The much anticipated New Balance Power Run was held yesterday at Bonifacio Global City. Distances covered the regular 10k with special 16k and 25k not commonly offered in running events.  Over 6,000 runners participated in the event.  The race was organized by no less than Runrio.

The New Balance Power Run always stands out above other races for me.  For one thing, the unique distances of 16k and 25k give runners a new challenge.  The past years, I’ve been joining 25k and this year was no different.  A friend said “25k is a weird distance.  It’s not a 21k yet doesn’t quite make it to 30k.”  I say, it’s a distance in itself that needs no further explanation. I just love going past a half marathon knowing you still have the endurance to go further yet ending before your legs die out on you at 30k. LOL.

Another reason why I love New Balance Power Run is the size of the event.  It’s big enough to have a large number of serious runners participating, yet not too small that the event is deemed insignificant.  As Justin Kilayko of New Balance put it “NB goes for quality rather than quantity.”  I hear you, NB. And I think it’s a good move.

This year, the race was even better.  With more races being held at SM Mall of Asia, which I personally don’t like running in because of the humidity and mind-numbing route, I was delighted to run in Bonifacio Global City and out to Buendia again.  There were portions of the route, especially in the start, that were long and winding through the narrow portions of BGC while we navigated through the crowd of runners, but that was part and parcel of the event.  At least it wasn’t boring.  To add, with Runrio as organizer, it was a foregone conclusion that the race would be well organized.  The course, hydration, and security were well covered.  The post race acitivity area in the parking lot across Planet Sports in Bonifacio High Street was great too.  Runners congregated here after the event and it felt more intimate and relaxed.

Most runners ran in their New Balance singlets with “Excellent Maker” written at the back.  Well, I must say: New Balance really does make excellent races!

– Post race with the NB Team: Justin Kilayko, Roselle Andaya, Anton and Mia Gonzales, Planet Sports endorsers Bianca King and Rovilson Fernandez, and Ton and I –

– Thank you to New Balance who was kind enough to provide TBR Dreamers a discount for the race and a tent at the post race area. Here we are celebrating our finish! –

Congratulations to New Balance and Runrio for once again staging another fantastic event!

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TRAINING RUN FUN

I’ve been madly in love with running again.  Tokyo Marathon is on the horizon, but honestly, I haven’t been following a serious training program just yet.  I’ve been hitting distances from 15k to 21k on weekends with no A-races in sight until the end of 2013.  I’ve just been happily putting one foot in front of the other enjoying every minute.

For NB Power Run, plan was to accompany good friend Ton as he runs 25k, his longest training run, for his Seattle Marathon 3 weeks from now.  I had signed up for Seattle Marathon too, but decided last month to withdraw from the race with Tokyo Marathon coming in February.  Yes, my dear friends, I have finally matured as a runner and I’ve learned not to put my feet at risk of injury by running 2 marathons in 2 months.  While I know I could’ve probably gotten away with it, I know that my body will pay for it in the months to come.  Priority is to complete the World Marathon Majors for me and Tokyo is one of them.

Another friend, Maiqui, an Ironman who retired 2 years ago and is now getting back into fitness, told us he’d join us as well.  He only started running again 3 weeks ago and this was to be his longest run since Langkawi.  Yes, he’s nuts for ramping up mileage this quickly, but that’s Maiqui for you.

Good friend Jun, who hasn’t been running much since Ironman 70.3 Cebu, said he’d join us as well.

So, there we were, a future 3rd-time marathoner, a retired triathlete, a triathlete in off season mode, and super happy runner me standing at the end of the crowd of 25k runners ready to run an easy 25k together.  Plan was to run-walk with 4 min: 1 min intervals.

THE RACE

We followed the 4:1 plan most of the time making minor adjustments during climbs or downhills.  We stopped for toilet breaks twice at Jollibee.  The entire run was uneventful (and that’s a good thing!) because it meant that everything went smoothly for all of us.

For me, I knew by 10k that my training the past two months significantly improved my run.  I was coasting steadily along feeling strong all throughout.  It could be running the steep hills of Kapitolyo, the consistent training program I’ve followed even with no A-race in sight, or the more consistent and challenging swim program Coach Anthony has put me on.  I think it’s all of the above plus the fact that I’ve been enjoying every minute without pressure to perform.

I felt so good that when we hit Buendia, I couldn’t help but speed up.  I told the boys that I’d go ahead and run fast and slow down to a walk and meet them at every interval.  And, that’s exactly what I did.  It felt awesome.  I felt so free running down that road, one of my favorite roads to run on during a race.  After that brief portion of speedwork, I rejoined our group and we began to do our regular run-walks again until we reached the finish line.

