Author Archives:

Run for Pinoy Glory is a fundraising run to help the Philippine National Team competing in the London 2012 Games. Click HERE to read an article is posted on the British Embassy website.

Race: Run for Pinoy Glory
Date: 7 January 2012
Location: Bonifacio Global City
Distances: 3K, 5K, 10K, 21K (with special categories for Executives and Participants in wheelchairs )
Contact details: 0927 8082594 / 560 8813 / shadowfax_events@yahoo.com

The race is organized by Shadowfax Events in co-operation with the British Embassy, UK Trade & Investment and the British Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.

Hello from San Francisco! I arrived a few days ago in preparation for California International Marathon (CIM) in Sacramento on Sunday, December 4, 2011.

– Union Square is ready for Christmas –

– Powell Street Station –

– Cable car on Powell Street –

– Hills of San Francisco. Thank God I’m not running 42k here…at least not yet –

Traveling alone, this trip of mine is slow and relaxed—probably the opposite of CIM, which is popular for being a fast, mostly downhill marathon.  There’s a lot of shopping, eating, and walking all over the place .  Of course, there’s some running too…

Last Thursday, at 8:30 am, I ran my last run before the big day. It was an easy 8k starting from my hotel near Market Street down to the Embarcadero and onto Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf. It was a beautiful morning with cool weather that made it easy to run without breaking a sweat, literally. It was a great way to cap training and to tour this wonderful city.

– Start of 8k run. My last run before CIM –

– Market Street. I ran down here towards Fisherman’s Wharf –

Later in the day, I dropped by Nike Town on Union Square and received timely words of wisdom from the legendary running coach and one of Nike’s founders, Bill Bowerman…

Next: California International Marathon Expo and Sacramento

After an easy run last Sunday with friends (tapering off for California International Marathon already), I dropped by Mercato Centrale at Bonifacio Global City to buy food for a potluck lunch with my mom and siblings.  My sis, Janice, was there to help me choose among the tons of food. Janice co-owns Mercato Centrale along with Anton and Rache Diaz and RJ and Vanessa Ledesma.

– with my Ate Nice –

Now on to the food…drool drool. There was a wide variety of healthy food to choose from for us runners…

1) MUESLI-GRANOLA KITCHEN AND BAKESHOP: cookies, crunch bars, loaves and muffins. They have variants with no sugar added or using natural sugar replacers from sugarbeets.

– Oooh I liked this dark choco-dipped barmuncher. As crunchy and yummy as biscotti. –

– Liked this no nut-sense mini bars. It’s whole wheat and portable. Good alternative to junk –

– Muesli-Granola mix using brown sugar. Great for a healthy breakfast –

– Gift boxes and canisters for runner/athlete friends –

2) PAO YING FOOD: dimsum. Options for whole wheat or multigrain dimsum in regular or mini sizes called Smunch

– I love siopao! (In fact, my dog was named Siopao!) I bought a pack of multigrain siopao with assorted flavors: Veggie, Spinach, and Mushroom. Easy to “baon” for days when I’m rushing –

– Bobby and I chanced upon the Choco Smunch: siopao with chocolate. I wasn’t able to taste it, but this gives me a good reason to return to Mercato –

3) AUNTIE MAY’S: For your favorite Pinoy breakfast

– Tapsilog, simply one of the best post-run meals. P120 at Auntie May’s –

4) J. CUPCAKES: cupcakes, cookies, rolls, and other goodies

– Strawberry Granola cupcake! Yummy and on the healthy side too. P55 per pc –

– Made by J or Jules herself –

5) MERRY MOO: homemade ice cream using fresh local dairy

– smooth and creamy! –

6) SOYA STYX: healthy nibbles made from Soya

– Soya Styx were crunchy and tasty. Chili & Garlic flavors P80. Basil P90 –

7) SWEETS GALORE: chocolate crips

– Dentelle Au Chocolat. I probably finished my pack of these quicker than I could say its name! My kids loved this too. Less guilt since its dark choco! P195 for 150g. –

8 ) FRUIT SHAKES: the best during a hot day, especially after a run

– Fresh fruit shakes P35 to P65 –

I spotted other non-food items for us runners too…

1) MESSY BESSY

– Messy Bessy gift packs. Various products. I’m a huge fan of the Sports Spritzer and Little Warrior –

– Drop this in your gym bag or running shoes to deodorize –

2) KLEEN KANTEEN

– Nice little green tin cans for hydration. Prices range from P1150 to P1550 depending on the size –

3) MASSAGE IN A BOTTLE

– We all need our massage to loosen up those tight muscles. This is perfect for your own use or as a gift. P350 –

It was nice to see so many runners there coming from Run BGC and McHappy Fun Run, two races that Sunday morning. Made new friends and bumped into old ones! See you at Mercato!

– Families that run together, eat together. This running family came from McHappy Fun Run –

– Gail and Reg from Skechers shopping for desserts after Run BGC. Nice meeting you both! –

– Young runners enjoying their post-race meals at Mercato after Run BGC –

– Bumped into good friends, Art and Vima (Kulit Runner) and Bobby, who came from Run BGC –

MERCATO CENTRALE DAY MARKET – 8th & 34th St. (near Lexus Showroom and beside MC Home Depot), Bonifacio Global City, Saturday and Sundays (7am to 2pm)

MIDNIGHT MERCATO – 8th & 34th St. (near Lexus Showroom and beside MC Home Depot), Bonifacio Global City, Fridays and Saturdays (10pm to 3am)

For those down south, there’s also:

SODERNO @ MOLITO – Food, Fashion, Arts and Crafts, Saturday and Sunday (7am to 4pm)

SODERNO NIGHTS – Molito, Friday and Saturday (6pm to 3am)

So where are you headed to get your marathon fix this coming weekend, December 3 & 4, 2011?

