On Being Sick And Not Being Able To Run

Always felt strong, fast, sleek, unstoppable in my twenties... (yabang, no :), He was probably saying, don't be too proud my son, you'd be a humbler man in your old days) )


And truly, now in my fifties, I am humbled because inspite of all the hardwork and training I've been doing I still am a slow runner.

I am down with the flu, luckily the mild ordinary one, not the strong swine flu that killed so many around the world in the last few months. I remember my last run last Thursday was supposed to be a 10k but after a little more than just 5k into it, I had to stop and return back home because of some breathing difficulty and feeling extraordinaly cold even though I was dressed warm. By the evening I started coughing, felt cold, and took the first of many tylenols. I called in sick and stayed at home, rested the whole day but the fever, coughing continued.

A visit to my family doctor the next morning confirmed what I feared of, the influenza. The doctor gave me strong medication for the flu, cough syrup, a puffer to relieve breathing difficulties and recommended for me to stay away from work till Friday the 13th ( woohoo! free vacation days for once). Except it sucks to be very very ill, 'cause I couldn't do anything else but rest in bed or the couch, and even sitting and facing the computer to read my favorite blogs for a longer period made me dizzy. So, had to use the couch in semi-lying down flat on your back position.

The other thing that I hate about being sick here is nobody takes care of you unless you're seriously sick enough to be in a hospital. Oh, how I miss my late mother, who used to baby me even when I was already an adult whenever I was very sick. She'd prepare me the best food and served me home made soup, sinigang, tinola or tahong with luya and sabaw, while wiping my face and arms with cold wet face towel every now and then. She was like Florence Nitingale personified. When I say nobody takes care of me, I mean nobody like my mother. My wife and daughter just go about their business once food, medicine and my basic needs are within my reach.

But the one thing I miss most is doing my training runs, solitary at least twice in the weekdays and with my running partner Nette on the Sunday long runs. I missed 2 training runs so far. How I wish I get well enough to once again feel the cool breeze, smell the scent of fallen leaves on the ground, and hear the quack quack of migrating geese flying overhead and see the mists created by my heavy breathing as I plod along during these runs. The last few days, I was just feeling like s__t, excuse me for the language, couldn't come up with the appropriate word.

Until this morning. I woke up at around 8 feeling a lot better than the previous days. I slept well enough last night and didn't remember coughing that much. Was strong enough to make my own breakfast and enjoyed a 30 minute slow walk in the park with Yuki on a beautiful, cool, sunny autumn morning. I even had a chance to walk Yuki in the woods where I used to run in the spring and summer, noticed trees bare and fallen leaves covering the pathways. Hmmmnnn... the sweet smell of autumn .

At home, took advantage to visit and catch up with reading my favorite blogs and commenting on some of them. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the stories about their experiences in the PIM , Jovie,the Baldrunner, never thought that he'd ever post a slow time in a marathon, very brave for him to finish despite a calf muscle strain. Sam, the Ninjarunner, who walked the last few ks of the marathon due to cramps, who finished with Jovie, and Ronnie, I mean Super Ronnie for running and finishing all these races despite injuries and many more. And I almost forgot, this young guy, Jayson, aka Kastilyong Lapis, whose story of his first marathon was like watching a movie, who posted a sub 4 hours time despite a bad knee. We Pinoys, never run out of heroes. It was really a very inspiring day and productive of course to read all these feel good stories about Pinoy runners.

It's been more than 3 years, if I remember right when I last had been sick this bad. And running to a great degree contributed to my being healthy and not being sickly all these last few years.

Running in the meantime will have to wait until I am completely well. The weekend is a reasonable bet for me to resume running again. I miss it so much I hope I don't come across any runners while I walk Yuki in the park in 2 minutes. Pray that I recover from this illness soon enough for my 10k race on November 22.

