Look up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s….

I was at SLEX last night when I saw this:

So who’s that guy beside Coach Rio?

Coincidentally, this will be my wife’s first time to join a race. I finally got my wife to register! I wonder why…

Join the Rescue Run on October 10, Saturday

No one can be apathetic and do nothing in the aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy. I’m sure we all did our share by contributing our time or donating goods and/or money through the different organizations helping out. Here’s one more way we can help while doing what we all love to do: running.

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WHAT IS THE RESCUE RUN?
TRR is an organized run where, in lieu of registration fees, donations will
be collected for the distance you will run. This is not a race so there will
be no souvenir t-shirts, no swag bags, no finishers medals, and no prize
money.

There will be no water stations since we believe that water must be given to
those who need it most: victims of Ondoy. Needless to say, it will be KKB
(kanya kanyang bote or kanya kanyang belt)

A registered participant will receive a RESCUE RUNNERS race bib, which the
runner can wear during the race and in sustaining events currently being
planned for the entire month of October to raise funds for rehabilitation.
(Info will be posted on this blog)

WHEN:
October 10, 2009, Saturday
Assembly: 5:30 a.m.
Race start: 6:30 a.m.

DISTANCES: 3km, 5km, 10k

DONATIONS:
Individual: P200 for any distance
Corporate: P5,000 for 20 runners

VENUE: SM Mall of Asia

WHO CAN JOIN:
- open to all athletes, their families and friends
- anyone who is willing to help while getting a few minutes of exercise
- participants are encouraged to collect pledges from their family or
friends who cannot make it to the event

BENEFICIARY:
All proceeds will be donated to the Philippine National Red Cross for the
Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) victims. Our goal is to help provide a continuous
supply of food and water to the stricken areas.

VOLUNTEERS:
We are in need of volunteers for road marshals and secretariat. If you are
interested, pls. contact: RESCUE RUNNERS | 0917 -8374204 | 02-2168521 |
rescuerunners@run4change.com

REGISTRATION:
Starts October 5, 2009 at the following venues:
- The SecondWind Running Store (Maginhawa St., UP Village)
- Recreational Outdoor eXchange (ROX, Bonifacio High Street)
- All Terra Bike Shop (Club 650, Libis)
* There will be on site registration starting 5:30 a.m.

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? WHY NOT VOLUNTEER AT RELIEF CENTERS OR DONATE MONEY?

Effort comes in many forms. Not everyone has access to go to a relief or
evacuation center to help out. While everyone wants to help or pitch in,
their jobs, families and other factors make it difficult for them to do so.
We are organizing the run as a means to help. It¹s purely voluntary.

Meager resources are poured into the effort. This run is a no-frills run.
The only add-ons such as the tents, p.a. system and race bibs are
contributions from volunteers that will help in organizing the run, nothing
more.

Help isn¹t a one-time, big-time effort. Undoubtedly, help is needed
immediately. But with the extent of devastation that the floods have
caused, the need for aid could be overwhelming. Instant relief won¹t give
people their homes back. The victims still need the means to rehabilitate
damaged property and rebuild their homes. That takes time and a steady
stream of resources. The Rescue Run is a means to help in that regard. We
hope to be able to provide aid in other ways down the line­be it through
food, rehabilitation or construction material.

Visit THE RESCUE RUNNERS website at http://run4change.com/rescuerun/

Letter to Ninang Cory

Dearest Ninang Cory,

Much has been said about you, your character, your legacy and the difference that you have made for this country and the world. They will always be a source of inspiration to all of us Filipinos.

We are very fortunate that we also had the opportunity to meet you up close when you agreed to stand as our ninang in our wedding. We remember best your advice to “always bring out the best in each other”. And so we could better appreciate this message, you shared with us how you brought out the best in Ninoy and how Ninoy brought out the best in you. Your life was a testament to how you lived up to this ideal. We will do our best to live up to that standard and impart those same lessons to our children, as well as be an example to other couples. You may have passed from this world but your memory will always live on.

Your inaanak,
Dindo and Malou

Good Luck and Happy Birthday to Workaholic Runner!

On the eve of his 37th birthday, Workaholic Runner will be running the San Francisco Marathon. Good luck and happy birthday dude! Don’t work too hard!

I’ve known Workaholic Runner for around 28 years, here’s proof:

After being away for almost 20 years, WR is finally visiting Manila later this year. See you around and hope to run with you.

Back to the Drawing Board

Now that the euphoria over Milo has died down and I’m about to resume regular training, it’s time to reassess my performance and strategy in order to do better in the next marathon. My only goal in Milo was to cross the finish line but next time, I will have a time goal.

