Daytripped Running

Brooks PureFlow Review

2012-01-27T19:20:00.001+08:00

THE NEED

After a forgettable Marathon #3 at QCIM 2011, I was able put myself back together (after almost a week of self-pity) and move on. Post analyzing that race, I've assessed that the Brooks Green Silence, a formidable minimalist racing flat IMHO, is not suited for my 165-lb build mowing across 42.195 kilometers at an average pace of 7:00-7:30/km.

After 619kms (386 miles), my Green Silence had to go. I think that's more than enough for a racing flat.

It was evident in my 16-week training prior to that race as I was not able to meet the mileage required of my scheduled long runs. I got easily fatigued as the kms beeped on my Garmin, assumed to be brought about by the lack of comfort/cushion in the said minimalist shoe.

I still wanted to be a runner embracing minimalist/natural methods but I also wanted even just a tad of cushioning to hopefully conquer my long runs.

FINAL TWO

After weeks of searching, I ended up with two shoes to decide on:

1. Asics DS Trainer 16
2. Brooks Pureflow

My first choice was the Brooks Pureflow (special thanks to @Oblinkin of Runblogger fame who confirmed my assessment) but RUNNR store in Taguig ran out of my size when I inquired around middle of December.

It was the Asics then. Unfortunately, the P6,250.00 price tag was too steep for me. Further, I missed the year-end sale of TheBrick MultiSport store at McKinley Hill (they were selling the DS-Trainer 16 at P5,000.00, other stores are selling it for P6,250.00).

By early January I was at a loss on what shoe to buy. But then, by some divine intervention, I thought of calling RUNNR store again on a Friday afternoon.

Lo and behold! They have a Brooks Pureflow size US9.0 being sold at P4,995.00!

I told the saleslady to hold onto the pair for the weekend for me. By Saturday evening I was able to grab hold of them. Of course, the next day I wore it immediately for a 5k easy Maffetone run.

FIT & FEEL

The fit is perfect and the feel is comfy. The other online reviews say to get a pair half-size smaller but true-to-size bests suits me. I like the wide toebox (as usual). Comfort and minimalist do not usually go together but the guys at Brooks were able to make these two work together. Overall, it felt just right for me.

THE RUN

I have logged 61kms with them so far, using them for my Maffetone training with distances ranging from 5k to 18k. I looooove the just-the-right-amount of cushioning that this shoe provides, especially in my weekend long runs.

My only complaint, observed only in my first few runs, was slight discomfort at the top of my right foot when running with them. I assume the Nav Band was causing this discomfort. However, in the runs succeeding the break-in stage, I was not feeling the said discomfort anymore.

Taken from runfreddierun.com

The Brooks Green Silence has a very durable outsole and I think the Pureflow, so far, is just as durable. I think I'll be able to log more miles in them, assuming no other wear occurs on the upper.

Of course, the 4mm heel-to-toe drop is suitable for my minimalist taste. Midfoot strike is (comfortably) achieved.

Tomorrow morning I plan to run 20k, my longest on the Pureflow so far. If all goes well, that small-but-just-the-right-amount of cushioning will make it another pleasant long run.

My next marathon could be in July (The Milo Manila Elims). The Pureflows will be a good tool in meeting my required miles for the weekly long runs.

And with that, hopefully I'll achieve my sub-5 hour goal.

#TwitterRoadRace 5k: Sub-30, Barely

2012-01-23T07:44:00.008+08:00

I have not run a 5k race for quite a while so it was very inviting last Saturday morning when I read Kenley's blog about a scheduled virtual 5k race on Jan21. It led me to this blog by Doug that invited runners from all over the world to participate in the first ever #TwitterRoadRace 5k. Realizing that this could also be a chance for me to assess the Maffetone training that I'm currently doing, I decided to sign-up and strap on my Vibram Bikilas after lunch for a 5k.

The route was going to be done on a 1km-loop that I use regularly for 1k-cruise intervals during marathon training. Thus it would have to be done 5 times.

After a 1.4km jog warmup and set my Garmin to count-down from 5km, I was off with my virtual race.

I reminded myself to start off comfortably as much as I can. This is to avoid the blow-up that happened a month ago when I did my own mock 5k race (ran out of gas after 3.6km). I clocked in the 1st km at 6:20.

I needed to catch up on my pace if I wanted to make sub-30.

Fortunately, I could say that I ran a smart race as I managed my splits fairly well, accomplishing a very rare negative split performance. Here are my splits for the rest of the 4kms: 6:02, 6:00, 5:52, 5:46.

Finish time: 0:29:59. PR!

Yup, I BARELY finished sub-30. On a sunny Saturday afternoon.

After I finished, I went for a 1-mile cooldown jog/walk.

Total mileage for the day: 8km.

As I logged in my race time in the #TwitterRoadRace results, it was nice to see the results page filled with runners from the US, Australia, Sweden, Canada, Panama, UK, and, of course, the Philippines (who were very well represented if I may add). I finished 215th out of 376 total runners and I was 61st out of 75 in my age group (M 30-39).

As to my race performance, I felt very comfortable throughout the run as I slowly (smartly?) increased the pace after each loop. I forgot to mention that the 1k-loop had two gradual climbs and two quick descents so it was really a challenge to keep my mind concentrated on the goal, especially on the uphills. My heart rate averaged 157 (gradual increase from 140+ to 172) and max'ed at 172 towards the end. I think I still had more left in the tank if I wanted to push harder so I'm excited to see further improvement of Maffetone training when I finish another 5k virtual/mock race in a month's time.

For now, it's back to slow run efforts below 142 heart rate.

Running Log: Jan9-15

2012-01-16T15:00:00.000+08:00

Jan10:
6km. 47mins. 7:50/km average. Brooks PureFlow.
Ave HR 133. Max 145.

Jan11:
5.2km. 39mins. 7:34/km average. Bikilas.
Ave HR 135. Max 146.

Jan12:
5.1km. 41mins. 8:03/km average. Brooks PureFlow.
Ave HR 138. Max 150. This was a lunchtime run on BGC. Sunny and breezy at the same time, the hills were tough as it forced me to take brief walk breaks whenever HR exceeded 142. The 150 maxHR was unfortunately logged since I was late in checking my Garmin to adjust my pace immediately.

Jan14:
18km. 2:22. 7:52/km average. Brooks PureFlow.
No HR monitor. Middle 10k ran with an officemate over hills-laden San Juan area.

TOTAL KMS: 34km (lacked 7km to reach 10% weekly increase)

I would've ran 7k on Sunday morning in BGC but I was too lazy to get up. I paid for it by Sunday evening as I ate a lot, losing the 1lb that I lost earlier in the week.

FASTER

Last week was a surprise, except for the Jan12 run, for I had been running sub-8:00/km runs consistently (today, Monday was an epic day as well as I saw a 7:11 lap on one km). So after almost 4 weeks of Maffetone paced running, I am slowly seeing the effects. I have learned to manage my HR by strictly telling myself to slow down or walk whenever I'm nearing 142 HR. The result of which is a more relaxed effort throughout my runs but at the same time, somehow, my pace is improving. I would've wanted to put my progress chart on this post but it's too early to see a noticeable improvement on the graphs.

I can't wait to see how much pace improvement I would get in the next 3 weeks!

Running Log: Jan2-8

2012-01-09T15:50:00.001+08:00

Jan2:
8km. 1:10. 8:45/km average. Bikilas.
Ave HR 132. Max 144. First run of the year. Afternoon run on a cloudy day.

Jan5:
5.17km. 42:45. 8:33/km ave. Green Silence.
Ave HR 137. Max 146. Ran lunchtime at BGC. The sun was up but there was a cool breeze. Walked the uphills as HR went >142. Right lower leg front muscle ached. It could be the shoes' upper that has stretched over time. Time to buy a new pair. ;-)

Jan7:
18.8km. 2:45. 8:47/km ave. Bikilas.
No HR monitor. Middle 10k ran with an officemate. Pace on that segment was faster than MAF pace as he had new shoes, hehe. We started at 6:30/km then fatigue met us at the latter kms, at a stubborn 7:45/km pace. The stopover at km14 (cuapao and choco drink at Greenhills weekend market) made me bloated, forcing me to walk most of the remaining part home. Yup, will never eat that much in the middle of a run again. Damn you, cuapao!

Jan8:
5.08km. 41:00. 8:01/km ave. Brooks Pureflow.
Ave HR 131. Max 143. First run on these babies were awesome as evidenced by the relaxed ave HR and pace. Cushioned but still with the minimalist heel-toe drop (4mm). I'll post a complete review after I log more miles on them.

TOTAL KMS: 37km (exceeded weekly allowed by 1km)

Still building my aerobic engine and weekly miles. Haven't seen any concrete result of Maffetone training ---yet. Yeah, this runner is very impatient. Hehe. Well, it's just been 3 weeks so probably another 3 weeks more before I notice any improvement.

I'm thinking of reaching a target of 2,000km for 2012. My annual kms since 2009 were 1,000+, 1,500+, and 1,427km. Barring any injury, I hope to meet said goal (along with a smaller waistline).

Browsing the takbo.ph race schedules and resisting the urge to register for a race has been like me resisting Chatime milk tea on a thirsty office afternoon. I'm still sticking to this Maffetone "diet" of low HR-paced runs. Except for the 3k New Manila Fun Run that I'm coaxing the Mrs. to join as her first run (I'll be beside her as moral support), I'll probably not be in race-ready mode until late March.

See you on the road!

Running Log: Dec26 - Jan1

2011-12-31T16:30:00.001+08:00

"Need a little patience, yeah..." ---Guns N' Roses

Dec26:
7km. 54:56mins. 7:51/km average. Bikilas.
Ave HR 130. Max 142. Didn't walk at all.

Dec28:
8km. 1:05. 8:07/km ave. Green Silence.
Ave HR 134. Mac 150. Walked the uphills.

Dec31:
18.44. 2:37. 8:30/km ave. Green Silence.
Ave HR 140. Max 152. Required a lot of patience to keep HR below 142, especially during climbs. Green silence. Gatorade/water alternate every 2k. Peanuts at 1hr mark. Banana at km13. No GU needed.

TOTAL KMS: 33km

Patience is the theme of this base-building phase as I'm still holding on to Maffetone-paced training after almost 2 weeks. I keep reminding myself to slow down when my HR exceeds 142. About 10 more weeks before I put back speedwork and tempo runs. REALLY hoping this type of slow-run training pays off dividends for 2012.

Happy New Year everyone!

Running Log: Dec19-25

2011-12-26T11:15:00.000+08:00

Dec21:
7km. 55mins. 7:38/km average. Green Silence.
Attempted a 5k mock race with a target time of sub-28mins. Crashed, ran out of gas at km3. Settled for a 17:52 for 3km. Added extra kms during the cooldown to make up for the short "race."

Dec22:
5.2km. 40:10. 7:43/km average. Bikilas.
First Maffetone run. Target HR <142. Ave HR 135. Max HR 146. Walked the uphills whenever HR exceeded 142.

Dec24:
17.06km. 2:18:26. 8:07/km average. Green Silence.
Long run. 10k with an officemate around Ghills to Ortigas Business District and back. Pitstop at km14 for a choco drink. Had fun, as usual. GU at km9. Gatorade all the way.

TOTAL KMS: 29km

10% weekly mileage increase met. Hope the trend continues in the following weeks. The race ads all over the local running blogs are very tempting but Maffetone training limits running pace not to exceed a target HR (in my case, 142). Still feel slow at the 135-142 HR range but I'm looking forward to the results after 6 weeks, entrusting myself to the science of this type of training (Mark Allen better be right about this).

I've signed up to myfitnesspal.com, a free online service that requires you to log in ALL food that you've eaten for the day and then shows the corresponding calories. Finding it tough to resist food, which I believe should be lessened since the lbs I've lost to exercise solely have been maxed out.

Yup, Christmas weekend feasting didn't help my cause, but in a jolly way. Hehehe.

Iten

2011-12-23T14:10:00.000+08:00

Kenyans have been topping most of the local races since the running boom started. It has its pros and cons towards our Filipino runners. On one hand, it puts the level of racing into new heights as local runners need to up their game whenever they toe the line with these Kenyans.

On the other hand, prize money has been dominated by Kenyans as well much to the chagrin of local runners who are not well to do and use racing as their source of income.

How come these Kenyans are so darn fast at running?

The movie "Iten - The Town of Red Dust" might be able to answer this question.

ITEN - The Town of RED Dust Teaser Trailer from Erik O'Neill on Vimeo.

Running Log: Dec 12-18

2011-12-19T18:25:00.000+08:00

Dec15:
6km. 50:14. 8:22/km average. Bikilas.
First run in 11 days (after QCIM3). Sluggish, but great to be running again.

Dec17:
14.8km. 1:56. 7:50/km average. Green Silence. GU at km3.
Had fun since officemate joined me in the middle 7.6km at chillax pace. The choco drink and fried lumpia pitstop at Greenhills weekend market was energizing.

Dec18:
5km. 36:51. 7:22/km average. Bikilas.
Ran in BGC on a drizzling day. Ran easy then tried the Hadd method HRmax test (800m sprint, 2mins rest, 400m sprint). Max HR recorded at 171.

TOTAL KMS: 26km

I found it weird to have logged only 171 HRmax on that last run since last year I remember having logged a 181HR at the end of a 15k race. I'll try to test it again but this time I'll run a mock 5k race around the neighborhood (on a 1.7km loop that I've mapped out). Hope to log a higher HRmax then.

Hadd training begins this week, assuming I get a more "preferred" HRmax.

Gettin' Better

2011-12-16T19:00:00.000+08:00

Out of curiosity I came up with the table below which averages my race times across different distances from 2009 to 2011.

This is encouraging since it seems that, on average, my race times are getting better each year. My race times in 2012 is definitely something to look forward to (provided that I put in the miles).

Oh, and yes, I started running again yesterday.

Yup, finally. :)

Tomorrow, promise!

2011-12-13T10:21:00.001+08:00

QCIM3 42km: Post-Mortem

2011-12-09T13:45:00.001+08:00

Let us strive to improve ourselves, for we cannot remain stationary; one either progresses or retrogrades. ---Mme. Du Deffand

Last Sunday's marathon was a humbling experience. It just shows that I have a LOT to work on in terms of getting ready not only physically but mentally for a 42km race.

My office work occassionally works on stats. To go over exactly where I went wrong in QCIM3, I had to go not on what happened last December 4 but, rather, I had to go back to the past 16 weeks of training for this race. Below is a table that I've summarized:

T = tempo runs
MP = Marathon-Pace runs

It would be good to have another race to compare this with. Fortunately, I ran the Condura 42km last February wherein I finished my still-standing 5:23 PR. Below was my training summary for that race:

Comparing the weekly long run average distance, my Condura training fared just a bit better, about 2km more on average versus QCIM3 training.

I had more tempo run workouts in Condura (10) versus QCIM3 (6). If I had run more 6:30-ish/km pace during that 16-week span then maybe running 7:00/km on race day would have felt more comfortable.

But the stat that was very telling on both tables was the average weekly total km. QCIM3 training totaled 529km while Condura training was 120km more(640km)!

More miles equals better marathon performance. A very obvious wake-up call for me. Averaging 33km (or even 40km) per week for a marathon will not be enough if I want to finish 42km below 5 hours. I may need to up the miles per week for my next marathon.

MAFFETONE OR HADD?

That next marathon, marathon #4, might have to be delayed even though I'm itching to redeem myself for a sub-5 PR. I have a lot to work on my aerobic capacity, which, according to references I've read, is the force needed 99% of the time when running a marathon. Looking back at my past 3 marathons wherein, at the 2nd half of the race, I was walking like I was tied to a bulldozer behind my back, my aerobic capacity needs work ---a LOT of work.

So, probably for the next 3 months, I will try to improve on it by going back to Maffetone-paced training which I only did for 3 weeks (or even trying out the Hadd method). Both approaches are focused on improving aerobic capacity by doing all/most runs at a comfortable HR/pace.

I'll keep you posted once I resume running next week. Let's see how this'll all go.

In the meantime, I still have Sat and Sun for rest and recovery. Enjoying the week off after a year of training and racing has been grand.

But, I'd rather be running.

QCIM3 42km: Respect The Distance

2011-12-05T11:50:00.000+08:00

I started the race comfortably, at around 7:30/km. As this race included pacers, I slowly increased my pace to try to look for the 5:00 pacer.

The 5:00 pacer (Jonel Mendoza) may have started late as he whizzed by me at around km5. As I was dreaming of a sub-5 finish, I decided to stick with him as much as I can logging 6:50-ish per km pace.

THAT was not my planned pace for this race. I was supposed to try the first half at 7:10/km and try to win back the 2nd half at 7:00/km. Realizing that I'm not able to cope, by km13 I drifted back at around 7:15/km to recover.

As this was my first time to enter La Mesa, I found the area quite nice. It was a beautiful respite from my usual BGC races.

The 21km turnaround point was a few kms away so I decided to pick up the pace, suffering a side stitch in the process. I reached the turnaround point at 2:29. At that point, I forced myself to gulp 2 cups of Gatorade offered by the aid station. That proved to be too much as I felt bloated around 200 meters later. I wanted to throw up but nothing came out. I plodded on.

The side stitch, the bloatedness, and the hilly course within La Mesa overwhelmed me that I started to slow down after km22. I've hit the wall very early.

I felt a short relief when I landed Commonwealth avenue again but it was short lived. By km26 I was mentally defeated, with the pouring rain literally on my parade. I wanted to up the pace but my mind was forcing me to walk.

I reached km32 near 4:10 race time. Sub-5 was definitely out. I was forcing myself to get back in the groove, even playing Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" in my head. It was only when I entered the UP campus with 8km to go that I started hitting sub-7:00/km pace again but only for about 500 meters max. It was overlapped with walk breaks.

With 5km left the 5:45 pacers passed me just before reaching the UP Oblation statue. Was my finish time for this race gonna be worse than my 5:53 first marathon? I just let everything go and chose to overtake the 5:45 pacers. I was still walking but the run sections of those last painful kilometers were, at best, 7-7:30/km.

In the end, I was able to escape the 5:45 pacers as I crossed the finish arc at 5:35:20 (Garmin time).

I've learned quite a lot on my race performance here (which deserves an entirely separate post). The 5:35 finish time was just reflective of the lackluster training that I prepared for this race. Poor training = poor race performance.

I need another marathon.

Brooks Green Silence: After 505kms

2011-12-02T14:35:00.000+08:00

I've been alternating this shoe with my Vibram Bikilas since March this year. I've adjusted to it fairly well. Two weeks ago I noticed the upper, where the pinky toe stays, has worn down.

This could've been caused by the roomy toebox that the shoe is known for. I'm not complaining of the generous toebox, mind you, since my feet are not narrow. It fits nicely but I think it just got worn down due to regular use.

The solution? I brought it over to the local shoe repair store (Mr. Quickie) and, after 120 pesos, it's fixed!

They've covered the hole with a thin leather on both shoes. The sewn part is only noticeable when you look at the shoe up close.

The ride has been ok again, i.e. no more part of the sock trying to get out of that hole, especially when wearing Injinji socks.

Yup, I'll wear 'em this Sunday on Marathon #3 (QCIM). Hopefully, a sub-5 finish this time.

Training Log Recap (Oct31 - Nov24)

2011-11-24T19:15:00.002+08:00

Oct31-Nov6 = 50km. This included the 25+7km run (NB Power Run). This was the highest weekly total that I've had training for marathon #3 thanks to that 32km Sunday long run.

Nov7-13 = 13km. Weekly total drastically dropped. There was unscheduled added workload in the office due to recent merger news. I was sleeping late and even worked on a Sat just to finish some of the work. I was just too tired mentally and physically to get up in the morning and run. Planned final long run >20km had to be dropped.

Nov14-20 = 19km. The office work slowly adjusted back to normal, but I caught the flu and had to call off training for several days. Another dismal week of training.

For this week I've managed 17km so far (as of today, Thursday) and hope to log two more workouts (Fri and Sun) to get my weekly total to 41km. Marathon #3 is Sunday next week (Dec 4) so I hope to put in a few more quality workouts this week (an 8k tempo and a 16km long run).

Based on the marathon-pace workouts I've done (adding to that the terrible mental condition I was in for the past few weeks as mentioned above), running 7:00/km even pace for 42km straight would be a heavy task. I need to tinker my pace plan on splitting the race into two sections: 32km and then the last 10km. On race day, if all goes well after 32k, I hope to run a negative split on the last 10k to finish below 5 hours. Said pace-plan will be tested this Sunday on my long run.

I started following @RunningQuotes on Twitter a few weeks ago. Their quotes have been inspiring during this training plan, especially now that I feel lazy to wake up most of the mornings just to haul my ass out of the door and run. Here's a few that I liked:

"Anyone can run 20 miles. It's the next six that count." - Barry Magee

I'm not running this #race to win, but to give it everything I got.

