My Way of Living:
workout

Why do we run again? It's for times like these. Times when you try to fall asleep at 8 pm on a Saturday night so that you'll wake up at 1am for an out-of-town run. 1am? Most of the nocturnal denizens of the metropolis are still in Fiamma or Emba at this time, the booze overflowing at every corner. It sort of reminds me of my old lifestlye. If you had told me a couple of years ago that I would be adhering to this spartan way of living I would have given you one of those incredulous, you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me looks. Alas, I have been locked in to the wonderful world of running, and there's really no turning back. The parameters of last Sunday's run were relatively simple. We drive to Tagaytay, then run 34k to Mhel's house. Mhel was kind enough to once again open his home to the Takbo.ph team, the first time being after the Greenfield City race. So how did my weekend adventure begin? I woke up at 1:00 am and basically sleepwalked my way into preparing for the run. I wanted to be on the dot for this , so by 2:30 I was at the place of my uncle, fondly called Tito Caloy by the group. He was joining the long run after only having a 5k prep run at Botak the week before with no prior running experience. Apparently, getting hooked runs in the family hehe. He told me that he had no sleep at all because my cousin was badgering him to death about coming along. So he strived to get as much shut-eye as he could in my car.

Tito Caloy dreaming of PR's in the carThe highway laid out at a utopianesque standstill, we picked up Rod and Gab at the Sucat exit at 3:00 am as per our arrangement. With Tito Caloy half comatose while riding shotgun, we could hardly contain our frenzied excitement for the run despite the ungodly hour. We arrived at our meeting spot in Paseo de Sta Rosa before 3:30. Sam and a shnoozing Rodel who came directly from work were already there (excited) . In a few more moments Doc Topher and Mhel arrived as well. An unfamiliar face soon showed up, and we were happy to see that it was actually forum habitue Mond aka Pawgee that we were meeting for the very first time.

The first four Doc Eric, our kind host/organizer for the Tagaytay leg, came in at about 3:40 am. He said he woke up late hehe :) With the looming problem of how to transport everybody to the start point, it was decided that some cars would be left at Paseo, and some would help Doc Eric transport the gang to the start point. For some reason, we went with my car, inspite of the fact that it was lowered and could only accomodate so many people. We crammed five dudes in there! As a result, I could only drive at "punerarya" pace. We got to Doc Eric's Tagaytay house and was happy to find the whole gang there. Carbo-laden goodies were strewn across the dining table. After some niceties and last- minute preps, we ventured out at nearly 5am, an hour later than our estimate. The sun was rising , and we had to make up for lost time.

The Takbo.ph team at ground zero After navigating our way out of a dark, mongrel-infested route (read: crabby, hungry looking Askals), we made it to the main highway. For most of the initial route I was designated as the pacer. I was following Doc Eric's prescribed pace of 8:00/km if we intended to make it there on time. As I soon found out though, this pace was a bit too fast for the group to stick together ; 9 - 10/km was more appropriate. I relinquished the pacer role and engaged the gang in friendly banter, took time out to take some pictures. Mhel took on the pacer role at this juncture.

Smiling so that the doggies would go away

At least Sam's happy

And so we begin

Tito Caloy aka "Enduro" is tired already?

Why do we run again? It's for times like these . Running in the cool Tagaytay pre-morning breeze was so relaxing for me, such a transcendent , preternatural experience that it reminded me of why we sacrifice so much. No amount of money could replicate that exact, precise moment for me. At just before the 10k mark for us Takbo.ph head honcho Jinoe and BDM 102 finisher Jerry aka High Altitude joined us. By this time, the group had splintered into several groups, with Mhel and Jerry leading the first group. I had the privilege of pacing with Jinoe for several kilometers, only stopping at the Rotunda because the last group was way behind and we didnt want anyone lost. Picture taking galore ensued :)

The Takbo.ph boys!

Rodel and Boss Jinoe running... . in place

May view may view picture muna!

Hagibis reunited? Why do we run again? It's for times like these. Me and Jinoe wanted to get a good workout from the whole thing, so we upped the pace to 6:30. Before long, we caught up with the lead group on walk break. Jerry was still the pacemaker, so when he broke away he followed suit. An interesting sidelight about Jerry - I kept on talking to him in the vernacular, and he would only give what I made out to be a look bordering on confused and snobbish. Turns out, our BDM ultramarathoner was Indonesian! And he was anything but snobbish. Once we got the language barrier out of the way, he was extremely helpful and gave so many tips on our ultramarathon dream next year.

Ultraman Jerry aka High Altitude. Tito Caloy and Sam mugging inthe background As amiable as he was off road, he was just as intense on it. For what was hyped to be an LSD, we were pushing it at 6:00 - 6:30 from the 10k to 20k mark. There were several of us in the breakaway lead group - Jerry, Jinoe, Me, Mhel, Mond, and lo and behold Tito Caloy who was lagging behind. I had to keep on coming back for him just to check up, and I was repeatedly shooed away hehe. Old people :) Also, the heat was starting to catch on. With not so fond memories of my Botak meltdown, my confidence was shaken in extreme heat. My Garmin analysis later showed a 31 degree high with 70% humidity, even hotter than that ill-fated race day. Alas, with the right will and determination we reached the first stop, 20.2 km down. The rest of the group who were running the partial route were waiting for us as well. We entered to the warm cheers emanating from familiar faces More friends! Alright! :P

Fun times with the whole gang

Buying P12 Gatorade in bottles.Hmmm...

