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You may have been wondering where I’ve been. After TBR ULAH Dream Marathon last week, I rushed work to meet all my deadlines, stayed up all night packing, and flew off to Tokyo by Thursday to realize my own dream: to run my 4th World Marathon Major and my 10th marathon, the Tokyo Marathon! Wooohooo!

I’m still in Tokyo now to enjoy more of the sights and most especially the food! But, let me leave you with my Tokyo Marathon finish line photo from yesterday. I finished at 4:37. Not a time I’m happy about, I was expecting better—a lot better especially with how well I was doing at the first half—but, as with all marathons, you can’t really predict how things will go until you cross the finish line.

More on this in the next few days. For now, I hope you’ve had a great week just as I have here in this beautiful city.

For more photos, you can follow me on Instagram.

Congratulations to all 676 finishers (updated) of TBR ULAH Dream Marathon Batch 2014 held last Sunday, February 16, 2014 at Nuvali, Sta. Rosa, Laguna! You are now MARATHONERS!

Below are the official results of TBR ULAH Dream Marathon 2014 provided to us by our Presenter, RunRio. Should you have any concerns, please email Macel at tbrdream(at)gmail.com with the subject: Official Results.

I’m still trying to absorb everything that happened over the weekend and trying to put them into words while I await photos from our official photographers. Check here in a few days for an update!

DOWNLOAD PDF: The Bull Runner Dream Marathon 2014 Overall results (Updated: 2/20)

Note: “DQ” are runners who have been disqualified.  These runners’ bibs have been confirmed to be used by another runner.  As stated in the race rules, these runners will not be included in the official results.

TBR Clean & Mean Routine is a series of nutrition and wellness tips from for people who wish to start the year right by living cleaner, healthier lives.  New tips are posted every Monday from Jan. 13 to Feb. 24. 

Tip 5: NOURISH YOUR BODY, NURTURE YOUR SPIRIT

As mentioned, our TBR Clean & Mean Routine is about eating clean food.  It’s also about being MEAN.  M in Mean is for meals of three and snacks of two. E is for exercise at least 4x a week. A is for Anything in moderation.  N is for NOURISH YOUR BODY, NURTURE YOUR SPIRIT.

We’re on our 5th^th week of eating clean, exercising regularly, and still enjoying the entire process.  How’re you feeling so far?  This week, we’ll talk about your spirit.

MIND, BODY, & SOUL

Being healthy isn’t a goal in itself.  We want to be healthy so that we can live better lives and become better people.

So, as we focus on eating better and exercising more, we shouldn’t forget that, at the end of the day, we should also care for our mind and spirit so that we can achieve bigger things.

Truth is, food is just our secondary source of energy.  Our primary sources of energy are the following: healthy relationships, inspiring work, regular and enjoyable physical activity, and a meaningful spiritual practice.  We should always try to achieve a balance among all these things to become better.

NURTURE YOUR SPIRIT

So, now that you’re eating cleaner and exercising more, how can you nurture your spirit?  Here are some ways:

1. Commune with nature.  Spend more time outdoors and feel connected to the grass upon your feet and the vast sky above you.  Try running the trails instead of the road this weekend.
2. Slow down.  We’re often stuck in the rat race in the city burdened with deadlines and overscheduled with meetings.  Take some time out each day to slow down and gather yourself.
3. Meditate every morning.  Start each day with a few minutes of meditation.  You’ll be surprised at how this brief activity can change the next 24 hours.
4. Pray.  For many, prayer is one of the best ways to connect to God and find a deeper meaning in their daily lives.
5. Try yoga. Yoga teaches techniques that exercise the body, mind, and spirit.  They say that the lessons of flexibility, patience, mental alertness that you learn on the mat spills off to the rest of your life as well.
6. Be grateful.  Instead of complaining about the traffic or your boss, take note of the many little good things that occur during each day.  Also take the time out to be thankful for what and who you have around you that you may sometimes take for granted.

Try this out this week and see how it can change your mindset about diet, exercise, and your life.

