Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Run for Ondoy Victims




"Run for Sight Foundation in cooperation with LARRAZABAL EYE will sponsor a charity run " Run for Ondoy Victims" on October 18 2009 6am along the traffic free course around Cebu Doctors' University ( P.Larrazabal Ave, Mandaue North Reclamation).

Registration is pegged at P300.00 or more from your heart since all proceeds of this charity event will be given to the flood victims of Typhoon Ondoy.

Top 10 male and female 10k runners will be awarded with prizes and medals. Registration will begin October 5 2009 at Centre for Sight , Cebu Doctors University Hospital. Contact 256 2020 or 2555555 loc 356 look for Lalyn."

Please support this special run for Ondoy Victims organized by Dr. Yong Larrazabal. Every bit of help when pooled together can mean the world to the victims of the cataclysmic floods in Manila.

For once, let us run/ walk for others in need and not just for ourselves.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Pink October Run




The Pink October Run will be on October 4, 2009 at 6:00 AM at Biliran Road (in front of Fully Booked and Starbucks) Cebu Business Park. You may register at the Ayala Center Cebu "Think Pink Desk" (near Naturalizer). The registration fee is only P150.00. This is for the benefit of Breast Cancer Awareness and PCS-CEV Breast Clinic Outreach Program.

This race has an event for everyone from the the couch potato, the newbie to the regular runners/ road racers-- 1K, 3K, 5K and 10K.

See you all on Sunday!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Ayala Eco Dash - Cebu Leg


3K, 5K, 10K (featuring a new route starting at the ACC West Entry)

Registration Fee: P175
For groups with at least 50 members: P150/ pax
Discounted Fee for students with valid ID: P125

Last day of Registration: 24 September 2009 at the Privileges Desk Ayala Center Cebu (between Watch Works and Naturalizer)

Race Packet Distribution only on 25 September 2009.

There will be no on-site registration.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

New Venue for CCM Running Clinic


The Marathon Foodie received this urgent message from John Pages of Cebu Executive Runners Club. Please take note of the new venue for the Running Clinic this Saturday:
"Hi! We have received overwhelming response for the Running Clinic and, this early on, have exceeded 140 registered participants already (capacity at Parklane is only 150). I think we'll reach 200 participants...

We've decided to move to a bigger function room. New venue:

Casino Espanol de Cebu. Same time: 2 to 4p.m. Sept 19 (Sat)."

Monday, September 14, 2009

World Heart Day Run


Whether your heart is in the pink of health like the first blush of new love...



...consumed by passion and is on fire...





... or tired, battered and bruised...



...or broken into a million irrevocable pieces...





you may be living on borrowed time...
but for now, your heart is in your hands.


On Sunday, 27 September 2009 let us all join the World Heart Day Run (3K, 5K, 10K) at 6:00 AM, starting at the Cebu Doctor's Hospital Gym in Capitol Site, Cebu City (near Coco Mall).

You may register at the Perpetual Succor Hospital - Cebu Heart Institute with tel. No. 232-2522, just look for Em-Em.

You may also text Dr. Raymund Reel Bontol at 09228266865. Registration fee is P150 only.




PSME Run

In celebration of its Ruby anniversary, the Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers (PSME) Cebu Chapter will hold a fun run (4K and 8K open) on September 20, 2009.

Assembly time will be at 4:30 AM at Baseline Restaurant and Recreation Center along Juana Osmeña st. Race starts at 5:30 AM.

Interested runners can register at Base-line Restaurant, PSME Cebu Office at Sudlon Lahug Cebu City Tel. # 032-254-3998, Jiggy’s Eskina @ ONE MANGO AVENUE and
WADE Shoes Ayala.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Photos: IBP "Fun Fun Run"


Podium Finish for the Marathon Foodie.


My math boys, Atty. Kim Anthony Castro and Eugene Henry Cabusao


Runner slash RTC Judge Gabriel T. Ingles


Partners for life! Attys. Negley & Edmund Villanueva


Twinkle Ignacio as Lady Justice. She ran 5K blindfolded!


Young Lawyers Association of Cebu (YLAC boys)


YLAC boys part II


Pearl Gonzales-Ungab and her sister Faith Gonzales



Winners 3K lawyers/judges category (women)
1. Virginia Redolosa

3. Bingo Gonzalez



Winners 3K lawyers/judges category (men)

1. Lito Ortiz
2. Ramenes Villagonzalo
3. Esteban Pascua



Winners 5K lawyers/judges category (women)

1. Haide Acuña
2. Visminda Truya
3. Negley Villanueva



Winners 5K lawyers/judges category (men)

1. Gandhi Truya
2. Marren Pañares
3. James Hupp III



Winners 3K open category (women)

1. Mary Joy Tabal
2. Girlie Redolosa
3. Donna Bagaria



Winners 3K open category (men)

1. Jorry Ycong
2. Joel Delposo
3. Joebert Carolino



Winners 5K open category (women)

1.Estella Mamac-Diaz

2.Miscelle Gilbuena.
3.Lhoriz Echavez




Winners 5K open category (men)

1.Mendel Lopez
2.Ben Alejandro.
3.John Philip Dueñas



Special prize for Rening Ylaya (most senior runner, 73)


Special Prize for Lady Justice Twinkle Ignacio

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Photos: Don Sergio Osmena Sr. Run


Sugbu Triathlon Team
l
Sugbu Triathlon Team

Sugbu Triathlon Team

Guardo Running Team

Camsur Ironman Champ Noy Jopson!

