Fiesta time at ULTRA

 

After being an absentee last week, I showed up at the Nike clinic tonight to have my dose of coaches-enforced training for the week.  Challenged to push it to 15K at the Power Run (status as of 3 Feb:  Plainly toying on the idea),  I suddenly thought I need to be training really more seriously these days, despite the hectic schedule.

So what’s up in ULTRA?  There’s a fiesta of runners there.  Think Fiesta, you got it.

And it’s not just the increased number of Nike clinic trainees.  Other than us, there’s a plentitude more.

How do I feel about it?  Half-half.

It’s obviously more difficult to run when the track oval is more crowded.  On the other hand, it’s never a bad thing to see more people discovering the joys in running.

Pretty good hint at how local races are going to be like this year.  Ready your elbows –   there’s not enough space to run anymore, hahaha!

First session of Nike Running Clinic

 

I may really just get a brighter future in sprinting, than in distance running. 

That’s what I realized from last night’s Nike running clinic where we, the Tuesdays group of trainees, had our first session.

The running clinic last night was impressive.  The program, I just realized then, is more serious than I thought.   The coaches made us run, run and run!  Well, what do you expect to get from a running clinic anyway. 

I went to ULTRA last night with Brian who’s also a newbie in running.  Side by side him, I could be considered a semi-veteran in races as this guy hasn’t tried road racing yet.  I am pretty sure though, from last night’s scenarios, that 5K is chickenfeed to him and he will run past me in 10K. 

Being a telco person, I work more than eight hours a day and I usually depart from my office desk at 7PM the earliest.  So I had hoped for the running clinic to take some delays in starting so that I could catch up right in time for the sessions. 

But NO!  The people manning the clinic are runners too (running coaches even!) and these guys know what minutes or seconds delay in time is worth.  Things went the other way around.  I learned that as early as quarter to 7PM, a batch of trainees were already doing their warm-up runs.  To cut things short, I was a latecomer – a very latecomer! -  and I ended up being the lone female among three guys.  We were the last batch handled for the night.  FYI:  They have separate sessions for males and females.

Call time for the Nike clinic is at 7PM.  Brian and I arrived to the venue 40 minutes late.   Walking towards the track, I was surprised to see several packs of runners donning in race bibs on top of their shirt.  And I suddenly thought we were lost.  After inquiring though, I learned that that race bib contains your trainee number and you’re supposed to wear it everytime you attend the sessions.  

Last night’s training consisted of time trial runs of two sets of 4 laps with 10-minute break in between, one set of 2 laps, and then a finale of just 1 lap.  They get your time from the runs and record it.  I think those times of finish recorded are supposed to help them assess whether a trainee shall have to be assigned to the beginners group, middle, or advanced. 

And since I missed the chance to be with the other lady trainees, I had to be running side by side three guys in finishing all the sets.  As expected, I lagged behind them and Brian was consistently the fastest.  I didn’t mind it though as I saw one of the guys do walks in between while I did continuous running.  Joining road races made me realize that long distance running is, in the end, really a game of endurance.  And that’s an area I’ve been working on really hard for sometime now.

But there’s a highlight for me in that session.  Without intending to, I took the limelight in the finale run of just one lap.  The assistant coach told me I can run my fastest pace this time as this is only 1 lap and then I immediately asked if I could sprint it.  He said, “kung anong kaya mo ma’am” and so I did what I could.  In my last set, I ran full speed with my longest stride and before I knew it the coaches started shouting cheering me on because I left two of the guys far behind me while Brian was trying to catch up but wasn’t able to until after the 300th meter.  I think I caught them surprised, haha.  I had been running snail pace in all the other sets -  or at least, side by side my batch of all-male I was ’snail pace’.   In the last set, I finished close second to Brian.

The clinic was fun, well, serious too.  I wonder what they’d let us do next Tuesday…

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.

Starting the Run-&-Eat Tradition

I had a blast with MPG runners – who are also my super friends from way back UP days - last night in my run&eat birthday celebration. As expected, the first timers in ULTRA were amazed at discovering such a gorgeous running place in Pasig. I, too, was kinda surprised at how beaming an atmo ULTRA had last night – considering it was a Friday night. I had thought for most runner-yuppies who usually train there to be somewhere else hanging out (read: NOT running) – and getting themselves a life! (Hahaha! But of course there’s an active social life among the runners community!) Part of the reason why ULTRA was so lively last night was the fact that there was an ongoing soccer games by high school girls at the center of the track oval – and the bleachers were half-filled with their families and friends watching their game.