A 10K Race A Day After Halloween

Trick or treat! 6 days before Halloween Yuki tried on this Minimouse dress that she wore last night. :)

I'm here at home just relaxing after running the Angus Glen 10k , a day after Halloween. My left knee (just below the kneecap) is sore and so is my left foot, and I don't know the reason why. I am one runner who always has something in my body hurting after a race, unlike other"natural"runners I know who could run another marathon a week after running one. Just like all my other 10k races, I went all out again to break the elusive 1 hour barrier. I failed again. I was however very much contented and happy with the result.

The last few days, I've been reading other runner bloggers' posts on their recent race experiences. I was very much touched by runners' accounts of poor organization in one supposedly international marathon in the home country and their courage, perseverance, resourcefulness to survive and finish despite the darkness, lack of marshalls and volunteers to guide runners and the absence of water/drinks in some water stations at the crucial distances of the race. I heard that some support vehicles for individual runners had to share their supplies to runners without support crew but others had to literally beg water from kind hearted spectators along the way. They ( the people who went out of their way helping the runners)deserve praise and admiration for being angels to our suffering runners. For a marathon, which generally has a cut off time of 6 and a half to 7 hours, hydration is very necessary and important. Lack of hydration to replace lost water in our system could lead to dehydration which in turn could lead to serious injury or death in more serious cases. Organizers of marathon races should understand this as basic in the sport of long distance running.

To go back to my race this morning, I woke up at 8 am after entertaining last night my nephew, his wife and their young children , who by the way just arrived from the home country a month ago to live here as immigrants permanently. The children have not experienced trick or treating on Halloween, so my daughters Marie and Denise accompanied the children around the neighborhood to knock on doors on Halloween night. The practice here is for every home to prepare candies, chocolates, chips, toys, children's books, other goodies and give them all away to children visiting your home on Halloween night. The children and even some parents or adult companions accompanying who watch over the kids dress in Halloween costumes. My nephews kids dressed as a pirate, Cleopatra, and a ninja (there were 3 of them). My pet Yuki joined them dressed as Mini mouse :). I stayed with them as a good host should be until 10pm when I said my good night, have to sleep early coz of my race tomorrow. Jojo took over and I could overhear the laughter of the kids and the adults downstairs as the kids checked their shopping bags overflowing with goodies. I slept like a log.

Back to this morning, I had breakfast with Jojo, Denise and Marie and in between sipping coffee and munching on my toasted whole wheat pita bread with cheese, we all looked at Denise's pictures of her travel to Istanbul and other parts of Turkey.

By 9:30 am, was thru with all the pre race preparations. Checked the temperature, plus 6 Celsius, so changed to shorts, one undershirt, one long sleeved technical shirt and a wind breaker vest. Decided at the last minute not to carry any water/gatorade bottles and hydration belt. Picked up smallest plastic drink container and filled it with gatorade. Then drove to the site.

At the Angus Glen clubhouse by 9:55 am where I picked up my timing chip. Noticed free Tim Hortons hot coffee, timbits on 2 long tables and about 20 pitchers of iced water on another side with disposable cups on the side (and the race had not even started for us yet). Julia, my 5 k clinic teacher from more than 2 years ago said hi. I shook hands with Francois and hugged Sylvia, 2 other runner friends. Had a chat with Jason (Boston qualifier) about his last ironman race and noticed his unique black casual Rockport shoes (which looked more like dress shoes)that he said he and a dozen other runners were to run with. He said he got the shoes for free and tried it on an 11k run and it felt comfortable. Shoes must be alright because Jason finished 13th out of 623 in 40:35. Greeted Keri and Deborah, ex-half marathon clinicmates, then Nette (Hanneli)(my running partner, who beat me by 25 minutes in our last marathon, got her this time around by a minute more or less, babaw ng kaligayahan no, :) joined us with her husband Fidel who was to run the race too.

10 minutes before the race, Nette, Fidel and I did a warm up run at the back of the clubhouse. Visited the washroom one last time as Nette and Fidel proceeded to the start area. Gulped in a cup of cold water as I saw by the clubhouse window runners already running after the start gun had fired. ran to the back of the field of runners and the race was on.

