Posted July 2nd, 2009 by wilson
The Milo fever has hit the Filipino running blogosphere. Just about every other item in my RSS feed folder is about the upcoming Milo marathon. It’s not like that I had been an exception. I realize that a lot of my posts lately had also been related to Milo as well. It’s not that I don’t have any racing or running related post-Milo plans, but really, my sole focus is on Milo right now(I haven’t registered yet for any race scheduled after July 5).
This would be my last pre-race Milo related post. In fact I have decided that this would be my last pre-Milo post, period.
Thoughts…
On the Training
I finally closed “training camp” today. I will no longer run till Sunday, and will just focus on carboloading, reflecting, meditating. Oh, and yeah, I still have a playlist to prepare.
On the Plan
Of course there is a plan! I would no longer be posting it here for brevity, and because it would be better told post-race. I have a feeling it won’t be followed to the letter anyway. In a nutshell though, the plan is to run the first three quarters technically and the last part with heart(some plan huh?). Needless to say the technical aspects of the plan draws a lot from data(sorry, an academic would always be an academic) gathered from training runs and of course, the last marathon. From nutrition to gear, a vastly different runner would be challenging the distance this time.
On finishing within 5 hours
I am pretty confident that I could finish. I am pretty confident that I could beat 5:20. In fact I won’t be half as anxious about this marathon it this was not Milo. But the 5 hour cutoff complicates things. I checked the results of last year’s Manila eliminations, and the last finishers clocked in at around 5:11 or so. So they are serious. The question now is whether I could improve on my time by more than 20 minutes. I think I have a fighting chance of being able to do that.
On qualifying
I would very much like to qualify(who doesn’t?) for the finals, but that is not my primary concern right now, finishing is. For one, I never broke the 3 hour barrier for 20 miles during training. Nevertheless if the opportunity presents itself on race day, I would definitely take it. In other words, I won’t be “cooking” it so that I’d cross the finish line at exactly 5:00. Whatever happens, sub-4 or sub-5, this would be a tank-emptying, run-my-heart-out affair.
On Everything
Kaya yan.
Tags: 33rd National Milo Marathon, Manila Eliminations
Posted June 29th, 2009 by wilson
I am revamping this website-slash-blog. More specifically, I am dedicating this website-slash-blog to running.
You see, I started this website-slash-blog a month before I started running. I originally planned this to be a personal site, but then running came along, and running-related posts took over. If you read old posts before the “move” though, you’d have noticed that there were quite a few non-running stuff in the early months.
I would soon be starting a new personal blog, in a subdomain, but for now, this one would be a full-blown running website-slash-blog.
The first reason for the move is that I believe that separating my personal blogging from my runner blogging would benefit both in the long run. I tried to balance the two unsuccessfully, with my runner blogging winning out. The difficulty arises from the fact that I have two groups of readers, those that know me as a runner and those that know me personally, i.e., my non-running friends.
Speaking of readers, I believe that ultimately they are the ones who would benefit the most.
I subscribe to the blogs that I follow via RSS, and while I certainly don’t mind receiving personal life updates, movie reviews and even eroticas in my “Running Blogs” folder, I’m not sure about the others. Now, readers that mainly come here for the running-related stuff would no longer have to read non-running stuff such as Mizuno Running Clinic crushes(okay, that may still be running-related), clustered microarchitectures, photography, or a review of that new eating place in Katipunan. And with the advent of a personal blog, my non-running friends would finally read posts that are non-running related, personal even.
Now, why don’t I just spin off my running blog into something like runner.wmtan.net and keep the main domain for the personal blog? Truth here is, a huge chunk of the original “unsegregated” content is about running, so it’s logical that the running website keeps the main domain. With the domain goes the name: a lot of people already associate this blog with Just Another Head Fake, so even though the name is weird for that of a running website, I’d let it be.
This is not a spontaneous decision. I began working on it last month, enacting changes little by little. I already “un-published” the non-running stuff, retaining only those which running related posts have references to. Still, if in the early months there is some gap in the continuity, the “un-published” posts would probably account for that. For the surviving posts, I did a massive rework of the tags and categories. I must admit, before the move I already felt silly tagging just about every post I make “running” and categorizing it under “Hobby”. Now the tags are more specific and the categories more fitting of that of a running website. I also revamped the About page, and added a few new pages.
