Posted March 12th, 2010 by wilson
Some people, I imagine, would find it weird or even hypocritical for one to race abroad and at the same time complain about the registration fees of local races. “You pay so much for races abroad yet complain about expensive races here. Why the double standard? ‘Filipino’ or local does not necessarily mean ‘cheap’ you know.”
Based from my personal experience, it is true at first glance, it is more expensive to race abroad, even if we just focus on the registration fees. For instance, I paid US$ 37, or PhP 1700 for the SCHKM. The Condura registration fee, in comparison, was just PhP 850.
(The SCHKM, fondly called “Stanchart” by the locals, is the premiere event of HK. We don’t have an equivalent “flag carrier” event, so I would be using Condura, which I think is the closest thing that we have to an “internationally presentable” event.)
Nevertheless, the absolute monetary value of the registration fee is not the only thing that should be taken into consideration.
The minimum daily wage in Manila is 382 pesos. Meaning, for a Filipino minimum wage earner to join the Condura, he or she must work for two(and a bit more) days and allocate all of his or her earnings for the registration fee.
Hong Kong doesn’t have a law-mandated minimum wage. According to Wikipedia though, the daily wage of the Hong Kong construction worker(whose Filipino counterpart receives minimum wage), is HK$ 565, or PhP 3,350 pesos. Meaning, should a HK construction worker join the SCHKM, he or she only has to work for a day, and it won’t even take up his or her entire earnings for that day.
(OFWs earn a minimum of roughly PhP 20,000 monthly, although we have to consider that in most cases, their food and lodging are already covered by their employers.)
These numbers state that road racing is clearly a much more “elitist” sport in our country than in others. Whereas foreign ordinary workers could join their local top-class events without much sacrifice, only those belonging to the economic middle class and up could afford to join an “equivalent”(pay attention to the quotation marking) race here in the Philippines. Who in his right mind would work and at the same time go hungry for two days just to race anyway?
It is true that when taken at economic face value, races abroad are more expensive than our races. But in the right context, i.e., when accessibility and affordability to the locals(which would make up most of the participants anyway) are taken into account, our races are really more expensive - by a huge margin, actually.
Tags: Condura 2010: Run for the Dolphins, registration fees, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon
Posted March 9th, 2010 by wilson
One of the few TV shows that I currently follow is the Biggest Loser Asia(Tuesdays, 9pm, Hallmark Channel). It certainly is different from the usual reality shows like PBB or Amazing Race where the contestants are all artistahin and most would probably get showbiz careers after the contest. It is certainly worlds away from the local version of Survivor, where it’s almost as if GMA7 made sure all competitors would look good in skimpy swimwear.
One aspect of the show that never ceases to amaze me is the sheer amount of workouts the contestants log, day in and day out. Save perhaps from resting and fighting out immunity challenges, most of the contestants’ time is spent working out in the gym - running in the treadmill, in the stationary bike, and in other machines.
I remember there was this one episode where Christy, the red team trainer, telling her wards, the Filipinos Carlo and Kevin, that their goal for the week would be to burn 3000 calories per day. 3000! In comparison, the rule-of-thumb value, for calorie consumption in a full marathon is just 2600 calories.
(Note: The basis metric of 100 calories per mile is just an approximate - seasoned runners burn less, while heavier, less efficient runners burn more.)
So yes, the daily energy consumption of BLA contestants exceed that of a runner tackling a full marathon. Not that any of those guys would be tackling a full or even a half soon though - long distance racing is more than just an issue of energy or power. Long races also largely involve the muscoskeletal system, which in their case would not just be unprepared, but would also be additionally stressed by all that excess weight. It’s hard enough for your tendons and joints to be jarred and compressed with each footstrike’s “recoil” without being loaded by kilograms of fat.
It actually makes you rethink the value of long distance running or even just plain outdoor running for weight loss. The truth is, there are actually safer, and healthier ways of burning calories than hitting the road - especially for those who have loads to burn.
Long distance runners or not, the work ethic of the guys over at BLA is still amazing. The fact that they are burning off all those pounds in the confines of the gym is something that’s mind boggling for me. I’ve experienced working out in the gym, and in fact from time to time, it’s something that I still do. For me, it’s just plain boring. The longest that I could stay in there is 30 minutes. My swim and run workouts in comparison are rarely shorter than an hour. For those guys to work out in the gym, for the majority of their day, and to do that day after day, is simply, wow.