Ran the first 2ks in 11:45, 5k at 29:05 and faded (again) around the 7k mark. Water stations with plenty of provisions and volunteers were strategically located in the entire race course. Did not need to carry a bottle of gatorade. Ended up finishing in 1:01:21, another failed attempt to break the one hour barrier. High fived Deborah (51 minutes and change) and Fidel (59:58) and gave away my bib number to Nette for another friend to use for free lunch as I had to pass and go straight back home to have lunch with Denise, who was just staying with us till the afternoon.

Disappointed initially, but at the same time happy to improve my time over my last 10k race (the Francorun 10k) which I did in 1:05:59. Contented to better my time on my second Angus Glen 10k. My first was on a time of 1:02:42. We runners could always twist a failure into a triumph, ha ha.

My next race is the Whitby Waterfront 10k on November 22, 2009.

A 10K Run And Random Pictures Of Our City And Autumn

With the temperature close to 0 degrees Celsius, 10k Franco Run runners lined up to receive their bibs or register as early as 9:00 am at High Park, Toronto. I arrived past 9, big toe still sore, but after taking 2 advils , I was ready to go for a PR.


High Park, in the center of Toronto provides residents, visitors, nature and sports lovers a venue for picnics, rollerblading, biking, running or leisure walking with its hilly terrain and well maintained gardens, trees, lawns and trails.


I took some pictures of the beautiful surroundings, while looking for a portalet as I had to pee, but there was none, and the nearest washroom was a mile away, so did what runners are famous for in times of adversity/emergency, followed some other runners to the bush and did our thing.

With my co-worker friends Sarah,Shanna and Khalid, all running their first 10k race 7 minutes before the start. Missing in the picture is my friend and mentor, Monty who came and ran with his loving wife after a long lay off from running due to an achilles heel injury.

Running is a great equalizer, young or old, rich or poor, male or female, short or tall (Haile, the world record holder in the marathon is vertically challenged), everybody enjoys it's benefits, a healthy lifestyle, a fitter body and mind, the appreciation and enjoyment of nature and the friendship of good people with the same passion for the sport.

Toronto our main city in Ontario is a melting pot of races, on the drive home took a picture of a corner Mexican taco restaurant with a red tree on the right, only in Toronto.

Stopped by a traffic light at Bloor Street West, took a picture of two pedestrian ladies wearing different autumn attires.

Some Toronto buildings kept and restored their unique older architectural designs.

Another "old" building in Toronto.

Skyscrapers in the background while teams play soccer in a Toronto park. notice some trees starting to change colors.

Another part of the same park with big trees, thick vegetation, trails between it and the downtown Toronto skyline. We need one like this in the center of Manila so running enthusiasts, walkers, picnickers and nature lovers could de-stress themselves after the hectic, fast and stressful work week in the city. Central Park in New York City serves this purpose.

Finally got out of downtown Toronto, and while driving along Don Valley Parkway took some pictures of trees and vegetation changing into fall colors.

A relaxing and easy drive on the hi-way after an intense 10k run is a bonus plus of course listening to easy rock music from the 60's, 70's and 80's.

Residents of these condo buildings must be enjoying nature as these woods and trails are just right in front of their doorste

Enjoyed the sights and sounds of Toronto but Markham, my small but beautiful town is still my home and haven.

The entrance to my secret running trail in the nearby woods was very inviting but, have to be home for Jojo's sinigang, lumpiang sariwa and fried fish with chopped green mango, tomatoes, and onion waiting for me at the dining table.

P.S.

I finished the race in 1:05:59, my slowest ever in a 10k race (this is my 4th). No, not because of my sore left big toe. Can't give that for an excuse. I felt a little pain but not enough to affect my time. The steep hills did it. The route was quite "easy" and simple . Run the same 5k route twice, that was it. The only problem was the first 2 and a half ks were steep downhill, and I ran them in less than 6 minute pace per k. The next 2 and a half ks were brutal, just continuously steep uphill climbs. I finished my first 5ks at 31 minutes and change. From then on, I knew that a PR was next to impossible, so just ran the best I could. Happy, contented, fulfilled, blessed, after finishing another race and seeing the joy in my friends' eyes for finishing their first 10k race.

