Could you name an item which you can buy at the Grocery Store with One Peso? None!
Can you name a service that would be enough to pay One Peso? There is! When I was the Camp Commander at Fort Bonifacio’s Philippine Army’s Headquarters, I introduced the “One Peso Ride” using Multi-Cabs & L300 Vans donated by the AFP Financial Institutions and later introduced such service also when I was again designated as the Camp Commander of AFP Headquarter’s Camp Aguinaldo. Every passenger has to pay One Peso in going to any place inside the Camp. Such services are still being maintained with the same fare.
When I made a post about Joy whom I awarded her “1,000-Km” Club Finisher’s Club, I mentioned that she gave a donation of P 1,000 for my Elite Team BR as the total amount she was able to save by paying or putting One Peso for every kilometer that she was able to finish, whether in her practice runs or road races! I was really impressed with such initiative and thanked her for the donation.
During the NB Trail Adventure, I had a brief conversation with some Senior Officers of the Philippine Army who had become as regular runners in road races. These Officers had ultimately transformed themselves as “hardcore” runners and they are now leading by example to their staff and soldiers. Colonels Frank “Jonx” Delfin & Alex Luna are presently leading a running group inside Fort Bonifacio and their group is increasing in number.
Colonels Delfin & Luna have established a running program and project where every member of the club put in One Peso per kilometer that they run in their training and races inside a Box and every runner should be able to register in a tally form his/her name & the number of kilometers he/she finished & the corresponding amount of money he/she put in to the box. Their goal is to be able to finish 1,000 kilometers and be a part of the “1,000-Km Club” Finishers.
Register First, And Then Drop Your Peso/s In To The Box
“PISO KADA KILOMETRO” is the name of this project and it already collected some amount as most of the coins had been accounted and properly packed in papers. It is unfortunate that I did not ask these two officers as to the total amount of coins collected so far.
Mabuhay kayo, Jonx & Alex!!!
"Jonx & Alex" With BR @ NB Trail Run (Photo Courtesy of Jun Bisnar)
Joe Matias, the owner of A Runner’s Circle Running Shop, is a native of Legazpi City (Albay) and now resides in Los Angeles, California. His shop is located near Griffith Park, a nice place to run, and his store’s staff are elite runners and champions of road races in Los Angeles. Joe had been a consistent source of my Project Donate A Shoe by sending to me Balikbayan Boxes (BB) filled with slightly used shoes donated by his customers and friends.
Balikbayan Box From Joe Matias Of "A Runner's Circle" Running Shop
Last week, a BB was delivered to our office filled with shoes which we intend to donate to other runners who can not afford to replace their old shoes. A quick inspection of the shoes showed that they are slightly used and there is a need to wash them first before we display or donate them to other runners. I have yet to find out the exact number of pairs inside the box but I am sure this effort from Joe is very much commendable. Thank you very much, Joe!
Slightly Used Shoes & Have Never Counted The Number of Pairs
Let me take this opportunity to mention some of the community services or “gimmicks” that Joe’s Running Shop had been sharing to the runners in Los Angeles. Aside from accepting Donated Shoes from runners, he conducts “fun runs” at Griffith Park and Silverlake Park on Tuesdays & Thursdays (afternoon) from 4:00-6:00 PM with a hydration booth with free candies & water. In these “fun runs”, he gives a brand-new running shoes to a lucky participant through raffle. He maintains an Elite Team of Runners who are his store staff. Lately, he has organized a Triathlon Club that carries the name of the shop.
If you are a runner in the Philippines, the color “green” signifies the MILO Marathon Race!
Last Thursday noon, June 24, 2010, I was one of the few “runner-bloggers” who were invited by MILO/Nestle, Phils to attend the media launching of the 34th MILO Marathon for this year. I think only four of us were there who were outnumbered by the newspaper/print publications, radio, and TV media personnel & reporters—Kikay Runner, Bugobugo85 aka frontRunner, The Bull Runner and I. It was really an honor and privilege to be a part of this memorable event.
