Robinson's Supermarket Fit & Fun 5Km Wellness Buddy Run Report

It's Run Ma's turn to report while I'm in Boston....Johnny

Yesterday's, July 27, Fit and Fun run of Robinson’s Supermarket was a welcome treat after successive fun run fiascos for the past few weeks. It was well organized though it started late. Kudos to Extribe, the event organizer. Mood was very festive and non-competitive. The weather even cooperated as the sun hid while the run was ongoing. It was really a FUN run. Too bad I was just there to watch Dante, the only Run Ma’s alaga from the sidelines as still nursing my hip injury. The rest of the alagas could not make it, Rico fell off his bike (ouch!!!) and hurt himself the day before. Johnny is in Boston and Ed was off somewhere.

The idea of the Buddy Run is to start and finish the 5k with a Buddy. Dante’s buddy is one of Bayantrade’s new hire and as a warning, Dante told him “If you outrun me, you will not be made permanent at Bayantrade”. Dante and buddy therefore ran the whole race together and finished approximately 33minutes.

Dante (in white) and buddy finishing together!! How Sweet!! :-)

Lance Gokongwei finished at approximately 28 minutes. Good run! A lot of Robinson’s employees, first time runners, were there and obviously enjoyed the event. There were a lot of booths and taste test areas for the likes of Milo, Gatorade, Enervon prime, etc. I had fun going around the booths while waiting for Dante to finish so I can take pictures. The Enervon prime lady was tacky and said “Maam, try nyo Enervon Prime, magaling ito para sa matanda.” BIG MISTAKE!!!! I didn’t try it and drank the Milo instead. Robinson’s gave away magazines, grocery items, etc at the finish line. Big bag of goodies!!! Generous sponsors!

As usual, breakfast is something I look forward to. I joined the Bayantrade Milers (the official name of the running group of Dante) at Max’s at Market Market for breakfast. Dining at Max’s requires that you order fried chicken so we all had fried chicken for breakfast, haha!! But we added champorado instead of rice, yummy!! It was fun with all sorts of anecdotes about the run, ie, seeing a couple of gay runners holding hands while running for the entire 5k, buddies disappearing so they could not finish the race, etc.

By the way, Run Ma biked from Eastwood City to the Fort, approximately 11km one-way. Dante thought this was a crazy thing to do, but boy! that was a FUN ride!! Weather was so good it even drizzled so it was not warm at all. My face and legs were muddy though as the road had puddles all over from the rain the night before. Run Ma is now converted Bike Ma while off from the running circuit.

Til the next run! --- Run Ma Ting

Boston - A City of Runners

On our first exploration day around the campus of M.I.T., and around the cities of Cambridge and Boston, I noticed that there seems to be runners all over the place. I guess being a Sunday, the level of running activity was not too unusual. And being the home of the famous Boston Marathon, one can expect that running is a part of the cultural fabric of the area.

I didn't think about it much but it seem like everywhere I went, I would see runners. As we were concluding our tour of the M.I.T. campus, I noticed a huge body of water in the distance and I saw sails. It turned out to be the Charles River, which separates Boston from Cambridge and Charlestown.

A row of boats parked along the Charles River bank -- the center area is probably boat mooring and where the Petrol Station is located.

There was another row of sail boats -- probably for hire.

It was a nice day for sailing and these guys are taking advantage of this!

A view along the running/biking trail and the skyline downtown Boston in the distance.

There is a nice trailway -- both cemented and not -- along the river banks. You'll see boats all over -- a number of them actually sailing. We even saw a petrol station -- filling up the boats!

Fill 'er up!! Gas for the boats!

And when you're in trouble, you can be sure the paramedics will also be in the water!

But there were runners and bikers all over the place. I didn't get a chance to start shooting pictures of runners until much later -- an afterthought really. It just hit me that there were so many runners -- along the river banks, in the campus, along the streets, up the bridge, etc.

So many runners! Everywhere!

I just felt at home -- actually envious that I wasn't running with them. I thought about going to the area to run tomorrow -- but, it is quite a long walk away from the hotel. Anyway, I might actually do this if it doesn't rain in the mornings sometime later in the week.

First Boston Run

My first attempt to run in Boston was thwarted by mother nature -- I woke up around 4:45 (still a big jet-lagged) and saw that it was drizzling outside. For a minute there, I said, no big deal, let's go. Then, I remembered that I would get everything wet - including my shoes!! Since I didn't have a spare pair with me, I decided on the more prudent approach -- go to the Hotel gym instead.

