the chocolate game 10:11 PM

I am currently obsessed with Chocolatier 3: Decadence By Design, the 3rd installment in this popular game series. For the past few days, I've been sleeping late, truly fixated on building my chocolate empire.

I wouldn't consider myself a gamer because there are basically only two games I really love: The Sims and Chocolatier. (Although I do like playing time management games sometimes--like the Diner Dash series and Burger Shop). The Sims lets me play God and play around with furniture--while Chocolatier is, well, all about chocolate.

I love chocolate. And I so love this game.

4-Miler: Microsoft IE8 Run (May 31) 8:48 PM

It was drizzling at 5:30 am when i did my warm-ups at the assembly area of the Microsoft IE8 Run in between the NBC Tent and High Street.

The rain wasn't obviously going to stop any time soon, but that fact didn't deter the crowd of participants from running. I felt particularly happy in this event, because it was being held for the benefit of UNICEF's Child Protection program (on online child safety), and a good number of us from the fundraising, communication and child protection sections were there this morning. So it was indeed nice to stay at the UNICEF booth pre- and post-race (we were also selling products from our new line of gifts there) and have a laugh with good friends from work.

To make this entry short but sweet (as I am currently absorbed with a new, ahem, computer game--which is another story in itself), I'll do the lazy way out and do bullet points. Sort of what like The Bull Runner does, when she reviews races.

Highlights:
- new route, new distance (I've never run in the University Parkway area before)
- exciting route for the 8-mile runners (from Bonifacio Global City area, up the Kalayaan flyover, on Buendia up to the Makati Post Office, and then back. That is one hell of a route.)
- the light rain had a cooling effect and felt nice on the skin--and no sun to make the run tougher!
- ample water available to all runners (although I didn't have to stop at the water stations, because I carried in my pocket my own small bottle)
- race started on time
- good post-race program; the host had the crowd all riled up and excited for the raffle
- really amazing raffle prizes from Microsoft and sponsors like HP and Mizuno! (too bad I'm generally unlucky and I never win at raffles)
- inflatable playground for the kids, the same kind of playground that we had for UNICEF Walk on the Child's Side 2008
- UNICEF booth with our banners on anti-child pornography and our face-to-face fundraisers trying to get new pledge sign-ups. The booth showcased our gift items--and people were going to our booth and buying!
- ample food booths for the hungry ones
- yummy post-event breakfast at Pancake House sponsored by Microsoft

Low Points:
- not enough distance markers. There was only one marker: the half-way point. It was difficult tracking how I was doing on a per-mile basis. I didn't want to check my watch all the time because I wanted to concentrate on the road ahead of me.
- slippery portions. Upon gunstart for the 4-mile race, the guy right beside me slipped on this metal surface thing on the road! I felt panic for him and prayed he didn't get injured. And when I crossed the finish line, there was that blasted metal surface again! I almost slipped! Puddles on the rain were okay, though. It was fun sort of splashing around a bit, and my Nike Zooms did well in terms of traction.
- DEAD FROG IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. Okay, this is obviously not Microsoft's fault, haha. I just loathe the sight of frogs so much. When I saw the dead 'un this morning, I let out a small scream. It was lying on its back, with its stiff legs raised up and its white underbelly clearly seen. It was so hideous. The advantage here was that the sight of the dead amphibian made me run faster. I kept praying that I wouldn't encounter live frogs the rest of the way.


My right knee was bothering me the whole time. I've been feeling a little pain since Thursday (when I did a practice 6.4 km run), and it didn't let up during today's race. But I think I've managed to bear the pain fairly well. Clocked in around 42-43 minutes (6.7 min/km). Still average. I always hope to do better. The good thing is, every time I run a race, I show some improvement naman, which is encouraging, of course!

Next race? Mizuno Infinity Run on June 7. 5 km, hopefully, if my knee stops acting up.

***

Read an interesting entry in Takbo.ph on why two or more pairs of running shoes are better than one. It does make a lot of sense, you know. Running is still relatively cheaper than other sports, and the least one can do is invest on good running shoes. My Nike Zooms are still in okay condition but I need to get a new pair (or two?) very soon.

I have two battered hands: the left and the right 11:43 PM

I was in such a bad mood yesterday evening. To let out my anger, I did two hours' worth of boxing. One hour working on the bags and another hour with Ryan and his mitts.

There I was, punching away angrily at the wall bag and delivering straight rights as forcefully as I could--that I barely noticed that my trainer was standing a few meters away from me, observing my punches. It didn't help that I was, quite visibly, looking teary-eyed and frustrated while I attacked the punching bag mounted on the wall.

I think he could tell right away that I was in an ugly mood because he said very quietly, "Okay, huwag ka nang umiyak, ha. Ilabas mo na lang ang galit mo sa suntok."

