Swim + Run = Aquathlete

Date: January 30, 2010 (Saturday)
Assembly Time: 6 am (registration, body marking, briefing)
Start of Classic Wave: 6:45am
Start of Lite Wave: 7:15am
Venue: Camp Aguinaldo Pool
Types: Classic: 600m swim and then 5K run
Lite: 400m swim and then 3K run

"Sheer Will Aquathlon Cup (SWAC) 4 - SWAC is an informal, volunteer-driven, fun race to encourage beginners and provide practice race conditions for recreational triathletes. This is a no-frills, bring your own hydration and nutrition kind of event. We hope to accommodate more people while keeping things manageable. We might close pre-registration after reaching a certain number of participants."

That's me in the hot pink swim cap.

The "Classic" wave a.k.a "halimaws"

Last Sunday I participated in my very first Aquathlon. I signed up for the LITE version which is a 400m swim followed by a 3K run. Even if this is just for fun, I really took it seriously. Trained for 3 weeks for it even! I wanted to see if I'll be able to participate in the real deal which is the Ateneo Aquathlon in March.

Here's how it's done...

We had to start swimming on one side, do 4 laps while moving towards the other side. We get out of the pool, run to the side where we started and jump or dive back in to do another set. We had to do this 4 times. Getting out of the pool was such a struggle.

Rico giving instructions

After that we had to run to the transition area where our shoes, shorts, etc. were pre-set for our quick "costume change". =)

The Classics setting up their gear at the transition area.

I did a boo-boo though. I got lost in the run! Which, I know to those who know me, isn't surprising (FYI, the Hotlegs Runner is geographically challenged)! Below you will see the "map" our commissioner Rico made, followed by a picture of me looking really confused. I really was!

Duh?!

I even wrote the street names on my wrist out of desperation! I didn't want to forget! I called it "My Garmin". Haha! I realized later on that the street names and route wasn't the problem. You see, there are two ways to exit the pool area. Obviously, I picked the wrong one. And the more difficult one at that. I just had to choose the one that went uphill. Aaaarrrgghhh! So that set me back a few minutes and around .4 or .6K =( Oh well...

My "Garmin" here was defective. It got erased right after the swim! Haha!

Here are the results....

400m 3k
Lite
---------------Swim-------Transition-------Run--------TOTAL

1 Al ________06:46:00 ____ 01:06:00 ____ 18:09:00 ____26:01:00
2 Emil A. ____11:05:00 ____ 00:56:00 ____ 14:38:00 ____ 26:39:00
3 Sid A. _____10:57:00 ____ 00:52:00 ____ 15:14:00 ____ 27:03:00
4 Pat A. _____12:50:00 ____ 02:47:00 ____ 11:45:00 ____ 27:22:00
5 Wilnar I. ___15:07:00 ____ 01:16:00 ____ 12:04:00 ____ 28:27:00
6 Bryan R. ___ 14:27:00 ____ 00:45:00 ____ 15:49:00 ____ 31:01:00
7 Topher M. __ 13:51:00 ____ 00:47:00 ____ 17:24:00 ____ 32:02:00
8 Rodel C. ____16:15:00 ____ 00:38:00 ____ 16:08:00 ____ 33:01:00
9 Ronald D.____16:05:00 ____ 00:00:00 ____ 17:02:00 ____33:07:00
10 Doc Art ____15:51:00 ____ 01:42:00 ____ 16:32:00 ____ 34:05:00
11 Brando L. ___17:09:00 ____ 01:37:00 ____ 15:34:00 ____ 34:20:00
12 Julie R. ____13:57:00 ____ 00:51:00 ____ 20:06:00 ____34:54:00
13 Cess D. _____11:44:00 ____ 01:43:00 ____ 24:18:00 ____ 37:45:00
14 Eire D._____15:57:00 _____00:49:00 ____ 23:47:00 ___ 40:33:00
15 Kyle _______13:23:00 ____ 01:42:00 ____ 31:44:00 ____ 46:49:00
16 Jet P. ______20:41:00 ____ 03:17:00 ____ 22:52:00 ____ 46:50:00

Oh yeah, I won a special award. Category winner. I had the fastest time among the women in the lite division. But all 3 of us were podium winners (Top 3) since there were only 3 of us. Hehe!

I know it looks like I'm drowning but I'm actually gasping for air. Haha!

