IE8 | 8 MilesI remember last year when a runner colleague of mine reported for work with colds. He told me that he got it from participating in  a road race the day before. He quipped : “You see the race pushed thru even if it was raining like hell”. Back then, I couldn’t understand why would someone do such a thing. Last Sunday, I got my answer. I woke up at 5:00 am – “I’m gonna be late!” (I thought the race would start at 5:30) I asked myself, now why would I want to run today ? I have a deadline and I still need to report to work later and it’s raining outside-I would just end up getting wet … then I realized that even if it wasn’t raining ,  i’d get wet anyway, and besides … I haven’t experienced how it feels to run in the rain yet. The way I see it, if there will be only a few runners today, then I would have a better chance of winning that laptop. Before I knew it, I was already in the parking area near the starting line of the IE8 race. This is a well-organized race : THis is the first time that I saw sponges in a short distance race. There were  lots of food and even cheer leaders in the aid-station .. talk about feeling like a pro! But wait … that’s not all: they even gave out coke in the last aid-station at the foot of the Kalayaan flyover! I finished running 13.4Km (I was also suprised at the distance) at 1:23 on my watch. My shoes were wet but what the hell, nothing beats running in the rain! In a nut-shell, I would give...

May 24, 2009 Sacobia, Pampanga Crashed at 2000H when we got back to the tent in Clearwater after buying “dinner” in Parkson Duty Free (having had zero sleep from the birthday party I attended the night before) and woke up at around 0100H on Sunday. Tried to sleep for awhile, but hit the shower when I realized it was already 0330H. There was more than one person running on the trail that day, and there was only one bathroom to be used. Tights, shorts, singlet, Redrock purse, my beloved Adidas road shoes, which almost made me laugh when I remembered the post I’ve written around the same time last year. I swore that after the first trail running experience last year, I will never go trail running without the proper gear anymore. That morning, I only had one thought–one I learned the hard way: when all else fails: be one with the mud! The organizers wasted no time in starting the race promptly but there was a bit of a trouble when runners got “clogged” on the way down to the start of the trail. Someone even commented: “hanggang dito ba naman traffic?” and some laughed. Just about the right amount of good humor to start the race right   Runners Ready To Get On The Trail I was already holding a Powerade bottle but decided to get water just in case I’d need it. Running on lahar and river crossing was of course, part of the entire challenge so the first thing I did when we got down to the trail was take pictures! Hehe! It’s not everyday that I get to experience it, anyway.                                     ...

I woke up at around 4:00 am, did my usual morning routine and at about 4:45, I was already walking on my way to the base camp where I would be running my first 20k trail run. As initially planned, I would run this race on a slow, easy pace. (No thanks to my wet shoes) After the gun went off at 5:30, we ran about a kilometer of road before we entered the trail proper. There was a long queue of people awaiting their turn to start from the slight downhill slope before we could enter the lahar-filled bottom of the Sacobia river. During the first part of the race, I slowed down and grabbed my camera phone so that I could take pictures of the other runners while everyone was still “clean”. As I have always said before, at the end of any trail encounter, we would all have the same shoe color: muddy brown!       As we approached the first part of the river, I was happy with my shoes (I would’ve been happier if they were dry to begin with) because the water have not penetrated my Gore-Tex shoes. I was thinking how difficult it would be later on for those runners wearing regular (read: breathable) running shoes since I am sure that at this point, their feet would all be wet. Some of the runners were cautious while most of them ran along the wet riverbed with gusto, as if playing in the flooded streets of Metro Manila! I thought to myself: “Now that’s the spirit”. I rejoiced too soon: later, I have reached the part of the river that was about 6 inches deep and way higher than my shoes. You see, the thing about Gore-Tex...

A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. Hmmm … “rotating column of air” -> that would best describe the DJs  on the radio show that I am forced to listen to when I commute to work. I think those DJs are very popular with our jeepney/FX drivers so no matter which form of public transport you choose, you’ll end up listening to them everyday. It’s a good thing though that all I will ever experience is the figurative definition of what a twister is. (or so I thought) We left for Clark last Saturday so that we can meet my friend, Isko at the jump-off area of The North Face 100 to give him some of the supplies he needs for the 2nd 50k loop. The weather was very warm and humid that day that everybody was wearing summer clothes; I didn’t even entertain the thought that I might need to bring my North Face Gore-Tex jacket for the next day’s 20k trail run. And so it happened: it started with a drizzle and then when it got stronger we decided to take shelter in one of the tents adjacent to the starting line. We were all surprised to see that the starting line fell on the technical committee’s command center, ruining it and almost hitting the people underneath. It was like the entire structure was trampled by an invisible raging Mammoth! I think I see …mammoth tracks…!!!!   The next few minutes happened so fast, I remembered that the entire place suddenly turned dark and I had to run away from the tent I was in...

