Category: Insights

President Ramon Magsaysay & Mt Manunggal, Cebu

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Pictures, Running2 Comments

This time, I am posting a story on the life and death of President Ramon Magsaysay who is unknown to most of the runners, seniors and younger ones. I was barely five years old when he died. My recent visit to Cebu City and Mt Manunggal gave me the idea to share what I’ve seen in this historic place.

President Ramon Magsaysay was the 7th President of the Philippines and the 3rd President of the Third Republic. He was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives in 1946 in the lone district of Zambales and later re-elected for a second term in 1949. He became the Chairman of the National Defense Committee in the House of the Representatives and on August 31, 1950, he became the Secretary of National Defense during the administration of President Elpidio Quirino in 1950 at the height of the Hukbalahap and insurgency problem in Central Luzon. Due to intrigues and “power play”, he resigned as Secretary of National Defense on February 28, 1953. He was urged by the different sectors of the society and the masses for him to run for the Presidency. According to public opinion, the only way to solve the problem of communism/insurgency was to have a good governance and a government that serves the people. And that governance lies on the presidency and leadership of President Ramon Magsaysay. According to President Magsaysay’s opinion, a corrupt government and  a bad administration are the causes on the rise of communism & insurgency. He later became the presidential candidate of the Nacionalista Party and won the presidency with a landslide victory over the incumbent President Elpidio Quirino.

He was the first President who used the Barong Tagalog during his Oath-Taking Ceremony. He was the staunch supporter of the United States in its fight against communism. He made Malacanang Palace open to the public and literally making it a “house of the people” and created a machinery/system of the government to hear and solve the complaints of the ordinary people and masses. He personally showed acts of integrity by paying services done/given to him. In one instance, he was invited by the Philippine Air Force to ride in a demonstration flight of a new plane and he asked for the operating cost of the flight per hour and immediately signed a check for the payment. He encouraged the people to have their own business through open access to loans and government subsidies. During his administration, the military was able to arrest most of the leaders of the Communist Movement in Metro Manila and its top leaders surrendered to him, practically ending the insurgency problem of the country. Continue reading “President Ramon Magsaysay & Mt Manunggal, Cebu” →

3-Day Stay in Cebu

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Military, Pictures, Running1 Comment

02-04 April 2008

I attended a one-day Command Conference on Legal Matters and a two-day seminar on Media Relations at the Central Command Headquarters in Cebu City from Wednesday up to Friday with our Unit Commanders. I was the Guest of Honor and Speaker during the Opening Ceremony of the Media Relations Seminar last Thursday morning. I also visited my troops deployed in Balamban, Cebu on Friday morning as part of my regular visits and assessment of our troops in the area. On my way back to Cebu, I visited the crash site of the plane of former President Ramon Magsaysay in Mount Manunggal.

I stayed at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel during the duration of my stay in Cebu. I was able to use their gym on a daily basis.

 

The lobby of the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel in Cebu City.

A picture during my speech as the Guest of Honor and Speaker during the Opening Ceremony of the Media Relations Seminar with all the Philippine Army Brigade and Battalion Commanders in Central Visayas.

A regular visit and talk with to men in the field is one of the basic duties of a Commander and a Leader in the Philippine Army. 

There are so many things you have to explain and inform to the men about the policies of Higher Headquarters and the overall Campaign Plan of the Command for Central Visayas in solving the problem of insurgency and serving as a “partner” of development in the area.

 

The National Historic Institute’s Marker in Mt Manunggal, Cebu where the plane, Mt Pinatubo, the President Ramon Magsaysay boarded with 26 other people on the fateful early morning of 17 March 1957, crashed. I will be writing a separate post on my visit to this very important and historic place.  

Running With Style

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Practice Runs, Running3 Comments

Running In Style (the way you look with your running outfit & gadgets) is different from Running With Style.

Every runner has its own individual style or his/her “running signature”. Some would sway their shoulders while running, some would be always looking downward while running, some would be erect, some would be leaning forward and some would flap their palms from their wrists. Running does not have to look right but it should feel right on the individual runner.

In order to minimize these unnecessary bad habits in running, one should have a coach or an advance runner who would observe and give critiques while he/she is running, or get a video or camera to record your movements while running. The following are the four points to consider in improving one’s running style.

1)  Rhythmic Flow—Developing a rhythmic flow to your running style means you have to learn to run with a certain “beat” or cadence. If you can silently chant, following a rhythm, that would greatly improve your running style. Soldiers running in a group would always chant to encourage everybody to follow a certain “beat” or rhythm and this will encourage them to run farther distance without much effort. Most often, runners would resort to music and they carry with them MP3 & Ipods during runs. The beat of the music would go with the cadence or “beat” of the feet while pounding on the ground or on the breathing of the runner.

