These are the things that I do whenever I am on vacation/break in Los Angeles, California. Shopping will come later. Ha!Ha!Ha!
On my first day in the City of Los Angeles, the first thing that I did was to visit the “Barnes & Noble” Bookstore. From our place, such bookstore is located at Americana Shopping Complex at Brand St, Glendale, California. I bought two books on running, namely: “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” by Haruki Murakami and “Daniel’s Running Formula” by Jack Daniels, PhD. I bought another book about Website Creation and Design.
Murakami's BookThis Guy Is Fast In Marathon At His Age of 57
VO2Max; VDOT; Lactate Threshold & Altitude Training Book
I finished reading Murakami’s book in two days with some breaks in between. After reading the book, I conclude that I could write a book about running, too! He wrote the book when he was 57 years old and I just turned 57 years old last Sunday. Hmmm, I think this is a good idea!
On my second day, I watched the movie “Angels & Demons” at the Americana Cinemas and then ate at Red Robbin with their Grilled Chicken Hamburger (It was big!). And later at 6:00 PM, I had a 3-loop run at the Silverlake Reservoir which is equivalent to 10.2 Kms (one loop is 3.4 kms). Before my run, I dropped by the Hydration Station of Joe Matias aka The Running Shoe Guru and owner of the A Runners Circle (ARC) Store at the park within the Lake and we had a lengthy conversation. It was a chance to personally thank him for the Balikbayan Box with donated used shoes he sent to me to the Philippines.
Hydration Station & Joe Matias aka The Running Shoe Guru/ARCRunners I Met Along The Road Would Smile At My Team BR Shirt
I did also some cooking! Have you tasted and tried a Sinigang Beef with Broccoli? Well, I cooked it. It tastes good according to my kids! Nothing was left from this particular food that I cooked for dinner! Next time, I’ll post the pictures of the food I prepare during my cooking adventures!
This morning, I did another 10-Km run around the Echo Park Lake which I did in 55 minutes. It is a slow to moderate run as I tried to concentrate on the number of strides/steps I make in every minute. I forced myself to run 180 steps per minute or count at least 90 steps every time my left foot strikes the ground. As I was doing this, I observed that I was registering an everage pace within the range of 4:50-5:15 minutes per kilometer. I was able to sustain such stride frequency within the middle 5-km portion of my workout. For a change, it was a nice mantra to be counting 1 up to 90 while running.
Guys, till next post and good luck again to the TNF 100 Solo & Relay runners who are on their way to Clark Freeport today.
This post is not meant to pressure or give jitters to all the solo runners of this weekend’s TNF 100 Clark Sacobia. I just want to inform everybody that TNF 100 Australia which was held last 16-17 May 2009 at the World Heritage Blue Mountain National Park in Leura, Australia (1 1/2 hours from Sydney, Australia) had published its results and feedbacks about the race in their official website. How I wished the TNF 100 Sacobia Website would be as comprehensive as the TNF 100 Australia. Please browse at http://www.thenorthface.com.au/100/ for the profile of runners, results, race information, and gallery of pictures of competitors.
In last week’s TNF Australia results, the Solo Men’s 100K Run was won by Andrew Lee with a time of 10:20:51 hours, breaking the a new record by 2 minutes from Andrew Komar’s time last year. In the Solo Ladies’ 100K Run, Julie Quinn finished the race in 12:13:45 hours, setting a new record time by shaving 32 minutes from last year’s time of Heather Logie.
Dean Karnazes finished the Solo Men’s 100K Run in 14:42:56 hours and ranked #39 for the top overall category after arriving in Australia on Friday night before the race started on Saturday morning.
There were 333 runners in the Solo 100K Run and 31 teams in the relay run. Out of the 333 runners, there are no reports in the website on the number of DNF runners, however, in the “General Discussion” page, there were comments from solo 100K runners who did not finish the race.
To all the TNF 100 Sacobia Solo and Relay Runners, good luck and wishing you all the best!!!
My best wishes and prayers will also go to the members of the Elite Team Bald Runner Solo Runners and Team Relay!!!
To These Hardcore Runners (With Me), Good Luck & Best Wishes!!!
