[running past] pace up fun [run] 2013

[RUNNING PAST] are stories about the running events that I have joined before I started this blog. Expect retro-post such as this to pop up every now and then. .

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Fun run number five was also connected with the University of the Philippines.  May 19 last year, Royson, Imye, Dom and I joined Pace UP 2013.  It was a project of the the UP track and field team, and was endorsed by popular personalities from UP such as Coach Rio and Ramon Bautista.  The race route, of course, was around the Diliman campus.

fun run number five

It was our first time to run 15 km. True to the description in the poster, the 15 km route took us to every "nook and cranny"of the Diliman campus. I got to see unfamiliar places and buildings in UPD.  It was like a running tour of the place. Hehe. It was a little difficult to run at the academic oval because the road was being prepared for asphalting during that time but there were areas where the roads were smooth and better paved.

running tour of UP Diliman

photo credit: Pace UP 2013 FB

I was not the designated photographer this time around.  We decided to run at our own personal pace so we didn't run as a group. Too bad I wasn't able to see souvenir pictures of us from the two official photographers (not sure if there were more) who posted their pictures :). Anyway, no pictures while running this time.

some scenes before the run

I was so tired and drenched with sweat by the time I crossed the finish line.  We finished 15km that day. Yey! We also got a finisher's medal for completing the race. Another medal form UP. Haha. According to iRace.ph here were our official time:

Dom 1 hour 48 minutes

Royson 2 hours 20 minutes

Gopher 2 hours 29 minutes

Imye 2 hours 49 minutes

My average pace was 9 minutes and 56 seconds per kilometer. That was faster than my usual average pace by 4 seconds. Haha. 

We conquered a new distance. Yey!

run 15 km, check!

[running past] upaa bagong sigla fun [run]

[RUNNING PAST] are stories about the running events that I have joined before I started this blog. Expect retro-post such as this to pop up every now and then. 

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The UPAA Bagong Sigla fun run last March 24 was part of the celebration of the 100 year anniversary of the UP Alumni Association. When I first heard about it in a faculty meeting, I knew that it was going to be our fun run number four. Aside from benefiting the university, the venue was in UP Diliman which was where we usually do our midweek runs back then.

wow! a century-old alumni association

Aside from my usual running group, I invited some of the other faculty to join us. Dom joined Imye, Royson and me. Chris was also there but he was with some of his college batchmates.

running along our usual route

photo credit: Without Limits Philippines

It was our first time to run 12 km.  It was also the first time I got to see some parts of the Diliman campus. There are really a lot of places there to run.

once again, i was the designated photographer...

...so running selfies were in order. haha

so nice to get souvenirs from the official photographers

photo credit: Without Limits Philippines

We were able to finish 12k in 2 hours. That's an average of 10 minutes per kilometer, our personal best back then. We also got our first finisher's medal for this run aside from the other freebies! :)

at the finish line with Imye, Royson and Dom

finally, a medal from UP. haha

congrats to us and our alma mater!

[running past] afterglow fun [run]

[RUNNING PAST] are stories about the running events that I have joined before I started this blog. Expect retro-post such as this to pop up every now and then. 

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Chris, a friend from work invited me to join the Afterglow, a 5k glow-in-the-dark night run March 16 last year. It was for a cause close to his heart. The run was to raise awareness on depression in the Philippines. Royson, Imye and I joined Chris for our third fun run.

with Chris, Imye and Royson

It was our first time to run at McKinley Hill and our first time to try out a night run.  It sure was nice not to wake very early just to make it to the gun start. Prior to the run, there was a short talk from the Philippine Mental Health Association and the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation about depression and identifying the early signs.  It was quite informative.

warming up

This event was very different from the first two runs we've been to so far.  It was a bit "teen-oriented". A party atmosphere dominated the air.  I guess it was more of a party than run. Then again it was for a good cause and the 5k route was made more challenging with all those uphill runs. The road was not completely closed to traffic and there were cars that crossed the runners' path. Very dangerous in my opinion. We had to be alert when running through intersections.

To complete the party atmosphere, the runners were splashed by "paint" every now and then.  The "paint" were barf-like (for lack of a better term haha) in texture when wet and looks like colored libag when dry.  It smelled kinda sour too.  But its all in the spirit of fun.

splashed by "paint"

There were no official timer so there was no way of knowing our official pace and running speed.  I guess most of the participants were not concerned about that. I have to say that Afterglow was a different experience. It was fun but it is not a type of run that I would join again.  Maybe I'm just too old for that kind of party atmosphere. Haha.

And I believe that was the last time our running group joined a 5 km run.  I see that as a sign of improvement.  :)

partying with paint and running

[running past] philhealth nationwide [run] 2013

[RUNNING PAST] are stories about the running events that I have joined before I started this blog. Expect retro-post such as this to pop up every now and then. 

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The Philhealth Nationwide Run 2013 in February 17, 2013 was the 2nd fun run I joined.  My barkada had such a great time with the Red Cross Million volunteer run that we had to repeat the experience. We chose another run that would benefit health care just like with the first run. I just chanced upon the poster of the Philhealth run in one of the LRT stations, and that was that.

with my original running group

It was our first time to 10 km and it was so tiring! We ran from Luneta to EDSA and back. We ran but, most of the time, we walked and took pictures. Haha. Back then I was still not aware that there are lots of photographers in running event. If you wanted a souvenir, all you need to do was smile for their cameras :)

i was the group's designated photographer...

 

...so there were lots of selfies while running

We finished 10 km in 1 hour and 48 minutes. Yeah, we survived our first 10 km run! That was definitely better than 5 km!  We received a finisher's certificate. Yey!  I remember watching the finishers of the 18 km category and felt envious.  Haha.  Envious of their speed, of their endurance and of their medal. We told ourselves that one day we will run just as fast and just as long. :)

finishing 10k at 1 hour and 48 mins

not bad for first timers

happy with our finisher's certificate

10k run, check!

[running past] red cross million volunteer [run]

[RUNNING PAST] are stories about the running events that I have joined before I started this blog. Expect retro-post such as this to pop up every now and then. 

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The Red Cross Million Volunteer Run was the first fun run I joined.  The idea came while I was jogging with my friends, Royson and Imye. We thought joining a race would be good motivation for us to continue with our weekly jogging. We were all in agreement that our first run should be easy and should be for a good cause.  With the three of us being health professionals, helping out the red cross was the perfect cause for our maiden run.

with my running group

Being newbies, we didn't know what to expect then.  All we knew was we were supposed to show up at the running venue wearing our red shirt and to run when we were told to run.  Imagine our surprise when we saw the crowd waiting for the gun start.  It was like joining an "Alay Lakad" or alay takbo in this case.  When the Red Cross said it was a million volunteer run, they weren't kidding. Because of the volume of the people, we didn't get to run as much as we have hoped but I guess that was ok.  The idea that all of the people present there wanted to help Red Cross was enough for me and my group.  Besides, it was our first run. We wouldn't have been able run that far anyway :).

crowded run from start...

 ..'til the middle...

 ...up to the finish line

Running-walking for 5k at the Red Cross Million Volunteer Run was a good start.  It was our buena mano. I am excited to join the next Red Cross run.  Not for the physical activity but for the cause and for marking my 1st year as a runner. 

always feels great to help the red cross

 my first finisher's certificate