Knight Runner

Training Recap

2011-05-09T13:44:00.007+08:00

May 2 - May 8

I was a bit off the plan last week and was not able to meet 10 hr training time. I have skipped the weekday run and bike and settled for a 24km run saturday, and a 70km ride sunday. Legs were a bit stiff after these back to back long workout but it was all worth it as I have build a quality workout.

Running

I arrived in Nuvali Sta Rosa at 5:00am (saturday) and started to do my first 2.5km loop while waiting for Cherry and Egay to show up. As I complete my loop I already saw two runners who passed the starting area of our run and I figured that it was Cherry and Egay. I saw Rodney Supangco, also a GRC member and confirmed that it was the couple who went ahead. Rodney and I eventually catched up with the two. Plan was to complete a 24km run while Rodney had to go back at km 6 as he was geared to do a 12km run only. This was the longest run of Egay so far and he felt good about it. Some photos during the run

End or the road? well, we could have run the trail, but we were restricted not to proceed.

Nice shot! I wonder what these two were thinking?

Egay resting as he was about to head back finishing his longest run - 24km

Cycling

Did the cycling workout last sunday. Met up with Junrox at 6am while Al Hebron catched up somewhere around 16km. We used the same route in Nuvali, and did our laps there. It was a good workout overall, a combination of climb and sprint. Completed a 70km ride at 23.1 kph.

Need to catch up on weekday workout. Let's see what happens.

Training Recap

2011-05-03T12:32:00.006+08:00

April 25-May 1

Last week was a heavy workout in terms of mileage and training hours (at least an increase from the previous weeks). I skippd the Sunday long run as I felt leg fatigue nearing the end of the week. But I was happy that I managed to maintain a 6 day workout. Below is the summary of my workout last week.

Total Mileage logged

Run : 41km

Cycling : 130.51km

Total Distance : 171.51km

Total Training Hours: 9.28 hours

Monday - easy run

Tuesday - tempo ride

Wednesday - tempo run

Thursday - brick session (32km bike; 5km run)

Friday - easy long ride (endurance training)

Sunday - rest day

For this week, I'm looking forward for a 10 hour training workout.

Training Plan

2011-04-25T14:55:00.012+08:00

Running

During the past weeks, I have been trying to do tempo runs and was hoping to break a sub-60 on my 10k runs. I was glad to have been on that horizon and hopefully I get to improve each week. I believe that my training for BDM 102K has earned me enough mileage in improving my endurance. I am now beginning to put in some tempo runs and speedwork in my regimen in order to improve my speed. In the past, I have focused on endurance building and totally forgot about temp run and speedwork. Probably one of the reason was to avoid any risk of injury as I have been on the sideline for a long time in 2009 which caused me to lose running mileage. Good thing I have cycling as my cross training. It's time that I get out of my comfort zone and push myself a little bit and increase my training level up one notch. It is still a long way to go to improve my performance and the only way to go is to continue training. I still need to achieve two running goals this year, a sub 2-hr half marathon, and a sub 4:45 full marathon. Let's see how I progress.

Swimming

After my 70.3 Half Ironman stint here in the Philippines in August last year, I have not put in swimming (and cycling) in my training plan as I focused more on building my running mileage. As a result, I completely lost the proper form and need to get back to the basics. A lot of mistakes in my swim, my arm stroke was not syncrhonized, my kick was wide, had difficulty in breathing technique, and I was not swimming in a straight line. Everything was a complete disaster and I knew I needed to refresh and get back to do more drills.

Cycling

I began to get back on the saddle last month. Started off with an hour of spinning on the trainer to get the feel of it before doing my road rides. Then I gradually started to build mileage on the road and had a two 80km ride during the Holy Week. I have now included cycling in my training regimen, 2 weekday rides, and 1 weekend long ride. Probably I would insert a brick session (bike-run) in one of my weekday rides.

This is how my training plan would look like this week. I hope I can keep up with it (Mon-Wed is done).

Discovering Success

2011-04-11T20:33:00.025+08:00

Picking up from the Globe Run for Home, the team went out to support the NATGEO Earth Day Run. It was a very good day as we have 3 runners who achieved their new Personal Records. First off was Dennis Villanueva who clocked at 1:58:26, which was 7 minutes better than his last PR at 2:05:13 at the 2011 Globe Run for Home. He was determined and really prepared for this run. When I asked him at the starting line what his goal was, he said he would target less than 2 hrs, and he did.

Next was Allen Co who finished at 2:38:14, which was 5 minutes better than his latest PR also at the Globe Run. Apparently he was a bit late at gun start as he was trying to figure out where the starting line was. But after a while he catched up with us and proceeded to run his pace.

Allen was consistent in improving his 21k run and now have 4 half marathons. He is eyeing to improve further his time in his next race in May.

Finally, Tiffany Qua, who promised that she will do better in her 2nd half marathon. She finished at 2:47:32 which was 3 minutes better than her last run (Globe Run). She remains to be determined and focused on her goal, which was consistent from her first run. She was conscious of her time as she checks once in a while if we are still within target. I bet, just like in the office, being a manager as she is, she always keeps track of their metrics and make sure that it is within target.

According to her though, it was a more difficult run this time. Probably it's because she was advised by her doctor to take some rest after the Globe Run and was not able to continue her training afterwards. But she said she will improve her time, and she did. Now, she is looking forward for a better performance in her next race.

Egay Jardiniano, whose last half marathon was last year at the Rexona Run finally tried another half marathon. Egay is a body builder and he barely do runs but got motivated by his wife Cherry to run. He finished strong at 3:02:56, not quite a PR this time but he felt that this was a better run as compared to his last half marathon. I'm sure being a disciplined fitness buff, he will improve his future runs.

Meanwhile, Cherry Jardiniano was initially pacing with us in support to Tiffany, but later on paced with Allen to give extra support. She did finish in 2:31:13. She had no plans to do PR in this race but will definitely do in the next races. After she crossed the finish line, she came back and meet us and she ran alongside Tiffany to support her until they reached the finish line. But I guess, she wanted to run more and agains went back to meet her husband (Egay) and ran with him until they reached the finish line. Cherry is getting stronger and I'm sure she will hit sub-2 hrs anytime soon.

A happy couple, Egay and Cherry. Nice to see these two help each other out.

As for Me and Jay, we remained to be on a pacer role, but I figured, the aggressiveness of these runners to improve their time is kicking in and we have to train harder as these guys might become our pacer someday if we dont shape up.

Dennis obviously had all the time to enjoy while waiting for all of us. Great job Dennis!

Allen, happy with his new accomplishment.

Tiffany with the body guards!

With Tiffany's cousins who likewise had a great time.

These runners were determined to challenge their personal best as they discover their potential and ability to stretch their goals. They are becoming more excited in setting their new target as they experience the joy of running and the sense of accomplishment attached to it. As I have always believed, nothing is impossible, everything is achievable if you believe in yourself. Preparation, determination, and a positive mental attitude will lead you to success. I should start training myself as these guys have no way to go but to get faster and better.

Keep on running!

Pay it Forward

2011-04-04T19:43:00.004+08:00

This is the 3rd time for Gone Running Club (GRC) to join the Globe Run for Home. We have chosen to support the Habitat for Humanity and help build homes for our less fortunate brothers and sisters. It is always good to run for a cause. You get to enjoy the run and at the same time contribute in helping others.

Speaking of helping others, it is in the best interest of GRC to help our runners whenever they level up on their race distance. Since Jay and I were able to do marathons, ultra marathons, and triathlon, we thought of paying it forward to help our runners to step up and eventually do their first half marathon, or full marathons. We train them, taught them what we've learned through our experience, and pace with them on their debut run.

If you recall, in December, we paced with Kuya Ernie Carandang who ran his first full marathon. On weekend long runs, he was always there and try as much as possible not to miss a run. He did finish well and is now looking forward for his 3rd marathon this year. Now he is trying to motivate his brother (Val) to do his first marathon as well.

Ernie Carandang

In February at the Condura Skyway Marathon, it was Cherry Jardiniano's marathon debut. She was supposed to do her marathon at the QCIM together with kuya Ernie but since she was sent for a month in the US for a business trip, she decided to defer it to February. During her first marathon, kuya Ernie joined me and Jay to pace with Cherry to give her the support that he had during his marathon debut. Cherry finished strong and now she is geared to do her first ultra marathon, hopefully the PAU 50K within the year.

Now it was Cherry's turn to pay it forward as she also joined us in pacing Tiffany Qua who did her first half marathon (21km) in Globe Run for Home. Tiffany is also a member of GRC and she completed her first 10k at the Condura Run in February. After that she decided to level up to 21k, a brave move but definitely a good one.

Prior to the race, we were giving Tiffany inputs and guidance on what she should do during race day. Her farthest run before the race was 17km and she felt pain on her legs and was really exhausted. After that, she was doubting if she can make it. But the fact that she was able to run 17km was an indication that she can finish the race. Jay and I were motivating here that she can do it and it was just a matter of managing her pace and monitor her nutrition and hydration. When I saw her at the starting line on race day, I knew she already conquered her first half marathon, we just have to enjoy the run until we reach the finish line.

I was designated to monitor our pace, we set it at 8:00 min/km in the first 10km and see how Tiffany would respond halfway through. Time was not a primary objective, but would want her to finish below 3 hours. What was important was for her to finish the race feeling strong. But since I was tracking the pace, I must admit that I was trying to pick up the pace once in a while and we managed to maintain a 3 min buffer from our target pace. I was eyeing for her to finish at least at 2:45. It was very impressive to see her walk only on aid stations. She had no complaints and was determined to finish the race. During the walk breaks, I had to do a 10 sec countdown to start running again so as not to waste more time. At km 17, she started to slow down and feeling the fatigue but still no complaints. If we say run, she will run. At km 18, she said that it seems to be her longest 3km! Taking it one step at a time we finally reached the final turn and saw the finish line. As we approach, we told her to finish strong and try to sprint. She was tired but she was determined to finish strong and she did sprint approaching the finish line. She completed her first half marathon in 2:50:46. It was a great accomplishment, good job!

Jay, Tiffany, Me, and Cherry. (thanks to active moments for the photo)

It was indeed a good feeling to be able to help others accomplish their goals. It is equally rewarding when you see them cross that finish line. Tiffany's experience in Globe Run for Home will tell whether she dread the distance or would love to come back. And yes, she finally decided for a comeback, and SOON! She is doing the NATGEO half marathon this weekend and hopefully beats her time.

Take time to pay if forward, you will be glad you did. Enjoy the runs!

My Ultra Marathon Experience

2011-04-03T13:27:00.014+08:00

It’s been a month already since I completed my first Bataan Death March (BDM) 102km ultra marathon and I have not written about it. I must have enjoyed myself recuperating from it and enjoyed longer sleep which I barely had during the training season prior to the race.

One of my goal this year was to finish the BDM 102km. Another crazy idea, but I guess I have established already that whatever I put my mind into, I’ll make sure that I’ll work on it and eventually achieve it. I trained for 12 weeks for this event and have really focused on improving my mileage. I was glad that I was free from any injury and I hope it stays that way. Deciding to do the 102km was obviously to test our endurance and mental toughness.

Considering that the farthest I ran was 50k (PAU T2N) in November last year, there were a lot of unknowns on this race. We have not simulated the whole 102km distance during training and just relied on the back to back long runs on weekends where some weekends were skipped. We were not able to do the two test runs prior to the race to familiarize us with the route. Not sure what the condition is after 50km and how my body would respond to 18hrs of running and walking. But I felt that I was prepared and I thought that the mileage I put in training was enough to take me to the finish line.

Jay and I initially planned to do 15hours, but we were not sure if this was an aggressive or conservative estimate, we didn’t know. But it is important to set a goal so that you’ll have a clear direction on where you are going and what you will do along the way. Theoretically, we have set our planned pace to hit 15 hours, not knowing the real condition, we thought that it can be done. But reality steps in that this was a 102km ultra marathon and not a marathon. Though it was good to put a target but it has to be realistic. Respect for the distance was very important especially that it was the first time to conquer it. So we changed strategy and had a comfortable pace to cross the first half of the race as we know how to manage that distance. Then it was a total different strategy in the next half of the race (more of that later).

Prior to the race, we have not really thought about our support group. As a default, Jay’s wife will be there to support us together with a driver, my wife can’t come since she is pregnant and not allowed to travel. One day I was glad that my friend Mike Dauden (aka the transformer) and a GRC member volunteered to be part of the support crew together with Joey Cabanag who is from Balanga Bataan. Another GRC runner Cherry (who completed her 1^st marathon in Feb) also volunteered to join. I have distributed to them the rules of the race so that the support group are aware of their roles during the race.

Race day

Saturday morning at around 10:30am, we started to travel to Bataan. The plan was to meet up the rest of the support group (Mike and Joey) in Bataan where we are supposed to rest and prepare prior going to the start line in Mariveles. We arrived at Joey’s place at around 2:30 pm and we were welcomed with a prepared lunch. Food was great, we were kidding that it was like our last meal as we go to the bataan death march. I had coffee afterwards and since we have time, we took a nap to get some rest.

For lunch: Tinapang Bangus, Tinapang Tilapia, Crab, Prawns, Papaya, Singkamas, and Ube Halaya. Did I miss something?

We had at least 3 hours to sleep but I can’t sleep. I was thinking already about the race, was trying to visualize what’s gonna happen after 50km. I was also trying to psych myself up and try to maintain a positive mental attitude because I know at the end of the day, it will be all mental in the second half of the race. Went down and read magazines while drinking coffee (again!) at around 6pm. At 6:30 pm we started to prepare as we are to leave around 7:30 pm and head down to Mariveles at Km 0.

Jay and I changed to our running gear and preparing or our stuff for the race.

At km 0 with GRC support group.

After the final briefing, singing of the national anthem and final prayer, the 142 brave warriors went off for the BDM 102 challenge. This race was also to commemorate our fallen heroes of Bataan during the World War 2. The first 6km was an uphill climb, as the strong runners went ahead, we decided to do walk breaks that early on uphills to make sure that we conserve our leg power. After that long uphill, we went running and tried to enjoy the course. Our support group had to leap frog every 5km in the first 50km of the race.

Somewhere around the 49th km, Jay had to slow down and rested for awhile and he advised me to go ahead. I had at least a 2km lead I guess after that.

But not for long, Jay catched up soon enough and waited for him at the next pit stop and saw me there eating banana. We replenished our hydration and off we went.

Finally reaching the 60th km, we already passed our 50k mark and we still feel good.

At km 70, can still afford to smile..

During this stage, Jay and I were not actually talking, this is where we felt the heat of the sun. The support group had to be there every 1km or less so that we can get water sponge to keep us cool. We were not complaining but we were conscious of the time. I began to feel pain in my hamstring and calves and I had to stretch once in a while. Our objective at this point was to finish within cut-off time. We were doing a run-walk strategy, we ran 500 - 600m then walk the next 400m. Everytime we see a km marker, all I would say was, "X km to go, almost there!" Had to maintain a positive thought so that we can make it to the finish line. Around km 80 onwards, it is where you begin to ask yourself, why am I doing this (but friends would start to ask this question from the moment we decided to do this, haha!)? It is important at this stage to at least manage to have fun while having to go thru the struggle of running this distance. Though you have to be physically fit, it is equally important that you are mentally prepared.

Almost there! Can still smile (trying) no worries..

We were actually walking here, but there's a camera pointing at us, so better run and try to smile! hahaha!

Finally at the finish line, we finished at 17:12:17. We finished at 78th and 79th place.

We are very thankful with our support team. All support crews were very instrumental in every runner who joined this event.

It was a great experience doing the BDM 102K Ultra marathon. It would seem to be difficult and impossible, but through preparation, discipline, and determination, everything is possible.

Condura Skyway Marathon

2011-02-12T16:15:00.005+08:00

This was my first marathon of the year and my 3rd marathon overall since I started joining official races in 2009. Condura Run was my first official race and ran 10k. I did the 21k last year and finally did a full marathon this year. From hereon, I will be supporting this event by running a full marathon every year.

This was a good race for me and so far the best of my 3 marathons. Though QCIM was were I logged my personal best of 5:05:15, I consider this as my best marathon since I did not hit my collapse point somewhere between 28km - 32km. I was not geared to do a PR on this race since I was training for the BDM 102 in March. This marathon was part of the back to back long runs that was scheduled on that week. It was a good feeling to know that the long runs have paid off. Patience brought me to improve my performance from my last marathon. Though I did not set a new PR on this one, I can say overall, this was more rewarding. I was feeling strong in the last 10k, no sign of fatigue, my breathing was perfect, and my form was good. However, I did not attempt to pick up the pace as we kept focused on the plan. I finished in 5:07:37. This helped in building up my confidence and I know that I can still improve if I just continue my training and focus on my objective. I am positive that before the year ends I will meet my marathon target of 4:30.

Aside from the fact that this run was considered as a training run, it was also more of a support run to Cherry Jardiniano in finishing her first marathon. She has been training since last year and has been joining our weekend long runs. We knew that she was ready and was surprised to see her performance in the Condura Run. Jay and I were running alongside her throughout the course. She was going strong and was actually picking up speed on uphills in the skyway. Somewhere in the 35th km, she suddenly stopped and said "ayoko na" (I quit). She was starting to feel the fatigue, obviously we are not allowing her to quit, we advised her to continue walking instead so that she can recover. Then suddenly she started to run again and was determined to finish it once and for all. It was a great finish for Cherry and a good time at that for her first marathon. Congratulations Cherry, job well done!

Approaching the finish line.

With Jojo (finishing 21km), Jay, and Cherry

This was another example of meeting one's goal by having a clear objective and believing that anything is possible if you put your mind and heart to it. Though preparation and training is a key element, it also requires patience and commitment to successfully achieve your goal.

2010 - A Remarkable Year

2011-01-03T17:30:00.002+08:00

First off, I'd like to greet all of you a Happy New Year! By now, most of you have already looked back and reviewed your progress in 2010 and have defined your plans and goals for 2011. Congratulations and Good Luck to you all!

Last year has been a remarkable year for me as there were a lot of accomplishments and rewards. I have exceeded my target running mileage of 1,000km and have reached 1,666.24km, which leads me to my total running mileage of 2,310.42km. I pegged a total of 2,047.27 km cycling mileage and now have a total of 3,082.27 km. I also logged in 68.75km of swimming mileage. Yes swimming, i'll talk about that in a while.

I have joined a few races last year. I have done only 5 half marathons, and was able to set a new Personal Record (PR) at 2:07:45 during the Greenfield Sunset run in April 2010. I have done only 1 marathon and likewise set a new PR of 5:05:47 which gives me a 37 min improvement from my first marathon. However, what I thought to be my biggest accomplishment last year were these two important races that elevated my fitness level. I have joined the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines, my first official triathlon race and my first Ultramarathon 50 km race (Tagaytay to Nasugbu). I have no plans of doing these two events last year but it just happened.

Finishing the Ironman 70.3 (Half Ironman) in August.

Finishing my first Ultramarathon (50km). Next, 102km!

I recall in Feb 2010, Jay asked, "Let's join the Cobra Ironman 70.3 triathlon", at first I was hesitant since I planned to do this in 2011, and with no proper swimming skills, i doubted it. But in March 2010, we signed up for the event and hired a coach. Then in November 2010, I received an invite from baldrunner, to join the PAU 50k run. Both Jay and I signed up and off we went and conquered. And now, we are both training to do the BDM 102Km in March!

Conquering my fear

One of my biggest fear was to swim in open water. I have no basic swimming skills at all. Being a very active individual since my grade school, I have always looked for an activity/sport where I would engage myself in. One of it was swimming, I never had any formal training. I only swam during family outings and I dont even do a proper freestyle. But during those days, I was adventurous and my positive attitude tells me that I can do it properly someday. One day, when me and my friends went for a swim in UP, I decided to start at the deepest portion of the pool. Thought I was doing it right and that I was progressing, I stopped in the middle not knowing that it was still deep. Then I drowned, I can still recall that I was trying to wave to my friends for help, and they thought that I was just joking, until I sank. Luckily, the lifeguard was there and had me up in no time. That is when I developed my fear in water. So when asked to join the Ironman, I was really hesitant until we hired a coach. I can't even cross a 25m pool at that time, but through consistent practice I was able to conquer my fear and learned to swim in open water and completed the swim leg of the Half Ironman Triathlon. This was one of my biggest accomplishment.

My first open water swim at El Nido Palawan

A new race

It was last year when I entered a new marathon of my life. I have tied the knot with Kay whom I have committed to share the rest of my life with. This indeed was another blessing.

