Author Archives:

Welcome the new member of our family. Finally, my hubby has gotten what he’s wished for all these months. A new Boy… Lazy Boy, that is.

This fine piece of furniture transformed me, quite regretably, into a Lazy Girl Potato. Suddenly, I found all this free time to watch television—something I hadn’t done in months—and work, blogging, and running were left by the wayside. I had good excuses, mind you:

– There’s a new presidential decree that states: All women whose names begin with J and are born in the month of May may extend the Halloween/All Saints and Souls Day Holidays by another 7 working days. Now, what was my source again?
– I had a bothersome cough complimented by a scratchy throat that left me with little energy to do anything.
– I was in recovery phase from all the running I did during Trick or Treating.
– I suffered from a minor infection, which my doctor said wouldn’t stop me from running, but doctors aren’t 100% correct all the time, right?
– I surmised that a 1-week Lazy Girl week was important for my pre-marathon conditioning. Er, who of you coaches would like to agree with me?

Anyhow, I’m glad to report that my Lazy Girl week officially ended during the Mizuno Run Club last night. I am so glad I went. It literally pulled me out of the slump I was in and injected some much needed energy into my system. (More on this in my next post.)

As of the moment, the Lazy Boy beckons. But, I remind myself of what Juma Ikangaa, 1989 NYC Marathon winner once said, “The will to win means nothing if you haven’t the will to prepare.”

It’s off to work I go. And, tomorrow, my long run with Annie.

{ PAULA RADCLIFFE }

When I grow up, I want to be Paula Radcliffe.

Radcliffe of England won the ING NYC Marathon last Nov. 4, 2007 with a time of 2:23:09; that’s after taking a break from giving birth to her daughter, Isla.

– Radcliffe carries the flag of Great Britain in one hand and daughter Isla on the other. (Photo courtesy of www.ingnycmarathon.org) –

[youtube=http://http://www.youtube.com/v/LZm37JhQPUY&rel=1]

– Video courtesy of Tsehainy –

{ KATIE HOLMES }

She runs?! That was my first reaction to news that Katie Holmes finished the NYC Marathon at 5:29:58. It turns out Katie had been secretly training for months both in Beverly Hills and Berlin (aw, the life of the rich and famous).

Now, I’m not a big Katie fan. But, anyone who can run a marathon—and do it just 18 months after giving birth—gets a lot of respect and admiration from me.

– Katie was met by Tom and Suri at the finish line. (Photos courtesy of www.newsvine.com) –

A lot of runners are getting giddy over this: The 1st ever Men’s Health Urbanathlon in the Philippines on November 18, Sunday at Bonifacio Global City.

I’ve browsed through the website and, in all honesty, I know I can run the 10km comfortably but it’s The Wall that gets me. I detest climbing and climbing loathes me back. Let’s leave it at that.

So, as much as I would like to partake of the festivities on that day, I will beg off for my own pride (I can’t bear the thought of seeing all other participants pass me by as I scramble half-way up and slide down that wall a hundred times over.)

For those who are planning to join, you may be interested in joining Fitness First’s clinic on how to effectively prepare for Urbanathlon. This will be held on:

Nov 10 (First session was today, Nov. 3)
1:00pm
Fort Bonifacio Branch

Selected Fitness First Instructors will give a 45-minute lecture/clinic for the first 40 people to confirm.

Those interested may email or text Edmund Mangaser (Elite Multi Sport Resources) at 0910 2135073.

On All Hallow’s Eve, Christmas is foremost on my mind. Why so? My Santa Claus (aka Husband) has delivered his special gifts for me in advance!

So, as I took the kids trick or treating this afternoon, I was eager to get home and play with my new Christmas loot:

( 1 ) GARMIN FORERUNNER 305. Yes, I am a proud owner of a Garmin! Can you believe it?! I feel like I won the lottery! Uh well, not really, because had I won the lottery, I would have a million Garmins in my hand. Or, I would’ve dressed a full-time personal running coach with a Garmin and hired him to train with me while an assistant spritzes my sweaty face with Evian and feeds me orange slices whenever I purse my lips. Okay, my point is I am ecstatic (ecstatic! aaah!) over the Garmin. I almost burst into tears when I held this new baby in my arms. I was dreaming about the Polar RS 200 for the longest time but after getting a consensus from veteran runners (most especially from Patrick C.), I decided that the Garmin was a better choice. Oh Garmin, I am in love!

