Destined for a lovely run

 

Such a sweet title, deceiving. 

What I really wanted to say is  ‘Rock ‘n roll!  I got a new 10k PR!’

I shaved off 5 whole minutes from my previous 10K PR of 1:11 at the PSE Bull Run.  Yesterday at the Miracle Run in UP, I clocked in 1:06, well, 1:05 according to my trusty-little-Timex watch.

I figure it’s all about timing.  After the previous weekend’s Condura high (over surviving my first half-marathon race),  you couldn’t possibly go wrong at surmising to get a remarkable finish in racing just half the distance of your last run.

T’was all about timing, I suspect.  Adequately oiled for, at least, a stronger finish on a shorter race.  Trickle down effects from the half-mary training.

It’s pretty much like that guy who throws in the punchline of a joke with the most perfect timing.  

Condura Run: How to finish your first half-mary

You asking me how?  TALL and PROUD.   Er, I mean, tall and strong.  (Just like the pic below.)

All the same, I can’t hide it, I am a proud finisher — of a half-marathon!  High-five!

This picture tells you I didn’t crawl my way to the finish line, I even managed to semi-sprint it.  But don’t ask about my finish time.  That’s a totally different story.  Hahaha.

Thanks Josiah for this pic!  One of my faves, definitely.  I bet your manager is happy that you’ve been doing pretty well, LOL!

My fingers have been itching to immediately write about my first half-mary experience, but workload didn’t permit me to.   My Condura 21K story is one of a kind..  (Now this puts me in a dreamy mode again.. Nuninuni..)

I had decided to put up this blog as a personal diary, an attempt to somehow immortalize my greatgreat racing and running stories..  something to help me and my friends recollect memories of the good ol’ times (yuck, cheesy I know!).

But with Condura, I don’t feel as pressured to write down everything here.  I have a good guess it has already secured itself a special place in here (points to my temple).   Secured, padlocked.  Cathletic raced 21K on March 2009, when she had planned to attempt (see, just attempt!) trying it *sometime in 2010*.

Oh well, life is a box of surprises.   Two surprises hit me real hard, straight to the face, when I tested the waters for a 15K race in February and when I allowed myself to be coaxed to run my first half-marathon this March.  I haven’t told my parents yet that I did them.  They, too, are in for huge surprises about me  (‘Wow, daughter takes home a medal not from a Math quiz this time, hahaha!, but from sports!’).

The Run: Steady pace, Ran 99% of the time, Semi-Sprint at the Finish line

The original race plan was ‘bahala na si Batman’.   At the starting line though, I didn’t bother looking for Batman.  Somehow I knew I had trained hard enough that I didn’t need an extra hero;  myself was enough (Naks!).

Seriously, running the 21K distance was no joke for me.  I didn’t have cramps or any serious knee/leg pains (lucky me huh!) but 21K is a long distance, and more than 2 hours of repeatedly pounding the road is a long run.  Given that I can be a bit impatient sometimes, I realize that running a half-marathon tests your patience, and tests it BIG time.

In this race, I had to take quick walk breaks to take a drink from water stations along the road, and a bit more at the Kalayaan Flyover -  which makes it only 99% run for me.  I am proud of myself for this.  The training paid off.   Then again, don’t ask about my finish time.  It’s another story.  Haha.

Seriously though, 2hrs 42 mins for 21K (first time!) isn’t really bad, don’t you think so?   Tell me you think so, thanks!  (Wink, wink).

Happy and wacky Takbo.ph guys.  And it looks like a by-the-beach shot!  Fun!

Glad to find great company with Takbo.ph

It’s one of the best running groups in the planet.   And what makes it best it that it welcomes everyone,veterans and newbies alike.   My March group LSD run at The Fort with them proved to be a big help in making me decide to give it a Go! for my first 21K race.  Everyone is just ultra supportive and inspiring.

What I noticed though is that after the Takbo.ph CLP, everyone seemed to have warmed with each other and with the group -  and you know what comes out next:  KULIT gang, to the nth level!

