If you would ask me, the 9 hour trip was worth it : everything is clean- the trails especially.  It’s as if the farther you are from the Metro, the nearer you are to paradise.

Course Map

This is the first time I have seen a tree like this in Luzon

This is the view from the starting line. Can you imagine how cold it is in the summit ?

Let's get ready to rumble

View from the trail at sunrise

What else can I say ?

Henry having a hard time accepting we have to pass this route twice. This is where we got lost earlier

The summit, finally! For a brief moment, the sun decided to show itself.

Finished! ... Excited for my next trail

This one is perfect. The route wasn’t so difficult, the trails are 90% runnable even when wet. For the aid stations, they contain exactly what a trail runner needs : softdrinks, natural spring water from the mountain itself, bread, chocolate, biscuits and electrolyte drinks.

Well, too bad .. bandits aren't allowed in this race. Maybe next time, they should register early

As with any adrenaline related activity, equipment and apparel are important. I don’t think I would have enjoyed the run as much if i had used any other shoe. This is my first time to use lightweight shoes in an actual race – and the thing is ,  I haven’t actually ran in this pair before.  So imagine how happy I am when instead of giving me problems , it actually gave me my best trail run experience yet. The traction on this shoe is superb, even in wet trails! New Balance 101 is  simply the best!

Trail shoes come and go. This one left a lasting impression on me - lightweight and sturdy.

Training

About  a month ago, the Company I work for decided to join Corporate Games Manila 2012 and I was part of the running team.  So the interval training we did also helped in my performance for this race. I think running also on hilly roads while I was in Sydney (thanks cuz for letting me stay in your house) also helped strengthen my legs a bit for the 1KM assualt to the summit.

The 20k route

Kudos to Frontrunner Magazine for this event!

QCIM

Let's get ready to rumble ....

This is the third edition of the Quezon City International Marathon – I am happy to be a participant in all three events. I think this is the first time when it actually rained on this race.  I had doubts at first if I can complete this edition since my left foot is still swollen from the  trail run (CM50) which I joined the week before – imagine running the entire 42k with swollen feet. Finished this one in 5:27 – I had to since we were pacing for 5:30

Clark to Mayamit Falls 50 Miler

Happy thoughts before the race ...

As I've said .. painful but fun

This is the first edition of this trail race ( I joined the shorter 60km edition) , and boy was I glad to have joined it! If you would ask me, there are two races here that you should include in your bucket list : Bataan Death March and this one (in no particular order).  I would describe this one as “masarap na masakit”. This is the first time that I injured my hamstring, finished with swollen feet and got lost many times. I reached the finish line way after cut-off.  This is also the first time that I have experienced eating gourmet pasta in the middle of the race – ha! Ang sarrrrap! In a nutshell, the best local trail race that I have joined.

I like green.

.. and it never ends

Pristine

More happy thoughts for the return trip.

ASICS

Have you ever had  a pair of shoes that you loved so much that you decided to buy another pair of it ?

Asics 2140

Race Ready

Have you ever wished that your running shorts had more storage ? Well, maybe raceready shorts are for you . I have tested my pair this morning and it is perfect.

7 pockets for all your running needs ...

It’s time to Rock and Roll!

For my 30k run this morning, I spent 20 bucks for a 300 ML bottle of Pocari Sweat  and 15 bucks for a 500 ML bottle of water.

Hmmm …

The thing is – a lot of runners who participated in last year’s edition said that last year was better. Personally – i wish that they have lighted some of the roads like what they did with Milo. Luckily, i brought with me my other cel which comes with a LED flashlight. No hydration issues on this race.

Work  is hectic (as always) – not much on the weekday runs. Yep, I have gained weight (again). I hope to loose it over the next few weeks when I return to my usual mileage. Last Saturday i did 15K, 32k on Sunday and 19k last Thursday.  I wasn’t able to run this morning due to the weather – hopefully i’d be able to do a long run tomorrow.

The calm before ...

The damage brought about by the typhoon was tremendous. I have other pictures of it but it is the same ones  you see in the news. This one (for me) stood out.

It stood out because it blocked my path,  hehehe

Lock Lace

I have always been a lock lace fan. However, due to financial reasons, i was forced to pursue other alternatives : my friend Isko provided me with a high quality shock cord – all that I needed to do was to find a stopper.

More details on this in another post.

Thanks to Jay for the CAMSUR photos.

Of course, that was possible if only I did not have to spend five days of my waking hours preparing to go to school, which would end at 1430H or 1600H. When I get home, I need to study some more, continue my portfolio, clean our place, and prepare food.

My brother always said an ultramarathon, or a marathon for that matter, is 90% mental and 10% still mental. There is a race here every winter where you use walking sticks, called Vasaloppet during winter. The distance is 9 Swedish miles, where 1 mile is equivalent to 10 kilometers (normal kilometers haha). Maybe I will train for that instead.

