Marathon Chronicles: With a Little Help From My Friends

Training for the marathon has taken an interesting turn the past few weeks as plenty of things have happened. One of the reasons PWW has been bereft of posts lately is because a big change is afoot once more for Mrs. PWW and I, and we have been trying to fit an extra day to the week to get everything done. Long story short, being the rolling stones that we are, we are moving yet again. Goodbye Cairns, Hello Brisbane.

And the other reason I haven't been posting? My laptop got stolen. But I'm not going to dwell on that. I'm just looking at the brighter side of things--time to convert and shop for an Apple!

Anyway, back to training.

The mercury has dropped significantly these past few weeks, and we are officially in winter. Cold weather makes staying under the covers and sleeping in even more appealing than it usually is, so I've been employing the help of some "friends" to get me going.

TAMING THE SAVAGE BEAST

Just before my laptop got stolen (I promise not to focus on this), I've updated my running playlist with some old tracks to help motivate me during a run. As I've mentioned on a previous post, I have been finding it difficult to keep on running in silence as boredom quickly sets in, a feeling I had no issues with before. So I took on an old approach and kept my iPod Shuffle clipped with me during runs. Two days ago, I managed to complete a 15K training run, the longest I've run in over a year.

There are obviously staples in everyone's running playlist, and I would welcome anyone to post theirs on the comments section of this post. The classic being "Eye of the Tiger" from Rocky--a song with a bpm that's actually too slow for a good workout (I read that somewhere)--a track that I don't have. What I do have, though, is a selection of U2 hits such as Where the Streets Have No Name, Beautiful Day, and Vertigo to name a few. There's also a lot of rap and hip-hop there from my earlier years, focusing heavily on Jay-Z. On the other end of the spectrum, I also have tracks from Black Sabbath and Marilyn Manson.

But recently, I discovered some tracks which put me in such an incredible trance while running. And perhaps not surprisingly, I've loaded my Shuffle up with a whole load of OPM. Not just Pinoy songs; songs in Tagalog. This has truly transformed my training runs into a form of mental travel, as there is something strange yet comforting about listening to songs in Tagalog while you're in a foreign land. Some of my current favorites:

• Umaaraw, Umuulan by Rivermaya
• Yugto by Rico Blanco
• Halik ni Hudas by Wolfgang
• Alapaap by Eraserheads
• Narda by Kamikazee
• Voodoo Who Do? by Razorback (okay, this isn't in Tagalog, but a song from one of the top Pinoy rock bands)

I could go on, but I won't. What's obvious is that after living in Australia for over a year now (we moved to Oz in June 16 last year), I'm pining for everything Pinoy.

To make the running with music experience a tad better, I've also replaced my defunct Apple iPod earphones with the Sennheiser MX 680, a result of the collaboration between one of the top brands in sports, Adidas, and Sennheiser, makers of some of the best personal audio equipment. Having used the earphones for a number of training runs now, it's well worth the $79, if only to ensure that I did not need to replace the buds in my ears after every 30 seconds. Sound quality is good, and it still allows you to hear external sounds, which is important for running in the streets. The fact that it's durable (with Dupont™ Kevlar® reinforced cables) and sweat and water resistant is icing on the cake.

DO YOU NEED ANYBODY?

As some of you already know, my full-time job is not the typical M-F, 9-5 workweek, which wreaks havoc on a training program that is best followed to the letter. Right now, I get a run in whenever I can, and fortunately, I have found a little help from a friend.

I told the young person I am working with about my plan to run my first marathon in September, and since he found out, he has taken on the role of being my personal coach. It's incredible. If I am on shift, at half past eight in the morning, he would tell me to lace up and go for a run while he rides his bike beside me. We do this twice a day, once in the morning, and again in the evening. In terms of training, this is great for me; but with regard to personal development, this is a step towards the right direction for him. The set-up we have could not have worked better.

For the fundraising portion of the run, I have found inspiration with some of the kids I used to work with at Kids Ahoy. Together, they have all raised money to contribute to the organisation I'm running for, by performing chores around the house, or doing some fundraising of their own. I am grateful and truly inspired by the support they have shown.

So far, we have raised $111.50 for CREATE Foundation. We have already reached a bit over 10% of our total goal. Please help me raise funds for the cause by donating on the fundraiser site I have set up for the cause. You can visit the site by clicking here.

The next few weeks are going to be crazy, but I promise to keep you posted whenever I can.

Keep on keeping on!