Three days before NB race

Why do I like joining races?  One of the top reasons would be that it motivates me to train more often and more seriously.

What’s cooking for me now are three consecutive weekend races:  NB race in Clark this Sunday, Race for Life at The Fort on Saturday next week, and the DMPI Fun Run in UP on the last day of the month (What a month-ender is that!).  I have plenty on my plate, I know, but I hope this isn’t yet the case of one who’s “biting more than he can chew”. 

In any case, while I’m doing 10K in the first two and an 8.8K in the last (just because it’s the longest distance category offered- naks!), I am determined to attempt to set a new PR only in the NB race this Sunday.  The other two can be just like any relaxed long run for me.  Then again, because I know the crazy stuff I’m made of, my mindset can change one snap of a second during the actual race -  and Cathletic tries again to make it a chase run instead of a relaxed one!

This morning, I ran at ULTRA with Cla, who’s a dear friend of mine since college and who just decided to take up running as a hobby.  I did 10 laps of the track oval and was forced to quit after doing a timecheck on my watch.  Going on my eleventh round, it was sometime 7:20 AM already when I checked and I realized I still needed to take a shower after, change to office attire, and get an FX to bring me to Robinsons. 

This is what I don’t like much with my morning runs where I end up only half-satisfied (eeengk! bigtime “bitin”) with my practices.  The twin hassles of forcing oneself to get up so early in the morning and then ending up not being able to run as long as you want and can are surely big cons for me.  Nevertheless, it’s obvious that solving the first means solving the second problem too.  No difficult Algebra needed there. 

Ergo, slow runners like me aren’t born.  Rather, they are created when a person worships laziness beyond the tolerable level.

Tough [training] times are here…

This morning, AGAIN!, I was not able to pull off a morning run I had planned to do.  Blame that morning chilly breeze as December approaches.  The toughest combats in life are fought early in the morning.  This reality is twice true when you’re a runner. 

Somebody in my previous blog comments that someone should shoot me in the foot for tolerating seven run-less days.  That was funny to me.  But if my running coach would be merciless like that, I would be lame for sure come Christmas. 

The second option when you miss a morning run is to go for late evening, after work, runs.  Good thing there’s a second option and going home to UP everyday makes the setup doable for me.  Then again some evenings are filled with appointments and meetings I cannot easily dismiss or reschedule.  Running addict that I am, I know and recognize that are more important things than running -  Thank God, Cathy is sane!

As I dream of, er I mean I aim for, a better 10K PR I know that I shall have to toughen up and win my early morning combats.  Difficult times are here, difficult times are here…

Running in SF

First of all, that is not San Francisco, USA.  (I wish, I wish.)  But the local version you find closest to home an hour and a half from Manila thru NLEX – tadaaan… San Fernando, Pampanga.

So Saturday afternoon I was at the Clark Air Base with my brothers.  It was supposed to be just a short-time get-together with siblings and that night I would be proceeding to Dree’s house in SF.  Dree and I had planned to do a morning run either in Clark (to test run the 10K NB race route) or just around SF in Pampanga Sports Complex.  The clock ticked 5PM and still my brothers were still out in the autoshop and I had grown tired of the showbiz talk show program I felt I had been compelled to watch.  Trivial stuffs and all, it felt weirdly amazing to get tidbits of info about local showbiz, haha. 

Anyway, my brothers had to stay longer in the autoshop (they brought the car for repair) and I had grown weary of waiting up on them that I decided to take on a mini-adventure and head to SF all alone with just my braveheart to guide me.  That was me just kidding of course.  Fact is, I had to call up my brother several times to get instructions on how to ride to SM Clark, where to find Terminal 2, and where to get off in SF.  T’was a cool mini-adventure except that I often forget people in Pampanga speak their dialect instead of Tagalog and I would get overwhelmed hearing too many “keni”s and “nang”s from their conversations.  Because of Pampanga’s proximity to Manila, I am always bent to think people are supposed to speak Tagalog there.

I got to SF roughly 7:30 PM, after getting for myself about an hour’s worth of stroll in SM Clark.   On a funny note, I arrived to my host’s house even earlier than she did that I was nearly mistaken for a “salisi gang” member by her aunt.  Hahaha.  “Takbo-takas gang” would be more apt, I think.  Anyway to cut the story short, I was offered some relleñong bangus, sauteed string beans, and rice for dinner (boy! just how detailed I can get with my narrations, hahaha!), with cheesecake as dessert (am going back! am going back!), then I chatted with her family for a few minutes and then hit the bed around 9:30 PM in preparation for the next morning’s long run. 

