My Way of Living:
exercise

You know when you've not been yourself, and you start to feel a bit better? So you are inspired to go and do something, and it feels so good to do anything at all, that you kind of over do it?

Even when the little voice inside of your head says… "don't do that, you're going to be sorry." And even though you know for certain that the next day you are going to pay for it, but you just don't care?
Because the sun is shining, and there are honest to goodness green things coming up between the dead leaves.
And that feathered bulge on the branch might even be a Robin singing it's heart out.
You have to do something, and it's not gardening if you just wander around the yard is it?
So you go and do what you are not supposed to be doing.
Which is gardening.

But you lie to yourself, telling that inner voice,"I'm not raking, I'm just…planning."
Yes planning the garden.
That's what I am doing. Not planting. Nope, oh no not me…just moving this teeny tiny little plant a wee bit over. Because I'm planning.

The garden.
With that you squish the teeny tiny voice in your head like a bug. And you tell it," I'm not bending, not me." "I'm…well, I'm squatting." "It's squats…millions of people do those all the time." "Some of them actually like it, and now I know why." You tell the squeaky little voice in your head,"I kind of like exercise, everything is going to be fine."
And then you wake up the next morning.
You can't move. And everything hurts, things you didn't know could hurt, do.
Blame it on the squeaky little voice who should have known better, and the squats.
Because YOU, weren't gardening. I'm going to wait until next week to unpack those boxes at www.thelightlaughed.com I haven't moved over there just yet.
I still love being Jane@Muddy Boot Dreams, so for now I will be keeping my social media sites the way they are, and using the new name for the blog until things get organized.

I've been asked this question a gazillion times, it's a popular talking point. Most probably, you have been too. But really, within the realistic confines of work and training, do runners burn enough calories that they can afford to literally indulge in anything without the ill effects of a pudgy midsection? Let's take a closer look.

Can I get away with it?

Almost Impossible?
With all of the mileage that runners put in each day, one would think that there's no way that
we could get fat. Thing is, we tremendously underestimate the impact that excess calories could have on our body, and overestimate the amount we burn. For instance, do you know that just 100 extra calories per day equates into 10 lbs a year? That's like the mocha frappe you never should have had. In relative comparison, you need to burn 3500 calories to lose 1 lb. More or less, that's 100 calories per 1.6 k . A tall mocha frappe contains 290 calories. Thus, to burn it off, you need to run about 4.8 k. What fun.

This running thing isn't working for me
Hmmm. I guess we all have our little quirky eating habits. I did some research, and came up with these different classifications with regards to how runners eat. These inputs came from a New York study made on the eating habits of 50 runners of different skill levels. Read up, and see whether you fall into any one of these categories (aminin)

The Night Owl
For some crazy reason, there are those who barely eat anything during the day, then suddenly binge at night. This is much akin to loading up on a full tank of gas upon reaching your destination. Starving yourself during the day will more often than not leave you starving by late afternoon, resulting in a late-night binge - just when your natural metabolism is beginning to slow down. Slower metabolism + food binge = welcome to fat camp.

If you're an evening runner, it also messes up your energy supply and you would be more or less running on fumes.

Not eating = Binging
Tip : Plan two small snacks each day (a handful of nuts or some cheese and crackers) so that you're not going to eat like those competitive food people come meal time.

Plan your running around your meals (or your meals around your running). That means fueling up an hour or two before heading out the door and refueling within an hour of finishing.

The Train-hard, Party harder type.
Don't we all do this? We celebrate a good run or race by getting totally wasted at some watering hole in Ortigas or Makati. Totally acceptable? Perhaps. Health wise? Not exactly. A study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise showed that serious recreational runners drink more alcohol than their sedentary counterparts--and the group surveyed was no exception. And don't think you could save up all those drinks for one all-out Friday night session, as research shows that it's better to just drink once a day than 7 drinks in one night (duh).

Tito Caloy is the ultimate drank rannerTip : Choose alcoholic beverages that are diluted for less impact. Instead of a glass of wine, drink a wine spritzer (do we even have this?)

Don't get drunk the night before the race. You'll be so dehydrated that you may end up throwing up on the side of the road. Saw one myself during a race. And sorry to disappoint, the guy who threw up wasn't internet legend/favorite drunk uncle Tito Caloy ( to newer readers, just google him :p) He's too world-class for that.

And finally, to somehow encapuslate the essence of this article, we have ... (drum roll please)

The Junk Food Machine

These are the people who eat whatever, whenever they want because they believe that running keeps them immune from fattiness. I used to fall under this category. Guilty as charged. As a result, I never really maximized the fitness gains even under a high-mileage program, just because I would eat like an obese person. Ice cream, cake, tons of rice, potato chips, chocolates. Name it, and my tummy had it. While not exactly tubby, my physique didn't exactly resemble that of a person who would run 50-60km a week.

My justification was "but I train my butt off. I can eat whatever the hell I want". I was a guy who was painfully aware of all those poor food choices, but in my unwillingness to change, had somehow convinced myself of this flawed mantra.. While it's true that distance runners need a lot of extra energy to fuel their exercise and could get away with a lot of crap, even high-mileage runners can't exist on junk food alone, since vending machine fare will never provide all the important nutrients needed to properly fuel runs and promote recovery.

Here's your 50k a week guy. How, er, fat este fit.
Junk + regular meals + more junk = A ton of flab once you get off that heavy mileage. Why? Because you're sooooo used to it. So fine, maybe you could get away with it now. But once you kick into offseason, those bad habits will get back at you. Guaranteed. I could gain as much as 15 lbs offseason once the burn goes away. And truth be told, it sucks. So don't fall into the fluctuator trap. Strike a balance between the foods you need and the foods you want. Build each snack and meal around at least one real food group and enjoy junk food at the end of a meal. Also, Never eat junk food on an empty stomach. It almost guarantees a binge.

See that fat guy in the picture? Heavy mileage is no guarantee if you eat like a sumo wrestler. Take it from me. Hope this helps. Eat healthy and see you on the road everyone!

