4:10:00

11 06 2010

For my age of 58 years old, my qualifying time for the MILO Marathon FINALS on December 12, 2010 is to be able to finish the 34th MILO Marathon Elimination Race at 4 hours and 10 minutes or less.

Do I have to be happy or challenged by the introduction of the qualifying times for the 34th MILO Marathon Finals? At my age, finishing the marathon with a time of 3:45:00 hours is still my goal which is the qualifying time for my age in the Boston Marathon! In the 80s when I concentrated for months and years (yes, I prepared for my first marathon for a year!) to reach the Boston Qualifying time for my age (3:10 hrs), I could only get a finish time of 3:29 as my best time. Trying to qualify for Boston Marathon during those years were impossible because of my career in the military. At present, 3:45 hrs as a qualifying time is finally doable as I have more time to run and try to improve my finish time as I become older!

Finally, MILO had come up with a new qualifying time according to age category for runners. The 4:10 hrs qualifying time for my age bracket made me happy as this cut-off time will not make me pressured during the race. It simply means that I can run the distance by completing every 10K segment in one hour and do a 5:00-minute per km average pace for the last 2 kilometers! But deep in my mind, the BQ time of 3:45 hrs is still my ultimate goal in every marathon race that I join. That’s the fighting and competitive spirit in me.

34th MILO Marathon Manila Elimination Qualifying Times: (From takbo.ph)

A New Running Form?

 AGE GROUP  MEN  WOMEN
 
18-34 3hrs 10min 3hrs 40min
35-39 3hrs 15min 3hrs 45min
40-44 3hrs 20min 3hrs 50min
45-49 3hrs 30min 4hrs 00min
50-54 3hrs 35min 4hrs 05min
55-59 3hrs 45min 4hrs 15min
60-64 4hrs 00min 4hrs 30min
65-69 4hrs 15min 4hrs 45min
70-74 4hrs 30min 5hrs 00min
75-79 4hrs 45min 5hrs 15min
80 and over 5hrs 00min 5hrs 30min

Abovementioned qualifying times are for the Boston Marathon!

Noteworthy to mention are the comments I had been reading at Facebook from my running friends. Topics and comments deal with the high registration fees and the new MQ (Milo Qualifying) times. I would surmise that the MILO Marathon this time will be “cheater-proof” and with more logistics & Aid Stations along the route, thus, we have a higher rate of registration fees. I hope that the Race Organizer will offer some foods aside from the usual water and Gatorade in every Aid Station. Please don’t serve those 100 Plus Drinks as they are carbonated drinks which is totally different from Coke and other sweet carbonated drinks.  As for the MQ times, this will encourage more of our runners to train properly and pursue for excellence. As compared to the BQ times, it should be noted that the MQ time for the 18-34 Men (3:45) is the BQ time for the 35-39 Women runners! And the same time is my BQ time as a 58-year old male runner.

With the higher registration fee, although I am not fond of those give-away singlets, I hope MILO will have a better quality of cloth for their singlet. The past singlets tend to be very heavy after they are soaked with my sweat/perspiration. I guess, a wet MILO singlet adds up to another 1/2 kilo I have to carry during the most critical second half of the marathon race. This is true! 

I just hope that “cheating” will not be done in filling up those registration forms in this race. Let us be honest this time and enjoy to run the most prestigious national marathon race that the country has to offer. Thanks to MILO/Nestle, Phils!

I’ve seen the list of Cash Prizes for the Eliminations and Marathon Finals plus the bonus prizes for breaking the fastest record time of 2:18+ hours and the imaginary time of 2:14 hours. This is a big improvement as the cash prize have increased which will be beneficial to our elite athletes plus they have the goal to excel and improve the record finish time for the marathon in the country. How I wish our King & Queen Champions for this year will be sent to compete in one of the prestigious marathon races in the US.

In the coming weeks and days before July 4th, I will be posting my preparation/training and race strategy in order to qualify for the MILO FINALS Marathon on December 12 this year.

Once again, I personally congratulate MILO/Nestle, Philippines for having consistently brought us the only competitive and the most prestigious marathon race in the country. For a multinational company that is based here, this is the only corporate entity that had focused its support in Athletics/Running, the most number of sports diciplines, and the conduct of local /National Sports Meets in the country. It should be noted also that MILO/Nestle is the Number #1 supporter for our athletes/national delegation to the Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games, and the Summer Olympic Games. 

To all the runners, this is your chance to excel and not be contended in finishing a marathon race within the cut-off time.


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Planning On Your 1st Marathon Race?

28 05 2010

 While browsing on my earlier posts about the Arthur Lydiard Training System in Marathon Running, I found out that the link I made about the said training system is nowhere to be found. I tried to Google “Arthur Lydiard” and I was able to locate everything about the training, speeches, books written, and the training philosophy of the guy.

In the course of going back to the “basics” of marathon running through the writings and speeches of Mr Arthur Lydiard, I came upon the following article which I copied from www.hillrunner.com which I am going to post in my blog so that it will stay permanently on this site for reference purposes.

Enjoy reading the said article.

When Should I Run My First Marathon?

This is a question posed by many new runners. It seems like such a straightforward question. Unfortunately, the answer is not as straightforward and, honestly, not what most beginning runners want to hear.

First, there is the question of what your goals in running are and may be in the future. Very few people run a marathon in their first few years of running and go on to reach their ultimate racing potential. Second, age is a factor. There are countless stories of people running marathons in their teenage years, just to not keep improving beyond their early 20s. Considering the fact that many marathoners don’t reach their peak until their mid 30s, this doesn’t seem to be ideal. Finally, there is previous exercise levels. Someone who never got off the couch before taking up running is going to take longer to become prepared for a marathon than someone who came from an athletic background, especially if that athletic background was in endurance sports.

