Has it been that long?

Exactly one year ago Mama woke me up early for I told her the day night before that I wanted to run. My life then was then was in great chaos. There were so many issues I had to deal with. There were piles of work to accomplish. My thesis proposal needed revision but I couldn’t seem to find time to work on it. Things were very overwhelming! I knew I had to do something before I go berserk. That was when I decided to run; and the rest was history.

Today, I woke up smiling as I look at my closet door full of race bibs posted on it. It’s been a year! When I started joining fun runs in January, my goal then was just to collect 12 race bibs in 2012. But it turned out that I got hooked to running that there is not much space left in my closet door. There are upcoming races next month and it looks like I would have to use the wall in posting my race bibs.

In twelve months I have collected 16 race kits. One afternoon at the gym, my student asked me if he could have at least one of my singlets. I turned him down. It’s just that each singlet means a lot to me and each singlet has a story which reminds me of the people whom I met along the way. They are the very same people I see during races and I feel indebted to them for all the lessons they taught me.     

Some people can’t seem to understand why I run. Others would say I should stop running since I have already hit my ideal weight. Little did they know it was never really my intention to lose weight when I started running; losing weight only came as a bonus. Some ridiculed me for my skin color. Kebs! My skin color speaks so much of my strength and stamina. It speaks of the different places I’ve been to and the people I became friends with. Negrita? Who cares!?

In a conversation with my good friend Adrian, I told him that running keeps my sanity intact. Skipping my morning run makes me cranky the whole day which would eventually turn out to be a bad day. But when I run, things seem to be in place. I get to follow my schedule. More than being productive, I am very positive and enthusiastic. It is like a magnet that holds things together. Without running, everything seem to fall apart.

I guess some people will never really understand when I say I am full of energy after covering 21K. Others would even roll their eyes. I can’t blame them. I bet they haven’t tried running and have not experienced the bliss it brings. I won’t force them to understand though. But I will do my part in making them realize that running is more than a sport. It makes one not only physically strong but emotionally and spiritually strong as well. If taken seriously, it can change one’s perspective; it can change one’s life. And who doesn’t want a better life?

Today marks not only my first year in running but my 8^th week in TBR Dream Marathon training. Compared to my friends in the running community, I am considered a newbie. Nevertheless, I am determined to continue running for as long as I can. I feel indebted to it that the only way to pay it forward is lead a healthy lifestyle and be an inspiration to many.

Happy Running!

Team Dream Killers

Few weeks ago Belle told me about the Dream Run in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. It was the first grand reunion of TBR Dream Marathon alumni and friends. I had second thoughts when she invited me to join her team. Nevertheless, I agreed. But due to some changes, I had to join another team. I didn’t know my teammates, James and Sis Erna. Although James is a facebook friend, Sis Erna only became part of my friends list when Belle informed me that she was one of my teammates.

After filing for a vacation leave today, I left for Manila a little after lunch. I didn’t know how to go Sta. Rosa. I just crossed my fingers that the bus conductor knew the way and could teach me how to get there. And for some cosmic play up, the lady across me was bound for Sta. Rosa. In fact her house is near Nuvali. Yay, heaven-sent!

We got to Manila around 6:00pm.Jessica and I boarded another bus headed to Balibago. Along the way, she gave me tips about the places where I could stay and eat. Very kind of her indeed! The trip didn’t take long. We were already in Sta. Rosa around 7:00pm. Jessica and I had to part ways. I decided to grab a dinner at Mc. Donalds and check in at Sogo afterwards.

My teammate Erna kept on checking on me. She lives in San Pedro. She initially invited me to stay with her but San Pedro is two towns away from Sta. Rosa. I needed to rest and staying at the motel seemed to be the best option.

 

When I got to the motel, I took a bath right away and slept. I had to be in the venue before 3:00am. Apparently, I couldn’t sleep. I kept on tossing on the bed until I guess my body and brain got tired and retired.

I was awaked by the courtesy call from the help desk. I instantly got up and stretched a little. I did my morning rituals and headed off to the lobby. “This is it”, I told myself as I took a trike to Nuvali.

