2 test runs have been conducted so far in preparation for the 2nd edition of BDM102, the 5okm test run in bataan last Jan23, and the midnight run in UP QC last saturday. Joining these runs, along with the other participants of BDM102, gave me a preview on how its gonna be, more or less, during the actual run in March as it exposed me to 2 specific scenarios that simulates part of  the actual run; 1) running 1st 50km of the actual route and 2) running from 12 midnight to 6am which represents the actual 1st 6 hour of the race. Being able to do these simulation runs (or the experience itself) provided me a good perspective as I do my preparation in terms of strategies. Lets see…. if I can convert those learnings and observations into a solid plan during d-day….

Below are the “Distance-Time Splits” table and pictures during the test runs.

BDM Test Run from Mariveles to Abucay

Midnight Run @ UP Diliman

*************************************************************************

BDM Test Run – 50km (Mariveles to Abucay – Jan 23 6am) 

 

at dinalupihan exit waiting for the other folks (with vener and jay)

the starting point...km-0

the bdm warriors

still looking fresh at the early stage....

now its getting hot

40km more to go...

35km more....

with totoy and wilnar at km#16

with chris and wilnar.... 30km more

sooo hot..... 10km to go....

finally done... finished 2nd place...1 sec behind the 1st

my first ultra run.... at 50km... 102km next

MIDNIGHT RUN – UP Academic Oval (Jan 30 – 12mn to 6am)

-0-

-0-

just done.. with mon, totoy, and gene...

-0-

-0-

Great Running Year – 2009

Overall, 2009 has been really a great year for me. So many good things to talk about; both on me as a person and as a runner.

As a runner, there has been a dramatic improvement with my performance last year as I basically registered PR’s across all distances/events. It’s a good sign of continuous improvement.

Below are some of the key highlights of my running in 2009:

- Participated in 25 road races (6 -42k, 7 -21k, 2 -10miler, 4 -15k, 2 -10k, 1 -5k, and 3 -special event/run)

- Ran 6 full marathons vs original plan of one, 5 of those at sub-4 finish and 3 of those were 1-week apart. Also, my best time for this event last year was 57 mins faster vs my 2008 PR and 1:05 hrs faster vs my first marathon try in 2007.

- The birth of this blog, as a journal of my running  journey, in August 2009.

- My first out-of-country road race; the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2009, so far my benchmark race event.

- Ran my 2,000th km milestone last Dec 30 during the Rizal Day Run.

- Never had any injuries last year.

- And most of all, met a lot of new friends along the way who shares the same passion and interest in running.

PR's in 2009

 

Year of the Tiger – 2010

This year will be a tough year coming from a strong 2009. Aside from trying to raise the bar and setting a new PR’s on each distance/event, part of my plan this year was to finish Ultramarathon in March- the 2nd Bataan Death March (BDM102). This is another test on my limits as a runner.

Please see the table below for my goals for each distance/event this year.

***

This is gonna be an interesting year for me….

getting ready for the tiger year...

January 10, 2010  -  Asiatown I.T. Park, Cebu City

So far, the best race I’ve ever  joined… at least locally… Last sunday’s Cebu City Marathon came close to my benchmark marathon event; the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon last Dec 2009. Nice route, reliable and quite a number of marshalls, ample drinking/food stations, friendly staffs, unique cheering “squads”, festive mood pre/post race and early release of race results… these were some of the “positive” things I observed during the overall conduct of the race.

The Plan…

For this race, I was thinking that crossing the finishline between 3:55 to 4:00 would be the best case scenario, for reason that I will be running with a dead set of legs coming from a back-to-back long run the previous weekend (30km and 36km). My strategy was to run by feel…1) run as long as I can between 5:00 to 5:30… 2) stop-by or do brisk walk at every water/aid stations… and lastly, 3) treat this race as part of my training (as a lsd) for BDM102 – a test run for my hydration strategy.

Alfred and I arrived at the venue at around 3:30 am… by then, we were already warmed up as we tried to jog our way going to the venue coming from the hotel which was roughly 400 meters away. As we approached the starting line, I saw Jinoe and Que and people from Takbo.ph, team hardcore members, tina, chris, wilnar and other familiar faces I normally meet at the weekend races in Manila.

While  having a conversation, Chris, Wilnar and I decided to run together… and agreed that we will try to run at 5:00 to 5:30 pace…. these guys also had their long runs the previous week in prep for BDM102…and Alfred will tag along with Jinoe as he was not confident if he can run along with us given the slight pain on his left foot. 

After a short program and a brief instructions from the emcee, the race started… and few seconds after the gunstart was fired, the runners were greeted by a fireworks display as we made our way out of the IT park.. I thought its cool !!! It was a bit crowded in the next 200 meters, and after that… the trio were pacing each other already… as planned at around 5:00-5:30 mins per km.

first 500m.....41,500m to go !!!

