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....

With three more PT sessions left, I decided that it is about time that I started training again, even if it involves running short distances only. This morning, I was able to do a 5k walk and a 6k run.  Instead of running in the MOA complex due to the volume of the participants in today’s GMA Kapuso Fun Run, I ran towards the PICC area and then went home.     Runners (or walkers ?) on their way to the Mall of Asia Compound More participants along Macapagal Avenue When I reached home, I felt really good – I haven’t felt like this in weeks Oh by the way, the lock laces are really good – you can wear and remove your shoes...

At the starting line of last week’s  “A  G.O.O.D.  Run”, I was asked by one of the big bosses where I work from if the emecees get paid . I said I think so . He then said that may we should organize our own race  so that we can reap the benfits of the current running boom in our country ; I said we should think of a great name for our race …. I think it has almost been two years since I last joined a 10k race; the reason for which is practicality: I needed to do long back to back weekend runs – and of course the cost.  I joined this one because we have been sponsored by one of our office’s Principals – they would pay 500 bucks : this means that I only had to pay 100 bucks to join the race. Another reason is that  I haven’t ran in almost 1 month due to my injury (my therapist advised against joining this race) – running this race would be a welcome against the monotony of staying indoors during the weekends. What they say about being “de-trained” is true – I had a hard time finsihing this race – the panting was so heavy that I had to to take walk breaks all through out the course – not that I am complaining, after all I can’t run as fast as I want to due to my injury. I finished this race with a chip time of 63 minutes.     Race Result On another note, I have just recently acquired a pair of lock laces which I used on my Asics GT 2140.   My ever-dependable Asics. Let’s see how this one goes...

As I look back, I remember the first time I asked my sister to register me for a race. I eventually didn’t participate in the said 10k event because I was too lazy to wake up at 4am so that I could simply run. I quipped ”Why should I change my routine?”. I usually wake up at around 6:00am and do my 2.1km jog around The Fort area and more recently, around MOA. I even remember a female colleague telling me this: “Ano ba yan, papahirapan mo nalang sarili mo, magbabayad ka pa!” I eventually joined my first race (which covered a distance of 10km) wearing my very old Nike cross trainers (the shoe’s sole had been replaced with locally available soles since the original air sole has already leaked). … and here I am, 11 months and 3 running shoes after –> running my first ever full 42KM marathon. What can I say? I didn’t even plan joining this event until 5 weeks ago. I was undertrained . Thanks to the effort of ultra runner friend Isko who patiently trained me in such a short time, I was able to complete this run together with another running friend, Ian. The concept of running SCTEX at night was very appealing to most of the people who participated in this event, after all, you can’t run along this route on a regular night (pun intended). This could’ve been a next to perfect race except for the following: • No water for four consecutive water stations – I think that the water stations were more than 2.5kms apart, so you could imagine how thirsty the other runners were when they came to our support vehicle (the white van with the team hardcore tarpaulin) asking if we...

October 10, 2009 | 2300H: Pseduo Carbo-Loading I should have gone to bed already for the 10km run for the Milo Finals the next day…BUT since I ate a lot for dinner, by request of BUTTERFLY, I had to stay up for a little longer while drinking a lot of hot water to help me digest (“crazygrace logic” kicked in). Carbo-Loading (although not applicable for everyone) is usually done the day or the night before a run BUT I think I’ve had more of iron and protein from what I ate than carbs!!!! Just WRONG! Went straight to Kopiroti to consume tea (no Coffee Bean and Teal Leaf this time cos I’m cutting down on expenses haha).   October 11, 2009: Milo Finals This was the first 10KM run I was able to fully participate in since my “vacation” and I actually got a bit nauseated by the thousands of runners around me. Here I was at it again: no training, and well…there was a bit of sleep, tho…but not much of what I needed, but yes, I just had to proceed. It took awhile before the 10KM run actually started, and I saw one of my professors from Benilde hosting the event (Mr. Jag Garcia). I did not try getting his attention anymore, but hollered on his facebook wall later that day instead…and so the race started.   At The Starting Line! I couldn’t really remember much as I was more focused on breathing in and out deeply, and that if I had taken my proper dose of inhaler for my asthma half an hour before the race started (as prescribed by the doctor– running/slight consistent panting that’s a probable effect of running can trigger an asthma attack, from what I understood). First...