Category: Pictures

Sand Dunes & 31K Run

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

My nephew brought me to this place by car at Suba, Paoay, Ilocos Norte in the afternoon of Thursday. This place is almost 14 kilometers away from Laoag City and it is 200 meters away from the South China Sea. He was the one who took my pictures with the sand dunes as my background. This is the same place where the late actor Fernando Poe, Jr would shoot most of the fighting scenes in his “Panday Movie Series”. This is also the place where Tom Cruise’s made a film shooting of the movie “Fourth of July” in 1987 (?).

I was using a Puma Runner’s Cap, Inaugural City of Angels Half-Marathon Finisher’s T-shirt, ASICS Gel-1120 shoes, Adidas shorts, Ipod Nano, GF 305, and 2.1-liter CamelBak. 

 

I started my run along the sand dunes with a slow pace taking those trails I could see in the middle of the vast land area. Basing from my GF 305, I was able to cover a distance of almost 5 kilometers along these sand dunes.

I finished my run along the sand dunes at the same place where I started. From here, I followed the road going back to Laoag City. However, I did not go directly towards Laoag City, instead, I went further south going towards the town of Paoay. I was able to run almost 5 kilometers when I reached Km Post 5 before the town of Paoay. From there, I made my turn-around and proceeded north towards Laoag City.

At Km 12, I started to eat the Protein Power Bar which I bought at GNC while running.  I finished eating the Power Bar after running one kilometer and at the same time taking a sip of water from my CamelBak. It was already getting dark but I maintained my direction of running against the traffic, taking extra careful with the tricycles. Tricycles plying on the road are very deceiving during nighttime. At a distance, you could only see the single headlight of the motorcycle but you could not see any light/s coming from the “side car” attached to the motorcycle. As a rule of thumb, I have to run towards the dirt part of the sidewalk  whenever a vehicle is about 50 meters infront of me.

At the crossing of the road to Gabu Airport and Suba Road, I turned left and proceeded towards the airport and reached the place going to Barangay Bengcag which was a good 1.5-kilometer distance from the crossing. Along this road, I could see group of men drinking “basi” or GSM with pulutan but they seem not to notice me. I’ve been warned by my friends here in Laoag City not to run to places where there are “drinking men” along the road as they might make some harm to “strangers” in their place. But what I do in places where there are people on the road is to smile and wave my hand at them and tell them, “Apo/Ama, lumabasak pay” (“Sir, I am just passing through”) and most of them smile and answer back positively. Hmm..one of these days, I’ll be known as the “old runner” who goes around to the far-flung barangays in Laoag City waving his hands to people along the way with a Nathan Water Belt/CamelBak and a bottle of Propel on my hand.

How I wished I could reach the airport but it was too late already and made my turnaround at Barangay Bengcag and proceeded to Laoag City. After reaching the end of the Padsan Bridge (Laoag Bridge), near the City Hall of Laoag, I was already at Km 26 and my legs were still okey. When I reached Rizal Street going towards Barangay Dibua South, my Ipod Nano stopped and I had to reset it with another artist/album. I had to walk while trying to select the music in my Ipod. I selected Bob Marley’s music for the last leg of my non-stop run. After 200 meters of walking, I resumed my run. Bob Marley’s message in his songs and the beat of reggae made my pacing more consistent. 

On my last 4-kilometer, while about to reach the bus terminal of Partas Bus, I was tempted to take a tricycle to take me back to the house of my sister as it was about 9:00 PM already. I resisted the temptation of those tricycles lined up infront of the bus terminal waiting for arriving passengers as I didn’t feel any pain yet on my legs and body. It might be the slowest 3-4 kilometers in my running workouts but I was able to reach my destination without any severe body pains.

So far, this is the longest run I had in preparation for my next marathon. I ran a distance of 31.34 kms in 4:03:21 hours, a non-stop run (except for the 200-meter walk) to include almost 5-km run along the sand dunes of Paoay. I felt good but tired after the run. I didn’t had any signs of reaching my “wall” up to the very end of my long run.

