Today is the beginning of getting back to my usual training sched. For the past 2 or 3 months, I’ve been very lousy either due to injury or plain katamaran.  So this morning I woke up around 5:00 am and head straight to oval track to do some training. There was no specific training in mind that time, I just went there and see what I can do. This was actually weird considering that i usually plan my sessions. But today, it was one of those moments where you want to surprise yourself with life’s unpredictability.

So I went to DLSU-D oval and ran three kilometers in the first lap. My split was:
1st km : 5min:42 sec
2nd km:  5min: 29 sec
3rd km: 4min: 22sec

I was able to complete 3 km for 15 minutes and 33 seconds. That was supposetedly a warm-up run gone berseck. This was followed by core exercises. I got bored with those core exercises so I followed it with 10x 150meters all out sprint with 1 minute walk/jog in between. I then proceed with core exercises again and some stretching I learned from Cris Sabal. I love to repeat this again but this time, I will increase my “warm-up” run by 3 km until I reach 12km by Thursday. What do I intend to gain from this? Get back my fitness level fast! I just hope I will have enough discipline to maintain it.

I checked my weight in my naked glory and noticed that I now tipped the scale at 148lbs! Then I remember this blog post I made about me being interviewed by Men’s Health Magazine, I remember I was already 138lbs back then…now I’m now 148lbs. Take note that I was 133lbs when I won 3rd place during Takbo.ph 1st Biggest Loser competition.  Somebody told me that at least I’m “improving” on something. Duh!

Warning:  This will be my first all-Tagalog blog post, my brain cells were not moving fast enough to translate Tagalog thoughts to English. In short, tinamad ako.

Sa mga panahong ito alam nyo na siguro ang mga nangyari sa 34th edition ng Milo. Marami kayong nabasa tungkol sa tagumpay, mga bagong PR na napagwagian, mga birhen na dina birhen, sa larangan ng marathon ang ibig ko sabihin. Ang nakakalungkot, may mga nandaya at may namatay. Pero sa mga nakakita sa akin nung Milo, marami din nagtatanong sa akin “hoy Sam, ano nangyari syo, bigla kang nawala na parang…NINJA!”

Ano Ang Nangyari
Well ayos na sana ang lahat eh. Ang ganda ng pace ko hanggang 8th km, chillax pace nga mga pare koy. Nsa 5:55-6:05min/km ang average pace. Ka pace ko sila Noelle at Prince pero nauuna ako ng konti. Kse ang evil plan ko eh sige sabay lang ako sa kanila, pero pag dating ng last 5 kilometer, babanat ako ng malupit na parang yun na ang huling takbo ng buhay ko. Alas, ako ang nabanatan..ng malupit! Pag dating ng 8th kilometer, malapit sa Uniwide, biglang kumirot yung sa banding kidney ko at ilang parte ng tsan ko. Alam nyo mga pare, bago pa man akong tumakbo, may sakit nko sa kidney. Masakit, ang magkasakit sa kidney. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been very busy last week I forgot to post some stuff on my blog due to my full-time work at a software company, my online raket that I started just last week and another outsourcing business I’m currently working on. To relieve all the stress, I signed up for this race (21km) as part of my tempo-run but also to double-check the condition of my right-knee on longer distances. Sad to say, but I still encountered a sharp pain on the lateral side of my right knee which forced me to utilize more of my left leg and in doing so, caused cramps on my left calf and slowed me down considerably from km 16 up to the finish line. I finished the race based on my timer at 2h:08min+.

Here’s my review of the race:

Positive:
1. Well marshalled race.One marshall even greeted me good morning which is a rarity in race events here.
2. Enough hydration station (water and electrolyte being served).
3. Race started on time

Negative:
1. Lack of kilometer markers.I do believe this is one of those MUST in road races here in the Philippines. All I saw from the entire 21km route were U-turn markers

2. No ribbon in the first U-turn in Ayala area.I remember I overheard one runner on our way to Ayala asking a friend of his (who was already on his way back to Kalayaan flyover) if there were ribbons being given. His friend replied “No” and as expected, this runner (and another friend of his) did a short-cut by crossing to the other lane going back to Kalayaan flyover. I wish I’d restrained myself that morning but my mouth seems to have a brain on its own that I blurted out “Hoy kapal ng mukha nyo!to these runners.

3. Long line to claim your freebies.Yes, I want to see the value of my registration fee, pinapatulan ko din to minsan! I hope race organizers would be more efficient in giving away freebies/lootbags after runners cross the finish line. I believe the last time I saw this being implemented was last yr when I first joined a road race (5km-Condura) where the lootbag was given right after crossing the line. The line was too long I didn’t bother to claim my freebies. Later it was announced that the next Earth Run will feature a 42km. I don’t expect marathon finishers to fall in line for several minutes to claim their rightful freebies after running for several hours! This system must go.