The fact that he could guess how shitty I was feeling made me want to cry out of sheer rage even more--and relief as well that at least someone understood me at that point.

By the time my trainer was ready to do some mitt/glove work with me, I was pretty fired up. Spent my energy on delivering the combinations he shouted, and I noticed that I was really lunging at him to strike the necessary blows on his mitts. Halatang nanggigigil ako.

My fists were really, really hurting, and again, Ryan could understand how I was feeling, because I was, I suppose, wearing this pained, tight-lipped expression on my face. So he said, after an hour, that we've had had enough for that session.

When he took out my hand wraps, he gingerly flexed and examined my beaten-up hands--and then announced that I should take a break from boxing for the rest of the week.

I was disappointed with his decision (because I really love cardio boxing) but also somewhat relieved. Because on taking a closer look at my hands later that night, I could see that I've abused them so much these past couple of weeks ever since I started working with my new trainer.

Basically, these are the "almost-injuries" that I'm sporting right now on my hands:

On the left corner: a very, very, very sore left wrist (from all those angry, reckless left hooks) and a strained pinky (because of an inaccurate execution of a left uppercut).

On the right corner: a small knuckle wound that hasn't totally dried up (because of the continuous punching and contact with mitts), and a noticeably swollen knuckle (from all those straight rights, which seem to get stronger every time I box). This middle knuckle is perpetually swollen, even in the day time; some officemates have already even noticed how much bad shape my right hand is in at the moment.

Ryan wasn't usually one to make me quit and rest, but I guess he was alarmed at the state of my hands (thank God there were no broken bones though) that he actually ordered me to have a breather from boxing.

That means I can only box again starting next Monday. (*sad face*) BUT, at least I can concentrate more on running this week, since the Microsoft IE8 run is taking place this coming Sunday. (*happy, tense-excited face*)

***

I am currently re-reading The Andromeda Strain. It seems like such an apt thing to read in these swine-flu-ridden times. And how I miss Michael Crichton. He wrote some pretty kitschy passages at times--but, overall, he was able to come up with some really damn fine, entertaining books as well.

the right to play 8:51 PM

I wish I were young again, so that I could play with these.

Actually, I can buy this UNICEF Transport Play Set (SRP: Php1,300) and keep it in my work area. So that when I'm feeling particularly stressed, I'll just whip it out from under my table and start playing. Haha.

Kidding aside, I think it's a great toy set. It's never too early to let children be familiar with UNICEF work. =)

Oh, and here's another really cool toy, for kids and adults alike:

official Adidas UNICEF match-size football (SRP: Php 1,000)

For some reason, I want this as well, even if I don't know how to play football.

We have an exciting line-up of new UNICEF gifts this year, so hope you can support UNICEF by purchasing these toys. Sales proceeds will go to UNICEF Philippines' education programs for children. We will be uploading the gift catalogue in our website soon (www.unicef.org/philippines) but in the meantime, please visit Hobbes and Landes (as they carry our gift line) or the UNICEF office at 31/F Yuchengco Tower, RCBC Plaza, Ayala Avenue cor Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati if you want to browse and purchase any of our gift items.

a lesson in hydration 12:32 AM

Last Monday, May 11, my trainer Ryan had something in store for me. We boxed for an hour straight and he didn't allow me to have water in between. But he wanted me to take a conservative amount of water before the 1-hour session to prep me.

No water within that 1-hour period. No water during breaks. Actually, what breaks?

He only spent like a total of 60 seconds stretching my arms and then back to the never-ending series of 3-minute rounds. No punching bags or speed ball. Just one straight hour of punching his mitts as he screamed out all the combos he wanted me to execute. It was crazy. His rationale was that I could learn to endure better by not depending so much on the water during breaks. Yeah, I did endure, but I had cracked lips, a dry throat and a wild look on my face by the time the one hour was up.

Before that Monday's session, my wound was still raw and very, very sore, so to protect it, Ryan had to put a Band-Aid, layers of plaster tape, a foam-like knuckle padding, tightly bandaged hand wraps and finally the gloves. I was beaming seconds before we started boxing, because I figured the wound would be safe from extra harm. Right?

Wrong.

Because he made me box for an hour, all that continuous punching battered my knuckles again, and I could sense that the wound was opening up once more. And I knew there would be blood. Argh. The pain, coupled with the fact that I was so damned thirsty, made me glare at him as I punched endlessly. And all that my highly sympathetic trainer could do was grin in amusement and shout, for everyone in the gym to hear, "A, so galit ka? Kung galit ka, lakasan mo yung suntok mo!"

And I complied, because I was angry. I also felt like a sissy; my eyes were getting teary-eyed because of the knuckle pain and because it was so unfair that I didn't get to have any water, while the other trainers made their girl trainees drink every now and then. Threw some really angry left hooks at Ryan. Man, when you're sweaty, thirsty and dealing with a constantly smarting knuckle wound on your straight right punching hand, and you know that there are people in the gym watching you and Ryan train, you can't NOT be angry for being forced into the spotlight.

