If you’re an avid reader of this blog, you would noticed how I would religiously post my race preparations especially my first marathon race where I became so obsessed with it I even detailed my actions on per hour basis prior to the actual start of the race. For this race, I decided to screw my usual pre-race preparation post because I realized however detailed my preparations are, the expected outcome usually never happen because of several factors I don’t have control. However, I always make sure to study my previous race and learn from any mistakes I encountered. Hence in this race, I did some adjustments:

Banana
Pooping twice on your debut marathon race will sure going to destroy your game plan. My mistake from my marathon preparation was that I was eating 3 bananas per day up to the actual race day. Later I found out that eating too much of it can simulate bowel movements. Hence I totally ignore banana on most days but I did eat a small one coated with honey during the race day for my breakfast.

Immodium
I’ve been hearing this from fellow runner bloggers that taking Immodium an hour before the race will ensure no stomach upset. I did try this on Thursday and Friday during my usual morning run and seems to work OK on me. This worked well on the race day as I didn’t experience loose bowel movement. If you should try this, please try it first during your training to see if it will work well on you. NEVER try anything new during the race.

Hydration
During my marathon race, I remember drinking 3-4cups of Gatorade/water for every water station. This made my stomach feel so heavy which probably contributed to having to release my bowels during my last race. So for this race, I probably bypassed five liquid stations but relied more on my hydration belt plus a cup of water from 3 or 4 stations.

As for my race strategy, I did prepare for this one. I reckon that after doing two 5km races (Condura and Air Speed), two 10km races (Greenfield and Southern race) , a 16km (Earth Run), 15km (Mizuno Infinity), a 21km (Botak Paa-Tibayan) and a marathon (Milo 33^rd elimination), pushing for PR this time for my succeeding races will make sense. I was hoping the training I did for Milo and a week before this race will help me improve my disastrous/severely dehydrated 21km finish time of 2:37 via Botak Paa-Tibayan race. Furthermore, I was hoping that my CWX Ventilator tights that I got from Runnr store will provide support to my knees and help keep sweat away from dripping into my feet. The tights did work and I believe this also helped me recover very fast. A review will be posted later.

The race started on time and I found myself running comfortably fast during the first 4km. This is the first race where I did challenge myself to look for potential running targets with the aim of running faster. I would increase my pace once I’ve identified a target then once done, I would slow down and maintain a certain speed, look for another running target and increase my pace again and so on. This would go on for the first 11km until I get tired of it. I know its fun as it gives me “mini-success” during my race, it also motivates me every time I over ran my target but it’s not maintainable. I wasn’t checking my heart rate monitor watch but rather my time but upon checking my heart rate I realized that I was running way beyond my aerobic zone (133-153) and my heart rate would range somewhere between 165-175. I knew right-away that muscle cramp will soon find its way on my legs and true enough; it attacked me along the Lawton-Bayani road. There’s something about this road I hate about. This road always gave me cramps for some reason. I remember fully stopping in this road and applying my ever trusted roll-on Salonpas from time to time. Everytime I would continue my run after a brief stop, muscle cramp would appear every 10 minutes. If some runners dread the Kalayaan Fly-over, I dread more this part of the road! If this road goes further down to Heritage road, I knew I would not make it within my target time. Alas, the u-turn going up was so quick and I soon find my way to the Fort again. Six hundred meters away from the finish line, I was running fast but muscle cramp near my hamstring would soon attack me. This happened three times that I have to stop, do a walk and soon jog. The last 100 meters, I was already running, giving all my best and before I knew it, the finish line was just a few meters away. I saw two ladies ahead of me and wanting to overtake them, I sprint. One of the lady runner (which I later learned was a takbo.ph member) saw me coming from her behind and tried to increase her pace too. Alas, the ruthless running ninja will never give way to a lady for strong finish and so I sprint and overtook her.

After the race, I asked a fellow takbo.ph runner what was his time as I was just behind him and told me 2:26. So if my estimate is right, I finished this race somewhere between 2:26-2:27. A ten minute improvement from my previous 21k race woohoo! Later after the race, we did our usual post-race carbo loading at Jolibee. Unknown to me, Rico, Chris and the gang prepared a mini program to give medals to fellow takbo.ph members who finished 42km run last Milo race. While I understand Milo has nothing to do with it, I did appreciate the fact that my running family recognized the hardship I did to finish my first 42km run.

I went home very happy knowing that I did improve my race and even more, knowing that my running family will always be there to support and encourage everyone to achieve their personal goal.

If you see me sprinting with that kind of face and you happen to be running nearby, run with utmost caution

Emo me receiving Milo replica medal from his hoffness Poj

Me and the Medal

What happened last Sunday could be one of the defining moments of my life. I’ve discovered myself, learned how I reacted to life’s pressures and finally made a 360 degree turn-around to do the right thing.

