Billie Jean-ing--er, running, on the streets 12:35 AM

Michael Jackson has been dead for over two weeks now, but the entire world still continues to mourn--and pay tribute--to the King of Pop in whatever way possible.

The whole day of Monday looked pretty dismal in terms of the weather (it was raining the whole time), but because of the upcoming Run For Home race this Sunday, I sternly told myself to stick to tonight's practice run to stay in shape.

Turns out I didn't have to convince myself too much. Loaded Michael Jackson music into my iPod and spent some 30 minutes or so running blissfully in the rain-slicked pavement of Legaspi Park. Because it had just rained, nobody was running in the park except me. One of the happiest runs I've had in a long time!

I realized how perfect Michael Jackson's music is for running. Did a warm-up jog first, singing "The Way You Make Me Feel." Hahaha. It was still easy at this point to sing because I wasn't breathless yet. And then I played "Billie Jean" (my all-time favorite MJ song) on full volume during the run proper and had to resist the temptation to slow down and dance. Although unlike MJ in the music video, I had no pavements lighting up--just a lot of puddles and some mud. As for "Thriller", well, everyone loves that song, so it was fun (and slightly creepy) running to the beat of "Thriller" inside an empty park.

Finished 5km in 33 minutes. The concrete running/jogging path was sort of slippery and there were puddles everywhere, so I had to run carefully. However, I suspect that my relaxed pace had nothing to do with the slippery track--but more with my tendency to slow down, bounce and wiggle, and sing at the top of my lungs: "you wanna be tough, better do what you can, so beat it, but you wanna be bad, just Beat it, Beat It, Beat It, Beat It---!!"

Note to self: Must refrain from singing out loud during race day. Don't wanna freak out the other runners.

Microsoft IE8 Run on May 31 11:41 AM

Finally! A new race to look forward to.

The original race date (as seen above) was May 24, 2009 but since there were already 4 races lined up that same day, Microsoft decided to move theirs to May 31.

Which is perfect, so that runners don’t have to go crazy deciding which race to join. =)

The Microsoft IE8 run marks the launch of the new Internet Explorer 8 and is held for the benefit of UNICEF’s child protection program on online child safety (Yay!! More funds for children!). The intriguing thing about this run is that the race distances are in miles: 8 miles (12.8km), 4 miles (6.4km) and 2 miles (3.2km).

Technically I’ve done a training run of 12.8km already, but I don’t think I’m ready to join this race category. Will do a 4-miler instead.

To check how I’d fare in a 6.4km race, I ran this distance yesterday evening at Legaspi Park at 11:20 pm. Because it was late, I had the whole park to myself. There’s nothing so peaceful as running inside a park, having some “alone” quality time. My only companion at that time was a park security guard who probably thought I was such a weirdo for running at a late hour.

Achieved 6.4km in 41:04 minutes (6:25 min/km pacing) which is regular but could be better (I was aiming for 39 minutes). Will see in this Tuesday’s run how I’d fare.

***

Microsoft has some really good policies/whitepapers on computer privacy and online safety for children. With so many kids on the net these days, it’s important for parents/guardians to know what kind of risks children may encounter online and protect them from inappropriate content, malicious software, potential “child predators”, and even fraud.

To read more about Microsoft’s efforts in the areas of computer security, privacy and online safety, click here.

sports in the summer 11:20 PM

Sometimes I wonder if I'm just being too hard on myself.

Last Thursday, Love Grace and I went running again in Legaspi Park. Love did her usual run-walk-run-walk regimen while I was psyching myself up to run somewhere between 5km to 8km. I didn't bother to follow what the SmartCoach program wanted me to do that night, which was speedwork. Forget that.

So just to sort of compensate for my flagrant disregard of intervals, I was trying to muster the energy to run over 5km. But the summer heat that night was stifling; I couldn't feel any breeze while I was running, and as such, I felt claustrophic and unable to breathe properly. Summer can suck at times, really. I ran only 5k that Thursday evening, clocking in at 30:28 (6.1 min/km).

