Posts Tagged with: "Running Coach"

To say this week was slow would be an understatement. It was a dreadfully long-drawn-out and nasty five days for me:

• Sunday: 45 minute easy run in Ayala Alabang
• Monday: I skip my 5:30am run with Coach B and Annie due to soreness on my left knee. Coach B tells me to rest for two days. When the pain miraculously disappears in the afternoon, I hop on the treadmill and run 6k. Shhh…don’t tell Coach B! (Yeah yeah yeah, I can be bullheaded at times…or most of the time)
• Tuesday: Soreness on the knee is back, but worse. I’m convinced my meniscus problem is back—no use denying it, my knee snaps everytime I bend it. Ugh. Depression sets in: Will I ever be able to run again? How do I train for Run for PEACE? Does this mean I can’t eat like a slob anymore lest I gain weight? And, when oh when will I be able to take my new running shoes for a road test?
• Wednesday: Again, I am forced to skip my 5:30am run! I am in panic mode. I am turning into an evil monster. If I don’t run soon, I will devour anything that has feet.
• Thursday: My knees still snap…but I make myself believe that it slightly improves by evening. I commit to run the following day.
• Friday (today): I wake up at 4:30am thanking the high heavens for a painless knee. Woohoo!

So, I met Coach B at our usual meeting place this morning for an easy run. Just 45 mins. on the flat roads of Ayala Alabang. We ran at a slow, steady pace to avoid further injuries to my knee and kept it that way all throughout the run. Oooh, it felt so good to be back. I was comfortable, at ease, and happy. I thought things couldn’t get better than that, but much to my surprise, it did. It started to rain! It was my first time to run in the rain—and it was fun! As we ran drenched in sweat and raindrops, I couldn’t help but smile to myself. I was just in pure bliss. If Coach B had glanced my way, he must’ve thought I was crazy—but then again, as a fellow runner, I’m sure he knew exactly how I felt.

Now sing with me: I’m running in the rain, I’m running in the rain. What a beautiful feeling. I’m most definitely happy again!

“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?!

– 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!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mommies out there!  Motherhood is the most fulfilling experience in the world, but at times it can also be the most arduous, pull-your-hair-out-in-frustration, maddening act yet.  One hug from our little ones though and all the difficulties simply melt away. If only baby fat could evaporate as quickly…

After giving birth to my second child in 2004 and breastfeeding her for 15 months, I set on the task of losing weight. My goal was to get back to my pre-wedding weight—wishful thinking I thought but it was worth a try. So there I was walking at least 3x a week on my treadmill, eating the least amount of food I could (when I had enough self-control to stay away from my waterloo: Munchies and Stick-Os), and doing 2 sets of crunches and leg lifts 3x a week. By my daughter’s first birthday, I managed to lose a fair amount of weight, but I was stuck with the oh so popular last five pounds. Well, mine was actually 8. I owned this weight for more than a year—then I picked up running.

By the first 6 months running, I lost 2 of those dreadully stubborn pounds, but it was such a major effort on my part. One weekend of partying and bingeing would pull my weight back up instantly. I constantly had to watch what I was putting in my mouth or else all my exercise would go to waste.

Everything changed when I started training more seriously with Coach B. It’s just been 2 weeks and I’ve already lost 4 more pounds. In fact, the weightloss is too quick for me that I now have to increase my food intake—woohoo! Coach B says that, to prepare for our 10k run this coming Sunday, we have to carbo load. So in my mind I already have a list of the pizza and pasta places we just have to visit this week (On top of the list is Bravo for Chef Tiziano pizza and salmon penne.) After years of dieting and starving, “forced” eating to maintain my weight is certainly a welcome change!

– Me, Coach B, & Annie after our Super Heavy Run yesterday. I think I lost 2 lbs. after that! –

 Most runners will get by without a coach. After all, running is a very simple sport—put one foot in front of the other and go a bit faster than you would while walking. Even serious runners can just create their own running programs, train by their lonesome, and still end up winning a race.

However, as in any sport—or anything in life for that matter—it is still better to learn from a mentor/guide/teacher/coach. Someone who can impart all his knowledge so that you won’t have to reinvent the wheel. One who can motivate you, inspire you, and basically just get you out of bed when you’re feeling lazy.

My decision to get a coach was mainly because I was stuck in a rut. After finishing my first running program (courtesy of Runner’s World), I felt like I was running towards no particular destination. My next goal was to run a 10k but I had no idea how to get there. I tried a new 10k program (again from Runner’s World) but it was way too heavy for me. So there I was running my 5k with ease and not feeling any challenge on my body. I tell you, it was extremely frustrating.

Luckily, I chanced upon Coach Bernardo’s brochure for his running clinic during my son’s enrollment. I called him on his cellphone and impulsively registered for 10 sessions as soon as I dropped the phone.

Last week, the day after I recovered from a rather painful bout of intestinal flu, I met with Coach B at 530am for the very first time. I insisted we keep our run light since I was afraid of getting a relapse, so we talked for the most part and ran only 20 minutes. Admittedly, I was “bitin” but I didn’t want to push it.

This morning, I met Coach B for our 2nd run. To say it was great would definitely be an understatement. We ran for 30 minutes around Ayala Alabang and I had so much fun that time passed by all too quickly. He is definitely better company than my ipod shuffle—no matter how much I love that thing!

 – Coach Bernardo and I after our 30-min “medium run” –