BEEN BUSY

I've been busy.

It's my last week at work so the past couple of weeks have been spent turning over everything to my colleague.

I also went to my new employer yesterday for a meeting and everything looks promising. I officially start working for them on Monday and I am very very excited!

I wish I could share more on my new job and I am itching to write about it, but I have to keep mum until we launch.

P.S.
My 2nd half marathon turned out okay. I can't say it was great because I was undertrained. I'm just glad I finished at a decent time and I kept my pace all throughout.

Joaquin took this photo of me when I got home. He insisted I hold my medal.

 

BAHALA NA SI BATMAN!

I am running another 21K tomorrow.   Unlike my first half marathon, I didn't have enough time to train for this as I only found out I was doing this last week. 

This was originally my boss' and her husband's race kits but they suddenly had to schedule an out of town trip last week and they suddenly convinced me to run using their race kits.  So I coerced my friend, April to run with me. She was the one who took me to my first 5K and I want to be the one to take her to her first 21K. 

Of course I want to beat my previous time but like I said, there was not enough time to train, so I'm putting my fate in tomorrow's race in Batman's hands. Bahala na siya!

COLOR DASH 5K

It was sometime last week when I saw a deal on Ensogo for the Color Dash run.  They slashed 50% off from the Php650 registration fee.  So I sent a message to my village friends asking them if they wanted to join and I ended up buying 9 vouchers for us.

We were all pretty psyched because the Color Dash is similar to India's Holi Festival, where you are showered with colored powder.  How it's supposed to work is, you get sprayed/showered/doused with different colors in each kilometer.

That was not the case with this run.  They had 2 buckets filled with powder at each stop (not even each kilometer) and you have to get your own powder, unless you want to rely on the couple of manongs manning the stop to rub the powder on your back. So disappointing. We felt terrible for those who paid the full amount for the run.

As with life, when a letdown sets in, you just need to make the most out of the situation.  And that was what my friends and I did. Despite the poorly-organized race, we had loads of fun!

This was how excited we were for the run.

We made tutus!

And yes, even our guy friend had to wear one

I also got to run with my sister, Marby. Last time we ran together was 2009!

Color me bad

                                             

And did I mention that it rained towards the end of the run, which washed away what little color we had. Boo!

Team Tutu, fight!

THE DREAM

My dream is to be able to run wearing only my sports bra and running shorts. If I continue to run 3-4 times a week, I think I'll be gutsy enough to live that dream in a few more months. Yes?

P.S.
Another dream is to completely quit smoking. Oh well, baby steps.

MY FIRST 21K

A couple of days before my first half marathon, I posted on Facebook that my gameplan was to run like Channing Tatum and Ryan Gosling were waiting for me at the finish line.

Well, well.

My 21k went off to a bad start.  My hydration belt fell at the beginning of the race (maybe I didn't strap it on tightly) and there was a slew of runners behind me so I had to stop, step aside and fix it.  3 kilometers later and I had to use the portalet to pee.

I tried to be oblivious to the fact that so many runners were going past me. I knew I could run faster but I also knew that doing that would just exhaust me so early on in the race.  During the first half of the run, I kept telling myself that:

1. This is my first 21k.
2. I am not competing with anyone, only with myself.
3. I must stick to my gameplan-- run at my own pace. (which is 8-9mins per kilometer)

Things started getting tricky during the last 7 kilometers.  I found myself reaching for the gummy bears I had brought with me.  My calves were getting stiff and each time the sole of my shoes would hit the pavement, I felt the blisters ballooning.

I saw a few runners at the side of road being attended to by medics.  Their legs were getting massaged and rubbed with ointment and I was jealous! Every muscle in my body was tempted to stop but I didn't.  I walked for a couple of minutes though because I recognizd the oh so familiar twinge of cramps creeping in. When I felt my legs relax, I ran again.

The official results came out today and I finished my first 21k in 3 hours and 11 minutes (kept my 9min/km pace, yippiee!).  I'm pretty proud because I was expecting to finish at 3:30.  If my hydration belt didn't fall and if I didn't have to go #1, then I would have finished earlier but still good, yeah? YEAH!

Seasoned runners probably have a deeper more intricate interpretation of finishing strong but I'd like to say I did because, hellooo, I can still walk! Hahaha!

Will I do it again? Hell yeah!  Will I run a full marathon next year? Hell.....not yet!

Tada! *pats myself on the back*

Today someone asked me why I'm running a 21k if I'm so scared.  Thing is, that's exactly why I'm doing it.  If I conquer the fear, I conquer myself.  The operative word here is If. 

6 more days.

For the past month, I have been running 4-5 times a week. My plan was to do a 15k or 2-hour run (whichever comes first) yesterday but I woke up at 5am with very sore calves (most likely from running Friday and Saturday) and I just had to listen to my body so I went back to bed. I will try to do that 15k early tomorrow morning and have a go at a 10k on Wednesday. Then it's rest till race day.  Hopefully, my muscle memory is better than my actual memory (which is pretty good, too).

