My Way of Living:
thankful

It has been a little over two weeks since 10 enterprising souls along with their gritty, dedicated support team went out with two vans and covered 250 kilometers covering Subic, Bataan and Zambales during the Chris Sports Epic Relay. By now, you have probably read all about it. Listened to the incredible stories. Heard out the grievances and lamentations. Reveled in the triumphs and cringed at the lows. As of this writing, the discussion thread that we had put together at Takbo.ph has generated 3,317 views, one of the most I had ever seen given that not too many people from the boards were directly part of it. A blow-by-blow feed on Facebook that I was painstakingly updating through my Blackberry even during the wee hours of the morning had produced an incredible 366 comments. Truly, it was a race for the ages, one that people would be surely talking about for months to come.

TPB rocks.
So why such a late entry? Nope, I haven't been that lazy mind you. It's just that with the contentious nature of how the race unraveled, I didn't want to come up with an article that was reeking of input from my hopelessly skewed left portion of the brain. With so much charged energy emanating from the after-race vibe, I thought it best to let things simmer down a bit lest I come up with material with excessive amounts of vitriol.

We'll keep it cool. Er, will try at least.

Given the relative "epicness" of the race, and the fact that I wasn't there personally for all of the legs, I guess it really wouldn't do justice if I gave a blow-by-blow like my BDM feature. We're currently working on a compilation of everybody's experiences, and if no publisher picks it up, we'll most probably post it online mwahaha. Wait on it!

So instead, I'll try my best to give you a microcosm of the race proper(there were 30 legs in all, subdivided into 3 main sections) with my personal inputs on my specific leg.

Legs 1-10
Spirits were high for our 12nn gun start as we embarked on the great unknown. Little did we know that this was to be a race to remember. Given the pace we had declared pre-race, we were bundled in the final, "elite" start wave. Some teams had already started as early as 5am, supposedly to even things out. As nervous energy abound, the teams that we were looking out for were Team Ponstan (supposedly loaded with strong, veteran runners), and a Kenyan-powered Team Runnerspeak. Much to our surpise, there was another team inserted into our wave at the very last minute- Team Timex. Through casual conversation, it was not outwardly stated that this was a sponsored team loaded with triathletes and elite runners. Dropping a faux name (Team Roundsprint?) and giving off a weekend warrior vibe, I guess this was gamesmanship at its finest. Or rather, more like a portent of things to come.

In high spirits... .

And yet anxious for what lies ahead...

As we were awaiting the starting gun, the organizers/sponsors had even put together a "showbiz" style intro, with what seemed to be a hastily organized Ponstan "Pep Squad" comprised of made-up teens gyrating to pop tunes ala ASAP while were baking in 35 degree weather . At the starting line, leadoff guy Mark/Beep Beep got into the action and showed off his "Disco" moves in the background.

Beep could give these teens a run for their money
As the starting gun finally sounded off, there was a palpable sense of nervous energy amongst the team. Extremely anxious, yet confident that our collective abilities will allow us to make a good account of ourselves. It was agreed upon collective during our pre-race prayer that we're not gunning to win at all costs. It's not the be-all end-all of our stint here. We're just going out to have a good time, soak in the experience, and anything we pick up along the way is gravy.

A prayer for guidance towards the right path

And so it begins. As I said earlier, I don't have the capabilities of doing an accurate blow-by-blow for the entire thing (it would take me forever to write it and you might get bored reading it), so I'll just recreate the first leg in detail while trying my best to faithfully recapture the rest of the legs, just to give your the overall vibe of the race at that given moment.

And so it begins... .(cue Olympic music)Land of the Lost and a budding loveteam
Beep Beep was our leadoff guy, probably the strongest sprinter on the team. A former Palarong Pambansa standout, we were banking on a solid opening salvo from him to help set the tone for the rest of the race. From the time that the opening gun was fired, we could see that he was already neck and neck with Kenyan supergal Susan from Team Runnerspeak. So off they went, and we merrily went back to our vans.

As we were heading to the van exchange point at the Pawikan Center (serves as the halfway mark of all three main sections of the race) , we noticed one big problem. The guy from "Team Roundsprint" was actually ahead. And the rotund Ponstan team captain was in 2nd! How could that be? How could they outrun a Kenyan and a 39 minute 10k dude? It could only mean one thing... .

It simply meant that they were... .

Apparently, they were so fast that they missed the turn. Quite mind boggling that the lead pack didn't have any escort to guide them. That's just so crazy. Anyway, Beep ended up going all the way back to the start line, and i think he finished his 5k in 35 minutes. By the time the dust has settled we were in 2nd place, our psyche reeling from this unexpected setback.

The Furious Chase Once Mark/Indorock was up for his leg, it didn't take long for the speedy trackster to bridge the gap between us and the first placers. Cheers abound in our van. Now the hard part. Roy, Bryan and Brando had their work cut out for themselves as they not only had to keep pace to hold off the 3rd placers, in the race for 1st place they were matched up against Cyborg-like counterparts on some of the most difficult terrain in the race. Brando was near exhaustion, and asserted that his stretched out, ridiculously incline-filled course was the hardest 8k of his life.

Early hero Indorock attempts a furious comeback

The Brothers Rivera put up a gallant stand

Brando was so tired that he wanted to go home, selling "scramble" for bus fare
Mark Hernz was up next. Was a short 4.4 k route, but his inclines would have put St. Martin to shame. In spite of the searing heat and technical difficulty of his leg, he gutted it,clocking in a solid effort in the process.

Mark gutting out the punishing inclines
Leg 7. My turn. By the time the baton (er, slapstick) was handed over to me, a 2km deficit was staring me in the face. What fun. I was amped beyond belief. The long wait at the Leg 5 van exchange point had somehow sapped my energy, notwithstanding the fact that we were working from behind.

Nervous dude right here
The amiable guy from the leading team (who even wore pink, I reckon in a sign of allegiance?) even gave me a high-five as he trotted out 10 minutes ahead of me. Once the exchange process was done, I was a man on a mission. Leg description was Recreational to Intermediate. Niiice. With adrenalin pumping, I rushed through the initial, extremely downhill stretch at about a 3:30 pace throwing caution to the wind. This lasted for all of 300 meters. Then I was stopped dead in my tracks. Suddenly, the downhills were gone, and was replaced with a slow, excruciating 6k uphill climb with lush foliage that made it very hard to breathe. Nothing Recreational about this. Cars were spewing smoke at you, and crabby doggies wanted to get a piece of you.

To those who are part of my Adidas Adination Ortigas team, the St. Paul- St. Martin Combo is about 1k not counting the downhill. So think doing 6k worth of that while trying desperately to hold 5:00 pace. I could have sworn I was hyperventilating. Pace was dropping by the nanosecond. By the time I reached the 6k mark, total pace had dropped all the way to 5:57 already. Eek.

Thankfully, what goes up, goes down. I'd like to think that all the uphill training I do had some sort of residual effect. At the risk of blowing my quads, I ran the final steep downhill stretch with everything I had at that point, crushing the asphalt at 3:45 - 3:50 pace. I was red-lining it. I HAD to make up for lost time. We HAD to get back first place.

Have... to get... . first place... .

All of a sudden, with about 1k to go, I saw the leading team's dude laboring heavily. I was ecstatic!! 1st PLACE WAS IN SIGHT!

He got tired
In hindsight, I was thinking his heavyset core typical of gym habitues would give out with those extreme inclines at some point.And it did. Blazing at a pace that I could never ever sustain without the concept of team dynamic in play, I passed him! 1st place was ours!!! The rush was unbelievable and unforgettable. As I passed the support van, I was screaming "WE'RE BACK IN FIRST!!! WE'RE BACK IN FIRST!!!" I think I heard Abby screaming in the van as well . Lol.

Now, there was so much momentum gained that I even sprinted the incline near the 10k mark. 10k mark passes. Gulp. No exchange tent! I was burning out pretty fast. Then all of a sudden, my extremities were going numb. It was going upwards already. My hands then started to involuntarily shake. OMG. I was freaking out. What the heck was happening to me? Still nothing. I was panting like a rabid dog in heat. Where was the tent??? Finally, 750 meters later it was there. I rushed , signed in, handed the slaptstick over to a totally juiced Jai, and he was off! TPB in the lead!!!! The team met me with raucous cheers. I was completely exhausted, but super happy. Given that running is an individual sport, having to do team time trials was awesome. We left the leg in high spirits, knowing that I just handed over the lead to one of the strongest runners on our team.

Happy but wasted guyLegs 8 and 9 went by like a blur. Speedy Jai was still fresh from his 3rd place finish at the TBR Dream Marathon, so the guy was in awesome shape. He turned the slight lead I gave him into a significant advantage, and powerful Ronnel padded more to it as the race was starting to drag on into the night.

Dynamic Duo powers into the night.By the time Ka Totoy came up, it was pitch dark already. Being our undisputed anchor and the closest thing to an elite runner on the team, we gave "The Legend" our most difficult leg - the dreaded 6km climb up to Mount Samat. His performance was simply scintillating. He left our mouths wide agape while tackling Kennon Road-level inclines at an unthinkable 5:30 pace. If I had done the same route, I probably would have walked. Being the consummate pro that he is, there were times that he would even wave us off, telling us to wait ahead of him. Running a ridiculous incline in pitch black darkness takes some cajones, and he taught all of us right then and there a thing or two about guts.

From the eyes of a legend... .

The scene that unfolded after seemed like it was taken straight from a movie script. As fast as Ka Totoy was chipping away at the mountain, a rampaging juggernaut was hot on his heels. The strongest Kenyan runner of Team Runnerspeak was blasting away at our nearly 30 minute advantage on them, and before we knew it, they were in 2nd place. Just FYI, this was the Kenyan dude who won Rock and Run 10k, and he runs a 15 minute 5k just to put things into perspective.

In a moment of sheer drama, the Kenyan came within 100 meters of Ka Totoy as he hit the runner exchange point. One last dramatic grasp, and the lead was turned over to Beep Beep who started sprinting like a madman for the start of the next rotation, his lady love Susan in hot pursuit. Incredible effort on the Kenyan's part, and pretty much all of us had a greater appreciation for "The Legend's" incredible running moxie after that sublime effort.

Cooling down after a performance for the ages
Whew. What an Epic! And guess what? We're only a third of the way!

But I'll have to stop there.

