_rizal_day_1,000km_what's_next?

still resting my legs from the rizal day run this morning, i'm wearing a smile on my face, happy that i was able to complete the 2 challenges i set for myself today.

1. CHALLENGE #1: improving my 32K time from 3:58 (in baguio) to sub-3:30

if there's one important lesson i learned from the rizal day run, it would be the value of preparation...up until the night before the race. i slept early, at around 9:00pm, which was a feat as i usually sleep close to midnight. :P i gradually increased my intake of carbs from 3 days before the race, and i also racked in more mileage during the month to help me get used to long distances.

as what i did in baguio, my strategy was to start fast and then slow down a bit (aka take walk breaks). it was my first time to run at camp aguinaldo and i felt a bit reluctant speeding up during the 1st loop as i couldn't see the humps...at 5:30am. it was just too dark! :P

after 2 loops and upon checking my time, i felt a bit relaxed and decided to take 10 to 20-second walk breaks, plus the breaks along the water stations.

at the last loop, i was cheered on by takbo.ph peeps jet, lauren, julie (salamat sa puto...hehehe), cherry, birthday boy ziggy, sam, and others. thanks a lot, guys. what you did really helped me push on with my run and i am once more grateful for having you guys around. of course, much thanks also to eire for her support during my BLC sacrifice and regular runs that helped me exceed my challenge targets.

i finished 29.65km in 2:51, way beyond my 3:30 target. :) challenge #1 done! :D

i set my garmin to change laps every 8km since i assumed it was 32km and i wanted to monitor my pace in segments no more than 10km. here are my race stats:

8km - 5:20/km
8km - 5:37/km
8km - 6:08/km
5.65km - 6:08/km
TOTAL = 29.65km - 5:47/km (2:51:28)

as usual, thanks to brando for the photo...


2. CHALLENGE #2: hitting 1,000km before end of 2009 (in less than 8 months)

it's really great to celebrate a runner's 1,000km mark by getting a shirt from bald runner with a bold statement "1,000km Club". as what sir jovie himself told us when timmy asked if they plan to give out shirts with "2,000km", the first 1,000km would always be the toughest for any runner. it's when you get out of that couch and decide to hit the street, not with your car, but with your own two feet. :)

challenge #2 done!

me & my idol :D


showing off our shirts...this time with carina & rod


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kudos to bald runner and his team for the well-organized race with a distinction of serving ice cream, beer, and ice-cold water for the finishers. the 2 water stations along the route were also filled with cold gatorade, fita biscuits, and even fit & right fruits (am i right?). i am truly amazed with what they did for all of the runners who participated here. i now agree with sam's remark that races don't have to be expensive to be successful & full of freebies.

even if the distance was short, i had absolutely no complaints! i give the rizal day run 3 thumbs up (if i were an alien with 3 thumbs)! :D

saludo ako sa 'yo, bald runner! :) i'm sure takbo.ph peeps will be looking forward to succeeding races organized by your group.

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thanks a lot to tere & her office for the free boodle fight that happened right after the race! :D sarap talaga kumain ng libre! had my fill of pork, rice, sardines, & whatever was in there. :)



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i notice that if i set challenges for myself, the more i get determined to accomplish them. i want a goal in sight so that i can imagine myself reaching it. :) this also helps in keeping me motivated in running. i've tried setting challenges in daily mile and i hope this would also help me after 2009.

for 2010, one of my goals would be to run at least 100-160km every month.

what's the next big challenge for me?

after this, the only definite challenge that i see right now is the condura run. this is my other goal. besides, after running 1,000km in less than 8 months with a decent time for 30km, i could probably say to myself i'm ready to hit sub-4:30 for a 42k race. :P january would be another month for preparations. should i pile up the mileage or start to taper? i'll find out what my body tells me.

i'm excited for 2010! more running, races, & fun...beginning with the LSD at cardiac hills (my 1st LSD with takbo.ph)! :D

happy new running year to all!

