So my so called return to ultramarathon failed miserably. Although my legs were still kicking strong, the sun’s heat destroyed me. Several things I’ve learned from that race:

First. I will never be comfortable with that gigantic hydration bag (a 2Liter Camelback) bouncing off my back. As I ran I noticed that it caused some friction on the lower section of my back neck, hence the annoying heat I felt whenever I run. Good thing I carried my petroleum jelly, I didnt suffer any chaffing on that area. I might purchase a smaller one, probably a 1Liter local brand, I saw one at Mall of Asia (forgot the brand)

Second. The run walk strategy is a cool idea, but it didn’t work on me. I had extreme difficulty transitioning back from walking to running and this affected my pace. I’ve found my running phase got slower everytime after a minute of walk.

Third. When opportunity knocks, I will try to dose myself with cold water. I only did this on my face but never on my head and upperbody as I’m always wary of too much water ending up on my shoes. Read the rest of this entry »

Sat 12pm

I got home around lunch time and the wife was surprised why I got home early. She knew that I’ll be running my first trail run- 57km (that started 5am-ish that day)  at that and she expected me to arrive past  5pm. I told her that I didn’t finish the entire run, that  I only got as far as the first loop (the route requires to finish 2 loops for 57km total) and the reason why I didn’t finish the race was because I lack heat training, the race was too hot and sun’s killing me. It was raining cats and dogs outside the house and I wasn’t really sure if I was able to convince her of my alibi.

Rewind  10 hours earlier

I picked up Xerxis (ultra team mate from Team Ungas) around 3am and the plan was to pass through Carmona Exit to reach Sta.Rosa Laguna. The road from GMA to Carmona exit was treacherous, several uphill that you could not see the next incoming vehicle and the downhill roads  you have to be very careful with, there we no lights along the road, several sharp turns in the road with no necessary warning signals, I was wondering if the local government of Carmona were a bunch of monkeys that didn’t pay attention to road safety(much apologies to real monkeys).  To make things more complicated, it was raining that day that I thought I’d rather run another 102km than drive along those roads.

Xerxis was hoping that it wouldn’t be too hot during the course, I could only agree with him by nodding my head and not say anything as I was more concentrated driving on that hell road while muttering in my head biblical passage Psalm 23 with slight innovation…”even though I drive through the road of shadow and death,because you are with me, I fear no harm.”  We reached Nuvali club house around 4am where the rest of the 25 and 50km runners were already gathered. Read the rest of this entry »

Greentenial Race. I joined this race not because I am alumni of La Salle. Yeah I made the Brothers very happy for spending 7 years under their educational system (undergrad and graduate) but really, the sole reason why I joined this race is because..its libre pare! I honestly thought the race organizer is practically giving race kits away as I’ve been getting offers for free race kits from several friends/team mates*laughs*.

I woke up around 3am, too excited kse. It was a familiar feeling, waking up early, prepping up the stuffs I need, checking my shoes, clothes to wear etc. I was out by 3:30 am and was able to find a very convenient parking area just few meters from the starting line. As I’ve been training the past few weeks with gel-based orthotic on my shoes to deal with my heel spur, I used it as well for this road race, although this would be the very first time I would be using it on a race. I met Blas who gave me my race kit, met fellow Powerpuff Boys and greeted some friends. The race started at exactly 5:am after some stretching exercise by Argo (who also gained weight).

I run comfortably for the first 5km with an avg pace of 6-6:15min/km. However I have to slow down from time to time as I felt my orthotic insert moves sideways. It was a pretty annoying experience as I knew it would be just a matter of time I will have to take off my shoes, re-adjust the thing and continue my run. On the 8th km, I saw my inserts protruding from my ankle area. I have to stop, remove my shoes, re-adjust the thing and move on. This happened several times on both feet. You know the feeling, its so hard to continue a constant pace if something stops you from doing so. By 15th km, I have had enough of it I removed both my inserts and hold it on my hands while running. As I don’t want to risk again my injury, I slowed down considerably for fear I might re-ignite my injury. I’m fortunate that even if I was running without my inserts, I don’t feel any pain. Somehow, I’m thinking if buying custom-made orthotic  is more practical. I finished the race in 2:21min(unofficial), too far from my 1:56 PR but still glad I’ve made it without any serious issues.

After the race, I stayed around with Powerpuff boys for some post race ceremonies and games. It was something I’ve never done before, as I usually left the race place practically right after I cross the finish line. I just soaked myself in this race atmosphere. Seeing other people crossed the finish line, seeing people have photo-ops with other people, seeing friends running again…it was really a blessing that we were all given an opportunity to run today.  I will be chasing Half Mary again next month and I promised that this time, I will do better than before.

I just hope to find a new shoes that will have the best cushion with plantar support so that I don’t have to buy orthotic (by the way, it also cost almost same as a running shoes!). I wonder what the running ninja’s next shoes (weapon of choice) will be….Nuninuninuninuni….

Tomorrow marks my return to extramarital affair with the road. Yeah, I’ll be running 21km at Greentennial Half Marathon tomorrow Sunday at MOA complex. Just to let you know, I’ve been running the past few weeks. Logging in an average of 30-40km/week with tempo run, interval run,simulated hill runs and resistance training in a gym. While I don’t expect a sub 2 hours for this race (my P.R for 21km is only 1:56), I just hope all my efforts will pay off. My aim for this is to test if I’m fully healed (heel spur), or its just my brain telling me I’m healed (hahaha may ganon??!!)

Hope to see you guys around tomorrow.

Thanks to Blas for the free race kit!

I missed blogging. But for the past 3 months or so, I just lack the energy to write. I didn’t bother to read other running blogs, because it just frustrates me. Imagine the pain I have to go through of not being able to run, while seeing your friends enjoying each race and blogging their experience.  A major factor for this lack of energy to update this blog or get into running groove is my injury. Some of you knew that I have this injury called heel spur. I went through several doctors, the last from St. Luke’s BGC which told me to try four things:

1. Heel Cap
2. NSAIDs (e.g anti-pain medicines)
3. Orthotics
4. Physical Therapy

I tried heel cap, I used it when I ran that Yakult run at Roxas Bldg months ago. It was useless. I also tried NSAIDs during one of my easy run; I went home with swollen face and abnormal palpitation of my heart beat. It was then I realized I can never take any NSAIDs again. I bought a gel-based Orthotics from Runnr store, it cost php700+ (can’t remember the brand). I bought  2 pairs, one for walking, the other one for running. I can say that did this trick plus physical therapy; I can now train sensibly without having the fear of recurring pain.  I’m doing fine now, starting to regain my fitness and my speed. The tempo run I did this morning had me running 5km in 25 minutes. I did that in a treadmill, I have no idea how this translates when I start hitting the paved road. Soon I will know if I’m fully healed.

I’m looking forward for exciting things to come.