As we run along the road, I noticed the downhill slope that’s helping us to run a bit faster, and I told Chris and Wilnar that we need to be ready on the way back because it will slow us down, by then our legs must be tired already .  For the next 10km, we ran at a pace between 4:50 to 5:00 and registered a split of 49:53.. including brief stops at almost all of the water stations along the way… we were on track at that point, at SRP already by then. Running along SRP was a breeze.. relatively flat, the weather was colder than I expected and one lane was dedicated for the runners. It was an enjoyable run at this part of the race because of the perfect view of sunrise by the bay, wish I brought with me my cellphone (atleast) to take pictures (this particular part of the race covered km#7 to km#27, around 20km). By the time we made our way out of the highway going back to city proper, I started to slowdown and felt that my legs were getting heavier each step, as much as I wanted to keep my pace with my partners, I just can’t, so at that point, I gave Chris and Wilnar a signal to go ahead as I don’t want to slow them down…  With 2:20 on my watch; and around 15km left to run, I know I can still pull a sub-4 finish…. From there I started running my race… I kept on running but at a slower pace and still followed the strategy of brisk walking at every drink/food station until I reached the finishline. Within the last 12km, I felt I was stronger compared to my previous runs as I ran continously even at the uphill slope on the way back…..then I saw km#41… time at 3:39… in my mind, am I going to register a new PR???  At the last turn before the IT park, I ran as fast as I can and finally crossed the finishline at 3:45:35 on the race clock !!! whew!!!.. it was a good run !!! it was a strong finish for me!!! it was a new PR !!! (my garmin and official net time, which was published in the evening of that day, registered 3:45:06… a new PR !!! @33rd place overall )

a strong finish !!! a new PR !!!

It was really a pleasant surprise to me… Im not sure what made me stronger towards the finishline; maybe the pit stops or brisk walking in almost all of the drink/food stations helped… and my new hydration strategy…

at 3:45:06 - official time...

And as expected… a nice mango-shaped medal was waiting for me right after the finish line

a nice mango-shaped finisher's medal

The splits below indicated that I slowed down as I got nearer to the finishline, though these numbers were pretty much at even pace, and faster vs my past runs from where I would consistently register 6:00++ mins per km for the last 12km.

my garmin's distance & time splits

with arlene....

After doing stretching and taking a brief rest, I dropped by at Frontrunner magazine booth to buy one… I also took sometime to hangout with takbo.ph folks; there I met again my running partners earlier-Chris and Wilnar.., had a chat with Rico (sheerwill), Carlo (drum and run), Luis (gbm), and new friends from takbo.ph. At around 10:45am, the group left the venue and had lunch together at golden cowrie restaurant…

with takbo.ph 42k finisher's....

takbo.ph

lunch at golden cowrie with takbo.ph folks...

See you guys on my next run: BDM102 test Run and Condura Skyway Marathon…..

*****

My day started very early today… I woke up 3:00 am because I need to be at the airport by 5:30am the latest… off to Cebu… for my first out-of-luzon full marathon run.. Based on the schedule…. me, together with my wife Arlene and Alfred, will be in Mactan airport before 8am, quite early… I thought its gonna be a long day… race packet claiming will start around 10am… hotel check in around 12noon…so we need to kill time… 4-hours to be exact…

with my wife arlene at the airport...

By the time we arrived at the airport, we already decided to visit key landmarks in Mactan island… Lapu-lapu monument and Magellan’s marker…, then at Cebu city proper… Magellan’s Cross and Basilica de Sto Nino… then proceed to Ayala center… So there it goes…

At Magellan’s Marker and Lapu-Lapu Monument - Mactan Island

at magellans marker

lapu-lapu monument...

still securing mactan coastal waters....

At Magellan’s Cross – Ceby City proper…

the famous magellan's cross...

basilica de sto nino...

Race Packet and Carboloading

After the sightseeing and picture taking at these landmarks, we immediately proceeded to Ayala center to claim our race packets, and have lunch… At that early, it took us only more or less 3 minutes to get hold of our race packets….

nice race no.

all set for tom's race... hope to finish in less than 4-hrs

with el kyoshi...

Its Lunch Time !!! CARBOLOADING TIME !!!

carboloading at sbarro - pasta and pizza

done !!! as in cleanly done !!! he he he

As we made our way back to the hotel, these business establishments inside Ayala caught our attention……

junrox..oops.. junrex.. cellphone..anyone?

alfred de los reyes optical ??? .....

we just laughed it off !!! these stalls located beside one another...

 And lastly… after a 3-hours rest at the hotel… a power dinner at Ayala Center…

power dinner at kenny rogers plus yellow cab's pizza & charlie chan chicken pasta...

***

Tomorrow, January 8, 2010, FRONTRUNNER, the country’s 1st full-sized magazine devoted solely to running will be available for sale. Please click on the image for details.

the maiden issue. grab a copy starting tom. pls click the image for details.

