Posts Tagged with: "Running"

Top of mind, this is what I wanted to tell the year that passed: Hey 2012, you suck!

Then, I browsed through my iphoto library for over a couple of hours and discovered a treasure trove of fond memories of the past 364 days. Instantly, I recalled what one of my dearest friends repeatedly told me: You’ve been blessed.  He’s right.  I am blessed—despite the hiccups, bumps, and bruises along the way—and I am truly grateful.

And so, dearest 2012, forgive me for being melodramatic.  Allow me to thank you for the wonderful, meaningful, and unforgettable experiences this year. You took me on great adventures from Cebu to Berlin, gave me new running and tri-obsessed friends, and took me from the edge of fear to building my confidence and mental toughness in a way I never thought possible.

Here are the highlights of my running life for 2012. There are so many that this is a two part series! Oh, and if you wanna read more about it, just click on the titles to read the full blogpost…

TBR Dream Marathon 2012: Last March 22, 483 marathoners were born. It was our 3rd TBR Dream Marathon, but it always feels like the first.  TBR Dream Marathon, where everyone who crosses the finish line is a winner. Sweet!

Tri United 1 & 2: The shorter distance of Tri United 1 and 2 at Laiya, Batangas prepared me for Ironman 70.3, not just physically but mentally. Bonus that these were well-organized and fun!

Click on these links to read more about my Tri United 1 and Tri United 2 experience.

– Tri United 1 with my teammates from Unilab Active Health –

– Racing during Tri United 2: swim 2k, bike 60k, and run 15k –

– with Jun and Coach Norman. Photo: Team Norman –

– with teammates Bic, Drew, and Augusto Benedicto, who would later on be the 1st Pinoy to finish Ironman 70.3 Cebu –

Ironman 70.3 Cebu: It was this race that I worked oh-so hard for during the first 7 months of 2012.  Training for it was challenging and, as Coach Andy likes to say, character-building. This race made me tougher, stronger, and even more bullheaded. Is that a good thing?

– The best portion of Ironman 70.3 Cebu. Photo: Lloyd Joseph Lawas –

– with my Coach, Andy Leuterio, who made me suffer in training so I could perform on race day –

– with good friend Ton Gatmaitan. We signed up for this race together unsure of what we were getting ourselves into LOL. What a ride! –

– with training buddy Jun Cruz aka Tatang and our good friend Philip Leroux –

Berlin Marathon: My 8th marathon. After the rigors of triathlon training, I gave myself the chance to enjoy myself with my first love, running.  I had a blast running Berlin with my best running buddies.  Truly one of the most memorable experiences. Thank you to Unilab Active Health for sponsoring my Berlin adventure.

– Got our race packs at the Berlin Marathon expo! –

– Our pre-marathon workout: tour of Berlin on segway! Crayzeee, but fun! –


– Freezing before the race start –

– Cheers! (That’s non-alcoholic beer by the way) –

– Showing off our medals with the Brandenburg Gate behind us –

Running in Prague: After Berlin, we spent two days in the beautiful city of Prague. We “ran” a recovery run…to McDonalds.

– We toured Prague after Berlin –

– We ran…a bit…there too! –

TBR Dream Team Run: Half the distance but thrice the fun!  This was our first TRBDM alumni run.  It was a team run for 3 runners running 21k together.  One of the most fun 21k races ever!

– Boys Night Out hosted the event –

Laguna Phuket International Marathon: I was lucky enough to be invited by Laguna Phuket to join their fantastic and scenic event. My hotel, Hotel Angsana, was the best too!

– The course was so scenic! –

– Finished the 10k even if I had diarrhea! Waah! –

Angkor Wat Half Marathon: A flat and fast run through the ancient temples of Angkor Wat!  I was speechless as I ran through the sites.  Truly moving and astounding. Thank you to Unilab Active Health for sending me.

Wait…there’s more…

Next: Part 2: Hey 2012, You Suck…NOT!