The event started with some personal chat and greetings with the members of the TEAM MILO under the leadership of Mr Afnan Ahsan, the new Senior Vice-President, Beverages Business Unit of NESTLE Philippines. Lunch was served immediately at noon time.
As soon as the attendees had their lunch, the formal presentation of the media launching of the event started. What impressed me most is the presentation of the TV commercial film, “The Gift” for MILO’s project HELP GIVE SHOES. I can relate with this new advocacy of MILO because I’ve been a witness of runners in marathon races who are still using “old and tattered” running shoes and I was able to do something, at least, to solve the problem. My personal observation led me to come up with my “Project Donate A Shoe” which I started by donating four (4) pairs of my slightly used running shoes. Little did I know that my readers have the same observations too that they started donating their used shoes to my project. So far, I have received and distributed a total of almost 1,000 pairs of used running shoes coming from my friends in the country & abroad and my readers residing in Great Britain, United States, China, Japan, and the Middle East!
Team MILO/Nestle, Phils During The Media Launching
After the prepared presentation about the 34th MILO Marathon Event, the key members of Team MILO were presented to everybody and they emphasized the importance of their advocacy by sticking “footprints” on the wall. Key figures in Philippine Sports (PSC & POC), Race Organizer, and MILO Executives were seated in front of the audience as each of them were asked some questions and clarification and the Press Interview/Open Forum started.
When a reporter who is not a runner ask a question, most likely, the question is a dumb and stupid one. They don’t read the written Press Release given to them once they enter the venue before they ask a question because the answer is already on those printed pages. Almost all their questions start with the word “Why?” However, I was impressed when a recreational runner-reporter asked the question, “Why MILO thought of such advocacy (Help Give Shoes) now, after 33 years of conducting a nation-wide running events?” Well, the Team MILO answered that they have the same observation as I have expressed in this blog.
Team MILO Marathon with TBR & BR!!!
This year’s 34th MILO Marathon Elimination is totally different from the past yearly event because of their “Help Give Shoes” advocacy for the underprivileged children; the introduction of qualifying times according to one’s age category; increase in registration fees but with better quality of race singlet, finisher’s t-shirt & finisher’s medal; better support services to runners in terms of safety, hydration (water & Gatorade), food replenishments (fruits & sports gels); increase in cash prizes for the winners; accurate timing with the use of the RFID Champion Chip; and a new race course (which I will discuss in my incoming posts).
“Green” means the Environment! “Green” means MILO! “Green” means GO! Run the MILO Marathon!
Most of the people, friends, and other runners had the same observation of me when they saw me for the past few days. Most of the time for the past 2-3 months, I’ve been always going to the province outside Metro Manila and training with my elite team. Seldom my friends and other runners would see me in the usual places where runners would do their workouts in Metro Manila.
Last week, I weighed myself naked and I was surprised that the weighing scale registered 136 lbs! During the start of my training in preparation for the 34th MILO Marathon Eliminations on the last week of March, I had a weight of 143 lbs. It was my weight when I participated in the Jeju International 50K Ultramarathon Race. After this ultramarathon race, it marked the start of my training.
The reduction of my weight by 7 lbs could be attributed to my regular runs to the “Brown Mountain” (BM) and long steady distance (LSD) runs along a hilly paved road during weekends. I have also joined the elite runners in their training which included two running workouts a day—hard training in the morning and another recovery run in the afternoon. In between such workouts, it included at least 2 hours sleep after lunch.
Even if I slept 7-8 hours every night and eat a balance diet in my food intake, it appears that I consume more calories when I run and I was able to burn more of my body fats!
Having said that the ideal weight for a runner (male) competing in a particular race is equivalent to his height in inches multiplied by 2, it would be best to apply this formula to myself, 67 inches X 2, is equivalent to 134 lbs! It appears that I have to reduce another 2 lbs in order to meet my ideal weight for the MILO Marathon. Well, I think my present weight of 136 lbs is already enough for me.
Actually, I really don’t worry about the observation and comment of my friends about my being thinner this time as the MILO Marathon is fast approaching. I always think that this condition is only temporary. It is faster for me to gain weight than shaving off those unwanted fats from my body. I am looking forward already to my rest & recovery (one month) after the race before I start again for my training for the 34th MILO Marathon Finals scheduled on December 12, 2010 with the hope of finishing the elimination race in less than 4:10 hours.
