EXCHANGING NOTES

I am no extra ordinary runner. I don’t think that my finish in the TBR Dream Marathon makes me any different or better than anyone. Not at all. I am just like other runners or marathoners who love running. I also don’t claim any expertise in training. I have no authority, not a bit to talk about, much more, give advise on how to train for a marathon. I am nothing of that sort. Not even close to that. This entry does not in anyway intend to give an advise. This is for a few friends who were asking about my training for the TBR Dream Marathon.

I am not saying that what I did was the best. Maybe some of the things I did was wrong. At the very least, I just hope to offer something to go on; a basis for further inquiry on whether this is how it should have been done or not and help. The only thing I’m sure was right was the training program given by Coach Jim Lafferty who’s had a vast experience in running marathons and training countless marathoners. I wasn't sure if the modifications I did to his program was right, I just took the risk. Maybe I had a better finish if I did not.

Again, this is just a statement of fact in response to questions from some friends. This is not an advise. If you discovered that some of the things I did were wrong, I’d appreciate a feedback. I'd also love to hear about your training.

When I joined the Condura Marathon, I did not follow any training program except maintaining my 3x a week run composed of speed work (faster than my race pace), race pace and long run. But as to how fast was fast or how many rounds I should do fartlek, I did not know. I also did not know how long should my long run be at what week, etc. I checked some websites and tried to follow some prescribed programs but they were many. So I just made sense out of a hodge podge of information from all over. That was it.

I asked other marathoners and each one gave me different programs. What I did was pick up the most common, like getting the average in statistics, which was the importance of long runs. It was still confusing. Some said I should do 32K two weeks before while others said I should taper that time. I just tried to analyze which one would work for me and because I was a first time marathoner, it was like a blind leading another.

Come marathon day, I finished. I was happy but I suffered from injuries. I dragged myself to the finish line and could hardly move after the race. So the TBR Dream Marathon was really a blessing. When I saw the kind of support being offered to the participants I even hesitated joining Condura so I could qualify as a first time marathoner when it was still exclusively for first timers. I was excited that there would be consistent and expert support, a detailed program and a series of discussions, things I was groping for when I planned to run my first marathon.

When TBR opened it for second timers, I rushed to register. I religiously followed the 16-week training program given by Coach Jim. I added 10-15 minutes to the prescribed weekly runs and 15-20 minutes to the long runs. I also inserted fartlek to one of the weekly runs. The reason for the modification was to push myself harder, nothing scientific, whatever. Maybe it was because of the desire to redeem myself from the not so good marathon experience.

Here was my typical training week like:

Monday: Rest day. In the morning, after light breakfast I do a routine at home: stretching, core strengthening exercises, planks, push ups, stretching, light weight.

Tuesday: Fartlek/ interval run. I go to a track and field oval and try to finish the 400m under 1 minute and then easy recovery run around the 400m oval under 3 minutes. I increased the number of rounds weeks closer to marathon day. From the minimum of five to maximum of twelve. There were days when I planned to do 7 or 8 but did less because of tiredness, etc. Some I did in the morning, others were in the evening after office.

Wednesday: Core strengthening routine. Swimming at least 45 minutes.

Thursday: Race pace. Morning/ evening. I run as fast and as comfortable as I could. It’s really my comfortable pace and then I push beyond my threshold every time until the faster pace becomes comfortable, and so on and so forth. When the program said I should run at least 45 minutes, I’d do an hour. It’s always plus 10-15 minutes. Six weeks before the marathon, I increased my minimum to 12K.

Friday: Core strengthening routine. Swimming at least 45 minutes.

Saturday: Short and easy run or swim. I don’t push myself too hard on Saturdays because that’s my only time to oversleep and recover from the week’s tasks .Also because it’s a day before the races and long runs.

Sunday: Long runs. As Coach Jim said, this is the lifeblood of running a marathon so I tried not to miss this one. I could miss one of my weekday runs but not my long run. Since it was summer and there were weekends when I was out of town and could not do a long run, I’d do short runs in the beach or where I was and then did my long runs the soonest I got back to Manila.

Running 21K in races also became my long runs. If there’s none, I’d still try to hit at least 21K with Runnex people in UP Diliman.

When the training program said I should do 28K, I pushed it to 34K. I did that a month before and did 32K three weeks before.

I did something crazy 2 weeks before the marathon when I should be tapering. I ran with a friend who was training for the Singapore Sundown Marathon at 11pm until 4am in the morning. We were alone inside the UP Campus. We both wanted to do a simulation of the marathons we were joining. Since the TBR Dream Marathon’s gunstart was 2am, I thought it was good to get a feel of how my body would perform without sleep around that time. We had a lot of walks especially me because I knew I should be in taper mode. We were able to complete 26K in UP. Since my friend was trying to complete 32K three weeks before the Sundown, she joined me in TBR last Bull Session in High Street at 5am. From UP, we quickly went home and changed, had breakfast on our way to The Fort and ran without sleep.

I knew it was a risk but I think it helped me during the race.

Given the demands of my work and my other responsibilities at home, it was hard to squeeze in training. It meant waking up really, really early so I could get to the office the earliest possible during weekdays and save up energy to be able to spend quality time with family and friends on weekends. It also meant giving up late night activities that I enjoy doing like reading and watching DVDs so I could get enough sleep.

What helped me was that strong determination to run the marathon strong and fast. I wanted it so badly that I enjoyed the necessary sacrifices.

The discipline required to run a marathon was tough and the only thing that sustained me was my passion and respect for running.

I hope this helps.

