.  I warmed up half way through games at the house and was okay by the time we left. At the party people were trying to get me to hook up with other people but I'm not ready for that. I did hug every single friend I saw and danced the night away. It is always awesome being surrounded by friends.  I felt the support all night and I'm glad I left the house.

Monday after Leiout unfortunately I was left alone with my thoughts crying a little bit on my own in the morning and asked a friend to get coffee and immediately broke down when talking about Alice again. Whenever I cry I wonder what exactly is the trigger for me.  What causes me to lose control?  But anyway, we talked for 4.5 hours at that coffee shop.  I'm not going to go into detail but it was definitely something I needed and once again so grateful for the friends that I have.

There will continue to be these impending milestones where I will cry.  I do not know all of them and definitely look forward to none of them.


Honorable highlights:
1/16 Started therapy. It went well?



Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Episode 36: Day's 1068 & 1069 of Alice

January 13th, 2023 (friday of Leiout) -  Monday December 15th, 2025

Monday December 15th, 2025 (Day 1068)


The Friday prior to this date I decided to reach out to Alice. This would be the first interaction between the two of us since she broke up with me on Saturday November 29th.  Why did I want to reach out? I wanted to tell her how I felt in person or at least get some closure, but I didn't get a response.


The Sunday prior I decide to send out one last message to let Alice know that I was still flying into Boston on that Monday.  If she didn't reach out to me by Wednesday I would be taking a bus to NYC.


Monday morning I received a call from Alice on my bus ride to the airport I could hear her sniffling and I asked if I could call her later, she hung up on me.  During the end of my flight I received a message from her telling me that she'd pick me up from the airport.  I obliged since I wasn't sure if I'd get another opportunity. With the remaining 1.5 hours I started writing out my thoughts.  Unfortunately most of my notes were on the internet so I didn't have time to review them.  So immediately and desperately I went straight to hand written notes to jot down my thoughts. I wrote 3 pages of tangential jargon where maybe only a few lines were useable.  I was out of time.


The ride from the airport to where I was staying was roughly 20 minutes away. The conversation started off hot, in a bad way. I pretty much confessed my love to her and she let me know that she was done with the relationship. She was tired of trying.  I tried to understand what about our communication was off or what needed improvement, but all she could do was refer to a past conversation where she couldn't get through to me.  Specifically a 3 hour long conversation where she couldn't reference exactly what was talked about so unfortunately it gave me no answers.  Now to be clear, I am putting no blame on anyone here.  I am literally just stating what happened.


What was definitive was that she wanted to move on.


I would be lying to you if I said I was surprised with the outcome. There were signs well ahead that I could have brought up. Post work calls became less and less. She didn't want to share moments together, ie watch shows together.  We would start watching shows but then she would finish them on her own at home. It was initially her idea to have us watch movies or shows together over the phone.  But that idea drifted away. Or what did I need to do differently?  Should I have came to visit her in Boston more? Or maybe not worry when she didn't call during her typical time?  Am I saying these are definitive signs? No, I'm really just here trying to make sense of it all.


In the past we've talked about not assuming how one person felt and to make sure to bring up whenever a problem would arise. To not assume how one felt and to trust eachother to talk about our concerns.


This entire car ride felt like she was looking for ways to fight with me, to blame me, to hate me.  It's my fault for thinking everything was fine. My fault for not understanding our communication issues. My fault for the failure of our relationship. Whatever I said, felt as though I could say no right. There were moments of silence that I wanted to fill but was too afraid to say anything at all.  I was spiraling. 


When we parked at my destination, time was still.  We made it outside of the car as she waited for me to take my belongings out. She then made it to the side of her car where she started weeping and I followed it up by hugging her. We lingered for another 10 minutes. I muttered some word vommit pertaining to love and asked her to reach out to me before she made any decision about where she will work in the future. I told her that she was my best friend and I hoped that she would still be around. That's when she tried to take the blame for all of this and I refused.  There's always something you can do.  It is so easy to put blame on one person for your troubles.  I wanted to figure out what I could have done to be better for Alice so I won't make the same mistakes in the future.


I saw early signs but failed to bring them up.  I thought I was giving her the agency to communicate with me or was I just being lazy by saying that "I didn't want to assume"?


I made it to the front of her car and she turned back to offer me one last embrace. We hugged and I started to weep onto her shoulder and I grasped her tighter. She then started to lean back as I attempted to hold her hands as she pulled away.  She then entered her car as I waited for her to leave behind the trunk. She sat there still without moving.  As a last ditch effort I opened her door and gave her my final plea. She says “No” I then apologize and walk back to where I was and she continued to not budge.


I felt as though she wanted something else from me but I didn't know what. With despair I put on my winter cap and proceeded to take my things to the sidewalk. Eventually she would leave.