So what's the beef with this VO2Max thingamajigie? You constantly hear or read about it in sporting journals, or mentioned during any endurance sport-related writeup. From a layman's standpoint, whatever it is, if you have high levels of it, you must be good! I first heard of it when reading anything on Lance Armstrong's training regimen. They kept on saying that he had unusually high levels of it. So after several years, that "thing" that sounds like a brand of a PC videocard suddenly took on a greater relevance for me since I have started running. I became curious. What's does it do? What is it exactly? Can I improve on it? I did some research on the subject matter, and this what I learned. It turns out, VO2 max is a measure of the maximum volume of oxygen that an athlete can use, and is measured in mililitres per kilogram of body weight. Quite simply, when you increase your effort when exercising, the amount of oxygen needed to produce energy also increases. Turns out however that there's a maximum level of oxygen consumption, which when breached would no longer lead to increases in oxygen usage. As it is, it's generally considered the best indicator of cardiorespiratory endurance and aerobic fitness. However, as we’ll discuss in a moment, it is more useful as an indicator of a person's aerobic potential or upper limit than as a predictor of success in endurance events. Apparently, there are differing schools of thought on Vo2 max. Some think it is a core element which should be improved upon if you wish to achieve your maximum physical ability. On the flipside, some researchers believe it is merely a measure of of one's oxygen usage at maximum energy output. They hazard that it is not the critical factor which determines performance; but more of a consequence of other limiting factors. Whatever the reasoning may be, at the very least we can be sure that it's a definitive measure of exercise intensity at one's oxygen plateau. Ok, so what more can we get with this Vo2 thing? How can you even know what yours is? There are several methods, one of which is to calculate from your races. A formula was given, but I got super confused - VO2 Max=(-4.60 + 0.182258 * velocity + 0.000104 * velocity^2)/(0.8 + 0.1894393 * e^(-0.012778 * time) + 0.2989558 * e^(-0.1932605 * time)) If you could make something out of that, congratulations! So can we actually improve on our VO2 max? It seems a fair share of it is determined by our genes, but training can improve it by 5-20%.

How do I compare with the general population?

Female (ml/kg/min)

Male (values in ml/kg/min)

What is the VO2 max of elite athletes?

Here is a sample of measured VO2 max for selected athletes.

So there, after reading all of that, I still am a little iffy on the topic, maybe because I'm not a numbers guy. And I still think that if you have more of it, that's a good thing! :) I hope you guys got something out of it though! Tell me what you think!

I have a confession to make. I suck at presscons. Absolutely suck at them. I am quite possibly the worst blagger to invite to these things. For some insipid reason or another, I keep on missing them. Either my car gets a flat, I'm assigned OT work or I have some family thing. There's always something going on. I have like a 10% attendance rate, and sooner or later I'll be declared persona non grata by race directors and PR people alike. I never get em goodies. Sob.

So you could just picture the smile on my face when they told me that the presser for the upcoming San Mig Coffee Bay Run Dash for Health ( okay that was long) was at Congo Grille at El Pueblo. That's like... .. two blocks from my house. Yessssss. Finally. No way I'm missing this.

I wonder who's that runner?

One more miss and goodbye presscons foreverrr.
Scheduled at 7pm, I cockily thought to myself, Nah its a 3 minute drive from my place. Why rush? Of course, in a move reeking of sheer time management genius I totally forgot that it was Friday uwian. Smart. So there I was , stuck in bumper to bumper traffic going to a resto that's roughly a kilometer and a half from my house. Great. I still have a Nat Geo hangover.

Oh the horror.
So after like nearly 20 minutes, I finally get to the place. And guess what? Much to my consternation evil manong guard curtly stonewalls me at the entrance with a "Ser, pono na poh and parkeeng dito. Weeting na poh dito, weeting." Weeting for parking would have entailed me adding to the already ginormous traffic jam. Apparently, Mr. Murphy has a secret crush on me and follows me around wherever I go.

Shunget ni koya.

So to make a long story short, I brought the car back home and tempo ran from my house back to the resto, a vain attempt to somehow temper my unexplainable tardiness. Of course, I had to run in jeans, leaving my poise on the pavement in the process. Good thing a lot of familiar faces greeted me when I came in, denizens of the running blogosphere in full force.

The faces behind your favorite blags

Que, Gail , and Vimz of Kulit on the Run with hubby Art
So let's cut to the chase. After having way more than my fair share of sisig and chicken, the presser proper unfolded. Takbo.ph first lady Que did the honor of introducing the GM of San Mig Coffee, and he gave the requisite welcome remarks. Kind man. I wish I had him as a Tito.

Que in the house!

Tito saying something about San Mig

Soon after, things were turned over to the comely Marketing Manager ( or so I think, the exact title eludes me) of the brand and she gave a quick primer on the product line. Three things I learned : 1. The San Mig Coffee "healthy" line is tops in its market segment 2. Good ol' Piolow is no longer their endorser, thus visions of a grand showdown dissipated into thin air quicker than it was conjured, and 3. Presenting to a rowdy, predominantly male blogger crowd is an exercise in restraint. Lol.

Deep breathly. I can do this.

Soon after, it was a pleasant surprise to see that Ian Alacar would be assuming Race Director duties for this race. Absent from the mainstream scene as of late, it was nice to see him around for a change. For long-time followers of this site, you may recall that Ian was the race director when I first conquered the ultramarathon distance at Botak awhile back. Fun guy.

Happy mems with Ian and Sideshow Bob

So what are the essentials you need to know about the race? It's going to be held on May 23rd, Mall of Asia grounds. But before you dismiss it as just another MOA race, hold your horses. It's being touted as the first race to have a route that actually cuts through the Manila baywalk. 3k and 5k distances cost P450 a pop, while the 10k and 15k races are at P550.

Race is actually bang for the buck, you get a fancy Unibersidad-made singlet that would probably cost as much as the registration if bought as a stand-alone. And the cool part about the whole thing is you could order your race kits over the phone, delivered COD by WWW.express. The number to call is 795-1777. Niiice.

For you freebie/perk hunters out there, I'd rather that you find out for yourselves what's in store for you during race day, but to give you a quick heads up there would be photobooths, bottomless coffee, loot bags, seminars, and dare I say, free massages?

So there you go. Registration starts April 17, 2010 to May 19, 2010, call the number I mentioned earlier for more details. If you've never run around the bay area, this is a good race to actually try out the local scenery. Hope this helped everyone, I'll see you on the road!

Requisite Gingerbread photo-op with Ian and Marketing gal.

Murphy's Law (mur-feez lo)
- humorous adage or epigram that typically connotes a situation where anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

Murphy's Law. Sigh. Those dreaded two words have pretty much haunted mankind since time immemorial. Little did I know that it would apply to your fun Gingerbread scribe on a mundane Sunday morning race. Actually, I should have paid more attention to certain signs early on as a portent of things to come.