The following “Angels Wearing Running Shoes” had been consistently supporting my “projects” by donating their “old shoes” and their road race “finisher’s t-shirts”. Again, I am featuring them in this blog to acknowledge their effort of “bringing back” something to the sports they love by benefitting the less-fortunate members of the running community. Almost 60 pairs of donated used shoes are awaiting to be distributed for the MILO Manila Eliminations on July 9, 2009 as I wanted these shoes to be distributed at the Luneta Park with a wider cross-section of recipient-runners coming from the neighboring provinces of Metro Manila.
Moreover, the donated “finisher’s t-shirts” had been packed and ready to be sent to the Gawad Kalinga Communities of Laoag City and some municipalities of Cagayan Province.
To all the “Angels Wearing Running Shoes”, thank you very much!
Jody Jacinto of Team BR-Professional Group Donated Four (4) Pairs of ShoesUltrarunners Ronnie aka RunnerForChrist & Dennis Enriquez Donated "Used" Finisher's T-ShirtsUltrarunner Enrico Tocol of Hardcore/Power Runner Group Donated A Shoes and Finisher's T-Shirts
Jayson, one of the latest recipients of the “1,000-Km Club” Finisher’s T-Shirt, also donated one (1) pair of his “used” running shoes.
Jinoe Gavan and the people of takbo.ph endorsed me as the Special Guest in the conduct of the Aboitiz Transport System (ATS) 2009 Fun Run which was held at the La Mesa Eco Park last Saturday morning, starting at 6:00 AM of 16 May 2009. After phone calls and exchanges of SMS and e-mail messages, my attendance in the said activity was set through the invitation of Jerome Sese, the HR supervisor of Aboitiz Transport System. I consider that I was a Special Guest of the activity since I was the only one outside the Aboitiz Group who was invited to grace the affair.
Jerome wanted me to speak among the officers, staff, and employees of the Aboitiz Transport System, which is a conglomeration of 3-4 different companies involved in transport, shipping and messenger services, about running and inform/invite them to join the weekly road races in Metro Manila. I was informed also that the HR Group of Aboitiz is conducting such activity as a result of a personnel health audit report among its officers, staff, and employees that shows that most of them have hypertension, arthritis/gout, diabetes, and early signs of overweight. As part of the solution for these illnesses, the HR group deemed it wise to conduct such activity and at the same time provide a “team building” activity for everybody.
Backdrop of the ActivityStart of the 2-Km Fun RunMelvin Pangan, Winner of the 2-Km Run. He is a "Weekend Warrior" In Road RacesThe Other Runner-Finishers
After a short warm-up and stretching exercises, the activity started with a 2-km trail run inside the La Mesa Eco Park. After all the participants finished the fun run, simple breakfast was served consisting of arroz caldo, taho, and fruit juices. Breakfast was followed with a program where the participants were grouped by their respective companies. Cheering and shouting were done by each group through the signal/cue from the Emcee. There was fun and joy among the participants. It was followed by an aerobics/dance exercise led by 3 professional fitness instructors which almost took 30 minutes. This part of the program was very challenging to the participants as most of them sweat it out more than their 2-km fun run.
Cheering Competition Among The Participants30-Minute Dance Exercises Dance Instructors/Instructress Leading the Participants
After the dance exercises, I was called for my part to tell everybody about my advocacy to promote running/walking . I told them briefly on the basics of developing and motivating them to be involved in endurance sports like running and brisk-walking. I advised each company to come up with a core group of runners/walkers and I will visit their respective offices to conduct a more detailed running clinic for FREE as soon as they are prepared. For the meantime, I advised them to visit my blogsite to find out more of the projects I’ve been advocating for the past years. I invited them to join the weekly road races in Metro Manila but I told them to start from the shorter distances first before going to the longer ones. It takes time for their body to develop their endurance in order to finish such races without being prone to any injury.
A Brief Talk About Running & Invitation to Conduct Running Clinics
My talk with the group was very brief but I encouraged them to take care of their health and be an example/model to their family in terms of adhering to an active healthy lifestyle in order to prevent them from being inflicted with the so-called “lifestyle illnesses” due to lack of exercise/physical activity. It was followed with the awarding of the top 3 finishers in the 2-km run where I assisted their officers.