Whether I am thinner or lighter, I hope this will be an “edge” for me to register a faster finish time in a marathon race this time.
This is not what you think it is! This is not your favorite MAXIM Magazine. This is the MAXIM Philippines Operating Corporation, an IT/Semiconductor Company located at the Gateway Industrial Park in General Trias, Cavite.
Tom Mark Obach, Chief of the Test System Support & Services of the Company and President of the Team Maxim Runners, sent me an e-mail two months ago requesting me to conduct a lecture & clinic to the personnel of the company. The lecture was initially scheduled last month but due to conflict of schedule on the part of the officers of the company’s running club, it was rescheduled for this month. After some exchange of e-mails and coordination, the lecture was finally implemented.
Waiting For The Lecture To Start
The Elite Team BR and I were fetched by Tom and company at The Fort on the morning of Saturday, June 19, 2010 for a two-hour trip to General Trias, Cavite. We arrived at the company’s ground before noontime. After the usual inspections and clearance protocol by the security personnel, we were escorted to the lecture area. The Team Maxim Runner officers were very hospitable as they served us with a sumptous lunch, complete with vegetable salad and lots of rice. They really prepared for the practical side/clinic of the activity.
Lecture: All They Need To Know About Running
The lecture started at exactly 1:00 PM and the audience was attentive with the lecture and presentation. An open forum was conducted after the lecture and also gave them tips on hydration, nutrition, shoes, training, safety/etiquette, and techniques in road races. The lecture was followed with an actual demonstration of stretching exercises led by the elites. The audience were requested to follow what the elites had demonstrated. The stretching exercises were followed with running “drills”. It was good that the lecture room was spacious that everybody was able to do the suggested running “drills”. I received feedbacks that it was their first time to know the stretching exercises and the running “drills” that the elites have demonstrated to them.
Tom Obach, Maxim's Running Club President, Generously Donated Cash For The Elite Team BR
After one hour of stretching exercises and running “drills”, we ended the activity with snacks together with the Team Maxim Runner! Before 5:00 PM, we left the Company’s grounds and we were on our way back to The Fort. Because of the strong rains and traffic along the way, we finally reached The Fort at 7:30 PM.
Post Lecture & Clinic Photo-Ops With The Maxim Running Club
The Elite Team BR and I would like to express our thanks for the hospitality of the Team Maxim Runner led by Mark Tom Obach, Alex Amores for sending the pictures & for being the official photographer of the event, and to the rest of the officers and members. Thank you also for the “memento” as your donation to the Elite Team Bald Runner. Thank you also for your plan to contribute to my Project Donate A Shoe.
With The Running Club's Officers & Elite Team BR
Hope to see you in future road races! Good luck & Stay safe always!
New Balance Trail Adventure 15K @ Nuvali, Sta. Rosa, Laguna; 20 June 2010
With Totoy, Rene, & Rene's FriendWith Ultrarunner & BDM Veteran Abby JocsonWith Ultrarunner & BDM Veteran "Gingerbread Man"/Luis ArcangelBoarding The Bus To The Finish LineWho's Afraid Of The Water? (Photo Courtesy of Tommy Lee)On My Way To The Finish Line
You can predict that there is always a “running” scene in every action movie. It is very basic that the main character is being hunted or he is the one trying to catch up with somebody. Running will always be there!
Last week, I watched the movies “The A-Team” and “Karate Kid”. “The A-Team” was a TV-series which started in 1983 and lasted for about six years or seasons but it was never been produced or filmed as a movie. While the “Karate Kid” was a motion picture released in 1984 which was followed with two films as sequels to the first movie and another film, “The Next Karate Kid” which featured a girl as the main character. I was a consisten fan of “The A-Team” as I was in the United States for my military schooling when it first hit the TV screens. As compared with the Karate Kid, the first movie was considered as the best movie of the said franchise and I did not mind watching the sequels.
