Brooks Run Happy 2 - Summer Has Ended

For the last two months running has become an ordeal in view of the summer weather condition. Temperature has been on the limit of bearable with humidity on the 90’s and above so much so that after a run one can expect to be soaked on his own perspiration.

This condition has now changed with the onset of the raining season just a couple of days back. The first road race this raining season is the Brooks Run Happy 2. For whatever reason the organizers of the event have deviated to the usual distances and have instead catered to 21k, 12k and 6k events. 12k and 6k seems to be odd choice of distance.

I wanted just to enter the 6k event but when I tried to register myself at Riovanna last May 22^nd the only available distance then was the 12k leaving me with no other option.

I arrived at the venue today June 3^rd early at around 4:45am with ample time for the gun start of the 12k scheduled at 5:30am. However, I just barely made myself checked in at the holding pen at 5:28am after going to the ordeal of finding a decent rest room within the High Street complex to relieve myself. Fruits are good but you don’t take it the night before a race otherwise you will find yourself in a very compromising situation. A lesson to remember on my next road race.

At exactly 5:30am the 12k event was gun started. The route took us along the artiliar roads with Bonifacio Global City. I would kike to congratulate the sponsors and organizers for a well organised event. All the logistical needs for the race were well provided and attended to. While there were not that many participants, it was a great event. Thanks to Brooks and hopefully we shall have the 3^rd sequel next year.

This race has been particularly memorable for me as from the 8^th kilometer onwards until the finish line I was joined by a brother in my field of profession Chief Engineer Vic Esta of ScanPhil who is also a senior runner as I am. It was just like going with the tide as we were exchanging pleasntries and complaining to ourselves why our tummy are still big despite of the rregular running workouts. The talk and company made the run easier down to the finish line.

01h39m57sec after the gun start I crossed the finish line on a race walking mode for the 12k distance. As always nothing spectacular but a great day to welcome the raining season.

Blogging - Sharing Knowledge, Experience And Even Mistakes

In the course of our lives there might be simple and even maybe very minute things that we have done that could touch the lives of others and in the process share experience, knowledge and even mistakes with the ultimate goal of being able to make use of these matters for the benefit of oneself.

Today I received an unexpected email from a certain JOHN FLETEMEYER of Germantown MD USA. I wish to share the following email;

Mr. Castro 

We happen to come by your blog on race walking. We found it very useful. My wife Mary Ann is from the Philippines. We adopted our daughter, Irene from there when she was 12. Although having never participated in athletic programs before, we put her in track. I am a track coach. She placed in the National AAU Jr Olympics in 3000m race walk her first season as a 13 yo. She also placed at 14 and 15. 

We plan to use all your suggested drills. She just entered HS and we plan to do some 1500m indoor events. I attached some pictures from the JO 2010 and 2009 seasons. 

Thanks for sharing your race walk knowledge 

The following are the pictures attached to the email.

I tried very hard to answer the email of JOHN, however, for whatever reason/s my attempted relies just bounces back and gets a fatal error. Another unexplained matter is that when I received the email it was incorrectly address (not my email) but I just found it in one of my email boxes as a message forwarded.

Anyways JOHN, I am making use of this blog post to reply and share your kind words with my readers and wish to take this opportunity as well to greet your wife, MARY ANN and all the best wishes to your daughter IRENE in her endeavors in RACE WALKING.

We all learn from one another. 

USATF Silver Medal - Awarded A Year After

We arrived Moreno Valley from Pismo Beach on 03Jun10 at about 6pm. Nothing much was expected during the day except unpack and pack for the scheduled departure for San Diego the following day.

To my great surprise I received a phone call from DAVE SNYDER, the Race Director for the INLAND EMPIRE RACEWALKERS who were the host club for the 2009 USATF 15k Race Walk Masters Regional Championship held at Riverside California last May 17, 2009. Complete details of participation then can be viewed in my last year's blog "2009 USATF 15k Race Walk Regional Champioship - A Personal Validation and Confirmation".

During the event then, I finished 2nd place, the event was a sanctioned event of UNITED STATES of AMERICA TRACK & FIELD (USATF) as such I should have received the silver medal for my age category then, but, the ruling then was that I was a non-US citizen as such my entry was as a guest category and I was not eligible for the USATF Medal. However, Dave Snyder informed me that the Federation has reviewed and corrected their ruling that “a foreign citizen if he finishes on a medal standing is eligible for the medal category he finished, however, the US citizen that finished next to him will also be entitled to the same medal category that the foreign citizen got”.

Dave Snyder wanted to present the USATF SILVER MEDAL for 2009 USATF 15k Race Walk Regional Championship Age Category 55-59 year old to me!

