RockenRun: Hooked on Asphalt

This morning, I ran 20k in the rain, by now I guess you know how refreshing that feels . Anyway, it has been a two week rest after QCIM –it seems that I have almost recovered from my injuries  – this means that I could start increasing my mileage again, (finally)

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!

42 km, Ultra Marathon, trail running, training 42 km, long run, running, trail running, training

About three weeks ago, I  participated in the CAMSUR Marathon. I have yet to see the results – no PR for this one, just one of the LSDs you need to gain mileage.

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.

Ultra Marathon, marathon, training running, training

The 4 day weekend was contaminated. It was laced with laziness – so no long weekend runs for me, It was just carbo-loading all the way. I was lucky enough tho, to squeeze in a 7 km run last Sunday and a 26km run last Tuesday. This morning i ran around 23km and yes – still lazy; i started my run at 7 am and finished at around 10 am.

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 ...

Ultra Marathon, training long slow distance, running, training

Mileage

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.

Ultra Marathon, training running, training

Milo Marathon

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 ….

42 km, training marathon, Milo, running, training

In my attempt to be consistent with my training schedule, I ran 10k this morning. I had my annual flu shot yesterday and according to the doctor, it should be ok to run today.  So here is the result of my run:

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

Ultra Marathon, training running, training

Instead of starting my run at 4:30 this morning, I waited for the rain to stop – but then, it didn’t .  So, at around 4:50 I decided to give it a go. It’s a good thing that I decided to push on, since the rain didn’t stop until 7:30 am.

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 :

Ultra Marathon, running, training long slow distance, running, training

I only ran twice and covered around 15 kilometers two weeks after the P2P 70K run. I have popped the blisters but both of my big toes still retain liquid which I have to pop after my easy jog/walk routines. Recovery isn’t that quick for me – and the leather shoes which I have to wear for work aren’t helping either. I envy those runners who recover quickly.

Work has never been easy – it seems that my load has doubled (if not tripled) and I’m getting less sleep than before . I wasn’t even able to enjoy the three day weekend.

On a lighter note, both my big toes feel better, hopefully I could start really running again this weekend in order to prepare  for my next ultramarathon

Ultra Marathon, training long run, training

Lately, I have returned to sedentary-overworked individual mode. There were no regular training runs save for a few like the back to back weekend when I did a 21k on a Saturday and  then a day hike in Tarac ridge in Bataan the day after.  Should I mention that I slowed everybody down?

Thanks to Jeff for the photo

I took a 2 week break afterwards before running again due to an ankle injury.  You see,  I wasn’t supposed to run yet but I was able to acquire a GPS watch …..

Timex Speed + Distance

A bit cumbersome, don't you think ?

I think I have aggravated the injury, oh well 

running training

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:

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running, shoes, training running, shoes, training