May 23, 2009 Sacobia, Pampanga Clearwater Resort in Sacobia, Pampanga     We arrived in Sacobia, Pampanga on Saturday, May 23, 2009, a little after lunch and went straight to Clearwater Resort where we reserved for a tent good for four people.   Clearwater Resort in Sacobia, Pampanga | Tent T-104   After unpacking, we walked about 500 meters to the jump-off area in Expo Filipino Parking Lot and checked out the place, as well as waited for Kuya Isko Lapira and his friends to arrive at the base camp from their first 50k.   North Face Sacobia, Pampanga | Start / Finish Line The clouds seemed perfectly placed high up in the clear blue sky, just before it hit. My brother, Bolt: North Face Sacobia, Pampanga | The Calm Before The Storm Unfortunately, we didn’t bring a waterproof camera or else we would have been able to take a footage of it. Just took pictures and a video of how it looked after the storm!   North Face Sacobia After The Storm in Expo Filipino Parking Lot 2 | May 23, 2009 We moved away from the tents to try and look for Kuya Isko, a short distance from the wrecked Start/Finish Line, as he had texted earlier that they were already near. Picture of him holding the Gardenia and Adobo we brought him. Haha! Kuya Isko’s return to base camp in The North Face Sacobia, Pampanga after the 50K distance covered. The rain has just subsided, and this is me wondering if the 10k trail is gonna be as muddy as the North Face Trail Running Event I participated in Talamitam, Batangas last year… “How’s It Gonna Be?” looping around in my head 😀 Some pictures of how the jump off area...

I just got home from a birthday celebration way up north and by the time I continued packing and decided to write this entry, I’m pretty sure the race for 100K solo has already started. So, let me go straight to the point because I have several other people to check on and a tight schedule to follow for the trip to Sacobia, Pampanga. I’m the youngest in the group and I find it ironic and at the same time, traditional, to play the role of reminding everyone in the group of what to bring for a trip. So, like an adviser during homeroom when a class of semi-buggers decide to go on a field trip, my things-to-do include double-checking stuff my friends have to bring! Nope, no image. Sorry, and I took the liberty of not making you go through the agony of looking at the actual list itself 😀 We should arrive in Pampanga later, 10am at the most. We have prepared food for Kuya Isko to eat: chicken adobo and rice! Yeyy! We will also be giving him a bag of Chocolate-Flavored Gardenia Bread when he leaves for the second half of his 100K solo. Last year, when I attended the first event in the Philippines of North Face Trail Running, my officemates and I arrived just after Kadangyan finished their last set, if I remember it right. Hopefully, there would be another group of musicians performing tonight, which I think would really be something worth looking forward to.   North Face 10KM Trail Run – Bib Number   I’ll be bringing along my gray Redrock Equipment bag/purse I’ve had since college (I don’t really know what it’s exactly called). with our trail running dog 😀   Well then, gotta...

This Sunday, I will join the TNF100 in Sacobia Clark, as a participant in the 20k trail-run. The last time I remembered being on the trail was when we climbed (or should I say “crawled”) Mt. Hibok-Hibok in Camiguin 2 years ago. That was my 2nd major climb with my friend Isko (he will be running the 100k solo race) who is a member of MESAU. I would like to think of this run as another day hike but without the daypack and trekking pole and executed at running pace, hehehe This will be the first time I will be trail running and frankly it gives me a sense of joy and apprehension at the same time: I am excited to be one with nature once more but pressured to finish the entire “tour” within the given cut-off time. I hope I can take a lot of pictures of the trail as I intend to bring a camera phone with me. I have already made a list of things to put in my belt bag for this event, among them are 2 bottles of sports drinks, energy gels(Hammer and GU), a chocolate bar, a pair of sandals and a donkey (in case I get tired). I hope I didn’t over pack J As with my previous runs, I just intend to finish this race and not set a PR since I haven’t been training properly because of my work schedule. In as much as I want to run this race using my old TNF trail running shoes, (which finally surrendered to the trail as we descended Hibok-Hibok) I will be using my Salomon Adventure Running shoes which I have owned for a while but have never used on the trail before. I hope that...