Mond taking a breather

Age doesn't matter... ... Aray... ... .
Having recharged our batteries (P12 bottled Gatorade was all the rage, and special thanks to Mhel who lent me some cash after I lost mine) the group braced itself for the next push - a 7k jaunt to "nearby" Paseo de Sta. Rosa. The heat was getting to be pretty bad at this point, the ill effects of starting an hour late. I think pacer Jerry felt this as well, so instead of slowing down, we took off maintaining a 6:00 - 6:15 pace for the distance, leading a pack that included myself, Docs Eric and Pinky, Mhel, Mond, and Quennie (who got sucked in by the pace). We were left wondering - what LSD? This feels more like a 27k tempo run! By this time, the heat was sweltering. The heat would have made the Gobi Desert proud. As the group started to trickle in one by one, we came to the realization that we could go no more in this heat. It was another good 7k to Mhel's place. I decided against running any further, and so did Tito Caloy. A few brave souls ventured to go the full distance - marathon man/coach Pojie on "taper" mode, comebacking Carly, Mhel, Jerry, and Mond. We salute your dedication! Ayos!

27.56k ... . is... ... enough... .

We'd rather take the car!

Why do we run again? It's for times like these. At Mhel's house, the group's camaraderie was in full swing. Like road weary Spartans coming home from their latest victory, you could feel the vibe of contentment and happiness in the air. It's an unexplainable, magical feeling that runners alone can empathize with. Forget the aches and pains. We just cleared a distance greater than a half marathon! The food was overflowing, the laughter pervading. Nevermind the hassle of going back the entire distance to get our cars in Tagaytay. Forget the 50k ride back to Manila. We accomplished something, something that no one can ever take away from us.

Manokan Express with Chicken Arrozcaldo

Poj and Quennie with our kind hosts

Power couple Rach and Neil

Busog!

Happy Camper

All in a day's work!

Takbo.ph rocks!

Why do we run again? If you love running with a fervent passion... ...

Then you'll know that it's for times like these.

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.

The good news is, for the second straight year we've been nominated to the Philippine Blog Awards under the Best Sports Blog category. And the kicker is this year we finally made it as a finalist wohoo :) Not sure who were the other running sites nominated, but best of luck to you my friends. Thank you so much for your support and for continuing to enjoy my material. The bad news is that my site is acting up, of all times geez. Something went awry with the coding and it's not displaying the articles on the home page properly. Ugh. The worst possible thing would be for the fancy PBA judges to go through my site and see one miserly, zero comment article there along with a shaky layout. Smirk. I'm just hoping for the best. Awards night is on December 12 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium at RCBC. I'll keep you guys updated as things progress.

Is this our year?

• Congratulations to all those who finished QCIM, level uppers and PR pounders alike. I ran the course last year, had a horrific time with parking and traffic but was memorable nonetheless for being my first sub-2 hour 21k. It also had the best medal of last season IMHO. Although I had completely no issues against it, the common gripe last year was that there was a lack of hydration. Apparently, there's always an angry mob. This year, the word out on the grapevine is all about inaccurate results and distances aside from the deletion of a Facebook page. This has spurred a hotly contested debate on this Takbo.ph forum thread. Register if you can't read it haha. Pockets of vitriol (albeit unrequited) are being spewed towards the path of Runnex and long-time Takbo.ph denizen Rene Villarta, better known in the general blogosphere as the Jazzrunner. With emotions running high, some of these interjections are better off left unpublished. As someone who has similarly been on the receiving end of these snide online remarks, I can only empathize. It's fair to state one's opinion, it's a free country anyway. It's another to degenerate into name calling and group bashing, specially in a public forum. We're all mature individuals aren't we?

Being interviewed at QCIM 09'. Whew it's been a year already.

• Stay.Away.From.The. Ham.
  

• And Krispy Kreme. Krispy Kreme = Bad.

• I am the only one having trouble getting up in the morning to run, with this pseudo-Baguio cold and all? Got to love that holiday lethargy. Run = Bad. Krispy Kreme and Holiday Ham = Good.
  

• Another note on QCIM, I would like to personally congratulate my good friend Marga Baula for finishing her very first marathon. I've known her since her very first race, and she's come a long way. She is a shining example of that other, non-competitive but just as blood and guts side of our sport. While she may have come in at last place about 9 hours after the starting gun, her steely resolve and determination to finish in light of unspeakable odds is truly an inspiration to us all. Read all about her heartfelt account here.

Marga rocks.

• Brooks' Green Silence is probably the coolest name I've ever seen for a running shoe. It name suggests that diabolical nuclear weapon that dictators keep in their back yard. Cool.
  

I just realized it's not er, green.

• I received a late, red-blooded invite to the Nike Run Manila gig at Fort last Sunday. Kinda ironic because I handle Adidas ANR Ortigas, but what the heck seems like a fun gig. Oh the loyalty. Figured that since the plan was to do a brick workout anyway, might as well do it in a competitive race environment away from the crush at QCIM. The funny thing is, I've been away from the races for so long that poor lil' ol me doesn't even know how to use a D-tag. Boo hoo. Good thing I ran into race director extraordinaire Ian Alacar while trolling the grounds, thanks for helping this ignorant fool out buddy. Not too many people, was estimated at around 2,500 give or take. Field was stockpiled with fast varsity runners after strong tie-ups with schools. Rio (patiently doing his Obama-plastered smile while being snapped up for autographs and pictures ) did a patently good job with this . I struggled with a 22:34 time (good for only 81st out of 2,344 runners, testament to a strong field) about a minute and a half off my best time but the result was otherwise satisfactory. I had to rely on a furious challenge from some ultrafit varsity gals towards the end for that final push. Thanks gals, give one to the old guy. Was nice hanging with blogosphere heavyweights Jaymie/TBR and Vimz/Kulit Runner after, as well as with TPB bud Mark Mulder who finished 59th. Go to Vimz' site for the full results, I'm a lazy slob to post it on here. People were hyped over the Nike + doll that they gave away in lieu of a medal, I thought it was awesome. In related news, my Nike + doll is now the property of Ultramarathoner Abby :P

