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