Posts Tagged with: "Running"

Elite runners probably know their bodies so well that they know when to push harder, slow down, run longer, or stop. For the novice runners, it will take some time to listen and learn to what their previously indolent bodies have to say (I’m speaking for myself, really). For all types of runners though, it’s been said that monitoring your heart rate is still the best way to go to determine your pace, maximize your training runs, and track your progress.

For the longest time now, I’ve been using my hubby’s hand-me-down stopwatch that he received as a giveaway in a company sales conference. It’s not very attractive—it has a high-tech cum alien look to it—but it’s free so I don’t mind looking like a martian at all during my runs. Then, last week, Mayi and Jamike ran with us and Jamike was sporting his Polar. He even had the foot module on to track our distance and pace.

Oooh, I thought, I want one.

No, that’ll cost you, my conscience tells me.

You’ve worked hard and you deserve it.

You’re spending way too much on accessories.

Shut up, conscience, I said. Maybe my hubby can get me a second birthday gift? The following day, I drop by Time Depot at Festival Mall and pick up a Polar brochure. That evening, I show the Polar RS 200 to my Hubby and exclaim with much excitement “They are more affordable than I thought! I should’ve asked for this on my birthday instead of the ipod you gave!” Biting the bait, he replies “Yeah, if the budget permits then why don’t you get one?” I want to tap myself on the back for a job well done, but before I can celebrate my victory, my authoritarian conscience whispers “Isn’t it preschool enrollment next week?” Shucks, I nod in forced surrender.

So being the good mother that I am (don’t laugh), I shall patiently wait for the right time (read: Christmas) to buy my Polar Watch. In the meantime, I shall drool over and dream of the Polar that shall be mine.

– the Polar RS 200 with the option to connect to the foot module (when I get it for my birthday 2008 haha!) –

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! –

Many runners use a treadmill to get a good workout. It is one of the most effective ways to burn those calories without having to confront the outdoor elements—the harsh heat of the sun, torrential downpours, strong winds, dogs with no rabies shots, muggers—you get the point? The information provided by most treadmills such as calorie count, distance, time, and heart rate is an added bonus to runners who track their runs. Personally, I find that it’s a great way to watch The Today Show or Oprah without turning into a couch potato.

When I got home from my 45-minute road run early this morning, I realized I hadn’t touched my treadmill in two weeks. Mind you, in treadmill time that is pretty long considering they just sit there all day waiting for someone to hop unto them. Poor treadmill, I thought, it had seen more productive days when it was all I knew in the early days of my running.

– my treadmill gathering dust this summer –

With our running group meeting regularly four times a week, I have absolutely no time for my treadmill nowadays. Don’t tell my treadmill but I’m pretty happy about not using him because I’m completely thrilled with my road runs. (By now you should be saying “Oh that’s why she entitled this ‘The Velveteen Treadmill!'”) My worry is, when the rainy season starts and school begins, will I have the patience to cover a 1-hour run on my treadmill? Without the scenery, the wind, the chatter, how will I survive?

Oh wait, I forgot, there is always Oprah.

It’s the greatest high ever. To hear my feet beating down on the pavement in a drumlike, almost hypnotizing rhythm. To feel the wind brush against my face and smell its fresh breath kissing my cheeks. To reunite with Strength and Freedom, formidable friends I hope to encounter more often in life rather on these brief yet thrilling breakaways. To rediscover myself time and time again with only Bono’s voice crying out in the background “It’s a beautiful day, don’t let it get away…”

That said, you know now that I can get really dramatic when I talk about running. My first attempt at running non-stop for a measly 5 minutes was on the first week of December 2006 (yes, it was my version of a mad rush to burn calories before Noche Buena season arrived). By New Year’s eve, I knew I was insanely hooked.

I would talk endlessly about it with my Hubby—my record time, calories I burned, or new programs I discovered online—and I still do, but I know he’s getting sorely tired of this. My three best friends are happy for me but one is in New York, the other is pregnant, and another has just given birth. And my sister has willing ears but she doesn’t exercise so she cannot relate.

So who do I share this passion with? Who can I encourage to run (because, cliche as it sounds, it truly is the best way to get fit without spending a cent—or just a bit for great shoes)? And how else can I meet other runners (without having to manage a shy smile at the very few ones that I occassionally bump into while training)? With the click of a mouse, I realized I could reach anyone with a blog. So here I am.

Hope you can run with me (even just vicariously at this moment in time) and learn, together with me, about this fascinating world of running.