Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
iM a ConVert!!!!!!
My last hill training was still in December of last year back home in Legazpi. In the province we do have a short hill open for runners/walkers everyday till 9am. I am really excited to try out hill training again while still skeptical about the whole trail section of the planned run yesterday.
Doc Brent and I was planning on a trail run test at the La Mesa Eco Trail. Since I wasn't really familiar with the place I contacted RC another h@ppyFeet runner to help us out and show us the way to the place. He agreed on joining us and taking us there. So right after I finished yesterday's 7km race, I was stuffing myself with the free snack while I was on route to our meeting place. We left Manila at around 8:15am and headed out to QC. RC insisted on taking us to a more familiar place San Mateo Rizal. I guess we will have to move our plans to trying out La Mesa Eco Trail next time.
The trip took about 30~35minutes since traffic was easy on a Sunday. We passed by Marikina and arrived in San Mateo at around 8:50am. We parked RC's truck on a uphill curve shoulder(well this can only happen in the Philippines guys :)) And we started to prep for our first hill-trail run session. Doc Brent had his 20oz Nathan, while I had 24oz Amphipod and RC was logging along his huge indestructible Coleman hiking bottle. hehehe I guess we were all bringing just a few liquids since the weather was really cool yesterday. Well it was cool right, It rain little animals while we were all preparing. hahaha and the raindrops seemed to get bigger and bigger. Well, backed by some medical fact(c/o Brent) that we are totally safe running in the rain, well except for lighting striking us, we headed out for our run.
Wet wet wet.....
Just starting our climb on a paved road everything just seemed to be getting heavier and heavier..... clothes, underware, socks and shoes! They felt like a ton! And the starting paved hill was really really steep! It took me 16 minutes to get to the Timberland Gate. Brent showed up a good 5 minutes after and RC.... well..... He got there too. hehehehe The route was really simple it was just follow one road and you will not get lost.
When we entered the Timberland gate, half of the road was still under construction offering us a good warm up for the upcoming trail ahead. Running in the semi loose sand, rocks and soil was a totally new feeling for me. and i guess it was the same for Doc Brent too! We reached the end of the timberland estates and had to take a single lane trail road. Now the real fun begins....
Trees, grass and more trees and grass covered both sides of this one lane rough road and it was covered with mud, sand and rocks. We were just all careful of the brown-red looking mud since this was definitely the very slippery one. :)
I know this is still not a real trail running route but hey! for someone who has been running around the metro for 2 years, any unpaved road is already a trail for me! hehehehehe By my guestimate we took another 3~4kms of this trail. I know it was short but it was hard to run on very slipper condition. We all agreed on making the run time based and that we set a 1 hour turn around point. It was alot of fun running in slippery mud and potholes!
chicken, tapsi, koren beef, foot long and some pepsi after the run
Doc Brent and I was planning on a trail run test at the La Mesa Eco Trail. Since I wasn't really familiar with the place I contacted RC another h@ppyFeet runner to help us out and show us the way to the place. He agreed on joining us and taking us there. So right after I finished yesterday's 7km race, I was stuffing myself with the free snack while I was on route to our meeting place. We left Manila at around 8:15am and headed out to QC. RC insisted on taking us to a more familiar place San Mateo Rizal. I guess we will have to move our plans to trying out La Mesa Eco Trail next time.
The trip took about 30~35minutes since traffic was easy on a Sunday. We passed by Marikina and arrived in San Mateo at around 8:50am. We parked RC's truck on a uphill curve shoulder(well this can only happen in the Philippines guys :)) And we started to prep for our first hill-trail run session. Doc Brent had his 20oz Nathan, while I had 24oz Amphipod and RC was logging along his huge indestructible Coleman hiking bottle. hehehe I guess we were all bringing just a few liquids since the weather was really cool yesterday. Well it was cool right, It rain little animals while we were all preparing. hahaha and the raindrops seemed to get bigger and bigger. Well, backed by some medical fact(c/o Brent) that we are totally safe running in the rain, well except for lighting striking us, we headed out for our run.
Wet wet wet.....
