Sorry, I couldn't resist. While trolling the morning paper, I ran across Philstar's comprehensive (and commendable) series on all the presidentiables along with their corresponding running mates. With elections being the hot topic nowadays, aside from the typical political posturing the feature actually delved into the otherwise mundane details of their daily lives.
While I'm generally politically neutral, I couldn't resist commenting on Makati mayor Jojo Binay's interview in the aformentioned feature. Part of the line of questioning attempts to ascertain the general fitness level of each candidate, presumably to reassure the general voting public that they wont just die on us in the middle of their term. To cut to the chase, what caused me to nearly spill my morning coffee ( okay maybe I didn't, but I needed some sort of dramatic effect) was this following excerpt of the interview :
At the STAR, Binay ate mixed vegetables (carrots, sayote, and cabbage), pieces of fish fillet, and no rice.
He said he can still run 10 kilometers in 43 minutes.
"That is equivalent to 4.8 - 4.4 (minutes) per kilometer. My weight is 145 lbs. from the start of my campaign. I can still run.
Jojobama is faster... .. than pretty much all of us. Sorry Piolow.
OMG. THAT'S... That's... . that's... .. faster than my time. Or Piolow's time. Or in plain and simple terms - practically all of us. Alas, the new barometer is no longer the hallowed Sub-Piolo ; it is now the Sub-Binay. Sob.
Gorilla is an instant fan.
Seriously though. Really? Haven't seen him around the running scene. Is he doing secret training at the University of Makati's swanky new track oval? What's his secret? 12 x Yasso 800's? 8 x 1.6 mile repeats?
It's fun to train when the track has your, er, face on it.
Hmmm. This additional excerpt from the interview may give more insights.
To prove that he is still healthy at 67, Binay joined editors and staff in climbing up to the fourth floor of The Star building where his interview was held. And although his blood pressure was recorded at 160/100 after the climb, he said his regular BP was 120/90.
Fine fine, so what if his BP shot up several degrees from climbing up four flights of stairs? Give the guy a break, he hasn't been able to train lately. Hard to factor in tempo runs amidst round the clock campaigning. To those who use HRM's, feel free to do the math.
He said that a 43 minute 10k is 4.8 - 4.4 minutes per kilometer. Actually, it's closer to the latter. To the uninitiated, you need a blazing 4:18/km pace to hit a 43 minute 10k. With those kind of hops, methinks he could easily dominate any 67- and above age group. Podium? Easy. Paging BR! Your thoughts please :P
So... ... . are we looking at the outspoken Makati mayor being a closet physical specimen? Or are we all merely being enraptured in political hyperbole?
I guess you should all be the judge of that.