Good Dog!

What's my dog doing on my running blog? Well he did a good deed this week which involved one of of my running gear.

Last Friday, while our house help, Gina and I watched the replay of our favorite Koreanovela (straight from Korea with English subtitle), Chavo was barking frantically. We were thinking the reason for his barking (He has a big voice! Our neighbors love him because it scares any would be "Akyat-Bahay".) was because he might be seeing a cat or a wandering dog from his vantage point. He got the attention of Gina. Gina went out only to see that Chavo gave my fuchsia Nike sports bra that fell off from the clothes drier to her. It was unscathed.

Good boy, Chavo! And this blog post is your reward!

*We actually named our dog after WWE wrestler, Chavo Guerrero, Jr., the nephew of the late Eddie Guerrero. Chavo is actually a Mexican slang for little boy. We some times call him Chavito, thus making him little, little boy.

** Contrary to his name, Chavo weighs around 27-30 kilograms. His name may be suited for a chihuahua, the tiniest breed of dog native to Mexico, but he is half labrador retriever (dad) and half dalmatian (mom).

*** He is turning 7 this coming December.

Dear Santa (Christmas Wishlist Post)

Dear Santa,

   It's already less than 60 days before Christmas! I know that I am neither naughty or nice, but in my own little way, I am sure I made many people happy. Since it's less than 60 days before Christmas, and you and you're elven staff are quite busy preparing and wrapping gifts to kids ages 0-110. To make it easier  for you guys, here's my wishlist.

An Adizero Boston. I prefer the red one, size 8. It's the perfect race day shoes for me since it's designed for high arched neutrals like me! I need to replace my old Adizero Tempo (I bought it before knowing that my foot strike is actually pronated!

Brooks Glycerin 8. We'll a lot of people are raving about this shoe, and that includes the editor of Runner's World magazine. This will be my training shoes. Again in size 8.

Asics Gel Nimbus 11 in Pink of course (size: 8). Another alternative for both training and racing. Tee hee!

Garmin Forerunner 110. I know it doesn't posses the multitasking caboodle of the GF 305 as exposed by Running Moron's blog, but I like it's design.Very minimalist and could be easily pass as a watch. This is just to prevent predators on preying little me. These predators might be targeting people with a 305 sooner or later.

And speaking of predators, I also need this. A Road ID. I prefer a pink one in the smallest size since I have small wrist. If you want my personal information, just send me an e-mail located on the upper right corner of this blog.

Under Armour athletic shirts. I already have one, and I need another one because I am a fan!

TRX! Bob Harper is using and raving about this! A good cross training tool to strengthen my muscles using the principles of using your body for resistance. And it's portable! And I don't get to pay pricey gym membership fees. Boo yeah!

 Salonpas Spray. I have the gel, but it would be more convenient to have a spray. Ouch my thighs! Spritz, spritz!

 I am a fan of Lance Armstrong! I don't care if he is accused of doping. Fore me he is innocent for doping until proven guilty in a proper venue, not by publicity. And as a fan, I wouldn't mind having this motivational shirt in both white and black!

And since I am living in typhoon zone, and sometimes bed weather can hinder my road run, I also want/need a stationary bike. It also aids my recovery. This is rather a safer way to channel my inner Lance.

I don't mind if you just give me one or even every thing on the list at once. Just make this 60-65 hours a week worker happy this Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

XOXO,

Ling2x

Injury: Reflections

I thinks it's about time to share a little something about injury I already experienced what it feels like, and it seems a lot of people are training for their big run this coming January.

Injuries are part of any athlete's obstacles in his career. Injuries come in many forms such as accidents, genetics (e.g. bow-legged, or uneven length of your knees or even arms), or just simply over exertion or over training. Usually injuries happen if an athlete is training for something, thus hampering his progress or even withdraw from his targeted event. Injuries just give a physical blow to an athlete, it also affects their emotions, finances and psyche. When I was younger, two bright basketball players, Anfernie "Penny" Hardaway and Grant Hill. They were vying for the title of being Michael Jordan's Air Apparent. But both players were plagued by injuries. Penny Hardaway never recovered his old form and dwindled and is never heard again. Good thing for Grant Hill, although his road to full recovery was long and even lost part of his old self, but then again you can still see him play with heart with the Phoenix Suns.

As for me, when the doctor spilled that I had ITBS,  it was like, "Oh no! I am going to miss Milo!". But I have to, or else I can no longer run. The thought of sacrificing something you've worked so hard in the past month for something that is long term was easy, though. But the thought of seeing people receiving their finisher's medal is some compelling that i committed a deadly sin we Catholics consider, envy! Yes, i had a bruised up ego, that once I get out of this misery, I mean injury, I will fight back! Oh boy, I have been watching too much sports-related movies! Might Ducks trilogy, anyone?