Do take note that while this is now a running website-slash-blog, it is still a very personal running-web-site-slash-blog. I certainly have no intention of turning this into some sort of “ultimate portal” or “magazine” for runners. I think that many long-running running blogs already fill out that niche pretty well.
Well, do expect a few more changes in the coming weeks, but here it is for now. Hope you enjoy the revamp.
Tags: site revamp
Posted June 28th, 2009 by wilson
I had three wishes for the VolunteeRun which I posted before.
I wished that they would be timing the race. And they did! Well they started the race late, but that was okay. No big Timex digital clocks for this one, but since my expectations from them frankly aren’t that high, I am pretty happy.
I wished that there would be water stations. And there were a lot of water stations. The three kilometer track had four water stations all through out. That’s one in every 750 meters. I had never seen a course as well-hydrated as this one.
So far I got two of what I wished for. Finally, I wished that the distance would be pretty accurate. This one I’m not really sure of. Since I’m not using a GPS-equipped watch, I really couldn’t know for sure. I hope that a GPS-watch owning runner-blogger ran in this race, so I’d be looking out in the blogs for that, but the only other familiar runner-blogger that I saw there was Cathy. They announced that PATAFA helped out in the race, though I’m not sure whether they had the course PATAFA certified.
Actually I had an additional wish while going to the race. I wished that somehow, they had the course changed, and that since the track is now larger, the number of laps would be decreased. No such luck. When I got there I saw that the race maps for the 3K and 21K are the same. So 7 laps it was.
All in all I must say that the event pretty much exceeded my expectations. It was definitely a small event, but I am happy to report that aided with the Police, kids-from-Malate-which-came-via-bus(beneficiaries?), and onsite registrants, the number of participants exceeded 36. Also, for a race of its size, it was a pretty generous event. We got t-shirts and a loaded bag of Unilever freebies. Sulit yung 150. They also had the decency of giving out certificates, with a small UP logo on the upper left. So its like getting another (smaller)diploma for me, although this one’s from UP Manila. Rock on! I can’t also help but mention here that the organizers of this race are among the nicest that I’ve encountered. You really could see why they are in the volunteering business.
So how did I do?
I started out pretty strong in this one, and it was apparent from the start that it was pretty powerful field that I’m running with. Nevertheless, the thing I was fearing the most, the multi-lap nature of the race soon began taking its toll on me. A multi-lap course takes much greater toll on the mind than it does on the body. A focused mind could enable you to run through injuries and many other things, while a distracted and bored mind could toast you regardless of your fitness level. I was already getting so bored by the fifth lap that fatigue was beginning to set in. I guess I had already seen the landmarks so many times it seemed like I had been running longer than I really was. I was beginning to slow down when the runner right behind me for much of the race caught up with me and said “Sabayan mo ako tumakbo, jogging-jogging lang“. Now Miss Anna’s(that was her name) jogging pace was more like tempo pace for me, but surprisingly I was able to keep up with her. See the power of the mind? Apparently she too was training for the Milo eliminations though she’d be participating in the Tarlac Eliminations half, rather than the Manila Eliminations full. Last year, she qualified for the finals with a 1:25 time. Now talk about running with an elite! Needless to say Miss Anna’s company and pacing got me through the remaining two rounds. I clocked in at 1:43:27, official time. That’s 10 minutes off my Greenfield City Run time. Comparing that with the results of my last race before the Paa-Tibayan, I guess I could say that I really am coming into next Sunday’s marathon in a much better shape than the last one.
The last pre-marathon race had been ran. Now all that’s left are the shorter taper runs, and the waiting. The Milo Marathon, and the 5 hour cut off, looms in the distance.
Race bib
***RACE SUMMARY***
Event: VolunteeRun
Date/Time: June 28, 2009, 6:00am
Venue: CCP Open Grounds
Length: 21 kilometers/half marathon
Time: 1:43:27(official)
Racer/Bib Number: 035
Tags: 21K, 33rd National Milo Marathon, half marathon, Manila Eliminations, Paa-Tibayan, VolunteeRun
Posted June 27th, 2009 by wilson
According to the organizers of the VolunteeRun when I registered, the course for the half marathon would consist of a 3 kilometer track ran 7 times. Yes, seven. And to think that I almost abandoned the UP Acad oval as home track when I began training for distances beyond 16K, and that I was thankful Coach Ige never made us cover more than 15 kilometers in the BHS loop. Oh well, it is for a good cause, the organizers seem to be really really good people, and 21K is 21K. I’ll just brace myself for boredom and try my best to maintain pace control. I just wish that a. The distance would be reasonably accurate b. The times would be accurate and c. They would have water stations.
