New York City Dash to the Finish Line 5km

New York City Dash to the Finish Line 5km is a good race for people who came to support their families and friends and wanted to run here but not a 42km race!  It is also good for marathoners who wanted to do a slow easy run before their big race the next day.

What is nice here is that it ends at the exact same place as the New York Marathon and the 5k runners will get a chance to run inside Central Park, which is definitely a To Do List for anyone visiting this city.

Per and Blanche joined this once I mentioned it to them.  I wasn't sure yet and by the time I wanted to join, it was sold out already!  Haha! 

Come Saturday morning, Per and Blanche took a cab to go to the Starting Line (near Grand Central Terminal) as I walked from the hotel to go toward the finish line. 

I found a spot 300 meters to the finish line and positioned myself in between the Japan and Brazil National flags.  There were a lot of Japanese and Brazilian runners who went there, took a picture with their national flags (or at least touched it), before running off again.

I was straining my eyes just trying to look for Per!  I didn't know if she started late or on time but I guessed her finish time.  Man, that wasn't easy to do!  Hats off to Per for all the times she looked and waited for me to finish my race.

After about 40 minutes, I saw....

Blanche!  Haha!  Took a picture of her but she was too fast for my camera so it came out blurred. 

Apparently, I missed Per and she had already finished the race.

Good thing it was easy to spot the two of them after the race and they were both extremely happy by it.  All good comments from them (perfect weather, didn't feel tired, didn't sweat, cold helped a lot). Wow, kinda got me excited for my race the next day!

Due to the cold weather, Per bought a throwaway jacket at a running store for USD 10 (USD 6 as Blanche won a USD 5 voucher and gave it to Per).  But instead of throwing it away, she kept it the whole time!

They got some snacks at the finish line such as apple, energy bar and some drinks.

As we headed back to the hotel, we passed by the Upper West Side neighborhood and saw some nice Halloween decorations.

Imagine our surprise when we discovered a Magnolia Bakery here!  Of course, we had to stop and eat here!  It was Per and Blanche's reward for their run.  It was my carbo loading for the race the next day!  Haha!!!

Good end for the morning run!

At Columbus Circle, there was a Marathon Lounge area on the second floor which we passed by as well and got a free souvenir photo there.

Their race is over and mine is about to begin...

Per's first 5km for 2014 - Etude Run

For Per's first race for the year, I decided to pace her early on when I registered for her race.  It will be a 5km race starting from 9th Avenue and heading towards Kalayaan Bridge for the U Turn on top of it to head back to the finish line. 

It was supposed to be a simple 5km race but we made a big mistake thinking that the race was on a Saturday!

On Saturday morning, Alvin and I did a short 2.8km run around the village before we drove with Per to BGC.  Another friend joined us that morning.  Everyone was willing to wake up early that day and to run with Per in her race.

But, we didn't see anyone else wearing the pink race singlet.  Nobody was wearing the race bib too.  Uh Oh!

I was still optimistic about it as we slowly headed our way to the starting line, where it was devoid of any race set-ups or of any runners!  $%#%& !!!

I couldn't accept that I got the date wrong and thought that the starting line was somewhere else but when I saw that the road to Kalayaan Bridge was open to traffic, I knew we made a mistake!

So what now?

Well, we were all there so might as well do a short run.  We all did a short 3.7km jog around BGC area and while they headed to Pancake House for breakfast, I added some more mileage to my run.  Thank God the weather was nice that morning but it was lonely to run by myself.

I was able to run a total of 19km before I went back to them.  Drank some water and got left behind again as had to 6km more!

Then there is Sunday to talk about!

All our legs were sore that morning but we still decided to push through with the race.

Of course, I checked on the race information that Saturday night to make sure date, time and venue are now correct.  And finally, we saw a lot of runners in their pink singlets and in their pink bibs!

Now to do the race!

The 10km race started around 5:45am, about 15 minutes delayed from the official gun start time as they had to wait for some celebrities to go at the start of their wave.  Per's 5km race started 5 minutes later with Dingdong Dantes running in the lead (and with a lot of screaming girls behind him, and a lot of serious runners making him their target).