Some people would be okay with that, but I guess I'm just so hard on myself. Did my cool-downs wearing a somewhat dissatisfied expression on my face. Although when I was stretching, I was wincing at the usual soreness in my right shin. Even Love noticed I was limping a little. So, actually, I did right to stop at 5km.

Tomorrow, Sunday, I'm supposed to do a long run. Hmm. Will see how far I can go. The humidity is so terrible these days that the prospect of running on a treadmill inside an airconditioned gym sounds appealing. But then I think of that one-armed lolo elite runner (who looks like he's in his 60s and whom I see in some of the races) and then those Bataan Death March 102km ultramarathon runners--and I feel wimpy and idiotic for even considering running inside a gym with A/C. Silly me. Running outdoors is still the real thing.

***

I'm considering transferring to a new boxing gym starting this May. Checked one out in the Salcedo Village area this afternoon, and the best thing about it is that it's just a 10-minute walk away from the office. It's nearer to my place of work and residence, and thus, more convenient. While I'll certainly miss my old trainer, Mong, I need to check out other boxing gyms that are geographically more feasible for me, given my working hours. And if I'm not happy with the new one, I can always go back to Elorde.

The first thing I noticed when I stepped inside this new place was the "old school boxing" gym look and feel to it (similar to Elorde). No A/C, no fancy lounge and locker room areas with complimentary toiletries. Just the bare essentials: boxing ring, punching bags, speed ball, wooden floors, standard weights and a no-frills shower area. I love it. My idea of a real workout place.

The gym has the same training program as Elorde's (so I should feel at home, hopefully) and also offers boxing bag aero group exercise, which should be interesting. This one-hour workout combines traditional boxing strikes and punches with Muay Thai moves and cardio aerobics, and I'm actually kind of excited to try it. But until I actually sign up and finalize my boxing regimen this summer, I won't be posting updates on boxing in the meantime.

***

My two younger sisters, Karla and Steffi, are resuming their tennis lessons this summer. I'm happy for them but at the same time, I don't envy the sport they're in. I hate playing under the heat of the sun. It gives me migraine.

Anyway, I consider all three of us girls lucky because we've always been on the thin side--and hopefully will continue to be until we're geriatrics. Nothing scares me more than a sedentary lifestyle.

more running buddies 1:11 AM

Summer's getting to be a real bitch. Since I live 10-15 minutes away from work, I usually walk to the office. Those 10-15 minutes are becoming quite torturous, with the summer sun beating down on you. I go to work in my Havaianas now, and just put on my heels when I reach my workplace.

Today, I was wearing jeans and a thin white blouse and I was still sweating despite the office airconditioning. Lord.

Went running last Friday with Neva, Kline and their friend Sandy in Legaspi Park. I was supposed to do a 4.8k tempo run with a 1.6k warm-up and 1.6k cool down. But because it was just so effing hot and I hadn't fully digested my hungarian sausage w/ egg sandwich and coffee, my body felt heavy and so, so very hot (literally).

Ran a total of 4.36k only but at a 5.8 min/k pace, which was nice. However, I ran faster than I should have, and the entire training run left me very breathless. Not good actually. So not good. I should learn to pace myself better and be more patient. Neva did 10 rounds of 1-minute running & 2-minute walking, and was in good shape. Sandy, a karate instructor, served as Kline's pace runner. Poor Kline. For someone who hasn't joined a single 5k or 10k race, Sandy was in great shape and a natural in running.

Tonight, I had a laugh trip of a dinner with Love, Randy and Earl before my usual run. Love wanted to take up running and so we planned to run in Legaspi Park 8 or 9pm-ish. But with Randy as your dinner companion, it's impossible to end dinner early.

Love and I ended up running in the park at 10:30 pm. Mike joined us as well, so it was nice to have another running buddy.

Tonight's program stated that I should be doing a 3.2k easy run at a 7:31 min/k pace. Since I merely use the SmartCoach program as a rough guide, I decided to run longer than 3.2k tonight. So I ended up with 5k, clocking at 29:28. And at a 5.9 min/k pace. Sheht. Takbo na may konting yabang na. Although to tell you the truth, I really, really, REALLY still feel slow, because I average 132 steps per minute. The calibrations are all correct now, but I'm careful not to feel so elated over my improved pace. The true measurement anyway of improved running performance is always race day.