As I stated, the first question is of your goals. If you are not interested in trying to reach your racing potential and instead “just want to finish” a marathon, that is quite different than if you want to race marathons or other distances and want to try to reach your potential. People who reach their full potential tend to build up to the marathon. They start with shorter races, like 5k and 10k, develop a good ability in those distances, then build up to 10 mile and half marathon type races, eventually possibly even working up to 25k, 30k, or 20 mile races. Once they have reached a high level in the shorter distances, they step up to the marathon. For many runners, their first marathon may come 10 or more years after they began running. Personally, my first marathon came after I had been running for nearly 12.5 years. On the other hand, not everyone has goals like these. I still think it is a wise idea for anyone, regardless of goals, to build up to the marathon. I would love to say that nobody should run a marathon on less than 3 years of running but I know a lot of people don’t want to accept that. What I will say, and some people don’t even like this, is that you are not ready to run a marathon unless you have been consistently running for at least a year and have been building up for a marathon for at least 6 months.

Age is a much debated factor. Some people will tell you that a person should never run a marathon before the age of 25. Others will give stories about themselves or people they know who ran a marathon at 16 or 17 years old. Personally, I fall more toward the first group, although I won’t give a definite age. To put it simply, I think a teenager has more to lose than gain by running a marathon. You have your whole life ahead of you to run marathons and you will be better prepared to run marathons if you wait a few more years. As I said above, if you want to race marathons and push for your full potential, by all means, take your time. Many elite marathoners don’t run their first until they are in their late 20s or even early 30s. Even if you don’t want to race, your body will be more ready to handle the stress a marathon puts on it if you give it more time training. Also, you shouldn’t look past the mental aspect. As a teenager, you are still mentally and physically maturing. The longer you give that mental and physical maturity to develop, the better your first marathon experience will be.

Finally, the experience factor. A lot of experienced marathoners take heat on this topic, in large part because of training groups that advertise that a person can go from inactive to running a marathon in 6 months. Sorry to inform you but the large majority of people who try this do not come out of it without a bad experience in the closing miles. Sure, maybe they say it was the accomplishment of a lifetime but ask them how the last few miles felt. I’ve heard many torture stories. Marathoning doesn’t have to hurt that badly if you give yourself adequate time for training. My suggestion is to not even think about running a marathon on less than a year of consistent running. I would love to say more but I know most people will just ignore my suggestions if I do. You need to give your body time to adapt to the stresses of running. Going from 0 to 26.2 in even a year’s time is a tall order for anyone. Doing so in 6 months time is playing with fire. Once again, if your goal is racing or trying to become the fastest you can become, consider taking much longer.

In the end, only you can decide what time is right for you to do your first marathon. I stated my feelings on it here and I hope you will consider what I have to say. Weigh all the advice you are given, who it is coming from, what they stand to gain or lose by your following their advice, and make an informed decision.

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Coke, Salt, Ice Water, Etc.

19 05 2010

How I wish I could be a part among the “volunteers” in The Bull Runner’s Dream Marathon this coming weekend. Due to my scheduled meeting with people outside Metro Manila which is connected with my recon activities for my next “adventure run” and incoming PAU road races, I could not be a part of the said event. However, I am coming up with the following suggestions and tips for the runners who will be experiencing their first Full Marathon:

1. Ice Cold Coke—It does not matter if it is Coca-Cola, Pepsi, RC Cola, or Sarsi, you need to drink at least one can, one bottle up to one liter of Coke if you feel exhausted or before you think you are at the verge of hitting your “wall”. You will be surprised that this sweet ice cold drink will give you the much needed “kick” on your last few kilometers. In all my road races that I’ve organized, there is always a Coke in every Aid Station, to include the usual water and Gatorade drinks!

2. Salt—It could be the ordinary table salt, rock salt or iodized salt or if there are available commercial salt tablets, you have to bring some in your packet or in one of the zippered pockets of your hydration belt. If you are going to finish the full marathon in 4 hours or more, you have to take some salt or salt tablets to maintain the sodium level of your blood. For the ultrarunners, they mix salt and ice cold coke for their hydration intake in the last 10-20K of their ultra races.

3. Ice Water with Sponge—If the heat of the sun is too much to bear on your skin or body, you need a sponge soaked in an ice-cooled water to use in rubbing the parts of your body being exposed to sunlight. You can also douse some of the absorbed ice water on the sponge to your head. Ice cold water poured on your head  and back gives refreshing sensation to your body.

4. Immodium—Don’t forget to take immodium capsule or diatab tablets at least one hour before the start of the race. This will give you the confidence to run without any GI issues even if you eat some foods or drink a lot of water/drinks during the race. However, it is advised that you should have your pre-race “bowel movement” before taking this medication.

5. Massage—Be sure to have your last body massage at least two days before the race/event. Don’t have your massage a day before the race as your body muscles will not have enough time to rest & recover before the race.

6. Alaxan FR, Pain-Killer Medications, & others—I know of some “hardcore and competitive” runners who take Alaxan FR with Immodium before the start of the Full Marathon for obvious reasons. The Alaxan FR will anticipate the “arrival” of pain to your leg muscles and joints during the race. Other runners would say that Viagra make them stronger, faster, and can extend their endurance limit in long distance running events but there is a need for advise from your physician. My elite athletes will always remind me to take Pharmaton tablets at least 3 days before the marathon run.

7. Candies—Most of the ultra runners crave for candies during the second-half of the race as they are sweet. It is worth trying with a candy in your mouth while you are running. Be careful not to experience being “choked” when you swallow your saliva with the sweet extracted from the candy while you are breathing with your mouth! In my road races which I organize, runners are always served with Cloud 9 bite size chocolate candies in every Aid Station.