Just starting our climb on a paved road everything just seemed to be getting heavier and heavier..... clothes, underware, socks and shoes! They felt like a ton! And the starting paved hill was really really steep! It took me 16 minutes to get to the Timberland Gate. Brent showed up a good 5 minutes after and RC.... well..... He got there too. hehehehe The route was really simple it was just follow one road and you will not get lost.
When we entered the Timberland gate, half of the road was still under construction offering us a good warm up for the upcoming trail ahead. Running in the semi loose sand, rocks and soil was a totally new feeling for me. and i guess it was the same for Doc Brent too! We reached the end of the timberland estates and had to take a single lane trail road. Now the real fun begins....
Trees, grass and more trees and grass covered both sides of this one lane rough road and it was covered with mud, sand and rocks. We were just all careful of the brown-red looking mud since this was definitely the very slippery one. :)
I know this is still not a real trail running route but hey! for someone who has been running around the metro for 2 years, any unpaved road is already a trail for me! hehehehehe By my guestimate we took another 3~4kms of this trail. I know it was short but it was hard to run on very slipper condition. We all agreed on making the run time based and that we set a 1 hour turn around point. It was alot of fun running in slippery mud and potholes!
chicken, tapsi, koren beef, foot long and some pepsi after the run
Run for Ariel.......
I woke up late again for yesterday's race. Well, not that late actually. It was about 10mins to 6am when I was running around my apartment trying to grab every single item that I need for the days planned run. Race belt, a couple of gatorade, powerbar, and extra clothes (thanks to Totoy's
tips). The worse part of it all was that I was supposed to pick up a fellow h@ppyFeet member(Roselle) from Makati. and since it was late already she already took the cab to the event . :( I am really so sorry Miss Roselle.
I arrived at the race start while the other runners where doing their pre-race warm up exercises. just good 5 minutes before race start. So again, I skipped my warm up exercise. Then I met Miss Lala, not a h@ppyFeet member, but a regular racer and a real fast one too! :) She was in some sort of educational hiatus, that's why she wasn't able to join races for a couple of months already. If you're reading this, Welcome back and i hate to say this but I think we're going to eat more dust again again.
So now back to the race....
I knelled down and reached for my shoe lace since it loose, when all of a sudden i heard the starting gun fire! <<<>>> and off everyone goes! Ok, I was still trying to tie my left shoe by this time. It didn't matter. I know that I can catch up since it was pretty much just a short 5km race. Well, wrong! This was a though one! Just exiting the Villamor compound it was already a good very mild incline. Then crossing the SLEX flyover was a real pain! Even the next 4~5 succeeding hills were really though.
First time check, 15 minutes into the race.
I was surprised when I saw my watch at 15:00 and I was still on route to the only turn around point. hmmmmm.... was I going that slow, panting caused by the difficult hills???? Well, I knew by then that this wasn't just a 5km course! Nonetheless, It's still a good one!
Turn around point....
I was still feeling strong taking only some shorter strides for recup and going back into race pace even before recovery. :) I guess all that rest all week payed off mentally. At least now I am prepared already for the route. Knowing where and anticipating the upcoming hills and descents I was able to pace better. I didn't however push myself entirely since I was still saving some energy for the planned run after the race. hehehe I clocked in at 28:25 @ 7km.
It was really nice to know that there were commercial sponsors who helped out this event and that there where a good number of racers who showed up and registered for this event. I hope that we all have helped Ariel in our own little way. It was also good to know that even members of the h@ppyFeet that was not able to join the race still registered and owed Mon(our financier) some registration money hehehehe.
Oh! and we have 4 members bagging awards again! TBR, Chaia, Roselle, Tisha! Wow! I think this is something that you guys can get used too right!? hehehe Congratulations to all the placers again and kick some more @ss next sunday in UP!
After the race I was already panicking cause I'm already late and someone blocked my parking space! ARRRGHHHH!!!!!!! Good thing ka Totoy was kind enough to back out his car and let me pass through. and I was off to my next adventure. :)
tips). The worse part of it all was that I was supposed to pick up a fellow h@ppyFeet member(Roselle) from Makati. and since it was late already she already took the cab to the event . :( I am really so sorry Miss Roselle.
