Category Archives: Race Reports

There’s one race that the kids and I look forward to every year. It’s the Mommy Milkshake Run!

Yesterday, over 400 parents and kids trooped over to Mercato Centrale at Bonifacio High Street for some 3k and 5k running action and to show their support for breastfeeding.  Spotted there were active families and friends…

– Christine and Paco Sandejas and kids –

– Patricia and Vince Hizon and kids –

– breastfeeding advocate, Abbie Yabot, with husband Mike (not in pic) and her family –

Plus mommy friends and their kids…

– Mommy Power!  Gigi (Fit Mommy) and my “twin sis” Jaimie carrying their kids. That’s tougher than a 42k! –

– The Janeo Family: Gab, Mike, and Lola. Missing in pic: Mommy Macel! –

– The Jao Family (Missing in pic: Daddy Jayvee –

Last but not the least, race organizer and my dearest Sis (who really should start running already)…

– Janice, bro-in-law Gary V., and kids –

As for The Bull Runner family, oh, the kids and I were present too even if hubby was off to the beach over the weekend.

The morning started out a bit slow and gloomy for us.  It was quite tough to drag the kiddos out of bed, there was an eerie silence in the car and not the usual chatting and shouting, Li’l Miss Bull Runner got cranky after she complained that I was “taking too many photos of her,” and I was just too exhausted from the 21k in such hot and humid weather the day before.

– To think they were so excited about this race! Check out that fake smile and frown! –

– Could they have been any more irritable? –

Before we could rant any further, the race started.  There were a few who were serious about racing (my friend ultramarathoner, Toto, was keen on winning the 5k…and he did!) but most were out there to just have serious fun.

The Bull Runner family couldn’t have walked any slower. I was contemplating on replacing Bull with Turtles, Snails, or even Sloths when I had another idea. A few meters into the race, I declared to the kids: Finishers of this race gets a new cheap toy later! (Yes, the word cheap found its way in there!) I saw Li’l Miss Bull Runner’s eyes light up. Then, I made a second announcement: Winner of the race gets an extra cheap toy, too! Before I could finish, the two were gone and had charged ahead just like little bulls!

– Ready…Set…Go! –

– Li’l Miss TBR with her cousin –

– They had a blast… –

– …and a tough workout too –

– Bonding time! –

During the race, naughty Li’l Miss Bull Runner would entertain herself by taunting her kuya…

– Caught in the act –

Spin like crazy to make herself dizzy, and…

– Whooopeee! –

…Just like Mommy taught her, Li’l Miss Bull Runner would cool herself down at the water station just like the pros do…

…and again…

Both crossed the finish at the same time. (Thank God because this Mom plays no favorites so they both enjoyed the same reward later in the day!) This was truly a fun and memorable bonding experience for us.

We dropped by Mercato Centrale for Mommy Milkshake’s post race activities and to shop for food of course (brazo de mercedes and cupcakes…yum!), but had to leave before the mommy talks and kiddie activities which we heard were a lot of fun.

Congratulations to Mommy Milkshake Run! Until the next one!

The rains didn’t stop me from running at the NBA Fit Run this morning and it turns out neither did it stop all 6,000 runners that showed up.  Organized by Runrio, the NBA Fit Run was another well-organized race event where everything from the course to marshals and hydration stations were provided.

This was definitely a memorable race for me for three reasons:

(1) First 21k after injury. It was the first time I reached 21k again after my injury last May 22.  Woohoo!  I still have a long way to go to get back into tiptop shape, but I’m quite satisfied with my performance.  After all, my goal was just to finish without pain!  According to my Garmin, my time was 2:20 for 21.3 km at a pace of 6:35/km.  Easy does it. Speed will come in time.

(2) Start of training. This was the first run which officially started my training for New York City Marathon.  If I just wasn’t stingy, I would’ve treated my friends for breakfast just because of this.  Too bad, I am. Hah!

Last but not the least…

(3) I met Coach Spo! I kid you not. I am Coach Erik Spoelstra‘s biggest fan.  And, any woman who contests this will  be challenged to a road race!  This isn’t a silly highschool crush.  I truly admire Coach Spo for his work ethic on the court and his efforts to go back to his Filipino roots and give back.  He inspires you to be a better person, a better Filipino.

