So You Finished A Marathon, Now What?

After finishing our first full marathon last February, we would often get asked this question: "So, what's next  in store for you?"

taken from Pinterest

Honestly, I didn't make plans after that marathon. I thought work is probably going to eat up most of my 2013 as I am expecting a lot of changes happening for me in that department. But guess what, the minute that question was popped I was just so quick to answer - Make THE STANDARD CHARTERED MARATHON in SINGAPORE my second FULL Marathon!

2013 ULTIMATE GOAL

And I gave that answer to who else but my husband's adrenaline junkie friends. So now, I've given my word. And that's where we're headed at the end of this year. Hopefully. 

I say hopefully because I know the minute the registration for that race is opened, they sell out faster than a speeding bullet train (hahaha, here i go again with my weird made-up metaphors). But we'll be watching out for that really tight. I hope we do manage to get a slot. For now, we all focus on our individual training goals.

So now this leaves us with plotting out a game plan. And despite my resignation to lie low on running this year, my body is retorting violently so I just couldn't give that up like that. And those weekend long runs are really hard to pass up. Right now, I'm really missing them so bad. (and the belly is filling up with dreaded fats again, I just couldn't let that happen).

So what's our training plan then? Well for the hubs and me, we plan to do the Milo Marathon again in July. We hope to finish strong this time. No cramps and with a good time (like a sub 2 and a half, especially for me). Then maybe come October we'll do a 32km race. Hopefully too (because that race has a rather steep registration fee in our books so I will have to save up for it). 

I also plan to take strength training more seriously this time. Any suggestions on how I can start with that? 

I guess there's really no turning back for us now. Unless something major like hmmm getting pregnant happens along the way, it's probably safe for me to make it a goal to run at least one marathon every year. Who knows, before I turn 40 maybe I can qualify to run in one of the world marathon majors (told ya I am a big dreamer!).

TAKEN FROM PINTEREST

Racing Towards My Half-marathon PR

When I race, I hardly ever focus. Although I do try to concentrate on the race, my mind always fly thousands of eons away. Today, as I was racing to make my unexpected personal best record for a half-marathon I am suddenly bombarded by thoughts regarding lessons learned while running a half-marathon.

The QCIM race is my 3rd attempt at finishing a halfmarathon. Although I did finish the last 2 half-maries that I  last participated in, today was definitely the finish that made me feel like I can finally call myself a legit half-marathon finisher. Why, you ask? Isn't reaching the finish line enough ticket to the claim? Well, technically yes. But those last 2 races gave me the worst cramps ever, they ended making me feel like I didn't prepare well for the race. There's probably a lot of truth to that which also was another reason why I feel I don't deserve to claim the finisher title yet. But today, yes today made me feel very, very proud of myself.

So what led me to a 'personal' strong finish? Well, I can list several things.

1. I followed my training schedule to the T. I religiously plotted the mileage requirements for the week and worked hard to reach them. I may fall a mile behind on some days, but I try to make up for the deficit on other days. And I guess, that helped a lot with building my endurance.

2. I listened to my body. I used to challenge myself and believed that all the pain just comes from my mind. And if I control my mind and psyche it hard enough to push my body to just run and not stop for a walk break, I will get a strong finish. But after 2 failures, I finally decided to listen to my body. After the 10th kilometer, I modified my strategy and chose to run in 6/1, 5/1 and 4/1 intervals instead depending on the terrain difficulty (4/1 if it requires me to climb and 6/1 if it's flat all the way). This helped tremendously. And when my GPS tracker announced I'm at the 20th km, I feel like jumping in glee. But I restrained myself, I had to save up all of my remaining energy for the last kilometer to the finish line.

3. The night before the race, I was beyond my head with panic having realized I left our power gels at home. But then, Tibs assured me I can finish it without the gels (because in our last race, he didn't feel the need to take one and yet finished it) so I resigned and just pocketed 3 pcs of menthol candies in case I do run out of energy. A bit of sugar can go a long way. 

4. We warmed up for a good 10-15 minutes. We stayed in QC for the night so we were just 5 minutes away from the starting line. We didn't have to rush and we had ample time to do stretches and sweat up a bit before gunstart. The point I'm trying to drive at here is that IT PAYS TO COME ON TIME.