I not likey.
Prologue

Having been out of commission for nearly a month while recovering from BDM , I've been quite antsy to race again. The ITBS that plagued me in Bataan was all but gone, and I've been able to string together a couple of pain-free training weeks. I targeted the Nat-Geo 10k run as my comeback race, only because people were jumping up and down over its cool freebie shirt. Besides, the riveting (smirk) MOA flatlands should be good for my knees.

Then I realized they were charging 700 effin bucks for a miserly 10k.Hmmm... ..

No WAY.

Pricey.
Thus, I had to do some sort of rationalization to justify spending a day and a half's minimum wage on a 10k. And at MOA to boot.

But... . I really wanted that shirt. I really, Really, REALLY wanted it. So, 700 bucks equates to P300 registration then I just "imagine" I bought a cool P400 shirt plus the satisfaction of knowing that I'm actually "running for the earth" in a mall complex that was once, well, part of the sea . Makes sense right? What fun.

Never knew a runner who could turn down a nice shirt

Missed Signs

Maybe I just don't know how to take a hint. So I troll out to BHS on the last day of registration during my lunch break, was assuming the whole thing wouldn't take that long. To my horror, I was advised by the amiable manong guard at Nike Park (who incredibly knew which shirt sizes were still in stock. Promotion due.) that the Nat Geo person would come in at 1- 1:30 pm. Which meant an hour of sheer drudgery while waiting. Thus, I had no recourse but to troop to the nearest fancy coffee joint to burn time. Ugh.

He's better than some of the salesmen there.
An hour or so (and P150 poorer) later, I come in and find a mob scene. Apparently, the Nat Geo dude came in at exactly 1pm and people are jumping over one another. After I come in five minutes later to get in on the action, I am informed in the most glacial manner that they had just sold the last slots to the two ladies to my left.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

As my blood pressure went through the roof, I attempted to explain that I was there before anyone, I just stepped out to grab some coffee. Guy wouldnt budge. Sorry ser huli na talaga yun eh. DANG. This needed drastic action. Several options that were forming in my head at light speed :

1. Use my Gingerbread pseudo-celebrity status by exchanging a slot for my highly-coveted autograph or photo op.

Inherent risk : Cold, icy stare followed by "Never heard of you, you deluded fool. Security!!"

2. Use my not-so- pseudo-celebrity sister as bait by promising a nice, all-expense paid date with her in any Palawan resort of his choice.

Inherent risk : The dude would actually say yes. Gulp.

You can disown me now Ate (x_x)
Realizing that both were not exactly feasible, I had no recourse but to go for the oldest trick in the book... .

And voila, I happily walk out with bib and shirt in hand. And yet, I should have taken this near-misstep as a mere prelude what lay ahead... ..

Raceday Sunday
Fast-forward several days and there I was anxiously putting on my gear on a hazy Sunday morning, a ritual that I have sorely missed over the last couple of months. As I was traversing an otherwise traffic-free EDSA, that 80's song "The Name Game" by Laura Branigan came on. And it drove me absolutely nuts. It was like I was under some hypnotic trance, unable to change the station for nearly 6 minutes. Should have taken it as another sign. To those who have no idea what I'm talking about, I couldn't find a clip on YouTube due to some copyright crap but I did find the original 60's one :

A Case of the Misinformed

Now, I went there under the pretext that the race would be starting at 6 am . Or at least that was what my good buddy/blogger extraordinaire/Milo Nationals finalist Natz told me. Being the original moderator at Takbo.ph, and one of the people who taught me a lot of running stuff as a 200 lb. fattie noob, I have immense respect for the guy. So I was there at 5 am thinking I had an hour to burn. This is where the fun starts. To sum it all up, this is how the next 30 minutes unfolded :

1. Guy waits 20 minutes for Lotto-like line to parking
2. Guy finally reaches entrance
3. "Ser, pono na poh eh sa kabila na lang"
4. Guy freaks out and endures several minutes of hair pulling
5. Goes to the next parking area.
6. With about 4 cars to the entrance, hears the siren and sees the 10k lead pack lead go out.
7. More hair pulling and a lot of Exorcist-like gyrations in car.

GBM lost his nerve

First time. Ever. I was at a loss coming to terms with the fact that I was actually late for a race. No freaking way. I was unnerved that I parked my car nearly diagonally much to the chagrin of Manong guard. I could really care less. So there I was, sprinting for the starting corral, and had to muscle my way through the throng of 3k and 5k runners. Quick check-in, and I was off. Nearly 10 minutes behind everyone else.

Quare mihi Murphy?
Yeah. Why me Mr. Murphy? So here I am, with no warm-up and stretching, attempting to hack out my 10k positive split. Que Horror. 1k split - 4:22. Okay, not so bad. I felt like I was in one of those racing video games where you get a nitro boost and are passing everyone left and right. Dang, thirsty already. Haven't done this in a while. I reach for my hydration and OH. I left it in the car. Great. My kind of day.

By the 3k mark I really had to drink already. Went for a stop at the water station and the water was ... . hot. Not lukewarm. Hot. As in, ready for afternoon tea hot. Another unsolved mystery of the universe.

Mid-race tea any one?

Alay Lakad anyone?
At the 5k mark, split was at 22:58. Decen t, b ut not where I wanted it to be. The lack of preparation and race rust was glaring. Nearing 6k, that's where it happened. I got stonewalled en masse by a throng of 5k runners who were walking the narrow roads of the course. Ugh. I was forced to stop at least three times by the Alay Lakad- like procession Ahhh, the dangers of starting at the back of the pack in a looped race. Flustered, I just saw my Sub-Piolo bid fly out of the window.

Stonewalled again.

It can't get any better than this
Reaching the homestretch, I attempted a last-ditch albeit demoralized rally. Splits were improving, then suddenly I felt a slight twinge at my ITB. Hopeless. It was apparent that it was nowhere near 100% . I just had to gut out the final 1.5 k with the lingering feeling that I could blow out my knee at any time. I gingerly hit the 10k split at 49:24 , nowhere near my best time. I then gingerly jogged the final 40om, because as MOA races go, the excess distance is becoming somewhat of a trademark already. My Murphy's Law race was finally over.

10k? Nah.

Post -Mortem
After the race, I barely saw anyone from the team. Seems everyone went to Earth Run. I couldn't blame them, that was like half the price of this race. Hung out with a profusely apologetic Natzter (who offered to buy me breakfast) and galpal Beth along with multisport dude Jason after. So was the race worth 700 bucks? For the shirt, maybe. It's an open market anyway, with so many races runners have their pick of the lot. It featured a lot of booths to keep the people busy after, and I had this feeling that a lot of people there had a feeling that they were running for a good cause. It's also an exercise in utilizing the power of a strong brand to reel people in. Case study for future mid-sized races.