4. Ok this one is probably just me. But I really don’t like the taste of that bitter-sweet energy drink they gave.

Overall I like the way this race was organized except for those minor issues above. Later after the race, there was an announcement that a 42km distance will be featured next yr. This is something I look forward to in the future.

As of this writing, results according to the race organizer (adevents.com.ph) will be available on Wednesday.

I’ve promiseed myself that after my first Ultramarathon race, the next goal is a sub 4 on 34th Milo Marathon. I’ll be more serious on my training and as such, may even miss some road races so that I could concentrate and focus more on my training. I promise to log my training details to help fellow runners who are planning to break the 4 hour barrier, hoping that it will help them as well.

I’ve observed that all my 42km (four of them!) are not something I’m proud of. Yeah I did finish them all but always below my expectations. There’s always a part of me that is really dead set on improving my 42 km run. Signs of OCness? Hope not. Read the rest of this entry »

If you want to run efficiently, faster and with lesser impact on your body, you MUST learn to improve your running form. Over the course of several months, I’ve studied my own running form by looking at nearby window mirrors to check my form. Although I must admit I look like an idiot while looking at building’s reflective images here at the Fort, it actually gave me a glimpse of my own form while running. I know my running form is still a work in progress as I still commit newbie mistakes especially when fatigue comes in. However, I try to improve this by doing some drills and strengthening my core.

Follow these tips and start improving your form.

Head Movement
When I started running, I have this habit of tilting my head downward to check my feet or my cadence. I realize that this is actually bad in two ways. First, by looking downward you become too conscious of your stride and in doing so you won’t notice your breathing pattern changes immediately- making it harder for you to breathe deeply. So you switch to “shallow” breathing (taking in a small volume of air with each breath, using only a small portion of the total lung capacity) causing side stitch. I understand that there are several causes of side stitch when running and this is just one of the causes. Secondly, you are also using a negative posture, which can have an effect on your running ability as well as your general mood. To correct this, simply hold your head high while looking straight ahead. Elongate the back of the neck so you don’t slouch.

Shoulders
I remember many weeks before my Milo Marathon when I met Coach Ige and commented when he saw me run “you need to improve your form, para kang kuba kung tumakbo eh ”. Since then, I studied, researched and practiced correct running form to improve my running economy. In a nutshell, your shoulders should be relaxed, away from your ears, square or facing forward and not curved over. Rounding the shoulders too far forward tends to tighten the chest and restrict breathing. If you check elite runners during their run in race mode, you will notice that their shoulders show almost no apparent extraneous movement and both always remains parallel to the running surface. I know this because I always observe the running form of fellow townmates and elite runners Cris Sabal and Tolentino sisters at the Oval.

Arms
If you saw Cristine Reyes during Globe Run, you would have noticed how she sway her arms across her chest and sometimes in her belly button. This is bad and you should not follow it (you can still watch her movies though) because it waste a lot of energy as it creates a superfluous lateral movement that rides against your primary objective of moving forward. To correct this, try running with your thumbs out and pointed up for a few runs. This will give you a visual indicator of your hand movements. Personally, I like to run in such a way that my thumbs lightly brush the threaded side-seams of my running shorts. This will ensure that my arms are not moving across my chest. Additionally, keep your arms at 90 degree angle.

Hands
During my newbie days, I love to run in such a way my hand is positioned like its ready to punch unmanageable runners. The main idea here is don’t clench your fists, because it can lead to tightness in the arms, shoulders, and neck. Run with your hands as relaxed as possible. If you want to improve yours, you may want to run while holding a glass or better yet, run as if you are holding an egg (not a hard-boiled egg) and you try not to break it.

Land Midfoot
It still mystifies me when I hear some experienced runners running down hills on their heels. I tried asking heel-strikers why they do it and they gave me several reasons such as “so that I have control when I run downhills, so I don’t fall over, etc”. But in reality, if you heel-strike, you are stopping your forward momentum and causing undue stress on your joints and knees (plus: your ankle is not a shock absorber!). You also tend to over-stride when you heel-strike so avoid this especially for newbie runners. Furthermore, if you land on your toes, you are causing your calves to do too much work, which can lead to shin splints. If possible, try to land on the middle (ball) of your foot, and away from your toes.

Posture
Runners tend to slouch over a bit especially when exhausted. They’ll often look down to a point just a few feet ahead of them causing changes in their breathing pattern. This will increase contact time with the ground and put more impact on your joints. I must admit this is something I’m still working on. Try to develop strong core muscles and try to engage your deep abdominals when running to prevent slouching towards the end of long runs.  The latter is something I always hear from Coach Ige even during drills and stretching. You can also try core work-out exercise from renowned hurdler Lolo Jones below:

Lolo Jones Core work-out from Runner’s World Website
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-263–13030-3-1X2X3X4-5,00.html

I hope post helps. Let’s keep on running and improve!