My next race is on November 1, the Angus Glen 10K in Markham.

After My First Marathon, What's Next?

Some of the 17,000 runners congregating at Nathan Philips Square in downtown Toronto before the start of the 5k, half-marathon and marathon races


Thousands of runners, relatives and friends in front of the twin Toronto City hall buildings


Excitedly confident with 13 minutes to the start gun


Made a last ditch effort to beat to the finish line the bald, fat and shirtless runner in front of me but missed by 2 seconds .



Happy to earn my first marathon finisher medal with wife Jojo and daughter Denise in the picture.



Finally at age 55, a marathoner. What's next?

As I sit down here and think about what to write on this post, my whole body is aching, the most pain that I've had since the all night hazing I received on my initiation night for membership to the Tau Lambda Kappa Fraternity of the UE College of Law more than 2 decades ago. It was even worse yesterday, after the race. I could hardly walk, occasionally had thigh muscle cramps, felt so weak, without any appetite, felt like throwing up and just slept like a log when I got home.

All morning also today, Jojo and I have been watching the Filipino Channel for news about Typhoon Ondoy, the floods in Metro Manila and other areas, the casualties, devastation and the return of Bayanihan spirit among all Filipinos, living in the Philippines and outside. Although in the past weeks, it seemed like the soap opera that is politics in the Philippines was the favorite topic in our homes and in the news, the sad aftermath of Ondoy saw all Pinoys irrespective of different and opposing partisan views and persuasions all come together and help each other in dealing with rescue operations, providing victims with the very basics like food, clothing, drinking water, shelter, and collecting relief goods and donations . There is still a lot of work to be done to rescue people trapped in their homes in flooded areas and making sure relief supplies, food and medicine reach needy people in time. The bad news is, there is another typhoon brewing close to the Philippines that may pass the country in the next few days. May God save us from another strong typhoon.

Below is the story of my first marathon.

Felt strong and confident at the start. Did 5k in 34 minutes, 10k at 1:14; half marathon mark (21k) at 2:42, and then as always slowed down in the second half, reached the 30k mark in 4:01. After passing the 32nd k, I was on unchartered territory. Begun to entertain negative thoughts because of pain on my left toes, left hip joint, quads. Chanted instinctively quietly, Tau ! Lambda! Kappa! to make me oblivious of all the pain. Thought of Rick, Mark (Tanaka), Jerry, Ronnie, Jovie, Jo-Lynn, all ultra runners, and said to myself , 42k is nothing.Passed a middleaged white male runner massaging his right thigh and gave him an e-load capsule (for electrolytes). At 33rd k passed another Asian looking middleaged runner who was limping while walking, offered and gave him an e-load capsule.

Felt weaker and weaker by the 34th k, (ran out of gels ,shotbloks, e-load by this time) and decided to stop by a variety (sari sari) store and bought a Cadburys nuts and raisins chocolate bar which I munched and finished in no time. I was so hungry. Where were Vener's saging na saba or Rico's hopia cubes when you needed them. A kindly resident offered fresh red watermelon on a tray and I picked one, and oh was it ever sweet. At the 35k heard my name being called, and saw my sports doctor, Dr. Natalie Labelle, a marathoner herself cheering on the side with her husband holding a poster with names and pointing at one name - Bong.. Stopped for a few seconds to shake their hands. She told me "you can do it Bong!"

By this time, I think I was walking more than I was running. All the runners who I passed, who passed me or were within my sight were either limping, stopping and stretching or massaging a thigh or leg, puking, walking, trying to move forward in what barely looked like a running motion. Negative thoughts came back and for a second the words quit and rest came to my mind. I prayed.

