Just got an e-mail from Kaye on this:

ONLINE GAMES & SPECIAL AWARDS AT THE 2009 TIMEX RUN

More prizes and awards to be given away at the 2009 Timex Run!  A total of 26 Timex watches will be raffled off and given away as prizes for online games and special awards.  Visit www.timexwatches.com.ph to join “Guess the Bib No. and Finish Time of Piolo Pascual” online game for a chance to win a fabulous Timex watch.  And aside from the 24 category winners of the 3k, 5k, 10k, and 21k distances, we will also be awarding the youngest runner and the oldest runner registered for the event.  They will each receive a Timex watch and a gift pack from Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bar.  The largest group/club/team/company delegation will also receive 5 Timex watches as their prize.  Christmas just came earlier this year!  See you at the 2009 Timex Run!

It was the kids’ semestral break 2 weeks ago and I took it as an opportunity to get myself used to waking up early everyday to run. Because of my spotty running schedule, I found it difficult to wake up at 5 a.m. with any sort of consistency which led to … well, a spotty running schedule. On regular schooldays, I would start my day by 6 a.m. so that I could eat breakfast, get dressed and be out of the house by 7 a.m. to take my daughter to school on time. With the kids on holiday, I could afford to leave the house at a later hour which meant my body clock could adjust gradually to an earlier wake up time. For that week, I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and ran every day!

Well almost. Jun C and I aborted a long run at the Fort on the Saturday Typhoon Santi hit the country. Despite the strong winds, the felled trees, lamp posts, and other wind strewn debris, I drove down to Bonifacio High Street and waited for Jun at the parking lot behind ROX. I could feel the car being rocked by the strong gusts of air but running during a storm was nothing new to me. When Jun arrived, I was adamant that we push through but as we cautiously made our way down 5th Avenue, we witnessed the extent of the damage and the dangers posed to us by the storm. We finally decided to turn back when we saw a a motorcycle that lost control as the wind slammed into it. The winds had gotten stronger and we could no longer run as we were met with hard rain and resistance. We used buildings to shield us momentarily from the elements until we finally made it back to our cars. Glad to have survived the tempest, we simply continued our long run the next day.

Last week, the semestral break ended. Having adapted to getting up at 5:30 a.m., I began setting the alarm 30 minutes earlier which would give me an hour to run and still be on time to bring my daughter to school. Despite the resumption of my hectic schedule, I managed to run again almost every day.

It feels good to settle back into a familiar rhythm and within a week or so I am ready to dive right into a new training program.

It was as if nothing had happened from the time The Philsports Arena was utilized by the Pasig City government as an evacuation center for the flood victims of Typhoon Ondoy until this morning when I dropped in to see if I could do an interval session. While I had heard that the evacuees had gone back to their respective homes to rebuild their lives, I wasn’t sure if the ULTRA oval was open already. Since the children were on semestral break and I could train longer than usual, I decided to include a visit to the place as part of my route.  As I wound through the compound’s small streets, there were no visible signs that the place had been used as an evacuation center as recently as a few days ago. It was almost 6 a.m. but there were only 1 or 2 cars in the parking area. I couldn’t get a glimpse of runners passing the bend nor hear their approaching footsteps and it was eerily silent. My sense anticipation of grew as I came closer to the stage that served as the entrance and when I finally saw the open track lanes, I knew I was home again too.

ASICS Gel Nimbus 11

Having started with the Nimbus 9, I continue to be a big fan of the Nimbus series. I love the cushioning on these shoes and although they are a bit on the heavy side, I am confident that I am getting the best protection for my feet and knees. . While I use these for my road runs specially the long ones, I use a different pair of shoes for racing which are lighter.

So now I’m off to try them on. See you on the road!

It wasn’t the best episode of the whole season but it certainly was one of the most fun with Hec Yuzon and Nike 5k Challenger, Patrick Echevarria on board with Jaymie and myself.

