JoggerNatz

Chicago Marathon 2017 Registration

2016-12-14T04:54:00.000-08:00

My wife and I applied for the Chicago Marathon about a month ago, but we knew our chances of getting accepted in the lottery was only 53% according to runnersworld.com. That means it's highly likely one of us could only be accepted. Well there's roughly 25% chance we both get accepted, 25% chance nobody gets accepted, and 50% chance either of us gets accepted. Yesterday I was 50% very happy to know I was accepted in the lottery and 50% sad my wife wasn't accepted. However I do not want her to be discouraged so much that she'll stop running completely. There are other races we could join if we go to the US in October 2017. Plus, we plan to finish the Milo Marathon Elims 2017 together. Hopefully she'll qualify again.

I realize it's been 10 years since I've motivated myself enough to keep on running seriously and eventually finished marathons that I could no longer track of. This month has been a huge dip in my fitness due to fatherhood duties to keep my son happy since being his favorite person in the world is both "my joy and burden" according to his mommy. Also I seem to have some strange unidentified autoimmune disease that have the symptoms of hives but at the same time my muscles would also inflame too much. This will hurt my running.

Not all runners may understand why, but the Chicago Marathon is one of the best in the world. Berlin being the marathon record holder serveral times for a decade now, seems to get all the hype, but in our case it is relatively harder for our family to go there. On the other hand, Chicago Marathon does not seem to get all the prestige it deserves. It is the fastest course in the US. It is the 3rd fastest in the world next to Berlin and London, and for slower runners like me they should not be much of a difference except for the inconsistent weather in Chicago. It may not be as prestigious as Boston but it is the best one for PR's. Also, it is the same route as the movie "The Spirit of the Marathon(2007)".

The course record is 2:03:45 by Dennis Kimetto, his 2nd fastest marathon after Berlin Marathon

So today, or yesterday rather, when I was accepted in the Chicago Marathon, my motivation to run went sky high again. I may not be at my fittest self, but I seem to be at my most motivated (could be the excitement) state. How much motivation is that? I had no idea until this afternoon God tested how driven I was. While running an unplanned 5K, just because I was so inspired to start my 10month marathon training program, God gave me tremendous amount of pouring rain that it flooded gutter deep. I had to run on the sidewalk even with an inch thick of rain. I went home dripping wet like I jumped on the pool. Well i practically did by occasionally jumping on the flooded roads.

The race is very expensive at $220, more than 10 times the registration for the milo marathon. This time I can't afford to DNF like I did in the Milo Marathon Elims 2017. I believe the key is to train smarter and more consistent than ever before. Honestly and personally this is a real challenge. I am now 10 years older than when I started running and have more responsibilities. However, with father time behind me, this time I need to run the best and fastest Marathon of my life in the Chicago Marathon 2017.

Update after 4 years

2016-11-22T21:23:00.000-08:00

I basically stopped blogging after realising I had very little time because life was so good. However yesterday I realised, it would be fun if I could just read back everything I've done in the past 4 years but no, I had no journal to write anything, only pictures. One of my weaknesses is my poor memory and perhaps if I do write what I was thinking, experiencing, someday when I'm 60 (not so far from now) and read this again, I would have something to remember and reminisce when i was younger. Also, I received feedback that I write too much, and people nowadays have very short attention span including myself. So for now, I will shorten the update of the last 4 years since I last blogged to the following:

I got married to my secret college crush in March of 2013.
Broke my marathon PR in HK marathon on January 2014, time was 3:10'54". Weather was perfect. Too bad I didn't realise I was only 55 seconds behind my BQ time of 3:09.59.
No other PR's broken in other distances :-(
Wifey and I ran the Milo Marathon Elims in 2014
We had a baby boy in December 2015.

Did Not Finish (DNF) the Milo Marathon 2016 due to training with little sleep every night. I realised how hard it is to be a dad now.
Failed to finish the Pinoy Fitness 21K on November 2016 because my Nike racing flats shoes fell apart at 11km point. I can't really blame the shoes, they're quite old but I rarely use them. Need to buy new racing flats.

Although my running sucked for this past few years due to lack of new PR's, life has been great for me and my family. I never really imagined how it's like to be a dad, but it has been great. Hopefully someday our boy would join us in our Milo Marathons.

Start Slow, Finish Faster

2012-11-10T21:06:00.001-08:00

For these past 2 weeks, I still found myself back at the drawing board, trying to figure out how come it was easy for me to run 22miles at 7:39/mi (4:45/km), and yet had trouble achieving that average pace in the first 15miles of the marathon. Then it occurred to me, I was always feeling a bit lousy before in almost all my long runs, while in the marathon, I was always anxious to start running right away. So normally, in my long runs, I would just take the first 10Kms real easy. Then depending on how I feel, I would hammer the last half to a little bit faster than marathon pace.

22miles (7:39/mi ave pace) started at 8:20/mi

On the other hand, I started my marathon too fast at 7:25 pace. I already tried to run this slower, but since I was near the front at the starting line, my adrenaline must have made me run faster than needed.

My Marathon split pace (ave 7:50/mi) started at 7:25/mi.

After the 13mile halfway point, I was already fatigued and was getting slower and slower. My slowest miles were at 18 and 23miles. Comparing the two graphs (Blue=22mi long run, Red=Marathon), it is obvious that I've progressively slowed down in the marathon after running the first 5miles too fast. On the other hand, my 22mile long run started really slow.... it reached my marathon target pace after 5miles, and I still progressively ran faster. In the end, I hit my goal pace without trying during training. In actual execution at the race, I failed.

Moral lesson of the story is still like the Hare and Tortoise story. Start slow and finish faster. At least I've learned in my last marathon and hope to do better in my next one. Next week would be the start of my 12week marathon program and I'm aiming Condura to run under 3:20. I hope I execute this one correctly.

Run United Philippine Marathon - Part 2: Marathon Race

2012-11-02T04:37:00.002-07:00

Week 3 - Start Tapering... with a 5K race under 20minutes. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I was scheduled for a 10K to 21K tempo race in my training program with 2weeks to go till the marathon race. This coincides with my company, ON Semiconductor, internal fun-run. We had 1K, 3K, 5K, and 10K races. I thought 10K would burn me out too much and wouldn't be able to recover soon for the marathon, so I picked the 5K. I've done 5K's under 20minutes twice last year, and I thought it would be another challenge to do. I did, and won the race in my company, finished at 19'56". Kat also joined the race and finished 23minutes+, and awesome time for her! I could still remember my last 23minute+ 5K and it was so hard for me back in 2008. Too bad the company only award winners to employees, so Kat didn't win the female category.

Weeks 2 to 1, I kept on lowering my mileage further, but retaining the intensity as much as possible. For some reason, I gained 5 pounds and I haven't even started carbo-loading yet. This freaked me out because this calculates to a 6-minute slower time in the marathon. I couldn't do much about it, so I stopped looking at the weighing scale. I thought maybe Kat and I were eating too much chocolates! I also bought 7gels to bring with me for the marathon, and Kat cooked some delicious pasta for our carbo-loading.

Race Morning

I woke up at 12AM feeling fresh and energetic. I wasn't as scared nor anxious as I used to be in my earlier marathon races. Drank coffee and made sure my tummy was empty before going to the race. Kat and I arrived at the starting line at 2AM an had some pictures with KB runner, Belle, Annaly (from Kabankalan), and Edrick. Kat was going to run 21K, and she was just scheduled for a long tempo run. I told her she'll surely break her 1:59 personal record set last June, but she shouldn't give 100% effort since she still has to run 42K in the QCIM. I on the other hand, was planning to give my 100% effort for this race. Target time was sub-3:20, a 7:39/mi pace (4:35/km).

Gun Start
I had no problem lining-up near in front, I saw my Kenyan friend Peris Peywo, who was a 3:30+ marathoner. She told me she had sleeping problems before the race. I also saw Christabel Martes, who humbly declined the bouncer's (yes, race marshals are now bouncers) offer for her to get in front of the starting line. I knew this woman is going to be much faster than me. Unfortunately, my bladder filled-up quickly again and I felt the need to pee just few minutes before start. The gun started a few minutes after 3:00AM, and a lot of adrenaline marathon runners still blasted away like crazy! Most of them ran like it was a 400meter race. I had problems trying to slow myself down, my plan was to do negative splits, but seeing those adrenaline runners would easily push you. Garmin showed my pace to be too fast at 7mins/mile! Then I really felt the urge to pee. Since I've already ran my first mile too fast, i guess it's OK to go to the side and take a leak and still be within schedule. When I joined the pack again and settled down, the pace was still a little faster than plan, and my first mile was 7:25. Not a good sign if I wanted to conserve my precious glycogen reserves.

Jerome and Wilnar was able to run with me for a while when I joined the pack. It looks like they're the smarter type of runners not running along with the adrenaline runners. Jerome has just ran a great 15K race a few weeks ago, and I knew he was in another great marathon. I was estimating his time to be 3:30 to 3:40 this time. He slowed down a bit behind Wilnar and me. Wilnar was always a few strides ahead of me, approximately 5meters ahead. Wilnar's the strongest marathoner in our team, ran a 3:04 marathon already, and I believe he's capable of a sub-3hour marathon if he wanted to. This time, he's out to easily "long-jog" the RUPM at 3:20, since he has a full Triathlon scheduled soon. Wilnar would always take the lead, but he wouldn't fully leave me behind. I also noticed his running stride greatly improved, he was now forefoot/midfoot striking with a powerful back-kick. Stride-by-stride, Wilnar's seems to be more powerful. He would walk at hydration stops, but could quickly accelerate back to pace effortlessly. I therefore new I shouldn't overtake this guy since he's much stronger than me. After 10miles, Wilnar and I were averaging 7:35 to 7:38/mile pace, a little faster than plan, but we were OK.

Kalayaan Flyover-Prison Break should be the hardest part of the race, since this is the hilliest part of the race. Strange, but Wilnar and I were in for a new surprise challenge. We were able to catch-up and merge with the slowest pack of 21K runners. It was a nightmare. The 21K running pack was so dense and they were so slow I estimate their pace to be around 10 to 12mins/mile, and Wilnar and I had a great deal of headache weaving through them. Nobody was sharing a fast lane, we were on our own. Now looking at the graph, I see that this slowed us down to 9:11/mile. Being furious, there were many times that I was being tempted to push the slower runners aside, but realizing it's not their fault I had to just keep on saying "excuse me" like 1,000 times. But really, runners should be educated on proper race etiquette and give way to faster runners. Unfortunately, I don't think they were even aware of the faster 42K runners. I guess the organisers were the ones to blame for this, but they probably didn't foresee the volume and density of the 21K runners merging with 42K runners. At halfway of the flyover, I just couldn't take it anymore and decided to climb the "island" separation and jump to the opposite lane where there were still speeding vehicles. I called Wilnar and he joined me. We ran like hell fast to make-up for the lost time. It was scary since the vehicles were quite fast when they approached us, but Wilnar waved for them to move to the other side and they all complied. Wilnar and I had to continue running at the opposite lane all the way to Buendia, till we saw faster 21K runners that were more manageable with our pace.

Unfortunately, I felt all these surging and excitement to suck the energy out of me at the latter part of the race. When we reached Roxas Boulevard, I was already fatigued and sluggish. I decided to let Wilnar go ahead and for me to slow down, hopefully recharge my legs (if it's even possible).

Training Mistake Apparent - I asked myself, "How come in training I could run 7:39/mile for 22miles, but now in the race I ran 7:39/mile and at 16miles I was already tired, and I feel the need to slow down?" This was what I was afraid of, when I ran 22miles at marathon pace in training. Ideally, only the latter part of the long runs can be ran at marathon pace, but not all of it, otherwise one would be peaking already and racing the long run. Come Marathon Race, one would be too tired to maintain the pace. That was the theory of my Boston Marathoner friend Raffy "Alaska Runner" Castaneda when he noticed my training mistake of the past. Now I've repeated the mistake and suffering for it.