"#Run the mile you are in." ~ via @ryanhall3

Not all runs require a garmin and music. Sometimes it needs to be you and the ground #runningtip

The greatest danger for most of us is not that we aim too high & miss it, but we aim too low & reach it. ~Michelangelo

And, my favorite (which I think sums up my plan for marathon #3):

"In the first half of the race, don't be an idiot. In the second half, don't be a wimp." via @runnersworld #truth #run

Oh, before I go, I just wanna say that I love this video from Saucony. I'm not endorsing Saucony (although I am a convert to natural/minimalist running), but the way they shot this guy while he ran looked very inspiring.

It does make you wanna run now, doesn't it?

SEA Games Marathon Results

2011-11-21T15:00:00.001+08:00

Well, there was no gold medal for the Philippine delegates sent to run the Marathon event in the current SEA Games 2011 in Indonesia. But I believe they gave it their all.

Below are the results as per the SEAG website (click the images to get a full view):

Men's Marathon:

Women's Marathon:

A silver and bronze for the men's event. For the women's event, at least we didn't DNF.

We're proud of you Eric, Vertek, and Jhoan!!!

Garmin brings back Google Maps! Yehey!

2011-11-18T19:35:00.000+08:00

I was planning out my 42k pace strategy for QCIM3 just now (using trusty Excel, hehe) when I thought of comparing the plan with my past 42k performance during Condura 2011. Hence, I needed to pull out my stats via Garmin Connect.

I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Garmin, probably due to public demand, has decided to bring back Google Maps! Woohoo!

Just click on the image below for a larger view:

All you need to do is open your workout and, on the map, toggle between using Bing or Google for your map reference. Nice, right?!

Thank you Garmin!

Rain? No Problemo!

2011-11-15T13:51:00.004+08:00

If you ran the NB Power Run 25km the other week, you would've remembered the pouring rain at the start of the race. Well, this guy didn't seem to have a problem when he raced last week.

I bet Headsweats is looking into releasing a similar model by spring 2012 and that those racing BDM next year will be looking into adding this into their running gear to counter the heat (wink wink).

Based on the race results, his name is Arnel Manzano and he finished with a respectable time of 2:58.

Congrats pare!

NB Power Run 25km (+7km): Nailed It

2011-11-08T12:50:00.001+08:00

The objective of the day was to complete 32km, a distance that many recommend to be the minimal number of kms of a long run when training for a full marathon. It provides a physical and mental edge come race day. As it was a little over a month left before QCIM, my third attempt at 42k, I had yet to chalk up a 32k on my 16-week training cycle. The NB Power Run 25k was my last chance (since RU3 32k falls on a Pacquiao Sunday), just add 7k more to meet the required mileage.

Running the race would mean slowing down at a relaxed pace since finish time was unimportant. All that matters will be the "32.00 km" logged on my Garmin. To coin it in engine terms, I was leaving the Ferrari in favor of a Prius. It was imperative that I leave BGC with 32k on my belt.

It was probably 15mins before gun time when I made my warmup jog around BHS. By the time I caught a glimpse of the start arc and the corral, the host started counting down from 10. It was no biggie, I thought, so I started the race from the back of the pack ---a first for me who'd normally squeeze to the middle of the corral. The warmup was 1.6km long as per my Garmin.

30.4km left.

At a last-minute-decided 7:30/km pace, I was amazingly relaxed throughout the 25km race. I didn't care of the race time, or if this guy or that guy or gal was way ahead of me. "32" was all that mattered but my perspective all throughout was like I got a dose of the happy pill, if there ever was one.

I shared a few kms with Jazzrunner Rene inside BGC ("finisher medals" hehehe), I was chatting with Craig Logan while he pushed Justin along Buendia on the away path. I was able to check my form in time to stop an impending right calf cramp.

What proved to be a sure sign of my relaxed mood was that I had absolutely NO problems tackling the Buendia flyover return path, even volunteering my services in pushing Justin and his stroller along that dreaded uphill flyover for about 100 meters. I really felt great (and surprised how Justin weighed with that uphill factor).

Upon reaching the last 5km of the race, I decided to push the gas pedal a bit to 7:00/km, see if I can hold my target 42k pace after 21k. I surprised myself as I was able to maintain it, passing most of the runners who gassed out or had cramps or blisters.

Finish time: 3:04 (unofficial gun time).

As I got my lootbag and walked back to my car, I knew that the day was still not over. There was still 5+ km left to run. I changed singlets, strapped on my hydration belt, and made an out and back course on the last part of the race course. I was still ok on the first half but started walk-running on the way back. Fatigue crawled in, finally.

But fatigue couldn't do much as I finally reached my car and my Garmin beeped the end of the workout. I was just too mentally-conditioned that day:

32km in 4:00:14!!!

It was one of those rare everything-just-clicked days. I didn't carbo-load days before but I followed a strict 1GU-2cupsof100plus per hour during the race, something that I got from a running article days earlier. Ok ok, I take back what I said before about 100plus sports drink (smile).

My Brooks GreenSilence, now at 448km after Sunday's workout, performed well as usual. No blisters even when the race was dampened by rain. Probably the cool rainy-then-cloudy weather helped running conditions, too.

Seeing that 32km completed was a real mental boost for me now that QCIM is a few weeks away. I hope the running gods will be kind enough to bestow a sub-5:00 finish for me by then.

Condura 2012 Gun Times

2011-11-03T19:00:00.000+08:00

There was some noise over FB a weeks ago when the Condura Skyway Marathon Facebook page asked its followers on their preferred starting gun time. The two full marathons that I’ve ran had 4am (Milo Elims 2010) and 3am (Condura 2011) start times. Waking up early in the morning for races has been a familiar habit for me so I didn’t mind the extra 1-2 hours. Naturally, I opted for a 3am gun start as my FB response.

The FB page suddenly lit up with responses/comments when Condura made a suggestion to start the full-marathon event at 12 midnight. Most of the replies were ok with it but there were a few, including myself, which preferred the usual 3 or 4am gun start.

I’ve several (personal) reasons on why I prefer a 3 or 4am gun start.

First is the body adaptation. In order to simulate racing conditions, it is best to train at or near your race’s gun time. In that way, your mind and body is adjusted. But it is rare for me to be wide awake at midnight. My body knows that by midnight, I should already be asleep. It would be difficult to simulate race conditions especially for myself who needs to work during the daytime.

Second is safety ---during training. I know that the race organizers will be securing the safety of the runners on race day. But how about the training runs that we want simulated at midnight? Snatchers, knife-wielding “gents,” drunks, drug addicts, drunk drivers could be on the prowl by that time. It is difficult, especially for the ladies, to train at that odd time of the night.

I’m speaking as someone who was opened into the sport of running when I ran my first 5k ---in the 2009 Condura race. I have ran the Condura race yearly since then (a 21k for 2010 and then a full marathon earlier this year). It’s been on my personal race calendar year after year so I’m hoping to run another 42k(?) Condura race on 2012.

But starting it on midnight is not my cup of tea (or Gatorade/Powerade if you will). I may have to unfortunately skip it if that happens.

KOTR 2011: Stitches and Burns

2011-10-24T16:25:00.000+08:00

I was aiming for 2 goals yesterday, Oct 23. The primary goal was to complete 32km as part of my build-up for QCIM3. The second was to aim a sub-2:20 finish at the KOTR 21km race.

To cut the long story short, I failed on both.

After the effects of a shot of GU taken 35 minutes into the race spread thru my system, I gave into the idea of hitting the gas full throttle as I cruised along Buendia Avenue. I was pacing remarkably well, even logging a 5:50/km on one lap. Blame it as well on the Kenyan 16.8km racers passing us mid-pack runners several kms into the race. It was as if I wanted to run like them too. But, as fate would have it, I lost steam and succumbed to a nasty right side stitch from km15 onwards (there was still some pain the rest of the afternoon which I assume to be caused by my trying to diffuse the pain by pressing hard on it during the race). I was taking a lot of walk breaks than usual, even walking the return-path of the Buendia flyover and the final upward turnaround point at 5th avenue. A second shot of GU at the 1:35 mark didn’t help my cause. By the last 200 meters, I was sorry sight, walking my way across the finish arc as my 305 read 2:22:40.

Now, there is still a chance that I’ve finished sub-2:20 (teeny weeny chance), chip-time wise, since it took me almost (or more than) 2 minutes to cross the start arc due to the 4,000-strong participants of the 21km event. The official race results will provide the answer to that. Nevertheless, this race was a lesson (yet again) that proper and controlled pacing should be considered during races. Oh well, at least the finisher medal was very nice!

The second goal, 32km total distance for the day, was missed on account of the heat and extreme fatigue after that failed race. I was supposed to run 10km more after the race, but I was jogging at a pedestrian 10:00/km. The morning sun’s heat was terribly early that day so much that I decided to turn back and call it a day.

Total distance for the day: 27.75km.

I’ve yet to run the mandatory 20-mile long run prior to my third full marathon.

I’m hoping that it will come soon before taper period comes.

Thankful

2011-10-21T11:20:00.000+08:00

The kids were egging me to go down the stairs immediately this morning. I was surprised to find a beautifully crafted customized birthday cake ordered by the wifey.

The 42k on the Milo singlet I'm wearing on the cake seems to be a sign of things to come (Milo Finals 42km perhaps? Dream on! Hehehe).

You gotta love my supportive wife and kids on my passion for running. Days like these help me to keep in mind that family is ALWAYS first. That is why I try my best to keep myself healthy (thru running and other means) so that I hope to be always there for them, my support system.

Well, a birthday race is coming up this Sunday so I hope to do well. I've been running Adidas KOTR since 2009, always the 21k version (2009=2:29:55, 2010=2:21:59). I hope to finish sub-2:20 this year.

I'm now 38 and havin' a good time. Life's great!

Thank you Lord!

Up The Mountain Again

2011-10-18T14:50:00.003+08:00

I've just registered for marathon #3: QCIM (Quezon City Intl Marathon) on December 04, 2011.

Will it be 3rd time's a charm on my sub-5:00 goal? Accomplishing that would be great to close the year 2011.

With the way my total miles per week is unfolding, I really need to do a lot of work, especially on the weekend long runs. Good thing KOTR is coming up this Sunday so that's 21km already covered. I hope to add more after the race to log the needed miles (32km wishful goal ---yeah, I wish! Hehe).

See you on the road!

The Kawauchi In You

2011-10-15T10:10:00.001+08:00

It was several months ago on a lazy TV-surfing Saturday morning that I stopped the channel at Star Sports when I saw a recap of the 2011 Tokyo Marathon. Running events are rarely shown in ESPN or Star Sports, so seeing a big race such as this was a warm welcome to this running addict.

I was particularly amazed at this runner on the last 3-4kms of the race, a nobody named Yuki Kawauchi (wearing bib 16) of Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Months passed, and I got reminded of him again when I read an article of him from Running Times the other day. Watch the Youtube video below so you'll know what I'm talking about:

Amazing, right? His determination (as seen on his face) paid off. Coming from behind, he finished third overall (behind an Ethiopian and a Kenyan) with a stellar time of 2:08:37.

What makes him more amazing is that he's not corporate-sponsored, unlike many elite runners out there. He's an everyday office worker, like many of us are. It's really inspiring the way he manages his work and training to be able to run a race such as that in Tokyo. He's an example that if we just put our mind into logging the miles and train hard "because you love to run," then you'll get results.

Here's Yuki with his words of inspiration:

Let's run!!!

Octoberun 2011: Wicked!

2011-10-12T17:00:00.000+08:00

Preparation/Strategy

I went into this race with not much expectation from myself. A PR was waaay impossible as I lacked the necessary speedwork and tempo runs, just coming out of a 3 week experiment with Maffetone-paced training. Although I hoped for a sub-2:20 time, I was more concerned on logging decent amount of miles for the day’s required workout: a much-needed long run. Thus, any amount of kilometres before and after the race would be a warm-welcome for my marathon plans for QCIM3.

The strategy would be for me to pace myself in the opening kilometres and try to keep below or at 7:00/km the rest of the way, make most of the hydration stations, keep my running form in check at all times, take a gel after 1 hour, and, most of all, prepare myself mentally for the closing kilometres. The reason for the last bit was because of something I realized whenever I do long runs/races. At the latter part of a long race/run, my mind seems to be at, oh how do I explain it, lazy-tired-oh-just-walk-a-bit-but-you-know-later-on-you’ll-be-walking-the-rest-of-the-way train of thought. I realized this when I was training for Condura2011 and also on the race itself, specifically after km32. Yes, my body could be tired at that point but I know if I tried to dismiss the fatigue mentally, I know I could finish it running strong if I put my mind to it. The problem at the time, my mind gave up easily to the fatigue-mirage being orchestrated by the Governor. I was hoping that in this race, Octoberun2011, I would be better prepared mentally.

With a pre-race snack of BreadTalk floss bread (yummeh!), I went to the Octoberun 2011 21km starting line.

RACE!

There was a modest amount of 21km runners compared to your usual RunRio races, with familiar faces present (saw Dennis “Running Fatboy” on most of the U-turns). To psych myself, I set my 305 to countdown from 2:20 to encourage me to try to finish sub-2:20. We were sent off on schedule (5:15am).

Split for the first 5km was 34:13 (6:50/km ave). Right on schedule.

Btw, the race-org made a twist to the usual BGC-Buendia route for 21km races. Instead of tackling the BGC part first, we went up the Kalayaan flyover and onward to Buendia first. If you ask me, the route was especially challenging since by the time you reach the way back to BGC via the Buendia flyover, you’d think that you’re almost near the finish line. However, in Octoberun, you still got 10km to go around BGC to complete the half marathon. It’s wickedly challenging that it causes you to change your pace strategy: conserve energy along Buendia so you still have something left in the tank by the time you go around BGC. I give credit to MLB, the race organizer, for plotting in that twist. Good job!

Split from km6-10: 33:25 (6:41/km ave). This was along Buendia. I was able to cope with the climb back up the flyover (thanks to the usual Meralco compound hilly runs during training). I took my Powerbal Energy Gel along km8. I may have ran this section too fast, which may have caused the next sequence of events to occur.

Split from km11-15: 34:57 (6:59/km ave). Uh-oh. I started slowing down from here. I had a short side-stitch episode. Further, my right bicep started to ache as well. Based on Condura2011 and this race, I can fairly conclude that my continous holding of a Gatorade plastic bottle from the initial kms of the race caused this ache as I’ve never experienced this in my other races. Yup, I think I’ll ditch the bottle in favour of my hydration belt from now on.

HATAK (“pull”)

I logged my slowest lap at km17 (7:24/km). I was drained at this point (yup, the change of route sequence got me), but not out. At this point I was within range (either in front or at the back) of 2 ladies. One was wearing a tri-suit and the other was wearing an Ironman shirt. I saw them chatting on the initial kms of the race and was surprised that they were still at constant pace ---yup, still chatting. I decided then to drift behind them and use them as my pacers. Just follow them, I told myself. Well that got me going again (or was it the free Ricoa Flat Tops candy that was given along km14?), holding on to their constant “chillax” pace up to the finish line.

Km18 = 6:55, km19 = 7:05, km20 = 6:58.

By the time we reached the BHS perimeter with 2 turns left to the finish, my 2 Ironman (or should I say Ironwomen?) pacers went all out. I upped my pace as well but couldn’t catch up to them. However, I managed to overtake two men using me as marker on their run-walk strategy (hehe) 100m from the finish.

GF305 unofficial time: 2:22:40. Octoberun official time: 2:22:50.

GOOD RACE

I missed my target by almost 3 minutes. But not bad since I’ve improved on my last 21km race time for this year (2:24). I have to thank my two Ironwomen pacers on the last stretch, enabling me to finish at a decent time (by my personal standards).

Aside from the wicked route, MLB had covered this race well. The hydration stations, sponges, bananas, and, most of all, the Ricoa FLAT TOPS (one of my indulgences)were fantastic. Race marshals were giving words of encouragement which helped too. This was my first MLB org’d race and I have to say that they did a splendid job (all for a fair registration fee of P600.00).

Oh, I have to say that the finisher’s shirt is veeeerrrry nice.

COMPLETING THE DAY’S MILES

After the race I went back to the car and changed singlets and onto my VFF Bikilas, wherein I did a painfully slow 3km cooldown run in 30 minutes. Total miles for the day: 25km (including the earlier 1+ km warmup). The 21km race was helpful in forcing me to complete my scheduled long run which is why I’m thinking of registering for RunRio3 32km. The race atmosphere just keeps your mind busy as the kms tick by. The schedule is just right before a two-week taper for the Dec 04 QCIM marathon so we’ll see how things happen next month.

For now, it’s back to training.

Runch

2011-10-04T17:00:00.000+08:00

Woke up late.

Too lazy to get up.

Kids woke up earlier than you.

One of your kids is sick and needs Daddy's dose of TLC.

The bed is just too comfy to move away from.

Had a tiring day yesterday so you had to sleep until late morning to recover.

These are just a few of the reasons why I had to occassionally skip running in the early morning before heading to the office. For those that were due to laziness, I felt guilty the rest of the day, regretting the lost pounds/training/miles that I should've logged.

The answer?

RUNCH.

Running on my lunch break, even "just" for 5 kilometers, provides the relief that at least I was able to run for that scheduled day of training. It could be on a treadmill in the gym or the Lawton-Bayani Taguig route, either of which will suffice my addictiveness in running.

Today I had a good runch. I was able to run along the Lawton-Bayani amidst the midday sun with water-bottle in hand. Drinking and dousing my head and arms as my 305 lapped the kilometers, I felt great, managing to maintain an average 6:45/km average pace.

It's 5pm. Now, I need a real (late) lunch!

Egg Before The Chicken

2011-09-26T19:50:00.001+08:00

This is the first time I received a race medal upon registration. It's anti-climactic in a way.

Well, at least I can use it as paperweight in the office. Frankly, it would have more value to me if I get to finish the 25km Power Run inside 3 hours (2:55, ideally). The distance also forces me to log my weekend long run, something that I'm just too lazy to do (although I was able to log 22km last Sunday when I got myself in the mood for a sunset-evening run).

See you on November 6th!

Oh yeah, 25km babyyyyyy!!!

Race Hungry

2011-09-19T19:20:00.000+08:00

I've been raceless since Aug21 (Run United2 21k). I've become bored with the Maffetone training that I've been injecting tempo runs lately seeing that my Maf pace doesn't seem to be improving.

Quite worried that I might be doing this HR-based training method and not be conditioned pace-wise in time for QCIM 42k. I'm worried as well that I'm not being committed to my weekend long run schedule, the longest being a 23km (Run United2 + 2km for warmup and cooldown).

Shit, that was almost a month ago?!?!

Being raceless for quite some time is not helping as well as I think I'm experiencing race-withdrawal panic.

To put it simply, I need to join a race. A long one. And soon!

Finishing Kick II

2011-09-07T18:43:00.003+08:00

The 10,000m race below was held just recently in the IAAF World Championships in Daegu. The heavy favorite was Mo Farah, one of the UK's famous running elites.

The video starts with the last 400m (last lap) of the race, with Mo Farah starting his final kick. Unbeknownst to him, Ibrahim Jeilan of Ethiopia made pursuit.

It's incredible to watch such amazing athletes run their heart out to finish first, something that I've experienced (in a small, untelevised way, hehe) when I ran in some races. I won some, and lost some too ---all for the unprecious, no-prize hundredth of a place in the finishers' list.

But the video that plays over and over again on my mind recalling that mini duel as I drive back home?

Priceless.

Maffetone after 89 kilometers

2011-09-06T13:45:00.000+08:00

Except for Run United 2 where I ran the 21k event, all my runs since Aug13 have been set below the Maffetone pace for my age (180-37 = 143). Forgive me for my nerdiness, but below is a summarized table of those runs:

As obviously pointed out in the Maffetone training method, this type of training will have you eat your ego. That is, those "back of the pack" runners will seem to be faster than you as you try to keep your HR below the prescribed Maff pace, especially in uphills. I had to swallow a lot of pride, especially in my 20km long run last Sunday, when I wanted to speed up but my beeping GF305 won't let me to. I had to stay below the 143 HR. I finished the run in 2:53.

My aerobic capacity needs a lot of work, especially in the longer distances. Based on the above, it seems that my aerobic capacity is primed only up to around 8k. Beyond that, I have to tap into my anaeraobic tank which does not last for long. What I like about this method is that it's relaxing and less injury prone because of the slow pace. I just need to keep my running form in check from time to time.

I'll give this thing until end of September before I inject back my other workouts (intervals & tempo runs) as I think I'm ready to climb the urban Everest again ---all 42.195kms of it. The dream of finishing sub-5 hours is there for the taking.

The QCIM full marathon this December awaits.

False Prophecy?

2011-09-01T10:18:00.003+08:00

I've been following Pete Larson's blog for quite a long time, especially when I started to explore into the minimalist/natural running trend. Migrating from a heel to a forefoot/midfoot strike, it is true that improving one's gait to a more natural form is greatly beneficial to not only improving one's race times, but reducing injuries as well. That was my experience since going thru the Newton Distancia Racers, Adidas Adios ---both I consider to be transition shoes to minimalism/natural running. Currently, I'm rotating between my VFF Bikilas and the Brooks Green Silence, both of which encourages barefoot and minimalist running, respectively. The pain on my left knee has subsided since then. This of course, coupled with consciously following the prescribed paces/heart-rates for my workouts and reading about how to improve one's running gait ---until now. Yes, I'm still a work in progress.