Run Radio the first ever running talk show on radio went through 12 episodes from July 24, 2009 until October 23, 2009 faster than a 5k.  It was an amazing season with my co-hosts Jaymie and Bards. It was truly educational with all resident nutritionist Dr. George Bodegon and shoe guru Hec Yuzon. It was inspirational with our featured guests Jocelyn Saw, Arland Macasieb, Sen. Pia Cayetano, the Bald Runner and many more! Finally who can forget the journey of our 5k challenger, Patrick Echevarria, who trained for his first 5k during the 3 months of season 1.

All of it was achieved through the vision and efforts of our boss, Marga Deona who produced, directed, wrote and marketed the whole thing by her lonesome ( with the support of Vimz of course!). I can only thank her (and Vimz) for the wonderful opportunity they gave me to talk on and on about my love for running.

Next season should be more interesting with fresh ideas and new guests. Hopefully, the program continues to educate and entertain new and old runners alike.

See you guys next season!

Marga sent me a message Monday night asking me to join them for the press briefing on the Time Is Running :The 2009 Timex Run with Piolo Pascual. Am not quite sure why I agreed since I knew only the girls would be thrilled to be there.

Maybe it was the Max fried chicken meal which I had not had in a while with buko pandan for dessert. Maybe it was the shirt that proudly declares I’m running with Piolo (not!) Maybe I wanted to find out why the race fee was quite high (now I know why!). Maybe it was because of this…

For whatever reasons, it was a fun briefing and hopefully, it will be an even more fun run.

See you at the Timex Run!

During one of Run Radio’s episodes, I asked our guest Sen. Pia Cayetano what she thought about runners who make her a race target in the hopes of “beating” her and she answered that unless it’s an A race she does not go all-out which makes their “victory” hollow. I couldn’t help but agree with her as I had categorized races myself.

What is my A race? My A races are races that I prepare for in advance so that when I get to the starting line I am at the peak of my physical abilities. It usually requires months of training and careful planning and during the race itself, I exert no less than a 100% effort to achieve a victory or a personal best. These are normally races which are announced months ahead to give me time to train. Examples of these would be the Adidas King of the Road, the Milo Marathon, the Bataan 102 Km Death March, and even the Condura Run.

Are there B and C races?

My B races are tune up races which help me gauge my fitness level as a runner. They are usually distances which are shorter than the A race. I join these races as a break from the monotony of the training cycle and to find out if my training has helped me improve in different aspects of my running.

My C races are races that I join for training and socialization. I use these races to experiment running at different speeds, to study the race terrain, to try new apparel, shoes, hydration and fueling techniques. I also take them as an opportunity to get together with friends, new and old, before, during, and after the race.

With the running boom in full swing, there are so many races to choose from and whether they are A, B, or C races the important thing is to enjoy the run!

With only a 5 km easy run at the Nike run clinic in Bonifacio High Street last Tuesday and no runs the previous week, I was itching to run and while I lacked training I more than made up for it with enthusiasm  and ran-walked 37 Km of the first ever Quezon City International Marathon. I had earlier registered to run the 42 Km race even as I planned to join the Milo Marathon Finals the week before but even my best laid plans were for naught as I stopped training altogether and failed to join Milo.The night before, I was actually contemplating just running the half-marathon but I really wanted to run inside the La Mesa dam complex even if it meant walking or worse, taking a cab on Commonwealth Avenue to get back to Quezon City Hall.

Excited for the first time in a long time, I managed to wake up at 3 a.m. and arrive at the staging area of the race with time to spare. The pre-race atmosphere was festive and lively as everyone rushed to complete their final preparations for the event. I saw old friends who were running the same race and wondered who I would pace with among them. I had no expectations. I only wanted to enjoy the run and to experience everything the race would offer.

When the gun went off, I found myself with Jaymie and Atty. Raymund. Jaymie was doing a 32 Km long run in preparation for her debut marathon race in Singapore and Atty. Raymund was celebrating his birthday by running his first marathon as well. It was fun catching up with them (both literally and figuratively) as we passed the UP Campus, Commonwealth Avenue, and Batasan Road. It was quiet in UP as it was still before sunrise, but even after the sun rose as we made our way up QC’s busy thoroughfares, the sky was hazy and the weather remained cool which was perfect for running marathons.