Aside from having a clear picture of the finish line, I have also been listening to my running playlist everyday.  Here are some of  my favorites:

Titanium- David Guetta feat. Sia
Save the World- Swedish House Mafia
Don't you Worry Child- Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin
More- Usher
What a Feeling- Alex Gaudino feat. Kelly Rowland
Sweet Dreams- Eurythmics (Steve Angello remix)
U + Ur Hand- Pink
Stronger- Kelly Clarkson
Mr. Know It All- Kelly Clarkson
Anything Can Happen- Ellie Goulding
Lights- Ellie Goulding
Sweat- Snoop Dogg vs. David Guetta
I wanna go- Britney Spears
Scream and Shout- Will.I.Am feat. Britney Spears
Fader- The Temper Trap
Love Lost- The Temper Trap
Don't Stop the Party- Pitbull feat. TJR
Va Va Voom- Nicki Minaj
Put Your Hands Up- Kylie Minogue
Hummingbird Heartbeat- Katy Perry
Beauty and a Beat- Justin Bieber feat. Nicki Minaj
Locked out of Heaven- Bruno Mars
Some Nights- Fun
We R Who We R- Ke$ha
Shake It- Metro Station
We are Never Ever Getting Back Together- Taylor Swift
I Knew You Were Trouble- Taylor Swift

Have a kickin' week, everyone! :)

"In most cases, learning something essential in life requires physical pain."
--Haruku Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO

I am running my first 21K in exactly one month and right now, it is starting to feel like I am about to take a bath with a plugged hair dryer.

I went on zero runs over the holidays and I just started running again yesterday.  

Good God, help me.

FIRST RUNNING PHOTOS

Ang cool talaga ng Globe Run For Home! I got my first running photos today. It's not much to speak of pero pwede na!


O-HA! Overtake daw! LOL


Sooo not pretty! I'm red as a beet!

SO COOL!!!!

The results of Globe's Run For Home were finally posted an hour ago and it's sooo cool! I love you Championchip!

The 4-day wait is super worth it! So high-tech! So galing! While I'm still not proud of my results, let me share my race report with you.



The report says I finished 44m:58s from chip time. My watch said 45mins so it's pretty accurate! My gun time was 47m:27s because we got to the starting line a minute before the race started so my friend, El and I were at the baaaccck.

Glad to note that I passed more runners than that passed me. Hahahaha!



I hope I can bring my per km average to 7mins. In the bird's eye view of the finish line, I loved that you can mouse over to the dots and find out who that person is.

Can't wait for the Urbanite run coz they're also using a timing chip! Yiippeeee!!!!

GLOBE RUN FOR HOME

I finished the 5k race in 45 minutes. And I'll be honest-- I'm pretty disappointed with myself because I finished my last marathon in 42.

I was hoping to finish this race in 35 or even 40--but 45mins? Gaaadd! I don't know if it was because I had my monthly visitor. There really is no excuse.

But hey, a run's a run and God knows I ran! In fact, I ran 3km straight even if the roads were uphill. When I checked my watch and saw that I was running for already 26mins, I knew I wasn't going to make it to my 35-minute target. How was I going to run 2km in 9 minutes? So I stopped to get water. Huhuhu!

I think my mistake was that I got too comfortable with my pace. Got too scared of getting tired agad so I threw off the idea of picking it up a notch and running faster. I have learned my lesson. I should do a lot lot lot better on my next marathon (Kenny's Urbanite Run). I will try to look pretty while running and sweating (wish ko lang!) and will train harder so I can run side by side with Marc Nelson and Rovilson Fernandez (I both find them hot for different reasons: Marc looks good but Rovilson is darn witty and I find that sooo sexy).

While this marathon seemed pretty organized--race started on time, appreciated the distance markers, great and accurate route, etc (although some people had issues with Globe's VIP parking-- oo nga naman, ano ba naman yun?), I have a few things to gripe about:

• ELECTRONIC TIMING CHIP- I was under the impression that the whole point of the electronic timing chip was so that runners could get their accurate running time right after the race or at least the day after. This news report actually says that the official results have already been posted on the Run for Home site.
  

Even the Globe site says: "After the race, you can check times, race results, and official photos on the Globe website." Well, where is it? I don't see it there!

• POORLY-MANNED WATER STATIONS- While there were sufficient water stations, there was not enough water and the stations were poorly-manned. And I didn't want the carbonated drink they were giving away. The water stations were sooo crowded with runners scrambling for a paper cup and water. Wawa!

• PRIZES WERE NOT GIVEN ON THE DAY OF THE RACE- Found out from Bald Runner that prizes were not given to the winners on the day of the race. Not even the medals or trophies or certificates were given! Apparently, they have asked the winners to claim their prizes at the Globe office. I feel for the athletes who join races just to earn money (We have our government to blame for this) and some of these athletes come from provinces pa. Tsk tsk tsk!

• LOUSY CLEAN-UP COMMITTEE--As of Monday morning, paper cups used during the race were still scattered along Lawton Avenue in Fort Bonifacio. SHAAMMEEE!!!

Buti na lang, this race went to a very good cause!

BEST RUN YET (thanks to a song--i think)

I was talking to my boss last night about how disappointed I was about my run last Monday and how I wish I could find my pace so I can run longer.

I can usually only run for 18mins straight and then I brisk walk and then run again. I figured I was running too fast which was why I was getting too tired too quickly. The songs on my cardio tracks playlist are fast songs like Fatboy Slim's "Ya Mamma" and Groove Armada's "I see you baby (shakin that ass)". You'll also find a lot of Chemical Brothers and No Doubt songs in my running playlist.

And then earlier, I found this Crystal Method song on my ipod (it was my Uncle who probably put it there since my ipod video is a hand-me-down from him). And the song was 45 minutes long! It was purrfeecctt!!! It started with a slow beat that warmed me up and then the tempo started getting faster (but not too fast). And just like that, I found my running pace!

Thank you Nike and Crystal Method because

I ran for 31 minutes straight!!! And I don't want to sound mayabang, but if I wasn't going to be late for work, I could have ran some more!

So now, I am even more excited to Run For Home this Sunday! I am hoping to finish the 5km race in 35 minutes. We shall see how well or bad I do. Hahaha!

Yay!!!