Last year was definitely a good year for me. I was injury free, set new records, joined triathlon and ultramarathon. I'm looking forward to a better performance and a healthy 2011. Here are my 2011 fitness goals:

1. Finish the BDM Ultramarathon - 102km

2. Set a new PR for Half Ironman Triathlon

3. Achieve sub 4:45 hours for a full marathon

4. Achieve sub 2:00 hours for a half marathon

5. Lose 10 lbs this year. Current weight 180 lbs.

I hope I can encourage more people to be healthy and fit and may I be able to inspire others to believe in themselves. Anything is possible, just put your heart and mind to it. Good luck to us all and again Happy New Year!

Marathon Comeback - QC International Marathon

2010-12-08T13:04:00.004+08:00

Beginning of this year I have scheduled only 1 Marathon and was planning to do the Singapore International Marathon. However, I opted to do the QCIM2 as I wanted to redeem myself from last year's QCIM. I ran the half marathon (21km) then and was actually nursing an ITBS injury at that time. I remember struggling from km 15 until the finish line as I spent most of the time walking. It was for me one of the worst race I have joined and I wanted to have a comeback and decided to do the full marathon in this event. But the pain of having a bad race didn't stop there. It was in November 2009 where I joined my first Marathon in Bangkok (Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon) and true enough, this for me was a bad experience for my marathon debut. Due to the fact that I was nursing an injury last year, I was not able to train properly and had a lot of pressure nearing the event. There was no turning back since I was already committed to join the race. I went to therapy and did cross training using my bike in order to compensate for the running mileage that I lost. I did finished the Marathon in 5:42:07.

Luckily this year I was able to train and was glad to have been invited by the baldrunner to join the PAU 50k run (Tagaytay to Nasugbu) in November. I remember that my split time at 42km was 4:57. It elevated my confidence level going to this marathon.

Race day at QCIM2

There were 4 members of Gone Running Club that joined the marathon, Me, Jay, Jun, and Kuya Ernie (his first marathon). We arrived early in the area and had ample time to prepare before the race. I thought the gunstart was at 4:00am, and was actually surprised that the organizers were still setting up the clock, portalets, and genset arrived late. I had an initial expression that this race was not organized properly. But didnt dwell on it, as I dont really let negative vibes affect me so I patiently waited for gun start and just focus on my goal which was to at least have a sub-5hr marathon. Told Jay at gunstart I was eyeing for 4:45 (stretch goal).

The race course for me was tough due to the rolling hills but it was a good route. Turnaround was at the La Mesa Eco park, the place was nice and well preserved. As we enter the La Mesa Eco park, we were advised to leave our hydration belts. Not sure what the logic was behind it though. Jay's experience last year was the lack of hyrdration and it was a good thing that it was addressed this year. Hydration was sufficient and I have no complaints. I was doing fine in the first 28km, but not too long did I hit the collapse point. I started doing more walk breaks and it was all mental for me all throughout as I was starting to cramp in the last 8km. On the way back to commonwealth, I recall that I was practically walking along that road last year, and made me push to avoid too much walk breaks. Eventually I reached the last km and I knew that my time was better than my first marathon and I was happy about it. I did finish in 5:05:15 it was a 37 min improvement from my last marathon. This is a new marathon PR for me and definitely I will be training more so that I can improve further in the next marathon race. Who knows, I might be able to pull another 30 min improvement next time.

with Jay who paced with me all throughout and motivated me not to walk too much.

Jun Moslares who finished in 3:31 (unofficial time).

Kuya Ernie who finished his first Marathon at 5:41:43

Going beyond your limits

2010-11-16T10:05:00.009+08:00

In the midst of my training for the QC International Marathon, I have received an invite from Mr. Jovie Narcise (aka baldrunner) to join the PAU T2N (Tagaytay to Nasugbu) 50K ultramarathon. I was honored and felt that I was considered to be ready to do this race. I have been doing long runs with my team (Gone Running Club) on weekends and we have done a 40km LSD 2 weeks before the PAU 50k race. That basically builds confidence that I can finish the race. Together with my buddy Jay, we both registered for the event and would log this as another milestone in our running career.

It was a cool sunday morning in Tagaytay City where we all gathered at the start line. Happy to see familiar faces, and knowing that it was an ultramarathon, I knew that all runners have prepared for this race and have pure will and determination within them. Jay and I were among the newbies and we were glad to be part of it. There were about 160 runners who participated the race and I learned that 159 have finished.

We decided to set a target time of 6:30 for this race. The first 35km was a good run as we were able to increase our pace and we were ahead of our target time. However, from then on I felt my heart rate has reached probably 90% or more and it was difficult to recover. I had to run and walk which obviously slowed as down. At 39th km, I told Jay to run his pace as I can't maintain a 6:40 min/km pace, and that we see each other at the finish line. It's 11km to go and in my mind I knew that I can finish the race, no doubt. I slowed down a bit, but I have another focus, my 42k split. Yes, I had a new Personal Record on my 42k, I logged 4:58 (my first marathon was 5:47). I was smiling as for me its another milestone of improving my time for a marathon. As I move on for the next 8km of the race, I managed to recover my breathing and heart rate was at a comfortable level but I was struggling already due to leg fatigue. More walk breaks for me. In the last 5km, I started to pick up some pace and mindful of my target time, but at this point I noticed that my garmin hanged and I was now totally blind of the time and pace. As I saw the Jollibee signage saying last 3km, I began to focus and and avoided walk breaks. The finish line was at the Nasugbu City Hall which was near the Jollibee Outlet. As I saw the Jollibee sign, I was too eager to get there the soonest that I can, but it seems to be the longest 1-1.5km of the race. I saw one of the bald runner marshalls and guided me to the final turn reaching the finish line. It was yet again another memorable moment as I have tested again my limits on this race. If you put your mind to it and prepare for it, you will achieve whatever goals you have envisioned. Keep raising the bar and believe in yourself. There's a long way to go, keep it one stride at a time and try to make a difference.

Thank you to team bald runner and PAU. It was a good race and a good experience. Looking forward for more PAU races in the future.

50km done! My longest run so far..

with Jay and Sir Jovie (baldrunner), I finished in 6:12:48 and 65th out of 159 finishers, Jay finished 5:52:50 at 51st place.

Running Mileage

2010-10-31T11:52:00.002+08:00

Looking back at my running mileage, I have not really put in more runs in my regimen during my triathlon training. I have focused on swimming and doing long rides on weekends. I knew I was sacrificing my run for the Half-Ironman event because I have to put in more time to swimming. True enough, the run leg was the most challenging part during the race and I ended up not hitting my target time. That's why since September I have focused on my running and tried to build more mileage and also it was time to train for QC International Marathon in December.

It was a good feeling to be back on the road and running. Together with some Gone Running Club members, we were consistent in doing our long runs. On weekdays, we do our own easy and tempo runs and meet up on weekends for the long runs. QCIM would be my 2nd Marathon and I am glad that this time I am able to train properly without any injury. Last year, I suffered from ITBS which hindered me from running well in my First Marathon, but still I was able to finish. This year's marathon will be my chance to perform better.

Sharing here our long runs in the month of October:

Oct 4, 2010 with Alabang Runners (LSD - 30km)

During this week's long run, we were able to meet up with the Alabang runners. It was a good meet up and was fun to run with other runners from the south. Our usual long runs starts at 3:00 or 4:00 am depending on our target distance. The Alabang runners started at 5:00 am and we joined them in their route.

First stop at the bird sanctuary in Nuvali. Was talking to Raymund Canta and disussing future races that they are joining.

Joined the group photo with Alabang Runners.

With Kuya Ernie, Jay, Ronald, and Ric. Kuya Ernie and Ronald will be doing their first marathon in December, while Ric is starting to build up his mileage and yet to decide when his first marathon would be.

Oct 12 - 15, 2010 Singapore

During this week, I was in Singapore to attend the SCM Logistics World Conference. It was a business trip and as always, I made sure that my running gear is packed as I would definitely not missing my training plan even on trips like this. My wife's friend Peter Yongco was based in Singapore and he joined me for Dinner on my first day and took me to esplanade area. I was glad that this area was a running route for most runners and was happy to see runners training for their own races. We took a walk and surveyed the area so I can familiarize myself. The following morning I stepped out to do my morning run and went to the area to run. I did two morning runs with 11km each. Below are some photos of the area I ran thru.

At Esplanade

Stairs up to Helix Bridge

The Helix Bridge at Marina Bay

Oct 24, 2010 - LSD (35km)

We did a 35km run on this weekend, was glad that Ric showed up as well as he was able to log in his first 24km run. Cherry has not missed the long runs and she was doing good and getting stronger.

Oct 30, 2010 - LSD (40km)

This run was supposed to be a 38km run, but since it was Cherry's bday, Jay and I decided to do a 40 km run. This is a confidence builder for Cherry and she is now ready for the full marathon. 5 weeks left before her first marathon and I think she will perform well.

with Jay and Cherry at 27th km in Canlubang Golf and Country Club

UP Fun Triathlon

2010-10-30T21:04:00.008+08:00

It’s been awhile and I haven’t blogged. But it doesn’t mean I have stopped any fitness activity after the Camsur Ironman. However, I must admit that I took time to enjoy the recovery mode and had a very light workout for a month. I think I only had 3 runs for the month of September and 1 swim. With the strenuous 5 months training before my first Half Ironman, it was just fair to take it slow and spend more time with my wife. Half Ironman training was no joke and it would require some sacrifice in your time.

In September, I attended the 6th beginners/costume triathlon sponsored by UP Trantados Tri Team. This is being held annually to introduce beginner Triathletes and serve as their first race. While the experienced athletes are there to support and are all required to be in costumes. I brought my gears with me but I ended up supporting the sidelines as the race was for beginners. Since they knew that I did the Half Ironman, it served as my induction. We were told also to come in our costume, but me and my friend Jay was both busy at work and was not able to bring one. Definitely next year we will be in our costume.

It was a festive event and the camaraderie was just awesome. Experienced athletes were coaching beginners from how gears are set up in the transition area to tips in the strategy in the swim, bike, and run course. As each one crosses the finish line, you can see the sense of accomplishments and joy amongst them. This event was a start of their long journey in the Triathlon world. Who knows, some of them might be joining the team in Camsur Ironman 2011.

Here are some photos of the event.

The last finisher of the event, he was supported in his last lap by the group in costumes. This was classic!

Journey to Ironman 70.3 Philippines

2010-08-26T22:28:00.015+08:00

It all started when Jay asked me early this year, “Bro, Camsur tayo?” (the Ironman 70.3 Philippines event). During that time I had no basic skills for swimming and Jay with no base in cycling. I took it as a joke at that time not knowing that he was in fact serious when he raised that question. I told him then that I plan to do a half Ironman in 2011, and a full Ironman in 2012. I thought that doing it this year would be too soon. In March, we talked about it again and was starting to look at the Ironman 70.3 Philippines website. One day, he was playing around with the registration and probably was trying to navigate the registration process only to find out that he had registered and was given a confirmation code. He called me and said that he registered and we laughed about it and we both ended up registering for the Half Ironman event, with only 5 months to train. Crazy huh?, I had no swimming skills, and Jay has no bike at that time. It’s the first thing that any athlete would do, register for a race and prepare for it. Now we are locked to it and have no choice but to start training for it.

Immediately, I talked to my friend (Dante Pahud) in UPLB who is a member of the UPLB Trantados Tri Team. He was a good swimmer and asked him if he can coach us for the swim. At first we are only looking for a swim coach. He endorsed me to his cousin who he said can train better. I contacted Ian Castilla (3-time ironman finisher), who just came back from the Ironman event in Langkawi Malaysia and asked him if he can coach us. Luckily, he offered a full training for the 3 disciplines (swim, bike, and run). We agreed on the schedule and off we went to start our training. I’ll blog about the training experience separately.

Obviously bulk of my training was focused on swimming and honestly I was not sure whether I can even start the race since I was having difficulty improving my swimming skills, breathing in particular. Also, I got sick for 2 weeks in May and was busy in my wedding preparation in June where I lost about a month of training (adding to the pressure). I have told Jay and coach Ian that I might not be able to make it, but they didn’t give up and said that I can make it. So there I go, followed every instruction and religiously followed the training program. We had 2 tri simulations in UPLB, and that helped me boost my confidence. A week before the camsur event, we went for an open water swim in Laiya Beach in Batangas. That helped me overcome my fear in water and told myself I can do this. When I was able to do a straight 2km swim in my training (3 weeks before the race), I knew I will make it as my confidence have shoot up. I remember the time when I was training for my first marathon where I was not able to follow the training plan due to series of injury from running. I used that experience as a motivation that if I was able to do my first marathon given the odds, then I can finish my first triathlon.

We rode to Camsur in Aug 20 with my wife, Jay, Noemi (Jay’s wife), and my cousin Nick who was driving. I was actually excited and convinced that I will start and finish this race. As soon as we arrive in the afternoon we checked in and headed to CWC to meet the rest of the guys. We did a 1k swim on the lagoon to get used with the environment, I was a bit nervous but after a while I was convinced that I am ready to enjoy the race. Then, we proceeded to the carbo loading party, saw coach Rio dela Cruz and his team (they won 2nd place in the relay) and other celebrities.

The following day (Saturday), we did a 50km ride to check on the bike and run course. It was good to see the route so that I can plan my strategy on the bike and run course. In the afternoon, we attended the race briefing, the video was awesome. After the briefing we started to prepare our bike and run gears and get ready for the bike check-in.

Bike gear check, run gear check. Im ready!

At the bike check in.

RACE DAY

It was a wonderful day, woke up at 2:00am, had a good 5 hours sleep, as always you can’t sleep much the night before a big race. I had coffee, bread, and banana for my pre-race meal. My wife and I had a short prayer before heading to CWC. At the race site, went back to the bike check in area to put in my race belt and made my final check on my bike and gear. Then we proceeded to the race numbering station where I met senator Pia (she was right behind me). I was able to talk to her briefly and told her that it was my first time to join the race, she welcomed me and told me to just enjoy the race.

My target time for the race was 6:30 to complete the 1.9km swim, 90km bike, and 21km run. Jay and I reviewed with Coach the split times for each event based on our own pace. It was good to set a target time rather than just focusing to finish. It gives you a personal challenge to enjoy the race (well, joining this event is a challenge already, what am I thinking??).

Before the race, we had a short prayer (again!) and prayed for the safety of all participants and thanking the Lord for the blessings and for the opportunity to join this event.

Prayer before gun start with coach Ian, Diego, and Jay

First time to do Ironman 70.3 for Diego, Jay, and myself. With us is Joan who participated in Langkawi Malaysia Ironman.

Coach giving some last pointers.

At the start line of the swim course, the age groupers were very anxious to hear the gun start. I positioned myself at the back, can’t risk battling it out with the more experienced swimmers.

And off we go.. we started 2 minutes behind the Pros and Filipino elites. 5 minutes after the next age group followed, then the female age groupers, and lastly the relay swimmers.

A lot of accidental kicking and shoving, but generally athletes played clean (at least from where I was). I tried to keep my composure as it was too stressful, I had to stop at the turnaround and waited a bit to find a safer spot. Checked on my time and saw that I was behind my split time. I then proceeded and just kept on swimming, saw pink swim caps, meaning female swimmers started to catch up on me. I didn’t mind but was conscious on the time as I might hit the cut-off time. Finally I reached the end of the first loop. My wife told me that Coach was jumping up and down as he was very happy to see me get out of the water. I think he was more tensed than I did. But it was a job well done for him because he was able to make a guy who can’t cross a 25m pool to finish a 2k swim. Thanks Coach!

Spectators all excited watching the swim course. Energy is high in here.

Whew! Another 450m and I’m through with the swim course. Can’t wait to ride my bike.. As soon as I was out of the water, I was relieved and told myself that I will enjoy every minute of the bike and run course (ahh, maybe only the bike course). I finished the swim course at 1:04:55.

Bike waiting, only a few was left at the bike transition area.

At the bike course, I was ecstatic. It was freedom for me to be on my bike. I just kept on pedaling and was smiling everytime I pass on other athletes. I saw Jay as I went out of the national road. Our forecast was that we will have a close finish at the run leg as he was strong in the swim and run. The spectators at the bike course were awesome, it was non-stop and everytime I passed by them I felt more stronger and was gaining speed. The kids from school were organized, they were chanting “Go Ironman!, Go Ironman!”. There were also some cheer prepared. It was a good experience. Aid station was good, we were just dropping our empty water bottles and take another one as we pass by. I dropped one during the handover at one aid station, but luckily after 200m there was the actual aid station. The volunteers had an advance group prior to the actual aid station. After an hour and a half, I saw Jay finally and he knew that I will pass. He was actually waiting for the “go bro!” from me. As soon as I get passed him, I did not waste time and continued overtaking more athletes. I knew that I had to get enough lead on the bike as Jay and I will definitely be catching up in the run leg. Yes, we had a mini race between Me, Jay, and Diego (expected to finish in 5:30). We were given plus one hour from Diego’s expected time.

From the bike transition, feeling was weird as expected. I can’t even feel the pavement and my quads are cramping already. But I still managed to give a smile to my wife and gave her a kiss as I passed thru.

The run course was hot!! I can’t even smile here anymore. The run course is a two loop course. Aid stations were strategically located and Gatorade and water were just overflowing. At the turn-around, the david’s salon team with David Charlton was there assigned at the aid station and was giving oranges, banana, and power gels aside from water and Gatorade. I began to feel cramps on my calves at the 4th km and from then on I was jogging and walking. I was able to get a second wind already and was ready to run, but my cramps were just killing me. I had to slow down. As expected, somewhere at the 4.5km I saw Jay already and knew that he will overtake me anytime soon as I can’t keep up with my run. He did pass me at 5th km and gone he was. Meanwhile, I was hoping to finish it not walking all throughout. I was trying to stretch once in a while so that I can run. I was just strolling and was taking it 1km at a time. On the second loop I was just enjoying it and was counting the remaining distance. I was happy as I know I will finish the race. And there it was, as I approach the finish line, I was smiling and have conquered another milestone. I finished in 7:10:12 (official time).

At the finish line, with senator Pia extending her hand to congratulate me.
With Fred Uytengsu and Senator Pia Cayetano at the finish line. Dante on the background, one of the guys who helped me to develop my swimming skills.
Proud Coach!
With best friend Jay, another milestone for Gone Running Club.
..and of course a proud wife.. look at the background, its IronMark and IronKay! Kay was busy taking photo shots and was very supportive all throughout the event!

Photos (except last one) taken by Kay Salvador

Rexona Run 2010

2010-08-03T12:57:00.002+08:00

Woke up 3am, had cereal and coffee for breakfast, took a shower and then geared up for the Rexona Run, my 5th race for the year. Was excited to run this race since it was a new venue – Mall of Asia (MOA). Left the house with Kay at 4:00am and was expecting to be at race site by 4:30 am to have more time to prepare and meet the rest of Gone Running Club runners. Unfortunately, there was traffic that early at SLEX up north coming from Sta. Rosa Laguna and it caused me to be late at gun start by 19 minutes. This is the first time that I missed the gun start. Good thing I was able to take off before the start of the 5k group. There were a sea of runners and I kept on running trying to chase the flock of 21k runners. When I finally saw some yellow race bib, I just maintained my steady pace and tried to pass as many runners as I can.

I had a steady pace until 15th km but started to slow down a bit from then on. I was planning to hit sub 2 hrs, but unfortunately, Im not getting it in this race. I finished officially at 2:11:27 (chip time). I was happy on the result and I did enjoy the run. It was a good race, I think the organizers did a good job.

I’d like to commend the following GRC runners for their accomplishments:

Jay Chavez – Hitting his new PR for 21k at 1:55:42
Cherry Jardiniano – Hitting her new PR for 21k at 2:28:22
Allenstein Co - completing his first half marathon at 2:46:59
Ric Inion - Hitting his new PR for 21k at 2:20:52
Neo Chavez (8 yrs old) – completing another 3k run at 0:25:16

And to the rest who have successfully finished their 21k;

Raymund Canta – 2:16:33
Egay Jardiniano – 3:00:20

Finishers of 10k

Gene Briones – 1:04:20
Rodney Supangco – 1:04:22

Some photos courtesy of Kay Salvador

with Raymund and Jay discussing what race to join next.

With Jay and Ric (hitting a new PR)

With Allen completing his first half marathon. This guy is determined and have loved the sport of running. Way to go Allen!