Till next week folks, congratulations to everybody on an awesome race weekend. :)

• 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 :)

8,000 runners. Sold out slots. You have to give it to Nike to whip up a frenzy in attracting a staggering number to participate in what's essentially "just" a 10k. The latter inference is a testament to the drawing power of the shoe behemoth's crossover appeal, compelling even casual runners to pay top peso for what essentially amounts to a short run that you and your buddies could bag in two hours easy. (with matching tsismisan at BHS)

Defying Expectations

Two years ago, the Nike + Human Race was held at Subic ( check out my feature back then, I painstakingly googled it in five seconds. Let it transport you to a time when people still actually commented on blogs) as a side event to the what would be much- maligned Subic International Marathon. To those who weren't around the scene back then, that race had hydration supplies run out at more or less the 25k mark and it was so dark runners couldn't see their feet. The angry mob and the collapsed Kenyan at the finish line pretty much summed up the sorry state of affairs for that race.

Manila was not an "official" city in what was supposedly a simultaneous run around the world by Nike users, and suffice to say response and participation were tepid at best. I was there about 40 minutes before the race and it didn't even seem that there was one going to be held, so much that I had to ask if I was in the right venue. Aside from "celebrity" ambassadors (yes, I will forever consider my good buddy Bards of Bananarunning one) and Sun billboard habitue Jaymie giving the requisite interviews, there was pretty much no action going on. It was around this time that pundits were saying that the running craze had hit its peak and that it would die a natural death like badminton, billiards, and Zagu.

Admit it, you fell in line before just like the rest of us.
Fast forward two years, and it seems that the doomsday naysayers need to eat their humble pie. The running community remains as robust as ever. BHS is teeming with runners even on a weekday, so much to the point that they were even given their own dedicated lane. UP is likewise packed as runners stride away till the wee hours amidst the lush foliage backdrop, and you see people running in places you never even thought were "runnable" if there were such a word. This notion is further reinforced as evidenced by the overpowering show of force presented during the latest incarnation of its signature 10k race.

A Newbie Once Again

The afternoon start time being a decent come-on given my hectic training schedule, I sauntered off to BHS in relative ignorance of where the venue actually was. I assumed it to be "the usual" starting venue ( if you're a runner who has actually joined a BHS race, you know what this means) but it turns out this race was more dynamic than others. It took me a visit to veteran Runnr gatekeeper Nikko to get to know that it was actually near the drive-thru Starbucks area. Well that's something new.

Feeling Noobie.
Quite ironically, while I've probably been running longer than about 95% of the populace present that Saturday, I felt like the newbie. I didn't know a single soul, not a single familiar face in the crowd as I trudged to the starting line. Arriving early in anticipation of the mad throng, I made my way to the "VIP Lounge" to presumably pass away time. I don't why they termed it as such, there was really nothing going on save for a few cocktail tables. I finally saw a couple of Takbo.ph buddies and old hands in the industry milling about, made for some decent catch-up conversation. Even good ol' Bards was there, haven't seen her in ages. A little-known but often overlooked fact is that the two of us were supposed to host the second season of Run Radio before it got scuttled due to unpublishable reasons. At least it makes for a good inside joke. Also got to exchange some niceties with Polo Tri friend Tricia Chiongbian-Concepcion, who I last saw while we were getting blown around at White Rock (watch out for my even more delayed article sorry na). She was hosting the show with sportscaster Anthony Suntay, an old neighbor and gym friend nearly a decade ago. I seriously doubt he still remembers me although he's too nice to admit, so I'm probably just the creepy guy who always says hi. Eek.

Let the show begin.

Wow. The atmosphere was something else. Having participated in multisport or cycling races for the majority of the year where the participants rarely even reach 400, being part of the 8,000-strong hive was a strangely invigorating experience. We were whisked to the "VIP" starting area which separated us from the rest of the runners by a burly bodyguard-manned cordon. Felt sorta awkward though, I've never been part of such and who the hell am I anyway lol. And with so many "VIP"' people there, I guess you could say it what somewhat of a misnomer in a sense. Speaking of real VIP's, the favorite presidential grandson (yes, I'm referring to Joshua) made a grand entrance with some buddies three minutes before the race was to commence. He was promptly greeted with spirited cheers (or jeers, depends if you're a Kris Aquino fan) of "Bimby! Bimby!" What fun.

Bimby pa din.

Moving Too Fast

With recent sports-car collector/race director Rio tersely walking around in the background, the countdown clock was rapidly approaching all zeroes after Fitness First gal did her requisite warmup set. Former Philippine Blog Award finalist, Milo Nationals qualifier and Team Powerpuff Boys teammate Natz Garcia was clowning around with a big Ipod strapped to his arm, apparently his Garmin broke down. Naturally untrusting of GPS, he even brought along a map.

Natz not taking any chances.It's no big secret that this is my first straight up running road race since Condura, so I think I got overexcited. I started off way too fast for my own good in keeping up with the main pack, about 3:45 pace for the first kilometer. The atmosphere was tremendous and the adrenalin was pumping. However, my adrenalin sort of forgot that given that I'm preparing for a full Ironman distance race, I didn't have any hops on me. Second, I just came off three hours on the bike trainer earlier, which rendered the race into a virtual brick workout. I tapered off considerably by the time I reached the 3k mark and was fading fast. Some schmuck overtook me and gave me a cheery pat to boot, and it turned out it was tridol Javy Olives of Tri'n Hard fame who was killin it with his teammates Drew, a guy who I could have sworn was Raoul Floresca and some dudes I didn't know. Tuhog City again. Oh well. My pace was dropping fast and I didn't have any anaerobic capacity to keep up.

