I haven’t consulted a doctor yet, but I feel like its just some torn muscles in my extensor digitorum longus (that hopefully will heal itself eventually) .  I’m a bit worried, because there’s this company sponsored race next Sat and the company is pushing me to do really well to represent the company daw.

Well, its not gonna happen people, I will just take it easy and screw the pressure!

No related posts.

If you fancy fiesta atmosphere this summer and run at the same this, this race is for you! Plus you also get a chance to win the following:

You also get the chance to win the following:
Macbook Air 11″
Mac Mini
1 iPad 16gb wifi
2 iPod Touch 8gb
1 iPod Touch 32gb
2 iPod Shuffle
4 iPod Nano 8gb
1 iPod Nano 16gb

This will be organized by Run For Change headed by Atty. Eric Passion. I love this guy when he stated things he has done for some students in Mindanao to help them achieve their dreams.
Please also check out the contest he cooked up for this race.
ANSON’S FUN IN THE SUN RUN THEME CONTEST MECHANICS:

-To be eligible for the contest, individuals must be registered to jointhe Anson’s Fun in the Sun Run 2012 for 3K, 5K, 10K or 16K races.
-They should have already claimed their official race number from any of theregistration outlets. (eg. Pasong Tamo, The Link Makati, Cash ‘NCarry, The Landmark Trinoma, Alabang Town Center, R.O.X., A Runner’sCircle.
-Individuals should take their most creative shot embodying the theme,”FUN IN THE SUN” while wearing their registered Race Number.
-Individuals should post their photos on their Facebook wall and tagthe “Anson’s Fun in the Sun Run” Page. (ie. @Anson’s Fun in the SunRun).
-There will be 3 WINNERS for the theme contest and shall be considered the Top 3People’e Choice Awardees
-To win in the People’s Choice Category, individuals with the most number of “LIKES” by 11:59 PM, Saturday, May 26 will be the chosen as the People’s Choice Awardees.
-They should be wearing their themecostume on the event day to be able to claim their prize.
-Individuals must bepresent to claim the prize.
Those who fail to replicate their costume/shot/look will be disqualified for the on-site judging.
-All photos submitted shall be the exclusive property of Anson’s Emporium and its race organizer. Individuals agree to its posting online, in print or other media for purposes of marketing, promotions and other related events.

No related posts.

Related posts:

1. Mizuno Year End Sale 09

Flash-back several years ago.

I almost burned our house down, and my entire family. I was 6 years old, we used to live in a shanty somewhere in Washington in Makati. I remember playing with candles, I’ve always been fascinated with them. Those were the days when brown-outs were a regular thing and having candles was a must on all households. Together with my 2 year old bro, we were trying to burn kulisaps/insects because it was fun and the sound of burning wings was a thrill to our young minds. Then I dropped the candle, one of the wooden panel burned down. My mother was quick to save us and she dumped my bro’s milk to stop the fire. Thank God for my mother’s milk, we were all saved.

The next thing I remember, we were being evicted by the landlord for endangering her business and so we moved to Dasma Cavite.

Blas and I opted to run this race chilax mode. Blas (titaniumrunner.net) was still in recovery mode after doing crazy stuffs like running 160km and 102km and so I decided that I will not race this one but rather run and walk with him. True enough, we were covering each km in 8:30min-9min and it was  such a different pace for me.  Kating kati ako to run faster but then I could not leave the ungas behind. I think it was on the 8th or 9th km when he finally stopped to do number 2 at Starbucks. He agreed that I ran alone and so I did. My plan was to finish the race faster then catch up with him on the u-turn. That didn’t materialize as I was not able to see him at all. I could only muster 1:51 for this 16km race.

The Race
I believe this race is decent enough. Cheaper price for 16km. Enough water for the runners, good security (not sure of the distance though). One this I just don’t like in this race was, there was no electrolyte at all for the entire 16km race. 100 Plus was only provided after finish the 16km, worst it was not served cold.

Guys, this is elementary. Never ever serve electrolyte liquids not cold. It just tastes really bad. One saving grace though, I was able to find bottled ones somewhere. So I finished the race alone, got my medal and waited for Blas. The man’s on fire, even in recovery mode,he was able to bypass several runners. Amazing.

So there you go! Congrats to Pep Squad! I give this race 4 shuriken stars out of five!

Photo by Angelo Lagumbay

Related posts:

1. Some Improvements
2. 2nd Bataan Death March Ultramarathon Race-My Adventure (Last Part)

This is one day when everybody goes out of his way to be extra nice to you.  Once upon a time there were only a handful of people (like family, friends and colleagues)  who knows the exact date of your natal day.  But then, thanks to Facebook, your birthday will be as big as the number of friends you have approved and allowed to gain access to such delicate information.