When I got to the site, I waited a bit for my teammates. Haha it was more of an eyeball for the three of us.  Sis Erna arrived not long after and we waited for James. (Both were Belle’s friends whom she met in Ayala Triads.) James soon arrived. After exchanging pleasantries the three of us headed to the Start Area. Since it was a team run, we decided that James wore the timing chip. Along the way he asked, “Ano, 5:1 tayo?” What?! I can’t even do 6:00. When he saw Sis Erna and I with wide eyes he explained we’d do Galloway from the start to the end and it’d be 5-minute run and 1-minute walk. We agreed. But at the back of my mind, I was apprehensive. Taking walk breaks might not help. Sure PR wasn’t the issue, it was a team run anyway but I knew I couldn’t handle too much heat. At any rate, I still agreed. For the team Dream Killers!

We started out really slow. I noticed that James was more of cautious runner. Being a triathlete, he has joined several competitions and the last thing he wanted was injury. He was our team captain. He guided Sis Erna and I along the way. He took control of the team’s run which at first I thought to be boring. But later on I realized that the very essence of the run is to promote camaraderie among teams. The purpose of the race would be defeated if I decided to run alone and just wait for my teammates at the next water station. Hence, I decided to stick and run with my teammates.   

Along the way, we managed to share stories about running. I thought it was the best part of the event. I was in a place where I knew no one (well, except for Jessica) and I tagged along with runners whom I only met on the day of the event. But look, we were running as a team and sharing stories.

In the middle of walk breaks, I felt a sting on my heels. Hello blisters! I wasn’t wearing my usual knee-sock today because the team decided to wear black leggings. By the way, our outfit bothered me a lot in the entire duration of the run. I am not used to running with leggings and arm candies. It felt hot even with the cold weather in Sta. Rosa. At one point I wanted to remove my arm candies but, I reminded myself it was a team run.

In one of the walk breaks I told my teammates that I wouldn’t stop because walking make my shoes hit the blisters and the pain was killing me. James told me to just remove my socks. But I told him 3K wouldn’t be that far. I could still do it. I just had to jog.

We were fifty meters away from the finish line when James said “hawak-kamay”. Sis Erna and James exchanged place while I remained in the middle so our race bib would read T-B-R. We held hands as we neared the finish line. As soon as we crossed the mat, volunteers put on the medal. We had our photos taken and headed off to the Active Health village for some breakfast. I was surprised that we managed to finish the run at 2:48:54. Now that wasn’t too far from my record in RUPM; to think we used Galloway from the start of the race. Talk about conservation of energy. Yey!!! Kudos to Dream Killers.

 

Post Script:

Dream Team Run taught me one thing. A team is a team. The members must stick with one another through thick and thin. Forget about those personal interests! For a team to succeed, it must have one goal. Dream Killers, you guys are great! Thank you for the incomparable experience. Though we do not know each other personally, we still managed to make our team work. If given a chance to run as a team again, I won’t hesitate to be with you guys. Until then...

I’m not crazy. I’m just... Fine. I’m crazy.

Last Sunday, I was googling earth (haha I love the verb!) when I thought of checking the distance between our house and the university where I work. Yay, I have been taking that route twice a day in the last two years but I didn’t know how far our house is from my work place. I wasn’t sure of the accuracy of Google Maps, but it gave me 18.1K. Hah! If I could run 21K with ease then 18.1K would be a piece of cake! Plus it would be my Mama’s birthday so the run would be dedicated to her. And that’s when the crazy mission all began...

Friday night I talked to Philippe. We agreed to run at Phase 2 instead. So I thought of putting aside my mission. Unfortunately, I woke up late this morning but I still headed off to Cabanatuan. I alighted at Mabini Extension and started walking until I reached Mc Donalds. I went in and saw friends and students. I took few photos and headed off to my mission.

 

I started with a slow pace. And since I left my phone at home there was no way to check the time. All I was hoping for was a cloudy weather. Heat is my waterloo; I knew I wouldn’t last for hours under the heat of the sun. I maintained a slow pace until I crossed Valdefuente Bridge. At the end of it was a Chowking marker which read 10K away. Easy! Or so I thought. The highway soon became busy. I was literally eating dust and smoke! At first I thought of flagging down a jeepney going to Sto. Domingo. But I thought it wouldn’t take me hours to cover such distance so I decided to stick to my mission. Along the way I was hoping I’d see the next Chowking marker to no avail. Thus, there was no way of checking how far I’ve gone. Finally, I reached the boundary of Cabanatuan and Talavera. Yehey! Still no Chowking marker but I spotted Mang Inasal signage which read 5K away.