Going back to Pete's blog, I read his post on the Mizuno Wave Prophecy last May 2011 and I couldn't help but recall his views ("personal bias" as he had said) against the said shoe. With all the hype/blogs being posted about preference for the Wave Prophecy, it would be good to put in some "balance" by echoing Pete's post that somehow discourages barefoot/minimalist-wannabees like myself from purchasing it.

Pete's post ("Mizuno Wave Prophecy – The Anti-Minimalist Shoe?") can be read in detail by clicking here.

Yankz!

2011-08-27T09:20:00.000+08:00

Loose shoelaces were problems that I encountered with the Brooks Green Silence when I raced in the Mizuno 10k and Takbo.ph 16k. Just having to slow down, stop, and kneel to fix the damn thing would cause me about 30sec-1min delay ---time that I don't need especially when gunning for a PR. @paopedal, my triathlete-officemate, encountered the same mishap during one of his running workouts ---wearing the Brooks Green Silence as well. Hmmm, this should be something that Brooks needs to look at.

After the takbo.ph 16k race I decided to buy a pair of Yankz! shoelaces. I've seen this type of laces being used by triathletes (watching the video from the 2010 Ironman Kona Championships). Their "you'll never tie laces again" logo had bought me in.

Installing these laces takes some patience. Just follow the manual inserted, or you can follow the video I found below in YouTube (yeah, almost everything you need to know is in YouTube these days):

Well, I'm happy to say that I am quite satisfied with them Yankz!. I used them in last weekend's Run United2 half-marathon and had no complaints. Oh btw, I used tiewraps for installing the RunRio timing card. Works like a charm!

Run United2 21km: Crushed!

2011-08-22T11:10:00.000+08:00

I was doing well for the first half of the race, keeping my pace at around 6:30-ish per km. I have set my GF305 to countdown from 2:20 ---my hopeful target time--- so I believed that I was in pace even though I was zig-zagging my way among the 3,300 other 21km runners who registered at the first few kms (2,100+ actually finished 21k as per the race result page).

The effect of lacking long runs (longest at 15k) was felt when I started to trudge Buendia Avenue just after the turn-around. It was a long crushing climb back as I was run-walking for some time. I managed to check my bearings and resisted to stop at the Buendia flyover return path, jogging my way at a slow 7:30+/km pace.

I reached the 2:20 mark just after The Fort (where Embassy used to be). The last climb at 32nd avenue before the last turn to the finish wouldn't come any sooner as I hoped to finish running.

The finish arc welcomed me at 2:26:01 (Garmin gun time).

POST MORTEM

I'm happy with the 4-minute improvement (based on chip time) since my last half-mary last May (Goldilocks), but I've a lot of catching up to do in terms of my long runs. December's QCIM 42km is very tempting to register for, especially now that I've decided to resume my base-building via the Maffetone method. But without complying to doing the long run, another 42km via QCIM might turn out to be a waste of effort.

I'll probably go at it for 2 months of 143-max HR workouts as recommended. Going raceless will also be a consequence as I hope to prioritize building my aerobic engine before pursuing races. Or, I could still reg for races but will control myself from exceeding 143 HR. This would be good especially if I join half-marys just so I can follow my scheduled long run.

I just hope that this thing that I'm trying out will be rewarding in the end.

We'll see in 2 months.

Trading in my lawn mower for a jet engine

2011-08-16T19:10:00.000+08:00

"You can either try to race with an engine the size of a lawnmower or you can build your engine up with a good base so that you are racing with a huge-turbo charged jet engine."

---Mark Allen

I got quite interested in the Maffetone method of training after reading one of Baldrunner's posts (here). My triathlete-officemate, @paopedal, recommended me to try it too since he says that the basis for such "low max HR" limits for 3 months will eventually increase one's aerobic capacity. I won't bore you with the details since there's a lot out there in the Internet for your mind to digest.

Well, I'm sold to trying this out due to the following:

less injuries
pace improvement (imagine running sub-7:00/km pace at 8:30/km effort!)
last but not least, aerobic training burns fat! (two thumbs up!!!!)

I tried this out last weekend on my scheduled long run. As expected, I was jogging at a very pedestrian 8:30/km pace, limiting the heart rate displayed on my GF305 to 143 (180 minus my age). It really took a lot of self-control not to go fast. Amazingly, I finished my workout after 15km without the need to munch a GU pack! Average pace was 9:01/km and calorie burn was less than 900. What was great about it was that I never felt hungry until noon (I'd normally shake in hunger at around 11am after a morning long run, a trigger that I really need to eat). There was also no knee pain like I normally get hours after.

This is definitely something, I thought. Actually I've been doing pseudo-Maffetone running before but not exclusively doing easy runs for 2-3 months straight. Tempo and interval runs are stacked in once a week, at the least. I ran easy on easy days, and ran hard on hard days.

Well, I will resume this next week since I've registered for the Run United2 21k this Sunday. By next week, I'll do all my runs exclusively below the recommended 143 max HR and see if my aerobic pace improves in 2 or 3 months ---right on schedule for Condura 42km 2012!

Wish me luck!

Company Sportsfest 2011 10k: Sub-60 3-Peat?

2011-08-08T18:25:00.001+08:00

PRESSURE COOKER

I was somehow pressured going into this 10k race for three things. First, no thanks to the constant rains I wasn’t able to run much for the past weeks (the only run I had last week was an 8km tempo including warmup and cooldown wherein I paced 6:10-6:40/km). Logging below average weekly mileage for the past 2 weeks got me worried.

The second reason was that this would be my 3rd 10k race since IRFI and Mizuno wherein I finished sub-60. Yup, there is that pressure for me to three-peat. I guess this was how Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls team mates felt back in the 90s? Nah, maybe not.

The last reason for me to feel pressured to perform is that this race was organized by the company where I work in. There are a lot of recreational but competitive runners here so one’s finish time would be a good lunch break or water cooler topic among peers. If you had been following this blog for some time, I made a similar race report last year in our company run (15km) where I barely survived the charge of a fast runner (because he started 10 minutes late). To be honest, there was more of a desire for me to compete rather than pressure since I WANTED to run my best in this race. In a company where mostly everyone knows everybody, it would be great to finish somewhere on the upper half of the finishers’ list.

HALA SPRINT, SIGE!

As the 10-to-1 countdown sent the 10k runners off at BGC, I remembered my learnings from previous races, specifically: don’t rush at the start. Unfortunately for most of the 10k runners, they must’ve felt like Usain Bolt. “Remember that this is a 10km race, not a 1km sprint,” I told myself as I refrained from going all-out. I was just below 6 minutes by the 1st kilometre and I intended to keep it that way throughout the race. Going near 5:30/km or below would be suicide for me unless it’s the last kilometre.

As expected, as I reached the 32nd street uphill from 5th avenue going towards Market-Market, the runners who sprinted from the starting line were dropping their pace. Some would walk, some would be breathing heavily as they tried to hang on to their earlier km pace, to no avail. My patience was paying off as I started overtaking.

By the British School path I had overtaken most of the runners, except of course, for those aiming for sub-55/50 times. A sub-55 or sub-50 finish may come for me but not on this race. Probably in two or three years perhaps?

HALFWAY PACE, CHECK!

I reached the 5km mark in 29:04. I was doing well compared to IRFI (28:14) and Mizuno (28:44) since I was able to strategize my pace as even as possible per km. Bottomline, I didn’t over-exert myself at the first half of the race.

The rain started to pour when I reached 8th(?) street, a 400-500m downhill, turnaround, and uphill at the same distance. I had to keep myself conscious of my form and pace, glancing at my Garmin from time to time and feeling my footstrike. Fatigue would cause me to heel strike so I had to constantly check that I strike midfoot/forefoot all the time.

SPRINT TAYO BATA?

By the last 2 kilometers I was still feeling good, overtaking a few more running officemates along the way. At the last turn to the finish (passing the Nike store), I glanced at the timer above the finish arc: it read 57 minutes and counting. My 10k PR was 59minutes+ so I knew a new PR was in the bag. Nice!

At the last 100 meters, the last guy I overtook from 32nd street had probably managed to sprint from the last turn since I heard his footsteps approaching me rapidly from behind. I wasn’t going to give up my place in the finisher’s list that easily so I went to sprint myself. I was pleasantly surprised that I still managed to out-kick him as I crossed the line about 2-3 seconds ahead of him.

57:57 (Garmin, unofficial).

Another 10k PR! Woohoo! Thank you Looord!!!

Yup, I think it’s time to run another half-marathon soon.

Run United 2 anyone?

SIDENOTE: BUKAS-KOTSE GANG

As our company sportsfest was ongoing, news spread of the unfortunate incident of 2 (or more) vehicles by our officemates being robbed of cash and valuables. They parked on that makeshift parking lot along the street near NBC Tent (parking teller is situated just next to the said tent, across The Fort Strip). Some of the owners were understandably furious at the security guards since they were supposed to man the area from would-be looters. I hope this sad incident serves as a warning to all runners (not only in BGC but in other race venues as well) to securely lock their vehicles as they race. Don’t leave valuables in the car as well.

Take care and happy running!

So the 1st person to do this died?

2011-08-01T19:27:00.002+08:00

I saw this on running.competitor.com. A hilarious take on how other people see us runners.

Hehehe....

takbo.ph Runfest 16km: Hills? Bring 'em on!

2011-07-25T19:34:00.006+08:00

LUCKY ME

I was lucky to have that 10x200m hill-repeat session 3 weeks ago and a hilly 10km Subic long-run the weekend prior to this race in BGC because once I saw the route days before the race, I only felt a tinge of fear (usually, it's a heap of fear) upon seeing the Lawton-Bayani-McKinleyHill leg of the route. It’s like Mr.Bean’s classmate who was happy to see that the questionnaire for their exam was for Trigonometry, the one that he studied for.

The only question left was as to what pace should I run this one. After a manageable short tempo run the other week (5km averaged 6:35/km), I decided to settle for an even-paced run at 6:30-6:40/km effort.

RACE DAY

The race started on time (5:30am for 16km) and we were off. I decided to take it easy in the first km (even doing a #1 just before the 1km marker, hihihi). I was feeling good at this point, deciding on banking on good km-splits early on since I know I could be in trouble pace-wise on the uphills later on.

HILLS

I managed to go thru Bayani Road’s return uphill climb. The difficult part, as expected and as recounted by many, is the McKinley climb from C5. Everyone was either on a slow-jog or walking ---I was partly both. When I reached the top back to Lawton, it was time to recover my bearings and just go for it.

By the last km I was pushing hard, even with a side stitch. “Pain is temporary,” I thought, as my GF305 passed my 1:45 target time. My 2009 1:49 PR seemed to be there, teasing me that I won’t be able to beat it. I even resorted to daring myself to beat this guy in a black compression shirt and Garmin310XT, but failed. The shoelaces on my left Brooks Green Silence got loose (time to buy Yankz?) but I resorted to run.

I ran as fast as I could though and, as I made that last turn, glanced at my 305, I rejoiced and raised my left arm in a victory fist as I approached the finish arc:

1:47:55 (GF305 time).

16km PR broken by nearly 2 minutes.

3rd PR-breaking race in a row.

Life is good!

TAKBO.PH

I got my medal and rested by the sidewalk which was at the last 200m of the race. As I saw fellow running-bloggers passed by (Sir Amado, Roselle, and Sir Jovie), I could only thank takbo.ph for helping me discover their blogs and keeping me inspired thru their posts. I’m thankful as well for takbo.ph for the “race schedule” updates that they post, keeping me on my toes as to when’s the next race that I would like to join in.

Giving back to takbo.ph, via this recently concluded Runfest, was definitely a good choice. Thanks Jinoe and Queenie for a giving us a great race!

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

2011-07-22T12:10:00.000+08:00

This was a nice read. It will not exactly pump you up to head out the door for a run like "Born To Run," but Haruki Murakami's calm writing presents to its readers an alternative way to thinking while on the run, instead of with iPods.

His thoughts as he ran were calm and collected, the way I think how non-elite, non-competitive runners like myself should be.

Anyone for a zen run?

Another Subic Long Run

2011-07-19T14:00:00.000+08:00

My family and I checked-in at the Kamana Sanctuary and Spa in Subic last weekend and boy, it's a very nice place especially if you want some peace and quiet.

It's just unfortunate that I only noticed last Sat when we reached Subic that there was a Milo elims race scheduled there (Olongapo leg) the next day. This was obvious after I noticed almost every other electric pole along the road to Subic airport wrapped with a Milo poster plus a lone open tent which I presumed to be a water station. If there was room for late registrants I would've woken up early and went to the track and field in Subic-proper to race an impromptu half-marathon.

Anyway, prior to that discovery I already conditioned myself to do a 12-14km long run on Sunday morning in preparation for this Sunday's takbo.ph 16k. Thus, with my trusty Bikilas, hydration belt and pack of GU, I started my run.

To summarize my run, I fell short of my target and ended up with 10.26km only as per my GF305. The 1st 3km run (or climb) was from the resort to the main road. It was an endless climb (think Baguio, but without the chill) that I ended up sweating like a pig after a mile. Average pace was at a struggling 8:30/km but I still trudged on and turned right on the main road towards Zoobic.

The main reason why my long run was cut short was, sissy me, I saw a mean-looking askal.

No, not that Azkal, but a real ASong KALye (stray dog) barking at me wildly like I was for breakfast. Sad to say, I had to turn back which was incidentally at km5 at that point and made my way back to the resort.

Except for that dog incident, I had a nice, challenging run. The climbs and descents were steep that are comparable to Baguio.

"S" climb

Yup, I'll run that route again the next time we spend the weekend there, hopefully without the askal.

Next race: A 10-miler

2011-07-11T10:30:00.000+08:00

10-mile (16km) races don't come very often. There's 3k, 5k, 10k, and 21k events that often come up every race weekend, but rarely/never a 10-miler.

The first (and last) 16k race that I ran was in 2009 (Botak Paa-Tibayan in UP) wherein I set a 1:49 PR. I'm not really sure why, but I have this fascination with the 10-mile distance. It's often my favorite number when it comes to weekend long runs, especially that I already have a fixed route from home to Greenhills to San Juan then back to home.

16k. 10miles.

It just sounds perfect.

Well, thanks to takbo.PH, I'll be able to race that distance again on the 24th. I've DNS'ed last year's takbo.PH race (overslept) so I hope to have no problems waking up for this year's version.

See you there!

Raceless but happy

2011-07-07T19:15:00.001+08:00

I haven't registered for any race since Mizuno. There was an unfortunate event in the family that required me to put that in priority first over races the past weekends, but I still had my early morning runs, averaging about 22kms per week for the past 3 weeks.

My usual route is a 5km-loop that stretches throughout the New Manila area. As I've memorized by heart the kilometer-markers, I can even set my runs for 6, 7, 8, 9 or even 10km via an out-and-back path. I mostly do easy and tempo runs here but sometimes I also do 1km cruise-intervals and even use the 1st 4km as a start-path for my weekend long runs which often goes to GreenHills and then to San Juan via Wilson Street. The route then goes to a street parallel to P. Guevarra until I reach N.Domingo. It's all uphill from there to Balete Drive which is the last street to complete my usual 10-miler (16km) long run.

As I had to change hating hills to loving them, last week I discovered a 100m hill at Horseshoe Village, about a mile from my house. The merciless 100m climb belongs to a street with a name that speaks for itself: HILLTOP street. My planned 10x100m hill repeats was reduced to 8x100m last week as I felt my heart and lungs pounding after the 8th repeat. Yup, I'll definitely get back at said hill next week.

Going back to the 5km New Manila route, I see various people doing their morning run/walk. The ages vary, but most of those that I've known by face (a brief "good morning" as we pass each other) are probably within the 40-60 age group, all men. There's an old Japanese fella that always has a water bottle in each hand, another with a compact stick to ward off potential street dogs, and a Chinese-looking guy in his 60s that can still manage a 7:00/km steadily. It's nice to know that these guys, even at their age, strive to wake up every morning to get their daily dose of exercise.

I've also seen those that look to be racing a lot, based on the singlet that they wear (like me). This one guy, in particular, looked heavier than me when I first saw him run months ago. But, as I've seen him last week, he's lost a lot of weight! There's also a young lady, probably in her teens, that had lost weight over the many times I've seen her out-sprint her yaya. It just goes to show that running does help in keeping the unwanted fat out.

The tall trees provide sufficient shade in New Manila, especially in Broadway Avenue where the road stretches up and down like the SLEX Skyway. Just be careful of the oncoming vehicles that uses the street as a shortcut on their way to Tomas Morato.

If I do a 5km run, the last km is all uphill until I reach home. As my GF305 beeps the end of another morning run, I go back to the house and get myself ready for work.

Another morning run completed, I log into my trusty Excel file and dailymile.com:

"I felt good."

Mizuno Infinity Run 10k: No Fluke

2011-06-13T00:40:00.000+08:00

It was the same race org, the same race route, and the same distance. Mizuno 2011 Inifinity Run was the perfect venue to confirm if my first sub-60 achieved in my previous race was no fluke.

Well, to summarize my performance, I finished it in 59:32 (unofficial). Not only had I beaten last year's Mizuno 10k record by a minute and 25 seconds, but I've set a new 10k PR by a close 6 seconds.

Yup, not bad.

LEARNINGS

From the two races, I Run For Integrity (IRFI) and Mizuno 10k, I was able to remember my per-5km lap times as below:

The table above definitely shows that I positive-splitted these two races, mostly caused by the uphills in the latter half of the route (including the ruthless Kalayaan Flyover). There is also the question of my endurance of keeping a sub-6:00/km pace for more than 5km.

Either lack of endurance at fast paces or hills, that could be where my focus should be. I have to admit, I absolutely hate hills as much as the next guy. That could be the reason why I don't do much of hill training as I find myself content with tempos, speed intervals, and long runs. Yes, I'd probably should be doing more hill training....

...Or should I try running a 10k in a flat-route race such as those held in MOA to see if I can break 59-minutes? Or 58 minutes? ;-)

PROGRESS

If I were to base how I am in terms of my running, the Mizuno Infinity Run is one of those races that will form part of the criteria. My race times for the past 3 versions of this race were very encouraging (2009-1:09, 2010-1:00:57, 2011-59:32) as it reflected constant improvement on my speed.

Yup, things are lookin' good. Now if only I could bring this 10k pace to a half-marathon, that would be great!

Jersey Up The Rafters

2011-06-09T11:20:00.000+08:00

As the ball bounced towards the outside lane, I stretched and tried to reach it to keep it inbound. I failed for I was late for about a second and the ball was eventually given to the opposing team.

As I was walked/jogged back to play defense, I felt a pain on my back which could've resulted from the previous play.

Darn it.

A possible back strain which is still lingering as of this morning.

Last night was only the 3rd time I played basketball since December 2010 and by some sheer bad luck, I've come off injured by the following day. Prior to discovering my passion for running, I play regular hoops with the guys here in the office around once a week, and then there was a time that I'd even do shoot-arounds at Club650 by myself once a week during lunchtime. I was keen on getting my shooting-pulse in ship-shape and try to imitate the driving moves of my idols: Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. In spite of all those practices, I would still be often left on the bench on school-alumni leagues and office sportsfests. Yup, I love basketball but I don't seem to have the skills to make basketball love me back.

Several thoughts came up as to why these string of post-basketball injuries have become regular:

First, I think that my body has been more attuned to running in which once you get the form and pace right, you just need to do the same thing over and over as you tick off the miles. You don't need to bend, stretch, jog backwards, do lateral movements, nor jump. But in basketball, you need to do all of these. Di na ako sanay sa basketball, I guess. Probably spending more time in strength-training would do the trick.

Second, and the more obvious reason, is that my body is not as young as it used to be. I'll be 38 by the last quarter of the year and even the aches and pains that I feel during hard running workouts just goes to show that I need to be more careful of my body at this age. The banging, jumping, and different paces of basketball is something that I need to watch out for. Wag nang sumabay sa pagrebound kung malalaki ang mga katabi. I think I should just impose my age with the youngsters (mang-gulang? hehe) like my other idol: Robert "The Big J" Jaworski.

Yup, I've no plans of hanging up my basketball jersey just yet. I will just have to be more mindful of my limits.

Well I hope my bad back will heal in time for Mizuno 10k although I don't think it'll be much of a problem (crossing-fingers here) since no bending/diving for the ball is required.

Expos - Dislike

2011-06-06T10:52:00.001+08:00

I'm starting to dislike running/race expos. The matter of claiming your singlet/racekit should be simple and fast. Adidas KOTR 2009 was such an example. For those of you who were there at SM Megamall Megatrade, it was mayhem just to claim the racekit. The following year, KOTR 2010 scrapped the expo altogether and just gave the racekit upon registration.

I thought that was the last of that.

Well, Mizuno Infinity Run 2011 seemed to have followed suit. I heard that the first day of claiming (Jun2) was mayhem as well so I decided to claim the next day.