Ran into officemate Dette. More people running yeah!

Bromance mode with th e Natzter

Fun at the Natgeo Video Truck

Natz and Beth pointing at some weird guy
As for me, it's apparent that I'm a long way off. The knee swelled up after, so im now in RICE and Salonpas roller mode. I'll give it another shot in two weeks or so. Take it easy everyone, stay away from Mr. Murphy! I'll see you on the road!

It’s not bad enough that

I can’t bend over, or sit for any length of time. I walk like a little old lady with teeny tiny mincing steps… I’m a tall girl, over 6 feet… funny doesn’t begin to describe it. And I am hunched over to the right side like a overly extended question mark. It’s not pretty, I am sure. But to top it all off, my blow dryer, a girl’s very best friend blew up in my hand, just as I was doing tendonitis exercises with it. Good thing I wasn’t that near my hair, or that would have ended up fried too. Sparks were flying, a sad day in my sore back world. My shoulder tendonitis exercises may make me look like one of the village people doing the Y.M.C.A. dance, but they work… and multi tasker that I am, I thought to do them right in the middle of drying my hair. So in a way they saved my mane from catching fire, due to the sparks that were flying. Of course I cried, after all a blow dryer is a curly haired, tall girl’s best defense against looking like a upended frizzy mop… and I’ve been blow drying my hair upside down for decades, [to increase volume] but can’t do it that way because, hey, I can’t bend over due to my sore back… I was rather upset. It was really the final straw in a hurtful week, that seems to be continuing onwards… with some improvement over pain, but my Gumby bendability isn’t there. Let’s just say there is a lot of Bunny Dipping going on here. And that's not referring to chocolate, and marshmallows. Thank goodness for medications, is all I can say. Thanks to all of you who sent well wishes, and prayers for a speedy recovery, they are working well, and much appreciated. I still can’t sit for more then a few minutes.and I find the lap top is awkward to type on while laying down.so I am getting back slowly to your comments. But they mean a lot to me, even more so when I am laid up here, and antsy to get moving more. Owner of a new blow dryer, and less frizzy hair,

Friday found us, both at

the Chiropractor, the L5? thingy, that place where your hips meet your back… Mine from vacuuming, see I knew housework wasn’t good for your health after all. Two most common reasons people hurt their backs vacuuming, and raking, the Chiro told us. Both which are in our immediate future, but what can you do. Maybe I can give up vacuuming?

It was slightly sunny, so we decided to hobble around the big block together… and call it exercise, I’m sure it’s a mile or two.

“You stop too many times” he told me… my reply “there’s a bird in the tree, I think it’s a robin, that would be our first official sighting.” I think of Connie from Far Side of Fifty and wonder if I should tell her about it. No, she is snowed in, wouldn’t want to make her jealous.

“My feet still hurt” I tell him, “I have Plantar Fasciitis… remember?” This is said to the man who runs 6 miles every other day, and never seems to feel pain. He responds with, I thought you got those shots in your heels…? "That’s why they hurt” I tell him, “slow down, this isn’t a marathon, I thought it was a meander, and isn’t that a pussy willow tree?” I limp down the steep banking, and yes indeed it is a pussy willow tree, life is good. Somehow despite the heavy camera, and sore back I manage not to fall into the ditch… now that’s a even better thing. It would be a long, wet walk home if I did.

We walk past one of my favourite red barns, no snow kitty today, and no cows. There are broken windows… I love old windows. Not particularly broken windows, just old ones.

It’s not quite spring, not quite winter… it’s the quiet moments in between, punctuated only by sweet trilling tunes of a blackbird’s song, and a breeze. Hobble along with me… the best is yet to be.

I don’t know about you, but when things get to be a little to much, the to do list gets toooo big, or there is just plain something I don’t feel like doing, I turn to Pinterest for a few minutes reprieve.

When the creative streak hits me, and there is nothing I can do about it, there is always Pinterest. I know that it’s not creating, but dreaming and imagining are just as important in the process as actually making something. And Pinterest allows me the space to do this.

Searching on Pinterest for me is like going to a huge craft store, home supply store, or maybe even a giant kitchen supply store. It brings back the enthusiasm, it sparks some sort of creativity in my mind, and that makes me feel good. So what if I don’t make something new each and every day, I dream, I plan, I imagine, and those parts of my brain need to be exercised also.

The curtains need to be hung, the paint color needs to be chosen for the kitchen, where do I put the new rug that we just got? In fact how do I clean the paint from the sink left by the last people. What’s for dinner tonight? I turn to Pinterest for a little inspiration, and most of the time it works.

We all need a place to dream sometimes. Through Pinterest I am planning my garden layout for the back yard, dreaming of new details to add to my house, and finding creative ways to organize that I had never thought about before. So they can say what they want about Pinterest being a time sucker, for me it’s a huge creative outlet, one that repays back more then the time spent. Now if you will excuse me, I have some pinning to do.

Healthy eating isn’t cheap!

But being healthy is priceless. We all know that you can’t buy your health, and what we do to our bodies now, will be our results later. Ah potato chips you will forever be my nemesis. So in comes our juicer, we just got the shiny new stainless steel quiet as a church mouse juicer. In my mind potato chips are on one side of the teeter totter and Frankie, and the juicer are on the other side.

Some day’s I will allow myself to indulge in those crunchy treats, [just a small bowlful] and the tetter totter will drop towards the 20% not the best for you side, and the days I that I eat fully healthy and exercise properly, [that’s where Frankie comes in] the tetter totter goes up on 80% of the good stuff. Well it works for me… Frankie, and the potato chips.

Anyways I love juicing… and am experimenting with all sorts of fun combos of fruit and veggies… it’s just so expensive to get them right now, but like I said good health is worth it. So far we have celery, pear, green pepper, carrot, and apple, a fresh perk you up splash of healthy. Add some cucumber for a green flavourful treat.

Then there is my mid winter “I’m in love with this” dark tangerine colored mix of Blood oranges, beets, and ginger which is supposed to be the new super food, bug fighter, and immune booster.

It can be mellowed out with a bit of cucumber, sweet bell peppers, and carrots… for a totally yum drink.

So what healthy habits are you picking up lately… and are they starting to stick?

We had a rare sunny day yesterday, and before going to work I took the camera out of a walk. It needed some exercise, and so did I. The touch of the sun on my face, the warmth of those winter rays, made me feel so grateful for what we had been given.

