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Robinsons Galleria has a new sports area at their mall.  I’ll be there this coming Saturday to check it out and give an inspirational talk on running.  (You know I could go on and on about running to anyone who cares to listen!) Hope to see you there at 4 PM.

You can also drop by on the following weeks for the talks of Hec Yuzon and Ani de Leon.  Heck, you can visit every single weekend if you wish!

Thanks to Robinsons Galleria for allowing us to share our love for the sport!

ATTENTION TBR DREAM MARATHONERS! It’s our last Bull Session this coming Saturday! How time flies! Hope to see you there!

NOTE: If you have your MEDICAL CERTIFICATE already, we will accept submission during this Bull Session.  Give it to our staff at the registration booth.

Here’s where the assembly area will be for the Bull Session this Saturday in BHS:

Click HERE to mark other important dates to remember!

This BULL SESSION 4 makes it to my list of memorable runs. And, I hope it’s the same for most of the TBR Dream Marathoners Batch 2011.

Last Saturday, Feb. 20, 2011, over 200 of our TBR Dream Marathoners and friends came for their last long run—30k at NUVALI—before marathon day on March 20, 2011. Everything was perfect for a long slow run: the air was fresh, the weather cool and windy, portalets, hydration, and security from NUVALI (you guys are awesome!), Gatorade, plus lots of smiles and light conversation among future marathoners to keep us all entertained for hours.

– More than half of all our registered participants showed up for this practice run at NUVALI. Less than a month to go before the big day! –

– Lit Onrubia (right) led the briefing which had our runners going into groups: run all the way, run:walk intervals of 9:1, 4:1, and 2:1. Other runners trained at their own walk intervals like 3:1 and 1:1. Also in the pic are Ton and Jaimie from Team Bacon, a group of TBRDM runners who thrive on bacon after LSDs –

– TBRDM alumni, Lito Lopez, Jun Bisnar, GM of NUVALI, and Reylynne de la Paz, show their support for the next batch. TBRDM is all about paying it forward, after all! Thank you to NUVALI Team for the all out support during the practice run and for the race. –

– The hubby (center) was one of the pacers for 9:1. Thanks to all our volunteer pacers! –

– We owned the road that morning! –

– Some runners chose to run by the lake of Evoliving Center. Love this area especially in the morning –

Our TBRDM runners were committed, determined, and all smiles!  It was great getting to know each runner—not just by their race numbers but by their life stories and personal experiences.  If there’s something that sets TBRDM apart, it’s the intimate and personal bond that is formed among runners, volunteers, and organizers as we train for their first or second marathon.  We’re one big happy bunch!

You won’t see anyone frowning in these pics—even if we ran for over 4 hours!…

– Last year, Marc was a participant and Gail was a volunteer. This year, she’s the participant while Marc signed up as her pacer –

– Who would’ve known that one of my favorite professors at ADMU would join TBRDM?!  Sir Bobby Guev in white along with other TBRDM runners –

– Girl bonding at 2:1 pace. So much fun! –

– Yup, we have triathletes who’ve signed up for TBRDM too! –

Congratulations to all our TBRDM runners who ran their longest run last Saturday! See you on race day!

Thanks to Eric Alfonso for all the images. More photos on my Facebook account.

Thank you to our Partner NUVALI and Co-Presenters New Balance and Cherifer Premium.

Major sponsors: Secondwind Running Store, Gatorade, Photovendo and Run Rio.

Minor sponsors: Timex, Thermos, Omron, Milo, Hammer Nutrition, Nutribar, Nathan, ROX, Chris Sports, Health Food, Forward Lean Running, Cadbury Zip, Kinesio Tex, Robinsons Supermarket, Starbucks.

Hotel Partners: Paseo Premiere and El Cielito. Media Partners: Runner’s World,  Men’s Health, Women’s Health. Logistics partner: Creative Juice.

I’m quite picky when it comes to my running gear.  It’s either I love the product, use it, and tell every running soul about it, or it gets stuck in a storage bin to never see the light of day.  This new piece of equipment, sent to me by Chris Sports, has found its rightful place in my bedroom, right beside another one of my faves, the foam roller and I was compelled to tell you about it, especially you ITBS sufferers!

WHAT IS IT?

Tiger Tail is a rolling muscle massager, a hand-held foam roller if you will.  In it’s brochure, they say the Tiger Tail will “turn sore muscles into happy muscles by helping relieve muscle knots, aches, cramping, spasms, and stiffness.”

I’ll be the first to admit that I knew of a similar and more popular product called The Stick.  In fact, I was pining for one for the longest time, especially after seeing people use it along the course of NYC Marathon, but never got around to actually purchasing one.  In New York, since my ITBS had acted up on race day, right after the race, I asked relatives for a rolling pin instead and used this daily to release the tight muscles.

