There’s no greater glory in running other than helping other people. This selfless act is manifested when you join races for a cause. On Sunday, I will be joining the Southern Race sponsored by Alabang Town Center for the benefit of SOS Children’s Village Philippines.

SOS Children’s Village is an NGO that aims to do the following:

* Build families for children in need
* Help them shape their own futures
* Share in the development of their communities

I will join the 10k race and hopefully for PR. My last race at Greenfields was 1h:1m:44 seconds and I plan to finish the race somewhere between 50-60minutes. If I get better time than this, its going to be life changing. OK so much drama, here are the details of the race:

* Race distance: 5km & 10km challenge
* Registration is from March 20 to April 19 at the Concierge.
Registration forms available at the ATC Concierge, ATC Admin Office or SOS Children’s Village

* Registration Options:
- Option 1: Registration fee of P150
- Option 2: Discounted registration fee of P50 w/ receipt from any ATC sports apparel merchant worth at least P100
- Option 3: On-site Registration of P200 (April 19)

* All proceeds will be donated to SOS Children’s Village Philippines
* Only completely filled-out registration forms will be accepted.
Parent/guardian consent is required for participants below 18yrs old

For registration and race details, please call the ATC Concierge at 772-1860 / 842-2782.

It was great learning a couple of new things from the speakers at Running Aid4 held at ROX Bonifacio Global City. I was late during the seminar as I ran 3 loops just for kicks. When I got back, I ended up standing at the back. Here are the things that needs to be improved:

1. Sound system is bad. Audio man could have made the speakers louder so that everyone can hear what the speaker was saying. It was so dull I spend a couple of minutes just window shopping during the first part of the discussion. I know its very interesting, but if you can’t hear clearly what everyone is saying, you better do something more productive. Next time, please make it louder to ensure everyone can hear the speaker’s voice.

2. As there were not enough seats available, some people were standing especially at the back. This blocks the view of the project screen for some people way at the back. Maybe put it next time higher.

3. The second part is equally interesting, but pretty much similar to #2, we cannot see what was the guy doing at the floor. I have to do a work-around by watching the whole 2nd part of the seminar on the second floor (where I also saw Jaymie of The Bull Runner)

4. Maybe before the start of the clinic, give some sort of a booklet or just few pages of the presentation that puts summary of the entire discussion-bullet type. Ok blame me for this as I got this during my graduate studies but heck, this is really a must so that we can follow what the speaker was saying.

5. More interesting runner give aways like running shoes or a ticket to Singapore Marathon will ensure that runners will visit that place. Announce this during the press release.

The entire clinic is really interesting as I’ve learned a couple of things. But if those improvements above were considered, this will really kick ass.

After the clinic, we went for another LSD with takbo.ph guys. We probably ran more than 5km around the Fort area. Afterwards, running hardcore Pojie and Bong went for another run 3 loops this time faster mode. We probably averaged less than 6min/km I ended up eating Bong’s dust near the last 200metes of the 3rd loop. By breathing pattern was bad and I’m overstriding. Well, hope to perfect this soon. Well, got to sleep now. It was a tiring night.

By the way, will run a solo LSD again from Dasma to Cavite City that will cover 30km. Those of you in Cavite area, join me! Hehehehe.

I’m starting to think if upgrading from 21k to 42k LSD for Botak Paa-Tibayan 42K makes sense. Hhhmmmm.

My cellphone-cum-alarmed clock woke me up exactly 5am. Was too lazy to get up so I hit “snooze” and fell back to sleep. It again sounded the alarm after 5 minutes so I finally got up to wear my running clothes. Yeah I didn’t take a bath, who’s gonna smell me after all*laughs*. I intend to run all the way so physical contact with any human souls has been ruled out. I also didn’t take a breakfast. After wearing my running attire and applying petroleum jelly to strategic areas of my body to avoid burning sensation after a run, I hit the road running around 5:17 am.