The Camelbak I had with me during the run was an added weight (4-5 lbs with 2 PowerBars & 2 packs of SkyFlakes inside the zippered pocket) to my run but it gave me the confidence to have enough water & food along the way and be able to run non-stop from start to finish. From time to time, I had to pull the end of the shoulder straps to tighten the CamelBak’s fit to my body to prevent it from swaying from side to side. CamelBak is only advisable to long runs where you want to test your body how far it can go without any stops. The feeling of the pack hugged on my back maintained my erect posture while running (Bugobugo85 knows what I mean with this!). The 2.1 liter capacity of water was enough to hydrate me for the said distance as the air was cooler in the late afternoon and early evening.

This long run was not in preparation for my next race on this Sunday’s Half-Marathon but it was a test how far my physical endurance and mental attitude would go.

I hope to have more long runs like this in the following weeks to come. 

Hill Trails

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

I’ve chosen to see and run through the dirt trails near my sister’s place in Barangay Dibua South, Laoag City in the afternoon of last Wednesday (11 June). I used my ASICS Gel-1120 shoes with my Nathan Water Belt, a bottle of Propel strapped on my right palm, runner’s cap, and a Nike running kit. I was accompanied by Barry White and The Beatles.

The access point to the dirt/trail road is very near my place which was only twenty meters. The dirt/trail road is beside an irrigation canal without any flowing water and followed the trail going north. It was a slow run just to be able to see, explore the place, and make sure of my foot landings. There were parts of the trail which were covered with dry leaves that fell down from the trees that are on the sides of the trail. There were parts of the trail which are used by people going up the hill to get some firewoods and most of these trails lead to some houses and rice fields.

This is the dirt road at Barangay Dibua South which is beside an irrigation canal. This point is Km-2.

After reaching the cemented road going to Barangay Sangil, Bacarra as I jogged towards the north, I decided to go through a small cemented/paved road that goes towards the eastern direction. After twenty meters, the paved road became a sand & gravel trail, later a dirt trail, and I was surprised to see a newly-cemented road that goes to the hills. After passing through the peak of the highest hill in the area, I followed this paved road and on the lower elevation I could see on both sides of the road big concrete houses which is a sign that most of the people residing in this area are either OFWs or “Balikbayans” from the USA. At this point, it was already Km-9.

After running for almost 5 kms, I took this sand & gravel road going to the eastern direction.

After running for about 500 meters on this road with big concrete houses, I met 4 couples (at least 50 meters distance from each couple) doing brisk walking with fanny pack belts on their waists. I smiled and waved at them while I passed them. Most of the couples seen walking were fat!

This trail is going uphill to a semi-permanent house. At this point, I was already at Km-7.

It was getting dark already and opted to just follow the paved road and later surprised to see bright lights on the horizon. I could see the Provincial Sports Complex where workers are busy making repairs on the grounds/track. Hopefully, our running oval track here in Laoag City will be made of tartan.

From the Provincial Sports Complex, I have to go back to my sister’s place in Barangay Dibua to complete my run and it was another 4.5 kms distance. After running on the trails and hills in Laoag City, the cemented road and plain terrain towards the house gave relief to my tired legs.  

After almost 25 minutes from Barangay Sampaloc, I was able to reach the finish line, the house of my sister.

This run gave me the reason to see the trails in Laoag City for the first time! I was surprised to know that there are so many dirt/sand & gravel trails on the outskirts of the city which connect barangays located on the hills.

I was able to run a distance of 15.43 kms with a time of 1:50:41 hours. It was a nice run!

CamelBak (Hands-Free Hydration System)

On By kingofpotsIn Pictures, Runners Accessories, Runners' Training, Running14 Comments

The first time I saw a CamelBak Water Hydration System was in an advertisement in one of the pages of Bicycle Magazine in the mid-90s. It was featured in a one-page picture of a mountain biker where the said pack was worn on the back of the cyclist. When I went to the United States to visit my family in 1996, Colonel Alan Cabalquinto (later became a 3-star general), then my immediate “boss” requested me to buy him a Camelbak which he intended to use in his running workouts. At that time, Camelbak was only popular to mountain bikers and some road cyclists. Of all the sports stores in Los Angeles area, the only store that had Camelbak was a Cyclist Store in Beverly Hills. I bought one piece which costs me $ 85.00 + tax.

