Archive for July, 2011

– In Corregidor. Photo courtesy of Levi Lakandula –

It could be the sun on your face
The beauty of a dawning day
The birds taking flight
Or your dog happily wagging his tail.

It could be the shoes on your feet
The gas in your tank
The warm water in the tub
Or the last bite to eat that you dumped in the trash.

It could be your partner’s smile
His driving you to work this early
Her packing you a turkey sandwich
Or the kiss goodbye.

It could be the opportunity to run
The pounding of your feet on the road
The feeling of power and serenity at once
Or the chance to connect with your best self.

It could be the freedom to race
The adrenaline rush
The mingling of sweat and tears
Or the fulfillment of crossing the finish.

Don’t wait…
For the rain to keep the sun from shining
For hunger to attack
For loved ones to leave
Or for injuries to arise.

Take nothing for granted.
Take notice. Now.

Here’s my homemade recipe for a perfect comeback run from injury as successfully produced this morning at 5:30 AM:

INGREDIENTS:

1 old CD of Brand New Heavies (Brother Sister) enroute to meeting area
1 cup pre-run Lavazza coffee
1 pre-run banana with Skippy’s peanut butter
2 best running buddies
6 kilometers at easy 6:40 pace on flat roads with 10:1 min intervals of run:walk
drizzle of rain
dash of humor
0 pain

DIRECTIONS:

Whip this all up together to get a perfect comeback run leading to full recovery.

That’s what I successfully cooked up this morning! Yup, Morton Shmorton Neuroma is out of this house after 1.5 months as uninvited house guest.  Woohoo, it feels great to be back!  See you on the road, guys!

I wrote Date a Girl Who Runs in less than 30 minutes on a whim (much like the way I started this blog) but with a lot of heart (just like the way I blog and run, too!)  And, I guess when you do things that way, it hits a cord with a lot of people—48,835 readers to be exact since I posted it in March 31 until now.

One of the readers who stumbled upon this humble blog and that little post of mine was Debbie Voiles, a certified Road Runners CA coach from Tampa, Florida and runner for over 30 years, who runs Mojo For Running, a very informative and comprehensive running blog and podcast.

Debbie wrote me asking if she could read Date a Girl Who Runs on her podcast and I, of course, was honored.

Click HERE to listen to Debbie’s Mojo for Running podcast on Date a Girl Who Runs.

To listen to the podcast online, click HERE.

It’s also on iTunes. Just go to the Mojo for Running podcasts at the iTunes store.

I’m not much of a shopper…except when it comes to sports gear!  So, I’m glad I dropped by the new Toby’s Sports Arena last week at Shangrila Mall (near Mercury Drug).

Admittedly, I was expecting to see the same ol’ Toby’s Sports store that we’ve grown accustomed to through the years. But, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Toby’s Sport Arena housed the three stores of Toby Claudio under one roof, namely: Toby’s Sports, Urban Athletics, and of course, Runnr. It also had a much more modern look from its new logo to the store interiors. The place is so huge that I like how they labelled each area for easy shopping. (No time should ever be wasted shopping for sports gear, right?) They have items for basketball, badminton, swimming, fitness, and many more.

– This injured runner is so into swimming and Speedo now –

– Urban Athletics for lifestyle shoes for the younger crowd. Yes, that still includes us, right? –

– Toby’s stores’ badminton and indoor fitness equipment –

As for running, Toby’s of course, has Runnr. I spotted items in Shangrila Mall that were not available in Bonifacio High Street, such as the Thrive Bamboo Cotton sports apparel (featured in TBR Magazine May-Jun 2011) which kinda reminds me of Lululemon and a Halo headband (which I eventually purchased). The Shang branch also had a treadmill for gait analysis.

– Runnr corner –

– Cool cove for gait analysis –

Aah, you can imagine how wild I went in that place. Okay, maybe you can’t. To give you a clearer picture: I shopped for an hour in the morning, had brunch, and returned for another 30 minutes after. Two days after, I returned for more items. Aside from running items, I went crazy over swimming gear and even lifestyle brands like my super favorite Sanuk. I left the place with a new Speedo swimsuit, Finis paddles, Reef flipflops, and a Halo headband. I know, I know, I’m such a sucker for anything running and now swimming. Hey, aren’t we all?

– I’m a huge Sanuk fan (I have three pairs) so I was happy to see ’em here –

– See those thin headbands? I got one and I love it. They really don’t slip unlike some “non-slip bands” that actually do! –

Toby’s Sports Arena is located at Shangrila Mall near Mercury Drug and The Travel Club.

Wow. I had humble expectations for this group. I wasn’t sure how many of you were willing to eat right with me for a full month. But, it turns out that a lot of us—99 as of the moment (including myself and the “shy” TBR 30 participants who emailed or texted me about the participation instead of posting)—really want to eat healthy, but we just need something or someone to jumpstart it for us.

I realized many of us WANT to do it but still need some guidance on HOW to eat properly. So, I’ll try to interview nutritionists and experts and post them here. First interviewee will be the one I bug about my eating the most: MITCH FELIPE-MENDOZA. Expect that in a few days.

So, how have you all been doing the past 6 days? I hope you’ve been sticking to a super healthy and wholesome eating regimen. If you’ve slipped (like I did two days ago) then don’t be too hard on yourself (food is good after all!) and just do better in the next meal.

Here’s something I’d like us all to remember. It’s said so often but we need constant reminding especially when treats and junk are staring us in the face…

So, who’s the reader out there who wants to be the 100th participant of TBR 30? You can still sign in and join us.

Happy and healthy eating to all!