2)  Light Feet—It is encouraged to run “lightly” with your running shoes, hearing no sound at all while your running shoes hit the ground. You have the feeling that you are “floating” in the air while running if you don’t hear any sounds from your running shoes. You can practice for a 3-5 minutes jumping rope everyday or try jumping without the rope just to emphasize “tip-toe” landing with your feet. To improve on this, you can have your running workouts without any noise made by your running shoes.

3)  Relaxation—Relaxation means that your chin should be loosely hanging, mouth slightly open with the jaws loose. The shoulders should be down and relaxed. The hands & fingers are not held tighly together to form a fist but the fingers should loosely cupped. The wrists should be loose and not tense.

4)  Breathing—Develop a cadence in breathing. Breathing should be relaxed. Runners should develop “belly breathing”, expanding the stomach when you breath in and flattening your stomach when you breath out.

As most of the famous coaches in running and elite runners would say, runners should follow strictly the tested 3 Rs in running—Run tall; Run relaxed; and Run naturally.

Good luck. It needs so much practice and awareness to be able to develop your distinct “running style”.

Juvenal’s Prescription: “mens sana in corpore sano”

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Running4 Comments

Last 28 March 2008, Friday afernoon, the Philippine Army celebrated its 111th Founding Anniversary with a Military Parade and Awarding Ceremony to its Officers, Enlisted Personnel, Civilian Employees, Reservists and NGOs. The Guest of Honor and Speaker in the said event was the Secretary of National Defense, Hon. Gilberto C Teodoro. I attended the event as one of the Major Unit (Infantry Division) Commanders of the Philippine Army.

After the parade, all the guests were invited to a Cocktails at the Garden Area of the Philipine Army Clubhouse. This was the time where I mingled and talked with other younger officers and some of my contemporaries in the military service. I wanted to approach the Secretary of National Defense (SND) for an informal talks with him. Last month, my brother called me through the cellphone one night informing me that he met SND at the Malacanang Palace with the information that Secretary Teodoro was extending his regards to me and that he had read my post in this blog about my new name–Vin Diesel and he informed me also that he is a regular visitor of my blog. My brother congratulated me as my blog is slowly reaching other VIPs.

At that moment during the Cocktails, I could hardly approach the SND because of the continuous presence of the media interviewing him and I did not want to distract his concentration on these interviews. At the signal that he was about to leave the place and go to his waiting car, I immediately positioned myself at the path he was about to take and it was good that he saw me. As he was walking towards me, he said, “You should write about “mens sana in corpore sana”, it’s Juvenal’s Prescription! You go to Google and read about it”. He repeated the phrase but I was not able to memorize the exact words of the phrase before he finally boarded his car. After thirty minutes, I immediately sent a text message to my brother asking him the cellphone number of the Secretary in order to get the exact words of the phrase he told me. After sending the SND my message asking him about the phrase, he immediately replied and I told him that I got the phrase and replied to him that the phrase came from Satire X of the Roman poet, Juvenal and the phrase is being used in the name brand of ASICS running shoes. I was already infront of my laptop browsing the Internet while sending him the message.

It was really nice for the Secreatry of National Defense to have given me this tip to read and relay it to my readers. The folowing is the excerpts of that poem written by Juvenal:

It is to be prayed that the mind be sound in a sound body.

Ask for a brave soul that lacks the fear of death,

which places the length of life last among nature’s blessings,

which is able to bear whatever kind of sufferings,

does not know anger, lusts for nothing and believes

the hardships and savage labors of Hercules better than

the satisfactions, feasts, and feather bed of an Eastern king.

I will reveal what you are able to give yourself;

For certain, the one footpath of a tranquil life lies through virtue.

orandum est ut sit mens sana in corpore sano.

fortem posce animum mortis terrore carentem,

qui spatium uitae extremum inter munera ponat

naturae, qui ferre queat quoscumque labores,

nesciat irasci, cupiat nihil et potiores

Herculis aerumnas credat saeuosque labores

et uenere et cenis et pluma Sardanapalli.

monstro quod ipse tibi possis dare; semita certe

tranquillae per uirtutem patet unica uitae.

(10.356-64)

This are the exact words of a portion taken from the Satire X of Juvenal for the Romans to have a “sound mind in a sound body” or often translated as “a healthy mind in a healthy body”, an answer to the question of what the Romans should desire in life.

