Going Green is In for RU2 runners

Just as in line with the mission of providing runners opportunities for improvement,  Unilab Active Health in partnership with Runrio Inc.  is again giving another boost for runners not only to exceed their best but also to help save our Mother Earth through The ENERVON ACTIV Hydration Belt Promo. This aims to create a mindset of “Going Green” within the running community by offering hydration belts at  very affordable price with a minimum purchase of Enervon Activ.

The use of reusable hydration bottles will reduce if not totally eliminate the use of plastic or paper cups for hydration during races. It will also be very useful during trainings and long runs as runners won’t have to carry water or energy drinks in disposable plastic bottles or can containers. The hydration belt was designed to carry two 180ml reusable bottles and a pouch big enough to fit in nutritional provision such power gels, car keys, smartphones, ipods and more.

How would one avail of the promo?

The promo is exclusive for registered 2013 Run United 2 participants. For a minimum purchase of 10 pieces of ENERVON ACTIV which is worth P120 at any authorized registration centers of RU2 , runner can avail of  the limited edition of Active Health Hydration Belt for only P200. This will be available in bundle pack for a total price of P320.

For those who have already registered, just present your race bib number to avail of the promo. “One promo package per race bib number” will be implemented to give other runners the chance to avail of the promo. Promo duration will be from April 22 – May 26 or until supply last (Per DOH-FDA Permit No. 0831 s.2013).

What’s with ENERVON ACTIV?

ENERVON ACTIV, the presenter of this promo is a nutritional supplement scientifically formulated to help build stamina and strengthen the body immune system of active people like runners, swimmers, and bikers.

Swthrt and I started running in 2008 and have experienced great moments in setting our new PRs as well as having draining and exhausting moments in running races. We even joined races almost every week and attended running clinics as often as we could. We trained hard, we ran hard back then. But the greatest disappointment of any runner is to get sick a few days before a race. I have experienced this at the VSO Bahaginan Race, my supposed first 15K race. In hindsight, I must had pushed myself too hard that I experienced a weakening of my immune system and lowering of my stamina or what is known as sports fatigue.

Taken before the VSO race, I was the only one not in running attire.

Should I have taken right supplement way back then could have prevented the sports fatigue and my first DNS. Good news for runners and other athletes, now we have ENERVON ACTIV. It has Panax Ginseng, Royal Jelly and B-Complex that help increase our energy and fight fatigue.  It has also antioxidant vitamins A, C, E and Zinc which support white blood cell production and combat harmful free radicals thus strengthen immunity system.

Swthrt in training for RU2

Today, Swthrt takes ENERVON ACTIV as food supplement while training for Run United 2 while I take on the sideline for medical reason (heart condition). With the hectic schedules in the office and at home, Swthrt hopes to pick-up on her training as she will be running 21K again together with our teammate, Mae, in RU2. I am taking ENERVON ACTIV too as a supplement together with my other prescribed medications with the hope that this will strengthen my weak heart.

Swthrt, trying-out the hydration belt from Unilab Active Health - ENERVON ACTIV at UPD.

Try ENERVON ACTIV and feel the difference

In living in active and fast pace life of today, one cannot afford to be weak, vulnerable and sick. Stay active … take ENERVON ACTIV today and share your experience. 

Birthday Run for Swthrt at BGC

Happy Birthday Swthrt! I love you!

What a great birthday run yesterday!

Congratulation for setting a new PR on 21k at BGC Run!

Back in training for another full marathon

Last Thursday, February 11, I was back on the road again for the first time after Condura. I started with an easy 3K run with Josiah, my younger son at the BHS while waiting for Swthrt who will be starting her training for her first marathon, TBR Dream Marathon. The following Saturday, Swthrt and I did a 55 min run that was scheduled for her training. And on Sunday, we did another 4 rounds of the UP academic oval. It was a great feeling to be back on training. I was just glad that I had a wonderful experience on my first marathon that I wanted to run another one. Just as I was thinking about it, I come across Bull Runner’s announcement that the Dream Marathon will also be open to second time marathoners, an additional 100 slots. It was really a dream come true for Swthrt. She really wanted me to run with her on her first full marathon. So from here on, I am back in training again.