From my office in Ortigas, I left lunchtime and drove all the way to Mizuno Magallanes only to be approached by this sign at the lobby:

I tried on the M-size but I felt like a suman (not really a sight to behold if you'll see me race on a singlet of that size).

Time and effort wasted.

Utter disappointment. Again.

I'm starting to hate expos.

It Never Ends

2011-06-02T18:50:00.000+08:00

Along with Condura, the Mizuno Infinity Run is one of those races that I want to run every year. The concept of beating your time year after year is both unique and challenging. Well, I've just registered for the 10km event earlier this week and I'm all set to hopefully beat last year's 1:00:57 and my recent PR of 59:38.

I was surprised btw when I visited the Mizuno.PH website and found that they archived the list of "beat your time" finishers (comparing 2009 and 2010 results). I was humbled to find out that I ranked well (out of 48 runners) last year as seen below:

I've never ranked that high on a race, so seeing my name on page1 as above was very gratifying.

As mentioned by the comments on my last post, I'm all set to be greedy with logging sub-60 race times for 10k from hereon, hoping that the 59:38 from last weekend's race was no fluke.

See you on June 11!

I Run For Integrity 10k: Finally a sub-60?

2011-05-30T11:50:00.001+08:00

If I knew earlier that this race would be organized by Rudy B, I would not have relaxed my walk from the house to the starting line. The sole yellow digital-clock placed on the starting arc with 11-minutes plus ticking (even though it was still around 15minutes before the published guntime) was undoubtedly telling me two obvious things:

This was a Rudy Biscocho race. Known for it's accurate race-distance, and notorious for its guntimes being earlier than the one published. It will be a no-frills, "plain rice" race.
The race had started 11-plus minutes ago. I was late.

I passed thru the hoard of 3k runners up to the starting arc, and pressed "Start" on my stopwatch. Late or not, I'm still going to gun for a sub-60.

The route was going to be a simple BHS-BuendiaFlyover-BuendiaAvenue out-and-back. I have done this route many times, but not at the crazy pace that I was planning to do for 10 kilometers: sub-6:00/km.

By the 5km turnaround my stopwatch showed 28:14. I was on target. The remainder of the course will be mostly inclines exclamated by the notorious Buendia Flyover. With my heart noticeably pounding and me breathing hard, I used my 1:46 buffer to take brief walk breaks (5-10secs) and hoping for the best. I was consciously egging myself, "RACE this. Don't jog. RACE PACE! Come on!"

I walked the Buendia Flyover for about 10 secs and just kept pushing myself to race on. I was able to catch up when I descended the flyover and turned right to Rizal Avenue, where the 1st half would be downhill. The second half all the way to 32nd avenue would be all uphill but with a slight grade. I was still in pace, but the 1:46 buffer had shrunk precariously to 1 minute.

I just needed to hold on a little more, I told myself. I glanced left and saw the finish arc waiting for me. As I made the two last turns, I was greeted by the welcome sight of the finish arc.

Just a little bit more. I was looking straight ahead but at the same time feeling the stop-button on my watch to get ready to stop the timer.

And then, as I crossed the line, there it was.

59:38.

The most beautiful set of numbers that I ever saw that day.

Finally, my very first sub-60 10k.

How sweet it is.

Chasing Sub-60

2011-05-25T11:40:00.000+08:00

1 hour and 57 seconds.

That's my 10k PR from last year's Mizuno Run. As this year's Mizuno Run nears, it is time for me again to chase my sub-60minutes dream.

In terms of sub-ing race times, I have yet to achieve a sub-30 5k, a sub-60 10k, a sub-1:30 15k, and a sub-5hr full marathon. I think I've accomplished a lot on the half-marathon, my favorite distance, doing a sub-2:30 then sub-2:20 and a sub-2:15 (my current PR). There's this obsession of mine to log sub-6:00/km pace which I think most will agree is a good standard for being an above-average runner. I'm able to do that during 1000m cruise interval workouts (with 2minutes rest) but not during tempos or races. I often found myself out-of-breath and gassed out after a mere 1 or 2km stretch of running sub-6:00/km pace.

Well, I have this chance again on Sunday (I run for Integrity 10k) to hopefully break 60minutes. By the look of my workouts these past two weeks, it will be a difficult task. Moreover, the Buendia flyover will pose as a challenge as it became my Waterloo during Mizuno 2010. But I would like to give it a try nonetheless.

If that fails, then I'll try again...and again....and again....

Goldilocks 21km: Glad to be back

2011-05-18T13:50:00.000+08:00

2:29.

I was surprised with my time as I stopped the timer on my stopwatch approaching the Goldilocks FunRun 21km finish line. The clock on the finish arc showed 2:26, mine showed 2:29. Guessing that they haven't adjusted the timer since we were sent off 2+ minutes before the actual gun time, I came to realize that the time on my stopwatch was correct.

I almost didn't make it to sub-2:30.

Since I didn't have my 305 back from repair, I had to rely on my stopwatch and press 'lap' on km5, 10, and 15 to oversee my pace. The recorded laps were as below:

km1-5: 34:30
km6-10: 34:00
km11-15: 34:00
km16-21: 46:00

I was still on 2:22-2:24 pace by km15. After analyzing what went wrong, I arrived at the following:

Blister. I opted to wear the VFF Bikilas over the Brooks Green Silence. I haven't ran in the Bikilas for more than 8km at any run. Perhaps the lure of my last cruise interval workout encouraged me to go for speed over safety. The result was a 1-peso-coin-sized blister under my big left toe in km10 which forced me to go to the side of the road. The stop had caused me 1-2mins and perhaps cautioned me to slow my pace
The absence of my Garmin305 (still under repair) made me neglect my pace-monitoring duties after km15. The last leg showed I was at a 7:40/km average pedestrian pace, admittedly since I was more concentrated in overtaking the walkers struggling to finish the race. Maybe if I had my 305 beeping my per-km splits, my performance would've been different.

Still, I needed the 21km mileage and it was great to be racing a half-marathon again after such a long time. Seeing a lot of runners (1,600+) joining the 21km event, it seems that many 10k runners have "leveled-up." This was pretty obvious from the Buendia turnaround point, when many newbies (I presume) were found walking by the wayside, perhaps not obedient in following their long run schedule. To be honest, I was actually LOVING the feeling of overtaking them one by one from Buendia all the way to the finish.

A note as well on the Bikilas. Although the blister experience is something that needs to be addressed (wearing Injinji socks perhaps?), I LOVED them as I trudged the uphills. Forgive me for being vocal, pero PANIS yung mga uphills ---as in I never walked. Probably it being lightweight proved pivotal for me to conquer the Kalayaan flyover and the 5th avenue approach to the last turnaround. It was just unfortunate that the blister happened.

Obviously, the 2:29 (2:28:22 chip time) result is something that I need to improve on. Let's see how it goes this year.

Congrats again to RunRio for an excellent, well-organized race!

Running Log, May9

2011-05-09T11:25:00.000+08:00

WEEKLY MILES

Mileage-wise, my weekly totals have been on-target. I've been increasing it 10% every week, with a cut-back week after 2 or 3 weeks.

INJURIES

The injuries have been non-supportive. The right foot pain that started last March which I initially blamed on the Bikilas were found to be actually caused by the faded support/cushion of the Adios. I've retired the Adios (which was used btw by Mutai to achieve a Boston/World best of 2:03:02) to casual trips to the mall or church. Since then, my right foot has been healing, albeit slowly.

My left foot has now joined in the fray. My big toe is having trouble dorsiflexing, especially after immediately waking up in the morning. It may have gotten injured during my 2nd test run (18km) of the Brooks Green Silence the other week. I'm not sure if shoe size is an issue since the US9.0 was recommended by runningwarehouse.com when I compared the shoe with my Adizero Adios (also a size 9.0). My toes could still wiggle a little in the toebox so I don't think that's the issue. My theory is that the Green Silence is not kind to forefoot-striking, which I've gotten used to with the Bikilas. Looks like I need to switch to midfoot whenever I wear the Brooks.

My left knee has started to become painful again, especially after long runs. I probably need to do more strength training for my knees, or study my gait again since the pain is usually obvious when I wear the Green Silence (heel-striking perhaps?).

Or is it because I gained weight?

WEIGHT

With all the heavy merienda (office birthday celebrations and invites to PM snacks because of the accessibility of the mall from the office), unusual snacking, and bottomless iced tea, I was not surprised that our weighing scale said that I have gained 5 lbs as of this morning. The increasing weekly mileage is obviously not helping since energy in > energy out. I might have to resort to oatmeal dinners again (bleck!).

RACES

With the injuries and weight-gain going on, I'm still happy that I have my runs. This weekend I'm running 21km c/o the Goldilocks Fun Run. With my current condition, a PR is definitely out of the question. Finishing it below 2:30 is a more hopeful target. I'm contemplating btw if I would wear my Bikilas for the race. Hmmmm.....

Increasing the mileage and eating less would be the instructions to be followed starting next week.

So, Milo Marathon Manila Elims on July 31. Anyone joining that one?

Me? I'm still thinking about it. Who knows, ey? ;-)

Garminless for a while

2011-05-03T15:00:00.000+08:00

I've had my trusty GF305 since Nov2009, via pabili to my sis-in-law who's based in the US. The cost was around PHP 7,500.00 which is a bargain since it's being sold locally at about PHP12,000.00 (although it seems that they're being sold at around 8thou in sulit.com.ph).

It's been with me in almost all of my runs and in all of my races, keeping tabs on my per-km pace, distance, total elapsed time, calories, and heart-rate. Needless to say, it's been a very helpful tool in my running.

The signs of wear have appeared after my 18km long run last Sunday: the UP button on the right side has eroded away from the rubber support as shown below.

All the other buttons (left and right side) are starting to show signs of erosion too.

Fortunately, I was able to contact NAVCO Philippines which is the local distributor of Garmin here. A repair IS possible (with a fee, of course). I've gone to their office during lunch earlier and have handed over my GF305 for them to send to their Asia center for repair.

It might take 3-4 weeks before I get the unit back, thus I'll be confined to my old stopwatch and mapping out the distances via Map My Run in the meantime.

Yup, old school.

Brooks Green Silence

2011-05-02T14:45:00.000+08:00

THE NEED

Aside from the Bikilas, I've been rotating between the Adizero Adios (bought Oct 2010) and Newton Distance Racers (July 2010), both of which have the outsoles worn down excessively. The mileage on both the Adios and Newtons may have acquired about 400-500km each. I tried (really) to maximize these two shoes but the performance that I've been getting back from them during my runs have gone down, probably due to the eroded cushioning and unbalanced wear on the outsole (it seems that I've been supinating more than usual). My left ITB has been acting up lately which I'm fairly certain because of the outsole wear.

Thus, a well-prepared justification to the wifey for me to buy new shoes (again). ;-)

MERRELL OR BROOKS?

After countless reading of online shoe reviews, I was able to trim my choice to the following:

Merrell True Glove
Brooks Green Silence
Brooks ST 5 Racer

I turned down the True Glove because of (1) I already had the Bikilas which promotes barefoot running just like Merrell's, and (2) the True Glove, supposedly for road use, was not accepted positively in a shoe review that I read online. I might consider buying the TRAIL Glove later on, should I finally try trail running in the future.

I then went to Toby's to try on shoes 2 and 3. I jogged a bit and noticed that the ST5's heel is raised more than the Green Silence. This made me heel-strike which I wasn't comfortable of (apart from the excess cushioning that I wasn't anymore used to).

In the end (and with a 10% discount coupon for registering at the May15 Goldilocks run), I purchased the Green Silence.

TEST RUN #1 - EASY 5km

As I was walking before the start of my run, I felt some tightness on the upper which I didn't really mind. The toebox, as many have reviewed, is quite wide that enabled my toes to splay comfortably.

The Adios, as you may recall, has a heel-to-toe lift of 11mm. The Green Silence has a reported lift of 10mm. The 1mm should be a negligible difference but I was amazed on how my feet were (finally) achieving the hard-to-find midfoot strike! The Bikilas and the Newtons were forcing me to almost forefoot strike, which is not really that economical to an average Joe like myself, especially in full marathons. Finally, I said to myself, so this is how midfoot strike really felt!

Average pace = 7:20/km

TEST RUN #2 - 18km LONG RUN

I have this love-hate relationship with long runs. I like it when it's on the planning stage, but I hate it when it's on the execution stage. It's probably the voices in my head urging me to stop (this nonsense), and I should still be sleeping instead. This has been obvious in my long runs exceeding 21km, with boredom, the heat, and lack of hydration coming into play. Often times, I just stop, and walk back home to call it a day. Target mileage failed.

However, about 30mins into this planned 18km run, I may sound cocky but during that time, for the first time I felt that I CAN finish this long run. The Green Silence's reduced heel-toe lift was still enabling me to midfoot strike effectively. This made me thought that I could finish this run confidently.

SPOKE TO SOON

The plan for that 18km was to run the first 13km easy (7:30/km), then go for target HM pace (6:30/km) for the last 5km. As I picked up the pace after km13, I felt something slowly acting up at the top of my left foot: pain. Then, as if in unison, I felt a hotspot under my left foot: blister. I'm not sure if this was because of not easing slowly into the shoe or something on the upper's design that my left foot didn't like, but it caused me to stop and sit by the sidewalk to unlace the shoe momentarily. I loosened the lacing a bit, stood up, and resumed my run.

I could still feel some pain at the top of my left foot as of this morning, a day after my long run.

Except for that experience, I was able to finish the run with a decent time of 2:11:54 which is still better than my 2:15 target (for 7:30/km average pace).

SUMMARY

I would need a few more runs to make my final judgment, but so far the Green Silence has performed well (except for that issue on the upper that I encountered which I'll probably adjust to as I run more with it). It will complement the Bikilas in my shoe rotation as I'm now destined to retire my Adios and Newtons.

Scott Jurek (@scottjurek) and our very own Vertek Buenavista (left photo) use the Green Silence for races.

Of course, the fact that it's been made with recycled materials which helps reduce my carbon footprint makes it more rewarding.

Holy Week Long Run

2011-04-20T11:25:00.000+08:00

I was supposed to run 10k last weekend as part of my mileage buildup. Due to wedding anniversary reasons, of course, I had to drop all my weekend running plans. No biggie, as I just swapped this week (cut-back mileage week) with last week. Thus, for this week my target is to complete 25km total.

So far I ran an easy 7km (easing back with the Bikilas) last Monday. That leaves me with a balance of 18km. A 6km tempo is planned tomorrow morning (Thu) and then 12km easy on the weekend (probably on Sat).

The (good) problem now is that my mind is tempting me to run longer on the weekend (probably 16km) since it's Holy Week. It's that time of the year when Metro Manila's streets are car/pollution-free for most of the day ---definitely every (addicted) runner's dream. It's like those "buy 1, take 1" promos that comes every now and then. Definitely the "run 12k, why not run 4k more" bait is luring my mind in.

Hmmm, let's see what happens on the weekend.

How about you? Where and how long is your run this weekend?

Run-blog, will ya?

2011-04-18T18:42:00.003+08:00

I keep a blog roll on this site to read about other runners' experiences on, well, running (what else?). I have to be honest that, similar to SheerWill's previous post, I'm missing such inspiring/noteable posts such as those from Gleeman and WMTan.

Nowadays I mostly see blogposts containing ads for upcoming races (which I don't mind as long as the running blogs don't end up like the back pages of a Runner's World magazine wherein race ads are lumped next to each other ---or like your Sunday newspaper classified ads section. Haha!). I guess it's an additional channel that race organizers have found to advertise their races to the public. The blog wins too, in the form of increased visitors.

Unfortunately, I am left wanting, hoping to read more of the running experience itself.

Get out of this writer's block and start run-blogging again, ok? :)

(Wala lang)

Goldilocks 21k: Registered!

2011-04-14T17:40:00.000+08:00

Yup, I've just registered today for the Goldilocks 21km Fun Run on May 15. That gives me a little over 4 weeks to train. The farthest I've run after Condura was 11km (last Sunday's Baguio race) so I got a lot of catching up to do on my weekend long runs (probably a 16 and 18 km before tapering should be enough).

BAZUSPORTS

Now this is interesting. Just now I got an email confirmation from Bazusports about my registration, including a confirmation code for accessing my profile on the Bazusports website. It has all the info that I've written on the reg form. The nice part is that I get to enable the connection of my FB and Twitter profiles so that my friends/followers would know my race status real time(?).

Let's see if that works on raceday. :)

TEMPTING

The racebib comes with discount tabs for Planet Sports and The Athlete's Foot (20%) and Toby's and RUNNR (10%). Suffice to say that I've been browsing shoe reviews on the 'net all afternoon. It's really a test of self-control. Hopefully I won't give in. O:-)

BACK IN TRAINING

I've been logging 20-23km weeks for the past 3 weeks, with this week's aim at 25km. My right foot is still a little hurt from that "too long, too soon" Bikila run 4 weeks ago so I'm still refraining from using it, alternating between my trusty Adios and Newtons. Maybe after 2 weeks of abstaining from my Bikilas should heal the foot completely.

You really gotta love RunRio. As early as now, the race map is already on their website. It seems that I'll be running over the Kalayaan flyover again. I got beaten by it last Condura, thus I need to settle the score.

See you on May 15!

Baguio21k.com 10k: Oh YES, I felt the hill!

2011-04-12T10:20:00.002+08:00

There's always that extra "umph!" whenever one races in Baguio. The biting cold air, the thin amount of oxygen, the steep hills, and, oh yes, the combination of all three as you run. Running in McKinley Hill, Bayani Road, or the Kalayaan flyover is peanuts compared to the hills of Baguio city. I experienced it all when I ran the Botak Baguio 10k last year. It was a sadistic run that no one should dare repeat. It should've been off my bucket list in search for other places to conquer. Baguio mornings should be spent under the sheets, with your head on a fluffy pillow, dozing off while your thoughts are of Star Cafe, 50s Diner, and Good Shepherd's signature ube jam.

Yet there I was again on a Sunday morning at Burnham Park, braving 16-degree Celsius of cold, minutes before the 5:45am 10k gun start, challenging myself to do better than my 1:09 last year. It begs to answer the question, "You idiot, why are you doing this again?"

The 21k runners, which formed about 80% of the attendees, were sent off 5:30am as scheduled, with the announcer sounding like a cross between Jimmy Santos and your typical Barangay fiesta BINGO announcer ("esfehyshal!"). Yes, that is typical of a Baguio race. No rented DJ announcer, no giant video screens, no one to lead the runners in the warm up exercises ("Oh! Mag-istretching naman kayow!"), and certainly no fireworks at gun start. The lure of the P500.00 reg fee is entirely on the venue: B-A-G-U-I-O. Just a racebib would suffice as the racekit itself. The personalized racebib (first of its kind in our country, I think), the head/ear warmer, the printed design on the RF tag, and the singlet are just bonuses, IMHO, to what's really in store for the registrants of this true blue small town race. I really have to say that the personalized racebib was a big "two thumbs up!" to the organizers as it made every runner have that elite runner feel, typical of how we see in big races abroad (Haile, Ryan, Meb, and Paula will all agree).

with DagulRunner waiting for the start

My plan for this 10k race was simple: beat 1:09 from last year. There was no way in hell that I'll make a sub-60 performance here (not for now, at least). Nutrition was to take a Powerbar gel before km5. Attack the uphills and run fast on the downhills. And finally, don't forget to breathe as oxygen will be sparse.

I think the only flat part of the route was the first and last 400 meters: Burnham Park. The rest was a gruesome mix of downhill-downhill-uphill-downhill-uphiiiiiiiill-uphiiiiiiiiill-na-naman-tama-na-ayaw-ko-na-uphiiiiiiill-downhill-uphill-last-na-talaga-downhill. My 305 measured the whole out-and-back route as 10.97km, or almost a kilometer more than expected. I crossed the finish at 1:12 and change, with my 305 clocking 10km at 1:06 ---a 3minute improvement from last year.

Thanks Cathy Daza for the pics!

I'm happy with the result, both my 10k time and the 11k distance. The latter because my planned mileage for that day was 11k. Plus the 800m warmup I did prior to the race, I think that I did pretty well on the mileage part. The 1:06 10k time was fairly good as well, a decent finish compared to last year but definitely something to improve on for next year(?).

Yes, there will be another Baguio 10k race for me next year.

And yes, I'm already thinking of joining the RunRio Baguio 21k event on December THIS YEAR.

It's a love-hate relationship between me and them damn hills.

Tinkering with dailymile.com

2011-04-04T17:20:00.000+08:00

I've started logging my runs in dailymile.com late last month. I've been a member sometime back, but it was only last month that I've started to log religiously into it.

Prior to DM, I was using trusty Excel as my tool for logging my runs. It actually proved successful in monitoring my training for last Feb's Condura42k, employing a Frankensteined mix of plans from Runnersworld (for the weekly mileage target), reading RUN by Matt Fitzgerald, and alternating a twice a week hard run method (1 speedwork and 1 long run). The plan came up on the fly every week, so there was nothing fancy there. But logging the run itself was a good approach in determining how effective (or not) it was.