Anyway, I can’t wait for tonight’s live finale episode. I’m definitely rooting for Carlo, the sole remaining Filipino, to win and bring home the bacon.
Tags: 21K, 42.195K, Biggest Loser Asia, full marathon, half marathon
Posted March 7th, 2010 by wilson
8 less, 8 more
4:07:55, or roughly 4:08, is my new Personal Best at the marathon distance. That is 8 minutes less my previous best, and 8 minutes more than the 4:00 “standard”.
Not that it was the only factor that led to the result, but let me just say - wow, this “recover-well-and-space-your-full-marathons” thing really, really works!
A sub 4:12 means that I am now able to churn out 4 consecutive sub-60 10Ks. The challenge now is squeezing the remaining 2 kilometers “in”. That won’t be easy, but with five months before July, I have time. With better technique-plan execution, and yes, kinder hills, I might have a fighting chance at earning a ticket to THAT December(previously, October) event.
Small delegation
Compared to the Singapore event, few Filipinos went to Hong Kong to race. I was able to meet and know Mr. Willie Prado before the race, while I met Miss Mesh(who I actually see in a lot of races) after. As for the blogging celebrities, I saw The Bull Runner mid-race but missed Bossing Jinoe.
The delegation was so small, I was already the top ranked Filipino in my category(Men’s Senior). Okay, that was nice on my part, but disturbing as well. I don’t think my result does justice to how good Filipino runners are.
Wow, that’s strong
I mentioned in a previous post that my 4:55 Singapore finish netted a top 20% ranking. For this race, 4:08 netted - you guessed it right - top 20% ranking, AGAIN. 43 minutes of difference, yet same percentile ranking. Really strong finisher field.
Not welcome - or at least not as much
One small complaint that I have about the marathon is that the expo was held weeks before the raceday weekend. So on the Friday and Saturday before the race, only foreigners claimed their race kits. One effect of this was that they ran out of some singlet sizes for the foreigners, since what they had for foreigners were practically “leftovers”. For instance, they gave me a Small singlet instead of the Extra Small that I signed up for. This kinda made me feel a bit unwelcome or at least less welcome.
Maybe it’s just me but the SCHKM is pretty much a HK event(a well loved one at that), and not so much an international one. The SCSM, I feel, is much more welcoming to foreigners - they are proud of the number of foreigners that fly in yearly just to run. Or at least, they didn’t really discriminate(I use this word with caution) between locals and foreigners. Singaporean or not, runners mingled and met each other in the expo. Maybe it has something to do with the language, or Singapore being multiracial and multicultural to begin with.
Well loved
As I said, runners or not, HK locals clearly love the event. It is a big deal to them. They televise it. Newspaper sports sections devote entire pages just about it. It even makes headlines in a few dailies.
The day after the event, I wore the event shirt, and guys manning the electronics shop asked about the distance I ran and the time I got. Same with the bus driver. The level of awareness and publicity was simply amazing. No event in the Philippines, I think, has ever matched that level of being known among the non-running general public.
Speaking of being known…
I don’t know whether it was reported in the news at all, but Eduardo Buenavista and Jho-An Banayag placed 4th and 3rd respectively in their categories in the SCHKM. For those who had been living under a rock, they are national athletes and they regularly represent the country in the SEAG and other international competitions. If you have never read their names in the results of weekend races, it’s because their commitment to the national team prevents them from joining some local competitions(remember the Milo champ that got booted from the National team?).
A few months ago, while watching the QCIM winner(a Kenyan) being interviewed, I remember one guy near me commented, “Kakayanin pala ni Buenavista ito.”
Anyway, on my way home, I was fortunate enough to be in the same flight as them. I was able to talk to them, and have a picture taken. Curiously enough, Edu Manzano was also in the same flight. So while most of the other passengers were having their photos taken with “Mr Papaya“, I was having my picture taken with “Virtek“.
Tags: Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon
Posted March 4th, 2010 by wilson
Join the race, feel the energy
I think I already mentioned that the field in the SCHKM is going to be strong. I didn’t realize however just the extent of that strength until I ran the last 6 miles of the event.
I make it a point to encourage other runners struggling during the full, especially during the difficult last 10 kilometers. On my part, this is partly due to the fact I had been on the receiving end of other runners’ encouragement myself several times.