As luck would have it, Per's Garmin died on her and I didn't wear my Garmin that morning too.  I did have a stopwatch with me and that should be enough.  Good thing there were markers every kilometer of the way and I was able to do some computation on pace we are on and on our target finish time.

My goal for Per was a sub-40minute 5km time.  I just hope that yesterday's run didn't make her legs tired for this day.

At the halfway mark we were below 20 minutes, so that was good to achieve our target.  We kept going and rather than have Per stop at the crowded water stations, I brought a water bottle with me and offered her drink whenever she needed it.  Kerwin and I were running in front of Per and trying to pull her towards us.

The distance to the finish line was getting shorter and shorter and it was nice to see Per still continue running and not burning out.

Before long we saw the finish line at the bottom of the road and I told Per to go faster.  We overtook some runners in Cosplay outfits (man, they must be superfans to be wearing those costumes on that hot Sunday morning!).

Per crossed the finish line at 38 minutes and 4 seconds and with a big grin on her face.  She finished strong and happy!

The finisher medal was really nice and big.  Plus there was a pink water bottle to which we gave to our daughter.  Some drinks too at the finish line.  All in all a good race!

Congrats to Per for reaching her target especially since she ran two days in a row!

Praise God for keeping us safe and strong during these two days!

Extreme Back to Back Race!!

RACE # 1 - OUTBREAK MISSIONS INTRAMUROS 5KM


Considering this is an Outbreak Mission, there are less running and more walking but it was still a tiring one as we walked on the uneven walls of Intramuros, do quick sprints as we try to avoid the Zombie Horde and try to solve the mission.

Our race started around 9:30PM...

at the beginning

 And we were a team of 5, but one of the rules of the game was to group ourselves into 10-15 members so we found two more groups and designated ourselves as TEAM CHOPSUEY!

Immediately after we were released into the Zombie Infestation, we all ran separately as we would do our best to avoid their Zombie hands on our precious "red tape" lives.  It lasted two minutes and most survived with all three red tapes intact.  Unfortunately that wasn't the case for Per as she lost all three lives in that two minutes.  How that happened we had no idea!  She was dead in this game!

But at least she had no pressure to run against the zombies!  Haha!

There were a few more attacks inside the walled city and there was a new gimmick as well:  we would follow the red light on the ground and we would be safe.  Of course we didn't expect the red light to disappear mid-way and there was a big panic as zombies headed toward our direction! 

As in previous Outbreak Races and Missions, casualties were bound to happen and one of our team members fell to the ground early on and cut her knee and elbow.  There were also some people who couldn't handle the stress and wanted to quit the game altogether.

So from 9:30pm start in a 5km race, we ended at 12 midnight!  Two and a half hours!!!

team Chopsuey

Luckily Alvin found an extra life and gave it to Per, who needed it badly  This time she kept it intact till the game was over and got a dog tag out of it.

Definitely not the end!

We haven't eaten anything yet for dinner so off we all went to Binondo for some authentic Chinese food!

Forgot the name of this place but it was really really good!  Thanks Alvin for the nice recommendation!

After having our midnight dinner, it was time to go home, take a shower, and sleep for two hours because at 5:45AM, it was time for

 RACE # 2 - TAKBO NG PAMILYANG MANILENO 10KM

 My legs were tight from Outbreak and I lacked sleep.  Still, I managed to wake up at 4AM and took that as a sign that I could do a 10km race.  Not sure on the pace though as I wasn't 100% that morning.

I wanted to at least do a sub-7 minute per kilometer pace all throughout the race and beat my 7:34 average pace that I did in a 10km race last January. 

Even with the tight legs which thankfully got looser at the second half, I was able to maintain a 6:45 average pace and even brought it down to 6:31 average pace and do a negative split!  I beat my previous 10km record for the year by more than 10 minutes!

PRAISE GOD for this!

Too bad I didn't make it to the top 100 finishers for the10km category and lost my chance to get one of the finisher shirts but it was still a fun event!