A break from the weather, a reprieve. The sun sparkled through the fog soaked branches of the evergreens, like a thousand shining mirrors reflecting a promise of spring.

That it may not be here yet, but it is coming soon.

Hard to believe that a short 4 years ago I had said we didn’t need a computer. Now that I am infected with computeritis I know that I require one desperately, and could not function without it. Not just for blogging, but for photo editing, creating new cards for my Muddy Boot Dreams card line, and running my home based business. But each time I carve out a small section of time, I succumb to computeritis, and my resolve goes out the door. There are emails to look at, Face Book beckons, and twitter wants ME! I have the best intentions, just to let that creativity flow, and somehow channel it towards production. Get right in there and edit those photos, but why don’t I download them after I check out FB? It’s not like they have been sitting in the camera forever…yes those emails were important, and Face Book was calling my name, but did I really have to spend all that much time twittering my energy away? Oh, and my Zazzle store desperately needs updating, along with my website.

I need a workflow coach, one who will also make me work like crazy, and then get up and stretch. Not just stretch, work out, exercise. And then more work. “No FB until you complete this task.” “No twittering until you download those photos…and edit them.” Right now my workflow coach is sleeping on the bed, gently snoring away his dinner, that’s Bootsie I am talking about. The one who wants food every hour, on the hour, or to play with his string, which involves me running through the 800 square foot condo, and him watching me from a doorway. He refuses to let me work too long, “take a break” he says, and while you are at it, get me some more food. I think I need to fire him, or at least try someone else out.

But…I hear FB calling me, and there are emails that need answering, oh and someone just started to follow me on twitter…I need to check them out.

As some of you may have read in Sir Rene aka the Jazzrunner's blog,during the presser for the Green Miles Run to be held at MOA this March 21st our favorite foil/celebrity speedster Piolo P. issued a 15k challenge to all his pseudo running critics out there - the most notable being um, your fun Gingerbread scribe. Apparently, 10k's are starting to bore to him, and he wanted to take it to the next level - a 15k! Oh boy! Here's the official Gingerbread response to that :

GBM says... .Dear Piolo,

How are you? How's it going? Before I begin, congratulations on a fine turn as both William and Phillip in "Manila". Although the premise of the country's most mainstream actor doing an indie film seemed absurd to me at the onset, the Brocka references and its "amplification through simplification" take on the stories really did the job for me. Congrats, any international awards are well deserved.

Good tribute to the master...

Anyway, back to the business at hand. As I understand, you have gotten bored with your 10k's and have decided to step it up a notch by issuing a 15k challenge to all and sundry during the presser which I oh so sadly missed. Anyway, given my pointed analysis of your previous running exploits, denizens have taken this challenge to be somewhat of a personal showdown, mano y mano , between yourself and this humble Gingerbread scribe.

Everyone is hyped over "The Challenge"

Sides have been taken in what has been dubbed the biggest pay-per-view run event of the year. In fact, even a betting line has emerged. Oddsmakers have put you as a -165 favorite, meaning one needs to bet P165 to win P100. Meanwhile, odds for good ol' GBM are at -125, P125 to win P100. When asked to explain the line,a representative from top Manila oddsmaker Sheerwill Sportsbook had this say :

The line first opened at -350 for Piolo, an astonishing number. We have a notion that most of those who placed bets were screaming females who got excited with his superb 10k time. A rash of P50,000 bets evened it out though, as running pundits realized that the difference between GBM's 10k time and Piolo's was less than 30 seconds. This was notwithstanding the fact that he has a lot more experience in the middle distances and Piolo is more or less untested. He is hella cute though, tell him I said hi?

Take your pick... ...

While the general betting public has more or less made me the underdog, I just realized that you had set a lofty 1:10 goal for this race. Coach Rio must have concocted a crazy regimen for you, because that sure is one heck of a crazy target. At 47:54, your net pace for your 10k was 4:47 min/km. A 1:10 15k would entail a 4:40 pace, which means that not only do you have to run a 46:40 10k, you need to somehow hold this pace with no dropoff for five more kilometers.

GBM Underdog? Horrible movie though.

There is no doubt in my mind that you can do this though, given your propensity to shock us. My best 15k is a 1:15:17, and there is no way I'm running anything faster than that anytime soon. Anyway, in as much as I would like to give the public what they want, I have a list of demands to somehow even out the playing field.

1. Fresh Legs?

After running the Condura 42k this February 7th, I'll be going out on a limb and will be attempting to conquer the Bataan Death March 102k Ultramarathon his March 6th. To be honest, I don't even know how long it would take me to walk straight after that, much less run on pace. Most runners take months to regain their normal speed after an ultra. BDM 102 takes a maximum of 18 hours to complete. So for the sake of parity, I demand that you complete a straight 18-hour shoot on the set of your next movie, possibly the one in the works with Sarah Geronimo, immediately before the race. Movie passes for the premiere never hurt too, I always wanted to be one of those screaming in front of the camera.

Bagay naman ah... .2. Should you lose "The Challenge"...

First, you will agree to an exclusive interview with Front Runner Magazine,the first full-sized running magazine in the metropolis today done by runners for runners. Grab a copy now at a PowerBooks near you before they run out!

Awesome mag!

Second, you will agree to a live, in-studio interview on Run Radio, which airs every Friday 9-10 pm at NU107. It is without a doubt the most amazing radio show on running here in the Philippines... and you have to listen in :)

Soon!

3. I need a celebrity coach

Let's face it. Coach Rio is one of the best in the business, and he probably has you do all these fancy drills and exercises along with quirky motivational sorties while adoring females snapping away at every opportunity. As for myself, I have no fancy coaching. A buddy concocted a masochistic program for me though, which I use while getting heckled ( Nagmamadali ka Phogi? Ayos ah Jagging na Jagging, tagay muna baka madapa ka!) traversing the "depressed" side of Gold Loop Ortigas. So I demand that your camp hook me up with a fancy celebrity coach. Or at least prod Coach Rio to give me a discount (@,@).

Not exactly Timex billboard material... .4. Olympic Style Drug Testing

Not that in any way I am accusing you of using performance-enhancing drugs, but in the spirit of transparency to the general public, I believe they have a right to know that we are running on the merits of our own blood, sweat, and tears. We will be subjected to unlimited, random urine and blood tests up to 14 days before the start of the race by a licensed PATAFA official. This is crucial, if only to erase any doubts the pundits may have. It's only a teaspoon of blood, and I reckon you don't have any "superstitions" like what that, what's his name oh Pacquiao dude has.
If you fail to agree to this, I will be prevailed upon to come up with a press statement much akin to this, and this more or less torpedoes the race :

I understand Piolo not liking having his blood taken because, frankly, I don't know anyone who really does. But in a race of this magnitude, I think it is our responsibility to subject ourselves to sportsmanship at the highest level. I have already agreed to the testing and it is a shame that he is not willing to do the same. It leaves me with great doubt as to the level of fairness I would be facing on the road that day.

