it's been a while

hello.

this is still timmy's blog.

I know it has been 2 years since i've last written on this blog, primarily because there have been a lot of things that happened, and as compared to before, there are a lot of things better kept in private, as a lot of people, even some of the people I personally know, tend to use their blogs as either, a company's extended PR reading material (tamad na ata sila gumawa ng sarili nilang 'feedback' or response with the events they've 'attended' or minsan, naging way na rin to get freebies, ganyan.

I tried to make this blog, as organic as possible, tama ba ung term? as in, parang online journal na rin of sorts, as if reading the entries parang kausap mo ako, so i hope you don't mind the sudden shift from english to tagalog every once in a while.

After a while, I'm not even sure if people are still 'reading' blogs like these, kasi even those I usually followed before, nawala na ung blog. sayang ang dami pa namang nice readings dun, but then again, people tend to veer away from posting stuff online etc etc.

Ngayon, I'm blabbing away, just checking if may mga 'followers' pako dito.

If you do get to read this post, as in literal read, kaya din wala akong nilalagay na pics, para literal mag basa ka (yes you, follower, or someone who unfortunately found this blog), and if you feel like you've read nice contents from my previous posts, mostly on running, biking, swimming, triathlon and life in general, please feel free to post a comment on this, let me know what you want to read, if meron man, or if may nagustuhan kang post ko previously na you felt that somehow, it touched your heart in any way :)

soon, i'd be posting again here, mostly new realizations which not a lot of people have been focusing on, lalo na with regards to their true health.

ciao! :)

Maximizing Potentials

Running has always been my favorite me-time activity. It does not only help me clear my mind, it also helps release toxins from my body. Even though running has been my 'sport' and therapy since 2009, I still have not maximized my potential with this sport.

Tonight, I tried to rekindle my love affair with running by jogging (yes, jogging, the slower version of running?) around UP acad oval. I said to myself, just one round of continuous jogging, and I'm done. Mahirap nang mabigla ang katawan, baka may sumakit pa kinabukasan, etc. So I did na my slow jog, and as I was getting into the groove of things, it slipped my mind that my intial goal was only to do one round.

Slowly and surely, the endorphins started kicking in, and I was trying to shuffle my feet faster, slowly increasing my pace, but still a managable one for someone trying to get my groove back. There have been times when I felt a bit of discomfort, maybe because it has been quite a while since I last had a decent run, but my body seems to be overridden by my mind. The adrenaline has pushed my brain to set aside whatever discomfort I was feeling. Sometimes my body won, making me slow down my pace, sometimes even walking leisurely to avoid the 'pain', or even the possibility of cramping (which fortunately didn't happen naman). There have been times when, while I was caught walking by what I thought were slower joggers, and out of pride, I felt the need for speed, and tried to increase my pace conservatively without naman sacrificing the possibility of cramping (takot mag cramps eh noh?).

That has been the scenario during my entire jog, and while I was in my me-time zone, I had a lot of realizations and epiphany while jogging.

1. For me, just like biking, once my body got the hang of running again, the muscle memory kicks in, and it all becomes like second nature. Just like in anything else, the start might be the hardest, but eventually, if I just do it as consistently as before, things will be easier.

2. Another thing, my mind dictates everything. Just like in my business, if I let my emotions get in the way, I will not be able to move forward. If I allow a minor discomfort, just because I am stretching my self, I will not be able to do what I set my mind to do. I have to let go of the minor, temporary discomfort for a long-term benefit.

3. I also remembered that just like in life, running is an individual activity. I control everything, my pace, my stride, my breathing, my emotions as I go through my run. It all boils down to how I view things. There might be times when I get swayed to follow the pace of a fellow runner, but at the end, it is all about me. And my game plan.

4. One must have a definitive game plan in what we do. Or else we would end up in circles, in my case, literally as I didn't have a target number of rounds, or kms ran. But I'm not complaining. The more mileage the better. ;)

5. One last thing that I realized was that, I've been eating a lot lately, and having excess/unused energy source has become unutilized potential; something that could have sparked a greater output for the benefit of many, but because of other factors, they were not put to good use (or in this case, they've become fat). In this scenario, I realized I should go all in in everything I do. No more mediocrity, no more complacency, no mre easy way out. Hard work, discipline, planning, consistent massive actions towards one's goals are the keys to maximizing potential.

Love life and live it to its fullest.

maiba naman tayo...

most of the races nowadays have been focused on the brands sponsoring the run. I've been very particular on which races to promote on this blog because most of the mainstream races I've seen have been blogged by most of the blogger-friends I know.

if you're not doing anything on Feb. 22, there's this race in UP Diliman campus sponsored by the Rotary Club of Commonwealth and Unilever entitled "Golden Club Fun Run 2015."

