My New Bike

Here's my new training partner: A mountain bike given by my very generous brother. It couldn't have come at a better time cause I've been experiencing some foot pain and I've stayed away from running since Friday last week, November 12 to let my feet rest.

I'm still wobbly and I'm still adjusting to the shoes and how it locks on to the pedals. But I've stayed sane despite my condition because of it.

Thanks so much bro!

5k in 30 Minutes!

I’m not sure if it’s the pent up energy or the stress I’ve been experiencing lately. Today, I got up to run at 5am and found myself really pushing it. I ran my first round around our 1.5km block and did it in 9 minutes 58 seconds. I finished my 5km in 30 minutes, 26 seconds. It may not be that great for some of you who eat 5Ks for breakfast, but for me, it’s been a year since I’ve ran with such a pace. What’s quite surprising about it is that I couldn’t do this before on the treadmill, and I was able to do it around our subdivision, which is quite hilly. I’ve posted some pictures just so you can see how it looks when I start running and when I stop.

Adidas KOTR 2010

I believe I already mentioned before that I consider the Adidas King Of The Road as my anniversary race since it was the first ever race I joined in 2008. So despite the exorbitant race fee of P850.00, I just had to register for my third KOTR. At my current state I figured that I had no choice but to limit my distance to 10K even if I did the 21K last year.

I was expecting a lot of participants since there were reports early on that the 21K category had closed shortly after registration opened. When we got to the venue, I was amazed at the sheer number of participants.

When the marketing head of Adidas Philippines announced that for 10K alone, there were more than 4,000 participants, I knew it would be a slow start as it would take a while for the crowd to spread out.

One thing I wish other runners would observe is proper running etiquette as there were many who would just walk in the middle of the road and in the path of runners behind them. Others would suddenly stop to walk without moving to the side. Still other groups of runners would walk side by side blocking most of the road.

At the finish line, I noticed the 21K finishers with their finisher medals. They wore them with pride and went around showing them off to anyone who would look. Deep inside, I wish I could run the 21K again and show off a medal too. Anyway, it would probably take me more than a month to be fit enough again for the half marathon. Anyway, when I think about it, I will get there eventually. I just have to be patient.

All in all, in was a good race with ample supply of water and Powerade Sports Drink. It was just amazing that compared to last year, there were probably more than twice as many runners this year.

All Saints' Day Weekend Run

One thing I always look forward to during weekends is my long run. However, I decided to stay away from running last week because I needed to recover from a bad cough. With the long All Saints’ Day weekend, a friend suggested running on Saturday, October 30 and Monday, November 1.

With my wife planning a trip to Divisoria with our household helpers on Sunday October 31, I figured that my friend’s suggestion would be the best way to go.

I ran 5 kilometers last Saturday in 34:50 minutes just around our subdivision and 11 kilometers last Monday in 1 hour, 19 minutes at the UP Academic Oval! What an experience! Now my legs hurt, but as they say, it’s a good kind of hurt.