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This article will be published in the next issue of The Bull Runner Magazine to be released next week. My friend and Chi Running Instructor, Lit Onrubia, had an exclusive interview with Jeff Galloway for TBR Magazine before his much anticipated arrival in Manila next week. Here goes…

The running scene in the Philippines is better than ever! Races every weekend? Check. Ten thousand people in a single race? Done that. Expert race event organization? No problem. World-class coach teaching us how to run better? Um, sadly, no. That is, until now. Jeff Galloway — running and coaching legend, inventor of the Galloway Method, member of the 1972 US Olympic team and named one of 18 Runner’s World Experts in the magazine’s 40th anniversary edition — will be coming to Manila and Cebu from February 2-6, 2011 for a lecture and workshop series. Jeff recently shared his thoughts with us on how to run faster, longer and injury-free.

1. What is the most important lesson that you’ve learned throughout your running and coaching career about how to run at your best?

JEFF: There are two: 1) adjust your pace so that you can receive the boost to the attitude and vitality that each run can bring, and 2) be sensitive to your “weak links”. These are the areas of the body that ache more often and break down when pushed too hard. If you reduce training distance and intensity, at the first sign of an irritation (by inserting more walk breaks) you may not have to take any time off from running.

2. Many people believe that taking walk breaks slows you down, and that walking is a sign of weakness. What do you have to say about this?

JEFF: I’ve heard from over 300,000 runners who have used my training methods. Most find that the run-walk-run strategy actually speeds them up in races. Surveys back this up. When non-stop runners use the right ratio, the average improvement when using run-walk-run is over 13 minutes in a marathon. Walk breaks allow runners to train for marathons and other events, without being tired all the time.

3. You’ve run over 150 marathons. Millions around the world dream of doing it. What makes the marathon so special?

JEFF: There is no other experience in life that gives the combination of satisfaction and achievement, as that experienced from finishing a marathon. I hear from thousands every year who tell me how it has improved the quality of their lives!

4. I’m an experienced runner but i’ve plateaued. My race times are no longer improving. What can I do to improve my time?

JEFF: Longer long runs (run very slowly) have helped most. In addition, the following have improved race time significantly: running a greater number of speed repetitions, using some mental training techniques, and inserting the right strategy of walk breaks.

5. The running community in the Philippines is excited about your upcoming lecture and workshop series. What can they expect during your talks?

JEFF: I’ll explain how to stay injury free, how to stay motivated, how to run faster and farther without being tired all the time, efficient running form, the best food for performance, when to eat for best results, fat-burning, and mental training to break through barriers. I will also explain how to calculate the correct pace for each person, for long runs and races…and more!

Sales of tickets for The Galloway Method are on going.  Click HERE to view details.

So the blogging world is abuzz over the “Big Bad Blogger” that Margaux Salcedo wrote about in Sunday Inquirer Magazine.  She basically exposed the crooked ways of a blogger/ PR agency in pressuring (or shall we call it blackmailing?) restaurants into paying them to get good reviews on a blog. What I like most about this article—aside from the fact that I’m a sucker for chismis—is that someone finally spoke out about nefarious bloggers and how they ruin it all for the rest of the professional, fair, and credible bloggers out there.

In the blogging world, a blogger only has one thing to hold on to: his or her credibility. With that gone, everything else can be thrown into the laundry with his/her soiled and smelly socks (which was used for a 42k).

The same holds true for the teeny weeny running blogging world where word gets around fast and everyone knows each other. If you want readers to believe you, you must be honest and genuine. Cut the crap. No bull, if I may say so.

In the spirit of transparency, allow me to share how I manage this blog and what I do to ensure I remain truthful at all times.