8. Kinesio Tapes—I have a lot of Kinesio Gold Tapes (Black in Color) For Sale and I only used them once when I had an injury on my lower left leg and it gave me some comfort in my recovery runs. When I participated in the Jeju International Ultramarathon Race last March, I’ve seen a lot of the Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and US runners using this kind of tape on their legs. Michelle Estuar, the Lady Champion in the 1st PAU 50K Race, was sporting a lot of Kinesio tapes during the race. The way I looked at her during the run, she looked like a running “Robocop”!

Good luck to the TBR Dream Marathon Runners!


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Stadium To The Sea: XXV LA Marathon

18 03 2010

Who is going to join/participate in the 25th LA Marathon to be held this coming Sunday, 21 March 2010 which is dubbed as the ”Stadium To The Sea” Marathon? I am sure my son John and daughter Jovelle will be joining this race as they had been participating in this event for the past years.

I finished the 2009 edition of the LA Marathon last year which was held during Memorial Day on May 25, 2009 with a finish time of 4:09+ hours. But due to numerous complaints from runners because of the heat and overtraining and later, pressure from the LA City Government, the Race Organizers will be bringing back the usual schedule of the race on the month of March for this year’s edition.

What is unique about this year’s marathon race is the change of the marathon route. The road race will start at the Dodger’s Stadium which is commemorating its 25th Anniversary and the runners will pass along historic and tourist attraction sites which are very unique in Los Angeles. From the Dodger’s Stadium, the runners go to the City Hall area and then proceed/pass along Echo Park (one of my favorite running parks) and then to Sunset Ave up to Hollywood Boulevard.

Scenic Views Along the Route (Photos by Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

What is nice about the route is that the runners will pass along the Hollywood Avenue where you could see those famous theaters, recording studios, the Avenue of the Stars (Actors & Actresses) where you could see their names/handprints and brass Star on the pavement on the side of the road. The runners will pass along famous Fashion Shops and business/high-rise buildings and condominium areas in Century City

Well, if you have the time, you can drop by in one of the Fashion Shops at Rodeo Drive and do your shopping while running the marathon. But having a camera while running this marathon would be a nice experience as you can take pictures on the sights of Fashion Signature Shops and flashy cars/sports cars parked on most of the roads where the route passes through. I guess, there is no need to run this Marathon Race in a PR pace. The joy, experience, fun, and the sights are the most important aspects why you paid and joined this Marathon Race.

But what will be the most memorable experience in this Marathon is the presence of almost 1,000,000 spectators along the route who will cheer, offer water & sports drinks, some would be offering ice cold beer, and some would be offering food to the runners. I am sure that some rock bands will be along the route as what the race organizers had offered in the past editions of the race.

The Finish Line will be at the Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica Beach. Finishing at the beach area in the Los Angeles Marathon will be a nice experience to all the runners.

So, whoever will be leaving the country to join this memorable edition of the LA Marathon, enjoy your run and experience in this new route of the race. Have fun!


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“Perfect” Race in Cebu City!

10 01 2010

Cebu City Marathon 1-10-10

Cebu City Marathon was a perfect race for everybody from registration up to the awarding ceremonies. The registration and distribution of race packets gave us ”no problem” as the race staff and personnel were so accommodating to every runner. There were no long lines to speak of. The carboloading party was also a “class act” to follow where the venue was at the newly-expanded “The Terrace” at the Ayala Center with choices of food available to everybody; orderly arrangements of tables and chairs for all the runners; nice Live Performance of Bands & Singers; and the very orderly and detailed conduct of the program during the party. I stayed longer in the said party because it was my first time to watch the movie “The Spirit of the Marathon” which was shown on a big screen that helped motivate the runners to finish the race where they registered or participated. 

Start of the Full Marathon @ 4:00 AM

On race day, I had to wake up at 3:00 AM to make sure the members of the Elite Team Bald Runner were ready to warm-up with a slow jog towards the Starting Line as we were coming from the CENTCOM Headquarters at Camp Lapulapu, Lahug. The distance from our place where we stayed was a good one kilometer, which is just the exact distance for a warm-up jog before doing some stretching exercises.

The Race Organizers really mean business on the day of the race. They started the Marathon Race at exactly 4:00 AM which is the published Gun Start. As always, John Pages and his co-Race Director were there at the Starting Line to make sure that everything was followed as scheduled. True enough, the Marathon Race started with a big bang! Lots of fireworks were released 10 seconds before the Starting Gun was fired by no less than John Pages. Fireworks before the Gun Start? Am I dreaming of a second New Year’s celebration? Aside from the start of the full Marathon Race, they did it again before the gun was fired off during the start of the Half-Marathon! It was my first time to experience such festive mood (with music & fireworks) in a Marathon Race during the span of my running career aside from the usual aerobics, loud music with a festive beat, and drum & percussion bands. (Note: Condura & MILO, if you read this one, this is a tough act to follow!!!)

Congressman Gilbert Remulla; Andrew Neri of MILO/NESTLE, Phil

 I have to wait one hour & ten minutes before the start of the Half-Marathon race. I was too cautious to my injury that I opted to run the Half-Marathon in order to test if I’ve recovered well since the Pasig River Marathon last November 8 last year. This Half-Marathon was my first road race after two months of rest and recovery and also my first road race for the year 2010.

While I was doing my second set of warm-up, I met Congressman Gilbert Remulla who is featured in the First Issue of the Front Runner Magazine and Mr Andrew Neri of MILO/Nestle, Phil. I had a brief chat with them and I found out that Congressman Remulla is a regular visitor in this blog. Thanks, Congressman! I hope you will greatly help us bring the sports of running down to the “grassroots” level.