After what I have experienced with the previous race, I didn’t  have high expectations for this race. I woke up at around 4 and arrived at  Market! Market!  at around 5 am. It was the usual race day. I wore my shoes in the parking area and did some stretching; got in the mall to use the rest room and there I was,  waiting for the 10-miler to start. For the first time after a couple of races, this race started on time (thank God). The only other race which I could remember that started on time was the Condura 21k. Most races should be organized like this one: It started on time Lots of road marshals (so that no one gets lost) Lots of cold water (and cups) Powerade at the finish line I reached the finish line with a time of 1:41 (unofficial). It’s really difficult to set PRs if you don’t train-I’m just thankful that I still get the chance to run on weekends. Congratulations to the organizer for making this such a happy running experience for me. Image from...

Running is addictive … once you start, you just want to keep on increasing your dose. I remembered running my first race which was a 10k during last year’s VSO held at the fort.  After a few 10ks I ran my 1st 15k during Asian Hospital’s Run New and then my 1st half-marathon which was the Condura Race. I was actually planning back then on making Botak my first full marathon. Lucky for me, I had so many deadlines at work that I had to forego of that plan and instead registered for the half-marathon.  Had I been stubborn and pushed through with it, last Sunday’s run would have been a very painful memory. Me and my friend Ian weren’t expecting PRs for this race as I didn’t have enough time to train (my weekly mileage went  down from 38 to 0 after pacing for our friend Isko in BDM 102) and Ian is under the weather. So, we decided to aim for a finish somewhere between 2:15 and 2:30. We were able to finish it with 2:29:29 on my watch. Observations : There was a water truck in the Kalayaan flyover.  Sweet! Excellent singlets. I don’t  wear singlets anymore but I have to make an exception in this case. Lots of Gatorade at the finish line. There was also an awesome band at the finish line. The race started late.  It started at 6:00 am. Starting a 21k race during the summer months in the Philippines is not cool (literally). There were not enough water cups in the aid stations ; luckily I brought a disposable hand-held water bottle with me which I conveniently refilled whenever I reach an aid station. Since this race involves a lot of “turn-arounds”; they should have added...

      After almost half a year and four months of no physical activity due to my foot injury, but now I’m back.   At some point, my foot did start to hurt but whenever I asked myself the question: do I stop? The answer has to be NO. I’m gonna have to update this entry again later, but I thought it would be fun to post some goofing around after the race…   Find out how Kuya Eugene and Kuya Ian (being a bit “under the weather” cos of flu) finished their half marathon. Har de har har 😀  Music definitely played a large part in making me a bit more relaxed while I waited for them at the finish line! One of the hosts was right…it’s like Woodstock in a race event. I can’t remember who the musicians were but they definitely kicked ass playing their instruments! Definitely loved the one below....

I started running in November 2008 and until now, I haven’t had a sub 60 PR – so I thought maybe I might be doing something wrong. I knew I had to reinvent myself: * Shave my head * Wear short shorts * Wear Nike running shirt (with a lightning design, it made me feel like I was Bolt) – “Bolt, Zoom Zoom!” * Wear my Adidas adiZero (it’s supposed to be the World’s fastest shoe, hehe) Last Sunday’s Step up quarter marathon, sponsored by GMA Network, is one of the few better-organized races. I really appreciate the kilometer markings (since I don’t have a GF305). It enabled me to maintain my pace and helped me achieve my PR. They gave bottled water in the aid stations and they even gave out two finisher t-shirts when they ran out of bags! The only negative news that I’ve heard of was the long queue at the finish line of the 5k. This reminds me of what happened during this year’s PSE bull run. Oh well, nobody’s perfect. My next race would be the Botak half-marathon scheduled 2 weeks from now. This would be my 2nd half-marathon in six months, the first being the Condura half. I would have run the Greenfiled race but it was way too far. Too bad though, because I won’t be able to use the same running shoes, I would need to use my Asics on the half mary. Let’s see if the formula still works. Hehe! Some of you might suggest that it must be the training. Well, I trained a bit before the Condura half and then stopped. The next running experience I had was when we paced my friend Isko during the Bataan 102. That was my first...

So after trail running for 10km at The North Face 100 in Nasugbu, Batangas last weekend, I was thinking of swimming everyday like what I used to do back in college. I never professionally trained for it, just something I did for my asthma. Going back to that routine seemed like a lot of fun. Here’s another article I came across, the link given by my good friend, Tuper. Sam Murphy on correct swimming technique: Are You Swimming...