Randy's joining us on Thursday for the usual regular practice run in Legaspi Park. More sweat, more muscle soreness, and more running buddies!

new training PR 9:57 PM

After 2 weeks of not running, I decided my legs and ankles had a long enough break and I finally ran again tonight.

It really helps to rest one's body thoroughly. My muscles (or whatever was physically hurting) had time to heal, and I also had more time to do other stuff--like backing up my mac files, finishing a book, editing a short video for a colleague's retirement party, watching some DVDs, running errands, and, heck, even seeing the new Fast & Furious movie.

Of course, in terms of work, I also had to attend to two important direct mail campaigns that are going out this month, as well as help out in our team's latest fundraising event, the Beautiful Children Concert. (Hooray for this last one, because it was so well-attended, and Gary V. was great as usual, and hopefully we raised lots of money.)

So all in all, the 2 weeks were busy for me.

Although I was feeling a little blah tonight, I was thinking, what the heck, I'll run. Just 3K to re-condition my body. And to ensure that I would be able to correctly log my run tonight, I adjusted my watch's distance calibration to align it with that of Condura Run (which had a fairly accurate distance, according to Garmin-sporting runners who were in that event themselves). In a previous post, I had mentioned that my watch was incorrectly calibrated all this time; I've been running more than what was logged in my Timex Ironman. I should have ensured that I calibrated it properly before. My watch was logging, say for example, 5K in previous runs--and I was actually running 6.3K! Jesus.

So for tonight's training run in Legaspi Park, I made sure to compute and calibrate correctly. The first 2 kilometers were a breeze, and it felt really, really good to run again. I was running amazingly faster than usual, I wasn't feeling tired or sore, and because I was in such high spirits, I decided to go for 5K instead of 3K.

Somewhere in the 2.5K mark, I only noticed that there were two guys running behind me. In between songs playing on my iPod, I could hear them slightly huffing and puffing, keeping to a steady pace. Proud idiot that I was, I didn't want to give way and let them overtake me. So I kept to my pace, which I could feel was better than ever but left me slightly out of breath. Now I totally understand what my friend meant about not wanting to stop or go slower than the men in her running group because she didn't want to give them an excuse to think, "Ah, babae lang kasi." To hell with that, right? =) I didn't want to slow down and allow them to overtake me, and I'm sure the guys who were literally two steps behind me felt pressured to keep up.

So there they were, practically breathing down my neck, and it took all of my pride and sheer will power not to slow down. And then "Stealing Fat" by The Dust Brothers started playing on my iPod, and I knew at that moment I could outdistance them. There's a great part on this track with a very high BPM, and it has actually helped in making me speed up for a good 3 minutes. Not kidding.

Basically, I did speed up and left them behind somewhere. =)

And the best part is, I have a new training personal record (PR)! I finished 5K in 30:23 (or a pace of 6:08 min/km). Hooray!

This time, no incorrect calibration. This was the real thing. Of course, I could sense that I ran harder tonight than the usual because my "running muscles" were well-rested. So that helped a lot, in my opinion. And the fact that there were two men "pressuring" me from behind helped improve my run tonight. Hahaha!

Will see my progress in the next couple of training runs. I tend to get really sore in the ankle area; the soreness slows down my pace and makes my run suffer in general. So I'll have to take that into consideration. But for as long as I can keep to a 6 to 6.5-minute pacing without injuring myself, I have a lot to be grateful for.

Week 2 Training: Speedwork 9:40 PM

It's been a tough week for me mainly because of my impaired vision. In the office, I had to read slower in order not to strain my eyes too much, and it hurt looking at the computer screen for long periods of time. So I was actually forced to complete tasks at a much slower pace.

And speaking of slow paces, last Thursday's running program involved speedwork--which I sorely lacked. If I had a running coach present with me last Thursday, he'd probably shout "Your grade? FAIL!"

Haha. Okay, I'm sure coaches aren't that mean, but yeah, I did fail in the speedwork thing.

I was supposed to do a 1.6K warm-up, three sets of 800-meter runs at a 5:54 pace per set, with 400-meter jogs in between sets, and then a final 1.6K cool-down run. Making it a total of 8K.

