15. Unilab Run For Wellness

Fresh from a Boracay weekend stint, several "field trips" related with my work and business, and basketball pickup games as warmups, I was pretty much confident that I can improve on my previous 29:07 5K record. Woke up 4plus in the morning, but due to slight detours (Roxas Boulevard closed 'coz of the Yakult Run) and slight traffic at the Fort area, I was a few minutes late for my 5K Unilab Run for Wellness stint. Well, either I still try to improve my PR or just give it up and jog at a leisurely pace. I chose the first option and fortunately, it paid off!

Unilab's 5K route is similar to Century's, so at least I am somewhat familiar where to make "sidewalk singits and shortcuts" The hardest part is the first kilometer because of the huge number of runners needed to overtake. I just visualized myself chasing a thief who stole something valuable from me, so as to gain more speed. By the halfway point, fatigue spanked me in the ass. This is what happens when you run with no warmups...very bad! Checked my watch and it's good to see that I'm still on pace. Walked a bit, drank 100plus from the water station, motivated myself, and continued running.

As I approached the finish line, I saw the official time...28:40 and counting. Oh dear, time for some last minute sprinting again! Despite feeling out of breath and a bit woozy in my head, I'm quite happy that I was able to reach my goal and improve my PR. :) Went straight to the Finishers Pack redemption area, drank the free 100plus, and proceeded to check out the Wellness Village. 2 more weeks and it's time to once again to attempt the 10K at the Globe Run for Home. Fort-Buendia flyover, we shall meet again!!!

Race notes: Official finish time is 28:54 (Chip time 26:10 - Curse the 2:44 delay!!!), good for 113th out of 2254 5K runners...Supposed to run along with my friend Chin, but he injured his ankle 2 days before...My mom went to have an "ocular inspection" of the Unilab Run and was impressed on how many participated and how festive the event was...Unilab Run was way better than Century Superbods (Kudos to Coach Rio for making the necessary adjustments). The event was well-organized and the Wellness Village provided lots of entertainment and freebies to everyone who attended...As always, lots of celeb sightings, though I only saw Angel Locsin, Diether Ocampo and Sen. Pia Cayetano...Digicam's battery got busted, so no race pics (except for this one courtesy of www.takbo.ph).

14. Century Superbods Run

2nd half of my back-to-back Run Week. The Century Superbods Run was one jam-packed event! Considering that it's price is a bit expensive, still a little over 11,000 registered, way more than those who participated in the Condura Run! It is either the running bug has caught Manila by storm, or just a lot of ladies registered to get a chance to run and see Derek Ramsey. Unfortunately, Papa Derek was not able to join the run due to injury, but he was there at one of the Finisher's area booths.

The Superbods Run had its share of ups and downs. The 21K and 10K started a few minutes earlier than the official time, and a lot of latecomers got stuck among the sea of 5K runners. The number of marshalls were not sufficient and there are some areas where a lot of runners got confused. (Coach Rio's thank you and apology note (http://runrio.com/2010/02/thank-you-century-tuna-superbods-run-2010/) Nevertheless, it was still a successful run and a lot of first-time runners enjoyed it! Sufficient water stations, the use of timing chips to record your time, your name flashing when you cross the finish line (although I wasn't able to see this one because I was doing my usual sprint like crazy at the last stretch routine), loads of freebies and... the sexy and hot Superbods!!! :)

Despite doing a 3K run a day before and feeling the effects of fatigue in the halfway mark of my 5K route, I'm happy that I was able to reach my goal of finishing under 30 minutes. Finished at 29:07, good for 54th out of 1995 male runners. I feel that I can still improve my speed and endurance. But for now, rest at Bora for the weekend and I'll be ready to beat 29:07 at the Unilab Run! :)

Race Notes: No Papa Derek, and also no show for Papa Piolo, who was supposed to be the alternate runner...lots of celeb sightings like Georgina Wilson, Rhian Ramos, other male celebs whose names I don't know...The timing chips used are similar to those used in the Timex Run last year, and I can foresee this to be the standard for future runs...Lots of freebies after the run, like Gatorade, Nature Valley gift pack, Century Tuna empanada and pandesal, among others...Buy 1 Take 1 Century Corned Tuna, SWEET!...Big time raffle prizes include Plasma TVs and iPod Touches...This is the first part of the RunRio Trilogy; the next leg will be sponsored by Nature Valley sometime in May and the last in November...First run of Jenny's brother, Jester.

13. Run For Your Heart and Dusit Thani DFiT Run

Run For Your Heart took place last Feb.14 @ Roxas Boulevard. This is in partnership with the Philippine sports Commission, Fil-Chi Amateur Athletic Federation (hope I got that one right!) and Ateneo Law-Human Rights Center. As expected from a free event (with the exception of 5k and 10k if you registered via Ateneo HRC), the place was full of people, with members of the Philippine Military and high school students joining the fray. Nevertheless, the basics like water stations, emergency areas and post-run booths are there, making this a successful event.