5. Proper hydration is also key, I guess. The entire week before the race, I wasn't feeling well. In fact, I had a major asthma attack last Tuesday I had to call in sick for fear that I would fall extremely ill come race day. In order to hasten my recovery, I had to drink up liters and liters of water (average of 4 liters a day). That probably helped a lot as I didn't feel the need to stop for water at the first 5km. I also loaded up on carbs on Friday (it wasn't really a lot but it was more than my usual carb intake). I should remember to do that again at every long run.

So yes, I wasn't in my best form this morning (with the asthma attack still hovering over me). And yesterday, when I went to see my doctor to sort of ask permission if I can go on with the race she gave me a disapproving nod. But seeing how determined (and stubborn) I looked, she relented and just prescribed several meds to help me get through the day. And I tell ya, maybe it's my positive spirit today or maybe it's the meds (I really cannot tell at this point) but I feel better now. And the entire length of the race, I never felt the need to puff on my inhaler. As if it was a validation for me to finally say - SEE I TOLD YA, I HAVE STRONG LUNGS! haha. 

Today has been a very good day. And yes, to God be the glory. I finished the race safely. And I am now more determined that ever to train harder for my first marathon finish. 

Good Housekeeping Fun Run 2012

This might just be our first family fun run. I've been nagging Tibs to let Maia join us in one of our races since she was gifted with a pair of running shoes (thank you Ninang Ces!). But to date, he has not budged and give into my relentless nagging. I guess one thing that prevents him from letting me have my way are the race fees that are almost sky-high these days, to be honest.

When Tibs started running with his buddies, fees were at most pegged at only P250-300. And they were already running 10k's then. The longer distances would probably cost more but not a thousand like most races are these days. 

But, thank God for small races like this families are given the chance to run and have fun! There's no reason for Tibs to say no this time because at P600 all 3 of us can now register and run! I hope many families would come and join. I'm sure the little miss would be more than glad to race with other kids. 

If you're interested to join, here's a list of the registration centers and other race details:

Race Date: March 31, 2012

Venue: Bonifacio Global City

Distances:

5K – open category

3K – inflatable obstacle along the 3K route for the child to complete

1K – obstacles are simple mini-hurdles and weavers for the dogs

100m dash – kids 6 below

Fees:

Php 200.00 for all categories

• Children below 3 years old are free

Php50 per dog

* Dog must have vaccination record upon registration

Registration details:

starting February 4 to March 26, 2012:

- Hobbes and Landes Bonifacio High Street,

Quadrant 2, Unit B14, Fort

Bonifacio, Global City, Taguig

Starting Feb. 4, Daily, 1pm – 9pm

- Hobbes and Landes Greenhills Promenade,

Greenhills Shopping Center, San Juan

Starting Feb. 4, Daily, 1pm – 9pm

- Toys R Us Bonifacio High Street

Upper Ground Level, Active Fun Bldg.

28th St. cor. 9th Avenue, Taguig City

Starting Feb. 4, Daily, 1pm – 9pm

- SUMMIT MEDIA OFFICE

7th floor, Robinsons Cybergate Tower 3

Pioneer St. Mandaluyong City

Trunkline: (02) 451-8888 local 1070/1071

Starting Feb. 6, Weekdays only, 11am – 6pm

starting February 26 – March 26, 2012

- R.O.X.

Bonifacio High Street, B1 ROX Building, BGC, Taguig

Starting Feb. 26, Daily, 1pm – 9pm

SEE YOU THERE!

Condura Skyway Marathon 2012 Photos Are Up!

Looking at this makes me miss the adrenaline rush brought about by the feeling of running on an empty highway and racing with thousands of running enthusiasts

Yes, I'm still not over with my half-marathon stories and Condura Skyway Marathon narratives. Forgive me for this over-dose but it will probably take me some time to get over it given the fact that it might be my last race for this year. The official race photographer - Active Moments - has already released almost all of the race photos and I can't help but marvel over them. There are literally thousands of them but I unfortunately was only able to find Tibs' photos. Haven't found any photos of me yet. Bummer, no? (and I was telling Tibs, I was the first-timer why did you have to take the limelight off me?!#$!#)

Here is some of Tibs' photos as captured by Active Moments' Photographers:

You having fun? I am having fun! Thumb-up!