At the 37th k, just as I was walking and at my lowest low (physically and mentally) in the entire race, I heard a fat runner behind me yelling (what I thought of then as swear words), and ran pass me. The guy was no lighter than 260 lbs, I bet. He was shirtless, with his shirt tied around his big belly. This middle-aged, fat, foul-mouthed (I was mistaken here, I learned later), big bellied guy would never beat me, I told myself then. :)

From then on it became a chasing game between a used-to-be fat 55 year old wannabe marathoner trying to catch up with this shirtless, big bellied, bald guy. :)

With 400 meters to go he was still ahead of me by 100 meters as I tried to pick up speed to catch him. This time, all of a sudden a female spectator came out of the crowd of spectators to hug him (must be the wife) and he stopped for a moment. This gave me the oppurtunity to close the gap between us, and then he started running again. I was about ten feet behind him with 100 meters to the finish line and could hear him yell something like Go! Scott (his name) go! (not swear words that I thought I heard before). Gave it my all to catch and pass him before the finish line but missed by a few feet.

I crossed the finish line 2 seconds behind Scott (thebald, fat shirtless runner) in 5 hours 51 minutes.

So, what's next for me, if I'm asked today. No more marathon! I'd probably take up power walking or concentrate on the shorter distances, the 5k and 10k at the most. Or maybe just be content with walking Yuki in the park.

P.S. My running friend Nette recovered in time from her glutes injury to finish the same race, her first too, in 5 hours 26 minutes. Congrats Nette!

7 Days To My First Marathon

Thirty years ago, I ran regularly at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City to help me get better at playing my sport then, basketball. Never crossed my mind that 30 years after, I would be a runner and try to finish my first marathon 7 days from today.

My first try to finish a full marathon is just 7 days away .

I am excited, anxious but confident at the same time.

I think I've done everything physically and mentally possible to prepare for this race.

Today is the first day of the 18th and last week of my marathon training program. Yesterday was my last LSD training run, just 16k in 2:03:45, that was part of tapering period. The last 4 Sundays before today, I did weekend long runs of 30k, 30k, 32k, and 23k successively, the most mileage I'd done since I took up running seriously in 2007. I did a slow 6k recovery run this morning, and would be running 10k on Tuesday, 10k on Thursday, 3k on Saturday and then the big day on Sunday.

In all my long runs 30k or more I felt like I had nothing left in the tank the last few ks. I know that the real test would be from the 32k mark on because that would be new territory to me, I've never run longer than 32k. I read that most runners with a DNF result in a marathon were unable to continue because they "hit the wall" after the 32k mark but before the finish line. I pray that I be given the physical and mental strength to cover the last 10k and achieve my goal of finishing my first marathon.

I also hope and pray that my friend and running partner Nette, who'd been with me through thick and thin in most of the past 17 training weeks of the marathon clinic, heals and recovers from her glutes injury so she could still run the race with me on Sunday.

So, the next few days would be time to rest, relax, take it easy, try not to get injured.

What one helpful advise would a marathoner or an ultra runner give to a first timer like myself?

My next post will be my race report after the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Sunday. I wonder what the title to my post would be?

An Ankle Sprain 14 Days Before My First Marathon?

Are you walking me to the park today?


Yuki sleeping and using my foot as pillow




Yuki, my pet puppy, looking more confident now.

It was 8.70 kilometers into our long Sunday run this morning when it happened so unexpectedly. Nette, Sandra and I were running on a narrow asphalted walkway in a nearby trail when we saw an overweight man walking in our direction. We did a single file, and continued running, and as I was trying to move to my right trying to avoid colliding with a fat guy like myself, half my right foot landed on the edge of the walkway and the other half on grass that was too soft and gave way. Before I knew what happened I was down on the grass, holding on to my right ankle. I was understandably worried and angry at myself at the same time for being so careless so close (14 days to be exact) to my first marathon race.

I stood up, put some weight on my right foot, and thankfully, on a scale of 10 the pain or discomfort was only a one. I told my lady friends I would try running and see how it was, and lo and behold, the pain gradually disappeared as we covered more and more mileage.

Finished 23ks in a slow time of 3:12:17.


Took 2 advils when I got home iced it and took a 3 hour nap.


