After almost 3 years of self imposed exile .. I am finally back in my playground … the place where I learned to run long distance. I can’t help but feel sentimental as I stare into the horizon.   Google Map – Pasay, Philippines     Manila Bay – Pasay City,...

  I took a picture of the medals I have accumulated since I started training again here in Sydney. It’s not a lot but it inspired me nonetheless as I am reminded of the hard work I’ve put in and my accomplishments in running in the form of these medals. I hope that this will inspire runners out there to keep on hitting the tarmac despite the difficulties of moving out of your comfort zones and traveling to new lands to brave a greener pasture.  ...

  I have not posted anything on this blog in a long time BUT I will try to update you with my latest run, The Blackmores Sydney Running Festival last Sunday.     This is the first time for me to run without proper training, not to mention getting a bit tipsy a couple of nights before this event from a dinner-party I attended. I followed the 4:45 pacer for awhile but finished at 5:19:18 instead.       I personally think that I could have done better had there been less elevation during the race. Just when you think you were done with running up and down the several bridges you passed, there’s still this one LAST bridge you have to traverse before arriving at the finish line.   The 37km mark screenshot from Blackmores Sydney Running Festival App by ASICS for iPhone. Click here to download from iTunes.   Well, I am not sure if I would attempt this again [without proper training] but I definitely loved the challenge of a good run on an early Sunday morning.     There never seems to be enough time for anything, but there will always be that perfect day of the year to run a marathon at The Blackmores Sydney Running Festival...

After thousands of kilometres of service, the faithful soldier has finally decided to surrender its sole to the ravages of war. In case you are curious .. I finished last year’s Sydney marathon even if I was undertrained. I joined this year’s edition as well … with a huge difference … I am now a lot more undertrained … oh well...

According to Wikipedia, “Interval training is a type of discontinuous physical training that involves a series of low- to high-intensity exercise workouts interspersed with rest or relief periods. The high-intensity periods are typically at or close to anaerobic exercise, while the recovery periods may involve either complete rest or activity of lower intensity. Interval training can refer to organization of any cardiovascular workout (e.g. cycling, running, rowing, etc.), and is prominent in many sports’ training. It is a technique particularly employed by runners, but athletes from several backgrounds have been known to use this type of training.” Last Sunday, I was able to attain my fastest training 10k pace.  You see, when I train, I don’t usually do tempo runs because I believe that the only time you should exert maximum effort is on race day.         I used to believe that the ideal training pace should be relaxed and effortless – that was until I was forced to train seriously last March for a corporate running event. Interval training isn’t easy, and in fact I dreaded it .. my friend Isko (who acted as the team coach) would push us to our limits. There should be no excuses, well maybe if you are close to having a heart attack – so it is imperative that you should have yourself checked first by a doctor because this type of training is not meant for people with health problems. It would even reach the point when me and my team mates would secretly curse him – not in his face tho coz he was way bigger than us and could easily beat the living daylights out of us, hehehe As they say – no pain , no gain – it paid off....