Kastilyong Lapis

Pacquiao - Mayweather: Their Last 3 Fights

2015-03-23T18:03:00.000+08:00

Last time around, we have finished our review and analysis of Pacquiao and Mayweather's five common opponents. The statistics have shown that Pacquiao has superior offense whereas Mayweather has much better defense.

Now we move on forward with their last three fights. We will see how much they have improved and declined on their most recent fights. We will also explore how their strategies have changed and how they are coping with their advanced age. Pacquiao is 36 to Mayweather's 38.

Give me a caption!

We continue our marathon coverage of the Pacquiao-Mayweather mega fight. This is entry No.005.

The following statistics shows Pacquiao and Mayweather's punch output against their last three foes. Mayweather last fough Marcos Maidana twice and Saul Alvarez. Meanwhile, Manny fought Chris Algieri, Timothy Bradley and Brandon Rios.

The OFFENSE

OFFENSE
Opponents	Floyd Mayweather, Jr			Manny Pacquiao
Opponents	Jabs	Power Shots	Total	Jabs	Power Shots	Total
Marcos Maidana 2 / Chris Algieri	52 / 152	178 / 274	230 / 426	42 / 259	187 / 410	229 / 669
Marcos Maidana 2 / Chris Algieri	34%	64%	53%	16%	45%	34%
Marcos Maidana 1 / Tim Bradley 2	64 / 149	102 / 177	166 / 326	50 / 219	148 / 344	198 / 563
Marcos Maidana 1 / Tim Bradley 2	42%	57%	50%	22%	43%	35%
Saul Alvarez / Brandon Rios	139 / 330	93 / 175	232 / 505	58 / 322	223 / 468	281 / 790
Saul Alvarez / Brandon Rios	42%	53%	45%	18%	47%	35%
TOTAL	255 / 631	373 / 626	628 / 1257	150 / 800	558 / 1222	708 / 2022
TOTAL	40%	59%	49%	18%	45%	35%
AVERAGE	85 / 210.3	124.3 / 208.7	209.3 / 419	50 / 266.7	186 / 407.3	236 / 674
AVERAGE	40%	59%	49%	18%	45%	35%

The story of the jab accounts for the huge discrepancy in their offense. Mayweather lands 40% of his jabs compared to Pacquiao's poor 18%. In terms of quantity, Mayweather landed 255 jabs to Pacquiao's 150 total. This is a critical part of the fight that we should take note. Mayweather can win this fight just by jabbing and getting away from Pacquiao. This will make the fight boring to watch and much easier for Mayweather to come up victorious.
On power shots, the numbers are much closer. Mayweather is very impressive with his 59% accuracy. Pacquiao is accurate, 45%, but relies more on volume punching.
Speaking of volume, Mayweather throws only about half of Pacquiao's 407 average power punches per fight. As a result, even with a lower accuracy, Pacquiao connected 186 to Mayweather's 124. That is 62 more shots to hurt and knock his opponent down.
Mayweather's accuracy to Pacquiao's volume. Mayweather will be choosy on his punches while Pacquiao will be very busy throwing bombs often. By defending more against the voluminous punches coming from Pacquiao, Mayweather's punch output will dip even more. Pacquiao threw a total of 2000 punches to Mayweather's 1200 in these 3 fights. The busier and more aggressive fighter will be Pacquiao.

The DEFENSE

DEFENSE
Opponents	Floyd Mayweather, Jr			Manny Pacquiao
Opponents	Jabs	Power Shots	Total	Jabs	Power Shots	Total
Marcos Maidana 2 / Chris Algieri	36 / 318	185 / 540	221 / 858	28 / 257	80 / 212	108 / 469
Marcos Maidana 2 / Chris Algieri	11%	34%	25%	10%	37%	23%
Marcos Maidana 1 / Tim Bradley 2	41 / 237	87 / 335	128 / 572	32 / 287	109 / 340	138 / 502
Marcos Maidana 1 / Tim Bradley 2	17%	25%	22%	11%	32%	22%
Saul Alvarez / Brandon Rios	44 / 294	73 / 232	117 / 526	25 / 239	113 / 263	138 / 502
Saul Alvarez / Brandon Rios	14%	31%	22%	10%	42%	27%
TOTAL	121 / 849	345 / 1107	466 / 1956	85 / 783	302 / 815	387 / 1598
TOTAL	14%	31%	23%	10%	37%	24%
AVERAGE	40.3 / 283	115 / 369	155.3 / 652	28.3 / 261	100.7 / 271.7	129 / 532.7
AVERAGE	14%	31%	23%	10%	37%	24%

Pacquiao defended better against jabs. Only 10% of jabs connected against him whereas 14% were able to hit Mayweather. In total jabs, only 28 for Pacquiao and 40 for Mayweather.
Pacquiao also defended better against power shots in terms of total shots he absorbed. Pacquiao was hit by 101 power shots per fight compared to 115 for Mayweather.
Overall, Pacquiao was only hit 387 times by Algieri, Bradley and Rios while Mayweather got hit 466 times by Alvarez and Maidana in 2 fights.
Based on percentage, Mayweather got the better of Pacquiao. Only 31% of power shots and 23% of all punches combined connected against him, whereas Pacquiao got hit 37% of power shots and 24% of all punches.
More punches are being thrown against Mayweather as compared to Pacquiao. Part of this, we give credit to Maidana for unleashing an aggressive attack againt Floyd. Part also to Pacquiao because his in-and-out style makes it more difficult for his opponents to throw a punch against him. Mayweather has stood more in front of his opponents that is why more punches are being thrown against him.

Pacquiao's Decline

The prime years of Manny Pacquiao were when he outclassed Dela Hoya, Hatton and Cotto. He perhaps started to slow down and declined before or after the Juan Manuel Marquez knock out.

Let us graph Pacquiao's offense and defense. On the OFFENSE half of the following graphs, the first pair of bars shows his average statistics against his 5 common opponents with Mayweather. The second pair of bars shows his average against his last 3 opponents. Likewise, on the DEFENSE half of the graphs, the first pair is against 5 common opponents with Mayweather and the second pair is against his last 3.

Pacquiao's Overall Punches Thrown (OFFENSE) and Thrown Against Him (DEFENSE)

Clearly, Pacquiao's punch output is down from 731 to 674. Even more alarming, his punch connected has significantly dropped from 304 to 236. On defense, he has now allowed 129 punches to land against him. About 14 more from 114.8 against the 5 common opponents with Mayweather. Offense has declined much and defense has declined a little.

Pacquiao's POWER Punches

The Power punches of Manny Pacquiao are in serious decline. We have not seen him knock out an opponent since Miguel Cotto in 2009, almost a 6-year KO drought. And much of it is due to his downward output in total power shots thrown (from 467 to 407) and mostly in power shots connected (from a 254 to 186).

Mayweather's DECLINE
It is not only Pacquiao who is on the decline. Even Floyd Mayweather has succumbed to ageing. He does not move a lot like when he was younger. Today, he stands more against his opponents which has significantly degraded his defense.

Mayweather's Total Punches Thrown (OFFENSE) and Thrown Against Him (DEFENSE)

Mayweather's POWER Punches

Mayweather has retained his offense and has even improved his accuracy by reducing his movements around the boxing ring. The negative side of it is he becomes more vulnerable to his opponents attacks. From a very tight defense allowing only 93 total punches per fight, he now absorbs 155. More telling, 115 power shots are landing against him which was only 63 previously. Compared with Pacquiao, Mayweather's defense is no longer impeccable.

Conclusions

PACQUIAO HAS DECLINED IN HIS OFFENSIVE OUTBURST.

Pacquiao has declined in his punch output. Against their 5 common opponents, his average punches was 304 / 731. In his last 3 fights, it was down to 236 / 674. The punches are lesser and the accuracy is lower. Pacquiao's offense has definitely declined. He needs to improve on this to have a better chance against Mayweather.
On defense, Pacquiao remains elusive with his movements. His defense against jabs is superior to Mayweather. However, his aggressiveness on offense gives a lot of opportunities for his opponents to fire back and counter him, usually with power shots. As a result, Pacquiao is still hittable with an alarming 37% of punches that landed against him.

MAYWEATHER HAS DECLINED IN HIS DEFENSIVE WIZARDRY.

Mayweather has became even more accurate. This accuracy is very impressive and somewhat scary. His punch output has declined from 506 to 419 but his connection still managed to improve from 207.6 to 209. Almost 1 of every 2 punches land!
On defense, Mayweather has opened himself up more. From evading 17% of his opponents total punches, his defense has gone worse to 23%. From 93 punches connected against him, the number went up to 155. This has got to improve. Mayweather cannot just stand against Pacquiao like what he did most of the time against Alvarez and Maidana. He needs to jab and take advantage of his 5-inch longer reach to stay away from Pacquiao.

MILO News Release - Poliquit, Tabal Conquer ASICS LA Marathon

2015-03-17T18:36:00.000+08:00

Our friends from Milo Philippines just shared an inspiring marathon story of our very own Filipino marathoners Rafael Poliquit Jr. and Mary Joy Tabal who competed on the ASICS Los Angeles Marathon last March 15.

