Before Simon Losiaboi there was Mendel Lopez.This 25-year old Geodetic Engineering graduate from University of Southern Philippines was unbeatable and dominated most of the local road races in Cebu, except when he was not racing or away in Manila as part of the training pool for the Philippine athletics team.
Then all of sudden in November last year Simon Losiaboi from Kenya showed up and shook up the status quo of the local running scene.Since then, Lopez has played second best to Losiaboi who then became an instant hit in the local running circuit.
For a while Cebuanos stood in awe and were thrilled at watching the Kenyan with his sinewy legs and long strides win races week after week after week.Except for the Cebu City Marathon where Losiaboi lost to another Kenyan runner, it seemed as if we running mortals were resigned to seeing Losiaboi win all the races.It was as if there was no contest as to who would get the top prize.Without a real challenger, the Simon show became boring.
(Photo from Pabolfc.blogspot. L-R: Elmer Bartolo, Simon Losiaboi and Mendel Lopez)
This until Lopez changed race strategies and started skipping some of theweekend races to make time for more intense training and more importantly, to give his muscles much needed time for recovery, which is just as crucial as racking up the miles.
The first time Lopez beat Losiaboi was by technicality, after Losiaboi who ran using someone else’s race bib was disqualified at the Rotary Run in February.Lopez went home with the winner’s trophy, but to a truly competitive runner this win doesn’t count.It wasn’t on the merits.
Then on March 20, Lopez beat Losiaboi in a face-off at the Mt. Manungal climbathon – a 17-kilometer trail and road run challenge. Lopez clocked 1:07:25; while Losiaboi was light years away at 1:12:45 “Perfect weather condition, perfect body condition, finally beat Kenyan runner Simon Losiaboi fair and square during the Manunggal run!” posted Lopez in his Facebook account.
Then as if to prove that his win at the Manungal climbathon was no fluke, Lopez, in less then 24 hours, again beat Losiaboi at the Run to the Clouds – an 8-kilometer uphill challenge.Lopez was practically unchallenged as he led all the way up the relentless hills of Barangays Busay and Malubog 600 meters above sea level, beating Losiaboi by 2 minutes and 18 seconds – an eternity in competitive road racing standards.
This got local runners buzzing.The local Kenyan running sensation, was not invincible after all!
The real test however, will be when Losiaboi and Lopez face off at the long and flat 21-K course of the Great Lapu-Lapu Run on April 18 and Lopez knows this.“I won’t be racing between now and April 18.Lapu-Lapu will be my next big race.Dili lang ko mag-target ug time.Paningkamutan lang nako nga ako ang mag champion,” Lopez tells the Marathon Foodie.
If we go by personal records, Mendel Lopez’s personal best for 21Kis 1:11:11 – a far cry from Simon Losiaboi’s reported personal best of 1:03.But as a proud Cebuano, I’m rooting for our local boy Mendel, statistical and historical data be damned.
Summer Sportscapade
If you’re looking for a race that is more than the usual and an excuse to wear a bikini in Sta. Fe, Bantayan Island on Holy Week and not get sued by Gov. Gwen Garcia, then the Summer Sportscapade is for you.
There will be sprint (750m Swim - 20km Bike - 5km Run) and standard distance (1.5km Swim - 40km Bike - 10km Run) triathlon on March 31; duathlon (2.5km Run - 20km Bike - 2.5km Run) on April 1;and oceanman (200m Run - 200m Swim all x 4 laps) on April 2.
Summer Sportscapade will be held at Mac’s Hideaway Beach Resort on the pristine beaches of Santa Fe .Registration is pegged at P350 for each event but you can opt to join as many as you want by signing up for the race-all-you-can fee at P500 which is payable on or before race day at the race site. Registration deadline is on race day itself.
Citirun
Good luck to all runners joining Citirun at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel.Be safe, race well and seize the road!
It hasn’t sunk in yet. Even as I write this first column, I still can’t believe how running has taken me to a totally unexpected path – from non-athlete to certified marathoner and now a sports columnist.
This incredible journey started February 8, 2009, on a chilly Sunday morning in Hongkong where I got picked up by the sweeper bus at kilometer 25 for running too slow.
I remember sitting on that bus so forlorn and utterly ashamed of myself for having spent so much money just to DNF on my first marathon. My thighs were in great pain, but not as much as my wounded pride.
Despite being spurned by the marathon gods on my first attempt, it was then that I decided that long-distance running would be my sports for life. As the song goes “if at first you don’t succeed, you can dust it off and try again.”
I went back to Cebu , bought new running outfits, trawled the internet and read everything I could about marathon running. I also sought guidance from coaches Raffy Uytiepo and Precing Capangpangan and did all my (very) early morning runs with a diligence and consistency of one studying for the bar.