Oh they also told me to keep my tabs so that I could claim the event shirts which are limited to the first 100 registrants. Our numbers(my father and I registered) are 35 and 36, and I registered on the supposed last day. 36 runners, 4 divisions. This is going to be very very interesting.
Tags: 21K, half marathon, upcoming races, VolunteeRun
Posted June 26th, 2009 by wilson
Like many runners, I am a big fan of Runrio races. I think that at the moment they are the best in the business, they seemingly have mastered the art of race organizing, and the innovations-wise, they are second to none. Well, to be fair to others, Runrio races are a bit more expensive than most, but usually, it is worth it anyway.
Thus, I was disappointed when I found out that the name of my brother and I were not included in the MHATR results. I think that result publication is a very important part of a race and an important responsibility of organizers. It is your proof of having finished after all, since the event singlet, when available, could be had by just about anyone who registered(very rarely do you see a true-blue finisher’s shirt). I think that the two most basic responsibilities of an organizer are providing sufficient on course needs(such as water and marshaling) and providing accurate results. Roving clocks, bands, freebies, and the other things are just very nice add-ons.
I emailed runrio.com, and to my relief, they replied, explained what happened, and promised to revise the results.
It is very nice to see that they guys over at Runrio listen to the feedback and concerns of their runners. Quite frankly it seems to me that some organizers feel like that their responsibilities end with the announcement of the top runners or winners. And some have also taken to making promises they could not keep. There was this one race I joined where the guy at the finish line when asked for a certificate said that they would just be mailing the certificates to the runners. It has been six months since then, and I received a lot of mail, but none of it my finisher’s certificate from them. The very same organizer organized a big run and then did not publish the official results at all. I am glad that even though Runrio’s business seems to be expanding and doing well, they had not fallen to the same traps, and has remained in my opinion the closest thing that we have to being a “race organizer for runners, by runners”. So guys, keep up the good work.
Tags: Men's Health All Terrain Race, missing results, Runrio
Posted June 25th, 2009 by wilson
I will be running in the VolunteeRun this coming Sunday.
I thought about running in the Botak event, but decided that it simply doesn’t fit with my plans for Milo(which I hold very very important). It is simply too long(even the 50K), and it would not be wise to risk it.
I was actually ready to register for the GIG Run, and even told some friends that I’d be joining them there. The fact that as a UP student my reg fee would just be 150 didn’t hurt either. But then the VolunteeRun came along.
The half marathon distance fits perfectly with my tapering schedule better than the GIG Run 10K. And the reg fee is once again, a discounted 150 bucks.
The VolunteeRun is different in a sense that it is a very low profile half marathon: not much publicity, low reg fee, no singlets(there’d be a limited number of finisher shirts though), and finally, no medals. Just remember Condura and Greenfield City Run and you’d see what I mean(no, I did not include Botak since the full marathon took centerstage in that event). Those were grand events, which people really trained and prepared for. The courses were innovative, and the organizers(RACE and Runrio) really brought their A-games. The registration fees were also no joking matter at 500 each. Run for Home, an upcoming half marathon, promises to be the most innovative race of the year yet, with chip timing involved. The course is not as innovative as the Greenfield City Run or Condura, but still somewhat new. The registration fee is a staggering 720 bucks(normal price). Now you see how the VolunteeRun stacks up?
I must admit when I heard of this race, despite knowing that it would help my Milo training, it is for a good cause, and it is cheap, I had second thoughts. Because quite frankly, I had been spoiled by the past half marathon events that I joined. Can you blame me, given my experiences with the Greenfield City Run and the Condura? Just about everybody who ran those two now have high expectations of succeeding half marathons: medals! Photovendo! firetruck showers! massage! After the Run for Home, those expectations would even be higher. And it’s not like those expectations are unjustified. Running 13.1 miles or 21 kilometers is a daunting task, and finishing a half marathon IS an achievement. Preparing for a half could make one anxious, so it’s normal to expect some recognition for finishing it.
But then I realized, as someone training for the full, I simple couldn’t afford to have the half give me heebie jeebies. At least, not anymore. I have to put things into perspective and see the half-marathon as just the halfway point of a full marathon. Could you actually imagine someone during the Milo Marathon, upon reaching the 21km mark, walking over to a marshal and asking “Where’s my half marathon medal?” I mean, I doubt that thoughts of “Darn normally I would be done and getting a medal at this point already” would help come the big day. It’s like you can’t race 10K if you make such a big fuss of reaching 5K.
