Category Archives: Running

My first 21K Run. At long last!

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Bong conquered 21K

With sis, Orchid (right), and niece, Mhaio (left), after completing my first 21K | Photo courtesy of Orchid Saculles

I was so ecstatic when I crossed the Finish Line of the Nature Valley RUN 2010 (2nd leg of the RunRio Trilogy) last Sunday, May 30.  I should be.  I’ve waited long and hard for that moment. ‘Tis been almost 10 years since I started running and every single year I would aim to run my first half-marathon.  The spirit is gung ho but the flesh is lazy.

Too many excuses.  Work.  Illness. Work.  Injury.  Work.  Too many preparations, only to backslide or chicken out near the end.

Twenty one kilometers is no small feat, especially for someone who is sedentary and 40lb overweight.  The longest that I ever managed to do was 16 kilometers.  I’ve done it twice in the past 10 years.  Earlier this year I did 15 kilometers.

My celebration was short-lived, however.  The reality of the moment struck me like a speeding car on SCTEX.  I almost slept on the steering wheel in the 5-6km drive home from BGC to Merville right after the event.  And then I was sore all over for the next 3 days.  I can still feel the fatigue in my legs as I write this blog post 5 days since. Continue reading →

Grimace | Balot sa Dahon

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“A man’s own self is his friend. †A man’s own self is his foe.” ~ Bhagavad Gita

-o0o-

Photo Credit: Photovendo.com

Photo Credit: Photovendo.com

I was finisher number 575 out of 1,024 runners who successfully crossed the finish line in the 10K event of the Timex Ironman Run on November 15, 2009. †My official clock in time is 1:10:11, a minute shy of my previous 10K finish three Sundays ago †during the Adidas King of the Road race.

That was such a lousy finish if you come to think of it. †I didn’t even make it to the top 50%!!! †Five years ago I was averaging 54 minutes in a 10K event and was always among the top 30% of the finishers. †But I have added at least 15 pounds, mostly in my midsection, since then so what do I expect? Continue reading →

69 | Globe (In)Visibility | Tsoko.Nut @ TEE | Da Vinci said

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SIXTY NINE: What a number!† But before imaginations get any dirtier, thatís the number of minutes it took me to complete the 10K Run in this yearís Adidas King of the Road (KOTR) held at Bonifacio Global City last Sunday, Oct. 24, 2009.

@ the 09 Adidas KOTR with my new running buddy: my one-and-only sister Kiddo.

@ the 09 Adidas KOTR with my new running buddy: my one-and-only sister Kiddo.

It was a measly 3-minute improvement from my previous Sundayís 72 minutes during the Quezon City International Marathon (QCIM).† An improvement, nevertheless.† Two Sundays ago, during the Milo Marathon, I did 78 minutes.† So thatís nine minutes shaved in two weeks.† Not quite bad. Continue reading →

Triathlon 101.1

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As a tiny step forward in my goal of joining and completing a triathlon on or before my 40th birthday I did my first serious research on the subject a few weeks ago.

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There are, I learned, three basic types of triathlon:

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  1. IRONMAN Series. This is the mother of all triathlons, at least it is in the Philippines. It starts with a 3.8-km swim, followed by a 180-km bike race, and finally a full marathon (48-km run)!!! Holy cow! I haven’t even completed a half marathon (Btw, another of my life objectives is also to finish a full marathon on or before I turn 40).

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  1. OLYMPIC. 1.5-km swim; 40-km bike race; 10-km run. The last two shouldn’t be an issue for me. I have done several 10-km fun runs and the 40-km on bike should be a breeze. I now just need to work on the 1.5-km swim. At present, I can manage to swim 0.003 kms (3 meters), at most.

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  1. NEWBIE/REGULAR/SPRINT. 0.75-km swim; 20-km bike; 5-km run. Okay, obviously I should be aiming for this. At least I now only need to work on managing to swim another 0.747 km, as compared to another 1.497 kms, or another 3.797 kms, if I would do the Olympic or the Ironman series, respectively. A very comforting thought.

Triathlon

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I am still quite obsessed with the idea of joining, and completing, a Triathlon someday soon.

It has been a life objective, albeit one that has a frequently moving target date. I once set the goal of completing my first Triathlon before I reach the age of 35. I am now little over 35.

My newly adjusted goal is to complete a Triathlon before I pass the 40 mark.

There is actually just one road block to the realization of this goal. I’ve been doing long distance running for several years now, though on and off. I don’t see any problem with biking, except perhaps the fact that I don’t own a bike at present. But this is a rather small problem. I basically can handle any type of bike.

But I can’t swim. Yet. Actually, I know the basic swimming strokes and I can actually manage to move from point A to point B on the water, for as long as I will do it in one breath. That’s my problem. It’s not that I can’t swim. I actually can. But I don’t know how to replenish the air in my lungs while I am swimming. So as soon as I run out of breath, I transform into a piece of lead, sure to plunge down the bottom. And if that bottom is any deeper than five and one half feet, I am dead.

So I guess I should now seriously consider my options as far as learning to swim while breathing (or learning to breath while swimming, or whatever) is concerned. Time is running short. I won’t move the goal once again, I hope.