RockenRun: Hooked on Asphalt

This morning, I was able to run almost 30 KM.  I feel a sense of accomplishment- it has been almost 4 months since I have stopped running due to an ankle injury and work related training during Sundays.  The only other long run that  I completed before this  was running 25km during the Milo half-marathon ( yup, i added loops before heading for the finish line).

It’s also my first time to run that distance alone ; you see running  that long by yourself is very difficult. It’s a good thing that I brought my iPod with me to keep me entertained.

I  had to take a different route for this run since MOA was filled by the participants of the Rexona Run.

Cones lined along Macapagal Avenue ...

This is the first time I ran this route alone ...

When I reached the Quirino Grandstand, I was looking for the mosaic containing President Cory's pictures but didn't find any ...

This is the distance I have covered upon reaching the Quirino Grandstand according to my GPS watch

It seems that I wasn’t the only one doing a long run this morning – I met Pat of Takbo.ph twice.

Upon reaching the 28th KM I suddenly felt weak,l then I remembered :  I didn’t eat breakfast!

Almost 30 KM - I had to stop due to the heat; next week I'll try to start earlier

running, training long run, long slow distance, running

I was able to squeeze in a few runs after the Rizal Day run; but that was just they are  – a few. So I decided to run around 10k today and 20k tomorrow.

I was supposed to do a single loop around MOA and then to CCP, knowing that the Black Nazarene was in Quirino grandstand and that there will be a lot of devotees there.

But then again, when I met Ian who was about to start his bike training, I changed my mind and eventually ended up going to the Quirino  grandstand anyway.

 I have been to the Quirino grandstand a lot of times before, but this is the only time that the atmosphere was so solemn.

Devotees on their way to the Quirino Grandstand - Most of them are barefoot

Mass

After running, I returned to MOA but ended up limping again, this was due to the blister on my left big toe. Since I didn’t anticipate a long distance run, I just used ordinary cotton sports socks when I should have used running socks instead. ( I only use them during races since they are a bit expensive).

The thing about running socks is that it provides proper cushioning (that is why they are left / right foot specific), it wicks away moisture and most importantly, they don’t have extra threads protruding near the toe area. – I think that was what caused the blister on my foot.

Nike Running Socks

Nike Elite Running Socks - No Show

Don’t get me wrong, ordinary cotton sports socks work for me for distances  up to 10 miles.

I was about to call it quits after 20km but I ran (pun intended) into Ian (he is running this time, after 60km of bike training)  who convinced me to do another 2km. He then treated me to some snacks before we ran our final kilometer together.

It would have been great if I could still accompany him for a few more kilometers but the blister won’t let up

All systems go for tonight's concert at the Mall of Asia

Ne-Yo's Poster at the entrance

Good luck to all the participants of the Cebu Marathon!

21 km, training 21 km, long slow distance, running

When I started running about a year ago, I ran my first race using my old Nike cross trainers and it carried me smoothly thru 10 kilometers of pavement so I thought that maybe, there really was no need to buy running shoes; but  since it was an old pair, I decided to buy a new pair of running shoes anyway .

My first pair was the Adidas Adizero Mana, it worked well for me. In fact, I still have it with me and it almost looks brand new since I wasn’t able to use it that much since I immediately increased my mileage  so that I could run the Condura half-marathon a few months after.

While training for my first half marathon until I completed my first full marathon, I was using the Asics Gel Cumulus Eight – for me, this was the perfect pair, it carried me through new heights during the Condura half-marathon in the skyway, the dust of the 1st BDM 102 while we were pacing Isko and finally,  the cool asphalt layers of the SCTEX during my first marathon.

.. and just like any other pair of running shoes, it has already reached its maximum mileage. After 10 months of sweat and pain,  I have retired it after running the Subic International Marathon – a fitting end for a shoe so great.

Since we were in Subic at the time, we decided to drop by the Nike depot and there I found my new running partner – the Nike Structure Triax 12  (and it was on sale!) .

I was so excited with this pair, thinking it will outperform my old Asics.  So when it was time for the Pasig International Marathon, I put on this pair with much gusto – it felt good at first; but after around 25 kms of running , I felt a pain in my inner foot, just below my right ankle.

After the race, I ended up with a very big blister in that area of my foot – an area that used to be blister free. I thought it was because I haven’t  broken it completely yet. But after almost 300 kilometers of running, the blister machine is still at it.

Don’t get me wrong, I think the new pair is an excellent shoe, except for its blister-creation mechanism.

I wonder if there are any other Nike Triax users who has the same problem ?

Anyway, this is how I feel when running with Asics:

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

running, shoes, training running, shoes, training

As I sat in ROC (a cafe inside Bahay Ng Alumni in UP Diliman) with one of my best buds, Joanne Ignacio, I came across the upcoming event that’s happening on February 21, 2010: The Century Tuna Superbods Run!

I haven’t had any training and running in awhile, and what better way to start the year right? By training and being fit and healhty! Derek Ramsey will be there, together with the Century Tuna Bods Finalists. A photo booth will be installed and serve as a go-see for interested participants who want to qualify as one of the next Century Tuna image models! If you think you have what it takes, then join in on the race and have your picture taken as well!