It has been a year since and what a year it has been. I won first place honors in one 3K and two 5K runs and I’ve had two full marathons under my belt. I’m also just two weeks away from running my first ultramarathon, the Bataan Death March 102. Yet, it still feels like there’s still so much out there to accomplish, and so many running paths that have yet to be discovered.
I’ve been asked countless times, why do I run? Truth to tell, I still don’t fully understand why. I just know that preparing to run a marathon has given me a new sense of direction, commitment and a renewed purpose in life. When I’m running I feel that I can be more, achieve more, give more.
Sometimes I get this crazy idea of taking a really radical sabbatical and just spend a year or two doing nothing else except training and running. Perhaps, if I take this passion as far as I possibly can, maybe I can be really good at it and even run for the Philippines someday.
I tell myself that it’s never too late. The champion of the women’s marathon at the Beijing Olympics was then 38 year-old Romanian Constantina Tomescu Dita (2:26:44) making her the oldest gold medalist in Olympic marathon history. But then reality interferes with my running dreams. There are bills to pay, pleadings to write and duties to fulfill.
Maybe the Olympic marathon is too far off.Like many serious runners out there, I content myself with training for at least one of the five world marathon majors and working hard to save enough money to finance that dream.
In the meantime, the Marathon Foodie continues to run the streets of Cebu no matter how very little time there is to spare, and no matter how difficult and painful it gets. I’ve said this once and I’ll say it again.That’s just how it is when you love something or someone. You invest time, put in your heart and soul and learn to have patience that can run for miles and miles and miles.
This torrid love affair with running I’ve shared with other runners through my online journal called Marathon Foodie
I will not pretend to be an expert, because I’m only an expert of my own running experience. But I can most definitely share with you everything I’ve learned, share tips and information, as well as point you to new runner-friendly routes and tell you which perilous roads to avoid – all of which I’ve road-tested myself.
And speaking of expert advice, Lit Ornubia, the only Chi Running Certified Instructor in the Philippines, will be conducting Chi running workshops in Cebu on March 26 – 27, 2010.The workshop will include a lecture and actual training runs.Each workshop session will be limited to twelve runners only.For more details you may email Dr. Raymund Reel Bontol at reelraymund@gmail.com.
Finally, good luck to all those running in the 2nd Rotary Run this Sunday.Carpe viam!
(For questions, comments and suggestions please email haide.acuna@gmail.com.)
While the rest of Cebu ran the weekend races that filled the weekend race calendar, I ticked my TBR calendar (free for all those who subscribe to The Bull Runner on-line alerts/ mailing list. Subscribe na! Now Na!) with super duper long runs under the heat of the sun, the longest of which lasted for ten hours covering 66 kilometers -- a necessary prelude to the Bataan Death March 102.
Mid-February was taper time, but not for work at the office. It was a race against time. The goal was to finish all my pending pleadings before I fly out of Cebu for the BDM. At least my clients won't be defaulted even if I drop dead while running my first ultra. (Haha) But it wasn't all run, run, run and work, work, work. I had fun posing for Island Souvenirs "I love Cebu" campaign -- a first and again probably the last for the Marathon Foodie.
One of the high points for the month of February was the launch of Marathon Foodie, the newspaper column. It appears every Friday over at Cebu Daily News.
But not even the new gig as sports columnist could distract me from being afraid of the unknown. I trawl facebook for Abby Jocson's and Takbo.ph's photos of the BDM race route and I'm literally paralyzed with fear over the idea of running and walking all of 102 of unfamiliar roads.
It's eight days to D-day. I guess I'll never know unless I get out there and try. =)
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.
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.
In distance running, “base training” or just “base” is the foundation on which you build the rest of your running. It’s the core strength that allows you to build the ability to go longer and faster. With luck, it also will help prevent injury. – Marathon Woman by Kathryn Switzer
Like a headless chicken the Marathon Foodie was running from one place to another, beating deadlines at work, fulfilling duties at home and squeezing-in an intense first week of training. The Marathon Foodie is on the second of three cycles of 12-week training programs.
The first cycle which started last May and culminated with the Milo 21K in July was relatively easy consisting of 33 to 40 kilometers per week with the Marathon Foodie running only three times a week (one easy run, one tempo run or speed work and one long run on Sundays). The first 12-week cycle was more diagnostic than anything. It was spent correcting my stride and form and gauging how fast I could run at a given distance.
The first 12-week cycle ended with the Marathon Foodie logging a total of 506 kilometers, with a race-day pace of 11 minutes per mile or 6:50 per kilometer. With this pace, the Marathon Foodie is expected to finish a full marathon in 5:00:14.
Coach Precing and I both agreed that the Marathon Foodie is ready to take on a more challenging program and decided to step up the mileage, frequency and pace. From running only three times a week, the Marathon Foodie is now on the road for five days with mileage ranging from a low of 65 kilometers to as much as 90 kilometers per week before tapering.