Star Patroller Kara Mae Noveda & Twinkle Ignacio

Arthur and Paul Z. of People Support

Running guru Raffy Uytiepo and Twinkle Ignacio


Trophies for the Masters A, B and C categories

I want one of these!


... or these!


Winners of the men's open category


Mendel Lopez with the 1st and 2nd runners up men's open


Winners of the women's open


Winners Masters A category


Time keeping

Friday, September 11, 2009

Back on the Road



After almost three weeks of physical therapy and absolute abstinence from running, the Marathon Foodie showed up at the 09-09-09 edition of the annual Don Sergio Osmena Sr. run.

The DSOS is supposed to be the oldest and longest-running local racing event in Cebu City held in commemoration of the birth anniversary of Cebu’s grand old man.

The DSOS is also a very competitive race designed only for those who have the appetite for racing on 10.22 kilometers of asphalt and concrete roads.


It is no place for first-time racers, or runners recovering from an injured foot looking to run only 3K or 5K. It is 10K or none at all.


The Marathon Foodie was ready to be humbled. I had no expectations of making it in the top 10, nor was I expecting to break my PR of 1:01. Just the same, I showed up one hour before the start of the race and warmed up and stretched, this time more meticulously than ever. All I wanted was to run pain and injury free.


Prior to the race, I reviewed and ran the race course over and over in mind, plotting the parts where I would run fast (Imus, Gen. Maxilom Ave. and Osmena Blvd.), battle with difficult inclines (U.P. Cebu to eskina Sudlon all the way to J.Y. Square and Maxwell Hotel along Escario St.), including walk breaks if I have to (UP Cebu and Maxwell Hotel).


As the starting gun went off, Vangelis’ “Chariots of Fire” was playing in my MP3. I had only three songs playing on a loop for this particular race – the two others were “Gonna Fly Now” from the Rocky soundtrack and “Hallelujah” from Handel’s Messiah. Chariots of Fire makes me see in my mind’s eye the correct running form I should maintain throughout the course, Gonna Fly Now inspires me to beat all the odds, and Hallelujh is for summoning strength that is more than physical.


For the first time, I ran not with abandon but with caution – making sure that my right foot had the correct form and not hiwi (askew) when it landed on the ground. It felt strange running with studied motion after recovering from an injury. The cocky rookie runner with the wisdom of someone who knows nothing was replaced by the studied precision of someone who’s been hurt.

I waited for the pain to strike my plantar fascia. There was none. I waited for the sharp pain on my right metatarsals. It did not recur. I got lucky at the DSOS. The Marathon Foodie finished the race in 1:06:14 or just a little over five minutes slower than my PR. Not bad, all things considered.

I’m happy and thankful -- thankful for being lucky enough to have recovered quickly and happy that I could run again, free from pain. But I know too that one wrong move (like a haphazard warm-up and stretching session or a lazy running form) and the pain will be back.

My feet still have more work to do and I still need those expensive orthotics to address my biomechanical issues for good. When it’s for keeps you just can’t give up because you got hurt. You find ways to get healed and start running again.



Doing the Math

Just because the Marathon Foodie had a great run, doesn’t mean the she’s willing to let slide the DSOS Run organizers’ major slight during the race.

You would think that after organizing the DSOS since the 80’s that the organizers would have perfected their hydration system for runners. The Marathon Foodie was sorely disappointed to find that the organizers did a sloppy sloppy job of providing water for the participants. There was no water from 2.5 KM onwards!


I know that real runners should be able to run well, with or without efficient water stations, which the Marathon Foodie did, but that’s not the point. The point is, when organizers collect registration fees, then they are obligated to provide the basic requirements of a road race – hydration that is enough for EVERYONE, correct distance measurement and marshalling.

Where did our registration fee go?


If there were 400 registered runners at the DSOS then they were able to collect P60,000.00. Surely, there should have been more than enough money to buy water and water cups for ALL the runners.


I wish to point out that since the race is sponsored by the City Sports Commission, the City Government of Cebu must have foot the expenses for the prizes, medals, trophies and singlets.


Plus, the organizers used left-over plastic cups from a Milo-sponsored event and the race bibs looked like it was recycled from another running event. How does the Marathon Foodie know? First, the race bib does not bear the event name. Second, the dimension of the bib is wrong and obviously not proportional to the font size of the race number printed on it. If you look closely at the race bib, the top portion of the bib was obviously cut.