After our 21k, Jun and I wasted no time in heading over to the awarding to just catch a glimpse of Coach Spo from afar.  I told Jun I’d be happy to just see him if it was too crowded. Sigh.

When we got to the stage, by some stroke of luck—and a lot of good connections (Thank you Coach Rio, Angel, and Ton of Gatorade!)—I got called up onstage.  It was a scene that made me want to burst out in laughter.  There I was, little ol’ me, squeezing my way into the awarding with the heads of NBA Fit, Coach Rio, Air 21, and Coach Spo. I bet the world was wondering what the hell I was doing there, but hey I didn’t mind: I was there to meet Coach Spo and if he didn’t come down from the stage to see me then I would go up!

With a huge grin on his face, Coach Rio introduced us. The rain stopped, clouds parted to let the sun shine in on us, and then Coach Spo and I shook hands.  After some quick chitchat, I left the stage feeling like I had won the race!  Who cares about pace and personal records when you’ve got Spo?!

Okay, I have to admit.  When we shook hands, I was screaming like a highschool girl in my mind!

The sun was covered by clouds today, but it was bright and happy at Sun Cell’s Fun Run at Bonifacio Global City this morning.  With the huge set up, the Sun Fun Run looked like a major race that was just as well-organized (or even better) than other public races, but this was actually a corporate affair.  It was part of Sun’s annual sports fest for its over 5,000 employees.  Wow, they sure know how to keep their people fit and healthy!

– with serious runners from Sun Cell: Charles Lim, Business Unit head, and Ricky Pena, SVP for Postpaid Marketing –

I was fortunate enough to be invited to join the run this morning.  I ran 5k since I’m also running the NBA Fit 21k tomorrow.  According to my Garmin, I ran 5km at 5.23 min/km finishing at 27 mins 18 seconds.  It was the first time I ran fast after being injured for 2 months…and boy did I love it!

After the race, I made new friends from Sun (and tried to convince two of them to join TBR Dream 2012) and then led the oath taking for the start of Sun’s Sports Fest.  Thanks to Sun for the opportunity to be part of their event!

I heard Laguna Phuket International Marathon was a huge success. I’m still pounding my head against the wall for getting injured weeks before the race, but hey there’s no point in crying over spilled milk, or in this case, a missed international 42k race in paradise which my legs were absolutely ready for…tsk tsk.

Overcast skies and a gentle sea breeze made perfect running weather for the Laguna Phuket International Marathon last June 12, 2011.  It was the marathon’s biggest-ever field in its six-year history, with some 5,000 runners from 45 countries signed up for a full marathon, half marathon, 10.5 km run, 5 km Community Charity Walk or a 2 Km Kids’ Run.

The 42km winner for men was Russian Vsevelod Khudyakov who finished 2:33:51.  Would you believe he ran the 42km just 24 hours after arriving in Phuket from Russia to make a last-minute race registration?  Winner of the women’s marathon was Mari Kauri of Finland with a time of 03:30:46.

Spotted in the race were Filipino runners!  (I checked results and there were only 6 male runners in the 42km.  Next year there should be 1 vindictive female, right? Hah!) Here’s a photo sent by the race organizer capturing Pinoys leaving the monks behind…

Race: Brooks Run Happy
Date: 22 May 2011
Place: Bonifacio Global City
Organizer: Adrenaline Multisport Group | Thumbie Remigio

Rating:

Good Job:
– very attractive and high quality singlet (I vote for the Brooks singlet as the Best Singlet of the Year—so far!)
– good number of participants
– ample water (although this could’ve been colder)
– directional signs for 15k
– post-race booths and activities
– unique medal

Needs Improvement:
– clueless race staff upon redemption of race kit (they didn’t know gun start nor assembly area)
– late gun start. 5:30AM for 15k is late considering the heat. Even worse, race started 15 minutes late at 5:45AM
– no kilometer markers
– no sports drinks
– no ice nor sponges
– lack of marshals
– no mats nor ribbons in the race course. How did organizer ensure that there were no cheaters?