Milo News Letter:

Poliquit, Tabal conquer ASICS LA Marathon

Manila, Philippines – Fresh from their stellar victories in the 38th National MILO Marathon, Philippine Air Force member Rafael Poliquit Jr. and marathon record-holder Mary Joy Tabal completed the prestigious ASICS Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday, March 15. Poliquit and Tabal, the reigning MILO Marathon King and Queen, were pitted against over 26,000 runners from 50 states of the US and 55 countries in the world, including the top athletes from the United States, who competed in the 42K running event to qualify for the US National Team for the 2016 Olympics.

Following last year’s delegation to the Paris Marathon, the National MILO Marathon awarded both athletes with all-expenses paid trips to the ASICS LA Marathon as the Philippine delegates sponsored by MILO. The ASICS LA Marathon is one of the five largest full marathons in the United States, and one of the ten largest races in the world.
The 26-year-old Davaoeño Poliquit clocked in at 2:36:09 and ranked 27th overall in the men’s division. In the distaff side, 25-year-old Cebuana Tabal posted a time of 2:51:17 and finished 27th overall in the women’s division.

Journey to the finish line
According to race organizer Rio dela Cruz, the athletes traveled early and were able to prepare and acclimatize to the cool weather. Both were in top shape in the months leading to the race, fully focused in following their training regimen which consisted of muscle recovery, strength and speed workouts and endurance training, as well as mental conditioning and proper nutrition.

California was baked in heat on race day, but it was nothing compared to the scorching sun in the Philippines. In fact, Poliquit found the weather to be cool, and made the race very challenging. “I am not really used to colder weather. I had difficulties in breathing normally as I went along the race. I was also unable to hydrate myself well because I thought I wasn’t thirsty because of the cold,” admitted Poliquit. “I also felt that my lower limbs were starting to cramp past the 30KM mark. This was truly challenging, because the route had more uphill parts towards the second half.”

Tabal, however, found the colder weather good and used it to her advantage. “It wasn’t too cold and it wasn’t too hot, which, for me, is good for a race. The route was wide open, no vehicles, and it was safe for us to move freely, but still, it was very challenging,” shared Tabal. “I was not included amongst the group of elite runners whose gun time was ahead by ten minutes, so I had to catch up and make up for the delay. I also wanted to run alongside somebody so I can set my pace, but I could not find anyone and had to push myself and maintain a good pace until the finish line.”

Running with the greats

Aside from the different challenges both were faced with, it was an added test for both Poliquit and Tabal to run with elite runners from all over the United States who were vying to qualify for the 2016 Olympics. Still, this fueled the two more to strive and persevere to show that Filipinos can compete with the world’s best.

“The Africans, especially the Ethiopians and Kenyans, were the fastest among the group, and it was very hard to keep stride with them. They really are made of a different caliber,” shared Poliquit. “During the start of the race, I was able to run alongside my idol, US marathoner Ryan Hall. It is one of the highlights of my first international race. I didn’t expect that I would be able to join a big international race like this. It’s a dream come true.”

Tabal admitted that she had to chase the female elite runners in the hopes of finishing with a higher rank. “I was able to keep up with best runners and I was really confident of finishing in the top 10, but I suddenly had a bad stomach and it affected my running,” said Tabal. “I had to shift to a relaxed pace in order to survive the race. The supporters along the road cheered me on, shouting “Go Baby Girl!”, and it spurred me on. I made it and it was a very wonderful and rewarding experience.”

Raising the Philippine flag high

Both runners shared that the support of MILO and the Filipino community powered their will to give pride to the country and inspire the youth to become champions.

“The ASICS LA Marathon is another accomplishment and a dream come true for me, as a runner. It’s an honor to represent the Philippines in a big international event. I would like to thank MILO for believing in us to reach the international stage. I am very grateful to my coach Philip Dueñas. I wouldn’t be here if not for his patience, effort and support,” said Tabal. “I would like to dedicate this achievement to my kababayans, especially the Cebuanos, who always give their all-out support. When I crossed the finish line, it felt like it wasn’t just me who did it, but my kababayans, the entire nation also crossed it with me.”

Poliquit echoes Tabal’s sentiments in representing the Philippines. “I’m so proud and happy to represent the country in Los Angeles. I am grateful to MILO for giving me this once in a lifetime chance, and to the Philippine Air Force for allowing me to grab this amazing opportunity, and of course, my family who has always believed in me,” expressed Poliquit.

MILO Sports Marketing Manager Andrew Neri expressed his pride for the two athletes. “Rafael and Mary Joy have truly raised the Philippine flag high in Los Angeles, and proved once again that Filipinos are exceptional and world class. We are delighted to have provided them the platform to showcase their athletic excellence amongst the world’s best runners,” remarked MILO Sports Marketing Manager Andrew Neri.

The National MILO Marathon holds an esteemed position in the world map of marathon destinations, due to its certification from the Association of International Marathons (AIMS) and International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The National MILO Marathon will usher in its 39th season in June of this year with a goal to engage more runners and continue its Help Give Shoes advocacy by donating brand new running shoes to school children.

Long Run to Nuvali

2015-03-16T18:55:00.000+08:00

I just found a new playground.

Before I ran to Nuvali, my plan was to run in loops twice and a half more for an 18-kilometer run. Then Lynnel, my sister-in-law, suggested I take the route to Nuvali. The idea was further reinforced when my church Pastor took me along for a Christian leadership training in Malvar, Batangas. Going to Batangas, we drive through the road to Nuvali.

Sunday morning, I was there running the agricultural fields of Silang, Cavite to Nuvali, Sta. Rosa, Laguna. It was a very satisfying long distance run and I am so glad to find this new running route for my weekend long runs. No more 3km and 7km loops on weekends, the Nuvali route is at least 18km and I will just extend the route more and more as my endurance builds and increases.

This route is mostly straight and descents. Armed with excitement for a new route and a new long distance record (my previous high was 15km last February), I was very excited. The views of the nature, the agricultural fields, grasses and trees and the very limited houses were a welcome sight. There were very few vehicles on the road. I reached the city of Sta. Rosa in 57 minutes (around 5:25 minutes per kilometer).

My difficulties began on my return run. First, I was starting to tire. Second, it is now 7 o'clock and the heat of the sun starts to torch my face and skin. Third and most difficult of all, the ascent is grueling and heart breaking. The sports tracker application said I ascended a total of a little less than 500 meters. That is quite high as I had always find it tough to bike my way to Tagaytay which has total ascent of 400 meters (Did I say I find 400m difficult on a bike? 500 on foot is therefore much harder). The uphill battle got the better of me as I gave up and walked a few meters before I reached the flats again. The return trip took 68 minutes (7:30 minutes per kilometer), way slower than my first 9 kilometers.

My First Long Run to Nuvali

I know I will beat this route better next weekend. For now, let me bask in my little triumph of upping my long distance record of year 2015 to 18.4 kilometers. Yehey!

Pacquiao - Mayweather: Five Common Opponents

2015-03-12T09:25:00.000+08:00

We have already covered Pacquiao and Mayweather's five common opponents independently. It is now time to compare them, who is better relative to their respective body of work against the common five?

Image from wbcboxing.com

We continue our marathon coverage of the Pacquiao-Mayweather mega fight. This is entry No.004.

Caveat first, Pacquiao against Dela Hoya, Hatton and Marquez did not go the full 12 rounds. Also, Mayweather dispatched Ricky Hatton in 10 rounds. To compare the statistics, we must normalize them. Meaning, adjust the punch statistics to common and comparable values. Why?

If we compare the total punches thrown in a fight between a 12-round fight and an 8-round fight, we would err. The 8-round fight has less time to throw and land punches compared to 12 rounds.
Floyd knocked out Hatton in 10 rounds. Pacquiao did it in 2. If we do not normalize the statistics, we will conclude that Floyd throws much more punches than Manny. And Floyd connects with a lot more power shots compared to Manny. Which is incorrect.

I normalized the statistics to project the 2 (Pacquiao-Hatton), 6 (Pacquiao-Marquez 4), 8 (Pacquiao-Dela Hoya) and 10 (Mayweather-Hatton) round fights to 12 full rounds. Paquiao-Cotto was also shortened by a knock-out victory, but it happened in the 12th round so we do not normalize that fight and let it be as it is.

N = (S x 12) / R, where

N is our normalized statistic
S is our original statistic
R is the completed number of rounds

A quick test of our formula is the Pacquiao-Marquez fight which ended in only 6 rounds. Pacquiao threw 256 punches in that fight after 6 rounds. Had it ended in 12, he most probably would have doubled that output. N = (256 x 12) / 6 = 512. Of course, we are only trying to estimate as close as possible. This need not be complex as a rocket science.

So, here we go. Let us compare our normalized Offense statistics. These are the punches they have thrown and landed against their five common opponents.