To my surprise, I didn’t find anyone in need of encouragement during the last 10 kilometers of the SCHKM. It’s not because of the language barrier. Nor are there no runners walking or stopping in the sidelines. There were people walking, but then those participants usually resume running after walking just a few meters or so. They certainly didn’t look like the type who would walk all the way to the finishline. It’s kind of hard to throw encouragement on runners who, for all you know, are probably really stronger than you.
Without doubt this post-20 miler mark field strength is partly due to the “culling” regularly being carried out by the sweeper bus. But I think it’s more than that - I think that many of the runners were simply strong - in fact I gave up early on counting the number of women, old men, and people in shark costumes(!) that overtook me.
This level of energy and strength, I discovered, is contagious. It inspires you to keep on going - and to show that you belong on the same road with those people, even in your own small way or limited capacity.
Bad to the bone, bad to end
After the Western Harbour tunnel, it was easy to think that the worst is over. After all, there would be no more bridges and tunnels: the remainder of the course would be ran on largely urban metropolis roads. How hard could that be? Very hard, apparently. After the tunnel, the course still went through several short yet steep flyovers and an underpass(who would have thought downhills could be so damn painful?).
It was during this segment that I found the race “sadistic”. It’s almost as if the SCHKM was telling the runners right to their faces “You can’t expect to finish that easily”. To which the only thing you can do is show your grit, suck it up, endure, and run - the best way of replying “Well, I can’t be stopped that easily either”.
Matter of pride - homestretch!
Unlike in Singapore, where there were many spectators in the majority of the course, the spectators in HK were very few and far in between - except in the last kilometer. The last kilometer was filled on both sides with spectators. It was also the toughest kilometer of the entire race for me. I was pretty successful in “keeping at it” for the majority of the race, but by the last kilometer my legs were really beginning to give in. The temptation to stop and rest, or even just walk to the finish was kick-ass strong.
Nevertheless, I didn’t - of course I didn’t want to waste any time, even the smallest bit, or waste all that I worked for in the previous 41 kilometers.
Also, there was a bit of pride involved. The other runners in that stretch were still running. I dunno whether they’re just plain strong or they were just putting up a brave and strong face in front of the spectators. Weirdly enough I remember thinking “Nakakahiya maglakad dito… may flagpatch ka pa naman!”. It would be so embarrassing to stop there… so close to the finishline, so close to people watching, alongside other marathoners that were still running, and with your country’s flag patch on. I practically had no choice but to keep on running.
(Moral lesson: Do not sew or print the flag on your attire, use velcro so that you could remove it when times go bad and when you’re no longer doing your country proud. Hahaha)
Several street corners later, I found myself running on groud painted green and blue - the Standard Chartered colors - I was finally on the homestretch.
I crossed the line at 4:07:55, chip time. 8 minutes less my SIM/QCIM time. New personal record.
A few more HK-related thoughts and anecdotes on the next next post
Hapi hapi
Race bib
***RACE SUMMARY***
Event: Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2010
Date/Time: February 28, 2010, 7:15am
Venue: Hong Kong
Length: 42 kilometers(full marathon)
Time: 4:07:48(official)
Racer/Bib Number: 21237
Tags: 42.195K, full marathon, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon
Posted March 2nd, 2010 by wilson
Pre-race
I arrived in HK for the marathon on Friday evening. I got my race kit from in Victoria Park on Saturday morning, a process which was largely hassle-free, but also significantly less “exciting” than that in Singapore - the SCHKM expo after all, was held weeks before.
I was careful not to repeat the mistakes I did in Singapore when it came to the last few days before the race. I went around HK a bit, but I was never without a bottle of water. While I was still going around Singapore the evening before the race, this time around I was already home by 4pm reading a book, watching TV, surfing the net, and resting my legs.
The requisite kit-claiming photo
San, Er, Yi…
I stayed in a hotel along Nathan road, where the starting line would be. I was so close to the starting line that when I went down on race day morning, there were many half-marathoners doing their warmups in front of the hotel. Since the gunstart was not until 7:15, I woke up on 5am, a luxury I never experienced back home, where we start our full marathons as early as 4:30 or even 4am.