The joy of running

Many have been written about the "boom" of running as a sport in the country. More and more people are considering the sport as a better alternative. New runners are having the courage to try and conquer thier "initiation" road race whether it is 3K, 5K or 10K. With more than of running experience, I have been encouraged to continue and finish a race by the other runners and marshals during races. Last Sunday, was our turn of giving encouragement to a friend who wanted to experience joining a road race.

Swthrt's workplace has been a place of budding runners wanting to try the sport. Almost every month a warm body is added to their group. They can even start a running club with a good number of founding members. The Timex Run was another race wherein, one of her officemates, Jane wanted to run her first 5K. Swthrt and I decided to give support and even pace Jane to make sure that she will finish her first race strong.

Swthrt with Officemate, Jane

We wanted to make sure she can do it and experience the joy of running. We don’t want her to be discouraged and not to join any races again. We are glad we have given the support she needed. Jane finished her first 5K race and hopefully will join more races soon. After finishing 5K, Swthrt and I then ran towards Bayani Road to pace again her another officemate, this time doing his first 21K race. Along the way, another officemate, Ritchie, suffered from a knee injury but was determined to finish the 21K race.

With another officemate, Ritchie

We ran with him along Lawton Avenue and told him not to run anymore because it might aggravate his injury but he wanted to continue and finish the race. I was really amazed by his determination and he did it.

We were able to catch up with Ronnie at the Heritage Park and ran with him back at the finish line.

and another officemate, Ronnie

During the race, we have seen groups running together. We even saw couples running side by side. It only showed that the joy of running comes not only in breaking personal records or conquering longer distances but also in giving support to a friend or a loved one.

Randy and his wife

group run

brother-in-law tandem - Alwyn and Hector

This will encourage more people to run! Happy running and see you at the next starting line.

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!

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.

Photo Talks - Running Couple

Bro J and Swthrt

Run for Home with Swthrt

Much has been said about the pros and cons of a successful but intriguing Run for Home race. I also have my two cents of comments but would rather save it for another posting. Today, I want to focus on Swthrt’s quest in finishing her first ever half marathon. Since we registered for the 21k category for this event, Swthrt had ask me for the nth time if she could really do it. And again and again, I would give her the assurance that she could do it and finish a half marathon. Last Sunday was the proof that she really can.

with Mesh at the starting line

Even with a late night sleep before the race, we woke up at 3:15 am for the big event. We got ready for the D day and forced ourselves to eat breakfast (which we do not normally do in a race) of rolled oats with milk. We then left home at around 4:00am and arrived at the venue 15 minutes later. To my surprise, the parking area where we usually park was reserved for Globe VIPs ( I’m sure other bloggers have their hot posts regarding this issue) and so we parked somewhere else. We finally get ready for the race at around 4:30 and met with bloggers/friends at the starting line. It was my first time to meet in person, Johnny Sy and Sir Ipe (Kinderdorf). It was quite unusual not to have our race numbers check-in by marshals because of the use of timing chips. The starting gun was fired on time with the runners running smoothly as they cross the mat sensor at the starting line. It was also a good start for me and Swthrt.