Am I being OC and overly demanding? Maybe I am, but only when I feel that runners should have been provided what is rightfully due them in a race.


Photo credit: Thanks to Abby Ponce for the wonderful poster!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Runners Clinic


L-R: John Pages, Raffy Uytiepo, Bro. Carlo Bacalla, Steve Ferraren, Councilor Jack Jakosalem, Roel Militar, Haide Acuña, Barry Marquez, Kenneth Casquejo, Harthy Satina, Jesse Taborada, Meyrick Jacalan, Perl Jacalan and Raffy Osumo at the launching of CCM at the Mooon Cafe in Guadalupe.

Save your Saturday afternoon on 19 September 2009 for the first Runners Clinic sponsored by the Cebu Executive Runners Club.

This is a first in a series of clinics designed to help Cebu runners prepare and train properly for the 21K and 42K of the Cebu City Marathon on 10 January 2010.

For those of you wondering whether it is too early to prepare for 01.10.2010, there's no better time to start training for the full or half marathon than NOW.

But you just don't go out there and run. There's actually a method and science behind training to run a full or half marathon.

This running clinic is the best opportunity to learn from the masters -- hopefully for free? =)

The Marathon Foodie will keep you posted for details.

Photo Credit: Kenneth Casquejo




Saturday, September 5, 2009

A Pound of Cure


Two days after the University Run, I found myself knocking on Dr. Renald Peter Ramiro's clinic at Cebu Doctor's Hospital. Dr. Ramiro specializes in rehabilitation medicine and electromyography. He is also a runner and kindred spirit, and so when I went on and on about the pain in my foot, I was sure he knew what it really felt like.





My condition is called plantar fasciitis (pronounced PLAN-tar fashee-EYE-tiss).
It is one of the most common injuries that runners suffer from. It can be caused by a great number of things, but mine was caused by a sudden increase in the weekly mileage. In my effort to bump my miles in so short a time, I tried to cramp too many miles every week, which i wasn't ready for. Plus, I have a flat right foot and an overpronator.

Runners who suffer from plantar fasciitis alter how they run: shortening stride length, foot striking with toes first rather than heel first, and running on the outside border of the foot are among the alterations, all of which can lead to a host of other injuries including knee pain, hip pain, back pain, or other foot pain.

In the case of the Marathon Foodie, my altered gait and foot strike also caused pain on my right forefoot, a condition called metatarsalgia. Because I did not address the first injury as soon as it hit me, I now had to deal with not only one but two types of injuries.





I was in pain. So much so that I could not even wear my leather shoes to court and I couldn't walk even with just flip flops on at home. It was either I wore my rubber shoes (with lots of cushioning) to work or I just sit all day at home and not walk.

Thankfully, there are ways to manage or even correct plantar fasciitis.

Dr. Ramiro prescribed that I undergo physical therapy sessions at Cebu Doctor's Hospital Rehab Med Dept. with my friendly licensed Physical Therapists Namy Casia and Amado Boyet Cortes, who both so graciously explained to the Marathon Foodie everything about the treatment and how to better avoid injuries in the future.



Namy uses a little gadget called TENS or Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator, which aids pain relief and hot packs on the affected foot.

Then there's the ultrasound machine used with the Fastum gel, which is supposed to speed up recovery. Namy also taught me exercises using the blue theraband to strengthen the muscles at the sides of my leg which was weak and contributed to my injury.




Boyet on the other hand tapes my right foot. Now this taping technique performs a little miracle. After taping, I can't feel the pain on my heel and forefoot! It also worked wonders in giving my flat foot the extra support that I need to prevent injury. But, taping is only for short term relief.

In order to correct the biomechanical issues involving my flat right foot and overpronation, Dr. Ramiro advised me to have made-to-order orthotics (shoe inserts).





But orthotics are expensive -- almost like buying a brand new pair of running shoes. The Marathon Foodie is still saving up for it, and waiting for the opportunity to fly to Manila and try out the custom fit insoles (while-you-wait) at Runnr -- that new store at Bonifacio High Street which specializes in running gear that runner-bloggers have been raving about.

For Cebu runners who might need custom made orthotics, there's Arnold Balais at Rm. 118 Centro Maximo Bldg. in Jakosalem St. (2538242). Arnold made the custom fit insoles of running guru Raffy Uytiepo and the Guardo brothers.

I'm so behind my training schedule already, it's depressing. I blame myself for not taking better care of my foot. I kick myself for all those rushed, even skipped stretching sessions before and after a training run. I hit myself in the head for ignoring the pain when it first hit me in the 1st week of August. If I did seek help then, I would have been healed by now.

I take heart in the fact that this injury has made me learn so much from my rookie runner mistakes. You know the cliche -- Rome wasn't built in a day. Same goes for running. It takes time -- lots of it -- to build a solid running base.

They are unforgettable lessons about injury that no book on running could have taught me. Well, books would have told me the same thing, but I wouldn't have believed it until the pain struck me.