From the time we parked to when she finally left was approximately 40 minutes.


That night I booked my bus to NYC.

I later had a dream and in that dream I was in bed with someone and I told them Alice and I broke up. Whoever she was, rolled out of bed and found that the bed was soaked in blood.  Someone had their period in my bed. I immediately woke up and was confused as hell and tried to look up the meaning and this is what google had to say:


"Dreaming someone bled on your bed, especially with period blood, often symbolizes deep emotional release, life cycles, creativity, or feeling unprepared for a sudden emotional flow, representing a need to let go or embrace new beginnings, not literally about someone's physical period, but a subconscious processing of change, passion, or vulnerability in your personal space (the bed)."


Thanks for that universe...

The three weeks prior I recollected dreaming zero times and was close to breaking down twice.  The only time I actually cried was the morning after the breakup.  This surprised me because I knew my body was ready to cry but I think the night of December 15 made it more definitive.  I was ready.


Tuesday December 16th, 2025 (Day 1069)


Tuesday morning I left my friends apartment to get to my bus to NYC.  I looked out to the spot one last time from last night.  I finally broke down, finally feeling the release that my body oh so needed. It was over.

17/15 Garrison Ave.
Somerville, MA

I took the T train to South Station not looking at my phone just staring out the windows allowing my eyes to lose focus and blurring my vision.  Once I made it to South Station I saw the first sign to the bus terminal and I broke down once again.  I looked around hoping for a place to cry on my own but there was no place to go.  I stood there letting people pass me as I allowed my emotions to take me over.  




Once everyone passed I continued toward the bus terminal crying the entire way there. I sat at my gate and continued to cry until the arrival of my bus.

GATE 14


The bus trip was 5 hours long with just my thoughts replaying as many moments as I could trying to figure out what went wrong and what I could have done differently.  When I got to NYC I met up with friends to get dinner letting them know I wasn't ready to talk about it.


We took the ferry back to their apartment in Staten Island and relaxed in their living room. I then proceeded to tell them what had happened breaking down for the third and final time that day. 

Saturday, December 6, 2025

Episode 35: Crossroads


It's been 1 week being "single" and I can definitely say that I have great friends.  I have been blessed with good people in my life, that want to see me happy and that's been such a reassuring part of this entire process.

I have played with the idea of what would it look like if we got back together again or why it's good/bad that we're no longer together.

I have asked myself "why do I love Alice?" and that will be the driving force moving forward. It is either do I win her back or parting ways is for the best. This brought up so many questions in my own mind:

  • Do I just want to be together because I'm "losing"?
  • Is it for selfish reasons?
  • Maybe we're just not ready for each other yet?
    • But also that doesn't also mean we'll ever be ready.
  • Do I love her?
    • Yes, but why?
      • she's so supportive
      • adventurous in her own way
      • she inspires me
      • she's so caring
      • We're very much the same and yet so different
        • She makes me better
      • she makes me happy
  • Are our wants too different to get over?
    • I want kids
      • But I've said this to friends, but not to her, that I would rather be with her than not.
      • I don't even know when I'll truly be ready to have kids myself either.
    • I want to get married
      • Which I think she's good with eloping and that would be good enough for me. Hell I can't afford a wedding anyway...
    • Do I return her Christmas gift?!
      • I kind of want to just hold onto it.
This entire relationship weighed heavy on me because it was of course a risk from the start as any relationship is.  But this is long distance for 3 YEARS!  And we ALMOST MADE IT!  Once she moved to Los Angeles, would it have made it different? Would we go back to the passion that we had when she was in LA or was that ONLY a honeymoon phase and it would be very much the same as if she were in Boston?  I beg closer to the former.

Sunday, November 30, 2025

Episode 34:

November 29th, 2025. I'm single again, surprise!

In relationships you either succeed or fail together. So I guess we've failed.

Around 12:30PM I received the news and I met it with shock. I didn't know how to react.  All I was met with was a burning weight deep in my chest and the back of my head while Alice was crying and apologizing profusely of the outcome.  We would have continued the conversation but I thought it was something we needed to walk away from and return to at 2PM. We did and it was still met with the same result. I dumbfounded and Alice weeping on the other end.

Following I looked for ways to distract myself but nothing worked.  I felt dead inside and I was too distracted by my own turmoil.  I found some solace talking to a friend over the phone trying to analyze the situation. 

What could I have done differently?
Why didn't I cry?
-I knew it was there but the question was when? I was a ticking time bomb.
Is this better for the both of us?
-Did we rush into this relationship?
My faults in the relationship.
My stubbornness.

My mind even headed down other roads:
Is there someone else?
Was this relationship doomed from the start?

I started looking for people to blame when in reality it's probably just a relationship that just didn't work out.

