Amphipod RunLite 4

I used to be someone who scoffed at the sight of runners wearing what I then called “water belts”. I really thought it was such an absurd idea and wondered whether people drank equal amounts of fluids from both sides of the belt in order to maintain balance. But I do have a tendency to eat my words from time to time, especially when I rattle on regarding things I don’t even know anything about to start with. Previously, I thought that real runners hydrate before and after a run and that there was no need to lug water around while running. My mind was liable to say things like that since I was running a maximum of two kilometers before calling it a day.

10K Thoughts: Adidas KOTR

After running my first race a few months ago, I devoured articles about running both online and on print to address my thirst for information on the subject. High from a 5K race, I looked for training programs to prepare myself for a 10K. In my search, I saw a reader who shared a problem – he (or she) said that 5K not a problem and have finished them with ease. However, the person just could not finish a 10K. This obviously became stuck in my head and I started to think maybe there’s a bigger barrier between the two distances than what I originally imagined. I know I’ve run that distance before but that was eons ago. Maybe I’m not yet ready.

It took me three 5Ks before I summoned the courage to sign up for a 10K run, the New Balance Power Race. The race was postponed due to a typhoon, but I was hell-bent on trying the doubled mileage. So on a bet, I signed up for Adidas King of the Road, 10K.

Gear Review: TrustFire P7-F16

TrustFire P7-F16
by Dabid Tajan

I recently acquired a TrustFire P7-F16 flashlight set which includes two rechargeable batteries, a charger, lanyard and a charger keeper. A durably constructed, full coverage holster that can be attached to a belt or pack completes the package. The P7-F16 uses a single 18650 type battery and maintains excellent constant brightness with three output modes: Turbo mode, which can be used whenever a high powered light is needed such as in Search and Rescue, long range identification, self-defense, etc.; General mode, which can last the whole night and can be used for general illumination or hiking; and Strobe, for emergency or tactical use. Switching through the different modes is achieved by soft pressing the tail click switch.

Pandin Lake

San Pablo is well known for its seven lakes and we had the opportunity to visit one of them during our weekend away. At the recommendation of Boots from Casa San Pablo, Cherie and I made arrangements to go to Pandin Lake during the final day of our quick retreat.

On the tricycle

Kinabuhayan Café and Kusina Salud

On our second day at San Pablo, Cherie and I decided to visit a couple of spots featured on the Viaje del Sol brochure we picked up at Casa San Pablo. Actually, even before planning the trip, she wanted us to go to a place in Quezon where she spent a couple of evenings not too long ago.

From the inn, we took a tricycle (Php 25) to a market which doubled as a terminal for jeepneys heading to the towns surrounding San Pablo. The location was perfect – the claustrophobic alleys that snaked through the market, together with foot traffic, sacks on the road, trolleys and runaway crustaceans made for a smooth and efficient ride to the main highway. It was so easy to navigate a 30-foot long passenger vehicle through all those obstacles. We jumped on a ride to Dolores (Php 17), a trip that took a mere half hour. This is also the same entry point for treks to the mystical (everyone uses that adjective to describe) Mount Banahaw.

Casa San Pablo

My girlfriend booked a two-night stay at Casa San Pablo a few weeks back (for my birthday) which we had to move due to the successive typhoons that hit the country. Fortunately, it was not an issue with the inn and we were able to make use of these reservations last week.

Casa San Pablo is a “Country Inn At The Heart of Laguna”, a place with sprawling green lawns and tall pine trees that made me wish I brought my dog and let her run around the grounds (they allow pets, but you need to inform them ahead of time). Run by the husband and wife team of Boots and An Alcantara, they’ve made sure that the place makes you feel like you’re home – everything is quite informal, from the little history of Casa San Pablo album you’ll see inside your room, to the random arrangement of mobile hammocks in the lawns.

Backpacking Pilipinas

YTRiP continues their Backpacking Pilipinas sessions with "Perfect 10!" featuring speakers Tracey Santiago for Responsible Travel, Cherie McCosker for Fair Trade 101, and Mon Corpuz for Travel Photography. It will be help on October 22, 2009 at 7:30 PM at R.O.X. Bonifacio High Street.

This series of talks are highly informative and a lot of fun. Best of all, admission is free! I have had the priviledge of speaking on two of these Backpacking Pilipinas sessions, and it was a blast interacting with other travelers and adventurers. I hope to be invited again to more in the future (ehem, Clare).

Backpacking Pilipinas is held every month. For more information about the talks and YTRiP, visit their website by clicking here. They also have a Multiply account.

See you on the 22nd!

Hearing the birds and the tweets

So, the Samsung B2100 lives up to the expectation of being water-proof. I was in San Pablo during the weekend and had a lovely lunch at Kubli Springs in Dolores, Quezon on Saturday. Everything was beautiful--the food, the place, the clean water, and I thought why not share the experience instantly? I took the phone, which was perched on a dry slab of wood on the other bank and could not resist the urge of dunking it into the strong current. And again. Then two more times after that.

Still works. The tweet you see above? That was sent from here:

Why? Because I can.

