Yesterday I attended the 2nd session of Mizuno Run Club headed by Coach Miguel “Ige” Lopez. We started with a warm-up run of 2 loops around BHS, that’s around 2.4 km followed by a short 2 minute break.

Drills followed and as expected, Coach Ige introduced some new drills. It gets tougher as the session progresses and my aim is to learn from these drills and incorporate some on my own drill exercises. See pics below:

After the drills, we proceed with the run. The plan was to run around the BHS loop twice followed by a 2 minute rest, another run around the loop, 2 minute rest, run 1 side of the loop, 2 minute rest followed by run of 1/2 side of the loop then rest. The goal is as the distance gets shorter, we should run a lot faster. However, I noticed that only few actually followed the plan :)  By the way, I was able to use Mizuno Wave Inspire 4. A review will come on next week.

We did a short break and then followed by some stretching exercises to relieve our tired muscles.

Next week, there will be another time trial, this time 5km. I placed 6th place on the first 3km time trial out of 60+ participants. I hope to stay within top 5 this time.

Cheers and see you guys on next Mizuno Run Clinic!

Got this from Ms. Aileen Pua, Brand Manager of Enervon Prime. I will not be attending this as I’ve already signed up for ROTA Run this Sunday. But for some of you who can’t make it to ROTA Run, this is the best alternative race.

Enervon Prime’s MEMOrace for Better Days  aims to drive awareness on the importance of having a sharp mind and empowerment of senior adults.  This event is the first race in the country with 2 courses - a 2.5 km walk and a 5 km fun run with a culminating entertainment event which will be attended by over 1,500 senior adults, medical professionals and runners.

A fundraising fun run for Hands on Manila’s Better days project!

What makes this race different?
-LOTS and LOTS of freebies!
-Instant Photos
-Free Health Consultation
-Many more surprises!

5k Fun Run
-open to all
Php 250

2.5k Fun Run
-not your usual run
-exciting activities to have sharper minds
-exclusively for 45 yrs. old and above
Please present valid ID
Php 100

Register now at the following locations!
New Balance Shangri-la
New Balance Glorietta
New Balance Festival Mall

Planet Sports Rockwell
Planet Sports Trinoma
Planet Sports Alabang Town Centerl
Planet Sports Virramall

The Athlete’s Foot Galleria
The Athlete’s Foot Ermita

Enervon Prime Booth in Bonifacio High Street (in front of Stock Market and Friday’s Resto)
Runnr in Bonifacio High Street

Together, let us make this run memorable and enrich the lives of the Better Days elderly community.

For inquiries, contact aimee pua at aupua@unilab.com.ph 09178207809

Aimee Pua
Brand Manager
Enervon Prime
0917-8207809
8581281 loc. 5316

I was already at the Fort 35  minutes before 5:00am start time for 21km runners. After parking my car (and Rodel leaving his stuff behind), I went straight to the road and proceed with an easy jog for 15 minutes. This was followed by stretching and some simple drills. My plan for this race was to finish the race by 2:17 or below as stated from my previous blog post. It was just a 10 minutes improvement from my previous 21km race. Then come Rota Run, I will target 2:07 then New Balance, do a sub 2 hours or 1:57. The plan was simple, gradually improve each race by 10 minutes. But this particular race proves to be a surprise. More on that later.

I was already inside the corral 10 minutes before start time and was happily chatting with fellow takbo.ph 21km runners. I went to the starting line to ask the marshall guy assigned to “check” my bib as I noticed mine wasn’t checked yet. On my way back to my team, Sir Jonel and Sir Jovie saw me and asked me to join them to help me with my evil plan of conquering sub 2 hour. Honestly, I was dying to inform them that my plan was just a conservative 2:17 finish time. I guess they concentrated more on the 2nd portion of my post about my Men’s Health picture and just scanned the first portion which described my finish time plan. *laughs* Few minutes later, the gun was fired and the adventure begins.

For the first 2 minutes of the race, I was running comfortably but also checking on various parts of my running form. Body leaning forward. Check. Elbow at right angle and not swaying infront of my body. Check. Shoulders comfortable. Check. Backfoot strike higher (but not hitting my butt). Check. Cute girls running around me. Check check check!! I was looking for my target Wilson Tan who eats 21km for breakfast and usually finishes it at sub 1:50. Just a tip, if you want to run faster, then join faster runners!  I finally saw him and stayed 10 meters away from him. I didn’t tell him of my presence as it might affect his performance, although I’m sure he knew I’m looking for him hehehehe. Here’s my observation of him, everytime a runner reaches him, he would look at the runner’s face and surge ahead. This happened several times and I thought I might suffer the same fate if I do!*laughs*. I tried to pace with him but he was slowly increasing his pace near the Kalayaan Flyover..then disappeared. I also saw Sir Jonel in the uphill climb of Kalayaan flyover and noticed he was attacking that section of the road, he slowly disappeared too. Sir Jovie would have me eat his dust as we turned left after Kalayaan Flyover. I observed that his leg turnover is way too fast as compared to mine. I.M.U.S.T.L.E.A.R.N.A.N.D.P.R.A.C.T.I.C.E.T.H.I.S!  All runners I personally knew, I made sure to greet them to give them that extra boost. This is something I can’t unlearn

The race route was enjoyable. It passed the streets of Makati Business District, Paseo, Makati Ave and Shangrila.  The road marshalls are helpful and effective in controlling vehicle traffic EXCEPT for a small portion in  Bayani Road going back to Lawton Ave where I find myself running between a van and several jeepneys. There were plenty of water/gatorade stations however, with the rainy season around I wish they should have covered the area well. I remember getting several cups of water with the assigned guy trying to cover it with his hand so that rain won’t pour directly to it. With rains pouring in his hand, then some going straight to my water, it wasn’t a pleasant experience drinking it

