January | 2009 | FRONTRUNNER Philippines

Archive for January, 2009

Sow and You Shall Reap and Be Happy Too

Posted in Uncategorized on January 26, 2009 by Jonel C Mendoza

i had my 1st official road race of the year at The Fort yesterday,25 january 2009.

drew’s happy run was a real happy event judging from all the happy faces during and after the race.there was a festive atmosphere and it was a well-organized race by the afroman himself,rio dela cruz.take a bow guys.how about an encore?

having missed the bull run last week due to a prior commitment which sapped all my energy for a whole week,i had doubts when i woke up sunday morning to prepare for the race.but i had plans and i wasn’t going to miss this one.

and so i found my self half asleep at the starting line somewhere at the back of the pack with my hardcore friends,speed classmates and other familiar faces and soon running alongside others.having ran rio’s previous 15’s,i knew the route like the palm of my hand.and so there i was huffing and puffing with all those familiar faces and running friends of mine.

as usual the flats of heritage was kinda boring and seemingly endless.it gives you time for your eyes to sort of wander into the greenery around.the stillness of it all made me more sleepy.of course that was until i was on my way back bayani road onto the dreaded mckinley area.and there was the essensa segment where the last climb is.

i was only to happy to reach the mckinley corner stoplight for that meant i was less than a kilometer away from glory and there were no more uphills to conquer.true enough,i found myself at the finish line with a VERY happy finish time of 1:10:20 placing me 12th out of 507 male runners.boy,i was a breath away from my age category champ-40 heartbeats away to be exact.

thanks to my fellow runners whose behinds i stalked and overtook one by one till i found my running coach,saturnino salazar(again),who graciously paced my already tired and sleepy legs till the finish line.mabuhay ka coach!

this is new to me-to be at the finish line early enough before the long lines would set in at the fruits/rush/water/freebies/portalet lines.i looked around but in the end waited for my friends who would arrive one by one.

the ultra speed drills have done wonders for me and countless other classmates. i shall say no more this time.let the time do the talking.

i am catching up on 1 week’s worth of sleepless nights and days so please excuse me now.

there will be better times.inshallah.

see you around guys….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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Our Runs Shall Never Stop

Posted in Uncategorized on January 14, 2009 by Jonel C Mendoza

when the 42 gets postponed, do we stop training?

with no 42 in clear sight after the news of the march 8 pasig marathon getting postponed (again) and many runners earnestly training and looking forward to their 1st full, plans are afoot to have a 42 runabout for a cause on the very same date the pasig 42 should have been held.the route to run on is under consideration and details will be posted soon.

i hope that my fellow runners-in-training will continue on with their scheduled 42 programs and be able to join us in our march 8 version of a fun 42 runabout for a cause.

it will be worth your time.

let no amount of postponements stop your runs.

this will be a fun 42 like no other.welcome all.

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if the question begs to be answered…RUN IT!

Posted in Uncategorized on January 11, 2009 by Jonel C Mendoza

C5 under our feet……………5:30am , 11 january 2009

there was another question,so we oblige with an answer.thus the C5 loop run was planned.

text messages were sent and 13 showed up for the answer portion.

but at the last minute,like 20 seconds before take off, sir jovie upon learning of the original route(shell julia vargas to slex-C5 service road to blue ridge and back shell julia vargas via C5) suggested extending the run to riverbanks mall after we hit blue ridge then go back to shell julia vargas. and who are we to say no to a plea from a fellow runner?

little did we know that by obliging to this request…….

off we go on our latest manila runventure(nico,rico,mike,jay)

dess, rico, nico

kalayaan avenue area

approaching mckinley hill area

we avoided the service roads and instead charge on the fyovers and brdiges along c5 all the way

we avoided the service roads and instead charge on the flyovers and bridges along c5 all the way

when we couldn't decide where to run,we just run in the middle of the road.sometimes , the road/directions get to beconfusing.only in the philippines.

when we couldn't decide where to go,we ran in the middle of the road.sometimes , the road/directions get to be confusing.only in the philippines.

diego silang, taguig

feeling lang...thanks mmda!

the faster ones arrived first at slex/c5 tollgate

slex service road.our first turn around.

grasslands at slex tollgate

onto the pitstop! sir jovie leads the pack.