I’m going off to Sacramento for the California International Marathon. One of the top six fastest courses in the US. Negative elevation, baby!

I have friends, couple Macel & Mike and friends, Francis and Andy (all TBR Dream Alumni, by the way) all set for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.

I hear some runners have signed up for the Macau Galaxy Entertainment International Marathon.  This was my initial goal when I started planning early in the year.  But, Amale Jopson managed to influence me into joining CIM.  Not that I’m so hard to persuade anyway!

Some hardcore triathletes friends, Joey Torres and Guy Concepcion, will be going to Anda, Bohol for the Timex 226 Bohol Triathlon on Saturday where they’ll run their marathon only after a 3.8k swim and 180km bike. Okay, I think I just broke a sweat typing that out.

Last but not the least, I know a whole lot of runners will be joining our very own Quezon City International Marathon, a race that I will always remember fondly for being my first ever unofficial marathon.

Well, whatever marathon you’ll be doing this Sunday, or even if you’re running a shorter distance, I get the sense that it’s going to be one great weekend for a lot of us runners.  Don’t you think so?

Sen. Pia Cayetano recently launched her memoir, My Daily Race, a collection of her essays and blog posts on her life as a senator, mother and triathlete. In her book, the multi-tasking and multi-sporting senator recounts how she found the courage to run for public office following the death of her son Gabriel in 2001 and her father, Senator Rene Companero Cayetano in 2003. (Click HERE to visit My Daily Race blog.)

– Sen. Pia Cayetano with her new memoir during the launch –

I gotta get my hands on a copy soon. Sen. Pia is a friend (and an ex-boss) of mine and I truly admire her for strength, intelligence, independence and her ability to juggle her many roles in life. She’s been talking about her plans for coming out with a book like this since 2008 if I’m not mistaken and I’m glad she finally made her dream a reality.

– Sen. Pia signing books –

Here are excerpts from the book:

On women and running

“You see, there are really two kinds of women who run: Women who put on running shoes and run recreationally or competitively, and women who run for public office. I am a woman who runs, on both accounts.”

“When I run in a race, I proudly run on behalf of women. I run to empower women. I run to raise awareness that there is still a lot of discrimination and injustice against women in our country. I run because I know this will be a better place when women’s voices are heard as loudly as men’s. Mostly, I run because I know a little girl is always watching from the sidelines; and I hope to empower her, to inspire her to be a woman of substance and perhaps a woman who runs one day.”

On losing my father

“I held my father’s hand, and lay my head on his chest for the last few hours of his life. If I could have breathed for him, I would have. If I could have stopped him from dying, I would have. Because all my life, he took care of me, protected me from harm, provided for me, taught me right from wrong, and even when it was hard for him, he let me go when it was time for me to grow up and experience life on my own.”

“I knew he had prepared me for life without him. But it was not going to be easy living without my Dad. “

On being a triathlete

“How does a sleepy tri-girl who has been a night owl most of her adult life become a triathlete or a morning athlete?…It was a process. It started with the death of my son. Running consoled me.”

“But like all my long races and trials in life, I always tell myself, the day will end whether I accomplish my task or not. Do I want to look back knowing I did it, or regretting I did not? In this case, the question I asked myself was more specific—at the end of the day, do I want to be able to say, ‘I AM AN IRONMAN’? Needless to say, I kept running. “

From the Press Release:

Despite being a newcomer to the politics during the 2004 campaign, Pia offered herself to Filipino voters as an advocate of health, children and women’s concerns. She won, landing sixth in the senatorial polls and even made history as the youngest woman elected to the Philippine Senate. Over the years, she would prove herself worthy of the mandate as one of the most hardworking and efficient members of the Upper Chamber.

Cayetano, who is serving her second term, also shares in her book how she manages to balance her responsibilities at home with her official duties at the Senate and as an international parliamentarian, while at the same time finding time to pursue her passion for running, Ironman races, and lately, extreme, off-road triathlon competitions.

The lady senator started ‘My Daily Race’as an online diary in 2007. She began entertaining the idea of coming up with a book after attending a memoir-writing seminar in New York with youngest brother and TV director Lino Cayetano.

– Sen. Pia Cayetano with her three younger brothers (L-R): Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, TV director Lino Cayetano and collectibles entrepreneur and enthusiast Ren Cayetano –

In ‘My Daily Race,’ readers will be introduced to members of the lady senator’s family, including its newest member Lucas. The lady senator likewise shares some candid moments with fellow senators (her ‘seatmates,’ as she fondly calls them) on the sidelines of fiery debates and controversial investigations at the Senate.

“My objective is to share my life experiences and answer the questions I am often asked: What is it like to be a senator? A triathlete? A senator and triathlete at the same time? A working mom and a triathlete at the same time?” Cayetano wrote in her introduction.

A veteran of several local and international marathons and triathlons, Cayetano also shares how she rechanneled her grief from losing her loved ones by turning to running, biking and triathlons, and organizing sports activities for a cause to help underprivileged children with special needs, promote women empowerment and campaign for a healthy lifestyle.

My Daily Race is P499.
Available at Fully Booked (Makati, Alabang, Taguig.  Ortigas and QC by Nov. 30)
Orders are accepted via email: cayetanofoundation(at)gmail.com or SMS 0926-642-0786