***

Last quarter of year 2009 has been very busy for me especially Nov and Dec; the usual busy schedule at work, biz travels, the holiday activities, my training & preparations for Singapore marathon (and the actual run) and most of all, my son’s pre-surgery check-ups and acquiring of clearance to have the operation happen during the holiday break…surgery was done by the way last week of Dec (finally!!! and now my son is perfectly ok.. alive and kicking so to speak ). All of these, in one way or the other, kept me away from my pc to update this blog.

With that…. though its already too late…. Im still posting these recaps.., I mean short recaps of all the races I joined during the months of  Nov and Dec (in 2 parts) as I believe some of the highlights of my running adventure last year happened during these months- big and notable races, new PR’s, friends coming along, others …..and after all… this blog is a journal of my running activities…. Please read on …

NOVEMBER 2009

In November, I’ve participated 3 of the most advertised races during the month. One full marathon, Philippine International Marathon, which was a run for Pasig river organized by ABS-CBN with Rudy Biscocho as race director. I did 2 half-marathons: one was Timex Run – from where they capitalized on Piolo Pascual running  at 10km event (and he can run by the way- he finished 10km in 47+ mins) on top of  the use of timing-chip (by runpix) and free race photos by photovendo. This race was directed by coach Rio dela Cruz of Finishline. Lastly, New Balance Power Run.. an annual event, and now aiming to raise hope for cancer patients and cancer awareness.

Philippine International Marathon  (November 8, 2009 – Luneta @ km 0)

With the 2 weeks break … and being able to get the much needed rest and recovery after finishing 3 full marathons in October, my goal coming to this event was to finish the race more or less at par with SIM results – between 3:50-4:00.

It was an enjoyable run along the Metropolis and crossing the finishline at 3:55:46… still a sub-4 finish and within the target I set. Later on I realized that this was only 30 secs slower than my current PR during Milo Finals about 4 weeks ago…

Another sub-4 finish.. 30-secs slower vs my current PR

 

our 4th full marathon in 29 days for TKO250...

TIMEX RUN  (November 15, 2009 – Fort)

A great run for Tigerboy… finally broke 1:40 hrs barrier for 21km…, by 20 secs at least. Running along with Alfred (el kyoshi) all throughout the race was a big help… we are like trying to compete with each other.. and this healthy competition made us speechless right after the finishline… cant believe we finished the race at 1:39:xx when we only aimed for 1:45 (best case) as both of us came to this race from a full marathon the previous week  (PIM42).

Tigerboy vs. El Kyoshi... a healthy competition... in the end : a new PR for both

Based from runpix analysis.., Tigerboy finished the race at 1:39:40.. A NEW PR.. 24th place overall… 21st place male category.. and 8th place age division… Alfred finishes 15secs ahead of me…

landed top 4% in the entire field....

a great run for tigerboy......

the "PR" men.. tigerboy, chris, run unlimited, and el kyoshi

P&G'ers Gloria and Anama

P&G'ers Cathy and ... sorry forgot the name

NEW BALANCE POWER RUN  (November 29, 2009 – Fort)

With one week before Singapore marathon, Im suppose to run 15km max as I should be tapering down already based from my training plan.

the route - includes deadly combination of bayanihan-C5 and mckinley hill

This run was not originally in my plan but I did run anyway for 2 reasons; 1) this was the last leg of  TKO 250 and 2)  im already registered for this race 2 months  back,  this was originally scheduled in September but was moved to Novemeber because of  typhoon Ondoy.

my last long run before singapore marathon

No specific target for this run.. I thought I should be doing an easy run.. perhaps run at my target marathon pace… 

at the finishline… seemed like an “easy” run….

I was the 50th runner to cross the finishline with a time of 1:46:34… I finished the race not as tired and felt that I can still run some more… With that condition, I knew then that  Im all set for my first out-of-country full marathon the following week… and hopefully register a new PR… 

TKO 250km - closed !!!

with alfred, chris, and lester... it was a good run for all !!!

with P&G'er - mon...

Hardcore Publishing House, Inc. is launching FRONTRUNNER, a magazine for runners, by runners. Please click on the image to find out whats this all about !!!

COMING VERY SOON !!!