A View From the Back of the Half-Marathon Runners @ The Starting Line

 It was not my intention to run the half-marathon to reach my previous PR or do 100% effort. My goal was to finish the race without my chronic muscle tear on my left calf and peroneus muscles to recur. It was a test to find out if my injury have completely healed and at the same time find out the status of my fitness level in running. This race is some kind of a “diagnostic test” after starting a training cycle for the past three weeks. In simple words, I wanted to finish the race in less than two hours without any injury with an average pace of less than six minutes per kilometer.

After the fireworks and the starting gun was fired off, I started to slowly jog until I was out of the IT Park. The first kilometer was a slow run for me as I was trying to warm-up before reaching my race pace of less than 6:00-minute per kilometer and the terrain was a slight uphill. I started to peak up my pace on my 2nd kilometer and from there I was on my “automatic cruise control” all the way towards the turn-around point at the SRP Road.

Everything you need in a road race was “perfect” as I observed during the race!  The race has a nice route passing through the city’s historical landmarks; terrain description of the course is relatively flat; lots of water stations and long tables with disposable cups filled with water, 100 Plus Sports Drinks; aid stations with sponges soaked in cold water; lots of road marshals along the route and in critical corners with flags used to point the exact direction of the runners to take; lots of traffic enforcers and police to man the intersections; exact location of kilometer markings properly marked and color-coded for the half-marathon and marathon distances; ambulance & emergency vehicles busy plying along the long stretch of the SRP Road; dancers and bands in every water station; cheerers along the route with placards written with words of encouragement; and the disciplined/cooperative drivers and riding public along the route. This is the only race that I have joined locally without hearing blaring horns of vehicles and bad words/curse coming from the mouths of drivers and the riding public whose vehicles were stuck on traffic due to the on-going race. The running or race atmosphere and environment in Cebu City was completely different from the races in Metro Manila. Moreover, the weather during the race was also perfect!

SRP Road Towards 10.5K Turn-Around Point

Running along the SRP Road was a breeze. I really did not care the smell I was breathing along the SRP Road as the smell along Roxas Boulevard and along the Pasig River are far worse. However, I was entertained by the sight and scenery of the place plus the greetings I got from the runners coming from Manila. Most of the runners from Manila joined the Cebu City Marathon Race as part of their training and preparation for the 2nd BDM 102 which will be held on March 6-7. And before these “hardcores” will join again the Condura Marathon on February 7, the same runners will join the BDM 102 “test run” from Km #0 in Mariveles, Bataan to Km #50 in Abucay, Bataan on January 23. These runners are really “hardcores”. Other runners whose faces I’ve seen for the first time would greet me along the SRP Road and I know that they are not from Manila because they greet me as “Bald Runner”. As compared from the runners in Manila, they simply greet me as “B R”. It was also along this part of the route that most of the runners overtook me and I let them go until I overtook them one by one on the last 3 kilometers from the finish line.

With The Elite Team Bald Runner

 The reason why I became faster on the last 3-4 kilometers from the Finish Line was that the members of Elite Team Bald Runner who finished their respective races met me along the way. Everybody cheered, paced, and handed me water and Gatorade drinks placed in small ice candy plastic bags until I reached the last 500 meters before the Finish Line. Some of my runners would also take pictures of me running with the other members.

Last 1.5 Kms To The Finish Line

Last 400 Meters To The Finish Line

 I finished the Half-Marathon Race in 1:57:35 hours, Official Time, and ranked #53 among the 354 finishers. My average pace was 5:35 minutes per kilometer and with an average HR of 159 beats per minute. I was happy that I was able to finish the race in less than two hours without any pain or cramps from my past muscle injury. My target goals for this race were attained.

The Bald Runner is Back!!!

Cora Salcedo Won #4 in Women's 5K Race

Raul Lamprea Finished #8 and Jujet De Asis Placed #2 in the Men's 5K Race

Team Bald Runner Got #1-2-3 in the Men's 21K Race

Elmer Sabal Placed #5 & Rene Desuyo Placed #8 in the Men's 42K Race

 I can say that the performance of the Elite Team Bald Runner in this race was outstanding. In the Marathon race, Elmer Sabal placed #5 and Rene Desuyo placed #8. In the Half-Marathon, Alquin Bolivar placed #1; Crifrankreadil Indapan placed #2; and Gerald Sabal placed #3. In the 5K Men’s Category, Jujet De Asis placed #2 and Raul Lamprea placed #8 and in the 5K Women’s Category, Cora Salcedo placed #4. In due time and more focused training, we will beat the Kenyans in future marathon races. My runners are learning a lot from them.

In conclusion, the Cebu City Marathon was an outstanding road race that surpassed my expectations. From registration, distribution of race packets, carboloading party, race proper, up to the awarding ceremonies and the immediate posting of the official results, everything was “perfect”. It only proves once again the importance of the local government’s full support and involvement that makes a Marathon Race of such magnitude as a very successful event. In essence, it is the UNITY IN PURPOSE and COOPERATION of everybody that spell the difference to create an excellent result is the moral lesson in this event. Congratulations to City Mayor Tomas Osmena and his City Council, John Pages & his Co-Race Directors & Staff, Cebu Executive Runners Club, the Race Sponsors, Volunteers, and to all the Cebuanos for a job well-done!!!

Happy Sinulog Festival!!!

Team Bald Runner will be back for the 2nd edition of the Cebu City Marathon!


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1-10-10…Cebu Prep!

8 01 2010

The following pictures say what is going on in Cebu City since yesterday. The Elite Team Bald Runner arrived in full force in Cebu City for the 1st Cebu City Marathon to held this coming Sunday. This is one way of showing our support to the growing involvement of running clubs outside Metro Manila & Luzon in coming up with their full Marathon Race.

After One Hour Run From Camp Lapu-lapu

@Vicinity Starting Line Area

Ready For The Cebu Half-Marathon

My personal thanks to John Pages (www.pages.ph) and the Cebu Executive Runners Club for coming up with this race in Cebu City and for the special attention he and his staff gave us when our team received our race packets.