Because it was at this point that from a genuinely enjoyable race, everything seemed to connive against our success. Among others, I'd rather not discuss how I was stopped right smack in the middle of my 2nd leg ostensibly for "fast forward purposes" along with a totally moronic penalty by a high strung race director who wouldn't give the time of day to any opinion apart from his own.

I don't want to come out with unhappy memories out of this remarkable experience. I'd rather remember Beep and Susan's epic battle racing at 3:00/km pace down the insanely steep downhill of Mt. Samat in total darkness. Or how Brando valiantly tried to fend off "Cyborg" when he just popped out of the darkness. Or how Bryan's tremendous managerial skills established a semblance of order in our team.

One last comeback left in us... .

In a team full of competitive runners who usually duke it out over the weekends, I am proud of how the team came together to overcome adversity in making a concerted effort to go down on our shields with honor. I'll never forget screaming my lungs out when the team pounded out a last-ditch comeback effort, gutting out minute by painstaking minute culminating in Ronnel reclaiming the lead for TPB at leg 29. Truly, you can't make this stuff up. In spite of everything, we still had a chance to win it all at the very last leg. I have misty memories of how Ka Totoy, his body wracked in intense pain and battling 37-degree heat, ran with his heart on the pavement in overtaking the game PNP runner for 2nd place on the very last kilometer.

All for glory...

Because you see, this race meant much more to us than the figurative silver (thanks Mark Mulder) that we weren't even acknowledged for. It was more than the P360 finishers shirt, the P20 Pocari Sweat and P50 picture that awaited you at the line.

It went beyond winning or losing. It was about sticking to our guns when the going got beyond tough. It dealt with working within the rules even if they were seemingly be made to be broken. It was about getting back up and giving it your all after you've been kicked down incessantly to the curb.

Respect. Sportsmanship. Camaraderie. Ain't that what it's all about?

It's been a completely seminal experience for me. It's changed me in a lot of ways too.

To Beep, Mulder, Roy, Brando, Bry, Mark, Jai, Ronnel and Ka Totoy, it was my distinct honor to have raced with you guys.

To our wonderful support team Abby, Maan, Bea, and Doc Eire - thank you so much for sticking by us and sticking for us.

I am very proud of each and every one of you. I'm proud of TPB and what we stand for.

Because no matter what had happened in those fateful 23 hours...

I wouldn't have had it any other way.

TPB 2010 Baby!

Powerpuff Boys. Smirk. What kind of fruity name is that? Sounds like a local counterpart to the Chippendales. Or a new incarnation of the Masculados. But don't be misled by the name though. From the ashes of controversy, the so-called "Pink Army" has arrived, and there's certainly nothing dainty about them.

Pretty in Pink?
Pardon the hyperbole, I'm really just amped. After months and months of incessant planning and lineup changes, TPB has finally come to fruition. Featuring 10 runners all hailing from different cities ( fun fact, it may win you a t-shirt one day), the final roster for our Chris Sports Epic Relay 250 team is finally complete.

Pink would have been horrible on these Masculados

To the uninitiated, the Chris Sports Epic Relay 250 is based off the hugely popular Ragnar Relay Series in the United States. Your team is divided into two vans for an overnight relay race that traverses picturesque terrain spanning Subic, Bataan and Zambales, with the 10 team members running three legs of anywhere from 5-12 kms each.

What fun!
Now, we never realized how hard it was to snag 10 dudes paying P1,200 each for less than a combined 30 kilometers. There was a time that the only definitive members on our lineup were team captain Bryan Rivera, myself, and highly respected veteran Graciano "Ka Totoy" Santos. Thankfully, everything just fell into place at the right time, and we are happy to put together a team that does justice to pink. Okay fine, its fuschia.

Here's the current lineup as well as some snippets about the members :

Graciano "Ka Totoy" Santos

He's like our Obi-Wan-Kinobi. The grizzled master never hesitates to give valuable training advice to us noobs. Ka Totoy also abhors any form of alcohol to keep in shape all year round, and his eyebrows could give Isko Moreno's a run for their money.

Bryan "Runner-S" Rivera

Our undisputed team captain. One of the most improved runners over the past year, he has shown incredible tenacity both on and off the road. His organizational and leadership skills are unparalleled as well, and when the time comes that I'm a millionaire already, he'll be the first one I'll call to run my businesses. Throws a mean frisbee too. Is way sexier than Right Said Fred, putting the "S" in "Runner-S".

Mark "Beep Beep" Rodica

The former volleyball star-turned-trackster has a penchant for short shorts, snappy one-liners and even snappier 10k times. Judging by his picture, you could see that he's a very serious guy.

Mark" Indorock" Mulder

This Holland native has been a ball of positive energy for the team. A relatively late addition, this cool, methodical dude now sports a new Glee-inspired do'. The brains behind Manila Road Runners, he is a master at deciphering Tagalog words through context clues and sign language. Shame on his inconsiderate teammates. Er, oops.

Ronnel "Kampuger" Go

Although most people will probably never know what a "Kampuger" is in their lifetime ( I don't know what it is either, and I don't wanna know), this amiable, wise-cracking fella can hang with the best of them. As you can see by his photo, he also has a bit of a Rudolf Nureyev in him.
Roy "Kuya" Rivera

Ultra-fit Roy is Bryan's older brother, although at first we thought that it was the other way around. This laid-back, music loving, ultra-fit vegan doesn't concern himself with km splits and pace, he prefers to be lost in the moment and stays away from the extra pressure. He is the founder of the "SBMA Traffic Enforcer" fanpage on Facebook.

Mark "MarkHernz" Hernandez

This model-turned- resilient-ultramarathoner is an all-around athlete who seems to excel at whatever sport he tries his hand on. Totally dedicated hubby (sorry gals) who once ran a 3:30 split for a 10k... . during the first 200 meters. He got very tired soon thereafter. Suffice to say, he never did that again.

Jairuz "Jai-Ho" Agang-ang

A man of few words, he lets his running do the talking. We somehow cajoled him into putting "Jai-Ho" on his uniform. (LSS mode) His unassuming manner belies his competitive nature on the road. He is very inspired right now, nuff said.

Brando "Ace" Losaria

This wisecracking ball of perpetual energy often has the team in stitches, and "Photobrando" takes somes of the most beautiful race shots I have seen. This hard-training raceday habitue has also been touted as a cuter, "funner" version of a certain former Streetboy. His long term goal is to run a 2:30/km pace someday.

And that's the team folks! Oh grr, do I really have to add myself?

I like taking long walks on the beach, Mcdo Fried and Nuggets, I have two dogs named Strowganoff and Piolow, and the grade of my contact lenses is -350. Oh, and I have a girlfriend who can run 102 kilometers faster than me. Sob.

Me and my well-pedigreed support crew

On the eve of our impending battle, I conclude this article amidst a cacophony of sighs and snores from our snug Subic hotel, hopeful and excited about the events that are about to unfold in the next couple of hours. Thanks for all the support and well-wishes that you have given us, we truly appreciate it.

Now let the dance begin... ..

The soothing line of the Carpenters classic reverbrated through my mind as I drove out Sunday morning. The rain was steadily pouring over the pavement as I pulled out of my condo, the pre-dawn serenity of a Sunday morning punctuated by the incessant rain. I was thinking, will the run be cancelled? Then I realized the amount of preparations that are put into organizing a race. Moving it would be tantamount to a logistical nightmare. So I figured, the show must go on!

On Rainy Races and Alcohol-Free Uncles I picked up Erick at Shaw Blvd, about 5 mins from my place. We picked up a groggy and thankfully not drunk Tito Caloy a few minutes later. Apparently, he had begged off from an inuman party with the kumpadres the night before just to prepare for the race. Absconding from free beer? Now that's what you call dedication! So the three of us were talking shop as we reached Mckinley at 5:15, 15 minutes before the announced race time. There was some confusion as to where the parking area was, so we had to ask around. Two marshals, one sleepy guard, and one crabby guard later we ended up in the open parking area. Note to self : 15 minutes to race time! Hurry! Warm-up running in the rain towards the starting line, I saw that the race was still surprisingly well-attended despite the inclement weather. I saw Takbo.ph gals Cherry and Ross walking around, pointed us to where the team was hanging out. The usual suspects were there, along with a morose-looking Sam akaThe Running Ninja in blogging parlance. I thought he was intensely focused on his strategy, little did I know that he had run over someone the night before. Hang in there buddy, things will be resolved soon. Takeshi's Castle Fun Times The organizers soon announced that the race would be starting at 6 am, or 30 minutes later than the announced time because of the weather. Tito Caloy was wondering if it would push through, a 16k virgin's typical anxiety in play. I nodded somewhat unattentively, my wandering thoughts fixated on my strategy for the race as the "peloton" of 3k, 5k, and 16k were gathered en masse for a common start. 10 miles. 16 something kilometers. It's my first time to tackle the distance, first crack at the famed Mckinkley Hills. I have no idea if my pace would hold here. I feel like I'm out of shape. I lack mileage this week. I should stop working and just run. Okay maybe not. This kid next to me is really loud. Did I bring enough money to eat later? Oh crap I left my camera in the car. No pix for the blog then. But then again if I brought the camera, where would I put it? What's the true meaning of love? It's starting to rain... oh great it's pretty hard ... . my Garmin's gonna get soaked... .. Wow I feel like I'm in the Takeshi's Castle starting grid... . Oh great here we go... The starting gun jolted me back into reality. Suffice to say, it was a riot. Bundling together the 16k runners with the 3k and 5k runners wasn't the high point of an otherwise well-organized race. Truly, the Takeshi's Castle analogy was not far-fetched. It was virtual bedlam. I think that the fact that the rain started to pour a few seconds before the starting gun went off contributed to a rock-concert like atmosphere, which in turn elevated the adrenalin levels of pretty much everyone. Not only did I have to contend with the rain and the slippery road, I also had to deal with rowdy kids who were jumping (yeah, jumping) on the road. By the time I had extricated myself from that mess, I figured I had lost about 10-15 seconds worth of pacing. Prior to the race, I had no idea what was a good target time for 16k . Coach Pojie said a 1:30 would be nice. Personally, I thought it was a stretch given my propensity to fade late. But I took solace in the training runs I've had lately, so might as well give it a shot. The first kilometer registered 4:53 on my 305. Right on schedule! For 10k's my preferred opening would be a 4:30, but into the great unknown that was the 10-miler, I was guessing the aformentioned pace would be sufficient. At the 3km mark , I began to pace with Docs Eric and Pinky. Doc Eric is a sub- 2 hour 21k runner, one of the strongest in the group. I thought it would be prudent to pace with him, at least get myself acquainted with the level that I am training for. Doc Pinky was actually pacing faster than us, and it turned out she was competing in the 5k. Her breakneck pace was good enough for a 5th place podium finish wohoo :) Congrats Doc Pinky, terrific run. So me and Doc Eric ran together until the 9k mark. The hills were harder than I expected. The course was living up to its billing. I accelerated in one of the steeper extended regions heading to the Heritage Park region, and once again I was alone. There were numerous water stations available, and I crossed the 10k mark at 53:50, just 10 seconds off my 10k PR. I thought to myself, I have a real shot at this. Just keep your head in it. As I sprinted downhill towards the 11k turnaround point, the daunting uphill climb to my left was a grim reminder of the tribulations up ahead. So this is what Sisyphus must have felt like Let's just put it this way. If you have no hill training at all, kiss your PR goals goodbye for this course. The return uphill stretch went for something like 3 km. My pace went down from 5:25 to 5:30. Soon Doc Eric caught up with me, a friendly face ready to boost me up in what seemed like an endless uphill battle. Even when I thought it had ended, it was still haunting me.My hammies rather. Finally, we had started our reentry into the Mckinley area proper. 4k to go! The Garmin showed us at 1 hour something! Wow! We have a real shot! Doc Eric told me that we should just go for it, and we did. We were sprinting the last 4k at a 5:05 - 5:10 pace. I made the mistake of going LT on the 15th kilometer, and I faded a little towards the end. I also saw amiable Happy Feet/Takbo.ph habitue Mon towards the homestretch, last saw him during our Baguio run. When all things were said and done, I happily crossed the line at 1:26:03, 4 minutes below my target! Final pace was 5:32., about 20 seconds behind locomotive-like Doc Eric. I was so happy, because I realized that if I maintain that pace for at least 5k more, I could do a sub -2 hour 21k! That's my secret (well not anymore) dream! Yeah! As the group congregated, the rest of the gang started to pile in. Sam came in injury-free at 1:40. Speedy, comebacking Migz got 1:32, his first since his injury. "Wala ako sa kundisyon" Erick got a strong 1:30 finish, a testament to his run-walk strategy. Tito Caloy logged in at an estimated 1:50, a wonderful time for the 50-year old 16k Virgin. Wilnar, Girley, and as mentioned earlier Doc Pinky took podium finishes in their respective categories. Overall, was a good day for the team! Afterwards, the factions of the group met at Mcdonald's Net One for a wonderful post-race celebration of sorts. Lots of photos, laughs, and goofing around :)

