7:30 am
It's the start of another day, and if I had a remote control like Adam Sandler's in that movie CLick, I'd fast forward to 4:30pm.
Attempting to do a brick later...maybe 10 laps in the pool and then a 5k run...
Believe it, or not! mwahahaha
-----
5:45 pm
Just finished my brick and I'm endorphin high happy I did it. Swam with Coach J and J, and did some extra laps to support J as she was finishing her last lap....todo support diba?
I didn't want to traumatize J into never running again, so asked if she wanted to run with us on the road or stay in the gym...she chose the gym but did promise not to stop and on our end, we promised we'd be back in 30 minutes. So Coach J and I had 30 mins to complete the 5k loop... which we did in 26 minutes! With matching hills and a little trail run pa hahahaha. But it was fuuuun!!! I mean at least I was able to do an impromptu tempo run since I tried to match Coach Js pace....yes he is waaaay faster but was nice enough to slow down a bit being our first brick.
Really looking forward to next Tuesday for the next one.... come December...project BIKE here I come...
SWIM LOG
RUN LOG
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Back From A Break
Getting sick does that to you, you get a break even when you think you don't need one but actually do.
Was down with the flu over the past week which completely threw my schedule off track...literally! I wasn't able to do any run or swims the whole week because I felt like crap. To top it off, I still had to work because I couldn't NOT work... I felt my fever wasn't high enough for me to stay home (something I decided myself mind you) as I could still move around and teach, and i had a gazillion deadlines to meet...so work vs. time off? I chose to work. Besides it's boring staying home when you have no one to talk to except your trusty old cable TV, you live in an apartment the size of a shoebox, and you have to cook your own food in case you get hungry...that is no fun when you're sick hehe.
But am now well, and started my week with a swim. Glad I have my usual routine back... yes I am a creature of habit.
Was down with the flu over the past week which completely threw my schedule off track...literally! I wasn't able to do any run or swims the whole week because I felt like crap. To top it off, I still had to work because I couldn't NOT work... I felt my fever wasn't high enough for me to stay home (something I decided myself mind you) as I could still move around and teach, and i had a gazillion deadlines to meet...so work vs. time off? I chose to work. Besides it's boring staying home when you have no one to talk to except your trusty old cable TV, you live in an apartment the size of a shoebox, and you have to cook your own food in case you get hungry...that is no fun when you're sick hehe.
But am now well, and started my week with a swim. Glad I have my usual routine back... yes I am a creature of habit.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
HOW IT ALL STARTED
Looking back, it was that one uneventful night in Italianni's Fort which marked the day the running bug got me. I was with two friends, sitting on that outside booth by the door and just hanging out, minding my own bread and olive oil-herb mixture when I saw BananaRunning ans MyIronShoes pass by in their running gear.
Curiosity got the better of me so I quickly rang up MyIronshoes and said "Hey I see ya!!! What are you doing in Fort in your running gear?" and she went on to tell me that she had a PLAN and it entailed running. Since she knew I used to be bike, run and swim a lot, she invited me to come and join them on weeknights.
I didn't run that very same day, but that thought was planted, and it germinated and it grew and quickly mushroomed and ballooned into a MARATHON DREAM.
It started innocently enough, with me going to work the next day, running a few days in a week, balancing badminton with running. Then I found more and more running buddies as the days went by, simply because I talk a lot about things I like and if you even show the remotest inkling of interest I would then proceed to coerce you into trying it out. So I coerced people to try running. And then I chose, to focus on running and let badminton lie low for a while...I mean I gave it a few years... why not try soemthing new right?
I found B and revived her passion for running (which waned significantly when her group didn't run regularly anymore) and introduced her to my runner friends My IronShoes and BananaRunning, and also to converted badminton-now-runner friends Keti and Xt. And then H also happens to mention he wants to try it and soon enough, despite being the only token male amidst makukulit and matigas na ulo females, T2 is formed. Then there's A who always manages to disappear in the middle of the run to find herself lounging around in someone's backseat to rest and cheer us on, or take pictures of us during races.
