Hell yeah, I must love pain!

To help my mind get into “race zone” I thought of preparing my race gear tonight unlike before where I prepare my stuffs on the race day itself! Hehehehe! For the first time, I shall try Nike Compression shirt with my takbo.ph over, I shall wear Nike shorts, dri fit socks and will try to break in Nike LunarGlide+ on the race day. As the shoes are pretty new and with only 2km on it, I’m just hopeful it will not cause any blisters. Oh yeah, I already applied petroleum jelly on my toes, underarms and thighs.

For hydration, I shall fill up my hydration belt with Gatorade. I will consume 1 pack of sports beans 30minutes before the race and will drink the orange 100 Plus liquid to consume it. The other packet I will consume 5beans  on the 4th km and the other half on the 13th km. During the race, I will carry the crystal 100 Plus. You may think I’m over hydrated but with no idea how the race organizer will be true to their “water stations every 2 kilometer” promise as stated in their race packet, I’m taking extra measures to ensure I don’t end up dehydrated just like what happened on my last race, the dreaded 42k Botak Paa-Tibayan race.

As for my race strategies, here’s what’s gonna happen:
1-3 km: run comfortably, “feel the race”, warm-up stage
4-7 km: start running like a maniac from hell
8-12 km: recovery stage, run a little harder than the first 1-3km
13-16km: run again like a maniac from hell

Now this is my strategy, if this shall happen tomorrow is another story

I’ve only attended Mizuno clinics twice and really enjoyed the drills. The guy in charge is no other than Coach Ige (Miguel Lopez), tri-athelete and also a business man. He agreed to be interviewed by The Running Ninja and here it is!

Q: Most of the runners identify you as the designated running coach for Mizuno but only a few know that you’re also a competitive triathlete, could you tell us how you started into triathlon and how you ended up working with Mizuno as coach?
A: I started hiking mountains since 1995 when I was still in college and eventually joined AMCI mountaineering club in 2000.  All I did was hike, rock climb and run as aerobic training for hiking.  I was invited by a co mountaineer of mine to join a realy team in a half ironman in 2000 in matabungkay.  I did the run leg of 21k. Surprisingly, we placed 3rd overall and I was inspired by these “triathletes” to do 2k of swim, 90k of bike and a 21k of run afterwards. And still party after.  Amazing!!!

Q: How does your typical training week look like? hint from inquirer.net : (As a triathlete, Miguel logs 10 kilometers of swimming, 300 kilometers of biking and 50 km of running in a week).
A: I swim tuesdays, wednesdays and fridays, I bike mondays, wednesdays and saturdays and sometimes fridays.  I run tuesdays, thursdays and sundays.

Q: Only few people know that you’re an Economics graduate and you own a multi sport apparel called Transition One, could you tell us more about it.
A: I graduated from DLSU with a double degree of Economics and Business Management.  I even worked as a manager in training in Saettle’s Best until I decided to follow what I really like and desgin and produce my own multisport apparel which is TRANSITION ONE.  Started the business year 2004 and slowly grew it and I’m pretty proud to say that it is going pretty well and at the same time I still get to train and test my products during training and racing. Supporting the local scene has always been a part of why I have put up my own business so people who are just starting can get their own multisport apparel without having to spend so much on gear and still look good and perform well in it. (Running Ninja: Product images see below this post)

Q:You also do one-on-one coaching session. Tell us what are the key credentials, capabilities and experience runners should look for in selecting a running coach?
A:When looking for a running coach of course one should look at his/her running experience, running knowledge wherein he applies what he/she teaches, he/she has the respect for the athletes he/she is coaching, always acts in the best interest of the athlete, understanding to the student, has integrity in a coach-student relationship, a good example to the students, and promotes fair play always.

Q:In your experience, what are most runners hoping to get out of coaching? Program design, motivation, discipline, lose weight?
A:a lot of my students definitely want to lose weight but I always tell them that it will always follow if they are consistent with their training.  People usually get coaches cause they need to be assured, to be watched on, motivated during hard training sessions and a good program specifially designed to the student/athlete.

Q:What typically prompts a runner to move from self coaching to using a professional coach?
A:People usually get a professional coach if they get frustrated whenever they train and they don’t seem to improve.  They also get coaches because they trust that person and that the coach is very knowledgable.  The runner also wants reassutance of what he/she already knows.