All's well at Earth Run

Doc T wins!

Wilnar's 5th place finish for the 5k

Coach wins too!

Rico aka Sheer Will with his "medal"

Girley aka Pepsi with the real thing So with all things said and done, suffice to say do rainy days and Sundays always get me down? With runs and friends like these, not really :) Tito Caloy Quote of the Day :

"Napasarap ung kwento ko dun sa mag-asawa, naligaw tuloy ako!" - On following Neil and Rach to the 5k route

What is it about Baguio and pine trees? The summer capital of the Philippines usually evokes memories of the unmistakeable aroma of pine, an aroma that in turn triggers memories of fun summers, inebriated nights, and forlorn romances. Indeed, this northern getaway could symbolize a whole lot of different things for a whole lot of different people. During my latest jaunt there, the time came to nurture a Baguio experience of a different kind - my first road race in the City of Pines!

An Unlikely Gig The whole trip started innocuously enough - majority of the gang was disenfranshised by the lack of slots to TNF and we were lacking a weekend gig. Out of what seemed like divine providence, coach Pojie suddenly mentioned that Botak was organizing a Baguio race, the idea floated to him by Craig of Team Logan. With the recent beating the Botak brand has taken amongst running denizens, the announcement was met with a certain degree of apprehension. These fears were quickly allayed when it was mentioned that the race was being handled by a different organizer. From that point on, everything seemed like a blur. Before we knew it, ageless resto magnate/speedster/overall good guy Bong was already taking care of the logistical preps for the group. And thus the adventure begins... .. Carbo- Loading in the Cold Craig offered to organize a Carbo Loading Party or CLP at his Baguio abode the Friday before the race, much like the Takbo.ph CLP shortly before the Condura Run. Due to work constraints, I was prevailed upon to drive over on a Saturday, and it looks likeI missed a wonderful celebration. I promise I'll be there next time guys!

The Takbo.ph gang at the Logan home The Night Before The 5 hour drive going to Baguio was pleasant enough, the SCTEX doing wonders for what used to be an extremely cumbersome ride. After retreating to Baguio Burnham Suites, (shame less plug for my friend's hotel haha ) I went on to visit the Takbo.ph gang at Chelly's place where practically everyone was staying. I am in no way, shape or form an expert on Baguio roads, so suffice to say I got lost multiple times while looking for the place. After much tribulation and comprehensive directions from the police station (fine I gave up so sue me) I finally found the place!I was so happy to see the gang, the hard-core running addicts of my running team celebrating our sweeping point of commonality in such a remote and unlikely locale. We had quite the delegation! I was even offered some Bacardi! To put in my hydro belt! (They were kidding. I think.) After chilling with the gang, I left for my hotel with bright anticipation for the race that was to commence in a few hours.

Fun Takbo.ph times at Chelly's winter palace

Gal pals Julie and Carina hyped up for the race

21k virgin Edu chillin out

The Cranium set which provided the entertainment for the nightBaguio D-Day With roughly four hours of sleep, I trotted over to the starting line at Burnham Park near the pond. I was lucky that the hotel was pretty near, so I got a half-decent warmup run in chilly 16 degree weather. The gang was already there, excited yet anxious at the same time.

Ready to go to war in the chilly Baguio dawn

Let's get it on!!!!!The organizer was announcing all the running teams and clubs that came- a smattering from Manila and a handful of varsities from the prevailing locale. It seemed that the Takbo.ph delegation was the biggest from Manila. However, the biggest delegation was hands down from the PNP training corps , both their men's and women's squads were there. There also was some unintentional comedy involved as the organizers instructed the Takbo.ph team to come up the front of the line! Feeling elite! Haha :) At about 5:45 (15 minutes from the announced start time as we had "waited"for the police escorts) the starting gun went off. So here we go... .. On a Higher Plane Given the aniticipated difficulty of the course based from the group's feedback after their ocular the day before, we all adjusted our projected pace accordingly. I was pacing with Takbo.ph founder Jinoe, and we decided we should maintain a 6:30 pace for the first 10k.Once again, just the mere fact that I was racing in Baguio was so surreal for me. The chilly thin air, that unmistakeable aroma of pine, great company... . sunrise at 1500 feet... . Wow... ... It was AWESOME. Makes the 268 km ride from Manila (okay fine I measured it with my Garmin. Junkie.) all worth it. And just as I was starting to get a wee bit too comfy in my utopian dream scenario, a rapid 3 km downhill descent that we were running at 5:20 pace gave us an ominous portent of things to come. As all runners reaching turnaround points know... . what goes down... must eventually go up. Gulp. It's The Hardest Thing At the 10k turnaround point and requisite 1 minute walk/water break, me and Jinoe were trying to mentally prepare oursleves for the drudgery that were going up against. We tried for 1 km to run it, but the hills were just too much. We ended upusing a run/walk strategy, even surrendering a 10:00 minute split. Looking around, even the police cadets were walking. Damn, it must have been THAT hard. Check out the elevation courtesy of Jinoe's 405!

Homeward Bound Having survived that, we struggled to get our wits about us. We had surrendered nearly a full minute from our pace and we needed to make up for lost ground in a hurry. So what we did, we used a group of gruff cadets as a pace group, and they hurtled through the return route at a 5:20 pace. We struggled to keep up and thankfully our second wind kicked in at this point. As we starting to catch some sort of coherent rhythm at this point, we realized that we were on the way back to Burnham already! The course was going to be short! As I sprinted towards the finish line at 2:01:43, the 10k runners of the Takbo.ph gang greeted me with a rapturous round of applause, sweet music to my ears after wining yet another battle of wills. Boss Jinoe soon followed suit, about 15 seconds behind by my estimate. The moment we had crossed the line, the kind lady organizer immediately asked how long did the race register on our Garmins. I told her, 18.16 on mine. She then went on to explain that the local government had them do emergency reroute because of some digging that was being done. While some may have thought that this was the latest Botak disaster, I felt that from a PR perspective her prompt, on-the-spot public announcement and apology was the best possible thing that could have been done. Shirking from the issue would have been disastrous. As a result, the discrepancy was more or less downplayed by the participants.

Sprinting with a smile towards the finish line

I conquered them hills!

18k? Easy!

Jinoe, Me, Mhel, Poj, and Doc Roy

Queenie getting her top-15 finish medal Final Thoughts Overall, it was probably one of the toughest races I have been part of. The 3k killer uphill stretch truly left little to the imagination ; if you think I exaggerate you should try it out for yourself. The cool weather, the tremendous locale and wonderful scenery made it all the more special. And hey, it's not like you could race the infamous uphills of the City of Pines every week right? As always, even if I wasn't there for their entire stay, the Takbo.ph team made the experience infinitely more special. I grabbed photos, sue me later :) If you want interactive map info of the race, check it out here - http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/player/8310795 What is it about Baguio and pine trees? What strong memories do these bastions of generations past evoke? Forlorn romances? Inebriated nights? I don't know about you, but I 'll never look at Baguio in the same way again.

Being able to sit down to eat a meal after so many months of pain is… Well, totally wonderful. Indescribable.
I hurt my back last summer, something went the wrong way, my back went the other, and I herniated a disk. L5, low down…it was pressing on the sciatic nerve that goes all the way to your toes. Yes it was a very big ouch.

Not nice at all.
I don't suggest it.
Apparently I was one of the unlucky 5% of people who require surgery.
And it affected my ability to blog, there were months when it was difficult to get near the computer. Because I couldn't sit, I would stand at my drafting desk, write a sentence on the laptop, pace out the pain, and go back.
There were times when I thought I might have to give up blogging.
To distract myself, I decided to research a move to Word Press, and go ahead with the name change that had been in the works for ages. What else can you do?