Race Notes: First run of my friend Chin Chih...a bit late for the 5K run and started running/walking with the 3K people...Fil-Chi schools who took part of the run are Chiang Kai Shek College and Philippine Cultural High School and St. Stephen's High School...since we started late, didn't bother to go for my PR and walked on the return leg...didn't even get to cross the finish line which was at the back area of Quirino Grandstand...so much for the free tikoy :(

The Dusit Thani DFiT Run took place on Feb.20 @ Fort Bonifacio. This one was supposed to be the first run of my friends Nikki and Morris; however, they were not able to attend due to some unforeseen circumstances. This is a 3K running event the proceeds of which are for the benefit of Operation Smiles - a children's charity treating facial deformities such as cleft lips and cleft palates. Since Jenny was threatening to break my previous 3K record of 16mins+, I decided to improve my 3K record. Result: a good enough 11:36 finish good for 11th overall. Side effect: some sligh headaches due to sudden rush of blood while sprinting on the last stretch :O

Race Notes: Good quality singlet for a small event! By far, along with the Century Superbods white and blue singlet, the best in terms of fabric quality...overall winner who nabbed a 1-year gym membership at DFiT is a member of the Philippine Boxing Association @ 8mins.+...freebies include a travel shampoo and shower gel kit, Pocari Sweat (sweet!), and medicines courtesy of Novartis...the whole DFiT anniversary event was able to raise funds good for 5 cleft operations... Jenny still recovering from an ankle injury and was not able to run with me...

12. Condura Run Experience

Passion is pushing myself when there is no one else around - just me and the road.

I SURVIVED!

Condura Run is arguably one of the best organized runs in the country. In 2008, it was for the Tubbataha Reef. In 2009, for the whale sharks. And this year, the run was for the dolphins. Every year there were more and more people who registered and ran. From 2000 runners in 2008 and 6000 in 2009, a staggering 8500 registered for this year's premiere running event. The biggest catch for the hardcore runners - a chance to run for the first time in the Skyway! Although I wasn't able to sign up for the 21K and 42K (I'm still a newbie runner, for God's sake!), I attempted my first ever 10K run... and thank God I made it!

The 10K route? Start at Fort Bonifacio, then 32nd Street, then the dreaded flyover connecting Fort to Makati, then Gil Puyat Ave. until the corner of Ayala Ave., then reverse until the finish line at Fort. Although I was able to finish the run at a respectable time (1:02:10), one moral lesson for me is to make sure to train at least 3 times a week before the event. Attempting a 10K run with no training is suicidal! Fortunately the two bananas, Innergize drink and my trusty "Magic Beans" saved my ass or I'd be suffering from cramps sometime during the event.

Race notes: Finished the 10K run at 1:02:11, good for 367th place out of 2110 runners, or part of the upper 17.4%...Almost got late due to slight traffic (42K and 21K runners) and had to let Jenny and her brother Jansen park the car...I was beside Rovilson Fernandez at the start of the race...there were fireworks 2 minutes before the start of every race, except for the 3K...lots of angry drivers honking their horns at the corner of Makati Ave. and Gil Puyat Ave. hahaha...upon reaching St. Luke's at the return leg, gave it my all and sprinted like crazy until the finish line...lots of Uno High School alumni attended the event...aside from the Finisher Medal, wasn't able to claim other freebies due to "lack of time"...treated myself to a well-deserved massage in the afternoon.

10. Book Run 2010

1st run for the Year 2010. I'm glad we made the right decision in backing out from the MOA Run (Isang Takbo Para Sa Libreng Kolehiyo) and opted to go and run at the Fort. Although it costed 100 bucks higher, the Book Run 2010 was well worth it! Not only you get to see and run alongside various celebs like Dingdong Dantes, Marian Rivera and Drew Arellano, the race was also well-organized courtesy of runningmate.ph. The timing chip was already attached to the race bib and the results of the run were immediately updated. I received an email of my race stats a few hours after the race, received a text message in the afternoon, and got my ranking in the evening via their website. What a breath of fresh air compared to our previous run!

Race notes: It was my friend Lain's first run and I'm glad she enjoyed it...Jenny was able to finish the 3K run at 19minutes, so far her personal best...Saw Atty. JP Lero also in the event...lots of freebies after the race, including but not limited to San Marino corned tuna (yeba!), granola bar from Nature Valley, some multivitamins, and (eek!) bananas...Celeb sightings, aside from those abovementioned, were Miriam Quiambao, Gabby Eigenmann, other Kapuso talents whose name we don't even know, Say Alonzo and DJ Mia of 89.9...Was able to finished 20th place among all 3k runners, which would have scored me free lunch courtesy of Bo's Coffee :)

Pics of the event:

7. 2009 Runs

It all started when some of my classmates and I decided to jog every Tuesday and Thursday mornings before going to class last semester. That was when we were not yet that busy with classes and Bar Ops stuff, and we almost signed up for Kenny Roger's Urbanite Run. The thought of joining a Fun Run enticed us. You will be running for a cause, running at night (as Fun Runs are usually held in the early morning), glow-in-the-dark singlets, and chance to "rub elbows" with the celebrities. Unfortunately, the school workload became heavier, and preparations for the September Bar forced us to skip jogging sessions and eventually our hopes of joining the Urbanite Run. But I kept telling myself: after law school, I will start running!