I graphed my Milo pace, my last long run prior, and a 5-hour target pace. I thought I went out too fast in the first half, as can be seen in the graph. I was running 15-20 seconds faster per kilometer than a 5-hour goal pace. I think that contributed to my bonking on the latter half, as can be clearly seen from kilometer 26 onwards when I walked a lot. I could’ve done better from km 26-30 but I was sandbagging for the uncharted territory beyond km 32. Obviously, I needed all the extra energy I could use.

I can’t help but think that if I ran the first 25 km slower, I would’ve probably done better the 2nd half of my run. In my next few long runs, I’ll experiment with running a consistent slow pace the 1st half and see how much energy I’ll have in the last few kilometers to come up with some negative splits. I was able to accomplish this in my last 32k long run when I gave it my all in the last 2k. This of course presupposes that I can avoid hitting the wall at around km. 30. The strategy is easier said than done, I have a long way to go in building endurance to execute to the plan.

Milo Countdown

I’m getting ready, getting readddyyy!!!
Oh boy, what a day it’s gonna be!!!

It’s just a little over a week before Milo and I can’t wait. I’ve completed all my training runs and I only have a couple of easy 5k runs left to do next week and a relatively short 8 mile easy run this Sunday. If I were a rice cooker, I’d just be on Keep Warm mode until the big day.

I can’t help but feel a little nervous though, like the student who feels he hasn’t studied hard enough for the final exams the following day. During my long runs, I usually felt quite exhausted so I’m not sure how I’m going to fare when I run the last 10k on July 5 purely on adrenaline. It doesn’t help that I belatedly realized that there’s a 5 hour cut-off in order for my name to appear in the finisher’s list.

Oh well, I just take comfort that more experienced runners say it’s better to be under- than overtrained going into the marathon. I’d be happy just to complete 42k, no matter what the time.

Botak 42K: Matira Matibay

A few weeks ago, Bards texted me if I wanted to do a 42K long run in the Botak Paa-tibayan marathon. I thought it was a crazy idea since I had just then started my 16-week training program for the July Milo marathon and I felt I wouldn’t be ready. Just when I convinced myself to give it a try, I realized that the run would fall on a Mother’s Day and I would have to be in Pampanga for a Mother’s Day lunch. I checked my training schedule and my Smart Coach said I was to do a 20 mile run that day anyway and so I planned at least that distance for that morning and end my run at Rockwell.

At 4:32AM, runners were still assembling and there was no sign of any starting program whatsoever. No music from the loudspeakers, no announcer to signal the start of the race, nothing. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that the emcee came up on stage to introduce the race organizer who described the route for us. Up this point I had my doubts about the kind of water support and marshals for the race since the route had a lot of turns, but the organizer promised water stations every 2 kms for the first 25 kms and every 1 km thereafter. He also promised a lot of marshals and enumerated a long list of organizations that were supporting the race, including the MMDA, Makati Police and several other volunteer groups. The starting gun was finally fired at 4:58AM.

Starting Line

I kept pace with Bards and Ria throughout the whole run, except a section where minutes after taking 2 bites of my Snickers bar, I felt stomach cramps and I had to find a bathroom super fast. It was a good thing that my support car was nearby and I had to ride the car up to McKinley Hill to find the nearest fastfood store. Before riding the car though, I took off my race bib should anyone spot me and report me as a “cheater”. After relieving myself of my tension, I spotted Bards and Ria again coming up Lawton and we ran together again.

Tight group after the first 5k

Around km. 25 along Buendia, we came across a “36 km” sign and the guy manning the spot insisted it really was 36km. The funny thing is less than a kilometer after that was the 26km turnaround point at the intersection of Pasong Tamo. We expected we should’ve turned right towards Ayala Ave. towards Makati Ave., as printed on the race map but instead, we were directed to turn left to Ayala Ave. extension instead and towards South Ave. then right to Kalayaan Ave. heading to Rockwell. The last water station we encountered was at Buendia and there were no cups at that point. Fortunately, the support vehicle of the Fort Striders offered water and ice to all the runners along Kalayaan Ave. and they were a huge lifesaver as many had been without water for several kilometers already and it was already quite hot.

Energetic Bards at around km. 22

When we finally got to Rockwell, it was already well beyond my personal cut-off time of 8:30AM since I had to get home and get ready for a Mother’s Day lunch at Pampanga. With the 32km reading on my Garmin, I decided to call it a day. I actually was disappointed that I didn’t have time to run anymore since I noticed that I didn’t feel as tired as I usually would when I’d run close to this distance in the past. That must be a sign that my training is starting to pay off. However, I will need to experiment with different foods on a run to find a type that won’t give me stomach cramps. Anyhow, I’ve got another 20-miler in my schedule 2 weeks from now and I can’t wait to get out on the road again.