Tiger Tail works the same way but—take it from me—it’s much more comfortable than a wooden rolling pin.  Using the Tiger Tail, you just apply pressure with both hands and roll gently over tight areas.  You should feel slight discomfort and occasional bumps which are those tiny muscle knots that you have to release. I personally try not to release this all in one rolling, especially if I know I’m going to run the following day.  I just make sure to massage daily as maintenance for my leg muscles.

Tiger Tail can be used, not just for the ITB, but for all the other tight muscles in a runner’s body, such as calves, hamstrings, glutes, quads, and feet.  Of course, you can use it for other tight areas such as the back, shoulders, arms and neck.

Click HERE to download the PDF brochure

TBR REVIEW

The past few weeks, I’ve been focused on training for Run United 21k on March 6.  So, I’ve had a lot of speedwork at the track, tempo runs at BGC, and long runs on weekends.  This automatically leads to a tight ITB for me, which if not managed well, will eventually lead to my left knee going sore.

It’s been a habit for me to foam roll almost everyday, especially after a workout.  But, now that I’ve got the Tiger Tail I use it instead on my ITB, quads, hamstrings, and VMO (inner thighs).  I’m almost embarrassed to admit that it really does lead to “happy muscles”!   As a side note, my foam roller has found a new role as my platform when I do my crunches.  Resourceful eh?!

PROS
– super useful
– smooth rolling, consistent pressure all throughout
– easy to use, no need to roll on the floor
– portable (it fits in my gym bag)
– washable
– value for money (equivalent to 1 deep tissue massage)

CONS
– none

WHERE TO BUY

Tiger Tail is available at all Chris Sports Outlets. Click HERE to view website.

HOW MUCH

18 inches: Php 1,089
22 inches: Php 1,289

To TBR Dream Marathoners, we asked Chris Sports to provide us with Tiger Tail for our race.  So we’ll have Tiger Tail in medical aid stations along the course!  Wooohooo!  Thanks to Chris Sports!

Rico, Rics, or RicoV is one of my closest guy friends since highschool.

During our teenage years, I used to talk to him almost every night. We would talk about everything that mattered: crushes (more of his!), homework, friends, songs, and, of course, Euphoria and Faces. Yes, that was what highschool life was all about, after all.

– Rico’s highschool graduation. I was in 3rd year highschool. L to R: Joanne, me, Pwe, Nich, Vicky, Rics –

– Fun summer weekends at the beach: Miggy, Nich, Mariano, Krie, Veejay, Fat, me, Rics, Cel, Kat, PWe –

Rico was the goalie of the La Salle football team. Something to be proud of for any athlete, but even more for him. You see, he only had one working eye. In his infancy, he lost his right eye to Congenital Glaucoma.

Others would’ve tagged themselves as handicapped, but not him. He had a positive outlook and a sense of humor that wouldn’t allow for this. His favorite trick was to ask us girls for our hands and—if you were the unfortunate victim that day—he would drop his porcelain eyeball onto your palm.  (Gross!) A traumatizing sight indeed, but a scene that would have all of us bursting out in laughter.

He always made us laugh. But he was also one of the most sentimental and demonstrative ones in the group. Perhaps because of his experiences growing up, he was more sensitive to those around him. He was the one you could count on to drive you home, keep the girls company through hours of shopping without a single complaint, or give you comfort when you were down.

Rico and I kept in touch through the years. Even as he migrated to the U.S., and we both married and raised our own children, and now that he’s a single dad to his 2 girls, we still chat about our lives through the internet. We talk about everything that matters most now: family, career, schools, and, only recently, running. (Yup, no more Faces!)

– Nov 2010: All grown up! Visited Rico in LA before NYC Marathon. L to R: Jay, Nich (who ran NYCM too), Rics, and myself –

– Rico’s girls and my kids hanging out in Chuck E Cheese –

Rico got into running just when he was going through a difficult divorce.  He ran his first half marathon several weeks ago finishing at 2:01.  He is currently training for his first marathon: LA Marathon on March 20, 2011—coincidentally on the same day as TBR Dream Marathon—and he’s been working at it seriously and consistently while raising the girls on his own. He didn’t verbalize this to me directly but I know that training for the marathon has helped him have a sense of purpose and given him direction through the tough times.

What’s even better is that he’s using the run to help other children who are blind or partially blind like him. Rico is raising funds for the Blind Children’s Center, a family-centered agency serving children with visual impairments. He is less than $300 shy of his $3,000 goal. If you would like to help one of my dearest friends help others, please click HERE and donate.

All the best in your long run this weekend and on race day, Rics!