10km Route Map

two conquered races over the weekend!

Of course with all the running and lack of sleep, I ended up sleeping for more than 10 hours Sunday night!!

Thank God for keeping me healthy, safe and strong!


Thanks Alvin for the ride to Luneta and for the race kit for Sunday's Run!

High and Lows of Running in 2013 (as of August 1)

I thought 2012 was the best year for me as it was in 2012 that I did five full marathons: two I trained hard for and three "impulse" ones because I wanted the medals, or I needed a long run!  Out of these five marathons, two were overseas (Hong Kong and Berlin) and the remaining three were in the Philippines (Milo, Subic, RUPM).  I had good and bad experiences from each of them but all these races I finished within the cut-off time.

But 2013 was even better for me.  Even though it has just been 7 months, it is the most I have done in a year's time.

But once again there were some HIGHS and LOWS out of this.

1.  GOOFY Marathoner! (SUPER High)

21k finisher

42k finisher

The finisher medal for the 42km race in Disney World, Orlando last January was a Mickey Mouse medal.  So why Goofy marathoner?  Alas, it was an extra challenge of doing a 21km race on a Saturday, followed by a 42km race on a Sunday!  63km in two days' worth!  Three medals (Donald Duck 21km, Mickey Mouse 42km and Goofy for doing both races) from the achievements.

If you are going to run a race abroad, might as well go all out and join everything!  BEST EXPERIENCE EVER!

2.  DOPEY Marathoner!  (SUPER DUPER High!!!)

getting congratulated by the main mouse himself, Mickey!

So if Mickey Mouse is a 42k finisher, Goofy is doing both a 21k and 42k race, then what is a Dopey Marathoner?  Well, before it became official this year, Dopey unofficially meant doing a 5k race on Friday, followed by 21k on Saturday and ending with a 42k on a Sunday.

Neither Alvin nor Per accepted the fact that I registered for all THREE races!  That meant waking up at 3am three days in a row and eating, drinking and stretching a lot for those three days.  Never mind the fact that we keep going back to the Disney Parks to make the most out of our vacations! 

But I had a good time and was glad to do all of them!


3.  Per's First Full Marathon (High)

Per's first 42k was at Disney

For a person who swore off doing another 15km race a few years back, she has gone far in terms of running as she joined more 21km races, one 25km race (New Balance), one 32km race (Rizal Run) and ending with her first full Mary in January 2013.

There was more pressure for me as I was set to pace her in this race so I made sure that I wasn't too tired from the other two days of running shorter races.

PS.  Per was right in her promise... she still hasn't joined or ran a 15km race since she swore off it!

She is also the first marathoner in both sides of her family and that is something she could be proud of!


4.  Ran on EDSA!  (High)

Per joined the 10km category for Run For Juan while I joined the 21km category.  Both categories lead us to EDSA where we would run on it without any cars.  As I ran on Santolan Flyover, I purposely stopped to walk and touched the lamp post there as doubt this would happen again!  Fantastic race route!!!

I hope one day we would have an EDSA Full Marathon that would equal international races in New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, etc.


5.  Bataan Death March 102km: (High) and (Low)

I never felt so much pain in running than when I did this race.  It was torture!  At 60km, I was tired and I had one full marathon to go!  My hands became swollen, my feet were hurting so much, I couldn't chew anything anymore as my saliva had dried off!  And yet, we continued slowly to the finish line.

Biggest low was not making the cut-off time and being disqualified here (DQ) but high was knowing that we didn't quit although there were a lot of times that I wanted to!

Wouldn't have completed the distance if not for Alvin and Lani helping me all the way in this 19+ hours of torture!  Very humbling experience!

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."


6.  Broken Promises! (High) and (Low)
 
    a)  After BDM, I swore off running.  Even throwing away my compression pants and shorts in an act of disgust at what I did just a few days ago.  Of course, that didn't become true and I ended up buying new compression pants again for running. Haha!

    b)  One of promises I have always kept to myself was:  NOT to repeat a Marathon.  My logic was that there were a lot of marathons so why do the same one again?  Especially since a lot of training is required.  Well, I broke my self promise not just once but twice as I signed up and ran Condura and Milo this year.

