Mark’s VO2

Star light, star bright,
The first star I see tonight;
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight

I wish they would have the New York Marathon in the Philippines. The race can start and end in New York street in Cubao and sponsored by the Araneta Center. I will finally have a New York Marathon finisher’s shirt. (New York, Cubao) They can also do the Chicago and Boston Marathon. I think there is a Chicago street in port area and I am sure we can find Boston somewhere in Manila.

I wish they would have a downhill 10k so everyone can set their personal records. It has to be a slight downhill course so we can power away without fear of losing control. This should be an absolutely zero uphill course which is either flat or with a 1-2 degree downhill slope. If you know of such a road then we should map it out and send it to Mr. Biscocho, Rio or Extribe so they can organize a guaranteed personal best course.

I wish corporate sponsors would fund and create nice running paths in the Metro Manila. A running path similar to the one at the Nike campus. A woodchip lined running path in a park with lots of trees and grassy areas. I am told that the woodchip running path is the best type of running surface. It is soft on your knees and yet provides enough firmness to run nicely. Maybe they should have one in each city in Metro Manila. Even if it is just a 1Km loop.

I wish we could have free races. The sponsors can pick up the cost of race for everyone. If not maybe reduced racing fees. Races would really boom and we can get more and more people getting into the active lifestyle.

I wish Muntinlupa city would have it’s own modern Track Oval complete so I don’t have to got to Ultra to run speed workouts.

I wish I had the time, money and good health to run as much as I want.

Maybe I should just throw a coin in the fountain because that might work instead of wishing to the stars.

See you all at the starting line and keep on wishing. Some of your wishes may come true.

This way to Boston (Marathon)

Running is like any other journey and we need to keep track of our progress. We need milestones to assure us that we are on the right track. we should have milestones to ensure that you are getting better and stronger. Let us have a look at some of popular measures and their milestones.

Mileage
Most running gurus recommend that we keep track of our daily runs on a log. A natural milestone would be total mileage run or maybe total time you have run. Bald Runners 1000 Km club shirts is an example of a nice reward for meeting a significant mileage milestone.

Race
Many beginners progress from a 3K and slowly moving up to a 5K, 10K, 15K, 21K and on to a marathon or an ultramarathon. Each conquered race distance is milestone and each medal, picture and experience in the milestone races will be treasured.

Performance
Our Personal Records (PR’s) are some of our favourite milestones. Whether it’s sub 4 hour marathon or a sub-1 hour 10K or maybe even faster. Keeping track on how fast we run keeps us competitive and wanting for more.

Health
Many people run for their health. I personally know of some people whose blood pressure and cholesterol level have gone down because of running. Others have lost weight and are now in the acceptable weight range and they have reached their milestones.

Competition
Getting on the podium is always our goal. It may not be realistic to win when Team Bald Runner or other elite runners take part but we still harbour this dream. Winning your age group or any other running category is a more realistic goal. Even trying to be the fastest runner of your club or barkada could be fullfilling.

Special Categories
Some runners want to have the honor of qualifying for the Milo Marathon finals. In an international level, Boston Marathon qualifiers are usually seen with respect and envy by most runners like me. A unique category is the 50 States marathon finisher. You basically have to run a marathon in each US state. Maybe we should have a Luzviminda Marathon finisher. You have to complete a full marathon in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. There is a Cebu marathon coming up next year. I have not heard of any full marathons in Mindanao but that should be happening very soon.

Benchmarks

You can also keep track of your running progress by keeping track of your performance against some runnningBenchmarks. I have a set of runners who I benchmark my performance against. They are mainly composed of the great runners . I believe that Bald Runner, Bugobugo, Jan I, Francis M, Baby B, Ka Totoy, Run Unlimited and the rest are the best runners to benchmark against. They are consistent and join most of the races so you can expect them to be running well and if you don’t bring your best to the race you can expect them to leave you behind.

Keep tracking your progress and see you at the starting line.

We all have our running dreams and hopes. But like everything else in life, if there is a Yin then there is a Yan, Good & Evil, Black & White. We all have our running nightmares and fears. Many of them are born from true life experiences and this is my top ten list and the stories behind them!

10) Being Chicked! – Losing is fine. But losing to my wife is downright scary. I’ve always been faster than her but in the Nike Real race I decided to pace her. But in the last 100 meters she went out fast and basically caught me by surprise. My humiliation was captured by Photovendo and I see it every morning before breakfast!

No space for a runner in this road!