• ON PAID POSTS. I do not accept paid posts. You can’t make me rave about a sucky product or sing praises about a flawed race.  Conversely, I will raise negative points about products or services but with due respect to the parties involved. Usually, out of courtesy, I inform the race organizer or the supplier about the negative review beforehand.  It’s cliche, but it really is for the benefit of the entire community.  I have a high respect for companies that accept critiques without taking it personally; it truly shows professionalism, desire to improve, and humility.
• ON ADVERTISEMENTS. I accept paid box advertisements. This is my way of ensuring that sponsors and advertisers do not make their way into my posts unless I personally choose to write about their products or services. Paid box ads do not in any way affect my opinion on the advertiser’s race, product, or service.
• ON EARNING FROM A BLOG. I am fortunate to earn supplemental income (my bread and butter is graphic design) from something that I just started on a whim and out of my passion for running. I will admit that the extra income helps in one way or another, but it’s not the reason why I blog. I’m not and never will be driven by money. If that happens, I’ll be the first one to shut this down. I think it is completely acceptable for bloggers to earn from ads provided that they do not in any way compromise the quality and credibility of the blog.
• ON PRODUCT REVIEWS. I accept products for review with the condition that the advertiser allows me to provide an honest and unbiased review containing both pros and cons. I never ever ask for a product to review. I do not accept requests from the supplier for positive comments nor omission of negative ones. I also do not promise to write about a particular product; I do so at my discretion only when I feel strongly about the particular product and it is worth sharing with the community. So note that the products I feature on this blog are those that I truly would use myself or recommend to others. There are products in my home that have never made it to these pages.
• ON EVENTS AND PRESS CONFERENCES. I occasionally attend press conferences and events of my choosing to be updated on current events in the community. I accept complimentary race packets and giveaways during events, but again this does not compromise my review of the race.  Never did I request for free race packs or freebies nor attend an event without invitation.
• ON RACE REVIEWS. I review races without favoring a race organizer or sponsor. In the occasion that I must point out negative issues about the race, I inform the parties affected out of respect, but I have never pulled out a post at anyone’s request.
• ON TRANSPARENCY. Beginning last year, I practiced transparency by stating clearly if the product was purchased or given. From now on, I will also inform you if a race pack was complimentary or purchased.
• ON PRODUCT ENDORSEMENTS. I accept product endorsements if and only if I truly believe in and use the product. I have turned down product/event endorsements that I feel would have compromised the credibility of this blog. I endorse Cherifer Premium (and I take it every day too!)  I am a sponsored athlete of Gatorade and Oakley and I’m a member of Team Hammer. I don’t rave about these products because I am contracted by these companies, but it’s the other way around; I accepted these offers because they are sincerely the only products I use for that particular category.
• ON TBR MAGAZINE. The Bull Runner Magazine is NOT me; it is my publication, but it is a separate entity.  Its advertisers do not in any way affect my opinions on the blog.  TBR Magazine has no personal preferences when it comes to apparel, shoes, gear, and the like and it is not affected by my endorsements.  It provides all the information cutting across all brands for the benefit of the running community.

Note: You may notice that some of the points I raise above were not practiced in older posts. Reason being I am not a professional blogger so I’ve learned new things through the years that I started applying much later.  This blog is constantly evolving just like my journey as a runner.

Reminder guys!

As announced, Bull Circle 4 tonight was postponed to Feb 9, Wednesday, 7PM at ROX.  Coach Jim Saret will speak on balance, core, and conditioning for marathoners.  Not to be missed!  See you then!

Do you want to know who a person really is?  What makes him tick?  Have him sign up for a marathon and his true self will be revealed.

After observing hundreds of runners toil away for months on end while training for their first marathon, I have enjoyed what marathon training offers: a glimpse into a person’s psychology and psyche.

If running is a metaphor for life, then marathon training is a window into the runner’s soul.

How a runner trains for a marathon uncovers vital information about her life beyond running.  It speaks volumes of who the person truly is: her character, beliefs, values, and even taste—in running and in the real world.

Note: The personalities detailed below are fictitious.  If you feel you are being described below, you are completely paranoid.

A leader will always find himself in front of the training group, perhaps set the pace or plan the course for each run.  He knows his stuff about running and shares this with the newbies. After a run, he rushes home to lead his business enterprise which he set up at the tender age of 20.