See you at the Carbo-loading Party at the Cebu Ayala Center tonight!


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The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (2009)

17 11 2009

Critique on the 2009 Philippine International Marathon: A Run For The River/ November 8, 2009

This was titile of my post on my critique on the conduct of the 2008 Pasig River Heritage Marathon. And I am going to use it again to express my views about the conduct of the said race under the administration by the ABS-CBN Foundation. However, this critique will be limited to the conduct of the Marathon Race.

The Good

After being delayed for 9 months, the first good point in this race is that its 9th edition (since 2000) was conducted before the year 2009 ended. The Pasig River Heritage Marathon, as stipulated in an Executive Order, is supposed to be conducted every last Sunday of the month of February. The second good point is that the race is spearheaded by the largest TV broadcast media of the country and its foundation, ABS-CBN Foundation. The third good point is that the race course almost covered all the known and historical bridges that cross the Pasig River and it also followed almost 80% of the original route of the past marathon editions. And the fourth good point is that the Race Director is Mr Rudy Biscocho, who had honed his expertise in road racing organizing since the early 80s.

Although ABS-CBN Foundation through Ms Gina Lopez of Bantay Kalikasan has spearheaded the program “Kapit Bisig Para Sa Ilog Pasig”, I am still confused if the Foundation is doing its part as one of the key members of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission under the Chairmanship of the DENR Secretary, Hon. Lito Atienza or the Foundation is doing the (marathon) project on their own without any accountability with the said Commission.

The Pasig River Heritage Marathon has always been a very challenging course and its point-to-point course concept is very commendable as it showcases the different communities and cities in Metro Manila and at the same time relive the history of urban development from the old Walled City of Intramuros to the most modern structures of The Fort.

The Bad

The registration and giving of race packets from the Race Organizer to the runners was the number one “bad” point of the Road Race. Second, I got the “worst” singlet for a major race this year! The fabric used was too heavy and it did not have any logo of the race. Third, the Marathon Race Logo was copied from another Road Race in the United States. Fourth, the Marathon Race Finishers were not awarded with any Finisher’s Medal. Even if you have a well-renowned and veteran Race Director/Organizer and runners who are employed with the ABS-CBN Foundation who could influence the Major Sponsor that a Finisher’s Medal is a MUST in a Marathon Race, it doesn not mean that they could influence their Major Sponsors who are not seasoned/competitive runners in order to make this race a perfect one! Maybe, a “copied logo” would not be wise to be inscripted in a Finisher’s Logo or else the Foundation could be sued for copyright infringement. It could be a good reason why they did not give any Finisher’s Medal. Fifth, my basic standards on water station (distance in between stations; length of table; and quantity of cups) were not met. Sixth, the accuracy of the distance was not met and it was lacking for about 800 meters. Since the 2004 edition of the race, the original course (Intramuros to The Fort) was certified by IAAF and AIMS. I hope the Race Organizer will ask the same international bodies to certify this race course.

The Ugly

First, the ugly part of the Marathon Race is the silent treatment my staff and other runners got from the ABS-CBN Foundation and Race Organizer/Director with regards to the Prizes for the Top Runners a few days before race day. What is worst is that the Cash Prizes and Cash Certificates were not given during the Awarding Ceremony or immediately after the Race. Instead, the winners were promised to receive their prizes after 5 days! I heard that one of the Kenyan runners who left Manila last Tuesday for Kuala Lumpur came back on Friday to receive his winning prize! My Elite Team Bald Runner won 1st Runner-Up in the 20-Man Relay Team Race but they were promised to receive their Prize after 5 days, Friday to be exact.

Second, I could not understand why is it that the biggest TV network in the country could not “frontload” its resources for the operational and technical needs of the runners to include cash prizes, better registration system, better quality of singlets, and better support to the runners. Basing from their media releases after the race, this road race was attended by 22,000 runners which is a record-breaking data for a running event in the country. However, if you convert this in monetary terms, this figure will translate to P 5.5 Million (Pesos) earnings from registration fees alone! This is not to include the support coming from the other sponsors of the race. With said amount of money, the ABS-CBN Foundation would have been “transparent” in terms of prizes and “giveaways” for the elite and other runners/finishers. How I wished that they would be transparent also in telling to the public, through their media releases, how much did the race/event earned for the Pasig River Project.

Lastly, the Pasig River is still ugly, in sight and smell, with all the “illegal settlers”, sewerage and waste disposal of the communities from its banks. Hopefully, the seven (7) years that the ABS-CBN Foundation had promised to serve as the “spearhead” organization to clean the Pasig River will show a significant development. The following is the visionary depiction of the Pasig River:

Pasig River Rehab

Vision For The Pasig River

The Ugliest

After 5 days of waiting, the members of my Elite Team Bald Runner were able to receive their Prize from the ABS-CBN Foundation as the team placed 1st Runner-Up in the 20-Man Relay Team. The members were surprised to receive P 30,000 worth of Gift Certificates from Gold’s Gym. Each Gift Certificate is worth P 5,000 for a One Month Entry & Use of the Gold’s Gym Facilities. The athletes were frustrated to receive such GCs because they don’t need to go to the Gym in order to improve their Finish Times. Or are they trying to fool the athletes that a one month use of the gym is worth P 5,000? I could be mistaken but I am a VIP member of the said Gym and I know that I only pay less than one-half of the said amount every month! However, after contacting some members and Personal Trainers of Gold’s Gym, I found out that each GC is sold at P 2,000 each.