I knew I ended up doing okay anyway, and Ryan still insisted afterwards that I punch unusually hard for a girl my size (I didn't know if that was a compliment on my punching or a sexist remark on my built), but I couldn't help feeling disgruntled that he ordered me not to have water during breaks. Jeez, even Manny Pacquiao gets to have water in between rounds.

This Monday's session (May 18), I came prepared. Made sure I drank a lot of water before getting to the gym, and then I drank a bit more as Ryan was putting hand wraps on me. I had this defiant look on my face as I sipped water from my jug, and Ryan laughed and said I could drink all the water I wanted and he wasn't going to stop me. But he said I was to box for a little over an hour and then do 250 ab crunches.

I was so delighted, like I had been given a reprieve. So we started to box. Learned some new combos, and kept on boxing as the minutes ticked away. Ryan's eyes were red (because he had been punched in the face this morning during a sparring session in preparation for his May 30 competition), and he looked tired but serious, so I wanted to do well. Although my body felt slightly sluggish due to all that water, I was punching okay. The wound wasn't bothering me that much anymore.

Suddenly, Cris from the reception area had the bright idea of playing "Careless Whisper" on the gym's sound system, and right on cue, Ryan drops his mitts on the wooden floor, whips off his shirt, and starts his gigolo dance--all in one fluid movement. Right in front of me. (He's done this before, actually, the whole topless, gigolo "Careless Whisper" act, while I do my crunches, and it's not exactly the kind of thing that keeps me concentrated on my ab work because I, and the entire gym, are just laughing our heads off.) So anyway, there I was, inches from his gyrating body, trying not to die from too much laughter, as the others cheer and laugh at Ryan's antics as well. Obviously, he loves being in the spotlight. And this "Careless Whisper" performance of his is getting so popular, I'm afraid someone will video it and put in on YouTube someday.

When we got back into the boxing routine (with "Careless Whisper" still blaring from the speakers AND on repeat mode, would you believe), Ryan let me have frequent water breaks, and I drank greedily. But then, after some time, I could really feel that my stomach was getting heavy from the drinking, and I felt like I overhydrated this time. Ryan could sense it, because I was breathing heavily and although my punches were okay strong, I wasn't as quick and as driven. I. FELT. HEAAAVY.

He looked at me knowingly and sadistically, and I groaned in realization that he was giving me a lesson. On water, for cryin' out loud. I should never drink too much during breaks. No wonder he was against the idea of letting me have those frequent water breaks.

So how come the other girls training in the gym get to drink all the water they want, I asked.

He shrugged and simply said I had very good endurance. Hence, I should be learning to use it to my advantage. Besides, he added, he had higher expectations of me. So no water for me while boxing. Or at least, not that much.

I felt so mollified by his explanation that I went for my 250 ab crunches without complaining.

armchair traveling 1:18 AM

Because I had nothing to do this Sunday (and because I was still reeling from the mini trauma of having my possessions stolen from me in broad daylight last Saturday), I stayed at home. Spent the first half of my day Facebooking and downloading Mac software updates and torrent files.

Then I saw my younger sister Karla's copy of The Time Traveler's Wife lying around the house, and out of idle curiousity, I picked it up. I was bored, it was a book I haven't read yet, and I knew that Hollywood had just made a movie adaptation. So I figured, might as well read it before the movie came out.

The book is 518 pages long, and I read it in one sitting. Specifically within a 4-hour period. Not because it was captivatingly good, but because it was an easy read. I'm not a big fan of flowery romance books, and although Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife isn't as silly as other romance books out there (coughtwilightcough and ahemnicholassparksahem), it was, in my opinion, close to being romantic drivel. I suppose that some people who share my opinion may have given up halfway through the book, but I don't quit on a book altogether, whether it's trashy bad or boring. I suppose it's a discipline that most readers have, the will to finish a book. The only novel that I've totally given up on was Marcel Proust's Remembrance Of Things Past but that was because it was too cerebrally exhausting, and I was humble enough to admit to myself that I wasn't ready to read him yet. Will probably read Proust when I'm in my patient 60's or 70's. As for Hitler's Mein Kampf, I am still reading it in small doses, because one can't simply take in all that frenzied fanaticism in one sitting.

I am digressing. Anyway, people will always have different definitions of what a good book is like. The Time Traveler's Wife, in my opinion, is just one of those bland reads. I found the whole time travel / switching from one period to another exhausting, as it was happening every, say, 3 pages or so. The whole thing gave me a headache. I think the story could have been told in a more condensed manner, even if the sequencing was non-linear. There were just too many unnecessary demonstrations of "I-love-you-regardless-of-whatever-time-and-age-we're-in"--which is basically the theme of the novel.