Top 3 Winners of the 2-Km Fun RunGroup Picture With Aboitiz Transport System (ATS)With Melvin Pangan, the Winner of the 2-Km Run
After the last messages from their officers, the activity ended at about 9:30 AM. I had a nice time visiting the La Mesa Eco Park for the first time and walk along its trails and get around the different facilities of the park. I highly recommend to everybody to visit this place and enjoy a nice scenery of a nature’s park.
Thanks Jerome, Melvin and to the Officers of the Aboitiz Transport System (ATS) for inviting me in this activity and for their hospitality.
After breakfast at Jollibee Market! Market! yesterday morning, I awarded the Bald Runner’s “1,000-Km Club” Finisher’s T-Shirt to the following:
Jayson from the NIKE Training GroupUltramarathoner Armand Fernando (Witnessed by Jonel & Ivy)Ultramarathoner Enrico Tocol of Hardcore Group/Power RunnersUltramarathoner Jay Lee C-U of Hardcore Group/Power Runners
Ultramarathoner Jose Mari Javier was also awarded a “1,000-Km Club” Finisher’s T-Shirt but his picture was not taken due to a discharged battery of my camera. I am sorry, Mari, we will have your picture re-taken next time.
Market! Market! 10-Mile Run @ Global City/The Fort (5:32 AM 17 May 2009)
It had been my personal practice to visit or hear mass in the church on the first hours of my birthday but I had this practice advanced few days before my birthday by visiting the Lady of Manaoag at the Manaoag Church last Thursday morning. It was an easy and fast trip after my first experience of using the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway all the way to Tarlac City. The trip took us at least one and half hours faster than my usual trip to Manaoag in the past.
Having done the most important task of thanking the Lord for making me strong, healthy and blessed in my running activities and other undertakings, I had my mind focused this Sunday’s Market! Market! 10-Mile Run as I will consider this race as my Birthday Run.
I arrived at the vicinity of Market! Market! at 4:50AM and I saw that the Starting Area was still without any runners. The impression of what I saw on the physical set-up of the Start/Finish area and the presence of marshals made me believed that the race is orderly and well-planned. Instead of looking around for the hardcore runners and Team Bald Runner-Professional Group members, I started to have my warm-up and stretching before I entered the corral for the 10-Mile runners.
Once I entered the corral, I saw the Hardcores/Team Bald Runner-Professional Group and each of them greeted me Happy Birthday! It was surprising to see that the corral was not fully-packed with runners as compared to other road races at the Global City in the past weeks. I could estimate that there were less than two hundred runners for the 10-mile run and the lesser distance race have more number of runners. After 12 minutes, the race started as scheduled at 5:32 AM and the faster runners were ahead of us after the command “Go” was shouted by the Emcee.
Few Meters From The Starting Line
The race started at the Market! Market! and the route goes to the south direction and runners would turn right at the 26th Avenue and then left turn at 5th Avenue. The runners would proceed to Essensa all the way to Lawton Avenue and turn left at Bayani Road up to the usual C-5 turn-around and then back to the Global City but the runners would run along 5th Avenue going south all the way to the Lexus Car Showroom. The runners would run along the road fronting the British School and turn left at the road fronting the International School and then towards the turn-around near the old Gate 1 of Fort Bonifacio. The runners would trace the road back to Market! Market!
Hardcores In Action (Jan, BR, & Jonel)Back View of the Hardcores
I was running at an average pace of 4:50-5:05 minutes per kilometer from the starting line for about 12 kilometers but I started to slow down on my way to the British School because of fatigue, a slight pain on my right hamstring due to lack of massage for the past weeks and the heat of the sun. It was a big mistake that I’ve never been visiting my masseur for the past three weeks and my leg muscles are getting tighter and firmer. Running the next 3-4 kilometers up to the finish line was very slow despite my efforts to swing my arms and “shuffle” my legs at a faster pace! I could not believe that my average pace for the last 3 kilometers was between 5:25-5:31 minutes per kilometer and I tried my best to finish the race with an average pace of 5:00 minutes per kilometer.
On Our Way Back To Lawton AvenueAt Lawton Avenue towards Global CityWith Ultramarathoner Jonel aka Bugobugo85
As I approached the finish line, the digital clock on top registered a time of 1:20:58 hours and my GF 305 watch registered a time with additional one second. It’s almost 1:21 hours but I am still happy that my average pace was 5:10 minutes per kilometer with an average HR of 156 bpm.
