Oval Track Marshals?


If there is a need for Road Marshals during weekend Road Races, I think there is a need for Oval Track Marshals at the ULTRA Oval Track! Only in the Philippines!!!

Due to the increase of runners training at the ULTRA Oval Track to include the NIKE Running Clinic, Bald Runner’s “Speed” Training, Triathlon, Duathlon, Aquathlon athletes, Race Walkers, University’s Track and Field Teams, and simply those “walkers”, it was observed that the oval track was full to its intended capacity.

Last night, Tuesday, I observed that the ULTRA Oval Track had the biggest number of users since September 2008 when I started doing my training at the said place. As our group was busy with our speed training workouts, I observed that there are still a lot of runners & walkers who do not know the unwritten etiquette on the use of the oval track. It is always assumed that the lone Security Guard should be the one who should impose such “rules and regulations” on the proper use of the oval track but I can not blame the lone Security Guard as she/he was distracted on controlling the “guests” as to where they should park their respective vehicles. Actually, the lone Security Guard had her time directing those drivers of vehicles where to park and asking for other drivers to “fix” their parked vehicles as they parked in “non-parking” areas. 

No amount of shouting “Lane One” to slow runners and walkers using the said lane for them stay away from it but these people simply do not know what “Lane One” means and worse, they don’t know the unwritten rule of etiquette where Lanes 1, 2, & 3 are “reserved” for faster runners doing their “speed” workouts and for a group of runners on a speed training. This is like driving a vehicle at the NLEX where the fastest vehicles should stay at the inner lane and the slowest ones at the outer lanes.

In our “speed” training workouts, we always emphasize to our runners to do their “warm-up” jog on the outer lanes (Lanes 6, 7, & 8) and during our “interval speed runs”, the runners are advised to run along Lanes 1 & 2 in order to get their best times. Last night, our runners and myself, would be distracted to maintain our pace as more “ignorant users” of the oval track were walking on Lanes 1 & 2. What is worse is that most of these joggers and walkers are engaged in loud conversation or worst is that some of these slow “walkers” are listening to their Ipods! (Maybe this is one of the reasons why these “walkers” don’t hear shouts of “Lane One”!)

Despite my suggestion to the Security Guards to come up with a “big sign or notice” placed at a visible portion of Grandstand on the “rules & regulations” on the use of the Oval Track, nothing had been done about it. Maybe, the Security Guard should simply say a word of advise to every user as he/she receives the “ticket” that Lanes 1, 2 & 3 are “reserved” lanes for the faster runners.

Do we need to go to the extent of suggesting to the PSC authorities to employ or provide an “Oval Track Marshal” at the ULTRA Oval Track? Is it hard for us to understand/implement the “oval track etiquette” and be courteous to others?

By the way, the latest information I got is that the new University of Makati Oval Track will be opened this March 2009.

Hardcores Beat Cyclists! (From 13, Now 23 Runners On “Runabout”)


These series of “runabouts” started last December with only four runners. Now, on its fourth (4th) event, the number of runners had increased to twenty-three (23) runners, to include my son, John. This runabout had been scheduled weeks ahead but the final route was only decided on the early part of this week. It was Jonel aka Bugobugo and Rico of Power Runners who finalized the route, making sure that Reinier6666’s question of the distance of Marcos Highways must be answered. Even if there is a scheduled road race at UP Dilman Campus this morning, the “hardcore runners” wanted a longer distance run along the major roads of Metro Manila. So, the schedule was set at 5:30AM as the “jump-off” time.

My son and I arrived infront of the Oblation, UP Diliman at exactly 5:23AM and I saw a number of the runners waiting for the others to arrive. We were not able to leave from our starting point on the scheduled time because we had to wait for Jerry aka High Altitude as he was still in Cubao after taking a bus from Silang, Cavite as early as 3:30AM. As soon as we were complete, we had a briefing from Rico about our route and what to expect along the way, making sure that the group should always run together on the left side of the road, facing the traffic and identify the prominent places along the way where everybody should stop to wait for the slower runners. After the briefing, we checked on our hydration packs & belts, started our watches, and we were off from the UP Campus towards Masinag Market. The twenty-one (21) hardcores started the runabout.

