Virtual Training Run

Wednesday, 1 August 2007  |  Running + Triathlon

Virtual Training Run

You are cordially invited to join an international (well, sorta international) group of runners who shall lace up, run the same distance (somewhat) at the same time (okay, that’s one thing we’re sure of) wherever they may be in the world.

DATE: 2 August 2007, Thursday

TIME: 4:30 A.M. (Manila Time)

DISTANCE: 10 km/ 6 miles (or whatever you wish)

RUNNERS/ COURSE:

  1. E-Rod – Back Bay dirt trail, Newport Beach, USA
  2. HitMe – Quezon City, Philippines
  3. Photographer On The Run – Manila to Makati, Philippines
  4. o.O – Makati, Philippines
  5. Marga – Paranaque, Philippines**
  6. Steph – Balboa Park, San Diego California, USA**
  7. Gretchen – Sammamish River bike path, Seattle, USA**
  8. TRF – Kuala Lumpur***
  9. The Bull Runner (that’s me!) – Alabang, Philippines

Boy, oh boy, this is going to be fun! Will you come and join us?

* Thanks to E-Rod and Hitme for getting this started!

** Added Aug 1, 3:14 pm Manila Time

*** Added Aug 2

Attack of the Sniffles

Tuesday, 19 June 2007  |  Bullish Insights

Here goes the SMS conversation I had with my coach this morning:

Me: Hi Coach, do you think I can run today if I have cough and colds?

Coach: Mam, no. Take lots of liquid, medicine, and rest. Pls advise when we can continue our run. Tnx and get well.

Me: Oh, I was hoping ud say otherwise cos I wanted to run alone later. Okay I’ll take your advise. I hope am better by tomorrow so we can run in Alabang.

My thoughts: Grrr…I shouldn’t have asked! I should’ve just run!

Sniff Sniff

Five minutes later…

Coach: Mam, sorry I mistook you for another mom who does recreational running. Anyway, if the cold and cough are bad, no running. If mild, just run for maintenance of fitness, light session will do.

Me: Yey! Okay! I’ll do an easy run on the treadmill later. I hope I’m feeling better tomorrow.

My thoughts: Maybe I should speed it up later and drain the virus out of my system through sweat? Would that work? I hate being sick. Sniff sniff.

My Running Schedule Gone Amuck

Monday, 18 June 2007  |  Bullish Insights

I recall my perfect running schedule from May till mid-June and—with Whitney Houston singing “Didn’t We Almost Have It All?” in the background—I plunge into a deep dark hole of melancholy and sorrow for all that was—and what could have been.

Perfect. That would be the only way to describe a schedule that flowed so smoothly into my daily itinerary that finding the time to run was effortless and uncomplicated. Early mornings were MY time. I would leave while the entire house (even the sun!) slept and I’d return before the hubby and kids awoke for breakfast. No one would even notice my absence (mind you, for a mother of two children below 6 that is a rare occasion!) I loved my running schedule with Coach B and Annie during the past summer:

Monday: Medium 5:30 am

Wednseday: Heavy 5:30 am

Friday: Light 5:30 am

Saturday: Super Heavy 5:30 am

But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. With the start of school, my entire sched has gone haywire. Goodbye to morning runs as Annie and I have to get our kids ready for school, while Coach B must attend to coaching duties in school.

Temporarily, I have settled with a new sched that keeps me running four times a week—three are solo runs while the fourth run is on Saturdays with Coach B and Annie.

So, last Saturday, Coach B and Annie met for the first time since school started, but this time at a new venue—Alabang Country Club.

Alabang Country Club

– Me with Annie and Coach B before our long run –

Coach B must have missed us during the entire week because he surprised us with a host of new drills that we practiced in the wide open field of the club. (Ooh, running on grass—loved it!) And, let me tell you, I missed our group so much that when Coach B asked me how long we were going to run, I blurted out 1 hour 10 minutes. Was I sure about that? Naaah! But what the hell, let’s go for it, I thought. And so we did.