Q:In addition to the training programs you design, what else do you emphasize to boost runners’ performance?
A:I always emphasize consistency in their training.  Without consistency their learning curve will always be longer.  The more dilignet you are in training the faster you will improve and of course the faster you will run.

Q:What are some common mistakes runners make in terms of designing their own training programs?
A: Common mistakes are training too long and/ort oo soon.  Doing a lot of races every weekend and not focusing on just certain races where they want to excel.  Rest days are usally ignored.  And when they train their hard days are not usually hard and their easy days are not usually easy.

Q:Majority of runners are aiming to finish a marathon, any tips you can give?
A: Always remember to enjoy the journey and not the destination.  Do not be too pressured with the times and if you have an option start short and eventually get more experience until you feel more confident to do longer ones.  Sustainability has always been important to me.

Q:Any tips to newbie runners?
A: take it easy and always have fun!

Q:Finally, what’s the highest complement an athlete can pay you as a coach?
A:To just see them running til they get old.

Please tell us how we can get in touch with you (also tell us where we can buy your stuffs).  People can contact me through my email at t1multisport@yahoo.com or at my cell number 09178478500.  thanks!!!!

In almost all races I’ve joined this year, I saw a great deal of runners listen to their ipods and music players while running. While I understand that they probably don’t want to get bored during the run, I also spoke with some people and told me convincingly that listening to music does improve their performance by helping them defocus on pains they feel during the race.

I personally can not verify this as almost all my races, I ran without music player. Although I did try to carry one during my first 21k race , I removed it only after three kilometers because adjusting the wire from time to time was such a distraction and having no playlist during that time, I found myself switching to different songs most of the time, hence I decided to run the rest of the distance without one.

After doing some research on the internet, here’s my conclusion:

Newbie runners like me MIGHT benefit from listening to music, helping you keep a good pace and takes your mind off some of the things that can slow you down. Just a warning for my readers, as most road races here in Philippines are being conducted on the same road where jeepneys are travelling, you may have to listen with just one ear or keep the volume very low so that you can still hear cars,jeepneys,motors etc coming your way.

However as you gain more experience and wanting to “level-up” your performance, its better to focus, concentrate better on your running form and listen to your body sans the music. That’s probably the reason why you never see elite runners or those who always bag the podium finish carrying music players during their races. Additionally, I personally believe that true motivation should come from within us. It’s much better to be comfortable with ourselves with no music and learn what really works. Also I do enjoy talking and listening to other runners during the race itself, plugging in my earpiece seems to take away the joy of communicating with people sharing the same passion as yours.

As I do not consider myself yet “experienced” I might bring my player this coming Sunday for Earth Run to help me improve my terrible pace. My plan is to play all Maroon 5 songs (minus one song that has a line “…is there anyone out there coz its getting HARDER AND HARDER TO BREATHE) to jack up my pace, followed by slow comfy music for my recovery then back to Maroon 5 songs again!

Do you listen to music when you run? Does it have any effect on your performance? I would like to know.

I understand that most of my readers are runners but in my effort to help people to start running as an exercise, I thought I should start a post to help address those people who never run before. If your primary reason to start running is to lose weight and start an active lifestyle, I do believe running is the best course of action. However when you start running competitively, don’t believe those people who still proclaim that running is the cheapest form of exercise. You need to invest on a nice compatible running shoes, running gear, hydration belt, running watch, eye wear and these cost a lot of money. Will probably start a post about this later.

This is an 8 week program that I got from About.com and hopefully help you transition into the sport:

1. Get a green light from your doctor before you ever started.
If you suffer from high-blood or any heart related issues, this is a must. I remember my dad running with me 4 months ago and upon reaching home, his blood pressure shoot up. We had him checked at hospital and was later told by a cardio that running is not for him as it will elevate his blood pressure more. We later found out that he’s got some issues in the right-ventricle of his heart. So folks, running is NOT for everyone.

2. Buy the right running shoes compatible for your foot. This is very important to avoid any long lasting injury. If you live near Makati area, you can try Athelete’s Foot for gait analysis at Glorietta or if you’re near QC, try Second Wind store at Teacher’s village.

