12.30.2009 – WARM-UP FOR 2010 – LAST RUN OF THE YEAR! : The Rizal DAY Run 32K.

01.10.2010 – The Cebu Marathon 42K.
01.23.2010 – BDM Test RUN 52K
02.07.2010 – The Condura Run 42K.
03.06.2010 – The Bataan Death March Ultra Marathon 102K.

If the Lord is willing, all these runs, I will accomplish.

This week of the year is something. For some cool reasons…

#1 I was able to complete and achieve the target of 1,500 kms for the year. Hence, I have no choice but to raise it up again for next year.

#2 I was able to run again after last December 6’s KM-0 to Tagaytay LSD.

That’s 6kms in 49 minutes and 12 seconds, an average pace of 8 minutes 12 seconds per kilometer.

For someone who loves to run everyday, a day or two is an eternity. A whole week is a real forever. I have tried to run last Sunday (12.13.09) at Makati with some of the regular peeps from Takbo.Ph. After 46 minutes of easy strides, I have to quit and give-up. The pain was something not tolerable. Not funny. My mind started to wander at the very on-set of the pain. How am I to run the 32kms Rizal Day Run if I have this pain?

Hopefully, If the easy run will continue to be pain-free, Im off to a good run again, soon!

Some details:

12.14.09 run at 8:40am.
1st km @ 7:49.6
2nd km @ 8:11.7
3rd km @ 8:10.5
4th km @ 8:10.9
5th km @ 8:18.6
6th km @ 8:31.2 for a total run time of 49:12.4

12.15.09 run at 6:49am.
1st km @ 8:14.3
2nd km @ 8:54.5
3rd km @ 8:49.5
4th km @ 8:44.1
5th km @ 8:48.6
6th km @ 8:53.7 for a total run time of 52:24.6

12.18.09 run at 7:56am.
@ Baywalk
1st 2 kms @ 15:33.4
2nd 2 kms @ 16:25.6
5th km @ 8:13.0
Total of 5kms @ an average pace of 8:02 /km
@ The Oval
1st 5 rounds @ 16:16.5
2nd 5 rounds @ 16:36.9
cooldown of 1 round walk for a total of 9 kms in 1:13:05.3

Google LSD and you’d get crazy figuring out why it’s an acid and not the running term we use here.

Such is just one of the many wonders of this running thing.

Simply put, for the many new peeps trying out their times in running, LSD is referred by many of us as LONG SLOW DISTANCE running. We could also thank WIKIPEDIA for their definition: here.

As worded in the link above, LSD is more than what anybody just thought it is. The benefit is so much so that you gain a lot. I must quote:

the minute you can’t talk, you are going too fast

Being one of the many advocates of this method of training, I must confess – It works.

Traditionally, the Honolulu Marathon Clinic provided the following rules:

No fewer than three runs per week
No more than five runs per week
No less than one hour per run
No farther than 15 miles on any run
One run per week lasting two hours or more (after month 5)

Then, Jeff Galloway introduced an effective compliment: The Walk-Break!

“It has been found that average runners will have more success if they take regular walk breaks.”

Practically speaking, now a days, I don’t think anybody follows any strict rule on training at all. Except that everybody does the basic – TRY OUT WHAT WORKS FOR YOU and LISTEN TO YOUR BODY more. LSD now has become a variation of many runs. Slow start on a long distance with tempo runs in between or at the last leg to the finish line. Such an example is attained and done by yours truly thru many practices.

Since there are many experts, and what the experts say is almost always effective – but they have said so much you got confused – why not just try one and see for yourself?

Running a Full Marathon is not easy. All the more an Ultra Distance. But for the braveheart that we all are, Full or Ultra Marathon is doable, and easy if you have prepared for it well. You just have to spend a lot of time training. Run long, and run well. Preparation is everything. Nothing beats a man who is well prepared! and sad to say, the opposite is true. Enter a race unprepared and you’ll suffer every known consequences.

From my own experience, If i may impart it, I have learned a lot. A few of them as follows.

Learn R.I.C.E. first. That’s Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate. You’d do just that after the race.
Train your run at different times, at different distances. Do you think you can run the same finish time on a morning compared to a night race?
Learn to embrace nature. Sun and Rain does not sound good at all but if you’d just understand that they stay even when you’re gone, you will also learn to accept and try running under both condition. If I may note: I can run faster when it’s raining. PR’s I have set under a rain remains unbeaten up to this writing.
Learn to be self-sustaining. Know what to carry on your long runs. Your drinks, your food. Please! Nothing new on race day!
Use your most reliable shoes on race day. No matter how expensive your racing shoe may be, it may still surprise you with a problem if you have not trained with it on a long run too.
Learn your own pace. Don’t be sucked into the speed of others. Trust me on this!
Practice a long run with your race attire too. That same nice and elegant race wear you’re saving for the big day might just be your next problem too.
Don’t commit the mistake of comparing yourself to others. No runner is exactly alike. Even twins have differences. What works for them may not work for you and the opposite goes true too.
Learn to know when to give up and when not to. Pain is tolerable. Long-term injury is not.