Kat Anasco and Chris Iblan

Kat Kat Salangsang

Ah shit! I'm too late for 3:20!

After 20miles, my average pace has significantly slowed down to 7:45/mile, and I lost hope for the 3:20 goal finish. I just felt the need to survive. 21K slower runners merged with us again and it gave me more challenge than was welcome. Then approaching me on the opposite lane of the road, I saw Kat Kat running 21K fast, and then few strides behind her were Chris Iblan and Kat Anasco. When Chris shouted at me that Wilnar is just ahead of me, that gave me a motivation, like a small goal, just chase Wilnar and hopefully finish with him. At 23miles, my time was already 3hours. With 3miles or 5Kms to go, the fastest 5K I could theoretically run is under 20minutes but I was too tired to run that fast. So a possible 23 to 25minutes would mean 3:23 to 3:25minutes. Then slowly I was able to close the gap to Wilnar. I was so tired when I reached him. He seems OK and his strides were still powerful. With 2miles to go, I told him we only have 3Kms to go. He took some hydration and gave me some. With only a mile to go, Wilnar seem to have slowed down and told me to go ahead. He must be aware I was trying to run for a new PR. I didn't feel the wall, but my whole legs were really fatigued again. With 800meters to go, I tried to run faster, then my quadriceps, both of them, cramped! However, lifting my heels like a semi-butt-kick seems to help stretch the cramping muscles. Slowed down a bit till the cramping feeling goes away.

With 200meters to go, I saw the finish-line and the adrenaline got me fired-up again. I pumped my arms harder and prepared for a sprint-finish. They gave me these cute little Philippine Flags for the Photo-Finish with the red carpet awaiting us. I finished at 3:25'29" Garmin Time. Not the sub3:250 I've hoped, but this was a 4minute PR improvement for me already. Wilnar finished just a minute behind me. I found out later that he didn't take any gels and that must have caused his slow-down at the last mile of the marathon. Still, a 3:26 marathon for a jogging long-run workout is crazy fast! On the other hand, our fellow teammate Jerome Bautista also did a great job improving his new PR to 3:37! It's inspiring to see Jerome improve consistently year after year in the marathon. He's also had podium finishes in an Ultramarathon race this year. Really great to see his speed has improved as well, and it was just a week ago that he also did a 15K PR.

Not what I hoped for, but still a new PR

Wilnar's Jogging Pace

Speedy Jerome with a new 3:37 PR!

JoggerNatz and JoggerJoey

Meanwhile, my other teammates Alex Mac, Joemar Paras, and our Team Captain Ronnel Go ran the Marathon, but they all treated it as a long run and didn't seek for new PR.

4:11 time of Alex Mac

Kaptain Ronnel Go

Team Power Puff Boys (left to right: Alfred, Joms, Chris, Joey, Jerome, Gian, Mark, Jixee, Wilnar, Alexis, Natz, Ronnel, and Alex)

Conclusion
I'm a little disappointed with myself for not being able to reach my goal time, but somehow glad that I didn't hit the wall and didn't collapse so much. My 3:25 time is something I could live and be happy for now. It was my fault not being able to train wisely in the latter stages of my training program, I pushed myself too hard and wasn't able to recover in time for the marathon. It was also a challenge to do negative splits again, but there were unintentional challenges by the race organizer like the dense high-volume of slower 21K runners out there to block the faster 42K runners. This is the first Marathon Race organized by Run Rio, I've been excited to be part of this event, and overall, the race is not bad. The finish line was unique with the red carpet with VIP treatment.

Still Positive Split Paces

Exaggerated size designed for medal-greedy runners

21K medals same size as 42K?

Run United Philippine Marathon - Part 1: Peak Week Training

2012-10-07T01:53:00.002-07:00

With 4weeks to go, last week was my Peak Week for the Run United Philippine Marathon. Part of the allure of the Marathon is its Training, and I have been excited to get my highest mileage and highest intensity training week since Week#18. Unfortunately, for some reason, I caught some cold/cough virus and it got worse last Wednesday, when I was supposed to do some VO2max interval workouts. I felt so bad that I took a sick leave that day. The next day, thursday, I felt a little better and I was so eager and anxious to run some intervals. I thought it would be best to try that YASSO800 workout to gauge my marathon ability. I was surprised myself when my dad made me realise I was no longer dreading interval workouts. I ran 10x800meters with 400meter jogs in between. I averaged 3:15 for those 800meters, predicting a 3hour15minute marathon finish time.

However, I've read that these workouts sometimes predict marathon finish times 5minutes faster, so I guess I'm on track for my 3:20 goal. Also, I still had some coughs and colds that my workouts could've been faster. I had to perfect the art of Snot Rocket to run fast!

Registration

We're Excited!

Like I've mentioned in my previous blog, I was willing to register in the first ever Run Rio Marathon, as long as the registration doesn't go higher than P2,999.99. Good thing they've initially declared it to be P2,500, and further lowered it to P1,300 when a lot of runners protested against the high price. As long as Run Rio gives us the best marathon experience, I was OK with the P2,999.99. So with P1,300, my expectations now are a bit lower... so I'll probably be happy with the race. The official website published that the insite registration would be October 8th, but thanks to RunRio organizer Kulit Runner, she announced on Facebook that Riovanna would be accepting registration on the 7th! I got so excited Kat and I went there in the afternoon :-)

Registered and Ready to Run!

Unfortunately I skipped some days of running due to my coughs and colds so I wasn't able to hit my peak mileage of 70+ miles. This morning, however, I was scheduled for a 22mile run at 10% slower than marathon target pace, so that should be 8:20/mile. For some reason, this morning, I felt so good, so strong, that I kept running below 8:00/mile.... then after 4miles, I've decided to let it rip!!! I eventually averaged 7:39/mile, exactly my marathon pace target, but on a 22mile long run. I have this bad habit since the beginning, of racing my long runs like this. I have been warned by a Boston Marathoner friend that I should never run my long runs at marathon pace, well at least it should be rare, and only for the last half of the workout. Otherwise, I would have peaked already. Now, I am worried that this could be the case, and if I don't run under 3:20 come October28th, I would know the reason. But for now, I've enjoyed and remained relatively strong in my Peak Marathon Week training despite of the coughs and colds. In the next 3weeks, I would be tapering and be lowering my mileage and speed work. I'll keep you guys posted.

Kwicky Blade Review by Kat Kat

2012-09-19T01:40:00.000-07:00

Kat and I went shopping last Saturday for new shoes and she bought the KSWISS Kwicky Blade. Although KSWISS is very vocal that their shoes aren't for joggers, I feel the need to share KatKat's review of the KSWISS Kwicky Blade.

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I love to run that I happily endure all the discomfort and pain that comes with it. Those are nothing compared to the joy that it brings me anyway. Two things that constantly bother me during and after my runs are BLISTERS and toenails that constantly die on me. (Gross! Believe me, I know!!! And very unladylike too!) I get blisters on top of old blisters and new ones after each run. I have lost several toenails which takes a month and sometimes more to grow back so I constantly wear closed shoes or cover it up with a band aid. I have also said goodbye to sexy killer heels since I started running last January 2012.

(PS. These aren’t mine!)

Anyway, I have gone through four (4) running shoes this year. I gave away my old Reebok to a running enthusiast and retired my old Nike – the culprit for the first toenail that I lost this year! I remember that was February 25, 2012. March 10, 2012, Nathaniel and I bought the Skechers GO RUN. It was great to run in but I still get blisters and my toenails kept dying. May 2012, I bought the Nike Lunar Racer hoping it will solve the problem but I realized after running in it that it was quite narrow so it gave me blisters way worse than what I got from wearing Skechers.

(Cathy is wearing the KSwiss Kruuz in this picture though.)

My pretty Iron friend Cathy Bril-Jordan kept telling me since February to buy the KSwiss Kwicky Blade. She said that she ran her first Marathon in it without socks and she didn’t get any blisters. She said that she had healthy toenails since.

I still didn’t buy the Kwicky after being told several times because it is quite expensive at 6200PHP/$135. I thought it was too much. I have only decided to get a pair after 8 months and only after seeing that they have it in PINK and that it was on sale (15%).

My Kwickys are Kikay Pink!!! Bought it just last September 15, 2012 for 5300.00PHP :D

“I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT IT A LONG TIME AGO!” was what I said to myself while running in it last Sunday. It fit me like a glove and it is very soft and smooth to run in!!

I HAD ZERO BLISTERS!!! I initially didn’t think it was possible but believe me IT IS! Running in the rain was also no problem because it has drainage too. It looks a little bulky but it’s actually light. I can run forever in these.

You may check out the product details in this site:

http://www.kswiss.com/shop/footwear/92941-699/Women/Kwicky_Blade-Light_Neutral/NEPNK_MYSTERIOSO_/tree

I may still race 5ks and 10ks with my Nike Lunar Racer though but I’ll train with my Pink Kwicky and I intend to run my first marathon in it. (Wish me luck!)

Cathy didn’t lie, the KSwiss Kwicky Blade Light did deliver on its promise. Worth every penny I spent!

~ Kat Salangsang

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I am a Marathon Runner. I must run

2012-09-14T02:33:00.003-07:00

I've been busy for the past 3months training for the Marathon, and I'm targeting the Coach Rio's 1st Marathon, the Philippine International marathon on October 28. I hear the registration's really expensive at P3,000.00 - I may have to cancel my plans for that in case the rumors were true and train for the QCIM on December instead. But if the actual registration is cheaper, say P2,999, I think I could afford Rio's Marathon.

My Target
I've noticed that at each of my succeeding serious marathon effort, I cut about 9minutes off at each race. Since my last marathon PR was 3:29, I believe a realistic good target would be 3:20. That's 7:37/mi or 4:44/km pace.

Mileage
One of the things I've noticed in my body's behavior is it really respond well to higher mileage training, around 50miles to 80miles per week(80 to 128kms/wk). Any lower than 50miles/week(80kms/wk), I wouldn't be as strong or fast as I would want to be, and any higher than 80miles/week(128kms/wk) I would start to feel my legs are falling apart. Also, before I started my Marathon Training last July, I was lifting weights in the gym, trying to look good building upper-body muscles and trying to grow some abs. I would go to the gym during lunch time about 3 to 5times a week. I have to admit it's really hard work for me.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard I try, and it's been a year since I've signed up, I am nowhere close to having a stunning body for a magazine-cover, or something you would show-off on the beach. To add to that frustration, my race times and daily runs got slower. The reasons for that, I've realized, is added upper body muscle doesn't add running endurance. I also read somewhere that in running, what we would ideally want is a high ratio of capillaries over running muscles, to deliver as much oxygen and blood as possible to the working muscles. In other words, abs won't make you faster in the marathon. Gym workouts slow you down. Consistent Long runs and high mileage lets you grow more capillaries and are the key to stronger marathon times.

Now after a month or two of not going to the gym, I've easily lost 5pounds, although I looked scrawny, I'm quite happy I look lean and fast -- my workouts are getting faster and longer as well.

In the first two months of my training, I focused on the endurance build-up where I started at 40mi/wk(60kms/wk) and gradually built it to 77mi/wk(123kms/wk). My average pace were around 8mins/mi on almost all my workouts. I was able to run five 20-milers during this period ranging from 8:20 to 7:50/mile pace. Now I am on the VO2max section of my training phase, where I would run 600meters to 1,000meter intervals at approx 5K race pace about 6:19/mi or 3:56/km. I later realized I was running my easy runs and long runs too fast! If I were to target a 3:20 marathon at 7:37/mi pace, my long runs would have to be 20 to 10% slower than this, and should be only 9:09 to 8:23/mi, (or 5:41 to 5:13/km). Last week I was scheduled to do a long run of 24miles or 38kms, and if I were to follow this pace, I should finish at exactly 3hours and 20minutes, my marathon target time. I ran with my Team Power Puff Boys teammates at UP Diliman, and I have to say, although this was slower, i felt exhausted. It did simulate what I feel at the end of the marathon, but without the extreme muscle soreness/fatigue. I believe it is the ultimate Marathon workout, and I'm glad I have passed it with 2months to go!

