My Track

For interval/speed training, it is advisable to do it in an oval track since the distances are pre-measured, making it an ideal place to run those 4×400 m splits. However, for some people like me who don’t want to pay for the use of a track, I had to find an alternative place where I can do my speed workouts. One such place is the Teodoro Valencia Circle located right in the middle of Rizal Park in Manila. Its the circle where the statue of Lapu lapu is located.

with Lapu lapu in the background

Its a 450 meter (garmin measured) oval, asphalt, and the best part, it’s surrounded by trees!

trees!

The steps to the Department of Tourism building provide an area for doing stair workouts. Though they might not be as high as those found in the bleachers of regular tracks, running up them still provides a good muscle burn.

Dep't of Tourism building

And after doing those glycogen sapping runs, the area has nearby sari-sari stores where food and drinks can be purchased to re-energize those aching muscles.

a nipa hut sari sari store

Meeting H@ppy Feet

There were 2 races held yesterday, the Robinson’s Buddy Run at the Fort and the North Face Run in Batangas… sadly, I wasn’t able to join any of them. However, I was able to meet up with my new running group, the H@ppy Feet Impromptu Runners, when they had their post-run breakfast at the Chowking restaurant at the Fort.

The H@ppy Feet Impromptu Runners is a social group of people who just love to run, and the camaraderie associated with it. The group is currently expanding exponentially, with members found in all corners of the metro, some members are even located overseas! (For more details and how to join, click here).

The group regularly meets for practice runs… and other non-running activities (it is after all a social group). From what I’ve seen so far, when you join this group, you don’t just get to have other people to run and/or train with… you end up running with friends

Training Tips From Ryan Hall

These tips are from Ryan Hall, the winner of the US Olympic Marathon Trials held last Nov. I got these from the August 2007 issue of Runner’s World.

During training…

1. Don’t be afraid of mistakes – it is better to make mistakes during training so they can be corrected before race day. Training = practice.

2. Simulate race conditions – if you want to run fast on road races, train by running fast on roads, not the track.

3. Know the purpose of each workout – make your hard runs hard, and the recovery runs easy.

Good luck to everyone running at the TNF100 (which started today and ends tomorrow), and the Robinson’s Buddy Run tomorrow

Sunday Morning Run: Manila Haze

I went on an easy 8 km run yesterday morning. I was planning to run farther but since I woke up late, I had to cut it short.

When I got up to my room, I looked outside the window and I was greeted by this sight… it sure made me shiver…

This brown, murky haze that hangs over the metropolis justs shows how polluted the air is… and this is the air we breathe in! There’s this article in Men’s Health Philippines (to read, click here), showing how much of a risk factor this smog is, especially to us runners and other fitness enthusiasts.

So hopefully we’ll all do our part in helping minimize air, and other forms of pollution. It’s not only good for the environment, it’s also good for our health

Bad Runs?

If you’re still feeling bad about the race last Sunday… well, here’s another crapper… there’s no road race scheduled this Sunday! I guess the race organizers wanted to give us a break and to have a chance to recharge after the race-hectic schedule of the previous months (I would’ve preferred a run scheduled though

Here’s a nice post (click here) on how to not have a bad run. Here’s an excerpt:

Conditions are always neutral. The outcome, positive or negative, depends on the sad or happy attitudes of the heart.

It’s medyo baduy I know, but I think many of us who have run long enough also feel what he felt during his run. Our runs may not be as long as an ultra (it could even be as short as a 1 mile run), but we also do attain a state of “nirvana” (the so called runner’s high), where we end up talking to ourselves… pondering the meaning of our existence in the universe. It might just be because of hypoglycemia or due to the endorphin rush, but, it is one of the reasons why we continue to run on…

Manila Half Marathon Results

I was able to get a copy of the official results from the Happy Feet Impromptu Runners yahoogroup through magdalene gay maddela, one of the race organizers. Here’s a summary of the results:

Manila Half Marathon Challenge 21 km results

Manila Half Marathon Challenge 5km results

Manila Half Marathon Challenge 10km

My official time is 1:47:13.82, placing me 79th out of 181 finishers.