The "darker" ones were not visible! Photo-Ops Infront of the Oblation
The "darker" ones were not visible! Photo-Ops Infront of the Oblation
Another picture before the start of the "runabout"
Another picture before the start of the "runabout"
John Running Consistently Infront Of Me
John Running Consistently Infront Of Me

It was too dark when we started the runabout and the faster runners went ahead of the group. I did not notice that we were already running along the Katipunan Avenue and we were out of the UP Campus. The group was later divided into three distinct groups as the faster runners could be seen at least a hundred meters ahead of us. We were on the middle group who were maintaining a pace of about 5:45 min/km to 6:15 min/km pace. A few meters on our back was the slower group being handled by Jonel and Lester. Along Katipunan, we met two runners going towards the UP Campus who happened to be Randy, one of our members of Team Bald Runner, and asked him to join us together with his companion. Thus, making us 23 runners for the whole “runabout” group! As we turned left to one of the major streets, I could see that we were going towards the Marikina Riverbanks (and running above it and the river) and SM City Marikina. As we ran along the wide Marcos Highway, I did not notice that we were about to cross the boundary of Marikina and Antipolo.

The "Middle Group" Along Marcos Highway
The "Middle Group" Along Marcos Highway
The "Sweepers" of the Group with Jonel, Lester & Margaret
The "Sweepers" of the Group with Jonel, Lester & Margaret

While running along the Marcos Highway, as the day became brighter, my son asked if what he was seeing ahead of about 500 meters, an uphill climb. And I said “yes” and he answered, “Oh, my God”. We kept our pace  and running side by side until we went towards the first uphill, not knowing that running along the Marcos Highway was already running slightly uphill. After the first uphill climb, we could see Masinag Market and the first group was already resting and waitng for us and the other runners at the corner before reaching the said Market.

At the Masinag Market
At the Masinag Market

Most of the time, the younger runners (as I am the oldest in the group!) would asked me if the place where they were resting/waiting was already the “turn-around” point for us to go back where we started. As always, I make the distance of the route longer and make the running experience more memorable. This morning, as the younger runners asked me where we should go, I told them that we should reach the road leading to the Valley Golf Club and have our pictures taken at the “Golf Ball”. After a group picture at the Masinag Market, we turned right and proceeded to the “Golf Ball”. I did not expect that this road would make our “runabout” a memorable one.

At The Valley Golf Club
At The Valley Golf Club

This was now the most interesting part of the run. The hardcores were able to prove that runners on this uphill road are faster than those cyclists going up to the peak. Most of the cyclists were resting halfway on the road and the others were trying to push hard on their pedals just to keep up with the pace of the runners. Nobody from the cyclists were able to keep up with our running pace up to the time we reached the “Golf Ball”. I know that this road is a favorite route of the weekend cyclists and other elite cyclists and I could see on the surprised eyes and faces of these cyclists to see a group of runners treading on their turf. Moreso, with the presence of our lady runners, Dess, Margaret and Jonie! The cyclists could not believe that they were seeing fast and strong lady runners!

At the "turn-around" point
At the "turn-around" point

While having a photo-ops at the “Golf Ball” (Valley Golf Club), I asked the runners to reach the peak of the road and pace with the rest of the cyclists and from there, we will have to turn-around and have our “pit stop” at McDonalds-Masinag Market. So, the runners raced again with the cyclists upto the peak and we stopped at the Gate of a Memorial Park. After another photo-ops, it was time for our breakfast/”pit stop”. Going down from the peak to Masinag Market was a fast one but we had to be careful as more cyclists were going up as we met them on the left side of the road.

Going Down Towards McDonalds-Masinag Market
Going Down Towards McDonalds-Masinag Market

The “pit stop” at the McDonalds was a much-needed rest and time to replenish our spent energy through food and liquids. The 7-11 Store adjacent to MacDonalds was the source of our sports energy drinks and bottled water as replenishment to our hydration packs. After almost 30 minutes and making sure that everybody had their food and water, we started the last leg of our run back to the Oblation.