Condura was a High for me as I achieved a good time of 5:40 and got a better (and bigger) finisher medal than the one I raced two years ago. Plus route was different too from when I joined in 2011 with starting line at Ayala Alabang (instead of Makati).  So technically speaking, it was a different race for me. He he!

Condura 42k

For Milo, it was a low as I didn't make it for the cut-off time of 6 hours by just a few minutes.  But I guess I wasn't serious too as I wasn't interested in the finisher medal as it was exactly the same one from last year with the exception of them changing the Milo edition number.  So I took it for granted and didn't train enough for it.  Even my wife acknowledged I was lazy for this race.  What more Alvin! Haha!

Milo 42k

7.  DQ!  (LOW)

Also known as Disqualified as didn't make it for cut-off time of BDM 102km and Milo 42km.  But a lot better than DNF (Did not finish) which hasn't happened to me yet (fingers crossed).

After Milo, I texted Alvin that that would be my last DQ Race.  Hope that promise won't be broken!

Time to get serious for each race I join in!



8. Worst Time in 32km Race - Run United 2 (SUPER LOW)

With more than 5 hours finish time, it was my worst 32km time ever (some of my marathons are even faster than this!).  I shouldn't be content with "Just to Finish" race and look to be more serious with regards to my finish time (unfortunately that would require me to train more and harder!)

I didn't finish happy as was spent too.  And once a finisher medal was placed on my head, I almost immediately took it off as I wasn't proud of this race.


9.  Get Dirty!  (High)

Who wouldn't want to be 10 years old again and play in the mud???

This was my one and only trail run for this year as it was a 10km Mud run in Filinvest, Alabang.  Definitely a "fun run" and one I don't mind doing again.

10.  Different kinds of races: (High)

First Zombie Medal

Outbreak Manila Survivors!

There is the yearly Outbreak Manila where you have to run not to get a PR but to survive an apocalyptic zombie infestation!  You get three lives in the form of red strips on your belt and have to have one "life" left when you cross the finish line to get the finisher medal and shirt.  Awesome fun and scary experience!

Amazing Pinoy Fun Run 10km

  Amazing Pinoy Fun Run was a 10km race with challenges.  This was done a day before I joined the 10km Mud Run, which also had its own challenges.

11. First Family Fun Run (High)

Pet Express Doggie Run 5km

It was our family's first fun run together, granted Dani didn't run at all (she sat in her stroller the whole time) and it wasn't really a family fun run race but more of a pet race (owners ran with their dogs).  But Janine accommodated us and gave us our individual bibs (Dani has her own). A finisher medal at the finish line for Dani too (who was sleeping soundly at 4km).

12.  Moving up to Ultra Marathon World (SUPER HIGH!)

I guess BDM opened up Pandora's Box for me in that it became possible for me to run races with more than a full marathon distance.

Never thought I would enter this world of Ultra Marathon.  If Marathoners only make up 1% of world's population, what is the % for Ultra marathoners?

As of now, I'm the first from both sides of my family to venture into Ultra Marathons but I'm sure this won't last as there are a lot of Marathoners in my immediate family alone!

But this is a title I can hold as of this day. Haha!

Tagaytay to Nasugbu 50k Medal

at the finish line!

Laguna to Quezon 50km race

steady pace all the way

final sprint to the finish line

our first running trophies!

Doing a 50km race is more fun as I felt more accomplished when I reached the finish line.  Laguna to Quezon even had an extra 3km distance but I was fine with it.  Unexpectedly,  I got a runner's high and almost immediately signed up for another 50km race!!

The best part of these two races was finishing way ahead of the cut-off time so it was a redemption from our BDM race (I even received a trophy to replace BDM trophy, which I didn't get anymore).

Of course, none of these would be possible without

1.  GOD - where everything is possible through Him who Loves You.  Thank God for keeping me safe, strong and injury-free and to come home to my family.  Prayer really works and this is one thing I want to keep consistent in my life.