According to its history, the contraption was invented by a cyclist, Michael Edison, who participated in a bike race in Texas during summer and he was bothered with the constant pulling and putting back the water jug on its rack which is screwed to the bike frame and drinking water from his jug with use of his hands. He wanted to be hydrated while riding on his bike without using his hands. So, he got an I.V. bag and its tube and placed the bag in a bike socks and had it stitched at the back of an old t-shirt, wore it and later came up with a nozzle that controls the flow of water from the I.V. bag thru the tube as he placed the nozzle in his mouth. And the rest is history. By August of this year, CamelBak will be 15 years in the business of hands-free hydration system.

In the later part of 2000, I was part of a delegation of the AFP to attend a bilateral talks with the US Armed Forces in Hawaii as preparation for our future training exercises with them. In their PX Commissary, I found out some CamelBak 2.1-Liter Hydrobak Classic with the color-green cloth casing and I bought 20 pieces at a price of $ 35.00 each without any tax. Out of the twenty pieces, I kept one piece for myself; gave one to my brother; and the rest of the 18 pieces were given to the members of the Philippine Army’s Shooting Team to compete in Brunei for the ASEAN Armies Rifle & Pistol Meet in November 2000. I was then the Team Manager of the said Shooting Team. The members of the Shooting Team were happy and surprised to receive such hydration pack from me as I was the one who first introduced such to them instead of using the old World War II vintage-aluminum water canteen which was the issued water container equipment to our soldiers up to the present. This Camelbak hydrobak was very useful to my shooters that they become the envy of other delegations from the other countries as they were the only ones sporting such hydration system during the 2000 Brunei Shooting Competition. Unfortunately, the CamelBak I issued to the shootes became their personal property and some were “traded” as souvenirs from their counterparts from other countries. Such initiative to buy another set of CamelBak Hydration System for the succeeding team members in the next year’s events was not done by the succeeding Shooting Team Managers up to the present.

Two years ago (I was already a two-star general), I had heated argument with a more ranking/senior general at the Headquarters Philippine Army with my suggestion/recommendation to entirely start changing the hydration system of the basic soldier from the WWII vintage aluminum water canteen to CamelBak Hydration System to be at par with the US, UK, and other ASEAN Armed Forces which had been using the CamelBak 5-6 years ago. The ranking general did not buy my idea, instead, he decided to “improve” the water canteen from an aluminum to a stainless steel one but still the same size, carrying almost one-half liter of water/liquid. It is sad to note that until I retired from the military service, I haven’t seen that “improved stainless steel” WWII vintage water canteen being issued/used by the soldiers in the combat areas/battlefield. Presently, the soldiers are still stucked to the “bottled water”/”mineral water” hydration system ( in plastic bottles).

These are two models of the CamelBak Hydration System. The one with black & gray colored Cordura casing is exactly the same later model that I have which I bought at Travel Club Store 5 years ago. It has a capacity of 2.1 liters of water/fluids and a zippered pocket. The other model is for the military but this model had improved lately and it became already as an integrated part of the backpack/rucksack of the soldier.

At present, I have two sets of Camelbak Hydration System–the one that I bought in Hawaii and a newer version of the hydrobak classic which I bought at The Travel Club Store in SM Megamall 5 years ago which I haven’t used. It was the one which I bought in Hawaii that I’ve been using in my biking, hiking with 35-lb backpack, and other military exercises/activities. The difference between the old and the new Camelbak are the following:

1) The old one ( the one I bought in Hawaii) has no pockets in its Cordura cloth casing while the new one has zippered pockets and stretchable straps/strings where additional sports accessories could be strapped or carried.

