Just Another Runner

My son recently joined me in my morning run. Later that day, he commented that I now run differently. He used to join me every weekend when I began running late last year. I asked, "In what way?" He answered, "You're streamlined now." I thought, "Wow, that sounded good. I'll take that as a compliment." I then asked, "Why? How did I run before?" He then made the action that looked like a gorilla walking and swaying side to side. "How about now?" And he made the actions similar to an airport tarmac personnel guiding an airplane to go straight. Definitely a compliment. "So, do I look like I'm running now?" ... pause ... thinking ... "Uhmmm, I guess, sort of." Wow! These are major improvements in the comments I get from my son! I'm on my way baby!

Last week, I registered for my first half-marathon of the Condura Skyway Marathon that will be held on Feb. 6, 2011. I went to Greenbelt 3 with my children. When one of my sons saw that the race kit said "21K", he exclaimed, "You're already going to run a half-marathon?!" I said "Yes." and waited for his next question, which was the question he asked when I told him that I was planning to join a 5K race, "Do you want to die?!" But no. He asked instead, "Can I have the 'dri-fit' shirt?" I then realized that this boy has also been benefiting from my running. He has been getting my race singlets and shirts (because they don't fit me). His favorite is the Mizuno Infinity Run finisher's shirt which he always uses when he runs. He also got my Nike Free Everyday 2 and Asics GT2130 running shoes. On the way out of Greenbelt 3, he asked for the free Hershey's chocolate bar. He's not getting the Coors Light. Tha

My race report on the Quezon City International Marathon (QCIM) 2 held on Dec. 5, 2010 at the Quezon City Memorial Circle/Commonwealth Avenue. The report has a similar format as my Perfect Race blog post. My goal was just to finish this because my right calf has been painful since the past week and I didn't want to get it seriously injured. My strategy was to do a run/walk/run with a 4:1 ratio and run the run portions at around 8:30 min/km. I felt the pain in my right calf all throughout the race. I stayed with my planned pace and run/walk ratio until the half-way point and turnaround. After the turn-around, I still felt ok and still had a lot of gas left. My wife, who was with me up to that point, told me to go ahead, and I decided to increase my run pace to around 7:15. At around 8 km, I didn't take walk breaks anymore and ran all the way to the finish. As it was mostly downhill for the last 2 kms, this allowed me to increase my pace some more and have a strong fini

Wow! It has been a year since I started running. And it has been a year since my first blog post. The Just Another Runner blog is still up and I am still running. In the beginning, I set the following short-term goals (within 12 months) run for 30 minutes straight finish a 5K race finish a 10K race I actually achieved all these goals by February! Of all the health and fitness activities that I tried after college, running has been the only one that I was able to do regularly and for a very long period. I have tried diets, lifting weights, tennis and the "old running" which is badminton. None lasted very long. What has happened in my first year of running: My wife and I finally found a fitness activity that we can do together. Except for one (KOTR), my wife also joined the running events I joined. Except for a handful of times, my wife and I went to UP Diliman together (98% of the time) to run. Except for the few weeks I stopped running in January and February because o

My race report on Run United 2/RunRio Leg 3 held on Nov. 20, 2010 at the Bonifacio Global City. The report has a similar format as my Perfect Race blog post. My goal was to finish under 1:20. My strategy is to do a run/walk/run with one-minute walk breaks at the water stations and run the run portions at around 7:45 min/km. It worked! The clock showed 1:19 when I crossed the finish line. According to my Garmin, I finished in 1:17:59 for a distance of 9.87 km with an average pace of 7:54 min/km. If I extrapolate that to 10 km, that will be 1:19:00. It could have been a bit better if I wasn't stopped twice at two intersections. Water Stations: Many and well stocked. Long tables. No need to bring your own hydration. There was enough Powerade and water. Water and Powerade were readily available at the finish line. Cheering: None Route: Ok. It was the same as the Nature Valley Run/RunRio Leg 2 10K. The route was big enough to accommodate the runners. Traffic management: The

Sometimes I can't help it but be amazed, amused and thankful for what I can do now. And it's simply because I decided to start running.