Approaching The Finish LineAfter Passing The Finish Line
This road race was almost perfect. There were lots of water stations with lots of water and water cups. There were lots of road marshals, too who could easily distinguished the 10-mile runners from the lesser-distance runners. It was almost the opposite of what most of the runners experienced in last week’s marathon race in Makati & Taguig Cities. There were lots of directional signs in every turn of the road which every runner could see at a distance but I haven’t seen any kilometer/mile markings along the route. I am sure nobody got lost in this race! But when it comes to the exact measurement of the race distance, it lacked at least 330 meters to make it 10 miles or 16 kilometers.
After changing my wet race outfit, I went back to the Finish Line to look for the Hardcore/Team BR-Professional Group who had some extra more kilometers to run. It was bad luck (sorry, guys) to those who did not run this race because I treated the group with a breakfast at Jollibee. After the breakfast, I awarded the BR’s “1,000-Km Club” to those runners who finished their first 1,000 kilometers from the time they started running. Rico of Power Runners also donated a pair of his running shoes and a number of finisher’s t-shirts. Thanks, Rico!
Guys, this is the 2nd year that I will be missing the TNF 100, however, my spirit will be at the race as the Elite Team Bald Runner will be represented during the said race. Good luck to all the TNF 100 Solo and Relay runners.
As part of the advocacy of the Bald Runner to promote running to everybody, a series of invitations from the different corporate offices in Metro Manila had been attended and running clinics had been conducted to beginners and members of their respective running clubs. The running clinics consist of two parts/sessions—a 1 1/2 to 2-hour lecture in a classroom where the basics, principles and “tips” are presented and discussed to the participants; and the actual practical running & demonstration are done at the ULTRA Oval Track for about another 2 hours.
After a month of regular coordination with Celyn, one of the HP employees and one of the Team Bald Runner-Professional Group members who is a regular runner in our ULTRA Oval Track training, the running clinic was conducted last night, Friday, at the 34th Floor of the Robinson’s Summit Center Building along Ayala Avenue, Makati City with the participation of 25-30 employees of Hewlett-Packard Philippines. As what I usually practice in every running clinic, I immediately start the lecture once I enter the designated venue by asking some basic questions to know the extent of competency and level of running fitness of everybody.
Bald Runner & HP Philippine Runners
The lecture deals with the basics, principles, and “tips” in running; and more of my experiences for the past 30+ years that I’ve been running. I emphasized on the “ways and means” for a runner to be free from any injury; their diet & nutrition; the selection of the correct and appropriate running shoes; and appreciation of the phrase, “listen to your body”.
Group 25-30 Runners From HP Philippines
Sometimes, my lecture would be long and more interesting as I always give examples for every principle involved in training to improve in one’s capability to run faster and stronger.
BR's Advocacy To Promote Running...for FREE
One of my favorite runner-writer-philosopher whom I use as an authority on the “tips” of running is Dr George Sheehan. His past writings and experiences had been considered as “precious and timeless” piece of running advise for everybody. His books had been considered as “collector’s item” for every kind of runner. It is unfortunate that up to this time, I am still looking for those books he had written and published. If he is still alive today, he could be the Number #1 runner-blogger in the world.
Part 1 is a Lecture & Part 2 is a Practical Exercise
Duirng the open forum, I found out that some of the participants had been regular runners in road races in Metro Manila. One of the ladies, finished a Marathon Race but she told me that she learned a lot on new “tips” during the lecture and she will surely remember in order to improve her next Marathon Race. Most of the regular runners in the group had just finished their first half-marathon during the Condura Run.
As I promised to them, the second part of the running clinic will be actual running at the oval track which will be done next Friday. Their footstrike, running form, and strides will be analyzed, assessed and corrected. I encouraged everybody to attend the second part as more technical information will be imparted to all the runners.
Gifts From The HP Runners (Coach Titus, Elaine, BR, Celyn, & Sherwin)
After a brief open forum, a simple closing ceremony was conducted where Celyn, Sherwin and Elaine gave some gifts to me and Coach Titus as simple token for the services we have rendered to the employees of Hewlett-Packard.
To the HP Runners, thanks for the warm reception and interesting questions during the lecture. The Elite Team Bald Runner and Coach Titus will be happy to receive you during your actual practical running application/demonstration this coming Friday.