Lo and behold, after law school, I gradually worked myself into shape and was able to participate in 4 Fun Runs for 2009. I do hope I get to join more runs and conquer longer distances for 2010.

1. PiNoy Marathon 3K 11/22 SM MOA - Low budget Fun Run organized by the Student Council of Ateneo for Noynoy and Mar. Was fortunate that most of the seasoned vets participated in the 5K. As a result, I was able to get 2nd place at a pretty respectable time for a newbie runner. Problem is, I was 3 minutes behind the leader, and she was female! (Unofficial: 16+ minutes)

2. McHappy Day Fun Run 5K 11/30 McKinley Hill - Felt confident that I can finish a 5K run this time. As a result: NAPASUBO! Well, I was able to finish the run at a so-so time, considering the unfamiliarity with the route and a handful of uphills and downhills. And for a little bit of trivia, I came 1 second behind McDonald's CEO Kenneth Yang (I was sure of getting extra'd at one of his photo shoots ;), giving me a 51st place finish and 26th in my age group. (Official: 31 mins 13 secs)

3. Big Blue 150 Run 5K 12/6 ADMU - Limited edition Von Dutch shirts for the top 150 finishers of every distance category. I was pretty darn excited for this run and sure of getting a hold of that souvenir shirt. Unfortunately, the day before the race was my birthday, and as I celebrated til the wee hours, I decided to cancel this run for safety's sake. At least, I got the singlet as remembrance...

4. Philstar.com Celebrity Run 3K 12/20 Fort - Jenny's first run, and I committed to run along with her and follow her pace. She ran pretty well for a first timer. However, this was also one of this year's crappiest runs! Badly organized, a few celebs showed up, a lot of the 5K and 10K runners got disqualified for lack of proper signs and marshalls, and worst of all, a lot of us were not included in the official results. Because of this, we vowed not to participate in any Fun Run with a certain dude named Ian Alacar as part of the organizing team. (Unofficially official: 21 mins 23 secs)

*LATEST UPDATE: Philstar.com finally released their long-awaited "Official List", and all I have to say is that it was worse than before! Jenny was able to find our bib numbers, but our names have changed to Macky Chamorro and Ronald Perez (what the?!?). Not only that, the list shows that we ran the 21km distance. Imagine, 21km in 21 minutes? What a disappointment.

2. I Am A Runner Because

Just like a lot of people nowadays, I have recently jumped into the Running Bandwagon. I may be too early in saying this, but I do believe that this is not just some fad I am into but I would want to make this a part of my lifestyle. Running provides a lot of benefits - improving one's cardiovascular system and losing those unwanted pounds, a cheaper workout alternative than going to the gym, increased mental focus and energy throughout the day, as an activity where you can "detoxify" from the stress of life, and a great way to meet new people who share the same passion. But this doesn't mean that running is just a "walk in the park" kind of sport. Studies show that running is still among one of the most injury-prone sports activities, and the main culprit - improper running form. How to prevent injuries and continue enjoying running is something I still need to learn.

A lot of people run for different reasons. The most common ones are - weight loss, health improvement, self-esteem and (gulp!) to meet hot guys/chicks. But for me, I am a runner because I treat running as a symbolism of my journey in becoming a lawyer. Successfully running and finishing a certain distance (half marathon of 21km or full 42km) doesn't just happen overnight. It would take a significant amount of time to prepare for it. Building up your stamina...Making sure the running form is correct...Waking up early...Eating the right kinds of food...Cutting down on junk foods and alcohol...Bar Exams? Same thing! One has to endure 4-5 years of mental and emotional torture in law school, take 8 exams (comprising the 8 major Bar subjects) in 4 September Sundays with an average of 15-20 essay questions per subject, agonizingly pray and wait for 5-6 months for the results to come up, and finally (if you are one of the fortunate souls to pass) line up for the oath-taking and signing of the Roll of Attorneys in order to formally call yourself a lawyer.

Both running and becoming a lawyer would entail a lot of sacrifice, but the effort in getting to the finish line will definitely be well worth it! The burning question for me now is: What can I achieve first? Finishing a 21km run successfully with no injuries or hurdling the Bar Exams while retaining some ounce of sanity within me? Betting lines are open!