The "Original" A-Team
What endeared me with The A-Team was the fact that I was able to talk and meet Mr T who acted as “BA Baracus” in person at the Los Angeles Municipal Court. Yes, he was wearing those 20+ kilos of gold chains on his neck and wearing an overall denim clothes with his trademark haircut.
The "Original" Karate Kid
Well, for the 1st Karate Kid, I could remember the simple story and the famous phrases, “Wax On, Wax Off”!
Fast Forward…In the movie, The A-Team, you could see Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith, after he escaped from two corrupt Mexican officers, running along the trails of US-Mexico border trying to save Lt Templeton “Face” Peck from being executed by Mexican “thugs” and drug dealers. In the middle of the film, you could see again a lot of running and chasing on foot from Brock Pike, the leader of the Black Forest Group, and the rest of the A-Team along the streets in one of the cities in Europe.
In the movie, The Karate Kid (aka The Kung-Fu Kid), you could see a lot of running after Dre, the main character, did his own way to get even to the group of Cheng, the bully & protagonist in the story, by splashing them with “waste” water from the drainage. Cheng chased Dre running along the streets and alleys of the town/city until Dre was cornered in a court near their residence.
Action movies are not fun and exciting when there is no running scene incorporated in the story. It only proves that running is a part of life and without running, our life is not fun and exciting as it can be.
You better watch these two movies on the widescreen! Enjoy & have fun!
5:30 AM June 20, 2010 @ Nuvali, Santa Rosa, Laguna
Event's Ads @ The New Balance Website
The first reason why I joined this trail run was to have a glimpse of the “new” running playground outside Metro Manila. I heard about this trail running course last February 2010 when TNF sponsored a trail run on Valentine’s Day. I opted to register the 15K distance which is the longest distance available. Second reason is that it is a part of my preparation for the incoming MILO Marathon Eliminations on July 4th.
I drove all the way to Nuvali with some of my elite athletes who volunteered to pace me for the race and make this run as their workout. We arrived at the area one hour earlier from the scheduled time posted for the runners to be picked-up at Solenad area to the Starting Area. The waiting time was an opportunity to meet other runners, chat with them and pose for some photo-ops. I was happy to see a lot of junior and senior officers of the Philippine Army who had been consistently joining road races as they joined the 15K race. At 5:00 AM, two buses filled with 15K runners were transported to Montecito area which is about 4K away from the Assembly Area and at the same time the Finish Line.
At exactly 5:32 AM, the race started and I was at the mid-pack with the intention of trying to follow the faster runners ahead of me as this was my first time to run in the said area. The trail does not compare with the trails of “Brown Mountain” (BM) with regards to elevation and steepness of the trail. In short, the race is simply a trail run with going down towards a river for a one kilometer of running along its waters and rocks and finally climbing out into a slippery trail towards a leveled area. And the rest was a combination of a dirt road, winding single track trail with cogon grasses on both sides, and some loose soil coming from the erosion brought about by the land developments in the area.
The first 500 meters of the race was some sort of a warm-up run for me trying to size up the trail as the dirt road led us to a slippery and single track trail. Before I reached the 1 kilometer mark, I started to pick-up my pace by overtaking one runner one at a time. I saw to it that I pass each runner on parts of the trail that are inclined and I started saying the words, “On Your Left” or “On Your Right” to give a warning to the runner ahead of me of my desire to overtake him/her on his/her left or right side. But I guess, most of the runners do not know what I was talking about or they do not know what was my message to them. However, there are also runners who would know what I meant that they immediately give way for me to overtake them.
While on the river, I ran with my shoes completely submerged in the water. Practically, I was running with the flow of the river where I was able to pass some runners who opted to tip-toe on rocks on the side or banks of the river. As I went up along a steep trail from the river, I know that my legs and feet have survived those slippery rocks and loose soil on the river and I could feel that there is not much of sand that enetred my wet shoes.
I used my Adidas Adizero Mana, which is road racing flat shoes, for this trail run! It is light even when it is wet and the mud that sticks on its soles could be easily removed when I run. Sometimes, my feet tend to slide on muddy parts of the trail but I am glad that the slight tractions on its soles do not accumulate so much mud in them. I could say that this particular Adidas shoes had passed the test for my trail runs even when I do my runs at BM.