A view from outside my hotel window -- bummer -- rains!

I was actually ready with my camera to take in some of the sights. Since we went to the supermarket last night in one direction, I was planning on taking the other direction up M.I.T. Of course, that didn't materialize and I ended up taking some pictures of the hotel gym -- ha! ha! You got to have some visuals on the blogs -- otherwise, it becomes too boring!

That's me through the mirror -- I started taking pictures when the other lady left -- didn't want to appear strange!!

The hotel gym was actually well stocked with good equipment -- not a lot but as you can see, we weren't many working out anyway!

Well, I wasn't alone in the gym -- there was another lady doing her thing on the elliptical. I got on the treadmill and programmed it for 45 minutes. Initially, I got confused. All the indicators were set for miles -- wasn't used to this as we used kilometers back home. So, I started slow and then got up to a 6 setting on the speed dial.

A simulated running photo -- had to position the camera near the towel rack to do this -- too bad Mama Ting isn't here to take photos!

Initially, it looked like it was going to be a good workout -- I was hoping to get some speed training in. But, upon reaching the 20 minute mark, I started to fade. That's when I decided to slow down a bit. I guess, I just have to slowly work my way up again until Sunday. But, the good thing is, I finished my 45 minutes and finished over 4 miles (I can't recall how much over). Tomorrow, I'll try again.

I just finished breakfast downstairs at the hotel diner. We will head off for M.I.T. to familiarize ourselves with our training location before heading downtown for some sightseeing.

Maybe tomorrow, I'll get a chance to do some road work!! Wish me luck!

Touchdown - Boston

After over 24 hours of air-related travel, I finally reach Boston Logan airport at 6:30pm July 26, Saturday. The trip was really taxing and by the time I was at the hotel, I was ready to just sleep. But, it was too early and in order for us to beat the possible jet lag, we went out looking for a supermarket to get our groceries.

The closest grocer was over 1Km. away. This trip, I decided I didn't want to get a rental and that forced us to do our early walking workout -- it allowed us to get familiar with our location as well.

At the supermarket, we got a couple of Rib Eye steaks, some chicken and veggies -- I'll cook our dinner either tonight or tomorrow -- a cost-containment activity! ha! ha! But, the difficult part was lugging our 2 containers of water back to hotel -- 2.5 gallons each. So, not only did I get to do some really long walks, I had my weight training as well!!

We spied a Taiwanese Restaurant along the way and we decided to reward ourselves for the effort by partaking of nice Chinese dinner.

So, after dinner, we headed back to the hotel -- still lugging our packages. By the time we got back, it was past 10pm -- good timing for countering jet lag. I retired at around 11:30pm.

Finally, A Breach

Today, the weighing scale was my friend. After all these months of trying, it finally showed that I breached the 200 lbs barrier. It dipped below 200 lbs to 199lbs!! For so long, I couldn't bring the needle to slide beyond 201 lbs. At last, a goal has been achieved. Now, the challenge is to keep it off and move further down to 195lbs.

The last few days have been difficult -- workout-wise. It seems everytime I do something, another part of my body complains. I've had foot problems and my left hamstring seem to have been injured while I was doing squats. Somehow, last Monday's yoga session helped stretched it out but I still feel some tautness and soreness.

I had a basketball session last Sunday. And, while it wasn't a dramatic workout, I guess I need a new pair of basketball shoes as my left foot developed an ache in the bottom of the foot. I play basketball only once a year -- during the Finex Basketball Tournament. This is the only basketball tournament I join because I can play with my boys -- we are allowed dependents to reinforce our squads. That's my personal bonding time with the kids.

Yesterday, after resting for two days, I worked out at the gym. I used the treadmill to warm up but since my warm up is only for 15 minutes, I increased my intensity to gain as much benefits as I can in a short time. My personal trainer then put me to my routines. Towards the last part, as I was using the cables, I started feeling weak. Somehow, I was running out of gas!! I guess it was all the portion-control dieting and maybe lack of sleep plus all the physical activities -- somehow, I might have depleted my energy stores. Maybe it was also the increased intensity in the warmup.

