Category: Runners’ Training

My Runs After Mizuno Infinity 15K

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

04 April 2008 (5:51 PM) in the Parking Lot & Driveway of Marco Polo Plaza Hotel, Cebu City

Distance—7.0 kms     

Time—42:00 mins     

Average Pace—6:01 mins/km

Running Shoes—ASICS Gel-1120

Music—Foo Foo Fighters

06 April 2008 (8:03 AM) in the Libingan ng mga Bayani & Bayani Road @ Heritage Park

Distance—7.5 kms

Time—42:43 mins

Average Pace—5:43 mins/km

Running Shoes—ASICS Gel-Kinsei 2

Music—Hoobastank

07 April 2008 (5:57 AM) in Barangay Dibua, Laoag City

Distance—10 kms       Cool-Down—500 meters

Time—53:12 mins

Average Pace—5:19 mins/km

Running Shoes—ASICS Cumulus 8

Music—Bob Marley

08 April 2008 (5:48 AM) at The Fort Area

Distance—10 kms          Cool-Down jog—2.7 km

Time—52:27 mins          Time—17:21 mins @ 6.21 mins/km

Average Pace—5:14 mins/km

Running Shoes—ASICS Cumulus 8

Music—Bon Jovi & Dave Matthews Band

09 April (5:46 AM) at Camp Peralta, Jamindan, Capiz

Distance—10 kms           Hill Workout/Fartlek

 Time—54:46 mins

Average Pace—5:22 mins/km

Running Shoes—ASICS Gel-1120

Music—Linkin Park

Weight Reduction

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

On the last week of October 2007, my weight was 155 pounds. After five months of serious training in running and participation of road races from marathon to 10K races, I was able to reduce my weight. Few days before the Mizuno Infinity 15K Run, I registered a weight of 142 pounds. I was surprised on my weight reduction and all my contemporaries and subordinates who have not seen me for a long time were also surprised about my reduction in weight and “more skinny” appearance.

My training during the duration of the Holy Week in Jamindan and “no meat-diet” were instrumental in my fast reduction of weight.

One of the bloggers asked me about my diet which I have not answered yet. Well, this is it. I eat a lot of Mang Inasal chicken whenever I am in Iloilo City and Negros Island. I eat also a lot of fish and fresh vegetables whenever I am in Jamindan and have a taste of fresh oysters whenever I visit Roxas City. Fried sliced banana (native saba), Sweet Banana (Lacatan), and fresh pineapple slices from Passi City, Iloilo are my fresh fruits. I drink green tea and lots of water. But my favorite dish is Tinolang Native Chicken & Pinakbet. Two days before road races, I eat a lot of pasta/foods rich in carbohydrates.

I have to maintain this weight to be competetive in my road races and be able to improve my time in my weekend road races.

See you this Sunday at The Fort.

D-7 Day: Mizuno Infinity 15K Run

On By kingofpotsIn Jogging, Practice Runs, Races, Runners' Training, Running3 Comments

23 March 2008

Happy Easter to Everybody!

I was supposed to spend my Holy Week in Boracay and stay in our Cottage which is located in Station 0 ( I coined the name because our place is way up north of Station 1) together with my “security detail” bringing with me my books, RW Magazines, and my laptop. However, I changed my mind with the thought of preparing for the next road race which is the Mizuno Infinity 15K Run next Sunday within the hills & mountains of Jamindan. I thought that running along the beachfront of Boracay is not productive as my preparation even if I decided to run along the fairways of Fairways & Bluewater Golf Course or even run the hills of Boracay Island. The 2-mile route inside my camp was a better option plus the fact that I could be easily identified in Boracay as one of the tourists there. I am more rested here in the camp than travelling for almost 3 1/2 hours to Boracay by land and my soldiers in Boracay might be concentrating on my security rather than protecting and securing the tourists visiting in the island. And I don’t want this thing to happen.