_mizuno_infinity_01.10.10

hey, guys! :) here's an update on the much-awaited mizuno infinity run 2010 as shared by Marianne of Mizuno! :D

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Get your 411 on 01.10.10

January 10, 2010: Mark the date for the Mizuno Running Expo and the start of the registration for the Mizuno Infinity Run. There will also be a Running Sale with discounts shooting up to 80% off. All these exciting events happening from 10am to 7pm at the BMG Centre, Magallanes Commercial Center, Makati.

The Mizuno Running Expo will feature top running athletes such as Olympian Henry Dagmil, SEA games athlete Neil Ducusin, distinguished running coaches Ige Lopez, Patrick Joson and Peter Gonzales, renowned race organizer Rudy Biscocho and other known personalities in the running community.

These experts will help expo participants understand more about the competitive running form, proper hydration and nutrition, latest technology and gear, and other vital information to help them get the most out of their running season.

April 11, 2010: Mizuno Infinity Race – the country’s first-ever race bannering a challenge to runners to “Beat Your Own Time.” Registration is at 400 pesos for the 5/10K and 450 pesos for the 15K. You can register for the Mizuno Infinity Run at the following Mizuno stores: Boni High Street, Megamall, Festival Mall, Mall of Asia, Trinoma and Magallanes.

Watch out for the launch of Creation 11 – the official shoe for the Mizuno Infinity Race. Runners will get their race packets for free upon purchase of Creation 11. This is on top of the generous freebies that Mizuno and partner sponsors have prepared.

The Mizuno Infinity Run Expo is made possible in cooperation with Oakley and Gatorade with the following majorsponsors: Mail and More, Suunto, and Manila Water. Doctor J, Derm Plus Lotion, Citgo, and BMG Solar. Media partners include RunnerSpeak, Run Radio on NU 107, Men’s Health and Women’s Health.

Please visit www.mizuno.ph or call 757-3160 loc 515 for more details.

_new_challenge:_1,000km_in_8_months

the last quarter of 2009's turning out to be filled with big challenges for me... :) bring it on! :D

after the 1 1/2 month blc, now i'm testing myself to drastically increase my mileage from the time i started running in may, barely 8 months ago.

i also see this as very timely as there would a race on december 30 called rizal day run being organized by none other than bald runner, one of my idols in running and even the one giving out the 1,000-km shirts in exchange for a small amount to support their cause for runners.

and, i also have a 'pacer' to reach the 1,000-km mark--rod aka rodrunner--who is also looking to hit 1,000km during the rizal day run. :) such an inspiration for me. thanks, rod!

right now, as of this posting, my total mileage since may is 853.65km. here's my daily mile log to prove it:



i need 146.35km in 11 days. :P here's my plan to reach 1,000km by december 30:

december 20 - 21K - celebrity run
december 20 - 7K - recovery (evening)
december 21 - 15K
december 22 - 6K
december 23 - 8K - tempo run
december 24 - 10K
december 25 - rest
december 26 - 16K
december 27 - 16K
december 28 - 16K - w/ 8km speedwork
december 29 - rest
december 30 - 32K - rizal day run

TOTAL = 147km (11 days)

if i complete this, i would've run a total of 301km for december alone! :O oh my...

i feel this would be much more challenging than the blc. only my determination (and luck that i don't get any injusry) would be able to say if i can accomplish this plan. cw-x, do your thing. :P hehe

wish me luck. :)

_cw-x:_xmas_gift_to_my_running_self

the same day (today) that runnr announced at facebook that they were going to have fresh stocks of cw-x compression tights, i thought, "woah! finally, i've decided which xmas gift i can happily give myself!" :D after all, just this year, running helped me lower my cholesterol, blessed me with new friends at takbo.ph, and was a big factor on how i lost a lot of weight, with a bonus pa! ;)

i went to runnr before 9pm as they said delivery would be at that time. :P super excited! hahaha it turned out the truck was late so i decided to run 10km as i've been pigging out for the last 3 days in gensan. :(

got the stabilyx model as recommended by nico, medium sized. :P since i ran before i had the chance to go back to the store, i didn't want to fit it with my sweaty legs. :P i just told nico i'll buy it first, go home for a shower, then try it. if it doesn't fit, i'll exchange it tomorrow. right now (as i'm wearing it while doing this post), looks like medium fits well. :)

i'll give this a test at the celebrity run this sunday. 21k agad! :P

hmmmm...these compression tights would be another motivation for me to keep my weight below 180 lbs for the condura run! registered also at runnr...1st full mary! :)