2.  Per - her support.  Every time I would say it would be my last big race, she would say "Okay".  Then when I get all excited for the next big race, she WOULDN'T COMPLAIN and say things like, "wasn't the last one Your last big race?" 

Rather, she would smile and say, "I Knew it!" and then laugh it off.

Very supportive to me and my running and I appreciate that. She always knew that running was a part of my life even when there were times I thought I was done with it!  Thanks dear! 

3.  Alvin - his pushing me (sometimes literally though)!  Haha!  Yes, I would definitely have stuck to 21km races only if not for Alvin and no way would I even get a fast time in 42km, 21km or 10km without Alvin speed training me.

The long runs helped with Alvin and I was able to do Ultra Marathons too because Alvin ran with me (either side by side or in front of me).  Thanks Bud! You were a HUGE HELP! (But that BDM was really Hell!) Haha!

4. Lani - our solo support crew for BDM 102km and L2Q 50km.  One woman to drive the distance and give us food and drinks and whatever we needed from her (burgers, ice, soda, etc).  This girl is a Supergirl.  Thanks again!  You saw me at my worst!  Haha!

One 10km and one 50km to go to cap the year (but no promises if these would be my last races for the year)!

PRAISE GOD!

Close Encounters at Outbreak Manila BGC (April 13, 2013)

Outbreak Manila Race held its fourth edition at BGC area last April 13, 2013.  I was able to join its first event in Nuvali back in 2012.  At that time, the race was done during the day but you had to conquer a trail run, with a lot of zombies lurking behind trees and bushes and trail paths were a lot narrower so it was hard to avoid said zombies.

For the fourth edition, the setting is now in the city but to make it more exciting, the organizers decided to turn it into a night run!  Just like its past editions, there would be a series of waves where runners would be released to the zombie hordes every 10 minutes or so.  The objective is simple:  with your three "lives" (in the form of red strips around your waist), you have to outrun, outmaneuver and out think the zombies in the hope of getting to the finish line with at least ONE LIFE intact!

I registered for myself, my sibling and her family, and some friends for wave 4 (6:30pm) but it wasn't until past 7 pm did we start our race.  The reason being was that the organizers wanted it to be a little darker and spookier for all of us!

At the race start, you can choose whether you want to be part of the appetizers (you would go off first), main course (where almost everyone would go here!) or the dessert (no idea why anyone want to choose this).  Two of our group members decided to split from us and went to the appetizers while the rest of us stuck to the main course.  After all, it's safety in numbers.

As the countdown reached zero, the appetizer wave was released (there were less than 10 of them), then it was us!  We were like cattle being released to the lions!  Immediately, there were two zombies in front of us and they were running towards us.  A lot of screaming ensured and more running!

It became a vicious cycle of running to avoid the zombies, then walking when the coast was clear, then running some more.  At one point, there were around 7 zombies just waiting for us on the road.  Time to hit those fast twitch muscles!

There were also areas in the course where you had to go through some obstacles with zombies inside.  A little bit more dangerous and I even saw one woman trip and fall to the ground.

Pretty soon I got separated from my sibling and her kids but just kept going until I saw two members of our group up front.  We jogged a bit together but got separated again.  About 3km into the race, a zombie ripped off my bib by accident but was nice enough to tell me about it and even pointed to the bib, which had fallen to the ground. As I was re-attaching the bib back to my shirt, another zombie just stood in front of me, waiting for me to finish fixing it!  Crazy!  I asked him if he could just target somebody else.  Yes, as if you could do that in a real zombie attack!  He said "no" and eyed the red strip on my belt.  Dang! 

I took time re-attaching my bib so I could catch my second wind.  When I was ready, so was he!  And I had to run, dodge, run back, and did some other things to finally evade him and leave him behind me.  I looked at my belt after.  Red strip still there.  Phew!

I thought that was the hardest one but as I neared the finish line, there was one zombie blocking my path.  I would run and veer to the left but he would do the same too.  Okay, I had become the target again!  Runners would pass us on my right side but still he would eye me and the red prize! 

