Kasadya Race

I signed up for the Kasadya Fun Run because almost everyone at the office (well, at least in that little circle of Teradyne runners) said they will register. And also, I’ve been feeling sluggish after the Cebu City marathon; I needed another reason to sweat it out.

Tera tira?

The week before the race, I was only able to do one MEPZ2 afternoon run, which upped my worry that I’ll be racing on Sunday with walk breaks. I was already sauntering after the third kilometer! A man in a bicycle even greeted me with, “Ug nganong galakaw naman ka?”

Oh well, good luck to me at the Kasadya Race! Jun, Lex and Pol signed up for the 10k while I joined the rest of the Teradyne guys in the 5k, which category was exclusive for MEPZ employees.

At race day, our group was closely huddled near the front of the pack while waiting for the starting gun. So first 100 meters, we still caught sight of each other--except for Pol who zoomed away, and Vin and Kyaw who seemed to fly over the 5k route.

After the 1st km, I noticed Lex was not in his best shape (read: I have to slow down so he could keep up). When I noticed him reducing speed for the first water station, I sped up. But you know how guys are, they don’t want to be outrun by a girl. So he hurried up and later kept my pace. We parted at corner Banawa and V. Rama roads where the 5k and 10k routes separated.

It was at that corner (2.5k) that I grabbed a plastic cup from the water station. I gulped half of the water and poured the remaining half on my head, while I slowed down to a walk. I noticed the road getting lonelier, with the long gap between me and the runners before me. Still, I continued to take walk breaks, albeit brief, when I felt too breathless to enjoy the run. In the 3rd km, I managed to overtake a couple of guys but surrendered on trying to lessen the gap between me and the last female participant ahead of me. Upon approaching the 4th km, a familiar face (I later remembered her as one of those older women who always placed in races when the younger ones aren’t in town) shouted to me a jumble of words, with “third” as the only word I could make out. I’d like to think what she said was, “Third ka kung apsan to nimong baye sa unahan!”

I told my out-of-breath self I’ll be fine with fourth and just continue with my pace. After overtaking a male runner or two, I noticed that I’m approaching yellow flags signaling the turn before the finish line. And I thought I have to run at least 300 meters more! I decided to step up my pace until I noticed a girl ahead of me, walking as she made her turn. Whooaaa, it couldn’t be! Very much energized (and excited), Tapots whooshed to the finish line, smiling, big teeth and all.

It still remains a mystery to me why the girl continued with her stroll, not seeming to care that I am overtaking her. She gave me the podium finish that I never expected. Gee, thanks!

kadako'g ngisi sa uban... =D

And I got me new 5k PR, at 28.47. A kasadya race indeed!

running = endorphins = happiness

mcdo treat ;-)

CCM Photos

Bloghopping led me to more photos. Lookie!

• Estan Cabigas' photo gallery (mostly shots of 42k participants)

• Reel Runner's CCM Memoirs

• Cebu Sports Blog' CCM Photo Albums: 1, 2,3

• Giovanni Salahog's FB Album

The Race That Made Us Proud

The Jan. 10, 2010 Cebu City Marathon has left me proud as a peacock, what with all the glowing reviews it gained. I may not be part of the organizing group that worked very hard (Kudos to Cebu Executive Runners Club for a job well done) to make the event a huge success, but I am a Cebuano and we Cebuanos are a proud lot. We take pride in our own, from the various achievements of fellow Sugbuanons to our very own dialect. Cebuanos are proud being Cebuanos.

And so imagine my delight when Jaymie Pizzaro a.k.a. The Bull Runner gave the Cebu Marathon five TBR medals (excellent!).

“[T]he best local race I have ever joined. The organizers of Cebu Marathon got everything right from the carbo loading party to the awarding program,” she said. But my favorite was what she mentioned about us Cebuanos:

The one thing that stood out in this race, which contributed most to its success but didn’t cost a cent, were the people. The warmth and hospitality of the organizers and Cebuano runners were felt all throughout. Spectators lined the roads and cheered enthusiastically. It didn’t feel like another big corporate-sponsored racing event, but a run to celebrate Cebu, its people, and its culture.