On Jun 4th at 10am Dave Snyder came personally to my daughter’s house at Moreno Valley to present to me the medal. It was an unexpected award. I now possess a United States of America Track  Field SILVER MEDAL (it is big and heavy).

Tribute to an Athlete

So much has been said about “running boom” that the Philippines have been experiencing since last year. This scenario is all REAL and hopefully continues its resurgence and sustains the interest of the community for a long time. To most of us (90% of the running community) we have embraced the sport for varied reasons either health, leisure, fun, personal satisfaction and/or other probable reasons that is too numerous to detail here. However, the remaining 10% have embraced the sport as an avenue to uplift their life, a financial source, to attain educational degree, a chosen profession.

Yes my friends RUNNING to some who are not so financially blessed in life had been, can be, and is being used as an avenue for a better life, educational scholarship, additional income opportunity which to most of us is an alien reason due to our blessed condition.

There is a select group of people who are blessed with the physical talent and dedication that is pursuing this road of opportunity. However, in sport, whatever discipline it may be, talent and dedication is NOT ENOUGH to assure you of a success. A major component of a sport success is SUPPORT. For these athletes that are blessed with talent and dedication will not only need to concentrate on the sport of their choice but need to live a life and livelihood to support their daily life. Needless to say in this country another complexity is POLITICS in sport a reality in this part of the world.

Today June 5, 2009 I have hosted a lunch at Shangri-la Hotel HEAT Restaurant (for their success in the recent Philippine National Invitational Open last May 11-12, 2009 at Lingayen Pangasinan) to four (4) athletes who have in their own way run in this road of life and have in their own modest way attained success in their field and/or still hoping to achieve their dreams in this life through sport. Allow me to introduce them to you;


SATURNINO SALAZAR

Bdate/Place – 15June61 / Batan Aklan
Educational Attainment – EARIST with degree BSME sports scholar 1991
Present Employment – Philippine Army / Master SGT
Sport Qualification – IAAF level 4 Coach
Major Sport achievement – 1977 SEA Games Bronze Medalist 50km Race Walk
My wish/prayers – That you land a coaching job in one of the UAAP universities. You have so much talent, knowledge and necessary credentials to share with the running public.


MICHAEL EMBUEDO

Bdate/Place – 21Sep77 / Bagac Bataan
Educational Attainment – Certificated on Agriculture and undergraduate Education
Present Employment – Philippine Air Force Airman 1st Class
Major Sport achievement – Holder Philippine Record 20km (01h33m50.9sec) 2009 National Invitational Open Lingayen 11May09
My wish/prayers – Inclusion National Team and podium finish at SEA Games on Dec.


CHRISTIAN DALIDA

Bdate/Place – 12May91 / Batan Aklan
Educational Attainment – UE sports scholarship 2nd semester school year 2009.
Present Employment - student
Major Sport achievement – 3rd Place Jr. Mens 10000meter Race Walk 2009 National Invitational Open Lingayen 11May09
My wish/prayer – You are only 18 years old and have so much promise make good in the sport so that your education is assured.


MILBERT NABUAB

Bdate/Place – 9Jan89 / Batan Aklan
Educational Attainment – UST sport scholar 3rd year BSPE
Present Employment - Student
Major Sport achievement – 6th place Men’s 20Km Race Walk 2009 National Invitational Open Lingayen 11May09
My wish/prayers – you shown great strength in running dedicate more into this training.

To these gentlemen, I wish to congratulate you all in your success in the recent 2009 Philippine National Invitational Open. I wish to single out MICHAEL EMBUEDO who has broken the Philippine Record. My prayers that the sports authorities will now have no reason not to include you in the NATIONAL TEAM and to your participation in the forthcoming SEA Games at Laos Cambodia in December 2009.

Back at the Ultra Oval - Cheating The Rain

I arrived back in Manila on 02Jun09 at 1130am and after an early bedtime to recover for the time travelled I was all hyped to return to my good old Ultra Oval for my daily workout.

At 5am today 03Jun09 there was a continuous drizzling of light rain preventing me to start immediately. However, I saw Jay (Prometheus Cometh) was already running even on the rain. At 5:20am the rain stopped and I told myself to start my race walk and hope that the rain does not fall again. At this time the new varsity track team of JRU was already in assembly and doing their warm up so the oval starting to be filled-up.

While I was on my 2nd km Mike Embuedo joined me in my run and from thereon it was me trying to keep pace with Mike who knows how to pull you to attain more speed in your workout. While doing our continuous cycle at the oval Mike gave me a blow by blow account of his experience at the National Invitational Open at Lingayen. Just when we were completing the 10th km distance the rain started to fall heavier making me to decide to cut the run at this stage. I was able to sneak between the rain a distance of 10.09km for a duration of 01h18m32. Not bad I was able to cheat on the rain this time.