And then a cancellation call came from the hospital.
The surgery was last Tuesday, while I am glad it's over, I still can't believe it.
I'm very thankful.There were a lot of prayers said. And answered.
I'm also thankful that you've stuck with me through what has been a erratic 7 month adventure.
It's been a long road.
I'm looking towards the future, I've got some interesting things for you, and for the future of this blog as soon as I am healed.
Lets see where our blogging journey's takes us.
PS: Thinking spring, and sending warm up wishes to all.

I had just come back from my Bataan fun run weekend and had been pretty much detached from humanity when I got an email from the Runrio gang inviting me to the "Runrio Trilogy Awards Night".

I thought to myself, showbiz na ba si Rio ngayon? Funny thing was, in my semi-vegetative state after my 160k jagging, I actually declined, thinking the event was Monday night. Hard to go when you're walking like a BT (bagong tule) sorta character. Much to my consternation, Runrio "Social Media Director" (hihi) Vimz would tell me that the staffers were aghast at such a lurid reply. Thankfully she explained that my brain couldn't be in one place after the weekend, my apologies for being souped.

Anyway, as I would only understand later, the event was meant to honor the runners who completed the Runrio Trilogy, in addition to a smattering of special awards. Open bar, buffet courtesy of Paul Calvin's,celebrity sightings... . the place had the feel of the Oscars.Okay maybe not, but you get the idea It was the perfect synthesis of giving back to a community who has supported his burgeoning enterprise, and an ideal post-marketing/good PR vehicle for his sponsors. No wonder our main man was in a wonderful mood last night. Here are some of my notes from last night :

Nice.

• If I'm not mistaken, this used to be Alchemy. Apparently, it died a natural death. It is now... . Decagon. Naman kasi, gigimik lang dati tabi pa ng Tiendesitas. Not exactly the place where you want to get the party poppin. You might see your Mommy buying Palawan chicken and Spanish sardines on the way out.

• In fairness, the place looks wonderful. Sosy. 5'11 carb-starved models abound, to the merriment of the ogling running denizens. Funny, but for some inane reason I suddenly waxed nostalgic. Why? I know it's hard to believe now with my shriveled nognog Gingerbread looks, but more than a decade ago me and TPB ultra bud Mark (we had the same "handler" for a time geez) were trolling like events called "ushering" in industry jargon for about P3,000 a pop in fun places that went by names from a bygone era like Mars, Euphoria, and Fat Willy's. Sigh how time passes. Wait, the line is moving. Move it Mr. Gurang mann.

• Grainy Photobooth pix upon entering. Too many reds on the hue. I'll take the free Photobooth any day though.

• Nice that people had badges identifying them as awardees. Nice touch.

• Rio is channeling David Ruffin today with his tux and glasses. If you don't know who David Ruffin is, igoggle mo na lang.

Man of the night

• He checks up on me and Abby after Sunday's gig, apparently he's just like you and me. You know, he also checks out pix on Facebook. The man is in the know. We chide him on his new Audi TT toy, just before we were leaving for Bataan we saw some frizzy haired guy in a roadster waving, turns out it was him. In typical self-effacing manner, he says "utang lang yan". With the way he's puling in paper, he could have went in and bought it like a quarter pounder from Mcdo.

Back to civilization for Abby and GBM

• No sight of my good buddy Piolow here. Pfft.

• Food was very good, good job Jay Em! Di bitin with the choices. They really spent for it, not the "para masabi lang" buffet.

• Funny how Endure Multisport teammate Pio somehow manages to wind up on a table with the two hosts (Tricia Chiongbian and the other dude, Coy?Boy/Bhoy Ramos. If he's famous or some sort of celebrity forgive me, I don't get to watch TV anymore), Venus Raj, and the current Rio girlpren. He somehow also manages to wind up on stage for a drinking game. Fun times.

• Practically everyone is an awardee, it feels like graduation. With my nametag saying "guest", does that mean I'm like the parent? Or the tito na napilitan and sumama for the kainan?

Happy awardee

• Jaymie sighting, and she later wins the Hyper Blogger award. Fun distinction, and I never knew that mild-mannered Jaymie and "Hyper" could be stuck in the same sentence. They should have just gave it to Sam the Running Ninja. Oh I forgot he's semi-retired.

• Majority of the people are having a good time. The ones who are really having a good time are those at the open bar. Wait, is that Abby?

• Philippine All-Stars steal the show with a sensational number. Whenever you brand yourself as such, you have to ensure you're pretty damn good. These guys never disappoint.

• In related news, Pedz the Running Atom was hypnotized when the All-Star gals did some rhythmic bellydancing. I'm not telling, just saying. :P

• Is it just me, or is Unilab Active Health Prez Alex Panlilio the long lost brother of Paolo Bediones? No homo, just speaking for the estrogen in the crowd.

• The little montages before the special awards were 50-50 on the funny scale.

• The AVP's were well made. Actually, the whole event was. It had that professional feel about it, apparently they have this whole event organizing thing down pat.

• Just when the crowd was losing energy All-Stars are sent out again to wake the people up. Why do I get the impression this was an impromptu number? It seemed like an intervention, the number was bitin. Still good though.

• Six Cycle Mind comes in, apparently they were commissioned to do the Runrio theme song. Rock Star vibe with matching shades indoors. Ooh.

• As part of their spiel, Tricia and Boy/Bhoy/Coy are incessantly prodding the running madlang people to well, er, get drunk and just make tomorrow "recovery day". Dead silence. Apparently, people take tempos over tequilas around these places.

• Finale is weird, as they try to pull the U2 vibe, yet people weren't really minding them. They were all glued to the adjacent stage where Rio was poppin' with the All-Stars to the theme song. He gives credence to the theory that runners aren't meant to be dancers. Of course, that's my own original theory and suddenly I don't feel so bad anymore.

At least he was down for it.

• All awardees get loot bags. Lame guests like me don't. Nice. Everyone goes home happy. After a trip to the open bar of course.

• That's it folks, overall was a good event and another first in the industry. Good luck to everyone running the 2011 series!

We have just moved into our new home in the rural suburbs, and being new, we would like to make a good impression. So I bit my tongue when I found the special gift the large dog next door left for me on my front lawn. Talk about putting your foot in it, there I was wiping my shoe desperately in the snow, and introducing myself to another neighbour the same time. Thankfully he wasn’t the owner of the naughty dog. A few days later I found a white feathered, frozen chicken in the bushes lining my front yard. Cold, and very much dead, the poor desiccated thing had been thrown in there, but I decided to leave it until garbage day.

A few days later, after a heavy snowfall my husband was outside shovelling the driveway when the neighbour with the large dog stopped by to chat. Oblivious to his dog happily wandering all over my front lawn leaving doggy prints in the pristine snow, I glowered at the dog through the office window. The guys talked, I hid behind the blinds in the house willing the dog not to leave any more special gifts for me, and wondered if I would have the nerve to say something if he did. After snuffling through my bushes for a few minutes the dog discovered the dead chicken, and started to chew on it, frozen feathers sticking out of it’s mouth. It coughed them out, and went back to happily munching away while the guys talked over on the driveway.

I debated letting his owner know that his dog was chewing something rather unsavoury, until I thought, no, if he can’t pay attention to his dog, and he’s willing to let it wander all over my front lawn and leave messy gifts… then too bad. Besides, I was in my housecoat, and my hair was a mess. The neighbour finished his conversation, and my husband came inside. The dog obediently trotted over to the neighbour with the dead chicken in his mouth. As the the neighbour, removed the dead chicken, he looked around thinking so where do you throw a dead chicken from your new neighbours yard? Why back onto the new neighbours yard of course. So there is lays, somewhere in the snow bank on the road side edge of our lawn. I am hoping that a neighbour who walks their dog without a leash is surprised one day by what their dog picks up the next time.

And I think we might be looking at fencing the front yard.

Another storm lashes at the windows, the cat stirs in his sleep, restless dreams, quiet fur.
Feathers fly, snow falls, hail come from the sky, thunder roars, lightening flashes, and we are powerless.
Birds flock to the feeders, suet, and seed poured, and placed with fear it’s not enough to last the night.
Mornings awaken to coffee, and a fresh coating of white, shadows of small tracks, deer, pheasants, quail quilt the batting left behind.
Eagles in the trees always watching, keening. Observant, at all times hungry and opportunistic, watch your back.
Winter is hard.

So why should we be thankful for it?
If all we encountered was good weather, would we learn to appreciate endless sun, perfect days of glowing light.
We need winter to act as a contrast to the warm spring days, sun reflected in a pearled glow from inside a soft petal, the buzz of a bee the song it sings of spring.
Winter is there to keep us in check, to give us a moment to think, to reflect. To wear heavy clothes, while trying to keep warm, remembering what sun feels like on bare skin, instead of wool scratching, and chaffing.
Snow is needed for the fields, desperate moisture to start the summer cycle of growth, to harvest. To feed streams, to soothe fish, to replenish the rivers.
To continue the circle of birth, and death in nature, and man.

Without winter how would we learn to appreciate the taste of a red, sun ripened, home grown strawberry instead of a refrigerated, trucked in winter replacement? How would children know the sublime texture of a just picked grown from seed tomato, compared to the greenhouse plastic moulded conveyer belt driven pale replicas we are given during the cold.
Would fresh berries dusky with bloom, gently slipped from the prickly branch of the vine taste as good, if we were not forced to eat winter spray painted pieces of shredded paper that passed for fruit?
I don’t think so.

So blow wind, and fly snow, winter may be long, it may be harsh.
During this time of year we may struggle to find something beautiful to say about you, but winter you have your place.
Your time is soon to end, and for that we will be thankful.
But we also understand what your role in the circular seasons is, and how grateful we should be that you are here to help us enjoy the other times of softness, warmth, and growth.
The harder you blow, the more snow you drop on us, the colder it gets, the more beautiful the first spring stirrings are.
And for that, we thank you.

We’re all story tellers, we bloggers, we like to tell our story, we like to read about others stories, it’s kind of what makes us tick. And as bloggers who read other blogs, we sometimes forget that those who read us, haven’t been along for the ride the whole time. It was pointed out to me in a comment,[thank you!] that the new readers were wondering how I got from there White Rock on the West Coast, to here the North Okanagan, in the interior of BC, Canada. If you are a long time reader, please bear with me, and maybe just look at the pretty pictures. But if you are a new reader hopefully this will explain how we finally are living our dream.