After the Km 4 point, everything was a slight rolling terrain and I was able to gain my speed. But trying to overtake some runners in a single-track trail who do not know what I meant by “On Your Left/Right” made me break my tempo if they do not give way for me. But I became patient with such runners that I have to overtake them when there is an ample space where I could squeeze in my body. It was repeated again and again as I overtook more runners on the second half of the course.
Last 500 Meters of the Trail RunFrank (Left) Joined Me At Km 13; Raul (Right) Joined Me The Whole Race
I was wearing very light running shoes and apparel without any hydration belt. I was wearing an Adidas running shorts; The North Face trail shirt; Eddie Bauer gray trail socks; and ingested one Hammer Sports Gel at Km 8 point. There was no problem with the Water Aid Stations as there were enough for everybody and the route marshals were so many as they were located in key parts of the trail. Ribbons, markers, and pointers were placed along the trails, too! There is no reason for any runner to be lost along the trail route!
Getting Used To Untucked Singlet
I finished the 15K trail run in 1:30:12 hours (unofficial) based from my GF 305. After passing through the finish line, I was greeted by Neville Manaois, the Race Director, and I congratulated him for a nice route and organized race. I did not stay long as I proceeded to the shower facility to clean up myself before changing to my dry clothes.
This is my last tune-up race before the MILO Marathon Eliminations on July 4th and from here my daily routine will be geared towards tapering and mentally preparing myself for the race.
See you on July 4th!
(Note: This is my 1,000th post in this blog! My humble contribution to the 200 million posts at WordPress.)
I had my long run last Sunday morning and I was able to finish a distance of 25 kilometers. I did not carry my hydration belt or brought with me any sports gel. I brought only a small amount of cash wrapped in small platic bag and tucked inside the small pocket of my running short.
I had already planned out for my pit stops/stores/fastfood chains along the roads of the The Fort, McKinley Hill, Lawton Avenue, and Bayani Road. However, my favorite pit stop is always that small convenience store inside the Philippine Army Golf Course along Bayani Road which is specifically located at Hole #1. My hardcore running buddies know this place.
Suman From Pangasinan (Google Images)
Whenever I stopped in this place, I usually eat boiled banana, boiled egg, and drink one bottle of Gatorade drinks. However, last Sunday, instead of eating the usual food being displayed, I ate the local suman, two pieces, and drank the usual one bottle of Gatorade drinks. The food I ate and the drinks filled my hungry stomach and I was back on the road to continue my run.
Suman Sa Lihiya (Picture From Google Images)
I observed that the suman whose ingredients are glutinous rice, salt and/or sugar, and coconut milk with the Gatorade drinks had given me an extra boost for my run! It could be that the food was enough source for my carbohydrate intake (rice & sugar), protein (coconut milk) and the salty taste (sodium source) for my running workout. I am not a nutritionist but I felt differently as I had more strength for my last 10 kilometers due to the aid of this local food called suman.
It is easy to prepare this kind of delicacy if you have the time but they (cooked/finished product) are also available in malls in Metro Manila. There are so many sites in the Internet that will guide you on how to prepare suman depending on the locality where it is made or sourced.
I still have more time to experiment on the effects of eating suman and how fast I could eat them during my running workouts. This will replace my practice of eating hard boiled eggs and instant oatmeal at the halfway mark in a marathon race. I intend to eat at least one or two pieces of suman every 10 kilometers during the MILO Marathon Elimination on July 4, 2010 which will be prepositioned by my support crew instead of ingesting those expensive sports gels and other usual foods that I take. The suman ingested to the stomach could be heavy but I think it will be the best food for my endurance runs.
If my idea and experimentation will work, I will add suman as one of the foods to be served in my ultramarathon races under the auspices of PAU. Runners could try eating suman also in their running workouts or marathon races and try to observe if it works for everybody.
