Enervon Prime Memo Race

It was quite a while since I tried racing a 5km run. But lately for weeks, since the rain has been terribly disturbing my training, I had zero long runs, and most of my runs would only last 5km. Good thing Memo race fitted well as a tune up race.

Joining Memo race was somehow unintentional. It was my dear wife who suggested joining the race last week after we attended the Mizuno run clinic. And I’m glad I joined it.

The race was organized by Unilab and proceeds would be given to the elderly at Paranaque. Contrary to other races, the distribution of giveaways began even before the race started. There were quite plenty of giveaways, and this did not include the loot bag that was given after the race.

We took a couple of giveaways before we had our bibs checked, and we didn’t have time to do our warm up. I told wifey that I’d be working hard well during the race since I have been training less for the past couple of weeks. So I told her that I wouldn’t be pacing along with her. As the gun sounded I started running the course trying to overtake as many runners us I can. The route was quite familiar, and according to my watch had quite an accurate distance. I finished at 20:04 and received my loot bag after crossing the finish. I saw my auntie Maricar who was there supporting my cousin Eirene who also joined the race. We talked for a while as I was waiting for my wife. After my wife finished the race at a very good time of 30:52, we still tried to get as much giveaways as we can after the race including a Jollibee hamburger. The only thing we skipped due to a very long queue of line was the free photo booth.

Again, if races are organized by Extribe, you can’t go wrong (almost). We had a short and sweet run with plenty of freebies and it pretty much made our day.

My Garmin Died

A very terribe thing happened this morning. To a lot of runners, yes, its a nightmare. My Garmin just died.

Now I've been searching for countless solution in the net. I've tried pressing the lap + mode button simultaneously and then pressing start after a couple of seconds, but to no avail. This is so frustrating.

The weird thing is, when I plug in the computer it says "Charging Complete", and alternates to "Charging in Progress". While plugged, I can turn it on. But when removed from the plug, its dead and I don't have a clue how to turn it on.

Did anyone experienced the same problem?

Mommy Milkshake Run

Mommy Milkshake fun run is an annual event which promotes breast feeding for mothers. Unlike other race events, registration is free. Even though the rain was drizzling, packs of people came. Since it was a family event, there were babies, children, and even some elderly joined the event. I think the oldest runner was age 89 and the youngest is barely one year old.

As for me and my wife, we brought our daughter Meekha and her yaya. We all joined the 5K category and I was with Meekha on her stroller the whole time. The fun run was indeed a fun event with plenty of freebies. My wife even won a pair of Havaianas flip-flops after winning their contest for saying “Mommy Milkshake” the longest. 

Bake Pork Barbecue after a Run

Just last Saturday, my wife attended a food festival at A. Venue mall and we ended up buying an electronic oven. It included a rotisserie so that you can roast a chicken, bake and broil. Now the question is, what recipes can I cook with it?

It’s a good thing that one particular privilege you get in joining road races is the availability of freebies. I posted long ago about the Buddy Run, and out of the many grocery items we were able to bring home, it included free magazines. No, they aren’t running magazines, but cooking magazines. Yes I am a runner and I love running, but ironically there is also another thing I love doing which somehow is an exact opposite to running – its eating. So yes, I like burning calories by running, and I love gaining them back by eating.

This morning (Monday) since it has been a long time since I last ran, I had my run at the fort, which I only did 7.5 kilometers, went home and started preparing the ingredients for one of the recipe in the Yummy magazine. Of course, I checked out the baked menus for our oven’s christening. I’m not a chef so I just followed the instructions to the book and lo and behold, my first baked Pork Barbecue. We had a great lunch thanks to the magazine’s recipe and our new oven. And perhaps I gained even more than the calories I burned this morning. But hey, I was pretty happy for the success (at least I considered not much burnt pork a success) which was somewhat like finishing a race.

The Last Journey of Ninoy (A documentary)

I barely remembered when my grandfather brought me in the middle of the Edsa rally. I heard stories about my mom and dad's experiences during the Marcos regime. Sure I know who Ninoy is. Well I guess every Filipino should, like any other heroes like Andress Bonifacio and Jose Rizal. But, I never did realize the magnitude and impact of his heroism. All I knew was that it was his death that ignited the Filipino people to fight against the Marcos regime. I have also seen and heard many documentaries about martial law. But just this morning, I saw probably the best documentary anyone can put up about Ninoy. There are only two narrators in the entirety of the film - Ninoy and Cory. The documentary was well pieced together that Cory and Ninoy seemed to have been interviewed side by side.

