Archive for October, 2008

Guess what finally arrived: my trophies from the 2008 Philippine Blog Awards! Thanks to Mark of Sheeromedia for delivering them during the Hope in Motion race.

This shot was taken while they lay in the trunk of my car after the race, but these little babies have now found a special place in our home. I initially wanted to place them on the hubby’s night table to remind him how lucky he is to have a trophy-winning wife (mind you, not a trophy-wife) like me, but due to the limited space, I’ve conspicuously displayed them in our den instead where the hubby will have to stare at them as he runs on the treadmill.

In the October issue of Runner’s World, it says that a cup or two of coffee an hour before a race may cut your time by 30 seconds. Although I wasn’t aiming to break my PR (I don’t think I ever will beat my 46.57 10k PR), I opted for coffee instead of my usual pre-race drink of Rush together with, as always, 3 sheets of graham crackers. Big mistake.

By the time I stood on Mindanao Ave. in Ayala Alabang awaiting the start of the race along with other runners (the larger group of 6k walkers were behind us), I had paid the toilet a visit 4 times already! Good thing the race started just a little after 6:30 a.m. giving me enough time to give my bladder a little scolding.

When the gun went off, my bladder was empty (thank God!), I was feeling strong, and I felt completely race ready. I ran out of Mindanao Ave. towards Visayas Ave. going a wee bit faster than I thought I should.  I hate to admit it but I had no strategy for this race.  My only plan was to conserve energy for the gradual ascent along Country Club Drive and, after that, I felt I could go as fast as I wanted knowing the route would be mostly flat until the finish line.

I ran at around 5:15-5:30 enjoying the familiar route I was running. Annie passed me early in the race and I watched her outpace runners one by one. On Madrigal Ave., Bald Runner and I were able to exchange a few words before he ran ahead of me. Just like in Gabriel Symphony last weekend, JunC was a few meters in front of me so he pretty much became my involuntary pacer.  Surprisingly, I was pretty well-behaved at this race feeling no need nor compulsion to chase any runner down; this bull was good and tame that morning.

By the time we hit the dreaded ascent of Country Club Drive, a foreign lady runner swept by me and it was fine by me. She seemed awfully strong and I didn’t want to bust my lungs climbing up that hill. Before I knew it, the short climb was over and we made our way towards the flat roads of University Ave. Woohoo, there was nothing to be afraid of anymore!  

My experience on these roads proved to be helpful as I watched other runners climbing up sidewalks along Country Club Drive, while I confidently stayed on the paved roads knowing it would be easier to just stay where I was. On University Ave., as other runners crossed to the right side of the road, I stayed on the left because the trees would provide shade from the intense heat. Yup, Patrick was right about having a home court advantage!

As we neared the finish, I felt I still had enough energy to sprint to the finish. Nearing Anahaw, I started to increase my pace and enjoyed the rhythm of each step. I crossed the finish line back at Mindanao Ave. with a time of 55.38 min for 10.27km according to my Garmin.  My average pace was 5.25 min/km.  

I peeked into the list of finishers and saw Annie in 1st place with the lady foreigner in 2nd place.  I placed 3rd!  So, I guess the coffee did me well.

Together with Annie, Jun, and Prometheus Cometh (who extended his run even after we headed back), I ran another 5km around the village. Total of 15km for the day. Just perfect.

– 10km Winners: Annie (1st), French lady (2nd), and myself –

If you’re free next Thursday, I suggest you drop by ROX for Running Aid 3.

I was pretty impressed with the wealth of information provided at Running Aid 2. According to my sources—okay fine, it was Pinoy Ultra Runners team principal and speaker of this session who informed me—that this session will be even more interesting.

They are bringing in treadmills to have lecturers comment on the running form and technique of some Pinoy Ultra Runners. If there’s time, you might be one of the lucky few who get your form critiqued by the experts (and audience as well). Hmm…now I’m not so sure if I’d like that.