OFFENSE
Opponents	Floyd Mayweather, Jr			Manny Pacquiao
Opponents	Jabs	Power Shots	Total	Jabs	Power Shots	Total
Miguel Cotto	51 / 305	128 / 382	179 / 687	60 / 220	276 / 560	336 / 780
Miguel Cotto	16%	33%	26%	27%	49%	43%
Shane Mosley	85 / 210	123 / 267	208 / 477	47 / 374	177 / 353	224 / 727
Shane Mosley	40%	46%	43%	12%	50%	30%
Oscar Dela Hoya	69 / 240	138 / 241	207 / 481	43 / 378	292 / 499	336 / 877
Oscar Dela Hoya	28%	57%	39%	11%	58%	38%
Ricky Hatton	34 / 86	120 / 308	154 / 394	48 / 132	390 / 630	438 / 762
Ricky Hatton	39%	38%	39%	36%	61%	57%
Juan Manuel Marquez	185 / 316	105 / 177	290 / 493	52 / 216	136 / 296	188 / 512
Juan Manuel Marquez	58%	59%	58%	24%	45%	36%
TOTAL	424 / 1157	614 / 1375	1038 / 2532	250 / 1320	1271 / 2338	1522 / 3658
TOTAL	36%	44%	40%	18%	54%	41%
AVERAGE	84.8 / 231.4	122.8 / 275	207.6 / 506.4	50 / 264	254.2 / 467.6	304.4 / 731.6
AVERAGE	36%	44%	40%	18%	54%	41%

What do we see?

Pacquiao landed close to 100 more punches than Mayweather, 304 to 208.
Mayweather landed more jabs, as expected, 85 to Pacquiao's 50.
Pacquiao detonated 254 power shots to Mayweather's 123. That is more than twice. Not only is Pacquiao the harder puncher as evidenced by his 3 knockouts to Mayweather's 1 against those 5 common opponents, Pacquiao also landed so much more.
Pacquiao is more accurate than Mayweather, 41% to 40%. Pacquiao's accuracy in landing the killer blows is 54% to Mayweather's 44%. Pacquiao is a puncher.
Mayweather is more accurate in terms of jabs, 36% to Pacquiao's 18%. Mayweather is a boxer.
Come fight night, Mayweather's jabs will be key to his victory. And so is Pacquiao's ability or inability to hurt Mayweather with his flurry of punches. If Mayweather lands his jabs often, it will be difficult for Pacquiao to setup his offensive prowess. Pacquiao needs to connect his power shots and how he defends, evades or ignores the Mayweather jabs will be a major factor in this fight. Puncher versus boxer.

How about Defense? Pacquiao may be very strong and very busy with his power shots, but if he cannot hit Mayweather then it's frigging useless. Mayweather also cannot box effectively if Pacquiao can defend well against his jabs and his counter punches. So how have they defended against their common five opponents?

These are the punches their five common opponents have thrown and landed against them.

DEFENSE
Opponents	Floyd Mayweather, Jr			Manny Pacquiao
Opponents	Jabs	Power Shots	Total	Jabs	Power Shots	Total
Miguel Cotto	30 / 177	75 / 329	105 / 506	79 / 297	93 / 300	172 / 597
Miguel Cotto	16%	22%	20%	26%	31%	28%
Shane Mosley	46 / 283	46 / 169	92 / 452	44 / 250	22 / 80	66 / 330
Shane Mosley	16%	27%	20%	17%	27%	20%
Oscar Dela Hoya	40 / 246	51 / 164	82 / 341	48 / 357	76 / 246	124 / 603
Oscar Dela Hoya	16%	24%	20%	13%	30%	20%
Ricky Hatton	13 / 75	62 / 361	75 / 446	12 / 132	96 / 336	108 / 468
Ricky Hatton	17%	17%	16%	9%	28%	23%
Juan Manuel Marquez	21 / 288	48 / 295	69 / 583	22 / 192	82 / 300	104 / 492
Juan Manuel Marquez	7%	16%	11%	11%	27%	21%
TOTAL	150 / 1069	313 / 1495	463 / 2574	205 / 1228	369 / 1262	574 / 2490
TOTAL	14%	20%	17%	16%	29%	23%
AVERAGE	30 / 213.8	62.6 / 299	92.6 / 514.8	41 / 245.6	73.8 / 252.4	114.8 / 498
AVERAGE	14%	20%	17%	16%	29%	23%

What do we see?

Pacquiao has good defense, Mayweather has even better. Only 17% of punches thrown against Mayweather were able to land. Pacquiao managed to defend well, but not against 23% of punches thrown at him.
In terms of the punches connected against them, Mayweather absorbed 93 to Pacquiao's 115. Over the course of those 5 fights, Pacquiao had to accept 574 punches to Mayweather's 463. It is pretty clear the Floyd Mayweather, Jr has better defense.
Mayweather defended better against power shots. Of those power shots with bad intentions behind them, Pacquiao got punched 74 times per fight. Mayweather only 63.
To defend against power shots, it usually starts with defending well against the setup jabs. Mayweather was jabbed only 14% to Pacquiao's 16%. Both are very good defenders against the jabs, Mayweather is just better.
On fight night, Pacquiao needs to break Mayweather's superb defense to win the fight. Mayweather will be well-covered like the Great Wall of China and Pacquiao needs to constantly look for an opening and find a way somehow to wear down this defensive wall. Pacquiao needs to penetrate this defense regularly and often. That's not going to be easy to do against Mayweather.

Against Cotto, Mosley, Dela Hoya, Hatton and Marquez, we have shown that Manny Pacquiao has superior offense and Floyd Mayweather has superior defense.

However, much of those fights were about 3 or more years ago. Those are very old statistics already especially because Manny and Floyd are now in the late stages of their careers. They are ageing quite fast.

The five fights against common opponents are great fights to be introduced to how great Pacquiao and Mayweather are. They also told us much about the fighters' styles and strengths. We are only getting started.

Next time, we will do the same things we did about Pacquiao and Mayweather's five common opponents and apply them to their last 3 fights. These fights will tell us how their styles have somewhat changed and how fast or slow they have declined and aged. We will see how Floyd becomes a bit more offensive and how Manny transformed into a more balanced fighter in terms of his offense and defense.

Who is Mayweather and Why is He Favored Over Pacquiao

2015-03-10T09:54:00.000+08:00

We continue our marathon coverage of the Pacquiao-Mayweather mega fight.
This is Entry No.003. ;)

A super fight cannot stand with one super fighter alone. There must be equally superb fighters going at each other, otherwise we would call it an "exhibition". Manny Pacquiao is a superb fighter, we know that already. Who is Floyd Mayweather, then?

47 fights. 47 wins. (Pac has 64 fights, 57 wins, 5 losses and 2 draws)
5 weight-division world champion spanning from 130 to 154 pounds. (Pac has 8, 112 to 154)
4 lineal weight championship. (Pac likewise has 4)
At 2.4 million buys, holds the most number of pay-per-views sold with Oscar Dela Hoya.
At $20 million, holds the most lucrative live gate tickets sold with Saul Alvarez.
Mayweather is the highest paid athlete, in any sports, today.
#1 pound-for-pound best boxer in the world today. (Pac is #3)

It's no surprise he is also called 'Money' Mayweather. He will collect at least $120 Million dollars in 36 minutes of action against Pacquiao. 120 could easily go north of $200 Million depending on the number of pay-per-view buys, which is estimated to break the record of Dela Hoya - Mayweather.

It is head-scratching to imagine the huge amounts to be earned by these combatants. Just head-scratchingly ridiculous, and amazing.

We could talk of their moneys all we want and gain nothing at all. Or we could talk about their styles of fighting and at least have an idea of how the fight turns out come May 2. I think we go the route of the more productive discussion even though the difference could be closer to negligible.

So how does Floyd Mayweather, Jr actually went 47-0?

Take a look at Floyd's punch statistics against five common opponents with Manny Pacquiao.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr
Opponents	Defense			Offense
Opponents	Jabs	Power Shots	Total	Jabs	Power Shots	Total
Miguel Cotto	30 / 177	75 / 329	105 / 506	51 / 305	128 / 382	179 / 687
Miguel Cotto	16%	22%	20%	16%	33%	26%
Shane Mosley	46 / 283	46 / 169	92 / 452	85 / 210	123 / 267	208 / 477
Shane Mosley	16%	27%	20%	40%	46%	43%
Oscar Dela Hoya	40 / 246	51 / 164	82 / 341	69 / 240	138 / 241	207 / 481
Oscar Dela Hoya	16%	24%	20%	28%	57%	39%
Ricky Hatton	11 / 63	52 / 301	63 / 372	8 / 22	100 / 257	129 / 329
Ricky Hatton	17%	17%	16%	40%	38%	39%
Juan Manuel Marquez	21 / 288	48 / 295	69 / 583	185 / 316	105 / 177	290 / 493
Juan Manuel Marquez	7%	16%	11%	58%	59%	58%
TOTAL	148 / 1057	303 / 1435	451 / 2500	419 / 1143	594 / 1324	1013 / 2467
TOTAL	14%	21%	18%	36%	44%	41%
AVERAGE	29.6 / 211.4	60.6 / 287	90.2 / 500	83.8 / 228.6	118.8 / 264.8	202.6 / 493.4
AVERAGE	14%	21%	18%	36%	44%	41%

What do we see?

