Category: Insights

Gym Workout #4

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Runners' Training, RunningLeave a comment

9:30 AM 23 May 2008

The following day after I arrived from Baguio City, I went to the gym for my usual workout. I guess, I am the only one who is doing some stretching exercises before the workout. I immediately proceeded to the “Classic” Workout Area for my dumbbell exercises and weight lifting drill. There was nothing new in my routine where I exercised and did some weight training workout to my body from my arms/shoulders to  my chest, abdominals, back and leg muscles.

Before I ended my workout, I tried to run on the treadmill for the first time inside the gym. After a slow jog for about 3 minutes, I increased the pace to 4:48 minutes per kilometer. I was able to sustain the pace up to the point that I was able to reach the distance of 1 mile or 1, 600 meters. I had another 3 minutes slow jog to end my workout. I was thinking that I can do my “tempo runs” with the treadmill machine but I still believe that running on the road is still better than running on a machine.

My gym workout lasted for about two hours and fifteen minutes.

Pictures @ Market! Market! 5-Mile Run

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Pictures, Races, Running4 Comments

6:00 AM 18 May 2008 @ Market! Market!, The Fort  

This was the Start & Finish Area of the 5-Mile Race. In my estimate, there were at least 350 runners who participated in this race. The road was wet brought about by the rains the night before race day. It was expected to rain as it was showering when the race was about to start. The race started at 6:00 AM. 

On my right is Kim from Malaysia who called my attention when I was having my stretching exercises. She told me that she finished six marathons since she started running and also a regular visitor of this blog. On my left is Major Rod Turno of the Philippine Army and the other guy is also a soldier from the Philippine Army. Kim, I hope this picture is not late for publishing and hope to see you in our next road races.

This picture was taken after coming from the uphill portion along the vicinity of the International School. I was about to reach the 3-Km mark. Initially, I was using my Penshoppe Runner’s Cap but I removed it from this point up to the finish line. The Bald Runner should stay as bald while running!

This picture was taken at least 800 meters away from the Finish Line. The guy following me, a foreigner and tall guy, was able to overtake me 150 meters from the Finish Line.

I tried to maintain a faster pace but I wasn’t able to overtake those guys who passed from me on the final stretch of the race. This picture was taken 20 meters from the Finish Line. It was a nice race and the weather was fine. My time was 38:57 minutes for the 5-Mile Run.

Update: Project Donate A Shoe

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Running2 Comments

22 May 2008

Immediately after the 2nd Champion Run at the Marikina Riverbanks last 11 May 2008, my friend, Graciano “Totoy” Santos of Happy Feet Running Club donated his New Balance Racing Shoe to the Project Donate A Shoe. His shoes was immediately donated and accepted by Marcial Quisay.

To Totoy, thanks for supporting this project! Mabuhay ka!

Last Sunday, 18 May 2008, after the Market! Market! 5-Mile Run, four (4) pairs of the donated shoes were distributed and received by the following runners: Roque Legaspi; Fritz Gerald Perez; Rey Antoque (Mizuno Track Shoes); and Jun Villarta.

There were no donors during the said road race.

At present, the Project was able to collect a total of 38 running shoes and was able to distribute 34 of these to recipients. Four (4) pairs of running shoes are on hand.

With regards to the “barefoot running kids”, I am still waiting for the arrival of Mr Rudy Biscocho from the United States as he is the one who is in possession of the list of participants in the 4th Global City Run. We could only identify these kids through their bib/race numbers. For the past days, I’ve been going around to some of the sports stores to canvass the price of running shoes for these kids. Hopefully, I will be able to get discount prices for these shoes.  As soon as I identify these kids, they will be contacted and appropriate arrangements will be made for these kids to be given their brand-new running shoes. I was informed lately that these kids are from the province of Laguna.

The Project Donate A Shoe Booth will be available at the UP Campus during the DocFit Run this Sunday.

I hope to see you this Sunday. Happy running!

Virus Infection

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Running2 Comments

For the past two weeks, I’ve been attacked by computer virus through the Internet which made my laptop non-responsive to keyboard & other functions and very slow to upload pictures to be posted. For the past days, it took me some hours to access my WordPress Dashboard and took me hours also to post my stories.