There's always been the adage run fast to race fast, which makes perfect sense. But I've had problems whenever I try to run fast - pain of the injured kind. When I came across Maffetone's and Mark Allen's training principles of running slow, specifically not running with a heart rate more than 180 less your age, I was definitely intrigued. They said that if you train exclusively at this heart rate for a length of time, you will eventually run fast. They said that at this heart rate, at the beginning, you'll run a lot slower than you are used to, so you need to be patient because it will take around 12 to 16 weeks for your aerobic system to get trained and for your pace to improve. A big bonus is that at this heart rate, you'll be burning calories more from fat than from carbohydrates. I tried it and immediately I felt ... Very Slow. Again, even people who were walking, pass me. My wife who tries to pace with me complains that I'm too slow an

With local races, it's quite difficult to actually record personal records (PRs) because of two reasons inaccurate race distances inaccurate race results The first is because most races are not certified by a governing body and the second is because most races still don't use timing devices like timing chips or RFID. For most runners like me who really don't expect podium finishes in their races, we compete with ourselves or try to set new PRs. Personal records is also a useful tool to gauge improving or deteriorating health and fitness. So, should I use the official race results for my personal records? For my purposes of using PRs to see if I'm improving or not, until there is a body that requires local races to be up to a certain standard - including accurate race distances and results, I will be using personal measurements. That is, I'll use my Garmin's data. I know that GPS is not 100% accurate but at least I'll be using a "standard" measu

I will be joining three 10K races in October 2010. First 10K. This will be on the 10.10.10 Run For the Pasig River on 10/10/10. I wanted to join this because it is for a good cause - the clean up of the Pasig River; it is attempting to break the world record for the biggest number of participants in a road race (I think the target is 120,000) - I want to be part of that; and the route for the 10K is different - Ayala Ave. to the SM Mall of Asia. Second 10K. The Fort Running Festival on 10/17/10. This is my wife's goal first 10K race and I want to run with her. This race also features a personalized bib which is cool. Third 10K. Adidas King of the Road (KOTR) 2010 on 10/24/2010. This was one of the biggest and most talked about race last year, which was before I started running. It is also one of the most anticipated race this year. So, I joined this to experience the hype (and get the Adidas singlet).

This is where I'll compile some observations and "rules" not taught in running clinics but gathered from my experiences and from what I gather from reading through blogs and forums: On Running "If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run." - John Bingham, running writer and speaker Running is the cheapest sport without the 4 pairs of running shoes; color coordinated cap, singlet, running shorts and socks; race fees; Garmin; iPod; power bar, gel, beans; Gatorade; breakfast after the run; breakfast after the race; running books and magazines; trip to the doctor; trip to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Hongkong, New York, Boston ... Loops are run counter-clockwise. Chocolate and colas are great after a long run. Burning calories are more fun than counting them

Yesterday's race at the Takbo.ph Runfest 2010 was a milestone for me. I ran my 10K race all the way from start to finish. It was my 7th 10K since I started running last Dec. '09. The previous 6 were all Galloway method run-walk-run affairs. The following are the things I thought helped me achieve this: The weather was nice and cool The course was relatively flat Water stations were excellent. They provided Powerade - my favorite. A teenager (Sid) decided to run alongside me a little after 6 km. We ran side-by-side until the finish line. I now run continuously for 45 minutes to an hour, although even slower now than when I was doing run-walk-run. I'm doing low heart rate training . I wonder what I'll be able to do next ...

I've already run several races and at this point these are some of the characteristics of a perfect race for me: Water Stations - drink variety of Rock and Run 2010 which had mineral water, Pocari Sweat and Red Bull; layout and spacing of Nature Valley Run 2010 which had long tables, drinks were already in cups and were available every kilometer; finish line water station of Globe Run For Home 2010 where we were guided to the water and Powerade station a short walk from the finish line; pre-race water of Globe Run for Home 2010 Loud and enthusiastic cheering in Rock and Run 2010 Simple and straightforward out and back route of Mizuno Infinity Run 2010 Traffic management of Globe Run for Home 2010 Big and clear kilometer markers at every kilometer. Globe Run for Home 2010 almost had this. Cool weather of Rock and Run 2010 without the rain and wet roads Knowledgeable marshals of Runnex 10K Executive Classic 2010 Singlets of Mizuno Infinity Run 11 Timing chip Prompt and efficient re

