tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-362741872024-03-14T02:20:10.108+08:00Second WindJust another running blog by just another runner.Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.comBlogger161125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-52247677939270138972022-02-19T09:44:00.004+08:002022-02-19T09:44:26.467+08:00What matters is the run<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhM21G2cGFRo1nRtmkTYqyNe4wb9vp3o4ZLLwEYdHFXO92fUt-l2M-CwzkBvWhjaktU7V7x0tDn9C62DxH9Z0JPRFggpe--YiAkfCyJ9VEBUc0RLQtoH_XhkTT5VIBoihXx_VZ0QhbKwZG7PXFoEBErxb0CGUbIgNAbXk8DnTm0YnklhOV44g=s4160" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhM21G2cGFRo1nRtmkTYqyNe4wb9vp3o4ZLLwEYdHFXO92fUt-l2M-CwzkBvWhjaktU7V7x0tDn9C62DxH9Z0JPRFggpe--YiAkfCyJ9VEBUc0RLQtoH_XhkTT5VIBoihXx_VZ0QhbKwZG7PXFoEBErxb0CGUbIgNAbXk8DnTm0YnklhOV44g=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p> For the past two weeks, I have been running in my more than two years old pair of Saucony Kinvara 10s. They still felt good through several 6ks and a couple of 10ks. I didn't have any issues with them. My feet had no complaints. So while I have been toying with the idea of getting a new pair of lightweight running shoes or a pair of classic racing flats, I thinks I can do well with the shoes that I currently have in my modest collection of five pairs.</p><p>Having a new pair of shoes has a way of boosting your performance. You are motivated more than usual to go out there and hit the roads or trails with it. But buying new pairs every now and then can cost a fortune. And shoe prices have skyrocketed tremendously, especially models that carry the new carbon plate a.k.a. "super-fast" technology. For one who has the means, that would be not much of a big deal, but not everyone is in that lucky position. </p><p>In the past two years since this pandemic struck, I have run in this pair of Kinvara 10s purchased in 2019, Nike Rival Fly 2s and Merrell Bare Access Flex which I both got on sale in 2020 and 2021, and shoes given by a friend now working in the UK - Asics Gel 451s and Gel Pulse 11s. This is perhaps the most number of running shoes I have had since I don't know when. I did just fine with a single pair for training and racing most of my running years, with a couple or two almost ran down to tatters. We always have our favorite pair or two, don't we?</p><p>I have always relied, too, on Timex Ironman sports watches to track my times since I was introduced to it back in my early racing years several decades ago. I have been through more than three (I guess) until I decided to get myself a Timex Ironman R300 GPS smartwatch last year. I still keep my Timex Ironman 50 lap memory sports watch purchased close to a decade ago (I guess, again). </p><p>The popularity of running has no doubt created a lucrative market for shoe companies and other sports and fitness gadget manufacturers. The latest to cash in are virtual race organizers who definitely make more than a buck with registration fees that are definitely not cheap. </p><p>As simple as it may be as a sport, running can be expensive too if you cannot run with only a single pair of shoes and a pair of comfortable clothing. But isn't that what this is supposed to be all about? Running, the run. It is something you can definitely do even without the fancy shoes and gadgets. It is what matters.</p><div><br /></div>Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-86926233788403371602021-11-20T12:31:00.005+08:002021-11-20T13:15:12.370+08:00Decades on the road<p>Last Monday, while on the finishing stretch of a morning 10k run, my second at 66 years old, a motorcycle rider slowly drove beside me, the driver asking me how old I was. He was somewhere between his mid-20's and early 30's by my estimate. Smiling, I told him I was 66 years old. He quipped back: "Bata pa ko gadagan ka na, sir, ba. Lig-on kaayo. (I've seen you running since I was young, sir. Such endurance)."</p><p>I was perhaps in my mid- to late-20's when I started running, and have gone on since that time in the mid-80's, except for a couple of years or so that I dabbled more in cycling and run much less. I have been running since my return sometime in 2005-2006.</p><p>Many times, commuting on a tricycle when I came home from the city where I worked for about 5 years or so, the driver would ask if I still ran, and tell me how I have been a common sight running along the highway most mornings. Not seeing me on my usual early morning jaunts at that time pethaps made them ask: "What the hell happened to that running guy?"</p><p>I can only smile thinking about it.</p><p>Other runners I have run with when I started, most of them younger than me, have stopped running. I have run with many others who have picked up the habit over the years. I don't see many of them on the road nowadays. The few that still do seem to be moving faster than me now, but many more have stopped. My times have slowed down over the years. My 45-minute 10k runs when I was in my mid-50's are now done in over an hour, closer to 2 hours in fact. But I am thankful I can still do it. I can still run. Not many my age here do that.</p><p>Now that I have retired from work, and have more time to run and ride, I am doubly grateful. I am blessed, and I will continue to make my runs and my rides my songs of praise. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qGMJdi-Wrjg/YZhqgSGyrII/AAAAAAAAeRQ/7kqW4NnOiGIBixt7Zx9eeVNR4bWsGBDjQCLcBGAsYHQ/s976/Amas.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="976" height="219" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qGMJdi-Wrjg/YZhqgSGyrII/AAAAAAAAeRQ/7kqW4NnOiGIBixt7Zx9eeVNR4bWsGBDjQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Amas.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1987 (?) in my early 30's.<br />Running a lap around the North Cotabato Provincial Capitol dirt track <br />to finish a 21k race during the province's anniversary celebration that year. <br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bqEV8B7_Gik/YZhrYFbzqXI/AAAAAAAAeRY/uSTvoU7UgjYTE5EvtcU8HM8K-FeZpZ8LgCLcBGAsYHQ/s980/17th%2BDFM%2B2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-otQHLm4iLBI/YZhrpCtaOhI/AAAAAAAAeRg/5k-Q7Vb2YsgD_zwms0tliWeV2cruIZBAwCLcBGAsYHQ/s976/16th%2BDFM%2B1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="976" data-original-width="684" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-otQHLm4iLBI/YZhrpCtaOhI/AAAAAAAAeRg/5k-Q7Vb2YsgD_zwms0tliWeV2cruIZBAwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/16th%2BDFM%2B1.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1999 at 44.<br />Running to the finish of the 16th Davao Finisher's Marathon 26k run.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="980" height="201" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bqEV8B7_Gik/YZhrYFbzqXI/AAAAAAAAeRY/uSTvoU7UgjYTE5EvtcU8HM8K-FeZpZ8LgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/17th%2BDFM%2B2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">2000 at 45.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Crossing the finish of the 17th DFM. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I did a repeat of the previous year's 26k run.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DPSexGEmFrw/YZhzymgHypI/AAAAAAAAeSY/musMLlVHpNwc2wQhJlzKflcW36aPcBnfgCLcBGAsYHQ/s720/156903_1771830299800_1360531896_2885542_3243546_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="481" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DPSexGEmFrw/YZhzymgHypI/AAAAAAAAeSY/musMLlVHpNwc2wQhJlzKflcW36aPcBnfgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/156903_1771830299800_1360531896_2885542_3243546_n.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2010 at 55 years old.<br />At the finish of the 27th Davao Finishers' Marathon 42k. <br />My official race time: </td></tr></tbody></table>4:23:16.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p3jM5wBiXXw/YZh1ehS5osI/AAAAAAAAeSg/yk0E_ITKSVkPe3ZnXCVMSV50Z_bAfe8qwCLcBGAsYHQ/s719/377410_278537902192026_100001074566736_802648_2125782968_n%2B%25282%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="719" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p3jM5wBiXXw/YZh1ehS5osI/AAAAAAAAeSg/yk0E_ITKSVkPe3ZnXCVMSV50Z_bAfe8qwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/377410_278537902192026_100001074566736_802648_2125782968_n%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2011<br />Sprinting to the finish of the 28th Davao Finisher's Marathon 42K.<br />My official time: 3:52:21,<br />good for 10th among male finishers.<br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;">I was 56 years old.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-24519336928112507182021-04-12T12:51:00.000+08:002021-04-12T12:51:17.241+08:00Reality bites again<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8O-7V9GplIY/YHPPbn6AaNI/AAAAAAAAcS0/lv6icq4JQakRzGWb9Pz4hOlEtNlWFrzrACPcBGAsYHg/s3968/IMG_20201228_060326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3968" data-original-width="2976" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8O-7V9GplIY/YHPPbn6AaNI/AAAAAAAAcS0/lv6icq4JQakRzGWb9Pz4hOlEtNlWFrzrACPcBGAsYHg/w300-h400/IMG_20201228_060326.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>This is not a post about running; it is a post about NOT running and the frustration that goes with it.</p><p>At 65, my body is definitely not what it used to be. I logged what was perhaps the best marathon time I ever ran close to ten years ago when I was 55 one a tough hilly course, a sub-4-hour effort - 3:52:21, which had me break into the list of top ten male finishers. I ran 6 days out of a week's 7 back then, logging an average of 10 kilometers a day and doing 15k's and half-marathon distances on weekends. It seems those days are long gone, simply memories etched in ink on the pages of my logs and in posts on this blog. I do not think they can happen again, though I wish they would.