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libingan ng mga bayani perimeter

heritage/bayani road area where most bhs turnarounds are.

people power

if only all bus stops were as cool as this

dess rejoices at the pitstop.jollibee mckinley hill after 1:30:00 and 15 kms.

breakfast meals get a beating!

if empty plates could talk.charlie and mark all fueled up for the next 18k

happy tummies...sir jovie, charlie, mark,martin,arman,kevin,nico,dess,rico,arman,mike,jay,jonel

happy tummies...sir jovie, charlie, mark,martin,arman,kevin,nico,dess,rico,joe,mike,jay,jonel

onwards to the 2nd part of the program

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the answer is clear.

market! market!

kalayaan avenue/C5 crossing

nico waving away oncoming traffic at pasig bridge

notoriously famous canley now danny floro street,pasig

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shell julia vargas

refueling at shell

jay dropping by

sm hypermart pasig

tiendesitas

ortigas avenue corner c5

greenmeadows avenue approaching eastwood

pole dancing in the middle of blue ridge area.proof of what running does to you.

entering bayani territory.hats off to the man for a clean place in the mtero for a change.never fails to impress me.

entering bayani territory.hats off to the man for a clean place in the metro for a change.never fails to impress me.

recycled materials make up this steel figure.many of them line the road that leads to riverbanks mall.

sm marikina across the river

under the lrt 2 line railway and marcos bridge

dess before riverbanks mall

stretching sore muscles at the river bank

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riverbanks boat station

camp atienza with br and mark leading the pack on the way back to shell julia vargas

approaching eastwood on the last stretch towards shell julia vargas

eastwood!

tiendesitas flyover.by far the longest incline along c5.a fitting challenge as we neared our finish line.there were no sidewalks so we ran on the next best option-the center island.

tiendesitas flyover.by far the longest and steepest incline along c5.a fitting challenge as we neared our finish line.there were no sidewalks so we ran on the next best option-the center island.

mike rewarded himself with a good drink at the top of the tiendesitas flyover above ortigas avenue.

mission accomplished.C5 is history.

by his own word and admission,arman proclaimed himself as "ANG LALAKING KALADKARIN".basta sa takbuhan,puwede siyang kaladkarin anytime,anywhere.amen.

by his own words and admission,arman proclaimed himself as "ANG LALAKING KALADKARIN".basta sa takbuhan,puwede siyang kaladkarin anytime,anywhere.amen.

….we would be in for a long sunday.in the end, at around 10:00am and back at shell julia vargas where we started ,we did 33k plus change.

another run done.another question answered.

but as more questions are asked, we shall run it and do no less.

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if in doubt, don’t just ask…. RUN it!

Posted in Uncategorized on January 4, 2009 by Jonel C Mendoza

EDSA as you have never seen before……………………………………………………

04JAN2009

” how long is edsa from end to end? ” asked enrico after our luneta runabout.

” i am clueless,but there is only one way to find out.” i answered.

and so the edsa run came to be.

enjoy.

heriatge hotel/edsa cor. roxas blvd.(kevin,dess,lester,sir jovie)

6:00 am, heritage hotel/edsa cor. roxas blvd.(kevin,dess,lester,sir jovie)

off we go.approaching slex/mantrade

fountain area at mantrade flyover

approaching ayala mrt station

shell buendia/pee stop

estrella/rockwell with the lovebirds

guadalupe/land of billboards

crossing guadalupe bridge

dess going at it.

pioneer/boni mrt station

megamall without the crowds

robinson's ortigas

wish nila.

edsa/connecticut

wish pa rin.

camp crame

papi-ng pulis

cubao farmer's/aurora blvd.

nuyok! nuyok!

approaching kamias/kamuning

after breakfast at jolibee kamias

try mag-audition pero sarado pa gma.

sir jovie crossing timog/gma 7

mother ignacia corner edsa

quezon avenue overpass

sm north/trinoma

north avenue overpass facing sm north

munoz market/edsa

ongoing lrt construction near munoz area

approaching balintawak market

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kaya nga nandito ako, kasi nga....

this means only one thing....RUN!

ano nga uli 'yung tinatanong mo papy? gaano kalayo ang nlex mula balintawak to dau? ano,game ka?

caloocan at last!

target in sight

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sir jovie and lester arrived first at ground zero

monumento lrt station starting line

starstruck si sir jovie.

feeling turista

mission accomplished! edsa measured on foot.

it is somebody's FIRST lrt ride of all time.guess who?