After a kilometer, I went to 711 to buy 2 bottles of Gatorade and 3 cheap chocolates. I put one bottle’s contents on my Nike Hydration belt and carried the other one as I run. After passing  Waltermart, SM Dasma then Robinsons Dasma ( yeah we do have more malls that government hospitals in this part of the world!) I knew that I already ran 4 kilometers. I noticed that it was only this period where I began to perspire. Seeing PCU Dasma, I knew I’m already on my way to the 7th km.  At this point, I began more observant of my surroundings. If you’re running around this area, you will notice the following:

* There would be mais vendor every 5 to 10 meters. Your eyes will feel uncomfortable as the smoke coming from burning woods which they used to cook mais will start to annoy you. Be sure to wear your shades however its dark to at least block some of them coming into contact of your eyes.

* There’s a shop called “Dogbero” which is a parlor-cum-barbero for , what else..DOGS!

* There are fewer sari-sari stores along this 5 km stretch of the road so be sure you have supplies in your hydration belt.

* People were looking at me as if I’m an alien. I did expect this as this place is not a running city. And yes, I was running alone in that road all the way.

I continue running until I reached Petron station which is just a few meters from Silang intersection road. I bought Gatorade and rest for 5 minutes, satisfied knowing I was able to finish half of the task. The first 2 kilometers going back is a downward hill and I found myself running at 3km pace. I slowed down a bit and started to notice the sun starting to pierce through my skin. It was a tough race going backhome due to more vehicles  starting to appear on my left + the carbon monoxide they emit getting through my lungs. I probably stop 4 times on way home to shield my nostrils from inhaling pollution.

Seeing the gate of our compound was a relief! Check my clock, I was able to finish 20km in 2 hours and 27 minutes. I sat on my sofa and few minutes later, I started to feel a burning sensation on my chest. I removed my t-shirt, checked by chest and I realized I have what every men feared most when running..N.I.P.P.L.E  B.U.R.N!!

Now what are the things I’ve leared today:
* I did great on putting petroleum jelly on “strategic” parts of my body, but I forgot to put one on my chest. Need to apply gel there too!
* I wore my Condura t-shirt during this run and I noticed that the paint section of the shirt rubs on my chest, hence nipple burn! Next time, make sure to wear a nice singlet, or those running shirts from Adidas or Nike.
* If you should start your 20km run in the morning, its better to start earlier to avoid the sun. Next time I’ll start at exactly 5am or even earlier.
* Avoid risk of injury when trying to run on a downward hill by running correctly. I heard that most runners ended up injured when running  most on downward hill.
* Apply sunscreen to protect yourself from the sun

In all, it was a great LSD despite my nipple burn! Let this be a lesson to all male runners!

If I get to wake up early tomorrow and the weather will permit it, I’ll do my solo LSD from home to Silang Interchange and going back. Using Google Earth, I noticed that my route would be a total of 20KM. I plan to do at least one LSD a week, one tempo run a week and speed workout to prepare my self for a marathon on October (still thinking if Milo or QC International Marathon). Dasma is not really a running city so I expect to be running alone.

Hoping that things will work out fine tomorrow and no dogs will bother me.

Expectations from this LSD
* increase my leg muscle strength, endurance and aerobic fitness
* observe surroundings
* meditate and communicate with God
* plan life

We started the run a bit late as we were waiting for others to arrive. What could have been a run starting at 7pm, we probably started around 8:20pm. We hang around at ROX and Dyan Castillejo of Sports Unlimited saw us and greeted us. She asked us if we’re running and we said yes. Pojie said we’re gonna run for 25km for 3 hours and she was surprised. Minutes later, she saw us again and she greeted us. She’s a nice pal. Hope we could invite her for our LSDs..hehehehe. Dyan if you’re reading this, consider this an invitation!

It was fun bonding with people with similar interest as yours. As you can maintain conversation during an LSD run, I was able to share some stories with some of them. First part of the run, Pojie was sharing the right way of doing an LSD. He mentioned that the focus must be on how long you can keep running and not actually the distance itself. According to him its best to use midfoot when doing LSD. I realized that we really ran very slow and so I thought I can really do it. I did ensure to use my midfoot during my runs however I have problems with my pacing. I think I’ll be the worst pacer of all. I couldn’t maintain my speed several times I ran a lot faster I ended up leaving some of them. Our running route was nice, cool (didn’t rain as we all feared) and long. It was a time I was able to meditate, assess my current situation and plan my life ahead. I think I’m gonna love LSD’s and will probably do this once a week. Oh I also lose 5 lbs that night!