I finally reached the limits of my patience and brought my laptop in one of the electronic repair stores in one of the malls. I am glad the computer technician was patient enough to find out and fix the problem. It took me some hours to wait for the repair and the installation of a new Operating System for the laptop. Anyway, I had a reason to go around the mall and browse to the different sports stores and book stores.

At last, my computer was fixed and repaired thirty minutes before the mall closed. I spent four hours inside the mall. I have to pay the price for keeping my laptop on its top condition and be able to update this blogsite on a daily basis. I have yet to post some stories which I think are worth reading by my visitors.

To my visitors and readers, I am back again to post my stories, at least, on a daily basis. Happy reading and Keep on Running!

Death; Color-Coded Trails; & South Drive

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Runners' Training, Running3 Comments

One of my men who served under me when I was assigned at the Philippine Military Academy after the 1986 People’s Power Revolution died last 02 May 2008 due to heart attack, at the age of 53 years old, in Baguio City. This was the reason why I had to go to Baguio City on the eve of his burial. William, the name of my soldier, had been with me in PMA and when I was assigned at Fort Bonifacio during the early 90s. He was reassigned back to PMA to join his family until he retired from the service in 2001 at the age of 46. His wife, is a civilian employee of the PMA and her family relatives are presently serving the AFP. William was one of the original members of my “1,000K Club” which I established when I was assigned in PMA and he was a consistent & hard-working intelligence operative and a competitive runner. He was a “marathon” finisher.

I arrived at PMA at 9:00 PM and went directly to the remains of William to pay respect to a good, loyal, and reliable soldier. I stayed with the rest of his family, relatives, batchmates, and friends up to midnight and gave financial support to the family. I gave them the impression that I will just drop by for the early mass the following day before his burial and told his wife that I will be going back to Manila the following day.

After the mass on the following day, I went back to the hotel and changed to my athletic attire for a brief run before going back to Manila. My running kit consists of my Capri Nike Shorts, Adidas muscle shirt, and ASICS Gel-Kinsei 2. I started my run from the South Drive Baguio Manor Hotel up to Camp John Hay Rotunda and back along South Drive and reached up to the Baguio Country Club. Instead of entering the Gate of Camp John Hay, I decided to inspect the color-coded trails along the edges of Camp John Hay.

I took the cemented road on the left side before one enters the Gate of CJH where Horse-Back Riding starts. I was surprised to see that the trail road before is already a two-way paved road with houses of illegal settlers on the left side of the road. Such place in the mid-80s were full of pine trees and a small trail was the only distinct feature one could see. From the paved road, I re-traced the old running color-coded trail and the trail is still there (without those colored paints on the trunks of pine trees) but with illegal settlers on some portions along the side of the trail. I think I was able to run 2 kilometers along this trail which had been neglected but still being used by the illegal settlers in going to their houses. A “chicken wire” fence was established to separate the property of CJH from the rest of the side of the mountain and I was surprised to see that the color-coded trail was already outside the camp. I wanted to reach up to the Voice of America but the vegetation was becoming thicker which is an indication that this trail is not being used frequently. I took another trail until I was inside the property of CJH and went out just infront of the gate that goes to US Ambassador’s Cottage! The security guards were surprised to see me from nowhere! From there, I ran towards the Gate out of the camp towards BCC and reached Mansion House and later ran at least two rounds at Wright Park and back to South Drive and ending my run at the Oval Track inside Teacher’s Camp. I just walked briskly back to my hotel. I finished a distance of 15 kilometers.

It was a slow run but there are so many things that made Baguio City changed for the past twenty years. I could not smell anymore the scent of the pine trees in the city, instead, the smell changed into smoke/carbon monoxide emitted from the jeepneys, trucks, buses & cars. I could not see anymore those thick forests consisting of century-old pine trees but instead, I could see houses of illegal settlers. Even if Typhoon Cosme just left the place for almost 3 days already, streets are still dirty with debris brought about by the typhoon which is a very long response time from the City Govenment’s Engineering Office. The vacant spaces at Wright Park had been a place where families could have their weekend picnics but now, commercial semi-permanent stalls abound the place selling Baguio City souvenirs mixed with those horses for hire! I even saw horse manure littered along the sidewalk where I was running! Even the quiet South Drive Road is not spared from pollution and traffic. Before, South Drive was a quiet and free from vehicular traffic place to run but running on this street now is completely different where runners should be extra careful with the vehicles plying along this road.