Maybe I'm just being cynical about love. Although come to think of it, I totally love Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love In The Time Of Cholera, and that was an unabashedly romantic story.

I admire though Niffenegger's efforts to tell the story in such a radical, rapid time-switching fashion and still manage to establish a solid element of linearity in her novel; as a reader, I am still taken through the usual plot conventions of exposition, conflict, etc., but the novel's climactic scenes take place not in the present but as flashbacks in time--flashbacks which have now become clearer and more explained to the reader since the pieces of the puzzle have fallen mostly into place.

The good part about spending the whole afternoon reading is finding out that I still haven't lost that ability to read fast. I used to finish one novel (average of 500-700 pages?) in less than a day when I had more time and work was less demanding. So even if The Time Traveler's Wife isn't something I'd read again ever, at least I was able to spend some time reading. No pun intended, haha.

***

Can't wait to box later this evening. I hope my trainer isn't sick anymore, so that I can pretend he's The-Good-For-Nothing-Who-Stole-My-Stuff. Now that'll make me punch away for an hour or so.

lost and found 11:35 PM

My bag--and all of its contents--got stolen today. I am so pissed off.

My mobile phone was an old unit, so I could basically afford to lose that (I was planning to buy a new phone anyway), and I was able to have my SIM and ATM cards blocked, so those were taken care of. Thankfully, my wallet then just a bit of cash (Php 300 to 400, maybe) and that I had not withdrawn any large amounts of money.

It's a bit of a nuisance to lose small items like an office ID, lotion, hand sanitizer and a thumb drive--but what makes me so sad is to lose my iPod touch and my old bag, both of which have sentimental value to me.

The ironic thing was, I was in a rather depressed mood this morning because I couldn't find my favorite pair of earrings. I searched everywhere and even called the gym to check if I had left the earrings there, but no good came out of my frantic search around the house. They weren't the expensive type, just simple, dangly silver earrings. But I've had them for more than 3 years now, and I hated to lose the small, everyday things that were special to me.

And then when my bag got stolen today, I temporarily forgot the lost earrings and had to deal with the stress and inconvenience of losing my bag and all its contents.

When I got home tonight, empty-handed and loads unhappy (although a very good friend did keep me happy and distracted from my loss for a few hours today), I rummaged through my drawer--and found my earrings. I stared at them for a moment, and then said a quick thank-you out loud.

I think the Lord is trying to tell me that not all things are lost. And that when you've given up looking for something, it just shows up when you least expect it.

I also have to be thankful about the fact that my laptop was safe at home when this incident happened. And I'm grateful for friends who feel bad for you (and stay with you!) when you're feeling down over this material loss.

I have to say that even seeing Dr. Rien looking concerned and sympathetic in my behalf cheered me up a bit.

Friday. Ran 5km in 29:53 minutes (5.9 min/km pace). Good enough, although I still need to improve. Checked my time when I hit the 3k-mark and I was at 16-something minutes. I notice that every time I run, my speed dwindles after 5km and I end up with an average pace of 6 min/km or more. Must learn to sustain a sub-6 pace in my 5km runs at least.

After my run, hurried to meet up with Bun in Greenbelt 3 to watch the midnight screening of Star Trek. I've never been a Trekkie, but I thought the movie was just plain awesome. To my surprise, I found myself crushing on Spock. And Bun, who's usually picky when it comes to men's looks, had to agree that he was smokin' hot in spite of the pointy ears and his cold, stand-offish attitude. Complicated men are so sexy.

Of course, being in love with a Vulcan is right up there in the weird crush category, along with my crush on the animated character of Simba (yes, The Lion King himself) back in high school.

Saturday. Woke up early morning, still in giddy, happy, post-Spock/Star Trek mode. However, I wasn't smiling anymore when I went over to my boxing gym that same afternoon and I landed my first straight right punch for the day on Ryan's mitt.

Fuckin' shit. I didn't realize that the small wound on my knuckle, which I got from last Wednesday's session, would hurt that much. Well, it did effing hurt, and I needed more bandaging to cushion my knuckles from further pain. At first, Ryan didn't take me seriously and wanted me to continue punching. But the pinched look of pain never left my face as I obligingly punched--and my right-hand punches got noticeably weaker during that first round--so he finally took off my gloves and handwraps for a look at my right hand.

The wound was sore and red, and he had to clean it and put layers of plaster tape. I doubted that the tape would cushion the blows, but I wasn't wimpy enough to quit boxing for the day. Boxers get all bloodied up most of the time, and even if I'm eons away from being a professional boxer, I didn't want to quit because of some small, silly wound.

It helped that my trainer was as bullheaded as me. When we resumed the boxing drills, the wound was still smarting and bothering me like hell, but I continued punching. I kept swearing and groaning over the pain, and there were many times when I felt like stopping, but it was clear to me that Ryan would never allow me to quit.