I think everything really gelled together when we went on our 21K in Subic. That cemented T2 and the rest, as they say, is history.
We're setting our sights on doing a full marathon this December (others in Singapore, me doing a simulcast at home).
So you see, it only takes an idea to power a dream, this one being the full marathon. Finding friends to share it with just makes it easier to reach.
Curiosity got the better of me so I quickly rang up MyIronshoes and said "Hey I see ya!!! What are you doing in Fort in your running gear?" and she went on to tell me that she had a PLAN and it entailed running. Since she knew I used to be bike, run and swim a lot, she invited me to come and join them on weeknights.
I didn't run that very same day, but that thought was planted, and it germinated and it grew and quickly mushroomed and ballooned into a MARATHON DREAM.
It started innocently enough, with me going to work the next day, running a few days in a week, balancing badminton with running. Then I found more and more running buddies as the days went by, simply because I talk a lot about things I like and if you even show the remotest inkling of interest I would then proceed to coerce you into trying it out. So I coerced people to try running. And then I chose, to focus on running and let badminton lie low for a while...I mean I gave it a few years... why not try soemthing new right?
I found B and revived her passion for running (which waned significantly when her group didn't run regularly anymore) and introduced her to my runner friends My IronShoes and BananaRunning, and also to converted badminton-now-runner friends Keti and Xt. And then H also happens to mention he wants to try it and soon enough, despite being the only token male amidst makukulit and matigas na ulo females, T2 is formed. Then there's A who always manages to disappear in the middle of the run to find herself lounging around in someone's backseat to rest and cheer us on, or take pictures of us during races.
I think everything really gelled together when we went on our 21K in Subic. That cemented T2 and the rest, as they say, is history.
We're setting our sights on doing a full marathon this December (others in Singapore, me doing a simulcast at home).
So you see, it only takes an idea to power a dream, this one being the full marathon. Finding friends to share it with just makes it easier to reach.
Monday, September 01, 2008
BREAKTHROUGH
I told myself the night before...I will not wimp out, I will run tomorrow, I will run no matter what... AND I DID!
Gathered enough guts to shut out the thought that rabid stray dogs will get the better of me (and believe me, there are a lot around here....stray dogs though....so the rabies comes in a close second I think) and I simply RAN. I got out of the house by 5:30am, ran for an hour and a half, walked a bit, around 3/4ths into my run, some friends who are new to running joined me and also had the guts to run outdoors (their first time ever) and they enjoyed it. Beginnings of a T2 South?? Hopefully =).
The past two months, going out for a run was a real challenge because I wasn't confident and comfortable enough with the surrounding area. You know that feeling when you don't have your bearings yet, and your only reality is work, home, grocery, laundry, atm and mall? I felt so constrained and frustrated which wreaked havoc on my running program. Back to square one. Okay, so I tried going to the gym, but when the traffic going there became unbearable (as there's this huge chunk of the way in which a new flyover is being built) PLUS when the thought of doing another long run on the treadmill seemed unbearable too, I just simply had it.
After 2 months of feeling simply lost, I finally finally had a breakthrough yesterday. I think it was more of mind-over-matter thing in which I have finally accepted that this is home for the next couple of years and I simply had to live with or without the things and routines and schedules I used to have before.
I mean come on, having lived in the city all my life, moving down South is a huge change....everything is slower, less variety in things to do, places to go, reataurants to eat in, people to meet, running events to join...
Imagine, before, I would sleep around 12 to 2 am simply because the way things were, at 2 am you could still go out and have things to do or go to places to eat. Here, everything winds down by 8:30 pm and the mall closes at 9pm. Establishments refuse to entertain you (meaning the actually turn business away) if it means it might interfere with them going home at 9 AM!!!