Floyd is very accurate. 4 of every 10 of his punches connects. Even his jabs which are range finders, setup punches and get-away-from-me punches connects 36% of the time.
Floyd is a master of defense. Only a miserable 18% of his opponents punches are able to hit their marks. That is less than 1 of every 5 punches thrown.
I see a boxer well versed in the basics of boxing that has perfected his craft. He is able to utilize the jabs to disrupt his opponents and setup his offensive assault. Marquez was outclassed in a fight where Floyd Mayweather connected 58% of his jabs, 185 of 316. 185 connected jabs in a single fight is well over the roof and it was a huge part of why Mayweather outclassed Marquez. Dominantly, Floyd did not allow Marquez to connect on his jabs evading 93% of them. Just 21 of 288 jabs, 7%, from Marquez landed.
Floyd throws below 500 punches per fight. Efficiency is the name of his game.
Floyd lands less than 120 power shots per fight. That is 10 per 3-minute round. Just about 3 per minute! For perspective, Manny lands twice power shots as Floyd at 20 per round.
Floyd's philosophy is effective and efficient boxing with minimum risks. It is much more of a cerebral fight for him using the brains inside his head to hit without getting hit in return.

In conclusion, Floyd is much of accuracy and defense whereas Manny is about high volume offense. Floyd depends a lot on jabs to outbox his opponents (419 of his 1013 punches were jabs, 41%). Manny depends on power shots to outfight and defeat his (781 of 951 punches were power shots, 82%). Where Floyd is looking to outbox his way to victory, Manny is out to significantly damage and destroy his opponent.

Next time, we will put their statistics head-to-head, side-by-side and compare them.

Who has the advantage?
How does their individual performances stack up to their recent fights and victories
Are Manny and Floyd in decline? They're not getting any younger after all.
Have their approaches, styles and philosophies change over the last few years?

Join me again next time. :)

Pacquiao Mayweather Marathon Coverage - Entry No.002

2015-03-06T18:39:00.002+08:00

We continue our marathon coverage of the Pacquiao Mayweather mega fight.

Take a look at Manny Pacquiao's punch statistics against five common opponents with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. {Excuse the color coding I used. There is still some logic and grouping behind it though.}

Manny Pacquiao
Opponents	Defense			Offense
Opponents	Jabs	Power Shots	Total	Jabs	Power Shots	Total
Miguel Cotto	79 / 297	93 / 300	172 / 597	60 / 220	276 / 560	336 / 780
Miguel Cotto	26%	31%	28%	27%	49%	43%
Shane Mosley	44 / 250	22 / 80	66 / 330	47 / 374	177 / 353	224 / 727
Shane Mosley	17%	27%	20%	12%	50%	30%
Oscar Dela Hoya	32 / 238	51 / 164	83 / 402	29 / 252	195 / 333	224 / 585
Oscar Dela Hoya	13%	31%	20%	11%	58%	38%
Ricky Hatton	2 / 22	16 / 56	18 / 78	8 / 22	65 / 105	73 / 127
Ricky Hatton	9%	28%	23%	36%	61%	57%
Juan Manuel Marquez	11 / 96	41 / 150	52 / 246	26 / 108	68 / 148	94 / 256
Juan Manuel Marquez	11%	27%	21%	24%	45%	36%
TOTAL	168 / 903	223 / 750	391 / 1653	170 / 976	781 / 1499	951 / 2475
TOTAL	18%	29%	23%	17%	52%	38%
AVERAGE	33.6 / 180.6	44.6 / 150	78.2 / 330.6	34 / 195.2	156.2 / 299.8	190.2 / 495
AVERAGE	18%	29%	23%	17%	52%	38%

What do we see here?

The Defense columns tells us how Manny Pacquiao defends against punches thrown at him. How many jabs and power shots were thrown and how many were landed on him.

The Offense columns on the other hand tells us how Manny attacks his opponents. How many punches he throws and connects.

Jabs are the weakest punches in boxing. They are used to set up the more powerful shots like straights, hooks and upper cuts. Throwing power punches without the jabs are easier to defend because your opponent usually looks at how you will attack him. When you throw a jab first, your opponent is forced to defend against it, and then your next shot is harder to be seen and blocked.

Power Shots are the straights, hooks and upper cuts usually thrown by a boxer's stronger hand. Manny has a stronger left hand (Southpaw) while Floyd has a stronger right (Orthodox). You will usually hear the 1-2 combination in boxing, more so if you have trained in a boxing gym. It refers to the jab-straight combination you throw with your weak hand followed by a strong hand's straight punch.

Ok, we are ready to digest the data on the table now. Observe the following:

Manny does not connect much on his jabs. On average, only 34 of 195 jabs he threw connected.
Manny throws and connects a lot on his power shots. 156 of 300 power shots detonated on his opponents on average.
Manny allowed 34 jabs and 45 power shots to land on him on average. Is that good enough?
The answer to #3 depends on how Manny lands on his opponents. See #1 and #2 to answer #3. There is an overwhelming discrepancy in power shots connected by Manny, 156, to power shots he absorbed, only 45. That's 111 more power shots and it's too unfair against his opponents.
Dela Hoya, Hatton and Marquez fights did not go the maximum scheduled 12 rounds. Dela Hoya and Hatton were knocked out in 8 and 2 rounds respectively. Marquez knocked out Pacquiao in 6 rounds. The total punches we see on the table for the Hatton and Marquez fights are too few compared to the other fights that went the full 12 rounds. This is important to note especially if we are to compare Pacquiao's statistics to Mayweather's.
Pacquiao's defense is very good. He allowed to connect only 45 of 150 power shots thrown against him on average. These numbers are too small compared to his offense of 156 power shots connected on 300 punches thrown.
Manny is not very accurate. While he connects on 59% of his power shots, he only lands 17% of his jabs which pulled his total connect average to only 38%. He makes up for this inaccuracy with volume. Manny throws a lot more punches compared to his opponents.

I hope you and I learned a few things here. Jabs, Power Shots, Defense, Accuracy and shortened fights because of knock outs. We will compare Manny Pacquiao's statistics to Floyd Mayweather and see Manny's strengths and weaknesses against the unbeaten American fighter. Doing that we can objectively try to answer the following:

Who is more accurate?
Who defends better?
Who connects more power shots?
Who is hit less with power shots thrown at him?
Does Manny stand a chance? In what way?
Does Mayweather possess a weakness that Manny can capitalize on?

Pacquiao Mayweather Marathon Coverage - Entry No.001

2015-03-04T18:15:00.000+08:00

I am a huge boxing fan of Manny Pacquiao. {I said boxing fan because Manny is almost all-in-1 these days and no I am not a fan of his playing in the PBA, acting and singing skills just to name a few.} With what Manny is about to accomplish if he beats Floyd Mayweather, I consider myself truly blessed to have a chance to watch his humble and exciting beginnings turn into legendary heights.

If, a very big but possible if, Manny ever beats Mayweather, Manny becomes a boxing legend. Simple as that. Right now, Manny is a hall of fame type of boxer. He most probably belongs to the Top 50 of all time greatest boxers with what he has accomplished from 112 to 154 pounds, from Chatchai Sasakul, Lehlo Ledwaba, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar Dela Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley and to Timothy Bradley.

Manny is the only 8-division world champion boxer in history. His championships span from

112 - Flyweight (against Sasakul),
122 - Super Bantamweight (against Ledwaba),
126 - Featherweight (against Barrera),
130 - Super Featherweight (against Marquez),
135 - Lightweight (against David Diaz),
140 - Super Lightweight (against Hatton),
147 - Welterweight (first against Cotto, second time against Bradley) and
154 - Super Welterweight (against Margarito).

It is difficult to explain, but Manny is also a 4-division lineal world champion. He has been the best-of-the-best in the 112, 126, 130 and 140 pound divisions. In this regard, he is equal with Mayweather who is also a 4-division lineal world champion. For whatever it means, Manny is not the best in 122, 135, 147 and 154 divisions although he won championships in those weight categories {Did I say it is difficult to explain?}. With the Mayweather fight at 147-pound limit, Manny has a chance to become a lineal champion in five different divisions. He stands alone in the history of boxing if he achieves that. The only boxer to be the best-of-the best in five weight divisions.

Championship or not, a win over Floyd Mayweather puts Pacquiao over the top of this generation's boxers and inches him closer to boxing immortality with the likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Muhammad Ali, Henry Armstrong and Sugar Ray Robinson.