During our first Bull Session for TBR Dream Marathon 2013 earlier this morning, Coach Lit Onrubia mentioned seven books for those training for a marathon. Here they are along with his reasons for recommending them:

1) Running for Mortals by John Bingham
2) Marathoning for Mortals by John Bingham
Both these books are incredibly inspirational. Bingham reminds us why we run and why we choose to do a marathon.

3) Making the Marathon Your Event by Richard Benyo.
This is a very honest, intelligent and practical book about how to run your best marathon, regardless of your goal.

4) Marathon: You Can Do it! by Jeff Galloway
5) Training Programs by Jeff Galloway
Both these books will help you internalize the Run-Walk-Run method as the master, himself, teaches you how and why.

6) Chi Running by Danny Dreyer
7) Chi Marathon by Danny Dreyer
Dreyer explains why form is the most crucial element of efficient and injury free running. He also includes training programs for how to improve your form and your performance with each run.

7) Marathon, the Ultimate Training Guide” (4th Edition) by Hal Higdon
This book is fairly new. The 4th and latest edition was released just last year. It’s a “5-tool” book, meaning, it covers everything you possibly need to know about marathon training. Higdon’s presentation is excellent, frequently polling tips and pointers from at least a dozen other veteran coaches to arrive at best practices for training as either a novice or an advanced runner.

Friday morning in Berlin, two days before the race, we went on our last easy run before the big day. We took off from Cosmo hotel, which I highly recommend should you ever come to Berlin to run its marathon. The weather was p-e-r-f-e-c-t. It was cool enough to make us feel like a 5:45 min/pace was effortless without having us shivering like tourists from the tropics.

– We, and our running shoes, made it to Berlin! Woot woot! –

– Miriam, Angel, myself, Ton, and Lit –

– The streets we ran were runner friendly. They were clean, wide, and practically vehicle free –

We ran easy while chatting and laughing. Then, we came upon these colossal works of art in Gendarmenmarkt Square.   Now, what do Pinoy runners do when they chance upon great sites? They stop and ham it up for the camera of course!

– Ton, Miriam, and Angel –

– The Französischer Dom (French Cathedral) –

– Konzerthaus am Gendarmarkt –

– On the steps of Konzerthaus am Gendarmarkt, concert hall in Berlin –

We went on and ran through some streets which were marked as part of the marathon route.

Ran through parks…

Beautiful tree-lined roads…

…and even some beer for Ton!

After a quick stop over at the grocery, we had a wonderful breakfast of cheese, scrambled eggs with bacon (ooh lala), and yummy coffee in front of the concert hall.  It was a bit chilly but the restaurant provided blankets!  (How cool is that?!)  Perfect morning, really.

– Illy coffee is served! –

Later in the day, we knew we had to tour Berlin but we didn’t want to tire our feet. Lit had the awesome idea of going on the Berlin Segway tour!

We met our tour guide, Marriet, who quickly taught us how to use the Segway, then immediately took us through the roads of Berlin and its major sites: Unter den Linden, Branderburg Gate (marathon start and finish), Bebelplatz (site of the famous Nazi book burning), and Museum Island.  (Fantastic tour. Again, I highly recommend this!)

– Team Berlin on our Segways with the great Berlin Cathedral behind us –


– with the Brandenburg Gate behind us –

After our tour, we headed for some schnitzel and currywurst at Roccos.

– The boys try to figure out our way through the subway –


– Authentic German dinner for carbo loading –

– Ton and Miriam’s liquid carbo loading –

– Evening cap at the lobby of Cosmo Hotel.  We bumped into fellow Pinoy runner and renowned architect Manny Minana and his photographer wife Denise –

Previous: Part 1: Berlin Marathon: The Race Expo
Next: Part 3: Berlin Marathon: Lunch with Pinoy runners

Thanks to Unilab Active Health for my great Berlin Marathon adventure!