Anyway, I had to stop my workout and scramble to get some needed fuel into my system. Luckily, at Fitness First ABS, there is a fruit shake bar with sandwiches. I got my favorite Tuna Salad sandwich and a watermelon shake. After devouring the whole lot, I felt better but still a little weak. I had to stop my workout but it was already the last routine -- unfortunately, I had to waive my stretching time. Just didn't feel like lying down at that point.

But, I guess it will all be worth it later. I'm flying out this Saturday for Boston. I'll need to continue my training runs there before hitting San Francisco on August 2 in time for the San Francisco Marathon -- feel guilty talking about the Marathon when I'm doing only the 5K!! he! he!

Maybe by the time I return, I would be mid-way to my 195 lbs. goal. That's if I'm successful in either controlling my appetite while abroad or keeping up the running to burn off the food I partake as well as the fat stores I have. I'm hoping by then, I'll be ready to run a 10K!! Wish me luck!!

Running Podcasts

I had a meeting with some students of De La Salle University today -- they're from the Electronics and Communications Engineering Society (that's close to my heart as I graduated ECE and was the charter president of this student organization). We had some discussions on trying to raise money to revive the campus radio project. I told them personally that toying around with analog radio technology might be like working with dinosaurs and that I think it would be better for them to start working with new technology like IPTV or radio streaming or something that would be good for future development.

Anyway, that discussion got me thinking about whether there were any podcasts or videocasts on the net about running -- never entered my mind to seek these out until today. Surprisingly, or rather feeling more amused and delighted, I found a number of entries on google for running podcasts.

I started exploring Running Podcasts -- www.runningpodcasts.org. You can click the title of this post -- it links directly to the website.

Of course, it feels surreal -- working on my laptop and actually listening to the podcasts -- it does feel like I'm back to listening to radio -- not just music but about real live experiences in running. I started listening to 4 Feet Running -- the show's hosts are running couple Nik and Dan -- she's done 4 marathons and training for her 5th while Dan just finished a 10K. (I'm editing this as I discovered their blogsite -- http://4feerunning.blogspot.com/. The other site was unupdated. I'm adding them to my blogroll) They do a once a week podcast and the one I listened to included an actual race and some of their training thoughts. I'll start exploring other podcasts and see how interesting they could be. I've seen some training related podcasts as well.

Yogalates

After all the prodding on email, I had to eat my words -- Maan, Dante's definitely better half -- decided that yes, she'll spend some time teaching us -- Mama Ting's brood -- yoga and pilates -- "to strengthen our core" and just get these hard and inflexible bodies supple again!!

Being the mom that she is, Mama Ting organized the first Yogalates session yesterday at the Valle Verde Country Club at 6:30pm. It was supposed to be 45 minutes of yoga and 30 minutes of pilates. I was actually excited as I knew my body needed a stretching boost -- ain't no spring chicken anymore and stretching will, hopefully, ease some of the aches and pains the body is undergoing these days.

I was running late -- had to go home, change and pick up my gear -- bought a new yoga mat last week. (Unfortunately, I didn't know I was supposed to wash it first -- found later when instead of being sticky, it was slippery all over the place.) By the time I arrived, I was probably 20 minutes late! I went inside Valle Verde and went looking for the group and saw them in between the swimming pool and badminton areas. And surprise, surprise!!! I was the only thorn among the roses!!! he! he! I was told Rico couldn't make it that Monday and Ed would follow from his office. So -- there I was was, the only male among the shapely females, ready to do my yoga poses!!

I knew it was not going to be easy -- but I never realized how difficult the poses were. Pretty soon, just into the first pose -- with a lot of coaching from Coach Maan -- I was sweating buckets!!! My body could still handle the poses, albeit not the full stretch but I was told to go only as far as I could -- but, boy, I never realized I had so much stored in my sweat glands!!

We went through several routines for over an hour and a half. I didn't realize that my body temperature was soaring despite the buckets of perspiration -- at one point, both Maan and Ting observed that I was actually steaming!! Hmm -- an outdoor steam bath, all internally generated!

I could definitely feel the stretches and the effect on my "core". I was wondering when all of these was going to end!!! ha! ha! Thank god we finally ended a little after 8pm.