I wish also to post at this time the figures that I have logged for the month of May 2009;

Distance = 286.28 km
Duration = 39.2886 hours or 01d15h17m
Average Speed = 7.29 km / hr
Average Pace = 8.23 mins / km
Calories Burn = 16,089 kcal
Total distance covered for the year 2009 = 1,456.39 km
Total distance covered since April 27, 2007 = 6,172.43 km

The Lake Perris Run - A Near Perfect Running Scenario

With only 5days before the LA Marathon, I am now down to my last 3 days of training runs. Today 20May09 I decided to do the LAKE PERRIS run. The planned route will allow me to start from the house of my daughter at 17181 Andalusian Court Moreno Valley and lead me to the City of Perris encircling the Perris Mountain counter clockwise and leading me back to Moreno Valley via Iris/Moreno Beach then to Lasalle and back to Andalusian Court.






I started the run at 5:30am with a pleasant cool outside temperature of 18c. I was already at the Lake Perris Recreation Park entry west gate by 5:55 and I noticed that there were more than 20 cars lined-up all of whom are into the sport of fishing and are waiting for the gate to be opened at 6:00am. I had to stop and await as well for the gate to be opened. True enough at exactly 6:00am a park ranger in complete impresive uniform arrived on his patrol car and opened the gate.






Off I started my run within the recreation park. I cannot but be mesmerized of the great view of Lake Perris and its natural environment. As I traversed the park, I told myself that this is the closest perfect running scenario anyone can think about, no pollution, clean surrounding, great view, natural environment setting and a great weather which has now has risen to a perfect 21c. The solitude in the road with the fore mentioned scenario was more than what a simple runner could dream about.





The recreational park offers horseback riding with trails, fishing, boating, jet ski, picnic benches and facilities, a marina and a swimming beach within the lake. Lake Perris by the way is a man made lake where a local dam was structured to serve as water reservoir of the surrounding cities.






Without my knowing it I have already completed my race walk covering a distance of 15.06km in 02hrs06min43sec for a relaxed touring speed on 7.13km/hr and a pace of 8.41min/km.

I pray that I shall be able to complete the LA Marathon race walking division in 6hrs 10min. The biggest possible obstacle will be the weather temperature which could deep as cold as 18c at 6am and rise as hot as 38c by noon particularly in downtown LA. What a big temperature fluctuation Los Angeles have at this time of the year.

I shall continue my training up to 22May and at the same time start my carbo loading for a much needed energy boost prior to the marathon on Monday the 25th of May which is also Memorial Day in the USA and will be a long weekend.

Lastly and as always, I leave matters to the Lord as for my faith in the marathon. I shall keep you guys updated of the actions prior to the marathon and after the marathon itself.

Moreno Valley - 14.81km Adventure Walk

11May09 730am at Moreno Valley LA, still wanting to have a much lengthy continuous sleep after the travel from Manila, I was determined to logged my first work-out speed walk locally in preparation to my scheduled USATF Masters 15k Racewalk event which is barely six days away.

This is the first time I am visiting my daughter in her new place at Moreno Valley so I am unfamiliar with the local streets and traffic. With no definite route in mind to take, I told myself to just run 6km away from the house and 6km back to the house and that should give a good 12km work-out. Later I found out that this was simply said than done.

I started taking picture only after hitting the halfway distance on my return home given the confidence of knowing which route to take. Picture are presented herewith on a slide presentation;

(Click on image for enlarged view)

Moreno Valley11 May09

View more presentations from Amado Castro.

I completed 14.81km at a speed of 7.21km/hr and pace of 8.32min/km for a total time of 02h03m17s. I exceeded my planned 12km distance by 2.81km which was due to my getting lost on my way back home.

Training Log - March 2009

(Click on image to enlarge view)

For the month of March 2009 I have the following accomplished figures to update to my Training Log;

Distance = 336.04 km
Duration = 43.7766 hours
Average Speed = 7.68 km / hr
Average Pace = 7.82 mins / km
Calories Burn = 29,214 kcal

Total distance covered since April 27, 2007 = 5,614.69 km

Race Walking - Hip Drills

“If racewalking is not popular in the Philippines it’s your job to make it so! By walking in the local running races you are a visible ambassador of racewalking. Don’t be afraid to be vocal” exerts from an email to Amado Castro by DAVE McGOVERN a globe-trotting racewalking coach and a member of the US National Racewalk Team with a master’s degree in sport science from the United States Sports Academy. For his complete details visit his website http://www.racewalking.org

To follow Dave’s advice I thought of presenting a series of video drills that would guide interested individual to take up the sport. Having thought of the above, it was then my task to tap a resource person who should be well knowledgeable on Race Walking. Coach SATURINO A. SALAZAR is one of the only two Filipino IAAF Level 4 coaches (the other being Coach Ferdinand Espejo). Furthermore, Coach Salazar is a bronze medallist in the 16th SEA Games in Jakarta Indonesia for 50km Race Walking. Coach Salazar is as well dedicated to the sport offering his knowledge and experience to beginners so should you be interested to learn systematically do not hesitate to approach him at Ultra Oval or you could contact me and I can provide you his mobile number.