I was too tired aready to run along the Oval Track inside Teacher’s Camp. I just observed one of the athletes, a shotput thrower, doing his training and a senior citizen jogging slowly along the track. I am glad this facility had been maintained by the Philippine Sports Commission.

Later in the afternoon, I had to leave Baguio Ciy for Manila. 

Paying respect to a dead comrade and running on the paved and trails of Baguio City are part of “enjoying life” after retirement. 

Gym Workout #3; “24 Hours”; & Coach Jim

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Runners' Training, Running5 Comments

7:15 AM 20 May 2008

This is the beauty of being retired from the service. I can have all the time to do what I would want to do without any pressure or responsibility in mind except to myself. It does not matter what day of the week is or if there is a typhoon coming or not, what is important is to be able to sleep soundly at night and prepare my road race for the next weekend. Simply stated, I should “enjoy life” after retirement!

Yesterday was a rest day for me and I could hardly access my Dashboard with WordPress. I really do not know the reason with the “traffic”  and the slow response I am getting from my laptop. I could hardly upload the pictures from my computer to my posts. It took me for a while to access my blogsite and instead of wasting my time waiting for my laptop to respond and post my pictures,  I decided to watch the DVD (original, of course!) of “24” Hours’ Season 6. Well, it was great watching Jack Bauer (my favorite TV series character) again. The first 3 episodes motivated me to have my gym workout today.

After my routine stretching exercises, I started with my dumbbell routine exercises for my biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest muscles using lighter weights (7.5, 10, 15, 35 lbs). After few minutes of my dumbbell drills, I started to perspire because the gym was using big industrial fans as vetilation. The gym is inside a mall and the regular air-conditioning system starts at 9:00 AM. Anyway, I like what I was experiencing inside this gym. I did some abdominal curls with the machines available; side bends with 25-lb weights on each hand on the side, calf raises with such weights, knee bends, lunges, and ladder steps. I did also some inclned bench press for my upper chest muscles.

This morning, I observed that the “Classic Gym” section was full with tall guys who I believed are basketball players/athletes. I could see that their eyes were glancing at my ASICS Gel-Kinsei 2 shoes and one of them approached me and asked where I bought them and how much I paid. And I answered him about Athlete’s Foot Store at Glorietta and its expensive price. This guy introduced himself as “Coach Jim” who is a biomechanical sports expert whose expetise is to make an athlete more efficient and scientific in his body movements in any sports. In return, I introduced myself as the “Bald Runner”, pointing at my head and invited him to visit this blogsite. I told him also that I posted a Shoe Review of the ASICS Gel-Kinsei 2 in my blog. It was nice talking briefly with Coach Jim and hope to see him again.

Time flew so fast inside the gym if you are busy with your exercises and drills. Actually, I don’t talk so much and socialize with others while I am inside the gym. The faster I do my drills, the better for me. But this morning was my longest stay inside the gym, two hours & 15 minutes.

Music—Metallica; Barry White; & Abba

I am on my way to Baguio City.

It Is Done & I am Free!

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Running17 Comments

10:30 AM 15 May 2008 @ Jamindan & 7:00 PM @ Iloilo Airport

I woke up at 3:00 AM to prepare and board the only PAL flight to Roxas City from Manila for the day together with the General Officer who will replace me as the Commander of the 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army and the Party of the Newly-Installed Commanding General of the Philippine Army. The plane left Manila at 5:30 AM and arrived in Roxas City as scheduled at 6:30 AM. After a brief breakfast and change to our Battle Dress Army Uniform, we were on our way to Camp Peralta in Jamindan, Capiz which one hour and 15 minutes ride from Roxas City.