So today is my birthday and if anyone asks me how I decided to spend it, I will tell them that the day has been categorized into three specific activities:

(a) Replying to a stream of text messages from friends with all sorts of birthday greetings ranging from the pre-cut-and-paste “Happy birthday to you” (worst HBD for katamaran’s sakes!)  to the more exotic forms of greetings which include chimpanzees and other mammals — to the very serious Bible quotations talking about each candle added on your cake means that the Kingdom of God is close at hand.  Guys, I don’t read canned text message and I don’t reply back to say thanks.

(b) Replying to an even larger barrage of Wall Posts on my FB Timeline.  Lesson #1: If you have more than one thousand friends, prepare to dedicate a significant amount of the day giving short but sweet replies to each birthday greeting … or eventually learning the shortcut of pressing the LIKE button underneath each message just to get some semblance of gratitude back to the sender.

The thing about Facebook is that it goes on forever.  The messages started coming in at 8AM … and as midnight approaches you feel that the number will diminish.  That is, until you realize that as a specific date ends in this time zone, the day still has an extension on the other side of the world.  This only means that you have to learn Lesson #2: Birthdays in social networks last a day and a half. The messages will diminish but they will come trickling it … until noon of the following day … not to mention the “belated” greetings.

(c) Forgetting about watching what you eat because you are literally swamped by cakes and all sorts of foods.  Considering the amount of time spent in the gym, birthdays are such waistline busters considering how cakes seem to naturally flow right into your territory.  Now if you only lose ten pounds each time you blow candles after a chorus of “Happy birthdays”, then that would be fine.  Today, I’m back to 158lbs and I dreaded my body.

Birthdays remind you that your metabolism has slowed down by another number of percentage.  Birthdays also remind you that ageing is the process of cellular deterioration as well as the revenge of gravity when skin starts to go south.  Birthdays remind you that you cannot buy elasticin to remove the jowls, the crow’s feet and the laugh lines. Include the double chin, the liver spots and the eye bugs.

Birthdays also remind you that even if you spend an impressive number of hours in the gym, you reach that certain age that you can no longer have the body of a 20 year old … even with surgery.  So accepting that, birthdays should not be all that threatening. It is a matter of embracing the age and realizing that indeed your birthday should be happy not because everybody tells you it should be so … but because it truly is.  What other reason is there to celebrate in life than to realize that you have lived through another year … and there are even more years to come to live through more journeys?

And what about those text messages and Facebook postings?

Be thankful. Be grateful.  Yeah, yeah, yeah …you cannot measure the value of your life by the number of birthday greetings you receive.  Let us go into that whole quality versus quantity bit.  But damn it … it still feels so good.  It doesn’t only feel good … but it feels great when so many people remember you on that single day of the year that you can honestly call your own.  Regardless of how you tend to pooh-pooh the situation, it feels great to be validated.

Having a birthday in itself — is a celebration.  And, as Jim Paredes said via Twitter, “Have the best rest of your life.”  That is really what birthdays are really all about. It is deciding that you will have the best of the rest of your days … making sure that you matter in this present earthly form.

Birthdays remind you of mortality: you decide on how you intend to be immortal by the sheer power of how you are living your life. And that happens every day.

OK, for those who asked — I just turned 32 today.  And I am proud of it.

Related posts:

1. Just Another Condura Related Post

What I did today in the morning

1. Ran 4km around Makati area
2. 3x 4min/km with 2 minutes rest in between
3. 30 minutes elliptical while watching some episode of House

And that was it. I need to break off from this lazy cycle or else, I will not improve.

Any sub 4 hour for 42km training plan there that will not require me to train everyday?

Related posts:

1. My customized Lydiard training schedule
2. Arthur Lydiard’s Training Method: A Review
3. Bad Training Days

I tried sticking to that schedule but I’m disappointed that my weight plateaued to 145lbs. It doesn’t help that I got home around 8-8:30pm and I still eat even on that time. My plan next week is to change everything, as I believe my body got used to my training sched and my eating habits. I will check what I eat (avoid coffee,sugar and late snacks muna) and apply more intensity on my runs. I will also go to gym M-T-W-Thu-Fri, tingnan lang nten kung wala pang mangyaring improvement sa weight ko at sa speed.

What’s my end-goal for doing this? A sub 4H for 42km (Milo Marathon), come and be prepared for Running Ninja 2.0!

No related posts.

As I forgot to watch for the race, I checked the on-board clock and I realized that the race would start in 30 minutes.  So I hurriedly went out, did some 10-15 minutes jogging, did some dynamic stretching and bought a small mineral water. I had my full-body massage hours earlier and so I felt like my leg muscles are very loose and ready to rumble. Ten minutes later, the race would formally start and I positioned myself in the middle. After some prayer, some chit chat by coach rio, showing on an MTV and gun-start by the boss of Unilab, off we went running.