24miles Long Run with Team Power Puff Boys at UP Diliman

VO2max workouts
After the exhausting 24miles last Sunday, I thought I wasn't ready to perform 5x600meter intervals at 5K race speed on Tuesday. I felt awful on the 2.5mile warm-up. But then when I started running those 600meter at fairly fast pace, my muscles didn't feel fatigued anymore, and they were all fired-up! My legs have the bounce and my strides were powerful. I was able to practice what I thought was the best running form, I thought I was copying Haile Gebrselassie or Ryan Hall :-) The next day I felt tired and ran my recovery day at very slow pace. Then the next day I ran 15miles at 8:16/mile pace, no big deal. It may be because I've been recruiting different sets of muscle types - long runs like 24miles and 15miles use the slow twitch muscles, while the 5x600meter intervals use the fast twitch muscles. So I guess the slow twitch take a bit of rest during these intervals. Crazy, but it could be true. It just works.

Recovery Runs (Jogs)

I also remember during in one of my "easy runs", I overtook this known elite Pinoy runner who could run 31-minute 10K and sometimes beat the Kenyans in our local races.

Jogging at about 8'10"/mile only, I was surprised to be faster than him during training. He didn't mind me overtaking him, unlike those other younger elite runners who seems to have more pride and wouldn't let you overtake them. After a few minutes, I stopped and drank my gatorade, he overtook me, but I later caught him. We chatted for quite a while, he asked me if I were doing a tempo run, and I said no, I am doing an easy run. He said he was running from home to work, a total of 90minutes, and he works in the Army. That was his normal pace. Then it occurred to me, if this guy could run 31minute 10K's, and I could only run 42minutes 10K's, shouldn't I be a lot slower than him during my recovery runs???!!! He therefore inspired me to jog my easy runs slower. From 8'10"/mile(5:05mpk), I slowed my recovery runs now down to 9'15"/mile (5:45mpk) or sometimes even slower. I guess it must have worked, for weeks now, I seem to recover faster and better from my hard workouts whenever I really slow down my recovery workouts. Muscles never seems to get sore anymore like before, although I am now running faster intervals.

I've done six 20-milers+ already, so I'm quite confident with my endurance to run strong, I feel I'm at the best shape to run another marathon. However, I still have 3 or 4weeks of hard VO2max workouts ahead of me before peaking, I just hope I don't overdo them and get overboard by inducing another injury.

What wakes me up in the morning
Every time I wake up in the morning, I am motivated to getup from bed and run with the thought of a 3:20 marathon finish. Even if it's raining really hard, as long as there's no sign of another Typhoon or flooding, I am very eager to run. Okay the intervals and speedwork still scares me a bit. But before all that, I I would drink my coffee, surf the web for facebook, runnersworld, dailymile, runningtimes, takbo.ph. Then after about 30minutes I would go to the toilet and do my thing for 15 to 20minutes. That leaves me about 10minutes to change into my running clothes and shoes. Then this small clip reminded me of myself and laughed when he said it takes him also an hour from waking up to actually hitting the road :-)

UP Running

2012-06-03T04:20:00.001-07:00

Below is a video of Kat Kat and I running at UP Diliman, simply having fun, we call it Run-Dates when we run together. We run together in an easy pace on Saturdays, and we then do long runs separately on our own, though still in UP, on Sundays. I made the video using iMovie app in macbook pro laptop, so easy and so fun to use! Enjoy...

i love running

2012-05-20T00:30:00.001-07:00

Sorry for not blogging much lately, I feel there's nothing interesting in my own training and racing. I was injured after the Condura Marathon, had pulled hamstrings after a week of recovery. So my month of March was really poor in my training. I thought I would focus on shorter distance and maybe get good results, but I only got disappointing 44 and 45minutes of 10K races. Damn that NatGeo race was ridiculously expensive! But now, I am slowly getting stronger and faster again. I've downloaded SMART COACH training program from Runnersworld.com to help me with my training. I'll be focusing for the Team Power Puff Boy's Race in Chris Sports Epic Relay on June10, and perhaps hopefully qualify for the Milo Marathon again.

Sometimes, inspiration in running doesn't have to be watching those Elite Kenyans or Ethiopians like Gebrselassie or Makau dominate a marathon race. Sometimes it doesn't have to be someone in the running community to perform an incredible or heroic race. It doesn't have to be someone as sexy as Kara Goucher.

Sometimes, inspiration can take in the form of a partner, a special loving someone. For me, my new inspiration is my new special someone to share a lot of fun times with, and unexpectedly - RUNNING!

Kat-Kat was my Sister's board-mate in College, and I had a secret crush with her, so she never knew I liked her at the time, she even won't believe me now. She said she used to run a bit even in College, and now that she works at HP, she got hooked in Running and joining their company Fun Runs. Last December, we joined the Sendong Fun Run with my sister. I paced both of them, but I've decided to support and stick with the slowest of the two of them. My Sister beat Katkat by 1minute, she finished in 35minutes while Kat Kat finished in 36minutes. I was actually expecting both of them to finish 40+minutes in the hilly McKinley Hill route, so I was happy with their times and praised them for their good job!

After the Sendong Race, Kat Kat and I got closer as friends, and I gave her a training program that I thought should fit her best - gradually increasing easy mileage that would eventually reach 40miles/week (60kms/week). I knew she has been running, but I doubted that she was consistent enough to improve gradually, so I considered her to still a newbie. So high mileage should work wonders for her - she initially aimed for a 2:15 time for a 21Km race this September.

She would commute to UP or McKinley Hill on weekdays, and I would accompany her during the weekend in UP. On Saturdays, I would run with her, and we would call it "Run-Date". On Sundays, she would run by herself so she could control her own pace, and workout that long run to 13miles (21K) regularly.

On our real dates, we would go in running shops like RUNNR or NIKE stores and drool over the running shoes. I never met a woman before who would actually drool over running shoes like I do, so I thought this was a great sign. She brought the new SKECHERS "GO RUN" that was made famous recently by Meb Keflezighi by winning the USA Men's Marathon Olympic Trials, which makes them real racing shoes!

For her first race this year, we've decided to join 10K BDO Run at MOA. I finished it at a disappointing (for me) 45minutes, while to my surprise, Kat Kat finished it at 57minutes! I was expecting her to finish it maybe at 59minutes, but she was actually 2minutes faster!

57minute 10K debut!

Because she was 2minutes faster than expected, I wasn't able to shoot a good camera angle of her, but look, she's actually smiling her way to the finish line! She also placed 3rd in the female category, so I was so happy and so proud of her that I bought her a Garmin Forerunner 405. The pink GF110 looked more feminine, but I felt Kat Kat's a more serious runner and the GF110 lacked the programmable interval/speedwork that GF405 provided.

In our next race, we joined the National Geographic 10K run that I felt was ridiculously expensive and they just didn't meet my expensive expectations. I mean yes they do have the right to make it expensive, but as consumers we will also have the right to complain and voice out our disappointment. It was only a few weeks after the BDO race, so we didn't improve much, and got almost the same race times. The only thing I liked about the Nat Geo Race is their Photobooth, where we got awesome memorable pics!

Like I've said, January her goal was just to run a 2:15 half-marathon. Well just in training in UP, she already ran a 2:13. She continues to surprise me in her training long runs, but I've warned her not to race her workouts and she assures me they're easy for her! I guess a sub2hour 21K is inevitable...

Unfortunately, running does have its ups and downs. Kat Kat had fast UPS, and she also had a unexpected recent DOWN. In one of her training at McKinley Hill, she had a nasty wrong step while doing a left U-Turn in a Hilly Slope. She then got a foot pain at the outer side of her left foot, similar location to my stress fracture last year. I told her to stop running for 2 to 3weeks, but she's too hard headed that it's too bad her foot's not as hard as her head, and she would start running again after 2 or 3days, only to find herself hurting too much and unable to run after 2miles. At least it's good to see her burning desire to keep on running despite the pain. She went to pain and rehab and got her foot examined. Good thing the X-ray revealed no stress-fracture, and there were no signs of inflammation, so we suspect it's just tendonitis or maybe some torn ligaments. However these injuries do take a lot of time to heal, and now she's listening to her doctor to stop running for 2 to 3weeks. It'll be 2weeks for her this coming Wednesday, she said she feels no pain right now, so hopefully next week will be a good start for her.

While her foot was still healing she bought another running shoe, the Nike Lunar Racer, similar to my own racing shoe. The RUNNR store got a great discount so she had to buy it before they ran out of stock. My size10 already ran out of stock when I was about to buy my 2nd pair. Good thing I was able to buy one at a good discount 3weeks ago in the same store. Funny thing is, the salesperson recognized her and remarked that she was buying the same pair of shoes I bought! :-)

We're a good-looking pair together!

I love Kat Kat for who and what she is, and it's a big bonus for me that she's also a serious passionate runner, and also a fast one! I see a lot of potential in her, I'm so excited already. My sister once said that if I ever find another girlfriend, it should be someone who also loves running. True, because I've heard a lot of complaints from my runner friends wherein their wives would complain of their running. We never imagined it to be her friend Kat Kat. In a lot of ways, I see a lot of myself as a runner in her. It's only been 2months for us, but the signs really show, and I really think this is it, I've finally found my Running partner for Life!

How a runner prepares a Romantic Dinner: Kat-Kat used Gatorade as "WINE"!

Why do I see my runner-self in her?

National Geographic Earth Day Run 2012

2012-04-03T19:39:00.001-07:00

I was invited to blog and jog (run) the NatGeo Earth Day run on April 22, (Sunday). I've run NatGeo race 2years ago, and I thought it was pricey and now it's getting even more expensive. There were no cause mentioned other than "Earth Day". I didn't get any details on the cash prizes for the winners yet nor the race map. I'll give more details on this as soon as I get them. However, the TSHIRT really does look great, I loved the old t-shirts 2years ago (although I didn't think the one I got was durable), now the new design's even better. I wanted the blue shirt, so I'll join the 10K run.

National Geographic Earth Day Run 2012

Venue: Bonifacio Global City
The run will have the following distance:

3k (P650)
5k (P750)
10k (P950)
21k (P1,150)
Entry fees include limited edition NGC EDR technical shirt.

Interested participants can go to Greenbelt 3, Ground Floor Left Wing for cash registration.
Cash registration runs until April 15, 2012.
Online registration is until April 15, 2012.
Major credit cards are accepted for online registration.
For questions, please e-mail: secretariat@natgeorun.com.

Note that:

Registration fees are NON-REFUNDABLE and NON TRANSFERABLE.
Categories are NOT UPGRADABLE NOR DOWNGRADABLE.


Black for 21K, Blue for 10K, Yellow for 3K


Yellow for 3K

Nike Flyknit Racer - Coming out in July

2012-02-22T01:48:00.000-08:00

Just recently heard that NIKE will be releasing a new model/design, the Flyknit Racer. I've been a fan of the Lunar Racer series, having purchased and raced on them in the marathons, and I've always thought they're the perfect shoes for me - very light (6.7oz) and very cushiony soft, and quite high mileage(500miles/800kms) for a "racer". Now Nike is saying they're going to be releasing an even lighter racing shoe at 5.6oz. Lighter shoes means faster cadence for a well trained runner/jogger in the race, and somehow longer strides, so therefore - faster racing times. No word yet on what kind of cushioning soles they'll be using whether Lunar Foam, Zoom Air, or Skylon. I certainly hope they'll still be using Lunar Foam so I can use them for the marathon. Can't wait to try them in July.

http://www.nikeblog.com/2012/02/21/nike-flyknit-racer-new-technology-model/#more-49369

"Continuing the quest for the lightest shoe possible that still offers all the necessary support, stability and cushioning, Nike is set to introduce the new Nike Flyknit racer. As the name suggests, the shoe will incorporate Flyknit, Nike’s newest textile technology.
Spawned from four years of research and development, Nike Flyknit is intended to give runners the snug, nearly unnoticed “second-skin” fit of a sock, while offering the structure and durability of a shoe.
The resulting Nike Flyknit Racer is formfitting and almost entirely seamless, not to mention groundbreakingly lightweight. Its 5.6-ounce weight (size 9) is 19% lighter than the Nike Zoom Streak 3, which was worn by the 2011 World Championships’ top three finishers in the men’s marathon.
Intended for marathoners, look for the Nike Flyknit Racer release date in July. Around that time, the Nike Flyknit Trainer will also hit stores, a 7.7-ounce shoe intended for all runners."

