Running in Silence

I always listen to music when I run. Loud rock music (interspersed with some pop and classical favorites) has become an indispensable part of every run for me; without it, I feel that running won't nearly be as enjoyable.

And so I've become a fan of the Nike+iPod system, which lets me listen to music while recording my running distance, pace, time and calories expended. I've tried several combinations of this system: a 3rd gen iPod Nano with a shoe sensor, an iPhone 3GS with the shoe sensor, and most recently, a stand-alone 6th gen iPod Nano (no sensor needed!). Needless to say, all my running shoes are Nike+.

I especially love this latest iPod Nano because it's small and it's touchscreen. It can easily be clipped to your race singlet. It can also be used as a watch. It measures running distances AND walking steps. In other words, it's also a pedometer. Maybe I'm just a shallow person, but every morning, it gives me a kick to see that I've walked 1,300 steps from my kids' school to our house and saved PhP18.00 on tricycle fare at the same time. I just love knowing my numbers.

On the downside, this iPod Nano is not very accurate in measuring distances. It typically exaggerates how far you've run. But this is a shortcoming that I can live with, since I usually already know the distance I'm running in a race or around a familiar oval. And I have such a consistent (i.e., slow) pace that I can approximate the distance I've run once I know my time. If I really need to measure a running distance with some accuracy, I depend on my Suunto watch with its accompanying shoe pod.

I'd really put the Nano to good use lately. It's my companion on runs, walks, bus/FX rides, and even while exercising on the elliptical. What can I say, I love my music.

Then the unexpected happened. Though my Nano is barely three months old, it suddenly died out on me. And in the middle of a race too! It conked out, without any warning, during my 15k Tiktakbo race. I panicked for a while, thinking it'd be very hard for me to complete a race without my music! Running in silence, that's unheard of, that's so not my style!

I desperately tried to restart the iPod. I pushed the Start button several times, but nothing happened. Then I tried pressing and holding two buttons down simultaneously (this is usually how you reboot Apple devices). For a brief moment, the screen display came back on, but faintly, with ghostly outlines. Then it flickered out again. Permanently.

All this happened during a race, so I was pressing on the buttons while running. I must have looked like a crazy runner angrily muttering to herself while tinkering with something on her hands. After about a kilometer of this futile exercise, I finally gave up and stashed my useless iPod inside my belt pouch.

Fortunately, I managed to finish the race without my music, and in relatively good shape. I must have run 12 km (out of the total 15) without U2, Iron Maiden, Led Zep, Aerosmith, AC-DC, Black-eyed Peas, Maria Callas and Sarah Brightman blasting down my eardrums. I listened to my breathing instead, and kept close attention to my form. The funny thing is, I believe this helped improve my run. It forced me to become more attuned to my body. I was able to correct myself when needed, to stand taller, to keep my core activated (tummy tucked in and breathing from the diaphragm), and to consciously direct my right leg to compensate when I felt a cramp starting on my problematic left shin.

I also never stopped to walk, except for a few seconds while I gulped down water from the hydration stations. As far as I can remember, I always walked a bit during long runs and races. But not on this Tiktakbo race.

When I finished, I got an unexpected reward: a medal that only the first 100 finishers were given. This is perhaps my third Tiktakbo run, but it's the first in which I finished among the top 100. Woo-hoo! :-)

Later, I learned that I finished in 41st place. Not bad for this slow, old girl.

I've been running for several years now, and it's nice to discover new twists to this beloved hobby. Running music-less, in silence, isn't so bad after all.

QCIM3: My Third 21k

Since it first started, the Quezon City International Marathon (QCIM) has been a special, highly anticipated race for me. For one thing, it's done in Quezon City where I live, not in far off Fort Bonifacio where most of the major races are held. For another, the QCIM is a rare occasion during which half of the lengthy and busy Commonwealth Ave is emptied of vehicular traffic and transformed into a spacious playground for runners. It is a runner's dream to race along the long stretch of this infamous, accident-prone highway sans the noise, fumes and very real danger of cars running you over. And while the route is scenic, it isn't without a few challenges. It slopes uphill, especially along the Tandang Sora flyover and going towards Fairview.

Another great thing going for the QCIM is that it is always well planned and organized. A runner can't really ask for more. There are more than adequate water stations, kilometer markers and road directions, helpful marshals, and -- wait a minute--no medical aid stations this time? I don't recall seeing Red Cross volunteers or medical personnel in this year's race, though thankfully, I didn't have any need for their help. But maybe they were around and I just didn't see them.

For the QCIM3, some of the hydration stations even offered bananas and Gatorade drinks, which I really appreciated. When you don't have enough energy gels with you during a long run, those can truly help.

I woke up at 3:00 am on race day. With my brain still groggy with sleep, I wondered why I was subjecting myself to all these troubles instead of just going back to the warm comfort of my bed (and on such a cold December morning). I hurriedly had coffee, a few bites of lasagna and pastry, and hoped they would be enough to sustain me through the run. I had but one Gu energy gel (I calculated I needed at least three) and a Snickers bar as baon.