Habol ng Habol

Kilometer Five upwards was a struggle for me on the surprisingly tough course. The effect of the brick notwithstanding, I haven't done any interval workouts since preparing for the Olympic-distance Subic International Triathlon earlier in the year. Obviously, my OAstart didn't do anything to help my cause. I was just trying to keep up with whoever was in front of me, and the distance was starting to feel like forever. Another TPB teammate Alex Mac passed me with relative ease, damn these guys are in shape grrr.

Huff, meet Puff.
At around kilometer 8, I saw Ultramarathoner Abby hanging around to cheer me on, she made it just in time to see me discombobulate lol . Legacy TPB teammate Ronnel was catching up with me, and so was ultrarunner and budding triathlete Carly. I even saw a bare-chested Adobo Run and CIHM head honcho Ed Kho scurry about. As the humidity level was slowly engulfing the crisp early night sky, I limped home across the line to a high five from Rio in a pedestrian 54:xx, a mid 53 on my Garmin as there was a nominal disparity of about 200 meters. Not exactly a performance I would be proud of, but a half-decent brick time I guess. I was targeting at the very least a sub-50, dream on brother. Interestingly enough, it was still good for 110th place amongst 8,000 and if I were to base it off Javy's time, a decent performance could have cracked the top 20.Not that it matters, but that's just the competitor in me aggravated at my lack of preparation although I was really just supposed to "take it easy". Couldn't resist.

Post-Mortem

Overall, it was refreshing to be back on the run circuit again after an extended absence. Nike and Rio did a yeoman's job in providing an innovative approach to this race (including a cool flash app to track one's results) as the market continually strives to look for something new. The custom-built route was challenging and the hydration was more than adequate. I'm guessing though that not a few were disappointed that a much-touted Nike Lunar Glide USB wasn't given, a snag attributed to supplier delays. Instead, the runners had to content themselves with drinks and a Nike poster.

In retrospect, why do runners shell out that much cash even if it's "only" a 10k? Furthering the discussion, how has the running sub-culture sustained itself even if some races border on redundancy and corporate profiteering? I've come to surmise that it's not just the branding or the freebies. Running, at least for the most part, is a shared social experience. It's the camaraderie, the competition. The water-cooler kwentuhan at the office the following Monday with your officemates, heck even your weird boss. The street cred with your friends (and the lack of it if they missed it). Social dynamics constitute a powerful, dynamic and sustainable force, and coupled with looming health benefits the formula for long-term viability is in place.

It's not Badminton or Billiards. Running is here to stay, whether you like it or not.

Let's drink a Zagu to that.

Hmm, the gal who emailed this to me forgot to reply to me. Thus, I forgot to post it also. Oops. Anyway, not sure if you can still push for a late reg, but its still a fun event to join. Never ran this though, was afraid of blowing an ACL or something. People who have swear by it though. And you get that cool shirt. Someone please send me one!

Here's their presser :

Be Race-Ready for the

Men’s Health Urbanathlon 2010

Tired of running your usual races? Take your running to the next level with Men’s Health magazine’s Men’s Health Urbanathlon 2010. With tougher obstacles, an intensified course and more racers, this year’s race is expected to be the most demanding Urbanathlon to date.

The Men’s Health Urbanathlon is a city-based, multi-disciplinary race that integrates various urban structures as part of the course and will be held on November 7, 2010, Sunday, 5:00 A.M. at Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig City .

Registration for the Men’s Health Urbanathlon begins September 28 and ends October 26, 2010. The r egistration fee for the race is P500.00 and includes a race shirt, drink stubs from Gatorade, food stubs courtesy of Century Tuna and an issue of Men’s Health magazine .

The Men's Health Urbanathlon 2010 requires more than just perfect running form and endurance so make sure you are properly trained and fit for the event. This year, 360° Fitness Club , the official gym partner of the Men's Health Urbanathlon , offers race registrants a discounted membership training program designed by 360° Fitness Program Director Chappy Callanta. Visit the 360° Fitness Club at Strata 100 bldg., Ortigas Ave, Pasig City to experience the 360° workout and get race-ready in no time!

For more information about the race, visit www.menshealth.com.ph/urbanathlon or add us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/menshealthphilippines . The Men’s Health Urbanathlon2010 is brought to you by official sports drink Gatorade , official food sponsor Century Tuna, major sponsors V+ Jeans, MSense, Sun Cellular, minor sponsor Lipout, official heart rate monitor Suunto, official gym partner 360° Fitness Club and registration partner R.O.X. Special thanks to radio partners Magic 89.9, Jam 88.3 and RX93.1.

I've always wanted to go back to Corregidor Island. The bastion of our final stand against the Japanese conquerors of yesteryear emanates a certain sense of tranquility, indelible relics of a forgotten war amidst an austere setting seemingly frozen in time.

So much... history happened here.

The last time I went there, they were still showing Pinoy Wrestling and Takeshi's Castle on Channel 13 and Jestoni Alarcon was all the rage with his Golden Buddha movie. Back then, the likes of Rita Avila and Christina Gonzales did "ST" films. Nowadays, we just call them "indie" films.

The most famous mustache this side of Rudy Fernandez

Okay so you get the point, I haven't been there in ages. That's why when Takbo.ph boss Jinoe gave me the opportunity to actually visit "The Rock" of Bataan, I jumped at it. Parameters were simple, yet I somehow understated the gravity of the event I was getting into. I thought it was your typical, run of the mill media meet and greet. Little did I know that it would actually entail... ... running.

The Cast

Only a couple of brave souls actually made it to the trip, either because they were afraid of Jap ghosts or they were still nursing a hangover from Friday night. I was advised that I needed to be at the Sun Cruises dock before 7 am. Once I got there, I only knew one person and that was Marga, better known as the head honcho/creative brains/fun person behind Run Radio. Hosts Jaymie/TBR and Jay/Prometheus Cometh were conspiciously absent, apparently they had to attend to other matters.

