Tag: Run

Half-Marathon @ 2:00:18 Hrs

On By kingofpotsIn Half-Marathon, Insights, Jogging, Pictures, Races, Running31 Comments

Yes, I finished this race with a slow finish time but this is the hardest route so far for a half-marathon road race. I hope most of the runners who participated in this road race would attest to this observation.

The race started 10 minutes late due to some stretching exercises led by one of our lady soldiers who won in one of the past Milo Marathon races. From the Grandstand at Camp Aguinaldo (Start & Finish Area), the half-marathon runners started the run by leaving the Grandstand towards Gate 1 and turn right towards Boni Serrano Avenue which is downhill to Katipunan Road. From Katipunan Road, the runners had pass at White Plains and later to the Seventh-Day Adventist Church going to Ortigas Avenue. From the crossing, the runners had to go uphill towards Meralco and to EDSA. From EDSA, turn right at Boni Serrano Avenue towards Gate 1. That route consists of one loop and every half-marathon runner should go around for another loop and enter Gate 6 of Camp Aguinaldo. From Gate 6, the runners would have a brief tour of the housing facilities of AFP personnel, the Golf Driving Range, the Soldier’s Mall (SM), part of the Camp Aguinaldo Golf Course, the White House (official residence of the Chief of Staff, AFP), the St Ignatius Cathedral (which I had it air-con(ed) when I was the Camp Commander of Camp Aguinaldo), and later turning right towards the Grandstand/Finish Line.

In my GF 305, the distance registered 20.7 kms which is short by 400 meters. I slowed down on the last 3 kilometers due to hunger and the heat of the sun but my legs were still strong and could hardly felt any sign of getting cramps.

I was talking to this tall guy from India (I could hardly pronounce and remember his name) who served the Indian Armed Forces for 9 years in the Infantry and proudly said that he joined in a war with Bangladesh when he was in the active military service. He is a good runner and started so fast that I was able to overtake him at the uphill portion going to MERALCO at Ortigas Avenue. Colonel Oscar Lopez of the Philippine Army was listening to the Indian guy. Col Lopez owns a brand-new GF 405 & his 1st time to use it and it looks great and it seems better than my GF 305. It functions like an IPhone with the “touch” functions!

In my estimate, we had more civilian runners than the members of the military in both the half-marathon and 5-K race. I was at the middle of the pack together with the “friends of BaldRunner”. I saw Loonyrunner, Joms, Marga, Gabriela Calma, Runmd, datc, Segovia siblings, noel lopez, officers and men assigned at Headquarters Philippine Army, and at GHQ, Camp Aguinaldo and familiar faces whom I could not memorize their names.

I was using my ASICS Gel-Kayano 13 for the first time in a road race and it felt good despite a “mild attack” on my gout after eating a Protein PowerBar last Thursday on my 31K run. On this race, I became a model of New Balance (again!) using their new line of running shorts and T-shirts which are light and well-ventilated. I saw another civilian runner wearing the same T-shirt as mine and I smiled at him. At this point, we were going downhill from the 7th-Day Adventist Church towards Ortigas Avenue. I was surprised to see a Rustan’s Mini-Mart fronting the church where I saw a number of Porsche Sports Car parked with the owners looking at the runners passing by.

I was using my Nathan Water Belt and my Sennheiser MPX 70 earphone with my Ipod Nano listening to the songs of Bee Gees, Abba, and Barry White.

These two runners on my right were like Scout Rangers who ran together and finished together. They would overtake me but later I would overtake them at the water stations as they stopped to drink water. The curly-long haired guy would stop running & walked briskly while the other guy would wait for him. At this point, we were already going uphill at Ortigas Avenue. I left these guys on the last 3 kilometers of the course. MSgt Illut became my pacer on my second loop of the race and he was fast and strong. My thanks to MSgt Illut’s effort!