Run Against Corruption - with Neo Chavez who ran 3km contemplating on when he will level up to 5km!

Supporting a Cause

2010-07-18T12:47:00.003+08:00

Sports has become one of the best venue to raise funds to support a specific cause. I myself have joined run races which supports beneficiaries of different causes. Feels good to be able to share while we are enjoying the sport that we love. This time, I am supporting a runner friend (Kassy) who will be running her 2nd full marathon in Singapore this December. Aside from completing her 2nd marathon, she has decided to choose Maple Tree Foundation as her beneficiary. Let us help support the deprived and underserved mountain communities live a healthy, productive, and peaceful lives. For more details visit her blog here.

Starting a New Race

2010-07-13T22:00:00.002+08:00

Since last year I have been active in Running and Biking. I have been joining run races and have in my own way tried to motivate friends to engage in running and in fitness in general. Running has become a way of life for me. Thru running and biking I have developed a sense of self-discipline and made a big impact in my transformation both in my personal and professional life.

In every race there is always preparation and training to be able to perform better and achieve whatever goal you set. While I was active in preparing for my sport, I have been preparing also myself to a very important race of my life. A life marathon with the most important person in my life - KAY. In June 11, 2010, I have tied the knot with Kay to whom I have committed to spend the rest of my life with. Together we will run along side each other and make worthy the bond that we share together. It will be a long journey, there will be hills and valleys along the way but together we will be able to overcome it and make this a successful journey.

Photo courtesy of Ma. Theresa Santos. Our cake topper care of Joy San Gabriel. As inspired by running we chose this concept. Usually if Kay is not running in a race, she is usually waiting at the finish line with her camera.

Natures Valley Run

2010-05-31T08:54:00.008+08:00

I am glad that I was able to contribute 1 tree for my run in the Natures Valley Run. This is one of the races which supports a good advocacy and I hope that all the trees are planted as promised. There were about 8,400 runners who officially participated and finished the run based on the race results. Everytime you go to a run rio organized race there are improvements seen. Few observations;

1. Wide screens in place.

2. Long hydration tables and it didn't run out of stock. Good replenishment method I must say.

3. Km markers are very visible, it helps in motivating yourself as you see the remaining distance.

4. Medals are immediately awarded to you as you cross the finish line. This is better rather than qeueing at the back to get the medals.

5. Ice cream at the finish line!

I must say that this is one of the good races I joined and glad that I was a part of it. Great Job to Rio and the rest of the organizers and staff.

During the race, I was thinking of giving my all in the first few km of the run to gauge whether I can keep up with the target pace in my mind which was to maintain a 5:40 pace for the 1st 10km and will manage the next half of the run from there. As much as I wanted to believe that it is possible, it was not. Reality tells me that this will just be an easy run considering that I did a 90km ride the day before. But I was all positive at the start line and told Jay that will try as much as I can to keep up with the pace.

My optimism suddenly changed after km 2, my legs suddenly felt weird and heavy as if I had finished a 15km run already. I was slowing down from a 5:30 pace down to 6:00, then 6:30, then 7:00 and even had 1km with an 8:45 pace. Honestly, I was seriously thinking of quitting this race (for the 1st time). I have been always an optimist but this time I was really planning to quit. As I cross the turnaround for the 10k runners, I wanted to take off my bib and call it a day. But then again, as I see familiar faces in the race, I just kept on going because I dont want them to see me quitting. This was a very difficult run for me and was taking 1km at a time until I reached the finish line. I set a target time which was 2:25 at least, but ended up finishing at 2:30:06 as I had to stop once in a while to stretch as I was getting cramps already. Good thing I didnt quit because I will surely regret that for a long time. No matter what happened, stay focused and never quit.. it is not an option!

But bottomline, always be prepared for a race.

It was a good day also because one of the GRC member, Vince (14 yrs old), have completed his first Half Marathon. We were all proud of him because he said he will, and he did finish it! Congratulations to Vince and his proud Dad - Val. Also, it was the first official 10k run for Allen Co who is a new member of GRC. I remember him telling me that he can't even complete a 3k run, but with his determination and discipline in preparing for this race, he have accomplished his goal. He will continue with his training and eventually complete his first half marathon in August. Let's wait and see on his progress.

Overall Gone Running Club contributed 16 trees in this run.

Here are some photos courtesy of Ric Inion:

Neo finishing his 4th official 3km run.

Ric and Allen, challenges each other for their 21k run in August.

Group Photo

Miko's Home Run

2010-05-11T22:51:00.003+08:00

I am reposting this fun run for the benefit of Miko Habana. The run course is 500m, 3km, and 5km. Hope you have time to join and let's help give this young athlete another shot.

------------------

On May 16, 2010, numerous people from all walks of life will come together at the Ateneo High School grounds to support a young athlete named Julian Miguel “Miko” Habana.

One month ago, Miko Habana, a sixteen year old boy, suddenly collapsed due to cardiac arrest while warming up for a baseball practice at the Manila Polo Club. Although he was immediately resuscitated, he continues to require intensive medical and nursing care. He will also need comprehensive rehabilitation to assist in his full recovery.

Miko has been into baseball since he was 9 years old. He has played for the Ateneo High School and the International Little League Association of Manila (ILLAM) where he serves as captain for both teams. He has also represented the country in many regional and international tournaments including three World Series events as a member of the Philippine Junior and Senior Little League Teams.

It is heartwarming to note the extraordinary number of people who have been praying for Miko’s healing and for his family’s strength. We, his relatives and close friends, have organized a fundraising walk / run to help cover the cost of his medical and rehabilitation care.

In this light, we would like to invite you to join us, his family and friends, co-athletes, classmates and teachers, to participate in this event.

Below are two ways by which you can register:

a. Fill out the form online by clicking on this link.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewformformkey=dFlNYmtSWUxURjRJYVV3NDhDcmVGT0E6MQ

b. Attached is the registration form which could be printed out and submitted with your donation on the day of the event for on-site registration.

No multiple registration please.

Should you need more details, please feel free to email or contact us at any of the following numbers:

Malu Duenas 0917 846 6573

Dedette Habana: 0917 850 0202

Ria Habana: 0917 790 9711

Sandee Siytangco: 0920 903 0840

Carol Ynion: 0917 537 7005

Many thanks for your prayers and we look forward to your support in this worthwhile event. We hope to see you all at the home plate!

Training Under the Sun

2010-05-04T21:43:00.002+08:00

Temperature rising! It was so hot since last week, I believe the temperature was ranging from 36-38 degrees. In my morning runs, I can already feel the heat at 6:30am. On weekends, I used to bike and run when the sun is up and it was manageable. But riding (40 km) last Saturday was so difficult as I can feel the heat pass through my bones. It was really exhausting and I have been hydrating too often. Worst, my route had an uphill climb to jamboree in UPLB. I have never sweat that much but I was dripping wet going up the hill. I was supposed to do a 10k run after, but managed to do 4.5km only as I cannot bear the heat and I started to feel dizzy (a sign of heat fatigue).

In this hot weather, some will opt to avoid the sun, while others continue their training regardless of the heat. For some they say it is a good way to test your ability on such weather so that come race day, you are used to the said environment especially if you are racing in marathon, triathlon, or even ultramarathon (speaking of which, I saw one lady ultramarathoner in LB on my way to my bike training at 12nn, I was doubting if I will continue my training but seeing her determined and focused, that got me motivated, I salute her for the effort).

However, we need to be safe also in training in hot weather. Here are some reminders for those biking or running under such condition:

1. Keep yourself hydrated – do not wait to be thirsty before hydrating, make sure you hydrate at least every 15 min. Use energy drink for those running or biking more than 30 minutes.

2. Put sun screen – always good to wear sunblock to protect your skin from UV ray and avoid sun burn.

3. Wear light colored shirt – dark shirts (especially black) is absorbing the heat and will affect your performance as well. I saw one rider up to tagaytay last Sunday wearing all black. Hope he did well, but saw him struggling already.

4. Know symptoms of heat fatigue – such symptoms are dizziness, nausea, fatigue, excessive sweating, difficulty breathing, vomiting, headache, muscle cramps. Try to cool down by foaming water in your head. If symptoms persist, seek medical attention.

5. If possible avoid training in hot weather – try to schedule runs early morning or at night. Do not risk your health, train smart.

Stay safe everyone!

Greenfield Sunset Run

2010-04-25T21:29:00.008+08:00

This was my 3rd race of the year, I have missed a lot of good races and was able to join only at Condura Run and Globe Run for Home. I wouldn't let this race pass as this was located within our neighborhood. Likewise, the greenfield run was my second run last year where I did a 10 km run finishing at 1:13:10. This time I did a 21k and my plan was to meet sub 2 hr.

In the last races, I opted to do a 21k run as part of the long weekend runs. After the holy week, we were not able to do any long runs and obviously, since most of the GRC members are within Laguna we joined this race.

I felt that I can do a PR on this one as I have seen some progress in my runs. I was able to peg my fastest 10k in 56:48 days before the race and that gave me confidence to run strong in this race. Indeed it was a good race, I was feeling strong in the first 10km where I hit 56:39 (9 seconds better than my training run). I was pacing with Jay until the 12th km, but I started to slow down and cant keep up with the pace. Jay was trying to pull me as he remains steady with the target pace for sub 2hr. I just had to let go since my calves started to get stiff. I made a recovery at km 14-16 but after that I started to slow down again. I was trying to lift my legs, but I can feel the stiffness. I was glad that I came strong in the first half, I was hoping for a negative split, as I usually experience getting stronger at the second half of my run (but that was for 10k), however, I just dont have the leg power to do it. I managed to sprint in the last 200m and finished in 2:08:12 (chip time at 2:07:45). Got a new PR, 8 minutes away from sub 2hr and I believe its within reach. I am happy with the result, I ranked 85th out of the 435 runners which was in the top 20% of the total runners in 21k.

Thanks to Photovendo for these photos.

Globe Run for Home 2

2010-04-08T21:18:00.004+08:00

This is a late post but I’ll still post anyway and share a bit of our Globe Run For Home experience. I’ve been busy and had no chance to write, there’s more to share and will try to post in the next blogs.

I was not able to join any other race since the Condura Run, I have skipped the Century Bods Run, and Unilab Run, but at least I was able to maintain my running and biking activities to keep me fit and help prepare for the next races.

It has been a year since we started joining official races and Globe Run for Home 2 serves as my Anniversary Run. I remembered when I invited my friends to join me in the Condura Run at that time (March 21, 2009) which was also their first official race. I was with Jay, Noemi, Allan, and Ronald. From then on, we joined more races and as you may know, we have established the Gone Running Club.

We were around 11 runners in GRC who joined the 21k at Globe Run, Jay and I decided to pace with the team since we underwent a hard workout the day before the race. Most of the members planned to achieve a target time of 2:25-2:30, (5) of us was able to finish between 2:19 – 2:33, (4) finished between 2:42-2:48, while the two finished more than 3 hrs. Gilbert (2:48) and Egay (3:02) completed their 1st official 21km. It was good to see more of us are running the 21k distance, we hope that we continue to improve our time as we move along. Likewise I was glad that everybody finished without any injury. It was a good race overall, distance was a bit longer but it doesn’t matter, it’s better than short in distance. I enjoyed this run and had no complaint.

Here’s some photos (with photovendo shots).

Rodney, Raymund, Allan, Jay, Vince, Val, Cherry, Me, Noemi, and Neo.

Thumbs up! Not struggling that much.

Me, Jay, and Val near the finish line.

Sprinting near the finish line.

Egay on his 21km debut. Great Job Man!

and so did Gilbert finishing at 2:48.

Father and Son.

Gene, Allan, Val, Vince, Jojo, Neo, Egay, Noemi, Jay, and Ronald.

Condura 2010 - Half Marathon

2010-02-11T07:42:00.022+08:00

What a fantastic day it was! Condura Run 2010 was indeed a success. About 8,500 runners participated in this much awaited running event of the year. For some it was their first run, others did a mileage level up from their last year run, and many have set their new Personal Record (PR). The introduction of the full marathon in this year’s event made it more exciting. Though there were some new highlights in the race, there were still some problems that frustrated some of the runners.

I have been preparing for this event hoping to get a new PR for my half marathon. I was hoping to run the 42km but since I just recovered from an injury, I did not risk it and instead trained for a 21km. It was full determination and excitement that pushed me to take on the challenge and focused on meeting my target time which was 2:15, I finished the race at 2:18:31 (official time). I was practically running at an average pace of 6 min/km in my first 10km which lead me to another PR hitting it in 61 minutes.

I was steady in my first 14km and started to slow down to recover at the 15th km. As I was approaching the Kalayaan flyover, I planned to walk, luckily Val (fellow GRC member) caught up with me and started to run with me. My legs were already fatigued but I was not ready to give up especially when I was close to achieving my goal. As I reached 21km in my garmin, I already hit 2:14, but it was 700m to go at finish line. It took me another 3-4 minutes to reach it. It was a good finish for me obviously as I hit two PR's in this event.

Truly, preparation is key in achieving my goal. I was glad also that my injury had fully recovered. Will continue my training as I am yet to meet my target time that I set for this year. Here are some highlights/lowlights of the event.

Highlights

1. Fireworks at the start line
2. Cheering squad and bands playing at designated area to cheer the runners.
3. Sufficient water stations.

4. Banana supply at Takbo.ph and Reinier aid station.
5. Portalets were situated in designated area as well.
6. Different finish line for 3k/5k and 10/21/42k

Lowlights

1. Street lights were off at the Kalayaan Flyover.
2. Medals were not available to some runners . Refer to Condura’s announcement here.
3. Long waiting time at the 10km finish since runners were queuing at the end of the strip.
4. Distance was excess of 700m (at least from my garmin).
5. Results were not accurate, some were timed later, while others were earlier. Hope a timing chip can be included in Condura 2011.

It was a successful event, hopefully next year's event will address some of the areas for improvements that were raised also by other bloggers/runners. Next year would definitely something to look forward to. Meanwhile, back to training for other events.

Gone Running Club with Junrox (Tigerboy)

With Val who gave me a push in the last 2km. Thanks man!

With Junrox discussing his new full marathon PR (3:40!) and giving some tips on how to improve my running.

Ronald and Noemi, while waiting for the rest of the group.

With Bald Runner, met him at the finish line.

With Natz (I2runner) and his friends. You were fast natz! Great Run!

With Mike, finishing his first 21km. Congratulations!

Welcoming Jay at the finish line. He was late by 23 minutes at starting line but still managed to finish strong.

Jay discussing his skyway experience.

Another group photo.

Ready for Condura Run

2010-02-02T16:46:00.008+08:00

Another week has passed and I must admit that it was not a very good training week. I felt tired and there were times that I am just not into a running mode. I was not able to follow my training plan to the letter and was 20km short of my planned distance for the week. I guess, the aggressive build up in mileage in the last 3 weeks had me stressed out. I guess it was a sign to hold back and took some time to rest.

There was no bike training last week as well and just focused on running. I did two weekday run (11k each) and one Long Run (21k). Surprisingly, I did get a PR for a 21km run, I finished at 2:24 last Sunday. It was a 10 minute improvement from my best 21k which was during the Ayala Eco Dash held last year. Thanks to Jay for pacing with me. Hopefully I get to beat this time and set an official PR at the Condura Run.

Speaking of Condura Run, this will be my anniversary run as I officially joined run races in the 2009 Condura Run where I ran my first 10km. I was hoping to do a full marathon for this event, but I have been nursing an injury after my first marathon in Bangkok in November 2009 and decided not to risk getting injured again this year. I still have some discomfort in my left hamstring but I am lucky that I can run and managed to build some mileage. I do hope that on Sunday, the injury will not go back and continue training for the next events.

This year, I am glad that more of our employees at CCAC (Concepcion Carrier Airconditioning Company), a sister company of Concepcion Industries Incorprated (CII), are joining the Condura Run as runners. Most of them who are new to running will be joining the 3km race, those who ran at 3km last year are running 5km this year, and some of the 5km runners will do the 10km run. Mike (Aftermarket Sales Director), and Ric (EHS Manager), will be running their first 21km. Hopefully they find running as a means of their fitness activity and becomes a part of their daily routine. I'm sure some, if not all of them will be bitten by the running bug. Meanwhile, most of us in the Gone Running Club will be running the 21k, and 3 of them will be running the full marathon. Good Luck to you guys!

I still have a week to do some easy runs and hopefully no injury gets in the way. I think I am ready on Sunday. Will try to enjoy the run and just let my legs bring me to the finish line with a new PR.

To those running at Condura Run, see you all on Sunday and Good Luck!

Week 4 Training Recap

2010-01-25T18:30:00.001+08:00

It was an exhausting weekend and I felt so tired and sleepy after two consecutive days of long ride and long run. I guess I need to look at my nutrition and vitamin supplements. Last week, I have increased my run mileage as planned, did a total of 58 km. I was happy to have followed the distance as per my plan. Also, I was able to do a test ride on my newly acquired road bike (second hand) and did a 50km time trial.

Below was my running workout, I have been running 10k’s in 4 consecutive days. Waking up in the morning has been so difficult last week due to the cold weather. But I needed to remind myself of the Condura Run (where I hope to do a new PR for my 21k run), and not to waste the effort I did in building up my mileage. I was happy with the result last week as I was able to again improve my time for 10k at 1:03:15, this is my current PR for this distance. Hopefully, I get to improve this week. I am close to sub-60 mark.

Date / Distance / Time / Pace / Remarks

Jan 19 / 10 / 1:09:47 / 6:58 / Recovery Run

Jan 20 / 10 / 1:06:57 / 6:41 / Easy Run

Jan 21 / 10 / 1:03:15 / 6:19 / Tempo Run

Jan 22 / 10 / 1:04:40 / 6:28 / Easy Run

Jan 24 / 18.5 / 2:04:37 / 6:51 / LSD

I did my long distance run yesterday with fellow Gone Running Club runners. We planned to use the Paseo – Nuvali Road –Cangolf and back. Unfortunately, as I was about to unload the hydration at the guard house, the guard told me that it was prohibited to run along Nuvali road as mandated by the management (I guess for the safety of the runners). Runners are allowed only to run at the lakeside area, but bikers are still allowed. I will have to coordinate with Nuvali management to clarify this mandate. Anyway, we ended up going to the Paseo-Lasalle-Verdana Route but we were not allowed to enter the second gate going in to Verdana-Greenfield road. So we headed back and use alternative routes since there are many options anyway in the area. It was a good run, I only had brief walk breaks. I hope to improve next week as I felt so tired in the last 3km stretch.

As for biking, I felt a totally different handling on the road bike vs mountain bike. Obviously it was lighter and helped to add more speed. I did a 50km ride with an average speed of 24kph, way off the mark of the elite riders that was training at that time, they were riding at an average of 35-40kph. I needed more leg power to increase the speed, my heart rate was at 80% only and my legs can’t keep up. In time, I'll be able to catch up with the pack. Another week of training, let’s see what happens.

Running and Biking

2010-01-18T22:04:00.004+08:00

It was a good workout last week, however, I have slipped a bit on my planned mileage for my running workout, but I compensated in my bike mileage instead. I logged in a total of 7 hours and 46 mins of workout the whole week which includes a 2 hour and 53 mins of weekend ride on my mountain bike in Tagaytay yesterday. Total running mileage was 42.5km and a cycling mileage of 48.5km.

It was a better run for me last week, I decided to push myself a bit and exerted more effort in my 10km run and I was able to finish in 1:04:57. I am less than 5 minutes off the sub-60 mark. Hopefully this week would be a better run for me.

Sunday was the planned long ride with fellow Mountain Bike riders and we decided to take the reverse palace route going to Tagaytay. It was a cool morning and we took off from Paseo de Sta Rosa at about 6:00 am. I was riding with Luigi (Ford), Leo (Avon), and Neil (Avon). I appreciated that we started on time as agreed, no more waiting and setting up of bike. We were just read to go and pedal all the way.

I haven’t had an uphill climb for a while now and found myself struggling and have been on granny mode (lowest gear) on the way up. Sure thing, running and biking are two different workouts. But good thing that my cardio has improved through running. Indeed, I need to do more uphill bike training in preparation to Laguna Loop part 2 (about 185km and I missed part 1). I believe we are scheduling this in February after the Condura Run.

After 15km of ride, we took a pit stop to replenish and hydrate, it was already foggy and rain started to pour, we waited for awhile hoping that the rain will stop as it was very cold already, aside from the rain, it was also windy. As other bikers started to arrive at the pit stop, we decided to proceed since we figured that the rain will not stop. The chillness in the air helped us to climb easily, the road was foggy and you can barely see other riders from a distance.