Later that night it was a friends birthday dinner and I decided I wasn't going to sulk, sulk alone that is. I wanted to be with my people but I didn't want to talk about it. So I kept silent.

1. It was a birthday dinner.
2. I wasn't ready to talk period. And I don't know if I ever will be thus this blog.

During the dinner I found myself starring off into the distance not knowing what I was thinking.  I just found comfort looking out into the void. Was I thinking about Alice? Yes, some thoughts having clear direction but most not.  In the middle of one of my gazes I was met with the question, "So when are you headed to Boston, Don?" I answered almost unable to get this full statement out while my face began to squish, "I'm not, Alice and I broke up... sorry excuse me." I then rushed to the bathroom on the verge of breaking down.  It was the first time that day I was almost driven to tears and if I started there I knew I wouldn't be able to stop.  I gathered myself and returned stating quickly punctually, "We broke up, I don't want to talk about it right now." Without a word everyone agreed and took tangents to other conversations. 

I continued to find myself starring off into the distance more and more losing chunks of conversation trying to stay engaged but mostly with no avail. 

Once I got home I received messages from all my friends from dinner with words of encouragement.

I "slept" and now I'm here.  Listening to Christmas Lo-Fi and writing this blog.

November 30th, 2025. 9:24AM I shed my first tears.

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Episode 33: Marathon #4 LAM




This is my 4th marathon and my 2nd within 4 months. I ran CIM in December and I wanted to qualify for Boston but I was injured the 3 weeks leading up to that marathon but I definitely wasn't ready to hit the mark of under 3 hours. BUT that didn't not stop me from trying.  I went out in the first 3 miles under 7 minute mile pace and I slowly faded till the half marathon at 1:39 and that's when I decided to shut it down and try my luck at LA Marathon.

My training was more consistent but I never got the speed I wanted. I ended up hitting a 70 mile week 6 weeks out from LAM so I decide to take the next week super easy and did strength training. Ironically the strength training ended up flaring my knee with what appeared to be the same injury before CIM. I decide to take a 2 week break but I still feel hurt so I see a friend about my knee and find out that it was runners knee and he gave me some exercises to help.  The pain subsided but my knee is still super sour and weak in the leading weeks before the marathon.  The goal for LA was now to PR and finish.  My first two marathons I did not properly train for them.  I really just ran them so my PR was 3:51:36. Here is the break down of my race: 


Pre-race it was nice finding some familiar faces from Koreatown Run Club for me to relax and talk with before the race started. I lined up with the 4 hour 40 minute pace group because that was the farthest up I could get.

MILE 18:26
At the start of the race I found myself weaving in and out trying to find an opening to faster pace groups. Mainly to find the 3:30 pace group. During this time I packed up with KRC runners. I also ended up taking a 2 minute break to pee before mile 2. I didn't find the 3:30 pace group but I felt myself at a comfortable pace that wasn't too slow so I held that. ALSO Found Lu running along side me on the sidewalk during this stretch!
MILE 27:43
MILE 38:03
MILE 47:30Got a little excited this mile. 💋
MILE 57:54
At the start of mile 5 I saw my split for mile 4 and knew I needed to settle down. During this stretch I was just trying to enjoy the race and running with acquaintances from KRC was nice which helped with my pacing during this time.
MILE 67:54
MILE 77:42
MILE 87:49
MILE 97:57
MILE 107:44
MILE 117:38
MILE 127:41THE VASELINE THAT SAVED LIVES. At this point I was feeling the need to reapply some Vaseline and this women had a poster of it so I slapped her poster and applied it immediately. No shame. I hit a second wind. Also popped two Advil.
MILE 137:50
This is where I caught the 3:30 pace group and it brought me to a crossroads. Do I stick with them? or push it? I felt confortable so I decided to go a little faster.
MILE 147:51
MILE 157:23
Here I feel strong but I still knew the goal was to finish. Once I pass mile 18 I get worried about how down hill it is since from mile 18 - 22 it'll be a there and back meaning what I see at mile marker 18-19 will be the finish of the race. I catch the 3:20 pacer.
MILE 167:41
MILE 177:54
MILE 187:37
MILE 197:47
MILE 207:54
Mile 20 & 21 were the problem. There was a slight incline for these two miles and it was probably the least populated with spectators. I start to really feeling the pain of the end.
MILE 218:22
MILE 227:58
Mile 22 is when we started seeing loads of spectators and finally I saw the Bravo zone with KRC. It was cool seeing the turnout but unfortunately I didn't really know anyone there and I wasn't wearing a KRC singlet to get any big cheers. Once Mile 23 began was the turn around and fortunately it was a subtle downhill to mile 25. I used this to recharge for the finish.
MILE 238:09
MILE 248:08
MILE 257:46
For the last two miles I knew if I started walking that would end me so I did everything in my power to keep running. At the start of mile 25 I start getting all of this pain on the outside of my left foot. I feel like it was going to break so I had to change my running form to alleviate the pain. I now believe the problem is peroneal tendonitis.
MILE 267:57
FINISH3:28:24I didn't cramp or walk for the entire run but I did almost cramp at the very end because when I saw that finish line I started to try to really push it and my body said "no". I'm so proud of myself for finishing this one. I showed myself how much grit I have and that I can still perform under the circumstances I was in for this race.




