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A Long Hiatus Indeed

Finally,a new entry to my dormant blog! I have this knack for starting things then in one way or another leaving them for a long while or not finishing them at all. Take this personal blog as a very good example.Tsk tsk...gotta get that bad habit outta my system. If it weren't for the bad stormy weather,downed cable TV & intermittent internet connection then I wouldn't have thought of  spending time doing something instead of just lying around or eating all day long.

A lot has happened since my last posting - friends coming & leaving the country, others getting married or having kids, relatives getting sick, siblings graduating & moving out to forge careers of their own. The latest is me finally planning on settling down - very soon. Everybody's changing. Everybody's growing up. It's the same for me.

I'm gonna be going back to the beginning, the very reason that I started writing a blog - to have an online journal and a therapeutic outlet. Hoping that this time around I can sustain this.

Deck's Fun Birthday Run @ TikTakBo 3

One of my friend Deck's birthday wishes was for us to join a  fun run where we can just relax & enjoy nature's simplicity and each other's company while running. UP Diliman was the perfect place since most of them haven't really tried or even experienced jogging there and there's also an abundance of trees that cools the surrounding area so we signed up for TikTakBo 3's 6k run. Some of us were already into running but the 6k event was just perfect for the noobs & chit-chatting while running. No pressure indeed since bonding with each other was the main reason for the early morning get-together (aside from trying hard to get into shape).   

After the run...

After passing the finish line and getting some sponsor freebies , we lined up to get our group picture taken in one of the photo booths near the stage para naman may souvenir kami, since it was a special event. Pagkatapos tumambay sa event area , we decided to have breakfast and since birthday event eh 'san pa'ba pupunta kun'di sa Jollibee! Woohoo! Hearty breakfast naman kami para mabawi ang ipinawis, sayang ang fats. Ha ha! Enjoyable event talaga so sa mga susunud pang magbi-birthday eh alam nyo na ang gagawin. 

Guess who's who...

The Tough Man's Challenge Happens On Sunday!

A Different Experience At Run To Read 2010

Last Sunday's run was a different experience for me, also the least prepared run I've ever joined. I never jogged nor even walked on the treadmill for two weeks leading to race day. No calisthenics, not even stretching as in ZERO. On the eve of the run I slept late because I came home late from my Grad School classes & prepared the stuff I'll be wearing & bringing in the early morning run. I woke up at 3am to double check on my stuff , prepare for the event & eat something. Bad trip! I forgot to get myself an energy drink & granola bars! Now what??!! A cup of Milo would do - or so I thought. I arrived at the race venue hungry!

The race started a few minutes before 6am - it'll be hot on the way to the finish. It was the first time I ran alone - no JERM, no buddies, no officemates. I thought I could PR since I'll be doing my jog-walk routine at my own pace. I also left my ipod in my bag so I can focus on the race & do my thing without any distractions. I started ok, jogged my first 2 kms continuously with no problems. On the 4th km my knees started feeling weak with a hint of pain - lintek! Wala akong patella braces , left them in my backpack. So now I have to take it easy 'coz it's still too early in the run. Then the most important thing that I forgot to check was the race route - ang daming hilly portions! In other words , I walked my way on the uphill portions of the route which slowed me down even more. Nung pabalik na after nung pataas & pababa medyo binilisan ko na to recover at least a little of my lost time. Lagpas 1 hour na & nasa hills area parin ako! I was panting my way to the finish line, mainit, pagod, nanlalambot & masakit ang lower extremities all because I didn't prepare well enough for the event. I have no one to blame but myself & I've learned my lesson. My efforts were not in vain naman knowing that part of my registration fee would benefit school children. Ang importante naman eh natatapos mo ang mga nasisimulan  at nae-enjoy mo ang mga ginagawa mo. Tama na ang daldal, kelangan na ng ice pack ang mga masasakit na tuhod, arch & heels.

Will You Run For A Smile?