For us to proceed, we need first to define what is Race Walking;

- Race walking is a progression of steps so taken that the walker makes contact with the ground so that no visible (to human eye) loss of contact occurs.

- The advancing leg must be straightened (i.e., not bent at the knee) from the moment of first contact with the ground until in the vertical upright position.

Race Walking Demo

Using your legs properly get you moving, but to go really fast you must learn to use your hips correctly. The hips are the body’s primary source of locomotion. When we rotate the hips forward, the swinging leg is pulled off the ground. As we repeatedly pivot the hips forward, they act as the body’s motor, propelling it forward one step at a time. Knowing then the importance of the proper hip motion, it is but of utmost importance that we remember the following drills to develop the flexibility, elasticity and increase range of motion.

I herewith present 7 drills that would get your hips in the proper motion;
Drill No. 1
Drill No. 2
Drill No. 3
Drill No. 4a
Drill No. 4b
Drill No. 5
Drill No. 6
Drill No.7

With the lack of proper hip motion immediate consequence is it slows a walker down;
Wrong Hip Motion

With proper hip motion by actively swinging the hip forward lengthens the stride from the top of the legs while increasing stride length behind the body.
Proper Hip Motion

Lastly, improving technique takes more than just knowing what to do. Walkers must develop and maintain flexibility to gain the full benefit of hip motion.

Again, to quote Dave McGovern's email "By the way, there were three walkers from the Philippines at the 2001 World Cup Racewalking in Turino, so you're not alone!" I recently found out that two of the three Dave McGovern was refering to are personally known to me MICHAEL EMBUEDO and SATURNIO SALAZAR small world!

It's Official - The Heat Is On

With the advent of April, we shall again experience a series of long holidays. April 4,5,6,9,10,11, and 12, seven (7) golden days of no office work and time for relaxation and vacation with the family.

For runners this will also be an excellent opportunity to take active run/walk on the beach, mountain areas, trails, remote villages, resorts or just even within the city limits should there be no out of town plan in the pipeline. The common denominator wherever we might be is the “Heat of Summer is ON” and comes along the “High Humidity” associated with it which we shall be experiencing during these forthcoming days.

With the expected temperature rise, an early morning run at 5-7am will be from 27-30 degrees C, an early evening run at 6-8pm will be from 30-32 degrees C and a late evening run at 8-10pm will be from 28-30 degrees C. A mid-day temperature of 33-35 degrees C should not even be considered unless you have an ultramarathon event entered which definitely you will have an unvoidable daytime run. My best wishes to the participants of the Bataan 102 Ultramarathon scheduled on April 5,2009.

Livestrong.com has given four (4) ways for runners to stay cool.

1. Dress For Success – No cottons. Use synthetic fabrics of latest technology to help pull sweat away from skin surface, thus cooling the body.

2. Time Your Runs Wisely – depending on where you are, you may have to alter your training schedule significantly to ensure that you are not training in the heat. You may be better of waking up early before the sun rises up or running late at night . Another option is to plan your route along shaded paths (like UP Diliman) or set a route where you could leave bottled water at regularly spaced interval (like Ultra Oval).

3. Drink Often – staying cool means to take plenty of fluid with you. Often runners underestimate the heat and find themselves feeling dehydrated midway into their runs. Bring a hydration bottle or a hydration backpack, while it may add extra weight it is a small price to pay for suffering heat related illness during workout.

4. Cross Train – when heat is too much for you to take and risk of engaging in the heat far outweighs the benefit of a 5-10K run, then “cross training” is an excellent option to get a great workout and beat the heat. Swimming is an excellent way to give your legs a break from impact of running and beat the heat. Cross train on a sport and/or activity that you will also find enjoyment.