Hope to see you there!

P.S. Don’t you just love their posters? Bayani Fernando should hire their designer.

Hospital duties left me feeling bloated and cranky. I missed days of running, consumed every little thing in sight due to sheer boredom (from Boy Bawang to butong pakwan), and temporarily lost the ability to sweat within the four walls of that tiny air-conditioned room.

The only training I got this week was a measly 30 min run on the treadmill (which I abhor) last Tuesday. So, today I woke up with a mission: to get the most out of my training during the little time I had this morning—the time between dropping the two kids at school until my little girl got out.

There was no time for dilly-dallying; I was not willing to waste even a minute of travel time that could be used for running instead, so I parked my car at a convenient location, Festival Mall. For the first time, I explored new territory crossing the main road towards Palms Country Club.

Woooah, it was like discovering a new track behind my backyard. I know a lot of runners and bikers who frequent the area, but I never felt the need to run here as I was quite satisfied with my regular running route. Now, I know I can try this route once in a while to spice my training up a bit.

This area has wide, clear roads lined with trees to shade you from the sun. Traffic is low with some roads impassable to cars where one can actually run on the middle of the entire street. It isn’t as secure as running inside a village, but there are security guards all over the place. Most roads are flat so you can practice speedwork here or run easy, but if you’re craving for hill training, just run towards Palms Country Club for a long, challenging uphill climb that’ll leave you feeling exhausted.

I ran around this area for a satisfying 10k with a time of 57.40 at an average pace of 5:46 min/km. Then, this runner-on-a-mission dropped by SOS Village to register for the Hope in Motion 10k race this Sunday. I jumped in the car and proceeded to the village pool where I managed to squeeze in a quick 400m swim in 14 mins before showering and picking up the little girl.

Mission accomplished. Now for my next goal: a massage. That should be a whole lot easier to achieve.

We all know someone—a parent, grandparent, sibling, friend, colleague—who has/had cancer. But, for me, this week, a great big cancer scare never hit this close to home.  Suffice it to say that I spent much of the week at the hospital caring for this relative; waiting with bated breath for the biopsy and colonoscopy results; and praying endlessly for a successful operation that would remove the mass—at that time, we weren’t sure if it was benign or malignant—that blocked his colon.

Thank God the operation went well yesterday. Initial results showed that the mass is benign and my relative is on his way to a smooth recovery. Phew, nothing like a big scare like that to shake up your world and almost mandate you to reassess your life.

In the physical aspect, good nutrition and exercise are key to cancer prevention.  I hope you can say YES to these questions below:

• Are you conscious of your health?
• You do know that running alone isn’t going to cure you of all your health problems, right? A 21k doesn’t give you the license to eat all the junk in sight. 
• Have you been eating your fruits and veggies (specifically great cancer fighters like grapes, melon and broccoli) just like mom taught you? 
• Do you eat skinless chicken or fish more often than red meat?
• Do you use olive oil instead of butter?
• Do you enjoy home-cooked meals more than dining at McDo or Jollibee?  
• Do you drink tons of water?
• Have you already quit smoking? Or, you never smoked at all, right?
• Do you get a regular massage not just to relieve the aches and pains in your legs but also to alleviate stress?
• Do you put sunblock before a run?  Yes, it’s sticky and slimy but it’s worth the trouble, guys!
• Have you been running (or exercising at all) and not just sitting here reading this blog?
• Do you know what you just stuffed into your mouth?

Speaking of cancer, there’s an upcoming 8k race called Run Against Pain on October 18 at the Quirino Grandstand, Roxas Blvd.  This is celebration of Global Day Against Cancer Pain, for the benefit of the Pain Society of the Philippines.  

I’m still choosing between Run Against Pain, Takbong May Yabang at Alabang, and Paa-Bilisan on the 19th. (Click List of Races for more info)  Or, maybe I’ll just enjoy a long slow run on Sunday.  Let’s see.