ARGH. If I was made to do long, slow distance running for 8 kilometers, I'd certainly be able to hack it. But I'm not a fast runner, so 3x800 @ 5:54 presented a challenge.

I had a happy 1.6K warm-up and when that was done, I ran in place while I reset my watch's activity time and distance log back to zero. I was nervous about completing 800 meters at a pace I knew was not realistic for me, considering my current running capability. But because I aim to try everything at least once, I started to run. When my watch indicated I had reached 800 meters, I was gasping heavily, and I checked the total time: 6:02. All that torture and I was still late by 8 seconds.

By the time I started the second 800-meter set, my knees were shaking in dread. God, I can be such a wuss at times.

I clocked in at 6:15. I was pooped, my shins hurt, and it seemed like my heart was about to burst out from my chest, so I didn't bother to do the third and final 800-meter run. I just wanted to complete the rest of the 8K doing LSD running. Right after the 2nd 800-meter set, I slowed down to a more relaxing pace and let my watch continue logging the distance. The speedwork tired me out so when I reached the 1.6K cool-down, I had a faltering gait and I could feel a bad soreness in both ankles and in my right shin.

Finally, my watch registered 8K. I slowed down to a limp and stretched my legs in one of the benches in Legaspi Park. I was so, so very tired, but the nice thing about running is that my eyes feel brighter and less sore. It must be an endorphins thing.

Later that night, I lay in bed with aching muscles, mentally going over the program I had just did. The speed running was exhausting, and I didn't do the third 800-meter set, but still, I kept asking myself why I was so tired after running 8K. Eight kilometers in total should not be too much of a problem for me these days. As I was computing my overall pace, a sudden thought entered my head that actually made me sit up: I didn't run a total of 8K. I ran 9.6K instead!

After my 1.6K warm-up, I had reset my watch distance and time log to zero. And then without stopping, I proceeded to run the next 8 kilometers. I totally forgot to include the 1.6K as part of the 8K. No friggin' wonder I was more tired than the usual.

Not only am I terrible in speedwork but in basic arithmetic as well. FAIL!

pre-RUNew jitters 10:48 AM

I'm scared of McKinley Hill. There, I've admitted it. Haha.

I was only able to run that route once, during our own UNICEF Walk on the Child's Side walk/fun run last November. And it was pretty memorable in the sense that I was 15 minutes late for the 10K run because I had to attend to some logistics at the UNICEF booth before running.

By the time I joined the race, the 10K runners were way ahead, and the 5K runners had left 10 minutes ago already. It was really a bad idea for me to run at that point, but McKinley looked so tempting I just had to try.

Around an hour later, I was gasping for breath as I staggered out of Heritage Park. If it weren't for my iPod, I would have been de-motivated and would have quit altogether. I wasn't really conditioned for 10K to begin with (it was only my second time to run that distance) and I had no idea how challenging the hilly portions were pala in that serene but deceivingly friendly park. My PR wasn't terribly bad in spite of my 'umble 1-month newbie status (7:40), but the route left me drained and feeling a little down about my performance.

So now that I'm facing McKinley Hill again tomorrow (this time only for a 5K), I'm a bit jittery. I had 3 practice runs this week in Legaspi Park but I still feel woefully unprepared. (To tell you the truth, I don't even have a formal training program to follow, and I just decide on the length of time for running on a very ad hoc basis.) Last Thursday, I ran at a moderate pace for 40 minutes for endurance purposes and covered around 6K, I think. And then yesterday, I did a short maintenance run for 25 minutes. Not sure how much distance I covered, but I ran at a faster pace than that of Power Run and went up and down the few hilly portions of Legaspi Park (they're just little grassy knolls, basically). Shucks, I really need to get myself an affordable GPS running watch soon in order to simply track my pace and distance.