Woke up around 4pm , took my puppy Yuki to the park , tested my ankle by playing a chase game with her and found out that the supposed injury was nothing but a mild ankle twist and not a sprain as I initially thought.

Thank God, it's still a go in two weeks.

Also, my puppy Yuki (snow in Japanese) is with us for exactly one month now. Yuki is a bichon frise that we got from a dog adoption agency. She was with the breeder for 6 months living in a cage most of the time until a foster home got her to live there with 6 other bigger dogs. My daughter Marie got her from the foster home for a few hundred dollars donation.

Yuki was a pitiful dog at first. She was thin. Scared of people, her tail was always between her legs and her ears were always down. She got startled by any kind of noise, the closing of the door, turning on the computer or the TV. Coming home, I would see her hiding in one corner cowering in fear. My wife, Jojo even suggested for us to take her back to the dog adoption agency. This was Yuki a month ago.

Now, Yuki is a different puppy. She's getting more comfortable with people and she actually greets us cheerfully with her tail wagging. We used the services of a dog trainer who gave us some helpful information on how to potty and crate train her. We enrolled her to obedience school and every now and then take her to a dog care centre. A dog walker comes every now and then on days when all of us are at work. We exposed her to people by taking her to the park whenever we could. I'm reading a book by Cesar Millan titled A Member of the Family, Guide to a Lifetime of Fulfillment with Your Dog which I think could help me be a good dog owner.

I found out one day that Yuki, with her boundless energy was a great runner. I happened to be walking Yuki close to a nearby football field when I met a friendly lady with her pet Maltese. She suggested to me to let Yuki off leash and let her play with her dog. I did, and what a joy to see Yuki running fast chasing after the other dog (who is an adult dog) .

In all the days that I took Yuki to the park since then, we'd run and run in the grass until I could continue no more due to fatigue.

Yuki is my newly discovered running partner, baw waw waw!

My Longest Run Ever!

This morning, Sunday, September 6, 2009 was the first day of the 16th week of my marathon clinic program. The distance for this morning's long run was 32 ks the longest training run in the marathon program. It's only 21 days to the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, my (and six others in the clinic) first marathon, and the excitement of every runner in our run club entered in the event could be felt during our clinic sessions and right after the training runs.

I ran again with my running buddy Nette, this time around, I had with me tissue paper (toilet paper) inside a ziplock bag just in case of emergency. I got lucky the previous Sunday when I had to rely on Nette to provide me with tissue paper when I had to relieve myself in the woods for the first time also in my running career.

Unlike the previous Sunday when I kept up with Nette till the 22nd k, this morning, she started pulling away from me by the 14th k. And this was not because I was running slower, it was because she's getting stronger and stronger as we get closer to the race. So proud of her.

Reached the 21st k in 2:49. Started feeling tired, legs heavy the next few ks. By the 27th k, was in pain everywhere, my feet, leg and thigh muscles, my right pelvic joint, as if all parts of my running body were conspiring to make me quit. This was the time when I asked myself, why am I doing this? Why am I punishing my body like this? Is it worth all this pain?

The good thing about blogging is you get to know the accomplishments of other runners and athletes that far surpassed in a great way the best you've ever accomplished. When I was beginning to doubt myself and all these negative questions popped up in my mind, all I had to do was think of Ronnie, Jerry, Sir Jovie and everybody that finished the BDM 102k ultra in the heat of summer (blistered feet and all), Rick Gaston being tossed like a rag doll in the mountain trails in his 100 mile races, Iron ladies Pia and Ani doing their hours and hours of swim, bike ride, plus a full marathon. All these great athletes compete in events that require them to test their physical and mental limits in more than 10 hours some closer to 24 hours in difficult and sometimes extreme conditions. What is a 32 k? A piece of cake.

I completed 32ks in a slow time of 4:28:58, the last 3ks at close to 9 minutes per k average.

Next 3 weeks is tapering period, the next Sunday long run at 23 ks, the Sunday after next at 6 ks and then marathon race day on the 27th.

With my longest run ever under my belt, I now believe I can.