Photo Talks

Swthrt celebrated her birthday at my office. We had pansit and suman.

Happy Birthday Swthrt

Nike+ ipod calibration and a run…

I was able to calibrate my nike+ ipod yesterday at BHS. I’ve been using it for some time now and it seems there is a significant margin of error in its distance reading. The ipod needs to be calibrated regularly to give us a more accurate reading. It was done by walking a known distance while on calibration mode and doing the same process through running instead of walking. Afterwards, I proceeded with my scheduled 5K easy run. I was pretty happy with the result of the calibration.

Running with pain

Our Tuesday evening run was not as good as we wanted it to be. We arrived at UP at around 6:30 pm. We usually start our warm-up run from Abelardo Hall to the parking lot in front of Palma Hall before we proceed to our stretching. Afterwards, we continued our run and upon reaching the Sunken Garden area, Swthrt felt an uncomfortable pain on her knees and shins. These pains have been bothering her for the past couple of runs we had. We actually didn’t know what’s the culprit. Is it because of the shoes? Is she wearing the right type of shoes for her type of foot? Or is it her running form? Because of this inconvenience, I suggested that we just do slow interval walks and runs so as not to give more pressure on her knees and shins. We did it for our goal of two rounds at the academic oval. Just before finishing the second round, Swthrt told me that she still wanted to walk for another round for a total of 3 rounds. Swthrt really wanted to run the Milo Finals this weekend and quite worried that the pains might prevent her. We hope to hear from you runners on what we should do regarding Swthrt’s recurring pains in knees and shins. We need your suggestions, guys.

Preparing for a greater challenge continues…

Swthrt and I did our usual evening run last Friday at UP doing 2 rounds (4.4k). Saturday morning, we woke up early for our scheduled long run. My objective was to do 10 miles in preparation for my Yakult 10-miler race on December 7, 2008. I always do simulation runs whenever I join longer races which I have never ran before. This will be my first 10 miler since I was not able to join the recently concluded VSO 15k race. On the other hand, Swthrt who is slowly building her endurance, did 4 rounds (8.8k). We arrived at UP before 6:00 am. I run with Swthrt for the first 2 rounds, in which afterwards she told me to go on my pace because she felt pain on her knee and shin. She needed some walk breaks. The pain did not stop her from doing her goal, while I continued my run. My mistake was that I had only my water breaks on the first round, missing the second up to fourth round. On the fifth round, I really felt thirsty. I also had a pain on my right foot after running about 10K which I supposed cause by my old socks. It was like I was stepping on pebbles inside my shoes. This slowed me down. Nevertheless, I finished my goal of 16K with the time of 1:53:00. It was fulfilling even though I felt really tired. In the evening we had an active recovery of 2 rounds walking at UP together with our friends before going to our worship meeting. On Sunday, Swthrt and I were supposed to run at Fort Bonifacio and spend time with the bloggers who will be participating at the UNICEF race. Instead, we ran at UP with our friend Chiqui, who regularly runs with us every Sunday morning. She wanted to run after being absent for a couple of weekends because she attended a conference. Swthrt and Chiqui finished their goal of 4 rounds(8.8K) while I ran 10K. It was another fully loaded weekend workout for us. Today will be our rest day!
Congratulations to the runner-bloggers who run at the UNICEF race and the other two races that was held last Sunday. Hope to see you this weekend at the Milo race! Just keep on running!




I had my longest run last Saturday. Doing it made me experience different kinds of pains, feelings and emotions. I had back pains, which indicated that I have to strengthen my core. I had pain on my legs and on my right foot. I also felt light-headed at some point may be because of insufficient hydration and even wanted to give up especially towards the end of my goal. It was really an experience. It made me realize then that even in our spiritual walk, we experience different types of trials. God allowed us to experience pain. He allowed us to go through different emotions. All these will strengthen us, build our faith and prepare us for greater challenges…to learn the lessons God want us to learn. For our God is a loving God and He wants us to be victorious in every race that we are in. God bless us all!

Preparing for another challenge

This is just to log my 5K easy run last Tuesday at UP. I did it with Swthrt who felt a little pain on her shin at the early start of the run but eventually, was able to finish the 2 rounds of the academic oval. I thanked the Lord that we now regularly having our workouts. This would boost my confidence as I prepare for greater challenges and longer races ahead.

Last night we went to R.O.X. to register for the UNICEF race but to my dismay there were no more available race numbers for the 5K and 10K and only race numbers for the 2K walk were left. This only proves that there are more and more people who are into running now. Swthrt and I were quite disappointed because we have not joined a race for quite some time. We were not able to join the New Balance Race at Clark. Anyway, there will be three races scheduled on Sunday but I haven’t checked if registration is still on for the other two races, the Animo Run and Race for Life. One thing is sure though, I will push through with my long run of 16K on Saturday in preparation for my longest race of the year, the Yakult 10-miler.