So I had to dodge again and I passed him. 

Usually, when you pass a zombie, they would let you go and just go after the next runner.  But not this crazy guy.  He actually ran after me!  What the %^&$ ! And he was sprinting too as I was sprinting!  Okay, this would not turn out well for me!

To make matters worst, his fellow zombie saw the chase and blocked my way!  Okay, two against one hardly seemed fair but who am I to complain in an actual zombie run.  So I had to find some way to dodge him and outmaneuver the one behind me and I kept on running.  And still, they ran after me.  Oh great, now there were two of them now! 

I saw that the road would curve and figured they should stop before that happened.  So I ran and turned the corner, and saw that they were still running and within reach of me!    Okay, these two zombies are just plain passionate about their roles. 

But before they got my life, a race marshal interrupted their run and told them they had to go back to their spots!  Ahhh, I was saved!!  Bet the marshal was surprised they got that far!

Out of breath, I once again looked at my belt and saw the red strips there!  I got away intact from them! Human - 1, Zombies - 0!

And it was the finish line: with one section for the dead and one section for the alive.  I walked proudly to the alive section and showed them my belt with two intact red strips and got my finisher medal!

I surrendered my belt with the red strips to get the loot bag and finisher shirt and waited for the others to finish.

Some of us lost our "lives" in this race with  bigger "casualties" for Nat who lost all her lives and her bib too!  And Janine who lost all her lives and had her shorts torn as well!

But it was still a great experience for all of us.  Can't wait for the next edition (but may prefer to volunteer as a zombie)!

My first zombie medal!!!

Total race distance was 4km but didn't care anymore as just wanted to finish the horror run!  :)

Pet Express Doggie Run - March 23, 2013 (Review)

Pet Express has an annual Doggie Run (one and only kind in the Philippines?) that allows owners to run with their dogs for a distance of 1.5km, 3km or even 5km.  At the end of said run, runners will get finisher medals for their dogs and huge loot bags filled with all sorts of doggie goodies.  Yes, for this run, the dogs are the kings and queens!

We didn't have a dog at home (stuffed toy doesn't count) but this was an interesting race to join and since the dog has its own miniature version of race bib, I figured it would be a good race for a baby in tow too.

So yes, this was Dani's first 5km even though 1) she isn't a dog but DID sport a very nice and chic puppy shirt and 2) she was seated in the stroller the entire time.

It was up to mom and dad to ensure that she would get to the finish  line in one piece.  Good thing Dani loves dogs so that should keep her interested during the duration of the race (I HOPE)!

Come Saturday morning, we got to the race venue (outside Pet Express store in Mall of Asia) at around 5:30AM, which was the gun time for the 5km runners!  Luckily the organizers moved the starting time to 5:45AM!

Dani looking calm in her puppy shirt and her "baby" race bib!

Checking out the competition!

The three-wheeled baby stroller that we have was really made for running but this was the first time we used it in a race and it was here also that we ran the farthest distance while pushing said stroller.... and that was no easy feat!  I was a little out of breath and at times, I had to tell Per that we have to walk a bit.  There were also moments when Per would get the stroller from me and push Dani herself.  TEAM EFFORT everyone!

Of course, we ran with our digital camera (to capture the milestone baby moments)!  As seen in this photo, there were ample signs to guide the runners.  Route was pretty much straightforward with one U-Turn at 2.2km mark and another one at around 4km.

Finally!  The 5km U TURN!  I was exhausted...

.... and sweaty!  (Behind me was one of the water stations in this race.)

Apparently, I wasn't the only one tired!  Dani fell asleep at 4km mark (she did try her best to keep her eyes open!)

Look at the humongous loot bags!!!  It's almost as big as Dani herself!

Well done Dani for being in your best behavior (or maybe you were just super sleepy?)!  You deserved a medal!







And if you think we were taking our time in this race, I got four words for you:

2013 5KM PR BABY !!!

TEAMWORK achieved!  Nicely done family!


Thanks again to Janine and to Pet Express for the complimentary race kits!  It was a well organized and fun race!  Congratulations!