Another training week ahead to look forward to. Here are some photos from our ride.

At km 20, foggy, raining, and windy. Brrrr! I came from down there and decided to stop a bit to capture this moment.

Still at km 20 looking up ahead, about 500 meters to the Tagaytay National Road.

With Neil while waiting for Leo.

With Luigi, Leo arrived 2 minutes after.

Mileage Build Up

2010-01-11T18:30:00.004+08:00

Last week was my 3rd straight week of training without getting any new injury, though I still am suffering from a hamstring tendonitis which was the last injury I had after my first Marathon in November last year. Good thing I didn’t felt much pain during my run and it’s slowly getting better. I was given medication by my doc last week, hopefully it gets better soon. Meanwhile, I have to do some leg strength training to stabilize my run further.

So far, I was able to log good run mileage. Two weeks ago I had a total of 57 km , and last week was at 52 km, plus a 25km ride. You can view my training log at dailymile . Here are some highlights of my run last week.

1. I mostly did easy runs to build up on my mileage. Taking it one day at a time, hopefully I get to improve my pace as I move along. Tried to do some speed work, but I’m still protecting my hamstring injury, so I declined and instead to a steady pace.

2. It was my 3rd straight training last week without any injury (last year my training was always cut to 2 weeks straight due to injury).

3. Running has become a habit already, there was a time that I have this urge to run in the middle of the day while at work. Crazy huh? Well, I ended up running in our village after work.

4. Last Saturday, I did a 5km run and then proceeded with a 25km ride using my mountain bike. Hopefully I get to train using a road bike soon.

5. I did my long run in UP Los Banos (my hometown), had lunch at my sister’s house to celebrate my niece’s bday. My parents were there also, and we all had a good chat. Then went to do my long run in the afternoon inside the UP campus. I finished 16km with a steady pace of 7:00 min/km.

Feels good to be consistent in my runs, I have learned that building up mileage and being consistent is key to better performance. I hope to maintain my target mileage and to have a better performance this week.

First LSD of the Year

2010-01-03T21:03:00.005+08:00

The past two weeks has been a good running week for me as I was able to consistently build up mileage comfortably. I took a one week rest from running prior the Christmas holiday to give my knee some rest and to recover from a month long injury. The week before Christmas, I was able to log in 26 km and was able to maintain an average pace of 6:30 km/min in some of my runs. This week, I just saw myself eager to run and was able to build up a total of 51km. It was crazy because I should have been increasing my mileage by 10% every week in order to have a gradual build up and to avoid any injury, however I was able to build 29km on my weekday run already and there’s a scheduled long run form me on a Saturday where I planned to do a 15k run.

The day before the LSD run, I got a text from Junrox that He and Alfred was planning to do a long run and invited me to join them. I immediately said yes since we are all from Sta. Rosa, Laguna and I am running the same route anyway. But I knew that I will be tempted to run longer, which I did. We met up 6am in Paseo Sta Rosa, and had a 2km head start since I ran from my house to Paseo. Junrox arrived and we did a 1km warm up while waiting for Alfred. As soon as Alfred arrived, we decided what route we will use since there are a lot of options in the area. We decided to do this route: Paseo – Nuvali – Paseo – Westgrove - Sta Rosa Village (my stop), then they proceeded to the Lasalle Canlubang then back to paseo to complete their course. It was a good run, a lot to talk about, and they also discussed on how they plan to do their strategies in the Ultramarathon. The two have a good teamwork, and obviously they will be helping each other out in the race.

We had our pit stop at Junrox’s house which was km 16 for me. We replenished and got hydrated and took some pretzels and banana. At this point I exceeded my quota already and was done for the day, but I still have less than 2km from Junrox’s house to mine so I would end at 18km. As soon as we arrive the gate of our village, I decided to continue since I can still do some more so off we went. At km 19, I decided to stop and did not risk my knee to run an extra 1km uphill, I waited for them to go down. On the way down, I started running again and completed my first run of the year at 22km. This also concludes my run for the week giving me a total of 51km. Next week would be my 3rd week of continuous training, I hope from here on I can consistently do my training since I have been stucked with a two week training then stop on the 3rd week to heal an injury.

Some photos from our LSD courtesy of Junrox.

With Junrox at km 12.
With Alfred at km 15.

With Alfred and Junrox at km 22.

2009: The Start of My Fitness Journey

2009-12-31T23:05:00.004+08:00

Year 2009 indeed was a very memorable and active year for me both in my professional and personal life. I am happy about the outcome as this year has given me a sense of accomplishment in both worlds. This year, I can say that I managed to balance work and play. I was able to focus in achieving some of my key goals and objectives. As a result, I got two promotions at work and I was able to finish a full marathon this year, and I lost 11 lbs.

In 2008, I was not able to focus on my fitness activity, I was on and off in the gym and don’t have a clear focus and discipline to pursue it. This year, I was able to focus on two activities – biking and running. I started to ride again in February and used that as my main fitness activity. In March, I joined the Condura Run, which was my first official race doing a 10k run. From then on I enjoyed running and included that in my fitness regimen. I run at least 4 times a week, and rode every Saturday. My total mileage for running was 646.21 km and 1035.30 km for biking. Too many injuries for me this year and both knees had it. I have learned from my mistakes, and hopefully, I stay injury free next year.

A lot of “My First” this year, that was joining the following distances in running: 10k, 21k, 42k, and joining one MTB race. Together with my friends, we created the Gone Running Club, we thought of putting up one so that we can all motivate each other to continue what we started. We ended the year with a total mileage of 10,178.73 km.

I am grateful with all the friends I met in running, I was surprised to learn that it was a big community already here in the Philippines. Thanks to Takbo.ph people who were very supportive to all of us who were new to running. I learned a lot from their experiences which they have written in their blogs and that also encouraged me to create my own blog site. I was able to make friends with some of their members, and hopefully I meet more of them in the future runs. Thanks again.

For next year, I have set my goals already here they are:

1. To achieve a sub 50 for a 10k run.
2. To achieve a sub 2 hrs for a 21k run.
3. To achieve a sub 4:30 hours for a 42k run.
4. To do my first duathlon.
5. To lose 16 lbs.
6. and to stay injury-free.

Most of this are aggressive goals for me, I just hope I can keep up with it.

This year was a start of my fitness journey and both running and biking has become a way of life. I hope to continue this and that I may be able to share my experiences to everyone and encourage others to start living a healthy life. Happy New Year to all and God Bless you!

Keep on Running

2009-12-24T23:22:00.001+08:00

Last week was a no run week for me as I opted to give my left leg more rest. Problem was, last week was filled with Christmas parties and I had more calories stored that were unused and I ended up gaining 4 lbs (that was fast!). This week, I started to run again, I ran a slow 5k last Monday at 7:01 min/km pace finishing at 35 min. Still have some pain on my inner left knee and a muscle tear on my hamstring. I got this injury after my marathon in BKK last November. Wednesday, I ran 6k with an improved pace of 6:22 min/km, I felt good in this run, there was slight pain but manageable. I was surprised that I was able to maintain a good pace. In the past, I have been running at 7:00 to 7:30. I got motivated, but mindful not to rush as I am just recuperating and don’t want the injury to come back.

Today (Thursday), I went for an afternoon run after visiting my sister’s house. My brother in law prepared an Ethiopian coffee and had one prior to my run. I went to UPLB campus and as I parked, I saw Dante, a batch mate since grade school who is a triathlete and a member of the UP Trantados. He joined me in my run and as we took off, we saw his friend (Anthony – “Tonio”) who was training for the Condura Run in February, he will be running a 42km. Our pace was between 6:00 – 6:40 and it was a conversation pace for them while for me, I focused on my breathing in order to last the planned 8k route at a maintained pace. At the 7th km, Dante and Tonio started to pick up the pace and saw Dante sprinting his last 300m while Tonio maintained his pace as he planned to run 24km. As for me, I ended up completing a 9km run at an average pace of 6:33 finishing in 59 min. No major pains, and I was happy with the result.

It’s Christmas Season and a lot of parties, a lot of calories to burn. Let us keep on running and stay fit! Merry Christmas to Everyone!

Gone Running in Makiling

2009-12-15T19:00:00.001+08:00

Two weeks ago, I invited the GRC group to join the Makiling Nature Run in UP Los Banos in Dec 13, 2009. We have decided to join this event since some of us missed the Makiling Challenge ’09 in September. The race started a bit late, If I recall it right the 16k runners started 15 minutes late from the planned start time at 6:00 am, followed by the 10k runners and 5 k runners with an interval of 15 minutes. The course was challenging since the route will go up to Jamboree Road, Pook ni Maria Makiling, and National Art Center. On the way back, though you expect all downhill, there was a last uphill climb going to forestry with turnaround after the Infirmary hospital going down to women’s dormitory.

I was not supposed to run since I declined 3 days before the event due to my muscle tear in my left calf. I intended to just provide morale support to the group. However, when I got to the site Sunday morning, I felt the urge to join and do a 10km. I was just so stubborn to ignore the pain and didn’t mind what will happen at the end of the race. After the 1st km, I was seriously thinking of stopping and getting out of the race due to the pain on my left calf and shin and that it might aggravate it further. I took a walk break to shake it off on the first uphill climb at Kanluran Road, after a while the pain has become bearable so I decided to continue.

The event was not as big in terms of participants as compared to the races at the Fort, but I must say that the organizers has done a good job in carrying out their task during the event.

Some of the good points were:

1. Sufficient water aid stations,.
2. Marshalls were assigned on designated area to guide runners on the right direction.
3. Marshalls on bike were there to monitor runners and provide support as needed.
4. The route was good since runners get to run at Mt Makiling. 16k runners were able to go to National Arts Center.
5. Distribution of singlets were orderly, sorted per sizes.

Negative points

1. Late start
2. No km markers
3. The distance was short of 1km for 10k, and around 1.5km for the 16k runners.
4. Race bib was made of oslo paper/thick bond paper. It easily tear off as it gets wet. At the finish line, the runners need to shout their number as the time recorder manually record the result.

The event was good, I think attendance reached around 1,000 runners or less. The weather was good and everybody seem to enjoy their run. I hope more races are held in UPLB and try different routes.

Some Photos during the event.

Waiting for gun start: Ronald (16k), Greg (10k), Jun (10k), Raymond (10k), Jay (16k)

About to start

Jun (finishing 10th) and Greg (finishing 5th)

Raymond Canta

Knight Runner

Jay Chavez

Ronald Valdez

What an inspiration! Nothing is impossible with strong will and determination. This man finished his 10k run. At the last 25m stretch, he hopped until he reaches the finish line.

Work and Play

2009-12-07T20:47:00.004+08:00

It was an early morning ride from Manila to Baguio for our 2010 strategic planning which was held at Baguio Country Club in Dec 2-5, 2009. We had a late lunch as soon as we arrived and immediately after we proceeded to the conference room to start the planning session. It was an outright presentation of objectives and directions to guide everyone on the proceedings of the session. It was an activity full of interaction and I myself have engaged in some discussions related to Sales and Marketing, when I am in fact in the field of Supply Chain. Well, that was the point of it all, to be engaged in the discussions and plans of other Business Unit (BU) as it was not intended for BU heads to present their plans only but to engage themselves in the different strategies of different BUs for alignment.

First day was a long day, but Me and Mike D. (the Transformer) planned for a morning run in the cold and beautiful city of Baguio. Given the busy schedule, we took a time off to go out and do our morning runs. We slept around 12 mn the and woke up at 5:00 am, got up and geared up and took off at 5:30am. We did a very slow pace (conversational pace) and have talked about a lot of stuff (work, life, insights, and even personal stuff). It was a recovery run for me since I just finished another half marathon (21km) last Nov. 29 and my legs were a bit stiff, that after finishing my full marathon a week before (Nov. 22).

We finished a good 6 km jog enough to energize ourselves for the day’s activity. We took our breakfast, cleaned up, and got ready in time for Day 2’s session. The morning run felt good and it kept us energized for the day’s activity. We were active the whole day and stayed engaged the whole time. The meeting lasted a bit later around 9pm and had late dinner, but the long hours didn’t matter to us as we came prepared both physically and mentally.

A long day indeed, but I was programmed to run the following day. Me and Mike planned for a 10km run this time and invited some of the guys to join us (those who failed to join the first day run). Same routine, woke up at 5am, and took off at 5:30 am. I used a different route, we started at Camp John Hay and went around in some portions of the City. I was measuring the distance in such a way that we will be back in the club at exactly 10km. I texted Ric (EHS Manager-Sales & Distribution) before we took off, and asked if they will join, but He replied to me when we were 2km away already. Good thing, they still continued with their run. He was with Jomel (EHS Manager-Factory). It was a non conversational run supposedly for me and Mike so that we can run our pace, the first 3km was uphill and was difficult really to set a faster pace. I just took it lightly as my hamstring was feeling some pain so I just did a gradual pace and took some walk breaks. It was not intended to be a tempo run or a race pace, enough to keep the mileage.

As we were heading back, I saw Gilbert (Service Manager) doing his own morning walk, I was glad that at least there were 5 of us awake in the early morning doing our exercise. Moving on, I figured that we were short by 800 m reaching the club house. So I immediately told Mike and told him that we were short, and that we have to complete it. So off we went for an extra km and met up with Ric, Jomel, and Gilbert. It was a good feeling to see more of us running, I then took the opportunity to indoctrinate the 3 (Ric, Jomel, and Gilbert) that they are now part of the official runners of CCAC (Concepcion Carrier Airconditioning Company). They have the challenge to run the 10k in the Condura Run in February 2010. Let’s see their progress by then. We did have fun and off we went to face Day 3 activities.

Some Key Learnings:

1. It can be done – most of us think that time is a problem to start any fitness activity because of work, priority, and other activities. By accepting the fact that a healthy living entails some fitness activities, then you will make time for it. A 30 min or an hour of your time each day will not hurt. Try it, you may find yourself permanently putting fitness into your daily schedule.

2. A healthy body, a healthy mind – starting the day with a good exercise provides an extra kick in the day ahead. Have you experienced feeling ready to take the day’s challenges because you are energized? You become attentive, mentally stimulated and engaged the whole day and not letting any problem pass unresolved.

3. Running friends – it surely motivates a person to engage in fitness activities especially if you have friends to train or exercise with. Find a group or a friend to run or exercise with. You need a boost once in a while. Keep track of your progress as well it will help you to become conscious of your fitness program.

4. Work, Life, Balance – for us professionals and busy bodies, we are sometimes caught up with the busy schedule at work, but this should not stop us to make time for our personal activities. Don’t be a slave of your work, but instead, try to find time to stay fit and healthy. At the end of the day this will help you perform better at work.

Knight Runner leading the way..

Downhill with Jomel, Mike, and Gilbert

Fun moment with Jomel, Ric, and Gilbert.

Ready for the day's activities. With Mike, Gilbert, Jomel, and Ric.

How I Finished my First Marathon

2009-12-04T17:37:00.003+08:00

To me it was such an achievement to have completed my first Marathon. Looking back (as I engage in being active again in my fitness activities), there were times that I struggled in every event that I took such as my first Mountain Bike Trail, my first 10km and my first half marathon. Struggled in the sense that I have felt so stressed out that I “hit the wall”, gasped for air, and the numerous knee and leg pains after each event. I knew that as a beginner, I was bound to experience those pains since my body needed to adjust to the level of physical activities that I am getting into. Plus of course the lack of understanding on how to prepare for such event. As I learn new things in every event that I joined, I had my own share on the pie of those athletes who gets injured due to improper training, and running too fast too soon, and among other things.

Preparation and proper training is key in every event. Especially in joining a full marathon, it is important that you gain enough mileage and follow a sound training plan to help you finish your goal. However in some cases, there are certain constraints (injury, illness, time to train, weather, lack of motivation, etc..) that hinders you from following your training plan to the letter. Most of the time people would just stop and forego their plans to proceed on what they intended to do in the first place. But how can you overcome these constraints and maintain focus in achieving your goal? Here are some thoughts that helped me overcome my own problems prior to my first Marathon.

1. Defining your goals – This sets the foundation on why you want to train. It allows you to focus and get back to this goal whenever you are doubting yourself in your preparation. You must not only set a date on your first marathon but also come up with an objective on why you want to finish one. This will remind you later on during your run and will keep you motivated to complete your task.

2. Have your injury checked – one way or another you will end up getting an injury during your training probably due to lack of discipline or simply an accident. This will definitely stop you or slow you down in your training. I have been nursing my injury for almost two months prior to my first marathon, and as I mentioned in my other blog, I went to see a doctor specializing in sports medicine to get his professional opinion and to be guided on what to do for it to completely heal and recuperate. It is important that you attend to your injury for fast recovery. I underwent a physical therapy.

3. Cross training – if you can’t run due to an injury, do cross training on bike or swimming to keep you in good shape. In my case I did a bike cross train and rode an equivalent distance of my planned run. For every 1km of run, I was doing 3.5km of bike. Staying fit to improve endurance despite of an injury will help you finish that extra mile.

4. Mental preparation – it is equally important to prepare mentally for a marathon. With the injury, you would definitely lose a lot of running mileage which might lead you to think that you are not ready to conquer a full marathon. In my case, I had an on and off runs and my longest run was 21km. I have not reached a 1,000 km mileage and was really in doubt whether I can finish a full marathon. Based on what I read from magazines, blogs, and even experience of other runners, it is important to build mileage to help improve your foundation in long runs. With all this affecting your confidence, the arsenal that you can use is your mental ability to overcome all the obstructions that you had during your training. At the end of the day, mental focus is all that will matter.

5. Maintain focus in your objective – during my marathon, I only had one thing in my mind, to finish my first marathon without any injury. I accepted the fact that conquering it would be difficult and that I have to work hard for it and feel the pain if I really want to meet my objective. I have thought of all the reasons why I am doing it and that was all that matter to me. Even my doubts were all out, I did not bring it with me and made sure that it will not slow me down. I maintained my focus and it was effective.

6. Do not entertain negative thoughts - never entertain any negative thoughts during your run. For the whole week prior to the run, I stopped worrying about the lack of mileage and my injury. The moment you accept negative thoughts such as feeling the pain, or doubting if you can finish, and worry about any discomfort while you are running, you will lose the grip and would end up up quitting. So stay positive and BELIEVE that you can do it..

7. Enjoy the run – Simply enjoy and have fun. Meet new friends and enjoy the scenery and the environment.. You will be amazed that you will not even notice that you are almost near the finish line.

These are some of the key inputs that helped me finish my first marathon. There are a lot of experiences from other runners and I think some of you will agree to this. For non-runners, you may learn from this and apply to your daily life. It can be from your work, family, or anything that you are busy with right now. Set your goals, prepare, and believe that you can do it. It works!

Enjoy life, Enjoy Running!

Raising Hope for Cancer

2009-12-01T06:00:00.002+08:00

The NB power race was an important race for me as it was a personal advocacy of mine to support any cause that raises hope for Cancer. This was supposed to be the race of my choice for this year (prior to the BKK marathon) and would have wanted to finish strong in this event and probably an improved 21km time. This event was postponed due to the typhoon Ondoy and was actually a blessing for me since I could have missed the event since I was injured at that time. I knew that this run will be more challenging since I was recovering from my first marathon a week prior to this event, and that the 21k course was very challenging as it will pass the Mckinley hill. But still, I thought of hitting a 2:30 finish as compared from my last run at QCIM where I finished at 2:48:11. Unfortunately, I struggled in this race which got me too exhausted after crossing the finish line.

Jay was also recovering from the BKK marathon and told me that he will pace with me and help me reach my target time. In the first 10km, we were still on target with our pace, but after that, I began to feel the stiffness in my left hamstring. It was hard for me to catch up with Jay as he was controlling the pace, I was practically slowing him down since I can’t keep up with the pace (to think that it was a slow pace). I was trying to psyche myself to avoid any negative thoughts during my run and focused on the advocacy for cancer patients. But “will power” is not enough if your physical strength is just not there. More walk breaks for me after the 13th km and found myself wondering why this was so difficult than the full marathon that I did. Was it fatigue? By this time, I was also feeling pain in my right hamstring. On uphills, I opted to walk as I don’t want to risk my ITB since it just got well after 2 months of healing. It was torture and I was just feeling so tired that I can’t motivate myself to move on. The only thing that was motivating me was to finish the race for the cause. If cancer patients can overcome the pain that they are going through, then this temporary hardship should not stop me from giving them hope. In km 19, I was beginning to have cramps in my right leg and can’t finish a whole km run. In the final stretch, I tried to jog until I reached the finish line and was limping already due to cramps. I finished at 2:47 together with Jay who decided to run along with me until the finish line.