Of course I won’t be missing the “glamorous” half marathons coming up or refusing the perks(who would?). I am as excited as just about anyone about the Run for Home. But for now, I am in the midst of this endeavor, and I have to see the bigger picture. The half marathon is just a step towards the full marathon, which, for now at least, is the distance that matters, and the only one worth having heebie jeebies for.
Milo, I’m putting my VolunteeRun medal on your tab. Pero siyempre hindi pa rin kita masisingil pag hindi ako umabot sa cutoff no?
Tags: 21K, 33rd National Milo Marathon, 42.195K, Condura 2009: Skyway Run for the Whale Sharks, full marathon, GiG Run, Greenfield City Run, half marathon, Manila Eliminations, Run for Home, upcoming races, VolunteeRun
Posted June 23rd, 2009 by wilson
2600 - number of calories an average person will burn when running a marathon
2000 - recommended daily calorie intake for an average person to maintain body functions and do normal activities - running not included
592 - my race bib number for the event
300 - in grams, the size of the Milo sachet which must accompany a registration form
200 - cost of the Milo full marathon registration, in pesos
195 - meters beyond the 42 kilometers in a complete full marathon, the distance you’d be hating and cursing near the end: “Why can’t it just end at 42?!”
100 - number of calories in an energy gel packet
42 - length of the marathon course to the closest kilometer
33 - edition number of this year’s Milo Marathon
30 - recommended long run distance when training for the full marathon. To have a decent chance of finishing, one must be able to cover this distance. Also where the infamous “wall” usually sets in during an actual race
20 - number of minutes beyond 5 hours which I needed to finish my previous marathon
7 - minimum average pace, in minutes per kilometer, which one must maintain the entire race to make it to the cutoff
5 - cutoff of the Milo marathon, in hours. Fail to finish within this and you go home with nothing: no medal, no certificate, no finish.
4 - maximum finish time, in hours that a participant needs to qualify for the Milo National Finals. Also the benchmark time for the full marathon, the same way 60 minutes is for the 10K
3 - number of flyovers included in the Milo marathon course
2 - this is going to be my second marathon
1 - One moment to shine. One chance for redemption. One call for courage. One golden oppurtunity to take part in something steep in history, and to get to know one’s self better as a runner, and as a person. One.
Because for the Filipino runner, all roads lead to Milo.
See you on July 5 at Kilometer 0! Kaya mo yan!
Tags: 33rd National Milo Marathon, 42.195K, full marathon, Manila Eliminations, upcoming races
Posted June 22nd, 2009 by wilson
In true-blue Runrio fashion, the MHATR results came out on the very same day itself. To my surprise though, our names, that of my brother and I, weren’t on it! We’re pretty sure we finished and the race officials got our barcodes. I experienced missing details in results before, like having only my number appear, but this is worse, since it’s like I did not race at all, or incurred a DNF. I hope the guys at Runrio would rectify and clarify things up.
Tags: Men's Health All Terrain Race, missing results, Runrio
Posted June 21st, 2009 by wilson
Sunday morning found us driving in the SLEX on our way to Laguna to participate in the Men’s Health All Terrain Race. The past few weekends had all been road races - and the next few would be too. Trail runs aren’t exactly common - so the MHATR was not only a welcome change, it was also a “shouldn’t miss” too. My brother, father and I ran in this race - a perfect way to spend Father’s Day, if you ask me.
The course was challenging, but certainly no TNF level. I mean, that has to be expected since the same course would be used by the bikers. Biking the Sacobia course is impossible. The area itself was actually not that large. However they were able to create a 15 kilometer course via looping some areas and creating convoluted tracks. It was reasonably scenic, though I must say that one would have more opportunities for sightseeing when road running than when trail running. At least in the former, you don’t have to watch the ground in front of you so much lest you trip on uneven ground.
Maybe it’s just me, but I liked the fact that the trail is much kinder to my knees than the pavement and rods which I had been pounding all week. It was certainly a welcome change. If I’d have it my way I’d be doing my recovery runs on trail - if only I could find a trail course in the midst of the metro.
This is kinda embarrassing, but it was our first time to take advantage of the Photovendo. In previous races where it was available, like the Greenfield City Run, the post race queue was simply so long and we were already so tired that we simply let it go. Now that we tried it - we’d make sure to never miss it again!