Nathan road was the starting point for the half and full marathon. It was closed to traffic and filled with people, though not as chaotic as the staring area of Singapore. A short time after the half-marathoners left, the full marathoners were called and led to the staring line coral. It wasn’t long before the countdown(in Chinese of course) began, and off we went.
The Hills have “Ay!”s(and “Aray!”s)
When we began our trek through the Stonecutters Bridge, two thoughts came to my mind.
First, the SCHKM reminded me so much of the Condura - much of the route was ran on bridges - long stretches of concrete roads previously exclusive to vehicles turned into a road racing track.
Second, the notoriety of the Hong Kong course when it comes to hilliness and inclines is well deserved. This thought-view would be reinforced in me as I went through all three bridges and three tunnels. When it comes to slopes, nothing in any of my six previous marathons come close to Hong Kong. Not Milo, with its Lawton-Bayani segment, nor QCIM, with its Commonwealth stretch.
The ascents of the course could easily turn an unprepared marathoner’s legs to pulp. As I attacked the ascents, I found myself being thankful that I heeded the advice of people who tackled Hong Kong before, and trained for hill climbs. Not that it made life completely easy for me though. “Brutal and relentless” is one phrase that could aptly describe the Hong Kong course.
Run(fast) or go home
After coming back from the U-Turn at Tsing Ma Bridge, I noticed that the entrance to the bridge was already closed. A few meters later I saw some people walking - towards a bus. That’s when it hit me - they are damn serious about the cutoff times. If you don’t make it, it’s the bus for you. It’s not like in Milo, where there organizers would let you remain in the road even way past the absolute cutoff - bahala ka na sa buhay mo. For this marathon, it’s run fast or go home, baby.
HK’s end of the bargain
According to the SCHKM profile, the average temperature for the event is around 18 degrees. When I arrived in Hong Kong however, the temperature varied between 23 and 26 degrees - I doubt it even dipped below 20 at all. The trend continued on race day - and it was even worse than that. Around three hours into the race, from time to time the sky cleared of clouds and the runners became bathed in sunlight. This of course, raised the temperature. This was a bit disappointing, I must admit, since the low temperature is one of the SCHKM’s draws(for me anyway) - a sort of tradeoff for its notorious hills.
As disappointing as it was, there was nothing that could be done about it. As the humidity and temperature rose, I just reminded myself that I am a Filipino runner - adversity is nothing new to me. Because of irresponsible(or ignorant) organizing or unavoidable circumstances(like the Philippine weather), I had been through drought(Subic, Botak), darkness(Subic), desert-like temperatures(PIM, Botak), hills(Milo, QCIM), rain(Milo), and other less-than-ideal racing conditions before. The Filipino road racing athlete is not a pampered creature, he or she is a survivor.
Tags: 42.195K, full marathon, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon
Posted February 25th, 2010 by wilson
Perspective
Hong Kong and Singapore are home to the two oldest Standard Chartered Marathons in the region, although there are fledgling events in Bangkok(Thailand) and Kuala Lumpur(Malaysia) - yeah, it is kinda sad that Manila has been left out. Anyway, as such, it can’t be helped for the two events to be compared. There is quite a contrast between the two - Singapore is well-known for being hot and humid, while Hong Kong’s average February temperature hovers at round 18 degrees - cold enough for a 7:30 am gunstart. Singapore prides itself in having one of the flattest AIM-certified courses - I haven’t been around the world, but I could attest that it’s even flatter than QCIM, Milo, or PIM(SIM is also pretty flat). Hong Kong, on the other hand, in its FAQ, replies to the question “Is the Marathon course very hilly?” with “The elevation of this Marathon course is 100 meters, ranging from 30 m below sea level at the lowest point of the Western Harbour Tunnel to 80 m above sea level on Tsing Ma Bridge”. Some answer! Anyway, some Filipinos who had been there before attest to the hilly nature of its course. So in a sense, if you want to Boston-qualify and those two are your options, you pick your poison: humidity/temperature or hills.
And then, there is the competitiveness of the field. Singapore has an 8-hour cutoff, and that is pretty generous. In comparison, our “beginner-friendly” or “finishers’” marathons have either 7(SIM, QCIM) or 6(Condura). And a lot of beginners do try it out in Singapore yearly - my 4:55 time was good enough for a top 20 percent ranking. To paraphrase my dad, who saw watched from the sidelines and saw people cramping and walking as early as mile 13, “Malalakas ang mga Singaporeans… malalakas ang loob”. But I guess that is pretty much the spirit of the SCSM - you could finish and accomplish something great, if you would just put your heart into it.