 

Smiling and running happens on August 22

Tiktakbo 3 : Isa, Dalawa, Takbo - August 22

This will be my friend Deck's supposed birthday run so might as well promote it. It'll be held at the UP Diliman Academic Oval and we'll be going for the 6K run para naman medyo relaxed, enjoy lang and bonding since it's his day.

Run To Read - August 15

This running event is for the benefit of building school libraries. Read on below for details as I got it from the run4change website.

Run to Read – Run for a cause

August 15, 2010
Fort Bonifacio Global City

ABOUT
There is not enough public libraries to serve millions of students, currently there are 688 public libraries of all types and there should be more. The lack of facilities is even compounded by the fact that a significant number of these libraries are under-funded, understaffed, poorly equipped, or in bad physical condition forcing it to stop functioning.

There should be a total of 1,851 libraries in all, one for each of the country’s 220 congressional districts, 136 cities, and 1,495 municipalities. To date, the country has 1,163 libraries less than required. This affects 40% of the population or nearly 40 million Filipinos as it unacceptably deprives our children of a resource that could spell a difference for their future.

Realizing the need for children to be aptly exposed to reading materials not readily available for them, the Run To Read Fun Run was designed to raise funds to build and restore libraries for less fortunate communities in various parts of the Philippines. The run will be composed of 4 major distance events; 3KM, 5KM, 10KM, 15KM and a 500-meter dash for kids and their moms or dads

EVENTS
3k
5k
10k
15k
500m for kids

REGULAR REGISTRATION
July 1 – August 8, 2010

ONLINE REGISTRATION
http://www.runnersrunner.com/

REGISTRATION FEE
PHP 500 for 500m for kids (tandem with 1 parent)
PHP 300 for 3k
PHP 350 for 5k
PHP 400 for 10k
PHP 450 for 15k
(Inclusive of singlet, race number and certificate)

REGISTRATION AREAS
BrandWorX Inc Head Office-Penthouse, Eurovilla Bldg. 2, VA Rufino St., Legaspi Village Makati City
Runnr Store-Bldg. B3 Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City, Philippines
SecondWind Running Store-Maginhawa St., Teacher’s Village ;  Ortigas Home Depot
All Terra Cyclery-Club 650 Libis, Quezon City
Reebok-Trinoma ,Megamall ,Festival Mall
Royal Sporting House-Glorietta 4 ;Robinson’s Place Manila

Singlet Designs

 

Registration Form

Rexona Run 2010

Had another 10k distance added to my mileage. On track pa rin sa goal ko to at least finish 100k this year. Ok na ok yung organization - it started on time & madilim pa, parking was easy, there were marshalls all over to assist all the runners at ang pinaka-mahalaga eh hindi nagkulang sa hydration. There was enough for everyone! Ako pa nga ang nahirapan magisip kung iinumin ko yung tubig or ibubuhos ko sa ulo to cool off. Yung race course din ayos, daming patag kaya hindi masyado mahirap para sa katulad kong walang kapraktis-praktis & wala masyadong mga kasabay na sasakyan na makikipag-kumpitensya sa dadaanan.

Two of my friends joined me, Edward ran with me & his wife Elisse gamely acted as photographer para ma-sanay gumamit ng SLR & may remembrance kami. Heck, walang kaabog-abog she even asked Chino Trinidad who was just passing by to pose with us! We started late & were probably late by 12-15 minutes. Tamang jog lang kami & kwentu-kwentuhan then by KM5 we parted ways & I adjusted to my own run-walk pace.

This would probably be the first run I've joined wherein i felt minimal pain in my arch or knees kahit isang buwan walang practice, exercises & warm ups (diretso takbo from parking kasi late) - probably because of the new shoes I was wearing. I ran using the new Fila Flow DNA (sorry, 'diko lam yung tamang name).It was kinda like the Nike Free pero parang synthetic mesh/net yung material. It was light & cushioning was great. Baka yun lang ang kailangan to be able to run better, bine-break in ko rin kasi yung shoe & I wasn't in shape kaya hinay-hinay lang. Sana 'wag na masyado umulan pag hapon para makapag-jog kahit once a week.