I remember reading somwhere that the objective of the QCIM was to showcase Quezon City as the Asian City of the Future. At one pont, I could not help but think how bleak that future was as we passed the Commonwealth Market. On one side was the chaos of the Sunday morning wet market with the accompanying sights of fresh meat hanging from hooks and smells of rotting refuse and on the other the anarchy caused by all manner of vehicles stuck in traffic and looking for ways to escape the gridlock. We would hear the constant complaints of motorists again on the way back.

Confusion turned to calm when we turned into the roads leading to the La Mesa Eco Park. Inside the park, it was a whole new world as entered the 2,700 hectare forest and reserve. The park itself is only 33 hectares but it instilled an appreciation, no!  a reverence for the beauty of nature itself and the environment around us. We savored each moment as if we had travelled to a faraway land before our return journey. Here, we made our first pit stop as Jaymie and Atty. Raymund made a bathroom break. After that, we agreed that we would walk the uphill portions to conserve energy and prevent possible injuries.

As we exited the gates of the complex, we ended up on a major highway and I was taken aback at  how close the real world was to the doors of the Park. It was a struggle to get back  to Commonwealth. Jaymie and I kept as close to the sidewalks as possible to avoid the buses speeding from behind us. There were no water stations allowed inside the La Mesa complex and the water stations just outside had run out of water. As a result of my poor physical condition, I was beginning to tire and worse, I was getting hungry. If not for Ben Chan who offered us Gatorade and bottled water, I may have stopped right there. Atty. Raymund had dropped back and Jaymie and I continued to run-walk.

I counted the number of bakeshops and convenience stores I passed wondering whether I should stop to get something to eat lest it be the last one along the way. Finally, I gave in and told Jaymie to go ahead while I got something to eat at the Ministop beside the St. Peter’s church. While eating, I considered commuting the rest of the way back but seeing the traffic jam outside and Atty. Raymund heading my way made me decide to continue with the race.

I managed to make it to Philcoa before I decided to drop out and make my way to where my car was parked. It was getting late and unfortunately I needed to be somewhere soon. From my car, I could not hear the sounds of the festivities at the finish line but I did not want to venture closer as I had accomplished what I had set out to do from the start anyway which was to start running again.

Thank you to Jaymie, Atty, Raymund, Ben Chan, and all those who I saw along the way who made the journey a happy and memorable one.

Congratulations to Finshline, Runnex, and the Quezon City Government for the inaugural staging of this event which while far from perfect can only get better thru the years.

I have been away from this blog for some time now.

I can partially attribute to that to a busy schedule at work and at home which took time away from running and blogging. After Milo, I thought I could juggle my schedule around my training only to realize that with all 3 kids going to school now and new responsibilities at work required a change in paradigm. Needless to say, there was also plenty to celebrate about in the other aspects of my life.

I can also blame my old PC which which I finally gave up on last week. It started dying on me 3 months ago and I thought a virus was the culprit. I scanned it, cleaned it and when that failed re-installed my OS to no avail. I sent it to the shop for repairs and they told me the problem was with my video card. After having it replaced, I was able to use it problem free for a few days before it went dead again. Finally, I decided to replace the whole thing and begin anew.

Of course, I can also reason out that  I have written so little because I have not been running as much as well. I may have lost some of the focus I had when I was training. I still run but not as hard and as long or even as often as I did before Milo and my desire to post waxes and wanes with the intensity of my desire to run as well it seems.

In terms of fitness, I am certain I have lost a step but in terms of quality of life, I think I have managed to take care of all the other small things that have been waiting for my attention which brings me back to running and blogging.

In this episode, Doctor George Bodegon, Run Radio’s resident nutritionist dispels the notion that runners can eat whatever they please simply because they are running. I knew my regimen didn’t give me the license to eat but to have my 10 Km run’s efforts erased by a Big Mac? It was quite troubling and I needed an SBC Javanilla Shake to mull it over after.

Listen to Doc George explain further and find out what makes kid wonder, Anton Cabalza tick here.

Me, Jaymie, Doc George, and Anton

Oops! Forgot the Boss in the Photo! Here She Is With Anton, Jaymie and Me

 Thanks again to Joaquin for the photos! You are getting better with each episode.