Saturday, September 27, 2008

Where Art Thou KOTR?

How can a beautiful start end in a tragedy?

Woke up at 5 AM this morning to try a new workout. Got out at 5:37 AM and headed for the park. Then I did the following to spice up my old, boring routine:

1. Run 800 m. at 4 mins. 35 secs.
2. Jog/walk 400 m.
3. Run 800 m. at 4 mins. 43 secs.
4. Jog/walk 400 m.
5. Run 800 m. at 4 mins. 35 secs.
6. Jog/walk 400 m.

When I came home, I stretched and did some strengthening exercises (following the advise of Gigi, the fitmommy) using dumb bells, crunch ball and resistance band.

I was sooh hungry after that I almost ate the whole daing na bangus for breakfast!

I then took a quick shower and went to MAKRO. Upon returning home, left again to bring my daughter Eia to her ophthalmologist who unfortunately called that he couldn't make it.

Took early lunch @ 11:30 AM. At 12:30 PM, we were again on the road on our way to my dentist friend for Eia's consultation. His clinic is near Rockwell so I thought our trip would be "killing two birds with one stone". Adidas Rockwell is one of the registration outlets for the much-awaited KOTR.

Couldn't contain my excitement when I approached the sales lady and proudly told her that I would be registering for KOTR. My big smile disappeared and turned into frown when she announced that the only race bib and singlet left were for 21k! But she was kind enough to give me a registration form and calling card so I could check if and when there will be new set of race bibs and singlets.

When I saw at the back of the form that Adidas Mall Of Asia and Festival Mall are also participating outlets, I decided that we drop by MOA before going home to Philamlife Village, Las Pinas City.

I was keeping all my fingers crossed while traversing from National Book Store (where I left Ate Ella and Eia) to the Adidas outlet located at the farthest end of the mall.

Much to my dismay, I got the same information that the only available race bib and singlet were for 21k. I went home broken-hearted but hang on to my last hope that I could still register at Festival Mall.

I immediately contacted Adidas Festival Mall when we got home but guess what--they don't have anything left. Not even for 21k!

How about you? Are you fortunate enough to register for KOTR?

Sunday, September 21, 2008

End of a 5-Year Love Affair

A year after I left my husband, I purposely dived into a serious relationship.

It was smooth as silk as I have planned. All because I have applied my secret formula of tender loving care. The gentle strokes here and there, the regular soothing massage, the scheduled dates to add color--to name a few.

Some of my friends thought that I was too old to start a new relationship while others expressed that it actually made me look younger than ever.

Well, I knew that I couldn't please everybody all the time so I just continued to enjoy my new-found love.

For five consecutive years I nurtured this beautiful relationship with all the love I could possibly give.

Then faster than a wink of an eye, it was gone.

With just one simple miscommunication, the only thing that made me feel like a beauty queen suddenly walked out of my life.

I had no premonition whatsoever that it will die sooner than I expected.

Want to know what happened?

My instruction to the hairdresser was to layer my waist-length hair to lessen the bulk. Much to my astonishment, she cut my hair before I could even scream "DON'T".

My beloved hair which I took care for five long years met its untimely demise right before my very eyes and I couldn't do anything to save it.

I wanted to cry but I couldn't.

Strange, but I didn't feel any pain anymore. Could it be that my heart turned into stone after what I've been through? I guess not. I'd like to think that I didn't get angry because my hair will still grow to whatever length that I want.

But for now, I have to settle for this:




Wednesday, September 10, 2008

My First 7k Run

After a series of bouts with the agonizing discomforts of the big "M" (you know--that inevitable biological transformation common to women reaching 49-51 years of age), I conditioned myself to run my first 7k today--no matter what.

A fine weather greeted me this morning, boosting my energy to fulfill my resolution. I was all set to run after I bring Gio to school but Eia's Science assignment forced me to postpone my run in the afternoon. We had to look for 5 different kinds of leaves, flowers and fruits. And we had to introduce each one of them to my daughter with Down Syndrome!

By mid day, the weather drastically changed-- courtesy of storm Marce. It didn't bother me though, 'coz I could still run inside the basketball court. No problem, really.

As soon as Eia entered the car when I fetched her from school she excitedly asked me "Mama, you will run in the basketball court?" I smiled at her and told her yes. Deep inside, I was so proud of my daughter who was very observant of what's happening around her. She already deduced that because it was raining, I had to run inside the basketball court so I won't be wet.

While I was changing to my running outfit, I heard someone say "Didn't you run under the pouring rain in the Milo Race? C'mon, do it again. Make your first 7k run truly memorable".

And so, with my jacket and favorite Nike blue cap I bravely faced the wrath of Marce.

After 1 round, I noticed I was all alone inside the park (it seemed I was the only running addict inside Philamlife Village). I decided to go outside and run around the park instead. Although I was the only one running, I didn't feel alone because vehicles would pass by me every now and then. I just hope those people who've seen me wouldn't assume that I just escaped from the Mental Hospital!

With all the rain drops, sweat and tears rolled into one, I made it through the storm--my first 7k run!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Ouch!

According to David Styles:

"The idea behind training for a marathon is to condition your muscles and body to be ready for the race. This includes decreasing your resting heart rate and conditioning your muscles and respiratory system to function in the most efficient manner possible.

To do this you should schedule your training sessions to allow your body to push to it's limits whilst at the same time allowing it enough recovery time between sessions.

The typical training system should include two rest days, two shorter runs, one semi-long run, a cross-training day and one long run per week and should look something similar to this basic program:

Monday: Rest day
Tuesday: Short run
Wednesday: Semi-long run
Thursday: Short run
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: Cross-training
Sunday: Long run

This is the most efficient way to get your body into peak condition without running yourself into the ground."


As I have written in my post "Proud to be an Addict", I run 4X a week, sometimes 2X a day, in an attempt to adhere to this basic training program. It didn't take too long for my age to interfere. This program may be applicable for most runners but I learned that it's simply not advisable for runners who are just beginning to train at age 50. I had to revise the program if my goal is to run until age 100. My body just gave in at the rate I was going.

And so, my revised program is as follows:

Sunday: Long Run
Monday: Rest Day (walk/jump rope/bike/stairs,etc.)
Tuesday: Tennis
Wednesday: Short run, Strength Train
Thursday: Tennis
Friday: Semi-Long Run
Saturday: Strength Train

I don't particularly know what caused the pain and discomfort in my body (as if it's not obvious that it is my age!) but starting this week, I will limit my runs to only 3X/wk. If needed, I will also limit my tennis to only once a week and replace it with some lesser strenuous exercises (after all, the basic program calls for 2 rest days).

How about you? Do you follow a strict training program? Are you comfortable with it?