</p><p>Since I started running again after the lockdown restrictions last years were lifted, I have been averaging 7 minutes and a half pace per kilometer when I used to do 5 to 5 and a half minutes on average. The distances I ran became shorter, the runs less frequent - 5 days in the week, at times just 4. But even as the mileage dropped, it made itself felt: the bothersome twinge, which at times become immobilizing pain.</p><p>Last January, while going for a 10k, I suddenly felt a pain in my left buttock and was forced to stop before I could even hit halfway of the 5k mark. Sciatica aggravated, I thought. I have been feeling some twinge in the sciatic area for a while now, but this was something else. There was a stabbing pain with every step of my left leg; I had no other option but to walk all the way back home.</p><p>I tried to run again after resting for a week, but the pain was still there. After several days of rest and stretching routines, it felt better so I tried to do a 2-kilometer jog-walk, walking and jogging for a kilometer and jogging the other kilometer back home. I reminded myself patience pays and to just trust the process.</p><p>Over the next few days, I upped my running distance from 2 to 3 and then 5 kilometers. I also graduated from jog-walk combinations to full jogs, all untimed, all slow. In the weeks that followed I was able to log 15, 20 and 25 kilometers of weekly total mileage. I was somewhat elated, though I wished I could go faster. I told myself good things take time.</p><p>It seems I may have gone back running too early.</p><p>An out-of-town engagement gave me additional rest days which I thought would mean better running when I got back to it again. To my frustration, it was not to be. On May 29, while out for a 6k run, a near-stumble seemed to have over-stretched my butt and thigh muscles again and I was back to finding running a bit bothersome again. this time it caused a pain in the groin area. My planned 6k became a cumbersome 2k jog-walk. </p><p>I am back to square one again, frustrated, but I guess I can blame no one but myself for being the impatient, stubborn old dog that I am. </p><p>A lot of physical changes happen to the human body as we grow older. It does not happen overnight but as time moves on, we feel the effects. I guess one feels more of it at 65 than at 55. Still, at 65, I believe I still have the capacity to run well. It is just a matter of being able to adjust, come up with a routine that is best suited for my age and ability. I am still looking for that. </p><p>Or am I just fooling myself into believing I still have it in me to come up with good runs, good distances, good times?<br /></p><p>Frustrated as I may be with what has been happening to me lately, I definitely do not want to give up; not now, not for this stubborn old dog. </p><p><br /></p>Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-7154083604795585672021-01-04T19:42:00.000+08:002021-01-04T19:42:14.099+08:00 A better year? Hopefully...<p></p><p class="MsoNormal">A better year? Hopefully...<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With the coronavirus pandemic and everything that came with
it, I do not think anyone will call 2020 a great year.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It caused lockdowns which affected business, schools, even
sports and leisure activities. Plans were waylaid by the pandemic for many. I
was looking ahead to running a marathon again this December and maybe a half
before that. But this was not to be. The pandemic happened and the restrictions
on movement came with the varying degrees of quarantine imposed by the
government. Simply put, no running for close to two months.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Even now, there are no races for the running masses. Events
are limited to elites and with limited audiences as well. The recent Hakone
Ekiden, a big event in Japan, was held on almost empty streets. Thousands used
to line the streets to watch the much-awaited long-distance relay race from
Tokyo to Hakone and back.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Looking back, I closed 2020 with a 200-kilometer total
mileage for December. Since after the restrictions were lifted in May, I logged
748 kilometers until the end of the year. I put in 392 kilometers between
January 2 and the start of the lockdowns in March. Despite the close to two
months of not running, that's still 1,140 kilometers put in for the year. Not
bad, I suppose.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My retirement from work has given me more time for running.
I don't run as fast or as long as I did but at 65 years old, to still be able
to put in 200 kilometers in a month is something. So, I'd say it's still a
fairly good year overall. Like most, I look forward to a better 2021. I hope to
run better. Log faster times, longer distances, and be able to race for real
again. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To start off my running this year, I did a slow 10k this
morning. It was cold and there was a slight shower. I ran for a little more than
an hour. Not bad for a first run. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1Ept7FlkjuQ/V68Q_TUyh4I/AAAAAAAAM2k/2Y09Z1ucUhABUIo7uYdtpQpUCM2-OfeGgCPcBGAYYCw/s1280/037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1Ept7FlkjuQ/V68Q_TUyh4I/AAAAAAAAM2k/2Y09Z1ucUhABUIo7uYdtpQpUCM2-OfeGgCPcBGAYYCw/w400-h320/037.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My playground awaits!</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-70121807667707991842020-10-03T15:18:00.011+08:002020-10-03T16:10:17.614+08:00Running again<p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dqo7IgsY5CE/X3gkzH2k5zI/AAAAAAAAai4/aLR2oXxbAbgVpQQiBEKxw4dI5CGhtZp7ACPcBGAsYHg/s3968/IMG_20200919_142002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2976" data-original-width="3968" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dqo7IgsY5CE/X3gkzH2k5zI/AAAAAAAAai4/aLR2oXxbAbgVpQQiBEKxw4dI5CGhtZp7ACPcBGAsYHg/w400-h300/IMG_20200919_142002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p>Not one of us thought this pandemic would happen. Not one of us had it in our foresights that there would be this novel coronavirus that would take the world and humanity in its frightening clutches. It did and all our plans were waylaid.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: left;">I was looking ahead to running a marathon again this December and maybe a half before that. But this was not to be. The pandemic happened and the restrictions on movement came with the varying degrees of quarantine imposed by the government. Simply put, no running for me for close to two months.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The last enrty on the notebook I used as a running log was dated March 25 for a 39-minute 5k. By then I had run a total of 392 kilometers from January 2.</p></div><p>When it was allowed again, I went back to running short distances at slow pace: 13 runs in May, 24 in June with 8k as the longest, 22 in July with a couple of 10k's. August had me logging a total of 93 kilometers (20 runs in all for the month) and my tally for September: 130 kilometers over 21 runs. </p><p>This isn't much I suppose by other runners' reckoning. At 64, closing in on 65, this is perhaps the best I can do following the lockdowns. They are much slower, much shorter, than the ones my younger self logged a number of years ago. But I keep at it, running, because I enjoy it in the weird and seemingly crazy manner runners do. It is as simple as putting one foot in front of the other but difficult and demanding yet very rewarding in the end. As they say: "It is something only those few know. Those who put themselves through pain , but deep down know how good it feels." </p><p>For now, I look forward to another month of runs, and perhaps additional mileage? We'll see.</p><div><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /></div><p></p>Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-80749664387778918992020-02-05T17:31:00.000+08:002020-02-05T17:31:28.594+08:002019 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SgoDs8zeJU0/XjqI7-4H6QI/AAAAAAAAYmY/hJSY8gMTfms9lwYbvkwKf5zzJUIxZtqvACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_20191201_062029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SgoDs8zeJU0/XjqI7-4H6QI/AAAAAAAAYmY/hJSY8gMTfms9lwYbvkwKf5zzJUIxZtqvACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/IMG_20191201_062029.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
2019 for me, running wise, was pretty much summed up in this note: <br />
<br />
<i>I am running after my old self and I'm apparently having trouble catching up. That frustrates me somehow. I am older by several years and slower by a good number of minutes than the best running me by far. I am hoping, against hope perhaps, I can still catch up even only for a bit. <br /> </i><br />
This is what I have come to realize, and somehow, a little begrudgingly, accepted:<br />
<br />
<i>Running in your senior years is challenging, I discovered, even if you have done it -- running regularly -- for decades. Age has a way of catching up with you. You easily run short of breath at the slightest attempt to pick up speed and hold it for a few hundred meters or so. You wish your body could do what you did 10 years ago, but it doesn't respond in the same way it did then. And there are the little aches and pains that need more time to heal than before. Recovery seems to take a little bit more time. </i><br />