As I reached the finish line, I checked my watch and realized that I ran way too fast from my expected finish time. Yup I finished the race by 2 hours,4 minutes and 16 seconds. If I didn’t stop because of cramp attacks on my stomach (I just realized that HammerGel and Gatorade don’t mix) and calf plus visits to water/gatorade stations I think I could have finished it 2 minutes less. I’m happy with the result as I was able to improve my race time by 23 minutes and in doing so, busted my target time for this race and ROTA. I now plan to improve more and hit sub 2 hours come ROTA run on Sunday. No pressure this time hehehehe, I’ll be happy if I’ll be able to finish ROTA by 1hour:59min:59sec.

See you all and lets keep on improving!

Race Bib # 6481 finish time 02h:04m:16s

Photos from Carlo’s Flickr account:

Last night I attended the first session of the Mizuno Running clinic headed by tri-athlete/running coach Miguel “Ige” Lopez. I did attend this clinic early this year but I was only able to attend three sessions (they were 10 sessions-all free!). However, I intend to attend and complete all 10 sessions this time.

For those who are planning to attend this running clinic, here are the questions you might ask and my answers:

1. Where is this Mizuno running clinic held?
Bonifacio High Street - Taguig Metro Manila.

2. What day/time they start?
Every Thursday at 7pm. They usually end around 8:30pm to 9:00pm.

3. How much does it cost to join this running clinic?
As mentioned above, this is free!

4. I don’t own a Mizuno pair, can I still join?
If you go there wearing a different brand of running shoes, this will promptly ask you to leave the place immediately. Ok just kidding, you can go there and register even if you don’t own a Mizuno pair. I myself don’t have one. ? If you own a Mizuno pair, you will be given some discount coupon where you can avail of some Mizuno stuffs at a discount, freebies (possibly a singlet if you complete all sessions, Gatorade bottle for each sessions etc) and bragging rights knowing you’re a member of Mizuno Running Club.

5. How’s a typical Mizuno running session look like?
The session would normally begin with a 1.2km warm-up jog/slow run around BHS. After the run, you will be given 10 minutes to refresh yourself. There will be Gatorade available for everyone. This will be followed by several drills. Coach Ige usually introduce new drills every session so it’s important to attend all sessions if you want to enjoy the drills. Drills usually last for 10-15 minutes, all depending on Coach Ige’s mood and the complexity of the exercise.

To give you some info why you need to include drills in your training:

1. Drills develop total fitness for runners. They exaggerate various aspects of the running motion, as well as isolate and work the specific muscles involved.
2. They can potentially improve your running time. These running drills are great for improving your running form and running economy.
3. The exercises also help to strengthen specific muscle groups needed for powerful running, especially the muscles of the feet, calves, shins, thighs and hips. The ankle, knee and hip joints undergo considerable flexion and extension during the running stride, and each of these joints is exercised through a similar or greater range of motion during the various drills

After drills, its your chance to apply what you’ve learned so you will be asked to run again around BHS loop at race pace.

Last night’s session, we did a 3km time-trial run after the drills. I completed 3.6km (3 loops around BHS) in 18 minutes and 32 seconds. I know I could have improved this time if I didn’t do my leg speed training early that morning. Anyway, this will be compared in the future (possibly in the 10th session) to test if my speed/fitness improves. My plan is to finish 3.6km in 15 minutes flat at the end of this class. Hope to see you guys soon in Mizuno running clinic every Thursday!

Hello I’m back! This month I’ll be joining all 21km races namely Eco-Dash,  RotaRun and New Balance. I should have joined Milo San Pablo race (another 21km) first Sunday of this month but I ended up staying in the hospital four days prior to the race day so I wasn’t able to prepare. Anyway come this Sunday, I’m planning to finish 21km within or below 2:17. Why 2:17? Let me show you my race results for 21km so far:

1st 21km race : 2:37 Botak Paa-Tibayan
2nd 21km race: 2:27 Globe Run for Home
3rd 21km race: Plan to finish at least 2:17

If I’ll be able to achieve 2:17 on Sunday, I plan to do 2:07 for RotaRun then 1:57 for New Balance Race. If I don’t do 2:17 on Sunday, I’m back to drawing board and will do changes on training. As you can see, yup I plan to improve my time by 10 minutes for the next 21km races. I know its pressure for me but somehow, I thrive and enjoy the pressure I put myself into. Success on each race is just so sweet I’m always looking forward for improvements on succeeding races.

They say when you join a marathon; it can either break you or elevate you into another level. I like to believe I’m in the latter part. The disastrous marathon performance I’ve experienced gave me an opportunity to put more emphasis on discipline and hard work on my trainings. Indeed, my succeeding races after the marathon were all PR, although I believe I can improve it more. So see you guys on Sunday and I hope we all improve!

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(syempre di ko makakalimutang iblog to)

I remember I claimed my New Balance shirt last week when two guys approached me and said “pare kamukha mo yung guy sa Men’s Health Magazine”(translation: buddy, you look like the guy in Men’s Health Magazine). I pretend not to know and just said “yeah so many people told me that, but really it was just a look-alike”. But in reality, it was me! Hehehehehe!

The interview was conducted two months ago. It was all about how I lose weight by running. Although I was 150lbs during the interview, I’m happy to report that I’m now 138lbs. Three more pounds to lose and I’ll be in my optimal running weight! Running..you gotta love it!