Hong Kong is not as generous with its 5:30 cutoff, and “staggered course shutdown”. You don’t just have to finish within 5:30, there are time limits for distances - like, say, you must have passed the 13 miler mark by 2:30, or its over. That policy is well-known, so it’s not really that much of an absolute beginner’s event. I’m sure that 4:55 would not make it to the upper half of finishers’ rankings.
Preview
I had 7 weeks of preparation for this race. That is not much, especially considering that I had a pretty cold start, having just came from a no-run recovery month. I was able to put in some 20-milers though, and even more importantly, I had ascertained in those 7 weeks that I have recovered completely from the injury that hobbled my Singapore run. I am still a bit undertrained and I have yet to regain my previous speed at lower distances, but at the same time, I haven’t felt this strong and fresh pre-marathon since the QCIM. Routine-wise, there would be some modifications, but nothing major since I haven’t had the time to master a drastically different jutsu.
I must admit, I am not really worried about the 5:30 cutoff - I’d have to set a personal worst to miss that, and my long run times give me confidence that I would make it. Nevertheless, I must say, after a couple of these things, you naturally go beyond just wanting to finish. I’d really like to go back below the 4:30 mark, which I was able to to do four consecutive times before the streak ended in the SCSM. (Readers of multiple runner blogs though would know that marath oners always have a secret evil plan - always)
Even more than the finish time, I want to run this thing strongly and consistently all through out. I know from experience that a 4:30 is doable with the first 20 miles ran at sub-4 pace and the last 6 run-walked(with difficulty), but believe me, whatever the finish time is, there’s a different sort of accomplishment to be felt in having ran 26 miles consistently, or without having your legs give out midway. I was only able to do that once, in the SIM, despite the infamous lighting and water problem, perhaps aided by the low temperature. I’m hoping, of course, that HK’s expected coolness would work its magic and enable me to replicate that again, with an even better finish time, if possible.
So the preview in a nutshell - undertrained but uninjured, hilly but cool. We’d just have to see which side(s) would prevail next weekend.
Tags: Philippine International Marathon, Quezon City International Marathon, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, Subic International Marathon
Posted February 24th, 2010 by wilson
One cost that racers - and even ordinary runners - usually fail to take into account is the lifespan or mileage of footwear or shoes. We all have an idea of how much is the acceptable registration fee for specific distances(though it keeps rising) - we know that the cost per kilometer actually decreases as the race lengthens. In long runs we know how much a bottle of Gatorade costs, a sachet of Gu, or a pack of hopia. But very few actually realize we’re also paying with the lifetime of our shoes in each kilometer we cover, or indeed, every footstrike we make.
I must admit, before I got into running I never gave much thought to the finiteness of footwear lifespan. My shoes - crosstrainers mostly - would last for years. In fact they they would usually be replaced because they look worn and battered, but not because they are no longer usable.
In comparison, nowadays, my retired running shoes would probably look still good to the casual observer, but totally unusable due to reduced cushioning(something visually apparent in the soles, and more importantly, to feel).
I recently went through a change in service footwear, retiring my 904 in favor of the 905. I would’ve gone with another 904, but I found it difficult to find a pair of my size. I did not keep track of the actual mileage, but I would like to believe that the 904 served me pretty well, having been with me for my last four full marathons, several halves, some shorter races, and of course, the training runs for all of those(which probably took up the most mileage). I really wanted to give my 904 another shot at the full in Hong Kong, perhaps as a last hurrah, but my pair was simply so worn down, I already feel a jolt in my shins with each footstrike.
The shift to the 905 isn’t that big: the 905 is an update to the 904, in fact they share the same sole design/last. Thus, the 905 also has the Internal Stability Web, which, in my opinion, is the best thing that happened to the 90x series so far. The 905 upper is even lighter than that of the 904 and is better at more moisture wicking. It did away with the traditional tongue based design, instead of opting for what I call “garter-aided” fit. All-in-all, I am very happy about the 905. I know some swear by shoe lines from Newton or ASICS, and while I have yet to try anything from those brands, the 90x series by New Balance has so far served me well.