Century Tuna Superbods Run 2010

There will also be fun and interesting activities after the race, only happening at The Fort, Global City, with 3km, 5km, 10km, and 21km distances to be covered. Don’t forget the date: February 21, 2010, and don’t forget the event: Century Tuna Superbods Run 2010!

RockEnRun would like to thank RunnerSpeak and Century Tuna for their bag of goodies! Watch them on Sunday, January 10, on QTV, at 1445H-1515H for details. Also, check out Nuffnang’s post for more details or visit Century Tuna’s Official Website!

Here’s a good 90’s beat to jumpstart my training in getting ready for this run:

The Fort, running, training 21 km, century, half-marathon, roc, runnerspeak, running, superbods, The Fort, tuna

When I first thought of registering for this year’s Milo finals, I had the simple intention of improving my 21k PR 

However, since I haven’t been able to train lately due to the bad weather brought about by the deluge as well as my very hectic work schedule, I still registered for the half marathon event but decided to run the last 32k of the marathon as a bandit.

I haven’t joined a race before as a bandit. Registering for the run made me feel less guilty (a half-bandit if you must, hehehe).

Isko told me that I must peak at around 30k to 35k before running  the entire 42km, with that, I agreed to meet him at the corner of Buendia and Roxas Boulevard along with his running group, the CAMANAVA runners (Jeff and Albert).

They were able to reach the said location at around 5:45 am. I ran with them at a pace of around 6:30 to 7.  At the corner of Pasong Tamo, the people from the takbo.ph booth were very generous – they gave us bananas, oranges and some even offered petroleum jelly; nothing really beats a booth manned by runners themselves.

I was also introduced to the Runner for Christ as we cruised along Buendia.  We were running as a group until we reached the Fort area – it was really easy to spot us, we were among the many groups running the 42k while wearing different category race bibs.
 
We went our separate ways when we reached Bayani road on our return trip to the Quirino grandstand, I personally, couldn’t keep up with the stronger CAMANAVA runners who decided to run a bit faster than their current pace (or is it because I slowed down ?)

At around 8:30 AM, the Kalayaan flyover was opened to vehicular traffic, I think 8:30 was the cut-off time. I was still in the middle of the flyover at this time. It was ok as I was already about 1 km from descending the flyover, a MAPSA patrol car escorted me at first but left at around the last 500 meters.

When I reached Paseo De Roxas, I decided to run/walk on the sidewalk as it was difficult running along the asphalted road as I might be sideswiped by vehicular traffic.

As I approached the Washington area, I decided to walk again until I reached Taft Avenue since the elevated side walks along this area made it very difficult for me to run.

Seeing the LRT along Taft Avenue made the entire run more difficult since I was only two train stations away from home; but I told myself that no matter how tired I get or no matter how hot it gets, I will definitely end this race at the finish line at the Quirino grandstand.

As I passed  by Taft Avenue, I have noticed that the lane dividers were still there, so I decided to run with my already “hardened” leg muscles in the temporary “runner’s lane”. I was surprised though as I was about to cross Leveriza St., there were about two jeepneys behind me ( in the runner’s lane) honking their horns! – oh well!

From this point, it was run/jog until  Ceaser overtook me along the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy.

When I crossed the finish line, everybody was there to congratulate me on my first 32km – so that’s how it feels. Sweet!

21 km, running, training 21 km, long slow distance, running

There are billions of reasons why people run.

The one I find the funniest was what Joanne said after Adidas King of the Road 2008, when we ate this huge-ass servings of pancakes at Flapjacks without feeling guilty at all. “May nasunog na naman tayo eh, time to fill it up again.” Bwahahaha. I haven’t used that loveable lame excuse for a long time now.

A little before I got hospitalized (the blog entry about it is still a draft … as many of my entries imported here from my previous blog — http://soflypinay.wordpress.com), I have cut down on food. I’ve always thought that making me lighter would make me run faster (people who make lame reasons tend to have lame logic as well hahaha).

The melodramatic part is I’ve been cutting down on a lot of things as well. Cutting down communication with people I don’t want to be hanging out with: emotional vampires, parasites who cling for made-believe affection, and just plain lies. I could hold them all off by being indifferent with just the snap of my fingers but I knew I had to run all the pressure and stress off sometime.

Even the skies were gloomy. I would have gone for a run last night, had it not been raining, had I not been discharged from the hospital a little more than a week ago, and had it not been darker than the usual late nights I spend working on freelance projects.

The sun is out now and I’ve been listening to a very calming song since yesterday: Kaskade – Empty Streets. I’ve posted it below, and you will notice that it is as relaxing as a night you have envisioned to be, when suddenly nobody and nothing exists around you. The video could have been better if the vocalist just stood there singing while leaning on one of the buildings.

The song starts with this: “The city feels clean this time of night, and me walking home to clear my head, I know it came as no surprise.”