Years ago as newlyweds we thought we would move up to the Okanagan months after marrying. But life had other ideas, and we had commitments, so we stayed in our condo in White Rock. Muddy Boot Dreams was born one day when I needed a name for my photography business, it perfectly described our dreams of muddy boots, and a farm. Last spring we put our condo up for sale, and it took months to sell, that’s not unusual in the Vancouver market that is flooded with condo’s for sale. We sold it at the end of November 2011, it was one of the only ones in it’s area to sell. We needed to be out in two and a half weeks, and had nowhere to live. Thankfully my Sister, and my BIL, let us stay with them on their farm while we went out house hunting. Our search is documented in the house hunting series… and wow did we find some interesting houses. You can read about the search by looking under the tab called house hunting, it’s just underneath my banner.

One spring a few years ago severe environmental allergies surfaced for me, and we decided to change our dream from a farm, to a house on a large rural lot. This works for us, there is no way I will be able to farm during the spring season.

We have only been in our new home for a week or so, and we are unpacking boxes, and still trying to find the things that seem to have been misplaced. But we did find the frying pan. Our dream of having a house, and living up here has been fulfilled, and I have more dreams to aspire to in this new place that we now call home.

Soon as we finish unpacking the mess, we are tackling the… ahem… decor. After all periwinkle blue is a great color for a flower, but not so much for my living room.

As I was doing a tempo run, my Blackberry was still in my hand, beeping and vibrating incessantly. Then I just realized, gosh I am nailed to this thing practically all day, even while doing a tempo run at 5:00/km. It somehow inspired me to do a complete rundown of allthe wonderful things I do with this fun device within the bounds of my athletic lifestyle.

Bold.

4:30 am : There is nothing remotely fun or enjoyable about waking up at 4:30 am in the morning. The people who hang at Fiamma are still dancing the night, or rather morning, away. But the alarm on my Blackberry Bold 9700 is loud and clear. Its funky media player gets to play my long-standing alarm song, a haunting track entitled "Missing You" by a Korean boy duo called Fly To The Sky. Shame. I am awake now.

For real. 4:45 am: After a quick shower, I send a quick good morning message over Blackberry Messenger or BBM to Ultramarathoner Abby. Since we're both on BBM, we're saving a ton on SMS costs. No need to drop 80 bucks for 5 days of free texting. This is real-time, one-to-sawa chat till you drop mania.
4:50 am : Before I leave for the house, I send out a quick blast with the Twitter app on my BB : "Leaving for a long ride with the team at Bugarin, on the way to Shell Marcos Highway. Sleepy as heck."

5:10 am I arrive early and no one is really there yet. Worried that we may end up starting way late (possibly because everyone was still asleep. Great) I proceed to check on the team via our Blackberry group in BBM. Everyone is wired in, all the time. They can't say " I didn't get your text, sorry". Think Takbo.ph Shoutbox during its 2008-2009 heyday. One blast and everyone gets the message. Curious mystery of the universe - everyone seems to be 5 minutes away. Coincidence?

7:13 am : As we traverse the picturesque route along the provincial capitol of Rizal, I feel like I'm freeze-framed in one of those pricey Paete master paintings. The place is beautiful, reminds me why I even bother waking up at 4:30 am in the first place. Suddenly, my moment of Zen is interrupted when I hear a loud explosion. Thankfully, it's not of the artillery kind. More like the sound of a tire's interior surrendering to the treacherous terrain. Wilnar cops a flat, and we all huddle over. While we're working on it, I decide to encapsulate this curious moment in time by snapping a quick photo, and in one click it's instantly shared to my 2,108 "friends" on Facebook even if we're in the middle of nowhere. Ahhh, the wonders of modern techology.

Fun flat times.

10:30 am : Strong ride so far. We were able to tag along with some manong cyclists, and the ensuing frenetic pace results in an early lunch for us at the famous cyclists' pansitan in Laguna. In the spirit of showcasing the grub our hungry group would be inhaling in a bit, I take more photos and in an instant the rest of our inggit team back home receives it on our BB group. Yum.

12:00 noon : After a lung-busting ride back home (our lomi-loaded tummies didn't exactly help traversing those steep inclines) I remove my BB from it's ziplocked home in my back pocket ( yes, the 9700 is small enough to fit there without being too cumbersome) and my TPB buds tell me on our BBM group that they just arrived in Bataan for the latest BDM test run. They take photos at the "sacred KM 0 monument", instantly invoking all those fun, painful memories from last year. My turn to be inggit.

Inggit in real time. 2:00 pm : I'm off to swim in a bit but decided to drop by the mall to look for goggles. I am not particularly crazy about the Aquasphere XP Seal goggles I'm currently using. They leak a lot, and the only way not to have a leak is to seal it real tight. Only problem with this is that once you take them off, your face looks like you just got into a fight with Pacquiao over some hottie at Republiq. My teammate had reco'd some fancy ones but the name evades me.I recall discussing it over a text discussion but how will I navigate through that muck, sort of in a rush already. Madami daming text yun. Good thing I have Blackberry's latest software, dubbed OS6, installed on my smartphone. It has this really cool yet powerful feature called Universal Search that has a lot of practical benefits. So going back, I had already forgotten the brand but I do remember that we had engaged in a conversation about those goggles. I type "goggles" into the universal search box located on the main screen and voila, every single text, bbm, email, video, music file with something even remotely close to sounding like "goggles" props up. By putting forth very specific search parameters, I was able to find the exact conversation where we had talked about it. The brand turned out to be a Zoggs Flex Predator, and that little tool saved me the hassle of a phone call. Nice.

2:30 pm : I'm at the mall but I have no idea where I'm going to buy a pair. I do know that Chris Sports (yes, the same people behind Epic Relay) had a branch here, but apparently they transferred and even the guards don't know where it is (sheesh). Good thing I'm always connected with my BB, and I was able to successfully google the fact that the branch had transferred to Building B. No wonder the Building A guards had no idea. (x_x)
2:33 pm : In related news, my phone is vibrating every 10 seconds while the Endure Multisport peeps are sharing merienda pics and buzzing about Noelle's latest skirmish with the 6 week marathon man/pro perv dude on her fan page. Juicy.

3:00 pm : At the pool finally. However, my boss texts me to check my email, very urgent. I'm instantly jarred by her terse tone. Hala, what could it be? Am i going to get fired? Roasted? Best part about my Bold 9700 is that it supports push email, which means I get my email in real-time. So instead of having to suffer through the ignominy of a restless swim, I have instant access to that scary, urgent email that says... .. I just got a raise. Yahoooo.

4:00 pm : More or less finished an easy 1k in an hour. Still slow. I'm going to meet a friend in a bit, planning to buy his old wheelset. Burn. Anyway I'm on the way to Makati but I run out of load. Damn Globe. I don't want to go through the hassle of loading, I'm late already. What am I going to do? Thank goodness the guy is on BBM pala I nearly forgot.I don't need no load, what a lucky break.

4:30 pm : I snap the wheels on my bike to try it out, butI don't want to make a rash decision. I snap a photo and send it to my teammates. Good buy? Upgradeitis mania? The chorus from the gallery, predictably, says BUY. Thanks guys. Lol.

It's a go!
5:00 pm : An alarm goes off on my home screen. Good thing Blackberry's OS6 has this thing where it links with your Facebook Calendar app, and I see all the relevant birthdays right on my homescreen, even linking their Facebook pictures to my phone contact list. Awesome, it's Rico V's bday. I wonder where he will feed me. Liempo? Hmmm.

6:00 pm : I'm back at home for a run. And this where the whole epiphany begins. I realize that I'm so hooked on this thing that I'm running while I'm doing my tempo run, I still have my BB in hand. Why? Beats me. Maybe I just couldn't let go of my connectivity to the world. Or my proclivity to constantly share the otherwise mundane details of my life, and have people actually care about it, is too juicy to resist. Think of it as a real-time diary. Maybe one day I can look back and see precisely how my life unraveled one day at a time, all through the eyes of my BB. Having a good wind behind me, I nail my tempo run, perhaps the best I've ran in months. Hmmm. Well, I could tell people about it, but given the form I'm currently at they'd never believe me. Nothing like cold, hard evidence. Splash.

Don't judge me, I trained for 6 weeks to do this.

8:40 pm : Exuberant after a strong workout, I receive a BBM from Ultramarathoner Abby. She wants to catch the LFS at Shang, this Love and other Drugs seems interesting. As we're planning on the fly, I text CTCM for the latest movie sked. Nyak, I have no load. Shoot. I'm already in EDSA. Good thing I downloaded the Flixter app on my phone, I can check for local movie skeds using the Blackberry network. Whew. Where would I be without this thing?

After outlining just how much it helps my life so much easier on a daily basis, hey, you tell me.

There are people who never

seem to have their glass any less then completely full. I admire that attitude, never seeing a lack of anything wonderful in their life. And I will say that I wondered if it took massive amounts of effort, and control to convince themselves that they saw it that way. But for some people it just seems to be the way they are built the way they live their lives the way they look at the world. No rose colored glasses needed.

It’s a wonderful attitude, and I wish more of us could be that way. Let’s raise a glass to wondering if it just takes time, and experience to achieve that level of happiness, and if we can become like that.

I have a elderly friend from where we used to live, that has been given a diagnosis of terminal cancer, they can’t do anything. This isn’t about sadness, her attitude is one of thankfulness that she wakes up each morning. How’s that for amazing. Even though I had expected the news it was upsetting. Hoped for the best, heard the worst, where do you go from there? How do you comfort her, what do you say. I thought maybe she was putting on a brave face for me, but no, she is grateful for everyone of her years, her life, her family, and friends. She tells me that she has had a good life, and a good time. She doesn’t worry about anything, those are her words. Her faith is strong, and so is her spirit.

The world needs more people like her… and I’m grateful that I have this chance to know her. Have you been fortunate enough to meet some “the glass is full” people in your life, and aren’t they amazing?