That whole time, he kept shouting, "Keep punching!! Napakaliit ng sugat mo. Wala yan!! Punch harder! Wag magpaka-totoy!" And he took sadistic pleasure in making me do repeated straight right punches: "Harder! Punch harder! Magmamanhid rin yan at di mo na mararamdaman yung sugat!"

Of course, I felt the total opposite. Every time I punched with my right hand, I had the urge to puke because the feeling of pain was quite intense and I could just imagine blood oozing out of the wound in spite of the plaster tape and the hand wraps. But my right punches were still solid and strong, and I took satisfaction in seeing the approving look on my trainer's face as I boxed continuously for over 30 minutes, with only two 30-second water breaks.

(Pain is awful, but you have to be a little masochistic in order to put up with it and still enjoy what you're doing. That thought totally applies to boxing and running.)

When I couldn't take it anymore, Ryan obliged and we sat on the edge of the boxing ring so he could take off my wraps. True to his sadistic self, he peeled off the plaster tape in one swift movement and I groaned at the sight of blood on my raw wound and on the tape. It wasn't a lot of blood, but still. (I hate seeing blood. It makes me want to hurl. I can never be a nurse or medic, that's for sure. Once, I vomited right after a nurse stuck a needle on my arm for a blood test.)

Ryan was laughing at me and said, "Sus, wala yan. Tiisin mo. Parang hindi ka lalaki!" I shot him a dirty look to remind him that I was, quite obviously, not a man. But I couldn't stay mad for long and I started laughing--and he took the opportunity during my distracted state to rapidly douse, like, half a bottle of isopropyl alcohol on my open wound.

Wtf. My trainer's really something.

And I'm supposed to box with him again on Monday. Jesus.

After that session of pain, met up with Randy in Starbucks for a quick chat and a drink. I was craving for milk, and milk alone, and I had to pay a hundred bucks for a grande-sized order of chilled non-fat milk. Pretty steep for milk that doesn't taste like anything, but my exhausted, pained self was just happy to sit there and sip my milk while watching Randy edit some photos on his Mac.

Had poker with the usual suspects that same night until the early hours of the morning. The same good old college friends and the same brand of mayhem that comes with playing poker with these people. It felt good to sit back and watch Marie and the boys yell, and to reminisce with them about Sputnik (and make plans to reclaim our space there, haha), and to talk about Star Trek, Dollhouse, and other stuff while playing long, drawn-out poker games. My playing was awful that night, although I managed to win one round with pocket aces.

Two or three years from now, we'd probably still be the same, resolutely unmarried bunch of people at the same poker table.

Sunday. Mother's Day today! Wasn't able to run and instead, binged with the family over pizza, pasta, roasted chicken and two kinds of ice cream. My mom ought to check her BP tomorrow morning.

I also watched the last two episodes of Dollhouse Season 1 today. Because Joss Whedon is so damn good, he left me and the rest of the global Dollhouse audience hungry for more. Here's hoping Season 2 pushes through.

I have a prankster of a trainer.

Ryan seems hell bent on making me laugh during boxing sessions so that I'd lose concentration and give him an excuse to holler out quasi-insults about my punches. He puts on this mischievous expression on his face and then keeps on saying things like, "Punch harder! Hindi yan suntok ng isang taong madalas mag-10k!" And while he shouts this out, he maintains this complicated footwork sequence (he looks, to me, like some sadistic court jester) that forces me to keep up with him and stay nimble on my feet as well.

Of course, I am part-exasperated, part-amused, and part-scared of him. Haha.

I always have to remind my trainer, while gasping for breath in between punches, that I do not run 10ks all the time. Just an average of 5-6km every other day if the weather permits. He knows I'm telling the truth, but I think he wants to annoy me to a certain level that would motivate me to punch harder. I have to admit though that his strategy works. Every time he cracks a joke at my expense, I make a face and punch the darned mitts so hard that I can hear some very satisfying, solid thuds.

This evening, I was a bit late getting to the gym, and Ryan gave me a hard time about it. So, as a form of punishment, I didn't get to have breather rounds (like working on the punch bags) and instead had to go through several 3-minute boxing drills with him without hardly any breaks in between. I forgot how many rounds, but I certainly boxed for more than 15 minutes straight. He was introducing me to some new combinations, and I struggled to keep up.

I thought I was doing so badly and that my performance was disappointing, because he barely let me breathe in between rounds. I finally had to stop when I could feel the skin of the knuckles of my right hand peeling and chafing. I could already sense a small surface wound on the middle knuckle.

As Ryan was stretching my muscles, I asked him worriedly if I had weak punches. He laughed and said that I obviously took his jokes too seriously. Then he said something that made my tiring, stressful day less tiring and stressful: "Ano ka ba, malakas naman ang mga suntok mo. Kailangan mo lang mag-improve on speed in throwing punches. At malakas kaya ang stamina mo! Nakakagulat nga eh. Pero di ko naman i-i-increase yung level of intensity ng workout mo kung hindi ako confident na kaya mo. Alam kong kaya mo. Regular ang takbo mo kaya maganda endurance mo."