Jeff Galloway on an article for Active.com gave the following tips for running workouts during summer heat;

1. Run before the sun gets above the horizon.
2. If you must run when the sun is up, pick a shady course.
3. Run during the evening and night.
4. Have an indoor facility available.
5. Don’t wear a hat! You lose most of your body heat through the top of your head. Covering the head will cause a quicker internal build-up of heat.
6. Wear light clothing, but not cotton.
7. Pour water over your head.
8. Do your short runs in instalments.
9. Take a pool break or a shower chill-down.
10. Sun screen- a mixed review.
11. Drink six to eight ounces of a sport drink

Symptoms of Heat Diseases:-

- Intense heat build-up in the head
- General overheating of the body
- Significant headache
- Significant nausea
- General Confusion and loss of concentration
- Loss of muscle control
- Excessive sweating and then cessation of sweating
- Clammy skin
- Excessive rapid breathing
- Muscle cramps
- Feeling faint
- Unusual heart beat or rhythm

Who are with the Risk Factors;

- If you have viral or bacterial infection
- If you suffer from dehydration (especially due to alcohol)
- If you are overweight
- If you have severe sunburn
- If you lack of heat training
- If you exercise more than what you are used to
- If you experienced heat disease in the past
- If you if experienced two or more nights of extreme sleep deprivation
- If you have certain medical conditions including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, extreme stress, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, cardiovascular disease, smoking or general lack of fitness.

We want to enjoy our summer and continue with our running/walk training and knowing the preventive measures far outweigh the medical methods and consequences we will be faced should we fall victim to our own unsafe running practices.

Stay Cool and Run Cool this summer.

Rx Runner's "Hangover","Postpartum" and "Depression"

For the past two months a great majority of the runners in Metro Manila had been busy in their own preparation for the Condura Run09 either as individuals or as a group. There have been training plans for the 21K, Long Slow Distance (LSD) runs to built up stamina and even Carbo Loading Party which has kept so many of us focused and with a definite purpose and plan until March 22, 2009. But now that everything is all over we need to reassess matters and set new goals and plans, otherwise, we shall easily fall with a sickness called “runner’s hangover”, “ runner’s postpartum” and/or a “runner’s depression”.

What is the prescription to avoid these pitfalls? We need to have new goals, new plans and the execution of these goals and plans either as a group or individual. A "support group" will be highly advantageous rather than being alone. For it is only with new objectives that our running/walking efforts can fuel and sustain our drive to attain each and everyone’s ultimate goal of good health either in the aesthetic body form and weight, controlled sugar, cardio health or overall health condition. For the goals and plans are not necessarily to land a podium finish as its only an added reward, but, rather for motivation and health reasons.

Monday 23Mar09, I have gone back to my usual early morning speed race walk training at the Ultra Ovals with an immediate goal set at “AIRSPEED” 10K organized by Coach Rio to be held at the Mall of Asia grounds on April 5, 2009. Another immediate goal is the “Greenfield City Run” 21K for April 19, 2009. However, I still have to registered although I know that this will be a good event and what is holding me now is the travel time from Metro Manila to Santa Rosa Laguna.

For my long term goal, I have the 15K Riverside California USATF Masters Race Walking scheduled for May 17, 2009 and the Los Angeles Marathon (Race Walking Division) scheduled on May 25, 2009 both of which I have already registered.

Keep those legs moving, set new goals and plan of action. Plan the Run and Run the Plan. See you on the road!

Condura Run09 - Skwalker on Skyway Audit Report

What makes CONDURA RUN differ from other running events that we have locally in the Philippines? Is the difference on the plus side? What did the sponsors and organizers promised? Where they able to deliver?

The Event is an “advocacy” (key word) by the Concepcion family, Ton Concepcion the President of Condura and Patrick Concepcion Vice President for Services Concepcion Industries. An event created by runners for runners inspired by international marathon.There were 10 promises that the organizers openly made for the event and I will to list them item for item so that we all could provide our assessment;

1. The Route
This is one of the best if not the very best route. Katipunan overpass and making use of the Skyway passing to Buendia. The organizer did their very best that the route be free from vehicular traffic which I would say was 95% fulfilled. The 5% is attributed to reckless driver who still insist to do their thing even with traffic marshals manning their post.

2. 4 Races : 1 Event
A great come-on to all runners of different level of skills. Maybe next year we could expect a full marathon distance?

3. Fun Events
Great costumes and attires for those that participated. I was just too involved in the 21K that I think most of those who joined entered the lower distance category.

4. The Condura Expo
I did not personally participated/visited the booths but they where there. I liked when all the delivery trucks of Condura was positioned at the gathering area and their headlights were switched on. Great theatrical effect.

5. Cool Giveaways and Raffles
There were a lot and the distribution was not a hassle to the runners which was great. Personally, I have used the Nike 10% discount three times so that was great and the best thing again it was facilitated as the Nike sore without too much ado.

6. Feel like an Olympian for a day
The crowd and the atmosphere was just perfect and the organizers were able to maintain orderliness in the starting/finish chutes. Minor thing to mention is that maybe the organizers were as well overwhelmed by the great number of participants on each race event that they were a little bit conservative in space provided at the starting chute, however, they kept on expanding the area as they see that congestion was being experienced. As for the finishing line, very well organized and the handling of giveaways as you come-in was perfect.