I guess that is all for now. Gotta rest. Gotta run again tomorrow.

Looking back, some 5 Full Marathons, 6 Half-Marathons, and a total of 13 16-15-10-8 & 5-km races, I was all of a sudden strucked by a nice question. Why do I run?

Like all other stories written in many ways, I have my own version of it. I used to be a HIGH-CHOL-FAT-TUMMIED young man. That’s enough reason to move then. To think of finding ways to get rid of the High BAD Cholesterol, increase my GOOD cholesterol and look better (physically). So I decided to work-out. I remember my first day at a local hardcore gym. I was asked to warm-up first by running in a manual roller threadmill. Then bike after it. So I did. And boy how I sweat…

Simply put, that first run on the threadmill do me well. I got challenged. The bike is easy. But the run which lasted for no more than 20 minutes screw me so well! I was running out of breath. I have no idea then how to run, nor what the word PACE is.

For a starter, while I play a good twice-a-week-basketball then, shifting from the mind-boggling CHESS games I loved, I tried ‘jogging’ outside. It was really weird then. You don’t get to see as many runners like now. Then, to find at least two other ‘jogger’ is already enough a reason to celebrate. I’m married, and I’m a jogger. Wow. Such an accomplishment! (I told my wife).

Basket games are real tough challenge for me. While I would continue to claim that I was a good shooter before, and as I continue to play a bit ‘competitive’ twice a week, I also noticed how fast I could run back-round-and-forth the full court. I just loved it whenever the opportunity gives me a chance to chase somebody else ahead in full throttle and be surprised finding me in front stealing the ball. Now that’s something and I’m just loving it.

Now one day…like all the other fairytales that bloomed into one good story, I searched the net for a running tip. To prove what I suspect the reason why I ‘jog’ fast and strong. To learn more. That’s also the day I bumped into the site of TAKBO.PH. I did not even join the group after lurking for at least 3 months. Wow, such restraint! Yes, I lurked at TBR and BR’s site too! and that of Run CPI’s!

Finding a good answer and proof to my quest, I ended up running more. I joined my first ever race as a total newbie. I don’t even have a clue on how I will fare for my first race, but I managed to finish it – in great pain!
Now I could only look back to it with a smile. What carried me then to the now may just be what some of the new runners have now. I run to raise my HDL – that GOOD cholesterol in our body, and to stay as fit as I can.

Now, I’m running for far more reasons. While I don’t compare myself to others, nor try to keep up to other’s expectation, I listen well. Unsolicited opinions when given by ‘qualified’ experts do help a lot. I learned to listen to my body. I eat when I’m hungry – not just because it’s time to eat – and I stop eating when I’m full. The same goes to my running. I slow down when I felt so much heat. I stop when I feel recurring uneasy pain. I do walk if I must, but I will finish a distance no matter what. Yes it will take a lot of time. Yes I might be the last person to reach the finish line. But those are just reality truths. If it’s not me, it’s simply some others. And I have decided that it will not be me. So I train hard. I read, study and try it out. Ask questions. Find out what works for me, which may not work for others, and spill it out if it’s good. When asked, I answer. When called, I respond.

Note: (click on the link to see the full article)

Running raises levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, also known as “good” cholesterol.

Running is way of life now to me. It’s like my chopsuey. It’s messy and saucy and colorful and delicious. I like it…and I know very well how to cook it!

I like!

Since BDM 1 (Bald Runner’s Bataan Death March) of 2008, and the announcement of the forthcoming BDM 2, plans to prepare for it has been a bug in many runner’s schedule. And why not? Preparation is everything. To be able to run a FULL Marathon, you train for it. To be able to run an Ultra Marathon, do the same. Only, much harder. An ultra marathon requires a lot of endurance, strong will and patience. One of the most prominent factors that no runner can ignore is the effect of the sun. The heat. The more intense, the more exhausting.

Last October 29, I started to run at my convenient time. Work gets in the way you know. Since I plan to start training for my Ultra this December, I decided also to take a nibble at the heat at every chance I got on a daily basis every 3pm. True enough, it’s hot!

Thanks to Rico aka SheerWill

Driven and guided by this simple cup’s adage, I learned to appreciate more this thing I do.