As I was introduced to the rest of the group, I slowly realized one thing - I was in the company of athletic, good looking, smoking hot... ... ... ... men. Which would have been awesome. If were a screaming teenybopper fangirl. Attempting to somehow find a niche in this group whose chiseled jawlines were much more akin to a reality show cast, I strived to use my running "expertise" to hold my own. That eventually led to conversations like this one :

GBM : Oh yeah, actually I nearly broke 50 minutes during my last 10k, am so happy! Imagine, I missed it by just 15 seconds! 15 seconds! Would you believe that?You could do it too with the right training.

Hunk #1 : Yeah of course of course. I felt the way when I hit my first sub...

GBM : Sub 60? Oh yeah that's easy if you want I can pace you! You can do it! I can help you!

Hunk#1 : My first sub-40 ... ...

GBM: (x_x) !!!!!!

Or like this... .

GBM : Yeah yeah I'm actually an ultramarathoner, I did 50 kilometers. You know how people do marathons? I do more than that. That's so long, took me forever to do it . One day, perhaps when you're not too busy shooting commercials, you can try it out as well. But I'm warning you, it aint that easy to... .

Hunk #2 : Oh yes of course. When I did 100k in Vietnam, I almost gave up at kilometer 70. But I persevered and finished it!

GBM: (@,@) !!!!!

Oh God I'm such a poser. I'm with real pros. Hot, movie-star quality pros. I'm so lame next to these guys . And while I would neither confirm nor deny if these actual conversations actually took place, I soon realized that these guys were awesome.

In all seriousness though, Pinoy Ultra Runner dudes Joms and Carlo along with lawyer/blogger Raymund were such nice fellows. We met race organizer/coach Edward Kho, who among others is known for taking triathlete Javy aka Tri'n Hard to new multisport heights. In related news, he immediately clarified that he had no relation to the doctor of scandalous fame. Deadringer though, ladies take my word for it.

Corregidor Gang

The Start

Having come in at nearly 10 am, the heat was sweltering. After taking some welcome photos and leaving our gear, we went about our business in simulating the race route. Edward had mapped out the route 2 weeks prior, and this run was to primarily remeasure the distance in miles with GPS. Imagine. An actual race route which would cut through some of the richest historical heritage this country has to offer. My interest was particularly piqued at the prospect of getting an early look at this.

And so it begins... .

Awe-inspiring views

Marga is all revved up and ready to goSo as we dashed out of the projected starting line, we were all brimming with excitement. Speed was picking up, literally gliding through these paths marked by the ghosts of wartimes past. This would be a cinch. As I was thinking this would be an easy day at the office, we hadn't reached more than a kilometer until suddenly there was a collective gasp amongst the group. And we stopped. O... . M... ..G.

Are you freaking kidding me?

The Hills

Bolstered by the sudden onrush of adrenalin from our giddy start, we were stopped dead in our tracks as a severe incline stared down at us. It rivaled the toughest uphill I have ever encountered, which was when I ran the Botak Baguio 21k race. This made me realize two things - First, the race would not be a walk in the park. And second, woe to those who would suddenly sprint at the start only to be pitted against the veritable Sisyphus stone of uphills. After you think you have cleared one... .. there's more... . and more... .. and more to come.

This... . is... hard.

So long boys!
The Essentials
As always, I'll pass on making you use your precious time reading a terse mile-by-mile account of the proceedings. These are the things you need to know - we were tracking and remeasuring the route using our 305's, and the route was more or less 30% trail. The proposed distance is 10 miles, more or less 16 kilometers to those unfamiliar with that other measurement unit thing. If you want to see the race route, check it out here. Don't count the extra 1k though, that's me huffing and puffing my way back to the hotel.

The race is all set to go on November 29 at Corregidor Island. Registration will be limited to only 750 participants, with special packages that may include rooms and ferry transfers already. The reg fee is tentatively set at P1000, and this would be inclusive of a singlet, roundtrip ferry, island entrance fee, and lunch buffet. That is not a bad deal at all, considering some races will charge upwards of P600 for a singlet, timing chip, and a big dent to your wallet. So don't procrastinate on this opportunity guys, you want a repeat of NB again?

So why would you join this race again, given that these uphills are absolutely crazy?

Because of the views... ...

The trails... ..

And it's incomparable history... ..

In my opinion, this is actually a race that provides a unique appeal to a wide spectrum of runners. For the elites, the insane course could provide a pretty decent 10-mile warmup in a unique setting. For the serious runner, it would give a tremendous uphill/trail workout that would surely augment their current training program. To the recreational runner, this provides a wonderful opportunity to break away from the usual BHS-Mckinley-UP-MOA race routine, even for just a weekend. It could be a chance to hang out with you running buddies in a tremendous setting, take some awesome photo ops, and get in a good run/walk mileage builder in the process.

They say that oftentimes the ghosts of the past are oftentimes just that - ghosts. Ghosts that are relegated to the realm of the forgotten, disjointed memories that live on in the form of dinnertime anecdotes and fireside camping fodder. Truly, the heroes of Corregidor are but vestiges of a past that lives on through these seemingly tall tales. But as the essence of their sacrifice was forged through very real blood, tears, and an indomitable will to survive, surely they deserve something more... . fitting.

Perhaps by revisting the site of their greatest victory in synergy with the sport we love, the ghosts of wartime past would once again live on - if not for us, but perhaps for our children and their children as well.

History easily forgets. But people don't. See you at Corregidor everyone.

I never thought I could ever balance myself on two wheels. You ever saw that 8-year old kid stuck in the playground trying to not fall after yaya let go of the bike while his playmates were zooming up and down? That was me .With zero athletic skills whatsoever, I was relegated to being this fat Gingerbread kid stuck indoors reading Encyclopedia Brittanica (meron pa ba nun?) while downing half a gallon of ice cream. By the time I did finally get the whole bike thing down, it wasn't too long before I hit semplang city en route to breaking my wrist in three places. Bike was sold the following day. Sob.