I arrived at the race start while the other runners where doing their pre-race warm up exercises. just good 5 minutes before race start. So again, I skipped my warm up exercise. Then I met Miss Lala, not a h@ppyFeet member, but a regular racer and a real fast one too! :) She was in some sort of educational hiatus, that's why she wasn't able to join races for a couple of months already. If you're reading this, Welcome back and i hate to say this but I think we're going to eat more dust again again.
So now back to the race....
I knelled down and reached for my shoe lace since it loose, when all of a sudden i heard the starting gun fire! <<<
First time check, 15 minutes into the race.
I was surprised when I saw my watch at 15:00 and I was still on route to the only turn around point. hmmmmm.... was I going that slow, panting caused by the difficult hills???? Well, I knew by then that this wasn't just a 5km course! Nonetheless, It's still a good one!
Turn around point....
I was still feeling strong taking only some shorter strides for recup and going back into race pace even before recovery. :) I guess all that rest all week payed off mentally. At least now I am prepared already for the route. Knowing where and anticipating the upcoming hills and descents I was able to pace better. I didn't however push myself entirely since I was still saving some energy for the planned run after the race. hehehe I clocked in at 28:25 @ 7km.
It was really nice to know that there were commercial sponsors who helped out this event and that there where a good number of racers who showed up and registered for this event. I hope that we all have helped Ariel in our own little way. It was also good to know that even members of the h@ppyFeet that was not able to join the race still registered and owed Mon(our financier) some registration money hehehehe.
Oh! and we have 4 members bagging awards again! TBR, Chaia, Roselle, Tisha! Wow! I think this is something that you guys can get used too right!? hehehe Congratulations to all the placers again and kick some more @ss next sunday in UP!
After the race I was already panicking cause I'm already late and someone blocked my parking space! ARRRGHHHH!!!!!!! Good thing ka Totoy was kind enough to back out his car and let me pass through. and I was off to my next adventure. :)
Monday, August 13, 2007
oN My WaY to SCSM07!
So for now, I guess my training will definitely switch to Marathon Training. I attended the Mizuno Running clinic last Thursday and I did ask the coach, my same old problem... How do I take care of my cramps???? and he did give me a very good answer. "Train some more. Cramps is caused by lack of training", let me repeat that..... LACK OF TRAINING. I'm glad that I still have 3 more months to prepare. Oh and I'm hoping that I'd be able to prepare for it mentally too! That last 7km of pain is something that I really need to prepare for.
I did bring the topic up to my running buddies, trying to get more people to join in since Singapore isn't that far and that the race is professionally prepared, it'll be a really good race to join and experience the 42km race specially for first time marathoners. Surprisingly, one of our running friend joined in and will be zooming through the Singapore streets also in December. Ka Totoy, a Direct Link runner and Mon's friend also registered for the 42km event.
Ok, I guess I have some more running to do.
QC Media Run
Carpool at quarter before 5am. Good thing all my running mates lived near Buendia Ave. First stop, Mon and John. Then Chaia and Renz. Last but not the least Miss Roselle at the corner of Ayala Ave. Good thing we were all sexy enough to fit in the car. :) Mon was certainly concerned about that fact. Having everyone around did make the trip a quick one.
We arrived at the Quezon Memorial Circle about quarter past 5am. Got our race packets and the race organizer Miss Mary Anne Ringor of Runnex Running Club gave our group some free snack stubs. Thanks Miss Mary Anne!
The race route was simple. Run around the QC Circle 5x for 10km and 3x for the 6km event. Although it was a simple looping route it had a generous amount of incline to it. Race gun was fired at exactly 6:15am.
Just right after my first loop, I had a bad twitchy feeling on my right foot. My guess was that I had incorrectly landed my foot while I was doing my shorty loop last Saturday. I was seriously thinking of taking this race slower than usual or just doing a DNF. Guess what I did? I ran like there was no tomorrow. :) clocking in at 47:45 (take note the course was 9.2km only). All I think of was finishing strong and that my right foot was still intact after the race.
After the race we collected our loot bags (cool race sponsors!), snacks and more snacks! Aside from our free snack stub, They also had another snack counter near the stage! And another booth gave free Vit C (c/o Berroca) and another booth served some chilling Iced Tea! Cool ey!?