Wheee! At least when it comes to positive reinforcement, my trainer isn't miserly in his praises.

***

Now that rainy season's making a premature entrance, it's difficult to schedule my runs in the evenings. I think I need to rely more on my boxing workouts these days to stay fit. Wish I could run on the treadmill though on some nights.

UNICEF Philippines website 5:04 PM

UNICEF Philippines' website (www.unicef.org/philippines) has great, updated info and stories on children. Please check it out! And don't forget to donate! Go to the Support UNICEF page and click on the links on the right sidebar to donate either via credit card or cash/cheque.

You can also donate by calling the UNICEF Philippines hotline: + 632 758 1000. Hope you can support us! =)

the post about nothing much 6:21 PM

I know I'm being awfully boring here, but my life these days basically consists of work-box-work-run-work-box-work-work-lots more work-box-run (and some reading in between).

My regional supervisor, Y, was in Manila just last Tuesday to Thursday to see our team's Q1 fundraising campaign results and to work out our budget and income from 2009 to 2012. Lord.

I mean, it was a very fruitful exercise but it was just too painful to project all the way up to 2012. And with Y being the Father of Workaholism, we were in the office until 9:30 pm on those days (without any dinner, as Y seems to be always on some strange diet), knee-deep in cost charging ratios and ridiculously high income targets.

My training sked was pretty much gone; I had managed to run 6.4km last Tuesday in 41:20 minutes (slightly longer than Sunday's run)--but Wednesday's boxing and Thursday's running were sadly replaced by the strenuous activity of tweaking some very scintillating Excel worksheets projected onto a wall.

I managed to box today, although my trainer Ryan wasn't there. So I worked with another trainer, Christian, who wasn't as hard on me as Ryan--but at least C helped me a lot in strengthening my left uppercut.

***

I finally visited the IKEA outlet in Makati yesterday with Randy. He was moving units within the same condominium building and he needed my, er, moral support and aesthetic layout advice. We spent time moving and rearranging his stuff, and man, I just have to say that he has more bags and shoes than I have, haha.

Anyway, he needed some new furniture stuff, so we decided to check out the IKEA outlet, the location of which isn't pretty much known by most people (thanks to Neva for the tip!), and Randy and I still got lost looking for it. And even when we were standing in front of the warehouse gate, it was, to us, a very nondescript place that didn't look like it was containing the furniture of our dreams.

It was a far cry from the Malaysia warehouse branch that I've been to, but the small Makati store still had some pretty drool-inducing stuff. And if you wanted something from the IKEA catalogue that wasn't there, you could always order it, and it would arrive in 2-3 weeks' time, according to the sales assistants. Am thinking of investing someday on IKEA's Billy bookcase system (the ceiling-to-floor kind), and browsing the store items and furniture kept me inspired and focused on my dream library look.

Someday, my library of books will look like this:
Or this:
Sigh...!

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.

Onwards 3:02 PM

I love my friends, who seem to find the best videos online. Got this from These Curious Days.

"Onwards" is this pretty little video made by illustrator James Jarvis in collaboration with Nike, and it wonderfully summarizes the joy of running.

My favorite parts in the video?
- running up those Escher-like staircases
- getting attacked by a crow (hahaha!)
- running at night and into the sunrise (what a really beautiful part)

Read James Jarvis' bio and was surprised to see this:

Jarvis is a keen runner, with P.B.s of 32:20 for 10k, 1:13:27 for the half marathon and 2:35:34 for the marathon.

Wow!!! The guy's amazing. When am I ever, ever going to have personal bests like those?

Saturday 'bakbakan' 11:23 PM

Tried out my new boxing gym this afternoon. Got home this Saturday morning at 2:30 am after a videoke and drinking spree with officemates, so I needed to get a lot of sleep first and remove the vodka from my system before boxing.

When I entered the gym, I saw that I was the only girl inside. All the other people working out were guys. I felt somewhat mortified. But I had to force all anxious thoughts to the back of my mind as I went through my warm-ups. I wasn't a newbie at boxing anyway, so I knew I'd be able to hold my own in front of all these men.

The moment my new trainer, Ryan, finished doing my hand wraps and placed my gloves on, he said briskly in Filipino, "Okay, let's see your punch." Then he raised his boxing mitt and shouted: "Jab!"

I like jabs, and I happen to do really well in jabs, so I gave my personal best. Ryan's eyebrows shot up and I could tell he was re-assessing my seemingly frail frame. "Good. Very good," he said approvingly. Then we proceeded with the usual boxing routine.