After a flight that felt like forever (10 hour layover in Doha, baby!), Team Berlin from the Philippines—that’s Lit, Ton, Angel, Miriam, and myself—arrived in Berlin last Thursday. As soon as we landed, we checked into our hotel, washed up, and headed straight for the Berlin Marathon expo to claim our race packs.

– Lost in the subway with the boys hauling our luggage. Thanks Ton and Lit! –

– Bromance in Berlin. Roomies Ton and Lit –

– Outside the race expo at Flughafen Tempelholf (say what?!) –

– Balloons (and German boys) to welcome runners! –

– Friendly staff welcomed me as I claimed my kit –

– We’re all in for Berlin! Ton, Lit, me, Angel, and Miriam. Behind us is the 42k course we run on Sunday! Woohoo! –

– That is exactly how the race will look on Sep. 30 with the assembly at Brandenburg Gate! Of course, I’ll be in running clothes and lost in the huge crowd of 40,000 runners –

The Berlin Marathon Expo was huge with booths of most running brands represented. There were a lot of official marathon merchandise from adidas, but I couldn’t find anything that interested me. Absent as well from the expo were the brands that I usually go crazy over: Cliff Blocks, Gatorade for pre-race fuel, GU or Hammer gels, and other items that I don’t normally find in Manila.

I ended up buying only one thing: Phiten discs which work very well for me to alleviate minor aches and pains. (Some friends used to make fun of me over this, but they freaked themselves out when, after trying, it worked for them too!) I usually buy the plain ones, but there were limited edition Berlin discs this time! Cool!

– Limited edition Berlin phiten discs. Pretzels and beer on my toes!  (Yes, I know my bunions are big!)

When we got home, I checked out all the loot in the bag.  First thing I always do is keep the important race items safe and secure.

– My check in bag, reusable BMW timing chip (It’s that tiny BMW chip on the left of the bib. So sosyal!), and personalized race bib –

– Official Finisher’s Shirt of the Berlin Marathon. Love it! –

– Most of the items in the kit. A box of pasta, Powerbar sample, chocolate. Most of these were marathon flyers I collected as well during the expo –

– adidas provided a mi time wristband which you can engrave with your finish time after the race –

– Anyone who trains and finishes a marathon has every right to receive this in the race kit. Yum! –

Next article: Our pre-race run through Berlin roads

Thank you to Unilab Active Health for sponsoring my Berlin Marathon adventure!

Last night, almost 80 TBR Dreamers attended the 1st TBR DM Weight Management program led by Armand and Mitch Mendoza.  The program—only for 100 lucky TBR Dreamers who managed to grab slots—aims to provide nutrition counseling and information during the next 22 weeks of training for the TBR Dream Marathon.

The Weight Management Program is a feature of TBR Dream Marathon that greatly benefits those who are serious about managing their weight. For those who are committed, the results by marathon day can be astounding. Believe me, I’ve seen how some past TBR Dreamers would shrink before our very eyes every time we’d see them. Some of them have successfully maintained their weight with running and proper diet.

With Mitch and Armand, I can rest assured that all of our runners are in good hands. They don’t only give each one personal attention, but they do this all for free! It’s a gift. And, I’m glad some TBR Dreamers jumped at the chance to learn from them.

– me with Armand and Mitch when I joined their Misibis Bay Fitness Escape last year –

From now on, the next five TBR DM Weight Management sessions will be held at the newly opened Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Bar on top of Muji and Gap, 3/F Gap Building across Fully Booked in Bonifacio High Street. I discovered this place only last week and I love it. It’s a little sanctuary amidst the chaos outside. Thank to Jay Ong of CBTL for allowing us to meet here. Special thanks for the free coffee for all our TBR Dreamers too!  (Ang sosyal!)

For those interested in signing up for TBRDM Weight Management Program, you can still contact mitchfelipe(at)gmail.com. Remember: This is only for registered participants of TBR Dream Marathon 2013!  For more info, click HERE.