Came the awarding ceremony. Chaia and Tricia grabbed 3rd and 4th place on the 6km event! Whew!!!!! This has been Tricia's second race only and she's grabbing all the awards! Congrats Miss Tricia! Oh and since Chaia got a podium finish for this race, I guess she was in a really good mood that she payed for the group's breakfast!!! :)
On the men's category, John Ting(using RC's Race number) grabbed 8th place for the 6km event. And Ka Totoy grabbed 6th place for the 10km event.
mon, john, roselle, joms, chaia, renz, ka totoy
We arrived at the Quezon Memorial Circle about quarter past 5am. Got our race packets and the race organizer Miss Mary Anne Ringor of Runnex Running Club gave our group some free snack stubs. Thanks Miss Mary Anne!
The race route was simple. Run around the QC Circle 5x for 10km and 3x for the 6km event. Although it was a simple looping route it had a generous amount of incline to it. Race gun was fired at exactly 6:15am.
Just right after my first loop, I had a bad twitchy feeling on my right foot. My guess was that I had incorrectly landed my foot while I was doing my shorty loop last Saturday. I was seriously thinking of taking this race slower than usual or just doing a DNF. Guess what I did? I ran like there was no tomorrow. :) clocking in at 47:45 (take note the course was 9.2km only). All I think of was finishing strong and that my right foot was still intact after the race.
After the race we collected our loot bags (cool race sponsors!), snacks and more snacks! Aside from our free snack stub, They also had another snack counter near the stage! And another booth gave free Vit C (c/o Berroca) and another booth served some chilling Iced Tea! Cool ey!?
Came the awarding ceremony. Chaia and Tricia grabbed 3rd and 4th place on the 6km event! Whew!!!!! This has been Tricia's second race only and she's grabbing all the awards! Congrats Miss Tricia! Oh and since Chaia got a podium finish for this race, I guess she was in a really good mood that she payed for the group's breakfast!!! :)
On the men's category, John Ting(using RC's Race number) grabbed 8th place for the 6km event. And Ka Totoy grabbed 6th place for the 10km event.
mon, john, roselle, joms, chaia, renz, ka totoy
Thursday, August 9, 2007
vR rUn Episode #3
Have you ever heard the saying "God is good!".... I often hear it from one of those Christian Channels on cable but today.... indeed! GOD IS GOOD!
I woke up at exactly 4am. 10mins after my alarm clock started spewing "Kailangan pa bang imemorize yan!?" lines out of it. :) Hey, that's the only radio station I know that plays 24hrs. Got my sorry sleepy @ss out of bed and changed to my all yellow running gear. I know that its stupid to run out in the Manila Streets at 430am let alone if I'm wearing dark clothing right!?
No time to waste, I skipped the bars, and I ran out of Gatorade! Grabbed my hydration belt and got going exactly at 430am. Still no sign of rain by this time. Opssss.... I might have had spoken too soon.... cause just after a good 5 minutes of warm up jogging rain drops the size of cornbits started to drench me cold. Whew! Thank god I didn't multiply into the thousands. :D I pushed my pace by early trying to maximize the cooling effect im getting. I did a hard 15minute run but had to stop cause I felt somethings wrong with my stomach... No, I didn't need to go to the throne. I needed to puke! It was my hyperacidic tummy working against me. GRRRRRRRRR!!!!!! I had to stop and good thing there was a near by 7-11 convenience store at the corner. I bought the usual Propel drink by Gatorade and wasted no time hydrating and filling in my carry-on flask. Good thing the rain also stopped by this time. Im pushing for my 2hr training run!
Banggi texted me earlier that she would be running around the Makati area and so I decided to do my loop thru Makati and swing by her route. So from Roxas blvd, I took Buendia Eastbound to Makati BCD. Met up with Banggi at the usual running park at Salcedo and did about 2km run together. Boy, she was strict with her programed 10km run. She stopped running and started walking after knowing that she already did 10km. hehehehe We made the route pass by her place so that she can have her post run MickyD treat, did I smell Chicken Nuggets Banggi?!? :D
I pushed on going back to Roxas Blvd and doing a loop inside CCP complex and running through Baywalk, Pedro Gil East and then back to San Andres. Completing again another 2hour Virtual Run.
