STOP THE PRESS. Just got to read today the official results
of the 2014 Yakult 10-Miler Run held last March 23.
Of particular interest was the 5K race
results and what I saw certainly made my day. It is now official. The Bicolano
Penguin got a new Personal Best (PB) for
the 5K distance. The BP clocked 31 mins
& 58 secs, besting by a full 2 minutes my previous best in a 5K race set 2
years ago.
Even a better news for me is the
fact that my son Marcel also raked in a PB in the 5K. He finished ahead of his old man with a time
of 31 mins & 54 secs. His previous
best was at 35 mins set in a 5k fun run at the Ateneo in 2012. Not bad for a 15-year old who has not been
running regularly (which is about to change as I would be dragging his ass for
some more fun runs this summertime).
Running felt good that Sunday of
March 23 in the year of Our Lord 2014 .
 |
| Marcel excited for the start |
 |
| father & son selfie |
 |
| With Skycable’s Al Go |
 |
| My son looking cool at the starting line |
 |
| Marcel focused at the homestretch (Photo courtesy of Red Knight) |
 |
| Jubilant... |
 |
| ...at the finish line. |
What are the factors to this
newfound “speed” (we use this word in relative terms) and “joy” by the
penguin? Let us count the ways:
Could it be that the myotherapy
and chiropractic treatment I have been
getting from Intercare (http://www.intercare-centers.com/) are taking its positive effect on my overall
wellness? More on this on another blog
entry.
Could it be the soft surface of
the Roxas Boulevard which just got a fresh asphalt makeover? Trent Jonas of www.livestrong.com points to Asphalt is one of the fastest
surfaces on which one can run. Although
it puts some strain on your body, asphalt is significantly more forgiving than
concrete as shown in 1992 study published in "Human Movement and
Science."
Could it be that the 5-km route in Yakult was short by a couple hundred meters? It felt that way for me when reaching the halfway u-turn I glanced at my Timex to see the time 14 mins. We were in sub-30 pace at that point. Reviewing also the comments at one (http://www.pinoyfitness.com) of the popular running hubs in the local internet scene seem to confirm my suspicion.
 |
Could it be that running after a young colt like my
son made the penguin more spry? Osmosis in running? No formal studies yet by a distinguished
research institution on this. But my own empirical evidences point to the
feeling that I run faster when I try to match the pace and stride of another
runner. Better that the runner is
younger. And of course, the extra joy of
being able to bond thru running with a
loved one is a force to be reckoned with
on its own.
Whatever the reasons for the fast
time, there is no doubt in my mind that we will be running again the
Yakult fun run next year. It is an institution already in the Philippine running community what
with its existence of 25 years and counting. Given that its long-time race
director Rudy Biscocho is old school, the Yakult event is defined by its no
nonsense approach. To quote one of my
running heroes
(http://runningshield.blogspot.com/)- “No more frills and not much
hoopla which is perfectly fine by me because I feel that’s what gives Yakult
that old fashion dependable character.”
Congratulations to Yakult, the
race director and his team. Congratulations to Marcel.
Congratulations to all of us.
We will be back. 
 |
| Photo courtesy of Red Knight |
2 comments:
Congrats Marcel! Congrats BP! No doubt this BP jr will also be an ultra runner someday. Cheers!
Thank you Ernie. Magtapos muna ng pag-aaral bago mag Ultra, hahahaha...........Seriously, the youth of today are very fortunate to be in the midst of a running boom. More fun runs. More choices. In our high school years, there was practically none.
Post a Comment