Category Archives: Bullish Insights

During the holidays, hubby and I, together with the winners of the Chi Running contest, met up for two 2-hour sessions of Chi Running with Lit Onrubia at Bonifacio High Street.

– Class Picture: Drew & Angela, Emilee & Eric (Running Beyond Air), Macky & Iah, and Lit. My partner, the hubby, took the photo –

During the two sessions, Lit gave us a background on Chi Running: how it began with its founder, Danny Dreyer, its basic principles and benefits. Lit said that Chi Running focused on three main principles:

1) needle/cotton approach – power comes from the core and the rest of the body remains relaxed during a run,

2) work with nature – allow gravity to propel your body forward, and

3) natural progression – one doesn’t become a master of Chi Running overnight but will learn it through consistent practice and application.

CHI TALK

Lit’s talk was clear, comprehensive, and very enlightening. Once a university professor, he was very articulate and professional during the session, yet he maintained an informal, light, and fun atmosphere throughout the class.

He demonstrated the basic starting form for Chi Running and emphasized the following:

1) Get aligned

2) Engage your core

3) Create balance, and for the exciting part and one that Chi Running is known for…

4) Fall forward

He then asked us to do a number of drills to help us learn how to practice the needle/cotton approach and how to fall forward with a post as our partner. In the beginning, the drills felt awkward and elicited giggles among us, but all these made much more sense when we went out for a run.

ROAD TEST

In the first session, we ran easy around Bonifacio High Street applying everything we learned. Lit would focus on each one of us at a time, correcting our form, reminding us to focus on our feet all the time.

The 2nd run session was much more fun as speed was involved. We ran down a slight downhill, learning to lean forward in order to increase the pace without feeling spent. By pairs, Lit would run along with us, reminding us to open our hips and push our arms backward. We also learned how to run at a consistent cadence, no matter the speed by adjusting our stride.

MY THOUGHTS ON CHI

This is not a panacea for all your running problems.  And I don’t think Lit nor its founder, Danny Dreyer, ever claims it to be.  One doesn’t also get the perfect Chi Running form overnight.  It takes patience and practice, not just during the sessions, but long after the lessons end.

Is it worth it?  I would say yes if you give high importance to your running.  To me, anything that can help me improve in my beloved sport and prevent injury is worth my attention.  It already made a world of difference in my Cebu Half Marathon, where it was definitely Lit’s teaching that helped me run my descents with less fear and more ease so that I broke my PR.

During one run last December, I was fortunate enough to experience the zen-like feeling of Chi Running where I just focused on my feet, relaxed the rest of the body, and I truly felt one with the road and the wind pushing from behind. The leaves rolled forward along with my feet, and as I watched them sweep past me, I took a deep breath and recalled the reason why I fell in love with running in the first place. With Chi running, I can only look forward to more experiences like this.

INTERESTED IN LEARNING CHI RUNNING?

1) RUNNR ACADEMY will have its 1st CHI RUNNING CLINIC on January 20, 2010 (Wednesday), 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM at the Activity Area fronting RUNNR. Click HERE to download details.

2) New Balance will have its own sessions too.

3) For independent sessions with Lit Onrubia, contact him at 0917-537-6870 or lit.onrubia@gmail.com

Not many of you know that, shortly after our plane touched down from Cebu and landed in Manila, my tummy let out a big yelp. Woah, what was that? I thought. Then, it did it again. By the 5th time, still in my plane seat, I knew that I had already caught the stomach flu virus that attacked my daughter while we were in Cebu. Less than an hour later, at home, all the food I had devoured from Christmas to the Cebu Marathon carbo loading party was leaping out of my mouth and dropping into the toilet bowl before me.

Amidst the pain, I managed to think: Thank God it happened after the race. Thank God I didn’t have to vomit in the airplane. Thank God I finally lost all the excess holiday weight! Woohoo! After all the words of gratitude, my gastroenteritis, which began only after I got amoebiasis after Animo Triathlon, began to attack and the pain increased in magnitude.