I'll be posting more about my trip to San Pablo in the next few days. For now, I need to get ready for my first day of teaching!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Pinoy Weekend Teacher

I just quit my job.

Yeah, I did it. I left behind the security and comfort of a big paycheck in exchange for the pursuit of a dream. Don’t get me wrong – it wasn’t that easy a decision and I know there’ll be tough times ahead, but it feels right. Like Bob Dylan once told me, “A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do.” Okay he didn’t tell me, he told the world. But my point is, I want to be successful like that. I want to make a living by doing something I love. Well at least that’s how I think Dylan meant it. If not, my mom told me practically the same thing just before I left for college; her advice is not as wide-reaching but heck it sure resonated in me.

I want to work in the outdoors in some form or fashion. I have already been doing this irregularly, and in a small scale before, but now I want to make it more sustainable. I want to have my cake and eat it too and I want to eat it while camping at the summit of a mountain. My goal is to find my place under the sun, and I’ve been given an opportunity to start at an incredible point.

Blog Action Day 2009 | Climate Change

You must have been living under a rock somewhere if you haven't heard of Climate Change at this point. It's happening. In the Philippines, the couple of months referred to as "the rainy season" are bone dry. And when the rain does come, it dumps what is usually a whole month's worth of water in a matter of six hours, causing landslides and floods throughout the entire metro. A lot of people are talking about it, but we need to stop the yapping and actually do something. And we can! In our own homes, in our habits and the way we live our lives daily, no act is too small. Collectively, we can make a big difference.

What Power Song?

As far as I can remember, I have always been running with music. Perhaps not during the pre-iPod era, but when I started running because I wanted to I’ve always done so with auditory accompaniment. I’m actually one of those people who create specific playlists, arranging songs in a manner that seemed apt for the topography of a route. For instance, I recall getting my first mp3 player (a 1G iPod Shuffle – the white, long one) while I was living overseas and starting to re-introduce myself to the sport. My playlist started with Wolfgang (the local Filipino rock band, not Mozart) and their song “Center of the Sun”, a song with just enough energy to ease myself into a cold morning run. A couple of songs after and just as I am about to reach a part of the road which has a slight but lengthy incline, “This is How a Heart Breaks” by Rob Thomas kicks in; a track that remains my favorite Power Song.

King of the Road 2009

A little side bet was what my friend Sidney and I needed to jump-start our (ridiculously late) training for the next race we’re joining – Adidas King of the Road (KOTR) 2009. This afternoon, he went to register both of us for the 10K race, the distance we agreed upon the last time we talked. Our other agreement is that if I finish the race before he does, I won’t have to pay him back the registration fee he shelled out on my behalf. On the flipside if he runs a faster 10K than me, I’ll be giving him the cash back and buying him a running cap. He was trying to pry mine off my hands but I was pleading that I haven’t even worn it to a race yet! I bought the cap for my (supposed) first 10K, the New Balance Power Run set in September which was moved to November due to tropical storm Ondoy.

King of the Road. Image from source.

You can still register for KOTR! The distances are 5/10/21K with a fee of Php 500 for all races. This also allows you to join the Road Running Expo and carbo-loading party at the SM Megatrade Hall on October 17-18 from 10AM to 10PM. Register at Adidas Branches (Greenbelt3, Trinoma, Megamall, Podium, Rockwell, Mall of Asia, Katipunan), RUNNR in Bonifacio High Street, and Planet Sports Branches (Rockwell, Greenhills, Glorietta, & Trinoma).

My kind of mobile

It’s really easy to justify discretionary spending when you’ve just celebrated your birthday, and I have a feeling that excuse will be stretched to breaking point. One of the facilitators from a camp that I once worked for told me that she had a number of mobile phones for sale. I’m not really much of a cell phone person, and I can prove this by showing you my previous unit: a nondescript silver phone picked up in some random stall in Bangkok. No camera, no mp3 player, sometimes without credit. It shows bruises from the many times it has taken a leap from out of a pocket or a slippery hand, and scratches on the screen because it’s often thrown in together with a heap of other stuff like house keys. Despite its lack of features (or maybe because of it), it has served me well for the past three years. Yeah, you read that right.

Birthday Post

I’m 27. So what have I done since the last time I blew out my candles? Let’s see… 

1. Completed my Daily Photo Project – a labor of love which I started on October 7 last year, this project has now reached its end as I have managed to capture an image for each day during an entire year. Well, minus the two days I lost when my camera got lost (I really think someone took it). Whether its pure brilliance or sheer stupidity, I’ll leave it to you to judge. To see the images from my Daily Photo Project, click here.
2. Gone back to running – so far, I’ve joined three 5K runs, at an average of (I’m bad at math) 33 minutes for each race.
3. Worked – a lot. Got promoted a few times which means instead of working 40 hours a week, I work 60.
   

A Wet One

Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) left behind a ravaged metropolis after hours of rain during the previous weekend. The clean-up has been going on for days, and there are damages which will take months to repair, if not worse. My family is fortunate enough to have survived the tragedy with everyone intact so despite the fact that everything is covered in mud, you still have the same people to boss around to spit-shine whatever is left back to its old glory.