The MHATR certainly nearly had the makings of a really good race - sufficient water stations, competent marshals, nice course, freebies, etc. I say “nearly” because, it has one aspect in which, in my opinion, it was simply disappointing - and I’m talking about the singlets. We first got singlets of size L from ROX, but the guy there said we could have them traded on-site. Come race day though, the only size available was M(we wanted S). What’s with that, Coach? In races where the registration fee is just 200 bucks or so, I’d understand if they don’t have sizes for their singlets, but as this being quite an expensive race at 350, I believe the runners deserve better. At least I could wear the medium sized singlets. How about those who are more fit for larger sizes?
So was it worth making the trip to Laguna? Definitely. It was different from the usual race experience. While I haven’t exactly fallen in love with the trail like some, I certainly won’t mind running trails from time to time.
With brother and Dad. Trying to look dignified, prim, and proper - if that is at all possible after a trail run.
***RACE SUMMARY***
Event: Men’s Health All Terrain Race
Date/Time: June 21, 2009, 5:40am
Venue: Santa Elena, Santa Rosa, Laguna
Length: 15 kilometers(trail)
Time: 1:44:00(unofficial)
Racer/Bib Number: 5428
Tags: 15K, Men's Health All Terrain Race, trail
Posted June 20th, 2009 by wilson
Whenever I read or hear stories about Kara Goucher, Alberto Salazar, the Boston Marathon, or Dick Beardsley(like this one), I can’t help but be reminded of this book, Duel in the Sun.
I was able to get a copy from Booksale at SM City Baguio while vacationing at the City of Pines last Holy Week. Needless to say it became my Lenten reading material. Interestingly enough, there were also a lot of other Runner’s World books there too.
It tells the story of the build up to the 1982 Boston Marathon battle of Salazar and Beardsley, letting the readers have a glimpse of the protagonists’ personal lives and personalities. It narrates the actual marathon itself, in which Alberto Salazar amazingly did not drink water for the entire 26.2 miles - and won, by a very small margin. It is, some say, the greatest marathon battle ever. Bulk of the book though is about both runners’ decline right after their historic battle, and how they rose above their respective challenges. The marathon broke both men - or they broke each other - and neither would ever be the same again after that.
Dick Beardsley would eventually be injured and would be forced to stop running. An accident would introduce him to painkillers to which he would become addicted to for years. Ironically enough, the author speculates that marathoning - which is partly about pain management - may have made him more susceptible to drug addiction. It’s like his body has endured so much pain and is so used to it, that when it got a taste of painkillers, it simply couldn’t let go.
As for Alberto Salazar, he didn’t become injured, but his performances steadily declined after that Boston Marathon. It supposedly came to a point where he couldn’t run anymore. I must admit, it was kinda creepy reading about how he just steadily lost it, without any obvious cause.
It would take years for both men to get out of their respective dark ages.
Dick Beardsley would be sent to rehab by his family, where he would recover eventually, and begin running again. He is running still - even with artificial knees.
Alberto Salazar, after years of searching for a “cure”, would stumble upon a medical theory regarding his problem. Apparently, while he suffered little obvious physical damage after the marathon, his all-out effort did break something inside his brain which eventually obliterated his running. The cure for his problem, controversially, was Prozac. He eventually got better, but then he was past his prime as an athlete. So what was he to do? Coach, of course. The Nike camp, which sponsored him even in his active years, got him as a coach, and years later he’d end up coaching - who else? Kara Goucher.
It’s true that the book is about an event that happened more than two decades ago, but it is still relevant in many ways. 1982 was at the tail end of American dominance in Boston: considering the ‘82 event “took out” the two arguably best American runners then, and the rise of the foreign runners - it was simply inevitable. The U.S. would have its last champion in 1983. Thus the hype(and hopes) which surrounded Kara Goucher and Ryan Hall in the last Boston Marathon - they haven’t fielded such talent in years.
Also, remember how Goucher was so disappointed with her performance she wanted to run London, which was just a week after Boston? I kinda had the feeling that her coach would say no, since he himself had seen what damage overmarathoning could do. Or maybe that’s just me, speculating.
So next time you pass by Booksale, do take a look. There are interesting stuff there sometimes - even for runners.
Tags: Alberto Salazar, Boston Marathon, Dick Beardsley, Duel in the Sun, Kara Goucher, Ryan Hall