This is another view of running along Epifanio De los Santos Avenue (EDSA) on my last 4 kilometers of the race. It was unfortunate that there are some parts of EDSA that don’t have that “white paint” on the edge of the road. I had observed that such rubberized paint on the edge of the road (5-6 inches in width) added more comfort and bounce on my running shoes and I tried running consistently on the said line during the race. The next picture shows the white paint at the edge of the road. MSgt Ireneo Illut (the runner & pacer behind me) is presently assigned with the Philippine Army’s Special Service Unit administering our elite athletes assigned with the Phil Army.

 

Running along EDSA and going uphill towards Boni Serrano with all those smoke-belching vehicles was one of the hardest portions of the road race and we had to pass through this main road twice! It was a nice experience running uphill which could be hardly noticed if you are riding inside a vehicle or car. The smell of the gasoline and smoke from the vehicles would make each runner’s breathing hard and problematic.

This was my last dash towards the Finish Line! On my right hand is the bottle holder/strap that I bought last week at R.O.X., Bonifacio High Street. Aside from the water on my Nathan Water Jug, I used this bottle holder with a bottle of Propel on my last 5 kilometers and it served well for its purpose. I hope to get one more of this for my other hand. At the Finish Line, I was able to meet runners from Malaysia and Indonesia who finished the race and they said nice things about the race & the challenging route and proudly said that they are my daily readers/visitors to my blog. I met also Michelle of Mizuno whom I encouraged to start running. I told her also that she has a lot of fans here and abroad because of the “picture” I posted lately. 

To all the runners, thanks for running in this race despite our problem in our water supply. To all the winners and finishers, congratulations and more power to all of you. See you at the next Mizuno Rush Infinity 15K Run.

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. 

Robin Petrini & Donate A Shoe

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Running, Sports Program1 Comment

Last Thursday morning, Captain Ferdie Espejo sent me a text message informing me that a box of about one cubic foot arrived at the office of the DND-AFP Gintong Pangarap at Camp Aguinaldo where the sender is a certain Robin Petrini, Head Coach, Softball Team of Pennsylvania State University, USA. I instructed Capt Espejo to open the box and he informed me that it contained four (4) pairs of slightly used running shoes.

Coach Robin Petrini sent three (3) pairs of Saucony Running Shoes and one (1) pair of Nike shoes for the Project Donate A Shoe.

My immediate instinct after I got the information that somebody from the USA sent a box full of shoes was to “google” the name of Robin Petrini. Look what I’ve found!

Coach Robin, thank you very much for your support. I hope I will be able to personally thank you for your effort of sending such shoes to the Philippines. May God bless you always. 

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!

Treadmill Workout

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Runners' Training, Running2 Comments

I had to make a quick trip back to Manila to buy some needed parts and materials for the repair project that I am supervising here in Laoag City. I have observed that the prices of materials here in the province are too expensive as compared to the factory price in Metro Manila. After buying such materials at MC Home Depot at The Fort, I had to send them through the commercial bus going to Laoag with a minimal fee for its transport. I was able to save some money.

Last Tuesday morning, I had a quick visit at the gym and made my usual weight training using the dumbbells and the Smith machine for bench press and I was able to finish my supplementary weight training after one hour.

I shifted my workout and tried the treadmill. I had a combination of brisk walking and slow jogging with the following adjustments:

Speed—6.0                                Inclination—15 (Maximum)

Duration—1:10:00 hours          Total Calories—480 cal

Distance—6.2 kilometers         Vertical Distance—850 meters

Average HR—155 bpm              Hydration—One bottle of Propel

As much as possible, I tried to avoid holding on the vertical bar infront of me and the top of the digital display of the treadmill machine in order to simulate a hill/mountain climbing activity.

It was a nice workout that I was able to perspire a lot. I was glad there were no other users on my both sides during my treadmill workout.

After lunch, I was on my way back to Laoag City.

Sleeping 101: How To Sleep Better

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Runners' Training, Running6 Comments

I saw this article at www.sleepdex.org/tips.htm while browsing at WordPress. I hope this will be an added information for those runners who want better performance and for those who have problems getting to sleep. Remember that a serious runner must have at least 7-8 hours of sleep every night. In my experience, I strongly believe that a good night rest/sleep is one of the preventive measures in sports injuries and sickness. In the principle of rest & recovery in training simply means a complete sleep (at least 8 hours) every night.