2) In the old one, the nozzle/water tube is positioned on the left side with the left shoulder straps while the nozzle/water tube in the newer ones is located on the right with the right shoulder straps.

3) The old one has no cross-straps that connect the two shoulder straps on the breast area. The newer models has a cross-straps which make the Camelbak more hugged and stable with the body.

4) The old one has a bite nozzle that goes or connected directly with the water tube. The new one has its bite nozzle 90 degrees angled with the water tube.

Lately, when I was packing my things  to Laoag City, I was able to find my new Camelbak Hydrobak Classic Hydration System which has a pocket enough for two powerbars or 3 packs of Skyflakes and I brought it here in Laoag City for my future long runs on roads, hill/mountain trails, and beach/sand dunes. 

This is the “Rule of Thumb” in Hydration to the human body when involved in running and other endurance sports—drink one liter of water/fluids for every one hour of activity. Which means that my Camelbak is enough for a 2-hour running as my Camelbak can store only 2.1 liters of water/fluids. The military version and other later models have 3-liter capacity.

At present, more outdoor sports brands had copied the Camelbak’s concept of Hydration System. But I still prefer the original one. We will see how my CamelBak will help me in my next long run. I hope to do 33-35K non-stop long run next time.

“CamelBak: Hydrate or Die”

“Donate Your Finisher’s T-Shirts”

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Pictures, Running9 Comments

8:00 AM 31 May 2008 In Laoag City

I’ve been supporting the Gawad Kalinga Project here in Laoag City through my sister Rosie and husband/brother-in-law Roger since its start/implementation. They are the “prime movers” of Couples For Christ in the area. There are two Gawad Kalinga communities in the city–GK @ Barangay Talinga-an and GK @ Barangay Bacsil South. For the past years I’ve been supporting the GK @ Brgy Talinga-an where the Project Director is my brother-in-law and I’ve been a constant visitor to this place whenever I am in Laoag City.

Additionally, when I was assigned in Western Visayas, I also supported a Gawad Kalinga community in Jaro District of Iloilo City through Bishop Angelo Lagdameo by providing financial assistance. I also supported the “Feeding Program for The Poor Children” of Iloilo City through the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Jaro District. I also supported a school for the deaf and blind children in Kalibo, Aklan through Bishop Lazo and I’ve been receiving hand-written letters and pictures from these kids.

Upon my arrival in Laoag City early this week, I told my sister of my plan to donate the Finisher’s T-shirts that I’ve collected for the past months as a result of participating in road races in Metro Manila. I told her that most of the T-shirts are big enough for me and if I finally decide to use them for my sleeping attire or “house clothes”, they will finally be stored in my closet after being used for the first time and not knowing when to use them again. She knows that I have enough clothes to use and I sometimes give my slightly used clothes to my nephews. I told her that it will be better for the “less-fortunate” families in the GK communities in Laoag City to have my Finisher’s T-shirts and other athletic uniforms/attires that I used when I was still in the active military service. My sister and brother-in-law liked and appreciated my idea/plan.

Since I’ve been a constant visitor and supporter of the GK @ Brgy Talinga-an, I requested my brother-in-law to have my project be dedicated for the benefit of the residents and families of GK @ Brgy Bacsil South which I haven’t seen and visited. With a brief coordination with the Project Director of the GK community in Barangay Bacsil South, we were able to visit, talk and donate the finisher’s T-shirts to the residents.

Barangay Bacsil South is one of the “depressed” barangays in the city which is located at the boundaries with the municipalities of Sarrat and Vintar, adjacent towns northeast & directly east of Laoag City. It is located near the foot of the mountains that separate Sarrat, Vintar and Laoag City. In the early 80s, it was a “transit point” of the insurgents/NPA from Vintar and Sarrat and this was where one of my best police intelligence operatives was killed in a raid perpetrated by the NPA when I was assigned with the National Intelligence & Security Authority. The GK in this barangay was one of the original six (6) pilot GK Projects that the Couples For Christ established in the entire country. This GK community represented their project for the entire Northern Luzon. Most of the residents here were the beggars, blind, deaf and their families/relatives that we saw on the streets and corners of Poblacion Laoag City during the 90s. I am glad that they have their own houses and are now involved in the cultivation of vegetables, making of our popular sugar wine, “basi”, vinegar making, and small-scale poultry raising.