As for now, the closest training I get is when I hit the gym if I got the time and the energy I spend walking to school.

Let the pictures speak for the laziness at hand ….

Damage brought about by the storm

Endless bludgeoning ... now the same culprit lay still, timeless and bound

As I've said ... Lazy

Maybe I should buy a bike ...

This is distance which i have covered for the week :

Monday    – Rest day
Tuesday   – 20KM
Wednesday – 10KM
Thursday  – 20KM
Friday    – Rest day
Saturday  – 0KM
Sunday    – 31KM

I covered the entire 31km this morning without any sleep due to work. Running with protective eyewear helped a lot – less glare for my tired eyes.

Scorched Earth

Last Sunday, I started late (read:7am) and the sun was already at its mightiest. If you would still like to do your long run at this time, I suggest that you run in loops. Just make sure that there is a public restroom with running water which you can pour on your body to decrease your body temprature and a convinience store for hydration fluids and food in the loop which you choose.

Last week, I joined the Milo Marathon and finished it in 5 hours 14 minutes. Milo Marathon is one of “the” running events in the country.  Being able to join it this year is a first for me, since this is my 1st official Milo Marathon. For the past 2 years, i only joined the half-mary event due to injuries.

Although the route is the same as the previous years, this year was a bit different since  the starting / finish line was moved from the Quirino Grandstand to the Mall of Asia and the routes for the shorter distances (3/5/10k) were changed -  i think this was to prevent the fun runners from consuming all the hydration fluids near the finish line.

This proved to be effective since this is the first time I experienced still being able to hydrate  near the finish line. Kudos to Milo and Runrio!

Running in the rain

It is the rainy season again and almost all my running shoes are wet. Drying them is a pain. So here is a little tip to make it a bit easier:

• Remove the insole of your shoes
• Wash your shoes
• Let it drip for a while
• Put paper in your shoes (an entire page of your broadsheet would do)
• Replace the paper whenever necessary

The logic behind it is to let the paper absorb the water from your shoes. When I do it, it usually takes a day before my shoes dry up.

Oh by the way, i heard that body glide isn’t as effective in the rain. Is this true ? It’s a good thing that i have always used petroleum jelly.

Asics Gel Kayano 15

The thing about new running shoes is that after a month, it isn’t so new anymore.

Rainy Thoughts

Running in the rain is nostalgic. This is the only time when you can find solace during your running workouts.
The only other people you see around are of the same mindset as you – no noisy joggers , no noisy walkers, no unecessary frills.
It is like each drop of rain restores the strength you had just lost, the sea breeze  likened to a towel that wipes away the pain.

I walk alone ….

Unlike yesterday,  it is warm today (or is it just me ?) because when I reached the 3Km mark, I thought that I went for a swim instead of a run due to the amount of sweat flowing from my apparel.

PCP Run

2 Sundays ago, I joined the PCP 10k run because of the discount we got from a corporate sponsor.   I was feeling a bit under the weather before the race started so what I thought would be an effort-less run turned out to be the opposite.

Hmm .. what happened to my splits ?

After  reaching the finish line, I went to my car and wondered how it is that I feel energized for no apparent reason – could it be the 10 minute walk to the parking area ? the free Gatorade at the finish line ?

Whatever the reason is, I decided not to waste my weekend and run an additional 10k towards the PICC area where another race has just concluded.

If I knew that I would be running after the race I would’ve  kept my pace slower so as not to drain what little energy I had stored.

Training Aides

Zensah Compression Leg Sleeves – to avoid further injury

I’ll post my review on these items next time

Running in the rain can be an enjoyable experience – it is way better than running under a humid environment.

A lot of things have been said on the dos and don’ts  when running in the rain, so please humor me and allow me to add my 2 cents :

• Just because you are running in the rain doesn’t mean that your body temperature won’t rise – so it is very important to keep yourself hydrated. I won’t get in to the details as to how much fluids you need to ingest : when you’re thirsty, you are already dehydrated.
• Sometimes a drizzle can add to the humidity, making your body temperature rise faster.
• I wouldn’t recommend using a rain coat when running in the rain; hell, I wouldn’t even recommend wearing a raincoat when running under the heat of the sun. Wait, wouldn’t that make it a “sun” coat ?  – I have seen a lot of runners doing this lately: I don’t know if there is a scientific reason for this but I’m sure that people who do this are at a higher risk of suffering from heat stroke.
• Wear technical clothes – need I explain ?  Imagine running under the rain wearing a cotton shirt : I’m sure it will weigh twice as heavy.
• This is the most important tip : If you have more than a pair of running shoes,  use the pair which is due for cleaning 

This is the coverage of today’s run :