A Marathon-Virgin No More

I started as a dreamer. Now, I am a certified MARATHONER.

Finishing a marathon is the one thing in my life that I could be most proud of…doing something I wasn’t sure I could do, something that I had always wanted to do but had been too scared of. And I feel that this could be the best time to do it and do it well. TBR is an invaluable aide to me as a marathon rookie. Their insights, hints and clear instructions made it possible for me to realize that what had been a dream is achievable with my motivation, my work ethic and direction provided by the coaches.

I didn’t see myself running long distance races. I joined the running group called Ayala Triads not because I wanted to become a genuine runner but simply because I wanted to stay fit. It was with this group when I get indulge with running because I was inspired by the members who are not only running marathons but ultramarathons and even trail runs. I started running 5-kilometer distance runs, then I advances to 10 kilometers, then 21K, 32K, when I finally got the nerve to try running full marathon – that is 42 kilometers.

I knew from the start it wasn’t that easy. 42K is no joke – it was out of my reach! So I signed-up, together with my Ayala Triads friends to The Bull Runner Dream Marathon for batch 2015. It is an organization where dreamers like me who wanted to reach their dream finishing a full marathon. I got in, we all got in.

The Bull sign

With fellow dreamers and Ayala Triads at the Dream Village waiting for the gunstart

It took us six months training for our big day. Six months of working on those legs and mileages. Six months of building not only physical strengths but friendship and fun. After six months, it is finally our time to make our dream come true, crossing the finish line strong, injury-free, and with flying colors.
Crossing the finish line is not as easy as said. It was painful. It was hard. But with people cheering for you along the route, how can you not flash those smiles every kilometer? The Dream Chasers helped us regain our strength. They pampered us with their screams, smiles, candies, chocolates, chips, and even massage. I told myself, “Hindi lang pala puro sakit, this experience is so much fun!”
When fellow At my 39th kilometer, 5 kilometers before the finish line I wanted to walk all the way to the finish line. When fellow Triads, one of the Dream Chasers approached me and offered to run with me to the end. I was like “OH NO!” I can’t run anymore. My legs are tired and aching already. But he encouraged me to keep going. As we ran together, he keeps talking and giving me words of encouragement unaware that I am on my feet again, running.

In my KM40, 2 kilometers to go before finish, I am dropping my strength again. I feel like crawling my way to the finish line. My feet are numb, and my back is in pain already. Then my phone rang, and it was my dad telling that they (my whole family) are already near the finish line to see me cross it. I felt a bit relieve when I heard my dad’s voice. I told myself, I wanna make them proud of me. I am gonna finish this strong. They came here to see me finish my first marathon, I can’t give up. 600 meters before the finish line, we passed by the 4th tent, it was the last tent before the end of the race. My chaser let me stopped and hydrate for a while because according to him I needed energy to sprint my way to the finish line. That would be the time to give my best. The dream chasers at that tent let me regain my composure. They even offered me tissue to wipe my sweat and asked me to comb my hair for my best finish-photo shot! Amazing isn’t it! At my last five meters, I saw these people screaming my name (on my bib), cheering and jumping with their pompoms! Hey, it’s my Ayala Triads family. Again when I saw them & heard them cheering, I regained my strength. These people’s supports are priceless! I am proud to be part of this group. At my last 100 meters, my chaser gave me his last words of encouragement, “Sprint your way to the finish line and don’t forget to SMILE! There are cameras everywhere.” While giving my last energy on my last sprint, I saw unfamiliar faces smiling and cheering , cameras flashing, and the red ribbon held by two ladies. Gosh! It was the finish line. When I crossed it, I saw Ms. Jaymie Pizarro, the Bull Runner herself and congratulate me for finishing. Full of emotions, I embrace her. Then I saw my mom waiting for me, hugged her tight and my tears started to fall. It was EPIC! I DID IT! I SURVIVED IT! …AND I WANNA DO IT AGAIN!

