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...

Prologue I was hoping this year, I would go full circle : from being a pacer during the 1st Bataan Death March Ultramarthon, support crew driver last year and finally a finisher. Well, what can I say ? Just like all those who have hoped to finish their first 102km race , I stood at the starting line happy that finally all these months of hardships are coming to an end as the realization of owning my first ever BDM trophy draws near – only to find out later that it wasn’t meant to be.   Preparation Perhaps anybody who would run their first 102 km race will really seriously train months ahead for it – I followed the schedule , I did my best to gain mileage – no rain nor spells of sleepiness would get in my way to train; I figured that I should also train for sleeplessness since the race would start late in the evening and eventually end late in the afternoon. I even joined endurance activities  like  “THE” fat-ass and joined midnight runs of ultra runner friends who were preparing for their  1st BDM 100 miler – not even supernatural manifestations stopped me then. Every week was ultra distance weekend for me as training required me to run an ultra marathon distance every weekend. For the mental part, I already had a goal- I was dead set on finishing it  the earliest time possible: I have already strategized how to handle the first  7 kilometers as well as the rolling terrain of the first 20+ kilometers. Everything was planned  :  from my apparel, my running shoes, my first aid kit , my food and hydration up to how long it should take me to reach Abucay, my pace...

It  was a ten hour drive from here to Ilocos Norte;  a nice easy drive with most of the tunes coming from the 70s – which felt right for the rainy weather. We arrived there just a few minutes short of midnight. We woke up early the next day, ate crispy dinuguan, empanada, poque-poque and blue-berry cheese cake. Nah, the cake tasted the same up there – it just felt “good” at the moment.         Yummy! There were also a lot of light moments before the actual event; after-all what would life be without it ?     Then came “D-day” …. I sure as hell wasn’t prepared for it – but since I’ve already registered ….     This is the first time I have covered 70K – yup, I got more than what I’ve paid for : a bonus if you must. PAU races are I guess just  that – scenic and filled with surprises Running that distance without training is stupid – I was thinking that if I had difficulty finishing  70k ( I was 4th to the last) , then how the hell am I supposed to finish Bataan 102? I really need better time management between my training and being a corporate IT slave. Thanks again to my support crew and team Bald Runner  who consistently encouraged me to finish the race even when I was already dead set on giving up.   Bangui Windmills – a class of its own .. Since “70” is the word for the day, here is a song from that decade which we kept playing on the car radio while driving up North.      ...

“takami no kenbutsu” The first time I heard that phrase was when I watched the movie “L change the world” – loosely translated, it means “observe from a vantage point”. This would be my second time to be a part of  ultrarunner Isko Lapira’s  (aka   David Goggins of the Philippines) support crew. The only difference is that I am the only driver for the entire duration since Ian can’t make it due to an office activity. This year’s chores weren’t as hard as last year’s, since pacers are no longer allowed- giving me enough time to catch some zs in between check points. But that was just that, for the second year I am still watching things from a distance. I figured that since I was able to survive this January’s 50k test run plus last year’s BDM pacing experience , I might as well join the same 102km event next year (gulp!) – knowing  Isko, he will probably move up to the 145Km category … ang tibay talaga!   Breakfast at KM 50 The Sands of Pampanga See you in next year’s Bataan Death March 145 KM   Albert, BR, Isko and...