A Major Major Improvement.

Today is the sixth day of my one week vacation leave. I should have been in Paris or London today doing last minute shopping before our flight back home. That was the plan, a European vacation this week, until Jojo talked me into buying new furniture, a flat screen LED TV, dining set 2 months ago. Pooff!! there went our European vacation. So instead, the last few days we've been busy fixing things in the house, painting our front door and garage door, replacing the humidifier filter, cleaning the electrical air filter, mowing the lawn, gardening, walking Yuki. Not the typical things somebody on vacation would enjoy doing.

The truth of the matter is , I am enjoying it ( the vacation) so much, I wish our vacation were longer. Love the long afternoon naps after my chores. Love the time to connect with long lost friends thru the internet, again after finishing my chores. Enjoyed looking at our teenage pictures at FB found by a friend from a "lumang baul". Read my favorite running blogs. Enjoyed pictures of my favorite triathletes at Camsur Ironman. Finished reading a book.

Well, come this Monday, the worker ant (that's me) will be back at work again toiling and saving for the rainy day ( and a vacation in some exotic place in another continent).

At the Philippine front, felt pride in our own Venus for almost winning the Miss Universe title. Her "major major" Pinoy fans (the 4 friends on youtube), whose video of them celebrating was viewed by millions around the world, are typical of all Filipinos. We supported Venus with all our hearts and minds and prayers that it was like a whole country willing her to win. That is so true specially also with our boxing hero Manny Pacquiao during his fights or CNN Hero Of the Year Efren before he was announced the winner.

On the subject running, my next race, the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon is just 29 days away. This week gave me 3 quality training runs so far, the last was tonight, a "fast"
10k in 1:16:10. Previous to this, my last two 10k training runs were in almost identical times of 1:19 and change. Considering that my last 10k race (Vaughan 10k) was in a slow race time of 1:17, my time in tonight's run is a major major :) improvement.

This week, I did my solitary runs mostly at sunset, with the orange/pinkish sun gradually disappearing in the horizon. The weather this time of the year here is ideal for running , cool, breezy, serene, peaceful.

Everything is good.

Later.

A Most Relaxing Sunday Run - the Acura 10 Miler

I just ran the Acura 10 Miler in the Distillery District of Toronto this morning, a most relaxing Sunday run . After backbreaking work to renovate our kitchen the whole day yesterday, Jojo suggested to me not to run the race so I could finish our project, including repainting the kitchen . As always, she was unsuccesful. My run day is never negotiable. Nobody can take it away from me (even under the threat of sleeping outside the kulambo, :)) , unless I give it up on my own. To keep the peace, I promised to complete everything after my run. As I am typing this post with my two fingers still dirty with paint, I just finished painting the whole kitchen. If I were back home in Quezon City, I would have just hired laborers to do the job for me. Here, their (carpenters/painters) services are too expensive.

The start area at the corner of Trinity and Front Streets in Toronto, the CN Tower in the background. The morning was sunny with the temperature just above 20 degrees Celsius, for me a bit too hot for comfort. This race also introduced a new thing in running, the timing chip on the bib numbers instead of placing the chip on the runner's shoe or around the ankle.

The yellow brigade of young volunteers were hard at work early preparing to assist runners in the race with hydration (gatorade or water).

A young and cheerful volunteer ready to answer all kinds of questions about the race from runners and their friends and loved ones.

Shortly before the 8:30 am start, more than 2,000 excited runners await the starting gun for the 10 miler and the 5k run.

The race is on, I ran at a leisurely pace of between 7 -8 minutes per k at the early part of the race, and after the warm up, ran even much slower. The winner finished in 48 minutes.

More runners, around 75% ran the 10 miler, those on the right and the 5kers on the left.

More volunteers serving the runners at the water stations,which were strategically located every 2k with more than enough cups of cold water and gatorade. Runners were also treated to tents with showers to cool them down.

It was a joy to see the the skyline of our beautiful city, Toronto basking in the sun this bright Sunday morning.

Another view of the Toronto skyline farther away just behind these yachts /boats in the lake.

Wild flowers and plants abound everywhere along the race route.

At the end of the run, a sight I always look forward to, the smiling faces of volunteers handing out the finisher medals.

Sweet!

My next long race is the Toronto Scotiabank half marathon in September.