Another thing that I’m trying out in relation with my new shoes is keeping track of the mileage. So far, I already covered 125 kilometers with the 905. Since it was bought for 4800, that translates to around 40 pesos per kilometer. I find that disturbingly expensive, I must admit. Of course that’d decrease as my races and training runs accumulate - I just don’t know how low it’d go. I doubt it’d go down to one peso per kilometer though - that’d mean a total coverage of 4800 kilometers. Taking shoe lifetime into consideration drastically changed my view of how much this sport actually costs - I guess it’s not as cheap as others tout it to be after all.
How about you, just how much do you pay for every kilometer?
Tags: New Balance 904, New Balance 905, shoes
Posted February 19th, 2010 by wilson
As part of my preparations for the HKSCM, I have been doing a lot of training in UP lately. One thing that I noticed is the sudden increase of people training in the Academic Oval, in particular, the sudden influx of newbies going around around the 2.2-kilometer track. Well, I say “newbies” because, first, some of them are on the heavy side, and second, they’re mostly sporting the 5K Century Run singlet. Well, of course not all runners attain the highly toned physique and the choice of running attire is hardly indicative of experience(though most of the people I know shy away from event singlets altogether, especially those from events that have yet to be held). But I guess such a generalization is justified somewhat, even if just slightly.
Anyway, seeing all those new faces made me realize - there may be some good brought about by these overly priced races after all. I am sure that the people behind such races are sure beforehand that despite the price, the event would be sold out(thanks to running nuts), but what I never thought about before is just how many new people such races bring in to the sport.
I could hardly imagine anyone saying “I want to run with guy Wilson from wmtan.net, so I’ll join this race he’d be joining!”(that’d be nice, or disturbing - it depends), but then I guess it’s perfectly normal for people to say “Pare, let’s join the Centry Run so we could run with the Superbod chicks!” or “Ay! I wanna run alongside Papa Derek” or “Oh who’s that sexy guy with big hair? Where could I meet him?”. I mean, there really is nothing like these overhyped, much publicized races to advertise and (further) popularize the sport.
Now don’t get me wrong, lest someone call me the saint of running, popularising running isn’t exactly one of my advocacies. I’m definitely not against it, but you won’t exactly see me shouting “Let’s all go running everyone!”. Every runner goes through being beginner, and while I don’t spite newbies, I’d go out right and say it - newbies, especially the unprepared ones in massive numbers, could be - for the lack of a better word - a hazard in the road for the more experienced runners. In particular, I doubt that evading hordes of 5K participants doing the alay-lakad in the last kilometers of half marathons is something that anybody looks forward to. And if I have to choose between the extreme philosophies of John Bingham and Emil Zatopek, I would choose the latter.
But whenever I see some guy-with-flabby-arms in Century Run 5K singlet go tongue-wagging-sweat-wicking all out in the UP Acad Oval, I can’t help but think “Hey, it can’t be that bad”. At least people are starting down the road to fitness and health, even if their initial goal was just to see Piolo Pascual or Paula Taylor(she showed up in the Urbanite, by the way). At least people are getting out of the confines of the gym, or worse, the workplace cubicle. At least more and more chicks are training in UP Acad Oval now.
I really don’t believe that that is main goal of the people behind these overpriced races, but as I said, a good thing is a good thing. Now if only we could have such good things without most burning right through wallets, that’d be not just good, but great.
Tags: Century Superbods Run 2010, newbies
Posted February 17th, 2010 by wilson
I was reading the news yesterday when I came across this article.
Rumors of poor health have also hounded Aquino who is a smoker. “I have some physical activities like breeze walking. I’m just worried about the adrenaline surge I get when I see the crowds and warmth of their support in the rallies because I tend to forget that I’m hungry or tired,’’ said Aquino.
Man, I dunno whether Senator Noynoy is practicing a sport I’ve never heard of, or the writer/interviewer is someone who is deaf or has never heard of brisk walking.
Anyway, it made me realize just how few our political readers prioritize health and fitness - not necessarily the nation’s or the Filipinos’ - but their own.
In comparison, President Obama regularly runs and hits the gym, something that was mentioned in his book The Audacity of Hope and is well documented by the media(Not that it matters, but he does NOT use American running shoes). Putin is also pretty macho(and popular among the ladies).
Fidel Ramos being a health buff is well-known, but aside from him, there really has been no one else.