My race times are quite slow and I would like to be able to run faster. Reading articles on the Internet on how to improve speed, points me to two things - lose weight and speed training. I'm already trying to lose weight by running, so I looked deeper into speed training and came across a few - hills, striders, fartlek, tempo and intervals. I tried striders (alternating almost sprinting for just a few meters then resting; doing 8-12 sets of these) which seemed to be the easiest next to doing hills. My knees really hurt afterwards and I was afraid it will just give me injuries. So except for doing hills, I decided to just wait till I'm a lot lighter before doing speed training. But recently, I came across an article in Runner's World by my favorite Jeff Galloway on how to get started on speed training. I studied it, and it looked doable without risking injury - just like any other advise from Jeff Galloway. So, I programmed it in my Run-Mate iPod Touch application an

Yesterday I was able to buy these Adidas Techfit compression shorts. They were 50% off at SM Megamall's Megatrade Hall. Even at 50% off, they are still expensive for shorts but at full price, I'll never get myself to buy one. I recently bought a pair of Nike running tights and liked running in them because it solved my problems of my running shorts bunching up at the crotch area and the shorts getting saturated with my sweat on longer runs and races (dri-fit is no match for my volume of sweat). So when I saw these compression shorts and read the "high-tech" stuff it's supposed to have and that it was half-priced, I bought it. These shorts aren't for the conservative types and are quite "revealing." So, at home, I tried them on and showed it to my son. First with my training shorts over it and then without the training shorts. I asked him if I looked funny with the shorts over it. His curt reply was, "With shorts, you look ridiculous. Wi

Yesterday, my wife, son and I joined the 2010 Runnex 10K Executive Classic at UP as part of the graduation run for the participants of the Runnex Discover Running Series running clinic. Most of my past races were big productions in business districts - Century Tuna Run 2010, Mizuno Infinity Run 2010 and Globe Run for Home 2010. Compared to those races where there were thousands of runners, this was very small with just around 300 runners. There were no celebrities (unless you consider Zorro as one), no bands, no blaring music, no timing chip, no frills. For the clinic participants, they provided pacers. For the slowest group, the group I paced with, it was paced by Mr. Rene - The Jazzrunner , who also doubled as a running resource person for the runners he was pacing. The marshals throughout the course were mostly members of Runnex, assisted by members of the UP Mountaineers who were on bicycles. There were younger looking marshals and I'm not sure if they were children of th

A lot of runners have "sub-something" targets - a sub-Piolo 10K, a sub 4 hour marathon, etc. Well, I successfully did a sub 200. After about 5 months, I am now sub 200 lbs. Yehey! I checked my weight this morning and it was 199 lbs from a high of 217 when I first started running last Dec. 2009. Keep on running...

Coming into this race, what preoccuppied my mind is if I will do better than my previous 10K , specially since this race had the theme - Beat Your Own Time. Aside from my regular runs, I tried formulating race strategies that could improve my time. I settled for just taking my 1 minute walk breaks at the water stations and at the uphill ramps of the Buendia flyover. If that turns out to be too hard, I'll go back to a 4:1 run-walk ratio. At the race, I did my first walk break at the first water station but decided to go back to a 4:1 run-walk ratio after that. Everything went well until somewhere in the last 2 kilometers when my iPod Touch app - Run-Mate, which prompts me when to walk and when to run, stopped prompting. I noticed that the prompt for me to walk is taking too long, I was getting really tired and my heart rate has reached Zone 4. So, I did it the old fashioned way - use my stop watch, until the finish. I finished with a time of 1:27, an 8 minute improvement from my pre

I now achieved my 3rd and last short term goal - run a 10K race. Compared to my first 5K race - the Century Tuna SuperBods Run 2010, I had more fun with this one and it really felt like a major achievement. I was a bit apprehensive about this run because I wasn't able to do my target 10K long run the previous week. The most I could do that day was 8K. I wasn't sure if I would be able to finish my first 10K race. So, I added another race day strategy - to run a slower more comfortable pace than my normal training pace (as if my training pace was not slow already). Before the start of the race, I told my wife and son, who both joined the 3K race, to meet me at the finish line after 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours - my estimated finish time, considering my slow pace, my previous long-runs, my 4 min run:1 min walk run-walk-run strategy and the Buendia-Kalayaan flyover. When the starting horn blared, I started with my planned slow pace. Hordes of runners of all shapes and sizes were

