Off to Macau

with the family and returning on the 2nd. Hoping to get a few runs in.

By the way, another milestone was reached yesterday. I logged 600+ miles on Nike+, and reached the Top 5 in Distance in the Philippines! :-) What a way to end the year, eh?



Have a wonderful New Year!

Running related resolutions for 2008

• do one long run every 2 weeks;
  
• run a minimum of 25mi/wk, unless it's a taper week;
  
• do one cross training activity each week;
  
• prevent injuries through proper warmup, stretching and cooldown;
  
• discover the world by running in 20 different cities/locations;
  
• complete 4 half/full marathons in 2008. A few races I'd like to run:
  • Jan 20, Subic Marathon
  • Feb 24, Philippine Marathon
  • Aug 3, The San Francisco Marathon
  • Oct 19, Nike Women's Marathon
  • Nov 2, US Half Marathon SF
• and lastly, to sleep more!

Pretty ambitious, eh? I'm not sure whether listing my resolutions on this blog is a good idea, but if it'll keep me on track, then so be it.

Happy running in 2008!

Hey Lifeguard!

So I went for a swim the other day. Did my usual 60 laps on a 25 meter pool. I was highly distracted. By these two teenagers leaning against the pool divider to my right. They were making out. I'm not a prude, but how can I not notice, when they were encroaching my lane. With legs wrapped around each other and some serious groping going on! Come on people, some discretion please. Plus, this is a 6 lane pool, it's empty except for the three of us, why pick the lane right next to mine? And Lifeguard, hellooow! Isn't part of your job description to discourage this kind of thing?!?

Anyway, it made it an interesting swim...

Know when to stop

... drinking. Wine overflowed at last night's affair. We were forewarned that a surprise awaited us. It was cocktail hour at the grounds of Meralco! Graced for a while, by the presence of the chairman himself. We were an intimate party of ten, cozy in an outdoor shed lit with a thousand lights. There was a full bar, liveried staff, a dressed table, crystal ware... Our hosts do know how to entertain. Even an impromptu serenade by one dashing man.





If you haven't seen Meralco at this time of the year, do try to see their display. It's simply amazing, they've created a whole village made up of copper wire and lights!

Dinner followed several hours later, back at the home of our gracious host. The food, the friends, the joy this holiday season, so many reasons to be thankful for.



But anyway, I woke up today, highly dehydrated from last night's merriment. I can't even think about running today. Or drinking another glass of wine, ever! A good resolution for next year ~ everything in moderation!

Currently

listening :: and loving Explosions in the Sky's album, The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place

considering :: running the half instead of the full Philippine Marathon this coming February

making :: presents using scraps and found items ~ I'm doing my bit to save the world! Pictures to follow once gifts are distributed.

UPDATE: Here are some of the stuff I made, a book cover, a pencil sleeve and several iPod Touch cases.

My friend, the runner

No long runs logged over the weekend... very, VERY bad! I swear to get one in this weekend.

I did an easy 4mi walk/jog with a friend on Sunday though. This friend of mine just started running several weeks ago. She did quite well, we jogged 5min and walked 2min for an hour. I'm so proud of her, she even reached the "zone" during her last 5min jog! Although she is athletic, I never envisioned her as a runner... (she's an equestrian, was the captain of her high school tennis team, and has dabbled into all sorts of martial arts).


Early morning run, U.P.

From the looks of it, she will be more than just the occasional runner. She's outfitted herself with a whole lot of goodies: a 3rd gen iPod Nano, the Nike+ Sports Kit, a pair of Asics running shoes, and a running watch. Now I'm telling her that all she needs are some dri-fit shirts. But she refuses (for now anyway), as she's a 100% cotton shirt kinda girl.

Whoever said running was a cheap sport didn't know what he was talking about! There are all sorts of must have running paraphernalia. But seriously, once you've got the gear, that's it, you're done spending. Oh, except for the shoes, which you need to replace every 450-500 miles. As a skier and a diver, I can tell you that running is a bargain. It's not a destination sport, you can run anywhere. You can wear your running shoes even when you're not running ~ you can't do that with fins or ski boots.