...siguro naman after 1,000km, i can try 42km na. :)

_lose_34_lbs_in_42_days

i just pigged out today with a post-BLC lunch at TGIF with Eire, and it was simply satisfying. it was my first time in a very long while to feel too full from eating chicken, french fries, and other oily stuff that i had to completely avoid for 42 days in the Takbo.ph BLC.

today's lunch...a day after the BLC


sharing what i actually did to lose 34.4 lbs, not implying that this is for anyone out there who wants to shed some pounds. i'm 5'11" and internet literature says my ideal weight should be around 160-185 lbs, considering my build & age. since i started at 200.8 lbs with the BLC, i had a lot to lose.

-----

i confess that i consulted once (only once) with a nutritionist 2 weeks into the BLC period who gave me a meal plan, which i eventually didn't follow as i didn't like the idea of measuring portions and timing my meals & snacks. the plan entailed that i consume 2,200 calories consisting of about 60% carbs, 20% protein, & 20% fat. i completely dropped the plan and decided to work on my own.

from internet research, intuition, pondering, & determination, here were the 2 simple rules i followed throughout the BLC weight loss period:

1) FOLLOW A 2,000-CALORIE DIET WITH 60:20:20 CARB, PROTEIN, FAT RATIO

i tracked every single fruit, drink, & food morsel that i consumed everyday and recorded them at daily burn, including my weight progress. i could actually eat anything i wanted, but i focused on those foods that would make me full longer, either high in fiber (like papaya/apple) or known to lessen people's appetite (like coffee).

since my food cravings included high-calorie goodies that i knew wouldn't satisfy my hunger, i skipped all of them.

a normal list of foods that i usually eat in a day include:

BREAKFAST
1 cup of oatmeal or corn flakes with soy milk

A.M. SNACK
1 hard-boiled egg
1 mug brewed coffee with cream & non-calorie sweetener
1 banana

LUNCH
1 viand from bodhi or canned tuna (any flavor, either century tuna or san marino)
1 cup brown rice

P.M. SNACK
2 slices of multigrain wheat bread
2 tbsp sugar-free strawberry jam
1 cup instant coffee, sugar-free

DINNER
1 bowl tuna pasta
1 banana
1 apple

when you search these foods at daily burn, they come to around 1,900 calories with about 62% carbs, 17% protein, & 21% fat. i'm not totally strict about the 60:20:20 rule.

notice that this food list actually seems too much for someone on a BLC diet. :) this complements what i did in #2 as i needed a lot of energy to run. without energy, i'd be stuck at home just watching TV or hanging out at the SB. :P

2) RUN AS MUCH AS I CAN, WHENEVER I CAN

another net tool that i've been using since i started with my running addiction is daily mile.

for 42 days, i ran a total of 274km consisting short & long runs, with a few races. most of the time, i ran in the evening, around 2 hours after dinner and there were even a few times when i started past 10pm (with eire getting a bit worried about what i was doing to myself). my usual route includes the fort, mckinley hills, and pioneer-ortigas (when i'm lazy to drive to the fort). i hated waking up in the morning as i preferred sleeping a bit more. :) except for the races, i did only 1 solo run in the morning and it was probably just 5km.

daily mile weekly log--the 88km log was when i ran nightly for at least 12km, including the 32km baguio race


i noticed that for every run, i'd lose around .5 to .7 lbs the following day, even after eating breakfast. that even got me motivated to run more.