After Arrival Honors for the Commanding General of the Philipine Army was given, we had a brief talk in my office where the Incoming Commander of the 3ID, PA, the Commanding General of the PA, and myself signed the result of the audit & inspection of the financial resources of the command made by the Internal Auditor of the Philippine Army. The result of the inspection showed that I am turning-over an amount of almost 1.7 Million Pesos to the Incoming Commander as part of the unspent financial resources of the Command up to the end of the 2nd Quarter of this year.

The turn-over of command ceremony started at 9:45 AM and it was finished at 10:30 AM. I was awarded the third highest award of the AFP for the accomplishments that my Command had done during my tenure as the Commander for one year and two months. In my farewell speech, I paid tribute and thanks to my commanders & soldiers who successfully dismantled two (2) Guerrilla Fronts and downgraded another two (2) Guerrilla Fronts of the CPP/NPA in the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Aklan, and Negros Occidental during my stint as the Commander of the Division and the Command is on the right track and on schedule to finally clear all the remaining six (6) Guerrilla Fronts in Negros & Panay Islands before the mid-part of 2010. Noteworthy among the accomplishments is the cementing of a road that connects the Camp to the Provincial Road from Jamindan which was neglected for the past 21 years and the return of about 8 Million Pesos to the Finance Center of the Philippines which represents pay and allowances of “ghosts” or unfilled CAFGU quotas in my Area of Responsibility.

Before the ceremony/program ended the CG, PA gave me a memento of a replica & mini-statue of  a “Bald Lapu-lapu”, the symbol of a “warrior” in the Visayas (which looks like me!) and a Command Plaque. My Assistant Division Commander gave me a painting of our Grotto in the Camp with Mother Mary overlooking the whole camp. The Division Sargeant Major gave me a one-foot statue of “Bald Runner”. The Officers, Enlisted Men, and Civilian Employees gave me a framed blown-up picture of “Bald Runner” while running the Runnex@25 at the UP Campus with their signatures written on the borders of the picture. But what made me laughed and elated was a painting/charcoal caricature of myself while I was a cadet at the PMA with my head full of hairs and a Chuck Taylor/ELPO Rubber shoes and Bald Runner with my sunglasses, Nike Pro Running Kit & ASICS Running Shoes, running side by side! To all the members of “Team Spearhead Division”. thank you very much for all the gifts. I will treasure all these gifts!

Finally, before I left the Camp, I was given a full military departure honors with a 13-Gun Salute (for a Major General) and after the ceremony, I was given a mounted Gun/Cannon Shell that was fired first. After posing my last group picture with all the Officers and Men of the 3rd Infantry Division, I was already on my way to Iloilo City to board the last PAL flight back to Manila.

After 33 years and 3 months of military service with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and 4 years at the Philippine Military Academy, a total of 37 years & 3 months, I am going back to civilian life once again!

At last, I am done with my military service and I am already free!

Nalpasen!

Tomorrow, I will run 20 kilometers early in the morning to celebrate my 56th Birthday!

Lessons Learned: Runnex@25

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Races, Running7 Comments

1) Murphy’s Law—If you think you have prepared for everything as planned, there is always a time that things will somehow go wrong. I wasn’t able to use my Nathan Water Belt because there was something wrong with the strap. It was not a factory defect but I made some adjustments with the strap on my own and the slight adjustment I made needs to be fixed and I needed more time to do it. So, I decided not to use it and instead opted to carry with me a bottled water and “inserted” it on my back, tucked in with my running shorts during the road race.

My Samsung MP3 suddenly stopped and turned off by itself. I tried to put it on but it later stopped. I knew I had it fully charged the night before the race. I was glad I was still at the Starting Area when my MP3 was not working. I had to remove my MP3 and handed it over to my staff. Surprisingly, my MP3 does not have any problems when I am using it in my running workouts in Jamindan or in Manila.

2) With or Without Music?—I had observed that having a music played on my ears while running gave me the “boost” to make my pace faster. Without music on this race made my time a little slower from my target goal.