*Thanks to Chino Trinidad for posing with us & Photovendo for the nice photos.

Nakakatawa To...

*Credit goes to yoursummerstar.tumblr.com

19 Days Without Running... and Counting...

After running at the great 34th National Milo Marathon - Manila Elims, 3 weeks had passed without me doing any jogging or at least any physical activity except for the endless walking that we did during the weekend along the roads of Singapore just to get to famous shopping places. I got sick the first week; busy with work during the 2nd week and now I'm just too lazy to move around because I wanted to "recover" all the energy spent during the SG trip besides, it's been raining the whole week and the weather is just too great for sleeping.

Sana I can jog around the UP Academic Oval over the weekend 'pag 'di ako tinamad , a cramming of sorts for the Rexona Run @ MOA on Aug1. I haven't even registered yet, hoping I'll be able to sign up at Timex MOA this Saturday.

Gotta snap back to reality, the vacation's over!

2 Days Of Soreness

Actually this would be the 3rd day of being sore in the knees & calves. Eto ang nakuha ko sa pagtakbo last Sunday. I'm a newbie at running - let alone jogging and I think I tried doing too much. I wanted to prove something - that I too can do it.There's too much pride kaya or just competitiveness in me to just let it go away. Anyway, na-aggravate rin lang siguro dahil after sleeping for 3 hours eh nagpa-full body massage ako, yung hard pa yata ang ginawa sakin. Feeling ko natadtad yung mga binti ko. He he. I felt some relief naman especially sa likod & talampakan ko. The pain in the kness - well matagal na yan eh. Takot lang ako magpatingin sa doktor. Anyways no pain naman when I run when using the patella braces. I'm actually used to this kind of pain lalo na pag walang warm-ups or very long lay-off from physical activities. Gusto ko lang mag-inarte. Blog ko 'to eh, bakit ba???!!!

My First Milo Marathon 10K Run

Yesterday I became part of running history as I joined and ran 10k in the 34th National Milo Marathon - Manila eliminations at Luneta Park / Quirino Grandstand. The Milo Marathon is the country's longest and premier running event and being part of it is simply amazing. Being registered to run and donning the Milo race singlet lets you feel the prestige of the event. It's also for a good cause since you also become part of a helping hand in giving running shoes to deserving elementary kids in manila.

We arrived early at the venue and while waiting for the 10k gun start, entertainment was shown at the stage area & we also got to see the first batch of kids benefiting from the shoes then, we're off. Being a newbie & able to jog continuously in the first 2kms was already an achievement for me. From then on lakad-jog na ang ginawa ko lalo na sa flyover wherein 2 times mo siya madadaanan. On the way back to the finish line , I thought of taking hydration sa last 4-3 kms of the race para hindi masyado bloated & mabigat pero to my dismay eh ubos na ang gatorade & water in their respective stations. Nakaka-asar lang since maraming naki-takbo & dumaraan na nakiki-inum lang wherein dapat yung mga runners ang nakikinabang. So instead of gunning for a PB eh naglakad na lang ako dahil sa sobrang uhaw, 'di bale na ung PB 'wag lang matumba sa kalsada. I started running lang ulit after seeing the start sign at luneta, akala ko finish na yun. Buti na lang yung announcer sinabi na nasa Quirino Grandstand area yung finish line.

All in all ok naman yung experience ko, overwhelmed pa nga eh lalo na nung nakita ko mga running idols ko - Coach Rio, Jaymie Pizarro, & NeverRunAlone. Nakaka-inspire sila.


Need to look for other 10k events na para-ma-realize ko ang running goal ko of finishing 100-120k this 2010.



