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

I WANT MY MOJO BACK!

There's this game, "Scramble with Friends", which I used to play everyday (and I am good at it) but then "Gems with Friends" came along and I forgot about scramble altogether. This is of course, all Zynga's fault because most of their games are so addicting (haha!). Last week, my friend started nagging me to play Scramble again, and so I did and this should not come as a surprise, but I lost every game.

And just like my writing, I have lost my scramble with friends mojo.

Last year, my resolution was to read more often (at least 1 book a month)--that was a success.

This year, I want to write more.  Let's start now,shall we? There's so much to tell!


I've been wanting to write about how I finally bought an oven!  I've wanted one for the longest time but couldn't afford it, and then our neighbors moved out and they sold me theirs for a good price. Best Christmas present to myself, ever! Joaquin and I have been busy baking cookies, cupcakes and just recently, pizza! (woot woot!)  

I also invented a malunggay cheese dip which was a hit with everyone who tried it (kids included), and it looks like I will be selling that and my dulong in olive oil in a food bazaar in NBC tent this coming April.  I just need to find a jar supplier. Do you guys know anyone?

Next week, I'm doing something scary.  I am running my first 21k race at the Condura Skyway Marathon.  This was something I told myself last year that I would do early this year. I don't think I'm fully prepared but well, there's always Batman. My goal is to finish it in 3 hours 30 mins. I'll be ecstatic if I finish in under 3 hours. Seriously, please pray that I finish it and that I have a safe, injury-free half marathon.

Let me end this entry with a chismis: Remember the last guy who cheated on me?  Girlaloo looks pregnant. For her sake, I hope she really is and I do wish them well. Bagay sila.

Ta-ta!

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.

DEAR 2012

Dear 2012,

First off, thanks for proving the Mayans wrong.

The year started with a broken heart. And admittedly--yes, it took me awhile (and buckets of tears) to accept things, but I am grateful that you have redeemed yourself.

Thank you for bringing me clarity.  Thank you for helping me realize that a bad thing usually turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Thank you for teaching my sentimental self to weed out people who do nothing but bring me down. And I almost forgot, thank you for the weight loss!

What I loved most about you was the weight loss people you made sure I was surrounded with.  Thank you for my son's unconditional love.  I yelled at him a few days ago and then I said sorry after, explaining that I was just getting frustrated and he just hugged me and said "Mama, it's okay."  There are times where I really feel that he understands more than what I give him credit for.

Thank you for the wonderful and crazy relationship I share with my mom and my sisters.  Sure, we fight once in awhile but I have never felt more closer with each of them even when we're all in different locations.

Then there are my friends.  I really really really could not ask for more from all of them.  They have been there for me in the most surprising ways.

In the past 12 months, I've learned, I've cried, I've fallen, I've gotten back up, I've laughed harder and I continue to love and hope.

Before you go, I need you to know that you have filled my year with so many good things that it has overcome the bad.  To say the least, I didn't think the year could have gotten better, but it did. It really, really did.

Cheers to that!

xoxo,
Bunny

Vanity strikes from the back of a trike.

A STICKY SITUATION

And quite yummy, too!

Halloween is my favorite holiday next to Christmas because everyone gets to be crazier than normal and the kids get goodies.

Candies are always fun, but hardly anyone gives out homemade treats these days.  I am currently always on a tight budget so I wanted to make something cheap but delicious.  I almost always have popcorn at home because, I reaaalllyyy love popcorn.(You can ask my friend, Charo. She'll tell you.)  Popcorn is inexpensive and healthy, and if you're feeling indulgent (which is pretty much all the time for me), just add melted butter or a sprinkle of truffle salt and you've got yourself a good snack.

For this year's halloween treat, I decided to make some popcorn marshmallow pops. Here's what you'll need to yield a little over 50 pieces:

1 bar of butter (not a stick, a bar)
500 gms of popcorn kernels
400 gms of marshmallows
salt
Optional: rainbow sprinkles or m&m's

Of course, cook the popcorn.  While the popcorn's cooking, melt the butter in a large bowl in the microwave (you can also use the stove. Whichever way you decide to melt it, be careful not to burn it).   Place popcorn in a large bowl or tray once cooked.

Once the butter has melted, throw in the marshmallows and some salt, and put it back in the microwave for a minute or until marshmallows have melted.  Your marshmallow and butter mixture should look somewhat like this:

Pour that over your popcorn, add your sprinkles or in my case, chocolate candies, then mix lightly to coat.  You might want to use spoons to coat the popcorn as the mixture is hot.

Once the popcorn has cooled, lightly grease your hands with butter as things are about to get sticky.  Shape popcorn into balls, stick a popsicle stick in the middle and that's it!

Trick or treat!

TEACHER'S DAY

It was teacher's day last October 5 and although Joaquin only has 2 teachers and 1 therapist, my son named 3 more people he would like to give teacher's day gifts to. I had a budget of Php50 (max) per person and I didn't want to give something generic, like a cupcake or hand lotion. I wanted to give potted plants, with flowers preferably. It would be something nice to grow and keep inside the classroom, or at their desk.

The potted flower plants were expensive but I found potted cactus plants for 3 for Php100.  I added Php10 for the pots. When I got home, I grabbed some ribbon. Joaquin took charge of naming the teacher who would get each plant and he spread glue on the top part of the pots so the ribbons would stay in place.  I printed out a simple message, had my son sign his name, glued the note to a popsicle stick and voila! Pretty teacher's day gifts within my budget!

We did a good job, Mama!

WORK WOES

I'm loathing my new work schedule. From a very normal work sched of 9am to 6pm., I now work from 1-10pm.

The TL who is managing my original account went on maternity leave last week and because I'm the only other person at work who knows how to make the tedious weekly reports, she had to turn over her team to me.

And this is on top of eveeerrrryyttthinnngg that I do at work.

I can never give a specific answer everytime people ask me what exactly it is I do at work. First off, I work for 2 companies.  These are my functions at work:

1. Product management
2. Client acquisition and business dev
3. Auditor (yep! I'm also part of the Finance department)
4. Billing and Invoicing (another finance task)
5. Agent commissions and incentives
6. Team Leader
7. Applicant interviews (also a part of HR)
8. Operations 

A friend once told me, "Work flows to those who get things done".  And I'm really not complaining because I do believe I'm efficient, but lately I feel like I'm spread too thin and I'm tired and underpaid and it's not worth it anymore.

The only reason why I still work here is I love the people I work with. And it's so damn hard to look for people you can happily work with.

So anyway, I just wanted to write about how much I hate my new work sched and how I'm probably stuck with this sched for the next 2 months.

I hate that it's sooo hot out when I leave home. I hate that I can't be at home before my son goes to bed.  I can't even hitch rides with my friends anymore and because it is so unsafe to walk to the jeepney stop past 10pm, I've been taking cabs.  More gastos.

And I miss tweeting.

Shet.

He would have been 62.

Papa would have been 62 today. And on our way to the cemetery, (thanks to Carla for lending me her car, by the way) I was trying to imagine what he would look like if he was still around. How it would be like. To start off, it would have been awesome for Joaquin to have a grandfather to spoil him rotten.

Felt tears roll from my eyes as I listened to my son shyly sing "happy birthday gwapo" while standing in front of Papa's grave.

My efforts in correcting him to call my Dad "Guakong" have been futile and so, I just let him be. Come to think of it, and knowing Papa, he would have preferred (and would have insisted) to be called "Gwapo" by his grandson anyway.

I wish they knew each other. I wish Joaquin knew him, not just of him.

Happy birthday, Papa! I miss you everyday that you're not here (and that's close to 8 years already).

Keep grooving (up there).