I would also like to mention that this race was Kay’s (my fiancée) first official 3km run together with Tyrone. They finished the course in 27 min (unofficial time). Hopefully they get to run their first 5km in the Mizuno Run in January 2010.

Though I ended up exhausted in this race, I am glad to have been part of a cause that was meaningful to the beneficiaries of this event. May we all continue to bring hope to all cancer patients and that we become part of their healing process as they have become part of our strengths.

After this race, I will give myself a good rest in order to recover fast. I hope to get back on training in 2 weeks.

Some photos:

Jay, Me, and Kay

Won a t-shirt from the bring me contest, Tessa Prieto asked for a pair of NB shoes, luckily I was wearing one.

Kay, Me, and Noemi with coach Rio.

*photos by Tyrone Lombos

My First Marathon

2009-11-23T18:45:00.020+08:00

It was 4 months ago, when Me and my friend Jay threw the idea of joining an International Marathon. It was 4 months after we joined the Condura Run. At that time, we were just joining 10k runs and starting to build mileage together with the rest of the Gone Running Club members. I immediately said Yes, and off we went and prepared our training plans. We have chosen the Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon held in Nov. 22, 2009.

Prior to the Marathon day, I only managed to build 498km in mileage due to the series of injuries that I was struggling with. The 16 weeks training period was dwindling down so fast and I have yet to do a consistent long run. I was still nursing my injury and it has given me a lot of pressure since I have declared that I will do my first marathon on that day. I have committed to do this task as scheduled and there was no turning back for me. I honestly am having doubts a week before the event if I can really make it. Good thing my knee were getting better as I have been attending my Physical Therapy as mentioned in my last blog.

My goal was to finish my first marathon without injury. I have planned to do a run-walk strategy (9 min jog @ 7:30 min/km and 1 min walk @ 10 min/km). This would make me finish at 5:22. Though I wanted to finish with a good time, it was least of my priority. My only wish at that time was to finish below 6 hours without any injury.

Jay and myself at the site around 1:30 a.m.

There were two race starts for the full marathon. One is at 2:00 a.m. for those finishing between 5-7 hours and for female age group between 60-64 and male 65 and above. (No wonder I was running alongside a lot of elder who were really fit and fast, I admire them). The 2nd start time was at 3:30 a.m for those finishing within 5 hours. However, for the 1st start time, a lot of runners finishing below 5 hours have joined the 1st group.

During my first 12km, I was consistently following my 9-1 strategy but I was going fast since my virtual partner in my garmin was showing that I was ahead by 8 min. You just can't resist when you feel strong and that no pain is occuring on your past injury. But I had to control myself and conserve my energy. I was focused with my 9-1 strategy and before I knew it, I was done with my 21st km. The next km after that was my farthest run so far. I began to pray that the Lord will give me the strength and the will power to finish the marathon. At this point I began to become nervous and concerned that my Injury will come out anytime.

At km 22, I started to monitor my pace every km and forgot the 9-1 strategy. At km 25, my legs were so stiff and my ITB had slight pains but were manageable. It was good that there were free massage at selected aid stations, did some stretching and off I go again. I had to take my hammer gel every 30 min for the first 2 hours. I stopped at all hydration station and made sure to drink water and gatorade in order not to "hit the wall".

I was eager to reach the 30th km since I will use that as my motivation that the remaining 12km should be manageable since my body is aware that I can finish 12km without any trouble (crazy motivation huh?). But it worked for me, as soon as I reached the 3oth km, I again hydrated myself, did some stretching and conditioned myself that I will start to run a 12km race. But the next 12 km was so hard, I had more walk breaks but I still focused.

I intended to take more photos to highlight the race, but I was so stressed out and just remained focused to finish. At km 36, I needed to pee, I can't find an open establishment where I can go. Luckily there was a gas station and I took a detour went to look for the toilet. Then I went back and started to jog. At km 37, the 10km runners who came out from another street finally joined the group and they were all so fast and too many. The crowd became lively again, before they came the marathoners were all far apart. The 10k runners though made it appear that I was too slow (yes I was) and that I am being left alone as I was running too slow.

Then it was down to 5km, I was excited and at the same time struggling. But the elders motivated me, I even saw lady on her 60's whose pace were faster than mine in some point. The elders both men and women were just so amazing. How I wish that we can all be as fit as them someday. At km 39, I happen to run beside a local thai maybe on his late 50's. He talked to me in local thai and I just said, "I don't speak thai", he continued to converse with me and looked at his garmin and made a sign language "3 ", meaning 3km left. We then ran side by side, there was a time he had to walk and I continue to jog and vice versa. At the last km, we ran side by side and he demonstrated again that its 1km left. From then on we run together and finished at the same time. We shook hands at finish line and he said "Thank you, Thank you" and so did I. We both finished at 5:43:16 (unofficial time).

This experience for me was really amazing. I have learned that anything is possible if you only put your commitment and dedication to it. Believing in your own capability and the ability to find ways to resolve the constraints that might stop you from proceeding is a key indicator for your success. This is an achievement that I will treasure as I was able to accomplish it the way I wanted it to happen.

The event was well organized. Here are some observations:

1. There was a defined schedule for the start time per category. At the finish line, the marathoners, 10km, 5km runners were arriving almost at the same time. There was a dedicated lane for the finishers for 5k runners, 10k runners, and marathoners. In below photo, the right side is for the finish line of full marathon, and on the left is for the 5km and 10km.

2. Sufficient water aid station.

3. Mobile Toilets (I was not able to take a photo).

4. Massage on selected aid station.

5. Fresh banana on selected aid station.

6. Volunteers from a community prepared drinks and fresh watermelons. Very nice gesture. At the same time they were cheering the runners.

7. Some students cheered the runners as we passed by in front of their school.

8. Flags of participating countries were raised. The night before, Jay and his nephew went to the place for an ocular, (I was resting then). He saw our flag raised with the red color on top, he immediately called the officer in charge and told him the meaning of red color on top (which means in war). The organizer immediately apologized and change the orientation.

9. Eye catcher runners.. Batman here finishing his marathon.

10. There were medical support team after the race. Free massages, medical attention, ambulance in place both at the finish line and at the selected aid stations.

11. Timing Chip

12. Announcement of names as you approach the finish line.

13. Video live feed.

14. As soon as the race ended, the crew immediately take off the main signages. Very well organized and disciplined.

14. Nice finisher t-shirt.

Some more photos:

Jay making his new marathon PR, finishing at 4:41

Noemi finishing her quarter marathon at 1:18

Gone Running in Bangkok!

Ready for Marathon

2009-11-20T23:09:00.004+08:00

Ready for the marathon on Sunday, we got our singlets today. The booth was nice and appears to be organized as it was arranged in such a way that different events (distance, age category, online registrants, and time start) were assigned a specific booth. Feeling was good as excitement steps in. Jay, Noemi, and I refused to talk about negative thoughts and focused on racing on sunday. We are kinda tired as we really need to get some sleep. Well, I should be sleeping by now. Here are some photos taken during our claiming of race kits.

This is it!

The race kit collection booth. Very well organized.

Our timing chip were registered in their system. (Me and Jay). Our start time on Sunday is 2:00 a.m.

Ready for Marathon! Noemi is hoping to PR on her 10k Run.

Marathon Challenge.. Let's do it!

2009-11-20T09:00:00.006+08:00

It's been a month since my last blog as It was a busy month with all the preparations on our upcoming strategic planning in early December. After the QCIM, I have mentioned that my ITBS came back and suspected that a shin splints is developing. Obviously I was so frustrated as injury keeps on coming at me. A day after the QCIM, my best friend Jay gave me a call just to tell me that I can still do the full marathon (given that I had an on and off training). The call was just to remind me to stay focused and believe that I can still make it (maybe he sensed that I was in the brink of giving up the Marathon). Yup, you read it right, a Full Marathon, crazy huh? I will be participating in the 2009 Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon in Nov. 22. Will write about this later.

Meanwhile, for the past month, I have been nursing my injury, went to a sports doctor and had my knee and leg checked. Three injury hit me, ITBS, shin splints, and a pulled hamstring. I was advised to undergo Physical Therapy with the following procedures; Electrical simulation, deep ultrasound, stretching, hot compress and strength training. In between my therapy, I am doing a cross training using my bike to keep me fit and catch up with the lost run training. I am using a ratio of 1:3.5 (1 km run = 3.5 km ride), to still get the mileage in terms of cardio fitness. I was determined to get well so I strictly followed the procedure and even do the stretching and strength training at home. Pressure was heating up as the marathon date is coming near. But I just simply focused and believed that I will get better. Two weeks after, I did a test run and luckily I finished 8km without much pain. It got me motivated to and stayed focus on the healing process. Then on the same week, I did a 16km long run injury free! Still went on with the therapy and hopefully I can conquer the marathon challenge. Given that I did not earn much mileage in my run, I was hoping that the cross training would help in terms of endurance. Confidence and a strong will is keeping me focused, I hope this can compensate with my physical weakness. Let see what happens next..

QCIM: A learning experience

2009-10-18T21:10:00.008+08:00

I finished my 2nd half marathon yesterday (Sunday) at QCIM. The goal was just to finish as I have been in sick bay for the past 3 weeks. As some readers might be aware, I have been nursing my ITBS injury which I got after my 1st half marathon at the Ayala Eco Dash. I have been contemplating days before the event if I should quit this event or continue and finish what I aimed for. I have registered for this event 2-3 weeks ago and was hoping that my injury would get better. Indeed I was feeling better last saturday, but was having second thoughts since I have not gained enough mileage. however, I have all the positive forces within me so it was a go for me!

At the starting line, I saw pacers with balloons from Takbo.ph group. It was cool as it would make the race exciting since these groups will help boost the morale of runners. I saw Neil (crashnburn) a friend from takbo.ph, who was pacing for 2:45 and told myself that I should at least end up with his group at finish line. I am running with fellow Gone Running members, Cherry (her first official 21k race) and Kuya Ernie, but told them that they can go ahead as I would be on a test mode and will run very slow. As soon as I said it, they took off just like that and left me running alone. Suddenly, I saw a familiar face (a co-blogger) who was running at my side, it was Argonaut, I introduced myself and he asked me of my target time, I simply said, “I just wanted to finish this with no injury”. He was catching up with the 2:30 pace group and invited me to join. At km 4, I catched up with the group and hanged in there for awhile. I met Gab, Marian, and Ebong (or Edong).

The whole time, my focus was my knee, was conscious that pain will start to come out anytime soon. I was comfortably pacing with the 2:30 group and did not even notice the distance as I keep on worrying about my knee. At km 8, I was feeling small pains already and got worried that I might not finish the race. Though being an optimist, I knew that reality would step in and I will have to struggle anytime soon. At km 10, met up with Argo again and told him that my knee was starting to hurt, he advised me to slow down and take it easy. By this time, the pacers were already far beyond my reach, it was difficult for me to catch up and decided to ran my own pace so that I can finish the race. At km 15, I started to slow down, was stretching my legs and felt embarassed since I knew that I will be walking anytime soon which I did at km 16. From then on, I figured that the 2:45 pacers (Neil's group) will catch up with me in no time. I had to motivate myself and targeted to at least finish with Neil's group. At km 19, I tried to jog but pain was unbearable and forced me to still walk. At km 20, the 2:45 pacers were slowly catching up on me, tried to jog, for 200m, walk another 200, and by this time, the group catched up on me. Neil gave me a push and told me that we will finish soon. I got motivated and started to jog and surprisingly I was able to reach the finish line not walking (at least it saves me from further embarassment). The group went ahead of me and I finished at 2:46:11 (unofficial time), 12 minutes slower than my previous 21k.

I know, it was foolish of me to even try to run knowing that I was not fully recovered from my ITBS injury. I felt that I was better and ready to take on this challenge. I had no worries on my cardio as I was doing my cross training using my bike and was confident that I can make it. Looking back, aside from running with less mileage and coming from an injury, there were some things that I did wrong.

1. Lost Focus - my goal was just to finish with no injury and beating my first 21k was out of the equation. I told myself that I will ran at 7:30-8:00/km and hopefully finish without an injury. But I ended up averaging at 7:05/km in the last 13km and I even ran at 6:35 at km 13. I got motivated by the 2:30 pacers and for awhile there I thought I can PR in this race. Patience really is key and never be tempted everytime you feel that you can make it. Stick to the plan.

2. Long stride - I normally have a long stride, I learned that having a shorter stride and faster cadence is better (isnt it?). Longer stride creates more impact and shins and knee are at risk of getting injured.

Well, I have to learn from this again. This will not stop me from getting better next time. I continue to log my running experience and hopefully I get to write a more dignified story about my run. Oh! by the way, I think what I have now is shin splints and not ITBS.

Dare to be Fit 'n Right

2009-10-15T19:48:00.005+08:00

Posting an invite from Delmonte's Dare to be Fit 'n Right promo for blogger-runners.

On October 23, Friday 7 pm, Del Monte Fit ‘n Right will launch its newest campaign Dare to be Fit ‘N Right in Taste Asia at the SM Mall of Asia. The Dare to be Fit ‘N Right launch will be a bloggers event that features the revolutionary F.I.T workout by sports scientist and Master Coach Jim Saret. Coach Saret obtained his MS Sports Science degree from Brigham Young University in the US. He is a core training expert and a sports and fitness writer and lecturer. Currently, he is the Sports Program Head of the Ateneo de Manila University and the Strength and Conditioning Coach of the PBA, POC, and the PSC.

The F.I.T Workout or the Fast Interval Training is a four-minute workout that makes you burn at least 400 calories and continues to burn even when you’re done with the workout! Plus, you don’t have to be a gym buff to enjoy the workout. It doesn’t require much space and equipment. It’s scientific, very visual, designed for non-athletes, with measurable results and it’s easy!

And, if you partner your F.I.T workout with your Fit ‘n Right fruit juice drink, you’ll see faster results for Del Monte Fit ‘N Right contains the breakthrough L-Carnitine that helps burn fat and B Vitamis 1, 6, 12 that help speed up metabolism.

L-Carnitine is a natural substance that is occurring in the body but can be supplemented for optimal health. It transports the fatty acids into the mitochondria, the “cell’s powerhouse” where they are burned into energy needed for a healthy heart, important body functions and physical activities. Supplementary L-Carnitine contributes to optimal fat oxidation, and along with a proper diet and regular exercise, promotes healthy body weight.

A clinical study done by the University of the Philippines through Dra. Leonora Panlasigui and company has proven the effectiveness of Fit ‘n Right. In that study, it was found that one can lose as such as 16.7% body fat in just 6 weeks with regular consumption of Fit ‘n Right, diet and exercise. There are studies that indicate that 1000mg per day is ideal in helping you lose weight along with proper diet and regular exercise. Each Fit ‘n Right bottle contains 300mg and the recommended daily intake is at least 3 bottles, at least 2 hours before exercise or physical activity to maximize the fat-burning benefit.

B Vitamins 1, 6 and 12 are known as energy boosters and they help reduce fatigue and increase endurance by facilitating conversion of carbohydrates, protein and fat into energy. With L-Carnitine, B Vitamins can optimize metabolization of carbohydrates, protein and fat into energy.

Now, who says you can’t have fun while working out and losing all those calories and unwanted fats? Who says you can’t have a refreshing way to burn?

Dare to be the first to try the F.I.T Workout. Dare to be the first to know about it. Dare to be fit. Dare to be right.

Fun Run

But, the F.I.T. Workout is only the beginning. Running is arguably the popular sport these days. Every week, marathons and fun runs are organized with thousands of loyal runners joining. Some do it for the run-induced high, others for a social cause they support but ultimately runners do it because it’s fun and a good total body workout!

Del Monte Fit ‘N Right continues its commitment in promoting a healthy lifestyle with the Dare to be Fit ‘n Right culmination fun run on November 22 in SM Mall of Asia. Official race call time is at 4 am in front of SM MOA Music Hall.

The 3K/5K/10K Men’s and Women’s Open will benefit the victims of typhoon Ondoy and Pepeng, among others, through the SM Foundation.

For a registration fee of P300, runners can get their race packet with the Dare to Fit ‘n Right Fun Run singlet, race bib, Fit ‘N Right products, etc. Interested participants can register at the following areas:

· CEMG Office – Unit 3A Vernida I Bldg., Amorsolo St., Legaspi Village, Makati City/ Look for Marianne Tapales (892.5842/09155498282)

· Dare to be Fit ‘n Right booths in selected SM Hypermarkets: Mall of Asia, Sucat, Pasig, and North EDSA.

Here I Go Again

2009-10-05T21:25:00.007+08:00

It has been a very frustrating and depressing week for all as we experience the wrath of Typhoon Ondoy and Pepeng. We have in our own little way contributed in supporting the victims through donations, volunteerism, and setting up of fund raising events. No matter how big or small your contributions are, it is well appreciated by our brothers and sisters. Let us be thankful that we are blessed as we have become a blessing to others.

On the running side of things, it has been frustrating for me as here I am about to tell you that I have been logging slow mileage in the past two weeks (12km a week after Ayala Eco Dash, and 10.8 km last week). And why? it's because of an ITBS on my left knee. Again?!? Yes, again, I had this on my right knee and now its my left knee's turn. After the Ayala Eco Dash event, I was hoping that the pain will not continue, but unfortunately, I felt the pain to aggravate when I did my easy run 2 days after the event. I had to cut short my run and did not push thru with my training plan. Hoping that it was better last week, I tried to do a very slow pace at 8:10 min/km but I can feel that my knee is not ready as I can feel pain starting to build up as I reach the 4 km mark. Rested on Wednesday and Thursday last week and did a slow pace again on a Friday, but same thing, knees are not ready. Rested last Saturday and did a cross training on my bike Sunday, and no success at all since I can feel pain in my hips down to my knee. I had again to cut short my ride and joined my running buddies for breakfast at Paseo Sta Rosa since they just finished the scheduled LSD run that day.

I can chose not to post this as it becomes so embarassing on my part already. But I guess I just have to post it so that I can be reminded again of this experience, and that other newbies learn from this. The following are potential causes of my injury (then again, could be the real causes of it).

1. Running too long /fast too soon - yes I was guilty of this, in the beginning, I was so hyped and impatient that I had to increase my mileage and speed sooner than required. I actually tried to increase my mileage more than 1o% per week.

2. After being on sick bay for a week with no base run, I joined a race (Mizuno Run) and I did run too fast too soon (at least for my pace).

3. I was an overpronator as checked in Runnr store where I had it analyzed. I was advised to buy a stability shoes, and so did I.

4. Running downhill too fast I thought was a good idea, but when you are coming from a no run week, refrain from doing it as you become more prone to injury.

5. I guess this time I had the same mistake as I was guilty of item 2. I only had 6km a week before the race and there I was conquering my first half marathon. I did finish and most runners that commented said that it was a good finish for my first try.

6. Impatience - this is one thing that newbie runners are prone to (maybe not).

7. Lack of stretching exercises - there were times that I come to a race just in a nick of time and find myself not stretching properly.

8. Weight - I am currently 16lbs heavier based on my height. I used to be 26lbs heavier before I started running in March. This has a factor right?

This is my 3rd week and I hope I can start running again, Im doing my ITB stretching exercises and also went to the unconventional solution (hilot) as described by i2runner. I hope I can recuperate fast as I am getting so frustrated and depressed already. Feel free to suggest and a bit of motivation will surely help.

Let us Lend a Helping Hand

2009-09-28T20:58:00.004+08:00

By this time a lot of us have been shocked by the fury that typhoon Ondoy (International name: Ketsana) has brought the to country. The casualties has risen to 100 and damage to infrastructure and crops estimated at P109M (inq7 report). In times like this it is best to lend a helping hand to those victims that were greatly affected by this tragedy. In our own small way, we can all contribute and donate be it in cash or in kind. Below are some venue where you can extend your donations.

E-Donations
SMS: text RED to 2899 (Globe) and 4483 (Smart)G-Cash: text DONATEAMOUNT4-digit M-PINREDCROSS to 2882TXTPOWER.org: Paypal, Smart Money (5577-5144-1866-7103), G-Cash (0917-9751092)

Red Cross Load Donations – send donation via mobile phone load. The Red Cross Rescue and Relief Operations. To donate, text RED and send to 2899 (Globe) or 4483 (Smart). You can donate 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 300 pesos.