WARNING:  Do not be deceived.  With my friends, a long run is just 10K or a little more than that, while an easy/ short run is 5K and anything below.   The in-betweens of 5K and 10K we call semi-long runs.  Laugh at us, that’s fine.  We’re newbies anyway.

Sunday morning and my phoned alarmed at 5:05 AM.  I was badly lazy to get up as the morning breeze seemend to be hitting its best momentum to keep you curled up on your bed.  Some minutes later I saw Dree’s aunt and mom who were already up and dressed to walk/ jog!  Nyay!  I felt ashamed so I dragged myself to depart from the bed.  We exited the house around quarter to six already.  The plan was to run on the road sides to get to Pampanga Sports Complex (roughly 2K), do 15 rounds of PSC’s track oval (a total of 6K if the track was 400M long just as in ULTRA) and then run back home following the same route (another 2K) to complete our 10K plan. 

Pampanga Sports Complex (PSC).  See the watery sides of the track.

 

At the Rotonda in SF, Pampanga.

Running on the street I so loved!  As usual, it’s feast of the eyes for me, seeing many different things and being amazed at them (!) myself a newcomer in the area.  The only problem I saw was that the people there weren’t used to the sight -  of female runners bordering the road sides running in shorts.  I did not like the attention, nevertheless, as we ran fast and past them I immediately forgot the issue.

I loved the first 2K run to the complex.  I had the feeling it was going to be a very pleasant run.  At least internally I felt that my body was at it.  And it was a much awaited feeling after the previous day’s “nangalawang” mode morning run in UP, which surely contributed to that good feeling.  The machine got its needed oiling for this job. 

In PSC, we did only 10 or 11 rounds instead of 15.  We figured it can’t be a 400M distance as it’s way bigger than ULTRA.  My best guess is that its twice bigger (800M) or one and a half of ULTRA.  The complex was beautiful except that the track is partly flooded with water in a few areas which makes the other portions of the track sticky.  And I mean sticky enough to make screeching sounds as you put more effort into lifting your shoes from the ground.  

At first I found it cute and challenging.  There’s an additional force of gravity from the sticky track to make the run a more challenging experience.  But on my 9th set, I grew tired of the sound and thought it might even do damage to my shoes.  So it was I who signaled Dree to stop on our eleventh round and I suggested we should start running back home.  At that time, the running/ jogging crowd in PSC was already growing.  When we left, there were about 40 or 50 runners there sharing the track.    

I figured Dree should beat me in the NB race even if it’s supposed to be her first 10K.  She’s got better endurance than I do.  I usually start off fast but it’s for sure my second half is way slower than the first.  She, on the other hand, is a diesel runner who starts up slo-mo and then gets better and faster on her second half of the 10K.  It must be her swimming.  Or it must be that she’s simply stronger and swifter as a runner.

Roadrunner Dree.  Obviously, I was running behind her here as I occasionally took breaks to take some pictures.

But I ran ahead of her again as we head back home.  Again, as expected, there were the roadside spectators who can’t resist teasing us -  not in bad faith though, I believe.  They’re just not used to it.  A “manong” even gestured to be imitating us running as we passed by.  I paid no attention.  At that time, there were more vehicles on the street and I realized it’s hard to run inhaling all the cars’ smokes.  The 2K run back home was amazingly shorter, to my memory, than the first that I was asking Dree if we took a shortcut.  In any case we didn’t.  Just my mind I think, and my legs that were feeling amazingly strong even after the more or less 10K distance we have covered. 

When we reached the village, I told Dree we can give it the benefit of the doubt that PSC is 400M so we can run some more around the subdivision, which we did.  We finished 3 rounds equivalent to roughly 3K.  The last two rounds I experimented with sprint and walk intervals.  I would have been happier if it’s a sprint and slow jog sets, then again my breathing gets really bad after running fast that I’d opt to just walk to recover.  With this experiment, I beat Dree in reaching “my created” finish line (that’s when I told her it’s time to stop, hehe!) and I’m happy with it because I’m sure that in the actual race she’ll beat me.  Haha.

Running around the village.

 

Yay!  That’s too close a shot, hehe!