Tag: Running

My Running Shoes

On By kingofpotsIn Runner's Fashion/Attire, Running ShoesLeave a comment

When I was a cadet at the Academy, there was only one type of athletic/sports shoes issued to everybody, that was the Converse Rubber Shoes (Hi-cut), colored white, which was basically for Basketball. Yes, that was the running shoes we used in that long distance race where I had my first taste of competetive running.

During my first and second Alumni Homecoming Running Competitions in 1980 & 1981, I was using the cheapest Adidas Running Shoes which was made of soft leather and thin soles. Although it was heavy as compared in today’s running shoes’ technology, this particular shoes endured my long distance runs which made me one of the top runners among my peers.

My wife left for the USA on the later part of 1981 and since then I was getting a regular supply of “state-of-the-art” running shoes. She sent me the latest model of the New Balance Series 300. I guess, she had chosen New Balance because the symbol “N” on the sides of the shoes corresponds to the first letter of our last name. At that time, it was only the New Balance shoes that were exclusively “Made in USA” while Adidas Shoes were made in Germany then. Since 1981, I used at least two models of New Balance Running Shoes in my running practices and was able to finish three (3) Marathon Races up to 1983. I really liked New Balance shoes because it was the lightest running shoe at that time that provides comfort on the heel portion because of its thick soles and it has an integrated anti-pronation system. Up to this time, I am still using a New Balance Shoes for my practice runs. Although my shoes (NB 716) which was bought three years ago is already old, I still feel comfortable with it. This is the shoes I am using here in the mountains of Jamindan.

During the summer of 1983, I ordered from my wife the lightest running shoes in the market and specifically asked her an ASICS Tiger Running Shoes. Since then, I’ve been using ASICS Tiger Shoes for my racing days. Presently, I am using a “Cumulus” Model of ASICS Tiger which my wife bought last December 2006 at the Phidippides  Sports Center, along Ventura Blvd, Encino, CA. I really like and appreciate the staff of this sports store as they made me run for about 50 meters to observe my footwork. This is my fourth ASICS Tiger running shoes since 1983. If my recollection is right, I have been using ASICS Tiger shoes to finish another five (5) Marathon races since then.

So, as an old runner, my running shoes preference is limited to my New Balance shoes which I use for my running practices and my ASICS Tiger shoes which I use only for my competetive races.

The “Basics of Running” by Dr George Sheehan

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Running1 Comment

Important Running Tips For Every Runner to Know by Dr George Sheehan

           This column is for the benefit of those taking up jogging with the coming of favorable weather. Here are a few practical pointers to keep in mind:

           1) Keep a record of your morning pulse. Lie in bed for a few minutes after you awaken and then take your pulse. As your training progresses, it will gradually become slower and after three months or so plateau out. From then on, if you awaken and find a rate of 10 or more beats higher, you have not recovered from your previous day’s runs, races or stresses. Take the day or more off until the pulse returns to normal.
           2) Weigh yourself regularly. Initially you will not lose much weight. What you lose in fat you will put on in muscle. Running consumes 100 calories a mile and there are 3,500 calories to a pound so you can see weight loss will be slow unless you do heavy mileage.
           3) Do your exercises daily. The more you run, the more muscle imbalance occurs. The calf, hamstrings (back thigh) and low back muscles become short, tight and inflexible. They have to be stretched. On the other hand the shins, the quads (front thigh) and the belly muscles become relatively weak. They must be strengthened. Learn the Magic Six: Three strengthening exercises, three stretching exercises.
           4) Eat to run. Eat a good high-protein breakfast, then have a light lunch. Run on an empty stomach at least two, preferably three hours after your last meal. Save the carbohydrates for the meal after the run to replenish the muscle sugar.
           5) Drink plenty of fluids. Take sugar-free drinks up to 15 minutes before running. Then take 12 to 16 ounces of easily tolerated juices, tea with honey or sugar, defizzed Coke, etc. before setting out. In winter that should be all you need.
           6) Run on an empty colon. Running causes increased peristalsis, cramps and even diarrhea. Having a bowel movement before running and particularly before racing prevents these abdominal symptoms.
           7) Wear the right clothes. In winter this means a base of thermal underwear followed by several layers of cotton or wool shirts with at least one being a turtleneck. Wear a ski mask and mittens. Use nylon if necessary to protect against wind and wet. In summer the main enemy is radiant heat. Remember to wear white clothes and use some kind of head covering.
           8) Find your shoes and stick to them. High-arch feet do better with narrow heels. Morton’s Foot (short big toe, long second toe) may need an arch support in the shoe. If a shoe works, train in it, and wear it to work.
           9) The fitness equation is 30 minutes at a comfortable pace four times a week. Your body should be able to tell you that “comfortable” pace. If in doubt use the “talk test”. Run at a speed at which you can carry on a conversation with a companion.
           10) Run economically. Do not bounce or overstride. You should lengthen your stride by pushing off, not by reaching out. Do not let your foot get ahead of your knee. This means your knee will be slightly bent at footstrike. Run from the hips down with the upper body straight up and used only for balance. Relax.
           11) Belly breathe. This is not easy and must be practiced and consciously done just prior to a run or a race. Take air into your belly and exhale against a slight resistance either through pursed lips or by a grunt or a groan. This uses the diaphragm correctly and prevents the “stitch.”
           12) Wait for your second wind. It takes six to 10 minutes and one degree in body temperature to shunt the blood to the working muscles. When that happens you will experience a light warm sweat and know what the “second wind” means. You must run quite slowly until this occurs. Then you can dial yourself to “comfortable,” put yourself on automatic pilot, and enjoy.
           13) Run against traffic. Two heads are better than one in preventing an accident. Turn your back on a driver and you are giving up control of your life. At night wear some reflective material or carry a small flashlight.
           14) Give dogs their territory. Cross to the other side of the road and pick up some object you can brandish at them. Never try to outrun a dog. Face the dog and keep talking until it appears to be safe to go on.
           15) Learn to read your body. Be aware of signs of overtraining. If the second wind brings a cold clammy sweat, head for home. Establish a DEW line that alerts you to impending trouble. Loss of zest, high morning pulse, lightheadedness on standing, scratchy throat, swollen glands, insomnia, palpitation, are some of the frequent harbingers of trouble.
           16) Do not run with a cold. A cold means you are overtrained. You have already run too much. Wait at least three days, preferably longer. Take a nap the hour you would usually spend running.
           17) Do not cheat on your sleep. Add an extra hour when in heavy training. Also arrange for at least one or two naps a week and take a long one after your weekend run.
           18) When injured find a substitute activity to maintain fitness. Swim, cycle or walk for the same time you would normally jog.
           19) Most injuries result from a change in your training. A change in shoes, an increase in mileage (25 miles per week is the dividing line; at 50 miles per week the injury rate is doubled), hill or speed work, or a change in surface. Almost always there is some associated weakness of the foot, muscle strength/flexibility imbalance, or one leg shorter than the other. Use of heel lifts, arch supports, modification of shoes and corrective exercises may be necessary before you are able to return to pain-free running.
           20) Training is a practical application of Hans Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome. Stress is applied, the organism reacts, a suitable time is given to reestablish equilibrium. Then stress is applied again. Each of us can stand different loads and need different amounts of time to adapt. You are an experiment of one. Establish your own schedule, do not follow anyone else’s.

 

Practice Run/Speed Run

On By kingofpotsIn Practice RunsLeave a comment

Yesterday afternoon, I had to wait for the rain to stop before starting my practice run around the camp. While the rain became weaker, I started to have my stetching exercises, from the bigger muscles to the smaller ones, to include my heel tendons which are already prone to pains after long endurance runs. My stretching session lasted for 15 minutes and I was ready to go.

My practice run for the afternoon was a speed workout within the 2-mile course that I personally measured passing through the cemented roads inside the camp. Sixty percent (60%) of the course is uphill and the rest is plain and downhill grade. The reason why it is a must to have a 2-mile course in the camp is because every officer and soldier, regardless of rank and age, must be able to pass the Army Physical Fitness Test every quarter which consists of three events/activities: 2-minute Push-ups; 2-minute Sit-ups; and a 2-mile run. A failure in each event means failure to the whole test. On the average, an officer/soldier must be able to finish the 2-mile run in 21 minutes. 

I finished my first round on the course in 17:26 and timed the second and last round at 17:54. My total time for the distance of four (4) miles was 35:20. Not bad, after having my last run/competitive race last Sunday where I joined the Generals’ Relay (5 x 100 meters) in Camp Aguinaldo.

It appears that I ran a distance of 6.4 kilometers in 35:20. On the average, my pace was 5:21 per kilometer. This is not bad for my age and the terrain where I am having my speed workouts. It was a nice and refreshing speed workout.

Most of the days, I spend my time in my camp situated within the mountains of Jamindan, Capiz. Jamindan is an obscure but large in land area municipality which is located southwest from Roxas City. Its land territory reaches up to the boundaries of Aklan and Antique. The average altitude is 300-350 meters (1,000+ feet) above sea level.

I can safely say that I get my strength and endurance with the clean/unpolluted air around me, high altitude training, fresh & organic foods, restful & quiet nights and the challenging rolling terrain.