Race Report on the BOTAK 42K Paa-bilisan @ The Fort/10 May 2009
By looking at the map route of the Marathon Race, I already predicted that the marathon race will have some problems. And my predictions were right. There was a lack of road marshals, many runners were lost and most of them registered fast finish times for the marathon distance, the race started late, there was a lack of water cups (again!), and you need to really have your personal support team in order to finish a marathon race with better results.
I am sorry, Franco but you need to improve your support system for the runners if you want more runners to join your races. Please don’t give me the reason that you “sub-contracted” the guys who delivered the water supply and water cups for your race. Do I have to do the mathematics again on how much a race organizer would spend for the water cups in all the water stations? Okey, we will do the math again. Assuming you have 600 runners for the marathon distance and there are 20 water stations for the marathon distance, you will have a total requirement for 12,000 water cups. If you buy water cups in Divisoria, it will cost you P 37.00 per 100 pieces. So, that is 120 X P 37.00 = P 4,440. The cost for the water cups is equivalent to the registration fee of 11 runners. The cost might be lesser because not all the 600 runners are running the full marathon distance.
Meeting & Talking To BDM 102 Finishers
1st Marathon Race For The Year
I was happy at the first 10K to see Gatorade drinks in Gatorade cups but it ended there. I never saw and tasted Gatorade drinks in the succeeding water stations. It is also a very pitiful sight to see runners using the covers of those 5-gallon containers as water cups!!! From my support team, I would share my bottled water, Gatorade drinks and even food to the runner on my side. Armand Abalos from Lucban, Quezon and my running “buddy” from Km # 75 to 90 in the BDM 102K was my running “buddy” again for this marathon race and he is really a strong runner.
1st 20K of the RaceEating Hard-Boiled Egg While Running
The race lacks the much-needed race marshals as there are more turns (right & left) than the number of kilometers in the race. By following the runners infront of me and the other runners, I admit that I missed the Pasong Tamo (after coming from the Kalayaan Flyover) turn-around as runners should proceed directly to the said turn-around before proceeding the the Powerplant Loop. Due to the absence of road marshal, we turned right towards the direction of Powerplant. In my estimate, we missed at least one kilometer distance. However, at the Finish Line, I heard comments from those GF 305 users that they registered a distance of 43, 44, and 45 kms. Afterall, the distance was longer than a full marathon distance and the turn-around that we missed had compensated for the additional distance. Ha!Ha!Ha! Unfortunately, my GF 305 did not work efficiently as the digital readings kept on “flashing” from the very start of the race. Instead of being “pissed off” with the condition of my GF 305, I just maintained my pace and treated the run as my long run.
At the Gil Puyat/Buendia Avenue (26K)
I did not have any problem about the late start of the race. The marathon race was supposed to start at 4:30AM but it started almost 5:00AM. After the grueling experience with the heat of the sun during the BDM 102K last month, the early heat of the sun for this marathon was never an “issue”. At least, the shaded streets at the Powerplant loop gave comfort to the runners but there were no water stations on sight. However, running along Gil Puyat Avenue, Kalayaan Flyover and at The Fort area before reaching the Finish Line gave problems to the other runners.
With my GF 305 not working, I don’t have any numbers and location points to speak of or write on this post except for those observations I’ve noted during the race.
Drinking Water from the Bottle While Running (No Water Cups!)
The race route is very challenging. The terrain of the route was very hard as it was concentrated in Taguig and Makati. In the history of the US occupation of the country before start of the 20th century, the US Army selected the area called Fort Bonifacio, formerly called as Fort McKinley as their Artillery Camp (where the US Army deployed their artillery guns) because it was the highest point in Manila where they can observe the movements of our “revolutionaries” passing along the Pasig River and easily can pinpoint targets within the populated area of the Old Manila and Manila Bay. So, running in Makati & Taguig entails a lot of challenging rolling terrain. Such race route would never attract a world-record pace for the marathon race.
Running Along the Powerplant Loop
Despite constructive criticisms from runner-bloggers about how we “race organize” our road races, it seems that we are not improving, instead, we are going back to the “stone-age” where we have to bring our own water & provisions after paying somebody to support us in our road adventures.