Here are some of the pictures taken during during the said activity.

This is the entry gate of the Gawad Kalinga Timpuyog located at Barangay Bacsil South which consists of 26 families.

This is the “On Your Mark” Run Finisher’s T-shirt  which I donated to this guy. Maybe his wife, standing beside him, will be the one who will use it.

This was the Large size 4th Global City/Anta Run Finisher’s T-shirt that I received which I donated to this resident of the GK Bacsil South.

The recipient of my Army Running Uniform is a deaf person residing in the said GK community. He looks happy receiving said items (singlet & shorts).

 Another resident received my Phil Army cotton athletic uniform (T-shirt & shorts) which I used when I was assigned as the Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army.

This is the Mizuno Infinity 15K Run Finisher’s T-shirt which is too big for me. I hope the recipient and other members of his family will be able to use it. Well, it will be a nice advertisement item for Mizuno in this part of the country whom most of the people are not aware what Mizuno is.

I promised to these residents that I will be coming back for more T-shirts to be distributed once I will be able to fix/inventory my things which I transfered from Fort Bonifacio to Laoag City. The Project Coordinator of GK Bacsil South, Mr Robert De Los Santos, was very happy about my pronouncements. Moreso, with the people of Gawad Kalinga Bacsil South.

Hey, how about you? If you have Finisher’s T-shirts which are just there in your closets/lockers and forgotten that you had received one, why don’t you also donate them to the residents of Gawad Kalinga villages/communities in your respective cities or provinces?

Always remember, share your blessings! Happy running! 

Shoe Review: ASICS Gel-1120

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Pictures, Running, Running Shoes4 Comments

Buying this pair of running shoes is a result of “impulsive shopping” on my part. After donating all my old running shoes which are not ASICS, only one remained which is the ASICS Gel-Cumulus 8. I needed another alternate running shoes which I can bring with me to Jamindan and my other shoes to stay in my quarters in Fort Bonifacio.

While browsing some of the running shoes at the Royal Sports Store, I found this particular shoes as the lightest and better cushioned among the other ASICS model available in the store. It was marked down to 20% less its original price and I was enticed to buy the said item.

 

After using it in the mountains of Jamindan, I found it to be light, very stable, and very comfortable to my heels. My heels are well-snugged with the heel counter area and I don’t feel any instability with my heels while running uphill and downhill. I tend to strike the ground with my forefoot but I had observed that the shoes has the tendency to roll more towards the outside motion, instead of being flat or neutral. I could feel that the thickness of the heel and sole is thicker on the inner side of the shoes by a few millimeters.

After 3 months of using it, I could feel that my footstrike is becoming more towards the outside/farther or outward portion of the shoes. The shoes have semi-curved last, the only shoes that I have with such construction. I thought of making a research about the shoes with ASICS website and I found out that shoes is made for pronators, runners who have the tendency to roll their feet towards the inner part of the shoes resulting to the inner portions of the heel to be consumed first due to wear and tear. Since I am not a pronator but a supinator, I could feel that my footstrike towards the outside portion of my shoes is more exaggerated making my run uneven with the ground. Although, I feel that my supination is more exaggerated, I did not feel any pain or uneasiness with my leg muscles with this running shoes.

The shoes is light and comfortable but the cushioning is very basic as you could “feel the ground” with your feet. The shoes is not noisy when it hits the ground and it has nice traction and you could feel immediate response from the shoes when you try to increase your pace. This is a responsive shoes, whether you are forefoot or heel striker.  

This shoes is well-recommended to pronators. This is one of the mid-priced running shoes of ASICS between P 4,500 to P 5, 500.00. This shoes could be used for longer distances like half-marathon and marathon races.