Guess you guys must be thinking -- what a wimp!! What can I say, flexibility is not one of my assets. But, I'm coming back for more -- even if I did feel drained after the session. I had to rehydrate myself quickly and fuel up. I was going to rush to Makati to fetch my wife, Mara, but she called me while I was on the way that I wasn't needed anymore. So, thankfully, I went back home and collapsed on the sofa while waiting for dinner to be served.

All in all, it was a good workout -- actually a good workout day -- I had a good circuit training session in the morning at the gym and a good yogalates session at night. I was looking forward to a good night's sleep. I need it as I have to wake up early for a videocon with San Francisco at 6am, Manila time.

I guess you get what you asked for --- and more!!

Green and White Sunday

It's been two months since I started preparing for this and it finally arrived -- One Run, One Family, One La Salle -- the fun run organized by La Salle Cares and the De La Salle Alumni Association.

Mama Ting's Runners were spread out over two events -- the 5K and the 16K races. Too bad Mama Ting was sidelined by injury and was told by her doctor not to run. Well, she became our official photographer instead and she came prepared -- instead of running, she brought her bike!!! Good time to test out her new bike carrier!! (Shucks!!! we forgot to take a picture of her bike and bike carrier!!!).

I woke up at 4:30am and got to the Fort by around 5:30ish and the place was already packed. There were long queues getting into the different parking lots. A friend of mine commented that we need to add parking management to the list of things to do when you organize a La Salle event!! ha! ha! But, this was brought about the sheer number of participants to the event -- 5,800 plus -- as the official barker kept repeating throughout the event. Maybe not as big as those in U.S events but definitely one of the biggest in town so far.

So, I got my car parked, took off my jacket and put on my hat and started towards the race venue -- and the place was packed -- all around it was Green and White!!! All the Lasallian campuses near Manila sent huge delegations that were bussed in early this morning. I understand that all the varsity athletes were required to join the 16K run!!!

Good thing I quickly caught sight of familiar faces -- Mike Navarette (who will leave for Halifax permanently by the end of July), Dave de Leon and Jorge Buenaventura were already there at the starting line. Soon I saw Mama Ting and we had our first pictures taken with my camera (didn't forget it this time).

The early birds among us -- Mike Navarette, Dave de Leon, Mama Ting Pascual and Jorge Buenaventura -- flashing the 16 sign -- to signify his running 16K but also telling us that his close friends (i.e. Mike and Dave), decided to drop him and renege on their commitment to run 16K also.

That's me 2nd from left with the yellow hat

From right -- Ed Francisco, Rico Ibana and his son who is with the DLS Zobel Soccer team -- all running 16K

That's Peter Coyiuto joining the gang before the start of the race

Dante with our ultramarathoner Oca and his dog Scottie

Like the doting mother that she is, Mama Ting went to look for all her "alagas" (wards in English) to make sure they're all accounted for and pictures taken. Mama Ting has been bitten by the blogging bug big time as well -- except she still wants me to run this blog.

Pretty soon, the 16K race was off (5 minutes early according to my watch but what's plus or minus 5 minutes anyway in the Philippines?)! Looked like a good start although there were several runners who came in late and ran off to chase the pack. Next came the 5K runners. We were a lot!!! Since Mike, Dave and me were already beside the starting line, we quietly slipped into start of the pack --- and, we're off and running. At this point, the skies opened up and rain started pouring down. We got wet but it help cool us down.

There's Ed starting his 16K run partially obscured by that Big Guy in White!!

Me with Tony Atayde, Jr. of Nike Philippines and Henry Atayde, his uncle and another officer of the De La Salle Alumni Association

Mike, Dave and me, sneaking into the 5K starting line up front

I'm off but I had to reset my watch!! I had to scramble to start timing my run!

The route was new to me -- it skirted around the streets of Bonifacio High Street where all the shops were. Good thing Krispy Kreme was still closed --- he! he! Focus, Johnny, my boy, focus!!!

As we rounded the 32nd Street corner going towards St. Luke's Hospital, I started hearing sounds of heavy breathing and panting -- I knew many of the participants were first time racers and the breathing patterns showed all the stress!! I'm grateful for the two months preparation that I had undertaken -- while still breathing hard, I was not in the same bad shape as many of the runners were.

At the corner of 5th Avenue, the first signs of problems started to show. There were no marshalls and the signs were not prominently shown. I saw 16K runners turning into 5th Avenue, which they shouldn't and I saw some other 16K runners make a U-turn to also run after the other 16K runners. I wonder where the Marshalls were.