Get out after 100meters and jump back in

Transition time. In the dance world, we call this "quick change". ;p

As you can see my swim and transition times were fast. But when I got to the running part...Wow! It felt like I had weights on my legs! They were so heavy! I was practically dragging my feet! Swimming and running on it's own is fine, but doing both?! Huwoooow! Imagine if I had to ride a bike still! Need to train, train, train some more!

Happy to cross the finish line. Finally! =)

After we had a nice Filipino breakfast together by the pool. We had a choice of Longganisa, Tocino and Sardines with egg and garlic rice. Oh and that Suman stuffed with cheese! To die for! Boy, was I hungry!

Breakfast with the takbo.ph fuhmelee!

Bong set up a photo booth for us so we'll have souvenirs. Sosyal! Shameless Plugging: For inquiries please visit http://photobongbong.multiply.com. I wanted to show my number. Hence, the pose.
This aquathlon experience is one for the books! For sure I will join again next year. Now the big question is...

"Am I ready for the Ateneo Aquathlon?"

I have one more month. I need more training.

Game face...ON!!!


To view more pics form the event, please click HERE.

Thanks to Rodel and Ellen for some of the pics =)♥.•:*¨*:•.♥


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ChiRunning Seminar

The very first time I knew about ChiRunning was when I was looking for new books on running at a bookstore. I needed to find out what caused my ankle injury and how I could prevent it. I didn't purchase the book right away, to be honest with you. I researched about it first through the net to see what it was all about.


I found their website, read through it and got more intrigued. ChiRunning combines the practice of Tai Chi and the sport of running. I also searched through youtube and found this...

Danny Dreyer (writer of ChiRunning)

It was a light bulb moment for me! I couldn't wait for my injury to heal so I could try it out! The form is pretty similar to what we use in dance so it wasn't difficult for my body to adapt to it. And my oh my, when I tried the ChiRunning form and technique for the first time, I thought I heard my ankle, no, my whole body , saying, "Finally! You got it! Thank you!"

When I heard about the FREE ChiRunning seminar sponsored by running specialty store, RUNNR, I signed up for it right away. The lecture was given by Lit Onrubia. He is the First & Only Certified ChiRunning Instructor in the Philippines. He provided an intro to ChiRunning and discussed it's benefits. I learned that it's all about "mindful running" and that their main focuses are energy efficiency and injury prevention.

With Certified ChiRunning Instructor, Mr. Lit Onrubia

Mr. Onrubia with the takbo.ph peeps

Lit also discussed the ChiRunning Trinity (Form, Distance, and Speed), Lessons (Posture, Engaging your Core, Creating Balance), and Technique (the Lean, Ankle Lift, Arm Swing, Gears and Stride Length, and Cadence). He also gave some tips for better running and suggested other books such as "ChiWalking", "Running for Mortals" and "Marathoning for Mortals".

Lastly, Lit emphasized on the importance of owning a pair of good running shoes. He highly recommends Newton Running shoes which supports ChiRunning or Forefoot Running. Personally, I'd love to own a pair. It's definitely on my wishlist this year! I actually recommended it to my future sister-in-law and she purchased hers at Runnr right away. Haha!

Of course I like the pink one! =)

I must say, the promise of "Effortless and Injury-free Running" is true. Well, at least for me. Of course this doesn't happen overnight. During long runs or when I start to get tired, I sometimes forget and allow my body to slump. It's really a conscious effort to keep running in proper ChiRunning form. It's all about muscle memory, I think. Your body just needs to get used to the form and technique and when that happens, it will be so effortless.

If my schedule permits, I still want to attend the Practical Session 1 and 2 of this seminar. Yes, there's more! You're not too late! More info below:

MECHANICS AND SCHEDULES:

1) Interested runners can register at RUNNR, Bldg B3, Bonifacio High Street.
2) Practical sessions 1 and 2 are limited to first 48 runners who purchased a minimum amount of p1,000 in RUNNR, from Jan 14, 2010-onwards. First come, first serve for each batch.