*Many thanks to Photovendo for the running photos, this is a milestone for me

Not So Fun Ace HW & Davies Paints Eco-Friendly Run

I wasn' really able to enjoy last Sunday's run. It was supposed to be my ka-JERM's birthday and get together run.Practice na rin sana for next Sunday's Milo 10k run. Probably everything started wrong for us.I met up with some friends & hitched a ride to MOA 5am in the morning. We arrived at the venue's parking area ( a few steps away from the starting point) probably 15-20 minutes before the 10k race gun time but lo and behold - the 3k race was about to start and we're still queued up in line for parking! What a waste! You have to pay first before you can enter the parking area and that's what filled up the long long lines. Eh hindi naman namin maiwan mag-isa yung friend naming driver since siya yung may birthday.

To make the seemingly long story short, we started about 15-20 minutes late. We ran along with the 3k runners, no other runners in sight during lap 2. The good thing was the 4 of us were running together so we just chatted while walking , just for the sake of finishing our distance. We met 2 more or our buddies at the finish line who also started late because of the long parking queue. Dahil sira na ang mga araw namin, we just had a hearty breakfast at McDonald's.

Nagdadalawang isip na tuloy akong tumakbo pag sa MOA because of that. I'll check out the Rexona Run, baka okay ang organization kasi RUNRIO event.

Rock & Run...and RAIN!!!

Did another 10k charity run last night at The Fort - also my very first soaking wet night run. The running event was for the benefit of Republikha. Never kong naisip na tatakbo talaga ako ng 10k sa ulan. Well, it was fun! I really enjoyed it though,marami ka kasing kasabay na runners na basang-basa din, hindi pa ma-araw kaya di masyado nakakapagod. The annoying thing lang was the sloshing of water in my shoes and socks habang tumatakbo & the sudden gust of wind habang umuulan. Basang-basa ka na ,minsan masakit yung tama ng tubig sa mukha mo plus giniginaw ka pa. Any way, rain or shine naman yung run and enthusiastic talaga yung mga tao. It was already raining for almost an hour with people waiting under it kaya nakakatuwa talaga. Marami rin nagchee-cheer on different locations within the course kaya dagdag motivation. The only sad thing was walang rock music because of the heavy rains. Kainis. So after the run, I just treated myself with a big serving of spaghetti saka fish & chips. Pampalubag loob. Look forward na lang next weekend for Edward's birthday run - Ace & Davies Eco Run.

Walk The World: My First 5K Run

My kumpareng Sep invited me last week to join kumareng Rochelle & their friend Tin to run in Walk The World :Isang Hakbang Pilipinas 2010 since I recently added jogging/ running to my growing list of hobbies. I'm trying hard to have a healthier lifestyle so I obliged. Besides, it was for a very worthy cause. Proceeds go to the World Food Program that would help feed the hungry children affected in war-torn Mindanao.

Another kumpare (Archie) joined us for the 5k run on race day (June 06). A lot of people turned out at the event. Even a light drizzle didn't stop people from coming in. I still ran on my own pace and did the walk-jog combinations, hoping to finish it. I'm pretty much satisfied with my 40-minute performance since I don't really care much about the time, all I'm after is to finish every race I join.

This Started It All...

It really did! I wasn't into running nor was I a fan of running 'till I got this particular issue of TBR mag. I was happily waiting at the sidelines of the 2010 Globe Run for Home , hoping all of my friends would finish & take their photos (pati na rin mga celebs na mapapa-daan) ng makita ko yung particular issue na to. The owner probably wasn't interested or nabasa na nya kaya iniwan na lang kung saan. Eh ako mahilig mamulot ng mga nakikita kung saan-saan. I was thinking of just browsing through the pages but soon enough I was reading the articles. Meron sya articles about nutrition, running tips/guide, feature/inspirational articles & syempre product listings. Natuwa naman ako & I really found it very informative since hindi siya specific for certain types of runners.Para siya sa lahat - from a total dummy to expert runners makaka-relate. That's when it popped in my stubborn brain na I wanted to try running. I want to do running. It somehow became an inspiration, aside from having enough sa pagiging laughing stock ng friends & peers gawa ng pagtaba & pagbigat ko. Simpleng nakapulot ng libreng mag, binasa then created a spark. In my earlier Nature Valley Run posting , tumakbo na ako & I'm hoping to create my own history in running.Sana magtuluy-tuloy na to. =)