Ahhhh, ain’t she sweet?

Aside from TBR, a number of running personalities and runner-bloggers agreed the race wasn’t that bad, to put it mildly.

Bald Runner

[T]he Cebu City Marathon was an outstanding road race that surpassed my expectations. From registration, distribution of race packets, carboloading party, race proper, up to the awarding ceremonies and the immediate posting of the official results, everything was “perfect”.

Amado L. Castro, Jr

[T]he manner the race was held has earned itself the rank right on top of the best if not the very best of any race events in the Philippines.

Drum and Run

It is by far the best road race I have participated in and is now my benchmark for future races to come.

Forefoot

For many points, the Cebu Marathon topped the charts.

Sheer Will

[I]t was a great race. A shoe-in for the Best Philippine Race of 2010 unless others up their ante.

Running Fatboy

Thanks to the organizers for making this a very good event. There were ample marshals, signs, and lots and lots of water. For your first year at doing this race, I can safely say that this was a SUCCESS!!!

Gingerbread Man

[I]t's one of my finest racing experiences ever, and you have got to try it next year.

Ani de Leon

This should totally be an annual event!!!!

Janine

The Cebu Marathon experience was simply awesome!

U-huh, I scoured the web for those plus a little help from Google Alerts.

Speaking of pride, I can't help but boast about my 29.03 in the 5k. A PR after a long running break! Yeba! Now I shouldn't feel a wee bit of a wimp for not taking a stab at the half marathon. There's always the next CCM. ;-)

Next post will be photos from the race.

December in Photos

I hope this post will make up for at least a couple of entries I should have made in December. The month of eating and parties leaves one slothful but to run addicts like me, there's no excuse not to don those running shoes and pound the road. I begged off from long runs though and wasn't faithful to my regular run schedule what with my aching right foot (see prior post). OK, I'm lazy too. So instead of a lengthy entry, the December post will mostly be photos with those little captions. =)

After the office Christmas party, I went to

Cebu Sports Club for the Midnight Run.

I loved the cool, sunless race! Until next year.

Since the boys decided to push through with their
21k plan, they continued with the training, which
included a 14k road run. I joined them, not in the run,
but in the breakfast @ IT Park. Pol later decided
to register for the full marathon.

Feeling guilty with all the Christmas feasting,
I managed to do a quick morning run in my island hometown.

I felt the familiar pain in my right foot after the
Combado run, warning me to give my feet more rest or else...
The feet didn't just get the relaxation they needed,
the nails also got painted to the color of the season.

With the break, I felt fat and slow. So, I talked my parents to
bring me somewhere I can spend time with my other love--swimming.
They drove me to Sugar Beach. Ahhh, I miss Bantayan already.

aaargh #*$%##s#!

I hate to say it but it maybe buh-bye to the half marathon this January for me. I have already skipped a huge chunk of my 21k training program and even ended a chow-filled week without running. It's doctor's advice--not the eating but the not pounding the pavement.

Before the visit to an Orthopedic Surgeon, I was already walking with a noticeable limp caused by a pain I felt on my right foot (yep, that part highlighted in the image below). image swiped from runnersworld.com

I dismissed the discomfort thinking the pain, like I had in my knee, will just go away (the knee started to hurt when I experimented with my running form but got alright after I went back to how I was doing it before I read materials and viewed videos about running). The injured foot, however, did not feel its normal self after a few days; it got even worse that friends and officemates readily noticed my uneven walking.

I can run or jog or walk real fast without that nagging pain but once I rest, especially with knees bent for some time (e.g., commuting in a cramped van), the first few steps would be difficult. A visit to the office clinic brought about the trip to an Ortho, which doctor I just chose from a list accredited by our healthcare insurance provider. As mentioned above, the appointment with the doctor brought me the refrain-from-running advice. I also had my right foot X-rayed, which X-ray showed nothing really wrong with my right foot. Now I'm taking expensive medicines and feeling heavy for not running in a week filled with parties.

