My 5 Marathon Training Checklist

When someone gets to know that I am a full marathoner, they automatically give an impression of amazement. I hear comments like “Wow, ang galing mo naman!”, “Di nga ako makatakbo ng isang kilometro, eh.”, “Puro takbo yan, pwede bang maglakad?”,”Hindi ko yan kaya.”,  and so on.

These comments make me ask myself “Paano ko nga ba yun nagagawa?”. It also amazes and surprises me that I am actually great. Well, I do not really know how. Maybe it is my gift.

So here I list down the things that I do to prepare for a marathon. Maybe this will  help you as well in your marathon training. Just be reminded that I am no professional coach and these are based on my experiences and my body type and ability.

(1)  Eye for a Race. Anticipate race schedules in the country like Milo Marathon Manila Eliminations which is usually during the last weekend of July. This gives me time to prepare for it and ensure that I will successfully register.

(2) Plot a Training Plan in Your Calendar. Like any planning of your schedules, this will give you time to arrange and prioritize things. Training period will take months and it is unavoidable that you need to engage your time for your school, work, friends and family. Planning your training will ensure that you meet your mileage requirements for the week without sacrificing your social life.

(3) The Physical Training Itself. There is that ideal training for marathoners. But this may be altered depending on your level as a runner (beginner or experienced) and the time you can commit to training. As for me, I have very limited time for training so I only stick with these basics – run scheduling and progressive mileage.

(a)  Stick with the Schedule. Basic schedules are weekday maintenance run and weekend long run. Weekday Maintenance Run is running in shorter distance and time. This should ideally be done 2-3 times alternate days in a week. This enables the body to remember about the physical potential effects of running. While Weekend Long Run is running longer in distance and time. These depend on how far you are from the race day (if it is months or just weeks). This is the core of the training that is for endurance, so this one should not be missed. In summary, it is important to have regular runs weekly than no training at all. Also remember that a run is a run. I believe that it cannot be compensated with other exercises, when it comes to preparation for a marathon.

(b)  Progressive Mileage. This describes more of the weekend long runs. Months away from the race I start with shorter distance and time, usually 8-10km. And then gradually increase by 2-3km every week until it reached 32-34km, three weeks before the race. After which is the tapering period, where I run shorter distance in reverse progressive until the race day.

(4)  Meal Plan. I do not have a very strict diet per se, and also not slimming down. What I eat up are those necessary for my workout. Again basics!

(a)  I eat at least 2 hours before a workout. Give your body something to burn or you’ll burnout and faint.

(b) For main meal, I focus more on eating protein like soya, eggs, fish chicken and beef, because I need more muscles. I eat less of rice, pork, oily, too sweet and salty foods. For snacks are camote, banana, fruits, veggies, and fiber-rich foods like oatmeal and whole wheat bread. And of course, pasta my favorite during carbo-loading days. I believe these foods enhanced my nutrition level. But like any human, I also have my cheat days.

(c)   At least, a day before the race it is a must to carbo-load to have sufficient energy. You will be losing at least 3,000 calories in a full marathon. I eat as much of complex carbohydrates 10-12 hours before the race and light meals every 3 hours thereafter. The same goes with hydration. I drink as much water with electrolyte. But do not over-hydrate. Everything that is in excess is bad.

(d)  Lastly, take care of your immune system. I take food supplements to boost my immune system. You will not like sickness to ruin everything. It is always better to take precautions.

(5) Look for Running Buddies. A full marathon is no joke. Running buddies will make your race more successful as you have a company during training and actual race. These people will be your support group as you share the same goal in running. So every time you think about quitting, you may feel ashamed of yourself when your friends are waiting for you at 3 AM on a Sunday LSD morning, and re-assess your life choices.

With all these things in mind, there is one thing that should be not be absent – always love and enjoy running unconditionally. Without it, there is no chance you will get up in an unholy hour to practice. This is what makes the discipline special. Running is more of a mental game. If you think you cannot do it, then most likely you can never really do it.

Experience Eleanor and Park

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Release: February 2013

In my age now, I am falling for young adult novels, because probably young life is not too complicated as adult relationships. When you love, it’s simply because you love your person. Not because of the standards the world has set for you.

Who would not want love and youth? It is one great feeling and experience you will never forget. This is what this story will take you to, back into those times when love is young and pure.

“I want everyone to meet you. You're my favorite person of all time.” - Park

Park Sheridan is Korean-American young man who is lucky to have happy and cool parents. He tries to fit in where everybody else his age is in (peer pressure), but he remained faithful to his values.

He met red-haired Eleanor Douglas in their school bus. She is weird in the eyes of the world’s so-called normal kids. But Park find her interesting, for unexplained reason.

What are the chances you’d ever meet someone like that? he wondered. Someone you could love forever, someone who would forever love you back? And what did you do when that person was born half a world away? The math seemed impossible.” 
- Park

The two exchanged non-verbal messages in the beginning, with Park provided Eleanor comics and music. No words spoken. The romance between them grows as they exchange breaths that later become words.

But as any young romance would be, there are struggles in the family and in school. The book also notes on teenage drama – broken family, abusive step-dad, poverty, bullying, peer pressure, etc.