The sun's stare...

The still bay...

My route...

My start...

My own shadow...

Using just my cellphone’s camera to capture the moment since I was 2 minutes early for my 3pm start, I took time to take a shot of what you’ll see outside, near my run route at the bay, in this particular time.

As expected, I was able to run better at this one. I have had a good rest since last Sunday’s event at the UrbanAthlon. See the details below:

1st km timed at 6 minutes 05.1 seconds
2nd km timed at 5 minutes 26.8 seconds for a running time of 00:11:31.8
3rd km timed at 5 minutes 25.8 seconds for a running time of 00:16:57.7
4th km timed at 5 minutes 39.3 seconds for a running time of 00:22:37.0
5th km timed at 5 minutes 13.9 seconds for a running time of 00:27.50.9
6th km timed at 6 minutes 30.6 seconds for a total running time of 34:21.5

I have limited my run to less than an hour and no more than 8 kms so far. Come December, everything goes up. I hope everybody is preparing too. Good luck to all of us.

It’s not for the faint of hearts…
It’s not for the weaklings…
It’s not for those who are not up for the challenges!

THE LAST TIME

After gun start, RUN, do some hurdles, crawls, run more, climb 4 toyota hi-lux, zigzag thru parked vehicles, climb a wall…then finish. It was also a cool November.

Thanks to Dennis!

I can still recall how good i fared the last time. It was an easy run and quite a challenge at the wall. Am excited over this new one. It’s also very near.

THIS TIME:

Some of the old obstacles will still be there. What’s new is the vertical run (yes, VERTICAL) and the weaver obstacle. See my shot at it:

As the name implies, the Weaver Obstacle is like weaving – literally use your body to weave through the bars, over and under alternately. tricky eh? Wait till you get to try it. Done it in 19 seconds, but im all alone and nobody else to elbow or squeeze.

Here’s a peek at the NEW wall challenge before you get the chance to cross the finish line.

Thanks to Marvin for the Shot.

Want to run a race unlike any other? Join us!

November 22, 2009
5:00 a.m.
McKinley Hill, Taguig City
(behind the McKinley Information Center)

Registration period is up to November 18, 2009 ONLY.

Registration fee includes:

Race Kit
Finisher’s Shirt
Men’s Health November issue
and breakfast at the festival!

Common…challenge yourself. I have.

my bib

For more room and space in my front page.

This shouldn’t be hard. Mileage and Time record. we’ll see.

090109 08.08 kms in 01 hour/s 18.6 minutes PEGASUS
090309 14.29 kms in 02 hour/s 15.7 minutes NEWTON
090609 21.00 kms in 02 hour/s 15.0 minutes NEWTON
091009 07.82 kms in 01 hour/s 14.0 minutes PEGASUS
091509 08.40 kms in 01 hour/s 08.5 minutes PEGASUS
091609 09.62 kms in 01 hour/s 24.2 minutes PEGASUS
091709 10.00 kms in 02 hour/s 12.1 minutes PEGASUS
091809 09.13 kms in 01 hour/s 42.5 minutes NEWTON
093009 08.40 kms in 01 hour/s 38.6 minutes NEWTON with 15-minute break before the last round.
100109 07.20 kms in 01 hour/s 03.3 minutes PEGASUS 6 X 1.2kms 11:28.3/11:29.5/10:50.7/10:38.3/10:06.7/09:03.0
100409 34.00 kms in 06 hour/s 00.0 minutes PEGASUS inclusive of cold stops and walks.
100809 12.50 kms in 02 hour/s 12.1 minutes PEGASUS 01:00:40/01:11:37
101209 04.00 kms in 00 hour/s 32.3 minutes PEGASUS
101809 42.19 kms in 06 hour/s 31.0 minutes PEGASUS
102409 42.19 kms in 07 hour/s 36.0 minutes PEGASUS (about to retire)
102909 06.00 kms in 00 hour/s 43.0 minutes NEWTON @3PM
110309 08.00 kms in 00 hour/s 48.0 minutes NEWTON @3PM
110809 42.19 kms in 05 hour/s 47.0 minutes NEWTON @PIM
111109 06.00 kms in 00 hour/s 41.5 minutes NEWTON @3PM
111509 21.00 kms in 02 hour/s 22.2 minutes NEWTON @TIMEX
111709 03.60 kms in 00 hour/s 22.0 minutes NEWTON @BHS
111809 06.00 kms in 00 hour/s 43.0 minutes NEWTON @3PM
112009 06.00 kms in 00 hour/s 41.4 minutes RETIRED PEGASUS @9:30AM
112509 06.00 kms in 00 hour/s 34:2 minutes NEWTON

The gang (like some mafia) met early at McDonald’s in U.N.Avenue. Doc Topher was already there when I arrived. Soon, the guys came altogether. We’ve had some light meal and hurriedly proceeded to walk to the starting line of the Philippine International Marathon in KM 0 Luneta.