12k all over Ayala Alabang with running buddies who keep you on your feet—literally. How else could I describe that morning? Perfect.

Witnessing The Masters 10k Run

Monday, 28 May 2007  |  Race Reports

During my solo run/frog hunt yesterday, I went up against a sea of runners who were part of the Masters, Executive, and Corporate 10k Run. I secretly wished I could have joined the race (since I ran almost the same distance during training), but I quickly realized that this was the one race I was glad I didn’t qualify for—women are required to be over 35 years old. Well, I only have a few more years…gulp.

The race drew 80 runners and was organized by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP).

Masters1

Masters3
– I had to take this. I liked her running skirt –

Masters2

LIST OF WINNERS:
Men
1st Place – Rogelio Adenig 38:31
2nd Place – Joseph Rosete 39.28
3rd Place – Edgardo Pedregosa 39.55
Women
1st Place – Daisy Castillan 51:55
2nd Place – Rizzo Tangan 53:41
3rd Place – Doray Ellis 53:56
Men’s Executive
1st Place – Graciano Santos 45:58
2nd Place – Danilo Burdeos 45:59
3rd Place – Mark Ellis 46:50
Women’s Executive
1st Place – Doray Ellis 53:56
2nd Place – Ruby Dawn Allas 1:09:20
3rd Place – Chay Saputil 1:13:56
Male Residents
1st Place – Jose Mari Banzon 47:03
Female Residents
1st Place – Susan Lafferty 56:31

Source: The Philippine Star (May 28, 2007)

The Hunt For Dead Frogs

Sunday, 27 May 2007  |  Bullish Insights

“The sound of frogs croaking brings good luck!” That’s what my mother-in-law happily told me last night as we listened to the orchestra of more than a dozen bullfrogs screaming out their ribbits in her frontyard. Ironically, I learned this morning that if there is any creature on this earth that needs luck the most, it would be the poor bullfrog himself.

I ran solo in Ayala Alabang at 5:30 this morning. After a little over a month of running with Coach B and Annie four times a week, I welcomed the thought of running on my own again. I missed the silence, the clarity of thought, the freedom, the effortlessness, and last but not the least, the ipod (with newly uploaded old hed kandi music to boot!) Let me tell you though, I did have my apprehensions: Would I be able to run the distance without dying of boredom? (I think I had told myself all the funny anecdotes I knew!) and would I be able to motivate myself to “Bull run, run, run!” whenever I feel like I want to walk, walk, walk?

Before I could think any further, I tightened my laces and ran at a comfortable pace. Ooooh, I loved it. The day was perfect: the sun’s rays were kind this morning, the roads were clear, and my music selection was excellent. Yeah, this is the reason why I started running in the first place, I thought. With a smile on my face I continued to run when—WHOOPS—my state of runner’s euphoria was rudely disrupted as I skipped over a dead bullfrog! It was lying on the road with its insides spilling out of its tummy. I jumped over the poor frog only to discover its close cousin butchered to death in the same manner. Eeeew, it was a dreadful sight. Instantly, I remembered my mother-in-law’s words the night before and laughed at the thought of bad luck killing the bearer of good tidings. Thus, my run became a “hunt for the dead frogs.”

As I ran further, I saw more victims. They were ambushed in varying manners: a few were were squished in one area with guts leaking out, others were completely flattened, while the very unlucky few could no longer be identified. They could pass as black spots of paint on the road had I not possesed a discerning eye for dead frogs. At the end of my run, I had counted exactly 13 dead bullfrogs along the roads of Ayala Alabang. 13! Can you believe that?!

Frog
– 1 of the unlucky 13 squashed frogs along my route –

I had been so busy looking out for these frogs that, when I returned to the start of my route, I had timed in at 50 minutes and probably covered around 8k (more than enough for what should have been a light run!) No time for fatigue or boredom for me! It turns out that these frogs—croaking or not—can bring some luck (or more like distractive entertainment) after all!