3) Rest & Recovery—At least 5-6 days before the race, I thought of decreasing my mileage for the week and try to rest and recover from the running workouts and road races I joined after finishing the Pasig River International Marathon last 24 February. I observed that the results of the rest & recovery/tapering period did not take effect during the day of the race but on the days after the Runnex@25 10K Run. On the week after this race, I was able to increase my mileage and ran easily without much effort.

4) Speed Runs—I need to have more “speed runs”/interval training on the oval track and force my body to its limits. But this is only attainable if I have already enough strength and endurance built from my foundation training.

5) Runner’s Fashion—The Nike Sports Pro Kit that I used was nice-looking and comfortable to the body. The “NIKE Air Zoom Explosion Road 2” running shoes that I wore was my first time to use it directly to a road race without any “break-in”. It was a light racer shoe which has some protruding studs on the midsole that forced me to run on my toes. I am highly recommending this shoes to the younger and faster runners.

2nd Champion “Long & Narrow” Road Race

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Races, Running8 Comments

6:00 AM 11 May 2008 @ Marikina Riverbanks

I thought the 2nd Champion Run Along Marikina Road Race starts at the usual place where the Pasig River International Marathon started last February. My driver, together with a cyclist, had to ask the actual location of the starting area from a Security Guard at the Mall located at the Marikina Riverbank Shopping Center. With the cyclist ahead of us towards the starting are, my staff was able to reach the place at least 45 minutes before the start of the race.

While having my warm-up and slow jogging, I saw The Loony Runner and Passion Runner and we had a brief chat and later some picture-taking way back/rear from the starting area. We continued our stretching and slow jog/warm-up until I was already sweating profusely. Later on, we heard that it was 20 seconds before the starting time.

At exactly 6:00 AM, the race director, Coach Rio, made the countdown from 10 to 1 and shouted “Go” and the race started. It took me at least 10 seconds to finally cross the starting line as lots of runners from the PNP and other AFP units added to the usual weekend “road warriors” that I see during road races.

In my first 3 kilometers, my pace was very slow as the running crowd was still packed from shoulder to shoulder as the concrete road was too narrow! Aside form the road being narrow along the riverbank of Pasig River, other walkers and members of the populace would leisurely walk along with the runners and some also would walk counter with the direction of the race. This is compounded by weekend bikers and cyclists who compete with the limited space along the narrow cemented road. Some of the faster runners would run along the unpaved sides of the road just to be able to overtake other runners and find a space where they could maintain their pace. I saw Taki and running mate overtook me at the 2.5-Km mark using the unpaved sides of the road.

The runners were against the glare of the rising sun on the first 3 kilometers and I was glad I was already using my sunglasses. For the next 5 kilometers after we crossed to the other side of the river, the sun was already on our backs but as we crossed again the river to return to the other side of the river and ultimately to the finish line, the heat of the sun was already towards us. The Loony Runner overtook me at the 5-6 Km mark and he is making a lot of improvement as seen from his pace but I later saw him slowed down on the last few meters before the finish line. I guess, we were thinking the same that something was wrong with the 10 Km road race.

As I passed the 8-Km mark, I noticed that something was wrong and the elapsed time I am getting from GF 305 was 8 minutes from my finish time on last Sunday’s Runnex@25 10K Run. It appears that my pace was slower this time and I just thought that I just consider this race as my tempo run for the week. Once I crossed the river for the last 1 km, I noticed that my watch had registered more than the time I had last week. This is where I saw The Loony Runner way infront of me to have slowed down and maybe he was thinking that that the race is longer than the expected 10K run.

I tried to increase my pace and overtook some of the runners and the PNP guys as I approached the finish line. I could here Coach Rio announcing my arrival as the “Bald Runner” and shouts coming both sides of the finish line and chute. After I crossed the finish line and while walking along the chute, my GF 305 registered an unofficial time of 57:03 minutes (what?) and I was surprised to see that the distance registered was 11.0 kilometers!

As I walked back to my car, some of the runners would approach me and have their pictures taken with me! That is the prize I have to pay for being the Bald Runner! I saw Taki as I got nearer to my car and he was telling me that his GF registered 11.0K and it was a nice “long run” with those narrow path. He told me that he has new PR best time for a 11K Race! His friends were eating doughnuts and they offered me one but I declined. Maybe, next time I will accept the offer but make it two pieces, Taki!..hahaha!