Guys, I don’t blame you why you prefer to go abroad to run a “perfect” marathon race but you must also think that you are paying an equivalent average amount of Five Thousand Pesos or more for the Registration Fee as compared to a measly P 400 to P 500 for a marathon race in our country. Having said that, at least, our race organizers must be able to buy enough water cups for all the runners. We don’t need fresh fruits, gels, power bars, pain relievers and other “gimmicks” (loudspeakers with music) along the race route, just give us potable water and water cups and responsible road marshals. I was laughing when one of the road marshals along C-5 asked me if I am a 42K runner. The road marshals did not know what distance the runners are running even by looking at the color-coded race bibs!
My Running "Buddy", Armand from Lucban, Quezon (BDM 102 Finisher)At the Kalayaan Flyover, 3 Kms from the Finish Line
If there is a positive comment I’ve heard from most of the finishers, it is the fact that this marathon race was a “redemption” race for those runners who participated in last December’s SC Singapore Marathon. They told me that they improved a lot from their finish times and proud that they got new PRs on their marathon finish time in this race.
Before I passed the Finish Line, I slowed down to see the digital clock and I registered a Finish Time of 4:35:10 hours. I am not proud of my time as I ran too slow without an operational GF 305. Based from the Race Chart of Running Times Magazine, I had an average pace of 6:30 minutes per kilometer/10:30 minutes per mile. It is my ultramarathon pace! Ha!Ha!Ha!
At The Finish LineMy Prize---A Finisher's Medal, Certificate & A Smile
By the way, next Saturday will be TNF 100 Australia. There are 250+ solo runners for the 100-Km distance. Dean “Karno” Karnazes, the Ultramarathon Man, will be competing in the said race. The next Saturday after TNF 100 Australia, it will be TNF 100 Sacobia, Clark, Philippines. There are 100 solo runners for the 100-Km distance. Dean “Karno” Karnazes will be in the 2009 Los Angeles Marathon Expo for his book signing. Good luck to all TNF 100 Sacobia Solo Runners!!!
It simply started with a SMS or text message from a certain “Jaydee/JD” requesting me to conduct a running clinic to a group of his officemates few weeks ago. After some exhanges of SMS, the running clinic lecture was scheduled on the 23rd of April 2009.
I found out later from JD that his group is composed of employees working for an office called “AZEUS”, an IT serice provider and IT software developer whose main headquarters is located in Hongkong. Their office is located within the Ortigas Complex and they wanted to have their running lecture clinic within the area and for their practical running demonsration to be done at the ULTRA Oval Track.
Finally, this group of running enthusiasts and beginners arranged a lecture room at the PowerTips at The Podium as the venue of the lecture. These guys really spent for the rent of the said lecture room which could fit a group of 30-40 participants. I was surprised to see such venue at the 5th Floor of The Podium which is a venue complete with white board which serves as the white screen, fully air-conditioned, with LCD projector and computer. It has also chairs and tables and it was a comfortable and silent place for a lecture presentation.
Lecture Started at 7:30 PM at The PowerTips @ The PodiumParticipants Are Young & Interested To Learn About RunningAnother View of the Lecture (Note: I was recovering from a Flu During the Lecture)
The group consisted of about 35 participants who are beginners and interested to learn the scientific way of training for running. All of the participants are single and in their mid and late 20’s. The lecture started at 7:30 PM as most of them came directly from their office. The lecture went well and an open forum was conducted for the Q & A portion. The lecture was concluded at 9:30 PM with a request from me and Coach Salazar that an actual practical demonstration must be done in order to apply what we had lectured to them.
I found out later that the participants of the lecture is the core group of the AZEUS Runners Group/Team whose members would like to join weekend road races in Metro Manila. JD, as one of the prime movers of the group, had just started running last November of 2008 and he is a regular visitor of this blog.
Due to the rains last week, the actual practical demonstration and application was finally scheduled last night at the ULTRA Oval Track. A group of 17 employees from AZEUS finally showed up at 7:30 PM and Coach Salazar taught them on how to warm-up properlyby jogging around the oval, did stretching exercises, did some “jumping and foot” drills, and a relay run to the group. All the “basics” in running were properly explained by Coach Salazar through demonstration and application by each of the participant. The demonstration covered running form, running strides, midfoot vs heel-strike running, stride frequency, and arms swinging. The actual running demonstration and practical exercises were finished at 9:30 PM with full satisfaction from the participants.