I signed up for the 10K of the Globe Run for Home 2010 race. I really just wanted to join the 5K because this time I'm trained for it, but unfortunately, registration for it was closed already. So I signed up for the 10K and make it my training long run for that week. To prepare for it, I have the following weekly training schedule starting after my Century Superbods 2010 5K race. 2/22-28 2 runs of 36 min @ 3:1 run-walk ratio with 1 x Hill, 6.6K Long Run @ 3:1 run-walk ratio (3 rounds of the UP Academic Oval) 3/1 - 7 3 runs of 40 min @ 4:1 with 2 Hills, 8.8K Long Run @ 4:1 (4 rounds of the UP Academic Oval) 3/8 - 14 2 runs of 45 min @ 4:1 with 4 Hills, 11K Long Run @ 4:1 (5 rounds) 3/15 - 21 3 runs of 50 min @ 4:1 with 6 Hills, Globe Run for Home 10K race I'm done with week 2/22 - 28 and was able to do the 6.6K long run just fine. I'm done with the three 40 min runs for week 3/1 - 7. I was only able to do the 2 Hills in this morning's run because in the first two runs I

I achieved my 2nd short term goal - to run a 5K race! The 1st was to run continuously for 30 minutes and I did that last Dec. 2009. It took a while to achieve this one because of my injury which prevented me from training in January and early Feb. But all that matters now is that I was able to do this. I'm not really sure about the time but it's probably between 45 to 50 minutes. My initial plan was to just run it as easy as one of my training runs but maybe because of the energy of the race and the crowd, I ran it a lot harder. I was spent at the end of the race. My heart monitor read only 17 seconds in Zone 1! Only 2 minutes in Zone 2! 5 minutes in Zone 3 and a whopping 38 minutes in Zone 4. Definitely a recipe for injuries and/or over-fatigue. I guess I'll just do races at most once a month or else I'll risk injury or over-fatigue. Aside from finishing, what's great is that I didn't re-injure my plantar fascia and even if I was really spent at the finish, I w

While running this morning at the UP academic oval, there was this guy running in the opposite direction as me, and he was smiling. He wasn't smiling at anyone in particular nor was he with anybody. He was alone, running with a smile on his face. I see a lot of runners smiling, but normally it is because they are with a running partner chatting away. This guy was running alone, like I was. The first time, I thought it was kind of weird. The second round, I thought, he looked happy, content and relaxed (and probably didn't care if other people thought he was weird), while I thought I was tight, in pain and huffing and puffing a little. So I gave it a try. Well, unlike his obvious grin, I can only make myself do a demure-like, no-teeth-showing, not so obvious smile, but I felt like I was smiling nevertheless. I actually felt better, like everything is ok with the world. Why? I don't know, but I should do this more often. I couldn't continue smiling without any reason so I

After attempting a few times to run with my injury and it not doing me any good, I've decided to stop running and let it heal first. I haven't run for the past 3 weeks. It is a lot better now but there is still some pain. I think I'll wait another week.

The most effective things that give me relief from the pain from Plantar Fasciitis are my Crocs. When I wear my Crocs Beach or Crocs Athena, the pain becomes bearable and sometimes I don't feel pain at all even in the morning. I highly recommend them. I also use this kind of insole that has these magnets and stubby protrusions that sort of massages the soles of your feet when you wear them. It is kind of painful at first but after my feet got used to it, the massaging effect relieves the pain from Plantar Fasciitis. I normally put these in my Crocs Beach and wear them at home. I still do the stretching exercises and use ice on the sole of my injured foot.

Plantar Fasciitis . After researching the Internet, that's what I think I have. I have the most common symptom - pain on the sole of the feet specially on the first steps in the morning after waking up. I'm doing some of the treatments that I've gathered from the Internet: Stretching and strengthening the Plantar Fascia and the calves Ice on the sole of the feet Massaging the sole of the feet I really hope it goes away really soon although from the stuff that I read on the Internet, Plantar Fasciitis takes months and even years to heal. Yikes! What probably caused it? Of all the probable causes that I've read, the most likely causes for me are - I'm overweight and I overtrained . I'm now thinking that I shouldn't have changed my training plan from the more conservative Couch-to-5K to the more aggressive 0-30 Minutes in a Month. I just hope it goes away soon.

Week 5 has been mixed. This week, I achieved my goal of running continuously for 30 minutes. I ran 30 minutes straight again Tuesday Dec. 29, still at Boracay and Thursday Dec. 31 at UP. But starting the afternoon of Dec. 31 I felt pain on the sole of my left foot. It was even more terrible the next morning - New Year's day. I skipped running Saturday and Sunday. It's frustrating because I was already targeting to join my first 5K race on Jan. 17 - the PSE Bull Run. I hope it goes away soon so that I can resume my workouts.