Nike hanged at Adidas

Since I was not able to run at the Subic International Marathon to join the Nike Human Race I opted to do the second option of running elsewhere and just upload the recorded run in my Nike+ ipod. I was suppose to run on Saturday but our hectic family schedule did not permit me. I decided to log the 21K run at the Adidas KOTR to contribute even a few kilometers at the Nike Ambassador Challenge which I joined with Team Banana Running. This will be the longest run to be recorded in my Nike+ kit. The longest so far was 15.1K. I even made a power song playlist just for this run. At the start of the race I set the kit in the half marathon workout setting only and found out that it was set on the English system of miles. This gave me some difficulty of knowing my pace in minutes per kilometer. I would have wanted to know our pace during our run. Because of this, I just let it pass and just wanted to record my run. It was recording perfectly until we reached the intersection of McKinley Avenue going to Lawton Ave. The ipod just suddenly hanged up. I cannot use any function. I could not even reset it. I guess Nike and Adidas can’t be together. This morning, I checked on it hoping to salvage the recorded distance of 8 miles before it hanged up but to no avail. It did not save any data on my last run. O well, you just cannot rely on high technology. It is still best to depend on the good old but reliable Timex Ironman watch. See you at the starting line!

Swthrt sets new PR @ KOTR ’09

This year’s edition of the Adidas King of the Road (KOTR) gave runners another venue to prove themselves and set new personal best. This time Swthrt and I registered for the half marathon which was the main event for this race. This was highly anticipated since the New Balance race which was scheduled earlier than this race was postponed to a later date. It was a family affair for this race. Our eldest son, JM ran the 5K, while the youngest, Josh served as the official photographer. My parents also joined us to look after Josh.

We arrived at BHS before 5am, with enough time to do some warm-up run. We met with Vener and Xty and the runners from Honda Cars Makati.

with Xty and Vener and our son JM

Swthrt who had a limited practice run before the race was quite nervous at the start. The 21K runners were released on time and we were off for a good start. Our target pace was 6:30 – 7:00 min/K. Swthrt was doing great and we even had a chat with Jinoe going all the way to Kalayaan flyover before he pulled away. Swthrt was having a steady pace along Buendia Avenue. It was always at this area where she experienced some sort of a runner’s high as she would just run and that everything else was amazing. We reached the turn-around point along Buendia with no problem at all. As we made our way back, Swthrt would experience side stitches occasionally but she would continue on. We have our first break of Kitkat at the junction of Ayala-Buendia. We are experimenting on this energy supplement, hehehe (cheaper di ba?). Upon reaching the area covered by the 10K runners, the road was crowded with runners and was quite difficult to run. Swthrt had a first walk break going up the flyover. Tiredness begun to set in and so I told her to have another break, let’s have a kitkat! What was amazing with Swthrt was her desire to continue on. At this point, the cheers, high five signs and encouragements from other runners surely kept us going. Our run continued with walk breaks and slow jog to recover. Side stitches also attacked once in a while but Swthrt was able to bounce back and ran patiently until we cross the finish line after 2:40:+. It was a new personal best for Swthrt beating the 2:45:+ record at the Run for Home. It was a wonderful experience for both of us.

with Mae (in my own views) andn Manny (IceOne)

AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST

“We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.” II Corinthians 5:20

When I hear the word “ambassador,” I think of someone who represents a place or someone else. In II Corinthians 5:20, we all called “Christ’s ambassadors.” This means that we are representatives of Christ and we thus have the responsibility of sharing and imitating Christ here on earth. Athletics offer a great tool for us to reach others and impact their lives for Christ, especially for those in leadership positions.

Sometimes people view athletics as a separate entity of their lives, but we should also let our light shine through what we do in sports. Are you representing Christ in how you perform in athletics? It is so easy to get caught up in the pressures of sports. We start to focus on our name or reputation as a player and increasing our stats that we lose sight of our true focus of representing Christ’s name; so let’s keep that first priority. - Leah Metcalf

Training and race

For two weeks now I was able to run at least thrice a week. I run easy (Tuesdays and Thursdays) and long runs (weekends) at Fort Bonifacio during the Milo finals and at UP Diliman during the QCIM. I was with Swthrt during the two weekend long runs. Hopefully, our work schedules permit us to do our trainings regularly for us to be able to aim something big next year.

The 1st Quezon City International Marathon was a big success and many records have been broken and many firsts have been written. We should have not miss this, but we did for some unavoidable reasons. This was my first aimed full marathon but unluckily was not able to join it, and yes I was not also much prepared. Likewise, the series of events about the typhoons that hit the metro must have douse of our interest to register. For whatever reason it may be, this race was not really meant for us. Anyway, Swthrt and I did a 15K run within UPD campus on that day. It was a fulfilling run completing out target distance. . Hopefully this would set a pace for Swthrt setting a new PR for the 21K this coming Adidas KOTR. This will be her second half-marathon after the Run for Home.

An unforgettable experience happened before our run. I locked the car leaving the key inside after getting my hydration belt from the trunk. I was a victim of this thing, that I always remind Swthrt not to leave the car key inside the trunk every time I lend it. I guess I need to add Memo Plus to my health supplements, he he he. So as not to ruin our day, we still continued our run and went home with a cab to get the spare car key. Good thing I knew an alternate route going back to UP as most of the road are closed to traffic because of the QCIM being held.