– with good friends Ton, Jun, and Maiqui –

We high-fived each other at the end.  All with happy smiles.  Ton could now tick off his longest run for Seattle Marathon.  Maiqui hit his longest run in years and Jun in months.  As for me, I was quite happy knowing that I felt strong even after 25k.  I jokingly told them that finally, I felt that my body was ready for the Ironman 70.3 I had trained for last August!

– with TBR Dreamers at the finish line! Congrats guys! –


– Happy to bump into my “twin sis” and birthday girl Jaimie after the race –

CELEBRATION AT DRAFT

After the run, we joined Team Gotta and Fitness First for breakfast and, er, recovery drinks at Draft.

– Fitness First Tri Team and their beer! –

– Team Gotta –


– Most of the same guys in the same photo above but with game face on LOL –

The atmosphere was fun and it became an even bigger celebration when Kuya Kim Atienza, who only recently recovered from a serious bout with the rare disease of Guillan Barre syndrome, dropped by to celebrate along with us.  All in all, a great day to celebrate running and friendship!

Have you heard of GoPro before? These are the portable, high-tech, sturdy mountable cameras that can go anywhere and everywhere with you. It’s perfect for active people like us.

GoPro basically enables people to capture and share life experiences in a way that was never before possible. Before GoPro, it was very difficult for anyone to capture content of themselves doing anything unless someone was there to film them. Now, people can easily wear or mount miniature ultra wide-angle GoPro cameras to record themselves running, biking, or jumping off airplanes even!

Did you know that an average of three GoPro “tagged” videos are uploaded to YouTube every minute, and GoPro is used by the world’s leading production companies to help produce some of today’s most engaging film and television content?

I first encountered GoPro during a shoot a few years back. The cameramen attached the GoPro to a rope and tied it around my waist, then they asked me to run three loops around the hills of Antipolo. Needless to say, I made sure my footstrike was perfect. Second time was in another shoot. The director mounted it on my Shiv and asked me to bike around Ayala Alabang. I had just learned to ride on my new Shiv then so I tried my best to look as calm as possible…after all, every single expression on my face was being videotaped! The third time was the best, Dan’s Bike Shop handed me a brand spankin’ new GoPro Hero3 Black Edition a couple of months ago. Yes!

Recently, GoPro announced their new HERO3+ line of cameras. These new cameras feature a 20% smaller and lighter design and 30% better battery life than previous models. These upgrades, combined with an improved lens and convenient new video capture modes, produce the most advanced and easy-to-use GoPro yet. GoPro also announced several new mounting accessories that further enable immersive content capture during any activity.

Anthony Roman (Underbone Racing GoPro ambassador), Tamara Benitez (Surfing GoPro ambassador), and Brent Co (Media) with triathlete Joey Ramirez of Dan’s, the exclusive GoPro distributor in the Philippines for Adventure/Action Sports, during GoPro’s recent press con.

PRODUCT DETAILS:

The HERO3+ Black Edition – The Most Advanced GoPro Camera Yet.

• Innovative new housing yields a 20% smaller and lighter overall package when camera is installed in housing (waterproof to 40m)
• 30% longer battery life
• 4x faster Wi-Fi for quicker transfer and playback of photos and videos from your HERO3+ camera to your mobile device when using the GoPro App
• SuperView is a new video mode that captures the world’s most immersive wide-angle perspective
• Auto Low Light mode intelligently adjusts frame rate for varying lighting conditions
• A new lens for sharper video and improved image quality
• Price: P19,990.

The HERO3+ Silver Edition – 2x More Powerful.

• 2x faster image processor than the HERO3: Silver Edition
• Enables 1080p60 and 720p120 fps video
• Innovative new housing yields a 15% smaller and lighter overall package when camera is installed in housing (waterproof to 40m)
• 4x faster Wi-Fi for quicker transfer and playback of photos and videos from your HERO3+ camera to your mobile device when using the GoPro App
• Price: P15,490

New Mounts, More Versatility, Better Content

GoPro announced several new mounts, including:

• Jaws: Flex Clamp – A quick way to clamp your GoPro camera to a variety of objects. Use the optional opposable neck to achieve a wide range of camera positioning and adjustability. Jaws securely grips irregular shapes and super slim objects thanks to its innovative design.
• Junior Chesty (Chest Harness) – A smaller version of the adult-sized Chest Harness. Perfect for kids ages 3+, the Junior Chest Harness is great for capturing immersive footage of a child’s world from their perspective—from skiing and skateboarding to slides and swings.
• Head Strap + QuickClip – The QuickClip is a new accessory that now comes bundled with GoPro’s Head Strap. The QuickClip enables ultra-compact, low-profile mounting to baseball hats, belts and other objects ranging in thickness from 3mm to 10mm.