On our Way Back to UP Campus
On our Way Back to UP Campus

I was at the back of the fastest group and we were going at 5:30 mins/km pace along Marcos Highway. Jay aka Prometheus was the one leading the group. We felt the heat of the sun as we reached the road fronting the SM Marikina and all the way along the Katipunan Avenue. Some of us slowed down but we knew that in a few meters, we’ll be entering the shaded campus of UP. As we entered the campus, the fastest group kept on jogging towards the finish line, after running one round along the academic oval. I joined Jerry aka High Altitude and Jay Lee Cu-Unjieng walked the last 800 meters towards the finish area.

A "Taho Treat" Dedicated To Bards! Happy Birthday!
A "Taho Treat" Dedicated To Bards! Happy Birthday!

I did not use my GF 305 due to faulty battery and instead, used my old and reliable Casio Pathfinder Watch. It registered an elapsed running time of 2:47+ hours. The runners with GF 304 registered a distance of almost 27 kilometers. In my computation, we had an average pace for the runabout in 6:00+ mins/km.

We finished the run with stretching exercises, gulping lots of “taho”, more pictures, and stories to share. I will let Jonel share you the story with our photo-ops with “Zorro”. All the runners, to include the new ones, were happy to experience the event.  We were out of the UP Campus at 10:00AM.

To the Hardcores, thanks for another running adventure! As I said, who needs a race organizer when you could run with a group on a Sunday morning where you could run as fast as you can and enjoy the company of “friends” who are crazy about running. We should run more “runabouts” in the future. How about a “runabout” from Heritage Park to Enchanted Kingdom and back? 

The Hardcore’s next “run adventure” will be a 6-Hour “Midnight to Sunrise” Run at the MOA Grounds on February 8. If you are a registered runner for the Bataan 102K Ultramarathon Race, you are encouraged to join us. See you there!

from 4 to 6 “urban runners”, now at 13 and counting…


Metro Manila Run: Urban Runners @ C-5

This is the third edition of Jonel’s (Bugobugo85) organized “runabouts” in Metro Manila since the BHS to Luneta Park and back outing. Since then, our “runabouts” were our way of finding the answers of distances from one point to another. This particular run at C-5 was our way of finding the distance from the southern end of C-5 Highway to the Marikina Riverbanks (Starting Area of last year’s Pasig River Heritage Marathon). The decision to run at C-5 today was made after we finished our EDSA “runabout” last Sunday.

Having been late for 10 minutes at the assembly area (Shell Station near the SM Hypermart/Tiendesitas), I was surprised to see a group of runners exceeding more than 6 people waiting for me and eager to start the run which was in contrast to the past runs we had. After greeting the old and the new “urban runners”, I found out that I was the 13th runner! Without much further time to waste, we had our brief stretching and crossed the pedestrian fly-over to start our run, going towards the southern end of C-5 and running against the traffic.

Our run started slowly as it was still dark at 5:45 AM. I was asked to lead the run with a pace ranging from 5:45 mins/km to 6:30 mins/km and the urban runners, old and new, were strong and agile running along the sidewalk and edge of the highway. Instead of running under the Pasig River Flyover, I led the group towards the narrow sidewalk (about one foot in width) along/on top of the Flyover, telling each runner to experience ala-“Fear Factor” running and balancing along the uphill portion of the Pasig Flyover. After passing those elevated U-turns and construction sites, we were already approaching Market!Market!..McKinley Hill..Heritage Park..Libingan ng mga Bayani..and after 58 minutes we reached the toll gate towards SLEX. The distance from Shell Tiendesitas to the Toll Booth is 10.45 kilometers.

The Hardcore Urban Runners
The Hardcore Urban Runners (BR, Charlie, MarkFB, Martin, Arman, Kevin, Nico, Dess, Rico, Dr Joe aka The Loony Runner, Michael, Jay Lee, Jonel aka Bugobugo85)

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At the background is the Toll Booth towards SLEX. These runners were the “faster” hardcores, having reached the southernmost part of C-5 Highway in 58 minutes. From left, Martin, Jay Lee, Arman, Michael, Dr Joe aka The Loony Runner, Charlie, MarkFB, & BR.

