After the success of the first Discover Duathlon clinic (read about how much fun—and suffering—we had HERE), Newton is holding another duathlon clinic on July 18, 2012 at SM Mall of Asia. I hear they’re going to make it even more fun with a “disco” theme to the event!
Register as soon as you can because slots run out fast!
All of us runners have so many facets to our lives. We’re not just runners. We’re parents, sons or daughters, wives and husbands, entrepreneurs, managers, students, and more, but we keep on running because it makes our lives better. It makes us better.
Here’s a cool running video I was fortunate enough to be involved in. It’s a peek into my life as a running working mommy. Keep on running!
The hubby, kids, and I spent four days at Sentosa the past weekend. We had a fantastic time riding the rides at Universal Studios, hopping on the Skyride and Luge, viewing the sea creatures and watching the pink dolphin show at Underwater Adventure, dining at Festival Walk, and shopping at Orchard Road. Aaah, I almost wish I could go on vacation again!
– Little bulls at the hotel –
– On the shuttle along Sentosa beachfront –
– Walking by waterfront at Sentosa right in front of Universal Studios –
– All set for our nth luge ride –
My only homework during this trip was a 15k fast-paced run. Saturday, I got up at 5:30AM for a 6:00AM run. I was all dressed and laced up only to discover that it was dark outside. Why didn’t anyone tell me that the sun rises at 7:00AM in Singapore?!
After a brief nap (in my run clothes), I left the hotel room at 7:00AM and took a 10 minute leisurely walk to the beachfront, which as advised by the friendly Pinoy staff at the Festive Hotel’s Front Desk, would be a great place to run.
– From hotel lobby to Festive Walk –
– Window shopping before the run! –
– Inspiration for the run. Mwah mwah! –
– Walked from here up to the Merlion then down to Siloso Beach. Fine, if you wanna be all hardcore about this, then you could run up the steps of the escalator too ala Rocky –
By the beach front, I decided to start my run at the Luge ticket office. Nearby were McDonalds, restrooms, and entrance to the beach.
– Luge and Skyride entrance. My starting point. And the kids’ favorite ride –
– That’s the ifly building –
– With the open water, flat roads for biking and swimming, this is a triathlete’s paradise. I saw a triathlete training here under the intense 12nn heat! Actually, I saw more than what I had hoped for. He was wearing way too tight speedos during the run heehee –
– Look! They have a jogging path which I only saw at the end of the trip. Check this out if or when you get there! –
I ran around 1km towards the right passing Siloso Beach. The roads were flat and faaaast. Would’ve loved to go faster if I wasn’t suffering in the heat too much.
– Loved the roads…but I was suffering in the heat and humidity. Who’s dumb enough to run at 7AM?! Okay. No comment –
– Bikes for rent! I was tempted to rent one, but the Shiv at home might have gotten jealous –
I made a u-turn at the rotunda at the end. You’ll find a 7-11 there so bring extra money for hydration if you wish.
If you go farther down, you’ll see Shangri La resort and you even have the option of running the other roads in that area. I opted not to explore that area because, um, it looked like a long, steep climb.
– Here’s where I made u turn. If you go past this area, you’ll see Shangri La and more roads to run –
– Entrance to Shangri la right in front of Underwater Adventure –
After the u turn, I headed back towards the Luge and went farther down passing other beaches such as Palawan beach. This left side of the road offers a longer route, but the same fast and flat roads. I enjoyed running here. There were squirrels and peacocks for some entertainment, too!
After 7k, I felt that I couldn’t take the humidity anymore and decided to cut my run short. Out of guilt (and perhaps way too much eating the day before), I ran again a couple of days after covering 10k worth of intervals on the hotel treadmill. (Warning: there’s no TV in front of the treadmill so make sure you bring an iPod.)
I’m now back at Manila exhausted from the trip (that’s what happens when you have two little bull kids) and I must admit I’m not quite back into full training mode. As if that matters, because, in an hour, I should hop on my bike trainer and, by this afternoon, I should jump into the pool for a swim. Back to reality for this bull!