And so I repeat, I consider myself truly blessed to have a chance to watch his humble and exciting beginnings turn into legendary heights. All of us Filipinos who watched the little-framed tiny 108-poundish Manny's Blow by Blow days where he often knocks out opponents with his devastating left straight did not expect nor ever imagined that this boxing dynamo, a one-handed trigger-happy bandit will one day be where he is now --- one fight and one win away from legendary boxing fame and status. How unexplainably electrifyingly exciting is that?

And so I am doing this Pacquiao Mayweather Marathon Coverage, eight weeks away from the actual fight in Las Vegas, Nevada. Weekly, even daily, let us devote a few minutes of our time discussing, analyzing, imagining and enjoying these days leading up to the fight.

I have already started my study of Mayweather's boxing videos against Marcos Maidana (first and second fights), Saul Alvarez, Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar Dela Hoya and Robert Guerrero. I have also tabulated via Excel file, the punch statistics of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather's last three fights as well as their fights against 5 common opponents (Cotto, Mosley, Dela Hoya, Hatton and Marquez). Surprisingly, here are a few details I found which I shall blog about in a later post:

Floyd Mayweather is considered, by a wide margin, the better defensive fighter compared to Pacquiao and also the best defensive fighter of the last 20 years. However, Manny Pacquiao has evaded an average of 26 more punches compared to Floyd Mayweather based on their last 3 fights, Mayweather was hit by an average of 155.3 times per fight. Manny Pacquiao only allowed 129 punches to be connected by his opponents on average from his latest fights against Brandon Rios, Timothy Bradley and Chris Algieri. I don't know about you, but defense to me in boxing means not being hit by your opponent. If Mayweather is hit 155 times and Pacquiao only 129 times, then who is better in defense?
Floyd Mayweather is also considered the much more accurate puncher as compared to Pacquiao. Floyd only punches a total of around 400 punches per fight as compared to Pacquiao's 600-700ish average. Manny misses a lot and Mayweather is often on target, right? No! With their 5 common opponents in Cotto, Mosley, Dela Hoya, Hatton and Marquez, Manny Pacquiao throws much more punches than Mayweather while also connecting on a better percentage. This is too good to be true for a Pacquiao fan and a nightmarish scenario for Floyd's legion of supporters and the statistics back this up. Pacquiao is more accurate than Floyd in those five fights against common opponents.
I do not want to give away all of my findings here, so please do read my next posts. {Hehehe.}

These are exciting days folks. Let us brace ourselves {Kapit!} once again as the Typhoon from the Pacific heads towards the desert city of Las Vegas to try and break Mayweather's pristine, undefeated and unblemished 47-0 boxing fight record.

P.S. My best Pacquiao-Mayweather articles read so far:

Coach Freddie Roach's Analysis of Manny and Floyd: http://www.wsj.com/articles/what-manny-pacquiaos-camp-is-afraid-of-1425401308
A Primer and Great Analysis of Manny and Floyd's Boxing Styles: http://www.mightyfighter.com/manny-pacquiao-vs-floyd-mayweather-jr-analysis/

Re-learning A Few Lessons On Long Distance Running

2015-03-02T18:19:00.000+08:00

I found a very helpful article regarding long distance running written by Matt Frazier, a marathoner and an ultra-marathoner.

It is entitled "A Beginner's Guide to Long Distance Running".

To summarize Matt's main points:

Run slower during long distance runs. You will run longer and develop your endurance.
Run with shorter strides to minimize stress on your legs and feet and help avoid unwanted injuries.
Use variety. Running with the same pace and intensity is boring. Have fast running days to improve speed and slow running days to build endurance.
Incorporate speed work. This is more like the previous bullet point above. Only written just for emphasis! :p Who does not want to run faster and stronger right? Almost everyone. Question is, who is doing the necessary sacrifice, pain and discipline to do speed works?
Nutrition. Eat right before, during and after the run. Do not forget to hydrate especially during hot weather.
Be consistent in your improvements. A thousand miles starts with a single step. Actually, single but continuous steps. Be patient, be consistent and be determined to be consistent. It will pay off eventually.
Happy running. What is the point of all your runs if you ain't happy? Besides, you won't last long doing something you ain't happy doing.

Personally, I love every point Matt made on his article. I may be stubborn enough not to follow everything he said, especially regarding nutrition, but being reminded of the basics is what I loved best. I loved running. The basic points flashes back the old memories of triumphs and pains.

And that's why I am here again.

To fall in love with running. All over again. ;)

Feb's Longest

2015-03-02T11:37:00.003+08:00

I am pleased to have finished 15+ kilometers on the last day of February. It is my longest distance ran that month and also of this young year of 2015. Yehey!

Key statistics:
Distance according to phone GPS: 15.19 kilometers
Duration: 1 hour and 41 minutes (1:41:17)
Average Pace: 6:40 min/km

Route:
I ran a 7-km loop twice. It stretches from Brgy. Kaong, Silang, Cavite to Brgy. Tibig and back to Brgy. Kaong. From our house, I will jog about 500 meters to my starting loop. 500m + (7km x 2loops) + 500m = 15 kilometers. Lots of trees, grasses and grazing cattle along the paved route.

Future Plans:
It was not a fast run at all. It wasn't too slow either. It was a satisfying long run based on my current weight and endurance. I would have ran under 1:15:00 at my peak running years and also, I would not have finished it two or three years ago. Hehehe.

Where do I go from here? I will build on this last long run. Repeat it next weekend and then increase the distance the week after. On the next few Saturdays, I plan to run 15, 18, 18, and then 22 kilometers. Gradually, I will be able to build my endurance and hopefully lose a lot of weight.

How about you? How's your running lately?

A Weekend Run

2015-02-27T16:34:00.003+08:00

Hi Fellow Runner,

Tomorrow, when the morning breaks, I will be up and running my longest run of the year thus far. And how long is that? More than double of my comfortable easy morning run of seven kilometers.

Fifteen {long} kilometers to be exact.

I've been running a 3-km loop twice or thrice for my easy runs this year. Tomorrow, I plan to extend this loop to 7-km and run it twice. To do that, I will have to run further to a place I haven't ran before. Extending the loop. Hopefully, it will make my running more fun while being longer and more difficult at the same time. More fun and yet more difficult, e? Such foolishness!

I shall be updating you again with what happened, if I finished and how fast or better yet, how slow I did this. If successful, I would have equalled the longest run I finished last 2014 -- 15 kilometres.

And if so, I could proceed with my plan of running 22+ kilometers by end of next month. But that is yet another story. First things first and one step at a time, shall we?

Fifteen kilometers tomorrow morning, before the clock hits 6 AM.

Let us keep running.

Warmest Regards,
The Pandesal Runner
Jayson Deuna

Pro Earth Run 2015: Run the Race for Mother Earth

2015-02-23T19:03:00.002+08:00

Pro-Earth Run Newsletter:

In its Global Climate Risk Index 2015, Germanwatch listed the Philippines as one of the countries most affected by extreme weather events in 2013.

It also reconfirmed that "less developed countries are generally more affected [by extreme weather] than industrialized countries, and forewarned that “if mitigation efforts are not immediately taken, the world will continue heading down the path towards dangerous climate change.”

Is it a downward spiral from here? Prayerfully, NO.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” said Chinese Philosopher Lao-tzu. So is the race to protect, respect, and oversee care for Mother Earth.

To increase awareness on environmental responsibility and raise funds for Earth Day Network Philippines' continuing projects and programs, do join the PRO Earth Run on 25 April 2015, 4:30AM, Mall of Asia Grounds, Pasay City. To register, simply click the link below.

Let's all run the race for Mother Earth!

2015 MILO Calendar of Events

2015-02-23T18:34:00.000+08:00

Happy 2015!

I am sharing with you an email from MILO regarding their schedule of running events for this year. I am thrilled that the Manila marathon leg will be held on July 26. This means a lot of training weeks and months are still left for us to prepare for it.

The National Finals will be held outside of Manila. I have ran much of my races in Metro Manila and all of my four marathons were ran here in the national capital. Fresh air? New place and route? New faces and crowd? (Hmmmm.. sounds great!)

Let's hear it from MILO:

Greetings on behalf of the MILO Marathon team!

Last December, the 38th National MILO Marathon concluded an exhilarating season of Champions. This year, MILO continues its legacy of providing quality races for runners, young and old, with 18 leg races across NCR, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

To welcome an exciting season ahead, we would like to share with you the race schedules for the 39th National MILO Marathon for your easy reference. We will keep you posted on updates and developments in the next few months.

We look forward to seeing you this season! Have a great weekend ahead!

DNS - First Half Marathon Long Run

2013-09-24T18:17:00.000+08:00

Saturday Run Entry

It was raining heavily. I had no business running against the strong winds and the heavy rains, yet the uncontainable urge within me to run 10Km prevailed. I was well warned not to run, less I succumb to flu and fever. I did not heed the warning and paid the price for my stubbornness.

I completed the 10K run under Habagat's fury.

Later that day, I got sick. First with the flu, and then later I was shivering with high fever. I was proud and fallen.

My hard-headed confidence cost me to miss the following-day long run.