Since most of the guys from outside the country got a shock of their life the last time I posted my VR recap, I chose a better route this time. And didn't take any pictures of the suicidal parts of my route! hehehehehe
CCP Facade: this usually is filled with runners. I guess everyone skipped training and did more sleeping today.
Philippine Navy Facade: Even Mr. Buko man skipped selling today.
Baywalk Waves
God is good! It didn't rain that much early today. Heck! Eric was ready to offer a dozen eggs. While I was also getting ready to offer my own if it didn't stop! :D I'm glad i was able to train today. Crossing my fingers for a good Sunday race.
Now for the sad part of my run today. I heard about it from my friends and saw it in the not so Front Page of the broadsheet. Baywalk is gone! I'm not a big Baywalk fan, but I did enjoy doing my runs there since 2006 when i started running. I didn't need any iPod cause the diverse music selection alone in that area makes you either love it or hate it. Either way you will be running fast. :D I hate to be very political about it. But I just can't help it! When I joined the dragonboat team of our school back in College. I used to walk all the way from Pedro Gil to CCP. Didn't have a car yet so the jeepney is my bestfriend. and the closest route was Pedro Gil. Back then this part of Manila Bay used to be Very Dark, unevenly paved and filled with either doped sleepy people or plainly sleepy or plainly doped people. It was a very scary affair walking through that part 3x a week at 430am too! Good thing it got rehabilitated and lights were up and some security guards are passing by the area. Running at night is hard due to the amount of traffic but it was surely fun. You can ask Smith, cause we were still able to make some runs here 2 months ago.
Mrs. Franco (not her real name). She's a regular Baywalk morning walker. She said that they tore down the establishments last July 31.
It has been only a week since they chopped the place. Already this floor lights are gone! Whats next, the chairs and lamp-posts!?
I miss the old Baywalk. I just hope it doesn't turn out to be dark and dope infested again.
I woke up at exactly 4am. 10mins after my alarm clock started spewing "Kailangan pa bang imemorize yan!?" lines out of it. :) Hey, that's the only radio station I know that plays 24hrs. Got my sorry sleepy @ss out of bed and changed to my all yellow running gear. I know that its stupid to run out in the Manila Streets at 430am let alone if I'm wearing dark clothing right!?
No time to waste, I skipped the bars, and I ran out of Gatorade! Grabbed my hydration belt and got going exactly at 430am. Still no sign of rain by this time. Opssss.... I might have had spoken too soon.... cause just after a good 5 minutes of warm up jogging rain drops the size of cornbits started to drench me cold. Whew! Thank god I didn't multiply into the thousands. :D I pushed my pace by early trying to maximize the cooling effect im getting. I did a hard 15minute run but had to stop cause I felt somethings wrong with my stomach... No, I didn't need to go to the throne. I needed to puke! It was my hyperacidic tummy working against me. GRRRRRRRRR!!!!!! I had to stop and good thing there was a near by 7-11 convenience store at the corner. I bought the usual Propel drink by Gatorade and wasted no time hydrating and filling in my carry-on flask. Good thing the rain also stopped by this time. Im pushing for my 2hr training run!
Banggi texted me earlier that she would be running around the Makati area and so I decided to do my loop thru Makati and swing by her route. So from Roxas blvd, I took Buendia Eastbound to Makati BCD. Met up with Banggi at the usual running park at Salcedo and did about 2km run together. Boy, she was strict with her programed 10km run. She stopped running and started walking after knowing that she already did 10km. hehehehe We made the route pass by her place so that she can have her post run MickyD treat, did I smell Chicken Nuggets Banggi?!? :D
I pushed on going back to Roxas Blvd and doing a loop inside CCP complex and running through Baywalk, Pedro Gil East and then back to San Andres. Completing again another 2hour Virtual Run.
Since most of the guys from outside the country got a shock of their life the last time I posted my VR recap, I chose a better route this time. And didn't take any pictures of the suicidal parts of my route! hehehehehe
CCP Facade: this usually is filled with runners. I guess everyone skipped training and did more sleeping today.