I noticed that he liked making me do double jabs and several hook-straight-jabs in succession which are easy-peasy and basic. So I relaxed a bit and enjoyed myself in this first round with my new boxing trainer. He was grinning appreciatively as I threw punches as hard as I could, and I laughed at his facial expression (in between punches, of course).

I was worried about adjusting to a new trainer after Kuya Mong, and I was hoping that I'd get along well with the new guy. Otherwise, boxing would be poor fun, right? At least Ryan and I hit it off right away, which is important.

So that I could have a "breather", he made me work on the punching bag for awhile while he attended to another guy. And when he went back, he said, "Okay, magbakbakan na tayo! Punch your hardest. Easy round yung kanina!"

Magbakbakan?

I knew it. I knew he'd give me a harder time once he had assessed my capabilities. I said, 'Um, wag masyadong 'bakbakan', ha. I'm running pa tomorrow." (I told him earlier that I run 5ks and 10ks to keep fit. And weird enough, he said he was surprised I could run those distances. Maybe I've been running long enough to consider 5km as standard and 10km an achievable distance, but others still think these are long distances, when they're actually not that long. I hope I reach the point when 15km is ordinary and attainable for me already.)

Anyway. Ryan seemed to think my training run tomorrow was a poor excuse to keep me from overexerting myself in today's session. He put me in the ring and said, "If you can run 10k, you can give me 2 minutes of sparring. Now!"

Oh God.

It was light sparring (with me doing more of the punching and Ryan bobbing and weaving here and there), but because I don't box to compete, I was deathly afraid I'd be injuring my knuckles or other parts of my body. I think that Ryan was again checking out my boxing form and the quality of my punches to see the areas I should be improving on, so I tried my best even if I felt like dropping my fists down to my sides.

The agony should have been over after two minutes, but when the bell sounded, my trainer had more in store for me. He held up both boxing mitts and said, "Punch as many and as fast as you can. In 1 minute. Go!"

Wtf. Continuous jab-straight-jab-straights weren't my favorite because that particular exercise always made me feel a little silly, with me punching away frantically and looking like some demented nursery toy. But because my trainer said so...

Sweat was trickling down my face (esp. down the bridge of my nose) as I punched for, like, forever. And to get me all riled up and continue punching, Ryan was shouting, "C'mon, 10k girl, lakasan mo yung punch mo!" He looked completely possessed.

"I don't...do...10ks...all the time...!" I gasped in between punches. This guy was probably thinking kinakareer ko ang 10k, when in reality, I consider myself lucky to be standing after every 10km race.

Somewhere in the 40 to 45-second mark, I was plaintively yelling out, "Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrgghh! Ayoko na!" And Ryan, all energized and aglow with the rosy flush of his darned youth, was bellowing, "Anong 'ayoko na'?? Tapusin mo 'to!!"

He sounded so angry, I could have gone down on the floor and do 50 push-ups if he had ordered me to do so. So, obviously, I didn't want to cross him at that point. And like a true boxing trainer, Ryan had a self-satisfied smile on his face as I threw my last punch with a pained grunt when the one minute was up. I had followed his instructions to a T.

Yup, I can tell Ryan and I are going to get along. Seriously.

When the main boxing session was over and he told me to do 250 ab crunches, I didn't even blink an eye. What's it with trainers and their ability to hypnotize people into following each and every instruction?

My painful efforts were finally rewarded when I did my cool-downs and Ryan gave me a quick sports massage. Aaahh.

Will box again this Monday. So far, this new phase in my boxing is turning out well. I just hope I can keep up with my new trainer.

***

Good thing my new gym is just a walk away from my office. In the event I can't run because of the rain, I can always resort to an indoor boxing workout.

Talk about a real damper. The rain we've encountered these past few summer days is ludicrous. It's the kind of rainfall one encounters in June or July. We've screwed up Mother Earth so much that we're getting heavy rainfall in the summer.

I was able to run 5.5km last Tuesday but it was drizzling at that time. I was actually thankful that I could run in the light rain, because on the days before that, it was quite impossible to run outdoors. Thursday saw heavy rain (chubby rain!), so I had to shelve the idea of running again. I was dead tired anyway that night and slept early, so I didn't really mind skipping a run.

Tonight, I went out to get coffee and looked up despairingly. It was raining again. Here's hoping tomorrow's skies will be clear. Must run at least 6.4km.

Week 2 Training: Long Run 11:48 PM

The results of tonight's training run? Nada. Zero.

Arghhh.

It started raining hard just as I was about to step out of the door for my run. Needless to say, I was pissed off. I had already mentally prepped myself to go for a long slow run tonight (7k? 8k?) after reading all those excitement-inducing articles on tomorrow's Boston Marathon.

So to amuse myself tonight, I settled for watching episodes 6 & 7 of Joss Whedon's latest TV project, Dollhouse (I'm kinda late in the game here; the others have already seen up to episode 9, I think, and I'm still on 7. And Chris was so kind to make a spoiler announcement while we were all playing poker in Neva's place on Good Friday, damnit.)

