I ran last year and it felt good. I decided, heck, I’ll run some more.

Posted by pat on Feb 11, 2010 in Events, Life and Stuff, Nuffnang | 6 comments

I think there is a new epidemic spreading among Metro Manila denizens… Running Fever.

I’ve got more and more friends and family getting into their running shoes and working those strides for all sorts of reasons : to lose weight, to maintain their weight, to build endurance, to start a healthy lifestyle etc. The bottom line is, they’re runnin’. Its gotten me running too.

I remember my first – the Ateneo Fun Run July last year. I got up at 5am to make sure I’m at starting line before 6am. When I arrived at Ateneo, I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of people there – hardcore runners doing the 10km, the regular runners doing the 5-km, and fun-runners like me.  The energy in the air perked me up.

For that run, I did 2.5 km with a combination of walking and running in between because I was simply out of shape. I ran with no prior training. No jogging..not even walking. I finished the 2.5 km with my legs aching and me gasping for breath. (My hardcore runner friends will probably be snickering at this). Despite that,  I felt darn great. Was it the endorphins? Was it the morning air? What it the excitement coming from other runners? Whatever it was, I felt awesome.

I thought, maybe I SHOULD start doing this more seriously.

Fast-forward a couple of months later..

January. My colleagues Maki and Carlos have been excitedly talking about using GPS on their Blackberrys to monitor their runs. At that time, I sorely needed exercise. All the talk about marathons and GPS systems reminded me about that Ateneo run. I decided, “Ok, you know what? Let’s do this. At least one run.. even if i pick the shortest distance. Let’s get it started.  The Century Tuna Superbods Run is coming up. Maybe I’ll join that. I’ll do 5km. And oh yah.. Derek Ramsy’s going to be running too. Ok, I gotta be there. Muhahaha”.

Since July, I’ve been jogging on and off. I didn’t really monitor my time nor did I care about my distance. I was after the exercise and feeling great after. But sometime around mid-January when my colleague Carlos began to seriously run and when Maki, a serious runner, joined our team in the office, I got inspired and decided to take it up another notch.

So began “Operation train myself”…

1)  Run every weekend

2) Run at least once a week

3) Start sleeping early

4) Drink lots of water and eat a balanced diet (fresh fruits and veggies first!)

4) Monitor running time

5) Monitor distance.

The results so far? Pretty good I must say for someone who just started. In my last run did 2.5 km in 13 mins non-stop with energy to spare after. I think I can do 3km in 15 mins.

Its a simple start for my first real run… 3km. As mentioned, I originally wanted to do 5km. Unfortunately, I got sick earlier this week and wasn’t able to train. I know its nothing compared to the 21km run which I know some friends are planning to do. But hey, its a start. I’ve been following my simple program consistently since January..except for this week as I was sick. I’m fine now. Tomorrow morning, I run.

I feel great. I’ve lost weight and toned up a bit. On days that I run, my energy level is pretty good from morning to evening. The best part is, it really helps with work-related stress.

The Century Tuna Superbods is next weekend -

21 Feb 2010 at Bonifacio Globa City. Must I add, Derek Ramsy is running.

One week remains and I think thats more than enough. After this 3km run, I go the next level… I hear that it gets quite addicting.