 After waiting for the “slower group” and resting for about 10 minutes, we started our run towards Tiendesitas and to Marikina Riverbanks. We crossed the highway and ran against the traffic. The runners below were the ones on my back while we were on our way on a southern direction back to where we came from. These runners were fast and alert. They are really hardcores!

Running along C-5

While aprroaching Jollibee after we passed the C-5 entrance to McKinley Hill, I decided to have our “pit stop” at the said place. We were able to reach the 15-Km point when we stopped at Jollibee. Some of the runners ate their breakfast and some just simply ate their Power Bars. We replenished our water bottles and Camelbak bladders with water after our breakfast. After some photo-ops, we were back on the road and I led the group again.

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From Jollibee, we ran a constant pace all the way to where we started at Shell Tiendesitas to wait for the slower runners. At this point, my GF 305 registered 24 kilometers. After 5-10 minutes, we started our last phase of our run to Marikina Riverbanks and back to Shell Tiendesitas to finish the run. It was decided to run under the C-5-Ortigas Flyover in going to Marikina and wait for the slower runners at the Marikina Riverbanks.

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I consider these hardcores as the stronger ones during the run to Marikina Riverbanks. At this point, my GF 305 registered 28 kilometers. After five minutes of rest, we continued our run back to where we started but we decided to run along/on top of the C-5-Ortigas Flyover before reaching our Finish Line at the Shell Tiendesitas. The run along the Flyover was the hardest part of the run because of the uphill climb and the absence of elevated sidewalk on the road.

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Finally, we were back to where we started at Shell Tiendesitas with the “Survivors” for the 32K “runabout” along the C-5 Highway loop. My GF 305 registered a running time of 3:10 hours but the whole “runabout” took us almost five hours to include those pit stops and waiting time for the slower runners. We were running an average pace of 5:55 mins/km throughout the whole run with a total ascent of 1,260 meters. Again, these guys are really strong and hardcore runners. Well, I was not surprised as we are all preparing for the March 8 Philippine Marathon for Pasig River and this 32K long run speaks well of our seriousness and proper preparation for the said race. And by the way, the March 8 Marathon will be a part of our another long run in preparation and training for the 1st Bataan Death March 102K Ultramarathon Race Event.

Guys, thank you very much for the company and the challenging course for yet another significant “runabout” in Metro Manila. What’s next? Are we serious to find out the actual length of Ortigas Avenue and Extension all the way to Valley Golf Club and back for our next “runabout”? See you at the ULTRA Oval Track for our “speed training” sessions!

94 Days: Last Run For 2008


8:30 AM 31 Dec 2008 @ Rizal High School (Pasig) Oval Track

There were three other joggers/walkers when I started my warm-up run at the Rizal High School Oval Track. After four laps, I had my stretching and speed drills. I decided to have my speed/interval runs in order to correct the defect that Captain Espejo had noticed on my strides and footstrike during my previous run.

I did 10 X 400-meter runs with one-minute recovery in between repetition within my 110% effort. On my 1st to 5th laps, I clocked in 1:35 minutes; 6th & 7th laps at 1:40 mins; 8th lap in 1:38 mins; 9th lap in 1:36 mins; and 10th lap in 1:40 mins. During these repetition runs, I experimented even-pace throughout one lap and slow first half and increasing my pace on the last half of the lap. I found the second mode of running, slow & then fast pace, to be the most comfortable way to undertake such speed runs.

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The stage and the 100-meter dash run portion of the Rizal High School (Pasig) Oval Track

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The left side of the Oval Track as I was standing from the stage.

After the 10 reps, I had my cool-down with two laps of slow jogging and another two laps of walking. I ended my workout with stretching exercises. I was supposed to run another 45 minutes at my 80%-85% effort after the speed runs but I really felt tired already and I opted to call it a day. I was able to run a total distance of 7.5 kilometers.

After assessing the results of my speed runs, I found out that my time for every lap was faster than the time for my 110% target goal which is 1:45-1:46 minutes. However, I really don’t know how I fare with my time if I try to reach the maximum 20 reps for a typical/normal speed run workout. With this speed run workout, I was able to correct the defect that Coach Espejo had observed from my previous run at the oval track.