I was thankful my right leg was feeling alright and probably 90% recovered from a shin splint that had been bothering me earlier. But just to be sure, I wore a leg brace/compression thingy (I don't know the right term for it). This later proved to be a very prudent decision.

Before starting the race, I was resigned to the fact that I might need to walk during the latter part. I was under-trained because of my leg injury, and I was feeling far from confident. I told myself I'd just try to enjoy myself during the run as much as I can, and see how it goes. If I felt tired or had my usual leg cramps, I'd simply walk. I'm not running the full 42k marathon anyway, so I was not worried about the curfew time. Even if I walked half of the race, I would finish well before the allotted closing time of 11:00 am.

As it happened, the gods of running smiled upon me during this race, and I didn't experience any leg cramps. Without fail, I'd have cramps during any run that's longer than 12 or 13 kilometers--but for some reason, I didn't during this race. Wow! I was very pleasantly surprised. Later, I tried to analyze how this happened, and I concluded that it's perhaps the leg compression stocking that saved me. That's the one thing I did in this race differently from previous races. Maybe the Gu gel which I took close to Km 5 also had something to do with it. In previous races, I contented myself mostly with just Gatorade and water as fuel. I now realize that energy gels provide extra sustenance. (Duh!)

My finish time was nothing to brag about; in fact it was longer than my first two 21k races. But I was more than happy. No leg cramps, no walking (except while hydrating and munching on bananas), no problems at all! It was an easy breezy run, made enjoyable by the wonderful route, the efficient work of the organizers, and the December weather that's ideal for running. There was even a nice little drizzle as I approached the finish line.

There was a post-race raffle with a most enticing prize: a condo unit. I felt obligated to stay around and wait for the raffle draw, because you never knew who might win. If your race number was drawn and you're not around, you'd be deemed ineligible for the prize. And so I made tambay at City Hall until 11:30 am. I stayed there for a longer time than I spent running during the actual race. Good thing I had my earbuds and iPhone with me, so I didn't get too bored. Okay, maybe I was bored and dozed off a bit. (I woke up at 3 am, didn't I?) I tried to fill the down time reading up on trivia on my iPhone. (Did you know that the circular bits of paper you get after using a puncher have a name? They're called chads.)

By the way, medals were given to finishers of the the 21k and 42k categories. There was supposedly a loot bag too, but I only got an empty SDMC bag. Anyway, that's no biggie. Finishing the race injury-free was enough for me. It was another wonderful QCIM.

My view along Commonwealth, going to Philcoa and the finish line. Wide, car-free roads are a truly a runner's dream come true!

The rectangular medal and my bib.

At the finish line.

All Set for a 21k?

How I wish I could put an exclamation point at the end of that title. But as things stand, my readiness for a 21k race is a giant question mark right now. My last run was 20 days ago. Since then, I stopped training because of a leg injury, although I tried to stay active by playing badminton once or twice a week. I resumed running just this morning with a leisurely 10k on the treadmill. Race day is roughly 13 days from now, I am woefully undertrained, and I don't feel confident at all that I can pull off a 21k. Why, oh why, didn't I just sign up for a 10k??? Or even a 5k?

Well, I know the answer to that one. I love challenges, even if they kill me (literally). My bravado and bahala-na-si-Batman attitude often gets me in trouble, but I admit the payoff can also be very gratifying. I loooove the feeling of getting away with something, of finishing a race despite being ill-prepared. Of course, with the gratification also come a slow finish time, painful cramps, sore muscles, and a limp for days post-race. I have read somewhere that runners are secretly masochists, and I have I feeling that's exactly true in my case. (Even my running playlist reflects this--John Cougar Mellencamp's "Hurts So Good" on my iPod pumps me up on every run.)

The 21k race I registered for is the Quezon City International Marathon (QCIM). It's a yearly event that I look forward to, primarily because of its accessibility. Most races are held in Fort Bonifacio, which is too far from where I live. QCIM starts at the Quezon City Hall, and goes through the long stretch of Commonwealth Avenue, into the Eco-Park at La Mesa Dam. It's a runner's dream to have one whole side of Commonwealth Ave. (equivalent to maybe 6 lanes) cleared of all vehicular traffic on race day and devoted exclusively to runners. Apart from this, the QCIM is usually very well managed, with plenty of water stations (this is a must!), adequate kilometer markers, and efficient race marshals.

The race kit includes a shirt, not a singlet this time. I think that's nice for a change. I would have appreciated though if they have the shirt in smaller sizes. I got the small size, but it's still a teeny bit big for me, maybe equivalent to medium or large for other shirts.

The race also includes a Strider Tag as a timing device. It's my first time to see a timing chip that's as thin as a strip of paper. Last year's timing device for the QCIM was a circular plastic thingy roughly the size of an old one-peso coin.

This will be my third 21k race. Incidently, it's also the third year of QCIM. I don't expect a faster finish time or new PR. I just hope to finish, even if that means I have to walk and crawl part of the way :-)