July 29, 2009

Nike Lunar Glide Review

At last, it is not raining! Therefore I was able to test my Nike Lunar Glide on the pavement.

I started my run through my normal start point. That will be the entance for the US Embassy along Roxas Blvd. I timed myself to see if I am able to run faster/slower using my new Glides. Upon start, it felt really good. Unlike my normal training shoes, I cannot feel the ground hitting my feet. The cushioning on this shoes is superb and I can only wish for anything but that. I then glided through my normal route. People are actually looking at my blue-apple green glides since it looks like its glowing. Funny it may sound but it really does. I then continued running and did feel good about it. Before, with my old rubber shoes, I feel some pressure along my legs' side. I think this could be attributed by the impact when my feet meets the ground. With the new glides, it was gone and it was flawless. I continued running and for about 1.5K, I started to feel the normal tiredness already. I then checked my foot and started to feel some uncomfort. I then realized that the glides are actually slanting when you step them on. The side of the shoes towards the other foot is slightly higher than the other side. As I was not accustomed to this kind of shoes, I felt some unease. I still continued running and was relieved that the uncomfort faded away at around 2.5K. I then concluded that it was just my foot adjusting to the shoes.

As I turned around from CCP, I felt the need to walk. I did just that and checked my shoes again. It is still intact and I can still feel my feet. I then tried examining the insole through moving my foot. The insole feel clean. No untowards stitching and bumps anywhere. Although I must say that the heel area has a lot of room. This may be advantageous to new runners like me as I can really feel comfort the "spaces" gives.

I continued running at 3K till my 4.8K end. The shoes are still working fine.

My iPod registered that my time was around 37 minutes. Slightly above than my usual 35. I guess this is attributed to the fact that I did not have my earphones and I was not listening to upbeat songs rather than blaming it to my new babies... I mean shoes. :)

All-in-all, my first experience with my glides is fabulous. Here is a run down of things I like and things I think that should have been improved.

Likey
  1. Soft cushioning - prevent me from having leg aches
  2. Nice insole. Clean and comfortable.
  3. Lightweight!
  4. Nice colors. LOL

Improve!

  1. Cushioning height -due to the cushioning, I was elevated for about 1 inch from the ground. I was kind of afraid since I do have the tendency to have "tapiloks".

I will definitely use my glides for my runs and I am recommending it for newbies. It offers the support a necomer to the sport should have. :)

Note: Thanks to my dad for buying me the shoes. Thanks POP!

July 28, 2009

Officially Registered for Family Fun Run 2009

I have officially registered for the Family Fun Run 2009. The booth is located at the San Andres Sports Complex in Manila. To get there, you can alight at the Quirino Station of LRT and walk towards the street where Puregold is. Go straight and you will see on your right is the sports complex. Alternatively, you can ride a Mabini jeepney from wherever and alight at Malate Church. The complex is very near Adriatico. There is a table at the entrance with a banner in it which serves as the booth. Both of the guys manning the booth are accommodating although they have given me wrong information about the event. Good thing I always read whatever is in the packet and I then learned the right time for assembly and gun start. They will also be providing a race map which is quite confusing. I am relying on the day itself to ask the organizers the right route for the 10K.


Inside the packet you should be getting the following: A race number and 4 safety pins, singlet AKA running shirt, race mechanics and route info and some flyers from sponsors.




The fun run will be this Sunday, August 2, 2009 starting at Rajah Sulayman Park at Malate. Assembly time is at 4PM and gun start for the 10K and 3K are at 4:30PM and 5:00PM respectively.


I am offically runner 1190. See you all there!

July 26, 2009

I bought a Nike Lunar Glide+

Lovin' it. :)

I have been running since April with my normal gym shoes or what they categorize as "training". The reason why I did not purchase a new pair yet is because I do not want to get myself a pair that wouldn't work. I read from someone else's blog that she got a Newton but it did nothing for her and she is going back to her NBs. I researched very hard about my ideal shoes and I had 3 main factors upon deciding which one would be "IT": 1) It should be lightweight. I find heavy shoes for office better but for fitness and running, I wanted something light 2) Should work with me as a new runner (READ: will not be painful for my legs and knees). I read from somewhere that there are adviseable shoes for newbies and some other for experienced and 3) It should look good. I think this is a given for me.

I then decided just last week that I will be getting the new Nike Lunar Glides which debuted this July 2009. There are 2 colors to choose for mens and I chose the blue and apple green. I know it may be quite shocking but the color reflects my personality. :)

I tried the shoes first time in Nike MOA and felt that this is really is it. It was cushioned the way I wanted it and feels just right. My only comment would be, it is high. As in, like I'm about an inch and a half above the ground. Although I don't really mind because it works. :)

I then told the Nike personnel to give me my size for the 2 colors. Unfortunately, they do not have my size for the black and orange but I still tried the half size bigger. My mom and my dad deliberated on which one to get and we decided to get the blue /apple green instead. I was on cloud 9. Aside from buying the shoes that I like, which is quite expensive at 5,490 (ata), my dad paid for it. Talk about free shoes! Thanks POP.



Should be testing it by now but it is raining (again). So I might test it out tomorrow at the gym. I am predicting it will rain tomorrow.