Dream Chasers on Tent 2

The Bull Runner Dream Marathon Organizers

Dream Chasers in Tent 1

My Ayala Triads family!

It was a life-changing moment. The experience I’ve had along the journey to my marathon day paid off. Hats off to the organizers, to our coaches and to the rest of the TBR team for a job well done, for helping us Dreamers to achieve our dream to become certified marathoners. I personally would like to thank our coaches in my Ayala Triads family, Coach Zaldy, TL Gia, & TL Jaime and to the rest of my Ayala Triads brothers and sisters for their support. To my family who believed in me and supported me throughout this journey. To my running buddies and fellow dreamers, for making this painful journey easier and fun. And to the Almighty God for giving me the strength, courage, heart and confidence to do this.
It took me some time to have guts to finish a marathon. But as I give my heart and soul in running, once a DREAMER, now a MARATHONER!

I am a MARATHONER

Strong-finish pose

And guess what? My official time is 6hrs 40min, ranked 331 out of 900 runners. Not bad huh! (wink)

Send Off Party

It’s seventeen days before the BIG day! Just received an invitation from The Bull Runner Dream Marathon for our SEND OFF party. Wait, a party? Very cool. Despite the agitate feeling that I am getting as the race day comes closer, it excites me when I opened my mail today for the send off party. This will be a lot of fun.

So this is it! It’s just a few weeks before the marathon – my first full marathon.

20-Miler

Finished a 20-mile run last Sunday held at the Bonifacio Global City by Takbo.Ph. It was my longest distance so far. It is intended for my mileage run in preparation of my first marathon on February 22 of this year (that is exactly 32 days from now).

How it went? OH MY G! Lol. It was a painful run for me since it was my first time to run 20 miles. I could imagine how it would be more painful when I’d be running my 42K. This means I need to train harder, get my legs strengthen and may add more mileage for me to be able to finish my 42K with less pain and injury-free.

Well, it was not that bad anyway. The thing is I was able to finished it, not with a descent time but I was not injured. I felt the difficulty of the uphill routes– it was actually “uphell”. But still fortunate enough not to experience cramps and major pains. I still managed to smile after I crossed the finished line.

It was a good run. My new Adidas shoes helped not to experience too much pain, so with my new Nike compression elite socks. Cool! And I git to recover pretty soon. I need more trainings though. I still have enough time to do it. In fact, I’ll be attending training tonight with my Ayala Triads family. We will be having a metafit session tonight. I guess I’ll be needing that.

Test Run

Test run done! Just had my new Adidas CC Sonic Boost running tested. So far the shoes seem to be comfy. I wore it during my first training for this year in preparation for my marathon on February. Also, I will be running 32K distance on January 18. That would be my first run for 2015- my so-called New Year run. I will be using my new CC Sonic Boost to test it for long runs so I could tell if it would be good when I will use it on marathons. It was great on my feet. Since it is climachill, it goes by its name. It was engineered to bring comfort on running feet because of its breathable body and cautioned sole. It would give this shoes a rate of 9.5, 10 being the highest since I haven’t tried it for long runs yet. But it is a promising shoes and potentially good. About the style? Love it! Super stylish just right for my taste 😉

My Pink Adidas CC Sonic Boost

Happy new year! Since it’s new year, I guess its reasonable enough to get a new running shoes too! (wink). It’s my gift for myself after all. From my previous post, I posted different running shoes that fit my taste and my style. I picked the shoes that is, of course would give my feet comfortable during long runs most especially that I am going to run my first 42K distance on February. I really need a new shoes because my old ones are worn out already and my feet were not that comfortable because I bought the exact size, no allowance. I learn from experts that when buying running shoes, you have to give at least half inch allowance for your toes to breath freely and to avoid soreness. That’s what I get every time I run 21K distances with my old shoes. I have dead toe nails LOL. Embarrassing huh! Now I’ve learned. I bought my new shoes with one inch allowance from my actual size. That gives enough allowance for my toes.

