Pic of the Day: Barefoot sa Buhangin

At 6:10 in the morning, I was the only person running on the beach. I think that solitude had a lot to do with the fact that there was pretty much no one else on the island, and that made for a truly fantastic running experience.

This photo was at Mahabang Buhangin by Cherie McCosker.

Plan Beach

Since I'll be leaving our beautiful country to live in Australia indefinitely, Cherie and I decided to try and put in as many trips as we possibly can before flying out. With only a bit over two weeks left in the Philippines, it's a big challenge to find time and weasel ourselves out of the bureaucratic to-do list. But somehow, we still managed to travel for 22 hours (one way!) to get to this island somewhere off the coast of Camarines Norte.

This is what I imagine heaven looks like

The travel was well worth it. We were practically the only people in a long stretch of pristine, white sand beach and we had supplies to last us for three days. But we ended up spending just one night on the island because in the morning, about a dozen or so other people arrived, bringing this:

Enervon Happy Trail Run

I was checking my other, not-as-popular-as-Facebook social networking site the other day and saw a quick note from Second Wind Running Store saying they had 30 free slots for the Enervon Happy Trail Run today. Despite my pitiful miss record when it comes to freebies I still sent an email, and what was supposed to be a Sunday devoted to a relaxing, long, slow distance turned into an instant sufferfest.

More Energy, Mas Happy: Image Credit

My cousin Alvin, armed with a brand-new Garmin FR60 and the hope of being able to register on-site, went with me to Timberland Heights, where we both had our first experience of racing on the trails during ATKOM. I saw Neville (Manaois) at the secretariat tent and he gave me my bib number. After a few minutes, he also gave Alvin a slot, which was very cool of him.

I'm Going Through Changes

Just yesterday while I was out on a run, I was wrapping my head around the idea that I've finally managed to create a new routine after the move. A few hours later, I received a call that led me to run around Parañaque and Makati (from Cubao), chasing a piece of paper that holds the answer to a big question.

That new routine? It's all going down in flames. And I couldn't be happier about it.

I'm moving to Australia.

Pic of the Day: Sepia

Photo by Kaloy Yap

Weekend Warriors: Cherie and I at the 12th Tour of the Fireflies.

Moving

We're moving on Sunday. The first and smallest in a number of big changes I'm expecting to occur in the next few months, we're giving up our apartment and going back to live in our old village with the family.

A Surly Big Dummy would be useful right now

Nature Valley Run 21K Race Map

It looks like I'll be taking on a similar beast come May 30. Thanks to my Daily Mile buddy Aileen, I found out today that the race maps for Nature Valley Run are already out, and discovered that the 21K route is practically the same one I ran during my first half marathon, save for a few minor points.

Click image to enlarge

Bring it on.

 

The race map above was taken from the RunRio website, where you can also find the race maps for the 3K, 5K, and 10K distances.

Warrior Wisdom: Bob Clarke

- Bob Clarke

PWW Gets Sponsored!

Ah the power of blogging. It can create viral trends, boost pseudo-popularity, or if you're as lucky as I am, get you funds for a race! After reading some of my posts where I mentioned my selectiveness about races due to the skyrocketing registration fees, one of my biggest fans sent me some cash to sign up for any (single) race of my choice.

Conveniently edited text message

To Big PWW Fan, in case you're interested to know, I used the cash you sent me to join the 21K race at the Nature Valley Run. For this, I'd like to express my gratitude because I really appreciate all the lavish praise you have for this blog and your undying support. I also think that, while it can be embarrassing, it's very cool how you tell everybody how ruggedly handsome I am. Thanks, mom.

Runner's Creed--The Road to Peace

While browsing through Daily Mile I found a link to this video from New Balance. It's an ad, sure, but it's the kind that really inspires and makes you want to lace up and go for a run. I really like how they've represented trail, road, and track runners, creating a vision that each one goes through a similar range of emotions. The panoramas are breathtaking, the cinematography is brilliant, and it certainly evokes far more positive images than the rifle prayer.