Work and Play

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

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!

Do you own your dream?

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.

Transformation

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!