I prefer to run.

running, training running, training

After staying in Cebu for a week plus all the free meals that I have consumed, I decided to do my usual long slow run yesterday. But to my dismay, I woke up late. I guess I’m still tired from work.

Luckily, I was able to wake up early today (that was around 5:15 am, is that still early? heheh).  By the time I got to MOA, the streets were still a bit wet, probably from last night’s downpour.
So I did my usual stretching and ran my usual route, but as I was running along Esplanade, I suddenly felt pain on my left knee. Uh-oh … I guess I haven’t fully recovered from last week’s 21k.

Chocolate - In case I get cramps

But then again … I thought that maybe the endorphins haven’t kicked in yet and true enough, after around ten minutes of limping and running – the pain disappeared.

While traversing Roxas Boulevard, I have noticed that the south-bound lane was closed to vehicular traffic. “Could there be another race ?”

Yup there was definitely a race – I think it’s the PNP fun run thing.

Since the road was available, I decided to run with the registered runners. I’d prefer running on asphalt rather than the brick-like sidewalk of Roxas Boulevard without the fear of being side-swiped by incoming traffic.

On my way back from KM 0, I have noticed that it was crowded along the Pedro Gil area. It seems that there is a dragon boat event and that the rowers were doing their warm-ups. I tried to look for my friend Ian who is also a rower but to no avail.

It was around this point when it got a bit cloudy and my mp3 player played U2’s Where the streets have no name – ahhh such a relaxing combination.

When I got home, I texted Ian and asked him if he participated in the said rowing event. He told me that their boat capsized due to the strong waves. Well, things like that happen – it’s how you get back that really matters.

MySpace Music Playlist at MixPod.com

running, training training

Last Sunday, I was contemplating on whether I should join the Men’s Health All Terrain Race or do an easy run along the Metro. I chose the latter.

You see the problem with trail runs is that they are usually held far away. I don’t have enough cash for gas and besides my trail running shoelaces have been damaged during my last trail run. They aren’t ordinary laces (kevlar) so I still have to wait for the replacement set to arrive.

As I was running along Roxas Boulevard, I was suprised to see a water aid station near PICC. Hmm .. could it be that there is a road race which was not announced in Takbo.ph ?

I arrived at the KM 0 marker with no incident and as I was eating my Kit-kat Wafer bar, I have noticed a support vehicle running along Roxas Boulevard followed by a group of runners. It seems that there was indeed a race and it started late (around 6:20 am). I think this is a “special” race because aside from regular runners, I saw people in their wheel chairs joining the race. It was a sight to behold, too bad that I wasn’t able to take pictures of them.

At that time, since I have already depleted my water supply, I thought of running as a bandit with this race but then again, I was too shy to do so. I folowed the runners until I entered the PICC compound.

It was a relaxing run plus I also now know how it feels to be a spectator in a road race.

I have learned a few things from this experience :

1. Bring cash in small denominations. Since my car is parked in MOA, I wasn’t able to drink water when I needed to. There were Buko vendors along the stretch of Roxas Boulevard, I could’ve had BJ at that time.
2. One Kit-kat bar is not enough. Hehehe. I don’t know why when I reached KM 0, I suddenly felt very very hungry. Energy gels would have been better but I didn’t bring my “stash“. Hammer Gel is so expensive and I only use them during road races

Since this was a solo run, I didn’t bring an MP3 player with me, although this song would have been a relaxing tune to listen to while running :

running, training running, training

I have experienced pain in both my knees during last week’s Mizuno run so I decided not to join any road race this weekend and instead do a long easy run. Since this is an Independence Day weekend, I decided to run from MOA up to Luneta and back.

I have brought with me  a bottle of Gatorade and 2 Milo bars just in case I get hungry.

I arrived at MOA at around 5:30am and started my long slow run from there. I felt ecstatic being able to train again after four months of  stress. The stress from work isn’t over yet but I’m glad I was able to take a break today.

I have seen a few runners doing their long runs along the way: I even saw a lady wearing her Mizuno finisher’s singlet.

Let me share with you some pictures I took while running:

Milo Bar

Bay Walk

Bay Walk

Manila Yacht Club

PICC

KM 0

Luneta

Luneta Job Fair

Breakfast after the run

running, training training

…or so I thought.

Wrong again, said Bolt. It’s long slow distance. Say what?

Since we won’t be able to trail run this weekend (Bolt’s been swamped with his systems analyst job tasks and I, with freelance web design projects), we’ll be running our own route just for kicks. Haha…yes, this is our definition of fun. Har de har har.

Been checking on schedule and postings on Takbo.ph and I think I really need to do some more training if I want to keep up with what’s there. That’s IF my left foot will cooperate and not start to hurt again tomorrow…err, I mean later during the run…which reminds me, I need to rest! I’d literally be seeing diamonds in the sky going around my head if I run tomorrow (okay, I mean later!!!!!!!!) without enough rest and food. Tata!

Something chillaxin to listen to before I go to sleep and what I’d prolly be listening to during the run tomorrow:

running, training long slow distance, running