DM has the same logging mechanism: how much mileage/time you ran, where, and how you felt. There's also a description line if you want to add one. What's more is that your friends can add a comment/motivation to your run/training, similar to how FB allows you to comment on one another's status. Plus there's a donut and cheezeburger meter as seen above.

Well I only have 6 friends right now, so I hope those of you already in DM can add me up. The runs you log will definitely motivate me to do my part too. If you're not yet in DM, do sign up and add me. Click here for my DM userid.

Just don't cross-post your DM logged-runs in FB. Your non-runner friends might get irritated. ;-)

Review: FiveFingers Bikila

2011-03-28T17:10:00.002+08:00

This was my reward shoe for finishing Condura 2011 42k. As a convert of natural (i.e. Newtons) and minimalist running (or shall I say near-minimalist since the true minimalist shoes have yet to arrive in full blast in Manila), I decided to go all the way, so to speak: barefoot running.

However, since my runs are on the road and you get to step on nasty stuff (like broken glass, nails, thumbtacks, dog poo, etc) I opted to get a pair of Vibrams to have at least some protection for my feet. As to the model to chose, it was a no-brainer that I should be getting the Bikila, specifically made for runners.

I started wearing them for short walks (yes, including malls so I'd often get that weird look when people see them). My kids had coined them as "gorilla feet" since they may have seen some similarities with the characters they see on Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network, hehe. I eventually started running on them 4 weeks ago. Below is a timeline of my runs with them:

March 01. 400m jog.
March 02. 5k easy. 7:32/km average pace with km5 at 6:27. I was expecting some calf soreness the next day (similar to my Newton wear experience) but suprisingly there was none. I guess I've already adjusted to forefoot/midfoot strike.
March 09. 6km tempo run (including 1km warmup and 1km cooldown). Tempo km measured at 6:36, 6:26, 6:32, and 6:09.
March 12. 3.5km easy run. 7:13/km average pace.
March 16. 8km easy run. 56mins with last km at 6:36.
March 23. 5km treadmill tempo (including warmup and cooldown). tempo pace set to 5:40/km. Lung-busting workout!

Running with the Bikilas was quite a new experience. My feet were in close contact with the ground so every bit of road info was fed back instantly ---including lonely pebbles on the road (OUCH!!!). It was quite a lot of feedback so much so that when I woke up the next day after my March16 8km night run in Meralco, there was pain on my right foot (highly recognized when I try to move it in a overpronating motion). It may have been due to a pebble that I stepped on on that run. It was really painful that I had to stop running for 2 days.

Prior to that March16 run was an interval workout (10x400m) using my Adizero Adios. It was my first time to do intervals after a long while so maybe my feet needed more support because of the 2week layoff post-Condura. The 8km run that I had two days after the intervals (with minimal support from the Bikila) may have aggravated that pain on my right foot. I tried the Bikilas again on that treadmill 5k tempo the following week but the pain was emanating again from my right foot the next day. I may have to stop using my new Bikilas (or reduce the mileage when I run on it, probably 2-3k only) to help heal my right foot (running in the Newton Distancia Racers, with better ankle support, has made my runs less pain free for now). I hope to eventually use the Bikilas regularly (i.e. once or twice a week, and probably on easy runs only) once my right foot fully heals.

Add to that are blisters that I've noticed on the balls of my feet since I was using the Bikilas sockless. It might take sometime before my feet gets a little more acquainted with the sockless manner when I run with these babies.

Overall, despite that painful experience (too much, too soon), the Bikilas are still a good pair to run in. They really want to make you run faster, as evidenced by last week's 5:40/km tempo (man, that was the fastest 3k that I've ever ran!). I was even hoping of using them for my upcoming 10k race in Baguio on Apr10 but I may have to be conservative and wear my trusty Newtons. The Bikilas may have solved my recurring right shin splint and left-foot plantar fasciitis during the above runs so I'm really hoping to run in them again soon.

I was quite inspired by Din Cordero's 4:53 result on his maiden marathon (TBRDM 2011) wearing Bikilas for the race. I hope to do the same in one of my future marathons since the Bikilas deserve to be thoroughly tested in longer distances.

Sub-Batman Anyone???

2011-03-21T17:18:00.003+08:00

The NYC Half-Marathon just ended earlier, with Mo Farah, UK (1:00:23) and Caroline Rotich, Kenya (1:08) dominating the men's and women's event.

But take a look at this guy, finishing at 1:39?!?!?! WOW!

Tanananananananananana.....BATMAN!!!

Will race for pinecones

2011-03-14T14:25:00.000+08:00

After weeks of dilly-dallying on whether to proceed or not, the wife and I had finally booked our hotel for Baguio next month.

Of course, the inclusive dates of that 3-day, 2-night stay will be on the weekend of the Baguio21k race in which I have just (as in pahabol TODAY) registered for the 10k event (since registration closed last week for 21k). I hope the wife doesn't notice a trend that I suddenly suggest an outing here or there whenever an interesting race outside Manila pops up in the takbo.ph's race calendar. (wink)

I ran in Botak Baguio last year, finishing 10k in 1:09 after having introduced to a hilly (as in tama-na-ang-paakyat-ayaw-ko-na-po hilly), oxygen-reduced route. I hope to redeem myself in this year's edition by beating said time so I guess it's back to McKinley Hill and Bayani Road for weekend long runs (breathing through a straw?).

Kitakits!

iRun

2011-03-10T18:55:00.003+08:00

I look at my laptop's clock and it reads 7:03pm. In 27mins, I'll be timing-out of the office and head for tonight's workout: a modest 5-7km easy run.

Running's very addictive. It has been my savior not only from elevated cholesterol levels or high scores on the weighing scale. More importantly, it relieves me of this fast-paced, busy thing called LIFE.

The fact that when I run, even just for a while, I get to forget all the stress in the office or worries about anything else. I am not a husband nor a Dad. I am not a son nor a brother. I am not an office employee.

For in that precious time, I am a runner. It's just me and the road before me, with only the sound of my footsteps, my breathe, and the beeping of my Garmin accompanying me on this night run.

I may, on the last kilometer of this planned easy run, let it all out and target a sub-6:00/km pace. Seeing at least a 5:59/km on tonight's run will be my biggest reward for the day apart from being induced by endorphins once again.

Then, as I drive back home and then lie in bed, I will look back into the mileage, although small, that I've logged for this day.

I will then tweet.

Another run completed. I felt great.

After that brief thought, I will get giddy again since tomorrow's Friday. Then it'll be Saturday. And then, on Sunday morning, at 6am, even with the invitation of a comfy bed on a relaxing morning, I will force myself to get up.

For on that morning, I run again.

Of Ultras

2011-03-07T22:14:00.000+08:00

Ultramarathons have been slowly filling up the takbo.ph list-of-races webpage. With this year's BDM 102 and 160 editions just completed, ultramarathoners who may be "bitin" of the experience still have a lot of races this year to look forward to, namely:

April 02 - Mayon 360-degree 50-mile (80km) run (Albay)

April 30 - TNF 100k (Camsur)

May 01 - frontRunner's Labor Day Coast-to-Coast 50km Ultramarathon (Cebu)

Jun 10 - King of the Mountain 145mi (232km!!!!!) Baguio

Jun 11-12 - Chris Sports Epic Relay 250km(!!!!!!) (Subic)

Nov 11 - 240km(????!!!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!) Manila-to-Baguio 3-day Journey Run

I've read Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes and I can't help but admire how ultramarathoners like him manage to finish such mind-boggling-why-did-you-want-to-run-that type of race. Probably, just stepping onto the starting line on race day is a victory already in itself.

To all the brave souls who have tackled BDM102/160 and those who'll be racing in the upcoming races above, saludo ako sa inyo!

RunRio 2010 Trilogy Awards Night

2011-03-02T15:05:00.003+08:00

Ever since RunRio entered the realm of race-organizing, the standard as to how races should be oragnized has been on the uptrend. Even though the race fees are above average, people flocking to the reg-centers to sign-up for a RunRio-org'd race is proof that people are willing to spend for a race since they trust that the organizer will deliver which, in fact, they always do.

I was one of the 200+ invited runners to last night's RunRio Awards Night due to having finished the 21k-21k-32k RunRio Trilogy last year. It was amazing how RunRio would stage this night just to honor runners who loved going through the pain of all 74kms of last year. And, as how they treat their races, RunRio ran this party well...and hard!

Photobooth, sumptous buffet, open bar, and few showbiz personalities were in the event (Venus Raj and "halimaw" Bearwin Meilly). There was a dance performance by the Philippine All Stars that left us all stopping our RunRio conversations and just jaw-dropped because of the good-looking female dancers. ;-) Yes, YOU should've gone to that party. Hehehe...

Oh yeah, 6cyclemind was also there to perform the RunRio themesong "Running For Love" which, coincidentally, was carved at the back of the finisher's medal that we received. They performed while the AVP ran through pics from last year plus the updated runrio.com website.

RunRio listed their upcoming races this year, including the trilogy (March, August, and Nov), KOTR (where's Rudy B?), and races outside of Metro Manila. The race that caught my fancy was that on December 04: Baguio. Yup, I might be signing up for that one.

As it was an awards night, the awardees were presented with a medal and a "bangis payabang pahambog porma" finisher's shirt. Unfortunately for me, the wifey had dibs on it already. Well, at least I still have the RunRio32k finisher's shirt ("I survived the 32k..." printed at the back).

There were also special awards given like the Senior Award (given to the oldest Trilogy finisher who was 70(!!!) years old who, btw, has a 2:25 21km average finish time), Juvenile Award (given to the youngest who was a 21 year old), Hyper-blogger award (BullRunner), etc.

As I didn't signup for this Sunday's first of the Trilogy races (still on petiks mode), I might not be accorded the same awards night invitation for 2011. But nevertheless, I'll still be looking at the race calendar for future RunRio races to join this year.

Good luck to all the runners joining RunRio1 and 102km BDM this weekend!

To Rio and the RunRio team, keep up the good work!

Reward

2011-02-28T14:00:00.000+08:00

One thing I like about running a full marathon is the reward. Yes, the joy of finishing 26.2 miles or 42.195km is a feat that can be considered very rewarding in itself, but, for me, there should always be that extra something to keep me motivated, especially when I'm hurdling the last 10k of the full mary homestretch.

Finishing my 2nd full marathon only meant one thing: I get to buy a new running shoe! It's a just reward for all those hours waking up early in the morning and engage in those miles and miles of training.

Well, I just bought my reward shoe. A review will definitely be posted in the coming weeks.

All I can say for now is, "YOU are the technology!"

My 1st Tagaytay Run

2011-02-20T22:25:00.000+08:00

My love for Tagaytay all started when I was in high school. Every year, being in a Catholic school, we were required to have spiritual retreats which often had Tagaytay as the venue. With the view of the Taal Lake and the cool morning/evening breeze, meditating and reflecting for all things good and holy has been the essence of my trips to Tagaytay. This went on until college (yup, still in a Catholic school).

"If I ever had the money, I would build a rest house here," I'd often say to myself.

That is still a dream up to now. But hotels have been making up for those brief, once-in-a-while weekend opportunities for me and my family to go up and enjoy the cool weather.

This weekend was extra special since this was the first time I stayed overnight in Tagaytay as a runner. Yes, I packed my running gear for the trip. I've just finished a 5km easy run Saturday morning to end my 2-week layoff from Condura and I wanted to run again this morning ---in Tagaytay.

I was so excited this early morning that I woke up several times: 2am, 4am, 5am, and 6am, for fear that I might oversleep and miss this once in a lifetime opportunity. Finally, around 6:30am, I got up and got myself ready.

When I got outside of our hotel (Hotel Kimberly, btw), the cool, chilly morning greeted me as I stretched. My goal for the day is still easy pace and complete 60mins or 8kms. Of course, the main goal was to ENJOY this run for I don't get to run in Tagaytay that often.

I started off on Amadeo Road trudging up to the Tagaytay police station intersection. The road was about 2km up until the intersection. This was all uphill so pace was pretty on the easy side (7:53, 7:22).

The next 2km was from the intersection all the way up to the crest ---still uphill (7:12, 7:09). As I looked on my right, I just had to take a picture. The view was majestic and serene at the same time. Since it was still early, there were not much cars plying this main road so the view was just spectacular. Good thing that I've almost hit 30mins so I decided to turnaround and stop, get my phonecam, and clicked this wonderful view.

I then proceeded back to our hotel which was all downhill from here, of course, since it's an out-and-back route. Pace was fast but I opted to walk on some portions so as not to kill my knees.

2nd half laps: 7:07, 7:03, 7:08, 6:33.

Total distance: 8.11km

Total time: 58:12 (7:10/km ave).

Yup, I would want to do this again. I'm more in love with Tagaytay now.

Petiks Mode

2011-02-15T14:05:00.001+08:00

I haven't ran for 8 days now.

It's a test of self-control, really, as I try to force myself back to sleep at dawn. Waking up at 5-6am every other day was pretty typical for me for 16-weeks prior to Condura 2011 as I go out for my morning run. But, for the last 8 days, I'm forcing myself to enjoy the recovery period.

Yup, cold turkey since my last run (a full marathon).

An article I read on RunnersWorld recommends 7-10 days completely off after running a marathon. I understand the benefits of the recovery stage since my body needs it: my quads were aching for three days after Condura!

The last time I had a "sem-break" like this was last Feb 2010 after RunRio1 when I decided to have my left knee checked. Doc Randy recommended to build my mileage after some rest so I was below my average mileage for about 2 weeks.

This was actually better (or worse?) since there was no running mileage recorded whatsoever.

Yup, I'm enjoying this part of the process now. I get to spend more time with my 2 sons (aged 4 and 2) in the morning. We actually go out of the neighborhood for short walks before I get myself ready for the office. I estimate these short walks to be around 300m (yeah, I was even thinking of bringing a Garmin but I didn't, hehe).

I'm still minding my weight. I would still get up around 7am and do strengthening and VMO exercises (a lot of squats actually!) for my knees. At 37, I need all the help I can get to have stronger knees. I want to be in this sport forever!

I'll be building my weekly mileage probably in the next 2 weeks. Slowly this time, as I would like to race the rest of 2011 injury-free.

Next race? I'm pondering on the Baguio 21km on April 10. I ran the 10k version last year and it was a killer! I'm still undecided so I just have to wait and see.

In case I do reg for Baguio, yup, I need to do more squats, hills, and running around breathing only through a straw.

Condura 2011 42km Part 2: Battling The Beast

2011-02-11T12:10:00.000+08:00

“10! 9! 8! 7!.....”

We all cheered with the host as he asked us to count the last 10 seconds with him. I made the sign of the Cross and made the same prayer I’ve been praying the whole week before: “Please God help me finish this race safely….”

“6! 5! 4!....”

“….And if you can squeeze in a sub-5 finish for me, that would really be great. Amen!”

“3! 2! 1! Gooooooo!”

And we were off.

The first section of the course was within BGC. I’ve been familiar with this route, except for 8th Avenue which I believe is the first time this road has been used for races (do correct me if I’m wrong). But I was still able to run the said road in several BGC long runs I’ve scheduled 4-5 weeks before the race. Thus, it’s safe to say that during this part of the race, pace went according to plan. Km1 to 5 was done in 35mins or a little over 7:00/km pace.

I had the same condition after tackling the Kalayaan flyover and Buendia avenue, amidst the horn-hammering of drivers getting pissed off by the unfortunate traffic that they were in (sorry fellas). I took my first GU after km9 which was a little over an hour. Sips from the Gatorade bottle I was holding (aside from the Gatorade-packed Nathan 1.5 that I was wearing) served as my hydration. I would eventually take 4 more GUs (one packet every hour).

My 305 clocked me at 1:09:29 after km10. 6:57/km average pace. Doing good, I told myself.

THE BEAST

I felt excited as I ran over the railroad tracks and turned left. For just above me, the Skyway which I will now fondly call as The Beast, waited for battle. I ran the 2010 edition of the Condura 21km and I still felt the same excitement as I ran up the Buendia ramp. As my family and I were frequenting my parents’ place every Sunday, there would be times that I would take any chance I get to drive the Skyway to observe the rise and fall of the elevation. I actually made the whole Skyway trip from Sucat to Magallanes exit just after the New Year (Toll fees were lifted during that time).

As it was still minutes past 4:30am, it still looked as though it were night as the Skyway lamp-posts lit our path. I didn’t recognize the man on the scooter at first when he said “Good morning runners!” until he passed me. Had I known it was RunRio head-huncho Rio dela Cruz, I would’ve greeted him back. Probably because of the helmet he was wearing that covered his patented Afro-locks made him unrecognizable in the dark.

The 42k runners had spread out by this time and it was getting rather lonely. But as I was approaching Magallanes it was a welcome sight to see the tail-end of the 21km runners. I made several hi’s, good luck’s, and fist pumps to friends I came across with there ---officemates and a highschool batchmate to be specific. Man, there were a lot of 21k runners! Would it be safe to say that the 21km is the new 10k?

I reached the 10-mile (16km) mark at 1:51:54 or a flat 7:00/km average pace. I had actually set cutoff times for this race to keep my pace in check:

10km – 1:10
21km – sub-2:30
32km – 3:40
42km – sub-5 (hopefully)

By the time I reached the halfway mark, I was glad to see I was still in pace: 2:27:49 (7:02/km ave). A sub-5 is still doable!

DOWN HE GOES

As mentioned previously, my worry was bonking at the 3-hour mark. True enough, as I passed the Sucat turnaround and clocked 3:04 after km26, I started to slow down then after. Tried as I might to keep up with my target pace, I could only see the ave pace on my 305 dropping considerably. The mind can play tricks on you once you’re in this bonked state, forcing most athletes to go to the side and call it quits. But at that point I kept remembering my mantras. Love running! Don’t put to waste the 16 weeks of training you’ve done! But it was just not there. The most I could was run a sub-8:00 pace with my eyes closed for probably a km or so, trying to get my groove back.

I reached km32 at 3:50 (7:13km ave pace) which was 10 minutes off target. If for consolation, it was a 1min 50second improvement from my RunRio3 32km PR.

By this time I was walking and running alternately, probably more of the former. I even had an idea that if I ran 6:30/km for the last 10k, a sub-5 would still be possible. I tried to pickup the pace, but my body, specifically my right calf muscle and left glute, would cramp in defiance. Cramping was something totally unheard of in my vocabulary until this race. It may have been the loss of continous electrolytes or the continous climbs and descents that The Beast presented, but I was definitely cramping. It would immediately subside once I succumbed to a walk or a gingerly-slow jog.

It was bye-bye sub-5.

HELLO SUB-5:30

At this point I was glad to have set two goals for this race: an ideal sub-5:00 and an acceptable sub-5:30. Scrap the sub-5:00 I thought. There’ll be another day for that. I computed how I was doing in the last 6km pace-wise. A sub-5:30, or even a sub-5:20, was still possible! I was dousing myself with several cups of water at every aid station: on my head, my arms, my face. I was trying to keep myself as cool as possible even if the weather was still runner-friendly at that time (past 8am). I just felt the need to cool myself to keep me going. The banana at the Takbo.PH station really helped. I ran out of Gatorade by the 40km mark so I had to try the 100plus being served ---bleck! Sorry to 100plus fans out there, but I didn’t really like it.

I clocked in at 5:01:30 by km40. Just a little bit more, I said to myself. I couldn’t recall how the route was reflected on the racemap after trudging past the Kalayaan flyover. I was worried that what if the run (walk) from 32nd led all the way towards the end of BHS? That’s a slight uphill grade, but any uphill at this point was something that I didn’t need. Thankfully, I saw the runners ahead of me turning right at 9th Avenue.

A WARM WELCOME TO THE FINISH

I can’t exactly explain it, but after I made that final turn at 9th Avenue towards the finish arc, I had this wonderful feeling stirring up in me as I saw a huge crowd waiting on the sidelines. They were just standing/sitting there, as if been waiting for all of us marathoners to finish. Some were cheering, others were clapping as I made my way past them. “Good job!” said an unknown lady to me as I passed by while she sat in the sidewalk eating her breakfast. The clapping was just, man, wonderful!

I was still at a slow jog at that point, but I felt obliged to give something back to the crowd by making a last push for the last 50meters. I tried, really, but the cramp on my right calf acted up again. I eventually stopped to a walk, and raised my arms in thanksgiving as I walked past the finish arc.

Official finish time: 5:23:26 (gun). 5:22:35 (chip).

I had beaten my full-marathon PR by a whopping 30 minutes!

A LOT TO BE THANKFUL FOR

As I was recovering with my McDonalds reward meal: 2-piece chicken with rice, pineapple juice, and an apple pie, I couldn’t help but look out the condo’s window and see the Skyway, now being plied by buses and other vehicles, with utter amazement. Man, I just ran (and walked) the whole Skyway! A full-marathon to boot!

I have to admit that I’m partly disappointed on myself for not making a sub-5. But I’ll definitely take the 5:23. It’s still a (mighty good!) PR. 16 weeks of hard work really paid off, I guess.

The weather cooperated as well. I find myself extremely lucky for the weather that day since days after that, it seems summer has made an early entry to Manila.