If I stay focused and stick with the program, the second 12-week cycle will add 877 kilometers or a total of 1,383 kilometers to the Marathon Foodie’s base mileage. That’s like running the island of Cebu from end to end, from the southernmost tip at Santander town to Bogo up north, seven times.
This much increased mileage is to be the cornerstone of my training for the Hong Kong Marathon in 2010. By the time I stand at the starting line on Nathan Road on February 28, 2010, I should have racked up a total of 2,260 kilometers and hopefully finish the HK Marathon in 4:41:00. The cut-off time for HK is 5 hours 30 minutes.
This all looks good on paper, but what does it really take to make my marathon dreams come to fruition?
It means running 11 kilometers four days of each work week, which consequently means sleeping by 8 every night so that the Marathon Foodie can hit the streets for training runs the next day at 4 in the morning and still have enough time to prepare for work at the office or in court. It means long slow runs of 22, 26 and 32 kilometers on Sundays, which means no more Sabado nights with friends, nor long weekends spent in Sta. Fe in Bantayan or Panglao, Bohol. It also means suffering from wounds, blisters and chafing not just on my feet but also on parts of my body that touch the seams of my running gear. Body Glide and petroleum jelly do not seem to work for me. It means no more nails on four of my toes. They died around the time I hit 400 kilometers in my training program.
But the Hong Kong Marathon is still six months away, why work so hard now? For a first time marathoner, that’s just how long it takes. More so for someone like the Marathon Foodie who does not possess an in-born gift for running long distances. There is no short-cut, no magic potion, no cheating your way to it. You just have to earn your miles. I learned this the hard way, also in Hong Kong, but that’s for another blog.
You might ask, why go through all that? Truth to tell, I still don’t fully understand why. I just know that preparing to run a marathon has given me a new sense of direction, commitment and a renewed purpose in life. When I’m running I feel that I can be more, achieve more, give more.
Sometimes I get this crazy idea of taking a really radical sabbatical and just spend a year or two doing nothing else except training and running. Who knows, if I take this new passion as far as I possibly can, maybe I can be really good at it and even run for the Philippines someday. I tell myself that it’s never too late. The champion of the women’s marathon at the Beijing Olympics was a 38 year old Romanian – the oldest gold medalist in Olympic history. But then reality interferes with my running dreams. There are bills to pay, pleadings to write and duties to fulfill.
In the meantime, the Marathon Foodie continues to run no matter how very little time there is to spare, and no matter how difficult and painful it gets. That’s just how it is when you love something or someone. You invest time, put in your heart and soul and learn to have patience that can run for miles and miles and miles. Photo Credit: Marathon Foodie, directional signs at the Ting Kau Park under the Ting Kau Bridge. The directional signs (toilet, office, fitness station, jogging track) pretty much sum up the Marathon Foodie's life for the next six months.
On 19th July 2009, St. Theresa’s College Alumnae Association (STAA) hosted a fun run – a first in this convent school’s history.
My alma mater was never known for its sports program.In fact, we only had soccer-baseball, softball and volleyball once a year during intramurals.
Now it makes me wonder why, despite having such a spacious campus in uptown CebuCity, the ICM nuns never thought of having tennis, running or swimming as part of a convent girl’s sports training.This is ironic since STC has through the years taken pride in molding strong Christian women leaders.
A strong sports program would have honed discipline and competitiveness among the convent girls and running would have been a good outlet for those who could not make the cut in the team sports.
I remember how I desperately wanted to be a part of the soccer-baseball team but could not make the cut.Perhaps it was because I was way too thin then and because I was not friends with the girls on the team.Or maybe because I was so T-H as in trying hard, and T-H, in any generation, is never cool in high school.
I tried to ingratiate myself by begging my dad to buy a professional-grade leather soccer ball.I thought maybe they would finally let me in the soccer team with my shiny new Mikasa.
Fat chance.
Despite the new ball, the Marathon Foodie, then a gung-ho wannabe soccer player was to be left out of sports for the rest of her growing-up years at STC.
But fifteen (15) years after high school graduation, the Marathon Foodie (H.S. ’94, Coll. ’98) came back with a vengeance and what a homecoming it was.But I’m getting ahead of myself.
At five in the morning of Sunday, my sister Arlene (H.S. ’95) and best friend Mary Valero (H.S. ‘94, Coll. ’98) car-pooled to the race venue.Like true blue Theresians we complained, in so many words, about the regulation singlets (the way we always complained about the regulation blue and white uniforms in high school and College) and how unflattering and huge it made us all look.
Mary decided to chuck it altogether after she was given the wrong size, while I decided to debut the Marathon Foodie’s new signature race look -- running skirt and matching shirt.Arlene, who never got into any kind of trouble in high school, was the only one who stuck it out with the singlet.