9) Mad Max!- Drivers from hell give me nightmares. I have learned to run on the left side of the road so I can see if the oncoming cars are too close. I’ve jumped to avoid those cars a couple of times. I also love running at night or early in the morning to avoid the sun and that is when we have many sleepy or drunk drivers. Some bike and motorcycles drivers are also dangerous. Please be safe and wear bright colored clothes and run against the traffic at all times.

Murphy's law can strike anywhere!

Murphy’s Law of Racing – Being late for a race, misplacing your numbers, taking a wrong turn in a race, wearing the wrong pair of shoes. Many things can go wrong and spoil your race experience. I remember lining up for the toilet in the Singapore marathon and the race had already started and there were still 20 people in front of me. It was a good thing they had a timing chip but I lost 6 minutes on the gun time. You just have to learn to relax when Murphy is in town!!!!

This is a model of the shoe I lost!!!

7) Alzheimer’s – I can’t find it? A senior moment or Alzheimers. Just imagine losing your brand new Garmin after saving money, drooling as you put the features of a Suunto, Polar and Garmin side by side in order to come up with a Solomon like decision. That would truly be a gut wrenching. In the eighties, it was difficult to find a decent pair of running shoes. My sister based in the US finally sent me abrand new pair of Nike’s. The latest model which I finally put on a test run in UP. When I got home I could not find the left shoe. I searched the car and even went back to UP. I was so angry with myself for misplacing the shoe!!!

6) JAW’s – Sharp Teeth! Anything with sharp teeth can make me run fast. You are slowly enjoying a nice easy run when you hear chains being dragged and turn to see a dog on the loose growling at you. I sometimes like it better when they bark so at least they give you notice. I’ve run away, thrown stones, kicked and parried dog attacks. In North America you may have to contend with cougars and bears.

5) Sahara – I don’t really run with a hydration belt. I like to run and loop back to the house to hydrate myself. I usually go for an hour without really needing to drink. But there are some days when it is really hot and I really need a drink. There have been some races where the organizers either ran out of water or ran out of cups in the middle of a race. Running for over an hour without hydration is like running in the desert. I sometimes wonder if a camel will suddenly pop out and save me!

Winter wonderland

4) Popsicles – It was my first trip to North America. I had been running for a while and one day my sister told me to put on some gloves before I run. I told her that I will eventually warm up. Less than five minutes into my run I am back in the house and I held up 10 frozen popsicles. All my fingers were frozen. I found out later that it was the coldest spring in the last 10 years. No wonder I almost froze to death. I now have utmost respect for the weather.

How to use a toilet for number 2

3) Number 2 – this has happened many times and I am twisting and walking funny as I try to coax my stomach to relax. I say a prayer with cold sweat rolling down my head and request divine providence to save me. In my dreams the urge for number 2 happens when I am too far to comfortably get to a toilet. This is truly a nightmare. Try to do your business before you run!

2) Illness or chronic injuries – This happens to all of us one time or another. We get the flu, our ITB is inflamed, Plantar fascitiis which either sidelines us or makes running a painful experience. We never want that to happen again. It is pure torture especially when you watch other people run and improve.

Wheelchair division for those who can't run!

1) Career ending – I had a basketball game in the afternoon and it was a no bearing game and we were playing for pride. It was in the last two minutes of the game when I heard a crack as I twisted my knee. I crumpled down to the ground clutching my knee. That was the end of my first running career. I had improved leaps and bound in high school. I had a great debut taking third place in my very first UAAP college race. The torn ligament crushed me. I never really recovered and to this day I feel some slight discomfort on my right knee because of my ACL reconstruction. I still remember the dark days when I could not run or even walk. I thought I could never run again. I thought I would be a couch potato for the rest of my life. I thank God for giving me a second chance in running. I thank him every time I line up at the starting line, cross the finish line or crest a hill.

I am back on the roads and I hope to see you all at the starting line.

Graduation picture with BR. Salamat Po!!!

PAC APL finally joined the running boom. We offered to pay for the registration of any employee who wanted to toe the starting line in the Rotarun. Many employees took our offer and we had a good sized crowd in the race. We thank Bald Runner, Coach Salazar and the rest of team BR for conducting the free clinic that kickstarted running in the company.

Paparazzi Picture with Rovilson and Aaron

Every now and then, we face running roadblocks. We have a major school project or office deadline which takes up most of our time. An illness which forces us to take some time off. The stork brings us a baby. Whatever it is, we usually have to take some time off from running.