7. Run with the Stars
I did see a handful of “stars” as you might say, but, for me the “STARS” in capital letters for the event were the participants. The different sectors of the running community that supported the event and individuals were overwhelming. You could easily feel the positive energy at the starting line as well as the finishing line.

8. The Champions Circle
The elite runners not only were motivated by the prizes, but, I think they want the name Condura Run in their collections of trophies. What with all the excitement the run has generated.

9. Finishers Medals for Half Marathon Finishers
For ordinary runners the finishers medal for the 21K and certificates for all the other race events where a thing that ordinal people remember and keep for a long time.


10 Running for the Whale SharksGreat “cause” to run. With the first year for “Tubbataha Reef” and the second year for the “Whale Shark” what would the 3rd year be?

The Condura Run although only on its 2nd year has definite carved a name in the Running Events in the country. The organizers say they are the “premier running event”, I would say that if they are not there yet definitely they are going that way no questions asked! Lastly, maybe it is about time to expand the horizon, a full marathon for 2010! What do you say Mr. Ton and Patrick Concepcion? Congratulations to all those who were in one way or another involved in bringing this great event for the running community.





My personal audit to myself, I am now a full pledge “SKYWALKER” having completed the 21K with a time of 02h40m30s a target goal fulfilled which was set after my simulated Condura Run as posted on my previous blog. To CHRISTIAN DALIDA thank you for joining me in walking the sky. To all finishers, I hope you got fulfilment in your own individual run. As they say, life goes on and let us prepare for the next event!

Check List - "Condura Run 09"

With 3 days more before the much awaited Condura Run 09 “Skyway Run For The Whale Sharks” training period for the event is at end and time to taper on physical activities and concentrate on carbo loading till Sunday. From today, will also be the best time to check and double check our equipments to be used during the race may we be running the 21K or any distance at that.

Running Shoes:
Your running shoes are perhaps the most critical piece of equipment on the race day it can either be your best friend or your worst enemy. If your running shoes are of poor quality or do not fit properly then the implication can be a result of either blisters or common running injuries.

You should ensure for a shoe that offers comfort and support. Your running shoe should also be light enough for your needs. There are no hard and fast rules as to the best type of shoe because it depends from athlete to athlete. Cardinal rule is never to use a brand new shoes on a race day make sure whatever running shoes you have decided to use it has passed its break-in stage.

Socks:
Apart from having a fitting running shoes, your socks are the main piece of equipment that is going to stop you from developing blisters. The most common reason for getting blisters is from wearing cotton socks. The reason for this is that cotton socks keep moisture close to your skin. It is this wet skin that then is most prone to blisters due to the additional friction that is built up. The ideal way to prevent this blistering from occurring is to use acrylic fibre socks that wick the sweat and moisture away from your feet. The reason being is that your skin develops less friction when it is dry.

Clothing:
The best clothing to wear is both light-weight, loose and does not rub. The best on the market are either light nylon, Coolmax or Polypro. Avoid cotton clothing because not only does it stay wet but is also prone to cause excessive rubbing and skin rash.

Lubricant:
No matter just how good your clothing is, it is inevitable that at somestage you will experience either chaffing or blistering during the race. Assuming you have put time in training for the race, you should have by now known the areas that continuously chaff and blister, such as under your arms or your inner thighs. Once you know which areas regularly chaff then you can apply some cream to these parts. Test to find which creams work best for you. The best creams on the market are Vaseline, Runners Lube and Body Glide. If you already have chaffing, the diaper rash ointment A+D Ointment works wonders, as it soothes burning and promotes rapid healing.

So as not to forget anything, an ideal CHECKLIST would have the following;

Race shoes
Race clothing . shorts, singlet, underwear, socks
Bib/race number
Sun Glass
Vaseline/lubricants
Sun cream
Tissues
Safety pins
Needle
Plasters
Toilet paper
Sports drinks
Foods . gels, raisons, power bars etc.

My best wishes to all! See you at the starting line on Sunday. Skyway here we are.....

Why Race Walk?

For about eight months now I shifted my passion in running to RACE WALKING so much so that people have been asking me the question, Why Race walk? What better answer to provide than quoting herewith an article written by DAVE McGOVERN who is a member of the U.S. National Racewalking Team and the author of The Complete Guide to Racewalking and The Complete Guide to Marathon Walking. 

RacWalk! Magazine Coach's Corner Spring 2005: Why Racewalk?

Racewalking has a long and varied history, both as a sport and as a recreational activity. Of course the same could be said for cliff diving, elephant polo and competitive hot-dog eating, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that you engage in any those pursuits. I would, however, suggest you give racewalking a try, especially if you’re already walking for fitness. Why? Because racewalking can give you a much better workout than "regular" walking. Not exactly fast walking, and certainly not just slow running, racewalking offers some of the best elements of both pursuits.