So what’s with al the spam comments lately? Thankfully Google is doing it’s job, and only a few of them fall through the cracks. But really, what are they thinking? The spammers have changed tactics and now are masquerading as readers who comment.
Not hard to see through them. Track down those spammers Charlie, go get em.
The typical comment goes something like… ”I just discovered your blog… blah blah blah, and here, click on this link to my virus.” Ah ha… sure…
Or “nice post — now buy some of my fake handbags”… sure. Anyone else being spammed to the gills?
They are attacking my old blog posts with a vengeance, I have regularly been getting around 5 — 6 per day. And lately that has almost tripled, don’t know what I did to attract them, any answers? How many are you getting? Any, lots?
And does anyone else who has comments emailed to them through Google, find that anonymous commenters are put into the spam box right away, even if they are a regular reader, just curious.

The conversation still resonates vividly in my head on that balmy afternoon a little over two months ago. I was going about my business at home, chillin' to 90's tunes on my Grado SR-60's when the call came.
Jonel : Are you free to interview Piolow for our next cover story tomorrow at 4 pm?
GBM : Huh? Er, uh, Piolow?
Jonel : Yeah. The Piolow.
GBM: Uhhh, errr, okaaaaaaay?
Jonel : Great, I'll have the Timex gal get in touch with you.

Numbness. Is this for real? Not that I'm a screaming fangirl or anything , but I knew why Frontrunner EIC/Tatay/BDM Ultraman Jonel Mendoza got me for the story. Think of all the tension when the online pseudo-rivalry would come to a head. The Piolow finally meets the Sub-Piolow in the flesh. What fun.

To those who came a tad bit late into the scene to remember the entire ruckus that happened, read and go back to this piece to get a grasp of what we're talking about. It's as close to a cold war as one would get in the community. It was presscon fodder, and the "feud" was showing up on a completely different front. You should have seen the day when my site was inundated with heavy traffic (hostile no doubt) from Piolopacual.net. Smirk. Eventually the entire episode simmered down, but always remained as sort of an urban legend amongst old running hands.

I had practically forgotten about the entire thing.

Until I received that fateful phone call.

A gazillion things immediately raced through my head. How was I to approach it? Would he be hostile? Snooty? Would the "interview" last 2 minutes while he was being made up for his next show, alalays in tow?

I get a message from the Timex gal coordinating with us. It said something like :

You'll interview Piolow while he's being made up in the dressing room before his next rehearsal.

Ulk. This makes it interesting. I had prepared like ten questions, how am I supposed to pull that off now? For some reason, I was starting to conjure visions of a cranky prima donna surrounded by a burgeoning entourage.
The following day, me and Abby met Jonel at the lobby of his posh Valero condo in Makati. The plan was to ride convoy to the Aliw Theater where he was a guest star for Pokwang's concert. Slight Complication. Apparently, he was stuck in Bulacan, and would be late for what was anticipated to be a 7pm interview. Given that we had plans after, I thought this was a goner. Bummer.Maybe it wasn't meant to be. Maybe next time. What if there won't be a next time?

As we dejectedly started to head for the door, Jonel had a startling piece of news. For some reason, there was some confusion with his handler, and he was actually already at the venue. Sheesh. We were on the road before you could say "Noah"

We parked right in front of Star City, that last bastion of early 90's fun (anyone aside from me remember that show they used to have on channel 9?) I was pleasantly surprised to see that people were actually lining up for her show. Cool. The handler would be out in a few, so we took the time to grab some coffee (which was really more to calm my nerves). I've done a lot of interviews before, but given that this was on such short notice I felt horribly unprepared.

A few more minutes and his handler finally came out. The affable, soft-spoken lady didn't exactly fit my notion of a "handler". Was half-expecting either Ogie Diaz or Lolit Solis to start thumbing down a clipboard in my face.She secured VIP passes for us to gain entrance, somewhat even apologetic that we couldnt just waltz in. "Stricto sila eh, full house kasi ngayon." Pokwang? Nice, strike while it's hot.

The Aliw Theater was much more bigger than I had expected, first time to ever enter. Both me and Jonel were comically fumbling with the digital recorder as we were waiting for Piolow to come out. We checked the
batteries at least four times lol. Oh the nerves. Apparently, our earlier fears of a madalian/pinilit interview were unfounded - we'd be doing the interview right there at the auditorium.
Thankfully, before I could complete a 10k just through pacing around Piolow finally came out. Here's an excerpt from the story, just to give you an idea of my thoughts at that precise moment (consider it a teaser haha.)

“Hi, I’m Piolo. Nice to meet you.” The Man strides into a soon-to-be filled up auditorium with a warm aplomb typical of seasoned showbiz types. Channeling a cool, relaxed vibe, in an alternate universe he could have been anyone. A gym buddy perhaps, or that next door neighbor your sister is crushing on. To the cynical, it’s a generic put-on pieced together by a well-oiled publicity machine. Surprisingly though, the bubble burst as soon as the lights went on. The smile actually seemed genuine. The handshake felt real. Posture and countenance conveyed a refreshing enthusiasm towards the discussion at hand. For the jaded sports writer who was conjuring visions of a snooty, prima donna superstar with several alalays at their beck and call, this guy was redefining whatever preconceived notions we had.

Face off? Pleasantries were, er, pleasant. As I had written, we were coming into the interview with every superstar stereotype on a short list. None of it ever cropped up. Either this guy is a tremendously good actor, or it just shows how warped our showbiz preconceptions are from the outside looking in. He had pretty good memory too, he even remembered a random conversation he had with Jonel about BDM at some race they ran some months prior.

Ano Piolow, we'll train you for BDM!
IMHO, the interview was exponentially better than what we had expected. No time pressure at all, we were able to run pretty much the entire gamut of questions over the span of nearly 30 minutes - quite generous for someone who was going on stage in less than an hour. The interview reflects rare insights on perhaps one of the most polarizing figures we have today, and showcases that burning competitive spirit oftentimes glossed over by the showbiz fluff. Perhaps the lasting impression I got from the whole thing was that if we existed in an alternate universe where he wasn't an actor, he could just as easily be your next door tropa or training buddy.

Ultramarathoner Abby gets in on the action
So did he stare me down after learning I was the guy behind the Sub-Piolow? How does he balance a crazy work sked with training? Will he ever do BDM? Want to know how he felt during his first duathlon on no cleats?
Get the special Christmas issue of Frontrunner to find out,now available at newsstands and bookstores nationwide :)

p.s. It's a collector's edition double cover issue, with a batak Sir Jovie/ Bald Runner on the other cover. That I believe is already worth more than the price of admission :P

E ver been to a place, and it feels familiar, as if you belong like it’s home. That’s what the Okanagan feels like to us. And each time we left at the end of our vacation, I honestly felt my heart break. It was like leaving home… I cried every time I left. Don’t tell my sister.
When we still lived down on the coast, [which is just a day ago, as I write this], it felt like home, but more so when I was near the water. The Okanagan called to us, not just because family lives there. The climate is completely different, trust me. It’s arid, and hot in the summer, cold and dry in the winter. There is no similarity to the wet, rainy weather that I grew up in. The plants are different, and there is no lush undergrowth. But this land of snow, and far reaching skies has grabbed our very hearts and held on. And now we are here. The trip through the mountains can be fraught with winter snow storms that close the Coquahalla Hi way for days… we had dry and bare pavement all the way.
Our November weather on the coast is never dry this time of year. It was a beautiful sunny, crisp day in White Rock when they loaded the truck. Yesterday as they unloaded almost everything we own in the storage locker, although it was cold, it was sunny. Blessed, that’s what we are. And we are thankful for this wonderful opportunity that has been given to us.
Today, the excitement lay far out in the fields of asparagus at my Sister’s farm. A cow, wandering loose, was ploughing it’s own path through the stubble. Something not seen to often in White Rock, if ever. It’s a new world. It’s as if it’s all fall ing into place, and it feels like a home coming of sorts…

Last Sunday, all roads led to The Fort as the heavily anticipated New Balance Power Race was finally coming to fruition. Ondoy's onslaught had postponed the race from it's original Sept.27 playdate, and this gave me an opportunity to get myself a slot. As some of you may know, much to my chagrin I had missed the original registration cut, which then compelled me to make the infamous "Hitler finds out he didn't make it to New Balance" video.

I approached the race with a lot of enthusiasm as I would be joining a pace group for the first time ever. This emanated from a conversation on the Takbo.ph shoutbox, which sort of went like this :

GBM : Target ko mga 1:55 ayos nako dun. 1:57 ung PR ko, medjo sagad na.
VVinceth: Kaya yan sub 1:50. 1:45 pa nga. Even splits lang tayo, 5:10 pace lang yan!jix_jixee : Uy ayos yan sama ako!markhernz: Ganun ba? Kaya yan! Game!
TheRunningNinja: Game ako kahit saan, walang inuurungan!GBM: !!!!!!

Meet the Gang
And thus, this ragtag pace group was born. I was hoping that running within a field of excellence, I would be prevailed upon to deliver a performance far beyond the realm of my capabilities. Hence, without further ado, let me introduce you to the members of my NB PAce Group :

Pat aka VVinceth/ The Running Safety Pin

With Bunnyyy
Our de facto anchor, Pat is easily the fastest and best-credentialed runner within the group. 45 minute 10k's and sub 1:45 minute 21k's are a relative walk in the park for him. It was with his relative optimism that we were actually enjoined to gun for a time that seemed to be way beyond my capabilities. Likes long walks on the beach and bunnies.

Jix aka Jix_Jixee
Another known Takbo.ph speedster whose relative pace is always about 5 minutes faster than my own, it is intended that his speedy ways would tow us to victory specially in the latter stages. His favorite movie is "The Notebook", and has an inherent dislike for Piolo that science alone could not explain.

He not likey Piolo either... Mark aka Markhernz/Running my Mouth
In just a few short months, this naturally athletic dude has not only jumped from a 5k to a full marathon, but has posted times most people only dream of in their lifetime. He has a penchant for not finding baggage counters, and is a full-blooded Lasallian (useless trivia)

Masel Man Mark
Sam aka TheRunningNinja
If other pace groups have celebrities like Jaime Zobel deAyala or Tessa Prieto, we have our own celebrity! And he is none other than... Sam the Running Ninja! One of the most recognizable faces in the blogosphere, it never hurts to have him around :P He likes fast cars, and doesn't like motorcycles, hospitals, and Gas station restrooms.