I heard that one of the Coaches of one of the winning teams tore the Gift Certificates into pieces after receiving them as he expected Cash Prize of P 50,000 to be given and not Gift Certificates.  I can sympathize with these coach & athletes as they need CASH from their winnings. They need the money to sustain their training for food, sports drinks, vitamins, running shoes and expenses for registration fees in incoming races! I really don’t know if ABS-CBN Foundation is guilty of DECEPTION in the publication of their Prizes. However, I am sure that the ABS-CBN Foundation is guilty of deceiving my athletes and the other runners for placing the value of each GC to P 5,000, instead of P 2,000!!!

Gold's Gym GCs @ P 5,000 each Per Month

I hope that there will be “takers” of these GCs from Gold’s Gym if they will be sold at P 2,000 each. The money from the sale of these GCs would mean a lot for the support of my elite athletes.

In summary, I will not expect the ABS-CBN Foundation to issue an Official Statement to answer this Critique because all Major Sponsors of all past Road Races has expressed the same statement and I predict that the Foundation will issue the said statement as shown below: 

“ABS-CBN Foundation is New In Running & It Promises To Improve On the Conduct of the Next PIM Edition”


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Categories : Insights, Marathon Race, Running, Running For Cause

Post Injury Analysis & Treatment

11 11 2009

To get a full appreciation of what happened to me last Sunday’s PIM, I tried to look for charts and pictures of specific muscles of the lower leg. Having finished two years of BS Pre-Med before entering the Philippine Military Academy, I had the chance to dissect the different body organ systems of frogs and sharks in our Basic Anatomy & Physiology classes. And with the advent of the Internet, anybody could immediately research on certain topics about the human body. I downloaded and copied the following charts/diagrams of the human lower leg muscles groups from the Internet to give a full description of what happened to me last Sunday’s marathon race.

Lower Leg Muscles

Lower Leg Muscles

After a “back-to-back” Subic International Marathon on a Saturday early evening and then a Sunday early morning ADIDAS KOTR Half-Marathon, I felt a “pain” on my upper Gatrocnemius, which is about two inches below the back of my left knee. I had this part of particular muscle to be exposed to “deep-tissue” massage, every other day. After resting my legs for a day, I would do my slow long runs with a slow pace after warm-up and stretching and the pain would be manageable. More massage and rest for my legs for the two weeks in between SIM and PIM but the urge to build-up more mileage was so tempting that I had to do my long runs and a single session of tempo run. In these runs, I would observe that the pain would just disappear the longer I do my runs.

Leg Muscle Anatomy

Lower Leg Anatomy

 However, during the PIM, at Km 15, the pain at the same spot on my Gastrocnemius started to appear but I still tried to maintain my pace with the hope that it would slowly disappear. At Km 19, the pain on my Gastrocnemius started to spread to my Petronius Longus and later to my Tibialis Anterior. With the diagram/chart above, the Petronius Longus muscle is connected to a tendon that goes all the way to the ball of my foot. This was the reason why I could not force my foot to spring up from the ground and maintain my running pace/form as pain would spread to the whole left leg. There was no way that I could run continously with the unbearable pain on my lower left leg as my foot strike the ground. And the rest is history.

Few hours after finishing the race, I could no longer stand on my two legs without being helped by my staff/assistant! I could hardly walk without somebody supporting me and could not even lift my left leg for a few inches from the ground. It was the most painful experience in my life after a Marathon Race! But being a seasoned runner, I just relaxed and thought of applying the “time-tested” R-I-C-E treatment. I took a cold shower; had my left lower leg massaged lightly; elevated my affected leg with an ice bag placed on the affected muscle while sitted or lying on my back; and rested/slept well during nighttime and daytime! Drank a lot of my Ensure, Milk, Gatorade and Water and Ate a lot of Carbohydrate & Protein Foods! After 36 hours, I could walk without any support or assistant and the muscle soreness slowly disappeared. And the pain was already manageable.

I need more time to rest and recover.


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Categories : Insights, Jogging, Pictures, Runners Injury, Running

“Tumirik Si BR!” (BR Got Stucked!)

9 11 2009

2009 Philippine International Marathon: A Run For The River 42K Marathon

After joining the Subic International Marathon and the ADIDAS “KOTR” Half-Marathon two weeks ago, I rested for one week with only one running workout. But for the week (6 days) before the Pasig River Marathon, I started to do my long runs where I was able to run a total of 78 kilometers and had two days of rest before Race Day.  My first mistake!

On the last kilometer before the Finish Line at the Subic International Marathon, I was attacked with “muscle cramps” on my left calf muscle but it disappeared after running lightly until I reached the Finish Line. As there was no pain during my trip back to Manila, I was comfortable in joining the next day’s ADIDAS KOTR Half-Marathon with a plan to finish the race at my own pace. After the race, I felt that there was a “pain” in one of the inner muscles of my calf and I decided to have a massage. More daily sessions of massage was conducted to my legs and they relieved the pain as I pushed to build-up my mileage for the week before Race Day. I did not wait for my “strained” muscle to “heal” before doing my long runs and tempo run for the week. My second mistake!

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The Usual Pose Before The Race

 After shaving, shower, and preparing my running kit, I went to bed at 8:00 PM on the night before Race Day and had my alarm clock set at 3:00 AM. I arrived at the Luneta/Quirino Grandstand area at 3:45 AM and did my stretching & slow jogging immediately. Before entering the Starting Line Area, I was able to talk to the ABS-CBN Foundation officials, Finishers of the 1st BDM 102, my friends & supporters of my road races, runner-bloggers, runners from other Running Clubs, and readers of this blog.