Like running, racewalking can give you a great heart-pounding cardiovascular workout—probably much better than you could ever hope to achieve through regular walking. Don’t get me wrong, walking is a great calorie burning exercise that almost anyone can do. But to burn a lot of calories, you need to walk for a long time. (And who has a lot of time to exercise?!) The low intensity of regular walking makes it a great activity for beginning exercisers, but not for people who are looking for a higher-intensity cardio workout. It’s almost impossible for most walkers to get their heart rates up beyond a very light aerobic effort no matter how hard they pump their arms and stomp their feet. Walking is a terrific way to go long distances at a relatively pedestrian pace, but the technique puts a real damper on your high-end speed. If you’ve ever tried to fitness walk really fast you know what I’m talking about. You’ve probably discovered that normal walking technique breaks down and becomes pretty awkward once you get beyond about a 12-minute mile pace. In fact, most people can’t walk any faster than that 12-minute mile pace no matter how hard they try.

Racewalking removes the technique barrier and allows you to spin your wheels much faster. With racewalking you can achieve much higher heart rates and burn many more calories per hour than you can with regular walking. In fact, racewalkers burn as many calories as runners, and achieve comparable working heart rates.Where racewalking differs from running is in the greatly reduced risk of injury. Because the rules of the sport require that racewalkers keep one foot on the ground at all times, they impact the ground with 1/3 the force of runners who leap into the air with each stride. Since racewalkers stay so low to the ground, they’re much less likely to suffer the high-impact injuries so common in other fitness activities.

The other rule to racewalking says that walkers must keep their knees straight from the moment the heel of the advancing leg hits the ground until that leg passes directly under the body. That may sound a little strange, but the straight leg not only provides the leverage that propels racewalkers forward so quickly, it also keeps the knee safe from many of the injuries that befall so many runners.

To get an idea of what racewalking feels like, simply stand in place with your feet together and your arms held by your sides with the elbows bent at 90 degrees. Now pump your knees forward and back while keeping your weight on your heels and your feet flat on the ground. Each time you pull your knee back, your leg will straighten under your body just as it will when you’re racewalking. Now all you need to do is add some stride length by stepping forward a bit each time you pump your knee forward. Just be sure to land on your heels. If you land too flat-footed your knees will probably bend when your foot hits the ground. Concentrate on taking short, quick steps rather than long, slow strides. If you do that, you’ll have an easier time keeping your knees straight, and you’ll expend much less energy. As you get stronger, your stride should get longer. Try to make sure the extra stride length is behind your body; keep it short in front.

Most people can pick up the technique the way I just outlined it, but if you feel that you’re not getting the hang of the straight knee, you may have to try "Frankenstein walking" until you get your knees sorted out.

Start out by walking on your heels with your toes held up. Take short steps and maintain good posture. (Full disclosure: You will look like a dork.) After you get the hang of that, allow your foot to flatten out as your body passes over it, but keep your legs stiff. Continue landing on the heels, and keep your weight on your heels throughout the stride. Now just take quicker and quicker steps. Your knees will start to bend as you step forward, but that’s OK. Just make sure you keep landing on your heels so the knee stays straight. [Include photo of Frankenstein walk. I will send a .jpg.] Once you’ve got the feel of Frankenstein walking with straight knees, you can gradually make it feel more like racewalking by bending the advancing knee more and more as it drives forward.

Doing either the knee pumps or the Frankenstein walk on a very gradual (3 to 5 percent) hill will make it even easier to pick up the technique. And once you have it, you can get faster by pumping your arms and driving your knees more vigorously to give yourself a longer, more powerful stride.

Once you’ve mastered the technique, you can move beyond using racewalking to pump up your walking workouts. Not just a great form of exercise, racewalking is also a competitive sport that has been in the Olympics since 1908. Elite racewalkers can walk a 5-kilometer (3.1 miles) race in less than 20 minutes and a 26.2-mile marathon in just over 3 hours. It may take a while for you to get up to those speeds, but if you’re ready to mix it up with some local racewalkers, many running races include competitive walk divisions.

To find out about races in your area, call your local running store or running club. To find out more about racewalking go to http://www.racewalking.org/, or to find other racewalkers in your area, go to http://racewalking.org/contacts.htm.

I wish to share my communication with Dave McGovern sometime in February 20, 2009;

Dave - In my part of the world (Philippines) Race Walking is not that popular so much so that I have to join 15k and 21K weekend running races to motivate myself of crowd/race scenario. During these races I do not run but instead race walk. I am now training for the LA Marathon Race Walking Division scheduled on May 25, 2009.

Feb 20, 2009 5:26 AM Reply rayzwocker in response to: Amado L. Castro, Jr.