the only danger when i did consecutive runs, up to 7 straight days of long runs, i knew that i would become more prone to injury based on what i've heard & read from other runners. i just said to myself that since i'm running only at a slow, fat burning zone pace, i'd be okay...while crossing my fingers & toes. :) i was very, very fortunate that i didn't have to face any injury during that entire running frenzy.

as for gym, i only did weights 3 times (with 1 week intervals) in the entire period as i didn't want to build muscles. :P

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like i said in my FB status, i thank Takbo.ph for sparking & nurturing such a very fun Filipino running community, all the inspiring BLC participants who gave so much of their effort to lose weight as their passion to change for the better, to Rico & Gerard for organizing the BLC, and to Eire for her untiring support and tolerance to my nightly runs and sacrifice to test my limits in this competition.

i have changed for the better. i am truly blessed & i am sincerely grateful. :)

gobbling a cupcake 1 minute after my final weigh-in


me & alan (2nd placer, super weight-loser too)


final scores/percentages


happy BLCers at the takbo.ph party...Ley, Rico, Mike, Marga, me, Sam, Alan, Gerard, Raff, Yan, Gail, Rodel, & Neil


thanks to Brando & Pio for the photos!

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after the BLC, i plan to maintain my weight and not go over 185 lbs. :) i think it seems realistic as i want to start eating the foods that i crave for...without overindulging, of course. ;)

_866m_elevation_<15c_32km_baguio

like i've mentioned in my FB status, this race marked my:

- longest (32.03km)
- toughest (866m total elevation gain)
- coldest (below 15 degrees celsius)

...race ever participated in.

you can see the route here. here's my account of this memorable race on december 6:

3:50am

cellphone alarm goes off on a chilly early morning. very glad we got a hotel room with hot water in the shower, even if the water was actually lukewarm because of the ice-cold water that the heater had to work on. we stayed at baguio holiday villa court hotel & apartelle (whew!) along legarda road. i chose this among other hotels that were situated near burnham park so it's near the starting line and we just needed to walk less than 1km to get there. they still offered the off-peak rate at P1,200 per night so for me, it was worth it.

4:45am

after photo-ops with eire, ellen, & carlo along the hotel hallway, we went off to warm up to the starting line. as soon as we got out of the hotel building, the cold was instantly unbearable. even quick jogs didn't do anything to spark any body heat. i was glad i got a bonnet the night before at SM baguio and eire lent me her cool jacket since she noticed i was shivering in my new mizuno shirt & short tights. :) thanks, eire!





5:00am

at the starting line, there were no lights nearby so we couldn't really see anyone in the dark. there were only a few runners--i think those who ran the 32K race were no more than 60 participants. the host depended on her megaphone to explain the route & reminded us that this was a tough course (thanks for the reminder :P).

we met up with other takbo.ph peeps...mon, roselle, & judah. and guess what...even cris sabal decided to join this race over others that were being held on that day. we had at least 1 celebrity with us. :)





---
with a 3:30 goal for the 30K race, my strategy in this race was to start fast so i can afford to run-walk later on as i got tired. i set my garmin to change laps every 10km with the following target paces per lap:

1st 10KM = 6:30
2nd 10KM = 7:00
3rd 10KM = 7:30

AVERAGE = 7:00/km for 3:30 in 30K

see the actual distance & paces below...

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5:30am - 0km

gun start! our first 4km was mostly a steep downhill route from burnham park to the corner of kennon & laoakan roads. i shook off the cold after the 1st km with a quick pace and when i reached the lowest point of the race at kennon corner laoakan, i saw that my pace was around 4:54/km! :) not bad for a quick start. then came the steep hills of laoakan. here we go. :P

6:30am - 10km



as laoakan & the road to PMA kept on draining my energy, my pace went down to a net of 6:03 when i reached the 10KM mark. the view along that road was majestic as the road was on a cliffside and all i could see beyond was a light fog covering neighboring mountains on a cold & sunny morning. this is good race weather!

since there was a u-turn point ahead, i saw runners who were ahead of me and just for my amusement, i counted all of them to find out my place at that point. i was 44th at the u-turn point. hmmm... and then on my way back, i noticed that there was relatively a smaller group of runners who were behind me. i had thought that we were 100 runners, but my estimate was that we were no more than 60.

