Posts Tagged with: "Running"

Date a girl who runs. Date a girl who chooses to move than to let the world pass her by. She will cover the roads with you while talking about the mundane to the profound without gasping for air. She will notice and appreciate the little things: the extra cushioning of her shoes, the softness of the pavement vs concrete, or how much cooler it is to run 30 minutes earlier in summer.

Take her to a race and be there with her 30 minutes before gun start. You will watch her fret over her gels, and her hydration, and the portalets. You will laugh because she gives so much importance to running as if it was her entire life. But, you will learn later on that it only shows how passionate she can be about what is important for her.

Hold her jittery hands before you enter the assembly area. She will hope to break her PR at the half marathon, but do not wish her luck; she won’t need it after all the speed work and tempo runs. Instead, show her a reassuring smile that she’ll be fine and that you’ll be proud of her whether she finishes first or 50th. Let her know that you’ll be waiting at the finish line—or at least you’ll show up there in case she finishes several minutes before you do.

If you find a girl who runs, never let her go; register for a marathon and train together. Be her best friend on the road. When she talks, listen to the joys of her first 5k, the pains of her recurring Plantar Fasciitis, and the 1,001 reasons why she loves to run while pretending that you can keep up with her “easy” pace. In between stories, allow her to take a sip from your water bottle or remind her when it’s time to take a gel. Watch her glow when she talks about running; she is in her element. She is running by your side.

She is happiest on Sundays, the day when she can run long with you. She loves to sweat, and the sore legs, and, of course, the hefty breakfast along with the good conversations that follow each run. Always have a cold, wet towel in the cooler waiting for her. Surprise her with her favorite post-recovery drink, low fat chocolate milk, and if she runs an extra 5km, spike it with her favorite coffee from Starbucks. In her simple joys, you will find an abundance of happiness.

Propose after your first marathon abroad. Or drop the ring in her hydration bottle. Or run the trails together and end with a proposal at sunset.

When you marry a girl who runs, the only time you will see her slow down is when she walks down the aisle towards you. She’ll be a picture of beauty and strength in a gown with her running shoes upon her feet and all you will be able to think of is the thousands of kilometers you will run together. You will find the best running partner in her. You will talk about the household, career, and finances during your long runs. You will fight during your hill training and make up during easy runs.

She will never force your children to run, but they will learn to love it when they see her passion for running. She will make living a healthy, active life easy, natural, and best of all, fun. Expect a lot of laughter, sweat, and sports beans. Running will not be a sport, but it will be a way of life for you and your children.  You will never run alone.

Love a girl who runs and she will love you back the same way she loves running. You will ask her why she loves running and she’ll answer: Because I can. You will ask her why she loves you and she’ll reply: Because I do.

NOTE: I wrote this after I chanced upon Jayvee Fernandez’ blogpost Date a Girl Who Blogs. Jayvee was inspired by Date a Girl Who Reads.

The one huge improvement we made to TBR Dream Marathon this year was to hold a TBR Dream Send Off Party for all our registered participants, their guests, Dream Chasers, and Pacers.  This was held last Saturday, March 12, 2011, at Mercato Centrale in Bonifacio Global City.  It was a full house, er, tent!  (Big big thank you to Mercato Centrale our Venue Partner for the TBR Dream Send Off Party. I shall be back there next week for the black paella.)

– Runners with Armand and Mitch Mendoza, our favorite nutritionist/coach couple who led our FREE TBR Dream Weight Management Program. They helped numerous TBR Dreamers reach their goal weight during our training –

It was also the first day of redemption of TBR Dream Race Packs!  Each race pack included information about the race, a Thermos Bottle, and a P100 discount coupon to be used at any of the vendors in Mercato Centrale.  (Yes, since they were in carboloading mode, we didn’t implement any dietary restrictions for that day.  Kidding!)

– Photo courtesy of Jordana Queddeng –

The talk started out with Anton Diaz, a TBR Dream Alumni from Batch 2010 and one of the organizers of Mercato Centrale along with RJ & Vanessa Ledesma and Gary & Janice Villanueva, welcoming all the runners to Mercato’s new venue (near Starbucks Drive Thru and MC Home Depot)

I shared the story of how TBR Dream Marathon was born and introduced TBR Dream Team composed of Jim Lafferty (represented by wife Susan that day), Neville Manaois (who briefed our runners on the course), Jun Cruz, Lit Onrubia, Miguel Pizarro and our legal counsel Atty. Raymund Martelino.

– Susan Lafferty reads Coach Jim’s letter –

– Lit wishes our runners the best before marathon day –

Last but not the least, we had the raffle with tons of gifts from our sponsors!

– with Ana Alfelor of New Balance –

– Nikko brings home an NB Backpack –

– with Mariel of Nathan –

– Gift bag from Milo 3-in-1 –

– Lucky winners of Timex watches –

It was a fun-filled day for our runners to eat, relax, and bond before the big day and for us organizers to wish them all the best on March 20, 2011!