Coach Titus Led The Group To a 4-Lap Warm-Up JogNice "Jump" & Jogging Shot!Stretching Exercises!Speed Drills & Correct Running Form Practical Demonstration
As an extra and bonus part of the practical instructions, we taught each of the participant on how to pick-up a water cup from a water station and for them to drink the water while running. We also taught them the courtesy and etiquette in using the oval track.
Before it rained and before the group finally left the Oval Track, the group presented Certificates of Appreciation to Coach Salazar and to myself. Thanks, Jaydee and to your group. I hope you have learned a lot from our lecture and practical demonstrations on running.
Very Nice Laminated Certificate of Appreciation
Good luck to the AZEUS Runners Club and Congratulations for joining and finishing the Southern Race 5K & 10K Runs at the Ayala Town Center last Sunday.
This running clinic program of Team Bald Runner will continue to be conducted to interested groups and it is FREE. It is the objective of the Bald Runner and Team Bald Runner to spread its advocacy to let everybody appreciates the benefits of running through scientific approach in training in order to promote an active and healthy lifestyle.
After two weeks of rest and recovery, I registered to run in the Southern Race ATC 10K Run this Sunday morning. I considered this run as my “test run” in order to bring back my running legs and feet back into action again. There was no plan for a PR this time due to lack of speed and endurance runs.
The following were my schedule and the workout I did since Tuesday:
Tuesday: I did a 30-minute active recovery runs at 75% effort at the ULTRA Oval Track
Wednesday: Another 30-minute recovery run at 75% effort at the ULTRA Oval Track
Thursday: “Walkabout” for 1:19+ hours @ 10 minutes/km
Saturday: “Walkabout” for 1:30+ hours @ 10 minutes/km
In my estimate, I was able to run and walk a distance of 30-32 kms for this week before the race this morning.
There were three (3) road races scheduled for today. One road race was held in San Fernando, Pampanga. Another road race was held in Marikina City and the other one was the Southern Race held at the Ayala Alabang Village. The reason why I joined this race was because it was for the benefit of the SOS Children’s Village where my friend and fellow Ilocano runner, Felipe Dumpit, is the key mover and chief administrator of this cause.
Jinoe aka Manokan Express/takbo.phTeam Bald Runner-Professional Group (Jonas, Michelle, Ivy, Jonel, & Jay Lee)Legs, Running Shorts & ShoesThe Takbo.Ph Group
I arrived at the Ayala Town Center at 5:00 AM and immediately saw familiar faces—runner-bloggers, members of Team Bald Runner-Professional Group, and runners from other running groups. Instead of having a warm-up run, I did some stretching exercises at the Starting Area while waiting for the start of the race. Finally, the race started at 5:42 AM and it started with a short uphill from the Parking Area of the commercial establishment for the first 100 meters. The 10K runners started ahead of the lesser distance runners and it was an orderly start for the 10K runners. After a few meters, we entered the gate of the Ayala Alabang Village (AAV).
Looking Forward To A Nice 10K "Test" RunThe 1st 100 meters of the 10K Run
Basically, the race route covered the main streets inside the Ayala Alabang Village and it is a rolling terrain from start to finish. I would say that a 10K course is already uneventful for me and I just concentrated on my running form and pacing during the race. My objective in this race was to test my body if it can sustain a race level performance even with only few kilometers of running few days before race day. Moreso, I did not expose myself in any speed runs for the past weeks. Instead, I had more time to walk around the streets in Metro Manila.
During the race, my ultimate objective was to maintain a pace of less than 5 minutes per kilometer and be able to finish 8 kilometers in less than 40 minutes. And ultimately, be able to finish the 10K run in less than 50 minutes. So, after the race I was able to get feedback from my GF 305.
Last 100 Meters To The Finish Line (Red Numbers For 10K & Blue Numbers For 5K)
The course has a distance of 9.86 kms and I was able to have a finish time of 48:20 minutes. My average pace was 4:54 minutes per kilometer. I finished 8 kilometers in 38:30 minutes. I had an average HR of 169 beats per minute. Not bad after running a few kilometers but more time to walk around the streets during my workouts.
