run for life race

as i mentioned in one of my posts, i haven't found my pace for the races i have ran so far; my pace was either too slow or too fast so i entered this run for life race with one thing in mind: to run my optimum pace for the 10k. i had everything planned out, my pace for every kilometer laid out but as the race began, i found myself running a lot faster than the pace i had planned. But, everything worked out fine in the end, the result came in and i came in 33rd, not bad right? My next race will be the yakult 10 miler on december 7. wish me luck.

running races

it was only this year that i started joining races. started with the adidas king of the road 21k, then the run against pain 8k, VSO run against pain 15k then just this weekend i joined the run for life 10k. obviously running by yourself and running with a group are two very different things. you find out a lot about your running while running with others. the adrenaline you feel when the starting gun goes off is something else. when that gun fires, and you hear the steps of runners ahead of you, it gets your blood pumping.
i remember my first race at the adidas king of the road, the starting ceremonies gave me such a rush, i got excited and ended up running faster than my usual pace, mid race i was so gassed up i barely finished the race and boy was i tired. at my second race, i paced myself better but i wasn't happy with my performance. i finished the race feeling as if i had just warmed up. i guess these are all part of learning how to run races. my most recent race was a lot better. i ran at a pace of 6-7 min/km during the 1st 3 kilometers and a pace of 4-5 min/km the rest of the race. something that i noticed at this last race was that there were pacers; runners that ran at a constant pace of 6 and 7 min/km. this could really help a lot of runners. i just wonder, do they get paid for this?
the thing with races is that you could gauge yourself with other runners at a competitive level. i find it to be useless if all you do is run at a constant pace, running the same distance all the time. there has to be room for improvement and you have to be constantly pushing yourself.
i just hope that there will be more races that are more than 10k in distance. give us more 26-21-42 kms. hehe.

running, music and me

i am a musical being, i love music. i have learned to play a few instruments but my favorite is the guitar, been playing for 16 years.
music has been my companion during my runs, a good upbeat song can give me a second or even a third wind. you know how they say that food without spice is like life without sex? well, that is how i feel about music and running.

running logs and exercise regime

well, this blog has been mostly reflections and opinions. starting next week i will be posting my runs, my full exercise regime.

my gadgets and accessories

presently this is a list of my gear/gadgets: new balance running shoes, nike, adidas, umbro running shorts, singlets from races that i have joined, a nike arm wallet, an i-pod shuffle and a garmin forerunner 205. for those who are unfamiliar with a garmin forerunner, it is a kind of computer that you strap around your wrist. it can measure a lot of statistics about your activities ie: distance ran, route ran, calories burnt, elevation, heading, pace, etc etc. and, it is not just for running it can calculate while you're engaging in other sports.
I did not start with many gadgets, infact all i started out with were just the necessities meaning, clothes and shoes. so i did not know how far i was running unless i measured it after with our car, i had no idea whatsoever about the intensity of my runs. these information were meaningless to me, i did not care, as long as i wasn't tired i kept on going. i learned the hard way that all of us, not just when we ran need to have assistance. we need to know how far we are going, we need to know where we are going and most of all we need to know why we are running.
No matter how strong your legs are, if you misuse them they are but a waste of flesh. It doesn't matter how talented you are, once you start taking your talent for granted it will soon be gone. it doesn't matter how gifted you are, if you do not have the discipline to hone your craft you are throwing it away.
No man is an island, we all need guidance and assistance, luckily i have my garmin forerunner for that ;-)

Changes i started noticing

so, i didn't lose weight immediately but i started noticing a lot of differences in myself. My bodily functions improved; my bowel movement became regular, i became more lively and my sleeping pattern became regular. the funny thing is, one would think that when you engage in physical activities, you would be tired, your energy drained. But, what happened was the opposite, i found myself having more energy throughout the day if i ran in the mornings and not being able to sleep if i ran in the afternoon. i didn't mind my weight anymore because i really felt good, i felt great and that transcends any petty issues like wight.
my disposition also improved, my temper was lengthening and this came in a time when i really needed it. this is because during this time my wife and i had a baby and God knows the patience you need when raising a child, i love you isabella. i could laugh at the little things and i could really let the things that did not matter go. i don't know if i could attribute this solely to running, of course maturity comes with age and the people around you but i'm pretty sure running had something to do with it. i was ill tempered all my life, the littlest thing could set me off, i got into a lot of fights, sometimes with loved ones (again, i'm sorry for those i hurt) but when i started running it was as if a the sky became clear, the rain cloud went away.
i could see that i was changing for the better and needless to say, i liked the change that was happening. i knew i had to continue with this hobby that would soon become an addiction. I invested in new shoes and running attire and i looked for new places to run other than the village where we live in. i knew if this transformation would continue i had to fuel what was causing it. to be a better person i had to be a better runner.

a little bit about myself

Let me tell you about myself for a second. Looking at me, you'll see that I am 6'1 feet tall, 168 pounds. I have fair complexion, a mixture of races: Filipino, Spanish, German. you probably will be able to tell that i am 26 years of age and have a regular day job. My wedding ring will tell you that yes, I am married with a beautiful, adorable woman and we have a wonderful, wonderful daughter 5 years of age.
If you get to know me a little you will find out that I love alcohol, i can drink until there is alcohol in front of me. I used to be a smoker but i gave that up. I am not a big eater, i eat because i need to, that i might die if i don't. I am a healthy eater, i love vegetables the way we Filipinos cook it and once in a while i binge on junk food; nothing can beat a big mac and large fries, hehe.
One thing that is not obvious about me is that sometimes i have a short attention span, sometimes i lack focus. no, i am not a goldfish, i won't forget what i was supposed to do with a piece of paper that i am holding, sometimes i have spells. Let me give an example. I have told myself at the beginning of the week that i will try to go that week without alcohol. if a buddy of mine asks me to go drinking, i will not because i can't last a week without alcohol but because i am not focused on my goal.
Well, that's me in a nut shell.

Getting Serious

It is like developing a relationship with a person, first you meet; you don't really care if he/she is there or not, you find out good and bad things about that person and you can tell whether you will get along or not. You know it's getting serious if you start investing time in the relationship, you get to know each other and sooner or later you are best friends. This is how it was with me and running.

The Early Days

I started running around our village; 5-6 kilometers a day, three days a week. sometimes i would not run for weeks and then once i feel like it, would put on my shoes and just hit the pavement. I was using shoes that weren't made for running but at that time i didn't care if changing shoes would change the way i ran; as long as i had something to cover my feet i was fine. and, to help me get by i had my mp3 player; a Creative MuVo that could only hold 256 MB of info. Since I am afraid of dogs, i brought an "arniz" stick with me but realized i looked stupid and as long as you don't mind dogs, they won't mind you too. That basically was how the early days went along, no goals, no motivation, no structure.

How did this all get started in the first place?

The idea of jogging/running came to me around 5 years ago in the middle of a weight crisis. I was becoming overweight and since I've been lanky my whole life, I felt uneasy with my weight. I'm kind of a lazy person so going to the gym was the last resort in obtaining my desired weight. I tried yoga, but it did not match my personality; i am an out doors kind of guy and I HAVE to be moving constantly. So i looked out my window and I saw the road, i looked in my closet and i saw shoes, more like sneakers, a pair of shorts, socks and a shirt and so my journey began.
During my first runs I did not even conceive that the activity will become an addiction, little did I know that it was going to teach me a lot about myself. And so, we begin.