Enjoy reading this article.

Sleep Hygiene – Best Practices

Experts recommend these to help you fall asleep, stay asleep and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to start a new day.

  • Go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning. Set and maintain a sleep schedule. Try to stick to it even on weekends and when life gets crazy. Failure to do so can lead to insomnia. “Sleeping in” on the weekends will make it harder to wake up on Monday morning because it resets your sleep cycle.
  • Avoid drinking alcohol close to bedtime. While it may initially sedate you, alcohol keeps your brain in light sleep – you have trouble getting to the deep sleep and REM sleep phases and your sleep is less efficient. Arousals due to alcohol can cause sweating, headaches and intense dreaming.
  • In the late afternoon and evening, avoid caffeinated drinks because they act as stimulants. Caffeine sources include some soft drinks, coffee, chocolate, non-herbal teas, some pain relievers and diet drugs. Caffeine can stay in your system up to 14 hours. It increases the number of nighttime awakenings and decreases total sleep time.
  • Avoid nicotine in the evening. This includes both smoking and smoking withdrawal systems such as nicotine patches. Nicotine is a stimulant, like caffeine, so it pumps your heart up. Smokers often have trouble sleeping because the length of a good night’s sleep is more than their bodies want to go without a cigarette. They wake up early due to nicotine withdrawal.
  • Wake up with the sun, or use very bright lights in the morning. Sunlight helps the body’s internal biological clock reset itself each day. Sleep experts recommend exposure to an hour of morning sunlight for people having problems falling asleep. This is also a great treatment for jet lag.
  • Keep the bedroom quiet and dark and at a comfortable temperature. Extreme temperatures may disrupt sleep or prevent you from falling asleep. Make sure you have a good mattress and pillow.
  • Try to exercise 20 to 30 minutes a day but not right before bedtime. For maximum benefit, exercise at least three hours before going to bed, especially if you are the type of person who becomes more alert with exercise.
  • Develop a relaxing routine before bed. This may include a warm bath, light stretching, listening to soothing music, reading or other relaxing activities.
  • Don’t go to bed feeling hungry, but don’t eat a big, heavy meal right before bedtime. For a light snack before bedtime, carbohydrates or dairy products (e.g. non-chocolate cookies or crackers and milk) are best
  • Don’t lie in bed awake. If you can’t fall asleep within 30 minutes, go to another room and do something restful until you feel tired. Don’t read in bed. If you want to read, get out of bed and sit in a chair.
  • Don’t have a visible bedroom clock because “clock watching” will only help intensify the misery of insomnia. You can always turn the face of the clock away from you or put it in a drawer.
  • Reserve your bed for sleeping and sex. Keep the television, laptop, cell phone, food, etc. out of the bedroom.
  • Don’t make bedtime the time to solve your problems. Make a to do list for the next day then try to clear your mind.
  • Think about your napping policy. Naps can be great in helping some people improve performance. But for others, napping is an invitation to night-time insomnia. Figure out which category you are in. Don’t nap during the day if you have trouble sleeping at night. If you must, take a brief nap 10 to 15 minutes about eight hours after waking.
  • Try not to drink fluids at least two hours before bedtime as a full bladder can interfere with sleep.
  • If you need to get up during the night, do not expose yourself to bright light. Intense light can reset your internal clock and make it harder to get back to sleep. See circadian rhythm section.
  • Avoid sleeping with your pet because their movements or your allergies can decrease the quality of your sleep.
  • Know the side effects of your medications. Certain medications can either compound sleepiness or make falling asleep more difficult. Let your doctor know if you have sleep problems so they can do their best not to prescribe medications that worsen your sleep difficulties.
  • If sleep problems persist, see your doctor. If you have trouble falling asleep night after night or if you always wake up feeling unrefreshed, you may have a sleep disorder that needs treatment.