Building-up my strength and endurance in the hills/mountains of Jamindan was part of my preparation for the Mizuno Run. I want to improve my time in the 15K with the plan to run at an average pace of 4:50-4:58 minutes per kilometer in order to finish the 15K run in 1:15:00 hours or below. Not knowing on the details of the route, I concentrated my training on my hill workouts in order to prepare for the “worst”. If the route of the race will be at The Fort Area, I am confident that I can maintain my pace with those gradual ascending portions in the area.

Having woke up early this morning to attend the Easter Sunday activities at 5:00 AM at the camp & attending the mass after the “Salubong” at the Camp’s Chapel, I opted to have my run late in the afternoon and confident that there will be no rain today. I started my running workout with stretching and later made my warm-up with brisk walking and slow jogging for about 1.6 kilometers along the 2-mile route. I am supposed to have my endurance run which is a regular run with a distance of 10 kilometers but I finally decided to have a “speed play” within the 400-meter distance flat area along the route. I did 5 repetitions of the “400-meter intervals” with 400-meter slow jog in between speed repeats. The following were the data taken from my GF 305 every lap:

#1)  Distance—416.33 meters          Time—1:47 mins

        Average Pace—4:18 mins/km      Average Speed—13.9 kms/hr

        Maximum Speed—16.4 kms/hr   Total Calories—26 cal

        Average HR—134 bpm                  Maximum HR—153 bpm

        Total Ascent—6 meters                 Total Descent—19 meters

#2)  Distance—413.16 meters          Time—1:44 mins

        Average Pace—4:12 mins/km      Average Speed—14.3 kms/hr

        Maximum Speed—15.6 kms/hr   Total Calories—27 cal

        Average HR—151 bpm                  Maximum HR—161 bpm

        Total Ascent—7 meters                 Total Descent—11 meters

#3)  Distance—436.97 meters         Time—1:38 mins

        Average Pace—3:44 mins/km      Average Speed—16 kms/hr

        Maximum Speed—19.2 kms/hr   Total Calories—28 cal

        Average HR—148 bpm                  Maximum HR—163 bpm

        Total Ascent—7 meters                 Total Descent—13 meters

#4)  Distance—438.73 meters         Time—1:41 mins

        Average Pace—3:51 mins/km      Average Speed—15.5 kms/hr

        Maximum Speed—18.8 kms/hr   Total Calories—29 cal

        Average HR—152 bpm                  Maximum HR—164 bpm

        Total Ascent—8 meters                 Total Descent—14 meters

#5)  Distance—432.57 meters         Time—1:56 mins

        Average Pace—4:28 mins/km      Average Speed—13.4 kms/hr

        Maximum Speed—15.8 kms/hr   Total Calories—29 cal

        Average HR—151 bpm                   Maximum HR—159 bpm

        Total Ascent—8 meters                 Total Descent—11 meters

Cool-Down Jogging for 1.2 kilometers (3 X 400 meters) and then had my post-stretching exercises.

Running Shoes—ASICS Gel-1120

Music—Linkin Park/Laura Fygi

Total Distance Covered—6.8 kilometers or 4.25 miles 

Running Form

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Runners' Training, Running2 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Two-Mile Tempo Run

On By kingofpotsIn Jogging, Practice Runs, Runners' Training, RunningLeave a comment

19 March 2008 (10:26-11:15 AM)

It’s Holy Week and I decided to stay inside the camp and be at peace with the clean air and silent environment in the mountains of Jamindan. This is the time to do more endurance runs, hill workouts, “fartleks” and tempo runs, even during noon time. 

Without any much to do after reading and acting on some administrative papers and matters in the morning, I decided to change to my running attire and planned to test how I fare in my 2-mile run along the hills of Jamindan. After stretching and warm-up jogging for about 500-600 meters, I started my first two-mile tempo run along the the 2-mile route inside the camp.