They say you grow wiser with age. I turned 36 over the weekend and, even with the addition of another year under my belt, we sure had one of the worst workout ideas ever.
On Saturday, my birthday, I biked 48km and swam 1km.
The following day, my plan was to run for 2 hours or around 20km.
My friends and I (we now call ourselves Team Berlin because we’re all signed up for Berlin Marathon on Sept. 30) decided to skip our regular morning long run and switch this into a “Night Run.” A friend-who-shall-not-be-named conceptualized this idea after suffering the intense heat during a 24km run the previous week and then enjoying the cool evening air on weekday run a couple of days after. So, he thought: Why not run on a Sunday evening instead?! We all thought it was a great idea.
So, I met them at 6 PM. We bumped into Tessa Prieto-Valdes who found out it was my birthday weekend and ran into her house and came out again wearing a birthday cake headband atop her head just for me. (That is probably one of the sweetest and silliest things anyone has ever done for me on my birthday.)
Who said it would be cooler on a Sunday evening again? Even with the sun gone, it was as hot and humid as hell. There was no wind, not even a slight breeze. For all of 5 minutes, it drizzled and there was hope of rain pouring on us, then it quickly disappeared.
The last 5km was slow and painful. We all had run longer distances than this in the past, but why was it so difficult this evening?! Oh, maybe because it was hotter than usual. Maybe because our bodies were not as fresh as they are during a morning run. Or, maybe because some of us had lunch as our last meal. For whatever reasons, the fact was we were all craaawling. When we ended the run, we were hoping that the restaurant where we were to dine for my birthday treat could simply deliver their pizza to us.
Anyway, we did make it to the pizza place. We had panizzas and pasta over talk on running, LMFAO, Subit, and, of course, the bad evening idea that we will probably never repeat again. We ended the night with the best way one does after running in intense heat. We treated ourselves to a scoop of gelato each. I would’ve wanted 5 more scoops of the peanut butter ice cream I devoured, but maybe I’ll reserve that for 37 years old or 50km, whatever comes first.
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Thanks to everyone who made the birthday weekend extra special. Received some awesome gifts from loved ones. One of my favorites was from TBR Jr. He kept on bugging me the entire week to buy him a box of silver paper clips. Turns out, it was for my own birthday surprise: a bull made of paper clips!
There was a lot of work cut out for us this Labor Day holiday! Friends and I decided to head South for an easy brick session at Nuvali. (“Brick” is a bike then run training session.) It was to be my first brick this year (if you don’t count Tri United 1).
When we arrived at Evoliving Center, the parking lot was packed with bikers. No surprise that there were a lot of us today since it was a wonderful day for a ride.
– Me and Maricel Pangilinan. Anthony in the background busy tweeting –
– Fernando, Jun Cruz, Ton Gatmaitan, and Jake de Guzman –
– Team Tribe’s Ariel Arriola, TBRDM alumni and NYCM 2011 Finishers Gene Tamesis and Rico Manuel –
As we prepared to take off, my new boyfriend, the Shiv, and I got a little bit jittery as we’re still in the getting-to-know-you stage. I’m still adjusting to him and vice versa. (Wow, this Shiv of mine is pretty popular. So many people, mostly middle-aged men want to see or touch him. Good thing I’m not the jealous type. tsk tsk.)
Thankfully, the entire ride was smooth and safe for me despite my worries. It was actually an easy, fun, and scenic bike ride throughout Nuvali. The steep ascents were nerve wracking, but conquering them for the first time on a bike was an amazing experience. For a moment, I actually felt like I was “taming” the Shiv just as Coach Andy Leuterio had advised that I would.
We ran a quick 20 minute run under the intense heat. Half the time I was wondering why I put myself through all this, but a little part of me enjoyed all the suffering. Perfect way to commemorate Labor day I think!