From Photographer To Finisher

For months I've just been a spectator from the sidelines , a support base and often times the photographer for my friends who are into running or just fond of joining fun runs here in the metro. I've also been the target of ridicule among my peers because of my figure & weight issues - that I can't do shit, I'm too heavy, stamina & endurance left me, and the list goes on. I wasn't motivated, dunno why. Probably just too lazy to do something, I guess. Something happened last April that somehow got me motivated to do something for myself. I decided to join the RUNRIO-organized Nature Valley Run and got myself registered for the 10-kilometer run. There's no turning back since I also bought myself unnecessary running gear & accessories para manghinayang ako sa perang ginastos ko if ever I had thoughts of backing out.

2nd Week of May - I started walking around the UP Oblation area (or whatever it is called) on the weekend before elections, needed to get my legs accustomed again to walking more than a few meters at least. Good thing my sister always tagged along to keep me company. Did 4 laps each day for 3 days. From then on I started walk-jog combinations for 8 days either at UP or Boni High Street leading into race day to get my heart & lungs to do their thing. Talk about super cramming for a totally unfit, overweight newbie.


Race day, May 30 - A few friends joined me for bonding & support. We were a little late going to the starting line so from the parking area we had to jog just to catch up, bad thing though was that we had no warm ups. It occured to me when my calf muscles began hurting just a few hundred meters into the run so I had to stop & just walk my way and hope the pain goes away. All I was thinking of was to at least finish the distance in every way I can. After 3kms , guess what - the pain's gone. I had a female friend running alongside me so I adjusted my pace to hers - don't wanna hurt my calves again & worse, have an asthma attack during the event. Pinagsalit-salitan ko parin ang lakad-jog, I thought it's fine since first time ko and after 1 hour & 36 minutes, I crossed the finish line. The sun was already up, I'm dripping with sweat & I'm feeling wobbly but I was happy. I just proved something to myself, I'm not a hopeless case -from sideline cheerleader / photographer to a proud 10k finisher - and I think I'm not done yet. I'm now looking forward to the next run me & my friends can join to help keep me motivated , to continue jogging/running for my health and hopefully improve my first Personal Record. I guess...WELCOME TO THE RUNNING WORLD!


*Maraming salamat sa PhotoVendo - meron 'nako remembrance for the event! =)

05.10.10

Now that election day is over, it is only now that I felt and realized how important this day really was. As all the TV ads put it - Ako ang simula. May magagawa tayo. Sa isang boto ko. Ang boto mo ay may dalang pagbabago. Ang mga ito ang mga katotohanang magpapalaya sa bayan. I'm not a registered voter, nor did I exert any effort to get registered in the first place. Watching all the people taking time and getting out of their way to go out, line up and wait under the scorching heat or acidic downpour for their turns to cast their vote ,hoping to make a difference. Voter turnout was good as reported in the news , the only drawbacks were machines bogging down and the slow voting procedure. Violence were as usual from the known hotspots.

Canvassing has already started and slowly yet surely, results are coming in. In this chaotic world of politics, people remain optimistic which gives up hope. May God bless us all.

Jejemon Fever

Napaka-rami ng posts about "Jejemons" sa web & a lot of people are getting curious about it. Blogs , social networking sites & video sharing sites are already filled with these "monsters". Wikipedia even has it.

It's defined in Wikipedia as :
"Jejemon is a pop culture phenomenon in the Philippines. Jejemons are defined by Urban Dictionary as one "who has managed to subvert the English language to the point of incomprehensibility and online lynch squads."[1] A Jejemon is described as a "new breed of hipsters who have developed not only their own language and written text but also their own sub-culture and fashion."

It seems that the jejemon mania is here to stay, and is making its mark both in real life and on cyberspace. One has to have patience/tolerance for jejemons, jejespeak, and what the jeje lifestyle stand for.

Evolved version yata to ng mga "Jologs". Parang Pokemon lang no?