Newton unveils its running shoes for 2013! Newton Running shoes feature proprietary forefoot lugs, lightweight materials, and glove-like fit to promote a natural running gait.

I dropped by the Newton event yesterday to check out the bright and bright new colors of these fast shoes.

– Perfect colors for summer –

WHAT’S THE NEWTON FOR YOU? HERE’S A GUIDE:

Motion (SRP P8,495.00)
Looking for stability? Then the Newton Motion is for you. This Stability Performance Trainer is for runners who need a training shoe that can also work for faster sessions and even for racing. Medial posting offsets pronation to complement the Action/ReactionTM technology in the forefoot. It utilizes highly breathable, fast drying open air mesh, minimal overlays, and metatarsal stretch panels for a light and comfortable fit. The carbon rubber heel and high density rubber outersole will last the distance runner many quality miles, yet a pair only weighs a scant 9.3 ounces. The heel-to-toe drop is 3mm.

– Men’s Newton Motion –

– Women’s Newton Motion –

Gravity (SRP P8,495.00)
Designed for neutral runners, the Newton Gravity can be used as a daily training shoe for faster-paced tempo runs, interval sessions, and as race shoe. The Gravity features Action/ReactionTM technology in the midfoot and heel, a biomechanical metatarsal sensor plate, and enhanced midfoot flexibility. The open air mesh upper is extremely breathable and quick drying. A high density outersole and carbon heel promote excellent durability for even the highest mileage runners. The Newton Gravity weighs 9.1 ounces and has a heel-to-toe drop of 3mm.

– Men’s Newton Gravity –

– Women’s Newton Gravity –

Distance S (SRP P7,995.00)
Need the lightest running shoe you can get without resorting to a racing flat? Check out the Newton Distance S. Designed for fast-paced running, this lightweight performance stability trainer is a great choice for runners who need a shoe for short- or mid-distance racing and weekly speed sessions. It features Action/ReactionTM technology, dual-density medial posting, a lightweight, quick drying mesh upper, biomechanical metatarsal sensor plate, high-rebound EVA in the midsole, and a lightweight EVA heel. The Newton Distance S weighs 7.8 ounces and has a heel-to-toe drop of 2mm.

– Men’s Newton Distance S –

– Women’s Newton Distance S –

Distance (SRP P7,995.00)
Designed for more efficient runners, the Newton Distance is a lightweight neutral performance trainer ideal for interval sessions, tempo sessions, and even for racing. Featuring a highly breathable, quick drying open air mesh, minimal anatomical support strapping, Action/ReactionTM technology in the midfoot, biomechanical metatarsal sensor plate, and Met-flex enhanced midfoot flexibility. The Newton Distance weighs 7.8 ounces and has a heel-to-toe drop of 2mm.

– Men’s Newton Distance –

– Women’s Newton Distance –

During the event, we were introduced to current and new Newton ambassadors, too. I’m sure we’ll see these fast, competitive runners and triathletes in their Newtons on the roads or in races soon!

– Newton ambassadors: Don Velasco, Mark and Doray Ellis, Toby Claudio, Keshia Fule, Andy Leuterio, and Jay Valencia flanked by Runnr Executives and Newton’s exclusive distributors  –

Newton Running shoes are exclusively available at all RUNNR outlets: RUNNR Bonifacio High Street, RUNNR Alabang Town Center, RUNNR Trinoma, RUNNR Cebu, Toby’s Shangri-La Mall, Toby’s Mall of Asia, Toby’s Glorietta, and Toby’s CDO Limketkai Mall. For details, visit www.newtonrunning.com, www.runnr.com.ph , or http://twitter.com/RUNNRstore and http://www.facebook.com/Runnrstore.

Holy Week in Manila is the time when the city falls silent, life slows down, and people take the time out to commemorate the week in the manner in which they know best.

I love the silence.  The stillness.  The peacefulness.  It’s not just about being more spiritual this week.  It’s also about feeling more alive. It’s about slowing down enough to find the beauty in everything…and nothing.

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Before dawn, I left the house for a run while the hubby and the kids lay asleep. The city may prefer a slower pace, but I didn’t. I ran fast.

It was the perfect run. The kind that invigorates, refreshes, and makes you smile. The kind of run that exhausts your body but makes you feel more energized. The kind of run you do alone, but leaves you feeling more connected to the world…and to life.

I needed that.

– Cosmo welcomes me home after the run, while the kids still lay fast asleep –

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“Just as in running, in meditation we leave behind our daily concerns–the daydreaming, stress, and planning. We become very present. We enter into the now. By doing that, our mind builds strength. Our nervous system begins to relax. We develop appreciation and awareness. Our intelligence and memory becomes sharper. We are able to see the world from more than one perspective.”

Quote taken from Running with the Mind of Meditation by Sakyong Mipham. It’s a book I picked up at Runnr months ago and I finally get to read this week.

Have a blessed Holy Week, everyone!

As is the tradition of TBR Dream Marathon, after the race, I post anecdotes about the marathon that I receive in my Inbox from our new marathoners. My inbox gets inundated with stories of triumph, love, gratitude, passion, and empowerment that it’s too much of a waste if only I read it. Through this series of stories (one every week for the next couple of months), may you all be inspired to run a marathon or dream big in your own lives.

I’d like to share with you Fernando’s letter to me.  It teaches us that we can try our best to prepare for a marathon, but we never really know what will happen at any point before we cross that finish line.  A lot of things can go wrong and a lot of things can go right.  What matters most is how we choose to react to the situation and how we let it affect us.  Good thing Fernando decided to run even after he stumbled.

TBR DREAMERS 2013: Fernando Hernandez
Bib Nos. 334

Hi Jaymie,

You can’t imagine, how thankful I am to be a part of this great experience. I actually came very close to not showing up last Sunday.