Condura Skyway - Dark Marathon Race

2012-02-18T05:07:00.001-08:00

I registered only my father for the Condura Skyway Marathon last Feb5, for the fear that I wouldn’t be fully recovered after the Cebu Marathon last January8th. It would be less than a month, and I fear there may still be some microscopic tears inside my leg muscles that would prevent me from performing to my best possible time. Also, I remember last year the route was already notoriously hilly, and it wasn’t yet extended from Sucat to Alabang. Now they’ve fully extended it and the challenge is now therefore extended! The Condura Skyway Route starts in Alabang, goes up the skyway, running way up North to Makati in Buendia, U-turn back south, then right turn to NAIA exit, U-turn back up the NAIA exit, then run up and do the RIGHT turn at the very high NAIA exit up southbound. Reaching Nichols, runners would do a U-turn back to Buendia again, and when they do reach Buendia, U-turn back – all the way back to Alabang. OK the route description feels like running the marathon already. The Marathon would start at midnight - 12AM, so that means if you're the average marathoner or faster, you will be running the full marathon in the Dark.

42.195Km Skyway Route

Unfortunately, my father got a gum infection that produced mild fever that despite his disciplined marathon training, he felt ill one week before the race and gave me a hint that I should run the marathon for him instead. He was training and aiming for a Sub5hour marathon, a challenging time for a 62year old man. He’s OK and well now, thank you for all your get-well-soon wishes. He gave me a fatherly humble advice to simply take the race easy and not to chase for a new PR, since I was still recovering. He recommended I aim for 4hours instead.
Getting the message from my dad, I got nervous and at the same time excited! I wasn’t scared of the marathon anymore. I experienced the wall, the cramps, I felt I could take any punishment the 42.195kms (26.22miles) would give me. Unfortunately, my mileage was at all time low due to the recovery demanded by the Cebu Marathon where I had set my 3:29 PR.

I haven’t really peaked; I just did mostly easy jogging at very low mileage prior to Feb5th. Therefore, I believed I will not be able to do even 3:30, as the Cebu Marathon was already relatively flat as compared with the skyway route. However, the thought of running up the skyway again and running the marathon and… that badass 4inch medal got me excited so I prepared 1week before the race. I was able to run to almost 40miles a 2weeks before the race, and I was even able to do a sub44 (43:57) 10K tempo run in training – which turns out to be an involuntary NEW 10K PR for me, and I was just targeting a sub-Bearwin 10K. So this performance boosted my confidence of my current fitness level.

PREPARATION
Like in the Cebu Marathon, I ate as much carbohydrates as I could during the final 3days before the race. That Saturday morning, I avoided coffee so I could sleep in the afternoon, and ate delicious Italian spaghetti 12hours before the race.

I then slept at 1PM till 6PM, then prepared and arrived at the race at 10PM. About an hour before the race, at 11PM, I got hungry again, and I couldn’t find any energy bar in the race. Fortunately (or unfortunately later), there was a Tapa King tent in the Condura Village, and I ordered 1cup of fried rice – they didn’t have any plain rice. I also bought 6gels of HIGH5’s, a more liquid type of gel that doesn’t have the throat-burning feeling aftertaste.

STARTING LINE
When I arrived at the Condura Village at 10PM (Gun start is 12:00AM Sunday!), I realized I was feeling so strong, never felt better before the race! No sore muscles, I was full of energy, and was breathing better, unlike in Cebu where I had bad dry cough and had some sore quad muscles on my right thigh. At that point, I felt very strong, the Dark Side of the Force was tempting me to do a sub3:20 marathon, that I have nothing to lose, that I must use all my strength to do it. On the other hand, the Light Side of the Force was more careful, reminding me what my father had told me earlier, to target a slower 4hour marathon instead, and simply enjoy the race.

Jedi Joggers showing off their Light Sabers

I then met my teammates Joms, Jixee, Kampuger, Joey, AJ, and Wilnar before the race. Joey registered as Wave A, but the rest of us were WaveC. I thought I was clever enough and so I used the Force and persuaded the guards to let me in the WaveA. With me were the Kenyans registered as WaveC also, but like me, used the Force to persuade the security guards. Joey got the idea and he called AJ and persuaded the guards. Wilnar the SuperJogger, decided to stick with his moral principles and stay in Wave C. At that point, I still haven't decided what time to target. Do a 3:30 marathon, or a 4hour marathon? Joey whispered to me and said, "I think you can do a sub3:20". I said to myself to use the Force and do the best I can do.

12AM Gunstart! Off we go!!!
When the gun started at exactly 12AM, I started running by feel - what I felt like in all my past 4marathons. 3:30 marathon, I said to myself... I felt grrreat! Then suddenly I found myself still running alongside AJ, who was targeting 3:20 marathon, then I checked the pace, we were both running ~7:20/km pace, and it felt slow! We went up the first Skyway Ramp, and it felt so easy.

Up the Alabang Ramp Skyway

My breathing was light and smooth, like I was just on an easy jogging, yet the pace on my Garmin was showing fast running I never have sustained in a marathon race. The dark force was strong in me. Alabang to Nichols was very fast, we barely felt the Sucat and Bicutan Hills. AJ and I exchanged leading duties to break the wind. When we reached EDSA and Makati, our average pace was at 7'34"/mile. Very fast for me, and it looks like we'll easily break 3:20.

Condura Monster Attack!
Then we reached the NAIA exit, going to the right, I was preparing myself mentally for the monster Condura Hill later. At the turnaround point, AJ and I ate bananas and proceeded forward. Then we met the Condura Hill Monster. I felt the dark side of the force was strong in me, so I told AJ we can beat this thing. AJ and I worked together to kill the monster. It was 100meters tall, very lean and fit, with veins and calf muscles bulging from its skin. It gave me bolts of lightning that I was able to deflect with my lightsaber. Unfortunately the monster scratched AJ's calf so I saw him begin to slow down. AJ cut the monster's feet and when he fell down, I stabbed the Monster at the back and killed him - it was easier than I thought, and I began to run even faster forward.

Team Power Puff Jedis attacking the Condura Hill Monster

AJ began to slow down, still using the Light Side of the Force. The Sith whispered to me, "You see Natz Skywalker, the Light Side of the Force is Weak!" When I killed the monster, I was able to absorb its Force and I got darker.

Natz Skywalker enjoying the Dark Side of the Force

I got power boost from the monster I killed. I got the lightning bolt! I used it a lot and got speed boost whenever I used it.

When Super Jogger Wilnar approached me, I tried to run with him. We eventually reached EDSA again and we were flying against the strong winds. Wilnar was able to block the wind for me. I used lightning bolt to match Wilna'rs speed of 6'30"/mile or 4'00"/km. Unfortunately this was too much for my Force and my Lightning bolt eventually got battery-empty. My skin turned pale and dead and my calves cramped.

Dark Side of The Force is not strong enough to match Super Wilnar

I felt the Dark side of the force betrayed me. I cramped at mile 16 and slowed down to 8minutes to 9minutes/mile. After 32Kms, I found myself mostly Walking on the Skyway. 10kms to go, I could see the Vivere Hotel very far away while I was still in Bicutan. My heart was broken. Good bye 3:20... Goodbye 3:30.... Good bye 3:40... I no longer cared if I could finish. I wished to DNF, and save my muscles from injury, rest, and maybe race better next time. Unfortunately there were no accessible public vehicles around to commute back to Alabang, and riding the Ambulance would be humiliating.

Ugly Dark Side of the Force - Walking pace with Cramps

My lean Quadrices which I was proud to look at, betrayed me and cramped forcefully that I had to stop a lot and and stretch them. I would try to walk faster but I was really exhausted. Trying to jog back would speed me up temporarily, till I would get cramps again.

3h55mins marathon finish

Near the finish line, I realized nobody really betrayed me but myself. Had I listened to my dad Yoda, and used the Light side of the Force, I may have repeated a sub3:30 marathon. But it was too late. I finished in 3:55, disappointing time for me right now, but I would have been proud of this time 2years ago.

Garmin data:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/147209892

Post Race
After the race I was able to enjoy chatting again with my teammates, a lot had new impressive Personal Records, like Super Wilnar's 3:04, Jogger Joey's 3:19, and Kampuger's 3:53 new sub4hour record. Then our teammate Chris Iblan placed 3rd in the 16km race with an impressive 1:01'01" finish!

JoggerNatz, RunningShield, EliteJogger, and Joms

I'm also happy to 2 of my officemates to finish their first Marathons. Myk struggled with cramps and finished 6h10mins, while Ricky finished in his easy 5h30mins.

JoggerNatz, Myk, and Ricky

I need potassium for my Cramps.

With Craig, Justin, and Michelle Logans

Conclusion:
In the end, the race has been a good learning experience for me. I must have felt stronger and faster, I may have had higher VO2max, and well rested legs. However, lacking in proper mileage after the Cebu Marathon meant I will suffer in the Condura race like I did. I had nothing to lose since I already set a new PR in Cebu, so I risked blowing-up midrace by running fast, and I did blow-up as expected.

In real life, like in the marathon race, we would rather take chances than regretting "what ifs". If we make mistakes, we must learn to live with the consequences. Taking a DNF in the race because you're suffering is like committing suicide because your life sucks. If you feel you've committed a lot of mistakes in your life, you need to accept the consequences and live with with it. Like there's always a chance for the next marathon race, it's never too late to change your life for the better.

Runner Feature #2 Super Jogger Wilnar Iglesia

2012-02-13T00:47:00.000-08:00

SUPER JOGGER STATS:

Birthdate : July 31, 1982
Height : 5’ 3”
Weight : 64kgs.(140pounds)

IQ: 190

Resting HR 65 bpm(beats per minute)
Max HR: 300bpm

VO2max: 1,000ml/kg/min
Resting Blood pressure:120/70

Racing Blood pressure: 120/70

Personal Bests (as of this writing)

5K- 19minutes++
10K- 40minutes++ (takbo.ph 10k run 2010)
21K- 1hr 26minutes 35 seconds
42K-3Hrs. 4 mins 45sec
102K- 15 hrs. 17 mins 33 seconds
160K-17 hrs. 36 mins.(BDM 160kms Champion)

Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! No, it’s a plane! No, it’s SUPER JOGGER!

There are theories that human beings are still evolving, and some are currently mutating to posses super powers. One of the speculation is that of runners who possess immeasurable amount of endurance, like Dean Karnazes, who could run countless of miles. This is a true story.

My 2^nd runner feature will be my strongest team mate in the Team Power Puff Boys, the Super Jogger Wilnar Iglesia. He started running in 2009 simply to lose weight, but he has gained a lot of friends and the respect of the running community. He became the first BDM 160 (100mile) champion and his record of 17:35’48” remains to be challenged. Heck, I couldn't even run 100miles in 1 week!

The Super Jogger isn’t what you would normally picture a stereotypical very thin, very long legged runner like the Kenyans or other Elite Filipino Runners. Wilnar is relatively stocky, heel striker, and there are rumors that his training is unorthodox. His upper body is very muscular and can be easily mistaken as that of a professional boxer. However, he does remind me of another legendary muscular powerful runner, the great Steve Prefontaine.