Markham's Wild Flowers

Went out for a solitary run on Thursday at the nearby trail and woods. Carried my camera and took some pictures of wild plants and flowers that abound this time of the year among vegetation that grow along the trails and woods of Markham. While clicking my camera, I thought of blogger friends Lidj, crownofbeauty.blogspot.com and Caloy, secondwind.blogspot.com, the former for her superb photographs of everything from flower to dew, and the latter for reminding me again that "the best things in life are free", for his post and pictures of his new running route.

My next race is on July 11, 2010, the Acura Toronto 10 Miler.

Get inspired, visit 365ultra.blogspot.com and runmoretalkless.blogspot.com, two great posts on the San Diego 100Miler. These ultra runners are the toughest.

Alfie Shrubb 8K Classic- Running in the Rain

I woke up early this morning, around 5:30 only to find out that it was raining and the temperature was at 12 degrees Celsius, too cold for my race at 9 am, the 8th annual running of the Alfie Shrubb 8K Classic in Bowmanville, Ontario . Over breakfast and coffee, I thought that going back to the warmth of my bed would be the easier and more comfortable alternative to running on a Sunday. But ultimately, I decided to go for it (I adhere to my coach Isaac's teaching that running races in the worst weather conditions builds character) and drove 32 miles east to Bowmanville, population 80,000 plus, a small rural town east of Toronto. The race was to raise funds in support of the Claringdon Museum.


This race is named after an English runner, Alfred Shrubb (1879-1964) who at one point in his prime owned world records in running from 1,000 yards to 11 miles. His most famous rival was the native Canadian, Tom Longboat, winner of the 1907 Boston Marathon (2:24:24), whom he beat a number of times . Later in life , he made his home in Bowmanville, Ontario, until his death in 1904.


These records were accomplished by Shrubb without the help of modern technology, training techniques, cross training methods, technical shirts, non-blister socks, nor different types of modern running shoes (stability, motion control, trail, cross trainer, etc) that we runners of this generation enjoy. I stand to be corrected here, but I believe, when the official result of this race is released, none of the participants posted a faster time than the 24:33 he did in 1904.


I proceeded to the start area 5 minutes before the race hoping that the rain would stop. Most runners who were there wore jackets, some carried umbrellas, while some stayed under Runningroom tents. I wore a Lady of the Mist (from going on a boat under the Niagara Falls) rainbag which was handy as it protected me not only from the rain but the cold wind as well.


At almost start time, I positioned myself at the very back. The sky was still overcast, rain was still falling but no longer as hard as earlier in the morning. I was only wearing a shirt and shorts under my rainbag and the cold wind only made matters worse. My fault. When you train running in the winter, you become too cocky. Lesson learned, it's ok to be overdressed, never underdressed.

The one good thing about running big races (where participants number in the thousands) is you finish faster than a few hundred even if your time is slow. In small races , and in very bad weather too, I find that most participants are hardcore, seasoned runners with fewer slower runners participating. In this race, I saw the back pack thin to a few dozen runners in no time after the start. I entertained the thought of the possibility of finishing last in this race if I run this race like the Vaughan 10k the Sunday before.

From being last in the pack, I started to look at runners in front of me who looked out of rhythm, out of shape or just plain slow. I then aimed at catching up and then passing each runner I picked. First, I observed his/her leg turnover and then I made sure that mine was much faster and the strategy worked. When I experienced breathing difficulty or heaviness in my legs, I slowed down a bit and looked at the beautiful surroundings to distract me from it. I discovered and now know that one does not need to be elite to enjoy running. As I passed one runner after another, I felt a combination of joy and excitement, and looked ahead for the next one to pass. I finished strong as I passed about ten runners in the last k. Can't wait to see the official results to find out how many runners I passed.

At the small gym of MJ Hobbs School we congregated after the race for the award ceremonies. I was glad to see some oldies, in their 60's and seventies receive awards in their age groups. They inspire us to continue running, and also give us hope that someday, some where, God willing, any one of us could go up to that stage to receive our own.

A couple of runners were wearing 2010 Boston Athletic Club (Boston marathon) jackets. It turned out that both are elite as each won his age group.

God, please help and guide me to become a stronger and faster runner, so that someday, I may have the privilege of wearing a Boston Marathon jacket similar to what this young man in front of me was wearing.

Truly, I feel blessed being healthy, able to run (in the rain), and receiving this medal today. I thank and praise Him for another wonderful, memorable, and injury free race.

Can't wait to run the next one.

P.S.

The winner of this race posted a time of 25 minutes plus, slower than Alfie Shrubb's 1904 time for the same distance.