Ateneo de Manila University – cooked or ready-to-eat food, clothes, medicine, blankets, water. Donations may be dropped off at the MVP, University Dorm, or Cervini lobbies. Also needed: volunteers for relief operations today, Sept. 27. Bring boots, shovels, large vehicles or small watercraft. For donations/inquiries, please contact (0908) 887-7166.

My First 21km Run

2009-09-17T20:39:00.001+08:00

I finally completed my first 21k run in the Ayala Eco Dash event (held in Sept 13). It was the farthest that I have ran so far since I officially run in March. I have been slowed down by series of injuries and sickness which held me to keep up with my training plan. I was actually looking at the NB Power Race as my first 21k, but since I have a long run scheduled on this date so I decided to do it then.

A week of raining has been a major factor in slowing most of the runners to complete their weekly runs I myself was limited to 6k a week before the Ayala Eco Dash event. Was thinking of doing a 10k instead but I was already registered. I had a scheduled early morning runs during the week and every time I wake up at 3am, the rain was pouring hard and obviously I have skipped all those running days. Saturday night, it was still raining and said to myself, if it still rains when I wake up, I will not go to the event and instead run in near my area if the rain would stop. At 3am, went outside the house and seems like it’s going to rain, texted Jay and said that we’ll just check at the Fort if its raining. I figured, we will all run rain or shine.

On the way to the fort, it was raining hard at SLEX but as per Jay who was at the venue earlier said that there was no rain. Honestly, I was a bit hesitant because I will be running 21k and felt that I was not that prepared since I missed some mileage during the week. I was a bit late and the scheduled gun start was at 5am, however, it was moved to 5:30am, seems like I was really destined to finish my 21k. As soon as I arrived at the Fort and saw runners getting ready, my determination came back and was psyched to do my 21k. But since it was an LSD run for me, I will have to “jog” slow at 7:30min/km. Since I had my hesitation in the beginning, I found myself not prepared for the race. I was late, I was not able to do proper stretching, my race bib was not yet attached. There were 2 race bibs, one for the front and the other at the back, and since I was rushing, I did not put the bib at the back. I can feel the stress since it was not a good way to start a run. But this has become a lesson learned for me. Hopefully in the next races I will be more prepared.

At the starting line, I was with Jay, Val, and Kuya Erning and moments later Junrox (tigerboy) came in and joined us. Told Junrox that this was my first 21k and will be running slow, he gave some motivational words as he is an experienced runner already. I saw Bald Runner at the starting line and introduced myself and the rest of the guys. Nice meeting you Mr. Jovie. Jay and Val said that they will pace with me and will run along until the finish line, had a sigh of relief as for sure I will struggle if I will be running alone. So off we all went as soon as the gun start was fired. We had an easy cruise and was enjoying the comfortable pace. As we were going up the kalayaan bridge, I suddenly realized that everyone who joined the race were all run addicts. Imagine everyone waking up early on a cool Sunday morning and expecting a heavy rain anytime of the race. While a lot of people were asleep, here we are all awake and ready to conquer a beautiful rainy morning. Then suddenly rain poured down upon us and had me figured that I can finish this race since it will be a good weather and no sun will show up before I reach the finish line.

While we were all joking around during our run and was talking about a lot of stuff, I was surprised that we just completed the 10k mark. It was an easy run and I immediately psyched myself and think about the next 11k. As soon as I reached the 17th km, I immediately told Jay and Val that it was the farthest that I ran and doing the math I only have 4km remaining. But the last 4km was the most difficult part for me. I began to feel the pounding of my feet in the pavement and felt a heating sensation on my left knee.. I had to stop and stretch as I fear that I will again suffer from ITBS (I just recovered from an ITBS on my right knee). Continued running but I started to feel the numbness on my arms. My legs were tired and as I saw runners who began to walk, I was thinking of doing the same. But good thing that Jay and Val was pushing me to keep on going and advised me to just slow down if I feel tired. But there were moments that I had to walk and they will also walk.

On the 18th km, Jay mentioned that we can still finish in 2:30 if we maintain the 6:30/km pace, I had a few kicks left in some point but just ended up slowing down as I really felt tired. Had it been that we planned earlier about the time we could have finished it in 2:30. We ended up finishing 2:34, not bad I guess, what was important for me was to finish a 21k run. I was happy with the result of this race obviously as I was able to complete this task and it was another milestone for me. Hope to get a repeat on the NB power race as this race means a lot to me.

A Sunday with No Run

2009-09-06T14:51:00.006+08:00

It was a good week for me as I was able to do my training plan for 2 consecutive weeks now free from any injury. Today was supposed to be my 21k run but unfortunately bad weather stepped in and it was raining hard. I woke up ahead of the alarm because of the strong rain. The group (Gone Running Club) were all scheduled to go to UP Los Banos to do our runs, but we decided to cancel and do it tomorrow. I went back to bed, slept and found myself waking up at 8am! Cool weather had me sleeping like a baby.

Prior to today, I was carbo loading and was preparing my self for a long run. Had to mentally condition myself as well since the farthest that I ran was only 16km. But I am focused in my training plan since I only have 12 weeks left for my first Marathon. I skipped a lot of training weeks due to my past injuries and I hope I am able to get ready before the race day.

As of this writing it is still raining here. I went to my hometown in Los Banos, Laguna and had lunch with my parents. Feasted with "Lapu-Lapu" and "Laing" and had my favorite coffee crumble ice cream for dessert. I now smell my sister cooking spaghetti.. Too tempting, I should really run tomorrow otherwise I will just gain more weight with all the carbs that i I have been taking. Since this morning, my body was too eager to do some exercise to burn up some fat.. I might be hitting the gym tonight instead. Meanwhile, will enjoy time with family. Cool weather..

Do you own your dream?

2009-09-01T21:39:00.007+08:00

I happen to attend a leadership seminar a month ago called Maximum Impact Simulcast held at Rockwell Cinema in July 31, 2009. It was composed of distinguished speakers such as John Maxwell, Tony Blair, Al Weiss, Jack Nicklaus and among others. Everyone had a good sharing about leadership and one topic that was interesting was from John Maxwell where he asked the question "Do you own your dream?" The first response that comes to mind would be "YES", who else will own your dream but you. However, having a dream is something that is also binded by reality. Sometimes the gap between expectation and reality results to disappointment. In order to achieve your dream, you should be able to depend on factors that are within your control. Say you want to join your first 10k, a marathon, or a triathlon, the basic thing that you will do is to follow religiously your training plan and will do anything to stick to that plan because you know that it is instrumental in realizing it. If you dream of being promoted at work, will you be intimidated by people that are aspiring the same position as you do? or will you create an opportunity for you to come closer in attaining your goal? Nothing should stop you from achieving your dream especially when you have control over the things that will help you make it happen. You have to believe it and you have to own it.

Sometimes it all goes back to our attitude, if we believe in ourselves and our capabilities, we should be able to challenge all hindrances that will come our way. If we dream, we should not wait for it to be handed over to us, we have to work on it and own it, because the journey towards achieving it would be very challenging and it is never free. As what John Maxwell said, "the more valid reasons to achieve your dream, the more odds there is in achieving it." So, own your dream and make it happen, it is in your hands.

Fun Run and Politics, Not a good match..

2009-08-30T20:18:00.019+08:00

The running craze has been all over the place as we see races every sunday. Most of the run events are tied up with a worthy cause which was nice to see since we are able to help and contribute and at the same time enjoy running.

Today's event was unique as it was sponsored by one of the biggest TV network and a bit political as it was tied up with the Election of 2010. The theme of the event was "Hamon para sa kaayusan ng Pilipinas" (Challenge for a better Philippines). I have my apprehensions in joining this event from the start since I felt that it will all be just for publicity of the aspiring candidates for President and Vice president in the coming 2010 election. However, since our advocacy is to Run Against Corruption we decided to run in this event to advocate our cause. And also, as in any race, I intend to enjoy my run and hopefully get a better performance this time.

About the Race

There were more or less 5,000 in attendance and it appeared to be too crowded since aside from runners, there were also spectators in the area to view their favorite celebrities and politicians. I had to squeeze my way to go near the starting line and saw still a lot of runners trying to register 30 minutes before the race. At the starting line, runners were all ready to go and excited to run. Gun start was fired at 6:00am and both 5k and 10k had to start all at the same time. I was paced by Runnermhel and told him that I would be lucky if I hit sub-60 this time. Even in my practice runs, I was not able to hit sub-60 for a 10k run. I told him that he can go ahead if he gets bored with me because I have a very slow pace (6:30/min-7:30/min). He said it was ok, but his garmin was set to 5:45/min. Of course, it was expected that mhel will try to make me improve my run and so off we go. It was suprising that my 1st km pace was at 5:49/km. Mhel was definitely had a plan and I just kept on following him, on our way to our 2nd km, Mhel was ahead of me and was running side by side with i2runner (natz) as I approached them, I finally met Natz personally, we shook hands but no time to chat as I still have to chase Mhel who ran faster again the moment I was beside him already. I was able to hit 30 min for my first 5k split, I was definitely better than my usual time, but at this point I was tired already and not sure if I can keep up with Mhel. I was below my 6:30/km pace for the first 6k, and it started to go over it from 7th km down to the finish line. I ended up finishing 59:23.00 but at 9.38km only. The route was short by 0.62km based on my garmin. Most likely in a complete 10k, I might have finished it at 63 min. Still not meeting sub-60 but im satisfied with the result. Mhel was such a good pacer, he patiently and unselfishly waited for me everytime I slowed down and ran beside me until we reached the finish line. Thanks Mhel!

The race was too crowded, others stopped in the middle of the road to take their pictures. This event was not an ideal race obviously as it appeared to be just a segment of a TV show. In a real race event you dont see the crowd blocking the way of runners approaching the finish line. This was how it looked like at the finish line.

The Unity Walk

For non-runners, they find this so amusing to see these political hopefuls and even hear people chanting, ERAP! ERAP! That's why you see ERAP smiling to the crowd as they chant his name. Im not sure if they even walk a 100m on this one. They even pledged to have a clean and honest election. Whatever their cause maybe, I just hope that they were true to their word. You will obviously see questionable faces in here, as well as doubtful candidates.

Some photos after the race

Total Run Against Corruption for this event is 155 km.

Gone Night Running

2009-08-16T08:43:00.013+08:00

The urbanite run was definitely a good experience for most of us in GRC as it was our first night race. Likewise, more members took the 15k distance and im happy to see their progress. Also, we have new members who ran their first official race (Tiffany, Zelyn, and Perly) who ran their first 5k, (Darwin and Mark Hendrix) who ran 10km. And most of all, it was a memorable race for us since our very own Greg won the 2nd place at the 10k category.

Let me share some insights on this event.

Redemption of Race Kit

We have learned our lesson during the Run for Home event which was also organized by Finishline where I had some argument with one of the staff during the claiming of Marvin's race kit as he was not able to get it during the designated pick up time. This time, we made sure that everybody registered early so that there will be no last minute problems. However, there were still some glitches as we ended up going there twice to pick up our race kits. Since we are all from the South, one of us (Jojo) volunteered to get all our race kits last Thursday. Unfortunately, he was not able to get the rest since it was not yet available (that includes mine). The next day, Cherry went to claim the rest of the race kit, but without the singlets. We ended up getting the singlets on race day and guess what, I didnt get the right size as they ran out already. Not blaming the organizers, but i guess they have to learn from this as well and maybe put more attention to planning and improving their logistics. I believe they can better this in their next event.

Before the Race

Since most of us all live from the south (Laguna), we had to go early to avoid the traffic at the south expressway. I was a bit under the weather as I catched cold Thursday night and was feeling a bit dizzy. I was planning to leave my place at around 4pm to get some sleep and hopefully recover before the race. But got a text message from Cherry that traffic was bad so I had to get up and prepare. The rest of us (Jay, Jojo, Val, Darwin) were all caught in traffic and I think it took us 2.5 hours to get to the Fort. We all then meet up at the Fitness First area and did our preparation and stretching. The following were the race category of the group;

15k - Jay, Val, Kuya Erning, Gerry, Cherry, Noemi, and Marvin

10k - Mark, Greg, Vince, Jojo, Mark Hendrix, and Darwin

5k - Tiffany, Perly, and Zelyn

During the Race

There were a lot of runners participating in all categories. I must say that the event was well supported by the runners considering that it was also the first night run to be held this year. I was planning to make a PR in this event but i had to change plan since I was not feeling well. But the excitement was just off the hook, I was running at 6:00/min for my first 2km, but then again, I had to pace myself cause I knew I wont have enough gas to sustain. The route was difficult cause of the uphill, there were a lot of runners walking and that made me felt like walking as well. I got distracted by both runners overtaking me and those that were walking. I lost my focus for awhile there and it becomes so difficult to run. On my 7th km, it was difficult running uphill when suddenly a familiar voice said, "GO CHIEF!", it was my buddy Jay who was on his 12th km. I suddenly had my adrenalin pumping again and ran beside him, and then Val showed up in a minute and the three of us were running side by side for a while. Felt strong and they allowed me to go ahead (after all they ran 12km already, and its my 7th). I had to stop on the hydration station to refill. But this slowed me down and find it hard to catch up. Lessons learned, bring your own hydration pack. Greg, was just so strong that the only time I saw him was at the starting line and after that, off he went and finally winning 2nd place. I remember him promising the group that he will get a place in his race, and so he did. Congratulations Greg!

After the Race

As I reach the finish line, I tried to sprint my last 50m (hehe) taught of picking up the pace at my last 200m but legs just can't do it. I felt exhausted but was happy that I still managed to finish it at a reasonable time though not getting a new PR. As I went to our meeting place, there I saw Kay patiently waiting for the Knight. Always caring she offered me a drink and a hug. She told me that Greg was the first one to arrive from the group and that Greg won 2nd place. I was happy and congratulated Greg and so did the rest of the group. We waited for the rest to the finish line and then had our picture taken again. We then went to cheer Greg as he get his award! The group was very proud of him and he definitely motivates everyone to train further and enjoy running.

Overall I think it was a good race, had enough hydration station, markers, and marshalls in place. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of finishline for this event. I know in the future races, they will be able to improve further and give everyone a good running experience.

As for the group, aside from the support to Hands on Manila and 57-75 Movement, we all ran for our advocacy. Total Run Against Corruption in this event - 180km.

Some photos:

Everyone after the race

Cherry, Zelyn, Noemi, and Perly

Greg all smile with his accomplishment.

Congratulations Greg!

A Night Run

2009-08-13T21:52:00.006+08:00

Almost a month after my last race in the Run for Home sponsored by Globe and Ayala Land Inc., here's another much awaited event the Kenny's Open Urbanite run which will be held on Saturday (Aug 15). Proceeds will be donated to Hands On Manila and 57-75 movement. I was glad that I have recuperated with my ITB injury and was able to start running since last week. I am looking forward for a comfortable run this coming saturday and enjoy the event. I just hope to finish the race without any injury.

We in the Gone Running Club supports the cause of this event and I am glad to say that we were able to invite new friends who enjoys running to be part of the group and join the running events. As we support the Kenny's event, the group will also Run Against Corruption as part of our Advocacy. The runs that we made this week condemns the lavish dinner that was enjoyed by our political leaders, whom I believe should have been sensitive with the current situation in our Country.

The Kenny's Urbanite event would be a new experience for some runners including me as this will be a night race (most of the races are held in the morning of sundays). I have been running at nights this past week and I hope that helps with the night environment.

Good luck to all runners on saturday and thank you in advance for the organizers and sponsors of this event. Run safely!

The Knight is Back!

2009-08-09T21:51:00.005+08:00

A week after my last LSD run two weeks ago, I had to refrain from running and even biking for the whole week, I had to sideline myself and really avoid doing any strenuous leg exercises in order for me to recuperate. While I had a week of no training, I devoted most of my time studying and doing my research for my MBA class. I thought of doing weight training, but I suddenly felt so tired the moment I decided to stop my physical activities. I have been non-stop since February when I started biking and eventually running after the Condura Run, so why not give myself a break and get the rest I truly deserve. After all, I owe it to my body.

While recuperating, I have done most ITB stretching exercises in order to help relieve the pain. I have been applying hot compress to ease the pain quickly. One Saturday, I went to RUNNR store to have a Gait Analysis, and it turned out that I am an over pronator. Then as the staff was explaining to me, I learned that there are different types of shoes, there is the cushion shoes, stability shoes, and motion control shoes. I was advised to use a stability shoes. It was only then that I learned about different types of running shoes. Anyway, I ended up buying a new pair, unfortunately, I did not buy on the day that I went to RUNNR (sorry, but I vowed to go back and purchase at your store in the next weeks to come). I bought my shoes 3 days after at New Balance store in Festival Mall in Alabang, I got the NB 1224 stability shoes, and yes, I have used it already.

This week's run

I started to run Sunday afternoon last week, took a 6km distance with very slow pace inside the village and good thing there was no pain in my right knee. I felt that pushing it further would not do me any good. Then Tuesday, I started to break in my new shoes, took a lot of stretching before running just to make sure that I dont feel any pain. After 6km, knee feels ok and my breathing was fine, so i decided to ran further and I ended up completing a 10km run! Feels good again, and at this point I knew that i can get back to my training plan.

Come Wednesday, as most runners did, (where they offered a run to bid farewell to our former President Cory), I myself had my own contribution by running in our village. I scheduled an afternoon run but I had to wait for the rain to stop. Surprisingly, I did another pain free 10k run. It was rest day on Thursday, and took another 6k run on Friday.

Finally, today was another scheduled LSD run for the Gone Running Club, I am scheduled to run 15k. We assembled 5am and took the usual route from Paseo Sta Rosa - Nuvali - Lasalle - Paseo to complete the 15k run. As we took off, I was surprised with the fast pace of Jay, Val, Kuya Erning, and Vince. I was running behind the pack at take off, but I had to slow down as I can't run at their pace, As planned, I took a slow pace and still mindful of my knee. I havent completed this 15k route since we started our sunday runs because of my injury. But I was confident that I can finish it today since the weekday runs were all good. It was a great run, the weather was good, and I was enjoying it. The best part of my run was at my 11th km, I was running at 6:15km/min, (must have been my second wind). Well for my speed, that was fast already, I hope to improve further in the next weeks to come (no need to rush!). On the 12th km onwards, pace was steady at 7:00k/min. I ended up finishing 16k today and this was the farthest distance that I have ever ran. I guess Im back, and I do wish that the succeeding runs will be injury free!

Keep on Running!

Farewell Tita Cory

2009-08-05T14:35:00.005+08:00

Today, the nation brings Tita Cory to her final rest. Much has been said about our former President. How she has unselfishly offered herself to serve the country with undying devotion and commitment. She has shown true leadership with utmost integrity and honor. I give my respect and honor to you Tita Cory. As a way of honoring you, i will be running today as a sign of my gratitude to what you have done for the Country and the Filipino people.

She has been a true mother of her kids and a mother of the Filipino people. Indeed true leadership began at home. A simple person who has a strong family value has lead Tita Cory to lead our Country. Let me share with you today's leadership lesson from the book of John Maxwell's Leadership (promises for everyday), which i find relevant on the leadership trait of our former president. Here it goes:

LEADERSHIP BEGINS AT HOME

"Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorities in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." - Joshua 24:15

"As a Leader, where should your influence begin? A good answer can be drawn for the life of Joshua. For him - as for other leaders wanting to make an impact beyond their lifetimes - it began at home. Before anything else, Joshua took responsibility for the spiritual life of his family. Joshua's leadership of his family was more important than his leadership of country. It may sound ironic, but when leaders put their families first, the community benefits. When leaders put the community first, both their families and the community suffer. Starting at home is always the key to affecting others in a positive way. Because Joshua had his priorities right and had led his household well, he gained credibility to lead the entire house of Israel.

If you have a family, put them first in your leadership. There's no legacy like that of the positive influence leaders can exercise with their family." - JOHN C. MAXWELL

May you rest in peace and your leagacy lives on. Thank you Tita Cory. Farewell..

Walk the Talk

2009-07-27T23:02:00.001+08:00

My weekday run last week was good, slow and steady as I was trying to catch up with my training plan. Good thing I was able to finish all my distances without feeling any pain on my right knee. So I figured, my knees are well so I decided to do my LSD run yesterday with my friends. The route was the same, Paseo - Nuvali – Lasalle - Westgrove - Paseo. We assembled at 4:45am (supposedly 4:30 am) in front of Jollibee at Paseo de Sta Rosa. At the same time, we met the Takbo.ph runners who were about to do their LSD run at the cardiac hill-upac trail. Neil (Crashnburn) was there and introduced me to some of the members. I’m sure they had fun exploring the trail.