They blew it... .

So with all of these things in consideration, I am awaiting your official response not more than 10 days after the publication of this article, and I am hopeful that you will agree to all of the aforementioned conditions. Be ready to bring it on March 21st!

Your Loyal Fan,

GBM

I’ve been reading a lot about

how to achieve your personal goals on the internet, it’s amazing how much information you can find in-between Pinterest pinning, and searches. One site suggests telling everyone your goals, write about it, tell about it, share about it… I guess the next time I am standing in line at the grocery store I will point to a magazine of a overweight celebrity and tell the person standing behind me that one of my goals is not to end up looking like that.

So in order to achieve my goal of balance, [remember I don’t do words for the year, but if I did, that would be my word… ] I am choosing to tell all of you my goal, and to ask for your help in staying on track. We all know how easy it is to get off track.

I want/need to get into better shape, just exercise a little a lot more, I won’t be claiming to enjoy it half as much as my husband does but it seems sensible not to have anything jiggling. Now that’s a sensible goal for someone who just turned 50 isn’t it? I suppose I could ask for spanx for Christmas, that would solve the slightly jiggly bit, but I would really like to put a effort into this.

We bought a treadmill, now the real reason for purchasing what I hope isn’t to be a very expensive cloths hanger like some people have [and I won’t mention names, but you know who you are] was so he could run all winter, he loves to run. With the rather large accumulations of snow we are getting it’s hard to get out there everyday. Did you know that donuts can accumulate on your hips? I had no idea, hmmm I should create a calorie free donut, woman all over the world would thank me.

Apparently the treadmill was also bought with the idea that I use it, and this is where you come in. One, it needs a name… got any ideas? I am thinking Frankenstein… Franky, seems appropriate for someone who really doesn’t love exercising, but please feel free to suggest something. And two, the most important, please hold me to exercising, ask me about it in the coming weeks, remind me I need to do it because donuts have calories.

It’s not my goal to give up the occasional donut, so Franky and I have to make friends. Maybe not BBF’s, but at least during the long winter months we had better get to know each other a little bit better. Hey Frankie, prepare to meet some donuts. Yes, those are shiny new shoes… and I took photos of them the first day I got them. But they will stay shiny, because of my allergies they will not be worn outside, they will remain indoor shoes. Jane

The farm dogs

came and spent a few nights with us at our house along with our cat Bootsie and all was calm at least until the fireworks went off at midnight. Guess the dogs don’t hear them up at the farm, because Charlie the dog decided they bothered her enough to break out of her “area” and she spent the rest of the night at the bottom of the stairs. Which didn’t go over too well with Bootsie, who sleeps upstairs on our bed, it kind of put a cramp in his 4 am morning warbles to try and wake us up. He would leave the bed, walk to the top of the stairs, and return… and go back to sleep, all without a single meow… we are pretty sure he didn’t want to call attention to himself since the dogs had escaped the “area” that was supposed to be their space.

And I am sure I heard the Boo singing “whooooo let the dooooggggs out?”

If you normally have 150 acres to play in, a much smaller backyard like ours can feel rather constricting, so we did a few dog runs up to the farm to give the dogs some much needed exercise. Blue is the one who is airborne above a few shots, those dogs run like the wind, always chasing away coyotes, and sniffing the scent the deer leave behind. Charlie is in the bushes, and you can only see a glimpse of her through them.

Bootsie is rather glad that life is back to normal for him, and although he was getting used to sharing his space with a couple of smelly dogs, he does prefer them to be behind a fence, and not in his personal cat space.

Holiday cheers to everyone! So how was your Christmas? Got the gift you wanted? Gained 10 lbs worth of holiday blubber just in time for the next race? Let's take a look at some random stuff you guys have been sending in over the Yuletide season.

Were you naughty... ... or nice?Mr. GBM, Merry Christmas! I was just curious, what's your Christmas wish for Piolo? - Maya S.
Hi Maya! Happy Holidays to you! Hmm, what do I wish for my favorite celebrity foil? I wish him the best of health in 2010, a couple of blockbuster movies here and there, and since he has accomplished all there is to this running thing, move on to the next level - Ironman 70.3. No really, this running is going to be super boring for him. He should leave it behind, lest he pull a muscle or heck even develop ITBS. Multi-sport, oh yeah that's the way to go.

(Santa, I've been a good boy this year... ..)

Looks like so much fun Piolo, running is boring. Right? Right?

Hi GBM! Came across your blog last week and I'm liking your posts. My friends and I aren't in any way acquainted with the basics of running. I hope you can blog about what runner-wannabees like me should know including the basics like what to wear, what to bring when running, warm up and cool down exercises, shoes, places to run, gadgets and such. Am I asking for too much? Hope not Ü - Lilly C.

Hey Lilly thanks for the kind words, it inspires me to come up with more fun stuff for you guys :) Anyway, as for your request, there is a volominous amount of information on the net that could help you out. If you want to make your way through the clutter, log on to Takbo.ph and check out the numerous threads that would cater to your running needs :)

As for your other queries, in a nutshell here's what I could give you. :

For Warm-up and Cool Down Exercises, you could check out this link. I Googled it and in 2 seconds this is what came up.
For the right shoes, that sort of depends where you live. If you live down south, you could check out Runnr at Bonifacio High Street, and their knowledgeable staff there will do a gait analysis to find out what's the right shoe for you.

If you stay at the QC or Pasig/Mandaluyong/Marikina area, there are Second Wind branches at Teacher's Village and Ortigas Home Depot which offer a similar service, and you could chat up shoe gurus/ultrarunners (meaning they have ran distances longer than a marathon, which means they're beyond cool) Hector Yuzon and Neville Manaois for a personalized consultation.

As for the others, either I come up with an article about it or I'll email you, because I'm... holiday lazy :P

Holidays have rendered moi into lazy Gingerbread blubber
Ginger, I just want to know if you running the Condura Marathon? And if you did, how long do you training for it? I am planning to join the skyway run. Tnx. - Aris N.
Thanks for dropping by Aris. Yes I am doing the full 42k this time around. It's THE running event of the year and it's a cant-miss. I am actually in the middle of a 12-week program for it, and am set to taper about second week of January. If you are planning to run across the Skyway, you should be joining at least the 21k. Am wishing you all the best and hope to see you there!