I would definitely recommend this film to any Filipino. The truth is, Ninoy and Cory started the battle, but it isn't over yet. The one word that Ninoy Aquino said that struck me the most was "What can one man do if the Filipino people love their slavery". I think Ninoy wants us to stand and fight for what is right. And apathy is one of the best way to betray what Ninoy and Cory stood for. What can we do? The presidential election is nearing. I am not saying who I'm voting, but whoever he is I'll choose someone who is God fearing, with integrity and character. But in any case I am not going to stand still and say yes to slavery. I'm guarding my one vote, and I'm making sure it gets counted. Perhaps thats the one small thing I can do to give justice to what Ninoy and Cory started for us.

The Science of Running

I was privileged to attend the running clinic entitled "The Science of Running" just this evening that was organized by RUNNR, which is the premiere running specialty store in the country located at Bonifacio High Street. The speakers were elite tri-athletes Adrian Mok from Singapore and Arland Macasieb. Adian talked about how to properly use a heart rate monitor, while Arland discussed the proper running technique.

I have been running for two years already and I can personally say that a heart rate monitor has helped me improve a lot in my running. Adrian showed us his actual heart rate monitor stats while training which gave me a glimpse on how I can train as well and improve my running. I once heard from someone that heart rate monitors aren’t that useful pointing out that elite runners don’t normally wear them. But I believe that technology can actually help every runner even elite runners to improve. Maybe one of the reason we don’t see that many elite runners wearing heart rate monitors is because of budget constraint. There are also some elite runners who have a heart rate monitor, but prefers not to use them during races. But even if you are not into using heart rate monitors on races, they can still be very useful in monitoring your progress during training. I myself saw its benefit and I would recommend those who want to improve to go get a heart rate monitor. RUNNR sells different lines of Polar watches that provide heart rate monitors. Prices of these watches vary depending on the functionality. Some watches have the capability not only to measure heart rate but speed and distances as well.

After Adrian discussed about heart rate monitors, Arland began discussing the proper running technique. Running technique is important if you are keen in improving your speed. If you look at the elite runners, you will easily notice the difference in style as compared to slower runners. The truth is, there are some things in our genetics that we can no longer improve upon which separates Haile from us. But, at least we know that proper running form is something we can improve on and which will definitely help improve our speed. As what Arland said, we can improve our running by using the proper form and using the right technology. The Newton running shoes which is only sold at RUNNR here in our country is the only shoe I know that promotes mid foot running. There have been debates about the most efficient foot strike, but based on studies mid foot running is the most efficient form of foot strike when running long distances. Another product that I wanted to try myself is the CWX compression tights. I’ve tried researching in the web and all I hear are praises for this product. CWX claims that wearing the tights can boost your performance because it helps improve your running efficiency and posture. Unfortunately when I visited RUNNR a couple of days ago, my size for the compression tights was out of stock. I’m waiting for the next delivery of the CWX tights which will hopefully have my size.

The clinic did not disappoint me, and I’m sure a lot of runners specially the newbies learned a lot during the clinic. Thanks to RUNNR for organizing such an event, and for making the clinic available for free.

Palawan Adventure

Last weekend, me and my wife went to Palawan Puerto Princesa. You can call it our second honey moon. I remember going to Palawan when I was still in high school and I never forgot its prestine beaches. Since my wife haven't been to Palawan, I was pretty much excited for her. I wanted her to see how beautiful our country is. Puerto Princesa is not actually the best area in Palawan, but its beauty is still breath taking.

Our itenary included the underground river tour and the island hopping tour. We skipped the city tour since we can do that on our own. We only had 3 days to spend our time at Palawan so we made it a point to be very fruitful. Of course, I wasn't leaving Palawan without experiencing to run along its roads.

Btw, our tour, accomodation, and even transportation was arranged by Isla Palawano. I highly recommend their services. It is owned by Boom Dizon who's really a cool guy. Not to mention that their tour packages are really affordable. I know this because when we were there at Palawan, I got to look at the different tour packages of other agents and their prices are sky rocketing. You can visit Isla Palawano at http://islapalawano.blogspot.com/search/label/Packages. You can also directly chat with Boom (General Manager) and his wife Sharon (Travel Consultant) from the site. This will save you of calling long distance to Palawan.