We then ventured up Rizal Avenue and turned into 26th Street. At the junction of 5th Avenue and 26th St., again no marshalls. I thought I remembered that 5K runners were supposed to go up 5th Avenue towards McKinley -- but, all the runners were running forward instead of turning right -- and the security guard manning the intersection was no help at all!!

That's me, like the Flash, running by in a blurr!! Wish I was really running that fast!

Oca with his dog Scottie, traversing the 3K race route.

Rico's son easily taking care of business on the 16K race. What do you expect, he's a soccer player and young!

Rico, our triathlete in training, waving to Mama Ting -- easy run so far.

Peter Coyiuto, with a winning gesture, although it's not even half-way yet!

There goes Ed, with a big smile to boot!!

I thought there was a rerouting -- so, I joined the crowd. To my surprise, everyone turned the corner towards the finish line!!! I ended my run a little over 20 minutes -- fastest 5K I ever ran but I knew something was wrong -- we ended up running only 3K!! To top it all, there was a long queue at the finish line -- shades of the Mizuno Rush to Infinity Run. Another screw-up.

Well, I got my bib tag taken cared off and went searching for the run organizers and I told them about the problems. It was only then that I was told we had a bigger problem -- it seems that our race event organizer was nowhere in sight!! I can only speculate as to why, but definitely, we were left high and dry by a noshow events organizer!!

Somehow, the rain helped dampened some of the angst that was beginning to brew among the frustrated runners. I guess since many were first time runners, they didn't notice anything wrong at all -- many of the more experienced runners were the ones more vocal about it. Sigh!!! I'm sad that such a potentially great event would be marred by the irresponsibility of the race event organizer on race day itself!!

I pity our hardworking organizing committee who have been preparing for this event for the last 3 months -- only to see the end game tarnished. It was only the Animo spirit of the Lasallians collectively that save the day -- yes there were mistakes, miscues and even missing marshalls and organizers. In the end, it was for fun and for a good cause -- we still ended up being One La Salle and we thank everyone who participated -- including those who were not from La Salle and those who came from the other school down Katipunan -- he! he! Hello all you Blue Eagles!! On behalf of the Lasallian community and the De La Salle Alumni Association, we apologize for the unfortunate poor race management and vow to come back stronger in the next run. We eat humbly pie now and hope you'll work with us again for a better race in the future.

Dante finished ahead of me in the 5K but also made a wrong turn, actually finishing only 3K.

A contented and tired Rico, finishing the 16K in good time

Peter Coyiuto with a strong finishing kick!

Ed and Rico are weary but contented 16K finishers.

The biking Mama Ting who became mobile this race to take all these photos.

Anyway, while the festivities, awarding and picture taking were ongoing, Mama Ting's runners decided to head off to Pancake House for breakfast. Unfortunately, Pancake House was jampacked. We went, instead, back to Dayrits next door.

Well, after a race, we always reward ourselves with breakfast fit for a king --- a fat king!! Breakfast talk was all about the unfortunately screw up -- I felt like cringing. Good thing there was the apple pie ala mode -- that brought a smile to everyone.

Yes, breakfast!! After a good run -- it's corned beef with egg!!! Yummy!

Mama Ting is fresh and smiling -- anticipating her Tapsilog!!!

Here's a group picture before the best part of breakfast!

Dessert --- Apple Pie ala Mode!!!

As Rico said, somehow, despite the growing popularity of running in the Philippines, he still has to attend one that went smoothly from start to finish. Oh well, we'll get there somehow, someday!!

Running at the San Francisco Marathon -- 5K race only

It's official -- I finished my online registration today and had my credit card info captured to official enter myself in the 5K run of the San Francisco Marathon this coming August 3, 2008!!!

It was the suggestion of SFRUNNER that I join the race after commenting that I felt pangs of jealousy for him and the other Pinoy runners like BALD RUNNER who are participating in the race but that I wasn't ready to run anything beyond a 5K race even if I was going to be in San Francisco on August 3. He said the magic words -- there is a 5K race outside of the half-marathons and full marathon!!!

I was hesitant at first. There was the issue of collecting the race packet -- I was flying into SFO in the evening of August 2 from Boston. This was resolved by the website stating that although there won't be any race packet distribution on race day -- there is an exception for the 5K race!! 2nd issue was whether the course would be daunting -- even it is a 5K race. My mind still pictures old TV shows about the Streets of San Francisco and its notorious hills!!!