I’m thankful to the Condura race committee for putting up such a great race. Except for the choice of 100plus as the sports drink, the hydration stations were setup beautifully. Water didn’t run out. Marshals were everywhere and took charge of vehicular traffic. The medal is so beautiful that I’m now thinking of looking for an engraver to put in my name and finish time at the back. The Condura Skyway Marathon is something that I’m not afraid to promote to my friends and readers to join should they consider running in a grade-A race.

Yes, count me in for the 2012 full-marathon edition. I want to battle The Beast again!

Condura 2011 42km Part 1: Worried But Ready

2011-02-08T13:05:00.002+08:00

OF SHEEP AND BURRITOS

For the first time, I couldn’t sleep the night before the race. It was already past 10pm and I was still awake. I even replied to the tweet by @ConduraRun2011 about counting sheep: “Not working!”

This was my 2nd full marathon and my nth race, why am I so worried?

There were two possible answers.

First, I was worried about bonking. Based on the >21km weekend long runs that I’ve made, bonking at km24 (or around 3hrs) was pretty consistent during the 16-week training phase. The fault can only be blamed on myself, as I was too lazy to commit to my weekend long run schedule. This was best shown during my last long run prior to taper, supposedly a 32k, when I bonked at km23 and decided to call it quits and took the short-cut to walk home. That run ended up with 25km total only. Maybe it was a combination of fatigue and laziness that I couldn’t find myself running at my 7:30/km easy pace beyond km24 (or above 3hrs). That last long run would haunt me up until Saturday night. I’m very certain that I will hit the wall, so I thought of several mantras to coax myself should I reach that moment on race day:

“Love running” (as narrated in the book “Born to Run,” when two Tarahumaras ran against Ann Traison in the Leadville 100)

“You’ve trained 16 weeks for this! Don’t waste all that hard work for nothing!”

Second, I was worried on the post-race recovery. How fast can I rehydrate and restore my normal sugar and other nutrient levels is something that I should constantly check after this one since I got worried when I felt weak after my 32km race last year (RunRio3). I was worried of tales of getting dehydrated like that one blogged by Anton of ourawesomeplanet.com after his first Milo marathon. I definitely didn’t want to experience that. I decided to take Julius’ reco on my last blog post and bought a sachet of Hammer Recoverite (P165.00). This will be on-the-ready with my water bottle to mix immediately once I walk back to the car.

Amidst the worrying, by 11pm, (I think) I fell asleep.

I woke up 1:30am, just in time for my pre-race meal: a takeout order of a Taco Bell beef burrito. Yup, I’ve been munching on carbs since Thursday lunch (Sbarro), Friday lunch (Mexicali burrito), and Saturday dinner (Taco Bell burrito). The Thurs-Fri meals have been paired by a full-body massage during my Friday lunch break ---a ritual that I’ve recorded which, I personally believe, was part of race preparations that have made my 21k PR (2:14 last Dec on Milo) very successful.

Superstitious, I know, I know.

STRATEGY AND NUTRITION PLAN

I was lingering on the thought of a constant 6:45/km pace. There was also a part of me thinking of doing 7:30/km in the 1st half, then increasing to 7:00/km in the 2nd. But that would be doubtful once fatigue sets in. Seeing how I bonked during RunRio3 2010, I decided that I’ll hold back to a more manageable 7:00/km all throughout which would have a finish time of sub-5hrs. But for how long will I be able to keep that pace is another question.

Since the hydration to be provided during the race was water and 100plus, I had no choice but to bring my hydration belt filled with Gatorade. I’m not a fan of 100plus and I’ve been training using Gatorade. Thus it would be prudent not to try 100plus during race day itself. With 5 GU gels and a NatureValley granola bar, I was at the BHS starting area by 3am.

16 weeks totalling 600kms of running easy, fast, short, and long.

Close to 60 days of waking up early to run.

Countless GU gels and Gatorade bottles consumed.

I've been waiting for this day to arrive. My 5:53 PR was about to go down.

I was ready.

If I Ever Get Asked for Running Tips...

2011-02-02T15:00:00.000+08:00

Increase mileage up to a maximum of 10% per week. As I've experienced, doing more than that will result to overuse injuries in the knee, shins, and foot.
Never try anything new on race day.
Petroleum Jelly works, and is a lot cheaper.
Do hill-repeats probably once every 3 weeks.
Try to find your midfoot when you strike the ground. Your knees will thank you for it.
Practice quick-leg turnover. You can count the steps you make on one leg per minute then multiply it by two. Steps per minute should be 180 or more.
Carbo-load for races longer than 10km. Pasta is a good source of carbs.
Practive hydration/nutrition strategies during long runs, taking careful consideration of the distance between water stations when you want to take a sip.
"Train where your fitness is NOW, not where you want to be!" ---Scott Jurek
Easy days should be run as easy as you can. Hard days should be run as hard as you can.
When you feel a sudden pain during your run, stop running. Take a day off and let the pain subside. Prudence is the better part of valor.
Stretch.
If you feel lazy getting up from bed for your morning run, push yourself to get up. Once you're in the 1st kilometer, you'll thank yourself for waking up to run.
Shoes only last for sometime. Check the outsole for wear. I can say from experience that injuries like ITBS are brought about by considerable outsole wear. If you have the money, buy 2 pairs so you can alternate between workouts. The shoes will last longer eventually.
Do squats.
You don't need to join a race every week. Believe me, you don't need to.
When you do short easy runs, don't bring a watch (GPS-capable or otherwise)
Remove the monotony by running on a different route every now and then.
Read "Born To Run" by Chris McDougall.
Make a log of your running workouts. Aside from the distance and duration, cite how you felt during/after the run. A string of feeling-low workouts should prompt you to hold back and take a few days off.
Run in Baguio City whenever you're there.
Setup 2 alarm clocks to wake you up on race day.
A lighter shoe means a faster you.
Running is just one part of your life. Learn to balance it with your other priorities like family, friends, or work.
Running alone does not shed pounds. Unfortunately for you (and me), reducing food intake is still needed.

Condura Preparations: How am I doing?

2011-01-21T06:10:00.001+08:00

TRAINING

Preparations for my 2nd full-mary on Feb6 began as early as August last year with the conscious effort of racking up the weekly mileage with the recommended 10% weekly increase. This was a lesson learned from my 1st full (Milo Manila elims) wherein I tried to do the impossible of squeezing a 12-week training program from F.I.R.S.T. which I can conclude, on personal experience, that it’s not recommended for virgin marathoners. The result then? Plantar fasciitis on my left foot, left knee patellar tendinitis, dipped in disappointment sauce. Thus, the need for building up my mileage from zero-mileage post-Milo (since I needed to recover physically and mentally) starting from August was a must in order to have a good mileage base and be injury-free prior to the actual 16-week training phase.

The mileage increase went well from August to Sept (peaked at 42km on the last week of Sept) but then skidded in the 1st half of October due to a bout with the flu. Fortunately, the half-marathon season was into full swing so I was able to get the needed mileage by the time the 16-week training started (Adidas KOTR 21km).

It was generally all rosy from there (did my longest training run via RunRio3 32km as a highlight) until post Milo Finals (mid-December) when the weekly mileage dropped again. The culprit was an injury I sustained on my right knee after playing basketball with old college friends. This resulted into two weeks of no weekend long run. I recovered during the 1st week of Jan 2011 (highlighted by a 12km easy run I did while on vacation in Subic which was a welcome respite from my city runs) but then got sidelined again since last Sunday when I scrapped my planned last long run (32km on my sked) due to stomach issues. I’ll spare you the details of that worst run of my life (resulting only to 11km) but let’s just say that I painted Lawton Avenue with the food I ate from the night before. Yup, chalk that one to gluttony.

I’ve been recovering these past few days since that Sunday run, opting to do VMO strengthening exercises for my knees and stretching as well. I’ve managed a measly 5k this week, so I hope to redeem myself by reattempting that lost 20-miler this coming weekend. After that, it’s only two weeks until Feb6 so I hope it’s still enough time to taper.

CONDURA TRAINING VS MILO 2010 TRAINING

Overall, I’m better off in my training this time around compared to Milo. If I compare that 12-week training for Milo versus the 1st 12 weeks of training for Condura, I have more mileage under my belt this time (495km now versus 401km for Milo 2010). Further, I’ve learned to ease off when I don’t feel good after a run, not minding the extra recovery day since I’ve learned that it’s part of the training as well.

The weather throughout the duration of this training has been cool overall versus the time I was training for Milo which was the summer months (April to June). This allowed me to finish my long runs with less walking in the end.

Speedwork, particularly intervals, have been put into my training this time to complement tempo and long runs. The discovery as well of quick leg turnover, or QLT, has helped me a lot too although based on the 180 steps/minute recommendations I’m about 16 steps short ---still not that bad. Another discovery of wearing lighter shoes, particularly gateway minimalist shoes like the Newtons and Adidias Adios, has helped me refrain from heel-striking which I believe has improved my running gait ---that and a lot of reading to be specific.

MANAGING EXPECTATIONS

My short-term goal now is to be able to complete that 20-miler this weekend. It’ll help me gauge my overall condition (and goal) entering Condura. Long term, a sub-5:00 is a hopeful goal but if I were to assess my current fitness level, a 5:20-5:30 finish is more realistic. A 5:45 finish, for me, would be disastrous (unless the race runs out of water like last time in Milo) since I’d feel that a 5:45 time is not deserved will all the hard work I’ve put in since August.

Well, let’s just see how it all plays out come Feb6.

See you at the Skyway!

Joke time

2011-01-17T18:40:00.003+08:00

In the Philippines, what's common between Kenyan runners who reap the top prizes and ridiculously expensive race-registration fees?

ANSWER: They're both here to stay.

The Quest for 152

2011-01-10T12:00:00.001+08:00

152lbs is my ideal weight based on ideal BMI for my height (5'6"). I've been stuck with 165lbs for over a year now and there's been not much improvement as the graph below would show (yes, I've been monitoring my weight since 2009. Nerd huh?).

The green arrow was when I first started running (Condura 2009 5km). There was dramatic improvement since then up to around Oct 2009 (purple arrow) when I started training for my first half-marathon (EcoDash 2009) since runs longer than 10k were introduced into my weekly training. Except for the 163.6lbs that I achieved after my first full marathon (July Milo Manila Elims, orange arrow), it was all upward in weight from there. I have to give credit to running ---it really helped me lose the weight.

However, for the past 6 months my weight has been playing between the 164-167lb range. Even with the long runs included for my Condura 2011 training, the weight has not dropped below said range.

The answer to this riddle is easy: my eating habits have not changed. I'm still eating a lot of rice, softdrinks, bottomless iced tea, junk food, etc. That article I read in a Runner's World mag is right. No matter how long/hard you run, if the food intake is still the same, then weight loss will not be achieved. Exercise can only take you too far. It has to be complemented with good (controlled) eating habits.

I really need to work on this in 2011. Hopefully at least a stable 160lbs by middle of this year.

In the meantime, I'm off for lunch. Can I have another hit of KFC pleeeeease?

Sigh....

Book Review: RUN by Matt Fitzgerald

2011-01-05T16:15:00.000+08:00

This is a very comprehensive book on how to run by feel. It is revolutionary in the sense that it forgoes the use of Garmins/Polars, heart-rate monitors, and even how to find the right shoe based on foot type. All these things will prove useless once you get to know how to run by feel.

Matt's approach is most often covered by scientific research studies that I, a low comprehension type of reader, gets to doze off easily. It's like that boring Chemistry or Physics teacher when you were in college. It's like hitting the marathon wall, hehe. But if you keep going (turning the pages), it gets quite interesting in the long run.

The most useful point that this book covered that I'm now using as part of my marathon training for Condura 2011 is the daily logging of "how you feel" after every run. You rate your run if 1=felt lousy, 2=felt alright, 3=felt great. I think dailymile.com uses this same concept. I've actually made an Excel table for this, color-coding my runs according to how I felt during/after the run. When I see that there are two many rate=1, then I back off and take a few days rest. Then, once I resume training, I feel alright/great again.

There is also a discussion on picking the right shoe which, according to Matt, essentially boils down to getting the "lightest, most comfortable" shoe that you can find. Pretty simple, huh?

There are a lot more points covered by this book. I highly recommend it for those who've been running already (not for newbies since most topics might not be appreciated at such an early stage). Think of it as a way to iron out your training towards better race performances in the future.

A good read.

A Christmas Reminder

2010-12-25T07:44:00.003+08:00

Let me echo the words of the Gingerbreadman:

"Lechon = SLOWER YOU!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! ;-)

2010 Mission Completed

2010-12-19T17:02:00.003+08:00

With 12 days left before the year ends, I've accomplished ahead of schedule my 2010 goal of completing 1,500 kilometers!

Hmmm, does this mean I can stop running until Dec.31?

Hehe, just kidding.... :)

Milo Finals 2010 Race Results

2010-12-16T11:54:00.002+08:00

Here you go...

3km results
5km results
10km results
21km results
42km results

Source: MILO website.

Race photos can be found here.

Runpix analysis can be found here.

Milo Finals 2010 21km: Perfect

2010-12-13T15:45:00.000+08:00

When everything around you,

be it the first time you tried 1000m cruise intervals 3 days prior to race (in which you bonked on the 4th rep after 3 5:40 laps),
the massage 2 days prior to raceday,
the nice cool weather,
the flat course,
the multivitamin you took that morning,
that pack of biscuits and half a donut prior to start,
that chug of Gatorade,
the GU at km0/8/16,
that ½ of a banana you took from the banana station at km17 and ate at km19,
the constant checking of quick-leg-turnover,
the absence of left knee pain,
the generous amount of water/Gatorade stations along the course,
the point of not giving up even with a side stitch from km16 to the finish,

is encouraging you to beat your half-marathon PR, all you have to do is embrace all of it and run your best. You run like hell, hoping that your 305 will lap every km close to 6:20. At the sign of 1.5km to go, you don’t stop at the last water station to save on time and lap km21 at an amazing sub-6:00.

That day, everything was just perfect.

The result?

2:14:48 (Garmin gun time).

A new 21km PR.

Now THAT definitely encapsulates all the hard work I’ve done since building up mileage last August.

As a runner, should I stop after that achievement?

I say no.

On the contrary, I will continue to train.

For suddenly, a sub-2:10 half-mary and, more importantly, a sub-5:00 full-marathon is possibly, hopefully, within my grasp.

Next year.

with good buddy balikbayan Edesel (had a 2:34 PR too!)

Running According to Tony Krupicka

2010-12-10T19:27:00.003+08:00

Elite Ultrarunner Tony Krupicka summarizes running very simply.

Hear him in the 1st 22 seconds of the video below.

Damn, that video just made me want to do a TRAIL RUN!

Anywhere near Manila? Suggestions are most welcome. :)

QCIM2 21km: A Pacer's Story

2010-12-08T13:05:00.003+08:00

Joining a race as an official pacer was totally new for me. It was on a whim that I signed up for 21km as a 2:30 pacer to Rene, hoping that my last 3 Pikermi finishes (2:53, 2:22, and 2:22) would be sufficient for approval. Eventually, I was approved for the 2:30 21km finish.

Finishing at 2:30 would require me to run at approximately 7:09/km even-pace. This was just perfect since I'm hoping to run the same pace in my next full-mary (Feb 2011) to finish just under 5 hours. Further, weekends require long runs. The plan was to run 26km for that day so after the race, I planned to run 5km more to complete the required mileage.

AT THE STARTING LINE

I was searching for fellow pacer RunningDiva among the sea of 21km runners but couldn't find her nor the pacer flag for 2:30. I then approached a QCIM2 Marshal who, by coincidence, turned out to be the assignee who kept the flags for 2:30. He then handed me three 2:30 flags.

It was a mix of being embarassed and beaming at the same time as I was making my way through the middle of the pack lifting the 3 flags with one hand. There was a little bit of pride when I heard someone say to his companion, "Uy dito na tayo sa 2:30!" ("Let's stay here with the 2:30 pacer!"). With Ron delos Reyes, the host, asking for everyone's applause for the volunteer pacers, I was beaming but at the same time humbled by the responsibility of leading other runners to a desired 2:30 finish.

It was a good thing that I lifted the flag out there at the start since Raymund Canta, the 3rd pacer, eventually made his way towards me to grab one of the flags. Then Ricky Gundran, the 2:15 pacer, approached me to mention that RunningDiva will not be racing that day due to a death of a loved one (my sincerest condolences to you on this difficult time of your life, RunningDiva).

This turned out to be the first pacer duty for Raymund and me. We eventually agreed to keep the pace at 7:00/km which is just right if you'll consider walking at the water stations, uphills, and other variables.

The runner behind me had a nifty idea of removing the stick from the flag and just pin it on my back. This will relieve me of having to carry the flag (made of tarpaulin) the whole race.

At 5:01am, we were off.

FIRST HALF

km1-13: 7:05, 7:07, 6:52, 6:46, 7:08, 7:05, 7:09, 7:03, 7:06, 7:02, 6:58, 6:49, 7:01

Raymund and I were in control. We kept to a little over 7:00/km which will take us between a 2:27 and 2:30 finish. There must've been around 4-6 people following us in a group, which I presume to have set a 2:30 finish. A group of RUNNEX members passed us, with the one in the lead congratulating us for keeping a just-right pace for the predicted finish time we were carrying.

I was feeling good. Since this pace was not my 21k race-pace, I was relaxed. I felt that I could be in this good condition until the finish line. Raymund and I were even having small chats, something that I'd never do when I'm on race mode. He even mentioned something about the Kenyans who were racing here but that's another story. ;-)

Me (7908) and Raymund (7213) havin' a great time

One thing I learned from my RunRio3 32k was that I should learn to take the taste of Powerade sports drink in alternating water stations. I'm used to Gatorade during my training but since most races seem to be sponsored by Powerade, I wouldn't take the risk back then since it was something new ("Never try something new on race day" many had said). But this time I took the risk and drank Powerade to refill my body of lost electrolytes. Fortunately, there was no incident.

From time to time I had to call Raymund, who was slightly speeding up due to the downhill parts of Commonwealth Avenue, to regroup and recall pace.

It was only a matter of time when we realized that I should've took up a little speed too....

TOO MUCH DISTANCE?

By the turnaround point, which I assumed to be the halfway point (10.5km), my Garmin registered almost 12km. I then recalled a forum section that an officemate forwarded to me the week before the race. It complained that they measured the race route and it seemed to have more than 23kms. I forwarded the forum clip immediately to Rene that day for verification with the race organizers but there was no response. I never gave much thought of it back then since I knew that if it were really an issue, it would be taken cared of immediately.

By that turnaround point, I was hoping that there might've been a change of route. Maybe we're not entering the UP Oval anymore? Or there could be a revised section towards Trinoma and back to QC circle? Raymund and I were thinking hard.

At this point, we had to decide if we were to keep the 7:00/km pace, or speed it up to meet the 2:30 predicted pacer time? Since our pacer flags were printed with big bold "2:30:00," we decided to chase 2:30:00. And that meant speeding up.

km14-22: 6:44, 6:24, 6:35, 6:32, 6:27, 6:12, 6:15, 6:23, 6:08

for a brief moment in this pic, it seems I'm flying!

It was like a tempo run for me at that point. This was race mode for me. But by the time we entered University Avenue and saw the 2:00 pacer running hard to PHILCOA with 2:01 already lapsed, I concluded that it will be a miracle for us to reach the finish at 2:30.

km21 arrived just passed midway of the UP Oval return route with Raymund and I clocking at 2:22. But there was still 2+ kilometers left. My 305 stopped logging stats after the km22 mark (since I preset it to distance countdown during races, allowing a 1km buffer just in case). Thus I had no knowledge of the time past km22. We eventually finished at 2:36:50 (Raymund) and 2:37:01 (me).

2:30:00 was not met. But imagine if we stayed at 7:00/km, we would've finished at 2:44. The good news was we were able to chew up 7mins from the time we started chasing 2:30.

PACER POST-MORTEM

Until now I'm feeling a little guilty. Should we have stayed at 7:00/km all throughout, we still would've finished at 2:30 at the km21 point. Even with the total race distance at 23+ km, the 21km goal would still have been met. But at that point in the race where Raymund and I were in a state of panic of not meeting 2:30, we had to make a decision then and there. The important people, the 4-6 runners following us, must've been frustrated with us suddenly increasing pace. But we had to fulfill our pacer duty which was to finish 2:30.

The good thing about the distance was that I got the mileage I needed for my scheduled long run (1km walk from parking to start, 23.4km race, 1km walk back to parking = 25.4km).

Maybe if the distance was measured accurately, I would not feel all that bad. The QCIM2 was overall, well-organized. Hydration stops were aplenty, roads were well-secured (imagine closing Commonwealth Avenue which is a major thoroughfare in QC!).

WILL I DO IT AGAIN?

Of course! I would like to be an official pacer again. The QCIM2 pacer experience is something that I've learned a lot from. Being a pacer requires a lot of responsibility of leading other runners to a common time goal. However serious as that may seem, it really is fun to do.