 

This phrase is used in the name of a popular sports shoes, ASICS. Instead of calling the shoes brand as MSICS, taking the first letter of each word of the phrase, the originators changed it to ASICS (Anima Sana In Corpore Sano) which is translated as “a sound spirit in a sound body”. The phrase is also being used by universities and colleges and physical training units of well-known Armed Forces of other nations. This is also the favorite phrase of former American President Harry S Truman.

There had been so many articles written about this phrase as anybody could browse at Google and type in this phrase. I enjoin my readers to read the diferent articles about this phrase.

To Secretary Teodoro, thanks again for the “tip” and added knowledge. I am sure my readers will be happy about this.

 

Are These Guys Crazy?

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Marathon Race, Races, Running14 Comments

Last Monday evening, while reading the newspapers, I found an advertisement entitled “94K Weekend: Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway Event” to be held on April 18-20. And some of the events to be held on those days are–94K UltraMarathon event; 42K Marathon event; and 10K Run event–all devoted to running. The other events were about cycling, motor biking, and others not related to running. I did not mind about this ads and I just said to my mind that this something new.

When I visited The Bull Runner’s blog, I found out that in one of the comments where I asked “where is the next race ?”, Atty Jon answered my question with a recommendation to run the 94K Marathon on April 20 and he linked the 94K Weekend website in his comment. I checked on the The Bull Runner’s schedule of running events and I found out that she posted it already with the other running events for the month of April.

Checking on the 94K Weekend website, I found out that the events are really scheduled as advertised. Well, my reaction on this was that the guys who thought of including running events on this 94K weekend event were crazy! These Guys Are Really Crazy! Are these guys had experienced running in road races?

Runners are not “super humans” to prepare and join in a 94K UltraMarathon or 42K Marathon event in 19 days!!! They even stated in their brochure on line that the water stations in the marathon event will be positioned every five (5) kilometers!!! What? These people will kill their runners! The registration fee is very cheap to entice runners to join the event but I think this is also a “cheap” running event even if they posted big amount of cash awards for the winners.

Another sign that the marathon is not well-planned is the fact that the marathon event will start at 5:00 AM. The planners/organizers do not know that it is already summer time and the sun rises at 5:45 AM. If they start at 5:00 AM, the runners will be fighting the heat of the sun after running 8 kilometers which is barely 1/5 of the distance. A combination of the heat of the sun and the far distance in between water stations will give serious problems to the runners. Running along an elevated highway/expressway without any trees on the sides or any shade from the sun and with the heat of the sun and the pavement during summer is something “crazy & unbelievable” to think about.

To the planners/organizers of the 94K Weekend, I suggest you do your “homework” properly and plan at least one year ahead.

As for me, I will not join this inaugural rendition of this 94K Weekend running events. 

Last Two Bibs; Route & Last Run

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Practice Runs, Races, RunningLeave a comment

27 March 2008

I registered personally at the Mizuno Store at Bonifacio High Street Mall after lunch today. The staff at the store told me that I am getting the second to the last bib for the 15K run. In one minute, I got out of the store and I am officially registered to run the 15K. While I was filling up my registration form, another guy entered the room and he got the last bib.

While looking at the zeroxed copy of the route, it confirmed the information I got from my officer yesterday. While I was going back to attend the closing ceremony of the seminar which I attended, I planned already to have my last practice run for the week before the race day on some portions of the route after the seminar.

Glancing at the course, the 15K route will be a hard one with so many hills along the way. My target of finishing the race in 1:15:00 hours would be a hard task and I could force my body to its limits. Well, mentally, that is still the target/objective but in reality, a 1:17:00 to 1:18:00 hours would be a decent time to finish the 15K run.

The strategy is to divide the course in three 5K runs. First 5K will be with a comfortable pace; the second 5K will be a faster one and the last 5K will be covered at a 2-mile run pace. The hilly portions will be at Bayani Road after the PA Golf Course; from the Heritage Park to Bayani Road; from the Golf Course along the Bayani Road up to the back of the Philippine Army Grandstand; McKinley Hills area; and the Essensa road. The difficulty on these hilly portions should be countered while running along the downhill portions of the route, which means that I have to increase my pace on the descending portions. The McKinley Hill part in going back to Lawton Avenue towards the finish line will be the “Killer Hill” in this race!

At 6:00 PM, I was already having my stretching exercises. I started from running workout from my quarters towards the Libingan ng mga Bayani, running along the outermost roads inside the park; went out and ran towards Heritage Park and C-5 Highway and back to Bayani Road; ran along Lawton Avenue towards McKinley Hill and was able to reach C-5 exit; and made a fast run in going up the last hill towards Lawton. From Gate 1 of Fort Bonifacio, I had my cool-down run towards my quarters.

