My Memorable March Madness

March Mileage Mission Accomplished

I had my last Easy Run of the month yesterday and in doing so fulfilled my month target mileage. I ran a total of 240 Kilometers this March. Cheers!

240Km for March 2012

The 3 consecutive runs on weekdays plus one long run on weekends were sufficient for my 225+ Km March mileage goal. I trimmed down to 156 pounds from 162 last mid January. Something is working and I've got to keep on pounding the road to keep the weight down.

Weekly Mileage Graph

Speed wise, I have no real data to assess where I am at right now. I've been only running Easy and Long runs at pretty comfortable paces. No speed challenge. No Tempos. No Intervals. No Yassos.

Will it change next month? Any races to join?

Most probably none. I want to keep on training for endurance and to continue to build my mileage base before I decide to start with a marathon race training schedule. Weight also plays a key factor in this decision. I am still focusing on losing some more extra pounds before I start training competitively. I would like to go as low as 150-152 this April, 147 by May and then start my speed training by June.

Yes, it is taking too slow for my liking. It is definitely on the borders of being basically boring type of running and training for 3 months now. Yet I have something to achieve that must be accomplished. I want to dedicate myself in that goal and discipline my heart and my head into that single purpose and let my feet run into that one single direction. Once I get that goal in the bag, I will be more than happy to get back to race training mode.

Launching the Pandesal Marathon

Meanwhile, I will attempt to run the marathon distance on my Sunday Long Runs. I have gotten used to running 31-35Km on Sundays. I think that I can slowly increase this and be able to run up to 43Km before April ends. See this Pandesal Runner Marathon Route.

35, 37, 39, 41 and then 43Km. This will be the series of long runs I will be running on consecutive Sundays starting April 1. On weekdays, I will continue to run on Tuesdays (10K), Wednesdays (6k) and Thursdays (10K). Tuesday runs actually depends on how fatigued I feel on that day after the Sunday long run. In the event that I feel my body needs to rest on a Tuesday, Wednesday run automatically becomes 10K.

I still don't know if I can join the Manila Eliminations of the 36th Milo Marathon as it somehow overlaps with the expected delivery of our very first baby. At least if I miss the Milo marathon, I have my own provincial marathon to keep busy with. 

Bonus Part I
It's A Boy!

Hon had just undergone her second Ultrasound test and the sonographer told her emphatically that our first baby is a boy. Ever playfully teasing me, as I was not able to join her for this ultrasound, she won't tell me the results until I got home from Makati office to our house in Cavite. That was one-and-a-half hour of excitement - (I was just riding on her secrecy play as our Ninang Sally just texted me that it was a boy a few seconds before my wife told me that the Ultrasound test is over) until I reached home.

Our prayers were answered - not only was it a boy but the baby is as healthy as he can be, the boy has been measured and dated to be 24 weeks and 1 day old (on the 24th week and 3rd day after our wedding! I still believe it's a honeymoon baby which was last October 9, a day after the wedding).

Bonus Part II
Paalam Sa Aking Balbas

I let my beard grew for about 5 months (mid October to mid March) and I did appear to be some mountain hermit for a while. My church pastor often joked about it when we see each other at church every Lord's day. My wife often complained and would not let me kiss her because the beard irritates her cheek. My mother scolds me for it. My sister, brother and sister-in-law make fun of it. It was an eye-sore to them.

Last week I had it cut. "Finally", they mused, "Thankfully you realized the beard only makes you ugly!"

Yet it was just a solemn vow to keep a commandment (Leviticus 19:27) while I try to complete reading the full Old Testament of the Christian Bible (39 books of the Protestant Canon). Indeed it is gladness and peace deep within to obey the Lord but it always isn't acceptable, normal and peaceful on the eyes of the world. (And the New Testament also does not require Christians to fully obey the Law of the Old Testament so I do understand the complains of my family and the difficulties I face in trying to explain why I don't shave for months!) After all, I think I was able to feel and imagine what it was like in Israel with men growing their beards as a sign of obedience and love of God as I read through the Bible.

March Peak

I have conquered my peak distance for the month of March -- 35Km long run, 61Km week mileage.


But it was not a very good run in terms of strength and speed, it was my slowest long distance run of the year at 6:47 minutes/km pace.


It was, however, still my longest long run in 2012 so far. It took me almost 4 hours (3:56 hours to be exact) to complete. It was very difficult, but very rewarding at the same time. I won't blame myself so much for the slow speed in this blog, I just want to bask in my thoughts that despite the weight problems -- I was still able to log my farthest out-and-back-home run of the year!


Muhammad Ali once stated that champions are both made of skills in terms of talent (float like a butterfly and sting like a bee) and will (the tenacity and determination to win despite the struggles and difficulties). He also said that one's skill of the will must be greater than that of the skill of talents.


Running the last 2 or 3 kilometers of the 35K run, I no longer had the stamina, much less the talent, to keep on running strong and fast. My body screams for rest and walk and water! But at least I had the will of strength to just keep on running and finish what I've started. I may not be a tenth as great as Ali, but I think I understood at least a tenth of what he is talking about.

The prophet Isaiah also wrote.. Those who wait and trust in the Lord will renew their strength.. They will run and not be weary! Despite the spaghetti-tired legs and the camel-thirsty throat, there is always peace, faith, hope and assurance that our strength will not run out as the Lord empowers those who trust and call upon His name. I do sound like a minister, don't I? I guess I just want to really take care of my body and my health for my wife, my future kids and for the glory of my King -- to have an able body equipped to last a longer distance for a meaningful and abundant purpose.