Who knows, I might pin that 2:30 pacer flag in one 21km race these days. :)

But not this Sunday wherein it's the Milo Finals 21km. It's my last race for 2010 so I hope to end it on a high note, seeking a sub-2:20 finish (or even beat my 2:18 PR if the running gods allow).

Breakhrough Run

2010-12-03T11:15:00.000+08:00

I had just made a breakthrough on, hopefully, improving my running gait.

About a quarter into my tempo run the other morning, I started to think about a chapter I recently read in RUN by Matt Fitzgerald where he talked about how elite runners' strides tend to be "beautiful" (or something like that). It made me recall how effortlessly it seemed for BaldRunner and the other guy below whom I see frequently in races (sorry Sir I only know you by face) to make sub-6:00/km race paces km after km.

pic taken from baldrunner.com and rununlimitd.blogspot.com

How do they do it? Seeing these guys run in races, I've come to realize that they have quick leg turnover (allow me to acronym it as QLT). It's the same technique that Danny Dreyer recommended (at least 90 steps a minute per foot(?)) in his book, Chi Running. I believe Baldrunner posted something similar on his blog sometime back as well.

this guy has high QLT

But even if I noticed it at the time, I still wouldn't try it on my runs since I found it a lot of effort to keep a constant QLT. I was comfortable already with the way I ran although race pace was still left wanting. Another downside of my running form was that I get very fatigued as the miles click by.

As those thoughts went through my head, I then said to myself, "What the hell, let's try this QLT stuff!" This could complement my current study on midfoot strike.

And then, breakthrough.

My "eureka!" moment in running had just happened.

At first it seemed that I was slowing down, but actually I wasn't. It was my EFFORT that was getting less that made me feel I was slowing down. The QLT was actually making me faster as evidenced by my 305.

Although it seemed that the paces are not constant due to adjusting to the hilly part of my training route, the obvious impression that QLT left on me was that it made my run effortless. The 8km run (1k w-up, 6k tempo, 1k cooldown) left me wanting to run for more. It was only unfortunate that I had to get myself ready for work that day. If it were a weekend, I believe I could've run another 5-8km effortlessly.

I'm hoping to burn QLT into my running gait from hereon. Although it was only 8km, that run had somehow made me believe that I can run more effortlessly if I learn to keep good running form in check.

(Note: I ran 16km again last night at easy pace (2:01 elapsed time) with QLT. And yes, it seemed effortless!)

McHappy Day Fun Run 10k: Better Late Than Never

2010-11-29T16:30:00.001+08:00

I was still in bed when I fumbled for my phone and looked at the time: 5:20am.

"AHHHGHHH!!!! I'm going to miss the 5:30am gunstart!"

This race was not planned but seeing that "Pahabol" racekit giveaway by Gingerbreadman made me trigger-happy into keying in my comments for a chance of a free racekit (I actually wrote the first comment). 10 or so comments later, I was surprised to find out that I won (naaah, I was actually certain I would win coz I was the first to comment. Call it vibe since I've NEVER won anything online before). Thanks Luis!

This wasn't the first time I woke up late. I actually missed the Takbo.ph 10k race and another 5k race in QC some months back. That was bye-bye reg fee for me.

Fortunately last Sunday, we slept just a kilometer or so away from the starting line so, in 10 minutes, I was able to grab my stuff and scamper off to McKinley Hill. Needless to say that my 10k race started from the condo.

I ran to the starting arc and was relieved that they were still performing warmups. But then "they" turned out to be the 5k runners. The 10k runners had left X minutes ago!

Yes I put X since the timer at the top of the arc was off, thus I couldn't tell exactly how many minutes late I was. Worse case could be 10-15minutes. YIKES!

Without any warmup/stretching and my 305 taking too long to look for a signal, I turned off my Garmin and just started my race.

McKinley Hill, or Magneto as I fondly called it, is a hard climb if you start all the way from the C5 intersection at the bottom. This was the first section of the 10k. I was able to see the 10k pack climbing up as I was just starting my descent. Sheesh! Damn late.

Calling any race hilly in the McKinley-Lawton-Bayani route is an understatement. This route can really squash any dreams of a PR. I may have made a mistake of wearing my already-worn Newtons for this race (the 4th lug towards the outside of both shoes had worn out since my purchase of it last July) since I found it difficult to adjust to the hills.

The course was well-managed. There were plenty of water stations since another race, the BGC Run, went along the Lawton-Bayani route too. I was able to grab a banana from one of the BGC water stations as I left Heritage Park, just across the Libingan ng mga Bayani entrance.

I was really out of it on the way down to Mckinley, i.e. started to walk-run. Sprinting immediately from the condo to the race site, no warm-up and stretching had finally taken its toll on my hill-battered listless running form.

I reached the finish at 1:18+ gun time. Again, I wasn't sure how many minutes I was late but I think my "chip-time" could've been around 1:05-1:15. I guess I'll never know for sure exactly, but that was surely a forgettable race for me.

I hope to recover in time for my next race this coming Sunday, QCIM2, wherein I've volunteered to be a pacer for a 2:30 21km finish. I hope to do better there.

Actually, I just hope to be there.....on time!!! :D

Runrio3 32k: Midterm Exam

2010-11-23T13:45:00.002+08:00

RunRio3 32k was right smack in the middle of my training for Feb 2011's Condura 42k. Thus, it was only fitting for me to sign-up and see how effective (or not) the mileage build-up and addition of new workouts (200-400m intervals, stricter adherence to long runs) from last August to present is helping.

The plan was to stick to 7:00/km as close as possible ---my target full-marathon pace--- throughout the race. I managed to be slightly ahead of said pace at the 10k (1:08) and 21km mark (2:24). I was feeling good at this point, stopping at almost all the water stations and eating a pack of GU gel every hour. I was attentive to sensing my form as well, adjusting in time to stop that left knee from acting up (you really gottta try midfoot running, it works!).

And then, after grimacing through that final incline just moments after leaving the Heritage Park turnaround, it came.

The WALL.

You will see it noticeably in my Garmin stats, particularly on km25 onwards. The uphill climb at Bayani Road had left km25 with a 7:35/km pace. Things started to go bad from there, pace-wise. I was run/walking between 8:00-9:36/km between km26 to 31 then eeking out a 6:54/km on km32 (although km32 only measured 0.79km based on my 305).

I crossed the finish line in 3hours 51minutes. 7:17/km average pace, beating my self-proclaimed 4hour cutoff ---barely.

Not bad.

On the upside, the persistent training (long runs, in particular) that I've been doing had managed to push the WALL from km16 (experienced during my full-mary debut in Milo last July) to km25. I GOT to be happy with that. From hereon, I need to continue on religiously doing my weekly long run to hopefully push the wall further before Feb6.

Not to sound like a broken record, I really really really really need to do some serious hill-training, probably on that forsaken hill on Bayani Road itself if need be.

Congrats again to RunRio for conducting a well-organized race! You guys rock!!!

Nutrition Strategy

2010-11-17T19:30:00.000+08:00

Training for a race not only involves short runs, long runs, tempo runs, hill training, progression runs, or intervals. Yes they help improve your endurance and speed in preparation for a race. But part of one’s training should also include a nutrition strategy not only pre and post race, but also DURING the race, especially for long distances. Either employing gels (which I’m a regular fan of), granola bars, chocolate wafer bars, or bananas, such nutrition strategies should be taken well into consideration.

Just ask Canadian elite Simon Bairu, who learned the hard way in his debut during the recent NYC Marathon. It’s an unfortunate tale of how NOT to race a debut full marathon.

“My head got light, and it was almost like a drunken stumble. I was conscious, but I wasn’t in (the race),” Bairu was saying over the phone on Tuesday. “The next thing I knew, I was on the ground and my legs were just shaking uncontrollably. They were just twitching.”

His race was over, about three miles from the line, but his ordeal was not. Spectators immediately sprang to his aid. Someone called 9-1-1. Someone else ran to get a blanket. Meanwhile, Bairu said his spinning head felt as though “it was going to explode.”

I couldn't believe how Bairu, an elite runner who has beaten Ryan Hall in an earlier half-mary race this year, missed taking the energy gel halfway (he only had one at the start of the race).

How about you? What’s your nutrition strategy?

Farewell to the King

2010-11-08T11:32:00.002+08:00

Haile ends his great career after the DNF-ing at the 2010 NYC marathon.

For all it's worth Haile, your racing career had a good run (no pun intended).

For the rest of us, we run.

Adidas Adizero Adios Review

2010-11-04T11:30:00.005+08:00

THE NEED

I was rotating between my Asics Gel Foundation 8 and Newton Distancia Racers when I decided to buy another pair simply because the latter's outsole was starting to show signs of wear. I love the Newtons so as much as possible I try to save the mileage on it, especially since the cost per km is very expensive compared to average running shoes. I have been using the Asics sparingly (limited to short easy runs up to 7km) since it will just put my newly found midfoot-strike off-track. Since I was already sold into the natural-running method that Newton promotes and after getting much information on the booming interest in minimalist running, I chose to purchase the Adizero Adios to rotate with my Newtons.

I have to admit as well that my interest in the said shoe was also brought about by the fact that this was the pair that Haile wore when he logged the still-standing marathon record of 2:03:59 set in Berlin 2008. I wanted the yellow colorway but that was only available in the 2009 version of the shoe. The one I got was the red/gray/blue 2010 colorway as seen here. Price was P1,000.00 discounted due to the Adidas Refresh Your Gear Promo (extended, I read, until Nov.14, 2010).

FIRST RUN

The shoe is very light (210 grams) when compared to the already-light Newton Distancia (244g) and a very low heel-to-toe lift (6.5mm), both of which are typical specs for minimalist shoes. Although not recommended in a first run, I ran in these babies for 12km in 1:29 (7:25/km average pace). It rained from km6 onwards but I didn't mind. The Adios didn't mind either, with its outsole marking on the forefoot/midfoot able to grip the ground perfectly through wet roads. This would be advantageous during rain-dampened races, especially here in the Philippines.

Cushioning at the forefoot/midfoot was not too springy, not too "earthy" ---it was just right. Although there was no feeling of energy-return that the Newton's actuator lugs provide, the Adios had better heel-cushioning (which I hope never to use since I'm trying to burn into my running system a midfoot gait). But still, once fatigue sets in on long-distance races, the heel-cushioning of the Adios will be put into good use.

The other reason why I chose an alternate to the Newtons is that its upper construction, although comfortable and breathable, was not good once it rained or when I splashed myself at the aid stations with water (I used it during a 15k race). I could feel my whole foot sliding to the end of the forefoot when I go downhill under wet conditions. In contrast, the Adios' meshed upper was able to refrain less water from seeping into my sock so foot slippage was not happening during my first run.

FIRST RACE

As if the 12km break-in run was not enough, that weekend I used it immediately in the Adidas KOTR wherein I ran the half-marathon. I have to say that, under race pace conditions, it performed very well. Finishing 2:22 without enough training, the lightness of the shoe and good grip was able to help carry me through the whole 21km race.

As expected, the fatigue that set in at the last 5-6kms brought my left foot to heel strike slightly (damn BGC hills!). The Adios' heel-cushioning was able to aid me during that unfortunate part of the run so much so that the usual heel-pain that I encounter with the Newtons post-run was never felt after that race with the Adios.

TORTURE-TEST: LONG RUN

Last Monday I used the Adios for my scheduled 25km long run. It was raining 3/4 of the whole time I ran (3:20, 8:00/km ave pace) but the Adios proved its worth by keeping me in pace due to its lightweight construction and "just right" cushioning.

NO COMPLAINTS, EXCEPT...

A complaint on the shoe is that during my initial runs, I felt that the upper was slightly stiff. The sock-lining felt tight on one part of my left foot so much so that I was expecting a rash on that part (fortunately there was none). This may have been brought about by the newness of the shoe (need more miles to break it in) until the upper adjusts accordingly to the fit of my wide feet. I think the shoe is naturally fit for narrow feet so I don't think they'll be able to experience this problem.

Secondly, I really would've liked it if they released a yellow colorway. *SIGH*

SUMMARY

The Adizero Adios, IMHO, lived up to the hype of Haile using it to smash the marathon record to 2:03:59 last 2008. Lightweight and with a low heel-to-toe ratio, it is suitable for those venturing into the minimalist shoe trend. Slight cushioning keeps you with that "near the ground" feeling that minimalist running recommends. The outsole's forefoot grip is excellent especially on wet roads. Although the upper may take some time to get broken in, the mesh is perfect for keeping less water out of your foot so you can concentrate more on keeping your pace and not on your wet socks. The Adios is a perfect shoe for training and racing up to the half-marathon distance.

Full-marathon distance? I'll let you know once I use it for Condura 2011.

------

02/11/2011 Update: The shoes have been very instrumental in giving me two PRs: a 2:14 in the half-marathon and, more recently, a 5:23 (30minute improvement) for the full-marathon. Except for muscle soreness which is expected, I didn't experience joint pains in my knees while using the Adios. This may have been due as well to my improved gait of preventing to overstride and by employing quick leg turnover (at least 180 steps/minute).

04/14/2011 Update: I browsed the Running Warehouse website to window-shop and I found out that, based on their measurements, the heel to toe drop of this shoe is actually 11mm and not 6.5mm as I've mentioned last year. This therefore conflicts my earlier statement that this is a minimalist shoe when in fact it is not. It would be better to coin the Adios' shoe type as a minimalist-bridging shoe for those who're still used to shoes 10oz or greater and would want to venture into the minimalist trend slowly.

Btw, if you found this review helpful, thanks for clicking a Google-Ad below.

Take The Stairs!

2010-10-28T09:49:00.003+08:00

"Gusto ko nyaaaaaan!" ("I want thaaaaaat!")

Officemate/triathlete/sadist @paopedal got excited when I showed him an ad I found on the Philippine Star newspaper yesterday. With eyes beaming like a child on Christmas morning, you could feel that he wanted, nay, NEEDED to try this.

I think there's a similar race in the US (Empire State?) conducted yearly. IMHO, this is a true test of knee/leg-strength.

All I can say is, wasakan ng tuhod ito ("This race is gonna break your knees") if your unprepared/untrained.

Now, who's in? :-)

Race details here.

Adidas KOTR 2010 21k: I'll take it

2010-10-25T23:50:00.000+08:00

In a nutshell, me finishing this race at 2:22:00 (gun time) was not bad. My 2:18 PR still stands, but coming out of this race with that finish time (2:21:35 chip time) is still a decent finish if you look at how unconditioned I was going into this race.

Recalling the past weeks where I got under mileaged due to a bout with the flu (only 15km for that week), having only a dismal 14.6km (supposed to be 18k) as my longest long run in 4 weeks, didn't do specific hill-training, and didn't do carbo-load preparations the week before the race, I was lucky to come out of this race alive.

What may have saved me is a good race-nutrition strategy (HammerGel Espresso taken at km7 and km14, stopping at almost all the hydration stations), the lightweight Adizero Adios shoes that I've used only once prior to this race (a 12km easy run 3 days prior), and that feeling of positive-thinking and invincibility whenever I overtook another 21k runner (hehe).

Looking at my Garmin stats, I was doing well pace-wise until km12 ---Buendia flyover return route. I was able to refrain from walking during that entire stint, but it took a lot from me on the way to the hilly RizalAve-5thAve-Lawton-Bayani route. Pace dropped considerably from 6:30/km to as much as 7:26/km. I found myself doing walk-breaks during that stretch. Yet again, hill-training NEEDS to be done. Seriously Roelle (yes I'm talking to my future self), you really need to do serious hill-training. Do your long runs religiously, PLEASE!

I really need to stick with the program, so to speak, especially now that I'm starting week #2 of my Condura 2011 full-marathon training. Further, my next race, Runrio3 on Nov21, is a 20-miler (32km). Poor performance will definitely haunt me during these races if I fail to execute my training to the letter.

Of course, I have to love doing it too!

***

Shoutouts: I'd like to greet the runner-bloggers I saw during the race. Dennis, Wilson ("Yo!" hehe), Patrick, Rene, and James. I also saw Jet, Roselle (thanks for that high-five along 5th Ave, I really needed it!), and Sam who didn't race but were on their scheduled long run I presume. It was great seeing you guys.

Upgrades

2010-10-19T15:50:00.001+08:00

I've had these Adidas Response Stability pair for a year, making its race debut at QCIM 2009 10k and then wrapping up with the Milo Manila 42k Elims last July 04. The shoe has served me well, spanning 10k's to several half-marathons (2:18 PR from last Feb still stands) and of course my first full-mary. The wear on the outsole, especially at the heel, is fair evidence of the mileage that this shoe has gone through. I estimate that I've logged about 700-800kms with this shoe, races and training included.

I'm a sucker for being sentimental towards things, but last weekend's supposedly 18k that turned 14.6k has prompted me to upgrade my gear. Specifically, I'm not really getting along well with my Asics Gel Foundation 8 during long runs, especially now that I'm slowly getting accustomed to midfoot strike. The Foundation 8 is just plain heavy midway into the long run. Maybe for 5-8km easy runs is ok, but any longer than that, it feels like running with ankle weights. The morning sun heating me up that day didn't help as well.

Secondly, I'm trying to save on the mileage of my Newton Distancia Racers. These babies are excellent as well as expensive, thus there should be an alternate shoe to complement it during tempo, speedwork, and races.

So I made my contribution to the Adidas Refresh Your Gear promo by saying goodbye to my Adidas Response Stabilities during lunchtime today at Adidas Trinoma.

Or, a more apt way of saying it was......

...........................Adios!

Avon Step Out 5k: Her First Race

2010-10-12T18:18:00.000+08:00

Yes, I joined another race the day after the Company Sportsfest 15k. This was definitely a no-no for me, but for the purpose of pacing my sister, who'll be running her first race, a 5k, rest/recovery would have to wait.

There was no plan for this race but to be with her all throughout as she tackles on finishing her first race, come hell or high water. MOA being the race venue will be a gentle initiation for her into road-racing since the course is flat. Race-organizer was RACE if I were to assume the black and yellow timer at the starting gate.

We situated ourselves at the back of the pack. This is better for a newbie like her so that she won't get dragged onto zooming at the start (something that I've only learned to refrain from lately). The race started on time (5:30am).

We were pacing at a slow 10mins/km but was actually good for my post-race recovery. Towards km2, this happened:

She felt a small pebble in her shoe hampering her run so we went to the sidewalk for her to take a look. She couldn't find it. The pebble turned out to be...well...

It turns out the blister may have been caused by her wearing footwear that she never uses for running. Yikes!

We clocked 12mins in km3 which was our slowest. We also encountered our first walk-break here, about 1-2mins. I wanted her to quicken up the pace so I looked for a target in the crowd of 5k racers. There was this mildly chubby woman around my sister's height and weight who was slightly in front of us. I then pointed to her and whispered to my sis, "Wag kang magpapauna dyan!" ("Don't let her be in front of you!")

With this challenge, she may have just mustered enough strength to go toe-to-toe with the lady runner. There were several lead changes (with walk breaks too!), much like the recently concluded Kona Ironman wherein Macca and another triathlete were going at it for the last 5k of the marathon-leg. And I was in the middle of this great battle of will! Hehehe...

In the end, good ol' sis had beaten the other runner handily with a finish time of 53mins. Her initial comments about finishing her first race? Here you go...

The cursing may have been a combination of fatigue and accomplishment. I couldn't be too sure if she loved it. Well, any non-runner won't love running 5k at 5:30 in the morning, right?

For this week, she targets to run 2km/day from Monday to Friday. That is a great sign. The prospect of weight loss could've been very enticing to her too! Well, I hope she keeps on running and never loses interest.

Congrats sis!!!

Company Sportsfest 15k: Chuck Norris

2010-10-05T17:20:00.001+08:00

The Office

I spend almost 10 hours a day at work. This excludes the 1 hour total travel time. I know most of the people here, either by name or by face. The teasing and joking among officemates are common, as in any workplace.

The teasing and joking exponentially rises when the Company Sportsfest is around the corner. The Fun Run, in particular, is a much-awaited event. I have to admit, this is the one event that I cook up mini competitions in my head to psych myself into running faster. Just imagine the mental shame if I get beaten by this guy in the meeting or that person in the elevator. Hehe.

Take Chuck Norris, a guy from our Marketing department, for example. He was christened as Chuck Norris after that famous Twitter userid (@chucknorris_) who comes up with funny pa-macho-epek quotes. The office Chuck Norris, can be described as hated by all since he's very irritating. Come on, you have one too in your office, right? ;-)

If Chuck Norris has five dollars and you have five dollars, Chuck Norris has more money than you!

Anyway ChuckNorris has been egging me the week prior that I cannot beat him. The previous sportsfest last June resulted in Chuck finishing the 15k race 8mins ahead of me ---a sub-1:30 performance for him. That was a big confidence-booster for him to be able to suggest that he will still be able to beat me this time around.

As I said in my last post, this 15k race will be a "check-point" in terms of my pre-marathon training plan for Condura 2011. The pre-marathon training plan's main goal is to increase my weekly mileage to 40-50kms/week before I start the 16-week marathon training leading up to Feb 6, 2011, my second full marathon. Aside from the easy-paced short and long runs, I try to insert tempo and intervals in the sked to help improve on speed. My finish-time will determine how effective (or not) this self-made training is. Beating Chuck Norris would be a big bonus too!