My scheduled run yesterday was 21km. The first 4km (turn-around point at Nuvali) was good, conscious about my knee I slowed down my pace and was hoping that I could last the whole distance. However, I got frustrated reaching 8km (back to paseo) as pain started to show up in my right knee. I slowed down on my way back from Nuvali, then at 9km (in front of Technopark), pain was unbearable so I decided to walk and proceeded to Lasalle route and back to Paseo to finish 15k distance. I knew I did proper stretching before the start of the run. Thinking that my weekday run was pain-free, it made me believe that I am ready for my long run. However, I didn’t event finish a straight 10k. Then I ask myself, what’s wrong? Was it the way I run? Was it my shoes? My posture? My weight?, or simply I needed more time to rest to recuperate?

Why am I even writing this? I have noticed that since I mentioned my injury after the Mizuno run in June, I have never really recovered. I guess I never learned, and I actually feel embarrassed posting this. But I figured, this is my journal and I would someday look back and see how I progressed, and at the same time this experience would become useful to new runners like me and hopefully don’t make the same mistake I did.

Being persistent is good, but being patient is better. I have heard friends and runners told me that I might be doing it “too fast and too soon”. This is one of the common pitfalls of athletes, regardless of what fitness regimen they are in. They tend to push themselves to the limit to achieve their goal fast. Losing weight, or being able to run a long distance, or to run faster will not happen soon because you simply believe that you can. I am an optimist and somehow I realized that though attracting positive thoughts are good, it has certain limitations as it does not guarantee that you can achieve your goal by simply believing. You have to listen to your body and put discipline really on how you balance your training.

My body may have given me signs to slow down, and this injury might be one of it, and I refused to listen. Prior to my commitment to pursue running, I was very active in mountain biking (until now). I have my weekday ride in the morning before going to work at least 2 times a week plus a long ride every Saturday. I have even experienced “hitting the wall” due to lack of preparation in one of my ride (lacks sleep, bad stomach, lacks energy). After a week of rest, I went on again with my bike routine. I am very active and always busy, enough to realize that I am overdoing it. By pushing yourself, you are not honing your body, but instead destroying it. I often tell some of my friends to stop smoking as it will destroy your body eventually, but I realized that I have become the cigarette of my body as I refused to listen to slow down and rest. I thought I was doing it right, but instead I was overdoing it.

As I was talking to my friend Mike (The Transformer) earlier today, he reminded me of the question, why do you run? I have just recently asked my co-members in “Gone Running Club” this question so that each one can define for themselves the reason why they do it. I remember answering this question before that “Aside from being fit and healthy, it gives me a moment to think clearly, it is freedom when you run. Likewise, the joy of running simply allows you to take control and brings out the best in you.” Apparently, it has given me a different perspective, the competitive side of me began to overshadow the main reason why I run. It took me out of focus, and the pressure of achieving a specific distance over a period of time has been the motivation on why I run, and I realized that I am not enjoying it anymore. The injury simply prevents me from enjoying it as it keeps me sad, frustrated, and sometimes hopeless.

All these things I knew from the start, I even advise my friends not to push themselves hard, not to start “too fast , too soon”, get enough sleep, focus, and I can go on. However, I realized that I am not doing it myself. I maybe a good adviser and motivator, but then again, I realized that I was not walking the talk. Sometimes people are reminded to slow down or stop when they feel pain or when they are too exhausted to enjoy what they are doing. Too much excitement and motivation sometimes gets in the way especially If you don’t listen to your body. In a way, it is better to experience a fall in order to better understand what you are trying to share with others.

The Knight will rest and will recuperate. He is humbled and will go back stronger and wiser.

Run for Home - A Worthy Cause

2009-07-21T19:16:00.003+08:00

It was indeed a good day to run last Sunday. Good weather, good friends, new acquaintances, new PR, new experience, and a chance to support a worthy cause. It's always good to be part of something that will help other people. This time we ran to help reconstruct 800 houses in Calauan Laguna, which was a project of Globe and Ayala land Inc. I trust that all funds generated from this event will all go to the project and that the houses are built as promised. Good job to Globe, ALI, and Finishline for a successful event.

It was a good race, I believe overall it was well planned and organized except with one incident where I felt bad prior to the start of the race. A friend of mine (Marvin) was not able to claim his race kit on the scheduled dates given, it was a bad weather during those days, and for one reason or another, He was not able to get the chance to claim it on the said dates. This was his first race and he was pretty much excited to participate in this prestigious event. Come race day, he went to the organizers booth and tried to claim his kit since there were a number of race kits available at that time. Unfortunately, to his surprise he was told by this lady staff that.. ”deadline is deadline, we don’t have available kits for you”. So he went back to the car and told me that he was not able to get it. So we went back to the booth and politely asked this other girl to give us a race kit since they have available stock anyway. But then, the first staff saw us talking to her colleague and immediately rushed to us and said, what is it? I told you already, you can’t get race kits anymore because deadline was set already. As politely as I can, I tried to rationalize and ask her to be considerate so that we can all enjoy the event, but to no avail she was very firm but arrogant, and I must say rude. But I don’t see the logic, another guy came in and request for a race kit and said, “naubusan kami kahapon” (we ran out of stock yesterday) and the girl immediately said, “oh yes, you can claim” and she immediately get one race kit without really validating that they were not able to claim the previous day. Huh? Wait a minute, something’s wrong here. I can argue all day, but it’s not worth the stress and waste of energy, I just felt that whatever their decision was, it doesn’t make sense. Anyway, to cut the story short, we ended up getting the race kits by having another friend get the race kit and said, “naubusan ako kahapon”, and just like that she gave the race kit. Funny huh? Anyways, enough of that and off we go to enjoy the day.

It was supposed to be my first 21k run, but I had to downgrade since I was just recovering from my knee injury, and instead opt for the 10k. It was a good decision, otherwise I would end up walking at the finish line if I did the 21km. I had a pretty good run in my first 5k, I felt strong and breathing was good, I was tempted to get a PR for this run but when I started to increase my pace, I felt the pain so I had to slowdown and maintain a comfortable pace. Surprisingly, my garmin logged in my best time so far at 1:05, but will have to wait for the official time.

My friends and I all wore our Gone Running singlet, distances ran with unofficial time were:

21Km – Jay (2:10:58), Val (2:09), Allan (2:17), and Gerry (2:40)

10Km – Me (1:05), Cherry (1:08), Marvin (1:20), and Jojo (1:34)

5km – Noemi (37 min) and Vince (32 min)

PRs at this point were not important to the group as we are all newbies. But each one vowed to improve in every run. The important part is that we are running. But worth to mention the improvement in PR for Jay and Val who have maintained a good pace running the 21k, Cherry who was strong in her run, obviously she will hit sub 60 in the next event. To marvin who has recorded his first official race at 1:20 (unofficial time) for the 10k, I’ll definitely monitor his progress moving forward. Jojo has been steady finishing 10k, great achievement so far for him is losing weight by 11.5 lbs ( from 285 lbs down to 273.5 lbs) for a period of 2 months! Great Job Jojo! Noemi has a new PR for the 5k which was at 37 min, we expect her to join the 10k runs soon, and to Vince, (Val’s son), who also finishes strong for his first official race. Good job guys!

We all ran to to help build houses and we also ran against corruption. Total run against corruption for this event – 134 km.

Some photos after the race.

This photo was featured in Globe's race day photos

Somebody has to take our picture.. hehe..

With globe representative, forgot her name..

With Daniel and partner, he noticed our group and our shirt.
Group picture

Gone Running Again

2009-07-13T21:10:00.001+08:00

Last week was supposed to be a good week for me as I was able to get back to running. I even had to wait for the rain to stop last wednesday so that i can run. Last July 5, i was able to run 10km after a long break from running. However, (i felt bad writing this) my knees did not cooperate again. I was supposed to join the 21k group, but ended up at 16km only. I guess the ride (51km) last saturday aggravated it (we went up to tagaytay via reverse palace route).

Yesterday was the scheduled LSD run of the Gone Running Club, we were all preparing for the Run for Home event on July 19. Distances ran were as follows:

21km - Jay, Val, Allan, and Kuya Erning
16km - Ronald, Marvin, Jojo, Cherry and Me
10km - Noemi, Vince, and Egay

It was good to see Vince (Val's son) to join the run as well as Egay and Cherry who were not present in the first LSD run two weeks ago. Likewise it was good to see the improvement from Ronald, Marvin, Jojo, Noemi, who have improved their distance from the last run. Ronald and Marvin paced each other from start to finish (Paseo-Nuvali-Westgrove-Paseo). Jojo on the other hand took a different route together with Cherry (Paseo-Nuvali-Lasalle-Paseo), but Cherry was unbelievably strong as she was miles away from Jojo (who was on his comfortable pace).

Noemi, Egay, and Vince, took the Paseo-Nuvali-Paseo route but apparently went inside the village and ran there in circles before going to the main route. Good for them as they were able to surpass the 8km distance.

I paced myself with Jay, together with Allan, Val, and Kuya Erning (Paseo-Nuvali-Lasalle-Westgrove-Paseo). Allan and Kuya Erning were simply strong as they pulled away from the pack, I slowed down already because of my knee and let Val and Jay go ahead to maintain their pace. They started pulling away in front of Technopark and I was trailing since then. On the way back from Lasalle I saw Cherry on her way and km behind was Jojo who was enjoying his slow pace. On my way to Westgrove route, that is when i decided to stop, i waited for Marvin and Ronald who were on their way down from westgrove and joined them back to Paseo.

As usual, we prepared for our hydration stations, we had one at the Nuvali Guard house, Paseo, SRV2 guard house, and Egay providing hydration support in Lasalle (of course, that is when Cherry was there, hehehe.)

Running has definitely kept our group closer together and it improved the bond among each other. I hope in the next LSD run, more friends will join.

Some mobile photos c/o Jay:

Noemi, Jojo, Cherry, Me, and Vince

Noemi, Cherry, Jojo (vowed to lose weight), and Me

Everyone: Kuya Erning, Jay, Marvin, Vince, Val, Cherry, Noemi, Ronald, Jojo, Egay, and Allan

On our way back from Nuvali

Right on Track

2009-07-03T17:59:00.007+08:00

In the past week, I have been riding my bike to cross train for the lost time of not being able to run because of my injury (I had an ITB Syndrome, thougth it was a knee injury). During my ride, i felt improvement in my uphill training. Each day i cut down a minute of my time. I felt stronger and better. Good thing that I can cross train as it helps build my stamina, improves leg power, and of course it compensate for my weight loss program.

Feeling better and no more pain in the knee, i took my running shoes, geared up and took a run in the village last night. I was very conscious while running thinking that i will feel the pain in my knee area again. My breathing was perfect, felt strong and thought of finishing a 10k run. But, learning from my past mistake, I did not push myself and instead finished a 5k. I am back to zero for my running, but that's ok 'cause I will catch up with it. Good thing, when i was down from running, I was improving with my biking.

An injury should not stop us from achieving our objective. In fitness, there are a lot of ways to recover lost time in your major fitness program. If you can't do running, you can do biking, if you dont have a bike, you can go swimming, if you are not into swimming, you can do walking.. If you can't do any of these due to the nature of your injury or illness, you simply just have to rest and get better. Sometimes its better to take 2 steps backward, so that you can move one step forward until you achieve your goal. Stay healthy and keep on training.

Transformation

2009-07-01T21:09:00.007+08:00

It's always nice to see an individual who have set a goal for himself and able to achieve it. In the world of sports, there are a lot of success stories and a lot of frustrations. Let me share with you the transformation of my friend (Mike Dauden, his before and after photo on the left) and how he was able to reach a certain level of his goal. He has become an inspiration to his fellow athlete and has simply showed that anything is possible. I have sort of interviewed him with the intention of sharing with all how he managed to transform.

1. What made you decide to enter into fitness?

I unintentionally saw a reflection of myself in the mirror with my shirt off while on a drinking spree in Puerto Galera in the summer of 2008. I thought to myself at first, the nerve of that guy drinking with his shirt off when he is so out of shape. Who does he think he is? Turns out it was me. I promised to come back next summer with a vengeance which I did and of course – with my shirt off.

2. What fitness regimen are you into?

I box every morning and work out in the gym every night. On weekends, I join the 2-hr public aerobics at Harbor Square in CCP Complex.

3. What is your typical daily routine?

Wake up 5:30am, watch Enjoy Everyday Life by Joyce Meyer on NBN, read my bible by 6am, Elorde by 6:30am, 10 rounds of mits, 12 rounds of other boxing drills, abdominal work at the end. I am at the office at around 9am and work till 6PM. Then I proceed to Gold’s Alabang and start at 7PM till 9PM. I train one body part per day so I can go all out. I normally do 10 reps for 5 sets for each exercise so roughly 35 to 40 sets per workout.

4. You obviously have your diet plan, care to share?

I only eat what’s in my lunch box and all my 7 to 8 meals are in there. Oatmeal, whole boiled eggs, canned tuna, broccoli, green peas, protein shakes, bananas are my main staples. I supplement with Tribulus Terrestris for Testosterone, Muscle Juice Gainer for my protein and muscle growth, Creatine for strength and lots of energy boosters mainly containing caffeine such as JetFuel, C4, Cobra and others.

5. What motivates you to achieve your goal?

The impact I make on others. The more I improve, the more I inspire so in the end, I do not do it for myself but also for others. That makes it a win-win.

6. How do you cope up with pain or struggles during your training? Was there a point that you wanted to give up?

I happen to enjoy my training so I never got to a point where I considered giving up. On the contrary, I ask myself if I am doing enough.

7. How do you balance your work in the office and work in the gym?

I do my workouts before and after office so there is never a conflict. If I have an early meeting, at least I have an evening workout. If I have a dinner appointment, at least I have already worked out in the morning. There is never an excuse not to pursue your passion.

8. Anything you want to share to everyone who wants to get fit?

Transformation begins from within. We have to want it bad enough and to want it bad enough, we need a compelling reason to do so. If you don’t know what that reason is yet, ask God. He will enlighten you and give purpose to your life. You will get clarity and all of a sudden things fall into place unlike before. God is my Transformer and because of Him, I can transform myself and transform others as well. If you notice the logo of the gym starts with a cross. That’s because without God, there can be no real transformation.

Regardless of what sports you are into, it only tells us that if we put our mind into what we do and set a goal, we will be able to achieve it. Discipline and positive attitude is important if we want to reach the next level of our fitness. Stay Healthy!

Gone Running

2009-06-28T22:28:00.004+08:00

My friends are now into running. Jay (my friend) was able to organize more members to join us in the runs. We have created our group and called it "Gone Running Club" (what do you think?). Our group's advocacy is Run Against Corruption. It all started in Condura Run (I guess, a lot started running again after that event), after that event, we joined other races and started inviting other friends to join us. Then after the mizuno run, Jay, Me, Noemi, and Allan were brainstorming on what name to use for our group and presented the list to the rest of the group. Everyone voted on their choices and ended up with "Gone Running".

This morning, the group scheduled an LSD. There were two groups, one running the 8km and 21km. The route were as follows;

8km - Paseo Sta Rosa - Nuvali - Paseo Sta Rosa

21km - Paseo Sta Rosa - Nuvali - Ayala Westgrove - La Salle - Paseo Sta Rosa.

Since i am not yet able to run due to my knee problem, i decided to support them instead by providing hydration at the Nuvali end point (for everyone), and at the guard house of our Village in SRV 2 (for those who ran the 21km). I was riding my bike and had my own route for my training as well. It was fun doing support since i get to motivate them to continue running. It feels good and am happy that everyone had a good run.

Here are some photos;

At Nuvali.. Group starting to break out according to pace.

Marvin and Jojo

Ronald getting stronger..

Jay and Val

Everybody.. if you are against corruption.. come join us..

All Terrain - Bike Race

2009-06-22T06:22:00.005+08:00

I was not able to run during the Mens Health All Terrain (June 21) race since my knees were not ready for the high impact and considering that it was a trail run. I thought that i will be more prone to injury as i have not really trained for it. I was supposed to do the 10k run and the 45km ride, but i ended up joining the bike race.

Mhel (runner45), texted me the night before and advised that the bike route, which was supposed to be a 45km ride (3 laps) was trimmed down to 30km for beginners. He was trying to convince me to join the run and that he will pace with me, but i really had to decline as i am not physically and emotionally ready to do it. But i was more confident with the bike race as i was able to cross train.

As i reached sta elena, I saw the runners heading to the finish line, i was envious as i see that they were enjoying the run. Most of the 10k runners were already there lining up for the certificate and freebies. Met with my best friend Jay and the group who finished the run as well. Got some feedback on the trail as i was not able to do a trail trace prior to the event. We started preparing our bikes and did some final bike check routine There were a lot of participants for the bike race, saw some of the weekend riders in the Sta. Rosa Trails participating also in the event. As scheduled the race started at 9am.

However, to my surprise, the event organizer announced that the beginners distance was only 15km, they trimmed it down again and reduced to 1 lap. I did not bother at this point since it was my first race anyway so fine with me, and i know that the 45km or 30km is a very difficult task. As the gun start was fired, it took me 5 seconds before i can sprint since the riders in front of me were so slow in taking off, by the time i was ready to sprint, there were about 50 riders already in front of the pack. I can just feel the intensity of this race. I then rode in the inner lane and started overtaking before i reach the trail. It was intense, and everybody were really trying to overtake one another. It was crazy, when we first approached a short uphill, a rider stopped and went down on his bike to walk, everybody piled up and slowed down everyone. I and some other bikers managed to manuever and climb the uphill overtaking the rest. From this point, some of the riders have already lead the pack.. I was not sure how far I was from the lead, but i was with a pack of 10 riders with me. It was exciting, especially when you overtake a rider, its like a video game where you are trying to catch the lead.. But in this case, impossible as the lead is to far out.

The adrenalin rush was so high in this event, if you dont know how to pace yourself, you will end up going to the finish line exhaused or worst, not finishing the race. In the early stages of the race, i saw one rider who was already vomiting. It was a 15km ride but everybody seems to rush as if the finish line is just near. I was hearing the breathing of the rider in front of me and he was catching his breath, it was a sign for me to attack and get pass him. I was observing the riders and during a turn or an uphill, i try to make an attack. Oviously, those who managed to pace themselves and breath properly ended up strong at the finish line, while those who didnt were so exhausted approaching the finsih line.

Now this is were i got upset, obviously i was pacing myself, so that i end up strong in the finish line and manage to overtake at least 3 to 4 more riders in our pack. It was already 8km and obviously i am expecting another 7km more to finish. I tried to slow down a bit to recover, however, i was surprised that i only have 2km left to finish line. The route was cut, as i reached the finish line, it was only 10km, yes, they cut it to 10km. Apparently, a decision was made but not coordinate well. I even talked to one of the finishline organizers (Vince), but he had no idea why it was cut from 15km to 10km. Bottomline i guess time management was not really taken into consideration. Unless they have a time constraint with the use of the Sta Elena Trail, then there should be no problem with time. Also, it appears that the energy was spilled out to the running event only. I dont know the feedback of the runners yet on the race, but looking at how running race were organized were far better than this one. Maybe in the next event, they should either consider separating the bike and running events. Or better make it a dualthon event so that focus is given proper attention to the event. Well, that was just me, i hope to see a well organized bike race in the future.

Here are some photos from the event.

Zaldy still strong near the finish line.

Runner mhel, ubelievable strength, after running 10km, he just finished another 10km ride.

Bikes

with Takbo.ph runners, nice meeting you guys/gals!

Ed, Zaldy, Mhel de Leon, Mel Turalba, Lawin, and Me..

Being Positive

2009-06-18T22:11:00.000+08:00

When was the last time that you missed an opportunity because you have doubted yourself whether you can or cannot do it. Are you now wondering what could have happened if you have at least tried and believed in yourself? Surely there was a moment that you doubted whether you can finish a 10k run, a half marathon, a full marathon, climbing a 10km uphill using your bike, or even taking a bigger responsibility in your work. And because you don’t have the confidence to do it, you let those precious opportunities pass.

Being a pessimist sometimes manifest in what you do or say without you noticing it. And at times it attracts negative vibes that affects your surroundings. You rarely smile, you are restless, stressed out, and always in a bad mood. You end up feeling sad, lonely, incompetent, and inefficient. There could have been an event were you have failed and that made you more insecure or doubtful of your capabilities. What is worst is that it gets in your head and you see yourself struggling to get out of that nightmare. It becomes a hindrance to your success. Picking yourself up from a fall is the only way to do and start all over again.