Putting all of that into consideration, never in my wildest imagination did I ever envision that two decades later I would be entrenched in an actual multisport battle with my former Waterloo serving as one of the primary instruments. But wait, we're getting a little ahead of ourselves here. What malignant spirit (in tagahlog, maligno) possessed me to get into the whole thing anyway? Let's take a quick look back.

Who would have known?
I've been running for quite some time now. Well at least for someone who could never quite stick with a singular "hobby", I'd like to think that the fact that I've been at this for several years goes to show that it has already transcended the "hobby" label iand has actually evolve into a sustainable lifestyle. Back then, it wouldn't be too uncommon to spot this marshmallow-like 200 pounder to tread the sweep packs of them P250 races. No iPad registration, no fancy whatever. You got your finish times with the tried and tested, mano mano "timing cheap"system. Rio could still walk around race corrals without getting mobbed, and the word "singlet" was pretty much an unknown commodity to the mainstream public.

In the years hence, running has literally taken over my life. I've gone from the guy who once ran from Ortigas to Cubao in three hours and declared it "his greatest running achievement " (a lame 10k) to completing the dreaded 102k Bataan Death March Ultramarathon in sweltering conditions. I've made so many friends and been part of so many meaningful experiences as a part of this burgeoning community, and as luck would have it a lot of the mid-term running goals I had set for myself were thankfully met.

Run Fatboy GBM Run circa early-mid 2008
However, I realized that as you keep on pushing and pushing , one day it would just push back at you. Suddenly, hitting those cherished PR's became progressively harder, and the feeling of burnout started to surreptitiously creep up on me. The toll of being in 8 to 12 week training blocks practically all year for the past couple started to manifest already. Once the smoke cleared, the verdict was pretty clear.

I needed to take a break. But then what?

No way in heck was I going back to my sedentary, couch potato lifestyle. Worked too long and too hard to throw it all away. No chance of completely giving up running either, I love the sport too much to be completely away from it.

Then it dawned on me that a perfect compromise was actually possible. I can actually try something new without turning my back on running. And with that realization, I decided to dive into the uncharted waters of multisport.

We can all dream... ..

Multisport? Woah now. As the notion of competing with ultrafit triathletes with 5% body fat came to mind, two immediate problems came bubbling up before I could even kick out of the daydream (read: Inception reference). One, I didn't have a bike. Two, I haven't rode one in twenty years and the last time I did, it landed me in the hospital. Not exactly the ideal lasting memory for a wannabe noob like me right?

Not-so-fond biking memories

I gave it a long hard look. Stick with what I know, or be a newbie all over again? Being the competitive guy that I am, I hate being the clumsy new guy . Loathe it even. I mean, I'm the guy who didn't raise his hand when they asked who were the first timers in spin class. But alas, what's the spice to life if we don't explore the deep dark unknown right?

So to make a long story short, I just went out on a limb and went for it. After endless questions and consults from seasoned multisport friends (thank you for the patience), I finally got my own road bike. Realizing the penchant for people to give their roadies names, jumping on the bandwagon wasn't too far off. The new roadie was christened "Bob". Why Bob? I haven't the slightest idea. But it sure as heck sounded a lot better than "Grimace".

Why hellow Bob.
Along with the first few awkward rides came the abrupt realization that there was so much more to a roadie than your typical CCP Sunday bike. There were tons of nuances with seatpost height, riding position, enough parts to fill a book and a shifting system that at first glance seemed terribly complicated to crack. Who would have known a simple bike would have so much science to it?

Its, er, complicated.

Now what's a roadie if you ain't going to use it right? I got wind through the grapevine about the 2nd leg of the Powerade Duathlon series. A duathlon. Wow. Run Bike Run? How hard could it be? How would I do? What's a T1? My insatiable curiosity won out on this instance, and I soon found myself coughing up a cool P1,000 for the reg. If you those P850 "premium" races give you grief, better be prepared for a shock with multisport, where managing more logistics account for the higher fees.

Gulp.
Knowing that people put months and months worth of training into this sort of event, my boorish, ill-prepared self just wanted to set a benchmark. After all, experience is still the best teacher right? In two weeks I tried to unscientifically cram as much mileage and "brick" (to the uninitiated, combined discipline workouts to replicate the actual race. They usually make you feel like you were hit like a ton of bricks afterward. Or maybe that's just me) sessions into my routine, if only to be prepared at least mentally.

Brick 1 GBM 0.

D-Day comes around. I'm a nervous wreck. Each nervous tic, each anxiety-fueled fidget was amplified by what seemed to be an eternal wait for slumber to take me out of my misery. I've been in more races than I could remember but this was as an entirely new thing for moi. Armed with just guts and pretty much nothing else, so many questions crossed my mind as we were making the pleasant drive to Filinvest on a cool Sunday pre-dawn. "How do we check in? Paano nilalagay ung body marking thing? How do put the bike on the rack? Can we run in the transition area?" So many questions that only the hard knocks gained from experience could alleviate. Abby must have been remotely amused as the butterflies in my stomach were getting the best of me.

UGH. I hate being the newbie guy.

Kabado.
We got there early. WAY early even. As I would come to realize with these multisport things, they never seem to start early. Good thing old Takbo.ph buddies who had gone the multisport route were also competing, and they provided the "homey"atmosphere that proved to be a salve for my nerves. As it was, Team Endure was also making its debut race replete with fancy triathlon suits. I wondered to myself when I would be worthy to put on one.