While still on a hiatus, I was doing a little recollection. WHERE THE HECK DID I GO WRONG? So I did some research, and some of those recommended stretching for ITBS as demonstrated by my physiatrist. It was then that I discovered that my BAD habit of not having a post run cool down was the culprit! I have seen countless post run stretching but this one below are the most effective!

I swear (I know swearing is bad!), ever since I incorporate these stretches after each run, I do not experience any hinging feeling on my knees or even a limp. It's a must try!

I also learned to train smarter. As part of my recovery I avoided the hills and just run around the track oval where it's flat and cushioned which is good for my knees. I initially run for only 4 kilometers twice during the weekdays, and road walk on Sundays. I did that for two weeks, then on the week after that, I still ran 4 kilometers around the track , then ran 5 kilometers that very Saturday. I gradually increased my mileage week, after week. By this time, I am already running 3x on weekdays, with Sundays as my long run. I alternately train either on track or on the road with hills weekly, but soon enough, I might be alternating them within the week. I just had my first double digit run last Sunday, so I am looking forward to run the same route this weekend.

Adding a bit of yoga and Pilates like exercises for cross-training also helps. 
 
Injuries is part of our lives as runners, it would depend on your attitude in dealing with it! Run smart, everyone!

Dumaguete Marathon-November 21, 2010

I know a lot of people who already signed up for the Cebu City Marathon this January are now training like crazy right now. I know some of them might be bored with the same LSD routes they tackle every weekend. So ladies and gentlemen, why not take your LSD to another place, like the City of Gentle People (also known as Katol's hometown.), Dumaguete.

This coming November 21, they will be hosting a "marathon". You may register in 3K,5K, Quarter Marathon (10.5K), 3-quarters marathon (31.5K). You may register at the Foundation University. For more details, you may call the following: 

Dr. Aparicio Mequi/ Paultom Paras/ Joel Balajadia/ Carlo Simpao/ Alex Pal
035-4229167 loc. 165

They also have an official website:  http://dumaguetemarathon.com.

I got some information through, http://takbo.ph.

Run for BB 2

After the success of Run for Bebe last June, Code Blue Running Team of the Chong Hua Hospital, is inviting everyone to join the Run for BB2! This time the beneficiaries are the children as young as 7 months old who cannot afford further treatment.

The singlet, according to Code Blue's Tita Naomi Fajardo is orange. You never had any orange singlets, right? 

10.10.10 Nationwide Mizuno Sale

Mizuno fans, rejoice!

Thank you, Richard Ho for posting this on the dailymile.

Pink October Run

Yes, Auntie! This one is for you!

photo credits to Katol V.

 

 

 Last year, I ran 10K on behalf of one of my college professor's mom who happens to be a breast cancer survivor (Click here for the story.). This year, cancer has struck someone who is really close to us, our Aunt. Although the Pink October Run is organized for breast cancer awareness, but I think this run has become an avenue for people to fight not just breast cancer, but all forms of cancers. I won't disclose to you the name of my Aunt, what kind of cancer she has and what stage in respect to her and her family. 

 

 This year, I just ran 5K since I just got off from injury. Although it's not the best 5K performance, finishing in 35 minutes and 20 seconds, and suffering from side stitch in the last kilometer. I was thinking, the pain I had with the side stitch is nothing compared to the pain my Aunt feels of all her radiation and chemo. Please, if you do believe in the power of prayer, please pray for my Aunt's speedy recovery.

PS: I was supposed to be accompanied by another runner, who would like to dedicate each kilometer to 5 of his friends who succumb to cancer. But sad to say he had an upper respiratory infection. So he just let me wear his bib, which I pinned on my back. You want to know who is this other runner?

 

 

It's our clinic mascot, Puffy!

Cebu City Marathon 2011 Registration

photo taken from reelrunning.blogspot.com.

It's another lazy day at the office, I guess. So since I have nothing to do, I browsed at my Facebook account. Then and there, CebuRunning announced that the Cebu City Marathon 2011 registration will be open this October 8, 2010 at the Ayala Center-Cebu Active Zone.

The registration fee has increased. The 5K is pegged at P500.00 (from P250.00), 21K is at P 600.00 (from P450.00), and the full marathon is at P800.00 (from P650.00). Yikes! I hope the organizers have a better way of explaining to the runners this increase in registration fees. It's part of our consumer rights. I just hope monetary depreciation is not involved, though.

My Sentiments to the Rain

Rain, rain, go away!

Come again another day!

Little children, little children, little children

Wants to play!

- a nursery rhyme

from sketchpan.