My last practice run was a slow one but I was able to run in 1:29:03 hours with an estimated distance covered of 15 kilometers. I used my Timex Watch w/ HR Monitor with a 150-160 bpm and 1,060 total calories burned.

Happy Easter!

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, RunningLeave a comment

Happy Easter to Everybody!

I hope you enjoyed your trip and vacation. See you at the Mizuno Infinity Run next Sunday!

Running Form

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Runners' Training, Running2 Comments

Running form refers to the study of the mechanisms of movement of running. Most studies and researches in running proved that there are some runners who run more efficiently than others and improving on one’s running form will definitely improve his or her running results/finish time. There are four things to consider to improve one’s running form—footstrike, forward stride, body angle, and arm movement.  

On footstrike, I am basically a flat-footed and ball-heel footstriker and I am comfortable running with it in 10K up to marathon races. My footstrike with the ball-heel method makes the part behind ball of my foot touches the ground first and my knee bends slightly to absord the shock and simultaneously my heel slightly touches the ground so the entire sole of my running shoe makes contact with the ground. Then I roll up to the ball of the foot for a “power” lift off by pushing off the big toe.

On forward stride, I am a “shuffler” who runs very low to the ground with little lift with my knees and no or little exaggerated back kick but sometimes I could increase the length of my stride if I lift my knees a little higher and increase the frequency of my strides. I usually shift to this form when I am running over hills and sprints towards the finish line.                                               

     dsc00775.jpg  

 This is my running form as taken from one of my pictures during the 7th DND-AFP Gintong Pangarap Half-Marathon last 09 March 2008  

On body angle, I usually run relaxed and comfortable with my head and body erect looking about 20 meters infront of me. My pictures show my body as erect and relaxed as possible but sometimes there are times when I lean backwards and exaggerate my “breast out” appearance. I should be running with a slight forward lean as shown in my picture below during my oval track runs.

   dsc00342.jpg                                             

This is the front view of my running form when I had my oval/track run in Iloilo City Sports Complex.

On the Arms movement, it is the Arm Action that I am practicing in my running workouts for the past days. According to my readings and research, the arms should be driven downwards in a vertical plane from the elbow in short, quick strokes, with the shoulders down and relaxed. It is not recommended to run and swing the arms from the shoulders, locking your arms at the elbow. I am slowly fixing this problem and exaggerate in swinging my arms from my elbow and don’t allow my elbow to move backward during my running workout.

At my age, I may not be able to attain the “perfect” running form as I recall how I saw Waldemar Cierpinski in person or the fluid motion of Frank Shorter and seeing the way elite runners are seen in the Runners World Magazine but I am sure these information would greatly improve one’s ability to run faster and more efficient.

My Daily Dose of Minerals & Vitamins

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Running4 Comments

In my research and readings, a scientific study indicated that daily doses of important vitamins and minerals taken with a nutritionally balanced and adequate diet, would greatly help physical and mental performance for athletes undergoing strenuous training. Aside from the fact that I am growing older, I need multivitamins and minerals to protect my body from any deficiencies in my diet. Sometimes, this dose of tablets gives me the “psychological” belief that I feel stronger and younger in my physical activities.

I take Centrum Silver tablet everyday which has potassium and magnesium in them needed to minimize muscle cramps. I take 1,000 milligrams of Vitamic C to protect me from colds, from other illness and injury, and for faster recovery from injuries; Calcium tablets for a sturdy bones; Vitamin E for the production of anti-bodies; Vitamin B Complex which aids in the metabolism of fats; Fish Oil tablet for the heart and blood circulation; and Glucousamine tablets to strengthen my bone joints and knees.

I’ve never missed a day with this dose of vitamins and minerals for the passed six years and I am still positive and sure that I am getting stronger with my running, with the combination of healthy and balanced diet, complete rest at night, no vices, and a positive attitude in life.

Running & Body Weight

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

When I was running marathons in the 80’s, my body weight then was 137-140 pounds. I was “lean and mean” and did not have so much fat in my body then and I was running 3:30:00-3:45:00 hours for the marathon; 1:30:00-1:40:00 hours for the 20K; and 39:00-42:00 minutes for the 10K. At present, my body weight is 155 pounds and I am trying to reduce weight (by running) in order to be competetive and reduce my PR time in future races. Continue reading “Running & Body Weight” →