Second Wind
88 Maginhawa St., Teachers Village QC
Email: secondwind.proshop@gmail.com
Tel: (632)799-2089

Athelete’s Foot
2nd Level Glorietta 3
Ayala Center, Makati City
Tel: (632) 817-7896

There’s another store opening this 2nd week of June called Runnr Store that has Footprint Scan and High-Speed Video Gait Analysis plus the first to offer Custom Insole Moulding. Got this info from the Bull Runner.

3. It is very important that before you start running, you need to warm up first for 5-10 minutes. You can do this by walking the whole 10 minutes of it OR walk for 8 minutes then jog for 2 minutes. You are properly warmed up when you start perspiring and your heart start pumping a bit faster than usual. If stretching is for you, then do stretching. There are countless debates if streching actually help. Even my favourite running coach Jeff Galloway repeatedly mention that the reason he is able to run injury free at his old age is that he never stretches. He firmly believes that it is harmful to runners and so is doing yoga. He must be a lucky guy but not everyone is as lucky as him. Personally I do stretching after warmups and I never encountered any issues doing so. You may want to follow some of running streches here.

Note: If you have access to an oval track, this is the best place to do this program. You can try oval track at Ultra-Pasig or try Bonifacio Global City (cement road though) considered to be one of the most comfortable and safest place to run.

4. Week one: Walk for 6 minutes, then jog at an easy pace for 1 minute. Repeat 3 times. Aim for three sessions with that same sequence for week one.

5.  Week 2: Walk for 5 minutes, then jog for 2 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Aim to do three sessions in week two.

6. Week 3: Walk for 3 minutes, then jog for 4 minutes. Repeat 4 times. Aim for four sessions in week three.

7. Week 4: Walk for 2 minutes, then jog for 5 minutes. Repeat 4 times. Shoot for four of those sessions in week four.

8.  Week 5: Walk for 2 minutes, then jog for 8 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Do four of those sessions in week five.

9.  Week 6: Walk for 2 minutes, then jog for 9 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Try to do four sessions for week six.

10. Week 7: Walk for 1 minute, then jog for 11 minutes. Repeat 3 times. Do four sessions this week.

11.  Week 8: Try walking for 5 minutes to begin and end the workout, and run for 20 minutes in between. By the end of the week, try to run for 30 minutes without stopping.

If you do this religously, try joining 5k races! Road races you can find here at takbo.ph website.

I just came from Mizuno Store and registered for Mizuno Infinity 09. Following BaldRunner’s advice to know first the race organizer before joining any race, I asked the Mizuno attendant on who’s going to organize the race. She told me Rudy Biscocho (the same guy who organized Condura) will head this one and so I hope this will be a well organized race. My idea of the  best (Condura) and worst (Paa-Tibayan) race has been defined after attending those 2 races. And so knowing that Rudy B. will head this one, I registered for 15k and paid php 350. All I got is my race packet with the finisher’s singlet to be given upon finishing the race.

Information about the race can be found here:

Mizuno Infinity Run 2009
http://mizuno.ph/index.php/news/sport_entry/infinity_run_2009/

However, upon checking their website I noticed that not all info are displayed in the “information and Instruction” section as compared to the race packet I received. For those who haven’t registered yet, here are the missing info from the website:

- Bags Check-in Service will be located at the assembly area near the start/finish area. Only one item per person will be accepted
- Portable toilets will be provided at the assembly area, seperate for men and women
- Race bibs must be worn in fornt, at the center of th erunner’s shirt or singlet. the bibs must be worn througout the entire race. Do not fold or crumple the race bib
- Water stations are located at the start and every two (2) kilometers on the race route
- Upon crossing the finish line, you will be timed and directed to a chute where the bar code tag of your race bib wil be removed. Finisher’s certificate and shirt will be given at the end of the chute.
- Ambulances and medical staff will be preesnt on the site. If you are experiencing difficulties, please inform the nearest marshal, race staff or water station

The first thing I’m going to check out on this race is the “water station every 2 kilometers” promise. I’m now thinking if bringing a hydration belt will be necessary. What do you think?

See you guys at Mizuno Infinity Run 09 race!