Trying my best not to be a nervous looking clueless dude

With the help of friends, the body marking and bike rack issues I was so antsy about turned out to be overstated. And before we knew it, we were off to the starting corral . 6k run beckoned. Now, this may not seem a lot. But obviously, this was the first time that I would be doing a 30k bike ride in between. I was advised to hack it on the safe side and go for a 5:15 pace. Be competitive fool that I am, I figured that I'll suck out on the bike anyway, what have I got to lose. So a tempered attack was worked out bordering on the 4:40 level.

Attack where you are strong... .
While relatively slow by road race standards, for some reason this was good enough to vault me into the upper half of the draw going into the first transition point from run to bike, or T1 in multisport jargon. Upon mounting, much to my chagrin I got bunched together with some of the stronger triathletes/duathletes. I freaked. They were passing me left and right, barking "BIKE BIKE BIKE" or "STAY IN YOUR LANE!!" Gak.

Speed Bagal Mode.

The primary goal was to survive the bike segment in one piece. So I played the role of the non-recalcitrant newbie to the hilt, allowing myself to be passed almost courteously. Geez. Oh well, I was in too much pain to mind anyway. The course was mostly flat, but there were two major inclines that zapped the bejesus out of me. The steeper one was impossibly difficult for someone like me with no bike shoes (and as I would learn later, the lack of uphill gears) to negotiate. At times,I felt it would have been better to just get off the bike and carry it with me uphill. Good thing the rest of the course was pleasant enough, with friends cheering me on at each of the 5 loops we had to complete. Last couple my legs were burning though, and the moment I dismounted to T2 I nearly fell over behind rubbery legs. Thank God no major mishaps here. One last 3k and I was good to go.

Konti na lang.

Surprisingly, I was a lot fresher here than expected. Got to maintain about a 5:15 pace for the rest of the way as the gels I took started to take effect. At this point I was thanking my lucky stars for my running base as I got to catch up with a lot of the strong cyclists who made me eat dust during the bike leg. Adrenalin pumping, it was all over before I knew it. Crossed the line with a big bear hug from Ultramarathoner Abby in 1:56:29, good for 86th overall and 16th place in my age group. I thought it was a decent finish for a noob, given the circumstances. And more importantly, it put to shame the debut time of my good buddy Piolow who logged a 2:06 during the first leg. Wohoo!

Noob no more.

Sigh. Who knew that the kid who once couldn't balance would one day survive a competitive race like this? Much less on two weeks preparation. I give all the thanks in the world to my Team Endure buddies for enduring (no pun intended) and patiently answering all my questions. Also a big shout out to Ironman Javy Olives of Tri'n Hard fame (IMHO one of the best written multisport blogs out there.) for all the knowledgeable and practical bike tips he gave me.

Cross that one off the bucket list. The glean of the triathlon now beckons. How riveting. One slight problem.

I don't know how to swim.

(to be continued)

As I attempt to write this, one glance at the clock reveals I have exactly 25 minutes to somehow pull this off before lunch break ends. Aaaah... . trappings of the harassed yet decidedly sanguine corporate warrior. 24 Minutes. Yikes.

Why hello old friends. Did my five fans miss me? Running four months without a single article, I find it hard to fathom I could go on that long without any output. Alas, that's the reality I dwell in nowadays. No articles, no presscons, no fluff pieces, no nothing. My last official piece of written work was the cover story I did on Ani De Leon for Frontrunner, and even that I only saw about a month after it came out on stores. Contrary to popular belief, I have not retired nor have I been holed up in some cave. What happened was... .. I got a new job. Goodbye academe (at least for the meantime) and hello corporate life. Anyway, the long and short of it is that I'm suddenly encumbered with an exponentially more challenging gig coupled with the fact that my workplace is now on the other side of the map. The flexibility that living 5 minutes away from your office has brought for the last couple of years is now a distant memory.

It's a new way of life, yes. Somehow lost in the muck was the fact that I'm still actually training for an Ironman. Or rather, the Ironman 70.3 to be held at Camsur this August 14th to be more accurate. Oh my. Training? Ano yun? From being in the best shape of my life several months ago, I am merely fighting to finish at these races. I can only cringe at not being able to pull my weight for my Quest 825 Tri Team, more so with so many synergistic partnerships on board for us. Robbed of all forms of mileage, each step towards that finish line is more akin to a test of the human spirit rather than a competitive test of fitness. Sigh. How much I envy this dude.

Nevertheless, you guys know I'm as game as anyone out there so I'll still give it my best shot. I've hacked out my last two races on shameless guts alone, because to be very honest with you, I don't have much of anything left. Foolhardy perhaps, but somehow I always have this crazy notion that I could pull it off. And while the results haven't been pretty, I'm still hanging in there. A sub-3 hour target finish at the Olympic-distance Subic International Triathlon turned into a 3:08 debacle with an unexpected implosion during the run portion. Lack of training? Check.

Hanggang porma na lang. Next in line was the Tri United Matabungkay triathlon, a 2k-60k-15k humdinger that serves as the warmup race for Camsur. A lingering back injury (I'll explain later) rendered my bike leg into pretty much a leisurely spin, and once again cramps did me in over the final 5k of the run portion. BDM 160 champ/Quest Tri buddy Wilnar even barbequed me with a kilometer to go despite gaining more than 30 minutes on him from the swim. Yeah, that bad. Lack of training? Um, check. I was even compelled to do pushups at the line, a consequence from a friendly bet the team had for the bottom three finishers. Wilnar owes me a drink. Not that I'm complaining though - in spite of all the crap that went down I still somehow managed to hit the elusive qualifying time for the Timex 226 triathlon in Bohol by the skin of my teeth. Timex 226 is the first full Ironman distance (3.8k-180k-42k) race in the country over the past nine years so its a big honor just to make it there. And with thirty-four seconds to spare, it could have gone either way. Whew.

