Wow I just did it. A one word title.

So I’ll be running 42km on July 4 (I initially thought July 6), for the 34th Milo Marathon here in Manila. Am I prepared? Hell no. My one month running hiatus just destroyed my preparation. To date, the only “long” run I’ve ever done was that poorly organized race called Philippine Independence Day Half Marathon held two weeks ago. No I didn’t fall for that “run-this-race-if-you’re-a-patriot” marketing hype. I ran it because I need mileage and best of all, registration fee was cheap. When was the last time you run 21km for only php350? Many runners consider it one of the worst race this year. Heck I didn’t even run the entire 21km route, the race marshalls were so incompetent beyond words that several runners got lost (including yours thank you) and by sheer frustration mixed with confusion, ended up running just 18km. This race got buried in my vault of oblivion, hence there’s no blog needed for this one.

Going back to Milo. I can’t miss this event. My first marathon was a Milo event and I thought it would be a mortal sin to miss this one. Running my first marathon brings me back those memories, like where I took a crap twice, the first instance at Shell station near Kalayaan Flyover and second instance somewhere in Bayani Road. Wow moments. I was able to finish it albeit no Milo medal because I finished it way beyond cut-off time (takbo.ph gang gave me a customized Milo medal though-even better!). I just hope I’ll be able to finish this one decently. Anyway, this will be my fifth marathon and I’ll be royally pissed if I don’t even get to finish this below their 6 hour cut-off time.

Wish me luck, I need a lot of that!

When I was in college, one of the “skills” I’ve learned was the art of cramming. I’d usually study a day before a major exam and still get away with it. As most of my major subjects (mostly Math related) didn’t require me to memorize words, I thought this “skill” would come in handy. I survived college somehow and I was known to be good at doing things in the last two minutes. Come graduate studies, I somehow still manage to pass comprehensive exams on 5 major units and…still got away with it.

Several years later,  I would still try my luck to “practice” my art. I decided to join Nature’s Valley run on the last minute and I thought I could still get a bib if I ask around. And so a night BEFORE the actual race, I managed to announce over my FB that I would need a 21km race bib, got several leads but as fate would have it, I was not lucky this time. For the first time, I woud be running a race with no race bib and as such, I would be labeled as a “bandit”. For noob runners out there, running as a bandit means you’re joining a race with no race bib (you’re not registered). As I was not registered for this race, I’ve made just one rule for myself, I will NEVER compete with runners for their hyrdation. Hence, I did brought my hydration belt and a handcarry bottle as source of my hydration. It was a bad idea really, the last time I’ve used my hydration belt was several months ago when my waist line was 34″, and without any yabang added, my waist line now is 30 and I expected the hydration belt would fell several times during the course.  And it did, three times!

As I have no PR to beat, I just promised myself to just keep on running until my hydration goes empty….and run with Donna Cruz Lardizabal. God knows I kept on singing “Kapag tumibok ang puso, wala kna magagawa kundi sundin to” on my brain I thought I was suffering the worst LSS (last song syndrome) of my life. Unfortunately, I stopped near the Kalayaan Bridge at Jolibee on my way to The Fort. Hydration went poof and I thought it was over. After a brief chat with the bossing of Team CB (Chelly Bautista), I proceeded to the starting line and, Brian gave me his ice cream instead.  Hows that running with a celebrity, as a bandit..and going home with an ice-cream. Priceless!oh and some photo-ops!!!

It was a bad idea to wear that green thing on my head! One of the race marshall there forced me eh hehehehe

PS: I do not promote bandit…really!

Still feeling lethargic, Sam wakes up around 5am to run. He proudly announce the night before over FaceBook that his schedule the following day is to run 4 hours, to make up for 4 days of no run. As he drag his tired legs and prepare to wear his running gear, he noticed  swarms of insects making endless circles around the light bulb outside. He knew it would be a challenge to wear his running shoes, which he placed outside, those the insects seems to be having some sort of street party. He hates insects, especially those that flies around. Armed with Baygon, he ventured outside his comfort zone and prepared himself for the Final Solution. “This could be a nice warm up exercise” he said to himself. Aiming his Baygon to insects like a soldier peppering his enemies, he was quite enjoying the exercise. It was intense, he noticed that the “enemy” were slowly getting into his face, into his shirts and all parts of his body. “Die baby die!!!”, Sam was shouting inside while he continuously press the button to release more toxin into the air. Five minutes of this exercise, the “enemies” were all down and gone. With the massacre done, he was thankful PETA was not around to witness his “accomplishment”. He went out and finally proceed with his run, checking his watch, it was already 5:15am.