Fast and Furious

In our run together in a race, I would normally let Swthrt run in her comfortable pace at the start. I would constantly remind her to keep it and not be pulled by the fast runners. It was an easy run at the start and we reached the Kalayaan flyover without a hitch. It was Swthrt’s first taste of the Kalayaan flyover and she ran it with ease. It was a different experience for her. We continued to run at Buendia Ave. with short stops at hydration stations along the way. We refrained from drinking the carbonated sports drinks provided by a sponsor because we find it hard to run with air-filled stomach. Anyway, we brought our own sports drinks (you know?) to compliment the water provided at the hydration stations. We had a great run along Ayala Ave. We have always enjoyed running a new route to break the monotony of running a common route. This is probably the reason why we have not run a race held in UP. It happens to be our training ground during weekends. Along Paseo de Roxas and Makati Ave, we started to see familiar faces making their way back to Bonifacio. I would either give a high five sign, clap or cheer and shout their names (if I still have the energy) to give encouragement on them. As we make our way back to Bonifacio, pains on the shin and calves begun to set in on Swthrt and walk breaks became frequent. A runner approached me and kindly offered to take a picture of me and Swthrt while running. Unfortunately, the battery of my camera was already low. Anyway, to give our gratitude, we keep pace with him along Buendia and had a few chat with him. It was nice meeting you Raul. I have been regularly checking on Swthrt and offered sports beans and drinks as we continued our run going to Kalayaan flyover. Upon reaching the top of Kalayaan flyover, it's time to have a break, we have Kitkat, hehehe. The pain on her shin continued to persist and there was also stiffness in the calf muscles. Walk break intervals became shorter. At one point somewhere near McDonalds, Swthrt had to walk and we heard a voice from a lady runner shouting "Come on runner in green, i have been following you since this morning. Don't stop now...."'It became a challenge and a pressure on Swthrt's part. I even teased her that she's now a real runner being targeted by other runners,hehehe. Swthrt continued to run and tried to focus on the remaining kilometers of the race. The cheers from other runners like Mesh and Mama Ting whom we met along the way surely gave Swthrt the needed encouragement. We even ran along with Hector (of Second Wind), who's a pacer at 7:30min/k along Lawton Ave.. The last kilometer seems to be the longest kilometer for Swthrt but the sight of the finish line as we make the final turn gave the needed boost to run and finish strong with the time of 2:47:+ (unofficial). The official results will be out by July 23 to be published at the Globe website as stated in the flyers given after the race. Congratulations Swthrt! I love you and I am very proud of you!

With Christy, photo by Johnny after the race

Another Home to UP Runabout

Last Saturday, July 11, Swthrt and I had another runabout from our place to UP Diliman via Katipunan Road and then C.P. Garcia. We then ran a bigger loop (not the usual academic oval)inside UPD before having a 3 minute pitstop at the bikers tambayan near Palma Hall to replenish our hydration bottles. We then proceeded home via Katipunan Road then Boni Serrano Road completing a 17K run in 2:25 (including the pitstop). Hopefully this practice run will boost Swthrt's confidence on Sunday's Run for Home 21K.

Our route, distance calculated using Google Earth.

Run for Home - Photo Talks

Registered - 21K

Registration Fee : P300 each

Globe Center - Market Market

Father’s Day runabout with Swthrt

The recent incident in the family and the opening of school year has kept Swthrt and me from running for more than two weeks. Last Saturday, June 20, we had our first practice run of 6.6K at UP. We planned it to be an easy run. It’s really hard to start if you are sidelined from a long break. We were already gasping for air even at the early kilometers. We accomplished our goal and it was great to be back on the road running.

The following day, we had a Father’s Day runabout. Here was our route: We started from our home then we turn right at Katipunan White Plains all the way to Temple Drive going to Green Meadows. Upon reaching Ortigas Avenue, we turned left going to E. Rodriguez C5. We then proceed to Lanuza St. and returned back to Green Meadows going to Whiteplains and then Boni Serrano. It was fun and we were able to cover approximately 11+K (using Google Earth). This was our second runabout, the first was from our home to UPD and back.

The only problem we encountered was vehicular traffic along C5 and the heat of the sun since we started late. We left home at 6:00am and back after an hour and 38 min. We crossed over two walk bridges for us to be on the side of the road pacing traffic for safety reason. We had a short pit stop on our way back at Shell station in White Plains to replenish our hydration packs. Hopefully soon, we can do the Camp Aguinaldo to Fort Bonifacio runabout route.