Thanks guys, my Condura21K story was made crunchier, and juicier, sharing it with you cool peeps!   I’m glad that everyone feels home here.  Congrats, Boss Jinoe & Queenie, and everyone. 

Girls’ turn this time!

The MPG Story: Mass promotion

Everyone took a race distance upgrade in this race, except for one who remains injured (Get well soon, Atty!  I miss my rival, hahaha!).   Moks, Frans, Jihan and myself were 21K first-timers, while Bless and Cla got promoted from 5K to 10K.   Ryan wanted to be veteran at 10K (joke lang!), another new member, Julie, tried racing for the very first time, and Josiah made ‘pauso’ of running a 10K race with a bulky DSLR camera.

Congrats, dear friends!  Your el presidente is so proud of you (Look, I’m teary-eyed now!).  And by the way, she’s doubly glad that, for the first time, she overtook a male MPGer in 21K, hahaha! (Frans, I forbid you to react.  LOL)

Cathy, Frans and Jihan.  Calling Moke, where art thou?..

Frans, Jihan, Cla, Bless, Julie, and Josiah.  At this point, I was in ‘windang’ drama somewhere.

Atty joins the photo-up fun!  Ryan in blue and white shirt.

Mission Accomplished.

What was secret mission?  I’m no vain type okay, but let me tell I had wished to finish my first 21K race NOT-vegetable-looking  (not looking like ‘lantang gulay’ crawling down the finish line).

I don’t need anybody else to agree with me.  I think it was secret mission ACCOMPLISHED!   Nyahaha!

Still an Ah-OK posture 150m to the finish line!  Yebah!

No Binibini pose in this race, so this should suffice. 

On the Pink Baby, Condura Race, and Whatevers.

Okay, okay, here’s Pink Baby.

First things first.  I made, indeliberately though, a few friends curious over ‘the pink baby’.   Last night at Takbo.ph CLP, three guys came to me just to explicitly ask about what/who the heck ‘the pink baby’ is.  Surprised, I was.

Friends, it’s funny you got curious over it (it’s non-human then).  It’s no big thing and I would have clarified it instantly (when some people started commenting) had I not been an unusually busybee this week.

This is Pink Baby, a humble pink(!) Avia running shoes.  It’s barely two weeks old and I had entertained the wishful idea that I could run with it for the Condura race tomorrow.  Picture that -  new shoes in a special race!

Oh well, I made a major boboo in my purchase of this and while I was pretty eager to break it in real fast in time for tomorrow’s race, my first road test with it told me it’s a major NO(!).   I figure now that wearing it on a long distance run is like throwing a huge party for blisters and dead toenails.  I no likey that.

So I’m back to my old trusty NB pair.  This pair is pretty amazing it never ever gave me any problem and I realize I didn’t really need to go about having to break it in well before racing with it..  ergo, it’s a nice baby.

I should tell you about my running shoes purchase boboo next time.  Pink Baby will be useful to me still, but more for speed workouts and short runs -  oh, and in japorms lang and leisure walks!   Hahaha.

OverLoaded, definitely.

Last night’s party was a blast!  What I am most happy about is that I’m sure the people who came over to Takbo.ph’s CLP enjoyed themselves.  In the end, it’s not much on the execution but on how the people benefited and found a great time for themselves.

I am relieved to know runners aren’t the type of so-hard-to-please crowd.  Give them a huge serving of pasta and a nice singlet and that’s it,  you’re good to go.

A personal highlight for me in this event -  hosting the program (kunyari, haha) with my dashing co-emcee Rico.

There were about 200 runners at the party, of different shapes and sizes.  What’s pretty impressive too is that the crowd was a good mix of newbie runners (most of them excited first-time half-marathoners), intermediate, and veteran runners.  Isn’t it just nice to see them together not in a race, but in a less tense eat-watch-and-play event like this?   By the way, they were pretty cooperative in the games – eager beaver guys, hahaha!

Again, the CLP deserves a separate post for a more comprehensive recap.  But not on a night like this when I’m rushing to click the ‘Publish’ button just so I’ll get some 6-hour worth of sleep for my Condura race tomorrow.

On Condura:   How is Cathletic doing?