Super Wilnar and Steve Prefontaine runs with Powerful Huge strides!

Rumors of his unorthodox training are true. One time, when we ran during our team long runs, Super Jogger was carrying a backpack with water. We ran long and hard, on hills, on flats, and even reaching 7’30”/mile (4’40”/km) at times. Some would even challenge Wilnar for a sprint. But during in one of our hydration breaks, the Super Jogger pulled out a 1.5liter of Gatorade from his backpack and gulped all of it! We were dumbfounded especially when we saw 2 more inside his backpack! So all in all, he was carrying 4.5liters of Gatorade! I myself found it hard to even run with 1liter of fluids in my hydration belt, so I would normally carry only 500mL. Intentional or not (it’s possible he thinks 4.5liters of fluids is light), he was doing “weight training”. Some coaches (like SCR) would laugh at this method, but Wilnar prove it works!

Last week we ran the Condura Marathon, and both of us were assigned as “Wave C”. I thought I was clever enough and sneaked pass through security and started at “Wave A”! That would save me a few precious minutes of not weaving through slower runners. I started relatively fast for my own level, I passed through flyovers and hills like they were flats! I was averaging 7’36”/mile(4’43”/km) until at 16miles(25kms), Wilnar was about to overtake me, but he started at least 12minutes after I started! I tried to keep up with him, and stayed behind him, trying to take advantage of him blocking the wind for me – and wow, while I was running behind him, the wind was very loud and I could feel the turbulence on my skin! Wilnar was virtually flying! His running form was very strong. It was powerful. It was like he was possessed with inhuman powers. He was the Super Jogger. Looking at my garmin, we were running at 6’30”/mile (4’00”/km) pace, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to sustain this for long, so I backed-out, then my left calf started to Cramp! I eventually ended running my worst marathon finish ever (will blog later about this). On the other hand, I estimated Wilnar to finish sub3hours with that amazing pace, and eventually he finished not far from my prediction. He overtook the Elite Jogger Joey who finished 3’19”, an amazing marathon debut! He also overtook other Elite Runners, and eventually finished the Marathon in a chip time of 3:04’45”! This is strong enough for the toughest age/sex bracket of the Boston Marathon Qualifying time of 3:05! Unfortunately, the Condura Marathon is not AIMS nor IAAF certified, so Wilnar would have to run in Camsur if he wants to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Camsur Marathon is several months away, and I’m quite sure Wilnar will smash his record and most likely run a sub3hour marathon there.

Super Jogger Wilnar overtakes Elite Jogger Joey

So does Wilnar have alien powers from the planet Krypton? Did he evolve after hundreds of years? Was he bitten by a mutant race horse? Trying to find answers, I interviewed Wilnar for this, and I was quite surprised by his humbleness and humility. He reminds me of another humble Filipino Great Champion, Manny Pacquiao.


They are the Champions!

The difference is, Pacquiao prefers to speak in English during interviews. Wilnar prefers to speak in tagalog, perhaps because he's patriotic to our own language, but I'll translate it in English for our foreign readers.

Q&A:

1. How did you get started in running and was there a runner(s) who inspired you along the way?
- I started running two years ago. In 2009 I want to lose weight by going to the gym with my boss and other officemates. I usually stay longer on treadmill and stationary bike to sweat more rather than lifting weights. Then one of the usual guy there at the gym told us to try running on the road than on treadmill and do join races. It happen that my colleague have already ran some races so I got curious and from then I search on the net how to register on the race that I also see on the television and read on the online news. My first run was 2009 DZMM Takbo Para sa Kalikasan. I joined the 3k event. During this race I was inspired and motivated by the small children who outran me. That's why I still continue to run and run and one thing I like about running is the camaraderie and friendship that you can gain aside from the health benefits.

2. What is your best 5K, 10K, 21K, 42K, 102K, and 160K?
Bro pasensya na pero di ko tlga alam un sa mga short distance na PR ko..kasi matagal na din eh at bihira na din ako sa short distance sumali.. (Bro, I’m sorry but I don’t really know my short distance PR’s, it’s been a long time and I rarely race short distances.)
5K- 19minutes++
10K- 40minutes++ (takbo.ph 10k run 2010)
21K- 1hr 26minutes 35 seconds
42K-3Hrs. 4 mins 45sec
102K- 15 hrs. 17 mins 33 seconds
160K-17 hrs. 36 mins.(BDM 160kms Champion!)

3. What is your favorite race(s)?
For me my favourite race/s is the Milo marathon because it’s the longest running event in the country and dito makikita mo tlaga ang iba’t ibang uri ng mga runner’s. (this is where you’ll see different kinds of runners)

4. What is your favorite place to train?
My favourite place to train is at Meralco compound kasi wlang bayad, mejo malaki din un isang loop ng compound so di ka mabobored kahit makailan ikot ka at konti ang sasakyan then may mga puno pa. (Meralco compound because it’s free and it’s big so you can run on that big loop and there’s only a few vehicles inside and they have lots of trees too.)

5. Favorite running shoes and gear?
No brand in specific naman ako with regards sa shoes, pero usually adidas sapatos ko kasi medyo mura eh. With regards to gear wala nmn ako masydo gadget na kelangan.. (Any brand as long as it’s adidas.)

6. Reasons for running?
Before i run to lose weight, but now i also run because you can explore places more and you will meet and gain new friends.

7. What do you feel about Jogging? Do you also jog?
There is no problem in jogging. Dito nga magsisimula ang lahat kasi di nmn sa umpisa na puro takbo ka na agad eh,madedevelop na lang na tatagal at titibay ka sa mga races dahil na rin sa mga practice. (Everything begins with Jogging, you can’t always begin with running all the time, you have to train and practice well to be strong in races.)

8. What do you enjoy when you're not running?
What i enjoy when im not running is I do movie marathon naman..hehe.. (What a coincidence!)

9. You were awesome in the Condura 42K 2012 and in the Bataan 160K 2011, where you became the country's first champion. How do you train for these events?
For the BDM 160K last year aside from running I do cross training exercises such as swimming and cycling. For condura, I didn’t follow any program I just do running, swimming and cycling that almost everyday if I fail with my planned training, I must at least run.

10. Did Rona and Shiela inspire you to run a great ~3:04’45” marathon yesterday? How are they doing by the way?
Yes they become my motivation during my condura run. That if ever I feel my legs are giving up I said to myself that I offer this pain for rona and shiela and I ask god to give me strength to continue running for them and also the cheers from running friends.
Thank u po sa support at pagtitiwala. As of Monday un nadischarge na daw sa ospital si rona,i hope gumaling na agad din sila at sana di na maulit un ganun..kaya ingat din tlaga tayong mga runners. (Thank you for the support and for believing in me. As of Monday, Rona already left the hospital and is already updating her facebook profile. I hope that kind of incident would never happen to us runners again, we all need to be careful when running.)

10. Do you have some special secret training philosophy, or do you simply have super powers?
Wala bro eh..i just train train and train. (None. I just train.)

11. What are your future running goals?
As of now, if I will have resources I want to run a international marathons like in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Macau, China(great wall), and the ultimate goal if ever given a chance is to be able to qualified to Boston Marathon and also join international ultra marathons.

12. In the spirit of Valentine's Day tomorrow, do you have a girlfriend? What is her name?
Yes, her name is Maricon Oliveros

Thank you Super Jogger Wilnar Iglesia for your time in answering my questions, I'm sure you will keep on inspiring a lot of runners out there, and also few joggers like me. Good luck with your international marathon plans, I wish you could run the Boston Marathon soon so you could give inspirations to BQ aspirant like me. I also certainly hope you could join international Ultra Marathons and represent our country. Team Power Puff Boys, Team CB, and Team Endure will be certainly be more proud, as we all are already proud of you! Also, please give my regards to Miss Maricon, Happy Valentines Day to you two!

Please stay tuned for the JoggerNatz's next Runner Feature #3: Cover Girl Michelle Estuar

Runner Feature #1 Wayne Plymale

2012-02-07T01:27:00.000-08:00

A lot of joggers and runners, when they're not running, often go to running websites to look for training advice. For inspiration and motivation, I notice we would often go to running blogs of real-life runners and read their stories and maybe their training methods. For example, I don't wanna read Patrick Makau's marathon training program, he's way too fast. I would rather read someone a little faster, but closer to my jogging level like Alfred's or Ronnel's blogs. I would assume my readers would read my blog because they wanna follow my training or inspiration. However, my stories aren't always that interesting, and therefore I'd like to share my own real life inspirations for running. I would therefore create Jogger/Runner Features in my blog. Well, I simply copied this concept from Wayne Plymale, http://fcrunner.wordpress.com , so it would be appropriate if he's the one I would feature first. Also, his running career us unlike any other I've known. He has run all over the world for years and has met a lot of runner-bloggers, and jogger-blogger like me.

Wayne with Mike Dasalla, a Filipino from Pleasant Hill in the Oakland area. He set a PR yesterday of 1:48+

I first read about Wayne in the blog thebullrunner.com and baldrunner.com, during his first visit in the Philippines around 2008. I was just starting to run at the time. Then we became friends in dailymile.com, exchanging motivational comments on each other's workouts and giving advice. So in effect he became like my online coach that I've never met.

Wayne is a really kind hearted runner, who is very wise and very passionate and inspirational when it comes to running. Although he's no longer in his prime, just turned 60 last December 9th, his legs still have the bounce and could often outrun younger newbie runners in all distances. I even remember following him in dailymile, I was trying to increase my mileage to beat his weekly mileage. 2 years ago it was difficult for me to reach 60miles/week (90kms/week) and that was about about Wayne's average. There were occasional weeks that I would beat him, but he's often run more. In fact he was running those miles faster than me. Then when I looked at his PR's from 5K to Marathon when he was in his prime, wow, I could only dream of running that fast. In his 43years of running, he's run 1,030 races and 73,509 miles (118275.981 kms) since he started running in 1968.

Young Wayne Plymale

Wayne's Personal Bests:

5K: 17:47, 10K: 35:11, 21K: 1:15:55 and 42K: 3:14:46.

http://fcrunner.wordpress.com/running-statistics/

Wayne's Statistics:

· Birthdate- 9 December 1951 in Pensacola, Florida.

· Height – 6’0”

· Weight – 140pounds

· Resting HR – 54bpm

· Max HR - Maximum HR right now during workouts is 158. (He used the 220 - age theory).

· Blood pressure - 104/63

His running longevity is astounding, and he inspires me to keep running, hopefully grow very old running very fast and never stop running till the day I die. I don't know if I could ever match his total mileage and races though. It was a great honor and pleasure when I was able to run with him in November 2010 in RunRio32K(RunUnited), the 1,000th race of his career.

Wayne with ex-i2runner, now JoggerNatz

Anyway, I would like him to write a bit, so here's our Q&A:

How did you get started in running and was there a runner(s) who inspired you along the way?

Natz, I became a runner really by accident. Growing up, I wanted to either be a basketball and/or a baseball player. I played both through Junior High (or Middle) School and my first two years in high school. I got tired in basketball of sitting on the bench when I thought I could be a starter. In the fall of my junior year, I ran in cross country and in track. The rest, I guess, is history. My favorite runners growing up were actually 1500 meters/ milers. Jim Ryun of the United States and Kip Keino of Kenya were very talented at the time. Also, Steve Prefontaine really inspired me at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Unfortuantely, his life was tragically cut short.

What is your favorite race(s)?

My favorite races are the Bay To Breakers 12K, Bolder Boulder 10K and the Carlsbad 5000. Also, I enjoy any race that is put on by Sir Jovie Narcise, Run Rio, and hopefully on my next visit, Jonel Mendoza.

What is your favorite place to train?

