We Walk, Weave, Run, Rock Manila (Nike We Run Manila 10K 2011)



Rock Manila

It's no secret that a race by Nike is bound to be one heck of an event filled with out of the box surprises and limited edition collectibles. That's probably why this year, 8,000 runners were jam-packed and tucked away at the far end of Fort Bonifacio Global City on a Saturday afternoon, that lasted til the wee hours of the evening to rock 'n roll with three of the country's biggest bands.


I, for one, was excited for this for a number of reasons:
1) Haven't joined a race for a while- I missed running...
2) Big sis duties. Supporting my brother's (technically) last event in Manila before he flies off to a new life adventure. (Sniff.)
3) Awesome, awesome running shirt (Yes, that actually came 3rd).
4) Running groupie. (Congrats to my 10K newbie troops!)
5) Rockin' groupie. (hahaha. Just kidding.)
6) Nike groupie. ;)

Red Means Go!
It's expected that we'd be walking past the starting line, but what I didn't expect was that I'd still be walking until around the 4th kilometer. Yikes! Anyone who had been there can attest to the sheer number of people packed into narrow streets. In retrospect, I should've weaved through the dense crowd at the onset of the race, maybe then I could've shaved off a bigger chunk from my time...

I can't say it was a good fast run for me. I've been in hiatus for quite a while, and my body was really reminding me of that. Nevertheless, the feel of hitting the pavement in my running shoes still felt great! I'm slowly getting back into the groove. I can't wait to break those PRs once again. Soon.




Good job, Team Nike!



That Reddish Glow



Backstage with 10K Newbies, Toots and Lisa- Loving our neon kicks!

 

Chicosci






Sandwich

  

Parokya ni Edgar








Hmmm... what is this blog thingamajig... 

Just a shout out to everyone one there- Heya! Hope to be back and blogging soon. ;)

-little worker ant

Up For The Challenge

12 months and 24 days ago, I was merrily chomping through lettuce leaves, canned tuna anything, and everything tofu. I was (relatively) doing well on my self-imposed Project V (V is for Veggie), for an earth-friendlier and healthier lifestyle, and would only falter on days when I would celebrate milestones with my best friends, Lechon or Callos, to name a few.

So, when I turned a year older, I got a little wiser and thought, "Hey, life is short- why deprive myself of eating my favorite food? Besides, it's my birthday, and I can eat what I want to."

So much for my so-called wisdom. I guess that was deprivation talking. Which was a bad thing- because it all went downhill from there. Goodbye, months of healthy vegetarianism. We were so close. So close.

I didn't significantly lose or gain a lot of weight with the diet shift. On a scale of 1-10 in healthy eating, I consider myself an 8, save for the sinful desserts (I will die without them) and the occassional carcinogenic grilled taba.

What I do miss though, was the lightness and energy I felt during my Project V phase. Running was like gliding on air. Plus, my skin was visibly clearer too. And to be honest, with my new schedule of erratic late nights, I really need to be these things again! So when Jamie of The Bull Runner blog posed a TBR 30-day Eat Right Challenge, I was definitely game. The rules are simple, just consciously try to eat healthier. You can download a copy of the TBR 30 code here. And my favorite part, the No Deprivation rule! (That means lean meat is still on the menu) Yay.

Anyone else up for the challenge? Just like running, sometimes it's better (and more effective and FUN- Yes, competition mode included) to do things with a group. Today is Day 1. Let's go, let's go! ;)

There's Something About Orange

There's something about orange that makes me want to run.

If there's a color for running, then mine would probably be orange. This I serendipitously discovered while shopping for new workout gear with my friend, Lisa, in BHS.

After a long text consulation with my inside man, Mr. Nike Shoe Specialist (not to mention after half an hour of squatting and making "running start" poses to know if it could adapt to my moves), I had narrowed down my choices to the WMNS Air Pegasus+, Lunarelite+ 2, until I finally decided on the Nike Lunarglide+ 2 for its stability and cushioning. .

We were shopping in the middle of the day, so I had loads of time to make a decision on the model of the shoe. Oh, but wait, then there's that superficial issue on what COLOR to get...

I was torn between orange and purple. And when I say torn, I really mean t-o-r-n. Fellow geminis can relate.

After much deliberation, I gave in to the footwear version of the orange Stabilo Boss highlighter. I then realized that most of my past running shoes were also orange/gray combos.

So, then it got me (over)analzing more. What is it about orange? I mean, I did dedicate a freakin' blog post to this thought!

Maybe because...

Orange (and yellow) reminds me of sunrise, traffic cones, a citrusy tower of fluffy breakfast pancakes.

Whereas purple reminds me of dusk, lavander tea, things that make me go Ohm...

I dunno, there's just something about orange that makes me wanna run.

What about you? What's your color for run?

21 Kilometers, 16 Roadkills, 1 Clean Run (Greenfield Clean Air Run 2011)

{Running Fatboy and Me- Gasping for air while attempting to give an easy post-21K smile for the camera.

Di halata that we're dying inside 'no? ;)}

{Thanks for the pics, Running Atom!}

Hello, Greenfield. We meet again.

No, there's no animosity involved with running in Greenfield. Quite the contrary. My first run in Greenfield (some 2 years back) was memorable in so many ways. It would be my first time riding the provided shuttle that would take us from Greenfield EDSA all the way to Greenfield Sta. Rosa, Laguna. The run was hard, but what made me panic was losing a running buddy (nothing dramatic in the end-- just a dedicated runner that lost his way post-race) and missing the shuttle bus that would take us back to good ol' Manila.

This year, although skipping the shuttle this time, would be no different. I remembered my last Greenfield route to be hot, hard, and long, so it was a blessing that the looming summer showers provided a cool breeze during the run. Picturesque fields and wide desolate roads as the backdrop was a welcome change to the urban streescape of Manila races. Really, traveling to Sta. Rosa for that dose of fresh, clean air alone was definitely worth it.

The race was well organized (by RunRio), with an abundance of road marshals in almost every turn (so you can be sure that no one would be getting lost this time). Coach Rio himself was riding around in a motorcycle (or was it a scooter?) cheering the runners on too! With the terrific weather and the ample hydration stations, I'm guessing no one could use the heat as an excuse for a less than stellar run.

I had my earphones plugged to my ears, but it conked out on me at the 12k point of the race. Still, it wasn't such a bad thing, since the silence made me appreciate this race more and feel one with nature. In fact, nature was the one thing that kept me company during my long run, as I played a game of "Spotted" and mentally ticked off the number of dead animal carcasses I passed by on the road (I know, it's morbid. But I had to keep my eyes peeled for them since I didn't want to hear the squish of frogs, rats, or some poor woodland creature under my running shoes). I'm just glad that I had an enjoyable, leisurely run that I NEVER once felt like roadkill.

I'll be seeing you again, Greenfield. It was good, as always. ;)

 {Yay, 21K!}

{Heya, Bloggerunners!}