The race started at 2 minutes before the scheduled time of 4:30 AM, a sign that the Race Director is Mr Rudy Biscocho. I went with the flow of the runners beside and infront of me. My GF 305 registered an average pace of  5:56 mpk for the 1st kilometer and I was comfortable with the pace. I was trying to expect a Water Aid Station in between 2K & 3K mark but I was surprised that the first Water Station was located on top of Del Pan Bridge which is at the 4+K mark. I took a cup of water and made a sip after taking my first GU Power Gel for the Race. I continued the race and relied with the assistance of the Race Marshals positioned in intersections as the traffic was building up on the surrounding street of Luneta Park. I also relied on the runners infront of me in order to be in the right track of the course. For the past Pasig River Marathon editions, I became one of the “lost runners” along the streets surrounding the Luneta Park due to lack of race marshals on the early part of the race.

Crossing the bridges were memorable during the race because each of the Water Aid Stations was located on top of the bridge and at the same time the location of the Relay Stations for the Relay Race runners. I was feeling okey and comfortable passing along the Jones Bridge and McArthur Bridge where I was running at an average pace of 5:30-5:40 kpm . It was at the approach of the Ayala Bridge that my support team met me and started giving me water and Gatorade drinks in ice candy plastic bags. Gerald Sabal, one of the early relay team members who finished his 2-kilometer run joined me and paced me from this point.

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Focused On Racing Before The 10K Mark

 After crossing the Nagtahan Bridge, at the Km-15 mark, I started to feel a pain on my left calf muscle, the very same muscle that I had problems after the SIM and ADIDAS KOTR runs. I tried to slow down at first to find out if the pain will subside as what I’ve experienced in my previous long runs before the race. However, the pain would not disappear and I tried to keep my pace faster thinking that the pain would completely cease. I don’t advise this “technique” to the “newbies”! Even after a few yards of talking to my left leg, the pain would stay! I started to limp and slow down with my pace. As soon as I saw my support staff and vehicle, I stopped and asked one of my elite athletes to apply pressure and massage to the affected area and it gave me relief from the pain.

So, I continued to run and forced the pain to go away from my legs by running as fast as I could. After passing the Lambingan Bridge, I felt that the pain started to spread on the side of my lower leg and no longer at my left calf muscle. As my left foot would strike the ground, it caused an unbearable pain for the whole of my left leg that I have to take a light footstrike to the ground. The pain was still there and my left leg could no longer force my body to move forward. I decided to stop in one of the Waiting Sheds and had my lower left muscles massaged by my Elite Team runners. After a brief massage, I tried to alternately jog and walk until I saw my support vehicle and I was offered my usual Instant Oatmeal at the halfway mark. At this point, my GF 305 registered a distance of 19.63 kilometers with a time of 1:58+ hours!

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My Pit Stop Along Pasig River @ 19.6K Mark

 As my leg-in-pain was being massaged, I saw a lot of runners passing me and asked what is happening. I answered them that I have a strained muscle and told them to continue their running. Some offered help, sports drinks, water and food. Thanks, guys for the show of concern and offers of assistance. I will never forget your faces!

After finishing my Oatmeal snack, a decision must be made! Do I have to DNF or Finish the Race? In my entire running career and adventures, I never experienced a DNF. I told my Elite runners who were assisting me that I really “walk the talk” because I always tell them to finish every race they have started and don’t want them to be dropping their race once they know that they could no longer place on standings where there are no cash prizes to receive. So, I made my decision to finish the race even if it will take me a longer finish time. This is the time to prove what “warriors” are made of!

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My Brisk Walking Started...

 I removed my wet bandana from my neck and tied it around my upper left calf muscle to relieve the pain I felt everytime my foot strike the ground. I got some relief by doing this. I took my GU Roctane Sports Gel & drank a lot of water as I started my brisk walking up to the Finish Line. I need to walk a distance of 22 kilometers from the Mandaluyong side of the Pasig River up to the Finish Line. My walking pace started at 10:30 mpk and making it fastest at 8:45 mpk along the remaining parts of the route. More of the slower runners would overtake me and I could see in their faces of their disbelief that the Bald Runner is walking briskly instead of running fast towards the Finish Line. Well, you can not win them all, as they say! There are ups and downs in running and I am trying my best not to be a DNF in a Road Race where I started. 

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After crossing the Pasig River at Guadalupe Bridge

 As I passed the Guadalupe Bridge, I was thinking that Mr Amadao Castro, Jr aka Reinier6666 would pass me and I was planning to encourage him to walk with me up to the finish line as I knew he planned to end his race before he trurns right towards the Pioneer Street. But instead of him, I was overtaken by Eugene, one of my sponsors in my advocacies, and the Team Logan with lots of runners from takbo.ph. As I was about to end my walking along Pioneer Street, I was overtaken by Polo Tri athletes who were also brisk walking! And then suddenly, something went wrong with my stomach that I have to drop by the Jollibee branch at Brgy Oranbo, Pasig City to use their Comfort Room. It was my first time to experience such situation in a Marathon Race even if I took an Immodium tablet hours before the start of the race.

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@ Pioneer St, Brgy Oranbo, Pasig City

At the Shaw Blvd, I was able to talk to a lady runner from the ABS-CBN Foundation who is a part of a relay team. I observed that she was running with a cotton T-shirt and a thick cotton jogging pants, running with sneakers and not a running shoes and holding a hand towel. She would stop after running a few yards, taking a lot of walking breaks and I could see on her face that she is just forced to run in the said relay. She finally stopped at the Relay Station where another runner would start after the lady handed a loop-string with a big Card tied around her neck.

From Shaw Blvd, runners would turn left towards Canley Road up to the C-5 Road which is a steep downhill street. I would walk briskly and faster on downhill parts of the route but I had a hard time walking on uphill approaches as the pain on my leg would be unbearable. As I turned right at the C-5 Road, I observed that there was a designated lane for the runners and the lane was strictly guarded by the Pasig City Traffic Enforcers and other Race Marshals from vehicles. I really commend the Race Marshals and the Traffic Enforcers in every City that the runners had passed through. Everything was orderly and the runners felt that they are really the King & Queen of the Road during Road Races!