It turns out that my forgetting to bring Tibs' race shirt was a blessing because it made searching for the photos easier since not a lot of runners were wearing black (lolz). It was a good thing too that the shirts were a bit stretchy so Tibs was able to fit into my size S shirt (yes, that explains the instant sexiness. mind you he wasn't breathing all through out the race. wahaha)

And here's the only photo us Tibs and me that I found. I almost didn't make it to the frame cut! Lolz.

I'm still keeping my hopes up and is optimistic that I do have my own photos hidden somewhere in those thousands of race photos. Hah! I'm suddenly missing the efficiency of photovendo. For now, I am having fun viewing some of the race videos in You Tube. Let me share with you some of them.

Watching this video still makes me feel giddy! 

There's a reason why I chose this (there's tons in you tube)...

it's because we're in this video! Lolz.

I haven't ran a lot since CSM. Well, actually I've only ran once since and that was last Thursday when I decided to do a recovery run which was still a bit painful especially on my right ankle. I was hoping though to be back on my normal running form this weekend. I  just can't wait to hit the road! I've been doing some indoor cardio exercises for the meantime so I won't gain back the weight that I've lost while I was still training. I'm hoping to lose at least 3 lbs more before our big project for this year takes full control of me and my body. *wink*wink

Hop on over to this site if you'd like to view the photos from this year's race. I'm already thinking about next year, and I'm hoping I can still run by then. If not well then, I still have my marathon training to look forward to. I can't wait to start that!

All photos are from the Condura Skyway Marathon facebook page and website.

What To Do (and some I did) After A Long Distance Run

It's a Monday and I'm at work (why shouldn't I be?). I climbed 3 floors (4 flights to be exact) to get to the office (yes, we do not have an elevator because we're health buffs like that lolz). There is nothing new to that except that yesterday, I just ran my first half-marathon. I'm sore. My knees are still wobbly and weak. I can still feel pain on the spot where I experienced the cramp yesterday.

But all that is not an excuse for me to miss work so I dragged my butt off the bed, fixed our breakfast (which was superb by the way) and went to work. I wasn't even too tired so I didn't bother getting a shut-eye on the shuttle bus ride to my workplace. I decided to just enjoy my running playlist again and imagine how great it feels like running on a Sunday morning. (ahhhh i am obviously officially over the heels hooked on this now)

So anyways, as I was wincing my way up the stairs, I thought I'm quite getting better at this. The climb up wasn't as painful as my previous post-running experiences. After my 16k stint last July, I wasn't able to get to work because I could hardly walk. But yesterday, I was doing really good. I was even able to do some laundry work since our househelp is currently on vacation. And I cooked all our meals (well we also ordered take out). I am starting to believe I must have done some things right this time to deserve some time major pain time off. So what exactly did I do?

Half-Marathons Are Hard Work

Yes, they are not conquered easily. But it can be done.

Despite (really dreadful for me) a big threat of a DNF looming over my head, I made a slow pagong move towards the finish line to earn this medal of victory.

I started seriously training for this race just last December and despite the confidence that I had of the training that I did, my fear of a cramp attack was realized. The biggest lesson that I learned here is PREPARATION is KEY. Had I seriously started my training when I decided to go for it last September, it would probably had been an injury-free race for me. But then again, I'm glad I was able to maintain my pace till the 18km mark. I was wondering though, had I not stopped to stretch for a bit would the cramp still have happened? Ahhhh the what-ifs. 

My Skyway Invasion Playlist v.2012

When I started putting this playlist together i didn't have any theme in mind. I just wanted to put together all the songs that make me giggly, happy. I wanted to hear songs that will give me the extra boost when my legs get heavy. And as I was listening to them a few days ago, I suddenly realized they seem to have a common theme - travel/the sky/run - suddenly they all just seemed very appropriate, and purpose-driven. Hehe. Lalim ng trip.

So without further ado I present to you, my energy-boosters on Sunday:

Beating My 5k and 10k PRs In One Day

"E sarili mo lang pala kalaban mo eh"

That was what my husband told me last night after finishing our 12k training run at the Ayala Triangle. I left him eating my dust on the 3k mark and went to finish our distance goal for last night 10mins ahead of him. 