My favorite places to train locally is Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and the Marin Headlands just north in Marin County. While in the Philippines, I enjoy running the Ayala Triangle and Global City as well as in Cebu City and the nearby mountains.

Favorite running shoes and gear?

Favorite running shoes and gear has changed over the years. I've become fond again of the Nike Lunar Glide and the Pegasus 28. The Garmin 205 has done wonders for me, especially for pacing purposes.

Reasons for running?

Running has done a lot to help the stress of our everyday lives. Also, the family history has my dad's side of the family with heary disease and my mom's side with cancer.

What do you feel about Jogging? Do you also jog?

Personally, I see nothing wrong with jogging and I do it sometimes after an interval or a long workout. However, I still believe all of us run whether we run at the elite level or recreationally.

What do you enjoy when you're not running?

When I'm not running, I love listening to music, travel, photography work, have a blog like yourself and have done some occasional hiking over in the Marin Headlands and have started biking again.

What are your future running goals?

My future running goals is to continue to run as long as I can. I would like to do another 50K and will attempt to do one this coming July in the San Francisco area. I haven't run the Chicago Marathon yet and hope to do it in 2013! Definitely, coming back and running in the Philippines is on my bucket list.

Wayne, thanks for taking time to answer these lengthy questions, anyway I got that from you, and you know that :-) Good luck with your future running goals like the 50K, the Chicago Marathon, and we're all going to be looking forward to your 3rd coming back to the Philippines!

5K and 10K Race Idols

2012-01-28T03:30:00.000-08:00

When I look at role models whom I could ask for advice, I would often go real life runners that are a bit faster than me, whose times I could someday hope to achieve too, if I train well. Elites (locals and Kenyans) - they're great models too but way out of my league. My real-life role models are actually some of my teammates who are my best friends. Please read and enjoy, I hope they become your jogging idols too!

Chris Iblan (Elite Jogger)- is the #1 fastest runner in our Team Power Puff Boys. He's young, talented, motivated, and very methodical in his training methods. He's single but sorry girls, his priority right now is running - you'll need to run really fast to chase him. His 17'44" 5K PR is jogger elite level and he's still working hard to get it to 15minutes(National Class Elite Jogger). He's been running 4 or 5 years now, but he still have clear plans and goals for the next 4years of his running career. His advice to me was to perform 200meter repeats - this is how to achieve high top end speed. Once the body adapts to this, the discomfort of running 5K's would be tolerable. My #1 idol, I wanna be like him. For me, it's a compliment to hear people say I look like his twin brother - a slower twin brother but OK :-)

idol Chris Iblan is faster than that Audi car

AJ Bergonio (Amazing Jogger) - is a newcomer to our team, but I think he's one of the most talented and most motivated. He's still 20years old, he still has a lot of miles to run, but he's already very fast with a 5K PR of 18'50". His body is the stereotypical elite runner. He reminds me of a greyhound race dog. Thin, gaunt, lean, muscular, huge lungs, and very fast! I see him as Team Power Puff Boy's hope to qualify in the 2016 RIO Olympics (no, not Coach Rio's).

AJ's training method. Man, look at his awesome stride!

Joey Odhuno (Jogger Joey) - Joey is a Filipino who looks like a Kenyan Jogger (Shhh... that's what we tell our race organizers). Humble, Kind and soft spoken person, he knows how to speak Kenyan. He know how to crack jokes too, and he's one of the pioneers of "jogging" in our team. He's very methodical in his training, and has a built-in pace monitoring GPS inside his brain. Sometimes I even calibrate my Garmin with Joe's GPS. His training secret? The runnersworld.com's smart coach! He's my idol for the 10K race because he used to be a slower 42+minute 10K jogger, and then trained well for months and accomplished a sub 42minute 10K. Check his blog here http://teampowerpuffboys.com/2011/08/21/my-rununited2-sub-42min10k-race/. What's impressive is his continuous improvement and eventually he accomplished the coveted sub40minute 10K in the Milo Finals, finishing 39'55". Told ya he's really accurate with his pace. He's still drafting his 10K blog entry, I will give more updates on him later.

Other Celebrity Idols:
Bearwin Meily - 45'38"
Drew Arellano - 47'19"
Piolo Pascual - 47'45"

JoggerNatz’s next MooooOOOooves in 2012

2012-01-28T02:50:00.000-08:00

My next big marathon in mind is either Camsur Marathon or Sydney Marathon on September. Both of them are AIMS certified, which can be used for qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

My sister Genevieve, who’s now in Australia, is encouraging me to run in the Sydney Marathon. She’s also inviting her College friend Kat Kat, a very motivated runner from Kabankalan and she wants me to train her for the half-marathon, which I think she’ll debut in a decent time.

Genevieve, Me, and Katkat, struggling up McKinley hill. Thanks to LeStSkY Photography

I’m thinking the climate there would be much cooler than what we have here in the Philippines, during that time it would probably be spring there and the temperature would range from 10’C to 18’C, perfect for the marathon. In comparison, our temperature here in Manila would be 27’C to 32’C on September at the Camsur Marathon. In my experience, running in Belgium at 13’C temperature shaved 5minutes off my 21Km PR. We could expect around 10minutes faster times for the marathon. Following the trend-line I’ve made in my previous post, I should be around 3:23 by September (assuming my training goes well for the next few months), and running in Australia should improve that to 3:13 - still 8minutes slower than Boston. Another sure way to get faster is to lose more weight – lose 8pounds and I should finish at 3:03. There, now I’m qualified! No I’m just kidding, improvements do not sum up easily like that, and at 135pounds, I find it extremely difficult to lose more weight. 3:13 can be a realistic goal in Australia though, but it looks like those bridges could be quite some hill challenge. I obviously need to add hill training to my program.

I’m planning to follow an 18-week Marathon Training program that should start on May 7^th. But what should I do 3 months leading to that? Well right now I’m still on a 5-week post marathon recovery program, where from almost zero mileage, I would gradually increase my mileage to 41miles/week in the end – @Feb12. Then, I could either do a base mileage build-up, or train and race for shorter distances. Let’s see…

Lydiard High Mileage?

At first, I thought of doing the classic Lydiard High Mileage Training, and that 100mile/week (160kms/week) is alluringly challenging. I have often fantasized on training this much, what I could often hear elites could only achieve, and what kind of aerobic benefits I could get out of these perplexingly long distances the human body could cover in short periods of time. “Breakthroughs” in racing times, I would often hear, would result in these mammoth kinds of workouts when 100miles/week were consistently applied for several months or even years.

Arthur Lydiard

I was already contemplating of doing this until yesterday; my father approached me and showed me a paragraph in Timothy Noakes’ book “Lore of Running”. Noakes said that after 125Kms/week (77miles/week) of regular training programs, they found little or no benefit in increasing training workload. In fact, he said that he and some of his colleagues found that when they have increased their weekly mileage too much, there is a point where they noticed they aren’t creative or productive in their day jobs anymore. Running too much stresses them that there are hormonal imbalances that distorts their way of thinking, their mind, therefore affecting their jobs, not meeting deadlines, and even affecting their family relationships. Wow thank goodness I have a dad who is wiser than me, who knows how to hold me back when he thinks I’m going overboard with my running. I would like to see how much I could push myself in running, right now I don’t have much responsibility – I’m single, no kids, middle aged man (Oh man, I’m such a loser aren’t I?) and my job right now has a great schedule to allow me a lot of free time in the morning even if I wanted to run 100miles/week. However, reading Noakes’ book (sounded like notebook, doesn’t it), I would never want running to affect my mind, or my brain, at least in a negative way. I may become an amazingly fast runner, but if this alters my behavior in a bad way, it changes who I am, my soul. Now it would sound like I’m selling my soul to the devil. It’s simply not worth it.

Train and race shorter distances first

To run under 3:05 in the marathon requires that I run in an average of 7:03/mile. To be honest, this is exhausting pace for me. I’m probably at the limits of my lactate threshold at that pace. Gee, that sounds redundant. I cannot imagine being able to sustain that for 26.22miles(42.195kms). Heck, why do we need to have both metric and imperial units? My top end speed is not much faster than this. Therefore, I believe I badly need to improve my speed and lactate threshold if I dream of running that fast in the marathon. Because of this, it may be a good idea to train and race for 5K and 10K for the meantime, prior to the 18week marathon plan. A well balanced runner should be a able to handle speedy 5K’s up to the long endurance marathons. I believe training in one end can benefit the other in some ways especially if we aren’t specializing yet.

Honestly, I feel that the 5K is my weakness, the improvements year after year here seems to be a lot smaller. But racing in this distance, the intensity of running faster than 6:20/mile(3:56/km) - gasping for air, longer strides, faster leg turn-around, arms pumping hard - it is here that I feel I’m truly running. My 5K and 10K personal records last year were 19’40” and 42’xx”. Improving that further, I may even get some place in the podium if I race in a not-so-competitive field. I'm now being challenged to do a sub40minute 10K. By myself. But assessing my current race times, a sub40 is going to be difficult for me for now. Hopefully with good training I should be able to do it 4 to 5months from now.

My Marathon Dreams

2012-01-22T00:06:00.000-08:00

The Marathon. Oh wow what a race. When I started running 4years ago, I had no idea what it would be like to run a marathon. Media often glamorizes the event a lot, and even runners talk a lot about it. Unlike most shorter races from the 5K to 21K, the marathon does indeed have a lot of discipline and science behind it, and takes years to master. I have to say I still haven't mastered it. Normally if you raced a 5K, you could immediately predict your 10K, 16K, and 21K times quite accurately. Not for the marathon. For some reasons, if you (like me) haven't mastered it yet, your actual Marathon Race times will be significantly slower than your predictions. For the past 3years, I've had my own ups and downs on this race distance.

My Dreams
I dream of Qualifying The Boston Marathon someday, hopefully at its fastest Qualifying time of 3:05, which is for the age range of 18 to 34years old. I will be 35years old on July 2, 2014 - I need to run 3:05 or better before this date. It will be the most difficult qualifying situation for the Boston, because I will at the oldest of this range, yet the fastest qualifying time. Some would wait till they get older, but I am challenged to stay young - or at least run like a young runner. So can I do it? If not, my next dream is to simply run under 3hours someday - no time pressure here, possibly aging and genetic limits could be my obstacles.

Boston 2013 Qualifying Times (effective September 24, 2011)

Age Group	Men	Women
18-34	3hrs 05min 00sec	3hrs 35min 00sec
35-39	3hrs 10min 00sec	3hrs 40min 00sec
40-44	3hrs 15min 00sec	3hrs 45min 00sec
45-49	3hrs 25min 00sec	3hrs 55min 00sec
50-54	3hrs 30min 00sec	4hrs 00min 00sec
55-59	3hrs 40min 00sec	4hrs 10min 00sec
60-64	3hrs 55min 00sec	4hrs 25min 00sec
65-69	4hrs 10min 00sec	4hrs 40min 00sec
70-74	4hrs 25min 00sec	4hrs 55min 00sec
75-79	4hrs 40min 00sec	5hrs 10min 00sec
80 and over	4hrs 55min 00sec	5hrs 25min 00sec
Unlike previous years, an additional 59 seconds will NOT be accepted for each age group time standard.

2007 to 2009 - Sub4hours target. Success.
When I first trained for the marathon, I aimed for a Sub-4hour debut marathon, it was hard, but I was proud to have accomplished it. I trained well for it, read a lot of training materials, books, blogs, and listened to a lot of advice from fellow runners. My real-life marathon idols were Rolan Vener and Jay Nacino. At the time, they were both significantly stronger and faster than me and were well below the 4hour marathon. I targeted the 4hour marathon because at the time, it was Milo's Qualifying time. To finish under 4hours, my average pace needed to be 9minutes/mile (5:35/km). I trained by running several 20milers at 9minutes/mile. I felt fine. Strangely, I would hit the wall (glycogen depletion) after 20miles during the race, felt severely fatigued and depressed while running due to low blood sugar, but seeing the finish line with the timer at under 4hours, I sprinted to a 3:57 finish. Immediately after the race, I was in pain, and it even got worse the next day. I walked like a toddler for 2 weeks. After a month, I discovered that the marathon injured me and got the dreaded ITBS (Iliotibial Band Syndrome) on my left leg, and couldn't train heavily for the Milo Finals even though I qualified. I couldn't run like a marathoner for 6months.