<br />
But still being able to do it, to run, is surely a blessing and a gift. It is undoubtedly still an activity that I get a "high" from and enjoy. It is especially so when singular moments of brilliance illuminate your ageing soul and fill it with gladness for what you have just done. Like this particular run, for example:<br />
<br />
<i>I was at the last kilometer of my usual weekend 10k one Saturday when a 30ish guy ran beside me and tried to go past. I picked up the pace and stayed with him for a bit before going ahead. He was a good distance behind when I made the turn for home. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>My time for that last kilometer was 5:15.45. Not blazing for some, but it was for me. I haven't run that fast in a while for a kilometer. The fact that it was on a downhill also helped. It had me gasping for breath, but it also had me beaming with a smile inside. </i><br />
<br />
<i>I wonder if there could be more days and more fast kilometers like that ahead for me. </i><br />
<br />
So, being the crazy, stubborn old dog that I am, I guess it would still be pretty much the same this year. Me running, and trying to catch a bit, even just a bit, of my old self and keeping my fingers crossed there would be more of those moments of brilliance. Because I do not think it is time to stop and bid running adieu just yet. <br />
<br />
No, not just yet.<br />
<br />
<br />
P.S. As of this post, I have logged 164 kilometers since the start of the 2020. I'm elated by that.Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-29839042678298491182019-11-25T11:57:00.000+08:002019-11-25T12:42:20.215+08:00Saucony and meBack in the early 80's, when I started running seriously -- going high mileage, looking ahead to, and finally joining races -- I set my eyes on what was then the popular shoes among local fast guys, Sauconys. Though not as fast as they were, I wanted to have a pair of shoes more fitted for running than what I had been wearing on the my feet so far. For one, they would make me feel more like a really serious runner, if not fast. I bought my first pair of Jazz with the triangular lugs on the outsole. They were nice on the feet, snug and cushy. I loved them and ran in them for years. Shoes were more durable then.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WEUaSh8ft9g/XdtMo9vb9MI/AAAAAAAAYK8/yIgh4fiOB-A6hTIEgY0LNTVAuuWbnO7UQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/saucony_jazz_original_s1044-370_charcoal_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WEUaSh8ft9g/XdtMo9vb9MI/AAAAAAAAYK8/yIgh4fiOB-A6hTIEgY0LNTVAuuWbnO7UQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/saucony_jazz_original_s1044-370_charcoal_5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original Saucony Jazz, my first 'serious' running shoes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
If I remember right I went through a couple of pairs before trying out another brand.<br />
<br />
It was not until 2013 that I wore Sauconys again. I got myself a pair of Virrata while in Manila and immediately ran in them the following morning. The lightness and the barefoot feel were definitely wonderful, but the 5-and-1 running I was doing easily took it's toll on the shoes. I soon had to get myself a pair of shoes, not Sauconys, that would better keep up with the demands of my daily runs.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TgFg5lbWUBg/XdtOHYKfYfI/AAAAAAAAYLI/Sx6pAcDnVHYnO7GhnezXDdgBENMIlXESACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/FB_IMG_1574149599863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TgFg5lbWUBg/XdtOHYKfYfI/AAAAAAAAYLI/Sx6pAcDnVHYnO7GhnezXDdgBENMIlXESACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/FB_IMG_1574149599863.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I did training runs in this pair of Saucony Virratas in 2013</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
On that same year, I got myself a pair of blue Saucony Type A5s which I used on a number of training runs and an 18-kilometer race where I placed 12th of 170 runners. The super light weight and fast feel of the shoes were really something.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pNeqau1T3Ew/XdtOXHYa0yI/AAAAAAAAYLM/OwjjqTeMEl8VD4tfvHEaSJvrwtigajxHACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/FB_IMG_1574149764542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="553" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pNeqau1T3Ew/XdtOXHYa0yI/AAAAAAAAYLM/OwjjqTeMEl8VD4tfvHEaSJvrwtigajxHACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/FB_IMG_1574149764542.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Light and fast, the Saucony Type A5s were on my feet in this 2013 18-kilometer race.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Yes, 6 years after I had my last pair of Sauconys, I am renewing my ties with this great shoe brand. Today I got this pair of blue and black Saucony Kinvara 10s I purchased online. I immediately unboxed it and tried it out - light and comfy for a first impression. The forefoot really felt really roomy. I also like the simple, no frills look. Even now I am looking forward to kilometers of good runs in this new pair, and lot more kilometers of running than what I had in the Virratas and the A5s.I also suppose trying out the A9s this time around isn't such a bad idea. <span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
Thanks for the prompt delivery, by the way, <a href="https://www.saucony.com.ph/" target="_blank">Saucony Philippines</a>.<br />
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On my feet soon, Kinvara 10s</div>
<br />Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-91575877990761181242019-06-08T17:09:00.000+08:002019-06-08T17:09:08.058+08:00A bayside runI am on a weekend work break, a company outing at a beach resort, 266 plus kilometers away from the workplace. Having fun with co-workers and talking things other than work is a great reliever and bonding experience. The sea, the sand and the cool breeze are relaxing, and the more than a kilometer stretch of shoreline is most definitely a plus for the runner in me.<br />
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In the past two weeks, I have only run once, a slow five kilometers at 44.05 minutes. The entire week after that I just snoozed the alarm everytime it sounded every morning and stayed in bed until 5 am, just like the week before. The lazy bug has struck again.<br />
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I guess it's also not that easy anymore getting up and gearing up for a run every single time five or six days in seven when you are six decades and a few years old. The age catches up with you somehow and putting in a hundred-kilometer month requires a lot more recovery time than it did several years back. That's not really bad, I guess it's just natural. What's bad is not being able to put in a run anymore.<br />
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Yesterday, arriving here and seeing that fairly long stretch of white sand shoreline, I told myself: It would be good to run here in the morning and maybe take a dip in the sea water after. I did just that and felt pleasure, with a touch of a slightly stinging sensation on the sole of my right forefoot, not quite unnatural I suppose after quite a while without it experiencing the stress of running.<br />
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There was heavy breathing the whole time, from me solely. It was not something I was fond of. I would rather be breathing more lightly, and feeling lighter on my feet, too. But I felt alive, laboring but alive nonetheless, and that is most exhilarating. <br />
<br />
From natural stonewall to natural stonewall on the two outcrops that sandwiched the shoreline, I ran close to where the waves kissed the white sand, like a child at play. I did a double pass and then some. Five kilometers in 41.48 minutes.<br />
<br />
I won't be a national level competitor anytime soon or even break a record other than my own personal one if ever, although I sometimes think I can and often dream I do. It's all wishful thinking, I know. Especially at my age. <br />
<br />
But being able to still put in a run when I want, I believe that is a blessing.<br />
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<br />Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-66358984035631214672018-12-03T20:30:00.001+08:002018-12-03T20:32:54.801+08:00Musing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m3LEr5oN79k/XAUcqIs4HvI/AAAAAAAAUfQ/0UnppisaTAw_RzCOmrBOKM9I1vQV1GweQCEwYBhgL/s1600/DSC00073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m3LEr5oN79k/XAUcqIs4HvI/AAAAAAAAUfQ/0UnppisaTAw_RzCOmrBOKM9I1vQV1GweQCEwYBhgL/s400/DSC00073.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Sitting alone amid the din and chatter<br />
I think of birds chirping,<br />
the rustle of fallen leaves<br />
as running feet hit the ground.<br />
When was the last time<br />
I heard the brook whisper<br />
unheard stories of lands it has seen?<br />
When will I feel again<br />
the kiss of the cool breeze on my sweaty skin?<br />
Missing the trails while in a city<br />
a hundred miles away I can only write lines<br />