This is my ASICS Gel-1120 which appeared in the RW Magazine’s Shoe Review on the later part of 2006. I suggest you don’t buy your ASICS shoes at the Royal Sports Store or at Toby’s because they are selling the older models. Try getting/buying later models of ASICS at The Athlete’s Foot Store at Glorietta.

Typical Ilocano Foods

On By kingofpotsIn Food & Dishes, Insights, Jogging, Pictures, Runners' Training, Running7 Comments

My typical lunch menu/dishes while I am in Laoag City:

On the upper right portion is fresh avocado in low-fat milk with small amount of sugar and ice for dessert.

This a variety of seaweeds which is only available in Ilocos Norte. It is called “Pukpuklo”. It is eaten raw mixed with chopped tomatoes and ginger only!

This is the native snails, we call them “Bisokol” (“Kuhol” in Tagalog), taken from fresh water and rice fields. It is cooked with salt/bagoong with chopped tomatoes and ginger. The end portion of the shell must be cracked or broken before they are cooked. Instead of using toothpick or needles to prick the flesh out of the shell, we prefer to suck the meat from the shell by using our lips.

This is the flower of a tree we call “Katuray”. Be sure to remove the “pistil” portion of the flower before you blanch it with hot water. Mix it with salt/patis (fish sauce) or bagoong & chopped tomatoes.

 

 This is the popular “adobong pusit”.

Hmmm…Yummy…Bon Apetit!

Pose With The City Mayor Of Laoag

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Pictures, RunningLeave a comment

11:00 AM 28 May 2008 @ The City Hall, Laoag City

Suddenly, few hours before the wedding, I was requested by a young couple to be their main principal sponsor in a civil wedding rites to be administered by the City Mayor of Laoag. So, I ended up being a “Ninong” and a good opportunity to have a photo-ops with the Honorable Michael V. Farinas who had been a friend way back when I was still a Major.

Visit @ Mizuno Office

On By kingofpotsIn Jogging, Pictures, Running20 Comments

10:00 AM 22 May 2008 @ Mizuno Office

I was supposed to meet KC Joaquin of Mizuno at their Main Office at Magallanes Commercial Center together with Captain Ferdie Espejo, instead, I met and had a brief talk with this young & beautiful lady: 

She is Michelle Abad, Marketing Associate of Mizuno.

Running Form @ Doc Fit 10K Run

On By kingofpotsIn Jogging, Pictures, Races, Running8 Comments

These pictures were taken by my nephew, Lemuel, during the 2008 Doc Fit “Takbo Para Sa Puso” 10K Run on the roads of UP Diliman Campus. Nice pictures, Lemuel. Thanks!

Do I need to raise my knees to have a higher “kick” with my back foot in order to increase the length of my stride? or Do I have to increase the frequency of my short strides and maintain this “shuffling” motion of my legs and be able to protect my knees? These are the basic factors that you have to consider in order to gain more speed—-the length of your stride and the frequency of your strides. However, every runner must be able to protect his knees, most especially for an old runner like me. But in the end, what is important is to follow the natural form/flow of your body when you are running.

Can you spot if I was experiencing pain on my right foot brought about by “gout”?

Retirement Gifts

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Pictures, Running20 Comments

This is a huge frame of my picture and the list of names & signatures of my Officers, Men & Civilian Employees at the Headquarters of the 3rd Infantry Division, Philippine Army in Camp Macario Peralta, Jr, Jamindan, Capiz. I really like this as my remembrance from the Command where I led for One Year and Two Months to remind me of those hundreds of miles/kilometers I ran/logged in the mountains of Jamindan, Oval Track of Iloilo City & the white beach of Boracay Island.

This is the blow-up of the framed caricature/painting that my Officers and Men of the 301st Infantry Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army gave me as their gift for my 56th Birthday/Retirement from the active military service. The Brigade is responsible in maintaining peace and security for the entire island of Panay to include Boracay Island which is being commanded by Colonel Renato David, a lawyer and member of PMA Class ’78. This painting depicts my transformation from a cadet of the PMA to my retirement as the Bald Runner, covering a span of 37 years. You can spot the difference.