Congratulations to our friends who run and finished the recently concluded QCIM.

See you at the starting line of Adidas King of the Road!

Running with the marathoners

The 33rd National Milo Marathon finals was held last Sunday, 11 October. Since we were not able to register for its side events much less qualified for the 42k finals, Swthrt and I decided to do our long run in Fort Bonifacio. It was not our intention to gate crash and be bandits but we wanted to catch a glimpse of the Milo marathoners in this part of the course. We are also hoping to see friends running in the said event. I even brought a camera to take a shot on some of them. It’s either they were too fast that we missed them before we get in the vicinity of Bayani Road or my poor eyesight caused me not to recognize them sooner for me to take shots. Anyway, our congratulations to the friends who joined and finish the marathon.

Our long run started at MckKinley Hills. We parked our car near the 7-11 Store and started our run going to the British Embassy where we took our turn going back to Lawton Ave and proceeded to Bayani Road. This is where we met runners of the 42K event of the Milo Marathon. I could feel the spirit of determination and perseverance of these runners as they continued on the race. You could see in the faces of these runners the passion in running. This is of course excluding those who have evil plans of cheating on the race. We took our turn at the Bayani Road- C5 junction and we headed for Bonifacio High Street. We then saw the support group of Mesh near Essensa composed of Bards, Cathy and Vicky.

We then took a brief pit-stop at the Honda Global City to replenish our empty hydration bottles with water. We usually bring Vitwater blue for hydration, you know? After the short stop we returned back to MKH to end our fulfilling long run for the week.

Running rain or shine

After having some good practice runs for several days, the urge to run continues. Since I have to wait until 7pm to be out on the streets because of color-coding, I did an out and back run from our office (NAMRIA) to BHS. I added one loop of the BHS before going back. I ran at a comfortably hard (tempo) pace covering approximately 6KM under a drizzle. The comment from Bald Runner in my last post to run rain or shine really pushed me to do it. It was a good thing it did not rain hard during my run. I just hope that our schedule will permit us to run regularly especially on weekdays. Swthrt and I knew that consistency in training is the key to a better performance.

To our friends who will be running the Milo finals on Sunday, We wish you the best!

Have a safe and enjoyable run this weekend to everyone!

Running continues

What is good about Filipinos is their ability to bounce back after a massive disaster or calamity. Ondoy’s devastation in Metro Manila and nearby provinces brought out the good deeds of every Filipino. Volunteers and donations in cash and in kind started to pour in from different rescue centers of the government and other private institutions. Even in the school of our son, JM had set-up donations and relief operations wherein students that were not affected by the typhoon had a chance to help those calamity-stricken families. Our office and our employees’ organization had their share too of helping the victims of Typhoon Ondoy. The running community through the different clubs and groups have set up fund raising drive (e.g. TKO250 of the Hardcore Runners) or organized races (e.g. Rescue Run, Juan Run) for the benefit of the typhoon victims. This is the true spirit of bayanihan in the Filipino culture. With all these fateful tragedies, life has to continue and so is running.


Last Sunday, the OctobeRun 09 pushed through. I’m sure that there were already posting on the race recap for the said event. Swthrt and I were not able to register for the race and because we don’t want to be bandits, we instead ran inside UP Diliman campus. There were still a lot of runners when we arrived at UPD despite a scheduled race. We started a round of warm-up at the academic oval before stretching. We then proceeded to run the outer and bigger loops inside the campus to finish a 9.65K (6 miles) run.





It was quite hard to run after a long break. Swthrt struggled at the early part of our run but was later able to manage the whole course. It was a good run for both of us. We hope to have more practice runs to prepare us for longer distance races such as the Adidas King of the Road and the postponed New Balance Power Run. We were registered for the half marathon for both races.


Our prayers for the families of the victims of the typhoons continue. May the Lord grant us the wisdom to understand His message for each one of us in all this tragedy. God bless us all!


Tonight, Swthrt and I did a 5k easy run at BHS.

NEW EVERY MOURNING

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.” Lamentations 3:22

The University of Evansville basketball team was excited about its first season competing in Division I. The Purple Aces were packed and ready for a road trip to Nashville for a game against Middle Tennessee State. Twenty-nine people boarded the charter plane on December 13, 1977, but because of rain and fog, the plane crashed two minutes into the flight. No one survived. When a tragedy like this occurs, our human nature seems to react by asking one of two questions: 1. Where was God? 2. How could God allow this to happen? We doubt either His omnipresence or His omnipotence.

The author of Lamentations witnesses God’s judgment in the form of death and destruction among His chosen people, yet he fully comprehends that God’s mercy can extend beyond His wrath. Though we aren’t capable of praising God with our own strength in the worst of times, the ability to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thes.5:18) is definitely a gift from the Holy Spirit. Picture your worst-case scenario. Maybe it has already happened. Do you believe that God is there in the midst of agony and chaos? Ask Him for clarity so you might see through the sadness to witness the ever-present manifestations of His love, and revel in the newness of the morning.

—Alex Warner