Click HERE to download the GoPro Price List.

GoPro is available at Dan’s.  For inquiries, contact Dan’s at 02-894-5110.  Website: www.dans.ph

READY. SET. SALE!

Quick strike sale event November 9 – 17, all shops, all day / everyday

Great deals on footwear, apparel and running equipment – perfect for everyday running and training, great for beginners or seasoned athletes looking for a good deal!

Secondwind Running Specialty stores:

Secondwind QC (branch 1)
see map and shop details by clicking on  THIS LINK.

Secondwind Ortigas (branch 2)
see map and shop details by clicking on THIS LINK.

Secondwind Greenhills (branch 3)
see map and shop details by clicking on THIS LINK.

For inquiries, call the shops directly.

See you at our 3rd Bull Circle on Wednesday, November 6, 2013!  Our speaker will be Coach Jim Saret. I highly recommend this talk for those who seriously want to improve their running performance. TBR DM Alumni Jay Caniza will also share his experience running his first marathon.

We are pleased to have ROCKTAPE during our Bull Circle. Here are the benefits that Rocktape is offering TBR-ULAH Dream Marathon participants:

• Free taping of one area for first 30 Dreamers at the Rocktape Booth during BULL CIRCLE 3.
• Beyond the first 30 Dreamers, taping of Dreamers using Rocktape will be at a fee of Php450 per area.
• Free taping services for Dreamers who buy a roll on the same day.  Discounted price of Rocktape will apply:  Plain Php525 and With Design Php575

On The Heels of a Dream is a weekly column by guest writer Obbie Suguitan who is currently training for his first marathon, The Bull Runner Dream Marathon, on February 16, 2014.

Depleted. This is what I felt at the end of my 80 minute long weekend run. I never meant to be hard on myself but with so many of my batchmates joining 21K runs in a few weeks, I guess I’m entitled so some envy and a smidgen of doubt. I am, after all, human.

Even as I was busy deciding where to do my longest run yet, again my friend Joanne suddenly invited me to do the LSD with her in BGC. With no better plan, I said yes. A finisher of the previous Dream and a few 21Ks herself, she one of a handful of people I can expect realistic advise from and not doubt. If some time in the future, I am asked for advice, I would tell runners-to-be to have a running guardian angel.

By the way, earlier in the week, I did my two maintenance runs and one extra with a friend from work named Jino. Training is hard but I’ve developed a liking for it. Now I want my friend, who’s a Muay Thai fighter, to be in TBR Dream 2015. Online, I saw that numerous batchmates took advantage of the long holidays to go on vacays. Even away from home, quite a few still trained at the destination of choice. Among them was new friend Resty who still did his LSD up north, and Jah who ran from Lukban to Lucena. There’s also batchmate Catherine who ran in Nice, France! Im sure there were others in different places – Nothing stops a Dreamer!

– Batchmate Resty in Vigan! –


– Batchmate Jah ran from Lukban to Lucena –

Back to my weekender, I really wasn’t looking forward to finding out how hard an eighty minute run is – even partly walked. This is hard work. I know I was properly warned but still… Anyway, we were here for a reason and there wasn’t anything else to do but go run. So we did. I suppose it was a good thing we started a shade past 7 am because it would at least simulate the time of day of the real run. Again, the sun took its severely unwanted toll. For me, heat is a big enemy. But it was one to be conquered. We went left, right, straight – pretty much through most of the roads of BGC. My bud and I agreed to do 2:1 and at certain points she pushed, cajoled, clapped, and urged me on while I ran, jogged, walked, trudged, and zombied forward. She had the wisdom to set small destinations to push me, “Hanggang kanto, kaya mo yan”, “fast run hanggang kanto!” and various other methods.

Finally, after countless street corner turns, stretches of what seemed to me like a scorching sun, and thousands of heavy-legged steps, we were notified via watch that our 80 minutes was done. Taking a few cool down steps, to be perfectly honest, I was trying to recall WHY I WAS DOING THIS. What’s an out of shape, middle-aged Dad doing trying to run this? Right now, because my mind’s too tired to be rational, the answer seems simple: Because I still can. Quite frankly, I still can’t imagine being on my feet for 7 hours ( it’s not a sin to be optimistic). But, I’m willing to do it one run at a time. On to the next!

– I did it! –