Which brings me back to Camsur. It's supposed to be the far reaching goal, the big shebang. And suddenly I'm on the hook for an even greater challenge this December. In a season where I also finished my first 160k race, this seemingly perverse proclivity towards pain and suffering is starting to ignite deep, burning questions within myself. Like, "WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU?" But hey, it's a fun life and we only live once right? Might as well go through it with a bang.

With roughly a 70% reduction in training hours and mileage, this one goes out to all the corporate warriors out there - how the hell could you reconcile a microscopic training window while training for a long distance triathlon without your wife kicking you out of the house? Here are some rudimentary tips I have cobbled together. I'm not saying they would necessarily work for you, but I think what I'm trying to say here is you pretty much don't have a choice. Smirk.

Don't let it happen.
The Art of The Three-Hour ,Er, Sleep

With so little time on your hands your first priority should always be to fulfill all family duties and work you bring home, keeping the missus (or mister) plus the kids happy. Where does that leave your training regimen? If you're a zero work flexibility dude like me, it's usually the first to get wiped out. The solution? Learn how to sleep on three hours so you can still wake up at 4 am in the morning to do your 60k-15k brick at MOA.
Now, if you end up falling asleep at your board meeting, load up on two bottles of Cobra beforehand. Drink it. Straight. Bottoms up. Everything. Better to be a doped up zombie than a sleeping fool.

It never hurts.

Lunch Out... . To Run With every minute ever so precious, try to sneak in some much-needed heat training mileage for the Camsur "Energy Lab" by eschewing lunch altogether. Screw food, gels are cooler. While everyone is engrossed in water cooler chatter and tsismis step out of those Van Heusen' s (or high heels) and discreetly step into those K-Ona's. Wear a visor low to render you unrecognizable to a potentially lunch-outing boss. Once done, rush to the office john and splash on as much water as you could on your face, then come out whistling "ang init, sarap maghilamos no?"

Pasimple lang. Maximize your weekend. Understatement of the year. If you work half-day Saturdays like me, that leaves you with roughly a six-hour Saturday window and a half-day Sunday window (if you actually go to church. Or have a family. Or a semblance of a life. If not, kindly ignore. In the most anti-scientific manner possible, cram all three sports plus a gym workout into that window. It works great. promise. You can finish your race if you don't mind extreme discomfort, pain, suffering, agony or the specter of some random injury popping up. During the weeks leading up to Tri United and during the race itself, my back had as much pliability as my octogenarian grandpa. As i said, I don't necessarily endorse this. It sucks, it really does. But to theeveryday working dude/dudette out there, do we really have a choice? See you at the line in Camsur people, I sure as heck hope that there are no more pushups waiting for me there. And if I may add, it feels mighty damn good to be blogging again. :)

I was going to be sensible this year, without heading into it full tilt but it’s begun, the seasonal marathon of back aching spring fever, garden lust that signifies getting out in the garden.

Spring has suddenly shown up at the door, her bags overflowing with tufts of green stuff hanging out at the seams. Although the colors she has painted the decor are still brown, there is a slight green tinge and that’s our signal to dive in.
No amount of winter training will equip us for the long marathon to come. The early morning wake up calls before the sun shows it’s hand, the “should I just get up and get outside despite the dark” thoughts. The late darkening evenings getting just one last garden raked, and prepped before the mosquitoes show up. The absolute joy of seeing anything emerge from that frozen brown soil.
All winter I’ve walked through miles of rugged rural roads dodging ice and snow patches, slipping along with crisp breezes freezing it’s way through layers of scarves and gloves. When the roads were clear enough I’ve biked between late winter snowstorms, warm in the sun, cold in the shade. On inclement days the tread mill has been my friend, and none of it prepares me for that first real day of gardening.
Warming up before grabbing the tools is futile, just get in there and get it done, time is a wasting, and we are already late as it is. Neighbours emerge from their den’s looking pale and rested not seen all winter. Some are tanned from winter get away’s, they will be the ones that groan the loudest, you pay for what you got. Soon the air will be filled with the sound of raking, clipping, pruning, and digging. Translucent recycling bags, and piles of branches will appear at the end of the driveways, like gaily wrapped gifts for spring, while residents walk with crooked posture for a few days.

My 80 year old neighbour insists on his yearly stunt of blowing the accumulated fir needles off his roof despite my worry about his falling off and breaking something. We’ve offered to do it for him, but stubborn farmer genes do not age as fast as the body does. I rake the dead leaves from the garden beds with one ear listening to the sound of the blower stopping, my signal to look up and spot him. I mentally run through my first aid steps in case he were to fall.
The shivering dichotomy of frost covered morning grass, and layer shedding afternoon sun with down vest, and gloves in the AM, sunglasses and t-shirts in the afternoon. The soil is cold, and so are our muscles, but we will both warm up as the season progresses. The snows hold onto frequently smaller patches and reveals what been hidden for the past 4 months.

The workouts, the walking, the biking, will not prepare you for the hours of squatting, bending, raking, clipping, and late that night we wake to the solitude of a evening TV show playing to a audience of snoring people and realize that this is gardeners boot camp.
It’s hard, it’s fast, and it’s painful, but I would have it no other way.
Bring on the gardening games, we are more than ready.
You may have noticed that my watermarks are a little larger today. Many thanks to Lori @ Family Trees May Contain Nuts for letting me know that someone has been stealing our images and claiming them as their own, even being so bold as to put their copyright on the bottom of the post.
Despite Copyright declarations on my sidebar, watermarks, and the metadata that I have embedded in all of my photos they feel that they can just do what ever they feel like with our images.
While I advocate the pinning of my images to Pinterest as long as there is full credit, and linking back to my blog post, I do NOT allow use of them for any other reason without my written permission.
Good for you Lori for catching this, and thanks again for taking such quick action. Lori has outlined the steps you can take here should you find your images stolen.
Let’s all be vigilant, and if we see someone else’s images stolen let them know about it.