As I saw the other runners approaching the Finish Line, I started clapping my hands and cheering them, shouting, “Looking Good, it’s your last 200 meters to the Finish Line..You Can Make It”. For those who were walking, I encouraged them to jog and said, “Keep on Jogging. The Finish Line is 200 meters away. You have to improve your finish time”. Actually, I was having my post-run stretching and letting my sweat drip from my running kit while clapping my hands and cheering the runners. I cheered  JunC, Lito, Passion Runner, RunMd, Hubert, the other Senior Runners and the Friends of BaldRunner! Congratulations, Guys!

Congratulations to all the Finishers and congratulations, too to Coach Rio! Excellent job!

It was a nice “long and narrow” run. I will post the pictures on this run next time.

My Last Visit To My Men

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Pictures, RunningLeave a comment

Whenever a Commander visits his units or commands under him, there is a “protocol” to be followed as part of the customs and traditions of the military service. The “protocol” consists of the following: (1) arrival honors; (2) introduction of the officers and key soldiers of the command; (3) presentation of briefing to the Commander on the prevailing situation in the area; (4) snacks or lunch while having  an informal talks with the officers and ranking soldiers; (5) giving of souvenirs/gifts/mementos to me; (6) talk to the men and get feedback from the soldiers; and (7) departure honors.

Since this visit was my last visit to the units under me and I had been regularly visiting them for the past one year and two months, I entirely changed the “protocol” and shortened the activities. I directed the commanders of the units I was scheduled to visit to remove/dispense with the arrival and departure honors; there will be no briefings; and lesser preparation in food (only native chicken tinola & pinakbet/vegetables) to be served; and no gifts to be given to me. Instead, I told them to prepare to have a group picture with me before I leave their respective camps.

So, the “drill” to my visits consisted of introduction to the officers and key enlisted personnel; talk to the men & feedback from the men; a brief inspection of the facilities (I usually visit their bathrooms/comfort rooms to gauge the degree of cleanliness & orderliness of the unit); lunch/snacks; and picture-taking with the officers & men (with headgear and without a headgear!). It is in my Talk To The Men that I tell the soldiers the accomplishments and gains they had done during my stint as their Commander in our fight against insurgency in the area and personally thank them for their efforts and unstinted support to accomplish our mission in the area. Lastly, I challenge them to do some more and support the programs of the government and maintain the highest degree of discipline that makes the individual soldier distinct from other institutions of the government.

The following were some of the pictures taken during my last visit to my units in Panay & Negros Islands:

Before leaving the camp where I visited my troops, I see to it that there is always a group picture with them, with headgear and without headgear! These are my officers and men in Panay Island stationed in Dingle, Iloilo.

Sometimes, I asked to be briefed by looking at the pictures displayed as one enters the office of a command. The pictures show the activities being conducted by the soldiers to solve the problem of insurgency in the area, from combat operations to civic-military operations and development programs. Yes, the members of the Philippine Army are ACHIEVERS! 

One of “Talk To The Men” sessions during my last visit. I was talking with my men in Tanjay, Negros Oriental.

The Battalion Commander usually introduces his officers and key enlisted personnel immediately after my arrival in the camp.

 Another “Talk To The Men” with the Officers and Men of one of the Battalions deployed in Siaton, negros Oriental. This Battalion was instrumental in the clearing of the whole Bohol Province from the insurgents.

These are the young officers and soldiers who cleared Bohol Province and had been in Negros Oriental for the past one month and they are on the right track to clear another guerrilla front by the end of June 2008. 

These are the officers who are leading our Philippine Army troops in Negros Occidental. The officer in black beret is the Commanding Officer of the Scout Ranger Battalion operating in the Central Part of Negros Island.

Another “Talk To The Men” to the Officers & Men deployed in Central & Northern Parts of Negros Occidental. 

I am the “slimmest” and the “youngest-looking” among my officers and soldiers! Ha! Ha! Ha!