From ‘kabado‘ runner to ‘nginig’ runner.  Yikes, I just made my first 21K at Condura sound like a horror movie.  No.  Cannot be.  Cathletic is excited.  She is.  Cathletic will do it and she will do well.

Now let me fix my bed now thinking that things will turn out just fine, even better than what I imagined.  Oh yes, I am strong.  I can do it.  I will finish it strong.

Sometimes I deal with myself as though I am a kid from the kindergarten.  Sheesh.

Pink baby won’t make it

 

It’s all because of the hard-headed me. 

My pink baby won’t get to the Skyway..  Aww..  

Last night’s run told me. 

Faces and Surfaces

The names had faces afterall:

Group LSD with Takbo.ph guys

I almost missed this group LSD had I not been reminded by a friend to list down my name in the roll call and try my hand on doing a long run with a big -  and I mean to say BIG -  group.  You wouldn’t believe it, runners turnout that morning of Sunday, March 8, was roughly 70 heads it seemed like we were prepped to stage some sort of an exclusive mini-race there at The Fort.

Since this was a BIG group run, we were split into three different pace groups:  7-7:30 min/km,  7:30-8 min/km (my group!), and 8-8:30 min/km.   T’was a good strategy I think and the pacers assigned in each group did a good job!

(No wonder there’s now the emerging group of LSD pushers in the forums.  These days they’re all agog planning out the April LSD.  What can I say, ‘addicts!’  Hahaha!)

Here are some pics taken from the March 8 Takbo.ph Group LSD run.   I grabbed them from just about everyone who snapped the pictures and generously shared with the group  (Thanks guys!).

Before the Run. I find this image rather funny.  Apparently, there were too many of us to fit in one pic and it was yet too dark to snap a nice shot.  Anyway, let’s just make do with this.

In Action. In this pic are about a third of the 2nd pace group, skirting the Heritage Park road.

After the Run. In this pic are the first few finishers and un-finishers.  The first group with the fastest pace got back to the meetup point already, while I and a few friends quit after running 16km (due to emergency calls) and separated from our pace group.

Not all running surfaces are created equal*

What spices up my running is being able to discover new routes/ running places and getting to try running on different surfaces.   The idea of running on sand has always fascinated me, so I didn’t pass up on a chance to do it when we had an impromptu swim trip to Subic.

(Alright, I went feverish after this swim-run, and this was the prelude to my weeklong sick leave!, but I’m well now so let’s think it’s a non-issue.  Hehe.)

Runnersworld has an interesting article on ‘Top 10 Running Surfaces’ and sand placed only 8th on the list.  As expected, grass tops the list followed by woodland trails and earth.  Anyway, here’s an excerpt of the rating of sand as a running surface:

8. Sand
Sand offers a run with a real difference. If it’s dry and deep, you can give your calf muscles the work-out of their life without risking any impact damage to your joints. If you’re on the beach, you get the sea breeze and the surroundings as a bonus, and if you don’t fancy the dunes, you can choose the relatively firm strip by the water’s edge as a brisker alternative.
Pros: Sand gives an opportunity to run barefoot in an pleasant environment. Running through dunes provides good resistance training and strengthens the legs.
Cons: Despite being great for building leg strength, the softness of the sand means a higher risk of Achilles tendon injury. Also, though the sand is firmer at the water’s edge, the tilt of the surface puts uneven stresses on the body. And while it’s tempting to run barefoot, watch out for blisters.
Conclusion: Flat, firm sand can be a near-perfect running surface, but most beaches have cambers and any uneven footing can overstress muscles. It’s probably best to limit runs on sand to shorter distances.
Rating: 6  (Out of 10)

I so like the running drama in this pic, LOL!

Panic Mode: Aaack! (Updated)

 

13 March 2009.  Friday, 12:01 PM. 

I’m rushing out to lunch, but I thought I just really need to make this post.

Cathletic is left with no choice but to be panicky.  What she learned just about 5 minutes ago agitates her badly:

There’s the  2 hrs and 30 mins cut-off time for 21K.  