The Smiling Bald Runner
The race was perfectly done because of the wide streets and the absence of heavy vehicular traffic inside AAV, however, it was observed that the water stations lacked the needed water cups most especially in the last 5 kilometers of the race. In general, the race was orderly and the route was very challenging.
Why did I call this particular 10K road race as my “test run”? I wanted this run as a test road race if I could sustain an average speed of 5 minutes per kilometer or less than that. For me to improve my Finish Time in a Marathon Race, I should be able to sustain a race pace of 5:00 or less but not more than 5:15 minutes per kilometer. Instead of dividing the marathon distance into segments of 10 kilometers, I plan to divide the marathon distance into segments of 8 kilometers. So, at 8 kms, I should be able to have a time of 40 minutes; at 16 kms, I should have a time of 1:20 hours and so on. At 40 kms, I should be able to have a time of 3:20 hours. And the remaining distance to complete the marathon distance would take me 10-12 minutes to cover. In the end, I could have a time of at least, 3:35 hours for the marathon distance.
The Readers & Visitors of this BlogComparing Finish Times With Team Bald Runner-Professional Group
The Team Bald Runner-Professional Group invited me for another 10-K run after the race but I declined the invitation as intended to have another “walkabout” later in the afternoon or early evening. While I was doing my post-stretching exercises after the race, I was approached by Jay Lee Cu-Unjieng as he donated a bagful of Finisher’s T-Shirts for my Project Donate A Shirt. Thanks, Jay, you are really an “angel”!
Jay Lee Donating His Finisher's T-Shirts
Later in the early evening at 6:15 PM, I did a “walkabout” along the streets at the Makati-Taguig-Pasig areas covering a distance of 9+ kilometers with a time of 1:45 hrs. To include the time of waiting for the green lights in crossing major streets along the route, I was able to maintain an average pace of 10:45 minutes per kilometer.
In yesterday’s Eugene Marathon, Jael Wenceslao of Team Bald Runner-Professional Group finished the race in 4:26:17 hours placing him # 1,120 amount the 6,000+ participants. Congratulations, Wency! You are greatly improving your marathon finish time. Good job!
In last Saturday’s Miwok 100K Trail Run, Rick Gaston finished the race in 10:57 hours. It was a great accomplishment even with the worse condition on the ground during the race. Congratulations, Rick! My congratulations go to the other two (2) Filipinos who joined this race (according to Ben Gaetos).
In the 24-Hour IAU World Championship in Bergamo, Italy, Jaime Donaldson improved her finished ranking from 5th to 4th Place in the Women’s Category, however, she was not able to improve the number of kilometers she finished in last October’s race in Seoul, South Korea which was 221.015 Kms. The following is the “provisional” results of the race in Bergamo, Italy.
1
115
OLSSON
HENRIK
M
SVEZIA
257042
2
57
WEIS
RALF
M
GERMANIA
244492
3
225
FONTAINE
ANNE-CÉCILE
F
FRANCIA
243644
4
83
SAKAI
YUJI
M
GIAPPONE
242713
5
101
BYCHKOV
VLADIMIR
M
RUSSIA
240506
6
71
KEITH
EOIN
M
IRLANDA
237206
7
329
GROSS
ULRICH
M
ITALIA
236161
8
223
BEC
BRIGITTE
F
FRANCIA
234977
9
104
DEDYKIN
SEMEN
M
RUSSIA
233841
10
85
SUZUKI
MAKOTO
M
GIAPPONE
232162
11
84
TAKEDA
KENJI
M
GIAPPONE
232109
12
320
FONTAINE
EMMANUEL
M
ITALIA
228903
13
49
HEUBI
BRUNO
M
FRANCIA
228429
14
98
KURYLO
PIOTR
M
POLONIA
226369
15
59
RIEDEL
ROLAND
M
GERMANIA
226065
16
99
ROZYCKI
KONRAD
M
POLONIA
225048
17
241
CASIRAGHI
MONICA
F
ITALIA
223848
18
48
DOURIEZ
THIERRY
M
FRANCIA
223834
19
74
BAGGI
MARCO
M
ITALIA
220575
20
262
DONALDSON
JAMIE
F
USA
220219
So, what is next? See you in this Sunday’s BOTAK’s Paa-tibayan Takbo 42K at The Fort.
Bald Runner 
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