Haze of sloth

I haven't been running as often as I should, and when I do I don't run as hard as I should. See evidence below:

March data from my GTC

Pitiful. I have been stuck in this rut for quite some time now and I need to motivate myself harder. I've been trying to convince my brother-in-law to register with me late this year for The Bull Runner Dream Marathon which will be held sometime in 2012. After all, we still have about 6 months to train and up our mileage. We'll see. If not next year, maybe in 2 years.

My apologies

One thing I love about tumblr is I coming across posts like this once in a while:

(image from Scotty Crowe)

Because I know a lot of people don't get why runners love to run. :)

Condura Skyway Marathon 10K

Repost from my tumblr about my first Condura experience (with some edits here and there):

I conquered two flyovers last Sunday and it felt great. I didn’t get to set a new PR but I enjoyed every exhausting bit of the race.

Assembly time for 10K runners was 5 am. My sister generously offered to drive me, so we left the house a little after 4:30 and got there just a little after 5. The emcee gave some last-minute reminders then fired the gun at exactly 5:30.

I started out too fast, and before I knew it we were going up the Skyway. I trudged on and made sure to enjoy the quiet scenery. I listened to the footfalls and chatter around me, the roosters crowing, the lightening sky. Sometime after KM 6, I started feeling winded so I walked until I felt like I could run again. Around KM 8, I spotted the next hydration station and saw that they had sponges. I grabbed one and I swear the ice-cold water saved me and gave me that much-needed boost as I “attacked” the Buendia flyover going to Kalayaan.

By the time the finish line was in sight I already felt drained, but I dug in and sprinted through the last few hundred meters.

Things I Liked: 1) Marshals were present all throughout the race course and they made sure that angry drivers wouldn’t run over the runners; 2) there was a hydration station every 2 kilometers — which made me almost regret having brought my trusty hydration belt; 3) the cool medal, of course; 4) the free popsicle (I'm mababaw like that).

What I Didn’t Like: Not a single photo of myself on Marathonphotos.com!

When it comes to races, only 2 things are important for me - the presence of helpful, able marshals and well-stocked hydration stations. The other things - singlets, freebies, even the course itself - are not that important for me.

See you next year, Skyway! Big thank yous to Julie and Sir Pat for making this a memorable experience for me!

Third 10K tomorrow

Back in December I joined Julie's (The Hotlegs Runner) Condura Skyway Marathon race kit giveaway, and I won! I chose the 10K category since I wanted to run on the Skyway, but I knew I wasn't ready for 16K. I coordinated with Sir Patrick Conception (The Runningshield), one of the two brothers who conceptualized the Condura Run in 2008, and I received my race kit after some weeks. The kit came complete with the finishers shirt, race bib, D-tag, race map, and a list of running tips. And I even got a bar of Hershey's chocolate (which I already ate, that's why it's not in the picture)! :)

As always, I'm going into the race undertrained. But with prayers and my tiny virtual partner -- one of my favorite features on my running watch -- here we go!

New training partner

I took my new toy out for a spin earlier this morning. According to Smartcoach, I'm supposed to do an easy 3K today, so it was perfect for getting to know my new training partner better. I love it! And uh oh, I can feel an addiction coming on. Next step is pairing and using the HR monitor.

Being an OC person, I wanted to stick to my target pace (8 mpk) - it's supposed to be an easy run, after all, and my Garmin helped me to do it. Amazing, amazing. Now if only my problematic knees would cooperate...

Maynilad Health Run

Thanks to Clare, I found this photo of me (left) running the Maynilad Health Run 10K. This was taken somewhere around the 4 or 5 km mark. I look like a boy!

Fierceness redefined

When I started this blog I promised myself I will try not to talk about running and fitness-related stuff (I have my tumblr for that). But I can't NOT post this video. One of the best motivational ads, in my opinion. Makes me wish we had Under Armour here.