But, my Run Ma Ting kept prodding me and encouraging me -- it's a fantastic opportunity and experience!!!

And so, making up my mind after yesterday's La Salle race, I decided I will register today -- it's done -- no refund!!! I will collect my race packet on race day and hope I'm not parked too far away from the Embarcadero so that I can keep the rest of the stuff in my car.

Now that means I can't slacken my preparations -- gotta make some hill runs to prepare for the event. Too bad I'm not ready for the half-marathon -- it would have been interesting racing across the Golden Gate Bridge!!

Matt's Dancing Videos

I just can't help it -- I've got to post these interesting videos -- they've been floating around the cyberspace for a while and focuses on dancing rather than running -- but, funny!!! Since we're all trying to get healthy, this blog knows no boundaries. Unfortunately, I'm no dancer -- one of these days I'll take up the offer of several friends of mine and I'll actually get lessons in ballroom dancing!! he! he! Maybe my wife will finally be happy she married me!! ha! ha! ha!





You can check out more of Matt's dancing adventures at his website - http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/

For those who want more of his YouTube uploaded videos, you can use the following link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY&feature=user

Run Ma

Note: This is my first guest article contributed by Ting Pascual -- our Run Ma. I mentioned that this blog is probably gonna evolved into Mama Ting's Runners' blogsite -- well, here's the first evidence of the shift. Hopefully, the others in the group will start down this path. I'm hoping also for Maan, the lovely better half of Dante Briones, will also contribute something on Yoga -- I know for a fact that at my age, stretching is definitely essential and I'm still working on Maan to actually organize a yoga class in the evening for us. Ting and Maan do it in the mornings and it conflicts with my workout schedules. Anyway, runners' perspectives come in different forms and sizes -- here's one from our Run Ma. -- Johnny


Johnny’s blog made life less miserable for the Run Ma who can’t even run on account of hip injury. Everyone knows/refers to me as the Run Ma though I am the youngest in the group of young (daw) professionals who are sort of newbies in the world of running and joining fun runs. Not actually newbies, Rico is in fact a triathlete for years now and Ed has been running for years now too.

Being the only girl (for now) in the group, I have volunteered to take on the task of getting the run schedules and registering everyone and making sure they know where the start is. I have been the Run Ma to Dante and Ed since January 2008, then the group grew. By May 2008, Johnny, our blogger joined the group, then shortly after Rico joined as well. Something common among these 4 boys – they are either Presidents or Senior Officers of their companies; they really make Run Ma proud, haha!!!

A Run Ma by our definition makes sure that each kid has the following before the race: 1. race pack, 2. map 3. an idea where the race start is. On top of this, the Run Ma also has to identify the venue for the breakfast after the race. Breakfast is always fun. Each boy trying to outbrag another with his new personal record (PR), pretty babe in the race running alongside him, discoveries in running style, what made him go faster/slower for this particular race, etc.

Going back to job description no. 3, Run Ma, made a blunder last Sunday, July 6. For the 1st time since we joined the races in January, I didn’t check the exact location of the race and we ended up at the wrong starting point. The run (Tik takbo) was at UP and being from UP I thought I knew that all fun runs there start in front of the UP Theater. Wrong assumption!!! The start was in front of CS!!! My 4 yo daughter Isabella was with me, since we was doing the 2k run for kids. She was still asleep so I had to carry her to the other side of the oval. That was a good warm up for me who was not even going to run. Lesson learned and tip for Run Mas of other groups, always check the map and don’t just distribute it.

I have been grounded from running by my rehab doctor since after the Dasma run early June so I have a new job on top of being the Run Ma. I have been designated the official photographer of the group too so that we can post photos for Johnny’s blog. That gives me something to do as I make sure that all my kids have photos, all are accounted for each race and that they all end the race in 1 piece. So far so good. All races since Mizuno Run 2 have been documented with articles from Johnny and photos from Run Ma.

Running is fun and knowing that you are extending your life somehow by working out makes it more fun. Being able to do it with a group who encourages you to finish, go faster, move on to the next race level/distance makes it even more rewarding. Til the next run!!