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@ Shaw Blvd, Pasig City With A Glass of Gatorade

 Even if the roads I was passing through are familiar with me because of my past “runabouts” and road runs, I had more time to see the details of the places and the things I see along the streets while walking. However, the heat of the sun was making its toll to a lot of the slower runners. Walking along the C-5 Road and along the streets of The Fort offers no shade to the runners and it was like my experience with the 1st BDM 102. I had to drink water and Sports Drinks alternately coming from my support staff while the water I am getting from the Water Stations would be poured to my head and body.

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Still Brisk Walking @ Kalayaan Flyover

 As soon as I reached The Fort area, I made another Pit Stop to eat hard-boiled eggs and had my legs massaged for the last time. I removed the Bandana tied around my left leg and used it as my cap which I have to pour cold water in every water station or when I felt I needed some cold water to cool off my head and body. While I was at the Kalayaan Flyover, I was able to talk to a runner who was wearing a Buff on his neck, CW-X tights, and arm warmers with body tattoo design, He was telling me that the heat of the sun slowed him down and I suggested to him to pour some water on his head and body every time he is in a Water Aid Station. I left him as I was going down the said Flyover towars Buendia Blvd!

While walking at the Buendia Blvd, I was able to join the group of Nickko Nolasco and Atty Red Samar who are both 1st BDM 102 Finishers and other two runners. Later, members of my Elite Team aboard on their respective motorbikes escorted us from this point. They informed me that the Team placed 1st Runner-Up (2nd Place) in the 20-Man Relay Team and I was happy! Also, walking with Nickko and Atty Red was enjoyable as we started to exchange stories about the next BDM 102 and running/training. Nickko would always have the honors of finishing last among the members of the “Team Hardcore” in every Road Race and he would like to maintain such record.

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Joined Nickko & Atty Red of BDM 102 Finishers @ Buendia

 Before reaching Roxas Blvd, I saw Sam, The Running Ninja and another runner at the side of Buendia and I encouraged them to join our walking group. I asked Sam to share some stories as we continued our brisk walking. In the end, I was the one sharing to him strories on how he will prepare himself for his participation in next year’s BDM 102. As I glanced my GF 305, we breached already the 5-hour elapsed time! Nothing to worry afterall after having these runners around you with only one thing in mind—to finish the race!

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Lots of Stories With Sam, The Running Ninja @ Roxas Blvd

 As we reached the vicinity of the Aristocrat Restaurant along Roxas Blvd, a Race Marshal with a handheld radio warned us that we still have 25 minutes to reach the Finish Line or else we will be considered DNF for the race. From here in my estimate, we still have 2.5 kilometers before reaching the finish line and I started computing if we have a chance to reach the finish line before being declared as DNF. I forced my body to finish this race up to the last 2.5 kilometers with a decision of not being DNFd for the race. Not at this point, I said to myself! So, we started to slowly jog. From a pace of 9:00 mpk while brisk walking, we managed to have a pace of 7:45 mpk pace and we maintained that pace. My escorts of my Team Elite on their motorbikes would cheer us up to make our pace faster and beat the deadline and cut-off time! I would shout at Sam & Nickko whenever they stopped and forced them to continue jogging.

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A Pose After Crossing The Finish Line

 Finally, Sam, Nickko and I finished and crossed the Finish Line at the same time with my GF 305 time of 5:52:31 hours!!! We congratulated each other and we were approached by the Race Officials to get our race stubs! More runners from the takbo.ph and the Team Hardcore would approach us and were surprised why I was walking more than one-half of the race distance. I told them that I had a strained muscle on my left calf muscle which slowly affected other muscles. I never had “muscle cramps” but a muscle-related injury because of some mistakes in my training! For the first time, “Tumirik Si BR” but the “warrior” attitude is still there—to finish a battle until the end!

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Yes, "We Are Building Champions In Life"

 If you are wondering why I am wearing a running singlet with the MILO colors, together with the Elite Members of Team Bald Runner, the explanation will be in another post. Henceforth, this will be my official racing singlet and for the Elite Team Bald Runner in the next road races to come.

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Roselle aka Running Diva Finishing Her 1st Marathon & Awarded With My "1,000-Km Club" Shirt

My personal congratulations go to the finishers of this PIM: A Run For The Pasig River, most especially to those who experienced their first Marathon Race. In comparison on the previous 8 editions of this Marathon Race, this is the most attended Road Race so far with a very noble advocacy to clean the Pasig River.

At present, I am under R-I-C-E treatment!


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Categories : Insights, Jogging, Marathon Race, Pictures, Runners Injury, Running, Running For Cause

Finally…

7 11 2009

I got my Race Number for the ABS-CBN Foundations’s Philippine International Marathon: Pasig River Marathon this morning at the Foundation’s Office in Quezon City. There was a long line of runners and most of them were angry that they were made to go to the Foundations’s office to retrieve their Race Packets after they were promised to get their packets from the place where they have registered.

As published by the ABS-CBN network, there are 21,000 registered runners for the 3K, 5K, 10K, 42K, 42K/20-man relay and 42K 40-man relay races. From the registered fee of P 250 per runner, the Kapit Bisig Para Sa Ilog Pasig earns an amount of P 5,250,000.

I don’t think I will wear the singlet that goes with the race packet. It is colored aqua blue and it is “heavy”!

We’ll see if the ABS-CBN “Kapamilya” Stars will be there to run with us, even for the short 3K Run.

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2009 PIM Race Number

The race strategy is to run comfortably and enjoy the company of other runners and be a part of this noble project to clean the Pasig River. I will give the honor to my Elite Team Bald Runner to race for me as they will compete in the 20-man relay in the 42K Race.

See you at the Starting Line!


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Categories : Insights, Jogging, Marathon Race, Pictures, Races, Running

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