2,000 kms Logged

Last week, I attended our 24th Senior Co-Workers’ Meeting at our SOS Children’s Village facility in Zarraga,  a third class municipality in the province of Iloilo.  Zarraga is a sleepy town 16 kms from Iloilo City which is famous for its “Pantat” (Catfish in English or Hito in Tagalog).  Zarraga Pantat is reputed to be the tastiest in the Philippines and if properly prepared, its skin can be as crispy as freshly roasted lechon de leche.  It is also here that you can buy one sack of talaba or oysters for only P150.00.

Waiting Shed proudly announcing Zarraga as "Pantat Country"

Zarraga town hall or 'presidencia"

The gastronomic delights of Zarraga gave me a good reason to run in order to burn the excess calories.  Otherwise, I will have to suffer the consequences.

I only had two runs in Zarraga.  My first run was a leisurely run along the highway to Barotac Nuevo and back where I logged in 9.11 kms in 1:06.  The second was a faster paced run at the town plaza which had a circumference of 410 meters.  I had a warm up of 400meters @ 2:51, a 4km run at 25:33 and a cool down jog of 1.09 km at 7:31.  It was at the Zarraga town plaza that I completed my 2,000th kilometer!

SOS Children’s Village – Iloilo is our seventh facility in the Philippines.  The other facilities are in Lipa, Alabang, Calbayog, Davao, Cebu and Tacloban.  Our 8th facility is SOS Bataan, which is located in Mariveles.  SOS Iloilo  has 12 family houses headed by a house Mother who has 10 children under her care, a Social Center for our community outreach programs, a Kindergarten School for the poor children in the community and a Youth facility for our boys who are at least 13 years old.  The Youth facility prepares our boys for independent living.

Facade of SOS Iloilo

SOS Children's Village Iloilo - 12 Family Houses

Typical Family House that has 10 children headed by an SOS Mother

The Youth Facility that houses boys over 13 years old.

SOS Social Center and Kindergarten

Having completed 2,000 kms. I decided to reward myself with this Garmin Foreruner 305.  I could have gotten the 405 or the 310 but the 305 has better reviews than the 405.  I can’t wait to test my 305.

My new running aide - Garmin Forerunner 305

See you fellas at the races!  Keep on running.

The Merry Month of May

It has been quite sometime since my last post – I Can’t Wait to Run My Next Race.  I usually post an article almost immediately after my race.  But May was different.  After the Southern Race last May 3, 2009 and Pacquiao’s total domination of Hatton, I was ecstatic to the point that I found it difficult to get my thoughts organized and write a post.

Anyway, May will always be a milestone in my running career.  It was in this month that I started to record my runs.  I joined my first race (Active and Fitness Run), I had my first 10k run (Champion’s Run Along the River) and my first lesson in humility – I finished last at the Doc Fit Run just before my birthday.

This year was pretty much different.  I registered a time 1:05:03 at the Southern Race, 1:09:45 at the Botak Paa-Bilisan, 1:03:48 (a 10kPR) at the Botak-Baguio Run and a 1;41:57 (a 16k PR) at the Earth Run.  I have also successfully reached my ideal running weight of 138 lbs from a high of 168 lbs in January 2008.  These would not have been possible without God’s abundant blessings as He made me injury-free the past year.

Southern Race

The Southern Race was more of a run for the cause of children in need.  It was organized by the Alabang Town Center for the benefit of SOS Children’s Villages.  It had a 3k, 5k and 10k segment.   The race was well-attended and went through the streets of Ayala Alabang Village.  The race was more of a community event but never lacked the spirit of intense competition particularly among those vying for top honors.

The 10k event was slightly short because of a sudden decision of the race director to change the route.  Instead of turning right after the Mindanao Avenue gate and then making a U-turn at the Ayala Alabang-Filinvest boundary, runners were made to make a left turn.

It was also the Pacquiao-Hatton fight.  As Barangay Ayala Alabang offered free viewing of the fight live at the covered courts, I passed the word to my Takbo.ph buddies.  We had a great treat – free lugaw and coffee plus the best seats in the house to watch the fight in widescreen.

Part of the crowd that watched the fight

Crowd cheering when Pacquiao sent Hatton to dreamland

Botak-Baguio and Sagada

I also had the chance to have a high altitude runs in Baguio and Sagada last May.  I had fun running with my buddies Mon Domingo, Totoy Santos and Roselle Dadal (aka RunningDiva) at the Botak – Baguio Race.  I simply treated this race as a training run where I will just run at a relaxed pace of 7:00 to 7:30 minutes per kilometer.  But the temperature was perfect and I no longer had the usual shortness of breath associated with the thiner air of Baguio.  I felt stronger after I negotiated the first hill so I decided to increase my pace.  Little did I know that I was then running at a pace of 6:00 to 6:30 per kilometer.  I was able to gain much ground and finished the race at 1:03:48.

After the Botak-Baguio Race, I proceeded to Sagada where I stayed for 3 days before going back to Baguio for the return trip to Manila.  It was an adventure and had great runs at the place.

Sagada - a view from St. Mary's Church

St. Mary's Church

Hanging coffins at Sugong, Sagada

Lumiang burial cave

Sumaging Cave after entry from Sumaging burial cave

One of the uphill roads I ran

Baguio oval

The Baguio and Sagada runs prepared me to confidently face the dreaded McKinley Hill and Bayani Road at the Earth Run.  I felt strong throughout the 16k race where I started slow and  gradually increasing my pace as the race progressed for a strong finish.  I started to pass folks whom I never thought that I would and finished the 16k race at 1:41:57 with plenty to spare.

I would not have gone this far without the help and advice of runner friends.  Mon Domingo, the Happy Feet and Takbo.ph people were always there for the carbo loadings, kulitans and gigilans that kept me going.  Jovie Narcise through his blog Bald Runner has always been a source of information and an inspiration for newbies like me.

Too bad May is over but the adventure continues!  Keep on running!