SPIRITUAL TRAINING

“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:8

Training is a crucial part of life—it’s the way we grow and mature. We train babies to walk and talk. We train to gain skills for our jobs. We train to build strength and athleticism. But training should also be a vital part of our spiritual lives.

What a shame it would be if we got saved and never grew in depth or maturity as Christians. We are, in fact, commanded in the Bible to train ourselves to be godly. In 1 Timothy 4:8, Timothy says that “physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” So even more important than all the training and discipline we undergo for our physical lives is the preparation we should do to make sure we are growing spiritually as we should. It takes work, but it is what God requires.

—Krystil Wade

Photo Talks - Weekend with our brothers

Dinner with Bradley

Bradley with Tatay, Nanay and Lola Mandeng

Nanay & Bradley

Weekend in Batangas

Isaw!

Swthrt's happy moments with relatives


BBQ!

More Isaws, BBQs and hotdogs

Louie's Birthday

Louie & Lea, our BFFs

Louie's birthday celebration at Hosanna

Louie & Me

ATO Run and a weekend with our brothers

Having decided to run the 21K t the New Balance Race this September, Swthrt and I did an August Twenty One run in Fort Bonifacio. Since it was a holiday, we woke up early for a test run of the published route, or at least portions of it, for the coming NB race. We started our run with a one round warm up at the BHS. We then proceeded to Bayani Road C5 which is our first turn around point. On our way back, while running uphill going near the Libingan ng mga Bayani gate, Swthrt suddenly felt pain on her left knee and shin. Since it was still bearable, we continued to run all the way to Lawton Avenue. At this point, Swthrt started to have walk breaks as the pain persisted, especially when we were running uphill. I asked her if she wanted to continue the run and she said she wanted to try and go on. We decided to go to Mckinley Hills instead of going to Gate 3, and took a short stop at the 7-11 store to buy Vitwater to refill our hydration bottles. As we make our way going down to C5 Mckinley, Swthrt made a sign that the pain in her knee became intense that I decided to call it a day for our training. I don’t want her to further injure her knee. We went home and iced her knee and shin and took a rest on weekend.

Dinner with Brad
Our morning run may have not ended the way we want it to be but the day ended with a wonderful dinner with my brother-in-law, Bardley. He came all the way from Hawaii to do a church mission down south of the Philippines. We had a wonderful dinner with him together with my family and parents at the restaurant in the hotel where he was billeted. It was really great to have chatted with him and updated ourselves with what’s going on with him, my sister Liza and their children. Brad was truly a blessing to my sister and our family. Brad flew back to Hawaii last Saturday.

Weekend with Ed
The following day, Saturday, was another day with another brother-in-law. We visited Ed, Swthrt’s brother, in Batangas. He came from a work in Australia. Our children had a great time with their cousins too. We even got a chance to eat BBQs and Isaws with relatives in Batangas. We stayed overnight there and went back to Manila early Sunday morning for church worship service.

Birthday lunch with Louie
The series of happy times with brothers seem not enough; our brother in Christ, Louie celebrated his birthday with the church members after our church service with a sumptuous lunch. Having to dine with family and friends was an intimate way to have a fellowship. Louie was truly a blessing and inspiration to us. God bless you bro!

RUN ON, RUN ON!

Endurance is often the factor that separates the men from the boys—or the true athletes from the pretenders. Often, it’s not a matter of physical strength that enables a person to seemingly just keep going. It could be a simple matter of what they decided to let go of and not hold onto that’s allowing them to keep going.

In Hebrews, we are instructed to lay aside weights that easily hold us back. When we look at those who have pushed through all odds, we do not see what it took to get there. We only see the results. It’s hard to run with bricks on your shoulders, with sand in your pockets, or with your hands tied behind your back. The things that hold us back are the things that are restricting us from fully running like the wind.

We need to make a valiant effort to let go and flee those things that could hinder us from the simple command of running for God. He has already cleared the path, opened the doors, and given us favor with men. Let’s run!

—Eric Harris

DIG DEEP

Nerves before the big championship game. Your team’s stubborn losing streak. A new baby, a job change, or an impending graduation. Life can come with nagging stress that can wreak havoc on our outside world and distract usfrom a God-centered life.

