Bull Circle 3: Full House with Coach Jim Saret & Sen. Pia Cayetano

Our TBR Dream Marathoners were treated to an evening of new learnings and fresh inspiration from our special guests last night at ROX, Bonifacio High Street.  No less than RP-Smart Gilas team and The Biggest Loser Coach, Jim Saret, and super athlete, mother, and Senator, Sen. Pia Cayetano, graced our 3rd Bull Session for TBR Dream Marathon 2012.

– Full house at ROX! –

Our talk started with TBR Dream Alumni Miriam Valero sharing her personal experience and practical tips on running TBR Dream Marathon.

– Miriam Valero shares her TBR Dream Marathon experience –

Coach Jim Saret’s informative and engaging talk focus on strength conditioning, core, and balance for our runners preparing for their 42k.

– Coach Jim addresses our runners –

He emphasized the importance of strengthening specifically the hamstrings, the source of power for a runner in each and every single step he takes.  (Nope, it’s not the quads like we all thought.)

Coach Jim asked our runners to perform simple tests to evaluate the imbalances in their bodies (oh boy!) and taught them specific exercises they could do at home to correct these imbalances and strengthen the muscles in both legs.

– There was a lot of wobbling, shaking, and nervous laughter in the house! –

– By partners! –

– Night of learning…and fun –

– The Biggest Loser’s Allan Choachuy was there too! Here he is partnering with my Big Brother! Yes, the guy on the left is my cigarette-smoking, beer-drinking Kuya who signed up for TBR Dream 2012 –

Sen. Pia Cayetano then shared a side of her that we don’t often see in the news nor read in the newspapers.  She candidly spoke about her own journey as an athlete dating back to the days as a varsity volleyball player leading up to her numerous marathons and triathlons in the present.

– Sen. Pia addresses our runners –

– Runners listening intently –

She spoke about how running changed her and helped her face many challenges in her life.  She also gave our future marathoners detailed tips on how to run their race, dealing with injury, and training.

Before leaving, Sen. Pia talked about her new memoir: My Daily Race and signed books of our runners.

– Sen. Pia signing her books –

I got myself a copy and I’ve read a couple of the stories in her collection.  It’s a great read that’s entertaining, thought-provoking, and completely inspiring.  Highly recommend this book! I purchased a couple as Christmas gifts already.

We capped the night with a whole lot of pictures with Sen. Pia and Coach Jim Saret gamely hanging out with our runners.

– GM of NUVALI, our event partner for TBR DM, Jun Bisnar, me, Sen. Pia Cayetano, Coach Jim’s lovely wife, Toni, and Coach Jim –

– with The Biggest Loser’s Allan Choachuy, TBR DM runners, and friends –

– with Jun, Coach Jim, and Miriam –