So here are some shots of my new running buddies. After over thinking what shoes will I buy, I came up with the new Adidas CC Sonic Boost in (of course) pink color. Yes, I am a big fan of Adidas. My feet are used to the brand and since I’m a fashionista, being in style while running still counts. I couldn’t write a review of this pair yet as I have to have it break-in. According to reviews I have searched on the web, the Adidas CC Sonic Boost is perfect for long runs. It has breathable soles and very comfy when you wear it.

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Yay! Can’t wait to wear them. I’ll be using them on January 18, running 32K distance. It’s going to be my new year run. I might post a review after I have it test run. See yah! 😉

The Right Running Shoes

It’s only a few days to go before 2015, and that means that I’m going to say goodbye to my old running shoes. It’s been almost a year since I bought my Adidas Sonic Boost Pink. I could say that I had great runs with my pairs. I’ve been using them on my every run for the whole 2014.

Now that I have to say goodbye and sad to say have to change new pairs, I am again on the state of difficulty of what right shoes I have to get for my 2015 runs. This time, I have to think more wisely considering I will be running my first ever full marathon on February. And that means longer distance, stronger feet, and more appropriate shoes. Since a semi-flat-footed runner, I was advised to choose stability shoes.

So I made a short list of my preferred shoes from different brands hoping that before the end of the holidays I’ve already decided what shoes to purchased. Below are my preferred shoes, as you notice I chose the shoes with bright colors especially in pink because even though I’m running I still want to show the “fashionista” side of me. Ha! And yes, I’m a pink lover, isn’t it too obvious? Lol. Help me out choose the right shoes. 🙂

Comeback Run

After five months off-road, I’m back on my running feet again with Affinitea Brown Race. A charity concert and fun run to raise funds for the benefits of the mothers and children of Grace to Be Born.

I took the 16K distance with a buddy since the category we joined is a buddy run or somewhat they called the “Angat Lahi Buddy Run”. This race is probably my comeback run. My feet definitely miss the road. Despite of not feeling well the night before the event, I was able to finish it strong and injury-free. Plus I miss running with my friends and co-members of Ayala Triads.

Next on my list is the TakboPh 20-miler happening on January 18, 2015 which is longer than what I’ve have ran before (20 miles is equivalent to 32 kilometers). This run should be my mileage for my full marathon in February.

It’s nice to be back on the road again and nice to see those flashing lights from photographers, familiar faces and more fun!

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The Planking Challenge

When asked what part of my body that I want to workout, I would always answer the “abs”. But I know everybody would agree that our abdomen is the hardest part of the body to trim and takes a hard workout to achieve — well a six-pack abs. Crunches does doesn’t work for me, even if I spend like 2 hours doing the exercise. I still have that fat tum-tum.

A friend who is a gym-goer and a body conscious once approached me and told me to try the planking exercise he’s been doing for less than a week (only). He said it is really effective but needs patience and time in order to achieve the sexy abs. He showed me his photo (after his 3rd day on the challenge), and I was like “no way!”. For less than a week I almost notice six-packed muscles in his abdomen. And what was his workout? He’s doing the plank– with a twist. Ha! I said with a twist because in an ordinary planking exercise you just need to position your body in planking position, but what he’s doing (as per advised by his friend who is a gym instructor) aside from the steady position, there us leg movement. Can you imagine that? I’ve been struggling for a steady plank for only 30 seconds then I have to move my legs just to get into this challenge? Whoa! But it seems effective, so I am going to try it (crossing fingers right now).

Actually I need this. I’ve searched the web and read a lot of articles the benefits of plank exercise. Plank exercises work more that just the abs. It is the most versatile exercise out there. It works your balance and core, it is one of the best ab exercises for building endurance in the abs, back and core.

Well there are different plank exercise variations. You can ask Mr. Google what are these variations and select the best that fits you and what makes you comfortable doing it. What is more important is that you take the challenge and get into your goal.

So, let’s get into plank challenge!