So how can we “dig deep” and instead focus on the mystifying inner peace that God promises us?

Relax. God reassures us that discouragement doesn’t last. Psalm 30:5 says, “Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”

Prayer. Philippians 4:6-7. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Praise God with Thankfulness. Psalm 34:1-3. “I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.”

Worship through Music. Psalm 33:1-3. “Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise Him. . . .Sing to Him a new song.”

Keeping God’s law. Psalm 119:165. “Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make themstumble.”


—Jennifer Snyder

A not so “Hataw” race

Last Sunday was supposed to be no different regular long run at UP except that we were registered in a 10K race of the Hataw Pilipinas Fun Run. Actually, Swthrt and I were quite apprehensive in joining a race at UP since it was our regular training ground. We thought that familiarity with the place would not give much thrill to pump up adrenalin in our bodies. Nonetheless, I registered for this event to satisfy the urge to race. The last race we joined was the Globe-Ayala Run for Home.

There was not much preparation for this race. I personally thought that it would not be a big race compared to other highly publicized races. Also, Swthrt has been suffering from stomach pain and discomfort for more than a week that prompted her to have a medical check-up last Saturday. On my part, I was having LBM Friday and Saturday. I also felt pain on my left foot, specifically on the joints of my toes. (Oh no! could this be a sign of not getting any younger, he he he) Despite all the odds, we gave it a try and went to UP at 5:00am come race day. We met with Vener and Xty who were also registered for the race. We also saw officemates of Swthrt who were newbies in running and have been starting to join races.

with Xty and Swthrt (Vener taking the picture)

The race
It started promptly at 6:00am. The highly publicized race route would take 4 ½ rounds of the academic oval for the 10K. The starting line was near the oblation and the finish line was near the grandstand of the Sunken Garden. The 10K runners went off fast as the gun was fired. Swthrt and I were caught in a surprise when we were led by the marshals to go straight and take a left turn on the road (forgot the name of the road) parallel to the academic oval. The poor physical condition and lack of mental preparation must have paid a toll on us. We easily burned out and Swthrt experienced pain on her shins (probably caused by lack of proper stretching before the race). She had to bow out of the race upon reaching Abelardo Hall and settled for her first DNF. While I managed to continue, I was struggling along the way. I saw Bald Runner who was having his long run and I had a short chat with him. I tried to keep pace with him but to no avail. I opted to run on a slower pace and hope to finish strong. On my final lap, I knew I will not even equal my 1:05 PR for 10K. I finished the race in 1:10+

Photos by Vener (Run unlimited)

Thoughts on the race
I believe that any road race should live up to its name or race title. The word Hataw connotes a meaning of giving it all, or giving your best shot. When I registered, I thought this would be a good and well-organized race. The race envelope I received contains the race bib, race route map, and even list of tips for beginner runners. To my dismay, the race bib kept on falling because it was not waterproof. I had to hold it on my hand throughout the race. There were other runners who did the same. There was insufficient water at the designated water stations. Worse, the bottled water has a politician’s face printed on the label? And to top it all, there was no one at the finish line to record the time of the finishers. What’s the use of the color-coded lace given to runners to make sure they completed the required number of laps when you won’t even have to record their time finished. I would understand if your name would not be listed in the race results if you did not finish within the curfew time allotted for each race category as in the case of Milo Marathons. I heard later that the organizers just waited for the top 3 finishers of each category to finish and record their time for awarding purposes and that’s it. They left the other runners to their own ways to record their time. The distribution of the finisher singlets and freebies was also disorganized. One runner I talked with told me he could even get two singlets if he wanted to. If this is the kind of good governance that they want to promote as printed in the logo of one of the organizers (I think it was a movement that support the sponsoring politician) then I’m truly be sorry for our country. It was my fault of not remembering the advice of Bald Runner in one of his posts to check on the race organizers before registering on a race. I just hope that our next race at UP which is the Dean’s Cup - UP Law Invitational will never be the same again.

First time to race at UP

Since UPD has become our regular weekend training ground, we have never run an official race within the campus. This Sunday’s “Hataw Pilipinas” will be our first race at UP and it will be followed by the “Dean’s Cup UP Law Invitational Triathlon and Fun Run” on the 30th of August. We just hope that the thrill and excitement of joining a race will overshadow the boredom of running around a loop for several times. Also, seeing friends at the race will surely make it more enjoyable and fun. See you at UP!