I like to think that those road blocks are nothing more than running detours. In a real detour, we have to take an alternate route, a longer route, a gravel or dirt road. In our running detour, we can either sit and wait or do alternate exercises like swimming, cycling or walking. It really depends on our road block or the reason why we stopped running. It is always best to be as active as possible so you do not lose too much fitness. I remember reading about Joan Benoit Samuelson story on her Olympic marathon triumph. She suffered a knee injury and was bedridden after her arthroscopic surgery 17 days before the Olympic marathon. She was so worried about losing fitness so the coaches attached a bike pedal in front of her and she was spinning it with her hands to maintain her cardiovascular fitness while she recuperated from the surgery. Well she won by over one minute over a very stellar field which included marathon legends like Grete Waitz, Rosa Mota and Ingrid Kristiansen.

Sometimes, it is better to just wait and rest as your body recuperates or till your projects are over. We really do not lose too much fitness if we take a few days off or even a week off. We may feel a bit sluggish when we start again but our fitness level does not go down to zero when we have a short break from running. But that does not mean we take off and carry on like nothing ever happened on the first day back. I take it easy for the first week by reducing my mileage and intensity. Always start with easy runs and gradually build up your mileage and intensity.

I usually have a test run where I do a short Tempo run to gauge my fitness level and I do another test after two weeks to confirm my fitness level. It’s like starting a car in the morning. You watch the temperature gauge and wait till it has warmed up a bit and the engine oil has spread and lubricated the engine before you fire away.

Well, I just got back from a little detour, my daughter is well and my sinusitis has gone away and I am slowly getting back to my training program.

See you all at the starting line.

photo from USA Today

Running is hard. Running against the wind makes it even harder. Since we live in the typhoon belt we will experience running against the wind in one of our races or maybe even just in training.

The basic strategy is to run behind someone when running against the wind. The person ahead of you would do all the work cutting throught the wind leaving you fresher as the race goes on. This is called drafting and is a well known fact with cyclists and race car drivers. In many big meets, the top runners would take it easy and wait till the last lap or even the last 100 meters to make a move. This commonly happens in big meets like the world championships or the Olympics. A 10,000 meter race ends up being two events a 9,600 meter jog and a 400 meter sprint. There are of course exceptions like John Ngugi taking off right from the start and demolishing a world class field in the 1988 Olympic 5,000 meter finals.

On the other hand, running with the wind behind you is a big plus. You can actually wear a loose tank top and use it like a sail to gather as much help from the wind. But most of our races are out and back so on a windy day you will be running against the wind as much as running with the wind. It actually evens out.

The biggest downside in drafting is you rely on the person in front to set the pace. If he/she is too fast than you risk some lactic acid build-up since you have to change your cadence and stride rate to match the pace of the other runner. If the runner is too slow then you are running sub optimal pace.

So if you happen to be running against the wind in your next race, try and look for someone to draft with. Someone who will give you enough cover like Coach Rio and his Afro hair. (Peace tayo Rio)

See you at the starting line and if it’s a windy day check the trees or look for a flag and check the direction of the wind and plan your race accordingly.

I started running in the early eighties when there was a running boom. We would gather around the latest copy of Runner’s World magazine and voraciously read the articles, swoon at the pictures of new running shoe models and secretly wish we could run some of the road races in the US.

I always had a list of races I wanted to run if I had all the time and money in the world. I remember the list well and I still give out the list of my dream runs. We had talked about this again with The Bullrunner one weekend and this is my list of dream road races.

Flesh uniforms of a all female centipede team running the Bay to Breakers

1) The Bay to Breakers is on top of my list. It is a tough race with a steep hill after the first mile. It is scenic with the race ending at the famous Golden Gate park. It is accesible to us since there are direct daily flights into San Francisco. The timing is good since it is held on May which is the Philippine school holiday season. It can be fun with lots of costumes, some nudity and a centipede division where 13 runners tied together compete in this division. It has history since it has started in 1912 and is one of the longest running road races in the world. I had the pleasure of doing this race in 1988.

Scenic Falmouth

2) The Falmouth Road Race held in a small town near Boston in the US east coast. This is a 7 mile run which winds down the coast right across Martha’s Vineyard, one of the favorite summer vacations spots of the Kennedy’s. You can imagine the view of this race based on the course description.

The Road Race Course
The course: The race is seven miles long and begins in front of the Woods Hole Community Center, near the drawbridge on Water Street.

