I used to remember when I complained a lot about not having enough water stations, but after the 2010 edition of Globe’s run for home, I think I should complain about having too many water stations ….. not! Well,  it almost was your typical 21Km run along the Makati – Global City area, except that this race started in Makati and ended in a different street in Makati. It was fun being able to run under the greenbelt tunnel for the first time – a nice new route which you can’t run on a regular day. No PR for this 21km run (some say it was 22+km, who cares ? as long as the distance is not less than what we paid for) . I finished it in 2:30 – I am still under the weather but I thought that since I paid for it, I might as well run it, hehehe....

Hmm – I am at a loss for words. Last Sunday’s Timex half-marathon is perfect. As I was driving around the Fort Global City area on my way to the parking lot, I have noticed the long tables filled with cups of water / sports drinks. I said to myself that finally, the organizers are listening to the runners – this must be a good sign! I was aiming for a PR for this run, but as the race started, I was surprised that the race has actually started, hehehe – you should be there, everybody just started running. It was your typical 21km race route around the Fort and Buendia . The roads were closed and irate motorists giving us the finger – tssss! Do we have anger management classes in the Philippines ? I was so excited in achieving a PR that I forgot to warm up – big mistake. After 4 kms, my 5:30 pace dropped to 6:00 and then 6:30. I got so tired that I realized after reading the official results that my pace for the last 2kms was around 8 to 9 mpk! I finished the race at 2:18 (chip time)  – so much for a PR. I was happy that at the finish line, we were treated like VIPs- we were given towels and awarded a medal ; but wait, that’s not all : there was free breakfast, lots of 100 plus / free coffee sachets and a loot bag that contains .. wait , let me see – an energy  bar and wait, another bottle of 100 plus! Hats off to Coach Rio and...

      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...

12 minutes late(and gasping for air .. again!)  – that was my reaction when I saw the 21k timer at the starting line. I was hoping that I arrived just in time but the queue in  the parking area was so long.  At that point I was already contemplating on running the 15k race instead. Fortunately, Ian Alacar (the race director) was very supportive in giving me directions for the 21k race route and off I went to run the 21k race alone. This was the first time that I ran alone in order to catch up with runners who started way ahead of me. The thing is, I have already sprinted (without any warm up) to the starting line from the parking area ; and here I am again literally sprinting to catch up with the runners. I was already walking before I reached the first KM. Who was I fooling ? I couldn’t reach them no matter what – or so I thought, after about an hour and after the fast 15k runners went past me, I was able to catch up with the last 20 percent of the 21k runners. It was only at this point that I felt good about myself This was a well-organized race, I mean if it weren’t for the road signs and the helpful men in uniform, I wouldn’t have been able to catch up with the runners from my race. The only thing is, I thought that we were still going to run another loop as we returned to the McKinley area – so you could imagine my surprise when we were told that there were only 400 meters left before the finish line. This would have been a close to perfect race, were it not...

    Knowing how bad the weather would be , I decided to arrive early for this road race. I arrived at  around 4:45 am.  When I got there,  it was announced that the race was moved to 5:30 am due to the rain. There was a warm-up exercise before the start of the 21k event,  I entered the coral  as the said exercise was about to end. I saw some runner friends and had a chat with them – and then it happened, the gun was fired and off we went. For me, this was a well-organized race.  There were adequate water and gatorade stations along the route, plus …  I was able to run in the Glorietta area even though it was raining very hard I finsihed the race at 2:24 (unofficial), just a few more minutes and i’ll be able to beat my personal best at 2:18. It’s timely though, that it was raining during a run dedicated to saving Mother...

  4:17 AM – This can’t be right,  the last thing I remember was hitting the snooze button of my mobile phone’s alarm clock about an hour ago! So off I hurriedly went to the starting line of Globe’s Run for Home  at the NBC tent. I thought that I wouldn’t make it on time because of the long queue towards the parking area behind ROX which was reserved for VIPs. It’s a good thing though that I have already installed the champion chip on my shoe the night before.           The Preparation This part I like the most, like an obedient running student, I did my best  to consume a lot of carbs after getting my race packet from BHS last Friday.         I also ate more the night before :       You know, I think that I did this part so well that I have loaded enough carbs for an Ultramarathon. Ha! Hmm … does it say in the manual that I really have to run in order to prepare for a half-marathon ?   Barely Making It I can still remember running towards the starting line when the voice over the PA system is  telling the 21k runners  that the race is about to start in 45 seconds. I was able to make it about 5 seconds before I heard the gun. It was about this time when I started my stretching routine. There were a lot of participants in this race that it really took time to dash from the starting line up to the entrance of the corral. For a minute there, I thought that this was the 5k race   Paligsahan ng Palakasan ng Busina  What can I say...