Until the last minute I was undecided whether to run in the 5K open and compete with the pros like Mary Grace Delos Santos or run the 3K category and compete with STC alumnae and the current crop of high school and college Theresians.I decided to run the 3K because there was absolutely no way that the Marathon Foodie could win over Mary Grace Delos Santos and I desperately wanted to win!
Unsure whether I chose the right battle, I surveyed the 3K runners and did not see Millet Chiongbian nor Perl Jacalan.Triathlete Amale Mendezona-Jopson was running in the 5K category so I felt relieved.Then I realized that the biggest threat to my dreams of a podium finish would come from the much younger contenders – girls 16 to 25 years old.Girls who were lighter, faster, healthier and probably have yet to have their hearts broken.I told my BFF Mary that I suddenly felt so old.She then asked -- “Why, did you come here to win?”The Marathon Foodie replied – “Absolutely.”
The starting gun for the 3K run went off and true enough, the younger girls sprinted so fast that they managed to cover 100 meters even with just 5 seconds into the race.As I navigated towards the first of four hills of the 3K route (in front of National Bookstore on Mango Ave.), I saw a dozen girls 200 meters ahead of me and I felt crushed.There was no way I could beat them.But you know what the cliché says – it ain’t over till it’s over.
Madelyn Carter, the back to back champion of the Cebu leg of the Milo 21K, met me at the Caltex Station across Jollibee Mango.The week before, Madz promised to be my pacerat the STC run.She said she needed to do her recovery jog before plunging into serious training the following week.So Madz Carter’s slow jog was my racing pace!Harhar!
For long distance runners, the problem with running a 3K is this – it doesn’t give you the luxury of starting slow and steady.After the first 800 meters, it should be a fast run all the way to the finish if you want to win the race.
Madz and I overtook a runner at Fuente Osmena.It was a good sign.When we reached the public library I could see the bunch of young girls making a right turn at the Capitol towards Escario.To narrow the gap between myself and the bunch of runners ahead of us, Madz and I did maximum bursts of 50 meter sprints and steady runs of 25 meters.
We ran this way until we reached MaxwellHotel on Escario Street.Then we saw the bunch of girls stopping by the water station across Grand Hotel, we sprinted past them and never looked back.Another three girls were panting their way up the hill across the Camputhaw Brgy. Hall – the 2nd of four inclines in the race.The girls were visibly spent and there was still a mile to go.
One by one we overtook the girls who were either slowing down to a jog or were just walking from sheer exhaustion.Madz and I were still running strong.I was drooling from exertion on both sides of the mouth but I did not even bother to wipe the spit.I had to win this race no matter what.
The 3rd hill, which was the most difficult incline of the 3K route was the one in front of Iglesia Ni Kristo.Although it was just 600 meters from the finish line, this hill prevented us from sprinting to the finish.At last there was no one else in front of me except Elmer Bartolo who was going to be the first male in the 5K category.
Madz and I made our way up the last hill up STC’s Mango gate driveway.I saw the finish line and I couldn’t hear anything else except the race marshal telling me to go to the left shute for the 3K.
I won the race.First place in the 3K STC category.Even if I had decided to run and compete in the 3K open I would have placed second which isn’t bad either.But I wanted to take home the champion’s trophy not the runner’s up.
What did I learn today?
First, it takes more than brute force to win a race.In order to win, it also takes savvy, strategy, technique and an intimate familiarity with your own limitations as a runner – a wisdom that can only be gained from hours and hours spent running on the road.
Second, I learned that it is both lonely and eerily quiet at the front of the pack.Apart from Madelyn’s prompting for me to run faster, there was no other sound.There was no other runner to say hello to and cheer on.A single-minded pursuit to win against a pack of competitors can be a lonely endeavor.
Third, and not least of all, I realized that as a kid I may not have had the chance to play sports even if I desperately wanted to because I did not belong; but as an adult, I have proven that age, health, time and monetary considerations are no barriers to the pursuit of the great sport running.I know I should have started when I was much younger and more limber, but just like in real life, true love can be found sometimes so late in the game.
I could not possibly do a review about the organizers handling of the race logistics and marshaling.One of the true tests of a well organized race is how the organizers deal with the runners and walkers at the end of the pack for they are the usual victims of water stations running out of water or intersection marshals that are missing in action.
From my own perspective, it was a good race.Not only did I win, I also got to spend the morning with my sister Arlene a new convert to running, my BFF Mary and the famous Cattski Espina (Coll. ’97) of the band Cattski.
We were laughing and reminiscing and celebrating our individual victories of finishing yet another race.
Suddenly we were young again, even for just a day.
Photo credit: The photo of Marathon Foodie with Madelyn Carter is by Amper Campana. It appeared in the July 20, 2009 issue of Sun Star Daily Cebu. Thanks to Sun Star Editor and fellow runner Max Limpag for allowing me to grab this photo from FB