– Some of us from TBR Dream Team: my hubby, Miguel, Jun Bisnar, GM of our partner NUVALI, Neville Manaois, Little Miss Bull Runner, myself, Lit Onrubia.  Missing in the photo: Jim Lafferty, Jun Cruz, and Raymund Martelino –

Thank you once again to our generous sponsors.  Our partner: NUVALI. Our Co-Presenters: New Balance and Cherifer Premium.  Our Major Sponsors: Secondwind, Gatorade, Runrio, Photovendo. Our Minor Sponsors: Timex, ROX, Nathan, P&G, Omron, Thermos, Hammer Nutrition, Robinsons Supermarket, Forward Lean Running, Nutribar, Milo 3-in-1, Chris Sports, Starbucks, Kinesio Tex, Cadbury Zip, Health Food, Tiger Biscuits.  Our Hotel Partners: El Cielito, Paseo Premiere.  Our Media Partners: Men’s Health, Women’s Health, and Runner’s World. Our Logistic Partner: Creative Juice.

MERCATO CENTRALE is now located at the corner of 8th and 34th street, Bonifacio Global City near Starbucks Drive Thru and MC Home Depot.

Thank you to the hubby for all photos.

Wow. Huge thanks to Philippine Daily Inquirer for including little ol’ me in their list of Top 15 CEO Runners.  I am thankful. And, oh boy, I am so not worthy.

By the way, they said my 10k PR is 40.57 mins.  It’s a typo (although I seriously wish it wasn’t!).  Add 6 minutes to my 10k PR which is 46.57.

Click HERE to read the full article…

If I were to add a few more CEO Runners, I would include:

• Lance Gokongwei
• Ton Concepcion
• Patrick Concepcion
• Clinton Hess
• Anton Gonzales
• Miguel Celdran
• Toby Claudio
• Mark Ellis
• Duane Santos
• Chris Po

Below is the 42km Course Map for TBR Dream Marathon on March 20, 2011.

The race will be held in NUVALI, Sta. Rosa, Laguna. The route will be a 21km loop x 2 all on paved roads within NUVALI. Roads will be well lit but runners who wish to bring headlamps or flashlights may do so.

DIRECTIONS:

Below is the same route map featuring the hydration stations, key stations, and Dream Chaser stations.

• Hydration stations will have water and Gatorade.  This will be placed at every 1.5 km of the route.
• Aid Stations will be placed at every other hydration station (approximately 3km).  These will have basic first aid kit, petroleum jelly (vs chafing), salt sachets, Tiger Tail foam roller (vs tight muscles), and Bodivance (for blood circulation and to battle cramps) manned by a nurse.
• Key Stations will have more stock of water and Gatorade.  These will also have sponges, ice, bananas, Cadbury Zip chocolates, and Tiger biscuits.
• Dream Chaser Stations will have 10-14 runners who will cheer you on and support you to get you through each kilometer.  Most of our Dream Chasers now are alumni of TBR Dream Batch 2010.  This time, they’ve gone the extra mile—literally and figuratively—to surprise you with super creative and unique ideas for each tent. I heard some have prepared music, cameras, and tons of food!
• Others:
  • Hammer Gels will be distributed at the assembly area at 1:30 AM.  They will also be placed near the 10km station and 21km station.  We have allocation of 3 gels per runner.
  • Kinesio Taping will be available before and during the race to be placed by certified professionals. Until supplies last.

Moms complain about it all the time. Entrepreneurs rant about it. Runners often do, too.  Since I am all of the above, I have even more reason to ask for it: MORE TIME, please!  I need extra hours—just 4 or 5 more—to tick off all the tasks I have to accomplish in a day.

The past week, we’ve been busy preparing for TBR Dream Marathon 2011. So, I would like to sincerely apologize for the lack of meaningful updates here lately. I’ve had little time to stop and ponder much less come up with any interesting running posts due to intense preparations for TBR Dream, which is—can you hear 400 nervous and excited hearts thumping simultaneously?—less than two weeks away.  We’re pulling out all the stops to make this a better one. Hang on to your seats, TBR Dream runners!

I also haven’t had the time to sit down and write a Run United 1 Race Report.  In a word, it was fantastic!  As for my run, it was completely exhausting yet exhilarating.  Paced by my forever dependable and indefatigable running buddy, Alvin, I pushed my body as hard as I could in training and during the race to break my 21k PR by a whopping—drumroll please—10 seconds!  I covered 21k at 5:28/km vs 5:32/km in my best 21k last year.  For some reason, I find this hilarious but, at the same time, it’s annoyed me enough to commit to more training come summer time. (You hear that, Alvin?!)

– Alvin and I after crossing the finish at 1:55. I could hardly breathe. That was one tough yet memorable run. Photo courtesy of Chatey Retuerto –

With the lack of time, I’ve also let go of my plan to do Subit in May.  With my crazy sched, I’ve managed to squeeze in 4x a week runs, 2x a week strength training, and 2x a week cycling/spinning.  But, the swim?…pfffttt.  None.  I can only start swimming after TBR Dream which is too close to Subit.  In order to avoid possible drowning or potentially embarrassing situations in a triathlon, I shall target another race instead.  Triathlon, will you please wait for this busy running mom to get her act together?

In the meantime, I’ll pray that God grants me more hours today to get a massage. I got one last Saturday, had another one last night, but c’mon one can never have enough massages right?