I continued to run. I didn’t mind I was eating dust and smoke. I just wanted to carry out my mission. It didn’t take me long to reach Mang Inasal at Crystal Waves. I saw a group of people dancing in front of Mang Inasal. I crossed the street and took photos of them. I spotted my fellow professor and had a little chit chat with her. After which, I headed back to my mission. Not far from Mang Inasal was another Chowking marker which read 3K away. Yebah!!! 

I went on. At one point I had to stop and drink water. I wasn’t tired yet but the street was filled with big trucks and PUJs and it was distracting me. I had to be very careful to stay away from the pavement. So I when I saw another Chowking marker, I was overjoyed. It gave me more reason to continue running. I ran past a buko vendor and thought of stopping by. And so I went back and ordered a buko juice. I drank it all and headed off. It was getting late. I knew it’d be getting hot soon and it’d be difficult to continue with my mission. Instead of running, I decided to just walk though.

Not long after I walked past Chowking! Yehey!!! I stopped by a hardware and bought rope. I had been wanting to buy skipping rope last week but I didn’t have chance to do it. After paying for it, I headed off. I walked and walked and walked. I took a different route In Calipahan which turned out be longer route. I didn’t mind though. Sicsican Bridge was few meters ahead; it only meant one thing; roughly 1K away from our house.

And finally, I turned left. It was the most awaited moment. Hello Sto. Domingo road! Not long after, I reached our house. Yehey! I was the happiest. I was thankful for the cloudy weather. Had it been sunny that morning I wouldn’t know if I would be able to survive my mission. When I got to our house Mama and our Aunt Naida had already set the tables and cooked most of the viands for lunch. Yebah! Happy Birthday Mama!!!

Post Script.

There is one very important lesson I learned from that run: It is necessary to set a goal and stick to it no matter what. The road wouldn’t be smooth all the time. Sometimes, detour is needed. Hang on. If losing hope is the only option then stop for a while, remember the goal, and carry on.

RUPM VS MM

As the cliché goes it’s sweeter the second time around. Oh no, I am not pertaining to heart stuff! Besides, I don't really apply that cliché in that aspect. LOL

I hate comparison but forgive me, I can’t help it. My second 21K experience in the recently concluded Run United Philippine Marathon was the exact opposite of my first in 36^th Milo Marathon (Manila Leg). All throughout the race all I ever did was recall every single detail about my first half-mary and compare it with the second one. So this entry is essentially a comparison of my two half-marys. And yes, I am thankful I learned many things in my first half-mary which proved to be helpful in my second. As William Nicholson would put it “experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn fast”.

Pre-Race

Nutrition:

I gained weight. I am six pounds heavier now. Thanks to my recent trip to Davao pus I recently added chicken to my diet after five years of being pescetarian. Before RUPM, I desperately tried to lose weight. I was afraid it might not do me good during the race. I thought if I weighed 53 kilos in MM and still struggled through the finish line, gaining six more pounds might double the difficulties. Surprisingly, never did I feel heavy in the entire duration of the race contrary to MM wherein I started feeling 10 pounds heavier as soon as I reached KM10. I even hopped from one water station to another during RUPM but I never felt bloated or heavy. I guess proper nutrition helped me a lot in finishing RUPM with ease.

Training: I am on my 6^th week in training for TBR Dream Marathon. In fact in my training program I am supposed to run 25K last Sunday. But since I joined RUPM, I shortened it to 21K.

During the Race

First-Half:

Belle and I started out with an easy pace. We actually didn’t have a choice. There were more than 3,000 runners for 21K category. It was difficult to increase speed without having to hit or bump the runner ahead of us. It was a picture of a human maze! There were areas with no street lights too! We decided to stick to 7:00 until we reached KM6. At one point I would increase my speed. Haha Maintaining a slow pace was somehow boring.  