His usual training ground was closed that day (DLSU-D Campus/Oval track), he was prepared to run on the road…together with joggers, jeepneys, truck and what have you.  As he was running cautiously and slowly, he noticed a couple of jeepney passengers staring at him. At one point, somebody shouted “Hoy Ninja!” which caught his attention big time. Sam feels like an elephant in a dog show, easily noticeable, easy target by bystanders and the likes. As he was running, he can’t  help but noticed that his city (Dasmarinas Cavite) has not yet embraced the running fever, for he was the only guy running ALONE that day.

After a kilometer of running slowly, he got bored and decided to push his luck and run at 80%-90% effort for two kilometers. Alas, he was able to run 2km in 8 minutes, he said to himself “That was bad ass and I won’t do this again ever!”. He went back on the same road for another 2km but he was too tired, too burned out to continue anymore. Finally realizing that his 4 hours run plan is all messed up after committing a newbie mistake, he decided to jog…and went straight home. He took a shower and as the cold water continuously poured down to his tired and weary body, he thought of Milo’s 3hours and 45 minutes cut-off time for 42km. He has been waiting and preparing for that running event and he thought there was a lesson that day he could apply for that race. He won’t be “racing” in the first 5 kilometers, he probably would just go between 5:45-6minute/km pace and slowly increase his pace every 5km or so.

Lesson for the day:
You get burned out in the first kilometers of the race, you’re finished, extinct…a dinosaur. Sounds cute isn’t?

Yeah I’m still alive.

I’ve been “out of the loop”  for almost a month. I was advised by my doctor to “lie low” while I undergo some treatment and medical procedure. For almost a month I did nothing but forgot about running. I didn’t read running blogs, I didn’t check my facebook account to update myself about fellow runners happenings,nothing nada. Worst, I gained some weight  and felt like my fitness level is next to nothing. Every single day was a struggle, sometimes I would walk around BHS after work and I would grin with envy at runners doing their usual jogging session. Darn I hate the feeling of being helpless. Thank God the doctor found nothing unusual on my lungs and I was given a go signal to run. I was dying to run too soon so much so the following morning I did a Yasso 800 and registered an average of 3minutes:45seconds. So I could finish a 42km in less than 4 hours after a month of running hiatus?

Four days before the race I went to ROX and got my 15km race kit. Man I was like a boy who just received a new toy. The thought of finally joining a race and be “one of them” is so enticing. Saturday night came and I couldn’t sleep properly. I was like a newbie about to join his very first race. Lying on my bed already wearing my running singlet, shorts and socks (di ba obvious na excited?) , I tried hard to sleep but I couldn’t. For some reason, I kept on looking at my watch and kept telling myself “tagal nman mag 4am..“. Alas 4am came, I had a short breakfast consisting of a banana coated with chocolate, drank my coffee, then I  washed my face with very cold water and did the usual thing I normally do hours before the race. Read the rest of this entry »

This morning, I went for a 30 minute recovery run in the grassy area of dlsu-d oval. No specific training for me today, just an easy pace to help me regain back my leg strength. Cris Sabal and Aileen Tolentino later arrived and I informed them of the problem I had the previous day. Cris checked the muscle (iliotibial band) in my right leg and compared it with my left leg and informed me that it was too hard and tight. I joked that what he felt was a solid rock-hard muscle but he just reiterated his observation that mine was unusually too hard. He suggested a regular massage (self-massage will do) to get rid of the tightness.

Later on, I told him that I’m working on strengthening my core. I do the “usual” core strengthening I know like full crunch, leg raises and the likes. He suggested that the best way to strengthen and stabilize the core should not consist of bending my spine like what I’ve been doing, but focus more on plank exercises. He asked me to do the following for 20 seconds with 10 seconds rest in between: Read the rest of this entry »