Celebrity Ninja

Starting Corral
Excitement was milling at the starting corral as the 21k runners were herded en masse. I was quite happy that Extribe was enforcing the "no check-in, no-entry rule", much in the same way that Condura does it. This makes for a much more orderly assembly. +1 brownie point to them. As Mark, Sam, and myself squeezed ourselves towards the front of the pack, we realized that Pat and Jix would be banditing the race. Sweet.

Brownie point!
Fun Starting Um, Horn?
As people were revving up for the starting gun, the runners spontaneously burst into laughter as the start of the race was ushered in by... a foghorn. Ooooh. Good vibes.

Foghorns = Quick Laughs

A Blistering Start
The first 10k was highlighted by Pat's even split strategy reaping dividends for our group, as we covered the first 10k below 50 minutes. This had me questioning my positive splitting ways, as I essentially achieved the same result - without feeling like dying after. We gradually lost track of Mark after the 6k point, and Sam was startling the crap out of us with his "fartlek-the-hills-then-grunt-like-the-Olympic-hammer-throw-champion strategy". Apparently, this primal act (like any other) zaps the energy out of even the best of them, and by the 10th kilometer turnaround our celebrity buddy had dropped behind, leaving Pat, Jix, and myself to carry the cudgels for our group.

Primal screams... are fun.

Surpise Surprise!

In a minor shocker, speedy Jix was fading badly at the onset of the Bayani Road inclines. When one of your best runners starts to labor with the route, oftentimes your thought process would get inundiated with self-doubt. Hey, if he's fading, I've got to be next. Which brings us to the next portion of this paragraph, the "Why Did Jixee Fade At NB" contest.

Could it be :

1. He had a hot date the night before who made him mutter "Running Sux" 100 times
2. His date promised him "favors" if he accomplished #1 while finishing an entire bottle of Patron in less than 30 minutes
3. In offering the proverbial olive branch, Piolo offered to hook him up with his Kapamilya friends if he stopped pacing this GBM character, if only to make his future 21k target a lot easier.

Send in your entries, correct answer gets a prize. I'll ask Jixee the answer... ... .tomorrow.

Piolo has done it again!

And Then There Were TwoWith Jix gone, it was up to me and Pat to navigate the course. Having ran with Pat numerous times in the past, including the Botak Ultramarathon, this was not unfamiliar territory. As pacers go, it's terrific to have someone like the Energizer Bunny to drag you along when you're starting to slack off. The heat was starting to set in, and I needed all of the help that I could get.

Keeps going... . and going... and going... .All By Myself... .
Heading up to somewhere around the 13th or 14th km, cruise control mode was suddenly jarred when Ultraman Pat said "Una ka na". I thought, this was bordering on absurdity. No way Pat could fade, I mean, this is a guy that eats 100k for breakfast. I comforted myself in thinking this was a ploy with deeper profound meaning. In retrospect, I should have kept in mind that Pat was tapering for his Singapore marathon the following week. But at that point, with the heat of the sun beating down on me, this took me off my game plan. I had my work cut out for me then.

What's up Master Pat's sleeve?The Exag Hills
From that point on, I would only see Pat one more time. He would fartlek to me, then fade back. Still no idea why he was doing that at the time. But i was steeling myself for the long haul. We had built enough of a cushion that I was on pace for a 1:49 or 1:50 finish if I kept my act together. But then... . the hills happened. Wow. These people know their stuff. What were they thinking?

Cut scene to Extribe Route Formulation Meeting over drinks

Extribe Person #1 : Why not at the end, let's add one loop around Mckinley?
Drunk Extribe Person #2 : Weeeeeh. That's sooooo generic. Make it two! Bwahahahaah.
Sadistic and Drunk Extribe Person # 3 : Whatever! I ain't running anyway! I hate athletic people! Make it three! Bwahahahahaahah!
Chorus: Bwahahaahahahahahahaha!!!!

Scene at Extribe before finalizing race routeSo to make a long story short, they saved the hardest part of the race for last. We did practically three loops around that hilly area in Mckinley stretching to the British embassy and Enderun. Ugh. Under the beating heat of the sun,I surrendered three fat mid-6ish splits towards the end, and our hard-built lead was gone. Thankfully, it was still still substantial enough to snag me a 1:54:01 finish, good enough for a new 21k PR and 111th place amongst a very tough field of more than a 1,000 half-marathon runners. If we had hit out target 1:50 or below, that would have been good enough for somewhere around 70th place. As I said, tough crowd... because at QCIM my 1:57 was good for 47th place. More training! :)

Exhausted Gingerbread folk near the finish courtesy of the irrepresible BR blog
Overall, kudos to Extribe for a good, albeit sadistic job on this race.Seriously though, I had no complaints whatsoever, this was as good as it gets in terms of race organization. Better known for their multisport events, Extribe is slowly building strong brand equity in the running scene. All of their races that I have ran so far have been very good. I know there was a slight snafu with the 10k route, a mystery that has since been solved.
With all things said and done, I'm pretty sure good ol' Hitler is churning in his grave now for missing one heck of a race. :P

Tomorrow is our one year anniversary. A few days ago my beloved turned to me and said, it’s almost our first anniversary… my mind roamed frantically. Was it a romantic anniversary, the day we met, the day we first dated, the day… did I forget something? One year ago we slept the last night in our little condo, Boo terrified by the lack of furniture and the noise the bare echoing walls made lurked under the blow up bed all night.

Little did he know what a adventure he was in for, sharing his life with two dogs on the farm, and then another move into a great big forever house with his very own territory to roam in.

His life has changed so much for the better, and so has ours. Dreams do come true, we know that, sometimes they change a little, well a lot along the way, but they are still the dreams that you dream.

I am thankful that we were transplanted up here when we were. My family has gone through a pretty stressful year, there’s been cancer, illnesses, laughs and love.

I would rather be here to share it with my family then down on the coast, aching to be with them. Those five hours of driving have kept us too far away, and I don’t know how we would have dealt with it without being here.

Now we live where we only once dreamed of being… It’s been a year in more ways than one.

• Hey hey hey. I told you I'd come up with the weekly update! Just keeping my end of the bargain. Thanks for all the support guys and gals, traffic to the site just shot up 120% over the past two weeks. Much love, very grateful and let's keep it coming.

• The survey on the middle part of our home page was asking you all what was the biggest impediment to you taking up multisport. 41% of the responses said they didn't know how to swim, while 39% said they thought road bikes were too expensive. The swim part is workable, I could hook you up with my coach (who handles several of us at Endure Multisport) for "friendly" rates if you want to conquer your fear of the water for starters. As for the expensive road bike, its either you take out that long overdue SSS salary loan or just do it the old fashioned way. Which is to spend like a hermit all year to save a little, wait until 13th month pay kicks in, then combine the two to buy your precious road bike. Of course, while that would mean you won't be buying anyone anything for Christmas, just keep on staring at your bike to cover for the grief you'll be receiving.
  

Swimming doesn't have to be this hard.

• In the weeks leading up to Powerman Malaysia, I was already feeling iffy. Probably the long grind of a deathly hectic season was getting to me. A three-week long fever? Okay that's odd. Coughing up blood? Freaky stuff. As much as I abhor hospitals and try to avoid them at all costs, this was too creepy to just let pass. After about four hours spent in an isolation room, thankfully my fears of pneumonia or tuberculosis were unfounded. I was diagnosed with chronic pharyngitis, there was a tear in my throat that relegated me to sick leave for a week. What's the implication of all this? I was planning to go for an intensive 21 day "pahabol" training for the NAGT season ending triathlon at UP Los Banos. Now that's seven days gone, I feel like a fat slob, and my fitness level has all but evaporated. Good luck for the next 14 days.
  

Fat slob days are here again

• We've been blessed to enjoy the continued support of race organizers, and I try to share this with our readers as much as I can. Thanks to everyone who participated in our Mcdonalds and Vertical Marathon contests, hope you had fun at the races. Will keep you posted for more fun giveaways as they come.

Happy winner Mark. Congratulations!

• I'm happy to see a lot of people "leveling up" by the unprecedented number of entries to a 32k race during the last Unilab Rio gig. Let me make this bold prediction : We'll see a record number of marathon entrants in the 2011 season, and we'll also see a record number of too-much-too-soon knee injuries. Take it from the guy who did a 50k ultramarathon before he even did a full marathon.
  

• It's Christmas party season. Xmas Party = food. Food = Tubby fat. Tubby fat = slower you. Xmas party = bad. But then again, it's Christmas so screw it lol.
  

• I'm going to start a new cycle of the highly touted P90x workout tomorrow if only in a lame attempt to get in shape to curb the aforementioned Christmas fat . I already completed the 90-day program before, hard as heck but never felt better. You should give it a go. I'm not saying I have a bootleg copy, but I MAY possibly know someone who does. (slow-motion wink)

Just 90 days baby!

• If you haven't read that "open letter", my trusty 305 is in dire straits. Who's giving me a 310xt for Christmas?

• In the unlikely (asa) event that no one gives me one for Christmas, what's a better deal ? A new Ultegra groupset (cycling/multisport people help out) or that 310XT? Sob.
  

Sob. Yum.

• Is it just me or is that picture above ginormous?
  

• Was looking forward to run the Resorts World race this morning, but got too stressed from some bike mishaps yesterday. Sorry Jinoe and Que, I couldn't get out of bed. How was it anyway? Feedback from those who ran it!
  

• What did happen to me ? After pretty much hassle free riding for several months, I suffered my first two flat tires yesterday (thanks to WRT vet Emil for helping me out) on a Antipolo-Laguna route, got my chain dislodged twice and nearly got run over by one of them counterflowing cars (About two inches from disaster.Karma will hunt you down my friend) The coup de grace was when I was inadvertently left behind, and I got extremely lost, traversing the very long and very congested commuter route (Binangonan, Angono, etc) instead of the scenic Antipolo route. Was also forced to walk my bike more than 5k amidst the madness, impossible to bike in bumper to bumper traffic. I think I worried my teammates (and Ultramarathoner Abby)to death as I had no money, little water and no cellphone. Touched that they waited for me though. Not my day. The next one will be better. Still a career high 152k ride, unfathomable a couple of months ago.

• BDM 151 (or 160?) watch : 90% running, 10% not running.
  

• I was driving home when I saw the formerly world-famous Tito Caloy, who's now enjoying his retirement from his storied running career. Keeping a low profile, he has opted to concentrate on his competitive drinking. His bpm (bottles per minute) pace had dropped when he started running, so now he's concentrating on training for the 2011 Philippine Drinking League season. He says hi to everyone who actually remembers him, and that he's available for personal appearances for your Christmas parties. Just text 0917- 8- TCALOY for details.
  