THE ADVOCATE IS RUNNING THROUGH PAIN

I prepared for The Bullrunner Dream Marathon for almost four months. It was four months of letting go of late night activities that I enjoy doing like watching DVDs or reading a good book so I could get enough sleep. I avoided sweets and junk food to remain healthy and strong. It was four months of embracing the highest form of discipline that even if there were times that I did not feel like running I forced myself so I could complete the required mileage. I also had to let go of oversleeping, lace up and run early so I could go to the office the earliest possible. And even if I did not like swimming a lot, I did it regularly for my cross training. Somehow, I can say that a big part of my world in those four months revolved around training for the marathon. My only prayer then was that nothing happens to my family and loved ones because I’d gladly miss the race if ever. Only that could stop me. Nothing else.

And what would I do if after that long training, someone stopped me at Km 41 when I already had a glance of the finish line telling me that I could no longer go on because the pair of socks I was wearing was uneven or my cap was not black?

I’d probably shout at the top of my lungs stunned of the absurdity and argue or cry like there’s no tomorrow because of being helpless.

Even if none of that happened during the marathon, I had the same sense of frustration when the Freedom of Information bill was not ratified by the House of Representatives last 4 June 2010 because of lack of quorum. Before going to Congress that day, I ran 10K in UP Diliman even if I was only planning to do a 7K in Amoranto track and field oval. I decided to go to UP because I needed more space to breathe and more distance to run my angsts off about the news I got the night before that the House leadership tried to stop Congressmen from attending the June 4 session so there’d be no quorum.

I was crying at many points in my run. I was wrestling against hopelessness and hanging on. I chose to surrender to God’s sovereignty. I believe He’s alive. The righteous God sees all these. I had to accept the fact, no matter how bitter, that there are things beyond our control and all I could do was give my best so that there would be no what ifs in the end.

I embraced the advocacy as my own and gave everything I could to help that’s why it meant a lot to me. It was more than just a job. It has become fundamental to who I am and something that I can do without.

The ratification of the House is one of the last steps in passing the Freedom of Info legislation that has been pushed by several groups, mine included, for the past 12 years. This is the closest that we got to having it passed. If Congress ratified the bill that they already approved in May 2008, it would have been submitted to the Office of the President for signing into law, the last step that would have put an end to the hideous struggle of the Filipinos against bureaucracy’s culture and practice of secrecy.

Although Art. III, Sec. 7 of the Philippine Constitution assures us of our right to information and documents on matters of public concern, the government still capitalized on their power and discretion to withhold most documents. The implication of this non- disclosure has resulted in major national controversies such as the ZTE-NBN deal, Fertilizer scam, among others. For others, it meant their and their family’s lives. Farmers, for instance, were kept in the dark about the status of cases involving the lands they till in relation to the Agrarian Reform program of the government. The importance of this bill cannot be underscored. It’s the best tool to promote transparency and the best weapon of the people for more appropriate participation.

But this power sharing through the enactment of the FOI bill is something that this government could not bear. They dread the day when their shenanigans will be revealed and suffer the consequences of all that they did in the dark. The conspiracy last June 4 appeared to be the culmination of their grand plan to block the passage of the FOI bill and the continuous curtailment of the people’s right to know.

June 4 was the make or break or day. I, together with my colleagues in the Right to Know. Right Now! campaign went to Batasan and sat at the gallery. I was tensed. I had the same exact feeling when I was about to do my first marathon. But I chose to hope. It had to be a deliberate effort to see beyond the circumstances that tell us there is none. We needed to convince ourselves that a miracle was possible; that Congress, no matter how low they got as we’ve seen it, could probably give in to the people’s clamor expressed through a series of mobilizations or could possibly have even a bit of conscience in their hearts or slightest sense of shame after being condemned by the media.

But we were wrong. They were in their usual wicked attitude. They staged a drama, a bad drama with the lousiest script ever written. Obviously, Congress through Cong. Romulado tried to make Nograles look innocent and supportive of the ratification after consistent public condemnation, media editorials from both local and abroad. Nograles, according to Romualdo begged him, on his knees to withdraw the opposition filed by Romualdo against the ratification. He was babbling with non-sense about the quorum when in fact they could ratify the bill even without the quorum as they did in the past. Worse, there should have been a quorum because some were present inside the plenary hall but were noted absent.

The 12 years of hard work, sleepless nights, restless days, sweat and tears, thoughts and reflections, dreams and aspirations were swept away by the simple banging of the gavel declaring a non- quorum in the house. That was it. Reality slapped me.

I went out of the session hall together with the other advocates, shocked and crying. I wailed like an infant because of so much pain.

Until now I’m at a loss for words to describe how devastating it was for me. I still groan. I’ve been in a state of depression for the past days. I tried to cope by running almost a half marathon last Sunday even if it was raining just to release my indignation, otherwise, it will consume me and lead me to either apathy or insanity.

The advocate is injured. It felt like the cramps at Km30 in the TBR Dream Marathon or my scolisis at Km 35 in the Condura Marathon or the acid reflux and knee injury during my recent Nature Valley run. But my record tells me I was able to finish those races despite the injuries. I should go on because running taught me that pain is part of the package, I just have to be wise and strong to overcome it because it’s not constant.

I’m running through pain now, trying to cope with grief over the kind of legislature and government that we have and with so much anger against those who continue to make a fool of the entire nation, greedy of power and money at the expense of other people’s lives and welfare. The fight continues. I will not dignify evil by any sense of hopelessness.

I just tell myself the course is longer than I thought and that sight of the finish line is just one of the major turns so I should not stop. Not now.

I realized I registered for an ultra marathon and not a just a 42K. I am so decided to finish it. There's no turning back. See you at the finish line!