As expected, the race started on time. The atmosphere was just fun and excitement for all the runners. There was just a flood of smiles everywhere.

We started just fine. Negative and slow. After 5 kilometers, we catched up with the plan. And so the run was plain and pure in good speed. Until we reached Hulo. The relay team, who has maintained a good pace all-through-out the run, is way ahead now. We’re a bit slow at this point. Indeed, by the time we reached Pioneer Street, we’re on our own. The relay team cannot be seen now.

The route of the Philippine International Marathon is not for the faint of hearts. The goind up and down the bridges, the stretch of Pioneer down to C5, and the uphill turn to Buendia-Kalayaan Flyover is some kind of a killer trail. (for the likes of us, I guess). But generally speaking, it’s a laudable feat for the Organizer to have maintained a water station up until KM 38. It is good to note the presence of marshalls and medics along the way. For some runners threading the route alone, it means a lot. For us three (3), Gab, Me and Neil (who surprisingly stayed with us to the Finish LINE from the relay point in Lambingan Bridge where he started), reaching the Support Station of TAKBO.PH in KM 34? is bliss!

There was just the old-loud-but-effective-cheers, and some banners this time, coupled with a lot of questionings on what you need – what you want – kaya pa? – are you alright? – and other things i can’t recall. But I shall never forget the ICE-cold-GATORADE. That blue-colored thing straight from the ice-chest served by NEIL in a plastic cup…IT WAS THE BEST! Next to it is the unforgettable Bengay applied with care by Cindy on my calf muscle. It helped a lot in preventing the full on-set of a painful cramps. I was able to cross the finish line just fine!

Thanks to Luis the Gingerbreadman for the nice spray of water on my nape…that’s some relief. It was really hot. I recall a relay-team member saying a 90-degrees of humidity. Wow.

Thanks also to everybody in the Support Station. Just seeing you guys smile is enough to lift our spirits.

But wait. Why the title?

That’s because, FOUR (4) marathons after, I retired my most reliable Pegasus +25. I have no choice but to use my NEWTON. So far, the run was just fine. The lugs heated, and my forefoot in heat, but still manageable. This 5th Full Marathon is the longest run for this new shoes. I guess, running a full marathon and finishing it well is not about the shoes. It’s the runner!

The runner who will not easily surrender.
The runner who knows when to give up, and when to let go.
The runner who is determined to cross the finishline, in pain or not.
The runner who is willing to take on the heat no matter what.

That’s us. That’s how we are. And that’s how we will always be.

Congratulations to everybody who finishes, and to all those sidelined by injuries! There’s always next time, guys!

I started to try it last October 29. The feeling was just great. Despite the biting sun, I liked it. And so I did it again. I guess this is going to be a habit. I have just done it again…yesterday.

It’s just me. The sun. The bay view. The lousy dozed people on the side. The wind and the sleepy afternoon.

It’s 3 in the afternoon…and Im running again. This time, it’s a lot faster than the first. I started on an easy tempo. See how I fared:

1st km timed @ 5:45.9
2nd km timed @ 5:28.8 total running time = 11:14.7
3rd km timed @ 5:14.0 total running time = 16:28.6
4th km timed @ 6:31.9 total running time = 23:00.5
5th km timed @ 5:49.7 total running time = 28:50.3
6th km timed @ 6:12.8 total running time = 35:03.0
7th km timed @ 6:49.9 total running time = 41:53.0
8th km timed @ 6:10.6 total running time = 48:03.6

Last time was just a 6km trial run on a new time…the next I think should be at 10kms…

5 days hence, I was able to do a recovery run (if it is indeed), after the hardcore night run in Subic.

A few minutes after work, I was already in my starting line at the Baywalk. Km 1 to Km 2 and back. Here’s some of the details:

1st km paced at 7:39.3
2nd km paced at 7:09.5
3rd km paced at 7:00.3
4th km paced at 7:11.8
5th km paced at 7:10.5
6th km paced at 6:56.1
Total Distance covered is 6kms in 43 minutes 07.4 seconds.

I was wearing a singlet inside and a bit thick sweat shirt on top. Imagine. Scorching heat. Quite a consistent pace. Sweat all around!

While the heat of the sun bites my face, I dont mind it at all. I just enjoyed the cool breeze of the calm bay water and the silence of a real scorching mid afternoon.

Guess what? I’d do this again! and Longer!