This was our 4th time to explore the trail of “Brown Mountain” and I wanted to extend our exploration farther than the last turn-around point in our last trail run. We started early at 2:30 PM as we took advantage of the cloudy environment with the hope that it will not rain heavily while we were in the mountain. We went up slowly on those inclines as we tried to preserve our strength for the farther distance we wanted to reach. In my mind, I was thinking that we could reach a distance of 15 kilometers (one way) for this exploration workout.
Trail Finally Dried Up After A Few Days of No Rains
At Km 6.2, Django was sleeping in his nipa hut while his wife was on the side of the trail smoking her tobacco. We greeted the lady as we passed by their hut. No sardines this time! Elmer went ahead of us as we reached the Km. 3 but he was too fast that we did not see him anymore. As we were about to reach Km 7, we were only three and there are times that I led the group (three runners). However, most of the time Charlie (in black Team BR shirt) was the one infront, me at the middle, and Jack guarding my back.
Higher Elevation & More Steep Trail
We finally reached our first turn-around point where we cleaned the stream/spring water last week. We briefly stopped to drink some water using our palm and crossed the spring. The picture above is about 500 meters after we passed the turn-around point and the trail started to be steeper until we could not see any trace of the trail. We crossed the same spring for two times before we could continue again running along the trail.
The Farther. The Better
As we got farther and higher, the trail became narrower and later disappeared. We tried to trace the footprints of a horse and the newly cut bananas where we suspect Django could be the one who came earlier to harvest the flowers of the bananas. As we went up the mountain, the horse’s footprints and the cut banana trunks were nowhere in the area! We tried to look around for trace or signs of a trail but the vegetation was too thick. We immediately decided to turn-around as we were about 2 1/2 hours running, jogging and brisk walking in the mountain. My GF 305 registered a distance of 11.2 kilometers!
Charlie, My Trailblazer & Jack, My Back-up Guard
As we were tracing our way back to the place where we started, Jack complained that the soles of his running shoes got separated from the upper parts and he was practically running on his socks! Well, the running shoes is Mizuno but it is already old. Charlie’s shoes is Mizuno, too but it works well with him for the runs we had to the mountain.
When we reached the part of the spring that we cleaned, I told my companions that we’ll have a brief shower and washing of shoes and shorts. It could be that my legs were already tired and stiff on our way back that I experienced sliding on the soft trail with my butt pounding on the ground! I slipped for two times! My shorts were full of mud! These things happened when I was brisk walking on the downhill part of the trail. However, if I jog or run through such soft parts of the downhill trail, my foot/shoes would land on the ground without any sliding. With such observation, I maintained running or jogging throughout our trail run and I did not experience any sliding at all.
As we passed Django’s hut, Django was already infront of his hut and asked where we ended our exploration. I told him about our observation and the absence of trails where we ended. From his story, he was the one who harvested the banana blossoms earlier in the morning and he admitted that there is no more trail on top of the ridge where we turned-around. But admitted that the trail became thickly vegetated that it was hard to trace the existing trail.
Elmer & Frank as Our Support Crew
With 5 kilometers to go, Elmer and Frank met us on top of a hill with bread and water. Elmer finished his run earlier and used his motorcycle to go back and meet us along the trail. It was a relief for Charlie and Jack to eat and drink as they were tired already. I was tired, too! but I still have water from the spring in my Nathan hydration belt. Jack has to ride the motorcycle because of his torn shoes and Frank joined us for the remaining parts of the run.
Charlie and I finished the trail run in 4 hours to include a brief shower for 10 minutes at the spring. My GF 305 registered a distance of 22.4 kilometers. We were able to run farther, longer, higher and we finished our workout faster! I was tired on this run but a massage was scheduled for the evening from an expert.
Due to my commitment and purpose to establish trails in the forested parts of BM and its neighboring mountains, I have ordered two (2) Jungle Bolos from the Philippine Army which we’ll use to cut those plants that have grown on those trails. I recalled when I was the Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army that we ordered thousands of Jungle Bolos from Malaysia as a basic jungle equipment for our Scout Rangers and Special Forces. I know that somehow some of the jungle bolos are still available for lease. Luckily, after some coordination, my order will be delivered next week.
Trail running with a mixture of exploration (trailblazing) is fun!
Bald Runner 
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