I'd blog my first experience with my Nike LunarGlide sometime soon. :)

Running... without and iPod

My earphones broke. I ran today without and iPod and was thinking that it is a great way to listen to myself. How I land on the ground and how I breath. Itfelt nice since I can hear that my breathing is normal and I hit the ground pretty well.

With earphones broken, I am not thinking if this is the best time that I buy a new iTouch or an iPod Nano since I want to buy the Nike+ as well. Still thinking about it and I hope to have a decision soon. :)

July 22, 2009

I officially hate rainy days...

I have been trying to ensure I run at least 4 times a week but to no avail. You know what the reason is? The RAIN. Before, I used to love the rain. I feel comfortable with it. With all the coldness it brings and the comfort it gives my body. Now, I am starting to despise it. When it rain, I cannot run outdoors. Yes, I can run inside a gym via treadmill but it feels better to run outside.

Thank God its not raining anymore. But I have loads of things to attend in the evenings this week. I feel bad about not reaching my goal of running 4 times a week and I know I should work out something with my schedule.

I am going to run tomorrow and on Saturday. Thats 2 plus one treadmill run yesterday. 3 for this week -Acceptable.

Family Fun Run August 2, 2009


In my attempt to further strengthen my core, I will be joining this Family Fun Run (for 10K) on August 2, 2009 at the Rajah Sulayman Park at Roxas Blvd. Right now, I do not have anyone to run with me YET. Nobody has confirmed. So to those interested to participate, let me know. I have the forms and I know the place where to submit it. Above is the official poster of the run.


July 21, 2009

Kenny Roger's Urbanite Challenge August 15, 2009

A friend of mine and I have this pact that we will be running a 21K this October at either Milo Marathon or Quezon City Marathon. And for training, we will be joining different 10K runs. This will hopefully prepare us by building our core competencies as runners and better our time record.


In line with this goal, I am signing up for the Kenny Roger’s Ubanite challenge this August 15 (happy bday Jiggs!). I secured the form already from Kenny Rogers Glorietta 3. I am also expecting several friends to run the 5K race.





You may be asking why is it called “Urbanite”, its because the race will be done at night. This will at the Fort. This will be different and quite challenging. So for all those who wants to join, go now to the nearest Kenny Rogers food chain and grab your registration forms.

REACH Fun Run Experience



I saw this schedule of marathons in the Philippines and I saw the REACH fun run slated last July 11, 2009 at the Fort Bonifacio open field. I read through the website hyperlink and saw that this was for a cause. The full meaning of REACH is Run, Eat And help CHange the World. The fun run was just 5K. You need to run the first 2.5K and then you have to stop to consume 4 original glazed doughnuts. Then run or walk the remaining 2.5K.

I joined the fun run together with Patrick, Herbert and Joma. But unfortunately, they were not able to finish the run. They stopped midway where they need to eat the doughnuts. According to Joma and Herbert, they cannot consume the 4 doughnuts while Patrick is too tired to finish the race.

We were lucky enough to arrive early in the venue and be one of the first registant. Even though we am not part of the first 100 to sign-up online, we were able to get the free shirt since some of the original signees did not show up. It does pay to come in early.

My official time is 35:00 minutes (according to my beloved iPod). Not bad considering I spent around 3-5 minutes eating the doughnut in between the run.

Thanks to: Jiggs Nava for taking our photos during the run. You should be at the Kenny Running with us, OK?

Next Race: Family Fun Run in Roxas Blvd 8-2-09

MILO Marathon Manila Elimination

I started running around April not to join races or marathons but to get fit and shed some pounds. I then run at Roxas Blvd without any pressure or goal. My main aim then when I run is not to get mugged.

But when I heard about the Milo Marathon, I got intrigued and did some research on my own. I learned that everyone could join and its not actually a competition but an event fostering camaraderie and brotherhood. I then signed up with my P&G friends for the 10K run. Initially, my runner friend told me that I was aiming for too much. I should have started at 5K. But then, I have signed up already and there is no turning back. I then trained harder and harder. Got tips from friends and read a lot of running blogs.

I then got my shirt for the race. A size smaller from what I signed up for. But it did fit me anyways so it was not that much of an issue. My problem then was, I did not get my bib. All the while, I thought it was going to be distributed at the gun point but I was mistaken. An hour prior to the gun start, I saw everyone in their bib. I panicked and tried to look for the technical booth. After 40 minutes of looking, I saw a friend of mine and pointed me to the right tent. I then gave my name to the female attendant and they were able to retrieve my official number. They wrote it in a half sheet of bond paper and told me to surrender upon finish. I hid it in my short’s pocket and ran to the gun point. I arrived around 2-3 minutes before Bayani Fernando shot the gun. Whew. Talk about photofinish.

I was able to finish the 10K without much problem. I got all the water and Gatorade I needed from the stations which I felt was quite adequate for the distance that I ran. The finish line did not refelct the time of finish for the 10K and I just assumed tat my time was 1:30 based on the amount of songs played in my iPod.

I then googled Milo Marathon the day after and saw that they do get the finish time of each finisher. I was quite sad because I have this feeling that mine was not registered due to my lost bib. To my surprise, it was registered and I was able to finish my 10K in 1:26:01. Not bad for a first timer.

See screen shot of Milo Result:



I finished 1063 out of 1304. Quite at the back of the pack. But what matters most is that, I AM happy.

PS. I found my bib. It was stucked to the packet where I got my shirt. Lesson learned.