Yesterday at the Gatorade Run 2015 Manila, I was running with two roses both named Roselle and I was the lucky thorn.
Lucky indeed is the term. A surprising turn of event as I was facing the prospect of running the Gatorade Run without a running companion(s) as fellow Bicolano blogger Wandering Jouster, row5runners, and First Balfour runners were not registered in the 22km race.
But last Friday, I texted fellow blogger Roselle (Running Diva) and here is our text exchange:
Bicolano Penguin (BP): Good morning. Are you running in Gatorade? Looking for a pacer.
Running Diva (RD): Yep running 22kms but on petiks mode.
BP: What is petiks mode?
RD: Chill run lang. No time target just run.
BP: Puwede ako pasabay sa petiks mode?
RD: Sure.
With that, I felt good knowing going into the weekend that I will have a running companion. The Running Diva is one of the running bloggers that I admire. First encountered her in November 2010 when I joined my first ultra marathon, the Tagaytay to Nasugbu (T2N) 50km ultra. At the midpoint , while I was struggling like a pitiful straggler, she became like my guardian angel and guided me thru the difficult part of the T2N. She helped me finished the T2N within the cut off time set by the very strict running director, the legendary Bald Runner. Since then, I have enjoyed reading her blog articles, characterized by the sincerity in her written words as she is really a well-experienced runner, having tackled some of the more illustrious running events in the country like the Corregidor International Marathon and the Bataan Death March ultra. Most recently, she won the gold medal in her age category for the 1,500-meter run at the 2015 Philippine Masters Athletics Championships.
Come Sunday (Nov 22) morning, I woke up early at 2:00 am and was at the Mall of Asia parking area an hour later. There, I was happy to see a lovely lady wearing a row5runnin shirt. She is Mina who came from Naga City to join her niece in the 11 km Gatorade Run. Had a chat with her and had time to have photos. But soon I had to go to the starting line for the 4am start of the 22 kms race.
She is Roselle of Cebu and as we ran the first couple of kilometers, I got to recall the first time I saw her. It was at the Lipa to Dolores - Speed 52 Ultra Marathon last July. While Roselle was the female champion of that ultra, I DNF in that race. Also, she was the lone female finisher of the grueling 2nd Bicol to Quezon 120Km Ultra Marathon last October. This lady is a certified ultra "mamaw" and the Gatorade Run was her last easy run before she flies to Cebu for a 160-km ultra marathon next week. Also, only a weekend ago, Roselle was the first female finisher in the Philippine Marine Corps Marathon (42 kms) .
Man, I was in the company of some accomplished and strong lady runners. Me thinks I was over my penguin head. And this was very much evident as I looked at my Timex, we ran the first 2 kilometers in less than 13 minutes. Then the first 3 kilometers in less than 19 minutes. This was uncharted fast territory for me. I asked myself - what happened to the petiks mode?
Perhaps sensing my apprehension, Roselle of Cebu kidded me that one thing I should know is that when a lady ultra runner says petiks mode what she really means is it will be hataw mode. Kind of like when elite runners say they are injured, it is just to lure the competition to complacency.
Welcome indeed for me to an education on running from the two Roselles as we gobbled up kilometers in our completing the 22 kms.
Here are a few chalk talks I got from the Roselles:
1. When running uphill, shorten your stride but maintain the cadence.
2. When running uphill, don't look up and just focus on your strides. Looking up the hill may discourage you.
3. When taking a walk break, don't do a slow walk as this would tend to make your running muscles fall asleep.
4. When running long distances, it makes good sense to know a few playful running games like "indian run" to break the boredom.
And one other thing I learned from these 2 lady runners is patience. Roselle and Roselle were really patient with me. They never left me despite my running slower than them. They stayed with me from start to finish.
And their kindness did not stop in the finish line. Running Diva invited me to join them in the media area where there were snacks for bloggers and other media people. It was actually a first for me. I had also the joy of meeting the media relations officers for the event - Millet and Sabrina of DDB Philippines.