Brooks Run Happy was a relatively small race with 4,000 runners braving the intense heat of the summer sun at Bonifacio Global City. The bright yellow Brooks race singlet brightened up the road and stood out as the best feature of the race. Basic amenities for a race were provided such as water, directional signs, and road closure, but this was not enough for a summer race where organizers should go the extra mile to ensure runners’ safety and comfort. Gun start was a late 5:30AM and, worse, it failed to start on time. On the route, there were no kilometers markers, an obvious lack of marshals to supervise runners, and quite curiously no mats nor ribbons at any point in the course to monitor potential cheaters. In a race under such harsh conditions, the tepid water at hydration stations helped little to cool down runners when ice cold water, sports drinks, sponges or ice could’ve been provided. We hope that next year, Brooks will stage a much “happier” run.

———————————–

PRE-RACE: 7K

32K. Phew.

I had to do 32K today in preparation for Phuket Marathon on June 12. I must’ve told more than a handful of runner friends the past week that I was running my longest run over the weekend. So, you could’ve imagined my shock when Lit, my running buddy and sort-of-coach who has my Phuket Marathon Training Program locked up in his brain, informed me that: No, this was not my longest run because I had to run more next week; 35K to be exact.

Okay, one at a time. I focused on 32K this morning.

Jun, Lit, Ton, and I agreed to meet at 4:15AM in Bonifacio High Street to cover some distance before dawn and before Brooks Run Happy 15K which we all signed up for.  We ran happily throughout Bonifacio Global City along with some easy chit chat to cover almost 7k. Then, we headed for the race.

BROOKS RUN HAPPY: 15.7 K

We stood there in the assembly area drenched in sweat while all the other runners looked clean and fresh in their yellow singlets. When you have to do 32k in this hot weather, every early morning minute counts so you can get the mileage in before it gets excruciatingly hot. When over 10 minutes had passed after the announced gun start, we decided to squeeze some kilometers in and run around the area while waiting. We got 700m in then the race finally started.  Thank God!

The four of us ran side-by-side in the first few kilometers. Lit and Ton agreed early on to practice the Galloway Run-Walk method of 9 min run and 1 min walk. Jun and I first agreed to run at 5:45 min pace, then after a few seconds before heading out to Buendia, I asked Jun: If we go at this pace, don’t you think we might not have anything left to cover the 10k distance after the race. He nodded. And, with that, we slowed to a stop and decided to pace with Ton and Lit. All for one and one for all!

After Buendia Flyover, we found shelter under the shade of the buildings on that road. So, ruining our chances of hitting a PR (as if!), we ran loops along the flat and shaded roads there. Pretty soon, we found ourselves at the end of the 15k runners line. We even spotted Toby Claudio acting as sweeper for the race.  Talk about hands on!

We made a lot of stopovers along the course to wash up, rest, replenish our water bottles, and go on bathroom breaks. We also took detours at our favorite Starbucks branches where they generously provided us with ice.

We crossed the finish line and we didn’t even stop. We went on to run around Bonifacio Global City, straight to the parking lot to our cars where there were ice cold towels, chilled Gatorade, bananas, raisins, and gels waiting for us.

POST RACE: LAST 10K
The sun was beating down on us and it was a mental struggle to plod on forward.  By this time, Ton was off to breakfast, so we were down to three.  Good thing that Jun, Lit, and I find humor in our pain and over all the crazy things we put ourselves through for running.  So, while we were hoping that all the struggling would be over ASAP, we also enjoyed every minute of our long run together.

– Bumped into the Caliraya Runners in the last few meters of our 30k run. Nice meeting you all! Photo courtesy of Timo –

We ran towards any shaded area of BGC. And, we ran those areas over and over and over again. Sadly, around during the last 5k, I started feeling knee pain. I was compelled to alternate between running and walking and stop to stretch a lot. I knew that the right thing to do was to quit and rest it so I wouldn’t aggravate the problem. The boys were kind enough to agree to stop at 30K. We were happy with this. After all, we still have 35K next week!