Since school has started, we have been having problems on how to squeeze in running into our weekday schedules. We have to support JM in his adjustment period as high school freshman and Josh, who’s now on his third grade and needs help in his studies too. We have to be home early to do this. The only possible time for us to run is on weekends which also happened to be the schedules of most races. Last summer we were able to have evening runs. How about you? When do you have your weekday runs?

2nd DNS for the year, Mizuno Run ‘09

This year’s edition of the Mizuno Infinity Run was supposed to be my anniversary run. I started running last May 2008 by prodding of my officemates. After a month of consistent training, I braved the challenge to join the Mizuno Infinity Run ’08. It was my first run, a 5K…. And the rest is history. This year I registered for the 15K category aiming to set a new PR and Swthrt will run the 5K together with our son JM. We were forced to skip the race because of an untimely incident. We are in the state of mourning. Swthrt’s father met an accident which led to his passing away last June 3. He was laid to rest last Sunday, June 7 2009. In this trying times, it will always be family first above anything except God. This is the time where family members need one another for support and comfort. My prayer was that God will continue to bind our family in His great love for us. May God use this incident for our family members to be able to see the purpose of God and accept the salvation He offers. I pray that God will comfort Inay with His love and kindness knowing that Itay is now with His Creator and God.

Anyway, races can wait. PR’s can be set in another time! See you guys in future races!

Back at UP for an evening run

As part of our conditioning for the coming Earth Run, Swthrt and I had an evening run at UP. It was a long time since we had our last evening run at UP. We had a recovery run of 3 rounds (6.6K) on the academic oval before calling it a day. It was quite hot which made us harder to start a run, but later we were able to get our goal for the day. This also allows Swthrt to release some tensions/stress brought about by the preparation for her Operations Review presentation at the office. Today, we are hoping to have another run at BHS to add up some mileage before the race on Sunday. Hopefully the short preparation will pay off come race day. See you runners during the Earth Run!

After the long break

It has been a long time since my last post. I had a long break from blogging but not necessarily from running. Last May 1, 2009 was our first runabout from our home to UPD. Swthrt and I had this idea for quite sometime and it came to reality. We started to run at around 5:00am from our home along Boni Serrano Rd. in Murphy all the way to Katipunan Road before we took a left turn. After about a kilometer, we did some stretching before proceeding to our destination. It was a challenging route of uphill and downhill along the way especially on the Katipunan Flyover in Aurora Boulevard. And to be cautious, we took the side of the road where we will be facing traffic. The distance from our place to UP entrance in Katipunan was about 5K. Upon reaching the academic oval Swthrt was still able to run 3 more rounds while I finished 4 rounds before heading back home. It was a total of 16.6K run for Swthrt while I completed a total 18.8K run. Who knows, maybe next time, we can run from our place to Bonifacio High Street. With our consistent mileage build up, impossible is nothing!

Half marathon in Batangas

I love travelling and one of our destinations this summer is Batangas… Swthrt’s home province. What made our recent trip to this place very exciting for us running couple was that, we had the opportunity for LSD.

We were actually invited to the house warming of Swthrt’s brother, Ed at Avida Residence in San Isidro, Batangas City. We arrived there Saturday afternoon and stayed overnight. At dawn Sunday, Swthrt and I scheduled a run from Barangay San Isidro to Barangay Tulo (Swthrt’s place) since we will be missing weekend races scheduled on that date. The distance was estimated to be more than 10K (~10.6k). We started at around 5:00am from Avida Residence and we were joined by Ed who also ran with us during the last Christmas break.

at the boundary marker of Barangay San Isidro and Barangay Libjo

Swthrt with Ed running behind

The early part of the course was new to us up until Sitio Gulod. Swthrt felt early a slight pain on her shin but still opted to continue on. We had a comfortable pace as compared to our usual long runs since we have to follow Ed’s rusted pace (his last run was in December).