and wish I could run there again.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S4XJ2w2cHYo/XAUhR7X7zqI/AAAAAAAAUfs/f6yV3XH3TLg2-4-5Ffh21Pp2t6yp5fuAwCKgBGAs/s1600/gplus683461478.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S4XJ2w2cHYo/XAUhR7X7zqI/AAAAAAAAUfs/f6yV3XH3TLg2-4-5Ffh21Pp2t6yp5fuAwCKgBGAs/s200/gplus683461478.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-82506084785130551322018-08-29T16:41:00.000+08:002018-08-29T17:32:59.245+08:00In perspective: Mary Joy Tabal’s 2018 Asian Games women’s marathon run<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As is always the case with news stories, online reports on the performance of Cebu City’s Mary Joy Tabal, the country’s bet in the Jakarta Palembang 2018 Asian Games women’s marathon, had basically the same content but were headlined quite differently.<br />
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One read “Tabal finishes a tad outside of top 10 in one of toughest Asiad marathons.” The other: “Tabal good for only 11th in women’s marathon.” I guess it was the runner in me, something I take pride in, more than the journalist that had me thinking: Now, that sounds quite belittling. So why don’t you try and run all 42.195 kilometers in the heat of Jakarta and let’s see what happens.<br />
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But the reporter was correct. Mary Joy failed to barge into the top 10. She did not manage to improve on the previous 8th place finish of another Filipina marathon standout, Christabel Martes, who ran for the country in the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea. But, no, this does not mean Tabal’s accomplishment in Jakarta was not notable.<br />
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“One of the toughest Asiad marathons” is a description with enough reason. Run in Indonesia’s tropical monsoon climate, a marathon in Jakarta, which in August is said to have temperatures ranging from a high of 31° Celsius to a low of 24° Celsius, could sap you. The amount of heat produced by the body can increase 30 to 40 fold during a marathon. Over the entire course of the marathon, you will lose three to six liters of sweat. In hot weather, this could easily go up negatively affecting your performance. It slows you down. Without enough hydration to replace the lost fluid, your body could shut down.<br />
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Rose Chelimo was apparently slowed down by the Jakarta heat. The Kenyan-born runner has a marathon personal best of 2:22:51 set in 2017. She ran a 2:27:11 in London that same year in winning the World Championships women’s marathon. She clocked 2:34:51 in winning the gold for Bahrain in the August 26 race in Jakarta, more than 7 minutes down from her time in the world Championships.<br />
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So was Japan’s Keiko Nogami who took the silver in 2:36:27. She ran a marathon best of<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2:26:33<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>in Nagoya, Japan earlier in March this year. She was slower by almost 10 minutes in the heat of Jakarta.<br />
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Tabal ran 2 hours, 51 minutes and 41 seconds in taking 8th place, a tad more than 8 minutes slower than her personal best of 2:43:31 set in 2016 when she placed eighth during the Olympic qualifying 2016 Gold Label Road Races held in cold Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is also slower than 2:48:26 she set in ruling the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore last year.<br />
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Still, Tabal bested 8 other runners including two who did not finish, one from Kyrgyzstan<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>and the other from China. 19 runners from 11 nations joined the race. Tabal was also the highest placed among the Southeast Asians, proving her gold medal finish in the marathon in the Singapore games last year was no fluke.<br />
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With Busan’s temperate climate conditions may have been a tad better for Christabel Martes on October 13, 2002 when she ran, one of 11 runners coming from 8 nations. Temperatures in Busan in October range from a high of 22° Celsius to a low of 14° Celsius. Martes finished in 3:09:48, the penultimate runner who crossed the line at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium, some 13 minutes ahead of Mariana Dias Ximenes of Timor Leste who arrived last in 3:22:03. Two other runners, a Chinese and a Korean, did not finish. <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
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Christabel Martes still holds the Philippine women's marathon record of 2:38:44 set on July 2005 in Manila. When that will be broken and who will break it remains to be seen.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(<span style="background-color: white; color: #737372; font-family: "roboto" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Photo: Adrian Portugal/Rappler)</span></span></i>Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-61426005122178255582018-07-16T14:22:00.001+08:002018-07-16T14:22:17.326+08:00The last marathon <div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i>(Blogger's note: 5 years ago, I posted two entries on
lessons I've learned running the marathon, the first one in February and the
second one in July. Now struggling with added years and weight, I decided
to look back at my last marathon almost 7 years ago, and write about it, sort
of a third installment to my Marathon Lessons posts earlier. I hope I can do
another one. The dream lives on even as I struggle through my current
situation.)</i></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p> </div>
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December 4, 2011. I stood at the starting line along with
the other runners of the 28th edition of the Davao Finishers' Marathon at the
Victoria Plaza parking area. It was still dark. We start our 42-kilometer
journey as most marathons here do in the early hours of dawn to make the most
out of the cooler weather. Even in December, the intense morning sun has a way
of beating down on you especially in the closing kilometers of what could
perhaps be the most grueling road race in this part of the Philippines. I guess
this has been its lure for me, the way the hills come one after another at the
most crucial time, when your body has been through the stress of more than 10
kilometers of running. It is a tough race on a tough route where finishing is
always sweet and fulfilling.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I tried as much to relax standing there side by side with
some of the grittiest runners I know, faces I have seen more than once in races
I have run here. These guys can run fast. These are the ones who would be
kilometers ahead of me before the first quarter hour of this race is done. I
wonder: what am I doing here with these guys? That is the beauty of this sport
of ours, we can stand side by side with those we admire for their grit and
prowess in this event, our idols, our heroes, feel one with them for a moment,
all runners ready to face the challenge that looms ahead, one and the same.
Until we are separated by the bark of the starting gun.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Most of the runners even the gritty ones stay bunched in
the first few kilometers of the run, keeping a steady measured pace, avoiding
getting burned out early. I run my own pace, keeping in mind not to chase those
who go past me as that could spell disaster later in the race. I have always
been the cautious runner. A friend told me once with a laugh that I was afraid
of speed. Truth be told, I was afraid of speed, reckless speed. I know my
limitations and I am mindful of it. I run at a fast pace I can hold. I don't
surge. I just go on my steady pace, kilometer after kilometer, and that works for
me. In a race as long as 42 kilometers, there would always be runners who
passed you earlier that you eventually pass back later.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I passed back the first few of those runners on the Ma-a ascent.
Before that were a couple of climbs, but nothing like the Ma-a ascent heading
for the hills of the Diversion Road. It was a different beast, the Ma-a ascent.
It is not one big short climb. It is a long steady ascent that slowly gnaws at
your strength and endurance. It starts at the 15th kilometer and runs all the
way to the halfway point at 21 kilometers, 5 long kilometers of steady
climbing. Running it from the junction at MacArthur Highway in Matina to the
junction at the Pan-Philippine Highway better known as the Davao City Diversion
Road is a challenge to all who run this course, and it was a challenge I chose
to face.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p> </div>
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I have run this route more than a couple of times before
this. I have always walked sections of this ascent in Ma-a. It has always left
me frustrated, knowing a better time would have been possible if only I hadn't
walked. But the legs grow weary, the body grows tired, and all that has a way
of telling you either walk part of the way or you could end up not finishing at
all. My legs and my body were stronger this time, more than in all those previous
runs. I felt it. Yes, my legs were weary but not rubbery, I was tired but still
comfortable enough with the stress, and I found myself running until the
junction at the Diversion Road. The race was not over though. There were other
hills along the remaining part of the route before the descent to the Panacan
Crossing then the 32 kilometer point at the Davao City-Panabo Road.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I was upbeat up to that point of the run, my spirit
buoyed up by being able to run continuously until the 32 kilometer mark. But there
is a saying among marathon runners: it is the final 10 kilometers that count.