Mimicking the NB Power Race

It was the New Balance Power race yesterday at Clark. And since I will not be participating on this race because of personal reasons, I planned to do a 10K run on my own and virtually mimicked the race. It was past 6:00am when I woke up yesterday morning. I then asked Swthrt if she still wanted to join me. Our plan was to run at Mckinley Hill for Swthrt’s hill training. But since the sun was already up, we ran at UP instead. When we arrived, there were already lots of runners because it was the Men’s Health Urbanathlon race. After having our car parked at the back of the Aberlado Hall, we immediately proceeded with our run. Swthrt and I ran together with a pace of about 6:30 to 7:00 min/km until halfway of the 4th round. Afterwards, Swthrt then told me to continue and finish my 10K goal, while she finished 4 rounds with a total of 8.8K, her longest run so far. She is building her base and endurance to prepare for her first 10K race (no particular race yet). I continued the remaining one and a half round with a much faster pace completing 5 rounds which totalled 11K. It was great to be back on the road again.

As a prelude to our Sunday run, we did our usual Saturday evening run at UP. We only did 2 rounds (4.4K) of the academic oval just in time before our worship meeting.

Back in training

The eagerness to be back on the road grew after seeing those runners sweating and showing off those killer looks during the final stretch of the VSO Bahaginan race held last Sunday. In as much as I wanted to run, I was prevented in doing so because of the typhoon which caused heavy rains in the afternoon. It was only in the afternoon that we can squeeze in our running workouts. I finally had a good easy run last Wednesday night together with Swthrt at UP. The initial plan was to run at BHS because Swthrt had a meeting at their Global City branch but the dark clouds looming over the Bonifacio area changed our plan. We instead proceeded to UP to have our run there. We planned to do 2 rounds but after the second we felt we can still do another round. We ran a total of 6.6K (3 rounds of the oval) and as usual, we ended the night fulfilled.

Photo Talks

VSO Bahaginan Race

The VSO Bahaginan Race (my supposed first 15K race)

The VSO Bahaginan Race was another well-organized race by Coach Rio. Swthrt and I arrived at the BHS at around 5:15am. After having our car parked, Swthrt got ready to warm up. On our way to the starting area we saw familiar faces of runners/bloggers together with Wayne, the SFRunnner who had just arrived Saturday from the US. We also got a chance to meet Nora, the Golden Girl before the start of the race. After having a short chat and some picture-taking, the runners were called to the starting line. We also saw my cousins Kuya Hector and Alwyn. The 15K runners were released first. Then, after a few minutes the gun fired for 10K runners, followed by 5K runners. All these happened with me on the sideline. I heeded to the advise of my mentor, georgieboy and the other bloggers to take a complete rest after having been contacted with flu few days before the race. But I was there to support Swhrt and acted as her official photographer. She finished with an official time of 38:51. It was a good race for her. I also enjoyed taking pictures of the other runners.













Patience and Humility

God is so good that He uses every moment in our life to teach us lessons that will equip us in our journey through life. My supposed first 15K race was a lesson on patience and humility. I have learned that there’s a time for everything, and this is not my time to run the 15K. My reason in running is to have a healthy body and not to put it at risk. I skipped on this race to give my body enough time to recuperate. Anyway, there will be more races to come. It was also a lesson on humility and understanding that God made this body, and we should not abuse or cannot be boastful of having to do anything on our own strength and power. I cannot say that I’m strong to run any distance or to endure any pain. I can run because God allowed me to run. It is only God who really strengthens me physically and even spiritually.

To run or not to run?

That is the question. After finally deciding on running a distance of 15k race, I’m again in a dilemma of whether doing it or not with my present condition. I have been under the weather since last week. My cough and colds which I posted earlier has developed into flu. This makes me feel weak and my whole body aching. I’m into medication right now that will end until Friday night. Further, I was not able to run this weekend. My last run was last Thursday night, a recovery 5K run. Now I felt that I’m not in my tip-top shape to do a 15K. Previously, I have ran four 10Ks and I thought this is the perfect time for me to move up. Questions are running into my mind. Will I be able to do it? Will I be putting myself at risk? What should I do to have a fast recovery from flu? Or maybe I will just run the 5K instead.

Halloween Fun Run was a hit

We planned to cancel our prayer meeting last Friday due to anticipated problems of heavy traffic and lack of parking spaces within the vicinity of our place of prayer meeting, a stone throw away from the Dangwa Flower Center in Manila. During this time of the year, the area is really congested, turning it to a haven for people who, up to the last minute, wanted to buy flowers for their departed loved ones. Instead, Swthrt and I together with a friend decided to watch the recently concluded Halloween Fun Run sponsored by Isuzu Philippines. Some of my officemates also ran the said race. The Isuzu Shake, Rattle and Run held last Friday, October 31 was a success based on its uniqueness and the multitudes of runners who participated with matching Halloween costumes. It was even featured in the late night news. As we arrived in the assembly area near the R.O.X. store, I saw the famous Baldrunner with the members of the elite Team Baldrunner who expectedly dominated the said race. I approached him and gladly introduced myself. We had a brief chat then we posed for a souvenir photo before we parted. I also saw familiar faces of bloggers-runners who either participated or watched the event. Here are some of the photos I took during the race.

with The Bald Runner

with Swthrt and our friend Jun and Bald Runner

in front of R.O.X.

my officemates Erlito and Violy

Coach Rio the running cupid and other runners

Dra. Doray, the Sailormoon and Eric, the running convict