in front of SM Batangas City

uphill road at Barangay Pallocan

We reached our turn-around point which was Swthrt’s residence in Barangay Tulo in 1:25:00 without any problem. After refilling my hydration bottles, I went on my way back to our starting point. Swthrt and Ed decided to call it a day and went back home with my parents-in-law. This time I decided to pick up my pace but was slowed down from time to time because of the summer heat. I even have to pour water to my head to keep me cool. Upon reaching the Shell station beside SM City Batangas mall, I decide to buy Pocari sweat to refill my bottles. It was good thing I carried some money for contingency measures. It took me 1:10:29 to finish the second half completing my 21K run. It was a fulfilling run, simulating with the 21k runners in Greenfields City Run last Sunday, hehehe.

Prior to this run we had a 6.6K run at UPD last Saturday with our friend Chiqui. It was another fruitful weekend for us in running.

Since my last post

I may have slow down with my blogging but not in my running. After the much celebrated Condura Run, I became busy with work and other personal matters to attend to, one of them is the graduation of our eldest son, JM. I still was able to squeeze in a few runs, like a 5K easy run at our office compound with some of my officemates, weekend back to back 11K runs at UPD (4-5 April), highlighting with our Black Saturday 16K run in Batangas. The latter being significant since it was Swthrt’s longest run. We started in her hometown at Barangay Tulo going to city plaza in Batangas City. It was the same course of rolling hills we ran last December but this time we extended it up to the city proper. Hopefully Swthrt and I will be back to serious training soon in preparation for upcoming major races.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the brave and strong runners of the Bataan 102K Death March Ultramarathon. I salute you for your gallant effort in commemoration of our Bataan heroes. To Sir Jovie, the Baldrunner, Congratulations for a great run !

See you all at the upcoming races!

We men ran for our women at PIA

Last Sunday was a day for women in running at the Pinay In Action Run organized by Senator Pia Cayetano. It was an annual event giving importance on the role of Filipino women in our society. Our agency, NAMRIA, supported the event by sending about 50 runners from our running club with our officials involved in Gender and Development (GAD). Our delegate was headed by OIC Deputy Administrator and Information Management Department Director Linda SD Papa, Head Executive Assistant Georgia Ventura and Chief of Staff Lorelie Peralta. The event being an all women run was also supported by men. They were there either as pacers to their wives, as photographers, or simply to give support to the advocacy. We also saw familiar faces of blogger/runners participating in the event.

at the starting line (Picture courtesy of JunC)

The women in our team with DA Papa

I was at the event not only for our team but also to give support to Swthrt as she ran her 2nd 10K race. We arrived at the venue, Mall of Asia at around 5:30am. We immediately met with the rest of our group. Swthrt and I had a short warm-up run and stretching before the race. Swthrt was quite apprehensive in running the race because of her 2 week side line brought about by shin splints. In fact, she was not able to ran at the recently concluded Condura race. The race started a little over than the scheduled time of 6:00 am because of some ceremonial and photo ops which understandably for the purpose of having publicity. Anyway, the runners were released at the same time for all categories. 10K runners will have to run 4 loops (2.5K each) of the designated course.

running the first lap

running the 2nd lap

During the first lap, I had to remind Swthrt to run at her comfortable pace as this would be her first long run after a long rest. We had a short 3K run prior to this race which I posted last week On our second lap, Swthrt was steadily running at her pace but was bothered by the heat of the sun. It was really hot specially on the front side of the mall. We managed to ran the first 5K at 34:44 min. It was on the third lap that Swthrt started to feel pain on her shin. We slowed down a bit and had to make short walk breaks. It was also a good decision on our part to bring hydration belt as support because there was already a shortage of water at the aid station in front of the mall. The problem was immediately acted upon by the organizers as they were able to have bottled water on our 4th and final lap. We ran the second 5K at 38:44min and finishing with a time of 1:13:29.

to the finish line

Swthrt was really exhausted from the heat but was still able to finish strong. Congratulation Swthrt and I’m proud of you as always!

Team NAMRIA