Extreme Running: The Book


“Extreme Running” is a book written by Kym McConnell and Dave Horsley. Both of the authors are well-respected ultramarathoners and had been going from one continent to another to participate to these extreme running events, all for their passion to test their body limits and challenge the environment. This book was published in London, UK last year, 2007.

I found and bought this book at PowerBooks (Glorietta) two months ago after failing to locate or buy the book, “The Ultramarathon Man” by Dean Karnasez.

This book takes the reader on a world tour of ultramarathon races. The book is divided into seven chapters looking at each continent’s ultra foot races. Each ultra race has its own history, pecularities, preparations, challenges, strategies, experiences/adventures and the characters/personalities involved in each race. Pictures, maps, race course routes, and other informative notes were included in each page of the book.

To mention some of the extreme running events, the following is the list of some ultramarathon races in every continent in the world:

Europe:

1) The North Face Ultra-Trail Du Tour DU MONT-BLANC (UTMB)—101-mile race (163 Km) in Mount Blanc trails that passes through France, Italy & Switzerland held in the later part of August. Cut-off time: 46 hours. Limited to 2,000 runners.

2) Spartathlon—Athens to Sparta Road Race which has a distance of 152 miles (245.3 Kms). This is the original ultramarathon from Athens to Sparta which the Greek messenger, Pheidippides, took in 490 BC to deliver Athen’s request for reinforcements to resist the Persian invaders. Cut-off time—36 hours. Regular number of participants—300 runners. It is being conducted during the month of September.

Africa:

1) Marathon Des Sables—In Sahara Dessert, East Morocco during the month of March or April. It is a 6-stage course which has a total distance of 220-240 Kms (135-150 miles). Number of participants—700 runners.

2) Comrades Marathon—It is a single stage race in South Africa, covering a distance of 56 miles or 90 kms being held in June. Number of Participants—11,000 runners.

3) Trans 333—It is a single stage race in a desert location which is being held in a different host country each year. It has a distance of 333 Kms (206 miles). This is considered as the “World’s Longest Single Stage Desert Race”. Number of Regular Participants—20 runners. Maximum Time Permitted to complete the race—108 hours

North America:

1) Badwater Ultramarathon—It’s a single stage race from Badwater, Death Valley to Mt Whitney in California covering a distance of 135 miles (217 Kms) which is done in mid/late July. Number of Participants is limited to 90 runners (by invitation only). Time Lite to Finish the race is 60 hours.

2) Wasatch Front 100 Miler—Single stage race in Kaysville, Utah, USA which is done in the month of September. Number of Regular Participants—225. Time Limit to Finish—36 hours.

3) Yukon Arctic Ultra—In Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada which is held in February. Distances are: 42K, 160K, 480K & 736K (26.2, 100, 300 & 460 miles).

South America:

1) Jungle Marathon—In The Amazon Jungle in Brazil. It is a 6-stage, 200-Km (125 miles) road race in October and participated by 80 participants.

2) Atacama Crossing—In Atacama Desert in Chile. It is a 6-stage, 250-Km (150 miles) road race which is participated by by 150-200 runners which is conducted in March/August (alternate by year).

Asia:

1) Everest Marathon—In Nepal; 42.2 km, single stage with approximately 75 participants with 10 Nepalese runners. It is conducted during the month of November.

2) Gobi March—In Xinjang Province, China. The course is 6-stage foot race with a distance of 250 kms (150 miles). It is now on-going this week. Check out at www.thenorthface.com with Dean Karnazes participating in the said race. Number of participants—200 runners.

3) Lake Baikal International Marathon—In Lake Baikal, Listvyanka, Russia. 42.2 kms, single stage with approximately 30 participants during the month of March.

Oceania:

1) Kepler Challenge—In Te Anau, South Island, New Zealand. It is a single stage 60-km run (37 miles) done in December with limited participants of 400 runners.

2) Te Houtaewa Challenge—In 90 Mile Beach in Kaitaia, New Zealand. It is running along the beach with a distance of 60 kms (38 miles), single stage held during the month of March. Approximate number of participants—30 runners.

3) Bogong To Hotham Trail Run—In Mount Bogong, Victoria, Australia. It is a single stage run with a distance of 64 kms (40 miles) held in the month of January. The race is limited to 60 runners.