Back to my running friend... she's got serious issues with Nike+, she believes it's a huge waste of money. It's given her problems from the start. Such as:

• difficulty getting her sensor to work
• the Nano acting sluggish and the click wheel unresponsive when using the sports kit
• problems downloading data to the Nike+ website
• Nike+ website isn't intuitive

It's too bad she's experiencing all these problems, because I'm a believer of Nike+. It's what got me running and it continues to motivate me to run more. I hope it all works out for her before she gives up on it...

UPDATE:: 12/26 My friend gave up on Nike+. She ended up buying the Garmin Forerunner 305 today. She's tested it and is happy with it!

Signed up for a half marathon

Because I've been slacking off on my long runs... And also, to counter the deluge of caloric goodness I have, and will be eating, this holiday season. For the most part, I will be sticking with Hal Higdon's Marathon Training - Intermediate 1 plan. Just a few minor changes though to accommodate the half marathon.

EVENT:   Subic Marathon
DISTANCE:   Half Marathon (21K)
DATE:   Jan 20, 2008
ROUTE:   route

This will be my 2nd race, ever. Hopefully it will indicate whether I'm good and ready to run a full marathon the following month.

Subic is 37 days away from now. Yikes!
And the Philippine Marathon is 72 days away, double yikes!!

Marathon projection

Considering last night's 8.85mi run, I was curious what my projected finish time for a marathon would be. I plugged my data into Runner's World Training Calculator, and this is what I got...


Yes! Based on this prediction, I will finish under 5hrs!

Oh my, Batanes

I haven't watched a movie in a long time, so over dinner last night, my cousin, sister-in-law and I all expressed interest in watching the movie, Batanes. Consequently,plans were made to watch it today.

You know how sometimes plans are made, but often times those plans just tend to fizzle out? Well unfortunately, this plan did push through. Not that I didn't enjoy the company, I did! It's just I wish I could recommend this movie, but I won't. So instead, I will leave you with images of Batanes...

Because I can

I love to run.  It's who I am.  There are days though when I don't feel like running.  Sometimes, I try to get out of it, but then I think of the guilt that will follow.  And, the zero miles logged for the day.  So inevitably I always, though reluctantly, head out the door.  I'll take no excuses from me.  

Except for those two times I decided to sleep in and run later, however later never came...

Speaking of excuses, I came across Dread Pirate Rackham's blog recently, and I liked what she had to say about it.

...It seemed like I was surrounded by people who said "running? that's crazy" or "good for you, I can't run because of [insert X, Y, or Z lame/semi lame excuse]."

Everybody has an excuse. Or a story. Or a reason they can't.

They can't, but I can. What they don't realize is that I'm really no different from them.

I can totally relate! She also has her own set of running rules, 27 of them! Check it out here. If you like her blog, and are so inclined, vote for her blog as one of the Best Endurance Sports Blog in 2007 here.

Training Sched Week 9

MON::   swim
TUE::   4mi
WED::   7mi
THU::   4mi
FRI::   strength
SAT::   7mi
SUN::   15mi
TOTAL::   37mi

NOTE: Mileage listed above was meant for Week 8, but because I didn't follow it, I am repeating it for Week 9.

Recap of Week 8

MON::   -
TUE::   4.6mi
WED::   -
THU::   5.47mi; strength
FRI::   swimming
SAT::   6.2mi
SUN::   8.48mi
TOTAL::   24.76mi

Week 8 was a "light" week for me. Had I stuck to my original training schedule, today's long run would have been 15mi and I would have run a total of 37mi for the week. But I had a lot of concerns, mostly my shins. So I took 3 days off from running, but added strength training and swimming.

Now that I have the 1061s, I don't think I need to worry about my shins anymore. But, I will take it easy and make sure to take two days off from running each week.

New running shoes; Part 2

Nike Moto 4, Nike Air Structure Triax 10+, NB WR1061

Within a month of getting the Triax, I bought another pair of running shoes, the New Balance WR1061.  This shoe is highly rated here and here.  A couple of reviewers mentioned though that this shoe is classified as "neutral plus," therefore suited for heavier runners.  Uh oh, there is no way you can classify me as heavy.  Still, I plunged ahead with the purchase because the selection of women's running shoes in Manila is so limited.  Plus, it was on sale!

Already, the 1061 is showing promise.  I am SO happy to say that after several runs totaling 14.7mi, I haven't felt any pain whatsoever! :-)  Huh, a shoe really does make a difference.

