8 months to go before August. I need to step up my training. Here’s to more runs, more time in the pool, and more crotch numbing fun on the bike!

Pumped UP!

BTW, Happy New Year Guys!

See you on the road!

Went by Bikezilla the other day to get myself a pair of two strap bike shoes. I was fortunate enough to see a couple and with my size as well!

These are the Carnac Ultra yakitiyakyak whatever shoes. They are light. They only have two straps. And they look more than half cooler compared to my old Exustar bike shoes. No road test yet for the shoes because I just got them but the first thing I noticed about them were that they were certainly lighter.

I did some slow pedaling with them and noticed that my feet felt lighter too. They feel airier as well because there were some air ducts in the bottom. Even though this is my right size already, the shoe feels big to me. When I wore them without socks, it felt like my feet had a lot of space to move in. It felt like my feet were bouncing around in the shoe. I guess I needed to strap it on tighter. We shall see.

I am loving that my new pair only has two straps now. This will surely lower my transition time in multisport because they will be faster to put on. The only thing that’s missing now is my yet to be found bike skills.

I installed the cleats myself last night and when I tried them on the bike it felt alright. The bottom part of the cleat should be aligned to the ball of your foot but with the shoes, I couldn’t bring the cleats up more. Had to make do with how they are now. They felt fine but we’ll see as I ride more with them.

Time check: It’s barely two months to go before the year ends and that with the advent of the new year comes the Cebu City Marathon.  I ran last January at the first installment of the Marathon and I had a lot of fun. I was a little unprepared but I ran it for the distance and for the experience. The thought of running on pedestrian forbidden roads excite me and that was what was offered to us in the last Cebu City Marathon. The route along the coastal road of SRP literally took my breath away.

I just had to take that photo of myself at the halfway point of the race.

I really want to run the marathon again in 2011 but I haven’t really been prepping myself up so for those who are running it, here’s some good advice from someone who had fun the first time around.

Get to Cebu early. I arrived at Cebu Friday night. I was able to check out the SRP highway and I was able to go around and relax. Saturday was spent checking out the route and then eating! Sutokil is an excellent place to carbo load. Just go easy on the shellfish if your the type with the weak stomach.

Hydrate! Bring just enough. It was my first time to run with a hydration back pack in that race and many thought it was too much for the marathon. It was! By kilometer 30, I could feel the weight of the backpack coming down on my shoulders. I shouldn’t have filled the pack up to the brim in that race. The organizers did such a good job with hydration and nutrition that I barely got to drink from my pack.

Enjoy! I loved the view. I loved the experience. Even though I didn’t get to break my PR in that race, I had a lot of fun. Most importantly, respect the distance. 42 kilometers is no bitch that you can slap around like a dead sea slug. Train and enjoy. Have fun.

I had the chance to go up to that hotel that had the Edge Coaster and I was able to get a good birds eye view of the SRP coastal road that I ran way back in January. Seeing it now made me realize how reckless I was back then. Fresh from completing my first marathon, barely half a year later, here I am again running my second one. Marvel at the view. After which, go out and train. Two months is more than enough!

Full Size Here

It is such a sight. Running along that coastal road was euphoric.

Here’s a closer view of the SRP.

Full Size Here

I was on my way to work this morning when I chanced upon this dog on the sidewalk. I could not believe the condition he was in.

The dog was thin. His ribs were lining up the side of his body. He could barely walk from the exhaustion. I drove by closer to see what was wrong with him but I was not prepared for the sight that would behold me.

I looked in closer and saw that there was something wrong with the dog’s left leg. I felt sad for the dog. It will take so much effort for one to put a dog into this kind of situation. Dogs are resourceful animals and would most of the time be able to manage on their own. People responsible for this dog really went out of their way to give this dog a bad day. This dog may have had an owner once and I am sure that he is deeply sorry that he lost his dog. I am sure that if he’ll see how his dog is now, he’ll probably regret not taking care of him the way he deserves to be. He can feel sorry all he wants but I feel no pity for him. It his utter neglect and disrespect that put the dog into the situation it is in right now. He should have never gotten a dog in the first place.