I realized that the 3:20 and 3:30 pacers were around 10 minutes off their marks since I finished with the 3:20 pacer. 

I only stopped at around mile 2 to pee but otherwise I ran the whole way and I didn't cramp. At every water station I made sure to try to take 2 big gulps of water while running past any water station so I'm sure that tributed to me not cramping during the run.

Looking at today Wednesday 3/20 I'm feeling some sourness but I'm oddly able to run and move pretty well.  I think these are just good signs that I can do more. Looking at my mile splits I'm pretty even throughout my entire run.  I'll continue to aim for sub 3 hours but for now I don't have any marathon plans for the future... yet.

Right now I'll continue to find my joy in running, eat properly, and try to build up my speed. 









 

 

Thursday, December 7, 2023

Episode 32: Marathon #3 XC

 
My goals for this race: (Order of importance)
1. NOT hurt myself
2. Finish the race
3. Go for a Boston Qualifier

Two weeks leading up to the race I'm pretty sure I got Sciatica.

Sciatica: pain affecting the back, hip, and outer side of the leg, caused by compression of a spinal nerve root in the lower back, often owing to degeneration of an intervertebral disk.

Although I didn't know until the Wednesday before the race.  I only ran a total of maybe 15 miles in those two weeks because I was scared of hurting myself further. Would I have done better at CIM? Yes.  Would I have qualified to Boston if I had? Probably not. I think the best I could have done would have been 3 hours and 20 minutes (7:37 mile pace) but the Boston Qualifier is under 3 hours (6:52 mile pace) so I would have went out the same either way.

Here is my mile by mile summary:




DISTANCEMILE SPLITSTOTAL TIME
MILE 16:52Even in this first mile my hips felt so tight
MILE 27:04I found a glove but chose not to pick it up this time
MILE 37:08I already lost Peter by this time and decided to hold back since I'm already feeling twitching in my calf. ALSO, I give my pants to RacheI, thanks Rachel!
5k0:21:57
MILE 47:13I had to pee soooo bad for the first 4 miles so I just stop and pee behind a tree. Take first gel.
MILE 57:37Miles 5-13 its a lot of me trying to hold on and struggle to put something together. Still a lot of tightness in my hips
MILE 67:25 
10k44:52:00
MILE 77:27
MILE 87:41take 2nd gel
MILE 97:56
15k1:09:02
MILE 107:48We run through Fair Oaks, cute town.
MILE 117:56
MILE 128:11take 3rd gel
MILE 138:19
HALF1:39:37Half Marathon PR (I've only ran one official half marathon race though)
MILE 149:25double quad cramp!
MILE 159:55Right calf cramp. take 4th gel.
25k2:02:23
MILE 1611:08I make the decision to not run through the pain and to avoid getting hurt as much as possible. If I felt a cramp coming I would stop immediately to avoid injuring myself. So there was a lot of walking in mile 16 to the finish.
MILE 1711:12take 5th gel
MILE 1811:21
30k2:37:53
MILE 1912:25
MILE 2012:35Take 6th and final gel
MILE 2112:46
35k3:16:42
MILE 2212:13
MILE 2313:21
MILE 2411:30"Hey Donut you got it!"
40k3:54:26
MILE 2510:53
MILE 2612:22
FINISH4:10:15The End... Or the beginning of LA Marathon TRAINING

The reason I signed up for this race was to qualify for Boston so I made sure I prepped that day as if I was.  I attacked the race with that intention but unfortunately I'm just not strong enough yet.  I signed up for this race in January 2023 but the 2022-2023 school year I lost a lot of my fitness since I was so focused on work and was plagued by injury.  I didn't get solid training until the last 4 months and it wasn't even good marathon training either. It was more that I felt good about running again for the first time in a long time.

I knew it would be a long shot that I qualify for Boston so I was prepared to hold it back once I definitely knew I had no chance of qualifying.  At that point the goal would be to SURVIVE and finish without hurting myself.  Coming into this race I didn't even think I would finish because of my sciatica. I'm still very proud of my run and that I went in with intention and shot my shot.  I learned a lot  and will now prep myself for the LA Marathon to shoot my shot again. Next week will start my training to give myself some well needed rest.

On the BRIGHTEST side my friend Peter qualified with a minute to spare! So proud of you buddy!  LETS GO!



The start:

MILE 2.8