Medical doctors who specialize in sleep actually use the term “sleep hygiene” to describe the habits and behaviors of people before bedtime and while in bed as well as environmental condition that can affect sleep quality. Attention to sleep hygiene is often the first thing to look to when people have trouble sleeping.

The U.S. government’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has produced four-page PDF files on

Check out our sleep resources page for more information.

My Order Had Arrived

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Runners' Training, Running3 Comments

After accidentally bumping into the book, “The Extra Mile” by Pamela Reed and reading it, I came up with a post in this blog about the said book and the feats the author had accomplished in the underground sports of ultramarathon. I was fascinated with her experiences, preparations, training and the ordeal she has to go through winning the Badwater Ultramarathon Race which is considered the “hardest ultramarathon race” in the world” for two consecutive years, 2002 & 2003, beating the best men in ultramarathon entire the world.

I’ve heard about Dean Karnazes, for the first time, in one of the early posts of QuickSilver Running in his blog and found out later that he (Dean) has a runner’s blog; website and a coach of Runner’s World Magazine. After checking and browsing his website, I found out that he had written a book which is entitled, “The Ultramarathon Man”. In Pam Reed’s book, she mentioned about Dean Karnazes as one of the competitors and  a “threat” to her in defending her championship at the Badwater Ultramarathon Race in 2003 but ultimately did not affect her resolve to defend her title as she emerged as the champion and winner for that year’s race. I hope to know the reason why Dean Karnasez was not able to dislodge Pam Reed as the defending champion in 2003 in his book.

Since then, for the past 2-3 months, I’ve been looking for the said book by Dean Karnazes in the different bookstores in Metro Manila but to no avail. I asked my wife to buy me one and send it through my niece who was scheduled to return to Manila after a brief visit in Los Angeles on June 3, last Tuesday.

I got a call from my niece last Thursday morning telling me that she had arrived safely in Manila an she had my book with her. I told her to just leave it in my quarters and I will be able to have it once I arrive in Manila from Laoag City.

I am looking forward to read this book and post a book review on this..soon!

“Nostalgic Run” #3: 30K Run

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Runners' Training, Running4 Comments

5:13 AM 05 June 2008 In Laoag City

Finally, I decided to run the whole distance from my sister’s residence in Barangay Dibua South, Laoag City to Suba, Paoay, to be exact at the Golf Clubhouse of the Fort Ilocandia Golf Course which covers a distance of 15 kilometers and then back to where I started.

At 5:00 AM, the surrounding is already bright and the sun is about to appear on the horizon but the streets were still clear of any kinds of vehicle. Without any food to take and contented myself with a glassful of water, I started my run with a bottle of Propel on my hand and my Nathan Water belt full of water. I started my first kilometer with a slow run with a pace of 6:00 mins/km but after two kilometers, I’ve started to increase my pace up to 5:30 mins/km and never letting my pace reach or pass over 6:00 min/km. It was a comfortable pace with me as I take a sip of Propel from the bottle on my hand every time I finish 2 kilometers along the way. I saw to it to transfer the bottle from one hand to the other to give extra effort to both of my arms as I swing them.

Before reaching the Barangay Mangato Church and Seminary, I had to take a detour on a dirt/gravel road as the bridge is under construction. It slowed me down a bit as I had to go down to the small creek and had to choose a better landing of my feet due to the gravel and stones protruding unevenly on the ground, before and after the small bailey bridge which was temporarily constructed with a span of about 15 meters. As I passed the small bridge, I had to go through an ascending portion of that dirt road and finally reaching the asphalted road again. I was glad there were no vehicles passing along the said detour as dusts would fill the air, thus making my pace slower. From this point fronting the Mangato Church, the asphalted road starts to slowly ascend slightly and ends up to the 15-km mark.