About a week before the marathon, during my daughter’s sportsfest, I took a bad fall during one of the events. I joined a relay race and ended up with two very large wounds on my knees – as in kneecaps.

Looking back it might not have been very prudent of me to join the sportsfest in the first place, but I entered the marathon with the mindset that it would never interfere with family activities. Anyway, my daughter asked me to join the relay race and I didn’t want to disappoint.

So there I was, the day before the race with two very large wounds on my knees. I thought long and hard about how I was going to do the 42K with injuries to both legs.  The thought of even just the salt on the wounds was just as painful as the thought of the knees bending every time I’d take a step forward. Anyway, the defining moment was when I just accepted the fact that the pain was going to be there from the start and it would be a matter of me being able to grin and bear it. I kept “fooling myself” that my left leg was fine and that I could just drag my right leg towards the finish. The added incentive was the fact that I knew I would be miserable waiting for an entire year to have the chance to do The Bull Runner Dream Marathon again and all that training just being thrown out the window.

No doubt the pain was there, but the encouragement I had from my co-TBR Dreamers (alot of them I don’t know personally but they could tell I was in pain) and Dream Chasers really helped. I really wish I could thank each of them personally because, they really helped me carry on even when I was in a lot of pain and quite miserable during the whole ordeal.

Anyway, through sheer will, (I can’t even call it skill, I just grit my teeth) I managed (somehow) to cross the line at around 7:30, really far off from the sub six / sub 5:30 goal that I really wanted but it was an even sweeter win for me nonetheless, that I managed to even show up and finish this race.

Thanks again Jaymie for doing this. I’m sure you hear it alot but this event has really showed me how deep inside myself I can dig and just what I am capable of. When I first signed up for this race, I did it because I needed a win for my 40th birthday. I didn’t realize how big a win it was until I crossed that finish line last Sunday.

I’ve been blogging about running for almost six years now and, through the years, I’ve been witness to some great things in running.  How the community has grown from a couple thousands to tens of thousands.  How races grew in number from once a month to every weekend or even more.  How almost everyone is a runner now or knows a runner.   How the online community grew from blogs, forums, websites, social media sites, and more.  It is still growing…and evolving.

Today, I met Raymond Racaza, the founder of a new running website: Run.ph.

I will tell you now that I predict this to be the new and primary source of running information for the local running community.  I visited the site and it is everything—and more—of what majority of the runners now need and want. Myself included.

– Screenshot of Run.ph –

Here’s what you can expect:

1) Simple and easy to navigate.  The website is clean and simple.  From the home page, one can see upcoming races.  One click and you get the basic info.  Another click and you get all the race information you need.

2) Convenient online race registration.  If the race organizer allows for online registration through Run.ph, you can join the race through the site.  If you had already created an account in the Run.ph, all information will be stored and you will never need to input your information again.

3) My Run.ph Page.  You can have your own page enlisting the races you wish to join.  After the race, you can post notes on your thoughts about the race.

4) Share to Facebook and Twitter.  You can sign in via Facebook.  From your My Run.ph page, you can click on a race and with one click you can share to your friends on Facebook that you’ll be joining the race.

5) Run.ph Mobile App.  Soon, there will a Run.ph app for smartphones.

6) Results via text.  For some races, runners may sign up for text alerts regarding the release of the official results.

7) Directory — SOON.  The site will have a complete list of coaches, running stores, and more.

8) Articles — SOON.  Interesting articles from various contributors will be posted.

9) No ads.  Raymond was clear about this.  He will not be posting ads on the website for two reasons: first, he prefers a clean look with no “billboards” screaming at his readers and, secondly, the site is an advocacy; he doesn’t plan to make money out of it.  (Hurrah for you, Raymond!)

And, last but not the least…

10) Borne out of passion for running.  Through the years, I’ve seen it all.  Bloggers, organizers, and events that were fueled by the opportunity to make a quick buck from the running boom and how quickly they disappeared or, if they stayed, how the product simply fell or still falls below everyone’s standards.  But, I’ve also seen people—visionaries, dreamers, achievers—who are driven by their passion for running who wished for nothing more than to give back to the sport that gave them so much.  Today, I saw that in Raymond.

Raymond started running after his wife gave birth.  His weight had ballooned to 180 lbs as he ate along with their new baby.  He got into running as a means to drop back to his regular 140 lbs.  In 2008, he bought the domain name Run.ph.

This dream of his took him a full five years to create.  It is obvious that a lot of thought went into creating a website that is so simple and easy to navigate.  It is equally obvious that this is a passion project for him.  He doesn’t want to earn from it.  He doesn’t want to be popular through it.  In his words “I just want to give back to running because it changed my life.”

And, with that, Raymond and Run.ph get my full support.  Visit Run.ph now.

They say the Otterbox Armor series is the “toughest case ever built.” When I received mine last week and held it in my hand, I didn’t doubt it at all.

The Otterbox Armor series is waterproof, dustproof, crushproof, and drop proof. Here’s the following info on the box:

– Waterproof up to 6.6 ft/ 2m 30min
– Drop proof up to 10ft / 3m
– Dust proof, zero dust
– Crush proof up to 2 tons / 1.8 tonnes

My kids couldn’t wait to submerge my iphone in its Armor case and throw it against the wall. Waaah!  Fortunately, I hadn’t tested the case yet so I had a good excuse to hold them off. Watch this video to learn how to test your Otterbox Armor if or when you do have your own…

I’m so looking forward to using my new case! I couldn’t have received it at a better time. I’m at the peak of training and I bring my iphone everywhere—when I run, when I ride, when I swim, and also when I travel. With Holy Week break drawing near, I expect longer hours outdoors too.

Visit tenkiebox.ph for more info on Otterbox Armor Series.