I’ve started everything as planned as detailed from my previous post. I woke up earlier than expected, did  a short prayer, had my breakfast, dressed up and hit the road around 2:00am. I picked up elite runners Ellen Tolentino and sister and a sprinter athlete at 711 station in front of DLSU-D and then headed straight in front of Manila Hotel where I parked my car. Few minutes before we got out of the car and as they were preparing their stuffs, Ellen gave me a suggestion what to take before an actual run. Take Pharmaton. Hahahaha yeah that multivitamin supplement. I’m sure they are not official endorsers of that product and they do mean it to help me out with my race. So these elite runners are taking it before they run, I shall try this in the future and check how it will affect my performance. I did my usual warm up by slowly running around and then decided to go to the nearest McDo where takbo.ph guys were suppose to meet. I got in there around 3:50am but found no one so I decided to go back near the starting area where I met Craig of  Team Logan. We had a little chat on how he placed a nice banner on his son’s stroller and informed me that his wife will run her first 21k that day. I stick with him knowing that he’s suppose to lead a prayer for 42k runners around 4am but that didn’t happen as no one from the team was still around (or they were already inside the race area). Around 4:10 am, fellow virgin marathoners from Takbo.ph runners were slowly coming in. In what could be a foreshadowing of things to come that morning, just when I was about to get inside I noticed that the barcode attached to my bib is gone! I ran towards my car (and met Wilson along the way) to see if the barcode is still there but found nothing. I have to ask one of the race guy and he informed me that I could just give my race bib so that my official time could be registered.

So I finally got inside the race area and saw a couple of runners bloggers ready to rock. I made sure to greet every person I recognize from blogger world like BaldRunner,  Jonel, Natz, Vener and Ivy Macainan (not a blogger but sure she’s hot, anyway…). The race started earlier than expected. The road along Roxas was easy and with my pace still in check via my heart rate watch, I made sure I wasn’t running too fast to conserve energy. On the 10th km, I consumed my hammer gel followed by a sip of gatorade from my hydration bottle. As it was my FIRST time to take it, I felt something weird about the taste. I ignored the taste and moved on with my run. The road going to Buendia section was a relief as I didn’t feel the usual stomach cramp that normally triggers after more than an hour of hard run. I met Bards and her team and joined her for a few meters. I asked her our pace and she told something like 6min+/km. Somewhere along this section of the road was a misting station. When some runners would run quickly as not to get soaked from it, I actually ran slower to enjoy that area with the intention of cooling my body temperature. Few meters away from the misting station, I realized I made the worst mistake in what could be the start of my agony. I noticed that my shoes were already wet, including my socks and feet! I was hoping there would be no blister attack as I almost soaked my feet in petroleum gel the night before. True enough, there were no blisters the entire race but there was a very painful deep crease on my left foot. Imagine running with a sharp knife under your feet stabbing you every time you step. That’s the feeling. See what I got:

Every step is a painful experience

I had to remove my shoes four times during the race (the last time with Doc Roy) to see if it bleeds, because if it bleeds then that would be the time to finally call it a day.  I still continue my pace albeit slower then took another Hammer gel a kilometer before the road going to Kalayaan Flyover. I can only reckon if this stimulated bowel movement because a few minutes later, I was dying to look for the nearest public rest room to release it! The entire event made me remember Murphy’s Extended Law. If a series of events can go wrong, they will do so in the worst possible sequence. I was already in the treacherous road of Kalayaan Flyover when this happened. This is the time I really ran very very slow.  Then Rico appeared out of nowhere behind my back. This happened near the end of Kalayaan Flyover. I tried to pace with him for a few meters but finally have to give up my pretension and informed him of my predicament.  He informed me of the nearest public rest room (Shell station) and another one near the Army headquarters. I thought it would be impossible to do it at the Army station and so I decided to visit the neared  rest room at Shell station.

Look closely at my face....this was the time I was dying to release all my frustrations in life to the nearest public rest room!

Off I ran in the opposite road while telling Rico I’ll have to go to Shell station to do my thing. As MOST public bathrooms here in the Philippines have no tissue paper, I have to go the counter to BEG for tissue paper (I didn’t have money on my hydration belt). The lady gave me one and I hurriedly ran towards the C.R. Just when I was about to release it, I heard a knock on the door and so hurriedly put my shorts back. I opened the door and there was this lady in front of me. I then realized I entered lady’s rest room! Grabe noh? I apologized and went to the next room which I made sure was for guys! I was finally able to release it and just as I put my shorts back, Migs (shutter_speed) also hurriedly went inside! I think I gave him the shock of his life when he saw me. As I was technically already done (but haven’t actually flushed the toilet yet when he entered), I hurriedly flushed the CR, put my hydration belt and bib on and off I go.