Google “Obama” and “running” and you get actual photos of the American President actually running. Do the same with Gloria and it’s all about her upcoming Congressional electoral run. I don’t think GMA has ever been seen doing anything more than a trot.
Google “diet” and “Obama” and you’d actually read articles about the Presidential diet. Do the same with Gloria and you’d end up with, well, Diether Ocampo.
And let’s not even try that with Erap.
(Just as I was about to give up on Erap I discovered this. But seriously now - who the f*ck runs in high cut Chuck Taylors?)
Sad, but it does seem like we Filipinos don’t really give a damn about the fitness of our leaders. I guess we perceive leadership as a purely mental exercise and a job maybe even better suited to the sickly, the overweight, the frail, or the pot bellied. So much for Mens Sana in corpore sano.
Could we really trust people who could not even properly take care of themselves to take care of this country?
Tags: politics
Posted February 10th, 2010 by wilson
Long time readers of this blog(and those who did some backreading) would know that in all of my local marathons, my brother always “paced” me for the last 10 kilometers or so. Thus when it came for his turn to debut in the said distance, it was just natural that I would return the favor and go on “pacing” duty myself.
A bit of clarification first though. Our usage of the term “pacer” is a bit different from that of the conventional. A pacer, strictly speaking, is one who runs at a constant pace, or for “personal pacers”, one who pushes the pace of the runner being supported so that a certain target time would be reached. Lance Armstrong, for instance, was paced by several famous marathoners in turns, when he ran the NYC Marathon with a target of 3 hours.
In our case, a “pacer” is more like a “companion” or a “karamay” in the usually difficult last ten kilometers of the race. In fact, it is the runner being supported that still dictates the pace in our setup. If he decides to walk, then the “team” walks; if he decides to run, then the “team” runs. I do hope however, that someday, when we’re all better runners, we’d finally be able to use the “pacing system” as it was intended to be - beating targets.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I headed the foot of the SkyWay right after my half marathon. I didn’t have to wait long - soon enough I was out in the race course running - again. According to GF405, the foot of the Skyway was already around kilometer 32, meaning we still had 10 kilometers left to cover.
I was a bit surprised when I saw my brother since he was still running pretty strong - when I met him, he was still running at a 6:30 pace clip. So much for the dreaded wall in his case, I guess. My first foray at the 20 miler mark during my first marathon was a much more harrowing experience.
Anyway, I enjoyed my second run along Buendia. 6:30 is a pretty relaxed pace especially when you were gunning down a 5:20 barely an hour before. During the water stops, I got to talk to some runners I know, and we were able to shout out some encouragements to some struggling runners, both those in the full marathon and half marathon race(there were still quite a few). I found that amazing, since during the times when I’m the one running the full, I would definitely be in no condition to encourage anyone once I get beyond 20 miles. I’d probably be in dead-serious-do-not-disturb-me-i’m-willing-my-legs-to-just-even-lift mode or worse, in pain.
The walkbreaks(and the cramps that caused them) did begin along the Kalayaan flyover. But the kid stayed positive - at least way more positive than I get whenever the “forced” walkbreaks begin. Once the time to walk began, it was no big deal - “okay, so we’ll walk then”. My default initial reaction to such situations is usually “Oh no!”.
(Okay, no more brownie points for those who would guess which of us was the better first-time marathoner.)
The BGC leg was, well, fun - for me anyway. There were lots of two way segments, so I was able to see many familiar runners - I guess I was still able to run with them albeit unofficially and incompletely. A lot of the “S4″ club members, I noticed, took it easy on this race.
More than the “easy-going” elites though, what really got my attention were the non-S4 runners. I clearly remember thinking - wow, people are definitely getting better. While I don’t actively keep track, if you regularly read people’s blogs, you kinda get a rough idea of what they’re capable of. And I knew many personal bests were set last Sunday - even before the results and the blog posts. I guess I better raise my 26.2 “game” soon, lest I become the only left behind in this “improvement revolution”.
We - actually, just my brother - crossed the finishline at 4:50. Definitely within target. Definitely not a bad debut at the distance. Definitely something great to build on.
On my end, I ended up with an almost 20 miler long run(first one with 13 miles ran at HM race pace), a sorely missed meet and greet with fellow runners, and quite a few realizations. Not bad.
Tags: Condura 2010: Run for the Dolphins, pacer