Rare appearance by the legend.
Have a good running week folks :)

Holidays are so full of expectations, and thoughts of perfection, that sometimes they just can’t live up to the dream, and the resulting crash can be painful unless you learn to let it be what it’s going to be. It’s easy to get carried away with the plans, and preparations so much that you lose sight of the real meaning behind the seasons we celebrate.

Finding something that you are thankful for, and a bit of gratitude can make it a great day. Whatever this season to means to you, I wish you a day that you dream of, a wonderful time of joy, and peaceful surroundings.

I know that it sounds more like a Christmas wish, but for so many people this is the start of such a season of busyness, buying, and preparing that I thought I should just slip it in there. So take a moment to reflect on what you have versus what you need, buy local whenever possible, and buying handmade does more good then you know.

If you are out there shopping, please make sure to give the sales representatives the biggest smile, and a thank you. I’ve been there for so many years, working the holidays, missing the family dinners, tired and ran off of my feet. A smile,, and nice greeting from a customer goes a very long way to making a day more pleasurable, believe me.

Happy Thanksgiving a day early…

I wasn’t sure how to approach this. But I knew that I had to put it out there, b ecause we all need to find a little joy in our lives.
And to be grateful.

Especially this time of year.
It will be fun, I’m sure of it.
Especially at this time of year.
The start of the season of celebration.
Of love, joy, and giving.
With the days short bleak, dark, the nights long and cold.
Filled with white clouds that shake snow down from the skies like icing sugar from a sifter.
And because Winter is coming, there are signs of it all around us.
It’s really cold here, everything is frozen solid.
Autumn is gathering up her suitcase, leaving no trace behind.
The colorful leaves she decorated with are all gone now.
The light won’t linger, darkness comes early.
And it makes us wonder.
What will we write about? What will we take photos of?

How will we?
So how about?
Everyday beauty, learning to find joy in the ordinary.
Because.
There are people who can always be counted on to see it a little differently.
Looking beyond, to see what is missed.
All around them.
In everyday objects.
And those people are you.

Let’s create momentum.
Let’s share what we see, what we hear, what we think, what we write.
Describing snowflakes falling from the grey sky.
Outside in the still moment, stopped in time.
Boots lined up at the door.
Warm winter mittens, keeping out the cold.
Cat’s sleeping curled in circles, dog prints in snow deep.
In words, and images our thoughts, what we see.
To find joy, and share it, tell about it, in every day objects.
To talk, to capture our world, how it moves us, what it makes us think.
As sunlight flits across the wall before it disappears for the night.
Describing a beloved bowl on the counter, warm cookies scenting the house, sitting on a plate.
A steaming cup of Chai tea.
The song of a small bird on a bare branch, grateful for it’s dinner.

Let’s find joy in the ordinary, let’s share our finds, promote our posts, and inspire each other.
And still make this as simple as possible.
When you include a image, or words in your blog posts that makes you grateful, joyful, thankful, or inspired, u se the caption: Find Joy In the Ordinary on that part of your post so we can read about it.

• Send me a email me and request a invite to the Pinterest group board called #Find Joy In The Ordinary anyone can join in, you don’t have to be a blogger.
• Use your photos, words, what ever it is that gives you inspiration, things that help you to find joy in ordinary objects.
• Include the hashtag #Find Joy, or #FindJoyInTheOrdinary for your Pinterest pin description, and in your Instagram images so they can be found in the search engines.
• Pin the full post to the board, write a short description explaining what it is that you are inspired by. Don’t forget the hash tags.
• “Like” the Facebook page Find Joy In The Ordinary and post your inspirations.

I’m so looking forward to seeing what we as a village can come up with… there are so many simply beautiful things to appreciate and be grateful for out there… go for it!
Here’s a funny background story about these pomegranates used in my post. My Mom kept bringing them over, one by one, until we ended up with 3.
She thinks they’re attractive, and wanted me to use them as decorations, or as she puts it, “in a photo shoot.”
[What can I say, she’s a fan!]
I was happy that she thought of me, and appreciated her bringing them over, but I just couldn’t bring myself to eat any of them. I could only remember the one that I ate forever years ago… it’s just wasn’t my thing. All that hype about these warty looking red spheres? What’s the big deal, the one I had, was pithy, and bitter, and the seeds outweighed the juice.
After Goggling how to cut open a pomegranate, I rather cautiously cut the top off of one, split it open at the seams, and carefully pulled it back.
Clicked off a couple of shots, and moved it around a bit, a seed fell out, I was hungry, I ate it.
And simply fell in love!
It’s delightful, juicy, tart, and sweet, all at the same time.
So I guess, Moms always do know best, and I think you should give them give them a try if you haven’t already.

Something else you might like to try is new Silk Creamy Cashew. It’s very creamy, thick, and is a great substitute for dairy in baking, and cooking. I loved using it instead of dairy in my Chai tea, it tasted great.
And since it has less calories then skim milk I don’t feel guilty having this treat more often.
You can read my blog post, and more about how I used it here.
You can visit Silk Canada’s Facebook page for great ideas, recipes and more.

Ola friends and readers! Once again, I'd like to thank you for all the support you have been giving this site. I still get amazed at how far we have gone, and that the site is still actually up and running. Obviously, I couldn't have done that without your support. Anyway, we all know it ain't easy to maintain a blog, more or so that a lot of my articles are feature length. Combine that with a hectic dayjob, some semblance of a training program and that more or less equates into article backlog. Admittedly, I'm behind by several articles now, and I hate stale news as much as you guys.

So with that in mind, today we're launching the very first edition of Gingerbreadtalk! I know it sounds kitschy but you can only append so many words to "Gingerbread" (note to self, think of a better name before the next public enterprise). It's going to be a simple, blunt and straightforward weekly update on all things running and multisport. I highly encourage you to comment and put in your two cents on whatever topic is pertinent for the week. Also planning to revive that Gingerbreadcast thing we used to do, wait up for more fun interviews.

Most creative title of the year nominee right here. Ulk.

So without further ado, here's the week that was :

• If you're keeping tabs on the community and are on some form of social media, you've probably come across my recent campaign at Powerman Malaysia. The race is a long distance duathlon comprised of an 11k run, a 64k bike and a 10k run after, and stands as the only qualifier for the World Duathlon Championships in Switzerland. I was there along with several members of our national team. With only ultramarathoner Abby as my support , we had to withstand a plethora of mechanical, logistical and physical challenges to even make it to the start line. I seriously underestimated the difficulty of putting the whole thing together, but hey, isn't that what makes the experience all the more meaningful? Stricken with severe cramps and with sleep deprivation kicking in, I finished the race in an off-form 4:24:52. Given all the crap we had to go through though, I was just thankful to have made it to the start line, much less finish with some semblance of decency.Thanks for all your greetings of support! Wait up for my full article on it, should make for a very interesting story. Also, thanks to Jinoe and Que for finally putting me on the Takbo.ph front page! Finally made it after all these years haha :P
  

With national team mainstays Evelio Javier and Carlo Pedregosa

• Congratulations to all those who successfully completed the NY Marathon this, including Rio, Jaymie/TBR, Jay, and Endure Multisport pal Joy. I'l probably never do Boston unless I maintain my current fitness level until I'm 80 years old, so NYC is probably the most realistic on my bucket list of marathons. Now, all I have to do is figure out that proof of financial capability thing, get out those land titles and wish that I get lucky with the lottery :)
  

One day... ..

• Congratulations to the new rockstars (clever huh) who conquered the Tri United Half-Ironman distance triathlon at White Rock, Subic. Back when Ironman 70.3 didn't have a franchise yet in the country, this was probably the most anticipated triathlon event every season. Now that all the hype goes to Camsur, the vets and purists still regard WRT as more enjoyable, and even tougher in terms of level of difficulty. Hopefully I'll get my shot next year. Swim swim swim.

Looks like fun...

After a presscon last week, was touching base with some old friends when I was suddenly reminded of something that I had long tried to forget already - what the crap ever happened to Run Radio? For those who have been around long enough, after Jaymie and Jay hosted Season 1 on NU 107, myself and the irrepressible Bards Bathan of Banana Running fame were supposed to take over for Season 2. Series of meetings, series of delays, a "primer" of some sort, a magazine presser, series of more meetings and more delays. An after- election launch was the last I heard of it. Natalo na si Gibo, nagsara na NU, wala pa din. And I guess that was that. So much for my one real shot at fame. Boo hoo. Think of all the what if's. Sigh. Haunts me to this day. Smirk.

Epic fail.

• Congratulations to all new minted ultramarathoners who successfully completed Sir Jovie aka the Bald Runner aka BR's T2N or Tagaytay to Nasugbu 50k jaunt. I took a peek at the results and was floored that there were 159 finishers of the race, a good number of which I had known since they were newbie runners angling for a 21k. Level up! When I did my first 50k, Ian Alacar's Botak gig, I think there were less than 50 people there and it was a big deal to hit 50k. Props to BR for promulgating ultra running in the country, and it seems the market is responding with rapid traction.

• I haven't taken out my bike from the box. I wonder if it's still in one piece? Shudder. Props to the guys and gals at Bikezilla in Ortigas for helping me out and giving me a crash course in assembling/disassembling it. Even if I sucked out, at least I had enough knowledge to actually put it together.
  

• Missed a Pacquiao fight for the first time in years, fell on the same timeframe as my duathlon. Got to watch the entire thing on those illicit YouTube uploads that are taken down after an hour for copyright infringement. Catching them is much akin catching lightning in a bottle. KJ naman kasi pfft.
  

• Those KOTR race cards were hilarious, a glitch somewhere in the timing thing and everything was off the charts!

TPB bro Mark just officially set a new world record

• Speaking of ultramarathons... ... I finally got my BDM 151 ticket! And so did Abby! Thank you BR for the vote of confidence, it's an honor. Now the question is, can I somehow garner the time and commitment to train for it, given the multitude of things on my plate now. Decisions decisions. Hmmmm... ...

Can we do this all over again?

• Good luck to all those running Run United (which has a shockingly fancy 32k, good job) and the Milo provincial qualifiers this weekend. There's also the Animo Run and a run in Ateneo. Which side are you on? Till next week folks!