Second-Half:

In MM, the second-half was a terrible 11K run. I tried my best to think of every happy thought I could possibly excrete from my mind to fight off all the negative thoughts. At one point I was literally thinking and at the same time reciting this line: HAPPY THOUGHTS. HAPPY THOUGHTS.

On the contrary RUPM was a different story. As soon as I reached KM10, I was beaming with happiness. I even had time to smile and greet my fellow runners. And oh I noticed celebrities along the way! Sen. Pian Cayetano ran past me twice. Yay! I also spotted Rovilson Fernandez who looked hot. Triathletes Vanj Endaya and Michelle Estuar were there too.

Stamina:

If there was one thing I was proud and happy about RUPM it was the endurance I have developed. I never imagined I could finish 21K with so much ease. When I reached KM18, I was all smiles. I knew I could still go on beyond the remaining three kilometres. In MM, however, KM18 was one of the points where I told myself it would be my first and last 21K (which of course didn’t happen LOL). Trainings paid off! (I’m kinda lazy to do speed training though. haha)

Injury/Pain:

Before MM, I was nursing an unbearable pain in my right knee. I was apprehensive about the idea of joining in MM for it might worsen its condition. Thankfully, it didn’t hurt much during the race. Although a stingy pain lasted for three days, it was tolerable.

In RUPM, it was the exact opposite. Yes, exact opposite because it came as a surprise that my left knee was in pain all throughout the race, however, manageable. But when I reached KM18, I had to stop. The pain was killing me. Now that was rather theatrical of me. Walking didn’t help though. I decided to jog instead. I was limping and jogging but it didn’t matter, the finish line was just few blocks away. As soon as I crossed the finish line, the pain disappeared. Parang nagdahilan lang!

Time/Pace:

In MM, my friend Belle and I started with a relatively fast and controlled pace. Our goal was to reach KM10 at 1:10. We succeeded. Since MM was strict about the cut off time, we were kinda pressured. I struggled in keeping up with Belle. Most of the time, she was few hundred meters away from me until I finally stopped keeping up with her at KM14. I walked and ran my way to the finish line. Thankfully, I managed cross the finish line at 2:46:47.

In RUPM, Belle was not cleared to run. But since, she couldn’t afford to miss the final race of Run United, she still insisted on running. Hence, we started with a slow pace and agreed to maintain 7:00. But I was kinda bored. At one point I would increase speed and at one point I would wait for Belle. When we crossed KM10, I thought I needed to increase my speed. I wasn’t really after making a big progress in my PR but I wanted to see improvement. Thankfully, I crossed the finish line at 2:45:57. However, when I checked the result of the race my time chip recorded 2:43:49. Yehey!

Post-Race

Injury/Pain:

After RUPM, my fellow runners from Cabanatuan stayed at the parking area while we waited for our companions who braved 42K. The pain in my left knee started to slip in again. Although tolerable, I knew I had to do something about it. I elevated it to somehow relieve the pain.But as soon as I got home the pain was gone. The following day, I was itching to run but decided to rest instead.

To sum it up, my first 21K in MM was a not so fun run. It was struggle spelled out. Although I still managed to cross the finish line, I knew there was so much to be done to improve my running skills. I needed not only proper training but nutrition as well. And patience too!

As they say experience is the best teacher. All the things I learned in my MM helped me surpass RUPM. The not so good experiences were not there for nothing. Some lessons are better learned in a challenging way. Plus there are people around me who never fail to encourage me. Special thanks to Belle and Mimi whose hospitality is incomparable. Kuya Ming is also worth mentioning for he did not only teach me the ABC of running but also emphasized humility and respect. I am also grateful to Phillip, Kuya Kune, Kuya Jose, Kuya Ricky and Christian who always include me group messages should there be long runs. And how could I forget Phase2pm group?! Haha Of course the time spent with them after late afternoon trainings were the best (I haven’t been to Phase 2 in two weeks though; which goes to say I missed you guys.). Oh, thanks to Diko and Ate J for the perfect running shoes!

As I start Week 6 of my TBR Dream Marathon training, I understand that there are so many things to be done. It is a long long way to go. But knowing that there are friends and fellow runners who continuously support me and knowing that I have a dream to reach, it only means one thing: train smart!