The joy of running

Many have been written about the "boom" of running as a sport in the country. More and more people are considering the sport as a better alternative. New runners are having the courage to try and conquer thier "initiation" road race whether it is 3K, 5K or 10K. With more than of running experience, I have been encouraged to continue and finish a race by the other runners and marshals during races. Last Sunday, was our turn of giving encouragement to a friend who wanted to experience joining a road race.

Swthrt's workplace has been a place of budding runners wanting to try the sport. Almost every month a warm body is added to their group. They can even start a running club with a good number of founding members. The Timex Run was another race wherein, one of her officemates, Jane wanted to run her first 5K. Swthrt and I decided to give support and even pace Jane to make sure that she will finish her first race strong.

Swthrt with Officemate, Jane

We wanted to make sure she can do it and experience the joy of running. We don’t want her to be discouraged and not to join any races again. We are glad we have given the support she needed. Jane finished her first 5K race and hopefully will join more races soon. After finishing 5K, Swthrt and I then ran towards Bayani Road to pace again her another officemate, this time doing his first 21K race. Along the way, another officemate, Ritchie, suffered from a knee injury but was determined to finish the 21K race.

With another officemate, Ritchie

We ran with him along Lawton Avenue and told him not to run anymore because it might aggravate his injury but he wanted to continue and finish the race. I was really amazed by his determination and he did it.

We were able to catch up with Ronnie at the Heritage Park and ran with him back at the finish line.

and another officemate, Ronnie

During the race, we have seen groups running together. We even saw couples running side by side. It only showed that the joy of running comes not only in breaking personal records or conquering longer distances but also in giving support to a friend or a loved one.

Randy and his wife

group run

brother-in-law tandem - Alwyn and Hector

This will encourage more people to run! Happy running and see you at the next starting line.

All Saints Day Long Run

Swthrt and I just finished a 21K long run at Batangas City. We started at Avida Residences San Isidro at around 5:30am. Our destination was at Swthrt's home at Barangay Tulo and back. We were joined by Swthrt's brother Ed who was road testing his new mountain bike. This was the usual course we take every time we visit our relatives in Batangas. It was challenging course with lots of uphills. The run could have been a new PR if it was a race. Actually, Swthrt could have made it to cut-off time of Milo marathons of 2:30 for the half marathon. Our Time was 2:24:50 with an average pace of 6:53min/K. Swthrt expereienced pain on her left knee on our way back but managed to finish the run. We also need some suggestions on how to minimize chafing on her chest due to singlet rubbing.

Nike hanged at Adidas

Since I was not able to run at the Subic International Marathon to join the Nike Human Race I opted to do the second option of running elsewhere and just upload the recorded run in my Nike+ ipod. I was suppose to run on Saturday but our hectic family schedule did not permit me. I decided to log the 21K run at the Adidas KOTR to contribute even a few kilometers at the Nike Ambassador Challenge which I joined with Team Banana Running. This will be the longest run to be recorded in my Nike+ kit. The longest so far was 15.1K. I even made a power song playlist just for this run. At the start of the race I set the kit in the half marathon workout setting only and found out that it was set on the English system of miles. This gave me some difficulty of knowing my pace in minutes per kilometer. I would have wanted to know our pace during our run. Because of this, I just let it pass and just wanted to record my run. It was recording perfectly until we reached the intersection of McKinley Avenue going to Lawton Ave. The ipod just suddenly hanged up. I cannot use any function. I could not even reset it. I guess Nike and Adidas can’t be together. This morning, I checked on it hoping to salvage the recorded distance of 8 miles before it hanged up but to no avail. It did not save any data on my last run. O well, you just cannot rely on high technology. It is still best to depend on the good old but reliable Timex Ironman watch. See you at the starting line!

Swthrt sets new PR @ KOTR ’09

This year’s edition of the Adidas King of the Road (KOTR) gave runners another venue to prove themselves and set new personal best. This time Swthrt and I registered for the half marathon which was the main event for this race. This was highly anticipated since the New Balance race which was scheduled earlier than this race was postponed to a later date. It was a family affair for this race. Our eldest son, JM ran the 5K, while the youngest, Josh served as the official photographer. My parents also joined us to look after Josh.

We arrived at BHS before 5am, with enough time to do some warm-up run. We met with Vener and Xty and the runners from Honda Cars Makati.

with Xty and Vener and our son JM

Swthrt who had a limited practice run before the race was quite nervous at the start. The 21K runners were released on time and we were off for a good start. Our target pace was 6:30 – 7:00 min/K. Swthrt was doing great and we even had a chat with Jinoe going all the way to Kalayaan flyover before he pulled away. Swthrt was having a steady pace along Buendia Avenue. It was always at this area where she experienced some sort of a runner’s high as she would just run and that everything else was amazing. We reached the turn-around point along Buendia with no problem at all. As we made our way back, Swthrt would experience side stitches occasionally but she would continue on. We have our first break of Kitkat at the junction of Ayala-Buendia. We are experimenting on this energy supplement, hehehe (cheaper di ba?). Upon reaching the area covered by the 10K runners, the road was crowded with runners and was quite difficult to run. Swthrt had a first walk break going up the flyover. Tiredness begun to set in and so I told her to have another break, let’s have a kitkat! What was amazing with Swthrt was her desire to continue on. At this point, the cheers, high five signs and encouragements from other runners surely kept us going. Our run continued with walk breaks and slow jog to recover. Side stitches also attacked once in a while but Swthrt was able to bounce back and ran patiently until we cross the finish line after 2:40:+. It was a new personal best for Swthrt beating the 2:45:+ record at the Run for Home. It was a wonderful experience for both of us.

with Mae (in my own views) andn Manny (IceOne)

AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST

“We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.” II Corinthians 5:20

When I hear the word “ambassador,” I think of someone who represents a place or someone else. In II Corinthians 5:20, we all called “Christ’s ambassadors.” This means that we are representatives of Christ and we thus have the responsibility of sharing and imitating Christ here on earth. Athletics offer a great tool for us to reach others and impact their lives for Christ, especially for those in leadership positions.

Sometimes people view athletics as a separate entity of their lives, but we should also let our light shine through what we do in sports. Are you representing Christ in how you perform in athletics? It is so easy to get caught up in the pressures of sports. We start to focus on our name or reputation as a player and increasing our stats that we lose sight of our true focus of representing Christ’s name; so let’s keep that first priority. - Leah Metcalf