I can hardly wait.
Kamusta Kuya GB. Tatanong lang po, sana mas magupdate po kayo, tenbits kami ng utol ko. Ang huliing takbo po namin ay yung Celebrity na 5k. Pabati nga pala po kay Kuya Hernan dito sa Tandang Sora. TY po. - Ramil M.

Ramil, salamat sa pagbisita. Minsan kasi sobrang busy ko I only have time to make one article. Depende din yang kung madaming races or presscon. Pero promise, try natin iupdate more. Bagal ko kasi magsulat (x_x) Kamusta Kuya Hernan, salamat sa suporta! (para tayong radyo ah hehe)

Hi there Luis. I'm trying this out just to see if you will actually publish it online. Long-time lurker of your site, even when you had that logo with the man stretching and magulo pa siya. Laki na ng pnagbago niya, saludo ako. Was just curious, sa mga dati mong stories lagi mong binabanggit si Gingerbread Gal. Ngayon wala na. May... . nangyari ba? Haha sorry ha napansin ko lang kasi, you don't have to answer kung personal - Patricia G.
Hi Patricia, um, next question please? Haha kidding lang, thanks for the visit. Wow you were lurking even back then? You mean people actually read that crap I used to post? Woaah. I don't even have a backup copy of that template, but for those who never reached it, there are some thumbnails of that bygone era here.

As for your question, oh gaks how showbiz :P (preps for showbiz answer) Ehem. Well, since you pointed out her non-inclusion in our body of work, I guess you have your answer right there :)

This is... . embarassing :P

That's it for the holiday mailbag folks! Keep on running and watch those waistlines everyone :)

I overheard a coworker jokingly asking someone today if their whine was a Red or a White? More than likely they were discussing the snow troubles we have been having lately. For the first time in over 40 years, it was a virtually white Christmas all across Canada. We are talking the hard to shovel, wet and soppy white stuff here. I did hear about a few, bare spots, but they were merely tears in the big white downy quilt, that was covering the land of ice and snow.

OHHHHHH Canada! Our home and snowy land! What have you done to us? Especially us on the West Coast? There is not a snow shovel or ice scraper to be found. De-Icer was a staple in Christmas stocking stuffers, and snow chains are the new"it" fashion item. Neighbour helping neighbour, sharing driveway clearing duty. Everyone joyfully disclaiming the weather, sharing their horror stories about the commute. Stores are running out of gloves, toques, and toboggans, while giddy shoppers stock up. Kids are laughing, as happy parents spend snowy days slipping and sliding with them. More people are getting their exercise walking to the stores, since their cars are buried under white marshmallow mounds of snow.

Oh Canada! We might not be able to get around as easily as we are used to, but this might just be the reprieve we need from all the doom and gloom on the news. There seems to be a little bit less of recession, and a whole lot more about the good deeds that people are doing for each other. It is allowing us to show our indomitable Canadian spirit. And that might just be a really good thing.

This will be my third.
Winter that is.
Soon to be winter I suppose, since it’s still technically Autumn.
So maybe that’s why I find it so surprising to see snow in November? Maybe because where we used to live on the West Coast, there would be a earth shattering snow storm only every few decades, with little to nothing white fluttering down in between.
And it stays, is that a joke?
Here it can start anytime after Halloween, talk about a Autumnal hangover, and has been known to stay until almost April.April fools anyone, the jokes on us? That’s a long time to have the white stuff hanging around, shovelling the driveways, and dripping from the eves, clogging the sidewalks in town

But before that happens
Sometimes it snows, and others it just drifts away into the sunset… then just when you think it’s not going to happen, it snows, and it stays… brrr. Hello January.
Then winter really starts to happen, it’s the kind of weather that makes Autumn look like a cake walk, bitterly below zero cold, piles of snow everywhere, dirty snow that melts and freezes more then a recycled ice cream cone at the fair.
I’m shivering just reading that over again.

No really, I’m not complaining
And it’s all relative isn’t it? We are cold compared to the West Coast, but compared to some other bloggers what we get for winter is nothing. I’m not complaining, really I’m not.
Somewhere under all that white cotton batting cloaking everything like cotton candy on a stick, will be a garden, lawn, and summer. We get four very distinct seasons, with winter, and summer being the longest.
Look at my silver lining
For now the surprisingly snowy scene out doors, complete with the last graceful splashes of Autumn color desperately clinging to black branches looks beautiful. Even covered in white, the landscape is still gorgeous, and most of the people up here know how to drive in it. Shovelling is good exercise, and fresh air is nice.
See there’s a silver lining to everything, and it’s not just on the inside of the snow shovel, or the emergency blanket in the trunk.

Here comes the sun!
What a difference a day of sun can make in the life of someone who loves their camera. It was doom and gloom in my other post, trying to find something, anything good about all the beautiful leaves falling off the trees, it felt as if Autumn was short lived, and going, going, gone. I didn’t like the rain, it wasn’t something that we are supposed to be getting up here.
Yesterday it snowed, but that is mostly gone also. The day before was lovely with sun peeking out behind the clouds, it’s rays reaching and warm. Makes that long walk around the country block even nicer when the sun is shining in your eyes. And if you look hard enough there are still some leaves on the trees, despite the new snow, and the cold.
I’m looking forward to bright mittens against white snow, stark branches, and lots of sunshine to make up for the cool temperatures. Beats the rain we left behind, any day.
But that’s snow surprise.

I had three things coordinating perfectly. The weather, while not sunny wasn’t raining, and around here that’s as much as we can hope for. The time, having just gotten off of work, there was still a good chunk of daylight left to enjoy. And my Sweetie, who was available to go with me for a walk. So we headed for Crescent Park with the camera, and high hopes. A beautiful urban park, it boasts acres of trees, miles of pathways, a pond, and even a bridge or two. With it’s meandering paths snaking through densely forested area, and looping around like a skein of wool, it’s easy to miss your destination. Our objective was to find the two paths that included the quaint wooden bridges. I was hoping to find some fall color framing them. It had been too long since I had taken my camera out for a walk. First we hit the duck pond, this is always one of the highlights of our trip, and then we set off into the woods, the twisting and turning paths making it hard to remember which one ended up exactly where. Somewhere out there were my bridges, and a background of colorful trees.