Shoe Mileage

- Nike Max Moto 4: 467

- Nike Triax 10x: 46  (Retired)

- NB WR1061: 15

C+S moves back home

My youngest brother, C and his wife S temporarily moved back home yesterday as they await completion of their unit in Boracay. They plan to spend half their time in Bora and the other half in Manila. Welcome back!


This will be their amazing view

Shin splints

I read up a little on shin splints and found this article, Your Shins by Martha Schindler on Runner's World. This paragraph caught my eye...

...A runner who overpronates might buy a rigid shoe hoping to keep her ankles from turning, he explains, but many motion-control shoes are simply too stiff for a woman's less-muscular foot to bend. "If you hear a slapping noise every time your foot hits the ground, your shoes are too stiff," he notes...

AHA! I may just have come to the root of my problem. I recently started using these pair of shoes. Each time my foot hits the ground, these shoes make a loud slapping noise which I can hear through my headphones. So much for buying a shoe voted "Editor's Choice," if it isn't appropriate for you. I'm actually a neutral runner, not an overpronator, and this shoe corrects overpronation.

Also on Runner's World, this article Get Healthy Calves and Shins, by Ted Spiker, describes shin splints.

Pain down the front of your lower leg is likely due to shinsplints--or medial tibial stress syndrome, as medical practitioners prefer to call it. It's thought of as a beginner's injury, but shinsplints can strike anyone, especially those who overtrain. They're caused by degeneration of the muscles or tissues that attach to the tibia (shinbone). Anterior shinsplints affect the tibialis anterior muscle (outer side of the tibia), which keeps your toes from dragging when you take a step and lowers the forefoot to the ground. Posterior shinsplints indicate irritation of the posterior tibialis muscle (inner side of the tibia), which decelerates the pronation of the foot after heel-strike. Too many miles with too little rest, improper biomechanics, or tightness and weakness in the calf muscles are all contributing factors, says Janet Hamilton, a registered clinical exercise physiologist and author of Running Strong and Injury Free. Typically, this pain strikes when you start to run and stops once you've warmed up. If you have shinsplints, the best remedies are rest, icing, stretching and strengthening exercises, and anti-inflammatories...

Interest vs Commitment

The difference between interest and commitment is that

• when you're interested in doing something, you do it
  only when it is convenient
  
• when you're committed to something, you accept
  no excuses, only results!

Unfortunately, I will be doing less running and more swimming and strength training for the next couple of weeks. Just letting my shins rest a bit. BUT, I'm still very much committed to my training.

iPod Nano freeze & a visit to an orthopedic doctor

Quickly flipping through the menu to start my run, my Nano froze :-( Ergo today's run isn't recorded on the Nike+ and Runner+ sites. Per the treadmill, I ran 4.60mi. No major shin pains even though I used my problem shoes.

Visited an orthopedic doctor today for a consult on my shins. He thinks it's just strained muscles and too much running. Just to be sure, he asked me to get an AP/Lat xray of my right leg from knee to ankle joint. He didn't ask to see my shoes nor check the way I run. Recommended that I research on stress fracture and compartment syndrome.

Will get a second opinion from a sports doctor... and also a new pair of running shoes.

Boracay, overdone

I'm back in Manila from a great but exhausting trip to Boracay! It was early morning runs, lazing underneath the shade of an umbrella, traipsing around the island, happy hours starting at 4pm... I'm not as young as I'd like to think I am, so I held back and didn't bother keeping up with friends. Still, my body couldn't handle all the activities, and so here I am nursing an upset stomach. Because of this, I had to forego my scheduled long run earlier today. It's too bad, because running conditions in Boracay at this time of the year is close to perfect. You've got the view, a bit of wind, a little sunshine, clean air...

Did 2 not so easy "easy" runs over the weekend though, for a total of 8.2mi. Again experienced some shin problems on my right leg. Did the walk/run bit as my shins were way too tight and I was in pain. I need to get this checked before it gets out of control. Shoes used: my old Salomons.

Dining:: Manana, True Food, Lemon, Dos Mestizos, Smoke Resto, Real Coffee, Moondogs
Happy Hour:: Manana, Aria, Discovery Shores, Tides, Cocomangas
Made:: 2008 NY resolutions and a pledge to do a weekly photo exchange with CV
Word Tripping:: 517