I'm going to run tomorrow. Sssh, don't tell my doctor. I'll just be taking it easy anyway. And oh, my right foot doesn't hurt now. Really...

MIA

Yeah, Missing In (blogging)Action for almost a month now. I don't seem to have the time for writing or blogging anymore. But the running I'm not skipping. Well, not unless when it's heavily raining (and I'm wearing new shoes), or when traveling won't give me enough time to run.

So what have I been up to?

October-November Break

The week before All Soul's day brought me to my island home town. But the vacation didn't deter me from sticking to my running program. First day of my leisurely time away from work had me waking up very early for a five km. Getting up way before the sun is up when there’s no work is a no-no for me, so hearing the alarm clock was a little too painful. With the change in scenery, however, I very much enjoyed the run. What with the clean, tree-lined road free from the scores of tricycles that roam around town later in the day. I can still remember the exhilarating effect of the fresh province air occasionally combined with the smell of freshly cooked anok (puto in Cebuano). I noticed that I and Lex were the only runners/joggers that day. I thought I saw one runner sprinting around the town plaza until I noticed he was on his slippers and looked like he just run because of some emergency. So the road all to ourselves! Wheeeee! Next time, we're bringing Jun and Pol here for the 10km (or is it 8km?) run to Sta. Fe. And maybe Bel, another Bantayanon, will have some heavy breakfast ready for the trying-hard runners. Hehe.

After Bantayan, I went to the running buddy's hometown. There, we didn't have the time to visit their sports oval nor do a quick road run. As was the usual All Saints' Day, we camped late afternoon until morning at the cemetery where most of the people are hanging out. The following day we visited relatives (both dead and alive) outside the city.

When I got back to Cebu, I made up for those missed runs with Sunday long runs in Lahug and after-work runs in MEPZ 2.

November Races

I participated in the MEPZ 5k Fun Run (where Pol said I will have a chance in placing if I am religious in my training) and Brgy. Lahug's Mad Run for wellness.

I was 12th in the MEPZ Run female category, which made me think I should have started fast like Jun, Lex and Pol did. I had sore knees the previous week so I was taking it easy in the huge downward slope early in the race leg.There was something wrong with the race's timing device (i.e., top ten finishers had clock-in times of between 14-20 minutes) that I didn't bother to check my race time. Or maybe it wasn't really 5k? Hmmn, I need a Garmin.

Last Nov. 22, I participated in the 2nd MAD Run's 6k while Jun, Lex, and Pol ran the 12k. Bel failed to attend with her tummy problems. My clock-in time was 38 minutes.
I already signed up for the Seminary Fund Run this 29th. There's a MEPZ category; wish me luck!

Crazy, but...

I, Jun, and Lex, have started training for a half marathon. Yep, you read that right: 21 kilometers for the Jan. 10, 2010 Cebu Marathon. Crazy. Well, at least for me because it seems my running buddies are so welcome to the idea.

I won't register for the 21k, leave that to the guys, I kept telling myself. I believe the half marathon is too early for someone like me, someone who doesn't always enjoy the running as much as when I'm finishing it (or at the point when endorphins kick in). But I guess there's no harm in adhering to the training program. And maybe come registration time, I will catch from the two the madness that is the 21k. So when that happens, I come prepared.

Anyways, according to the program, long runs are set on Sundays; first of which was just this 25th. We took the road from Jun's place in Pusok, LLC, all the way to the Mactan Shrine. I love the route, especially the generous view of the sea. The trees that lined up the clean asphalt road also gave abundant shade to us that came unprepared for the harsh rays of the sun. Lessons learned for that first Sunday include:

• Be on time. Or earlier. Running in the heat is not that fun.
• Don't carry anything bulky including a bottle of water (yeah, I'm a dork). There are plenty of stores selling the bottled H20 even early a.m.
• Bring small bills (the sound of loose change is too annoying) to buy the hydration or what have you.
• Put on a generous amount of sunblock.