Each time we came to anther fork in the road, we would look at each other and say “I think it’s this one,” and off we went on another jaunt. Eventually after one too many roads taken, we had to admit that we had ended up traversing the entire park from one end to the other, and no success in finding the bridges. By this time the shy sun had taken cover, the wind had picked up, and the forest was no longer a inviting place to photograph. Mushrooms were dark blobs, and leaves no longer golden, so we had to head home.

This time it might have been a bridge too far, but I am certain to find it next time, and think of the exercise that we got.

It’s the morning after the fright before…
You know that feeling, the “oh boy, what just happened, and why don’t I remember it… feeling.”
Come on, you feel it too.
When the rotting orange orbs crouching on the front steps start to slide down into a puddle of slime, the last of the leaves have left the trees in a gasp of brightly colored, quivering protest.
Most of the good Halloween candy has long been eaten, and what else is there for us to look forward to?
It feels like November.

It’s the beginning of the time just after Halloweeney, and before anything else exciting happens around here, such as Christmas.
Shockingly it is November, just a few days in, and the hangover has started. There is nothing sadder then driving around your neighbourhood seeing gloomy, sodden Halloween decorations still draped over bushes, puking their candy guts out days after the event, along with rotting pumpkins begging to be put out of their misery.

We’re in deep denial of winter approaching, in dire need of more exercise, along with a November holiday to celebrate. I know that the U.S. has thanksgiving to look forward to, but for us Canadians, the memory of turkey, and pumpkin pie is wobbling on our thighs.
This gloomy, the time changed and now we are a hour early to everything, or is that late, because no one can figure out which clocks have been changed, and which ones we forgot, world that we are inhabiting right now.
We marvel at the trees so bare, ignoring the bright mounds of leaves underneath, querying where is the sun, and why is it raining so much.
We could use a real celebration.
Let’s call it National hangover week, in fact let’s celebrate all month.
National hangover month… the month that just won’t end, just like a bad hangover.

We can all band together, and get our exercise by roving the neighbourhoods scrapping up putrid pumpkins with our soon to be busy snow shovels, tear down old brittle plastic ghosts, watch for witches, and slowly help each other to get over the change of seasonal blues… or is that oranges? Think of the endorphins we will create, because there is nothing sadder then Halloween decorations left out past the season, and we need to get moving, people there is a lot of work to be done.
Bring on National Hangover month, because gone is the brilliant glow of trees trying to vanquish the cold. Brown, and bare is the new orange around here.
Stores full of false Christmas, shiny and bright, one day it’s Halloween, the next the oranges and russets cleared out at 70% off, to be hastily replaced by overnight crews tasked with decorating every inch with green, and red baubles.
Glitz, and glamour for a season’s start that is over a month away.
No wonder we feel a need to celebrate something, anything, yes National Hangover month. whether it be from the gloom, the bad candy sugar low, the too early Christmas decorations, or the over stuffed thanksgiving turkey that you ate, let’s celebrate.
Now raise your slimy pumpkin high, and waggle your skeletons hand if you agree.
National hangover month is about to begin.
Are you in?

We all have family and friends who were hit hard by the deluge, and I'm pretty sure not everyone has had the chutzpah to volunteer wading through muddy floodwaters. But really, helping out doesn't necessarily entail going to relief centers. The Rescue Run is an excellent way to reconcile our passion for running and helping out those in need.

Okay, so I spammed you on Facebook. Actually, I spammed so bad that even the high school girlies I just gave a talk to in Bacolod got it as well. Oops. But hey, it sure is a heck of a lot better than receiving those "Let's Party and Get Drunk at Ascend for Ondoy Victims" invites. Right?

They... can't make it.

So what is this Rescue Run thing all about?

TRR is an organized run where, in lieu of registration fees, donations will be collected for the distance you will run. This is not a race so there will be no souvenir t-shirts, no swag bags, no finishers medals, and no prize money.

There will be no water stations since we believe that water must be given to those who need it most: victims of Ondoy. Needless to say, it will be KKB (kanya kanyang bote or kanya kanyang belt)

A registered participant will receive a RESCUE RUNNERS race bib, which the runner can wear during the race and in sustaining events currently being planned for the entire month of October to raise funds for rehabilitation. I'll post more details here as they come in.

WHEN:
October 10, 2009, Saturday
Assembly: 5:30 a.m.
Race start: 6:30 a.m.

DISTANCES: 3km, 5km, 10k

DONATIONS:
Individual: P200 for any distance
Corporate: P5,000 for 20 runners

VENUE: SM Mall of Asia

WHO CAN JOIN:
- open to all athletes, their families and friends
- anyone who is willing to help while getting a few minutes of exercise
- participants are encouraged to collect pledges from their family or friends who cannot make it to the event

BENEFICIARY:
All proceeds will be donated to the Philippine National Red Cross for the Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) victims. Our goal is to help provide a continuous supply of food and water to the stricken areas.

VOLUNTEERS:
We are in need of volunteers for road marshals and secretariat. If you are interested, pls. contact: RESCUE RUNNERS | 0917 -8374204 | 02-2168521 | rescuerunners@run4change.com

REGISTRATION:
Starts October 5, 2009 at the following venues:
- The SecondWind Running Store (Maginhawa St., UP Village)
- Recreational Outdoor eXchange (ROX, Bonifacio High Street)
- All Terra Bike Shop (Club 650, Libis)
* There will be on site registration starting 5:30 a.m.

Why are we doing this again?

Effort comes in many forms. Not everyone has access to go to a relief or evacuation center to help out. While everyone wants to help or pitch in, their jobs, families and other factors make it difficult for them to do so. We are organizing the run as a means to help. It’s purely voluntary.

Meager resources are poured into the effort. This run is a no-frills run. The only add-ons such as the tents, p.a. system and race bibs are contributions from volunteers that will help in organizing the run, nothing more.

Help isn’t a one-time, big-time effort. Undoubtedly, help is needed immediately. But with the extent of devastation that the floods have caused, the need for aid could be overwhelming. Instant relief won’t give people their homes back. The victims still need the means to rehabilitate damaged property and rebuild their homes. That takes time and a steady stream of resources. The Rescue Run is a means to help in that regard. We hope to be able to provide aid in other ways down the line–be it through food, rehabilitation or construction material.

So everyone, I am really counting on your support for this run. It should be fun! Like a "cowboy" race by runners for runners helping out a bigger altruistic agenda. It's actually my graduate school graduation that day but I'll still probably drop by very early in the morning for support :)

Let's all help out in our own little way everyone. because in times likes these, even that "little" thing may mean the world to someone in need. See you there!