A follower will intentionally lag behind and ask questions: What distance do we run today? Where do we run? Are we joining the race next week?  Do you think I should wear the white or black underwear on race day?  A follower always has a coach, a leader, or anyone who can give him decent answers during a run.

The cheater signed up for TBR Dream Marathon knowing full well that it is only for first or second timers.  No worries, no one will ever know that she finished QC Int’l Marathon last year and is registered for Condura 42k on Feb.  She doesn’t care if she took the slot of a first-time marathoner who deserves the experience more than she does.  She HAS to run TBR Dream because her boyfriend will be there to cheer her on!  Just don’t tell her husband about it.

A planner will have her marathon training program printed out and displayed on every nook and cranny of the house. It is followed to a tee.  Marathon day is two months away but she knows her food, hydration, supplements, and outfit already.  She even has a post marathon training program ready.  All this has been neatly encoded into her ipad, a reward she bought for herself after her 3rd promotion this year.

The faker signed up for the marathon and posted about it on his blog.  He says he’s training seriously, but barely finds time to train since he’s too busy tending to his farm on facebook. He’s deeply worried about marathon day, but finds comfort in knowing that he can quit at 21k and simply tell his clueless friends that he finished the full.

This happy-go-lucky runner got lucky!  He heard about the race, impulsively registered, and found out he got the last slot.  Everyone is training heavily for the race, but he has no worries.  After all, he finished a 21k last year—note: half drunk and without any sleep—without collapsing.

A complainer always finds something wrong with herself and everything else: her yaya didn’t boil the eggs properly, her running shoe lacks cushioning, the pacer at the clinic ran too fast while her running buddies were too slow, the road had potholes, and the weather!  Oh boy, she asked God to make it cloudy that morning, but the sun appeared!  Arrgh!

The optimist is injured but knows that with some massage and cross training, the doctor will allow him to continue training next week.  He joins the running talks and observes at clinics eager to learn more about his newfound love for running.  He can’t believe he can run for 2 hours already, to think he only started running last year after he was declared cancer-free!

I could go on and on, but you get the point.  Each runner who signs up for a marathon will have his own tale to tell—not just after the marathon, but while training for it, not just through his words, but by his actions, and not just about his run, but his life and how he lives it. Make sure YOUR story is a GOOD one.

I used to dread McKinley Hill.  If there was a race that included McKinley in its route I would think twice about registering.  I vividly recall the first time I ran 15k at the VSO Bahaginan Race in November 2008.  It was the longest ever run for me and, after 10k, I was exhausted.  I will never forget standing at the foot of the steep ascent towards the exit of McKinley Hill and seeing the kilometer marker with the huge words “13” on them. Perfect number for such a hellish climb!

How things have changed since then.  Now, I choose to run at McKinley Hill when I want a more challenging hill workout.  Those hills upon entering and exiting the area and oh those hills inside are roads that I still want to run away from (literally!), but they definitely strengthen my quads and calves and build my confidence for an upcoming race.  When the going gets tough at a race, I just think: If I survived McKinley, I can surely finish this one!

Last Wednesday, hubby, Jun (The Solemates) and I ran a 10k from Bonifacio High Street to McKinley Hill and back.  It wasn’t the ideal set up for a run: we started a bit too late at 7PM, the rain had stopped but the street was littered with tiny puddles, and I was getting a bit hungry (hah!).  But, I was eager to road test my new KSwiss Kwicky Blade Light (which I’ll write about it in the next post) so nothing could stand in the way of getting a good run in for that evening.  With vehicles passing us by, we ran in single file at a strong, steady pace in silence (except for the time we stuck our heads into Brick to say hi to Leroy and we stopped for a water break at the convenience store.)  It was a serious run for a serious route…and I loved it!

I ended the run completely spent, soaked in sweat, and super famished.  But, hey, that’s what I always get when I run McKinley…and I’m not complaining!