Run for Cory – UPD Group

August 5, 2009 was a day of mourning for Filipinos as former President Corazon Aquino was laid to rest at the Manila Memorial Park. In order to pay tribute to the former President, runners from the “iamninoy movement, ” member runners of Takbo.ph and other individual runners staged the "Run for Cory” in different parts of Metro Manila. There will be groups running at BHS, Makati, Alabang and Mandaluyong. One converging point was the University of the Philippines in Diliman. A group of around 30 runners, mostly wearing yellow shirt or singlet ran around the academic oval not minding the downpour.

Swthrt and I arrived at UPD at around 6:30am and joined the lead group of runners headed by couple Vener and Xty. They were followed not far behind by more runners in yellow. We ran around the oval 3 times before the group decided to proceed at Times St., Cory’s residence, to pay our last respect. We took the University Avenue going to Q.C. Circle and then Quezon Avenue. We then regroup and wait for the other runners at the corner of Examiner St. before finally ran straight to Times St.

photos by Vener

The runners have a moment of prayer lead by one of the runners before breaking out into groups. Some headed home, others went for breakfast and some of us ran our way back to UP. There were 7 of us, with Swthrt as the only female who decided to ran back to UP. With us were Rey, Ronald, Pio, James and his friend. We took the same route except that we took the counter traffic at Q.C. Circle. When we reached the entrance to UP at University Avenue in Philcoa, the group took a walk for the cool down and finally say goodbye to one another in front of the Admin building.

To President Cory, thank you for the life you shared with the Filipino people, may your soul rest in peace!

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Looking back to when I was a kid, I always remember playing basketball with my dad. Every day after school we would go outside and we would shoot what seemed like a million shots.

At the time, I didn’t understand it. Spending that much time shooting seemed like a waste to me. But now I understand! My shot wasn’t perfect. It needed work. Through constant repetitions, I improved and eventually had a pretty good shot. No matter how long I had played, though, there were always aspects that I needed to work on!

Just as my dad pushed me to become a better ballplayer, God is constantly giving us opportunities and trials that push us to become better Christians. We all have room for improvement!

As Christians, we should take every opportunity we have to build up our faith and get closer to God. Although it may seem menial at the time, each act plays a role in our growth as Christians. God has a plan for each of our lives, and He will continue working with us until we are perfected!

—Brooke Thompson

Bro J runs with Swthrt

It was already more than a year of enjoyable running experience and it became more enjoyable when Swthrt started to join me in races. Last July marks Swthrt’s first year anniversary in running. Her first official race was the One La Salle Run at The Fort last July 2008.

Since then, we have joined races, either running together in same category or running separately.

We have also join speed training at the ULTRA with Team BaldRunner. The hectic schedule of work and taking care of the children especially in their schooling temporarily stop us in joining weekday trainings. However, we really hope to be back in speed training with Team BR soon. We also have gained new friends through running. Today, I have seen more couples running together. I hope that they will continue the health advocacy, because it is not only beneficial for them physically but it also strengthens their marital relationship.

First 21k of Swthrt, photo taken by Rununlimited, Vener

Same route but with a different experience

I have already posted twice our weekend run from Home to UP. I’m not keen of posting another one because it may become a duplicate of the previous postings but last Sunday’s run had a different twist. It was a fine weather with some drizzles at the different part of the route. We arrived at UP with a lot of people since it was UPCAT day. The academic oval was not closed to traffic even though it was a Sunday. There were still a lot of runners around the oval. A running club with their uniform singlet was very visible. We also saw couple Vener and Xty doing their training (preparation for the full marathon for Xty) along the way and some familiar faces we called classmates, hehehe. We were able to complete our target of 3 rounds before going home. It was not a great run though. The sight and smell of food at the stalls set-up around the oval was very tempting. It was really hard to run as I smell the tasty Shawarma and the sumptuous foods displayed at the different booths, hahaha. As we made our way back home, Swthrt felt a slight pain on her knee. It was her first time to experience it. It became persistent as we continue to run along Katipunan and after taking on the Kalayaan flyover, we had to walk the remaining kilometre on the way home. The good news is that after taking a rest overnight the pain subsided.