The following data were registered in my GF 305 for my first 2-mile run:

Distance—3.20 kms                       Time—16:20 mins (8:10 mins/mile)

Average Pace—5:06 mins/km              Average Speed—11.7 kms/hr

Maximum Speed—15.1 kms/hr           Total Calories—235 cal

Average HR—159 bpm                          Maximum HR—169 bpm

Total Ascent—247 meters                     Total Descent—238 meters

After drinking water and slowly jogging for about 3 minutes, I started my second 2-mile run where the sun’s heat was almost on top of my head. The following data were taken from my GF 305 for my second 2-mile run:

Distance—3.20 kms                        Time—16:40 mins (8:20 mins/mile)

Average Pace—5:12 mins/km               Average Speed—11.5 kms/hr

Maximum Speed—14.1 kms/hr             Total Calories—236 cal

Average HR—168 bpm                            Maximum HR—172 bpm

Total Ascent—172 meters                       Total Descent—168 meters

After completing the second set of my 2-mile run, I made a slow jog for about 500 meters cool-down. I had my post stretching for 20 minutes and walked briskly. It was too hot and I had to drink a lot of water.

My second round was slower because of the heat of the sun and the heat coming from the cement/road. However, it was a nice run.

Running Shoes—ASICS Gel-1120

Music—Bee Gees: “Live–One Night Only”

Total Distance Covered—7.50 kms or 4.68 miles.

Fresh Oyster Feast

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

18 March 2008

I rewarded myself with a “fresh oyster” feast/lunch for running my first 100 kilometers on my “1,000 Km” Club in one of the seafood restaurants along the beach of Barangay Baybay, Roxas City, near the ancestral house of Senator Mar Roxas.

At 10:00 AM, I inspected the road project my men are contructing/cementing which connects our road to the camp with the national road of Jamindan, Capiz. A distance of almost two and half kilometers is not yet cemented and my “boys” are trying to pave this portion which was left unattended for the past 20 years. So far, we have cemented almost one kilometer but the weather in Jamindan is delaying the near completion of our road project.

From the site of the road project, I brought my “security detail” to Roxas City and treated them and myself for a lunch full of the famous oyster from Roxas City. They did not expect that we were going to the seafood restaurant and they thought we were going to Mang Inasal for our lunch. By the way, the oysters that are being served in the hotels and famous restaurants in Metro Manila are harvested in Roxas City.

We ordered fresh oysters, kilawen na tangigue (fresh/raw fish soaked in vinegar), inasal na manok (chicken barbecue/broiled), sinigang na blue marlin (blue marlin sour stew), and soda drinks. We enjoyed our lunch with the strong breeze coming from the sea, the sight of a group of fishermen casting their big net far away from the beach and later seeing them pulling their net towards the seashore, and  the music of the 80’s of Duran Duran and Boy George in the background. We were six in the table and we paid only One Thousand Two Hundred Pesos for our lunch with our “Fresh Oyster Feast”. A plate of fresh oysters (12-15 pieces) costs Forty Pesos Only! I finished almost two plates of fresh oysters.

On our way back to the camp, we have to stop along the way to supervise the “fixing” and filling of boulders and gravel to the muddy portions of the road that connects to the camp. The road had been muddy and soft due to the continuous rains. Our “boys” had been called to repair the road to make it passable from all types of vehicle. 

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This is an ascending portion of the road where an old Ford Fiera was stucked on the road due to loose soil & muddy road.

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Hopefully, this part of the road will be cemented as soon as the weather will cooperate with us. This is part of the road that connects to our camp from the Jamindan National Road which was neglected for the past 20 years.