The year before, a little past the 32 kilometer mark in the 27th edition of the Davao Finishers'
Marathon, my mind and my legs began arguing. My mind was telling me to run. My
legs were saying "walk". With less than 10 kilometers to go, my legs
won, and I switched to run-walk mode. It was not until a while, with 5
kilometers more to go, that I started feeling better and started running longer
than I walked. I ran the remaining 2 kilometers to the finish and crossed the
line at 4:23:17.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It felt different this time. I was still running
steadily, maintaining my pace until past the 35 kilometer mark at the junction
of the road going to the old Davao City airport in Sasa. Still I was praying
for continued strength or whatever remaining I can muster up to the finish line
7 kilometers more ahead. "Lord Jesus, give me strength." that became
my mantra for the remainder of the race. Passing the Davao Medical Center and
later the Redemptorist Church at Bajada told me I was nearing the finish line
at Victoria Plaza. It was a mixed feeling of exhaustion and elation that
overwhelmed me as I crossed the finish line. The latter more than the former.
The clock showed 03:52:52. I broke the 4-hour barrier, logging an average pace
of 5 minutes 30 seconds per kilometer. Doing it at the age of 56 made me feel
good. Finishing in 10th place among male runners made me feel even better.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I DNF'd on my first take on this challenging race and
route in 1994. I did two more marathons and finished both before I took on the
Davao Finishers' Marathon again and conquered it 13 years after my first
attempt. My third time to run it ended with a sub-4 and a 10th place finish to
boot. All that told me one thing: patience and persistence do pay.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4o1NA81qfdg/W0wasbDcK3I/AAAAAAAAThE/9OT00veqcQIi4REmZm9tGOvqjdPgFDzzQCLcBGAs/s1600/377410_278537902192026_100001074566736_802648_2125782968_n%2B%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="719" height="298" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4o1NA81qfdg/W0wasbDcK3I/AAAAAAAAThE/9OT00veqcQIi4REmZm9tGOvqjdPgFDzzQCLcBGAs/s400/377410_278537902192026_100001074566736_802648_2125782968_n%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finishing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ASi-qqUoxHQ/W0wVsci7wWI/AAAAAAAATgs/Ec17Vtm5eNUxB2gJ26KyPga0I8i5dNZ_ACLcBGAs/s1600/391158_2842056854795_1360531896_4106767_1608640359_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="960" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ASi-qqUoxHQ/W0wVsci7wWI/AAAAAAAATgs/Ec17Vtm5eNUxB2gJ26KyPga0I8i5dNZ_ACLcBGAs/s400/391158_2842056854795_1360531896_4106767_1608640359_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elated with the 10th place finish.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-73058819137935667072018-03-19T17:00:00.002+08:002018-03-19T20:21:36.768+08:00And so I run on<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was wheezing as I hit the second ascent in the 10k route I had myself tackle that Saturday. Not that I didn't wheeze when I did this same route years before. I got into oxygen debt just the same back then. But doing the short but quite steep climb felt more difficult and demanding this time. I can only think of age as the most logical explanation. The same explanation I can think of for the added weight and the frustratingly slower times I have been doing my runs.<br />
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It was a hilly route, five kilometers out from where I start just a short distance from home and another 5 kilometers back. Along the route are three rivers where the road descends while approaching and goes up again from the bridge that spans each. It's the same both ways.<br />
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There isn't very much flat surface to talk about which makes the route quite a challenging one. It gradually climbs from the start to the first kilometer mark before it levels off a bit and then descends to the first bridge and goes up again on the second climb. Whatever momentum you gain on the descent to the bridge is erased by the time you hit the middle of the second climb. There is no denying the labored breathing and the heart's vigorous pumping. It would be comforting no doubt to stop and just walk the rest of the distance to the top of the ascent. Who would mind?<br />
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I would. Stubborn old me wouldn't allow this climb, this entire route in fact, to take the best of me and run me down. Not today. My runner's pride won't allow it. I had run this route before, I could run it again, and I would run it again. Period. So I trudge along, taking on one descent and ascent after another, carrying on with the added weight from added years, gulping as much air as I could while negotiating every steep climb to compensate for the oxygen debt, dying at every effort only to be revived and resurrected again every I reach the summit and take the downhill again only to face death yet again in the next uphill.<br />
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My boss several decades ago, very familiar with my running back then, told me runners are masochists who find pleasure in the pain. The harder and more difficult the run, the more we love it, the more we find gratification in it. Perhaps there is truth in that. Just as much truth as there is in finding gratification in being able to conquer and discovering how one can fare in the face of adversity, what one can do to overcome challenges, and in that find the gift that has been given and the blessing that has been bestowed.<br />
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Not that many my age are as stubborn, or as obsessed, as me in my chosen sport. I look around and I often only see mostly people half my age or even younger doing what I do. I admit, I find pride in that. I revel in the fact that I am but among a few who can nail a 10k without taking a walking break in between kilometers. But at the same time, I am humbled by that. Humbled that such a gift has been given me. And when you realize that you have been blessed, what better thing is there to do than be grateful and give praise to the giver by utilizing the gift that has been given you?<br />
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And so I run on.<br />
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Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-76285967816297843182017-01-03T14:18:00.000+08:002017-01-03T14:18:34.614+08:00Looking back, moving forwardComing back from my first run for 2017, a slow 8k on Kidapawan's nasty hilly main road, I told myself that I would make this a better running year, not for anything else but myself. I need to.<br />
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It read 58 kilos when I weighed myself last night - something must be wrong with that damn scale - up by 10 from my previous running weight of 48 back in 2015. I don't want all that weight on myself. Some say I look better, but I don't feel better. I wheeze when I go upstairs, I can't bend as much when I tie my running shoes. I curse it every time and I am beginning to curse myself for not being able to run comfortably as much. I don't mind age catching up with me, or the work putting pressure on my running, but not the added weight. Two kilos would I guess be fine with me. But nothing else beyond that, please.<br />
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2015 had been a better running year than last. Not that it was bad, it's just that I had more days I didn't run in 2016 than days I did. In 2015, Dailymile had me logging a total of 1,553 kilometers. It had me recording less than half that, 766.43 kilometers, last year, That even included my first run of 8k for 2017. I had 9 months of running beyond 100 kilometers in 2015, but had only one, January, this year. All other monthly totals dipped, the lowest was 40 in May. Outside of January, when I logged 119 kilometers, the only other months that could be considered as having outstanding totals were July with 79 and December with 81.<br />
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Why? That is one question I asked myself every time I looked at my stats. I have become more tired, lazier, giving in to the coo of the bed over the call of the road. Perhaps it is because of the pressures of the job. It has always been much more difficult to keep running side by side with having to work early shifts five days of the week. Travelling more than a hundred kilometers by bus on Fridays also make it more of a struggle to get out of bed early, put on running shoes, and hit the road for a long one on Saturdays. And yes, I have to accept that age has somehow started catching up with me.<br />
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In my mind, I still see myself crossing the finish line of the Holcim-Sunrun 28th Ultimate Challenge Davao Finishers' Marathon in 10th place, the best marathon finish I have had, 3:52.21, and a surprise to me. The Davao Finishers' Marathon course has always been a killer, with the hills of Ma-a and the Diversion Road, and finishing it running all the way was quite an achievement. I had never finished my previous marathons without a walking segment. That was in December of 2011, perhaps my best running year ever. Earlier in March, I nailed my Araw ng Dabaw Phoenix Run 21K with a 1:41:31 finish for a medal as top finisher in the 55-59 age group. I also finished first in the same age group with a 1:42:11 at the 35th Milo Marathon Davao City Regional 21K Elimination Race in November. I had an annual total of 2,400 kilometers. That was five years and a bit ago, I was 56. So much water has passed under the bridge. The metatarsal stress fracture on my right foot, 3 months in a foot cast and the slow return to running again, the work, the transfer, and all those days of mixing earlier morning runs with early morning work hours. I guess it all had to take it's toll, that and age catching up with me.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">December 4, 2011. Gasping for breath at the finish of the Holcim-Sunrun 28th Ultimate Challenge Davao Finishers' Marathon<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">. My 3.52.21 was good enough for 10th place, a PB </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">for the marathon. No walks. All pain and exhaustion in the last 5k. But all the ecstasy after. I was 56.</span></span></span></td></tr>
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Indeed, in this world, as Heraclitus said, the only constant is change. We can only but adapt to that change if we are to survive and thrive.<br />