Amado, If racewalking is not popular in the Philippines it's your job to make it so! By walking in the local running races you are a visible ambassador of racewalking. Don't be afraid to be vocal. Let people know about the health benefits of racewalking, that there are fewer injuries and that you can get your heart rate as high racewalking as you can running. Also that it has been in the Olympics for over 100 years, etc., etc., etc. You could also start a weekly group workout in your area, even if the "group" is just you for now. But by having a consistent location where you will be every week you can have someplace to send people when you meet them during races. ("We meet at the ____ High School track every Wednesday at 6:30 pm for lessons and a workout...") If you get enough people walking maybe I'll be in Manila for a clinic in the not-so-distant future! By the way, there were three walkers from the Philippines at the 2001 World Cup of Racewalking in Turino, so you're not completely alone! Walk on!

February 2009 - Training Log

(Click Excel Sheet for enlarged view)

For the month of February I have the following figures to validate for my Training Log in preparation for the LA Marathon Race Walk Division scheduled for May 25, 2009;

February 1-28, 2009
Distance = 309.30 km
Duration = 36.9880 hours
Average Speed = 8.36 km / hr
Average Pace = 7.18 mins / km
Calories Burn = 28,053 kcal
Total distance covered since April 27, 2007 = 5,278.65 km

RUNew - Great Route - Walk Don't Run

It was an early wake-up call today February 22, 2009 for the RUNew (Run For New, Active and Healthy Lifestyle and Save Lives) as sponsored by Asian Hospital and Medical Center and organized by RunRio held at McKinley Hills at Taguig City.

At 4:45am I, my son Dax and daughter-in-law Pam where already entering the parking building. Lucky for us we were just a couple of minutes ahead before the queue of cars started to built up at the entry booth of the parking building as participants have started arriving one after the other. Nice Parking Building, but, for a fixed P50.00 parking fee it was a bit expensive on local standards. But, why fret for the place was well secured and safe for your car and valuables to give you a peace of mind during the race.

At the assembly area there was a big projection screen, tents, booth, and a number of marshals and ushers of the event and the MC was already making some announcement. What I saw at the grounds when I arrived was a feeling of a well organized race event at hand. While waiting for the start for the start of the race, I tried to look for some familiar faces and saw only Alex and Elaine. My mind was set for a 5:30 am start, however, as the time came nearer, the announcer was mentioning a 5:45am start or a 15 minutes delay (this is my only negative comment of the event).

At 5:45am the 15K event started. The route went to a new twist, turn, up and down the McKinley Hill complex which was not used before. This is definitely a much better route inside the McKinley grounds compared to those used on previous events. At the 1Km distance marker, Jay (Prometheus Cometh) overtook and greeted me and boy was he flying. All along the route there were enough water stations and marshals to guide the participants.



At the Bayani Road about 400meters before entering the Heritage West Cemetery there was an accident involving two motorcycles colliding head on. Fortunate for the victims there was a ready ambulance with paramedics at hand supposedly for the race event who were more than kind and willing to assist them.

Again, as a new innovation, the route turned to Heritage West Cemetery for a round-about before proceeding to the East Heritage Cemetery’s usual round-about. This innovation is great as the race was confined to a private road free of vehicles. Just before exiting West Heritage I overtook Jinoe (Manokan Express) and Queenie. They were a sight to behold, love birds running together. Why did I not do this one when I was young?

My greatest high of the event was from 11th to the 14th Km distance markers as this was the hilly part of the Bayani Road and I was overtaking those that were running as against my Race Walking. By the 14Km it was back to a downhill route that some of those that I overtook gained on me. Race Walking on downhill is very difficult. Then finally the finish line was on sight and I saw Bards (Banana Running) and her friends were with my son Dax and in-law Pam cheering me. It was a nice feeling, thank you guys.

I crossed the finish line in 01h51m34s for the 15Km on full race walking style placing 339 out of 389 finishers. It was 8 minutes faster than my simulated run last 15Feb09 which was done lonesome. The crowd and the runners were the contributing factor to gain speed. As a summary, my walking was 50 ranks better than the others who were running. Next in sight is the CONDURA 21K Skyway Run For The Whale Shark scheduled for March 22, 2009 this one will also have anexciting rout, a first time locally a race will be using the skyway. It will be another Walk Don’t Run for me.

Congratulations to my daughter-in-law Pamela who was 6th Place in the 5K Female non-MD category with a time of 00h 28m 24s. She out run her husband Dax by exactly 6 minutes flat.

In my vocabulary, RUNew was a great and well organized event. Kudos to Rio Dela Cruz for another job well done. Complete offcial results of the race can be seen at http://runrio.com/ This is where I think the organizers are best ... results are posted in shortest possible time after the race.