If you're still new to the running community, and you've wanted to test your running skills without the glitz and glam of the mainstream road races in the Metro, then this race is for you!

It has a 3KM, 5KM and 10KM races mostly centering around UP Diliman's Acad Oval.

This fun run aims to help the following beneficiaries: 1) the SPED students of Commonwealth Elementary School; 2) the housing project of Our Lady of Banneux in San Mateo, Rizal; and 3) for the surgical and medical mission to our brothers and sisters in Quezon City.

For more details and registration, you can check them out at https://www.facebook.com/goldenclubfunrun2015

attitude of gratitude

last night (or should i say, earlier this morning), i posted this facebook status update:

in my 31 years of existence, I'm not sure if I have been able to openly thank them enough for all their trust and belief in my capabilities, both then, and for some even until now. Admittedly, there may be times when I feel invincible, that I can face anything and come out triumphant, but there are also times when fear and self-doubt settles in my mind.

sometimes, I wonder, how come I can be strong and powerful and proud like the king of the jungle, but there are days when i feel like I'm a helpless lion cub.

Oftentimes I wonder, where should i place myself. For some, they feel they've found what they have been looking for all their lives, a career where they feel they belong. I know how that feels, because i myself have been there. Initially I've dabbled with HR, primarily because of my college degree, but at the end of the day, I felt that there's something more in store for me so i shifted to Marketing.  

With Marketing/Brand Management, I've thoroughly enjoyed the constant travels, being creative, getting to deal with different (and at times, difficult) people, but still at the end of the day, I enjoyed getting around, specially when I was handling brands that were close to my heart (2 brands actually haha). It felt really good working for those brands that i love the most, it just so happens that, similar to 'real life', there will always be conflicts which eventually led to me leaving those brands behind. 

ang galing lang din kasi, that despite all these concerns i've had in the past, there are people who still stood and are standing behind me and my decisions even if they don't understand the said decisions i've made. kahit ako minsan hindi ko alam bakit ko ginawa yung ibang decisions ko, pero i believe that all these things happening to me are part of a bigger picture of what is to come. 

admittedly, one of the things that have always hindered me from doing what I can do is the fear of failure. I know, this should not be the case by this time. but at times, the fear of failure still bothers me. bakit?  maybe because i have been brainwashed by society, most specially my immediate family, that failure means i am not good/magaling/matalino, etc. for me, it has been my comfort zone, to be 'matalino' or 'magaling' just to make sure that i won't be labeled as a failure. 

pero, backtracking my previous successes in life, great things happen when i didn't let this fear of failure get in my way.

once of the life coaches I had placed it simply as this:

I've been the person who tends to overthink. I admit it naman. there have been numerous times when i overdid myself in the thinking aspect, to the point that nothing eventually happened. 

I am in the space of immense gratitude to all the people who believes in me even when i have those moments when i don't think I can do great things. sabi nga nila, minsan ang pinaka mahirap na convincing eh nangyayari pag si BRAIN at si HEART eh nag tatalo. 

sino ba naman ako to let those people who back me up and support me 100% see me fail when all they do and believe is that i am a success? 

time to take that plunge...

surviving 1600

today was the first time in a long time that i swam.  and when i say swam, seryosong swim. initially i intended to swim lang around 500m, or pwede rin tipong 1200m, tutal ang goal naman was to familiarize myself with the water eh. it's been a while since i last trained for swim. the last 'long swim' i had was during my impromptu aquathlon last March 2014. after that, wala nang serious swim.

in the first place, bakit nga ba ako ng decide mag swim kanina?

summer pahabol

well for one, pahabol kuno sa summer season. parang buong summer time, i was never in the pool or beach or what. walang kahit anong resemblance na nag summer sa akin. ndi ako nangitim, hindi ako namula, wala. loser ba? hindi naman kasi may important akong ginagawa for now na i am sure the sacrifices will be worth it down the line. 

usual swim day for me. pero parang ang bagal ko (well, as if naman mabilis ako diba?) and during my swim session, ang dami kong realizations.

realization #1: mahirap mag improve if you don't want to get out of our comfort zone.

sa swimming, to be more efficient, kailangang mag adjust para mas smooth ang galaw. alam ko sa akin, maraming kailangang i-correct, tulad ng  FORM (sa high elbow, ok na, pero ung ibang facets nun, such as pull, etc, kailangang i correct para maging mas efficient). isa pang kailangang i correct was ung drag ng legs, kailangang i taas ung legs habang nag ki-kick para mas smooth ung glide ng katawan. lastly, ung breathing ko affects ung parang streamlining ng katawan. minsan bumabaliko baliko.