Before, running events were aplenty and you actually had to choose your races well as there were many that were not in Biscocho-caliber (right Bananarunning?). Now in the land of football, running events are few and far between (I mean hello! For a while the Milo event was even in danger of being cancelled - which is a major race in the country). I actually went to the Mizuno store last Sunday and pressured the sales people into entertaining the thought of doing a Mizuno Run and even jokingly said (well, I actually meant it) that if they had a running event or clinic like the one they do in Fort, I'd actually be one of the first to join.
So now, the huge difference is my life has been simplified, not because I have to, but because I want to. I sleep at 9am and wake up at 6am. I get to run MWF in the afternoons now (well, I started again this week) and I get to cross train and swim in the afternoons every Tues and Thurs. Other than that of course WORK keeps me busy but I have a lot of time to myself too, to just relax, hang out with friends...and RUN AND SWIM.
Ironshoes, my next project is getting a bike. I have a friend here who is training for the Ironman in Manila next March... not that I'll be ready by then but I'll join him in training.....the bike will come soon enough.
So here's to a breakthrough Sunday!
December Singapore Marathon simulcast...here I come!
Gathered enough guts to shut out the thought that rabid stray dogs will get the better of me (and believe me, there are a lot around here....stray dogs though....so the rabies comes in a close second I think) and I simply RAN. I got out of the house by 5:30am, ran for an hour and a half, walked a bit, around 3/4ths into my run, some friends who are new to running joined me and also had the guts to run outdoors (their first time ever) and they enjoyed it. Beginnings of a T2 South?? Hopefully =).
The past two months, going out for a run was a real challenge because I wasn't confident and comfortable enough with the surrounding area. You know that feeling when you don't have your bearings yet, and your only reality is work, home, grocery, laundry, atm and mall? I felt so constrained and frustrated which wreaked havoc on my running program. Back to square one. Okay, so I tried going to the gym, but when the traffic going there became unbearable (as there's this huge chunk of the way in which a new flyover is being built) PLUS when the thought of doing another long run on the treadmill seemed unbearable too, I just simply had it.
After 2 months of feeling simply lost, I finally finally had a breakthrough yesterday. I think it was more of mind-over-matter thing in which I have finally accepted that this is home for the next couple of years and I simply had to live with or without the things and routines and schedules I used to have before.
I mean come on, having lived in the city all my life, moving down South is a huge change....everything is slower, less variety in things to do, places to go, reataurants to eat in, people to meet, running events to join...
Imagine, before, I would sleep around 12 to 2 am simply because the way things were, at 2 am you could still go out and have things to do or go to places to eat. Here, everything winds down by 8:30 pm and the mall closes at 9pm. Establishments refuse to entertain you (meaning the actually turn business away) if it means it might interfere with them going home at 9 AM!!!
Before, running events were aplenty and you actually had to choose your races well as there were many that were not in Biscocho-caliber (right Bananarunning?). Now in the land of football, running events are few and far between (I mean hello! For a while the Milo event was even in danger of being cancelled - which is a major race in the country). I actually went to the Mizuno store last Sunday and pressured the sales people into entertaining the thought of doing a Mizuno Run and even jokingly said (well, I actually meant it) that if they had a running event or clinic like the one they do in Fort, I'd actually be one of the first to join.
So now, the huge difference is my life has been simplified, not because I have to, but because I want to. I sleep at 9am and wake up at 6am. I get to run MWF in the afternoons now (well, I started again this week) and I get to cross train and swim in the afternoons every Tues and Thurs. Other than that of course WORK keeps me busy but I have a lot of time to myself too, to just relax, hang out with friends...and RUN AND SWIM.
Ironshoes, my next project is getting a bike. I have a friend here who is training for the Ironman in Manila next March... not that I'll be ready by then but I'll join him in training.....the bike will come soon enough.
So here's to a breakthrough Sunday!
December Singapore Marathon simulcast...here I come!
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