Marathon Marathon Elims 2009

2010 Milo Marathon Elims - Humbled
My ITBS injury eventually healed and I was able to run a 21K Condura Marathon 2010 in 1:45. I trained well for the succeeding months, at times trained 20miles at 8mins/mile pace, and my 5K and 10K race times gave me a 3:30 predictions so I got cocky and aimed for a 3:30 in the Milo Elims. Like I said, marathon is strangely cruel, that I hit the wall again, walked a lot, and so I couldn't even finish below 3:45 for the new Milo Qualifying Time. I was humbled and finished at 3:49.

The Marathon Wall humbled me and I was forced to walk.

2011 - Condura Skyway Marathon - OK lang
I wanted to redeem myself by running a 3:30 in the Condura Skyway Marathon. I got tips from a 50year old Raffy Castandeda, a Boston Marathoner with a low 3:30ish PR. He said he noticed that in my blogs, I was training too fast in my long runs. At 5mins/mile pace of long runs, I was basically racing my 20milers, too fast or my own running level. It was like I have already peaked, then ran a race, so I was too tired during the actual Marathon Race. He suggested, that for a 3:30 target, my long runs should only be 9mins/mile pace or a little bit slower. This would allow me to have fresh legs prior to the race. I did follow him a bit, but 9mins/mile felt too slow, so I did 8:30/mile pace in my long runs. During the Condura race, I ran with my Team Power Puff Boys Teammates, one of them Nick, told me we should target 3:20. I said wow, ok. I said to myself if he could do it, I could do it too! So when the gun started, Nick ran too fast, probably at 6mins/mile pace like a rabbit. I was running too fast too, like 7:20/mile pace. Eventually at only 10Kms, I got tired and the Skyway long hills punished me. I got slower and slower but I still caught Nick, he too slowed a lot. At 20miles, I hit the wall again, forget the 3:20 target. Forget the 3:30 target. I just needed to hang on. I remember in 2010Milo Marathon where I walked a lot in the closing miles, this has really slowed down my average pace, so I decided to jog the remaining 10Kms. Jogging is faster than running, I said to myself. I willed myself to finish 3:39, still a new PR. I wasn't impressed with my performance, a little disappointed, but OK.

OK lang ;-)

2012 Cebu Marathon
2.5years after my first marathon, I have finally run under 3:30 in Cebu. Wow, that took a long time, I thought I would improve sooner than that. If history repeats itself, and it does, it will take another 2.5 years for me to break the 3hour marathon. But normally the progress even gets harder as you improve.

Plotting my marathon times and predicting my future performance
In order to get a realistic view of my Marathon Future, I've plotted my times (in blue) and its trend line (in red). Hoping I'm still on my way for a sub3:05 before I turn 35years old.

Add caption

If the graph is correct, it looks like I'm on track for a 3:04 marathon on May 2014, I'll still be 34years old. I could probably even break the 3hour marathon on September 2014, but that would make me 35years old, but there's no time pressure here. I'll be updating this graph every time I run my next marathon races. This is probably what is going to happen if I simply continue my training for the next couple of years. Or should I?

Running to the Limits

Early this week I watched a documentary film about running a marathon, entitled "Running to the Limits", about an ordinary fat British filmmaker Alex Vero with an ambitious goal of qualifying the 2012 Olympic Marathon. This meant that within 2years years he had to train from a Run/Walker to a sub2:20 marathoner. That is elite world class level, the qualifying time for the Olympic marathon. He trained real hard, reaching over 100miles/week(160kms/week) and had good coaches to train him, and eventually he was able to run a 1:13 half-marathon, and a 2:58 full marathon. He had a heat stroke in that marathon, and the succeeding attempts were futile as he was faced with a lot of serious running injuries. Watching the film got me fired-up and motivated that my easy recovery run in the morning turned into a tempo run, even if I was still on my 2nd week of marathon recovery.

Alex Vero - Running to the Limits

There were little information about his physical/athletic background, so it's hard to compare, but his achievements impressed me a lot. At the beginning of the film, the doctors tested him and told him his realistic marathon time for his genetic potential was 2:40 to 2:30. At the end of the film, they said he could well do 2:20. Unfortunately he had a serious Achilles heel injury that he couldn't test his limits at the end.

Conclusion
Historical data does predict I can someday qualify the Boston Marathon in its fastest most difficult age group and at my oldest before I reach 35. Should I relax and let it be? Or should I like Alex Vero strive harder and harder to my physical limits and see how good I could really be? It's really tempting. What I do know is the risk of injury gets higher as I train harder. But I've faced a lot of injuries in the past and never repeated any of them. In fact, I think I encountered all running injuries already. My body's probably more mature now, and I am stronger to face the next hard challenges ahead. On the other hand, one thing I've learned in the Cebu Marathon race is that patience pays a lot. Time will tell.

Cebu Marathon 2012

2012-01-21T06:51:00.000-08:00

My plan to go to Cebu and run the Marathon there goes way back to July of 2011, I think... It was Rolando, my Marathoner friend from Ireland (ilonggo descent) told me he'll be visiting the Philippines and run the Cebu Marathon along with his friend Jonas. Rolando and I became friends in dailymile.com, and met in Belgium last 2010 and we even visited Amsterdam.

Window Shopping in Amsterdam (Rolando, JoggerNatz, with my officemates Rose, Ebet, and Agot)

A Dutch girl wrote this on my body. Whew!

We had a fun night (crazy was more like it) in Amsterdam. The next day, He and his wife Mercy went to Brussels to do a lot of sight seeing. I think Rolando enjoyed a lot of Belgian beers there too. Unfortunately I had to go back to work and we weren't able to run together there. So our real run together would be in the Cebu Marathon.

Good thing we have another friend in Dailymile who lives in Cebu, who registered me in the Marathon. Her name is Coleen, and it looks like she's quite popular in dailymile! I thought she was an ordinary runner, but later when she told me her PR's in 5K and 10K, I was surprised how fast she could run. She was about as fast as I was 2years ago: xx-minutes 5K and xx-minutes 10K, I think. Waaah! Coleen told me to hide her PR's, but I guarantee you, she's fast! I guess in running, your PR can make you popular, and in Coleen's case, her looks as well. She has been running Ultras as well, placed 3rd on a 60K trail run in Cebu.

Coleen winning the 60k ULTRAmarathon

I was glad the Marathon's schedule was in January, one of the coolest months of the year here in the Philippines. I remember also asking Coleen if the course was flat, and I remember she said it's relatively flat. She now denies this and I would suffer not training hills later on. When we did finally meet, she told me the last 10K was uphill. I realized SH!T!

Gameplan:
For the race, I estimated a possible finishing time of 3:25, or maybe 3:20 if I'm lucky. Unfortunately Rolando told me he just came from an Achille's heel injury and is under-trained. He and his friend Jonas' who is also a Filipino-Irish, only had a longest run of 10miles prior to the race. So I told them we could run the first 10Kms at 8minutes/mile then see later on how we would feel. He told me we should run 7:50/mile pace. That sounds like a 3:25 finish. Personally, I'll be happy to just finish under 3:30. Why? My marathon race times were 3:57(2009), 3:48(2010), and 3:39(2011). Each year I improve by exactly 9minutes. Strange but true. I was hoping for a better time, but I was seeing a much likely 3:30. Also, i had a dry cough that has been bugging me for the last 2weeks that I hoped would disappear, but was still there. If the cough would make me feel weak, then I'll relax the pace and not hope for a new PR.

Carboloading:
Days before the marathon, I read an article that carboloading is best done for the last 2 days leading to the race, with 90% of the calories coming from carbohydrates, and I need to eat 1,000calories more on top of my 2,000calories daily requirement. So that means eating 3,000calories/day. That sounded easy but it isn't, especially if you're no longer hungry. 2nights before, I ate a huge bowl of Spaghetti Bolognese in a fine 5-star Hotel restaurant. Then night before the Marathon, I just ate 2 servings of spaghetti in Jolibee.

Carbo-Gels:
I remember only bringing and eating 3 to 4gels during my last 3 marathons. I always hit the wall the last 10K. I remember Lance Armstrong eating 16gels in his marathon races, but I thought he's nuts (Yeah I know he's a sub3hour marathoner). I asked Rolando and Jonas how much gels they ate, they said 8 or 10, and they never hit the wall. So that must be it! This time, I brought 6gels into the race. 4 gels into my racing shorts, and 2gels I just carried with my hands. Rolando gave me 2gels that looked bigger than normal, and I bought 4more gels in RUNNR store in Ayala. Thank goodness they have RUNNR store in Cebu!

Rest before the Race:
I declined Rolando's invitation to have a couple of beers before going to sleep, and I guess this was a bad move. I couldn't sleep the night before the race, and I badly needed the rest to help with me my cough. Sadly this wasn't the case, and when I did finally sleep a couple of hours, Rolando texted me at 1AM when I set my alarm at 2AM! Darn it, then I couldn't sleep anymore so I prepared and took a cab ride to his place.

Too excited to sleep

Pre-Race:
Rolando wasn't able to drink coffee in his hotel because they had no warm water in his room, and the restaurant was still closed. Good thing there was coffee in Jollibee near the race course, and we just had to walk there. I met KB runner on the way there, and he pulled me for a Photo with the Manila Based Runners:

Manila Runners in Cebu Marathon

Let's get it ON!
There was no problem getting to the starting line, Rolando and I was able to start near the line, so we had a good start. I was surprised by the fireworks there, they really looked great but too bad I had to concentrate on running or else I'll get tripped over or get bumped by other runners. Opening pace was a little slow, Rolando and I still had to weave through a lot of runners. We were running a little slower than 8mins/mile(5mins/km), yet people slower than us had the courage (or maybe plain yabang) to start in front. The first 10kms were indeed downhill, so this had me worried so I told myself to be conservative and stick to the plan. Good thing my cough was further reduced when I run, but they would occasionally itch and then I would have to cough. Rolando would stick by me but he wouldn't run exactly by me. He was a little behind me. First I thought he was struggling.... Then I heard noises... fart noises! Looks like Rolando had problems with his tummy and had audible farts along the way. His pace seems to increase with each farting noise, so the gasses must've propelled him a bit. A smaller runner ran with us, his name was R.A., we chatted for a while, he said his last marathon was 4hours, and he was hoping to run 3:45 or better. He was going to stick with us for us long as he can.

Rolando, JoggerNatz, and R.A.

Midrace:
After 10kms or 6miles, we went inside a long tunnel. Garmin couldn't get anymore signals, and Rolando's Garmin just gave a big error it wouldn't operate anymore. Then running up the tunnel, going outside was then mostly flat. Our pace then got faster and faster, and we were averaging 7:49/mile all the way! Looks like a 3:25 finish according to Rolando. Unfortunately after 10miles, Rolando had to back-out. I thought he burned-out... Then along the way, we saw the elite coming their way back really fast. They were all KENYANS!!! I just have to admire their fluid running form. For me, looking at the Kenyans run is like looking at a Ferrari Car speeding down the highway. I drool at them. I wanna be a Kenyan elite runner and own a Ferrari Sports Car. Why can't I have both? At the U-turn-around point, it wasn't 21Kms in my Garmin yet, but I thought perhaps the tunnel messed up my Garmin calculations and it would be indeed 21K. If so, the time was 1:35, and we were heading for a 3:10 finish, which was just too fast! I asked the marshals, what Kilometer we were and they didn't know! Damn... :-(

Top 9 runners were all Kenyans!!! Awesome sight. For me, it felt like looking at 9 Ferrari Cars racing each other.