It’s amazing I still managed to end the statement above with a (rather pretentious) period.   In truth, it is a BIG and OSCILLATING exclamation point.

I hope it’s not true – OR – if it is, I hope they change it.., 

to 4 hrs and 30 mins perhaps?

 

Post Lunch Relief by 1:46  PM. 

The worries caused by that 2.5 hours cut-off time for 21Kers I ate off during lunch.  Lunchbuddies tugged my arms to Shabs  (my first time by the way as I’m usually a cowboy eater*)  so I had double-trouble reasons to indulge.  For an hour and more, I forgot about the ‘2.5 hours dilemma’. 

Needed relief came as I got back to my desk.  Takbo.ph announces on its homepage a clarification from PatCon. 

Friends, it’s 3 hours and 3o mins for 21Kers.

What a relief..   I thought I’d have to start training myself starting tonight how to nurse a bruised ego for getting back to the finish line riding the support vehicle.  Hahaha.

*Cowboy eater =  that’s what I call somebody who eats with no frills (‘walang arte’).   I think I am like that.  I eat almost anything that I think my tastebuds aren’t sophisticated at all.   Officemates get used to frequently hearing me utter the line, “Do you have anything edible there?”

Loaded yet?

Admit it.  One of the things you so like about being a runner is that you get to indulge yourself on a “kain-karpintero” (eat like a carpenter) mode pre- and post- race  GUILT-FREE!

For those planning to pound the road (literally, and it’s even a highway)  for the Condura race on the 22nd, here’s a great chance for you to Get Loaded! not just with carbs, but also with:  1) new runner-friends,  2)  lootbag of freebies,  3)  a Takbo.ph singlet,  4) exciting raffle prizes,  and  5)  inspiring messages from runner-blogger icons.

And those are just the pluses, the real score here is that you get to help raise funds for the Takbo.ph Condura Race Support Group.  The support group plans to set up three (3) additional support stations for the 21K runners.  Each station will contain additional drinks and bananas for the half-marathoners along the 21K route.

[    Check Details of the Takbo.ph Carboloading Party (CLP)    ]

[    Register for the  Takbo.ph CLP   ]

Guess I don’t need say more.  This is an all win-win situation for us. Register NOW and get loaded.  See you there!

Not invincible

 

Sometimes you feel that when you put on your running shoes at least 3x or 4x a week -  or more (!) for the ultimate addicts  -  you’re invincible.   You think you belong to that group of crazy guys called “runners” who are supposed to be healthier and stronger.

Oh well..  admittedly I am in sickbay, since this past weekend.  Mother phones in yesterday and learns about it, and she immediately points her finger to my running.

And I was like, ‘Come on, it’s not it..  I have been resting..’ But Mother insists, ‘Believe me, it’s your running.’

So how in the world can I tell her the exciting news that I’m even pushing it to do half-marathon this month?   I bet she’ll be scared as hell for me.

Well, on second thought, I myself should really be scared as hell now.  Condura is less than three weeks from now and I couldn’t even manage to train these days.  Waaah! Now Skyway appears to me like a nightmarish evil monster waiting to devour me on the 22nd.   Hah!, this cannot be.

Anyway, I had thought it worth the trouble to find out if Mother’s theory had some bearing.  So I Googled ‘running+immune+system’ and found these useful links:

[ Effects of Running on your Immune System ]

[ Fueling the Runner:  Protect your Immune System ]

 

Mother must be right.  As far as I know, I haven’t been beside anyone who has cold and cough lately (at least, none that I’m aware of), and what happened to me Saturday morning is pretty well described in here:

(Intro in the “Effects of Running…”)

“You run the best track workout of your life. Four repeat miles, and you feel like Moses Kiptanui. You hang around in your sweat-drenched clothes, talking splits with the other runners, and savoring the atmosphere. The next morning you wake up with the Russian Army marching down your throat. You have the flu.”

 

Apparently, increases in the intensity of one’s training can reduce the count of his/her ‘immune helper’ cells which can make him/her more susceptible  to infections.

I am just sure Mother never read this -  I am sure she never researched on it -  and yet it’s amazing that she knows.