In most instances, you hear encouragement from among your friends, relatives, and people close to you. At times, you end up NOT listening because you think that you are not like them, and not everyone is capable of doing what others can do. You also say that it is easier said than done. These are sometimes the common reasons of people who have a very low self esteem. But really, we can only say that it is easier said than done, if we actually start trying it, otherwise you will never really know.

Attitude plays an important role in being positive. We all have the power to choose in every thing that we do. We can opt to stay happy, determined, confident, secured, and enjoy a happy and fruitful life, or the exact opposite. If you have a positive attitude, you will have an open mind and better control of yourself. If you can conquer a 10km run, a full marathon, and an exhaustive work out, then everything that you do becomes easy as you know how to deal with the struggle and pain of it.

Here are some things that can help us in staying/being positive;

1. Set your goals – important to have one as this drives you to become your best. Everything you do is aligned in achieving it.

2. Stay happy – a happy attitude sometimes change the way we handle challenges and obstacles.

3. Be prepared – in most cases, battles are won when you are prepared. You are equipped and in control of the situation. You can easily find solutions to obstacles and outright decision can be made. This help boost your confidence.

4. Understand your weakness – learn to face your weakness and find a way to overcome it. Believe that you will and can change it.

5. Lose weight – a healthy and lean body builds up confidence.

6. Stay away from negative environment – this is very contagious, stay with positive people and learn to influence others.

7. Project a positive aura – It has to manifest in you, always have that “can do” attitude.

8. Keep it cool, listen, and take action.

9. Learn to motivate self and other people.

10. Start running! – you will be surprised of how it changes your perspective.

“Happiness is an attitude. We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong. The amount of work is the same.” ~Francesca Reigler

Cross Training

2009-06-13T11:50:00.000+08:00

The Mizuno run was my first activity after my two weeks of absence in my run and bike training. It was a good run, however, this time I think I injured my right knee. I think I had this on my way down at the Kalayaan Bridge during the Mizuno run. Believing that it was just a sore muscle, I decided to cross train using my bike last Monday (June 8).

I was suppose to do a trail ride in the usual “upac” and “duck trail” in the morning, but since I will be riding alone, I decided not to and opt for the cardiac hill. Luckily, Runner45 (Mhel) and my bike buddies (Zaldy and Ed) planned to train at the cardiac hill in the afternoon and advised me to join them instead. It was raining that day, and I was thinking that they will not proceed but Zaldy confirmed that they will go if the rain stops. Luckily it stopped but it was dark at 4:30 pm.

I then got up and took my bike and ride from my house up the cardiac hill (5km). I was there ahead of them so I decided to traverse the other side of the hill, on my way back, I saw the guys arrived. I took a rest while Zaldy and Ed set up their bike and Mhel stretching preparing for his run. Then off we went to try the uphill climb which is a 1km ride. My knees were just fine and didn’t felt the pain.

This is the first time that I will get a time trial for this training. Will use these data as my benchmark and hopefully see improvements in my next try.

First 5km (house to hill) – 25:46.43
Trial 1 – 1km (uphill) - 7:58.90
Trial 2 – 1km (uphill) - 7:50.63
Trial 3 – 1km (uphill) - 7:57.42

It was good to cross train as I get to exercise without worrying about my knees. Biking definitely has less impact than running, but it helps me to be stronger when I do my biking especially on uphill. Good thing with biking, it helps me improve my endurance and stamina as well.

I tried to join Mhel in his last 200m of uphill run, but I just cant finish it to the top as I can feel the stress in my knees, but the short 200m was a good try. Hopefully someday I would be able to try running the hill as well.

Mizuno Run

2009-06-07T17:02:00.010+08:00

Finally! Im back and i get to participate in the Mizuno Infinity Run today. As always, mind is willing but this time body was not that ready. I was conscious this time and did not push myself too much. It was a good run for me, the only consolation was that i am still within my time finishing the 10k. I registered on site and thought i would run as a bandit, but luckily registration was still on. I was thinking if I will only run 5K, but decided to try 10k anyway. This time, i made sure that i am well hydrated.

My buddies improved their PRs today. Congratulations! It's good to see progress in every run. With proper training and discipline, you will surely hit your goal. I believe every runner always looks forward to their next run. There's no way to go but to improve each one's performance. But for me, im yet to improve my own PR. I'll get there, one stride at a time.

I was able to meet some of the takbo.ph guys, thanks to Mhel for introducing me and my buddies to the group. Was able to get photo with them.

More photos with my friends.

Me, Noemi, and Jay

Jay, Noemi, Brod, Ronald, Allan, Jojo, Me

All-Terrain Race

2009-06-05T18:58:00.006+08:00

This got me excited! It would be a good experience to join both the running event and the bike race. Haven't joined a bike race, maybe a good opportunity for me to try. Will invite my running buddies as well as my bike buddies to join this event, it would be fun.

The thing is, i didn't have any training for the last two weeks, and im thinking if i should do it.. Nah, i guess it's all in the mind.. I just hope i get the right discipline for the next two weeks to prepare my body and mind.

But hey, not too fast... First and foremost, i need to get my clearance from my doc. Hopefully i get a go signal, then i will sign up for the mizuno run on sunday. I'll take it light and hope i get a good recovery.

I would not expect a PR on the all terrain trail run, but will definitely know how i would do with the rest of the bikers (hehe.. i just hope im not the last to arrive at the finish line). This will be a good experience and a chance to learn from it. I just hope that they open the trail for practice before the race so that I can get a feel of the trail.

Anyways, obviously im very excited to go back to my training. These sport (running and biking) is addictive. It keeps you fit and healthy (oh, but i did get sick, huh?, hehe..) Would you believe that i lost 7 lbs in 6 weeks, just by including running in my regimen? Yes, i did lost 7 lbs.. I remember reading "RodRunner's" blog, saying "You want to lose weight?" "TAKBO TAYO!"

I Can't Wait..

2009-06-02T22:43:00.005+08:00

It's been two weeks since I was on sick bay, and yes, going on my third week without any running or biking. I' hope I get my clearance from my doctor on saturday when i see him. I'm supposed to join the Mizuno Run on sunday to improve my PR, but i guess I have to train again.

Likewise, I will be missing the MTB ride on saturday at the shotgun trail in marikina. Too bad, cause everyone will be there for the ride. It would be the second time that i will miss this trail. I guess, i will have to sit it out this weekend.

In the meantime, I will have to get a lot of rest and start revisiting my training program. I plan to do running on weekdays, at least 3 times a week, and biking on a saturday. One thing noticeable is that I have improved my biking when I started running. It was easier for me to climb uphill and felt that my lungs are more able sustain the long ride. It was a good cross training for me. But obviously, I have to start over again and that's why its important that I get the right training program for me. Likewise, it is also important to revisit my food intake to support my training. Would appreciate any suggestion from the experts on how you sustain your training program.

I can't wait to go out on the trail and start running and biking again. My shoes can't wait to stride with me, my bike can't wait to climb the hill and get dirty on the trail. I can't wait to use my new Garmin 405 who has been wanting to join me in my runs.. I just can't wait....

Down on sick bay

2009-05-18T17:13:00.007+08:00

I guess i over did it. Yes, i was not feeling well since thursday, a day after a strenous work out in the gym. I was so hyped during the work out and felt i had so much in my tank which forced me to extend my workout (bad!). Not feeling well on a thursday and decided to go half day on a friday to rest.

Then saturday came, much awaited day as we are bound to try the bike trail at the Lamesa Eco Park. Wake up 4am, feeling better, however tummy was not doing well. Still went on as planned. My tummy was not cooperating and that made me worry. But thought gatorade will do the work for me to hydrate so I still continued as planned. I was excited with the ride as I heard that the single track was good and my Trance will definitely enjoy the ride. We unloaded the bikes, inspected it, and geared up. Then off we went to the trail.

The first 5 minutes was a very fast pace, going down and some short uphill, the adrenalin rush was so immediate. I was enjoying it, but felt that i dont have the usual power in me. As soon as we first stopped to rest, that's where i felt dizzy, felt blood rising on my head, and partially blacked out (i guess) cause i felt that i was asleep for a second there.. The guys immediately attended to me, handed me over energy bars and told me to walk and rest for awhile.. When i felt better, i decided to proceed, had 3 more stops and then i decided to call it off as i felt i cant make it.. after 7km of ride i went back to the base to rest. I was sad cause i was not able to explore the trail, but there's another time for it.. I should have not proceeded in the first place to think that i was not feeling well already.

As i went to the base, i saw runners there, who just finished their training. They were friendly and offered me banana and gatorade. Had a short chat, but i was really feeling dizzy.. They were preparing for the TNF run this weekend. Then another group of runners (i think more experienced) started to arrive one at a time.. They were likewise preparaing for the TNF 100. They all seem determined to conquer the race and have actually been preparing for it. Good luck to all runners who will join the TNF100.

As for me, have to learn from this again, though my mind is willing, my body needs more preparation. Need to take proper rest, load up before any activity, hydrate, eat the right diet, and get good amount of sleep. This should not stop me from continuing my training. I will have to be careful and plan well my training. Hopefully, i can share with you the trail experience in Lamesa Eco park next time.

Business Leaders engaged in running

2009-05-12T12:30:00.001+08:00

It has been a common knowledge that most businessmen and executives usually play golf as part of their stress relieving activity. This is a venue where business meetings are held, and business deals are closed. For some, it has been their way of exercise. Golf just like any other sport requires patience, skills, and discipline and it is a good sport as well.

However, I have noticed that young business leaders and executives in their mid 30’s to late 40’s are now engage in running and have included it in their daily routine. Have read an article last month re “How the CEO became and Ironman” featuring Mr. Wilfred Uytengsu of Alaska and is instrumental in bringing the Ironman 70.3 here in the Philippines which will commence in August this year. He has his own story to tell on how he prepared himself to be a triathlete. At 47, it is very inspiring to see how he managed to achieve his level of fitness. It simply shows, that age is not a hindrance as long as you stay fit and healthy. The Concepcion brothers, Ton and Patrick, have been into running for a long time and is instrumental in the Condura Run event. With their busy schedule at work, it doesn’t stop them to continue running and has been an inspiration also to old and new runners.

Just today, I have read in the inquirer lifestyle section that Lance Gokongwei is also into running. They were a partner in the Condura run where their beneficiary is Bantay Kalikasan. Good to see our business leaders sponsoring such events to be able to help others. He is now training for the New York Marathon in November.

Obviously, it helps leaders to be more effective at work as they have a clearer mind, more energy, and determined. Since running requires discipline, it manifest also on the way they manage their business. As they are competitive in sports, they are likewise competitive in their business. All problems, obstacles, or struggles in the company doesn’t stop them from being creative in finding solutions. If they can go an extra mile in running, they can go an extra mile at work.

Mike Dauden and myself both business unit leaders have engaged in running as well. Mike is engaged in boxing and body building, and have joined running as his cross training activity. I am into cycling, golf, and have engaged in running after the Condura run event. I am now more focused in running and cycling to help me reduce weight. I play golf to improve my patience and it is also relaxing after a very busy week at work plus the strenuous training activities. We both influence our respective teams by being positive at work and helped influence a good working environment. We are trying to invite our peers to join us in our activity, we join races now and has been the talk in the board room among managers/directors during our meetings. Hopefully, we can influence them. Our president (Jojo Concepcion) gave a challenge that all who run 10k in the condura run to run 21k next year, those in 5k to advance in 10k, those in 3k to advance in 5k, those who did not run, to join the 3k run. It was a good challenge and obviously Me and Mike is up to the challenge, the rest will have to give up smoking first then start running (hehehe).

Mike and myself after finishing the 10k run at PAA-TIBAYAN last sunday.

IRONMAN in the Philippines

2009-05-11T20:13:00.007+08:00

As I was browsing the sports section of the online news today at INQ7.net, I happen to read the article of Anne Jambora dated May 5, 2009, entitled “Ironman comes to town”. It was good that for the first time, our country is hosting such a big event in the name of sports. This is a sport which I believe Filipinos can compete as it is a game of endurance, strength, and most of all discipline. By promoting such an event, it will encourage more athletes to understand and appreciate the sport. Not all including myself is aware of the details of preparation of such an exhaustive activity as well as the science behind this endurance sport.

Aside of promoting the sport, this will also help introduce our tourism since triathletes can explore the good places in our country.

It would be a great achievement to be able to participate in a triathlon and I hope to realize my plan of joining in the next 2-3 years (is that enough preparation?). But wait.. not too fast.. I’ll improve my PR in running and cycling first.. But, its best to set a goal and work on realizing it.

PAA-TIBAYAN Run

2009-05-10T20:12:00.000+08:00

Yesterday’s weather was weird, too hot in the morning and rain in the afternoon ‘till evening. I have wondered if it will stop before dawn breaks this morning, and yes! it did stop. So I woke up early as planned and get ready to participate in the PAA-TIBAYAN run sponsored by BOTAK held at the Fort. I was expecting a low attendance due to the bad weather, but surprisingly runners will always be runners and they will run rain or shine.

Running really does matter in whatever you do. You go out there with a plan, an objective and you prepare for it. You condition your mind and your body in order for you to be equipped during the event. I went to run with the simple objective of beating my own time (which was 71 min -10k during the Condura run), pretty slow! And yes, I was able to beat it with 67 min and 38 seconds without walking (finally!). Just a slight improvement but I’m happy with that, though I was hoping to beat my practice time of 63 min (but I guess I missed to count a lap, that’s why). I see this as an achievement cause my efforts paid off, and obviously this motivates me to practice more and hopefully I will be able to improve further in my next runs.

Anyways, here are some highlights of my run. Before the run started, there was confidence and optimism that a better time will be made today. Proper conditioning of the mind to be focused on the objective and believed that it can be done was a key factor in the preparation. Have managed to get a good sleep, woke up with a light feeling, very positive and determined. During the run, there were obstacles as my feet hurts, got concerned if there was something wrong with the way I run, or I was simply focusing on the pain. Have managed to re-focus myself in the run, my breathing, and started to pace myself. I have noticed that the pain was gone and said to myself that it’s just about focus. I had concentrated on my space and just run. I slowed down uphill the bridge going back and have thought of walking as fatigue starts to fall in, but had to remind myself of the objective otherwise, that’s it for me. So I jogged slowly until I was able to get more air and started to run again (obviously with my time, my run was a very slow pace). There was no marker (or I just didn’t noticed), and I find it hard to pace myself as I was not familiar with the place. Lesson learned: Need to be familiar with the route, try to run with the course if possible before the race.

It was a good run for me, will definitely practice more for my next run. One good thing is that I am not walking anymore during my laps; it’s a good sign of improvement. Small step is a start of a big stride later on. Always believe, and it will happen..

My first MTB trail

2009-05-09T10:09:00.000+08:00

In February 2009, I finally got my Mountain Bike. It’s a 2009 Giant Trance X2. Have been planning to get a mountain bike since last year, but it was just not a priority for me. My friends were actually pushing me to join them in their ride but was not yet ready at that time. I was a biker since the BMX days, have lost one BMX and one mountain bike already. I hope this one doesn’t get lost now.

Like a kid who just got his new present, I immediately took a ride in the village to get acquainted with the bike. Had a few laps only as I don’t want to push myself as I have not exercised for a long time. There was a scheduled weekend ride and I was invited to join and was excited as I have been wanting to join them in the trails. Same as running, I haven’t ride a bike for a long time and there was no fitness for me since two years ago. So I told my friend that I might slow down the group, but no worries according to him since they will guide me along the way and adjust to my pace (not really).

I got excited the night before the weekend ride, had trouble sleeping again (I mistakenly drank coffee at 5pm that kept me wide awake till 1am). The following morning, woke up 5:30 am, took a shower, geared up, then rode from house to Paseo Sta Rosa (I live near the place) to meet the guys. Off we went to the Cardiac hill. First time I climbed the hill was thru a golf cart (the hill is between the south forbes golf course). Here I was halfway the climb.

I ended up walking as I ran out of air. I thought walking would be easy but it was also hard, so I stopped rested for a while and then started to ride until I finish the climb.

I have enjoyed the rough trail, especially the downhill, the adrenalin rush was just so amazing. It was a good ride, we finished at 12nn, and boy was I hungry! This would definitely be the start of my weekend ride. From here on, i was motivated to go back to fitness, started jogging at least once a week then ride on saturdays. As i mentioned in my previous blog, the Condura Run made me run more and now i started running on weekdays, and ride on saturdays.

At the trail..

Here are the guys, Leo, Luis, Egay, Bay, Ed, and Me..

My First 10k Run

2009-05-05T21:13:00.000+08:00

Just want to share my first time to join a running event. I used to run at least 5 times a week, but that was two years ago. I have not really maintained a steady fitness program. As I mentioned in my welcome note, it has been an on and off thing. For once I weighed 204 lbs, and then started to realize that I don’t feel good. I was not comfortable with my weight so I decided to run and get a work out plan and managed to trim down to 175 lbs and felt good. However, I suddenly stopped running and going to the gym for a very personal reason.

Two years after, I found myself to be at 198 lbs, I feel heavy again. I’m always catching my breath every time I climbed the stairs or walk in an uphill road. I started going back to fitness by joining the mountain bike trails (see my post on my first MTB ride). Only fitness for me at that time is to ride every Saturday and I have my own struggles in keeping up the pace.

Then, one morning, an email in the office pop out addressed to all employees re the Condura Run, which was sponsored by our President’s brother (Ton Concepcion). Yes, I am connected with Concepcion Carrier Airconditioning Company managed by Raul Joseph Concepcion. First, I wanted to support the event for obvious reasons, secondly, I have never participated in a running event (except from my high school days), and I am excited to participate in one. Since I haven’t run for a long time, I decided to join the 5k run. One of my colleagues, Mike (a boxer and a body builder who has his own success story in fitness), will be running 10k so I figured, why not get a crack of the 10k and see for myself if I can finish it. I only have two weeks to prepare for the run, so I started running on weekdays. I have struggled to complete one lap in the village as I was gasping for air. But it did not stop me to continue. If I don’t prepare, then I will not achieve my goal.

I invited my best friend Jay Chavez, and he then invited his wife (Noemi) and office mates (Ronald and Allan) to join the Condura Run. I told Jay that I will be running the 10k to see if I can make it, and he then agreed to run 10k so that all of us can experience it. We both believe that if we don’t try, we will forever ask the question “What would it be like to run 10k?” Then two days before the race, I was able to complete a 10k run in the village (well, mostly jog and some walk). It took me 80 minutes to finish that run, don’t know really what time is acceptable for that distance though, but I used that as a benchmark to start improving.

A day before the race, Mike and I were still convincing some of our office mates to join the run. I’m happy that my team will be joining, some will run, others will cheer. It was indeed an exciting day for everyone, especially us who were first time to join the Condura run.

The day finally came, had to wake up early, drove from Laguna to the Fort. Jay texting me that they were at the site already (and im still at the expressway). As expected, there was a huge crowd, a lot of runners both professionals and newbies like me. It was a good site to see and that gets me motivated to run as I see a lot of runners taking time for such an event. Then it was time to run.. I ran at my slow pace trying to reserve my energy just to make sure that I will finish the race and not quit. In the beginning I felt pressure as a lot of runners keep on passing by me and kept me thinking that I might be the last person to arrive the finish line. But after 2k, I just concentrated on my running and focused on my objective. It doesn’t matter whether im fast or slow, the point is that I’m enjoying it and that I will not quit even if I had to walk all the way to the finish line. As the expert says, it’s a mental game, just like any other sports.

It was a good experience to join such an event, I managed to finish in 71 minutes better than the first run that I did. After the event, I started running again, and it has become a part of my routine. I joined my 2nd race which was the Greenfield run. I expect to join more races and hopefully improve my running skills further.

Welcome!

2009-05-05T10:34:00.000+08:00

I have created this blog to share with you my journey to stay fit. I have been on and off in fitness and have not really achieved my goal as I always have an excuse of not completing my fitness activities. I do hope that by doing this, I will be able to focus and put discipline in my fitness program.

In this blog, I intend to create an environment where we can share experiences, success stories, and healthful tips. I will, in my own little way contribute in supporting and promoting a healthy lifestyle. Please feel free to comment and share your experiences as well.

Thank you.

Mark Salvador
“Knight Runner”