all these were formed during my early swim lessons nung kabataan ko. marahil walang naka pag tutok para ma correct para maging mas efficient. there will always be times na tulad nga ng sinasabi nila eh, old habits die hard nga. PERO if i really want to improve, ehh kailangang maging open to changes and feedback ng taong alam mo eh ang hangarin eh to help you improve diba. 

realization #2: we have to pay the price 

you may be wondering, ano daw? anong connect nun sa swimming? well, other than entrance fee, shempre ung pagiging open to changing old habits have a corresponding 'price' ika nga. so in this case, anu-ano un? 

sa arms/pull kailangan mas mag effort sa akin sa ngayon. bakit? kasi ndi ko nga nagagawang mapush ung sarili kong mas mabuti para mas mabilis. anong price nito? sa akin ngayon, masakit na shoulders hahaha! yeah yeah it's something i know dapat ndi sumasakit, pero since 'maling movements' ako, ayun, ung untapped muscles, or something, nagulat hahaha ayan mahirap mag shower hahaha. kailangang ung pull or push sa tubig mas ma effort, naramdaman ko naman sha, pero shempre nabigla si arm muscles and shoulder muscles, ayan, ngawit. nag sisisi ba ako? ndi naman, ayus lang. sabi nga nila, sa umpisa lang naman yan mahirap eh, pag nasanay ka na, sisiw na yan.  

sa kicks, kailangan ng conscious effort na continuous sha (yes i know, for triathletes, we want to conserve leg energy for the bike and run part, eventually, darating ako dun ulit, for now, survival mode na hindi pagod ang goal hahaha!) sooo nung unti unti ko shang naitaas, eh mas mabilis dahil na sstreamline din ung katawan eventually, 

sa breathing naman, medyo mas conscious effort na wag mag liwaliw ang katawan pag nag bbreathe. kasi dun minsan na didiskaril ung parang direction ng body, ehhh shempre hassle diba? sooo ayun. unti unti naman daw shang na adjust, pero alam ko marami pang pwedeng i-improve dun. 

realization #3: just keep swimming sabi nga ni dory.

since swimming is a muscle memory sport, i honestly believe that i should train my muscles to do the 'correct' method. pero how will this be done? by continuously training for it, doing the correct things in order to succeed (in this case, success is become more efficient, and eventually faster without being pagod). sa muscle memory, tama ung sabi nila eh, ulit ulitin mo araw araw, hanggang dumating sa point na kahit naka pikit ka alam mo paano gawin. kasi sanay na ikaw. everyday execution din. tama naman. and naniniwala akong tama un 

pero eto ang pinaka important na realization, realization #4: one must have a goal

tama naman, para ka kasing tanga kung gawa ka ng gawa, pero wala ka namang patutunguhan. parang nag papagod ka lang for the sake of what? wala! sooo dapat may goal/ target.

minsan nakakasawa pag tinatamad nang gawin ung goal, lalo na if alam na pwede namang next time. ako aminado, sakit ko un. may times na konti na lang then i'd rather stay complacent. pero at the end of the day, sinong nalugi?  ako pa rin. bad trip diba?  umeffort ka na rin lang, bakit di pa tapusin ng todo!

kaya ano ang final say? 

where PRs mean more than beating your own records

ever since i started running, the people behind takbo.ph has been my family. they've always been the ones i go to when i was just starting out like most of the newbie runners way back, and each year during their anniversary, they come up with road races where i still feel at home, like when i was starting.

i've had an earlier post before for those people who'd prefer to have their bibs personalized, but for those who weren't able to register then but would still want to join the Runfest, regular registration (ibig sabihin, bib #s lang, at walang special name sa bib) starts today, May 23, 2014 until June 30, 2014. for more details, you can check it out here:

http://www.takbo.ph/2014/03/takbo-ph-runfest-2014/

Markdown Madness 2014

last year,  I was introduced to Saucony (while doing this as part of my job back then). and now it's back. for those people who are into serious running, and would want to avail of one of the best running shoes i've known, but on a discount, try going to the Markdown Madness sale this coming May 2014.

if you have not tried on the Natural Series of Saucony, you can check out their  Geometry of Strong line up, specifically the following models: Guide (stability) and Triumph or Ride (for neutral).

For those more advanced runners who'd want to check out the 4mm offset shoes, you can check out their Natural Series such as the best selling Kinvaras, super flexible Virratas and their lightweight support shoe Mirage.

For race day shoes, you can check out their Fastwitch or the best-selling A5 for faster foot turnover.

for more details on the other brands available at the sale, you can check them out next week.