My run was very consistent from the beginning, I didn’t push myself too hard as I want to practice a consistent breathing exercise.  I had 3 gels with me and knowing that this is a Rio race, I can easily check km markers and take one every 6 km. The hydration was never a problem, the promised water/electrolyte every 1.5km is there. An exact opposite of what I had to endure during the 42km Condura Marathon where the absence of electrolyte when you needed them most pissed a lot of runners. The traffic was well managed, marshals were greeting us good morning and offered some encouraging words. Hydration stations were superb, water/electrolytes were served in long tables, cold and ready for pickup. Bananas were also given twice but I bypassed both as I had issues when eating bananas during race. Everything was perfect during my run, except on the last 6 km of the run. I noticed that my pace was considerably slower, because I was protecting my calves from cramps, runners I previously overtake were now running ahead of me and I thought, this is one of those race you just have to move on, enjoy and learn from. The same issue issue I had during Condura Marathon, hunted me down on this race as well. While I did stop on all water stations and took 2 caps of Powerade, my sweat rate was ridiculously high and I was not spared of cramps. I think I had cramps after the 15km mark. Worst was the last km where the cramps on my left calf was unusually painful (heck, I can still the pain as of this writing). I promised myself to buy another bottle of Hammergel Endurolytes so I don’t need to worry cramps anymore, just like the good ol’days.

I finished the race unofficially in 2h:20m, feeling like a beginner half-marathoner again. My best time for this race category is 1h:54m, something that I plan to improve this year.

After I crossed the line, I went straight to the massage area and I was given a nice back massage by some guy. There was also a place there where I soaked my tired feet in cold water. It was a welcome change from previous races where I don’t get to usually participate in post-race activities like these. On my way back to the parking area, there was also another mini-event race for small kids being hosted by that familiar running host (sorry, don’t know his name). If there’s something that you can easily notice in this race, this one is really family oriented. It was well planned and executed, from free bus shuttle service, the actual race event and post-race events – this was definitely worth the time and money.

On my way home while driving, I can’t help but think, if we can have races like this at affordable cost, I believe Unilab will be able to get more participants to join their races. Something I hope they should consider in the future.

I give this 4 Shuriken out of 5 (waahh may ganon na dito??!!)

Related posts:

1. The Condura Experience

Philippine Dental Association is a non-stock, non-profit association founded in 1908. We believe that complete grasp of knowledge of each dental practitioner coupled with professionalism forms as a vital component in the moral values of a good dentist. Therefore, the promotion of the standards and values in the dental profession to improve the quality of life of our people can be effectuated only by men and women who think about the world of their fellowmen as they practice their respective specializations. A dentist’s ethical duties are to his community where he must perform to the best of his ability, to the profession to which he shares his expertise, and to his patients on whom he applies the tenets of the Golden Rule. With this, we can give a share of ourselves in the pursuance of our vowed mission to serve God and our people.

In line with our mission of serving our people, we are highlighting our 8th National Dental Health Month with a 3K, 5K and 10K Fun Run dubbed as, “PDA – Pilipinas Darating Ako, Isang Fun Run Para sa Kalusugan: A Call for National Unity”. It will be held on February 19, 2012 (Sunday), 4:30am at the Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay City. We are expecting 6,000 participants for the Fun Run alone. The fun run’s proceeds will go to our chapters, the VIP (Very Important Patient) Program, and the PDA BINHI (Bawat Isa Nangangako Habangbuhay Iingatan) Reforestation Program. We declare: One Runner, One Seedling.

We ask for your invaluable support for PDA Pilipinas Darating Ako. With your help, we can further improve access to dental health, and contribute to our society.

Related posts:

1. Philippine International Marathon

This was supposed to be a come-back long distance race mode. Checking my best time for 32km (3h:06m) at Rizal Day run 2 yrs ago, I thought I could easily do a sub 3 hours.  Here’s my recollection of that dreaded day:

- race started at exactly 4:30am
- I can’t believe I was 300 meters away from the starting line. Judging from the volume of runners that day for 32km (more than 2k!), I knew I was at the wrong place. I knew it would take more than 3 kilometers before I could run my race pace.
- It was a slow start as I have to run and overtake slow runners for more than 3 kilometers. I blaimed myself, I should have positioned myself near the starting area
- I reached the U-turn in Makati at exactly 1 hour.  I was so off but my pace is just fine.
- I reached 25thKm in 2:40 minutes..good bye PR.
- Last 3 km was unbearable for me. I started to feel sleepy, hungry and the freaking heat was annoying me.
- Those friends/runners I overtake later, they started overtaking me.
- I finished the race in 03:43:39. Its a pretty embarassing finish time for me. I set my standards and expections too high. It was sub 3 hours or fart. Lesson learned: If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is compromise.
- I resigned to the fact that I suck in this race because I lack sleep, I didn’t take my breakfast and no heat training. Makes me think that the Condura 2012 42km race that will start @12am  will be a PR and marathon newbie friendly. I knew it! The Concepcion brothers wanted marathon runners to achieve PR in their events so they will remember it as one of their best. Galing!
- And also because the Skyway rent is much cheaper if race starts at 12am.
- Hehehehehe!

So I did good in this race while I suck in this race. Back to the drawing board…

Related posts:

1. Some Improvements
2. Thoughts on Bataan Death March Test Run, DNF, and ITB