7:45am - 20km



this 2nd part of the race would be the ultimate drainer for me. more than 3/4 of this lap consisted of steep, zigzag uphills so when you're not from baguio, you wouldn't be able to tell how far you needed to run/walk before the hills end. halimaw judah overtook me and i noticed that he never walked on those hills...just did quick steps with ease. mon also caught up with me and we initially decided to push each other up to wherever. he wanted then to give up coz of the killer hills but we encouraged each other to move on.

i said it myself, "it's okay, i did a 6-ish pace in the 1st 10km...i still have some leeway to get the 7:00 average." i did the 2nd 10km in 1:15 with a 7:30/km pace.

9:15am - 30km



before this time, we were on our way up to minesview park, which i would find out later on was the highest point in the entire route. the road had significant residue of horse manure so i was a bit careful not to soil my own mizuno shoes.

at this point, around 25km, i was walking more than running since the roads continued to go uphill. at minesview, i saw a bananaque stand and i did not hesitate to buy one for myself. good thing i brought money. i ate one banana and gave the other one to mon (who eventually shared it with ellen who caught up with us there).

a big surprise was rai rn who also caught up with us. hey, i thought you were ahead of us! it turns out he got lost and passed thru camp john hay because there were no marshals on that turn. too bad for him. :(

we all had a quick chat and then estimated that from where we were, the course was much more than 30km. oh well, better longer than shorter. :P

the banana gave ellen & mon a lot of energy and they went on ahead of me. in my case, the banana just relieved me of hunger since i didn't eat anything before the race...not giving any running power. :) hehe

i reached 30km along the military cutoff road and since i was already familiar with the road, it motivated me to run more as i was nearing the finish line. checking my garmin...3:45...i could still make a sub-4 hours if i wanted to. i pushed on. my pace in this lap was a low 8:59/km.

9:28am - 32.03km

my spirits were revived when i saw burnham park...just a little more! i did my usual all-out sprint around 200m from the finish line. i saw other takbo.ph peeps already there waiting, but it didn't stop me from giving my all to finish strong and below 4 hours! :D yahoo! panting at the finish but very happy to have gone through it all. :)

after this race, i promised myself never to get intimidated by hills again. :)

halimaw judah finished 1st among takbo.ph peeps, mon next, and then ellen finished 9th place in the women's division (43rd overall) and i was glad with my 3:58 time that placed me in 45th overall...probably 36th in the men's division. :P hehe it was all good! the lost & found rai rn next, and then roselle.










kudos to the organizers for the challenging route and, except for the case of rai rn, they did a good job overall and waited for all of the runners to finish. above that, they literally posted the race results right after the race. no other race did this super quick show of the results. :) good for them that there weren't really thousands of runners to write on the manila paper.



with my muscles still aching but my spirits still high, i will definitely join next year's race in baguio. see you there! :)

my garmin details:

_intimidating_baguio_30K_ahead

intimidating, not intimid8! ;) hehe

it's been almost 8 years since i last went to baguio. :P didn't see it in my vacay list for a long time and work didn't really take me there.

out of curiosity, excitement, and the tingling sense of paranoia that i might get lost during the 30K run, i traced the map of route from the registration form of the 30 for 30 Road Race using runningahead.

here's the drawing of the map from the organizer:



and here's the map c/o runningahead:



you can check it out here.

i'm impressed that the route seems very accurate! :) 30.46km! however, it turns out that the 2nd map seems more intimidating! :P ...which reminds me that i've never had the chance to run beyond 21K and that i'm still in the BLC.

oh well, this challenge seems too enticing and, hey, i love running in the cold weather (we'll see how cold i can go). this is also going to be part of my training for condura. :)