Instead of stopping at the Golf Clubhouse, I went directly south towards the direction going to Paoay which is the 1st kilometer portion of the then famous North Start 10K Run and finished at the crossing of the road that goes to Suba Beach which is the road where a portion of the movie “4th of July” starring Tom Cruise was shot and taken. After finishing my first lap of 15 kms, I replenished and rehydrated myself with more water after finishing my one bottle of Propel. I bought some bottled water in a small sari-sari store in one of the houses near the crossing.

I finished the 1st lap of 15 kms in 1:28:40 hours which made me happy (temporarily!). I improved my time to reach this point from my previous time last week with one minute and twenty seconds! Not bad!

After filling up the Propel bottle with water, I started again my second lap which was going back where I started. After two kilometers, the heat of the sun was already piercing on my skin and started to sweat profusely as I took a gulp or two of water from the Propel water. Instead of drinking water every two kilometers, I was forced to drink my water every kilometer along the way. At km 6, I had to refill (again!) my Nathan Water Bottle and Propel bottle with bottled water I bought in one of the stores along the way.

At km 11, I had to stop again in one of the stores as I need to put something in my stomach. I was really hungry! I ate two packs of Skyflakes and drank at least three (small) bottled water with it. I made sure that all my water bottles were filled with water from this point to my finish line as I conditioned my mind not to stop shuffling along the road until I reach the house of my sister. The last four kilometers were not the problem to me at this time but the heat of the sun that kept on burning my skin was my only concern. I haven’t felt any pain in any part of my body and my legs were still strong at this point. The other problem which I observed after resting for awhile was those painful little steps from rest up to the time I could bring back my “shuffling” gait. But once I was back on my “shuffling” style of running, I was back to business in running.

To give me more adrenaline and “power boost” to my shuffling, I had to make the sound of my music “louder” to my ears from my IPod Nano with Bon Jovi rendering those rock music. Sipping of water from my water bottle became a must every 400-500 meters. I had to count from 1 to 50 every time my left foot strikes the ground on the 4th step! The last 50 meters before the finish line is an ascending portion and had still the strength to increase my pace. I finished my 2nd lap of 15 kms in 1:52:18 hours. The heat of the sun really killed me this time but I was glad I didn’t have any pains or cramps on my leg muscles.

Next time, I have to start my long runs earlier and eat something before the run. But I am happy that I haven’t reached my “wall” with this 30K run. We’ll see what will happen if I attempt to run 33 kms next week.

San Francisco, Los Angeles, White Sands, here I come!

But the “bigger picture” is an “ultramarathon” experience in the future.

“Mira Quita.” (“We will see” in Chabacano).

“Si Mel, Si Mel, O Si Mel”

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Runners' Training, Running1 Comment

The title of this post is an adaptation of the title of the song “Si Aida, Si Lorna, O Si Fe”. Instead of choosing one from the three different names of ladies, I am choosing only one name from three different ladies with the same name. Very easy to memorize and no way I will commit a mistake in saying the wrong name among the three ladies!

These are the names of my (lady) masseuse in Iloilo City’s Riviera Spa, Makati City’s Island Spa, and in Laoag City.

Last week, I asked my sister where is the best spa where I can get a good muscle massage. She told me that we have a tenant in one of our apartments who works as masseuse in one of the popular spas in Laoag City. So, I told my sister to request our tenant to have a “home service” massage for me. To my surprise, her name is Imelda and she is called as “Mel”. I smiled and recalled that I have now three different masseuse in three different parts of the country with the same names. What a coincidence!

Imelda or “Mel” in Laoag City is one of the “unique” masseuse I had encountered so far due to her heavier body form (malusog!) and stronger hand pressure. She sees to it that all the muscles, small & large, are made to be tender and soft. It was in her technique where I experienced my sides (from my armpit to my hips) being massaged thoroughly. But she does not have that “repertoire” of stretching my backbone and clicking all the joints of my extremities.

Melanie or “Mel” in Makati City had been my masseuse since I started to be assigned in Fort Bonifacio in 1990 and she had been working at the Olympia Reflexology Center. She is a petite woman with average body-built but with strong arms. She is very reliable and professional in her work. I consider her as the best masseuse among the three. She could stretch my backbone and make my joints “click”. Lastly, she could carry me through her legs and suspend me on “air” while stretching my arms.