SATURDAY, 5:30AM

Race-Org: RunRio with D-tag.

Venue: BHS.

Race route: BHS, University Parkway, St Lukes, Rizal Ave, 5th avenue, Lawton, Bayani Road just before Heritage. Turnaround from there going back to Bayani, Lawton, 5th avenue, 32nd street, finishing at BHS.

Gear: takbo.ph singlet. Shoes: Newton Distancia Racers. Yup, I was going to test how comfortable (or not) my Newtons will be on a long distance race. Further, I wanted to test my newly-found midfoot strike if I can hold it for 15km at race pace.

Strategy: Don’t go out too fast at the start. Target pace: 6:15/km. Go all out at the last 5k.

As for Chuck Norris, I couldn’t find him among the 40-50 15k runners assembled at the starting line. I guess he won’t be running, I thought.

At exactly 5:30am, we were off!

NO RUSH

Km1-6: 6:23, 6:36, 6:36, 6:21, 6:18, 6:20

FINALLY, I prevented myself from going all-out at the starting gun. With the help of MP, a mid-20s officemate, I was able to forget the 1st 6kms by just talking and having fun with MP as we trotted on our way, but trying to stay at sub-6:30/km pace.

By km6, MP had wanted to go ahead. He ran off with probably a 5:30/km pace as I was left with my planned pace moving up along 5th avenue, just having passed the Mini Cooper showroom.

DOWNHILL ATTACK!

Km7-10: 6:06, 5:57, 6:10, 6:13

I took my Hammer Gel approaching km7. Coupled with my sudden interest in chasing MP, I quickened my pace. Being familiar with this race route, I knew that it would be mostly descent right after Mckinley Avenue. Thus the fast km splits above.

AND ON THE 10TH KM, THERE CAME CHUCK NORRIS

As I left the Bayani Road turnaround signalling the start of a long uphill climb back to 5th avenue, I finally got my first glimpse of my nemesis. Chuck Norris had rode his bike all the way from his house (which I don’t know where and I don’t care where) to BHS.

He arrived about 10 minutes late, which allowed me a head start in the race. It looked as if he was on a sub-6:00/km pace, about 400-500 meters behind me. Boy, he was really fast having caught up with me. I later found out that he was shouting “Hahabulin ko si RP!” (“I will chase RP! (RP = my initials)”) as he left the starting line just before the 10k runners were sent off.

Km11-12: 6:32, 6:29

It was a struggle trying to keep my pace from the uphill stretch from Bayani to Lawton towards 5th avenue. Winning against mind-games encouraging me to walk and rest, I was able to keep my race pace in check determined not to let my guard down at the thought that Chuck Norris might be closing in.

Luckily, 5th avenue was a welcome respite since it was all downhill up to 32nd street.

Km13-14: 6:18, 6:19

32nd street from 5th avenue is a slight climb all the way to Serendra. Midway into 32nd street, I looked back to scan the field. Lo and behold, I saw a guy in a maroon-shirt about 300 meters ahead. Chuck Norris was chewing up on my lead, albeit slowly. As I turned right from 32nd street towards BHS, I was hoping that Rio would plot the route in such a way that I head straight and turn right at Honda to relieve of this cat-and-mouse scenario, or, aptly put, Chuck-and-mouse. But no, this was going to wait until I do one round of the popular BHS perimeter.

MAD DASH TO THE FINISH

Km15: 6:09

I decided to forget my conservativeness and went all out at the last km. About 200 meters from the finish, I heard deep breathing coming in fast from my rear left.

Chuck Norris, I thought, was going for broke as well. I didn’t need to look back since I fairly suspected that it would be him. I decided to drop the hammer and sprint it, recalling that 10x200m speedwork that I did 2 weeks prior. My calves started to act as if going to cramp, but I didn’t care. Pride was at stake. It’s something that I could lash back at him if he starts being his unruly, irritating self.

“Talo ka naman eh!” (“You lost!”)

But then, with that final turn towards NBC tent with 50 meters to go, he passed me.

But wait!

It’s NOT Chuck Norris!

It was this 20s something-fella wearing the 2010 Adidas KOTR black singlet.

WOOHOO!

I decided to let the guy win the dash and I slowed down as I approached the finish mat.

1:35:25 Garmin time. I’ve beaten my 15k PR by almost 2 minutes!

Moreover, Chuck Norris had been round-house kicked!!! YEHEHES!

He probably finished 1-2mins behind me. I guess he ran out of gas trying to chase me. He probably beat me chip-time but the official time to be used is of course, the GUN TIME.

Oh yeahhhh!

Garmin recorded the distance at 15.13kms. Not bad although I heard the 10k event ended at 11.92kms, an impromptu long run for 10k newbies. Nevertheless, RunRio org’ed it perfectly with his patented ice cold water stations and directional-signs.

TRAINING WORKS

So, the training worked. Actually, the pacing I did at km1-6 helped me a lot in conserving my energy for the latter kilometres. It worked wonders in keeping my pace checked (within 6:00-6:20/km pace). The strong finish at km13-15 was a surprise as well. Plus that 5:57 at km8 was a revelation.

And so, on with my training. Adidas KOTR 21k is 3 weeks away.

Yes, Chuck Norris will have to hear a lot from me on how I’ve beaten him handily for the next 6-8 months.

Such is life in the office.

My Upcoming Races

2010-09-30T19:30:00.000+08:00

Company Sportsfest Closing Ceremonies

15k, The Fort

I did the same race earlier this year, finishing 1:37:20 (PR since it was my 1st 15k). I hope to do better this Saturday, with Goal A at 1:30 and Goal B at 1:35. Aside from that, this race will serve as my checkpoint on how effective my current training is, which by the way, I have cooked up personally by including easy runs, long runs, tempo runs, and lately, intervals.

Should my race performance here be below par, I will try to look at it positively by going back to the drawing board and adjusting my training.

Adidas KOTR

21k, The Fort

I finished the same distance in the 2009 edition at 2:29:55. Yup, you guessed it. I want to improve on my finish time here too.

Unilab RunRio3

32k, The Fort

I have never done Rio's "The Afro-Man distance" before. I hope to finish well here since this will determine the course of my training for Condura 42k 2011. Again, adjustments to my training would have to be made if this race falls below my expectation.

QCIM 2

21k, QC Circle

I did 10k in the 1st edition of QCIM, finishing at 1:04 which stood quite long before I broke it to 1:00:57 in Mizuno earlier this year. I'm stepping it up a notch by hoping to conquer the 21k event. This'll be just right since long runs will be required.

Milo Finals

21k, Manila

This will hold a special meaning for me since I'll be tackling the distance the late Remus Fuentes succumbed to last July. I'll treat this one as a special tribute to Remus since I discovered we had many in common. We were both the same age, we each had a loving wife and 2 children, and we love the sport of running. I will probably stop at km19.9 and say a short prayer for the repose of his soul during this race (I hope you do so too!).

Condura 2011

42k, Skyway

As early as now I'm announcing my plan to race my second full marathon in Condura, the race that started it all for me. 5:53 is the time to beat. I hope all the training and above races will condition me well into meeting a sub-5 finish (Goal A), or a 5:30 finish (Goal B), or simply, to finish (Goal C).

How about you? When's your next race?

The early bird gets....

2010-09-24T15:10:00.004+08:00

....the KOTR racekit.

Woohoo! Nice singlet!

Click here to get race info on registration and maps.

See you on Oct.24!

What is a Finishing Kick?

2010-09-20T18:33:00.003+08:00

Negative split.

Finishing strong.

In case you don't know what these terms mean, check out Nick Symmonds in this outstanding 800m USA Olympic Trial finals last 2008.

Btw, he did the same this year.

Makes you wanna go out and do speedwork, right?

Now go practice.

Newton Distancia Racer Review

2010-09-13T22:43:00.001+08:00

As a gift to myself for finishing my first full marathon, a week after July 4 I bought a pair of the much talked about Newton Distancia Racers for P7,000.00 (approx. USD 159.00). I was sold to buying such an expensive shoe (average running shoes costs around P3,500-5,000.00) since I've made it my mission to adapt to midfoot/barefoot running after reading Born To Run and Chi Running.

I was also sold to the numerous articles/books I've read that changing from heel-striking to midfoot-striking could make my runs injury-free, particularly on my left knee. Much of the "blame" would also be on my running buddy and triathlete/officemate @paopedal who swears by the product's technology.

I also read the Newton blog-reviews of BaldRunner ("this shoe will not make you faster in road races") and RunningNinja ("They are designed specifically for people who are already mid-foot/fore-foot runners, or for people who are working on transitioning from a heel-strike stride to a mid-foot/fore-foot stride") prior to my purchase.

In RUNNR BHS, I was able to test it on the store's treadmill. It was good to know that my barefoot running tests showed that I've improved my gait to near-midfoot after my first try at RUNNR almost a year ago. With the Newtons, the storeguy said that it seemed that I've easily adapted to the shoe compared to most first-time wearers.

Needless to say, I've considered all angles before I bought the shoe.

ROAD TEST

On my first run (1km), the shoe felt very light (244 grams) compared to others I wore previously (my Adidas tResponse Stability weighed 360 grams while the Asics Gel Foundation 8 I'm still using weighs at a hefty 390 grams!). Newton recommends to just double the distance-increase during break-in period but I overdid the 2nd run (3-4km). I ended up with extremely painful calves for the next few days.

Moral lesson: follow the directions.

After the soreness of my calves had healed, I must say that the next runs with the Newtons were really great. The patented lugs were forcibly correcting me to strike midfoot. It also made me conscious of preventing heel strike although the soles of the shoe indicate that I still heel-strike a little on my right foot.

RACE WORTHY

I've logged about 90-100km already with this pair. Aside from using it for my tempos (5-8kms), a few short easy days, a couple of long runs (14km last Sunday) and a speedwork session last Saturday (10x200m), I've used the Newtons for two 5k races as well: Rexona Run and St. Lukes QC. In both races I finished sub-30 (although the latter, St. Lukes QC, was short of 800m), which is a marked improvement, probably due as well to the continous training/running since my last 5k race (April, or was it May 2009?).

THE PAIN (OF ALTERNATING SHOES?)

The previous pain on my left knee is slowly degressing since I started running with the Newtons. So whatever pain I have there now was brought about by the remnants of previously running heel-strike. So there's definitely a marked improvement with the change of running gait that the Newton is forcing me to do.

The problem with the Newtons is that when I heel strike (when fatigue sets in on long distances), there is no support to cradle your fall at the heel since the design is primarily for midfoot strike. The result is pain on my left heel. You really have to be conscious to midfoot-strike all the time with this shoe or else it will let your heel suffer.

Further, I think that when I switch between the Newtons and my Asics (which are of the motion-control class, i.e. heavy) the heel-support that the latter provided made me relax a bit on midfoot-strike, thus triggering heel strike. And pain.

SUMMARY

The Newton Distancia Racer is a good buy since it teaches you midfoot strike ---a definite way to reduce injuries. It is very light that makes running smooth and effortless. It needs a couple of break-in runs before you get the feel of midfoot strike. Rushing it will cause you calf tenderness (i.e. pain!). You just need to be conscious of your gait all the time since if you heel-strike, there is not much support on the shoe to absorb the impact from the ground to the heel.

I will continue to use this shoe for training (speedwork, tempo, and short-easy runs) and racing (5k for sure, 10k probably, but currently in doubt if I'll wear them for 15k up to a full marathon). Maybe if I get more used to midfoot-strike, I'll be more confident to wear them for longer race distances.

Missed Coffee, but went to a Hospital

2010-09-06T10:11:00.003+08:00

The bedside clock displayed 5:35am as I woke up Saturday morning.

Ugh! I woke up late!

The previous night's race preparations for Saturday's Figaro 10k went all for naught as I overslept, due to the long drive from QC to Nasugbu and back to attend the wake of my officemate's Dad there. I had no driver-reliever so I drove 3hrs to Nasugbu, then 5 hours back (because of the traffic and stopovers).

It might've been good as well since my body was obviously not conditioned to race that Saturday. Still dead tired and groggy, I went back to sleep.

I found out later in the day thru my batchmate that the 5km loop of the race only measured 4.44km according to his miCoach. Tsk tsk...

***

Thanks to takbo.ph's List of Races, I was able to find a race for the next day: The St. Luke's Hospital QC Urology Alumni 3k/5k for P300.00. Knowing the pros and cons of a cheap reg-fee, I still decided to sign up since these legs were aching to race (my last race was the Aug.1 Rexona Run 5k). A sub-30 5k dream must be achieved. Further, this race was just a 5-minute drive from home so even if I wake up at 5:35am, I can still make it to the the 6:10am gun-time.

Sunday morning I was relaxed as I arrived in St. Luke's QC. I felt that sub-30 was imminent, despite being awestruck by the presence of the mighty Kenyans warming up (yes, even for a small race such as this, they were THERE!).

The attendance was around less than 300 combined for the 3k and 5k runners. The gun went off a few minutes late, but that was ok.

By the middle of the 2nd kilometer I felt that sub-30 was going to be impossible at this point due to two reasons. One, the race course was laid with calf-killers: hills. It was like Botak Baguio without the cool breeze and elevation. I started with 5:30 on km1 and succumbed to 6:20 by km4. Hill-training is still my achilles' heel (hehe).

The second reason was that the race distance, similar to Figaro Run the day before, was short. My 305 measured it at a measly 4.21km. Despite my finish time of 25:33, the 6:05/km average pace made me conclude that even if the race was exactly 5km, I won't be able to reach sub-30.

Yup, I'll have to make hill-training mandatory in my training from here on in.

***

So what's up with these two races (Figaro and St. Lukes) and their route-distances (4.44km and 4.21km), right? I feel that it's an essential part of each race that the distance should be damn accurate. Be it a P550.00 or P300.00 registration fee, the distance MUST be accurate.

Am I right or am I right?

So please do better next time and, for my part, I will do better with the hills, too.

Deal?

Run Philippines Run!

2010-08-31T09:55:00.004+08:00

I think our young (at-heart) runner-bloggers (a.k.a. Reinier, Rene, and Jovie) can attest to the existence of this (since I doubt my folks attended one when I was young):

Cool, right?

Found it while having dinner at Red Crab, T. Morato last night, among a collage of laminated posters from the past. Think Champoy, OG must be crazy, etc.

Doesn't ring a bell?

Man, I'm getting old.

Running Heals

2010-08-26T14:18:00.003+08:00

"She credits therapy and long runs with helping her deal with the last nine months, and she also kept a journal of her thoughts and emotions."

---Associated Press interview on Elin Nordegren

Cobra 70.3 Camsur Race Results

2010-08-23T09:30:00.001+08:00

Running a 1:25 21k might be easy for some....

....but add a 1.9km swim and a 90km bike ride, I doubt you'll ever get that run finish time.

Congrats to all who joined yesterday's Camsur 70.3! You are all awesome!

Btw, you can check out the race results here.

Yeah, I'm jealous of these ironmen/women. Triathlon seems to be a hard sport since you need to learn 3 disciplines. Training must be more intense than for a marathon?

Congrats again! I hope to do one (70.3) within the next 10 years.

Hmmm, how to swim on open water? And that bike's pretty expensive....

Rest and Recovery

2010-08-17T10:59:00.003+08:00

As I crept back to bed from playing with my 1-yr old, my wife asked why I didn't run this morning. According to the Excel makeshift calendar I made, today was my rest day.

I made my own calendar to control my weekly mileage increase (something I've never done) to prevent me from reinjuring my left knee. I'm only allowed to increase my total weekly mileage to 10% as many have prescribed over the 'net. Although I did some VMO exercises this morning for my knees, today was a welcome break from running.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder as they'd say. I guess it goes the same for running.

Yup, I can't wait to run tomorrow morning.

Studying My Gait

2010-08-11T11:10:00.000+08:00

The video below captures Ryan Hall (in his nyort-nyorts, hehe) in super slow-mo when he ran the 2010 Boston Marathon. It's amazing how elite runners like him could come up with such a perfect running gait/stride. When you think that he'll be heel-striking, at the last second he strikes the ground midfoot first, and cycles his foot back, way way up to complete the gait cycle. His lean is perfect as well, a straight line from the ankles to his head throughout.

Well I'll never run like that. But maybe, with the proper training, yes. For now, I'll be contented with watching this video I recorded one morning last week. With my trusty digicam and tripod on the other side of the street, I proceeded with recording my running gait using my new Newtons. A few clicks here and there with Windows Movie Maker, I am pleased to present, my current running gait:

A far cry from Ryan Hall's, right?

I have to admit, watching myself run has been mind-opening. All this time I thought I was running "by the book," but the video tells otherwise. It has helped me create my "need to improve" list. Based on what I've been reading and watching all over the Internet, the following are my observations:

- The Newtons had helped me run midfoot-strike, although my feet are still landing slightly before my hip (must be under according to Chi running).

- I am not lifting my leg up high enough to complete the whole gait cycle

- My arms are swinging too close to my body's midline. I've a really bad arm swing.

- Need to work on that lean (especially downhill)

- I need to loose weight! Camera added not 10, but probably 20lbs! Hahaha...

I encourage you guys to take a video of yourself running as well. Just don't do it with too many people around or you might get confused as an actor/actress filming the latest takbo.ph commercial. Hehehe...

Why Running Form Matters

2010-08-04T19:07:00.004+08:00

I've just read an article at runningtimes.com. It's a good read, especially for those like me struggling to find an efficient, injury-free running form. Click here for the article.

Further, here's a helpful video from Danny Dreyer, author of Chi Running, discussing how to avoid heel-striking.

Well, if all else fails, just remember to watch little children as they run. Most often, they have perfect form.

Happy running!

Rexona Run: Just About There

2010-08-02T10:24:00.003+08:00

5:36am.

Four minutes before gun start of the Rexona Run 5km event.

When in usual races I'm already inside the starting corral stretched and warmed-up, I found myself at a different area.....

.....I was at the last traffic light just before reaching MOA. Waiting for it to turn green was taking so long that I resorted to changing to my Adidas yellow singlet, attach my 305 and HRM, and take in a pack of Hammer Gel, all while in the car.

GREEN!

I was able to find parking space just across San Mig Avenue near Manila Bay. I jumped right out of the car and ran toward the starting arc. Man, whatever dreams of finishing sub-30 are gone now, I thought, as I reached the arc and started my 305. I couldn't decipher which time among the top of the arc was for the 5k'ers since I noticed that I was just about the end of the race pack.

Demet! Late late late!!!

And so the race begins

Well I was definitely late. Any dream of finishing sub-30 gun-time wise would be impossible at this point.....

....but not D-TAG wise. I could still do it. Although a sub-30 D-TAG finish time would not be posted in my blog's "my races" column, it will still be a good confidence booster especially now that I'm hoping to do "subs" in my future races (as is everyone's goal is).

I felt that I was definitely zooming since I was squeezing in and out the 5k runners/walkers. My pace was sub-6:00/km as I tried to claw my way to the front and hopefully reach the sub-30 runners. I was passing everyone from km1-3. Everything was going well until km3.....

...The 3km runners/walkers had intersected with the 5km route.

I had to double my effort in passing thru the other runners. By km4 I only saw a few 5km runners left but still a whole lot of 3k'ers. My 305 read 20mins. With less than 2k to go, sub-30 might just be there (D-TAG wise).

With about 300meters left, I resorted to going back to my normal pre-Newton gait to see if I can sprint it. Big mistake as I somehow slowed down (km5 would register 6:02 in my 305). I was doing well with midfoot striking but felt that I wasn't going that fast (although I WAS fast). Big mistake really as it probably chewed up 10secs from my finish time. Should've sticked to midfoot-strike.

However, I was still able to end up with a smile as I pressed stop on my Garmin: it read 29:24. The finish arc clocked me at 32:13 as seen in RunRio's website. D-TAG time was 29:24 was well.

Finally, a sub-30. The "32:13" official time still pegs me above 30mins so I'll need to improve on that (AND my pre-race logistics). Probably another 5km race this month before I move back up to racing 10, 16, and 21k's.

5k fun runs seem to be that: fun. That should what makes this sport feel in the first place. The full-mary training that I had was very demanding so much so that it zapped the fun out of it, which made my Milo 42k pre-race anthem to be to "just get it over with" which, in post-mortem, seemed to be a bad way to psych oneself from starting his very first full marathon.

5k's are all about fun but at the same time getting serious with speed. It was a big ego-boost as I calculated I finished among the top 8% of the 5k runners (#248 out of 2867). I couldn't believe that all those people I passed accounted for some 92% of the whole batch. Further, being in front of the crowd to get all the freebies was good as well as I went back to the car to exit MOA fast before the other cars start rolling home.

A big plus as well was that I got to spend more mornings with my family (my 1-yr old wakes up at 5am while my 4-yr old wakes up at 6-7am, making long runs impossible and with a guilty feeling of neglecting daddy-duties). 5k training need not be serious distance-wise but more on speed. So I got to balance my time with my sons better the past few weeks.

Yup, most definitely another 5k race this month.

Thanks RunRio for a well-organized race!