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If it is any consolation, I see a trend towards better running days in the making, and I am keeping my fingers crossed I am right. Runs I have logged have been on the uptrend in the last two months of 2016. Perhaps that picture of me crossing the finish line of a 42k, one I have ran all the way, would still have a retake, maybe with a different result all together, a different story.<br />
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We are never too old to dream, they say, and I do not think I am too old a runner to have a better 2017. All I have to do is keep moving forward.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the end of my first run for 2017. Looking forward to more.</td></tr>
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<br />Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-89783974306416991212016-08-13T20:24:00.000+08:002016-08-13T20:24:54.268+08:00Lonely road<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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He was far from alone. There were people on the side of the road and vehicles passing. But he was a solitary soul amidst all that, engrossed in his thoughts as he plodded along.<br />
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Somehow he was really by himself. He alone felt his pains - the one that gnaws at his lower back every single day, the one that pinches his knee once in every single while - and he alone suffered through them. People watch and awe at what he's doing. They have no idea he's dying. His breath was labored, his heart was pounding, but his face showed no trace. He has taught himself to hide all the discomfort. He just looked straight ahead, appearing all consumed by what his doing, focused on his business and on not much else. <br />
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No one else knew his frustrations in life, in work, with people - being ignored, unappreciated, unnoticed except when something is needed from him. He was dying, he was dying inside and nobody knew, nobody would understand. He kept them all to himself, drowning them in the discomfort he felt. Yes, somehow it was a good discomfort, a helpful one in silencing the doubts inside him.<br />
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For why shouldn't it be? Living through all these pains, surviving through all the discomfort, he discovers his toughness, his courage, his strength. He learns he can do more than he thought he could. He finds himself renewed.<br />
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So he goes on his way, plodding along, a solitary soul, amidst the people on the side of the road and vehicles passing. All by himself, engrossed in his thoughts, living through his pains, surviving through his discomfort, silencing the doubts inside him.<br />
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On that lonely road.Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-67702451949355246822016-07-05T11:33:00.000+08:002016-07-05T11:34:25.731+08:00It's not that I hate beaches...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's not that I hate beaches, it's just that I love trails and mountains more.<br />
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Beaches are nice, especially when there are not a lot of noisy, rowdy people. Rowing solo on a kayak on a long stretch of sea close to shore is something I would like to do, even more than scuba diving or even riding the waves on a surfboard. That would perhaps be the most adventurous and happy I would be on water.<br />
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Despite the two near-drowning experiences I have had on water , first when I was five or six, the other when I was in first year high-school, I have somehow taught myself to be comfortable in the shallows and swim in the least scientific way. I have also been to beaches and enjoyed a brief swim more than once or twice.<br />
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But the satisfaction I get from running back roads or mountain trails, scaling heights on foot, even on hands and knees at times, is different. I would say that it is fuller. I remember most those moments during my treks up and down Mt. Apo, running from Energy Development Corporation's Ma-ag Tinikaran nursery to the peak and back, and more recently my run with a friend in Mt. Batulao. They are etched in my memory and I nurture the desire to do them all again. Perhaps, until I have kayak experience, I won't have as much to cherish in a trip I have had to the beach or the sea.<br />
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Maybe it is the feeling of freedom, of being able to run unshackled. We all cherish that, the feeling of being able to roam, go far and go long untethered. They say running is the closest we can be to flying without the aid of a machine or a contraption. And what is flying if not freedom?<br />
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Or maybe it is the solitude, being alone but not being lonely, because in my runs in those back roads and mountain trails I find myself in harmony with nature, one with creation, as I was meant to be.<br />
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<br />Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-76198461706313801042016-04-12T23:35:00.002+08:002016-04-12T23:40:34.052+08:00Still tryingFor the nth time, I started again this morning. I started a routine that I hope I could do repeatedly at least every other day: run 5 kilometers, hopefully 8 after that, then 10 kilometers again and, maybe later, more.<br />
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The past few months have seen my mileage dwindling. 60 kilometers in January, 58 in February, a little more than halfway down from the 118 in January. The highest I have had in the past 12 months was 170 in May last year yet. Mileage had been on a consistent up-and-down trend, mostly on the downside, since then. Work demands, the occasional laziness, I blame these for all that, and then there's age slowly catching up with me.<br />
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But I am not one to easily believe that it's time to stop and give up. I have tried and failed several times already to get back to a consistent routine. Still I persist. There is that something inside that tells me it will all come back again. Maybe not the way it was five or six years ago, the best years of my second wind, but close.<br />
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And so I haven't grown tired of trying. Not just yet. Not just yet.<br />
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<br />Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-13865662994992415002015-09-07T14:07:00.000+08:002015-09-07T16:02:47.074+08:00Taking the road less travelled<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On Sunday, after a very long time, I finally took the road less travelled by many runners.<br />
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Kidapawan City's back roads - mostly dirt roads winding through fruit farms - were a regular part of my runs before I moved to Cotabato City some 120 kilometers away. The city's asphalt and concrete roads have been my gym since then and running on dirt roads again had been on my mind for quite a while. Pounding the hard concrete surface especially every single running day puts a lot of stress on old legs, and running on dirt every once in a while provides a welcome break. The slightly softer surface of a dirt road spells less wear and tear on the muscles, bones, and joints.<br />
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Matt Fitzgerald of competitor.com cites one more reason to go off-road and hit the dirt.<br />
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"Another advantage of running off-road that is less appreciated is that it forces the runner to vary his stride more. Trail running tends to be hillier, to require more directional changes and lateral movement, and to demand more variation in stride length and foot action to avoid obstacles and maintain traction. Some experts in running biomechanics believe that such variations accelerate the process by which the stride becomes more efficient as the brain learns novel ways to engage the muscles," writes Fitzgerald in a July 2014 article on <a href="http://running.competitor.com/2014/07/training/hit-the-dirt-why-and-how-to-run-off-road_31737" target="_blank">why one should run off-road</a>.<br />
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Liza Jhung of Runners' World, in "<a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/trail-running-training/why-trail-running-is-good-for-you" target="_blank">Why Trail Running Is Good for You</a>," also says running off-road is "good for the brain."<br />
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"Trails provide an undeniable escape from what can be an otherwise hectic day. Eliminate the outside environment of cars and other city noises and import sounds of birds and trees rustling in the wind, and you’ve got an entirely different experience."<br />
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Gordy Megros, in another Runners' World article - "<a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/trail-running-training/the-therapy-of-trail-running" target="_blank">Less Stress More Bliss</a>" - mentions a 1996 study as showing that "negative ions--invisible air molecules released by trees that are known to increase oxygen flow to the brain--alleviate seasonal depression as effectively as Prozac or Zoloft."<br />
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One thing I am sure though is the different kind of high I get on a run through dirt roads. It's not just because of the view, like seeing the sea on one side and having a tree-filled mountainside rising next to you on the other on a run I had while on Samal Island. It also comes from the cacophony of sounds that says you are amidst nature - the harmony of birdcalls mingling with insect sounds, the babbling of a distant mountain stream as it makes its way through rocks and boulders smoothened over the years by the rushing waters - and running with all that, occasionally hopping, skipping, and jumping over mud pools after a night of rain, makes you feel you are in total communion with Mother Earth, born to run amid God's wonderful creation.<br />
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Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-78731336466402467662015-08-31T15:51:00.000+08:002015-09-07T14:11:19.884+08:00Thank God I can run<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Life is definitely not a bed of roses, even the most hardcore optimist would have to accept that as fact.<br />
