Cough, Cough Away

Friday, 23 April 2010  |  Bullish Insights

So my son’s cough and cold virus has attacked me too.

WEDNESDAY:

Two days ago, I woke up with an itchy throat. My solution? An early morning 10k run at 5:50 min/km pace.

I felt great when I got home, but by afternoon, the cough had worsened. And, worse, my nose was congested.

THURSDAY:

I had a morning appointment with my trainer for strength training at the gym.  I peeled myself off the bed, added two packs of tissue in my gym bag, and crawled my way up to the 2nd floor of the gym.  I attempted to finish 10 minutes of my warm up on the elliptical only to have my gym trainer send me home.  “Get out of here and get some rest” he said warmly, then he said “baka mahawa din kasi ako sa yo eh!” with a laugh.

I thought it best to stay home and avoid spreading this nasty virus.  But, I had hopes that it would be gone by noon time.

Coach Jim’s wife, Susan, had invited me for a run the following day, and I confirmed with her optimistic that I would be back in the pink of health by this morning.

FRIDAY (TODAY):

Nope, my combination of prayers, OJ, and double dose of vitamin C wasn’t enough to scare the cough and colds away.  I had to pass on the morning run with Susan or any other form of exercise today.  Thus, my eyebrows are glued together and I haven’t even smiled since I got out of bed.

By tomorrow, I expect to be back in fighting form for Greenfield Sunset Run. Hopefully by then, I can greet you with a smile.  Sniff sniff. Cough cough.

Last Call for Bull Session 3 Bus Riders!

Friday, 23 April 2010  |  News + Promos

For those joining us for our BULL SESSION 3 at NUVALI on SUNDAY, May 2, 2010 (click HERE for details), we are closing sign in sheet for the free bus ride from NUVALI to ROX by 5 PM TODAY, APRIL 23, 2010. We will not accommodate late sign in.  We currently have 83 runners registered for the bus ride.

  • BUS DEPARTS ROX, BONI HIGH STREET: 3:45 a.m.
  • BUS DEPARTS NUVALI FOR ROX: 9:00 a.m.

UPDATE: Registration is now closed. We have a total of 101 runners for the bus ride.

For the BULL CLINIC:

  • Assembly area: Solenad, NUVALI
  • Run starts: 4:30 a.m.
  • Duration: 3 hours and 15 minutes or minimum of 28 km
  • Run/Walk technique will be used as in Coach Jim’s TBR Dream Marathon Training Program
  • Gatorade will provide hydration (Thanks Gatorade!) but please bring fuel belts too
  • Baggage Check in: baggage check in available at Solenad c/o NUVALI (Thanks NUVALI!)
  • We highly recommend you bring headlamps/torches and reflectorized vests
  • Bull Sessions are open to all and is free of charge

Race Review: The Great Lapu-Lapu Run

Thursday, 22 April 2010  |  Race Reports

TBR REVIEW: THE GREAT LAPU LAPU RUN

Rating:
3Medals
Organizers: Nonoy Jopson and race director Raffy Uytiepo

THUMBS UP:

  • small-town festive atmosphere
  • wonderful view of Cebu along Mandaue-Mactan bridge
  • presence of pacers
  • unbelievably accurate kilometer markers
  • abundant water and Gatorade in long tables
  • use of timing chip

BETTER JOB NEXT TIME:

  • no road closure on narrow two-lane roads along with vehicular traffic
  • late start – clock was being connected 5 minutes before race start
  • lack of marshals – there was a spot where I had to stop and check if I was still on the race route
  • Jollibee plastic cups were used at the water stations – Jollibee was not a race sponsor so why were the cups from them? This made me think twice about drinking from the stations. I drank Gatorade all the way instead.  (Note from Nonoy: Jollibee provided new, clean cups for the race and these were not recycled.)

The Great Lapu-Lapu Run was organized by the Lapu-Lapu City Government and the Lapu Lapu City Tourism Cultural and Historical Commission. I believe they hoped to showcase the beaches and landmarks of the city along the route.

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– near Mactan Shrine –

Highlight of the race would have to be the beautiful Mandaue-Mactan bridge. This made the entire race unforgettable. There were several areas of improvement, such as the traffic and late start, which will hopefully be corrected in future races. My humble recommendations for next year: 1) close the road to traffic, 2) allow the route to enter the various hotels in the area, such as Shangrila Mactan and Imperial Palace, 3) encourage the locals to cheer along the route.  Get these done and the race has the potential of being a great tourist-runner’s run.

For a “tourist runner” such as myself, I couldn’t help but compare this with Cebu Marathon, my first race in Cebu. If Cebu Marathon made me feel like royalty as guest of the city, the Great Lapu-Lapu Run allowed me to experience the good and the bad, like a Lonely Planet traveler. Mind you, this was not such a bad thing.

