This particular post is in response to Jinoe’s call to help expose our local elite runners so that readers will be more familiar to them and support them for the upcoming international marathons namely Quezon City International Marathon and Subic International Marathon. Honestly, it’s so hard to catch these guys as they normally begin training around 7am where I usually left the oval to prepare myself for work. So I wasn’t able to interview them thoroughly, but hopefully after these two marathons, I plan to do it with some tips on how we “regular” runners can improve more. They already gave a couple of tips to me, particularly Ellen taught me some cool drills, Aileen helped me proper stretching and Cris gave me some points about running form and many others.

The first two pictures here is my “secret” training ground where I do my speed work. Outside this oval track is a 250 meter uphill where I do my hill trainings.

Here are the elite’s pictures. If you fancy staying longer after a race and you happen to reach the awarding ceremony part, you would usually hear these names (if they happen to join the race).

Please let us support them in the upcoming international marathons! I think the best we can do is to cheer for them. As per Cris “Pare laking tulong yun, nakakaboost tlaga ng morale. Dapat ganyan lagi gawin nten sa mga marathon run para tumaas standard nten katulad sa ibang bansa”.

In the 3rd session of Mizuno Run Clinic, we did a 5km time trial run that included ALL runners. Prior to this session, I have no training at all, the only run I did was an easy 4km run the day after ROTARun. I don’t know what hit me, maybe a runner’s bug or I still carry the disappointment from the previous race. Whatever alibi I got, I know I will suck big time on this 5km time trial run, my only wish for this race is really just to surpass my previous 5km run record (31 minutes) held many months ago (AirSpeed at MOA). With that in mind, I ran the race and finished it at 26:50+.

Even if this is just a time trial run, I was surprised the Mizuno staff prepared for this. Surprisingly, we were all given race bib number and for each loop that we passed, we were also given a ribbon to signify that we passed each loop. Distance was accurate as far as I’m concerned, all of us marked with race bib number, with plenty of water and gatorade after the race, this time trial run is almost as good as an actual race! Anyway, here are the pictures:

To gain back my running mojo fast, I plan to wake up tomorrow early morning, do a one hour non-stop run within my aerobic zone, do drills followed by speed training and core strengthening. Come New Balance PowerRace on Sunday, I will run “naked”, no uber heavy damp CWX, no hydration belt with heavy bottles, just me and my guts to finally hit sub 2 hours for 21km. See you all on Sunday!

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!

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!

I’ve mentioned from my previous post that I plan to create a customized program for me incorporating some of the Lydiard principles. The first step involve in this program is to run for 2 hours continuously regardless of the pace. I’ve done this already, running around oval track with my heart rate within my aerobic zone (133-153) three times. The next step is anaerobic running and leg-speed training and this is where I’m going to concentrate most.

This step basically consists of hill training and moving your legs fast. The aim of hill training is to bring resistance to the leg muscles specifically those white muscle fibers that are key ingredient for giving you faster speed. It also helps stretch your leg muscles and tendons which eventually will avoid the possibility of having pulled muscles or strained tendons during your actual race.

How I’m going to do hill training:
Warm-up is a MUST for all kinds of training so I’m going to run around the track for fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes is just my preferred time to spend for my warm-up, but if you find yourself already perspiring and your body feels warm already then you can go to the next step – stretching. Another fifteen to twenty minutes will be spend for stretching. There’s a proper way of stretching which was demonstrated to me last week by elite runner Cris Sabal. I plan to make a blog post with pictures in the future on how to do it properly so that we all can learn from it. After stretching, its time to attack the hill!

It’s a good thing my training ground has everything I got for my runs. It’s got a 150 meter steep uphill road leading to oval track and this is where I’m going to do my hill training. The aim of this exercise is to use your own body weight for the resistance; the center of gravity must be lifted up and down to gain resistance, not just lifting the knees. One key important to remember during hill training is NEVER RUN IT FAST. The idea is the slower the forward momentum, the more resistance on legs that will be concentrated and this is what we are aiming for. At the hill top, I’m going to jog for three minutes and when running down-hill, I’m going to do it faster with the aim of developing leg-speed and stretching leg muscle for better stride length. At the base of the hill, I’m going to sprint the entire stretch of the remaining road leading to Gate 2 entrance gate: this is around 50 meters of flat road then start again running slowly uphill. I plan to do this for one hour plus cool down for at least 15 minutes. All in all hill training can be done from 1:45 to 2 hours.

The running form when running up-hill
Keep the upper body relaxed with arms loose at the sides
Hold your head up, never look down at the ground; this will throw the hips back
Keep knees coming up high with the hips held comfortably forward

I don’t have access to up-hill roads, what I’m going to do?
You can try your building or condo’s stairs
Buy a manual thread mill which is usually always inclined

How I’m going to do leg-speed training:
I will do my usual warm-up jog for 15 minutes followed by another 15 minutes of stretching. I will try to run 200 meters (this I will do at the oval) with three minutes interval and will do this 10 times. After then 10th repetition, I’ll cool down for at least 15 minutes. I also plan to do this for 15minutes during work (most probably during my 1 hour lunch time) by utilizing my office building’s stairs

The running form when doing leg-speed training:
Run with normal stride with the aim of MOVING THE LEGS FAST.

My schedule:
Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday : Leg Speed training
Wednesday and Friday : Hill Training
Sunday : Long Run
Monday : Rest Day

I plan to start this tomorrow - July 24. I hope this will help me improve my finish time. On August 15, I will join the Urbanite Run (might downgrade to 10k) and this will be my motto:

IMPROVE OR DIE!!