Polar:

1) Antarctica Marathon—In King George Island, Antarctica. It is a single stage 42.2-km run held in February. It has a limited number of participants to 180 runners.

2) Antarctic Ice Marathon (South Pole Marathon)—In the foothils of Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica. It is a single stage race with distances of 42.2 kms and 100 kms. It is held in December with a limited number of participants to 25 runners.

3) North Pole Marathon—It is located in 89N-90N, Arctic Ice Cap. It is a singlke stage race with a distance of 42.2 kms held in April. The number of participants is limited to 24 runners.

Boracay Beachfront: 4.70K


11 February 2008

I was a “tourist guide” again to my visiting daughter and her boyfriend in Boracay. However, instead of being with them walking along the beachfront, I went on brisk walking and jogging from the Nami Beach Resort (north end of the beach) to the southern end near the Lorenzo South Resort.

Using my GF 305, the beachfront distance registered 4.70 kilometers.

For my running workout along the beach, I was able to run 7 kilometers in slow jogging due to the loose sand.

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The Nami Resort in Boracay (On the cliff of the mountain) 

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Jogging along Boracay Beach at 11:30 AM

Blue Lagoon Beach


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Left side view of the Blue Lagoon Beach in Brgy. Balaoi, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

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Right side view of the Blue Lagoon Beach in Brgy. Balaoi, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte

Pagudpud Beach


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The white sands of Saud, Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte. One of the better alternative beaches & resorts for Boracay in Luzon.

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This will be my life after retirement—run/swim everyday and read back issues of RW Magazine while lying on this hammock with bottles of Gatorade on the side!

Pasuquin Beach


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Picture of a beach in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte. One of my favorite places in my province where I can relax, swim, and run

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On this site will rise the “Bald Runner’s” Beach Resort in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte. My daughter and her boyfriend are seen walking on the beach towards the sea.

“Nostalgic” Long Run


23 December 2007 (AM) 

I woke up at 5:00 AM today and started to prepare for my “once-a-week” long slow distance (LSD) run. I started my run at exactly 5:30 AM from my sister’s house at Barangay Dibua South (#59-A), Laoag City. It was still dark but there were lots of tricycles plying the road already because of the early morning mass (Misa de Gallo).

The terrain in Laoag City is relatively flat and all the roads are paved up to the Barangays. From Dibua, I passed by the City Cemetery and jogged towards and along Rizal Street, the main road of Laoag City, and turning right after the PNB Building, and leading towards the City Hall and to the Padsan River/Laoag Bridge.

Running along Rizal Street and all the way to the Laoag/Padsan Bridge leading either to the Gabu Airport or to Fort Ilocandia Hotel or to Suba, Paoay brings back good memories from the time I started running and preparing for my first marathon. This is where I spent most of my running workouts during the early ’80s.

From the Bridge, I proceeded along the Gabu/Airport Road and later turning left at the road intersection going to Suba, Paoay or the Road that goes to the Fort Ilocandia Golf Course and to the Municipality of Paoay.

I reached the Clubhouse of the Fort Ilocandia Golf Course at 1:37:00 hours, which in my estimate covers a distance of 16.5 kilometers or 10 miles from my sister’s house in Dibua. (With the aid of my Nathan Water Belt, my run became very comfortable). From the Clubhouse, I made my turn around and proceeded back to Dibua. The run on my way back was slower which took me 1:43:00 hours!

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I ran a total distance of 33 kilometers or 20.625 miles which took me 3:20:00 hours to finish. This was my longest run so far in my preparation for the Pasig River Heritage Marathon on the 24th of February 2008. I am glad that I am still injury-free and don’t have any major problems with my legs and body.

I started to alternately jog, run and walk on the last mile. I felt that I was about to reach my “Wall” if I continued running at a faster pace on my last mile before reaching my sister’s house. It was almost 9:00 AM when I finished my long run and the heat of the sun was starting to burn my skin.

I consider this long run as something special as I was able to recall all those running workouts I’ve done from the Laoag Bridge to Suba, Paoay and back, almost everyday, morning and afternoon before I joined and finished my first Marathon Race. This route was my favorite practice area and it gave me the strength and fulfillment to be a passionate and a lover of running.