I felt like my insides were being squished, stretched, and turned inside and out. (Almost the same feeling I got when I was at the hotel room caring for my ill daughter in Cebu and the hubby, who was at the lobby with my son, texted to say he spotted Marc Nelson.) For some time, I tried to bear the pain, but my husband rushed me to the ER at 11:30 PM when I was crying in pain and there were no more tears falling from my eyes. I was severely dehydrated as I was expelling even Gatorade, the only thing I was taking in.

By 2 AM, after meds and IV, I was discharged. By the following day, I was fine. Thank God for the nth time.

Needless to say, I haven’t had a single run since Cebu. No more Gastroenteritis, but not being able to run the past few days is another bug I’m trying to get rid of. It’s a little bit worse than the former as it can temporarily lead to bad behavior, or worse insanity.

Today, I hope to get a good, easy 10k run in with Alvin. If I’m fine after, then it’s back to regular programming. After all, there’s not much time to spare with Condura just around the corner.

Our Cebu adventure started Jan. 8, Friday until Cebu Marathon day on Jan 10., Sunday. Hubby, the kids, and I together with good friend and TBR Magazine photographer, Ben Chan of Photovendo and his assistant, Kevin, flew out of Manila first thing Friday morning.

MARRIOTT CEBU CITY

We parked our bags at Marriott Cebu City Hotel, our home for the next three days. The kids gave their immediate approval of the hotel upon seeing that the room was clean, cold, and, last but not the least, it had a tub in the bathroom!

Of course, later on, they took a dip in the pool, too.

RACE KIT REDEMPTION

After lunch in Ayala Center and a bit of shopping (really just a mad hunt for bubble bath soap), we headed to Ayala Center’s Active Zone to claim our race kits for Cebu Marathon.

We claimed our race kit in as little as 1 minute, perhaps even less. But, we stayed for over 30 minutes chatting with Cebuano runners, mostly the warm and welcoming Cebu Executive Runners club. It was nice to meet John Pages again, who I first met at QCIM, and Meyrick J., the race organizers of the marathon. I also met other runners like Kenneth and Annie, and chatted with Hearty, the coach of Dr. Yong and Donna Cruz, and Pam of Timex. Soon after, we were invited by no less than Ironman Camsur 70.3 Filipino elite champion and my Ateneo batchmate, Noy Jopson, for the best ice cream ever: Gelatissimo ice cream. Aaah, to die for! (Good thing they have a new branch at GB 5 already!)

– with John Pages, hubby, Meyrick J., Noy Jopson, Kenneth, Annie and the kids –

– non-stop chatting with Pam of Timex, Noy Jopson, hubby, myself, Ben Chan with our new best friend, Gelatissimo ice cream –

R.O.X. CEBU, AYALA CENTER

We also dropped by the brand spankin’ new branch of R.O.X. also in the Active Zone of Ayala Center. It was a little bit smaller than the humongous branch in Bonifacio High Street, but it had the same outdoorsy, laid-back feel. Its second floor was still being constructed.

The noticeable difference with this store was the various sections for each sport. So, it now had a RUN section. How cool is that? I saw someone there who looked very familiar…

– See ME above ME? How cool is that? –

– TBR photos climbing up the stairs. RUN RUN RUN indeed! –

– Didn’t know it felt so good to be a mural –

CARBO LOADING PARTY AT AYALA CENTER

All Cebu Marathon runners were invited to the carbo loading party on Friday, 6pm in Ayala Center. It was obviously a well-planned event with runners given tickets to claim their carbo meals from various restaurants, such as Friday’s or The Gustavian, and dining under the night sky with entertainment from a band, race briefing from the organizers, inspiring talks and tips from speakers like Coach Rio and Dr. Yong Larrazabal, plus viewing of the inspiring Spirit of the Marathon video. Cebuano runners really know how to party!

– with Jane-Jane of Leona’s, Annie (fitness program director of Holiday Gym & Spa), Amale (super athlete mommy and Noy’s better half), Bro. Carlos, and Noy Jopson –

– with lawyer, broadcaster, runner and blogger Haide Acuna. Check out her blog: marathonfoodie.blogspot.com –

– with Joe and his friends. I’m seated beside Monsignor Joseph Tan. Yes, he’s a runner, too! –

– with Annie and the Ong family of the popular Cebuano bakery, Leonas. Yum yum! –

– with another running mommy, Jing and her daughter. Not in pic is her sub-4 marathoner husband, Mark from Cebu Striders –

– with one of the people responsible for the growth of running in Cebu and better half of Donna Cruz, Dr. Yong Larrazabal, TBR family, and Bro. Carlos –

The last time I was in Cebu was over a decade ago. I was still a single, aggressive corporate slave working in a multinational company and we had a sales conference in Shangri-la Hotel Cebu. It was all about work, work, and more work.