Blessing

Whereas I do not believe in 'blessing in disguise', for I now trust that all things happen for a purpose under the watchful eyes of the Divine Power (and that all things work together for the good of those who love God), I missed my first 21K long run of 2013.

Then I also missed Monday's family-business appointment. We were suppose to buy a few cattle calves in Alfonso, Cavite. We are to expand our current herd of 18 cattle.

In hindsight, it still rained a lot on Sunday and Monday. Had I ran on Sunday, I will be more sick. For if running 10K in the rain gave me high fever, what can running 21K in the rain do to me? Also, had we purchased the calves early Monday morning, they will just get sick with cold under Habagat's fury (Poor little calves).

Try Again Another Day

We just have to roll with the punches sometimes. You get hit hard, you just try to minimize the impact of the blow and learn from it. In my case, that's not letting my stubbornness get the better part of me.

This Sunday, Lord willing, I will be running my very first 21K run of 2013.
I was knocked down hard last weekend, but not knocked out.
I have a hard stubborn head after all.

Training Run Repeats

2013-09-16T12:45:00.000+08:00

Repeats

I once read how Ryan Hall, an American marathoner, likes to train with repeats. He described it as having two successive weeks of the same training run schedule. For example if Week One consists of

10Km Easy Run on Day 1
10 Km Easy Run on Day 4
16 Km Long Run on Day 7

then Week Two will be consisted of the exact same type of training run, route, distance and training days.

What are the Benefits?
The key idea is to have a point of comparison.

Is your training plan working or not?
Are you achieving your training goals?
Is your plan effective?

How do you know without data to support your claims? Using Training Run Repeats, it is relatively easy to track and compare your training performance.

I have this training plan for Weeks Five and Six of my personal marathon training plan:

7Km Easy Run on Day 2
5Km Easy Run on Day 4
7Km Easy Run on Day 5
17Km Long Run on Day 7

I ran the 17Km Long Run of Week Five, in 2 hours and 7 minutes (7:30 minutes per kilometer, mpk, pace).
Last Sunday, I ran the 17Km repeat in 1 hour and 56 minutes (6:50 mpk).

I can at least say, that comparing my last two long runs of the same distance, I am progressing positively. My body is responding to the training runs and I am able to run faster. There is an exact same point of comparison.

In contrast with a different training plan, say 15Km Long Run followed by 17Km Long Run on the following Long Run day, the comparison is skewed. You can run the 17Km on a slower pace, but you can defend that it is okay since you ran a longer distance. You can run with the same pace as with the previous 15Km distance, but you cannot decisively say you progressed positively. You can run faster with pace as compared with the shorter distace from the previous week, and that's about the only time you can definitely feel that you improved.

Still, it is better to have your data taken on the same route and distance for basis of comparisons to eliminate other intervening factors in the comparison.

Weak and Strong Weeks

The training run repeats also allows us runners to have a weak performance followed by a stronger performance the next week. It builds confidence. We do not necessarily purposely run slower on the first week, but the idea is to run better on the following week. Based on experience, having run the exact same route and distance before, your mind and body knows what to expect and what to prepare for. Your body tends to adopt to these experiences and help you run better. Example: Knowing that a difficult hill waits on the last 3 kilometers of the route, I would conserve energy and then attack the hill with conserved power. Experience is a great teacher.

Another interesting fact is that when you've already run the exact same distance and route previously, you become more confident of running it again. With the training run repeat, that knowledge is still fresh and the experience is still alive in your memory, as you are just one week removed from running it.

Confidence Builder

It builds my confidence knowing I am able to run faster as the training weeks unfold. And I need it. I will now run 21 kilometers on my next long runs. With confidence, I will be running at least half of the marathon distance every Sunday morning from now on until the December marathon. I plan to run 21 kilometers this coming Sunday, followed by a repeat on the following Sunday after that.

It is a happy feeling to be looking forward to run 21 kilometers, having difficulties at the start of this training schedule running only 3 kilometers. At the start of this training, I am just running 500 meters then walk a few hundred meters, and then try to run another 500 meters. I was definitely not considering a marathon comeback at that stage of my training. Lately though, I am able to run seven to eight kilometers straight without walk breaks.

I am still building. But I am happy where I am in my fitness level now. I am still far away from my marathon form (not to mention speed), but I thank the Lord God Almighty, that at least I am back at the road and still running. That, my friends, is a blessing I used to take for granted.

Training Run Hurdles

2013-09-13T11:58:00.000+08:00

I planned to run the following morning.
I set the alarm and sleep early.
The alarm rings, it is raining.
I sleep again for there is no remedy.

The next night, I planned to run again.
So I set the alarm and I sleep early.
The alarm comes and so does the rain.
What to do then, it's not even funny.

I just hurried to my dumbbells, and lift.
I may not be running, yet I've got to exercise.
Redeeming the day and trying to get fit.
Being flexible is both productive and wise.

Thank You Lord, when it rains or it's bright.
I thank You again with what I have today.
Thank You Lord, for what is there in life.
Even when I feel excitement or dismay.

I have said a lot and ran none.
I'll write again as soon as Monday comes.
Pardon me for the ramblings and then some.
Have a great weekend and enjoy your upcoming runs.

My First True Long Run of 2013

2013-09-09T09:50:00.001+08:00

I started hopeful, believing the 17-km long run to be another small step to my marathon comeback.
I ended up respecting the long distance all the more. I expected to take the run slow and easy and ended up running slower and hard.

Remembering the Route:
    I used to run the Aguinaldo highway up to Tagaytay to prepare for my marathons. And just being back to that route brings back all the memories. (It used to be a lot more fun then though, as this run was more of a reminder of how hard it is to run long distances).
    The hills look the same, just a lot tougher to climb.
    The speeding buses, jeepneys, motorbikes and private vehicles still dominate much of the road.
    The occassional cattle feeding on grasslands and the vast agricultural farms of Silang still fills my head with my hacienda dreams. I just love running on my municipal hometown every Sunday mornings.

Buko Stop:
    Gone are the days when I will buy energy drinks and hot pandesal in the middle of my long runs. No chocolates on the pockets either. And no backpack to carry home bread for the family.
    There is a better and more refreshing alternative - fresh buko (young coconut) juice along Silang Bypass Road. Manong would pick a buko from a large pile of coconuts while I breathe heavily after running 7+ kilometers.
    Buko is heavy on the stomach, though. And so it gives me a lot of time (or excuse) to just enjoy the beautiful plants and flowers for sale on the gardens on the sides of the Bypass Road while walking a few hundred meters.

Hard Part of the Long Run:
    After 11 kilometers, and running my way back down to Silang (coming from the uphills), I felt the fatigue and the body aches. It was over an hour of running and my knees, legs and calves started to complain.
    When you're heavy as I am (187 pounds lately), the legs just could not support the body as much as you'd like it to. The lungs are breathing hard, but still manages to do its part. The arms still sway like it could still handle the next kilometers. But the legs and knees are not too cooperative.
    I decided not to force the run and just inserted a few more walk-breaks into it. Even when running a full marathon, the hardest part is when you're just 5-10 kilometers away and you're legs are too tired. You just have to take the pain, get over it and find ways to push yourself forward. It's less fun and is physically taxing, but these portions of the run strengthens the mind and prepares you for the next battles. Slowly, I'm getting nearer and nearer back to our house and the mental and physical battle are starting to tilt in my favor. Just a little bit more and it'll be over.

After and Next:
    I came to church afterwards, still feeling the weak and fatigued knees. It's hard to stand and offer praises and worship unto the Lord Jesus Christ, but it's manageable.
    Wife massaged the aching shoulders, legs and calves from the 2-hour run. (Thanks a lot!) She makes my running so much more bearable, and still fun.
    Next week, I'll go with a 17-kilometer repeat. The plan is still to pile up mileage while rebuilding my aerobic base. Hang on with me on these tough times. And after a few more months, we would be running another marathon, prayerfully!

Back to Training

2013-08-28T11:52:00.001+08:00

August is almost over, and I am happy to share that my first month of training is almost complete.

I want to run and finish a marathon, my fifth, this coming December.

As expected, I am having lots of trouble and pain, running again after 15 months of layoff has been difficult. I'm bigger (read: fatter), slower and my endurance is lacking. Just to give you an idea of my current fitness level: I took a break when I'm running 30+ kilometers on Sundays, now running 3Km is the norm.

But I'm happy to be back and I'm happy to be trying to be back. I may not be able to run a December 2013 marathon under 4 hours (realistically I know it's not feasible right now), but I believe there is much left in me to able to finish a December marathon. That is my mindset. That is my goal. That is what I'm training for.

August, September, October, November. I've got four training months. Now, it's down to three after almost completing August. I've run 13Km last Sunday at about a little faster than 8:00 minutes per kilometer. There is no speed run to talk about, no interval runs either. Weekdays, I'm just running 3 to 7 kilometers. Weekly, I'm good enough to compile 7-21 kilometers. Sometimes my mind and body wants nothing to do with running anymore (7-kilometer week), and sometimes I am able to pursuade myself to get out there and run (21-kilometer week).