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It has its ups and downs. One time it's bright and sunny, the next its gloomy and filled with rain, both in the real and metaphorical sense. How much of one condition there is in one's life would naturally vary depending on one's disposition or outlook in life, but the fact remains that life is not really so much a plateau as it is undulating.<br />
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On certain moments, one experiences joy and ecstasy, on others, pain and agony. And just like situations in life could be positive and encouraging at one instance and undesirable and damaging at another, people could be loving and grateful, just as much as they could be callous and thankless.<br />
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Family and friends - and faith too - help get us through all these. Runners, I believe, have the run as well, as a gift and a blessing, to help get them through life's difficult times and to celebrate its wonderful moments when they come.<br />
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Like everyone else, I have had my moments of difficulties. In most of them, since I started running, doing a 10k or a longer run, helped me clear my mind of clutter and think better. Running, especially when done solo, and I always find it best to run by my lonesome before the sun rises, gives me time for personal reflection, my moment of silence and meditation, with only the rhythm of my breathing and the sound of my footfall to keep me company. It has worked for me, and it still does.<br />
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I don't always get an easy answer or find an immediate solution every time, some emotional burdens are heavier and take more time to deal with than others, but I somehow find solace in my running, some kind of comfort on the road or trail. I feel better about myself, more confident I could face whatever is before me.<br />
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Thank God I can run. Still.<br />
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<i>P.S. Wondering why running (or any form of aerobic exercise) helps people think better? This <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-you-think-better-after-walk-exercise/" target="_blank">article from Scientific American</a> provides a good answer. </i>Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-45405949878329855912015-07-13T20:39:00.000+08:002015-07-13T20:39:48.335+08:00Life has its seasons; running too<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There is no denying it. I am in a rut right now.<br />
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My mileage has dropped over the past two months, and attempts to do better have not been very successful. If there is something I find consoling, it is that I haven't totally given up running. I still muster the will power to get out of bed in the wee hours on certain days and go for a run. Be it work or age catching up with me, the fact is I am struggling to get back to the usual grind.<br />
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Right now, I am telling myself this is temporary. I am telling myself I can get out of this rut, if not tomorrow then maybe the next day or the day after that. I am telling myself the running days will become more frequent, the distance covered in every running day will increase, that I will be leaving this staleness behind.<br />
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<br />Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-7949556073467212892015-05-09T16:41:00.000+08:002015-05-09T16:49:27.791+08:00The final legAfter running 15 kilometers over rolling terrain, you get tired. I would say it's the same for all runners, newbie or seasoned. Your legs get battered from all the pounding and get exhausted.<br />
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If they could talk, your legs, they will tell you to stop. They would complain about the torture you let them go through. They would air their disaprroval of being dragged out of bed in the very early morning when sleeping was the natural and logical thing for a sane person to do. Your lungs would perhaps be joining the chorus too.<br />
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After running 15 kilometers, I felt all that. My lungs and legs were not talking, they can't, but they were telling me just what they were telling me. They'd rather not be doing what I had in mind. There were three uphills ahead, an equal number of descents, maybe a couple more. I would do surges through them.<br />
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I can feel the exhaustion everytime I picked up the pace. There was no pain, nothing like it, but there was fatigue that made my legs feel heavy. There was no smoothness in the stride. There was labor in each step.<br />
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There is nothing easy here. There is nothing to make you feel ecstatic. There is only difficulty and suffering.<br />
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But after you have finished that last leg, that last kilometer, with a surge to the end of your run, after you have given your all , after you stand bent at the hips, catching your breath, your two hands resting on both knees, you straighten up and walk slowly, walk tall, proud to have silenced that voice inside that always tells you to stop.<br />
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You have conquered. You have won.<br />
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<i>p.s. I posted negative splits in those last 5 kilometers of my 20k run and had a faster second half overall. Sweet exhaustion.</i></div>
<br />Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-26457981958678412662015-04-03T17:41:00.000+08:002015-04-03T17:46:51.849+08:00One moment in a runOne moment in a run. Life mirrored in a split-second event. You stumble, you fall, you get back up and go on.<br />
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It was my 10th straight day of running. I decided to go out on a 10k loop of dirt road and short pavement close to home. I have run there countless times before I moved to another locale because of work some three years ago. It was the first time I was running that loop again.<br />
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It starts off with a gradual descent for about three kilometers and then continues into two kilometers of rolling terrain. Along the way, I pass a steel bridge traversing a mountain spring, a babbling brook, and farmlands planted to rubber, fruit trees, and rice. Chirping birds, barking dogs, and crowing roosters add to the rustic mood. All of it gives you a sense of freedom, of oneness with nature, and even reckless abandon.<br />
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On the way back, I push myself up the short climb from the bridge, looking forward to the more gradual but definitely much longer ascent back to where I started. I had already run more than six kilometers by then. What happened next happened fast. My right foot hit a stone, I lost balance, and felt myself hurtling towards the rocky limestone dirt road. I was down.<br />
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I was stunned for a few seconds, but immediately got back up and resumed running. I felt the sting on my right knee and my left thigh. I glanced down and saw dirt and a little blood. There was dirt too on my sweaty shorts and singlet. And there was even more sting on my elbow and my left arm. There was even more blood there mixing with my sweat.<br />
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Moving on, brushing off the dirt from my shorts and singlet once in a while, I thought of the other times I have fallen down while running. It happened to me while running alone on Manila's asphalt roads once. It happened to me while running with a friend up Mt. Batulao. It happened to me on a much earlier race in Cotabato City back in the first half of my running life. I finished the race at the top of my age group.<br />
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The day before this run, I watched a replay of the Nagoya Women's Marathon on cable television. One of the top Japanese runners, Sairi Maeda, fell in the early part of the race, coming into contact with another runner as they were grabbing their drinks from a table. She went on to post a strong third-place finish with her time of 2:22:48, the eighth-fastest time by a Japanese woman. If it can happen to the elite, falling can happen to us mere mortals even more.<br />
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The important thing is we do not stay down. We instead pick ourselves up and go on, running towards the finish despite the pain of our cuts being soaked in sweat, despite the bruised ego and the self-doubt.<br />
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It is life mirrored in a split-second event. You stumble, you fall, you get back up and go on. You continue to pursue your dreams, you continue to live your passion, and in the end, you look back at it and shake your head while smiling.<br />
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Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-11633083067714142502015-03-19T21:01:00.001+08:002015-03-19T21:01:28.095+08:00Running in Baguio<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A bit before 5 in the morning, I woke up, went through my usual pre-run routine, slipped my feet into my old, trusty pair of Nike Free 3.0 , and laced up.<br />
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My roommate for the seminar, who was also getting ready for his own run, looked at me in surprise and asked me: "You're running in that? In Baguio's cold morning air?"<br />
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I was in my usual get-up of blue short shorts and white singlet. I just smiled.<br />
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I went outside and immediately felt the chill. I thought maybe my roommate was right. Maybe I should have put on a dri-fit t-shirt instead. I shrugged off the thought just as immediately as the chill hit me the first time. I started off on a slow grind.<br />
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Baguio City is higher, much higher than the places I run in most often. It is situated at an altitude of approximately 1,540 meters (5,050 feet) above sea level. Kidapawan, which I call home, has an elevation of 279 meters (915 feet) while Cotabato City, which is my main workplace, is a mere 7 meters (22 feet) above sea level. I expected running here to be more difficult and challenging, and indeed, after a few meters, I felt the burn in my lungs. I was going downhill but I felt I was gasping for air. Blame that on the altitude, I told myself, and on the ageing lungs, too.<br />