After the snacks at the media area, our trio proceeded to the nearest Starbucks to have some coffee. I guess we enjoyed our time running together so much that we all decided to prolong the morning to share a few more war stories in running.
P.S. Thank you to Rickpets Lens Photography, Mina Roxas and Art Mendoza for the photos.
Come Sunday (Nov 22) morning, I woke up early at 2:00 am and was at the Mall of Asia parking area an hour later. There, I was happy to see a lovely lady wearing a row5runnin shirt. She is Mina who came from Naga City to join her niece in the 11 km Gatorade Run. Had a chat with her and had time to have photos. But soon I had to go to the starting line for the 4am start of the 22 kms race.
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| With Mina, a row5runner from Naga City. |
Mina's niece Ayen joining us in a selfie.
Lots of runners at the starting area.
At the starting line, I could not see yet the Running Diva (RD) and I was a bit worried that I might not see her as there were a lot of runners assembled already. The organizers of the Gatorade Run pegged the number of participants at 8,000 runners. But as we were starting our run, I heard a voice call out my name. And when I looked back, there she was and she had another lady runner with her whose face looked familiar as well. The RD introduced her to me and she had the same name - Roselle. She is Roselle of Cebu and as we ran the first couple of kilometers, I got to recall the first time I saw her. It was at the Lipa to Dolores - Speed 52 Ultra Marathon last July. While Roselle was the female champion of that ultra, I DNF in that race. Also, she was the lone female finisher of the grueling 2nd Bicol to Quezon 120Km Ultra Marathon last October. This lady is a certified ultra "mamaw" and the Gatorade Run was her last easy run before she flies to Cebu for a 160-km ultra marathon next week. Also, only a weekend ago, Roselle was the first female finisher in the Philippine Marine Corps Marathon (42 kms) .
Man, I was in the company of some accomplished and strong lady runners. Me thinks I was over my penguin head. And this was very much evident as I looked at my Timex, we ran the first 2 kilometers in less than 13 minutes. Then the first 3 kilometers in less than 19 minutes. This was uncharted fast territory for me. I asked myself - what happened to the petiks mode?
Perhaps sensing my apprehension, Roselle of Cebu kidded me that one thing I should know is that when a lady ultra runner says petiks mode what she really means is it will be hataw mode. Kind of like when elite runners say they are injured, it is just to lure the competition to complacency.
Welcome indeed for me to an education on running from the two Roselles as we gobbled up kilometers in our completing the 22 kms.
Here are a few chalk talks I got from the Roselles:
1. When running uphill, shorten your stride but maintain the cadence.
2. When running uphill, don't look up and just focus on your strides. Looking up the hill may discourage you.
3. When taking a walk break, don't do a slow walk as this would tend to make your running muscles fall asleep.
4. When running long distances, it makes good sense to know a few playful running games like "indian run" to break the boredom.
And one other thing I learned from these 2 lady runners is patience. Roselle and Roselle were really patient with me. They never left me despite my running slower than them. They stayed with me from start to finish.
The penguin struggling to keep up with the Running Diva.
Thumbs up from the 2 Roselles before crossing the finish line.
Thus, when I crossed the finish line with a time of 2 hours and 53 minutes, the 2 were with me, cheering me on. They could have easily have gone for a sub 2 hours and 30 minutes for the 22 km-distance but they were benevolent to the max.  |
| Feeling good at the finish line. No injuries for us and no lying down on the road for me as what happened in RUPM. |
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| Enjoying the merienda at the media tent |
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| With Milet and Sabrina of DDB Philippines |
While the 2 Roselles enjoyed their favorite Starbucks coffee, the penguin enjoyed a cake aptly named "Made in Heaven."
It was truly a fun morning for me at the Gatorade Run 2015 Manila. As one of its tagline reads - Race Your Way To Greatness - the realization for me is that greatness can be had with great people surrounding us. Thank you to Roselle and Roselle for having a thorn like me in their happy run at Gatorade. 
P.S. Thank you to Rickpets Lens Photography, Mina Roxas and Art Mendoza for the photos.
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