Archive for August, 2011

You know how some of these running shops have this cool sign “Out Running” displayed on their doors when no staff is in sight.  Well, I took the liberty to make my own for TBR.  See above.  (Yes, I still have a lot of time to design completely useless stuff for your entertainment.)

You see, I spent most of the week catching up on lost time with my beloved running.  After two months of sorely missing my free, painless runs when I had Morton’s Neuroma, and now that I am fully recovered (woohoo!) and completely stoked over my NYC Training, I ran almost everyday of this week: Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  I ran a 10k Tempo yesterday (which I hadn’t done in months and I was panting like a dying dog out there but I loved every minute!) and I have a  29k long run pencilled in for tomorrow.

One of my friends told me last night after seeing me run: It was so nice to see you running strong again.  I only have one thing to reply: Oh baby, it feels great to be back!

Disclaimer: To the beginners, do not run daily as I did! Hah!  I really only run 4x a week to allocate time for recovery and to avoid injury.  I just HAD to run this often this week because I missed it too much.  Be back to my regular training program next week.  Be good!

Last month, race organizer ExTribe launched its Camp Run series which is composed of several running events throughout the year all at, where else, Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City hence the series name. Camp Run will feature a military or boot camp theme, a unique race format, and a novel route for the runners. It will also be tailored to encourage continuous participation rather than competitiveness, and will ultimately be developed to become a nationwide program.

Race: CAMP RUN Train/Race/Serve
Date: August 20, 2011 (Saturday)
Venue: Camp Aguinaldo QC
Assembly Time: 5:00PM
Race Start: 5:30PM

Registration:

• 5K – P400
• 10K – P600
• Period: July 20 to August 18, 2011
• Registration Outlets: Chris Sports SM Megamall, SM MOA, SM City Annex, Glorietta 3, Market Market

Two things that make the Camp Run a worthwhile race:

1. “VeteRan” system. All runners who join the entire Camp Run series will receive a special race bib, event shirt, and a commemorative dog tag and medal.
2. One of its beneficiaries is 57-75 Movement: Reverse the Education Crisis which iamNinoy-iamCory Runners Group, a group I’m a member of, supports as well

On its 125th anniversary, Avon will stage a nationwide race called “Avon Run to 125,000 Kisses” to raise funds to essentially “kiss” breast cancer goodbye. It’s going to be a walk/run event held at SM Mall of Asia on October 2, 2011. I’ll be there! Hope to see you all.

The world knows I’m a huge Nike Lunar Glide fan. I was never a fan of Nike running shoes until the first Lunar Glide came along. I used the Nike Lunar Glide+ for all my five marathons so far. It has literally gone the distance with me.

The recently released Nike Lunar Glide+ 3 is very much like the Nike Lunar Glide+ and nothing like its predecessor, the Nike Lunar Glide+ 2. For that, I am extremely overjoyed; nothing quite sucks as to have your favorite running shoe massacred into what was coined an upgrade.

– From the 1st to the 3rd Nike Lunar Glide –

Back to Lunar Glide+ 3…

– Nike Lunar Glide+ 3 for Women –

I’ve used the Nike Lunar Glide+ 3 for the past couple of weeks at races and training runs.  Here’s what I think:

PROS:

• Comfort: Snug fit. Feels like the shoe wraps around your foot comfortably, like I’m wearing socks.
• Just-right cushioning: Perfect balance of cushioning and stiffness. Not too soft that I feel there’s no support, but not too stiff either that it feels like plywood
• Light: This is a lot lighter than other bulky stability shoes out there.  Great for those long slow distances.
• Dynamic Support System: Still has the Dynamic Support System which adapts to the runner’s gait so that with each step the runner gets cushioning and support to guard against overpronation
• Midfoot strap: The shoe has a strap on the side for additional support. This was a feature only for the Women’s shoe with the 1st Lunar Glide, then it completely disappeared with the Nike Lunar Glide+ 2, but I’m glad Nike revived it for both Men and Women’s shoes since it’s one of my favorite features.
• No need for break in: Okay, don’t quote me on this. But, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’ve used brand new pairs of this shoe to run marathons and I had no problems! For any other shoe or model, I would never dare to do this. But, based on experience, this shoe needs no break in.
• Handsome shoe: Love the colors!

CONS:

• Lacks bounce: I’m yearning for that springy, bouncy feeling with each step, but I can’t find it with this shoe
• Durability is a concern: Since the shoe feels like a sock, I noticed that it expires much earlier than other shoes. After 4 months, cushioning significantly decreases.
• Too narrow for runners with bunions: Since the shoe is a bit narrow, I wouldn’t recommend this for runners with bunions. I have bunions so they start to hurt after over 5k distances in this shoe. I never experienced this with the 1st Lunar Glide, hence I’m not sure if this will be the marathon shoe for me this year. So sad.

THE VERDICT

I would highly recommend this shoe for runners with mild to moderate overpronation who are looking for a light stability shoe for training or long distance races.  Oh, and those that have no bunions!

Where to buy: Nike, Runnr

Retail price: P5,495

The rains didn’t stop me from running at the NBA Fit Run this morning and it turns out neither did it stop all 6,000 runners that showed up.  Organized by Runrio, the NBA Fit Run was another well-organized race event where everything from the course to marshals and hydration stations were provided.

This was definitely a memorable race for me for three reasons:

(1) First 21k after injury. It was the first time I reached 21k again after my injury last May 22.  Woohoo!  I still have a long way to go to get back into tiptop shape, but I’m quite satisfied with my performance.  After all, my goal was just to finish without pain!  According to my Garmin, my time was 2:20 for 21.3 km at a pace of 6:35/km.  Easy does it. Speed will come in time.

(2) Start of training. This was the first run which officially started my training for New York City Marathon.  If I just wasn’t stingy, I would’ve treated my friends for breakfast just because of this.  Too bad, I am. Hah!

Last but not the least…

(3) I met Coach Spo! I kid you not. I am Coach Erik Spoelstra‘s biggest fan.  And, any woman who contests this will  be challenged to a road race!  This isn’t a silly highschool crush.  I truly admire Coach Spo for his work ethic on the court and his efforts to go back to his Filipino roots and give back.  He inspires you to be a better person, a better Filipino.

After our 21k, Jun and I wasted no time in heading over to the awarding to just catch a glimpse of Coach Spo from afar.  I told Jun I’d be happy to just see him if it was too crowded. Sigh.

When we got to the stage, by some stroke of luck—and a lot of good connections (Thank you Coach Rio, Angel, and Ton of Gatorade!)—I got called up onstage.  It was a scene that made me want to burst out in laughter.  There I was, little ol’ me, squeezing my way into the awarding with the heads of NBA Fit, Coach Rio, Air 21, and Coach Spo. I bet the world was wondering what the hell I was doing there, but hey I didn’t mind: I was there to meet Coach Spo and if he didn’t come down from the stage to see me then I would go up!

With a huge grin on his face, Coach Rio introduced us. The rain stopped, clouds parted to let the sun shine in on us, and then Coach Spo and I shook hands.  After some quick chitchat, I left the stage feeling like I had won the race!  Who cares about pace and personal records when you’ve got Spo?!

Okay, I have to admit.  When we shook hands, I was screaming like a highschool girl in my mind!