When all else fails: be one with the mud and it will save your life! Saturday Night : ma officemates picked me up and went to Chateau Royale to check the place out before claiming of race kits at 4am the next day (Sunday), and ended up in the hotel’s golf course — Evercrest. Tents were on the grass and people were camped by midnight (too bad we weren’t able to see the music gig for the event). Slept in the car and woke up at 330 to change and fall in line for the claiming of shirts and bib numbers. The race for the 10km run started at 0640H (if I remember it right), 10 minutes after the 20km runners. PACING! That’s what Irene and Jo kept telling me during the 16km run for One La Salle and that’s what I tried to do this morning, since I’m asthmatic and I’ve got to keep ma breathing and speed at bay. The first few minutes were awesome! Cool breeze, the-not-so-rough-yet terrain (haha!) and only around three hundred other people just enjoying that moment until the ground started to get really muddy and people started slipping. Rule # 1: NEVER run with JUST running shoes, wear TRAIL RUNNING shoes. Gawd (yes, learned it the hard way). I had to dig BOTH my feet into the mud just to keep myself from slipping and getting hurt (but still managed to always fall on ma ass hahaha!). My officemate and I were on the dangerous side of the trail (the side where I could fall off the cliff anytime) and he slipped and almost pushed me (back onto the trail but I could have gotten hurt anyway), so I thought if I had trail running shoes, I...

Endurance comes in all distances. FIND YOURS....

Slept at ma house (cos I usually sleepover either at Jo’s or at Irene’s) and woke up at almost 4am (cos the alarm did not work and I was supposed to be up by 3!). Took a bath and changed in 20 mins! Texted Jo I was on her way to her house and hailed a cab. It turned out that I texted her first before her phone started to alarm. So much for being early (haha!)   Crazy Grace – 16km: Vanity early in the morning! Haha!   We got there around 0515H and people were already stretching and jogging about as warm-up. Irene was not late (yeyy! we all gettin better at bein on time!) and waited while ma officemate changed into the jersey I brought.   It was my first 16km run (not 12, not 15!) and I was so scared I would have an asthma attack, especially because I don’t run and jog during weekdays. I did not train for this, but it turned out to be okay. We made good time (almost 1 hour and 50 mins — 10-15 mins just getting lost because we did not know where to turn and some of the marshals telling us to head back when we’ve only ran around 10km!).   Ladies after the 16km run!   One wrong thing I did was to pour water on my head when I felt like I couldn’t breathe because it started to get hot even if it just rained. Irene got mad at me (eeeks!) and told me not to do it again (yes ma’am!)   The ladies and ma officemate!   Saw a schoolmate of mine and we took pictures. Great, great day! McDonald’s for breakfast (haha!) just couldn’t resist those hash browns...

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Indeed, I have lost every right to complain or at the least, oppose the way of life, because my Redeemer lives to take away my shame. Read about Team Hoyt and watch the video because you will know what I am talking about. Don’t forget to visit their site (Yes, You Can!).   I can do all things through HIM, who strengthens me – Philippians...

  So I hung out with the ladies (Ava was home sleeping argh!) at Nike, Greenbelt (beside Powerbooks) to buy their stuff, went to Chimara for Joanne’s Santa Fe, and Irene’s NY Fries. Somehow, I got persuaded to run 5k on Sunday. Sometime before I went to sleep last night, I found out that I will be running almost a quarter marathon…!!! It took me several seconds to let it all sink in. I have an ongoing mild asthma attack (prolly due to allergies that I am yet to be aware of as I haven’t had my allergens test for this year). Hmmm … Suicidal? I don’t think so. I love life. Well, I THINK I love life because I’m about to let myself experience it at the speed of 10 KM an hour....

        Philippine Stock Exchange: Bull Run 2008. December 21, 2007 near midnight, when I heard about it and what ran through my mind were bulls running with people–Spanish tradition (also as what my friends first led me to believe cos they started tripping on me!) It had been a really slow coffee-night-after-dinner meetup and that really woke me up. I realized they weren’t true because they started cracking up.   Ava Joanne Irene   10km will be my first run. Not 3k, 5k, and not even 6k. I’ve always been the type to go club-hopping, spend an entire week getting drunk with friends, and just lounge around for lack of better things to do. I’ve been taking my time off after college and this conversation happened. So, I thought: why the heck not?      ...