I was 163rd out of 189 finishers, posting a turtlish (is there such a word?) time of 56 minutes and change. Yehey, I passed and beat 26 other runners! Babaw ng kaligayahan, no :)

Run for Vaughan 10K on a Manila Like Hot Sunday

I just ran the Vaughan 10K yesterday, the hottest day of the week (reminded me of the same hot weather we have in Manila). The race was to raise funds for Vaughan's future hospital. It's admirable how a small group of simple ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things and make life better for the whole community.The start area was at the Islamic Mosque in Jane Street, Vaughan and the organizers and volunteers appear to come from the very small Moslem community in this town of just over 200,000 people.

The beautiful structure from another angle.

The race started at 8:30 am with the temperature already around 23 degrees Celsius. We, numbering a few hundred, started running along the streets of residential areas close to the mosque. Water stations were strategically located almost every 1 and a half k, and young volunteers enthusiastically provided the drinks, some of them I noticed wearing bib numbers on their shirts for their 3k run at 10:00 am. It was a gorgeous day other than the heat, and I found myself early on having some breathing difficulty. (I always find an excuse finishing slow in a race, he he)

As always, I ended up at the back of the pack, and again took out my camera to take a picture of the faster runners on the right, one of them even pushing his child on a baby stroller.

The race route covered parts that are mostly huge farmlands north of the mosque, we had to turn around a loop 5k into the race and retrace the exact same route. At around 3 and a half k, had to take a picture of the runner leading the race who was running all alone, the 2nd placer about 400 meters behind. His form and physique reminded me of myself thirty years ago, that was when I was 60 pounds lighter , he he.

At the 5k turnaround still smiling and having a fun time, although suffering from the heat of the sun and the absence of any wind or cool breeze, so very like the warm weather in my homeland, the Philippines which I miss so much.

A barbecue at the end of the race , no wonder I can't get rid of the extra pounds despite my running.

With run club friend Ben who also ran the race. Other than my slow finishing time which is always a given, another blessed day of sunshine, beautiful scenery, smiling people, sweaty runners huffing and puffing all around me , picture taking, food, my kind of day.

My next race is the Alfie Shrubb 8k Classic on June 06, 2010 at Bowmanville, Ontario.

Mississauga Half Marathon - My Sunday Long Run

Friday, May 14, I tried to change my race to 10k instead of a half due to my problematic left knee . Was told the 1ok was closed, so early Sunday morning, I was here (not even sure of completing the race) at the start line with thousands of other runners doing the half and the full marathon waiting anxiously, stretching, warming up before the start.

I ended up waiting just in front of the Runningroom store in Mississauga.

I was so happy to meet run club friends Grace and Julia who were both running the full marathon waiting in the same spot.

With Julia, my 5k clinic coach in 2007, who basically taught me how to run.

Let the celebration of life, good health, friendship, race begin!

This sight makes me love running more and more. Although only a small percentage of the adult population are runners, during a race, we (runners)own the roads.

Running events bring out the best in people of the community. These young people spent their Sunday helping runners by volunteering in the water stations. There was a hydration station at 2 kilometer intervals in this race and I noticed gels being handed out at the last few ks of the race.

I tried to keep my pace around 7 minutes per k at the first few kilometers and my heart rate at about 80% of my maximum heart rate. The day was just so beautiful though, the temperature perfect at around 14 Celsius and the surroundings so clean and scenic that my supposed race became more of a recreational slow sightseeing run. The funny thing was, I could have run faster if i wanted to because the knee never bothered me.

With 15ks to go, and with no pressure to finish fast, I still looked fresh and happy here.

Our heroes, the young volunteers who unselfishly give their time and energy for free to make life easier for runners and make this race a complete success. Hurray to all volunteers!

In the middle of the race I decided to stick with the 2:45 race bunny to make sure I beat the 3 hour barrier. I tried to run just slightly ahead of the group just to make sure I was always close and i was successfull until the last kilometer and a half, when I had to take walk breaks because of recurring cramps on my right leg muscle.

I had a good time running with this group, the pacer was encouraging, cheerful, consistent pace wise, and would tell people to slow down when the pace was getting too fast. The group finished a couple of minutes ahead of me.

I finished the race smiling, upright, raising both hands in the air (in thanksgiving and praise of God) in 2:45 and change beating more than 500 other runners. Don't ask me how many runners did the half marathon, he he.

My next race is the Vaughn 10k on May 30, 2010.