All in all, it was an experience to remember, a thrilling adventure for a runner traveler like myself.

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– assembly area –

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– a runner crossing the finish –

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SLOW AND SAFE

The race started in Mactan Shrine, just a 20 minute drive from our hotel. Hubby and I got to the assembly area thanks to Amale Jopson, wife of super triathlete and The Great Lapu Lapu Run race organizer, Noy Jopson, who were kind enough to lend their househelp to watch our kids as we raced.

We parted ways in a rush as hubby and I rushed for a last minute bathroom visit. We saw Magellan and Lapu-Lapu standing before us and truly felt we were touring Cebu.

Until the start of the race, I wasn’t sure about my race plans. Fast or slow? At the very last minute, I chose the latter as previous days’ activities (read: swimming all day at the beautiful Imperial Palace) left me feeling exhausted for a PR attempt.

I was to run with hubby for his 9:1 run:walk interval training for TBR Dream Marathon. We set our Garmins to beap at 9 mins and we were off.

QUEZON NATIONAL HIGHWAY

Majority of the run through Quezon National Highway is a blur now. I know we ran by the beach, but we couldn’t see much of it. It was a run through the narrow roads of Cebu with cars passing us by. One time I almost got sideswiped by a speeding motorcycle. But, hey, I was on an “adventure” and I was not one to complain.

Every now and then, we would pass Cebuano runners who would happily greet us and we would do the same. There were a couple of times when children lined up in rows stretched out their hands for high fives.  I high-fived them back feeling  Our run:walk strategy was keeping us strong and we were doing quite well. Thank you.

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– Runners in costume. Wish I was just as daring and creative! –

THE MANDAUE-MACTAN BRIDGE

Highlight of the race would have to be the beautiful Mandaue-Mactan bridge. The steep ascent was a wonderful challenge and a great workout for the quads and the subsequent downhill was a satisfying gift where I practiced my Chi Running again.

It was only at this point when hubby and I temporarily parted ways as I always find it more difficult to run slow when confronted with uphills. Let’s just say my mindset is: “Get this over and done with.” while hubby thinks: “Let’s take this slow and easy. Little steps at a time.” I think he’s doing the right thing, actually.

We had to tour below the bridge for another set of climbs and downhills before leaving this area. This was truly my favorite part of the race.

LAST 3KM

We went back to the highway again and hubby and I started to slow down. One marshal yelled last 5km only for me to find out from my Garmin that there was 7km to go. After that incident, I noticed that the kilometers went by a lot slower than I had hoped. The heat started to get more intense…or maybe it was all in the mind?

The most challenging part of the race was the last 3km. It was mentally challenging as we had passed the finish line already, only to run an additional 3km out through the traffic and heat. What made this portion more difficult was that we were forced to negotiate the roads, along with motorcycle drivers who did the same. We literally had to find our space through traffic as the narrow two-lane road was filled with vehicles.

Thankfully, hubby and I made it to the finish exhausted but happy. We finished at a relaxed 2:23, a good training adventure run for us.

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– with the girls –

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– with PAL runners from Manila –

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After photos and chats with Cebuano runners, we headed back to the hotel for some R&R with the kids.

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TBR Dream Marathon Medal

Wednesday, 21 April 2010  |  Bullish Insights

Attention TBR Dream Marathoners: your scintillating 42km medal awaits…

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– I wish I could run my own race to get a medal like this one! –

The medals are imported by my newfound supplier who is a runner too.  It’s his first time to supply medals for a local race.  Prices are a bit more costly than locally-sourced medals, but the quality is well worth it.  Anyway, for TBR Dream Marathoners we only want the best!

MEDAL SUPPLIER:
SkyTrend Marketing – Look for Allan Chan
Tel 373-01713 or 373-1712
Mobile 0917-6259655
Email jachan@skybroadband.com.ph, skytrend@gmail.com

Back from Cebu Holiday

Monday, 19 April 2010  |  Bullish Insights

We just returned from a wonderful stay at Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort and Spa and a slow, easy training run during The Great LapuLapu Run at Mactan Island, Cebu City.  Thanks to Noy and Amale Jopson and Janejane Ong for true blue Cebuano hospitality!

As I catch up on the work I set aside over the brief break (and as I take time to write a more detailed post on the race), here are some photos of the fun weekend we had…

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– Breathtaking view of the waterpark and beach from our balcony –

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– Kids’ nth time to take on the slides –

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– After our half marathon training run. I accompanied hubby on his slow run in preparation for TBR Dream Marathon –