Lord, I don't ask for much, and I'm not even expecting a sub 7 pace for this McKinley route--but at least please, please don't let me embarrass myself in tomorrow's run.

a different kind of Valentine's 9:14 PM

Got back from my 4-day trip to Camarines Norte just last Thursday. It was a good site visit, and I'm psyched to share my photos and notes on this experience. Currently, I'm editing the pics on Photoshop (just for color enhancement purposes) and I'll post everything soon. =)

For now, I would just like to say that it's good to be back in Manila. I miss the city, my books, my workouts...and my coffee! Now I know how a drug addict feels like when one is in withdrawal mode. I was hoping there would be good native brewed coffee in Cam Norte; sadly, the only decent coffee available was in the sole Jollibee branch of Daet, Camarines Norte. But then, that's all part of the site visit experience, and I will tell the whole Cam Norte story soon!


Thursday, Feb 12

Arrived in Makati last Thursday at 6:30 pm. It took me some time to lug all the food and other pasalubong up to my place and unpack my bags. Then I met up with A because he wanted to buy something from Nike before running that same night.

Believe it or not, even if that 9-hour road trip back to Manila was exhausting, I was dying to run. All that seafood and that coconut milk found in Bicol cuisine could not possibly cause zero impact on my weight. And I was right: I gained 2 pounds from that trip. Moreover, I would have wanted to run while I was in Daet, but there was no good place for running there. So aside from coffee withdrawal, this Ms. Kick Galvanic was seriously suffering from running/workout withdrawal syndrome as well.

A needed new running socks so we checked out Nike. It took a lot of willpower to refrain myself from buying this pretty purple training jacket; I decided to purchase instead, as a sort of Valentine's gift, two pairs of Nike Dri-Fit Lightweight running socks for A.

Socks. It was all very romantic.

Then we ran in Legaspi Park at around 11:30 pm. A warned me not to overexert myself (as I was wont to do) because I was tired from the trip.

As fate would have it for obstinate people like me, Fatigue eventually reared its ugly head. I ran at a moderate pace for only 24 minutes straight, and I had to stop right after because I was just so damn tired. When I slowed down to walk, I cursed out of frustration. I'm supposed to be conditioning myself to run at 5K for tomorrow's Power Run by the Manila Bay, and my semi-run that Thursday night felt like a DNF on race day.

Sometimes I wish had formal training on running just so I'd be able to mentally handle exhaustion better. So far, all I do are just practice runs at the park without even having an exact idea of my pace per kilometer. Thank God I at least have A for a running buddy (among other things, hehe).

Kidding aside though, I need to invest on one of those watches that can track my pace, distance and calories burned. And if I religiously follow a 16-week training program recommended in Runner's World, I can at least informally train on an individual capacity.


Friday, Feb 13

Friday the 13th. Luckily, it was a good, good day for me. Left the office at 5:45 pm to run some "running" errands before having dinner with A. I first went to NBC Tent at the Fort to register for Sunday's Power Run and then walked towards Nike Bonifacio High Street to register for a 5K slot in the Feb 22 RUNew race in McKinley Hill. (I haven't "tasted" McKinley Hill since UNICEF Walk on the Child's Side 2008, and I'm torn between anticipation and dread just thinking about the uphill portions. Haha.)

When I emerged from Nike, happily clutching all my race kits, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Coach Rio's Nike Running Training Clinic session that night was taking place right in front of the Nike High Street branch. Said a quick hello to Rio, who insisted I sign up for at least updates on the training clinic. And then I immediately checked to see if my friend Lara was there. Yup, she was right in front, doing warm-ups with the rest of the session participants. Mouthed a hello and goodbye to her before I left High Street. Wow, I really wish I could join the clinic. High Street would have been an ideal venue, but most of the sessions take place in ULTRA Pasig, which isn't convenient for me on week nights.

Next on the agenda was socks. Again.

If A had new socks, damn, I wanted new socks too (this is the brat in me talking). I've been wanting a pair of women's Nike Elite Running socks with footstrike cushioning for the longest time and now that I've recently acquired a Nike Women VIP card, I'm entitled to a 10% discount on all regular-priced Nike products--and a 20% discount on my birthday month! Hooray! I canNOT wait for June. =)

I really enjoy shopping for sportswear and gear, so buying running socks for myself is actually a real treat. So I went to my favorite Nike Women branch in Greenbelt 4 to get the socks (and resisted once more the urge to buy the pretty purple training jacket) and then window shopped at Bratpack and Columbia in Greenbelt 5 to see if they had any interesting sportswear.