If you want to join me and others on our TBR Clean and Mean Routine for 2014, just do this:

Post a comment on TBR FACEBOOK PAGE that you commit to practicing the tip for the next 7 days.  If you don’t have FB, you can post your comment on this blogpost.

Watch out for our weekly TBR Clean & Mean Routine tip every Monday. I will ask you to post a comment on each of those weekly tips until February 24.

Throughout the week, feel free to chat and converse with others in the TBR FB Page who are trying to apply the weekly tips in their lives.

By the first week of March, I will ask you to submit a story on how this plan worked for you and what changes you saw in your life. The most compelling and interesting submission will win a pair of running shoes from me.

Let me know how this week goes for you!  See you next Monday!

Read:
TBR Clean & Mean Routine – Part 1 & Part 2
Tip 1: Eat Clean
Tip 2: Mealtime: Listen to Your Body
Tip 3: Exercise: 4x a Week
Tip 4: Anything in Moderation.

Here’s the Send Off video created by our official photographer, Photo Ops, as a special gift to our TBR ULAH Dream Marathoners – Batch 2014. We presented it during our Send Off Party last Feb 6. I still get goosebumps whenever I watch this.

As you’ll see in the video, this is one committed, aggressive, and, best of all, fun batch. The song chosen by Photo Ops, Ready for Anything by Landon Austin, couldn’t have been more appropriate from its lyrics to its rhythm. This will be our starting line song on race day.

To our TBR ULAH Dream Marathoners, 8 days to go for your first marathon! #readyforanything

One of the most popular runs in the country is set to launch the first of its 3 races this coming March!

2014 Run United 1 will be held on March 16, 2014 with 500m, 5k, 10k, and 21k race categories. All categories will have a start and finish at the SM Mall of Asia.

I attended the bloggers’ conference last Monday where Lester of Unilab Active Health unveiled the new theme of Run United for its RunRio trilogy: Citius (faster), Altius (higher), Fortius (stronger), which is the motto of the modern olympics.

For Run United 1, the word “Citius” will…get this…magically appear at the back of your singlet as your start to sweat. (Okay, it’s not magic. The shirt is sweat activated, but it’s cool eh?)  For Run United 2, the theme will be “Altius” and “Fortius” for Run United Philippine Marathon.

– Coach Rio and Lester show off the new singlets for Run United 1. Photo: LeStSky Photography –

The new medals were also presented to us. As in the past years, the completion of all three races, RU1, RU2, and RUPM, will allow you to combine your hard-earned medals to form a single piece.  (I wonder when I’ll ever get one!)

Then, of course, we ended the night with some chit chat and photos as always!

– Bloggers’ Class Pic! Photo: LeStSky Photography –

– Nice to see my running blogger friends again! Photo: LeStSky Photography –

– with my favourite running blogger, Vimz of Kulit Runner. Photo: LeStSky Photography –

Congrats once again to Unilab Active Health and RunRio for constantly “exceeding yourself” and giving us runners bigger and better races to look forward to.

As for you runners, read below for details on race registration. I’ll see you there!

RUN UNITED 1 RACE INFO

Online registration started last January 31, 2014 at www.runrio.com

You may purchase the prepaid cards at the following stores: from 12:00NN to 8:00PM Monday to Sunday starting February 8, 2014.
– Riovana Store BGC, 28th Street corner 9th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City
– Riovana Store Katipunan, 3rd Floor Regis Building, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City (across Ateneo, and beside KFC)
– Toby’s, SM North – The Block G/F, North Ave. cor. EDSA Quezon City
– Toby’s, SM Mall of Asia, G/F Entertainment Hall, Roxas Blvd, Manila

Category – Registration Fee
500m – Php350
5K – Php700
10K – Php800
21K – Php900

For Online and In-Store Registration Inquiries:
– Landline (+632) 463 4813 or (+632) 463 4814
– Mondays to Fridays, 9am to 5pm only, except holidays.

For more info, visit unilabactivehealth.com and runrio.com