Rain or Shine: Run for your Life!

I now have this habit of preparing my stuff Monday and Wednesday evenings to get me ready for the next day's session. Thanks to my boss who is also a running fanatic, I found myself training religiously as well. Every Tuesday and Thursday, my boss Leo, and another officemate, Herzon at least 5 kilometers at Quirino Grandstand and Roxas Boulevard.

We started running at our office's roof deck. We got bored and looked for longer running routes. We then discovered the Quirino Grandstand route. One round in Quirino Granstan (Roxas Blvd, Kalaw, Q. Grandstand, Burgos) is around 1.1 kilometers. 5 rounds would give you 5.5K. That became our running routine.

We invited a few officemates via email blast. The first meeting was indeed a blast! Around 16 of us ran! We jokingly called our running group Phurorut (Philam United Runners and Other Related Undertakings Team) :) But after a few weeks, members suddenly disappeared. Now we're down to three: Leo, Herzon and Me. :) I hope they return. ;)

Sometimes, when we get bored, we run from Quirino Grandstand to CCP and back. One time, we took the Intramuros route. Running in Manila makes us think that there really are a lot of good places to see here. :)

Running is the new badminton now here in the Philippines. But of course, it's much cheaper than badminton because all you need are a pair of shoes and socks and a long paved road. That is why it's a big hit nowadays. You get to see a lot of advertisements of races from QMC, to the Fort, to MOA! Well at least it makes Filipinos think more about their wellness.

Running had a few benefits on my health. My blood pressure went down to normals levels, my heart rates went down to 70+ bpm, my stamina improved tremendously, and I lost some weight. During my last race, Takbo para sa PGH, my official time for the 5K race was 33:46. I wrote about my Milo Marathon last year and during that time, I was at the 49-minute level. Astig! :)

But of course I have my limitations. My knees are hurting already when I go too fast, or when I go too far. This was because of the injury I had some three years ago from basketball. So my dreams of a 43-kilometer race is far from coming true. At least I am near my 10k goal. :)

Team Phurorut: Front: Me, Ryse, Rachele, RR, Quennie; Standing: Maxi, Marivic, Herzon, Joan, Grace, Rhea, Steve

Team Phurorut with Coach Leo Tan. :)

Thanks to Philam Foundation, we KaAkbay Volunteers were able to sweat it out at PGH's benefit run. Thanks for the Picture, Mima!

I'll just keep on running for fitness. For long life. Team Phurorut, takbo tayo ulit! :)

Cheers!