( 2 ) AMPHIPOD RUNLITE 4. Again, I was eyeing something else, the Nathan water bottle carrier, for months but after noting the better features of Ben‘s Amphipod (it’s customizeable—you can tip the bottles horizontally or vertically and you can choose the number of bottles to carry), I went for the Amphipod instead. I’m still not sure if I’ll be comfortable running with this belt around my waist, but I’m sure glad that I don’t have to carry water bottles when I start racing 21k’s.

How was your Halloween? I hope it was as “merry” as mine.

This was undoubtedly an Adidas race. It was deja vu for me as little race details brought back memories of the Adidas KOTR—from the previously well-received red race singlets (only with a Run For Love stamp at the back) to the banners and streamers that lined the start/finish line. Perhaps the glaring difference was the significantly smaller number of participants who waited for the race to start. This was understandable though as this was not a “race” but a fun run for the benefit of Gawad Kalinga. Had I not seen other runners wearing their race bibs, I would’ve thought I mistakenly stumbled upon a fair as booths, a huge stage, and even a kiddie area was set up for the Gawad Kalinga expo.

I lined up at the starting line chatting with other Happy Feet members—Chai, Roselle, and Renz—and other new runner friends, Lala and Ina. Before we knew it, the run had started in an almost calm, happy send off. No firing of the gun to jolt our bodies and awaken the competitive spirit within us. Is that a good thing? I don’t know.

This was a run I strategized over the day before. My goal was 47 mins. (I wanted to break my 46:57 PR at Run To Bring Hope, which technically should be around 48-49 mins since distance was below 10k.) So, to achieve this, I needed to reach an average pace of 4:42. Of course, I planned on negative splits so I was aiming for a pace between 5 to 5:30 in the first 2km, then up it to 4:50 km (a pace I knew I would be comfortable in) and speed up to 4:40 near the end. Being a newbie with competitive racing, I wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do or if this would really allow me to break my PR, but it sounded like a good plan (hah!) so that’s what I kept in mind as I ran through the course.

I started out slow trying my best not to compete with the faster paced runners around. My legs were a little bit stiff so I didn’t have much choice anyway. By around 2km, as I found my rhythm, I increased the pace and started enjoying the run. I focused on my form applying lessons from my recent training with Ige Lopez and even a few tips from Jujet de Asis during last Thursday’s Mizuno Run Club. Boy, did their tips make a significant difference! I felt stronger and more confident. I was pretty sure I could follow through with my strategy for this race.

As I passed the 5km mark, I checked my watch to find my time at 25 mins. so I knew I had to go a little bit faster to reach my goal. Then, a race personnel shouted out at me “Pangatlo ka!” (You’re third!) which hit me like a much-needed shot of adrenaline. Inspired, I pushed harder with a smile since this was the first time I had ever gone this close to the front.

Okay, inspiration could only get me so far. By 7-8km, I was feeling exhausted. I was definitely running at a 5:00 pace below my 4:45 goal. So much for negative splits! All I could think of by this time was the end. I would be happy to just maintain this pace. Hang on, I thought. Just a little bit more now.

Boy, was I wrong. At 10km, I was surprised to find myself still running. As I ran closer to what I thought was the finish line, I was shocked to discover that we had to run past it and make a u-turn to reach it. Nooooooo! I didn’t know how much more energy I had left in me to maintain my pace.

I glanced at the man beside me and was surprised to see a familiar face; it was the same guy at Adidas KOTR who, at the finish line, shook my hand and said he was chasing me down because he would not let a woman ran past him. I then replied in spite (but with a charming smile) “Well, I would not let a man ran past me either.” Hah!

In between breaths, I told him in tagalog “Hey, it’s you again. This is such a long race.” He replied, without giving in to my negativity, “Tapusin mo! Tapusin mo!” with as much gusto as Freddy Roach coaching Manny Pacquiao. I gathered the little energy I had left to put more power into my legs and pick up the pace. I crossed the finish line at exactly 55 minutes. The distance was 11.2 km.

– Runners line up at the finish –

I asked the race person what place I came in at and he said he didn’t know. Duh. I didn’t recall any female passing me after the 5km mark, so I could only surmise I kept my place at 3rd. Of course, it’s nothing official until the results are released. This was a fun run, so there were no awards at the end. We all just parted ways in peace after a gruelling (but absolutely fun) run.

At exactly 10km, my time would have been around 49 mins. Placing in a suspected 3rd was just a bonus. I didn’t break my PR, but I’m still happy with my time. I gave it a good fight and that is something to smile about.

– with Happy Feet –