RockenRun: Hooked on Asphalt

4:17 AM – This can’t be right,  the last thing I remember was hitting the snooze button of my mobile phone’s alarm clock about an hour ago!

So off I hurriedly went to the starting line of Globe’s Run for Home  at the NBC tent. I thought that I wouldn’t make it on time because of the long queue towards the parking area behind ROX which was reserved for VIPs. It’s a good thing though that I have already installed the champion chip on my shoe the night before.

The Preparation
This part I like the most, like an obedient running student, I did my best  to consume a lot of carbs after getting my race packet from BHS last Friday.

I also ate more the night before :

 
You know, I think that I did this part so well that I have loaded enough carbs for an Ultramarathon. Ha!
Hmm … does it say in the manual that I really have to run in order to prepare for a half-marathon ?

Barely Making It

I can still remember running towards the starting line when the voice over the PA system is  telling the 21k runners  that the race is about to start in 45 seconds.
I was able to make it about 5 seconds before I heard the gun. It was about this time when I started my stretching routine. There were a lot of participants in this race that it really took time to dash from the starting line up to the entrance of the corral. For a minute there, I thought that this was the 5k race

Paligsahan ng Palakasan ng Busina

 What can I say ? It’s a race that started on time and the chirps produced by the timing chips were like  music to my ears. The route along Ayala Avenue .. fabulous ! I have worked in Makati for such a long time already but I don’t remember being able to run along the said road.

Hydration? There were enough 100 plus drinks to flood the entire city!  

As we were running through Paseo De Roxas, I have noticed a lot of drivers  who were blowing their horns as if there was a prize for the one with the biggest horn (pun intended). I have noticed that this behavior is so unlike those foreigners which I have encountered in previous races who instead of getting grumpy, would actually get out of their vehicles and cheer on the runners.
 

Hammer Time!

Nope that was not MC Hammer, that was me reaching for my 2nd  Hammer Gel sachet, but alas! I didn’t have it.  I have only brought 1 sachet with me for this race. It’s a good thing that I have brought a few bite size Cloud 9 bars with me. Even if it was not as effective as the gel, it helped me get through the race. There were times when I could’ve pushed harder but whenever I felt the onset of cramps, I would slow down … the nail could’ve used a hammer this time.

The Result

“Wow Hi-tech!” – That was my first reaction when I heard that timing chips will be used for this race but up to now, I am still waiting for the results to be published. Since timing chips are new in our country, maybe we should give the organizers time to adapt to this technology. I’m sure we will all be happy once the results come out. I finished my run at around 2:31 in my watch – no improvement compared to my Milo performance.

21 km, Taguig, The Fort, running 21 km, running, The Fort

IE8 | 8 Miles

I 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 the organizer of this race very high grades!

Hmmm...where?

Too bad tho, I didn’t win the laptop. I wonder when Microsoft will launch IE9 ?

IE8 Banner

Photo-Ops after the race

10 km, 10 miles, Taguig, The Fort, running 10 km, 10 miles, running, The Fort

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.

10 miles, 16 km, Market! Market!, Taguig, The Fort, running 10 miles, 16 km, running, Taguig, The Fort

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 1^st 15k during Asian Hospital’s Run New and then my 1^st 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 road marshals as I was almost side-swiped by a passenger jeep along Kalayaan Avenue on our way to Rockwell.

I know that It is  difficult  to  organize a full marathon so I won’t make a big deal about the inconveniences  I experienced in the half-marathon race, instead I would like to encourage Botak to improve their  service  for their next long distance race.

I hope that next time, no one gets lost

21 km, Botak, Taguig, The Fort, running 21 km, Botak, nbc tent, Paatibayan, running, The Fort

After almost half a year and four months of no physical activity due to my foot injury, 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 of the other things I enjoyed 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. Kudos!

10 km, Botak, Taguig, The Fort 10 km, Botak, Paabilisan, running, Taguig, The Fort

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

time to walk/jog for more than 6 hours, under the baking heat of the Bataan sun! After that, I had to stop training due to my work schedule. So let me tell you, it’s not the training. It is having your head shaved, which enabled me to lose some weight, thereby making me lighter, haha!

By the way, my PR is 55:12 (unofficial) – not so fast but at least it is sub-60. Finally!

10 km, Taguig, The Fort GMA, GMA Network, Step Up

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 (ugh!!)

Wit ma schoolmate!

It was something really different: it was an achievement for me. Irene kept telling me she was so proud I was able to keep up with their pacing even if I lacked training (although they sort of slowed down after 15km because I started to feel dizzy! much love!) We started to sprint near the finish line! Weehoo!

Thanks to Teddy for waiting at the finish line for us after running 5 km!

16 km, One La Salle, Taguig, The Fort, running 16 km, la salle