I literally felt like I was flying instead of running during the first 30mins that I ran last night. The route was very flat when compared to the terrain that we would pound on during our weekend runs (along Daang Hari and in our hilly subdivision) so I guess that contributed so much to my speed improvement. I've also been squeezing in some Fartlek training during my weekday runs and it seems to be working well for me. My phone GPS calculated me to be running an average of 5.40mins/kilometer on that first 30mins. When I checked my phone when I was about to cross the 5k mark, it appeared I ran my fastest 5k last night. And when I was done after an hour and saw that I registered 10.42km in 1:03:20, I was just so ecstatic. I felt really proud of myself. Even with a faulty GPS tracker (I was using Runkeeper) I can tell by the pace that I was running that it definitely was my fastest so far. 

Faulty tracker or not, this definitely raised my confidence level  5x over!

After that training run last night, I am now confident that I could finish my first half marathon with lesser injury (not like my first 16k where a toenail died and my knees were so painful I can barely walk a day after the race). I'd probably still be begging to rest a day after the race but I'm sure I won't have any trouble recovering from the run itself. (Talk of being optimistic eh. I'm currently overflowing with positivism I hope it rubs on everyone!)

Happy, happy Friday! 

Next week I'll do 12 laps in here and I will be fine. :)

My Running Story

I am a running momma.

Initially, I took up running because I thought that would be a great bonding activity for me and my husband. Way back 2009, I just ran a couple of laps with him during his trainings. His buddies were already hooked in the sport and were able to get him to join them.

I was never athletic. I used to be quite good at playing badminton but since Tibs and I got married that chapter of our life got shelved. When I gave birth though and failed to breastfeed, I knew I had to find a way to lose the excess poundage and the fat that was starting to pile up in my mid-section. This encouraged me even more to try running. So I did. I ran with my husband.

I ran with no pressure. There were days I can't get past 10mins and would be huffing and puffing and eventually walking. But I kept going. Then our triathlete friends challenged me and encouraged me to join races. My first race was a 3k which I painfully finished at 35mins. It was a very lousy first time PR and I think I only ran for 1k straight and walked the remaining 2 kilometers. But that felt good already and I was just really glad I was able to cross the finish line then.

I continued running with the hubby. We didn't have a training plan but we just ran when our schedules would permit. The first time I ran I thought running was just that. You put on some shoes, run and then sweat it out. What I didn't know was that running could give you this certain high. And you start craving for that. After that first race, I wanted to join more. And I was bent on making a good PR.

So on Feb 2010, I signed up for my first 'real' race - a 5k. I registered a time of 36mins when I reached the finished line. Not bad the guys said. But I could definitely do better. I should run more often and come up with a better training plan. That was when I started reading and aiming for better PRs. On March that same year, I ran another 5k and finally finished at a better time - 32mins. I was 2 mins shy of my goal of running 5k at sub-30. I ran another 5k race around June but I never got to beat that 32min PR.

I decided to train for 10k after that third 5k race. Last year July 2010, I ran my first 10k but did not bother to check my time. All I wanted and dreamed was to cross the finish line and I was just so happy I did. I ran three more 10k races after that then just this August, I braced myself and signed up for my first 16k.  The first 10k felt really good. I felt invincible. We stuck to our 7min race pace. But the remaining 6k was a different story altogether. The route proved to be hilly and quite steep for my amateur knees. And as I was nearing the finish line, I could feel my calf muscles twitching already. Almost nearing a cramp attack. I alternated walking and running but knew I just can't give up with only 1k left. So I finished my first 16k but it took me 2 hours and 7 minutes to do it. I still got a big pat on the back from our runner friends. Not everyone has the guts to run 16k after all, they told me.  That was 10miles and I survived!!!!!

Running has become more of a passion for me now. It has brought me a certain level of addiction that probably most 'runners' can relate to. There are times when I'd listen to my running playlist and I'd wish I can run my way to the office instead of taking the daily commute. Sometimes when I'd feel stressed out at work, I'd wish I can put on my shoes and run a few laps first just to let the bad vibes out.

Since September I have been training for my first half marathon. It took me a long time to find the courage to try my hand at this but with proper training I know I can do this. Here is the training plan that I am currently following. Even if we still have a lot of mileage to cover, I am confident my preparation will help me reach the finish line. I still aim to finish strong (by my standards of course).


Beginner's Half Marathon Training Schedule

Yes I'm a running momma. Squeezing in training hours are always difficult especially if you have an adorable kid begging for you to stay and play but I am quite passionate at pursuing this because I know that this is a way for me to keep myself fit and strong for my family.  One of these days, I know this adorable kid will be running with us too!

"if you want to live long, walk. If you want to live longer, run."