Special thanks to Bards and the T2 gang especially Harry and Vince for sharing their vehicles for the support crew. It would have been next to impossible to run that distance without you guys.

Congratulations also to Bards for beating her Singapore marathon time by close to an hour! Way to go Bards, ang tibay mo!

What I liked:
- Good quality personalized singlet, although I didn’t get to claim mine at R.O.X. and unfortunately I will never wear it since I didn’t finish the race.

What could be improved:
- Start on time
- A clearer and more detailed race map, given the many turns
- Deliver on the basics: Water stations with cups and water and marshals to guide runners
- A route that doesn’t pass through a busy highway like C-5

Greenfield City Run

When you hear of Greenfield City Sta. Rosa, you probably think of the alternative exit at SLEX when you’re headed to Tagaytay or maybe the outlet shopping malls at Paseo Sta. Rosa. It wouldn’t occur to most of us to run there so we runners were curious when the Greenfield Great Escape run was first announced. Despite the new and unusual race venue, the race was handled by veteran organizers Coach Rio and Vince Mendoza so we were assured of a well organized event.

The half marathon wisely was set to begin at 5AM. I was a bit skeptical that the early gun time could be pulled off but true enough, the announcer was calling a minute-by-minute countdown and at exactly 5AM, the starting gun was fired. Given the summer heat and how early the sun rises nowadays, this was a big plus for the race. The 1st 4km led us through the Pramana village where some new age type music was being played through loud speakers. The music was nice and soothing but not the best to pump you up for a race. A nice touch was the presence of bamboo torches or sulo that lit the way since it was still quite dark at this point. It was a flat, slightly downhill route that led us close to the Greenfield exit at SLEX and soon we were at the turnaround.

We later on crossed the busy Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay road to get to the area of the Mamplasan SLEX exit. Along this road, a sound system was also set up where more upbeat and running appropriate music was playing. We passed Laguna Industrial Park on our right and the road to Verdana on our left and we headed north to the Mamplasan exit where we did our turnaround after 13.5km. I had been hitting my target pace up to this point but it was getting hot and it was a slight incline back to Paseo so I slowed down. Runners started overtaking me and I would take a break in every water station to squeeze a piece of foam on my head and take water. Pretty soon a marshal was encouraging us that there was just 1km to go. I did my best to sprint and I managed to squeeze out my fastest lap in the last 5km to hit the finish line. My time was better than Condura but still off my PR. I’ll blame the heat this time around.

After the race, I refilled my water bottles and attempted another 5km to hit my long run target but with the treeless route and the sun mercilessly beating down on me, I called it a day after only 3km.

What I liked about this race:
- Started exactly on time at 5AM to beat the heat and the treeless route
- Fresh race venue / route
- Little touches to make the run more enjoyable like torches along the route when it was still dark and music along an otherwise eerily silent route
- Kilometer markers synchronized perfectly with my Garmin auto lap
- Finisher’s medal that I can show off to my 3-year old son when I get home
- Freebies!
- Ample parking at the venue
- Shuttle bus from Manila to Sta. Rosa
- Online registration

What could be improved:

I couldn’t think of anything to improve on with the race organization itself but certain things about the venue could be worked on:

- Long line entering the parking area at 4:30AM. I thought the guard was handing out parking tickets but there was none so I didn’t understand why there was a long queue of vehicles
- I asked the guard which restroom was open at this time and he seemed clueless. Fortunately a maintenance man pointed me in the right direction.

Overall this was a pretty good race and I’ll look forward to joining the next edition.

After the race, I saw friends Jaymie and Miguel, JunC and Mariel who had just put up their unique he-said, she-said running blog. We were later joined by Jay who had just completed an extra 9km to run a total of 30km.

Condura Stats

Condura must be one of the most well-attended races in the Philippines with a total of 5,274 participants. Most ran 5K but it’s interesting that 21K runners even outnumbered the 10K runners. That’s a clear sign how people are taking running much more seriously today, as it takes a significant amount of training to complete a half marathon compared to a 10K.

The following table is the distribution of the 21K runners by gender and time. I compared this against the 21K distribution I made for the Adidas KOTR last October and they were not significantly different from each other except of course that there was double the number of 21K runners in Condura compared to Adidas.

I compared the participant stats of some of the races I had on file and Condura was truly one of the biggest races. It would be interesting to see how this would stack up against the Milo Metro Manila eliminations.

Congratulations again to Condura’s Patrick and Ton Concepcion for an exceptionally well-organized and attended race!