adidas 3-stripes with 3-stars and a sun

Friday, 16 December 2011  |  Gear + Gadgets

I’ve been lucky enough to run three races abroad this year—Guam, New York, and Sacramento.  Each time, as I packed for the trip, there would be a last minute mad hunt for any apparel that screamed: I’m Pinoy and I’m proud of it!

For the Guam KoKo Road Race, I simply pinned the Philippine flag on the back of my shirt…

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Good thing adidas recently launched the fourth installment of its Philippine Range collection. It features jackets and t-shirts that play on the Philippine flag’s trademark colors—blue, red, white, with a few touches of yellow—in a simple, minimalist design.

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jacket2a copy

jacket2b copy

Cool eh? I wish they’d make running singlets and shirts with Pinoy colors too!

The adidas Philippine Range is available at adidas stores nationwide. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/adidasPhilippines.

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

Thursday, 15 December 2011  |  Running + Triathlon

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.

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– 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.

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– 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.

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– 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.

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

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– By partners! –

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– Night of learning…and fun –

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– 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.

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– Sen. Pia addresses our runners –

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– 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.

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

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– 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.

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

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

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– with Jun, Coach Jim, and Miriam –

Running with Champion Triathlete Arland Macasieb

Tuesday, 13 December 2011  |  Running + Triathlon

The day before I left for San Francisco, I snuck in a run with Arland Macasieb at Ayala Alabang.

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– Arland is the cover of TBR Magazine – Nov/Dec 2011. Get your free copies! –

For those of you who don’t know, Arland is the Philippine elite champion of the Ironman 70.3 2011 and a 12-time Ironman finisher. He qualified for Boston Marathon in 2011 with a time of 2:52.

Before our run, I asked Arland to take it easy on me.  I was still recovering from New York Marathon and was set to run California Int’l Marathonin a week’s time.  He obliged and nonchalantly replied that he just finished Ironman Arizona last November 20. He set a new Philippine IM record with a time of 9:44:30.  His marathon time at Ironman Arizona?  Oh, just 3 hours and 19 minutes for his 42km.  That’s right after the swim and bike, guys!

I thought I was the only one crazy for setting myself up for multiple races, but I learned that Arland was set to do Timex 226 Iron distance triathlon on December 3, just a day before my CIM.  So, he agreed to run easy with me around Alabang Country Club.  Of course, “easy” is relative; it was definitely easy for me, but it was probably a walk in the park for him.

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– Quick lesson on form and technique from Arland –

After our brief run, he shared with me some techniques he practices in his runs and as a Newton brand ambassador.  Here are a few things I learned that day:

  • For proper form, pull up the knee and land on your midfoot.
  • Do not overstride. Your foot should not go beyond your shoulders.
  • Instead of focusing on your pace, focus on cadence.  Cadence is the number of steps you take per minute. Aim for 90.  Arland shared that, in a race, he checks his cadence and not his pace.  He advised me to change my window display on my Garmin.
  • To increase speed, your stride increases.  Your leg stretches backward, knee goes higher.  Again, do not overstride.
  • Use your core for power. Arms remain relaxed.
It was nice to finally spend some time to chat with Arland.  I did apply my new learnings at CIM, specifically being conscious about the power coming from my core, and boy did it make a huge difference in my run.  As for Arland, he went on to win the Timex 226 that weekend with a time of 10:18:57.  Congratulations Arland!
Click HERE to read more about Arland’s win at Timex 226.

Confirmed NUVALI Shuttle Riders for Bull Session 3

Tuesday, 13 December 2011  |  News + Promos

Here’s the final list of TBR Dream Runners hopping on the NUVALI shuttle for the BULL SESSION 3: DEC 17, 2011, SATURDAY.

  • Bus to leave ROX for NUVALI: 430 am.
  • Bus to leave NUVALI for ROX: 8 am.
  • Bus will not wait for late runners and will leave at scheduled time.

1 Ernesto Almero
2 Juan Miguel De Leon
3 Iris Sabas
4 Jayvee H. Chun
5 Edrick Nicdao
6 Jonard Aries Gamboa
7 michelle nibalvos
8 Kristine Joy Cerame
9 Raymond Iti
10 leslie lim
11 carlo molod
12 Rosemarie Beltran
13 noelito castillo
14 Rhodora Celis
15 Marie Joyce Negapatan
16 Albert Constancio Ramon Hefti III
17 Allan Gregor Bulos
18 Rhess Ann Cuangco
19 ALLENSTEIN CO
20 Rizzalyn Damaso
21 Goldy Dela Cruz
22 Harold Esteban
23 Jennybave dela Cruz
24 Paolo Antonio Castro

For questions, please contact Macel at macel(at)thebullrunner.com or 0922-771-8014.

Bull Circle and Bull Session this week! Sign Up for the Free Shuttle to NUVALI!

Tuesday, 13 December 2011  |  News + Promos

Hey TBR Dream Marathoners (and friends), it’s a busy week for us on top of all our Christmas parties.  But, make sure you drop by for these two important events. You’ll be missing half of your marathon experience if you don’t show up. I’m not kidding!

By the way, for both events, our partner, Ripple 100, will be there to draw out your thoughts and feelings about running and your upcoming marathon.  Feel free to share your own stories with them or to blog/FB/twitter.  You know that your own journey can inspire others to do the same. Click HERE to visit moveformove.org.

Dec 14, Wed: BULL CIRCLE 3 – A Marathon Ready Body

  • Register: 6:30 PM. Start: 7:00 PM
  • 3/F ROX Bonifacio High Street
  • Speakers:
    • Coach Jim Saret. Highly recommended talk! Try not to miss this since it’s a very informative and interesting talk on how runners should strengthen and condition our bodies, especially our core and legs, and how we can improve balance and coordination to improve our performance.
    • TBR Dream Alumni Miriam Valero. Guest speaker for her TBR Dream Marathon experience
    • Sen. Pia Cayetano. To be confirmed today if she can make it after her session!

3BULLCIRCLE

 

Dec 17, Sat: BULL SESSION 3 – Long run 1 hr 45 mins
– NUVALI, Sta. Rosa Laguna
– Assembly: 5:00 AM. Start: 5:30 AM
– We want to train you for hills so we thought that there’s no better place to do this than in our actual race venue! This will be a fun run throughout the safe and scenic roads of NUVALI. Gatorade will be available but please bring your own hydration as well.
– Feel free to bring friends and family along.
– NUVALI is offering a free shuttle for only 24 people. Bus to leave ROX for NUVALI: 430 am. Bus to leave NUVALI for ROX: 8 am. Click on the link below to sign up. First come, first served. Strictly for TBR Dream Runners only  >>> UPDATE: SLOTS FOR NUVALI SHUTTLE ARE FULL

 

3BULLSESSION

 

REMINDERS FOR NEXT WEEK:

  • Mitch and Armand’s TBRDM Weight Management Program: Dec 19, Monday, 7 PM at ROX in Bonifacio High Street. This is only for those who signed up and received a confirmation of acceptance.