PRACTICAL SESSION 1 (12 runners/ batch)

TOPIC: Practical application of Chi RUNNING posture & biomechanics

Batch 1: Jan 21, Thurs, 6:00 - 7:30 PM
Batch 2: Jan 21, Thurs, 8:00 - 9:30 PM
Batch 3: Jan 23, Sat, 6:00 - 7:30 AM
Batch 4: Jan 23, Sat, 8:00 - 9:30 AM

PRACTICAL SESSION 2 (12 runners/batch)

TOPIC: Practical application of Chi Running gears, stride length, knee bends, & running cadence

Batch 1: Jan 26, Tues, 6:00-7:30pm
Batch 2: Jan 26, Tues, 8:00-9:30pm
Batch 3: Jan 27, Wed, 6:00-7:30pm
Batch 4: Jan 27, Wed, 8:00-9:30pm

*INTERESTED RUNNERS MAY REGISTER @ RUNNR in B3, Bonifacio High Street

RUNNR Contact Info:
Tel: 403-1787
Website: www.runnr.com.ph
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RUNNRstore
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RUNNRstore

I'd like to encourage all types of runners to attend: seasoned, elite, recreational, and most especially the beginners. ChiRunning will surely help you in your training or running program.

See you there!

*View more pics from the event HERE!♥.•:*¨*:•.♥


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Race Review & Recap: PSE Bull Run

My first race of the year! The PSE Bull Run at Bonifacio High Street. I was late for registration so I was happy that the contact person at PSE was very helpful and accommodating. They gave us the option of just depositing our race fee to a bank account and then just faxing our registration form to them. In 2 days, my race bib and singlet was delivered right at my doorstep via courier. How convenient! Loved that!

PSE Bull Run 2010: Takbo Para sa Ekonomiya

Jan. 17, 2010.
Fort, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig

Anyway, back to the race...

The weather was nice. It was cloudy, almost like it was about to rain, but it didn't. The cool breeze brushing against my skin felt really nice. I Just did 5K for this race. I wasn't sure if my ankle would be ok by race day. So it was better to be safe than sorry. The last time I did a 10K, my ankle started to hurt at 6K.

The 5K route

Miraculously, it was a-ok already! My pace was 6:18. Only stopped once to brisk walk for 1 min. Horray! I am cured! My run was painless. Thank goodness! After crossing the finish line, I just rested for 2mins. then ran another 5K again. So did a total of 10K for my Sunday long run. =)

The course was pretty easy, I must admit. Maybe that's why my time wasn't so bad: 31:41.

5 km.
00:31:41
Ranked 233 out of 830

After the race, I finally got to meet sir Baldrunner and sir Pat Concepcion which was pretty much my highlight for the day, hehe!

Dream, believe, survive...startruck! hehe!

Overall I thought that it was a pretty organized race and I like the fact that they were quick to release the race results (just a few days after the race). There's just one thing I didn't like though.

This...


No, they are not relief goods. They were our giveaways after the race. I dunno. And sorry to be so honest and blunt about this but there has to be a better way of packaging the giveaways. These were piled up on one table and there was a very loooooong line of runners waiting to be handed a white plastic sando bag with 2 drinks and a small bag of chips along with their race certificate. I felt like a typhoon victim! Ok, maybe that's just one minor complaint of mine. I guess I'm just the type of person who pays close attention to aesthetics.

I trust that next year PSE will do even better and there will be more runners participating in this race. Congratulations to all the finishers and especially to those who PR-ed! =)

-----------------
Download the race results from the links below:
3k
5k
10k

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The Best Things in Life are Freeeee!

It's been days and I'm still ecstatic about winning a pair of Mizunos at their Expo last Sunday. I've never won anything in a raffle. Really. I just wanted to blog about how it went down...

Right after Hector (from Secondwind) talked about wearing the proper shoes, I left my seat and went to the area where they were selling the shoes. I asked how much the Nirvana 5 was. I was hoping to get a good discount since they said that they will be on sale. Alas, they're were only 10% OFF . =( So from the original price of Php5,495, it was down to 4,945.50.
Still too expensive for me. My Nike Span 6 was still relatively new. Just bought it last month. But I REALLY wanted and NEEDED the Nirvana 5 to correct my gait so I won't feel pain on my ankles anymore. I fitted it and it really felt good on my feet. By just merely standing on them, I could feel it already correcting my overpronation. It's a miracle! :p

Anyway, disheartened and with a long face, I told the salesgirl assisting me, "Cge, next time nalang..."

I went back to my seat and continued to listen to the other guests talk. In between talks, they would raffle out towels from Gatorade, Mizuno caps, Mizuno bags, etc. There were two major prizes. A Suunto watch and a pair of Mizuno Running Shoes.


When they announced the running shoes prize, I stared at the bond paper intently and said to myself, "I will win that! That will be mine!" I said it about 3 times. Seriously. At that point, I already claimed it to be mine.