For this coming September, my goal is to run 21 kilometers on a Sunday long run. Training gets harder, and that's just the way it should be. I have to feel how it was to run long and hard, how it was to run happy and free at least a few more times.

Back to running once again. God help me.

My Memorable March Madness

2012-03-30T13:35:00.002+08:00

March Mileage Mission Accomplished

I had my last Easy Run of the month yesterday and in doing so fulfilled my month target mileage. I ran a total of 240 Kilometers this March. Cheers!

240Km for March 2012

The 3 consecutive runs on weekdays plus one long run on weekends were sufficient for my 225+ Km March mileage goal. I trimmed down to 156 pounds from 162 last mid January. Something is working and I've got to keep on pounding the road to keep the weight down.

Weekly Mileage Graph

Speed wise, I have no real data to assess where I am at right now. I've been only running Easy and Long runs at pretty comfortable paces. No speed challenge. No Tempos. No Intervals. No Yassos.

Will it change next month? Any races to join?

Most probably none. I want to keep on training for endurance and to continue to build my mileage base before I decide to start with a marathon race training schedule. Weight also plays a key factor in this decision. I am still focusing on losing some more extra pounds before I start training competitively. I would like to go as low as 150-152 this April, 147 by May and then start my speed training by June.

Yes, it is taking too slow for my liking. It is definitely on the borders of being basically boring type of running and training for 3 months now. Yet I have something to achieve that must be accomplished. I want to dedicate myself in that goal and discipline my heart and my head into that single purpose and let my feet run into that one single direction. Once I get that goal in the bag, I will be more than happy to get back to race training mode.

Launching the Pandesal Marathon

Meanwhile, I will attempt to run the marathon distance on my Sunday Long Runs. I have gotten used to running 31-35Km on Sundays. I think that I can slowly increase this and be able to run up to 43Km before April ends. See this Pandesal Runner Marathon Route.

35, 37, 39, 41 and then 43Km. This will be the series of long runs I will be running on consecutive Sundays starting April 1. On weekdays, I will continue to run on Tuesdays (10K), Wednesdays (6k) and Thursdays (10K). Tuesday runs actually depends on how fatigued I feel on that day after the Sunday long run. In the event that I feel my body needs to rest on a Tuesday, Wednesday run automatically becomes 10K.

I still don't know if I can join the Manila Eliminations of the 36th Milo Marathon as it somehow overlaps with the expected delivery of our very first baby. At least if I miss the Milo marathon, I have my own provincial marathon to keep busy with.

Bonus Part I
It's A Boy!

Hon had just undergone her second Ultrasound test and the sonographer told her emphatically that our first baby is a boy. Ever playfully teasing me, as I was not able to join her for this ultrasound, she won't tell me the results until I got home from Makati office to our house in Cavite. That was one-and-a-half hour of excitement - (I was just riding on her secrecy play as our Ninang Sally just texted me that it was a boy a few seconds before my wife told me that the Ultrasound test is over) until I reached home.

Our prayers were answered - not only was it a boy but the baby is as healthy as he can be, the boy has been measured and dated to be 24 weeks and 1 day old (on the 24th week and 3rd day after our wedding! I still believe it's a honeymoon baby which was last October 9, a day after the wedding).

Bonus Part II
Paalam Sa Aking Balbas

I let my beard grew for about 5 months (mid October to mid March) and I did appear to be some mountain hermit for a while. My church pastor often joked about it when we see each other at church every Lord's day. My wife often complained and would not let me kiss her because the beard irritates her cheek. My mother scolds me for it. My sister, brother and sister-in-law make fun of it. It was an eye-sore to them.

Last week I had it cut. "Finally", they mused, "Thankfully you realized the beard only makes you ugly!"

Yet it was just a solemn vow to keep a commandment (Leviticus 19:27) while I try to complete reading the full Old Testament of the Christian Bible (39 books of the Protestant Canon). Indeed it is gladness and peace deep within to obey the Lord but it always isn't acceptable, normal and peaceful on the eyes of the world. (And the New Testament also does not require Christians to fully obey the Law of the Old Testament so I do understand the complains of my family and the difficulties I face in trying to explain why I don't shave for months!) After all, I think I was able to feel and imagine what it was like in Israel with men growing their beards as a sign of obedience and love of God as I read through the Bible.

March Peak

2012-03-19T16:27:00.001+08:00

I have conquered my peak distance for the month of March -- 35Km long run, 61Km week mileage.

But it was not a very good run in terms of strength and speed, it was my slowest long distance run of the year at 6:47 minutes/km pace.

It was, however, still my longest long run in 2012 so far. It took me almost 4 hours (3:56 hours to be exact) to complete. It was very difficult, but very rewarding at the same time. I won't blame myself so much for the slow speed in this blog, I just want to bask in my thoughts that despite the weight problems -- I was still able to log my farthest out-and-back-home run of the year!

Muhammad Ali once stated that champions are both made of skills in terms of talent (float like a butterfly and sting like a bee) and will (the tenacity and determination to win despite the struggles and difficulties). He also said that one's skill of the will must be greater than that of the skill of talents.

Running the last 2 or 3 kilometers of the 35K run, I no longer had the stamina, much less the talent, to keep on running strong and fast. My body screams for rest and walk and water! But at least I had the will of strength to just keep on running and finish what I've started. I may not be a tenth as great as Ali, but I think I understood at least a tenth of what he is talking about.

The prophet Isaiah also wrote.. Those who wait and trust in the Lord will renew their strength.. They will run and not be weary! Despite the spaghetti-tired legs and the camel-thirsty throat, there is always peace, faith, hope and assurance that our strength will not run out as the Lord empowers those who trust and call upon His name. I do sound like a minister, don't I? I guess I just want to really take care of my body and my health for my wife, my future kids and for the glory of my King -- to have an able body equipped to last a longer distance for a meaningful and abundant purpose.

A Tale of Two Training Runs

2012-03-09T11:17:00.002+08:00

--- 31K Long Run ---

Last Sunday, March 4, rain poured early in the morning seemingly trying to interrupt my week-long awaited Sunday long run. Clock alarmed by 5:25 AM and to my dismay, I may not be able to run due to the pouring rain. I slept again, prayed and hoped for sunshine before 6 AM. I woke up and there it was -- clearance to run under the clouds' covering.

Sunday mornings running tradition has not been interrupted for this year starting from January 8 (25K, 21K race on Jan 15, 17K, 25K, 25K, 27K, 29K, 29K and last Sunday -- 31K).

For the first time this year, I am to run past the 30K mark! But the rain tried to interrupt the plan or at least keep me from running beyond 25K due to time constraint (heat by 9AM and Christian worship service by 11AM so I must be back home before 10AM). And since I was about to start running by 6:20AM, I can only run for 3 hours or risk suffering from heat or from wife's anger and then missing the Lord's Day.

After a quick stretching routine, I'm off the road to unwind, enjoy a Sunday morning on the road and do my own running thing. By KM 5, I was already contemplating n whether to run 25K or 27, maybe 29 and perhaps still manage to accomplish the planned 31K. By KM 9, I decided to follow the plan but I need to go back before 10AM! Which only means I am not allowed to take the long run any easier than I am accustomed to -- stick to 6:00 minute per kilometer pace.

KM 15.5 calls for a usual break time at the Silang Bypass bakery across Estrella Hospital. Four pieces of hot pandesal served with cold Cobra energy drink on plastic and straw -- P20 meal. I consumed all of these as I walk towards KM 16 of my run.

I forgot to wear my knee support. I dont want to run uphills to Tagaytay without it. My knees always complain about the tough Tagaytay ascent and the knee support calms them both most of the time especially for long runs beyond 25K. Since I initially thought I am only about to run 21-25K when I got out of the door, I did not wear the knee support this time. Bad move.

When I reached 21K, my knees started to be uncomfortable but pretty much manageable. I wished I wore the support. Often times, I am just too excited and forgets a lot of things. I am now struggling with the heat because it is well past 8AM.

After a few more kilometers, I stopped again for a hydration break. I was stretching my legs before Manang Tindera attended to me. They had no mineral water left on sale, only soft drinks. She said they do have portable drinking water if I want -- sensing my thirst for all the sweat running down my body from hours of running under the now scorching heat of the sun unveiling its wrath. I offered to buy soft drinks if she could provide me with the water. After filling a plastic with straw with the water from her house at the back of the small store, she told me I need not buy soft drinks. I left her with a lot of thanks and gratitude for I really needed to drink -- I still have 7.5K to run and time is running out.

I faded under the heat and slowed down to about 6:45 minutes per kilometer. My legs are definitely tired. I was not fully ready for my first 30+ KM run of the year. Blame the heat, blame the rain, blame the knee support. Blame everything except my foolish desire to conquer 31K despite the late start and unplanned running beyond 25K (when rain poured early in the morning).