As I return to Cebu (we leave tomorrow morning and head back Sunday), it’s going to be all fun; the trip will revolve around two things I love: family and running. The hubby and I will run 21k at the Cebu Marathon on Sunday, while we take the kids on a tour of the province before race day.

I’m not quite sure if I’m prepared for this half marathon for the following reasons:

1. My mind is still partially on Holiday vacation mode
2. I feel heavy (2 lbs heavier in fact)
3. I’m not familiar with the weather and course

But, I also expect to enjoy my run and have a whole lot of fun regardless of my finish time due to the following reasons:

1. My mind is still partially on Holiday vacation mode
2. I feel heavy (2 lbs heavier in fact)
3. I’m not familiar with the weather and course

Needless to say, it is for the same reasons that I expect to have a fantastic experience at Cebu. I’m letting go of the reins and listening to my body.  If it tells me to take it easy on my sluggish body, slow down, and enjoy the new sights, sounds, and people of Cebu on foot, then I will do so.  If it commands me to speed up because I’m strong enough to achieve my (ehem) secret goal, then so be it.  Either way, I’m going to allow myself to enjoy every moment of my first race for the year!

Looking forward to meeting you all, Cebuano runners!

TBR Jr. has been itching to run for the longest time. In fact, he quit all other sports last year—football, swimming, and baseball—saying that all he wanted to do was run.

For the past months, I had been searching for a kid’s run club for my boy to join so he could run with other kids his age. Unfortunately, the only club I found—one at his school led by my old running coach—recruited only one interested participant: my son!

Fearful that running with an adult thrice a week would bore my son to death (no offense, Coach!) and turn him off from the sport that I’m hoping he’ll love as much as I do, I never enrolled him.  I opted instead to sign him up with the best running coach for this 8-year-old boy: his mother! Uhm, yes, that’s me!

So, last December, we had our very first training session: 2km walk/run around Ayala Alabang. It was an informal coach-mommy assessment of his form and endurance without him knowing; I kept it fun and light, just the way he likes it.

Oh boy. There was a lot of room for improvement: he bounced and tiptoed with each step, his arms were flailing, and, as with any boy his age, he started off too fast. After a few intervals, I was able to slow him down a bit and teach him about pacing. But, as soon as we crossed the 1 minute mark of running, he would ask in between breaths: “Can we just walk again?!”

With the busyness of the season, that was our last run. And, all throughout the Holiday break, TBR Jr., sounding like a true running addict who’d been bitten by the bug, would repeatedly ask me: “When are we going to run again?!”

On the first day of this new year, we finally found time to run. Plan was for TBR Jr. and I to run, while hubby and Li’l Miss Bull Runner would bike.

– Right before our run on New Year’s Day. The kids are alive and perky.  I just woke up from a 2-hour nap (is it not obvious?) and I was lethargic due to the excessive eating (the weight gain is pretty evident too. Argh!) –

I set my Garmin to an interval workout: 1 min 30 sec run with 1 min walking intervals, 8 repeats. With one punch on the start button, we were off.

By some miracle, my boy had remembered everything I taught him weeks ago. His form had improved, he ran at a good, steady pace, and even as we ran past the 1:30 mark, he was doing completely fine! Awesome!

Unfortunately, by the 3rd set, Li’l Miss competitive and aggressive Bull Runner started wailing. She didn’t like the fact that she was getting left behind. And so, our runs took on a much slower pace to accompany Li’l BR on her bike who, for reasons unknown to us all, did not stop crying for the next 20 minutes.

Amidst the background of my daughter’s bawling, my son and I did finish our 8 sets and ran extra to cover the full 2k. My son was smiling. And so was this mommy-coach.