Team JRunning weekend run

One thing I like about weekend is that I get to spend more time with Swthrt and the kids. Swthrt and I always look forward to activities we will have on weekend and running will always be on the list. Last Saturday,October 15 2011, it was the whole family that went to UPD. Swthrt and I were scheduled to run at least 10K at an easy pace. JM, our eldest son, had to do an experiment for their myth busting project in Biology class together with his classmates. While Josh, our youngest son, does not want to miss the fun came with us.

11K easy pace Saturday run

We arrived at UPD a little late. It was almost 7 am when we started to run. To keep us motivated, we tried to look at the situation as an opportunity to also have some sort of heat training. We normally are still running by this time if we run in a half or full marathon. We usually start our run in front of the Abelardo Hall and do stretching at the parking space in front of Palma Hall before completing our goal for the day. JM and Josh joined us in our first round of the oval and eventually wait for JM’s classmates near the Sunken Garden. As always, it was difficult at the start before finally picking up on a rhythm for our run. Swthrt tried again using an ipod while running. She has been used to running without it for quite a long time. It seemed to work well with her as she was able to keep a consistent pace as she went along with the beat of the music.

After finishing our goal (we were able to do 5 rounds of the Academic Oval which is equal to 11K which is more than our goal), we went to JM who was already with his classmates discussing on how they would go about with their experiment.

Afterwards, we went to Kiss Restaurant at the Bahay ng Alumni building for breakfast before getting on a full day of activities.

5K easy run and speed works

For our Sunday run, October 16, 2011, we went to NAMRIA in Fort Bonifacio at 5:30 am and got caught in traffic as a race was on-going along Bayani Road and Lawton Avenue. After getting through the traffic and have brought Josh at NAMRIA compund where he would have a tennis training with his coach Swthrt and I went for a 5K run along Bayani Road. When we returned to NAMRIA compound we did speed intervals and hill repeats. One good thing about our office compound is that it has a good terrain ideal for different types of training. One loop of the compound is approximately 250m. The road from the main gate going to the back of the compound was down hill ideal for hill repeats. We also have courts for basketball, volleyball and tennis.

 

 

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.

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!

Camp Aguinaldo, McKinley to Bayani C5 and Batangas Runs

Since returning home from my recent field work, Swthrt and I was able to do some runs in preparation for her first 16K race scheduled on May 31. We started last Thursday night ( May 21) with a 4K easy run at Camp Aguinaldo’s improvised running oval. We were joined by our two sons who only did a couple of rounds. It was followed by a back to back 10K weekend runs. We had a 10K practice/simulation run at the Mc Kinley Hills going to Lawton Avenue and Bayani Road all the way to C5, which was our designated turn-around point. It was Swthrt’s first taste of the Bayani Road course. The previous 10K races Swthrt have joined were held in different places and never in the infamous Bayani Road. The 16K Earth Run will be covering the areas of McKinley Hills, Lawton Avenue up to Gate 3 and the Bayani Road up to C5. To top last week’s run was a 10.5K run from Baranggay San Isidro to Baranggay Tulo in Batangas City. We had a weekend visit to my in-laws. My two brothers-in-law are here in the country for a vacation. Swthrt and I had a good run together with Ed, one of my brothers-in-law. We hope to log some more mileage before the 16K Earth Run.