As I drove off, I could not help but think of how the dog will manage with a maimed leg. He had trouble walking. He could barely move around. I threw him part of my lunch just so he would have something to eat for the day.

I want to complete my first Ironman Triathlon before I hit the very tender age of 30. That is three years from now and I think I am slowly inching in to get to it. Slowly but surely, I will get there.

If it were as easy as just building a suit and fast forward the 4k swim, 180k bike and the 42k run, it would be so easy to hit the goal before I reach 30.

But where would the fun be without all the training and all the hardwork I need to put in? Where would the fun be I didn’t need to spend so many hours in the pool? Where would the fun if didn’t spend countless hours on the bike? Where would the fun be if I didn’t get darker under the scorching heat of the sun? Where would the fun be if I didn’t need to pound the road with my feet every time I ran? Where would the fun be without all the callouses and aches?

It would be no fun at all if I fast forward everything. It would be no fun at all without all the mass swim starts we practice at the army gym. It would be no fun at all without all the fun bike rides up and down the hills of Antipolo and Bugarin. It would be no fun at all without the atrocious tan lines on my thighs. It would be no fun at all without the long runs.  It would be no fun without all the run breaks at ministop. It would be no fun without all the weird stares and heckles I get when I run in my tights.

The fun is in the journey. And the journey is what makes the accomplishment even sweeter. NAGT is up next week. All the training I put should should make my finish even sweeter.

I hope I can pull off a sub2 but it will be a tight finish. I need to finish the swim in 20 minutes. I think I can do that. My 1000 meters time is 23 minutes. If I can swim just as fast on race day, I think I can manage a very slim 20 minute finish on the 900 meters.

I need to pull of a sub 60 30 kilometers on the bike. It is something that has evaded me since time immemorial. I have come close but I am hoping that I can pull it off on race day.

I need to run a sub40 7k. I think this is doable. Finish will be tight. I hope I nail that sub2.

If I nail the sub2, maybe I can call myself World Champion of the World for a change.  And maybe I can get myself that World Champion of the World Championship belt I always wanted.

I WISH! LOL.

Here’s some photos I took from the recently concluded Lactacyd Woman Run

Went back to Subic to cheer for Tito Bong and take photos in the process. It was a lot more packed this year compared to last year and the years before. This was my third time shooting the event and I must admit I was kind of getting bored already. The boredom went away though when I was able to take photos of the takbo.ph guys and Tito Bong. It was great seeing them in their best form. See you guys next year. I might not be able to take pictures though because I plan to join next year.

Full album!

I had a chance to shoot Urbandub’s online concert taping last night and it was awesome. The shoot was handled by Pelicola and I believe they are going to show it online very very soon.

The stage was all set. Urbandub is a jot to shoot. They are active on stage and they look good in the camera.

The stage set up was awesome that night. It was like a big concert and everybody was jiving and rocking to the music. I loved the lights.

The show was awesome. It was a concert with a repeat button because when something went wrong during the recording, the band would need to start over again.

Too bad I wasn’t able to get a good shot of the drummer.

Watch out for the concert soon! I’ll make sure to post the details of it here when I find out! Thanks to Coy of Globe for inviting me to the event!

Oh yeah. Feel the pain.

Feel the burn!

Enjoy the pics! Hope I got you at a good angle!

Click here for the full set

Watch out for the non-moderated captions of the photos coming soon!

Malay is Pochoy’s new band. I was always fascinated and awed by Pochoy’s style of music and I was certainly put down when I heard that Dicta License was no more. Imagine my joy when, as I was going around Eastwood one night, he goes up to the stage and starts performing with his new band. It was a good thing that I had my camera with me.