Tigerboy’s mileage for the week…. 96km, highest ever for a week… with back to back 30+ km run in 2 days. It was tough but no choice… I want something so I have to earn and work hard for that.. As the old saying goes ” No pain… No Glory…”

One of the things I need to do this year is to finish an Ultramarathon… BDM102 to be specific, which will happen in Mar 6-7…. I know its tough… challenging… intimidating… but as a runner that I’m, I have to give this a try to test my limits… 

102 km… running (or jogging/walking) at this distance is not something you will do just because a lot of people wants to join… or somebody just push you to join… if you did for that reason, hmmmn maybe fine.. Well, signing -up is one thing.. but once you sign-up, you have to do your part and respect 102km feat – do your homework, strategize, be prepared mentally and physically, and do your “training and simulation” on the road. People aspiring to finish this race will have to build mileage to increase the probability of crossing the finishline… Yes… it will just increase the “probability” because ” long mileage” in itself does not guarantee a finishers medal or certificate because ultramarathon is a test of physical and mental endurance (plus “strategies” and others), anything can happen within 18 hours. So… for those avid runners who will be running this event, please make sure you at least build mileage (as in bloody long mileage) prior to the race…

That being said, running more km becomes really demanding so I need to make sure weekends are booked for long runs.. With more or less 9 weeks to go, my training plan, which was provided by Alfred (el kyoshi) has kept me busy down to the last days of the holiday break… Based on the training plan… we need to run 35km or 4 hours saturday, and then 30km or 3 hours sunday…Whew, thats one hell of a plan on a weekend… And so we did.. Saturday, I ran with Alfred and Mark (Knightrunner)… 35km for 4:36 hours while Mark ran 22km.. Sunday, 30km for 3:31 hours, this time with Alfred only… (by the way, Alfred will be running BDM102 as well). We took the same route on both occasions – we ran around Paseo – Nuvali – Paseo – South Forbes – Westgrove – Lasalle – Verdana – Lasalle – Paseo.

It was a tiring run on both days… i like it though…

Below are the pictures along the way…

Jan 3 (saturday) 6:00 to 10:30+ am

 

 

one loop at Nuvali almost done

with Mark (knightrunner) at Nuvali

mark and alfred

with Mark and Alfred... in front of Mark's village

under the heat of the sun... roughly 11am

nicely paved "run" way all around Nuvali

Jan 4 (sunday) 6:00 to 9:30+ am

km#20 - on the way to Avida and Treveia (inside Nuvali)

km#21

km#22

km#23 - legs still ok?

km#23

km#25 - got back to Nuvali commercial zone (man-made lake behind me)

km#26

km#26

km#28

km#30 Paseo Park - finally done !!!

***

Finally done with Singapore Marathon… Overall, it was a good run for me. I was not able to hit my targeted time of 3:45 but was able to pull a sub-3:50 finish at 3:48:xx, a new PR.. a 7-minute improvement vs my Milo Finals. Im not sure of the exact time on my Garmin because I forgot to stop my watch, just got carried away by my emotion maybe.. Thats all for now, will post the details later….

Singapore marathon will be my first out-of-country race. I started training for this run sice last august and  Im hoping that I will be able to finish the race in 3:45 hrs.. Plan B would be a sub 3:50 finish.. perhaps 3:49:59 will be great. We will see tom !!!

Yesterday I picked up my race packet at Singapore expo convention and quite surprised with the efficiency on how the organizer manage/organize the distribution. It took me just 5mins; from my identification to verification of timing chip, I also noticed how courteous and accomodating staffs were from all booths. The race packet includes, race no. bib, another bib for word/s of encouragement, a nice singlet, a pain reliever cream, nature valley granola bar, berroca vitamins, several leaflets and guides which includes the comprehensive Singapore marathon 2009 event book. This book contains all the relative information the runners need for the event; race day tips, route map, how to get to the venue, program, bus pick-up points and schedules, others.

Race packet

Last step: final timing chip verification; Race entry pack collection process ends - after 5mins like !!!

Personalize Race bib no. : Please don't mind my full name !!!

All SET... Target : 3:45...

Also, part of the race entry pack collection event was the expo for running stuffs (found out later  that this was generally a “Sports and Fitness Expo”)..from race belts , shoes and apparels, running watch, to supplements (gels, whey proteins, others). I have no plans (really!) of buying anything but I ended up taking 3 nice NB bags (leatherette travelling bag, running bag, and a shoe bag) and 6 pairs of NB socks. I was not able to resist the temptations because the items were so cheap, these items I bought cost me only more or less PhP 2,200 !!! 

Bargain at PhP 2,200 !!! anyone?

For those who will be running Singapore this coming sunday, wishing you (or us) all the best!!!  See you guys at the starting line !!!

Here are some of the pictures from yesterday.. Along the way from airport to Singapore Expo convention, I’ve met marathon participants from my group-P&G’ers, Takbo.ph folks… and also, I came across with a couple of ”Tiger” from Singapore :-)

with P&G'ers at airport

with Gerry at Singapore Expo convention

P&G'ers Gil and Gerry at Singapore Expo convention

with Takbo.ph folks

Takbo.ph group.. All the best guys !!!

And… for the last time.. GO! GO! GO! TIGERBOY… GO! GO! GO! for 3:45

Tiger of Singapore: Go Tiger Go !!! I will see you again on sunday night !!!