My First Road Race

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, RacesLeave a comment

My first experience in running was when I was a “plebe” (first year cadet) in the Philippine Military Academy during the summer of 1970. We had daily morning runs for almost two months in platoon formations. These daily runs as part of the military training made me strong and active but exhausted at the end of the day.

On the 1st semester of that year, I joined the running team (as most of the plebes without any “talents” in other sports) of my Company (“Charlie”) for a 10-K race on the month of November. The race starts at the VOA Gate along the Baguio City-PMA Road, going towards the end of the runway of Baguio Airport and then running practically along the runway towards the trail leading to the back of the PMA Chapel. This trail was the “killer” as it ascends abruptly towards the peak of a hill where the PMA Chapel is located. From the chapel, the road is going down up to the Parade Ground.

Looking on hindsight, the training and coaching advice/tips by our upperclassmen/seniors were all wrong and unscientific at that time. They did not allow us to drink water before the race and along the route because they told us that the water will make us heavier. Stretching exercises were limited to the “Army Dozen” exercises & “Jumping Jacks”. We did not talk about pacing, time splits, and PR best times. Even nutrition and food were not considered as long as the members eat lots of “boodlefights” every after practice runs. “Boodlefights” were practically a mixture of mashed sardines with steamed rice seasoned with salt and fresh hot chili.

On the race day, I placed # 15 among 120 runners. Our Company Marathon Team won the Championship.

Runners’ Fashion & Attire

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As they say, “Everything is Perception”. For so many years that I’ve been to running and joining/competing in road races, I can judge the capability and degree of proficiency of a runner by his/her looks and the attire he/she is wearing, to include the running shoes.

My picture in the 1st City of Angels Half-Marathon Race shows an old, worn-out and determined runner to finish the race. My cap is a golfer’s cap which I bought as a souvenir when I played a round of golf at Fort Ilocandia Golf Course in Paoay, Ilocos Norte in 2002. I have two pieces of this cap which I always use for my practice runs, as well as, during race days, obviously, to cover my bald head and it absorbs the sweat from my head, making it as my dependable “coolant”! My shirt is a “muscle shirt” from Bench which I usually used as my workout shirt in the gym. It is stretchable and cool to the body even if it is wet from my body sweat and I bought two of this one in 2003. My running shorts is Speedo, it’s a loose swimming/running shorts, which I bought with my Bench shirts in 2003 with 30% discount. I have two sets of this shorts and I usually use this  in my gym workouts. My running shoes is an ASICS Tiger shoes which I’ve been using for the past four years. I think I bought this shoes On Sale at Big 5 Store in Glendale, California in December 2002. After the race, I retired this pair of shoes and bought a new one which is an upgraded model of ASICS Tiger. The watch I am wearing is a Casio “Sea Pathfinder” Titanium which is light and water proof. It has a stop watch and timer functions whose digital numbers could be seen without my “reading glasses”. This watch was given to me as a Christmas gift by my younger brother in 1999 and had its battery changed only once. I am still using this watch in my practice runs and races.

The “yellow thing” tied with my shoe laces is what they call “runners’ chip” which activates and registers to the time recorder/computer once it passes the starting and the finish lines. Simply put, it registers your actual time of running from start to finish. In this particular race, it was used for the runners free of charge but for bigger marathon races, each runner pays a fee for using such “chip”. These “chips” are collected by the race organizers after you finish the rack.

At present, my running attire and fashion sense show an old runner whose legs and heart are still strong to finish any road race where he could compete. I consider myself as an average runner.

1st City of Angels Half-Marathon (Los Angeles) 03 December 2006

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City of Angels Half-Marathon (Los Angeles) 04 December 2006

This is a picture taken along the Hyperion/Los Feliz Bridge with my daughter on my right. We just passed by the 7-mile marker at this point. We finished the race in 2 hours & 14+ minutes. My daughter’s PR time for the said distance improved by almost 12 minutes. I was running a pace of 10:15 minutes per mile. I placed/ranked #1,878 out of 3,652 finishers.

How I wish I could race again this year in this event.

Runners’ Blog

On By kingofpotsIn Insights1 Comment

Little did I know that the Internet is full of runners’ blogsites. Last night, while browsing on my past postings in my other blogsite, I noticed that some “visitors” clicked on my postings regarding my running practices in preparation for a sports activity. This gave me the idea to come up with my blogsite specifically for my running activities.

I have seen blogsites of new, young and old runners in the Philippines as well as in other countries. But, “The Bull Runner” inspired me to make this blog and through my recollections of my past running feats, I could share my insights and experiences for the past so many years that I had been running to other runners and “would-be” runners.

Life, in itself, is a marathon race.