Glad things are picking up on this show, although now it seems that it's on shaky ground and might be cancelled (?) just like the beloved Firefly. Hopefully not.

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!

2nd training program 5:09 PM

For a month or so, this will be my running program according to SmartCoach (until I get a real, live coach like Rio Dela Cruz to make a custom program for me). It's hardly anything new; I just keyed in my last training run results so I could learn to run at a faster pace.
No particularly exciting races at this point, so this is just maintenance running for me. I seem to do okay for 5k, so I'll work harder to make my 10k runs not as painful, harhar.

So, basically, here's what the program means in Metric standards:

Easy Runs
2mi = 3.2km
12:06 pace/mi = 7:31 pace/km

Tempo Runs (Weeks 1, 3 & 5)
1.6km warm-up
1.6km cool-down
3mi = 4.83km
10:27 pace/mi = 6:30 pace/km

Long Runs (Weeks 1 & 2)
6mi = 9.7km
12:06 pace/mi = 7:31 pace/km

Tempo Run (Week 4)
1.6km warm-up
1.6km cool-down
4mi = 6.44km
10:33 pace/mi = 6:34 pace/km

Long Runs (Weeks 3 & 4)
7mi = 11.3km
12:06 pace/mi = 7:31 pace/km

Again, not too over the top. The long run pacing prescribed in this program is pretty realistic, considering that my 10k Condura Run pace was better.

BUT, I'm not a big fan of intervals. 4:41 per 800 meters is not something I'm looking forward to. I'd like to skip it altogether, if I may.

Since I wasn't able to run yesterday (Week 1 Thursday Tempo Run), I'll be running this evening. With Neva and Kline. Yay! And then poker at 8pm with the usual suspects. Double yay!

quiet Thursday morning 3:46 PM

I wasn't expecting Maundy Thursday to be this quiet. Went to Greenbelt, hoping to have breakfast at Flapjacks with A and do some last-minute shopping afterwards.

When we got there, lo and behold, Flapjacks was not yet open at 10 something in the morning, and all the stores were completely closed for the next few days. The hell. I thought this sort of thing only happened on Good Friday, considering how Filipinos are such mall rats.

It was a toss-up between Italianni's and Chili's (the only two restos open at that time), so we opted for the latter.

And being the devout coffee patron that I was, I made sure to get the Holy Week schedule of the Starbucks branches near my place. Starbucks The Columns is open today (Maundy Thursday) while the People Support branch will be open on Good Friday, 6 am onwards. We have come a long way from those it's-so-quiet-I'll-go-out-of-my-mind Good Fridays when everything was closed except 7-Eleven.

As you can see, coffee is not on my list of things to abstain from this Holy Week.

***

I am sitting inside Starbucks right now, typing this entry and trying not to wince at the sight of so many people entering the store to have their own coffee fix as well.

Currently reading Margaret Atwood's Booker Prize-winning The Blind Assassin, and I'm feeling slightly annoyed at myself for reading it only now. As I love novels that have a story-within-a-story structure, The Blind Assassin is my kind of book. It manages to be exciting and complex with a satisfying mix of world-weariness and irreverence without being sensational (whew, so many adjectives there, I realize). An easy read enough, and comes well recommended--so far (since I'm only halfway through the book). This is my first time to try Atwood, and I definitely plan to read her other books after Assassin.

***

In the spirit of Holy Week traditions, my friends and I will be having poker (and board games!) tonight. Which will involve the hefty sum of 20 pesos per buy-in. Gamblers! Pagans! Infidels! Cheapskates!

So far, it's turning out to be a most relaxing Holy Week.

serious running this April 12:02 AM

It's stories like this that inspire me to run a marathon someday. Someday!

Goes to show that one is never too old to run a 42K race. My elder sister resides in Boston, and I am so envious that she'll be able to watch THE Boston Marathon, which will be held on April 20, 2009. There will be qualified runners from the Philippines, like the Carpo sisters, joining this race, and it's definitely something to be proud about.

We also have our own version of the Boston Marathon right now: the 1st Bataan Death March Tribute 102K Ultramarathon Race, which started today at 1:00 am.

Oh my God. 102K is so unfathomable for me at this point. Talk about a real DEATH MARCH. Starting line is at Mariveles, Bataan and the Finish line will be at San Fernando, Pampanga. 82 runners in total. They will be running in the dark at the early part of the race (and as such, will have to wear reflectorized running gear and are encouraged to wear headlights or bring small flashlights. But the scary part here isn't the dark--it's the heat of the sun actually). What they're embarking on is beyond inspiring!

Good luck to all Bataan 102K Ultramarathon runners! Wish I could be there at the finish line to see them. It must be incredible, really.