Few Kilometers after the turnaround point, we saw Rolando. He said he took a poo-poo break on the sidewalk's grassy area. Eeeew... so that's why... I wanted to gave him a high-five but had to canceled it. At 15miles, A.R. had to say goodbye to me, and another runner, an American with the name John, I think, ran beside me. He was a 40year old Boston Marathoner with a PR of 3:10. He was running strong with a Galloway style of RUN-WALK. His RUN part is really fast! Unfortunately our cool January weather was too warm for him and he had to slow down while I maintained a 7:49/mile pace. I got face to face with the slower runners still on their way to the U-Turn. I got a few cheers most likely because of my Team Power Puff Singlet. Then there was this point where I was alone, no runner in sight was in front of me and no runner was behind me. I was alone, lonely, but I was smokin fast! I increased the pace till I averaged 7:47/mile. Whoa!

Fast Alone.... at this point my average pace was 7:47/mile.

At some point I had to go back to the bridge and meet the 21K runners at their turn-around point. I decided to go to the other lane where they didn't run, so I could run uninterrupted :-). When I saw the 32K point mark, my Garmin said it was just 18miles or 30Kms!!! Shit, i must be heading for a 3:10 marathon! I must slow down a bit or risk burn-out, but I felt strong... 10minutes or so later, I went inside the tunnel again. And guess what, it's the 30Km marker!!! The organizers must have accidentally swapped the 30Km with the 32Km mark!!! Worst joke for all Marathoners! Everybody noticed it when I talked to anyone after the race! So I slowed down, and then Garmin told me it was 20miles. Still OK for 3:25 marathon finish. Damn markers. Then there was the missing 2kms. The race marshals told us to go right while the 21k runners could go straight ahead. We had to run a long 1kms straight that seems to go nowhere. After the turnaround point, we had to go back and resume the straight path of the 21Km runners. Somewhere in the middle, I saw Rolando again, and he was running strong! He was gaining on me.

20miles+.... Start of Cramps!

After I went uphill to go out of the tunnel, my worst nightmare came true. I had Quadricep Cramps! On both freakin' left and right legs! I panicked, so I started walking. This is the only time I walked. I never stopped or walk the whole 20miles(32Km). What was worse was that walking didn't stop the cramps. They would come on and off.

Ouch! Cramps Cramps Cramps!

The good news is, I didn't feel tired or fatigue at all, I had lots of energy - meaning, I haven't hit the wall yet. Thank goodness for proper Carboloading. Thank goodness to 6gels! The only problem I had to solve were the cramps. My average pace (i added an average pace in my Garmin) started to slow down as I slow down with the Cramp. The Cramp started in the last uphill, just like what Coleen said, the last 10Kms were uphill. I realized I didn't do any hill training prior to the race. Somehow I didn't want to give up. If I slow down, I wanted at least a 3:30 finish. I wanted it so badly I looked for ways to reduce my cramps. I started running backwards, it helped but it was too dangerous. Then... I noticed that when I increase my stride length, my knees would always remain bent, and my Quads wouldn't fully contract - they remain partially stretched, thus removing events of cramps. So I ran, but increasing the stride length made me run faster than normal, even reaching 7:40/mile uphill, and this was more tiring. What gave me the courage to continue was that whenever I momentarily reached a flat road, the cramp would disappear and I could resume a 7:49/mile pace and not feel tired. I felt strong.

Last 2miles and finish
I remember the last 2miles were steeper uphill again, and I would cramp so hard it was discouraging. Then I felt fatigued. But it wasn't the wall. Then the jogger in me took over. Jogged at 10mins/mile pace. At the last mile, I figured 3:30 finish was still possible and so that gave me strength to run stronger and I did. At the last 400meters, I increased the pace further, and when I finally saw the finish line, I sprinted my fastest pace possible. Oooohhh! a 3:29'21" finish! My official chip time was 3:28'08". MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. In the race result, I finished 19th among the 1,009 finishers. If you don't count the Elite Kenyans, I would've finished 10th among the Filipinos :-) I'm a Topnotcher, according to my sister :-)

New PR by 10minutes. Mission Accomplished.

First Aid
Right after I crossed the finish line, my Quads started to cramp again, and I walked like a limping monkey. The medics saw that and rushed to take care of me. They iced my quads, took my blood pressure and gave me fluids. They treated me like a baby. It wasn't necessary, but I appreciated it.

Post Race Analysis
This is obviously my best marathon yet. Improved by 10minutes since last year. I could therefore expect to finish 3:20 next year. Still far from my Boston Qualifying Dream. At least I've learned a lot. I think I've finally conquered the dreaded wall by eating lots of Carbs. The room for improvement for me now is adding Hill Training. I hated hill training, but it's a must, and I realize it now. What I'm really proud of was how I learned how I could overcome my own fear, remain calm, and challenge myself in the midst of crisis. For me, this gave me great confidence in believing in myself. Hopefully this great lesson would help me in real life whenever I face harder personal crisis in the future. I had tough personal moments for the past year, I had to struggle with grief a lot, but this was a great high for me. Like Emil Zapotek once said, "If you want to race, run a mile. If you want to experience life, run a marathon."

Rolando's Tummy Struggle
Rolando had tummy problems during the race. He told me he had to do 2 pit stops along the race course. We chatted a bit, and figured out it was because he didn't drink coffee before going to the toilet early in the morning.

Rolando obviously didn't want to be like the dude who shits his pants in the Marathon.

Rolando still managed to finish an awesome time of 3:35, just a little slower than his PR of 3:24!

Normally coffee acts as a mild laxative, so I drink coffee right after I wake up. Then I go to the toilet and my bowel movement feels smoother. Unfortunately Rolando missed this opportunity and drank coffee in a restaurant minutes before the race. His intestines would then do its business while he was running the race, and therefore had to stop a lot. Good thing he still ran strong and was only 6minutes behind me, a 3:35! Too bad we couldn't finish together but maybe next time.

Every Marathon Finisher is a Winner against Himself, Time, Cramps, Accidents, and even SHIT!!!

Jonas' Cramps
We waited for Jonas, he finished at 4:33. One of his slowest times because he had a lot of cramps too. But his reason was under-training. But to think of it, 4:33 is pretty fast, but for Jonas is is quite slow because his PR is 3:40ish.

Jonas suffered a lot from Cramps too.

Coleen's accident
Coleen was aiming for a 4:30 marathon, however early in the race we had to go to a road with very poor lighting. I had no problem seeing the potholes, I have great 20/20 vision. Coleen, however, forgot to wear her contact lens she stumbled into one of these potholes and got a bloody right knee. That affected her momentum a lot and had to relax and settle for a 5hour+ finish.

Coleen suffered a nasty right knee scratch and had to settle for a 5:26 marathon finish

Post Marathon Fun Fun Fun!
After the race I ate a huge Big Mac at Jollibee to get protein for faster muscle recovery, and went to my hotel for a 2hour nap. I felt like I needed to sleep the rest of the day, but it was my last day in Cebu. The day before, I had to fully rest too so I haven't seen a lot of Cebu. Rolando and Jonas invited me to join their family for a trip to the mountain TOPS to see the whole view of Cebu. It was magnificent. We saw our race course, and had to admire how far we ran :-)

At TOPS, we are experiencing Marathoner's Running High, literally!

Hanging out with Rolando and Jonas' Irish-Filipino Family

Marathon makes grown men act like Karate Kids in the Chinese Temple. I think we're turning Japanese, I'd like to think so.

At night we went to Rolando's friend Jonas' wife's friend who owns a Bar and Restaurant with live band. It was great that Coleen still had the time and energy to join us. We celebrated by doing a "recovery dance". Jonas and I had problems dancing, we suffered from cramps, Coleen seems OK but she seems to be hurt with the scrapes on her knee. Rolando, on the other hand, was the life of the party, and showed us how to dance moves like Jagger.

Marathon runners never get tired of Partying, do they?

Awww... I'm going to miss Cebu City...

Hi, I'm the JoggerNatz!

2012-01-20T23:48:00.000-08:00

Hi I'm the JoggerNatz and I'm going to start blogging.

I've had a blog about running before but stopped writing and deleted the site because... I thought it was too serious. I mean, running should be fun, otherwise it would be hard to consistently do it day by day for years and even decades.

I am a humble member of Team Power Puff Boys http://teampowerpuffboys.com. I'm proud of my team, we are a group of amateur Long Distance Runners who run races from 1K to 42K, to Ultramarathons, to infinity and beyond! I say amateur because we each have our own day job profession and we don't really make money out of running. And compared to the professionals, we look like joggers.

Why the name JoggerNatz?

My runner ex-officemate (let's call him joggerboy) and I were once toying around about running and about newbies... sorry if I step on some of you there... who would purchase a lot of expensive running gadgets like big ass GARMIN 310XT, compression tights CWX, Newton Forefoot Running Shoes, expensive OAKLEY glasses, Nike compression shirts, compression socks, RUNNR visors, ipod/iphone-armband-headphone, 4-bottle Nathan Hydration belt, do 20minute stretching and then proudly run around Bonifacio High Street at 10mins/km pace. A lot of runners in that place do look funny with all these complete accessories especially when a minimalist runner zoom past them. My officemate and I had to agree that we were both guilty of having some of these accessories so we called ourselves joggers. I called him JoggerBoy, and he called me JoggerNatz... (from the X-Men villain, the unstoppable Juggernaut.)

Calling myself a jogger can be useful sometimes when people ask me, "So you joined a marathon this weekend and you have a medal. Did you win? Are you a member of the Philippine Team?" I would humbly reply "I'm just a Jogger sir/ma'am" and they would immediately understand.

On the other hand, some runners seem offended when I call myself a Jogger and they're slower than me. They say "If you're a Jogger at 5mins/km, what does that make me?"

What is Jogging?
Jogging is the easiest form of running. Technically, I would define jogging as an act of running that you run it at your slowest pace possible, without slowing too much to a biomechanical walk. Maybe we can use it in a sentence like "I am going to jog my easy run". When we do our speedwork or interval workouts, we sometimes jog or walk the recovery in between the fast sprint runs. During these recovery jogs, I try to do them at my slowest pace to lower my heart rate, but still running to promote blood flow to help clear the lactate buildup.

History of Jogging
Historically, jogging was used by Coaches Lydiard and Bowerman to promote Long Distance Running to the masses. In the past, when people normally think of running as for serious athletes, so people had to be lured to easy running as form of "jogging". Then I think it was in the 80's when people would go jogging for health reasons. Not so serious runners would buy "jogging pants" and bring SONY WALKMAN with them, wear headbands, and run with the music. Hence, we get the picture of the typical JOGGER.

Running for the Masses
Fortunately, runners have started to learn better and for most of the newbies they would start treating this as their personal sport/struggle and would try to beat their own times (PR's- Personal Records). Also, new scientific studies would show gentle jogging is good for health, but more distance and more intensity can be better. They would change part of their lifestyle - eat healthily, manage stress, and give time to run and promote running. I guess if you move beyond merely jogging once a week for 10minutes to racing a 5K at a local race trying to beat your last 49minute PR, to me -you are a runner.

I am JoggerNatz, and like you - I am a Runner!

Seriously, this blog is going to be about RUNNING. I'll be talking about my running stories and share some tips I've learned along the way. I dream of qualifying the Boston Marathon someday. I’ve been running for 4years now, hopefully around 50% of my potential. My qualifying time for the Boston Marathon at my age as of this writing (1/21/2012) is pretty darn fast for me - 3:05, and I probably need to run 2:50 if I would like to ensure I register because they prioritize faster runners, not joggers. Ouch, that hurts. My current Marathon PR is 3:29, and Half-Marathon is 1:33, so I have a long way to go. Please join me in my journey and I hope to give you readers some inspiration and please do comment and give me your inspiration as well.