I guess it worked! When the time came to announce the winner for the shoes, I sat nervously and was even making my friends from takbo.ph laugh by acting all nervous. Another name was called. But luckily, he wasn't around anymore to claim it. So they had to grab another name from the bowl (actually it was a mini golf bag)...

"Julie Reyes"...they announced.

I couldn't believe it! They said my name! I won it! It's all mine, mine, MINE!!!

I walked towards the emcees, waiving to the crowd like a beauty queen. Yes, I seriously did this! Even pretended I was in tears..to their delight and amusement, of course. Haha!



So that's how it all went down. I still can't believe I won these lovely running shoes. I rested for a whole week. No running so I can recover from my injury. So I guess this is my prize for being a good girl. =)

Thank you, God! =)


*See more pics HERE!♥.•:*¨*:•.♥

Thanks to Carina and Mizuno for some of the pics =)


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My Running Goals for 2010

Happy New Year!!! It's 2010 and it's the perfect time to set new goals. So far, I have no intentions of setting PRs. I wanna concentrate more on building mileage. When I become time conscious, I tend to push myself too much to the point of injury. Ergo, my situation now. Tsk! Tsk!


Anyway, here are mine:

1. Stay injury free - Ahhh...the bane of all athletes! Nothing sucks more than being injured! Case in point, as we speak, I am off running for a week as per instructions of the orthopedic surgeon. I am probably the poster woman for "too much, too soon"! Baaad!

2. Listen to my body - I really have this tendency to push myself (you think?). Note to self: when your body starts hurting and aching so much, that's should actually be your cue to STOP and not GO FURTHER. Duh!

3. Injury-proof my whole body - This is connected to number 1. I need to engage in other cross-training exercises regularly like swimming and biking (if the budget permits). And of course, continue to do Yoga, Pilates, and resistance training to strengthen my muscles and other weak spots.

4. Join SWAC (Sheerwill Aquathlon Cup) - It involves 400m Swim, then 6.5K Run then 400m swim. I am not yet that crazy to do that so I will participate in the "lite" version which is like half the distance that I just mentioned. Am I right, Rico? Are you sure there is no "extra light" version of this? hehe!

5. Introduce more people to running - So far, since I started, I know I have influenced 4 people. I'd like to double or triple this number this year.

6. Run more with friends - I like running alone. I consider this my "ME" time. But recently, I've been joining my takbo.ph peeps in their group runs at BHS and Alabang. I have to say, I enjoy it immensely. It's also a great opportunity for me to meet other members/runners and share tips, compare running products and motivate each other.

7. Continue to eat better - When I started running, I became conscious about the food I ingest. What I eat when I'm not running, before a run, after a run. Even what I drink. I used to eat a lot of junk food and guzzle alcohol like there's a private party in my liver. But all that has changed. I now eat more fruits, whole grains, nuts, veggies, fish, etc. And now I feel healthier and stronger than ever. So this is more of a "stay consistent" kindda goal.

8. Reach my ideal weight - ...which is 96 lbs. Technically, for my height (5'1"), that's considered underweight. But I know how I looked like when I was 96lbs. (around 7 years ago!) and I want that physique again. I have 3 lbs. to go until I reach this.

9. Run more so I don't have to worry about what I eat - Hahaha! Now who wouldn't want this? I'm honest. Gone are the days when I can eat 3 cups of rice at 10pm and still weigh 96lbs. But I believe with enough exercise, I can indulge myself a little bit more and have, say, cake after meals? hehe!

10. Run 1,000Kms by August - Yes, I want to join the 1,000Kms club of baldrunner. And I want that shirt too! Why August? Well it's my birth month. But if I can do it much sooner, why not?

That's about it! I will go back to this blog to cross out each goal that I have already accomplished. I'm excited!

What are your 2010 goals? ♥.•:*¨*:•.♥

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The Runner's Prayer

I like this prayer because it's close to the one I say right before a run or race. Just wanted to share...

Lord,
Watch over me today as I run.
This is the day
and this is the time for the race.


Watch over my body.
Keep it free from injury.
Watch over my mind.
May I listen to the signals from within
as I enjoy the scenes from without.


Watch over my spirit.

Watch over my competitors.
Remind us that we all are struggling equally.

Lord,
Let me win.
Not by coming in ahead of my friends, but by beating myself.

Let it be an inner win.
A battle won over me.

And may I say at the end,
"I have fought a good fight.
I have finished the race.
I have kept the faith."

Adapted from The Ultrarunner’s Prayer by Carolyn Erdman & Jay Hodde ♥.•:*¨*:•.♥

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