“I don't like you, Park," she said, sounding for a second like she actually meant it. "I..." - her voice nearly disappeared - "think I live for you."
He closed his eyes and pressed his head back into his pillow.
"I don't think I even breathe when we're not together," she whispered. "Which means, when I see you on Monday morning, it's been like sixty hours since I've taken a breath. That's probably why I'm so crabby, and why I snap at you. All I do when we're apart is think about you, and all I do when we're together is panic. Because every second feels so important. And because I'm so out of control, I can't help myself. I'm not even mine anymore, I'm yours, and what if you decide that you don't want me? How could you want me like I want you?"
He was quiet. He wanted everything she'd just said to be the last thing he heard. He wanted to fall asleep with 'I want you' in his ears.” 
- Eleanor

Despite all these dramas, the cuteness and authenticity of these two characters shines outstandingly.

Eleanor and Park will remind of your firsts – blushing, palpitations, skin interactions, eye-to-eye contact, breath exchanges, sleepless nights, holding hands and kissing with the one you love.

Wrapping up, entertainment-wise this book is engaging. It will make you smile for some lines and will make you “aaawww”. The story is simple, effortless and so wholesome. I’m not sure if I’ll watch a movie adaptation with Kathniel as lead stars. If you look for a story that will chill you up, then sit with this one and sip your tea or coffee.

Time is Really Gold

I come across the value of time, whenever I got stuck in traffic and I have things to do ahead that got congested along with the cars in the street. Though, I am still guilty of wasting some of it during the times of emotional traffic.

Relatively, I recalled the movie “In Time” starring lead actor Justin Timberlake. The story is about a futuristic setting where time is money. People work then earns time as their salary. If one runs out of time, he’ll be dead.

Preparing for a marathon ideally requires 4-6 months of consistent training. This is something your body cannot cheat on. Cramming doesn't work here. Whenever you missed a training day, it is as if you revert back to the progress of the training. It’s like a right minus wrong quiz. The body will suffer. Time for training determines the success of your race.

Same applies to the concept of investment. Investor gurus believe in the principle that says “The best time to invest was yesterday and the second best is today.” This is well illustrated in the stock market. But let’s make it simple like in buying commodities. Observe that prices shoot up as time passes, because of inflation or the increase in price of goods and services and lowers the value of money. So when investing, it is best to put in your money when prices are low. This time is usually a week, a month, or a year ago.

We just do not realize, but time is actually money in real sense. It is something certainly more expensive, because you cannot twist it in your favor. We are equally given 24 hours a day, and you cannot loan time for you to have more in a day. Once it has passed, you cannot turn it back. It is also something that you cannot save in a bank or invest in an instrument that earns interest.

Time is usually taken for granted. We act like we have a lot, yet we complain that we do not have it. So use it wisely, because time really gold.

Defying Mt Ugo

Mountain Profile (pinoymountaineer.com)

MT. UGO Traverse (2,150+)

Nueva Vizcaya and Benguet

Jump-off points: Kayapa, N. Vizcaya; Brgy. Tinongdan, Itogon, Benguet

LLA: 16.31916°N, 120.80166°E, 2130 MASL

Days required / hours to summit: 2-3 days, 9-10 hrs

Specs: Major climb, Difficulty 5/9, Trail Class 1-3

Features: Pine forests, highland villages, views of Cordillera peaks

“Akala ko ba, hindi ka na umaakyat ng bundok?!”, my family and friends asked me when they learned about me climbing again. I don’t know why my friend invited me and why I said yes automatically. Well undeniably, I am in love with the high altitude. Just imagining touching and walking through the clouds literally is one of the most amazing feeling I ever had. And it is a pleasure to be given this chance again.

Registration at Kapaya Police Station

We started our trek at Kapaya, N. Vizcaya. The first half of the trail is a sweet assault. Sweet, because it will be few steps of some 45degrees incline and will be flat for a few steps and then inclined again. The trail is generally open, with few trees, grass, and bushes on the side. The ground is soil with few rocks. It can be slippery when it will rain, and speaking of the weather, rain showers occasionally throughout the day.

Day1 - 1^st half of the trail

After almost 4 hours, we stopped at Indupit Village to have our lunch. Here there is a community and you may buy Gatorade or Soda to refill your stock.

The next part of the trek is a bonus round. The ground is flat and you will see beautiful scenery of the near-by mountains. Though this day is foggy, and one must be patient to wait for the beauty to show up.

Day1 – 2nd half of the trail

One good thing about this hike is we do not need to carry tents. We stayed for a night in an elementary school in Domolpos Village. It is very convenient as there is a water source and a bathroom. We donated school supplies for this overnight stay.

Early on the next day is another challenge. The weather become colder as we ascent to the peak. There is nothing much about the peak but a signage that this is the Mt Ugo Peak. It said that this peak is where a plane crash happened in 1987 that killed 50 people.

Mt Ugo Peak at 2,150 MASL

The beauty of Mt Ugo is in its trail. Truly after the peak is where the feeling of being in a different place is experienced. Beautiful pine trees are everywhere in a sweet cold temperature.

But this descent took another 10 hours (very relaxed pace) to conquer and it consist of mud slides which is one dangerous but fun part of being a mountaineer. Just have to pay a lot of extra care in climbing a mountain. And most of all is to respect it by all means because you’ll never know what to face in the actual trek. The mountain can be either be your best friend or your worst nightmare.

Photo credits: Ralph, Nino, Joel, and Paolo