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back at edsa/taft lrt station.a lady guard told us that it was prohibited to take pics inside the station.we were mistaken for tourists as she spoke to us in english.

atop edsa/taft overpass

mura lang sa MAHAL KITA drive inn.may discount pa pag low peak hours.

edsa done.

enrico, it is 23.98 kilometers from heritage hotel to monumento.sana ay nasagot ko ang iyong tanong to the fullest of your satisfaction.ok ba papy?

and yes,a sidewalk exists to run on from heritage to monumento.

till the next runventure-sama na!

that’s all folks.

10 Comments »

views to 2,009 thrills

Posted in Uncategorized on January 3, 2009 by Jonel C Mendoza

01 JAN 2009

finally,after many failed plans, joe,the loonyrunner,myself and ilo got our schedules agreeing and we set off on this new year’s day run.

6:45am and cold and with no amount of warming up that could break a trace of sweat in us,we started our run at the junction of marcos highway and the road that leads to cabuyao,tuba,benguet.starting point was 1,484 meters above sea level.

and so we started our amateurish and 1st attempt at mountain climbing/running 101.

enjoy the journey with us……

joe, ilo, jonel at the starting line

radar station in sight.our target.(the 2 big things on top of the mountain)

downtown baguio, 5 kilometers away

we are off and running.at the vicinity og green valley country club.

we are off and running.at the vicinity of green valley country club.

marcos highway.that's the bridge and rock shed below.

loakan airport runway and part of the road we took coming up(right side)

loakan airport runway(that straight,long concrete strip) and part of the road we took coming up(right side)

end of the concrete road.from here,it would be dirt road all the way up.

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that is where baguio's water supply is filtered after being released from the cabuyao reservoir/rainwater catchbasin farther up.

doing their pees while holding their notes.in the middle of the road,no less! what a relieved feeling.

9 kms more to the end.

we are not yet done with this run and joe is already looking for new routes.

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target getting nearer.

the agony of the feet continues.

one of many cell sites in the area

the last stretch up.

one of the stations of the cross.i remembered that this area is a holy week estination for penitents as well.

one of the stations of the cross.this area is a holy week destination for penitents as well.

you know to bring if you want to survive.

you know what to bring if you want to survive.

final assault.200 meters and 35 degress up.

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one way,one man trail to view deck

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baguio, mt. pulag, loakan airport.

the peak at the back with more cell sites is where the kilometer post ends.some 4-5 kms away and there is a road that leads there.

it was so cold and windy here that we could hardly move our fingers to send text messages.we stayed for 30 minutes at the view deck and savored the 360 degree views.it was breath taking not only because the views were nice,but also because the air was thin,it was freezing cold and we were only wearing running attire!

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next target

vegetable terraces

joe,as usual,looking for new routes.

new year's day and 2, 018 meters up here and freezing cold we could hardly move our fingers to send text messages and guess what? it is bards in our minds and mouths.our not so secret power climbing potion.

new year's day, 2, 018 meters up here , windy and freezing cold.having our not so secret power potion.

just below the radar area, is where the rainwater reservoir/catchbasin of baguio is.levels below critical.muddy and poorly-maintained.no wonder ,lots of baguio residents get diarrhea from drinking directly from the faucets.now,you know what to drink when you are in baguio.

are they doing what i am thinking? doing their small share to save mankind from drought.

exploring where this road will lead.

it doesn't need rocket science to figure out who was in our minds.

joe was saying something about scenes from "the lord of the rings" and ilo nodded in agreement.i was clueless but the view here was a killer.

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the thrilling vioew of rising clouds before your eyes

the thrilling view of rising clouds before your eyes

on the way down

we were above the clouds

we met a group of koreans going up.i would not be surprise to see a korean business in sto. tomas one day.

nalpas ti imas.( ectasy done).back to where we started.

aftermath.

we finally made it back at the junction where we started at around 10am and some 19 kilometers done.tired and cold and looking to sweat some more but nonetheless very fulfilled with our new conquest.

i now know the feeling of our avid mountain climbers.there are no words to describe the ecstasy of reaching the climax-nagimas!

here is to a running-ful 2009 ahead for all of us!

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