_cost_of_using_your_running_shoes

my mind's adrift on a friday...suddenly got me thinking about how buy a new pair of running shoes, and then led me to a question, "how much does it cost for me to use my current pair per KM?" the recent takbo.ph post about jinoe getting a defective +P8k shoe partly inspired this one.

uh oh! here goes some useless bit of trivia. i fiddled with excel just to find out for myself.



given the table, if i ran 10km, it would've cost my shoe about P142.90 to P166.70 since i think it's going to last just between 300-350km with the partially faded heel.

if ultrapat did that 32km imus-tagaytay lone route on a P6k nike that would last around 400km (just assuming here), it would've cost P480 on his shoes for that run alone.

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of course, of course! running addicts would know that it's still much better & wiser to get a decent shoe rather than face a higher risk of running-related injuries, which would potentially take a hit on your regular running spree.

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now, after this quick, useless trivia bit...who says running is expensive? :)

_takbo.ph_says_run_with_us

for the lack of a more enticing invite phrase, this is just to encourage all of the new takbo.ph members to run with us whenever they plan it in the SB (shout box) at the right side of the website. aside from being full of lurkers, the SB has a number of regulars who seem to have all the time in the world to chat about running & non-running stuff. i won't mention names nalang, baka umamin.

you can also go through the takbo.ph forums to check out the upcoming LSD (long slow distance) run or wall-climbing. i think they have a regular sked for wall-climbing & rowing as well so it's not just pure running. LSDs are good for photo ops and these are the ones that actually eat up the pace. don't hesitate to sign up in any of the activities!

the photos here at BHS (in front of ROX) were taken today and i'm posting them to show you how many takbo.ph peeps are free & willing to run with you--whether running newbie or ultra monster.

tara, takbo na! :)

_2010_vacation_planning_reference

for my/your future reference

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talk about super advanced planning for vacations, group runs, & bumming. :) i just received this e-mail from my boss on 2010 holidays.

just the relevant details copied & posted below...

PROCLAMATION NO. 1841
DECLARING THE REGULAR HOLIDAYS, SPECIAL (NON-WORKING) DAYS, AND SPECIAL HOLIDAY (FOR ALL SCHOOLS) FOR THE YEAR 2010

SECTION 1. The following regular holidays and special days for the year 2010 shall by observed in the country:

A. Regular Holidays

New Year’s Day - January 1
Maundy Thursday - April 1
Good Friday - April 2
Araw ng Kagitingan - April 9 (Friday)
Labor Day - May 1
Independence Day - June 14 (Monday nearest June 12)
National Heroes Day - August 30 (Last Monday of August)
Bonifacio Day - November 29 (Monday nearest November 30)
Christmas Day - December 25 (Saturday)
Rizal Day - December 27 (Monday nearest December 30)

B. Special (Non-Working) Days

Ninoy Aquino Day - August 23 (Monday nearest August 21)
All Saints Day - November 1 (Monday)
Additional Special (Non-Working) Day - December 24 (Friday)
Last Day of the Year - December 31 (Friday)

C. Special Holiday (for all schools)

EDSA Revolution Anniversary - February 22 (Monday nearest February 25)

**Signed by PGMA on July 21, 2009**

this doesn't include yet the national holiday for the observance of Eid’l Fitr, which will be determined in accordance with the Islamic calendar.

happy planning! :D

_personal_race_criteria

this takbo.ph post got my mind churning to recall my first few races and say to myself, "hmmm...i've been comparing how different organizers planned & conducted those runs, and i think it's about time i find out what i consider as either a successful race or a flop."

prior to scrutinizing, i'm making up my own personal criteria as some people give more weight to one factor over another. just to be crystal clear, this is my very own subjective criteria & corresponding weights, and i'm sure most of the other regular runners would have their own say...or weight.

here we go:

15% - Registration - refers to the convenience of registering which covers the accessibility of the registration venues or other options, mode of payment, and ease of registering for the race.

20% - Race pack & take-home goodies - includes everything that goes to you prior to the race like the singlet, bib, map, instructions, useful discount coupons & others...and after the race like freebies, loot bags, or photovendo pics.

15% Pre-race - race day activities prior to gun start...program, timing of activities, hosting, providing instructions to runners, etc.

30% Race proper - actual race that covers the route, race marshals, drink stations in the course, start/finish traffic, and the presence (or absence) of the race timer.

20% Post-race - drinks at the finish line, post-activity gimmicks, & timing of availability of official race results.

This looks in order, at least on my part. :)

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Review of races in succeeding posts.

_colorful_driving_week_unfolding

i had a flat tire on a monday morning and it took a long while--early afternoon--before it got fixed. apparently, the added security lock for the spare tire couldn't be unlocked, so the flat tire had to be removed with a second jack because the one that came with the vehicle couldn't be used because the tire was completely deflated so the original jack won't fit.

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this post would hopefully serve as a reminder for me to go to toyota this week to have the 'security' lock unlocked.
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today, i got flagged by a mandaluyong traffic enforcer at 3:10pm for color coding violation. i still wonder why they call it 'color' instead of 'number'. anyway, after being asked 3 times if it was okay for him to give me a ticket & take away my license, he finally gave me one. he didn't see any signs that i was going to propose an "alternative" solution, probably.

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another reminder...get my driver's license on thursday or friday from mandaluyong city hall.
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i had to laugh as soon as i drove off after receiving the ticket. i'm still chirpy and i'm not going to let these things ruin my week. :)

_children_of_the_corn

I've just discovered another way to kill time instead of becoming my usual fast-paced--not really impatient--work mode. This thing right here. Not that I see this as a regular waiting activity, but we'll see.

Here right now in a 'boy's town' school in Silang, Cavite with our technical guy lecturing on corn farming. It's a community project where we teach high school kids how to plant corn...and eat them too. Even as the word 'sustainable' is overused by corporate citizens, I envision this as one of the ways how public schools can generate additional funds on a regular basis for little improvements that go a long way. Hopefully, with this pilot project, we can learn the ropes soon and move on to other schools with a benchmark to guide us.

My most striking observation so far is the level of discipline of these boys is much higher than the one in the private school where I finished 15 years ago. All heads are neatly cut like those for military training and their seemingly long attention span for a 2-hour lecture on technical stuff about corn amazes me.

Let's see how this goes.

I'll include pics as soon as I get hold of my lappy. It's the first time I'm typing this long on my BB.

_when_to_start_a_blog

a lot of things are hard to start off.

i find it convenient to just let the first thought in my mind get me rolling and somehow be spontaneous to keep my brain clear from random thoughts that jump in ahead of what i plan to say in a sentence.

i once said to myself that i would never spend time writing about things that happen to me as i would just move on with what's going to happend without looking back at the past--my old posts.

i do appreciate reading the blog posts of others...discovering their perspectives about life, the people around them, things that happen in wherever, or simply making an effort to share a funny moment. some waiting for comments or number of hits. others giving a dose of their critique for something that they ate, a race, or a recent issue. my objectives are...hmmm...my posts later on would somehow formulate them for me. in case i get so bored, that might be the time that i would go back & read my old posts to reminisce & refresh on those moments.

this is just going to be about what i feel writing about. i do hope they're going to be mostly happy thoughts as i would like to avoid dwelling on the not-so-happy ones.

welcome to planet trumania. :)