Note: This is my first foray into blogging.... so here it goes! I would appreciate any suggestions and constructive criticisms. Wish me luck!
It's the start of the week and I've been very tired from all the weekend activities. I was supposed to skip my Monday run, but last night, while I was going through my Facebook Home page, I stumbled upon the video of the National Geographic feature on the Condura Skyway Marathon 2011. While I was eagerly waiting for the videos to load (no thanks to my super slow at times, Globe WiMax connection), I reminisced the fun and great time I had running my first half-mary at the Condura Run last February.
The video had a different "feel" compared to the usual features you find in Nat Geo, but all in all, it was a fairly good feature on one of the biggest foot race in the country. I particularly liked Pat Concepcion every time he speaks about running. You could feel how passionate he is about it every time he talks. This, coupled with learning that the Condura Skyway Marathon 2012 has already set a date, inspired me to reset my alarm clock and go to bed early to hit the road Monday morning (funny how motivation could be found everywhere and in the smallest of things)!
My alarm clock is usually set to go off at 3:30 in the morning, but due to the tiring weekend I had, I gave myself a 30 minute reprieve to catch up on some sleep. My pre-run ritual usually consists of drinking a full glass of water immediately after I wake up and go for my usual breakfast of a piece of toasted bread, a granola bar and a cup of breakfast cereal drink.. But while I was rummaging through our weekend grocery, I remembered grabbing a box of Kellogg's Nulti Grain Cereal Bar during our grocery run. It looked interesting (I got the Blueberry flavored variety) and thought I'd give it a try.
The Kellogg's Cereal Bar was great and I liked it very much! It felt and tasted like a cross between fig newtons and pop tarts, two goodies I love to have and enjoy once in a while. The consistency was just right for my taste, chewy and it had the right sweetness (although I do have a sweet tooth). This thing quickly made it to my list of favorite pre-run breakfast!
After finishing my pre-run breakfast, I checked my e-mails and FB account to pass the time and give my gut the chance to digest my breakfast before going for my run. The YouTube video of the Condura Run was still on my computer screen so I decided to watch the final part. The epilogue of the feature caught my attention. Pat Concepcion's wife, Mabu, was talking about how she despised Pat's running because Pat was spending more time running than with her and the family. To deal with the frustration, Mabu decided to join Pat in his runs and see for herself what it was all about. It's a "if you can't beat them, join them" kind of situation for Mabu, and after going on her first 3k race, she was instantly hooked! It was kinda nice to see Mabu in the video proudly displaying her 16K finisher's medal, which according to her, "is the first and only medal she won in a road race"!
I have been trying to convince my wife, Jen, to take up running, not only for the health benefits, but also as a way to spend more time with her... not to mention wanting to get her hooked on running so I could justify getting more running gear! LOL! I have some success in varying degrees, but my wife keeps insisting that she is not exactly a morning person and she would rather sleep than run in the early hours of the morning. But this didn't stop me from waking her up every time I go for a run and ask her if she wants to join me. But somehow, this morning was different. The night before, I told her that I will push through with my Monday morning run and she said that she was thinking of joining me, because it's been a while since her last run. So I said, alright, we'll see in the morning how your mood is!
After gearing up and getting ready for my morning run, I woke up my wife and asked her if she wants to join me. I could tell she was struggling to convince herself to wake up, but after a while, she got up and said yes, she will be joining me for a run this morning!
So off we went, to my usual run route, the road from Pozorrubio to Manaoag. Since I was running with my wife, I had to cut short my usual 10k run to just 5k, which was fine with me as I was still recovering from my 16k long run 2 days before.
The weather was crisp and cool as I parked our ride in front of the Pozorrubio - Iligan Friendship park near the town plaza. We warmed up with a 5 minute walk before going on a 8:00 min/km pace run. I was surprised that Jen was starting to run longer and stronger. She turned around at the 2.5k mark while I continued on until km 3.25 before turning around to catch up with her. We finished the run (5k for her and 6.5k for me) in about 43:48. With Jen's progress in running, it won't be long now before she runs here first 5K!
Not a bad way to start the week, aye?
So off we went, to my usual run route, the road from Pozorrubio to Manaoag. Since I was running with my wife, I had to cut short my usual 10k run to just 5k, which was fine with me as I was still recovering from my 16k long run 2 days before.
The weather was crisp and cool as I parked our ride in front of the Pozorrubio - Iligan Friendship park near the town plaza. We warmed up with a 5 minute walk before going on a 8:00 min/km pace run. I was surprised that Jen was starting to run longer and stronger. She turned around at the 2.5k mark while I continued on until km 3.25 before turning around to catch up with her. We finished the run (5k for her and 6.5k for me) in about 43:48. With Jen's progress in running, it won't be long now before she runs here first 5K!
Not a bad way to start the week, aye?
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