By the time A and I had dinner, it was already 9:30 pm. We had a nice and filling dinner in Cibo. Despite our efforts to trim down, we couldn't resist having a 3-course meal: minestrone soup, tuna salad and a light seafood pasta each. The food in itself was healthy but we felt ridiculously stuffed by 10:30 pm and wanted the heavy feeling to go away. FAST. Well, there was only one recourse for us.


Saturday, Feb 14

At 12:41 am, we found ourselves running in Legaspi Park. Never mind that we were running at an ungodly hour. We just needed to burn the calories from that dinner. And we wanted to run, period.

A and I ran side by side at an easy pace for 30 minutes. I was so happy, I was bobbing my head to the beat of the music on my iPod. Because it was just a maintenance run, we didn't go over 30 minutes. I felt like I could do more than 30 but because the race was tomorrow, I didn't want to tire myself too much. So we stopped running at 1:11 am, and walked around the park twice to cool down.

In a way, it was the best Valentine's Day I've had in years. We don't normally celebrate Valentine's on the day itself because it's cheesy to do so, and you have to deal with the stress of eating dinner in a crowded restaurant. So I'm glad A and I were still able to avoid the whole V Day cheesiness factor and spend the weekend the way we really wanted to.

Enough writing at this point. Will need to rest as race day is tomorrow. Good luck to all Power Run participants!

back to running 10:19 PM

In a manner so typical of A, he showed up at my place this evening and asked me, last minute, to prepare my things and run with him. Because I boxed already this morning and I had just recovered from a bout of sickness, I didn't want to run at first. After all, I promised not to push myself too hard.

Well, that resolve lasted for a total of two minutes.

My last run was weeks ago, and I was raring to run again. So I hurriedly got dressed and prepared my things--and in my haste, I even forgot my watch and the thin rubber Belkin skin that I use for my iPod touch when running.

Twenty minutes later, we were in Legaspi Park, and I was semi-bouncing in delight because the air was so cool, there were just a few people running / jogging / walking, and it just seemed like a great evening for running!

To take it easy, I only had a 25-minute run/jog. It was relaxing, just whooshing past benches and people at a regular, easy pace. No hard running here. After a 3-week hiatus from this sport, I felt it best to simply condition my body again to running in a gradual manner. Tomorrow, I will run for 25-30 minutes and see how it goes.

Legaspi Park 8:34 PM

A picked me up from work earlier this evening (yes, we still see each other regularly), and invited me at the last minute to run tonight.

Drat. I've been wanting to run for the past few days, but work has kept me busy. Now that I'm able to get out of the office early (8 pm is already early by my standards), my body isn't conditioned to run. Woke up this morning with aching bones and a generally unwell feeling. Oh no. Hope i don't come down with the flu or something.

So here I am, sitting inside A's parked car, typing this entry while he does a 25-minute jog/run around Legaspi Park. I haven't run in this place before, and to my surprise, it's full of people at this hour. I suppose it's a convenient park for running and walking after office hours since it's situated in the middle of office buildings.

Legaspi Park is bigger compared to Salcedo Park (where I do practice runs at night during weekdays), with the former having a nice little uphill path for a bit of running challenge. But the path in Legaspi Park is narrow, and one has to overtake and weave his way through the little groups of people leisurely walking so as not to break the running momentum. But I'll definitely give the place a try one of these days.

While I'm currently doing weight maintenance and improving my pace, A is trying to lose weight in a major way. He intends to lose 20 pounds, and I'm helping him with his diet (Actually, it's not a diet, as I honestly, honestly don't believe in crash diets. It's simply all about proper eating habits and nutrition. I'm not a nutrition expert, and all I'm saying is that if people researched more about good dieting, they'd be able to slim down AND learn how to eat properly without feeling deprived. But I should stop ranting now.)

My next planned run is on February 15 at SM Mall of Asia, by the bay (if I manage to register on time). The route consists of a fairly even path--unlike Fort Bonifacio's gently sloping terrain--so it should be a relaxing run. Here's hoping my PR gets better!