Ran(t) –> updated

It’s final exams week at the school, but let me just let this out:

MAS MASAYA TUMAKBO KESA SA MAG-ARAL (!!)

Bow.

(Then again, it’s not all about feelings.  Prepare Mak8, I’ll run away all my school-related stress in your race.   Nice idea, what with your killer slopes, hahaha.)

Updated, 2:09 PM

Just put down the phone after receiving a long-distance call from Mother.   She told me I should have had gone home this past weekend.  She went like, ‘may international event ata dito, ang dami ng foreigners, mga nagba biking, swimming, blah, blah..’

Apparently, they watched the Cobra Ironman 70.3 yesterday at CWC.  Wow.  Tell me about it;  I’m dying of envy now.

By the way I told her I knew about it and that my friends and I were supposed to join it.  She wouldn’t believe me, unfortunately.  Probably she saw Bentley and Bozzone at the race, and thought to herself I was such a fake athlete.  Hahaha.

something blue & white

…

I think MPG is ready for Mak8.

(What happens when you’ve been an MPG for one year already? -  do you get more MPG or do you get more real?)

Thanks to Mr. Guarin & Ms. Alma of Botak

Discovering Pia & Lino

This is just sooo cute an account.  Stumbled upon Pia Cayetano’s blog some minutes ago and found it an amazing read.

My personal fave so far –>  her account of the marathons she and Lino joined  (plus other stuff about her younger bro).

[My brother, the  weekend triathlete and runner]

I so look forward to get the chance to challenge my younger bro to a race, and muster enough confidence to tell him too (like how Pia did it) –

‘Not this race, baby’

MPG runs for Cory @ Hataw

Hataw Pilipinas

9 Aug 2009.  UP Diliman.

I’d like to think I’m getting back at it, slowly and surely.  Apparently, my own ‘comeback’ turned out to be a major group comeback for MPG  (when I slowed down in trainings and races, almost everyone did too, for various reasons).  Imagine the excitement; we almost forgot how nice it felt to be in a race scene again, together as a big great barkada.

‘Reunited and it feels so good..  ‘ MPG by the finish line, post-race.

I need to sound this ‘emo-much’  because that was supposed to be our last race with Carla (Huhu!).   Man goodbyes are never easy..  But we also celebrated a happy happening for the day -  Atty Ryan’s birthday!   To top it all, we were all clad in yellow shirts (except for the birthday boy!) as our version of ‘running for Cory’.

I had initially planned to run 10K, but got myself registered for 5K as everyone else in the gang thought it best to downgrade, for two very valid reasons:

1)  we were ALL practically training-less

2)  we had had to allot ample time for the buffet breakfast treat from the birthday boy  (if we make him run too long -  risky -  he might change his mind)

So how did my run go?  As expected, so-so.  Nothing really to be pleased with myself about; I think I registered a bad time.  No biggie, it was  to be like that.  Still I am happy to have finished it strong and injury-free (man who gets injured with a 5K run anyway!  Hahaha!)

As with first-timers, the race organizers committed quite a lot of boo-boos (many of those easily avoidable though if they had just been bit more diligent with their homework).  Then again it has become customary for me to brush aside opportunities to whine, and just get a good run for myself and enjoy with my friends.

Truth to tell, ‘Hataw’ could have been a more promising race with its very affordable reg fee that came with a finisher singlet and plenty more other freebies.  The funniest moment for me was when I had to fight for my life (and I’m not exaggerating) just to get my well-deserved finishers lootbag.

Emerging from the commotion with lootbag on my right hand, I exclaimed to my friends, ‘This is funny!’, my head shaking.   I didn’t notice that the kindly emcee (who seemed sorry enough for the ongoing hassles) was right infront of me and was trying to read my sentiment.  She replied to my ‘This is funny!’ line with a ‘Why?..’   She looked nice enough I thought I had to explain my reaction, and so I did.

But make no mistake about it, that race had plenty of freebies –   and nice ones.   I especially enjoyed the free Pocari Sweat drink paired with a small serving of Nestle yogurt (yum, yum).

A couple dozens of posey pics at the finish line and at the facade of our beloved college and then we were off to our next project:  tummy stuffing at Something Fishy in Libis.

Tell me, is there anything better than breakfast buffet after a race?  Nada.

Pre-race:  Excited to be in a race again!  Atty breaks the ‘be in yellow’ rule -  hmm, buti na lang birthday mo!

What’s with this?!

Thank God for birthdays.

P.S.

Carla/ Bandana Runner,

MPG is now officially beginning to miss you.  Hehehe!  Good luck, and yes, do the Boston!

Hataw for a comeback

Before I totally kill the life in me, let me run, and let me write about my intention of racing again.

Let’s HATAW it this Sunday!

But first, a short recap of the past month’s run deprivation torture:

* School busy-ness kicked in and it had me raise the white flag.  Conclusion:  I’m no superwoman (only Cathletic, hahaha).  I can’t hack it to keep my running addictus mode while coping with this work-school-hassle-du0.  (Man I’m barely surviving my exams! WAAH!!)

* I actually had one nice race last July (same day as Milo-Manila), that gave me bragging rights of finally outrunning Big Boss.  But it cost a lot, not just on me but on my guardian angels and all the saints in heaven (hahaha!) –  I finally outrun our CEO all because he quit midway to finishing the race due to a really heavy downpour.

(FYI:   Prior to his quitting, we had a close fight.  We were just 1 to 2 meters apart, alternately overtaking each other.  And when it suddenly rained and he ran away for cover, he even shouted (seeing I had no plan of quitting it), ‘I don’t want you [guys] to get sick!’   I just gave a polite smile, but at the back of my mind was a rather crazy thought -  ‘You just don’t like it, that I’m beating you this time, Boss!’)

* So soaking wet I was, while finishing the second half of that 1ok race (that actually measured 13km) in the company fun run.  Since I’ve always loved running in the rain, that race was a special treat for me more than anything.  By the way, I placed second in 10k women’s category (ahem, among four, hehehe!).

* Next three weeks were almost lifeless (read: run-less).

* While NOT-running, I had to endure the following additional tortures:

1)  While out to Cebu for work, I woke up on my first morning there peeking from the hotel room window to say Hi to the morning sun, only to get a dose of an envy-inducing surprise:  Right on the road facing our hotel was an ongoing weekend race!  Nice, thank you, insult me more.

2)  I’d often bump into our many runner-bosses here and they’d ask if I’m running the next weekend’s race.  I thought answering that with a ‘No’ should be enough suffering for me -  but for some reason, they’d second it still with a ‘Why?’, grrrr!

3)  For some weird co-incidence (or are you doing it intentionally to get me envious, Rene?), I get to see and say Hi to Jazzrunner as he passes by our village for his morning runs, while I’m rushing to work.  This morning I saw him again, and he was even able to share with me some chikka about the QC International Marathon this October.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - — – - – - -

So what better strategy is there to do a comeback than to ‘hataw’ it..  Only that I’ll be demoted to 5K as I join my dear friend, BandanaRunner (naks!), as she runs her last race in Pinas before flying off to U.S.  (FYI, she is our most revered VP for 5K in the MPG gang.)

*What Carla, I’ll pace you for the first 1km, SAIS!  Hahaha!  (I wish!)