Except for a few people’s misadventures last night (sshh… ‘bandana runner’ got lost in Ortigas! Ayan, southerner ka kasi e!), everything pretty well went on as planned. We spent around an hour and a half running in ULTRA, a few kulitans on the side, and some group pictures. I think I finished around 12 or 13 rounds on the track oval (roughly 5K), Jihan had 10, Carla had 4 or 5 (?), and for Cha and Pao… I am clueless. The ChaPao tandem, like me, also began running early (since we were the ‘early birds’) but I could not keep track of how they’d ran as I would see them stop and stay on the sides for some minutes, then resume to running every now and then, so… there… (exactly, how much/long did you run guys? …)

At around 9:30 PM, we left ULTRA with mouths hungry for water (at least I could speak for myself: I WAS BADLY THIRSTY that I had to semi-grab Pao’s Minute Maid drink which was the only liquid stuff left to us) and solid food. It was time for carbo-reloading, as well as do the birthday celeb the traditional way – EAT! We headed to SM Megamall and had our fill of food and chitchat. And chitchats to the max(!), some topics were even bordering on chismis (not evilish though, we’re not that). ‘So who among our batch are married now? … Whaaaat???!!! He’s married? How come?!!!… So are they still together?… Oh no, they broke up na?!… Somebody thinks you’re not ETC and you’re ******?!… Gee, what’s that – they think you’re too socy to be in ETC?… or they think you’re NOT relevant? or you’re NOT conscious?!…. Wahahahaha!!!!’ And the banter went on and on until we realized Megamall’s gates had began closing and we had had to find our way to the building’s main entrance just to get out. By then it was already nearly 12MN and we thought it should be bye-bye time already.

Dree also just finished her get-together dinner with her former MBA classmates and met up with us outside the mall to introduce her friends to us, the MPG runners. Her friends were bit amazed at the ‘run&eat’ gimmick as one of them remarked (I suppose directed to me): “Talagang tumakbo ka pa for your birthday ha!…” I got pretty ashamed as I thought he surveyed my outfit (!) – take note, I was the only one who still wore my running shorts during my post-run birthday dinner as the others have changed back to their office attire and were more decent-looking. Yikes, but it’s my party anyway – no one’s gonna shoo me away!

Anyway, to that comment, I replied: “Oo, it’s tradition…” Blessie snapped: “Anong tradition, e first time nga to eh!” I almost pulled her hair, and then I corrected my self: “I mean, we’re trying to start a tradition in the group…”

Then again, I’m really clueless as to whether the other people in MPG will find it okay to get sweaty from running on their birthday…

Torn between two goods

Tomorrow I shall turn 18.  Nah!  Am too old to be a liar.  Anyway, it’s really my birthday tomorrow and I shall celebrate it with my best/ closest friends all way back since college – and now they got the value-adding property of being my constant running buddies too! 

In MPG, I suggested that we begin a birthday celeb tradition, and we could choose if we want the eat-&-run version, or the opposite, run-&-eat.  Of course, the second sounded more logical lest we want to risk it fainting on the track oval having pushed ourselves to run with our bellies all stuffed with sisig and bulging with iced tea.

For tomorrow night, we choose between an Ultra run & dinner in some pasta-rich resto - OR – (the equally tempting!) run in UP Dil then dinner at Mang Jimmy’s (oh! how we missed you Mang Jimmy!).

This has so far remained undecided.  We shall know by tomorrow.

For Option 1, the ‘ULTRA’ run is the main ‘pro’ to me (since some of the MPG runners haven’t been there yet) while for option 2, the ‘Mang Jimmy’ factor is soooo delectable to the senses (their tapa is simply amazing!).

Hmm… torn, torn, torn.  Gee, aren’t we happy we usually have plenty of equally good choices in this life!  ;D   So many things to thank God for! -  and one of them is His giving me these strong pair of legs to discover and pursue this sport I have come to love, which has also helped me nurture these many good friendships and even build new ones.

OH! And I must shut up now before I totally turn you off with my cheesiness.

ULTRA Tonight. Sounds like news, hahaha!

Do you know what are the things that make me go to the office unusually early?

*  One.  When I have to go to Bicol later in the evening and I bring all my travel stuff to office so that I would directly proceed to the terminal after work.

*  Two.  When I have to go out-of-town with friends during the weekend and we start the vacation mode early by leaving Manila Friday night.

*  Three, and the most prevalent among them all THESE DAYS.   When I have a practice run after work. 

TODAY’s unusually early time-in to work by Cathletic falls under Category 3.  Today is my first ever practice run in Ultra.  I cannot be more excited.  I don’t know what’s in there and how things go there.  And NEW is always EXCITING! 

I am so excited I even brought a camera with me today.  And my bestfriend is coming – or running (?) – along with us, for the first time.