One La Salle Run: Meeting the Bull Runner

It has happened… I finally met THE icon of Philippine running, I finally met the Bull Runner! After the run, I was introduced to her by runMD (thanks!)… and the three of us had a picture taken together I wasn’t able to chat with her though, as many of her adoring fans also came over to meet TBR.

About the run… well, it was one of my weirdest running experiences so far. It was one big event since about 5000 runners signed up for the race. However, with a big event such as this came some big problems.

I arrived at the Fort at 5:40am, a good 20 minutes before the start time. I was looking for the baggage counter when lo and behold, I saw this very long line of runners, with bags at hand, moving very slowly towards a booth. It was the line for the baggage counter! So I went in line, changed into my running kit, pinned my bib number, and did my stretching. As I approached the counter, I noticed that there were only 2 marshals taking the runner’s bags, there was no delineation between the 3k, 5k and 16k runners, and the area was not properly cordoned off. I wasn’t even near the drop-off point when I heard the start gun go off for the 16k race! So I had a dilemma, wait for my turn to deposit my bag, start out really late and risk getting lost (the route was a bit tricky), or just leave the line, start out a bit late and run with my bag… well, since I didn’t want to get lost, I decided to just run with my bag on…

Although my bag wasn’t really heavy (I don’t think it was even a kilo), the added weight probably contributed to my slow pace. I just wasn’t used to running with extra baggage. The bigger problem I had with the bag though was that the straps were rubbing on my neck and were beginning to chafe. Also, the bag prevented me from the doing my usual arm swing, in a way affecting how I ran. Hence, this is one experience I hope I don’t get to repeat in future races

Since I was late, and I had my bag on… I decided to just run this race at long run pace and just treat this run as an aerobic work-out. One thing I noticed is that at the start, many of the participants really run out very fast too soon (it seemed many were running at least a 5:30min/km pace). True enough, many of these runners were already burned out at the midway point of the race, as I began passing many of them who were already walking. I hope these guys visit the BaldRunner’s blog and read his running 101 page so they can be properly guided as they train for future races

After being spoilt at last week’s Manila Marathon with the conduct of their road marshals, this race didn’t have a lot of them. I think some runners, especially the 3k and 5k runners, ended up getting lost since marshals were not clear in directing them the proper route. The signs were also not clear contributing to the confusion. In addition, the marshals at the intersections didn’t manage the traffic very well as cars were allowed to pass even though runners were fast approaching.

One thing the organizers got right though was that there was a lot of water of stations, which had a lot of water! I particularly liked the fact that they served water bottles rather than cups. This allowed me to grab one, tuck it in my shorts, and have water in reserve for the whole run.

I got to meet other runners… I saw Jan and Roselle (both of Happy Feet) at the baggage counter line. While running, I saw Doknoy and Marga (also of Happy Feet), JunC, George, and runMD (who I got to keep up with for the most part of the race). After the run, I also got to meet TBR (the highlight of this race event ) and I had a small chat with coach Rio at the nike tent.

The race involved running two loops of the designed route. It was relatively a flat course with just a sprinkling of uphill areas, which definitely were not in the same class as the Mizuno route. I ran the 15.2km (yep, the race was short) route in 1:26:55 (unofficial) with an average pace of 5:43min/km. The first loop, I ran at ~6min/km, while I ran the next loop at 5:30min/km. I was able to mini-sprint the last 300 meters. So, even if this was just a LSD run for me, I was still able to practice running with negative splits, with a short sprint at the end

In spite of how the race I was organized, I still had fun. A run is still a run, and all runs are enjoyable The question now is: will the guys in blue one up their friends in green and come up with a bigger, better organized race in the future?