..to be continued…

When Pojie first started the idea of doing Long Slow Distance (LSD) run from Tagaytay to Sta.Rosa over takbo.ph thread, I immideately signed up. While I understand that most of my readers are runners, I want to give new runners a quick idea what an LSD is. The main benefit of a long slow run is to develop aerobic resistance. This differs with medium paced training runs  and with tempo runs which develop aerobic power. This aerobic resistance gained from doing long slow runs is the fundamental building block on which your ability to run a long distance at a sustained speed in a race is built. If you’re gearing up for a marathon race (which I guess most of us at takbo.ph will do this October), LSD is a MUST for all of us. Two more benefits are development of blood circulation system which allows your lungs to move more oxygen to the muscles that need it and, and my favourite one, it burns more internal fat efficiently! FYI, our muscles usually use glycogen as a source of fuel, but during an LDS run,  this runs out and the muscles start to use fats as fuel. It is for this reason why most marathoners have super sexy legs and slim body structure.

Now going back to our LSD, we plan to start our run at 4:00 am to avoid the afternoon sun. By Pojie’s estimate, we should be able to reach Sta.Rosa Laguna by 9:00am. Luis and I decided that we will park our car in Laguna where Doc. Eric will pick us up and drive us to his place in Mendez Cavite. However this was not followed so we ended up going to Laguna with his car while I left mine at Laguna.

Eric showed up around 3:30am and we were able to reach his grandmother’s place by 4:20am.

The street from Doc Eric’s place to the main road is full of dogs no one from the team dared to run. For readers abroad, we have dogs here belonging to a breed called Askals. They are ferocious, respects no one, bites every running souls and are usually noisy at night. As we don’t want to deal with these dogs, we walk all the way to the main road

After surpassing that small and very dark street full of dogs, we start our running session. As we started very late (5:00am), we decided to up our pace 8m/km until we reached Tagaytay Rotunda. It was at this point I somehow got a foreshadowing that this will not be a typical slow run but a tempo run, and boy I was right after finishing this 27km run.

Our greatest fear the Sun rises early that day. We ran faster at this point to reach Tagaytay Rotunda.

I decided to take a quick rest in a restaurant somewhere in Tagaytay road that sells Ostrich, Steaks, Ostrich again and Burgers. The owner of this establishment decided that a Bridal car in front of this restaurant is sure to catch attention. Sure it did catch my attention!

Before we reached Tagaytay Rotunda we met Jinoe and Jerry.  Yes, thats them in the middle of Tagaytay road where speed monsters bikes were also travelling that early morning.

The road from Tagaytay Rotunda going to Sta. Rosa area is full of surprises. I must admit it was my first time to run that road (the farthest I’ve traveled by car in this place is Picnic Grove area) and so I did not waste no time taking pictures of everything I see.

We didn’t run together as one group but instead ended up with subgroups. This is the first group led by Ultraman Jerry. Later on, I ended up almost 1 kilometer away from them as I spend quite a lot of time taking pictures and searching each stores for Gatorade while running this road. The next group following me would be Poj groups, 2 kilometers away from me. If my memory served me right, I was running alone for almost four kilometers that day.

I can only imagine how tough it is for a women to do an LSD. Imagine if they suddenly feel the need to pee, they have to enter an establishment (e.g restaurant, store etc) just to relieve themselves. This treacherous road we traveled have no such establishment and so, some of us just have to look for a special place to pee.

We finally reached Sta.Rosa around 11:10am.

We still have to run 9km more to reach Mhel’s place. However, it was just too hot we can’t do it anymore. But as expected on how running addicts would normally behave, some of us still ran!  Those who ran were Pojie,Jerry,Mhel, Quennie, Carly and Raymond.

We reached Mhel’s place and feasted on what could be the best arozcaldo in the world ever made.

And finally, class picture with the rest of the team.

As with my previous postings, I always put my “lessons learned” every time I run. So here they are:

1. When doing LDS, its always best to run with a group. The camaraderie and encouragement you get is enough to continue your passion. I say this based on my experience. I did my solo 20km run from Dasma to Silang and I could say it was boring. Running with a group is more fun!

2. Use a comfortable running shoes on your LSDs. Better, invest one that is specifically geared for your long runs.

3. Ensure you’re properly hydrated, load lots of choco mucho/gels or sports beans on your hydration belt.

4. Better if you know of any available toilets along the road you’re planning to run on.

Alright that’s all folks! Hope to see you on our next LSD!

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