Emelyn or “Mel” in Iloilo City’s Riviera Spa is the tallest among the three with a height of 5′ 5″ and has average body-built. She is the most top-rated masseuse in the said spa and she is good with her job. What I liked in her was her service of an extension of thirty minutes of the usual one-hour session of massage.  She uses this extension time to give extra massage to my running legs! To compensate such nice service and additional effort, she receives a “bigger” tip in her envelop.

Now that I am retired, I have only two “Mels” to deal with (in Laoag City & Makati City) and hopefully have a chance to see “Mel” in Iloilo City if ever I will be invited to visit my former camp in Jamindan during the Division’s Foundation Anniversary next year.

Always remember, a runner can not “live” or improve his time without a good massage before and after a road race and during his training phase. But it is better to have somebody who is known to you and well-trained/professional to give you the much-needed massage.

Good luck and “treat”/pamper yourself with a nice and relaxing massage.

By the way, I always ask for the “Swedish Massage”.

Camp O’Donnel, Capas & HPA Jogging Lane

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

Having been invited to attend the assumption of command of my brother as the Commander of the Light Armor Division of the Philippine Army, I broke my vow not to travel on on the second day of June. My brother Samie assumed Command of the only Armor unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines at 2:30 PM last Monday, 02 June 2008 and I was there as one his guests and I was able to represent the rest of the Narcise family. The venue of the activity was at Camp O’Donnel, Capas, Tarlac, at the Headquarters of the Light Armor Division. There was a brief parade of the men and the armor assets/tanks of the unit and simple program for the formal turn-over of the command followed. The activity was presided by no less than the Commanding General of the Philippine Army who is a classmate of my brother at the Philippine Military Academy and a close friend of the family.

It was already nighttime when I reached Manila. After travelling from Laoag City early in the morning of Monday by car, I was already dead-tired when I reached my quarters in Fort Bonifacio.

June 2 passed by without any untoward incident happened and I planned to have an early morning run the following day at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. I wasn’t able to wake up early and just let my body rest till I woke up at 9:00 AM. After a drinking my ginseng coffee and eating my cereals with low-fat milk and banana for breakfast, I decided to prepare for my tempo run at the Libingan.

As I approached the road to the National Cemetery, I found out that a retired military officer was being buried on that moment where the coffin/hearse was about to be marched by soldiers from the Gate to the burial site. I decided not to proceed to the Libingan and instead walked along the Libingan Road going north towards the Philippine Army Gymnasium and I thought of running along the HPA Jogging Lane.

Since it was almost 10:00 AM, I opted to run on the shaded portion with trees of the jogging lane and along the Parade Grounds’ Mural. I was surprised to see that they really improved the jogging lane by making it wider and paved it with asphalt with the proper white paint line on both borders of the lane.

I slowly jogged and set my GF 305 to measure the straight section of the jogging lane from one end/curve to the next curve. My GF 305 measured the distance to be 335 meters.

For the next 30-40 minutes, I made my interval training along this part of the jogging lane with one fast repetition followed with a recovery jog with the same distance. I did five repetitions and the following were the data taken from my GF 305:

1st Lap–1:19 mins    Average Pace–3:26 mins/km

2nd Lap–1:13 mins   Average Pace–3:39 mins/km

3rd Lap–1:21 mins    Average Pace–3:59 mins/km

4th Lap–1:27 mins    Average Pace–4:24 mins/km

5th Lap–1:23 mins    Average Pace–4:14 mins/km

My Heart Rate Monitor registered a reading of 154-168 beats per minute during the activity.

The HPA Jogging Lane had greatly improved with the presence of two (2) drinking water stations; wider lanes; newly-asphalted; and light posts along the lane. As I said in my previous post, anybody could visit and try the HPA Grandstand Jogging Lane anytime of the day up to 10:00 PM