The first three miles are narrow, hilly, winding tree shaded roads, while the last four miles are open on the flat right next to Martha’s Vineyard Sound. A small steep hill lets you know that you are beginning the last half-mile of the race. Once you crest the hill it is “all downhill” to the finish.

This race also has a lot of history with Boston Bill Rodgers and Frank Shorter as former winners or participants. I have not done this race and it is a serious race which attracts world class runners.

Highly coveted Peachtree Shirt

3) The third race on my list is the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, Georgia. This 10K race was somehow very prominent in the Eighties. It is one of the largest 10K races int he world with over 50,000 registered runners. You get to run up “cardiac hill” if you register early enough. They usually reach their quota in the first week of registration.

Boulder Starting Line

4) The Boulder Bolder is a 10K held in Boulder, Colorado. Many world class athletes live and train in or near Bolder, Colorado to take advantage of the high altitude of the town. So you can imagine running a race at high altitude and a hilly course (5,300 feet above sea level). I imagine this race to be scenic tiring and is definitely on my list of races I wish to run.

Scenic Paoay Lake

5) The fifth event in my list is in the Philippines. It was one of the oldest road races in the country but it has been discontinued. it is the North Star 10K which was held in Ilocos Norte at the end of the year. It used to attract a host of great local runners with a promise of a good payday for the runners and scenic route which passes by Paoay lake.

See you at the starting line. (I hope to see you at the starting line near Woods Hole Community Center).

I remember watching golfers trying to improve their swing. They have videos of them striking a ball and they can see the mistakes in their form or they have a personal coach instructing them.

Swimming is another highly technical sport and it pays to have a coach watch and correct your stroke.

Running is also technical. People have different styles of running. Your optimal running form can be dictated by your body type, muscle strength, flexibility. Kenyan runners have that nice gazelle like stride and others have strong mechanical strides and their legs remind me of a train with levers moving forward pushing the wheels.

One thing that is really important is for runners to minimize bouncing. We should channel most of our energy to moving forward. Bouncing up and down does not really make us go faster.

Since we do not have mirrors or a coach to run with us I suggest you try and focus on an object 500 meters ahead. If the object you are focusing on is bouncing up and down while you run then you are bouncing too much. Try to shorten your stride and increase your cadence to reduce your bounce. Practice this while you run and working on having a smoother run with minimal bounce. You should be able to run faster as you put more energy into going forward and not into bouncing up and down.

I also try to watch my form when I run beside a building with a glassy facade. It’s like having a a mirror right beside me. Not for vanity but to improve my form so I can run faster.

See you at starting line with your smoother stride.

Great running performances are like shooting stars. The speck of dust is waiting for the right time to enter out atmosphere and light up the sky. We the runners are always out there training and getting ready for our chance to shine. One day when the stars and the moon are in perfect alignment we go and run our PR’s. We get the mix right; enough mileage, right mix of speed training, the right taper, we wake up on the right side of the bed and we come up with our personal best. This obviously does not happen everyday but when it does we go out there like a comet or even a shooting star with our record breaking PR performances.

Great runners schedule their best performances like clockwork. The runners train and focus on a specific race timing their fitness for one big race. Just like the Perseid meteors which comes once a year with out fail, you can expect great focused runners to come up with their best performances in the big stage like the Olympics. A good example is the great Finnish runner Lasse Virren who was a 4 time Olympic gold medalist winning both the 10k and 5K in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics. But in between he was virtually anonymous. Lasse would spend the intervening years building his mileage endurance and intensity with the singular focus of having his best performance in the Olympics.

So take a cue from the Olympians and focus on a race for your chance to be the shooting star with your PR.

By the way, the Perseid Meteor Showers are set to appear in the next two evenings. If you want to catch a real shooting star check out the link and maybe go for an early morning run.

See you at the starting line Shooting Stars!

It’s 5:00 am in the morning and the street are wet and it is drizzling outside.

Can I leave my hydration pack when it is raining? I won’t overheat since I am watercooled and I can open my mouth and get fresh acid rain.

Do I wear my already wet pair of shoes or do I put on a dry pair and hope it stops raining?

Should I have a longer than normal warmup because of the rain?

Do I stick to my workout schedule or go for a slow lesiurely run instead and avoid possible injuries due to slippery footing?

Do I go run in the Treadmill instead?

Should I postpone my daily run and hope it’s not raining in the afternoon?

Maybe today is my cross training day?

The hardest part is the first step and guess what, I decided to run later in the evening.

See you at the starting line rain or shine.