Philippine Navy Facade: Even Mr. Buko man skipped selling today.
Baywalk Waves
God is good! It didn't rain that much early today. Heck! Eric was ready to offer a dozen eggs. While I was also getting ready to offer my own if it didn't stop! :D I'm glad i was able to train today. Crossing my fingers for a good Sunday race.
Now for the sad part of my run today. I heard about it from my friends and saw it in the not so Front Page of the broadsheet. Baywalk is gone! I'm not a big Baywalk fan, but I did enjoy doing my runs there since 2006 when i started running. I didn't need any iPod cause the diverse music selection alone in that area makes you either love it or hate it. Either way you will be running fast. :D I hate to be very political about it. But I just can't help it! When I joined the dragonboat team of our school back in College. I used to walk all the way from Pedro Gil to CCP. Didn't have a car yet so the jeepney is my bestfriend. and the closest route was Pedro Gil. Back then this part of Manila Bay used to be Very Dark, unevenly paved and filled with either doped sleepy people or plainly sleepy or plainly doped people. It was a very scary affair walking through that part 3x a week at 430am too! Good thing it got rehabilitated and lights were up and some security guards are passing by the area. Running at night is hard due to the amount of traffic but it was surely fun. You can ask Smith, cause we were still able to make some runs here 2 months ago.
Mrs. Franco (not her real name). She's a regular Baywalk morning walker. She said that they tore down the establishments last July 31.
It has been only a week since they chopped the place. Already this floor lights are gone! Whats next, the chairs and lamp-posts!?
I miss the old Baywalk. I just hope it doesn't turn out to be dark and dope infested again.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
vR rUn #3
Come out and join us for our next virtual training run. Runners from across the globe connect and train virtually with each other through the power of 21st century technology. We have had participants from the Philippines and Malaysia going stride for stride with their virtual buddies from San Diego, Orange County, and Seattle.
DATE: 9 August 2007, Thursday (Manila Time)
TIME: 4:30 A.M. (Manila Time)
DISTANCE: 10 km/ 6 miles (or whatever you wish)
RUNNERS/ COURSE: (I’ll update this as more people join up)
1. E-Rod - Newport Beach, USA
2. HitMe - Quezon City, Philippines
3. Banggi - Manila, Philippines
4. Ben - Manila to Makati, Philippines
5. Renz - Metro Manila, Philippines
6. Marga - Paranaque, Philippines
7. Steph - San Diego, USA
8. Gretchen - Seattle, USA
9. Jaymie - Alabang, Philippines
To Manila runners, let’s join hands in prayer for the storm to stop and the sun to shine brightly tomorrow morning. Otherwise, it will be a treadmill run for most of us. For me, that just points to a slow pace and sore knees. Ack!
Sign in if you want to join…
Ok so my problem now is should i run in the rain???? hmmmmm.... Will my stash of Fern-C supplements be able to help me avoid getting a cold and push my 10km race this coming sunday? hmmmmmmm...... Im still hoping for a new PR soon. I hope this Sunday is soon enough. :)
DATE: 9 August 2007, Thursday (Manila Time)
TIME: 4:30 A.M. (Manila Time)
DISTANCE: 10 km/ 6 miles (or whatever you wish)
RUNNERS/ COURSE: (I’ll update this as more people join up)
1. E-Rod - Newport Beach, USA
2. HitMe - Quezon City, Philippines
3. Banggi - Manila, Philippines
4. Ben - Manila to Makati, Philippines
5. Renz - Metro Manila, Philippines
6. Marga - Paranaque, Philippines
7. Steph - San Diego, USA
8. Gretchen - Seattle, USA
9. Jaymie - Alabang, Philippines
To Manila runners, let’s join hands in prayer for the storm to stop and the sun to shine brightly tomorrow morning. Otherwise, it will be a treadmill run for most of us. For me, that just points to a slow pace and sore knees. Ack!
Sign in if you want to join…
Ok so my problem now is should i run in the rain???? hmmmmm.... Will my stash of Fern-C supplements be able to help me avoid getting a cold and push my 10km race this coming sunday? hmmmmmmm...... Im still hoping for a new PR soon. I hope this Sunday is soon enough. :)
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