Runners' Blogs

When I made my first entry into this blogspace, I thought it would be a lonely trek through cyberspace. My goal was just to document the small steps I'm taking to nurse myself back to physical fitness. When you get to 50 and you really feel the sluggishness, you start to panic -- you don't want to leave this life before your kids are prepared!!! It was a wake-up call and quite a big motivation to get my life sorted out.

During the past few weeks as I got my running mates to help me populate these pages, I've also discovered so many runners doing the same thing -- amazingly, there is an abundance of talent and creativity out there. I guess this "blogging" thing really is the answer to all the repressed litarary urges out there. You get to say what you want to say, publish what you want to publish and people actually read and contribute. You learn from the community, share the pain and anguish of the trials, missteps and steep climbs but you also feel the twinkle in your eyes when you read about some of the humor and love stories.

Cyber publishing -- what a phenomenon!! But even more remarkable is the fact that it is the global running community that is writing!! I just discovered SFRunner and his stories are quite fascinating.

It's like one big DVD with special features -- a virtual behind-the-scenes collection -- the race or the event is the main feature but you get to read about each race from an individual perspective, each grunt, each step, each pain and each triumph!! You feel the emotion with each word, from different runners.

I took the liberty of linking up some of the Runners' Blogs that I've visited recently on the right side of this page. Blogging is really cool -- but being able to read about what other runners are doing as soon as they write them -- that's priceless!!

One Run One Family One La Salle Routes

The La Salle Cares fun run is scheduled for Sunday, July 13. We're hoping for around 5,000 runners -- quite a number from Lasallian schools throughout the country and, of course, the rest of the running community in Manila. Since "Mama Ting's Runners" are scheduled to participate in either the 5K or 16K, I'm taking the liberty of posting the routes for these two distances.

(We're dubbing our running group "Mama Ting's Runners" -- watch out for an egroup and other goodies -- I might as well convert this blog into Mama Ting's Runners' Lounge -- or maybe create a new one -- we'll decide as we go along).

Dante, Ting and I will tackle the easier distance

Our elite running buddies -- Ed and Rico -- will tackle the challenging 16K (or more properly known as the 10miler) distance

Mizuno Wave Precision 8

Since I was forced to look for new shoes after the shoenapping incident, I was reminded by my running buddies that I am entitled to a 20% discount for Mizuno running shoes because of the participation at the Mizuno Rush to Infinity Run last June 29. So, off I went looking for the right Mizuno shoes.

I went to the Mizuno store at Trinoma -- Libis or The Fort was just too far from the office. Mizuno has this gadget that determines what's best for you depending on how your feet is analyzed. The shoe fitting required me to bare my feet and stand on this glass-top device. The thing scanned my feet and the saleslady said -- normal arched -- I believe this would be medium arched.

She then presented me two models and I chose the one with a yellow highlight -- it turned out to be a Mizuno Wave Precision 8. I've been trying to research about this on the web but it seems like an older model -- the US site didn't even have the color yellow.



Anyway, I tested it yesterday with a 6K run around New Manila -- it felt good!! So, I now have a new set of running shoes -- and it's a Mizuno, with my 20% discount. My feet just look so bright because of the color!!! I'll probably have to find some yellow shirt to pair with it. he! he!

Robinson's Supermarket Fit & Fun 5Km Wellness Buddy Run

Now here's an interesting concept -- you must run and finish together!!! Shades of Amazing Race Asia!!! That means, the partners must be of equal level or must support each other enough not to leave anyone behind. You have to finish together as individual runners finishing will not be timed!!! They give out singlets too and you must wear them, otherwise, you're not eligible to win!!

Too bad I won't be in town on July 27 -- I have to fly to the U.S. for training in Boston. The rest of the gang will be running and I wish them luck. I hope to resume running when I get back after August 10.

More Mizuno Rush to Infinity Run Pictures -- BayanTrade Running Club

Here are some more pictures of the Mizuno Run courtesy of our friends from the BayanTrade Running Club. My friend, Dante Briones, who is the President of BayanTrade, seem to have the right idea -- get your employees to start running so that they will be healthy enough to survive the grind of work! he! he! Ting and I specifically like their running shirts and have volunteered to be honorary members of the club -- just to get one of these shirts. Unfortunately, I can't remember all their names -- I'll let Dante help me out once these are posted.

Dante has a standing offer -- he'll buy breakfast for the BayanTrade runners as long as one of them beats his time -- so far, he's lost twice!!!