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It didn't take long though for the body to do what it does best, adapt. I was soon running more comfortably, carrying on with the usual breathing pattern that matched my stride - two steps, inhale; two steps, exhale. I felt energized, eager to just follow the road and run, but also wary of the fact that I was not familiar with this place and getting lost was the least of what I wanted to happen to me.<br />
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After seeing 25 minutes on my wristwatch chronograph, I decided to turn back. The route I took was mostly downhill so I braced myself for a long climb. It was indeed long, but a gradual one, and the suffering I was anticipating my legs and lungs to experience didn't really happen.<br />
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Going back up, I noticed I was meeting more runners. I also noticed that almost everyone of them was in cold weather gear - running tights, long sleeve dri-fit top. I felt like a weird, crazy guy in my short shorts and singlet. That I wasn't sweating that much didn't really come as a surprise. I was expecting that in Baguio's chilly air.<br />
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The night before, I asked that van driver who took us from Manila to Baguio, where one ascending section of a fork in the road (the other went downhill) was going. Camp John Hay, he said. I decided to run on along that road.<br />
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It was in John Hay that I finally felt the burn. Going up on Sheridan Drive was a challenge after having gone through several climbs at high altitude earlier. I was taking short, fast steps and breathing heavily, thankful when I reached the point where I decided to make my turnaround.<br />
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It was much easier after that.<br />
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Running also felt much easier the next morning. I had more confidence. I also had on my orange dri-fit shirt as I ran from Iggy's Inn on South Drive to John Hay, Wright Park, back up South Drive, to Panagbenga Park, and finally back to Iggy's Inn. I sweated more as well.<br />
<br />Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-82288350687445200002015-03-15T23:34:00.000+08:002015-03-15T23:34:58.714+08:00Looking forward to a Baguio runAs we were driving to the seminar venue, I noticed that the road we were taking was only going one way - up.<br />
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I've been here a couple of times before. I don't remember doing any run in either. Tomorrow I plan to do one, finally have a feel of running in Baguio City's altitude, terrain, and chill. And if things go well, maybe I'll do another one the next day, and still another the day after that.<br />
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Running is a good way to go around and get to know a place. I always take my running shoes on out-of-town trips and do a run or two if time permits. I've done it in Vigan, on Calle Crisologo, around Plaza Salcedo, and all those other streets the names of which I don't remember. I've done it in Tagbilaran and in Cebu, in Malaybalay and in Ozamis, in Cagayan de Oro in the rain, and twice in Tagaytay while enjoying the view of Lake Taal and the volcano island. There were other places.<br />
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I tried running in the the high altitude of Llallagua in Bolivia, around the snow covered plaza infront of the church. I only managed a few rounds. I was in running tights and sweats but I hardly sweat in the cold winter air. It was entirely the opposite of my experience in Brunei's Bandar Seri Begawan. I had a lot more luck working up a sweat in its clean, tree-lined streets around the hotel where we stayed.<br />
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Tomorrow morning would be getting-to-know-Baguio-streets time. I hope it would be a fine first experience.Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-78441948047759807842015-02-19T19:46:00.001+08:002015-02-19T19:46:21.647+08:00See Abdul runRunning has always been my go to activity when I need to think of something to write about.<br />
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Studies have shown that increased blood flow to the brain enhances the cognitive process, as what happens when you engage in cardiovascular activities like running. A recent report on www.bbcnews.com cites a U.S. study as saying "activities that maintain cardio fitness - such as running, swimming and cycling - led to better thinking skills and memory 20 years on."<br />
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Running helps clear the mind and allows the flow of ideas. It works for me.<br />
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Running early on a cold Wednesday morning, I recall seeing on social media posts about a major running event in Manila being dedicated to the "Fallen 44," the members of the elite Philippine National Police Special Action Force who were killed in an encounter with Moro fighters in Mamasapano, Maguindanao. The run gathered together, according to reports, some 15,000 runners who "saluted the SAF commandos carrying the portraits and the names of their fallen comrades at the first few meters from the starting line."<br />
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It indeed would have been a spectacle to see, and a memorable moment one would cherish to be part of.<br />
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And running on alone on fluorescent-lit streets on that cold Wednesday morning, my thoughts shifted to the other victims of that tragic incident in Mamasapano -- 1,986 children, according to data gathered by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team, displaced from their homes, deprived of the opportunity to learn because their schools had to be closed.<br />
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I remembered hearing a participant of the People's Fact-Finding Mission in Mamasapano share some of their findings during the tow-day data-gathering activity.<br />
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"In Linantangan Elementary School in Tukanalipao, only 200 of the 600 children have returned to their classes. Of the 12 teachers in this school, only 7 have had the courage to resume teaching."<br />
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That was as of Wednesday last week, February 11.<br />
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Children run primarily as play. But on that early morning of February 25, those children of Mamasapano, along with their parents, ran for their lives, to safety. A few of them were not so lucky. One got hit by a bullet while trying to go back home to check on their carabao. He was lucky to have survived. Sarah Panangulon died from her gunshot wounds. She was only eight.<br />
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As I ran, I thought how easy this is for me. I run for leisure, for fitness, at my own unforced pace. Many of those who ran that big event in Manila run for the same reasons I do. Running for your life, running as bullets zoom past, running as explosions wrack your nerves, running carrying whatever possessions you can take with you away from danger and destruction, that is an entirely different story. If it is difficult and traumatic for adults, how much more for children?<br />
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For quite a long while, children in this oft-disturbed land have ran primarily for play, just as they should, thanks to a ceasefire agreement resulting from peace negotiations between government and Moro rebels.<br />
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As I ran, I prayed that day will come, soon, when these children will no longer run because of fear of being caught in the crossfire.<br />
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<br />Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36274187.post-13058357544338738322014-08-19T16:00:00.000+08:002014-08-19T16:00:45.100+08:00Memories and mementosNot a few memories are etched in my mind of the many experiences I have had while living out my passion for the run.<br />
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Falling at the start of a race and still finishing first in my age group, being hit by a hurtling motorbike that figured in a road spill, being caught in a thunderstorm in the middle of God-knows-where far from home, these are but just a few of things that stand out in my mind. I have "died" on the road while doing a race, found my second wind in more than a dozen runs and my runner's high in a few long ones. I saw this motivational poster that says "I ran out of love and hate and anger and joy" and I thought to myself, "Me too.<br />
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For most of these experiences, there are only my words saying they happened. In a few, there are the mementos to show they indeed were real.<br />
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There is the finisher's certificate of the first marathon I completed, the "Shell to Shell" 2nd Midnight Marathon organized by the Davao Sunday Runners' Club on March 3, 1996. Fired off at 12 midnight along with more the other runners, it took me more than 4 hours and a half to finish the race, throwing up twice along the way and walking much of the second half. I was 41.<br />
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There is that photograph of me - one of a very few pictures of me in a race - crossing the line at the 27th Davao Finishers' Marathon on December 5, 2010. It was my comeback marathon, my first in 13 years, and 14 years after my first 42k finish in 1996. I finished it in 4:23:16, still walking part of the final 10 kilometers. I was 55.<br />
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There is the age category top finisher's medal I won at the Araw ng Dabaw Phonenix Run 21K on March 13, 2011. It was the first age group top finish I had in a major road race, clocking at 1:41:31. I actually got my medal a week or two later due to some organizational hitches, but that doesn't really change anything. Not for me anyway. I still got to go up the stage to be recognized for the achievement.<br />
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Finally, there is this picture of me, race face and all, at the finish of the 28th Davao Finishers' Marathon on December 4, 2011. It was the first marathon where I ran all 42.195 kilometers. I crossed the line in an official time of 3:52:21, good for 10th place.<br />
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Looking back at all these, I would say that they were among the best moments of my life, among the ones that defined me, that showed me what I am and who I am.<br />
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Carlos Bautistahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16825476211442528894noreply@blogger.com0