bagnet and the rules

this october, i am going to do my first-ever back to back half mary runs. the first would be in the Quezon City International Marathon, and at the SMART Subic International Marathon. after being sidelined by a very contagious and dangerous disease called "katams", i've decided to lace up my running shoes and regain what i've lost by going back to the basics of running.

as soon as i've heard of that there will be an LSD (long slow distance) run for the QCIM i immediately signed up for this. this would not only familiarize myself with the 21k route, but also it would help me psych myself up in the feat that i am about to accomplish in the upcoming weeks.

as this run was my preparation for the 2 main events (QCIM and Smart SIM) i didn't do much with the preparations for this LSD. the only time i was able to run that week was the training run we had at the Mizuno Run Clinic, and then that was it.

during my thursday run, i told myself that i will try not to have walk breaks in my practice run (as i have been doing the past few days as i don't want to shock my body into running full steam again without much 're-training'). it also helped to regain my own pace as running is known to be a mind game of sorts, and the only that that can and will hinder you is yourself, be it physically, or psychologically.

i made sure that all the demons are set aside for me to enjoy this long run.

first step was to eliminate the katamaran factor that, unfortunately, i have been displaying during the previous runs/races i had. i was able to eliminate that by telling myself during the mizuno training that i will have to finish doing my rounds without walking. i didn't mind not being as fast i used to be as long as am able to run continuously again without walking, then that'll be great. i was able to finally get a hold myself that night, when i was able to run without walking. it actually helped a lot when i decided to pace with a fellow runner, the RUNNING DIVA during our warm up rounds before doing the drills and exercises for that day on my own. (thanks RD!) during the rounds, i decided that i will have to improve my time with each round, no matter how long it would take, and no matter how little the time difference per round was, it's okay as long as i improve. slowly but surely. that was the goal and the goal was achieved that night. :) i didn't mind the other runners' time on how fast they were able to accomplish their task at hand. it was a battle between me and myself. nobody else but TIMMY.

after that night, i affirmed myself that i can get by my old groove back, all i need is just a little more pushing, and pursuing, i can get back to my running self. orayt!

friday passed, and since we were sent home early that day (due to PEPENG which, thank God, did not pass by NCR), i was able to snatch some more relaxation time for myself heading towards the weekend ahead.

saturday went fine, as i was able to take a halfday off from household chores to spend some quality time with my girlfriend, and at the same time spend time with my family over dinner after mass. dinner had been fabulous, but since i ordered kare-kareng bagnet, i knew i had to really burn the calories away during the long run scheduled the next day.

Pino Resto Bar's famous Kare-kareng Bagnet. Sinfully delicious!

The meal was delicious (as i usually order the same thing most of the time i go there), so as soon as i got home from dinner i packed my stuff and prepared myself for the long run the next day. being the runner that i have become now, i must be able to make sure that the things i eat, i can and will burn, thus the strong desire to run the next day, to burn off the calories i took in with the yummy bagnet :)

I read from an article in Men's Health Philippines that thinking too much while running can cause delays (or something to that effect). basta the bottomline was, when a runner has a lot on his mind while he's running, parang it would slow him down, literally.malamang because he/she can't focus on the proper form, breathing, gait, etc. (although i believe these things would eventually come naturally, thinking too much about something parang hinders one daw from gaining speed, losing focus siguro, basta!) with this in mind, i just went to UP to have my long run.


at first i was staying behind the pack, as there were a lot of us who attended the long run.i think this could have beated the total headcount for a long run that i've attended (the biggest was the 66-strong lsd held for the condura half marathon held last march 8, 2009).

like any other long runs i've had in the past, i had my mind set on having a slower start and then eventually speeding up a bit when i'm getting comfortable running continuously. good thing i was able to keep my mind clear during that run which eventually had me enjoy the run more.


although there were times when i thought of stopping, i decided to take things one step at a time, targeting certain landmarks before i decide if i should or could take a walk break or if i could still continue running, but a a slower pace. as this was mindset, i was slowly leaving behind the people i was initially pacing with.

bye edu, bry,& prince.

despite leaving behind the people i was suppose to be pacing with, i was able to find solace in my semi-solo run as those guys ahead of me were way way ahead (hardcore Fairview Run Club) and those behind me were still nowhere in sight, i decided to stick it with the Roldans (sir Vener & ate Cristy) for most of the duration of the run.
actually, i intended to run the 21k route lang. same starting point as with the rest of the gang, but then after going straight down past batasan and making a u-turn at the end, upon reaching commonwealth avenue, i should have gone back to UP na. but since i was in the midst of the hardcore Fairview Run Club, i decided (or should i say, was forced) to go on with them to La Mesa Eco Park route and wait for the other people who were left behind.

as i was running with them, i realized that being running in groups sure make things feel lighter, easier. I also remembered a quote from Runner's World saying something like, if you want to succeed, surround yourself with people who can and will motivate you to strive for the better. and this i did by sticking to the group of Fairview Run Club (as this was their turf, literally) and also with the powerhouse Roldan couple.

when the running gets steep/ tough, the kenkoy gets serious

Running with these people gave me an additional boost as they keep on saying encouraging words to make me keep up with their group. and shempre it would be nakakahiya to be left behind by these people when you were with them most of the time. and besides i knew i could still keep up with them, and so i did, until we reached la mesa dam/ eco park.


i don't know what it is with running that makes me a rule breaker. pasaway talaga, ang sabi NO ENTRY, pero kitang kita pumasok pa.

as always, walang kamatayang picture taking, kahit na bawal :)

pag dating sa tuktok, nag antay kami, kasi there was supposedly another route inside that would have led us to quirino highway na ata towards sa may SM Fairview na. pero since matagal pa, nag picture-taking pa rin kami, at tumambay tambay, until we realized na wala na talagang other way kasi ayaw talaga kami papasukin, so bumalik na lang din kami.

since i was almost near my "quota", i decided not to go further towards SM Fairview, so i went back na to UP via Commonwealth again.

pagdating sa UP, I rested and joined the others who either went back earlier (tipong after Batasan bumalik na) and had brunch at Rodics with Lau, Rico, Chips, Pepsi, Bry & Carina.T: P, bakit nga ulit hindi mo na ubos yung rice ng tapsilog ng rodics?
P: kasi matamis, ayaw ko ng matamis na ulam.
T: Hmmm, so yun pala ang kryptonite mo! :)

after that, we waited for the others and had our usual post-run pics.

for more pics, visit dhenz, and sir vener's mulitply sites.

this LSD would not have been possible without the initiative of sir Rene,(jazzrunner), and the other runnex peeps (who are spearheading the QCIM.

thanks again and see you all on the 18th!