I reached home after 3:20 hours of running, an average of 6:28 pace for 31K. I am thankful I still was able to log this much mileage though I wanted to run at a faster 6:00 pace.

--- 10K Easy Run ---

You don't force the pace, let the pace come to you.

Running easy runs and long runs at slow paces can bore the competitive fast-paced lover in me. I long for the times when I run 800 meters in a flash, record 3:30 minute kilometers once in a while or run 3K and 5K Tempos at or even under 4:00 min/km pace. These things I surrendered when I adapted my training strategy for this year -- exhaustively building my mileage base thru long and easy runs.

Amazingly, last Thursday, March 8, was an exception. I started off at a 5:20 kilometer and almost ran each and every kilometer thereafter under 5 minutes (KM 6 was at 5:05 minutes). It came as a surprise since I just ran a 53:51 10K last Tuesday followed by a pedestrian 6K run on Wednesday. The following day, I ran 49:00 minutes 10K easy run.

Again, it was not part of the plan to run under 5:00 minutes on an Easy run. What caused it? Perhaps I am now improving as my body adapts to running 10Ks twice a week. Perhaps I am now a bit stronger with almost 400Km of mileage this year. Perhaps I just wanted to recover from a weak performance on my Sunday long run. Or perhaps I am just too loose and not forcing anything. Perhaps it was just the sheer joy of being able to run consistently.

--- Up Next ---

This Sunday I will be running 33K to be followed by a 35K on the next Sunday before I trim back down to 31K on the last Sunday of March. I will still try to stick to 10-6-10 Easy runs on Tues-Wed-Thursdays as I pile up the mileage for March. Hopefully I get to log the 225+ kilometers I plan for the month.

Feb Recap

2012-02-29T06:49:00.001+08:00

I feel like I am now closer with my old running self.

Yet the weighing scale says otherwise. :D

I ran my last 29-kilometer long run nicely at 5:58 min/km pace. The last few weeks dating back to January saw me running at 6:05++ pace on 17K and 27K long runs. The last three or four kilometers of a long run usually says a lot about your current endurance level and I really felt strong towards the end of the run. Somehow, someway I am getting back to marathon endurance level.

February 26 was the last Sunday of February, I targeted my longest long run of 2012 on this Sunday -- 29 kilometers. And I was able to execute the plan! Cheers!

Courtesy of Runner's World Training Log:

52-Week Graph from 2011-2012

Week starts Monday and ends on Sunday

12-Month Graph from February 2011 to February 2012

Noticeable on the graphs are the consistent Easy and Long runs and the absence of Speed Runs (Tempo and Interval) for the year 2012. The intention is to build the base endurance foundation and get comfortable with the longer long runs -- maybe up to 45 kilometers by May or June. Losing weight is more important to me than gaining speed at this point in time. (I know speed training can actually speed up the weight loss but for 2 reasons I decided to delay speed training: (1) we build endurance first (2) I find it hard to sustain my speed works with my current weight and endurance level)

Tomorrow, March 1, I will start building my March running mileage. A new month and a new start (monthly mileage resets to 0Km). For this month, Easy runs and Long runs will still abound and the absence of speed runs and perhaps even races will be my norm. Sunday long runs will now be as long as 35 kilometers (March 4: 31Km, March 11: 33Km, March 18: 35Km, March 25: 31Km). The target mileage for March is about 225 kilometers (about 57Km per week).

Fox International Channels (FIC) Run

2012-02-23T11:27:00.001+08:00

FIC Run

Fox International Channels in cooperation with RunRio Inc. brings us the FIC Run this coming March 25, 2012 to be held at the Bonifacio Global City grounds in Taguig.

Categories are 500m (P150), 3K (P550), 5K (P650) and 10K (P750).

See race routes below courtesy of Ms. Kulit Runner.

10Km

5Km

3Km

Register now! Only 3500 slots are allotted for this fun run. Registration start February 22 and ends one week prior to the event. The not so long distance of 10Km can be a nice Tempo run or an easy recovery run for the seasoned long distance runners. While the 5Km distance or shorter can be best for a fast run challenge. Whatever your goal may be, FIC run might just suit your needs this coming March 25.

Riovanna Store, BGC
Riovanna Store, Katipunan
Athlete's Foot, Robinson's Galleria
Toby's, SM Mall of Asia

Firm February Foundation

Everyone who wants to build something should know the importance of a foundation. For the foundation keeps together everything put on top of it -- be it the Church of Christ, a house, a high-rise tower or a running base. And this month of February, I am all about the business of building a firm foundation for my running goals later this year.

Tuesdays and Thursdays nights are my regular time for Easy runs at the park after office hours. If time and body still permits, I try to squeeze out a 5 to 6Km run on Wednesday nights.

Then come Sunday mornings, you'll find me sweating it out on the uphills of Silang to Tagaytay City for my long runs --- 25 to 29 kilometers for this month of February.

I lost 3 pounds in the last few weeks of this training schedule. I am still over the healthy scale limits by the way. Little by little, stride by stride I will be able to bring my weight back to where it has been -- 154 pounds or less. God willing, I will be running marathons in the month of May and perhaps try another Milo Marathon Qualifying run by July.

But I can't be overly excited for now, the extra pounds still cleave and the going is still tough. Still in the building the foundation mode. Still piling up the mileage base. Little by little. Stride by stride. Patience is key. Discipline is a must. This is really taking too slow and is taking too much time. But I am taking it anyway.

Little by little. Stride by stride.

Slowly Coming Back to Running Form

2012-02-02T13:24:00.000+08:00

You cannot fix a problem you do not see. Lucky for me, I have bloated so big I clearly see myself now. And that's part of my problems why I seem to regress and produce slower and slower finish times.

Last time I checked with the scale, I already am at a whopping 162 pounds. About 5 pounds heavier when I ran the Milo Finals, and more than 15 pounds heavier when I first ran a full marathon.

And I am not complaining. As a matter of fact, by accepting the fact that I am now overweight, I am slowly getting back the fire within to keep on running. Had I dismiss the fact that I have gone so much bigger, I would have continued with my lackadaisical running routines producing mediocre race results.

And that's another part of my problems. I had focused so much on race results I had forgotten to build a solid mileage base. I kept on running the Tempos and the Intervals and set aside the Easy maintenance runs.

But I have slowly gone back to basics and I am loving the renewed passion and self-discipline. I think I need three more months to bring myself back to my best running form. Weight loss is the goal and 15 pounds is my target by late March or early April, right on time for the summer beach outing. More importantly, I am just taking it a lot more relaxed and a bit more purposeful on doing road works consistently. Come to think of it, that's really how I enjoyed this sports. In a world that dictates so many different ideas, techniques, fashion and all sorts of other stuffs, sometimes you just got to be yourself doing your own thing.

And that's where I'm at right now. Overweight and slowly running consistently to get back to form, doing my own thing.

Natural Run Top 20

2012-01-17T17:40:00.001+08:00

Drew Arellano, the actor, finished at 20th place out of 850+ half marathon finishers.

Coach Rio, the runner and race director, paced with Drew and finished slightly ahead at 19th place.

Yours truly, the unknown, finished just 4 seconds ahead of Coach Rio to bag the 17th position.

I started trapped in about the 6th row from the starting line and had to maneuver my way slowly just to have a running space. It transformed into a chasing game for me from there. But I was very heavy so I failed to really chase as fast as I wanted to. Hehehe. See below picture (Bib #0284).

My lower back cried pain all throughout the race. Sensing the possibility of a DNF, I forced myself not to stop and even limited my hydration stops to only 2. One after the 7Km banner and the next one after the 14Km marker (after the second, I was very eager to finish the race and drink all I want!). The strategy worked as I never drifted from a manageable 5:00 pace. I counted 23 runners ahead of me before the PNR Makati U-turn point. I aimed to overtake 3 runners to finish at the Top 20. By the Buendia Kalayaan flyover, I managed to overtake 6. Then I went pass 2 more half marathoners after a few hundred meters back in BGC. I was then at 16th place but the 15th finisher was nowhere near my sight so I just took it easy from there. A lean runner overtook me and I never fought back. The only time I really stepped on the gas was when Coach Rio started to closed in on me on the final hundred meters of the race. I took 17th place after finishing in 1:45 hours!

Next race would be 10K sometime in late February or early March. I better lose some pounds and start getting right back to fit form.

Meanwhile, training resumes this Thursday. I do hope I start to get lighter as the training progresses.

Team Alpha1 after the Race

Natural Run Extended Registration and Exciting Raffle Prizes

2012-01-09T13:35:00.000+08:00

Extended Registration

If you have not registered yet for Runrio's Natural Run 2012, it is not yet too late as the race registration has just been extended!

Registration for Go Natural Run 2012 is extended until Jan 11 at all in-store registration sites except for RIOVANA wherein registration will be until Friday, Jan. 13

Raffle Prizes

Raffle prizes from Resorts World Manila, Air Philippines, Timex and others are in store for lucky runners participating in the race.

See you all on Sunday, Jan 15 at the Go Natural Run 2012 at the BGC!!!