Hill & “Fartlek” Runs

On By kingofpotsIn Jogging, Practice Runs, Runners' Training, RunningLeave a comment

17 March 2008 (4:54-6:30 PM)

I had my Monday afternon run at the camp, along the 2-mile run course. After my usual 15-minute stretching exercises, I started to warm-up with a slow jog for about a 800 meters. I made my first “surge/fartlek” run which lasted for 1 minute (60 seconds) and slowly jog for 45 seconds in between runs. I made at least 12 “fartlek” runs/repetitions while running along the 2-mile route. I saw to it that my 1-minute speed runs are done on the ascending portions of my route with the rest/slow jog done on the flat and downhill portions. Sometimes, I had at least 2-3 “fartlek” runs on the flat portion of the course.

In order to approximately estimate one minute of my run, I count up 60-70 whenever my left foot strikes the ground or my right foot if ever I start counting with my right foot hitting the ground. I count 45-50 for my slow jog. My average pace in these “surges” or “fartlek” intervals is about 4:30-4:45 mins/km.

After the “fartlek” runs, I continued my run with my usual pace and I was able to cover an overall distance of 15.31 kilometers or 9.57 miles.

It was a nice run as the weather cooperated without any rains today in Jamindan.

The following were the registered data in my GF 305:

Distance—15.31 kilometers     Time—1:33:05 Hours

Average Pace—6:04 mins/km        Average Speed—9.9 km/hr

Maximum Speed—15.4 kms/hr      Total Calories—1,112 cal

Average HR—155 bpm                     Maximum HR—170 bpm

Total Ascent—533 meters                Total Descent—560 meters

Running Shoes—ASICS Gel-1120

Music—Bon Jovi/U2/Eagles 

Training Journal (10-16 March 2008)

On By kingofpotsIn Jogging, Practice Runs, Runners' Training, Running1 Comment

10 March 2008—Rest/No runs

11 March 2008—Rest/No runs

12 March 2008—12.5 miles or 20 kilometers/slow run/endurance run

13 March 2008—12.5 miles or 20 kilometers/slow run/endurance run

14 March 2008—Rest/No runs/Body Massage @ Riviera Spa, Iloilo City

15 March 2008—6.4 miles or 10 kilometers/speed run at the Iloilo Oval Track

Total Distance Covered—31.4 miles or 50 kilometers

Running & Body Weight

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

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

20 Kms @ 1:58:13 Hours

On By kingofpotsIn Jogging, Practice Runs, Runners' Training, RunningLeave a comment

13 March 2008 (5:29-7:30 AM)

Waking up early at 4:00 AM for the Army Physical Fitness Test Challenge and its postponement brought me to an earlier and another long run for today. Starting from my quarters at Fort Bonifacio, I proceeded to the Heritage Park up to C-5 Road and back towards the Libingan ng mga Bayani for one round taking the outermost roads of the park. From the Libingan, I went to the Headquarters Philippine Army Grandstand and had one round in its two-mile run route. I went out from Gate 1 of Fort Bonifacio and went to The Fort, going around the different routes inside the complex. From The Fort, I went back to Fort Bonifacio.

I was able to cover a distance of 20.10 kilometers with a time of 1:58:13 hours which was a little faster than my long run yesterday. I started at 5:29 AM and was able to finish the run at 7:30 AM with a slow jog back to my quarters. I had a 15-minute stretching after I finished my slow jog.

The following data were taken from my GF 305:

Distance—20.10 kilometers             Time—1:58:13 Hours

Average Pace—5:52 mins/km         Average Speed—10.2 kms/hr

Maximum Speed—14.2 kms/hr      Total Calories—1,470 cal

Average HR—154 bpm                     Maximum HR—172 bpm

Total Ascent—596 meters               Total Descent—589 meters

Running Shoes—ASICS-Gel 1120 

Music—Barry White: The Ultimate Collection (This “sexy” voice during the Disco Era in the 70’s-80’s died last year. Here are some of his songs—“You’re The First, The Last, My Everything”, “Love’s Theme”,”Don’t Make Me Wait Too Long”, “Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love Babe”, “Let The Music Play”, “Just The Way You Are”, “Love’s Theme”, and others).

This was my first time to use my Ipod Classic in my running workout.