Yesterday's Running Adventure

Yesterday's running adventure did not include a run. ;)

I was supposed to have my (ambitious) first 15k yesterday at McKinley Hill. I know God heard all my prayers the night before, but I guess He said "Not now, my child", because I woke up at 3am and felt slight pain in my ankles. I decided to skip the run and go back to bed. Better to swallow my pride (and let 500 bucks go down the drain, urg), let my feet get better, and do proper training, than to risk getting a serious injury. [Goal reset to November 21. For real.]

Later in the day, I decided to sneak in a visit to A Runner's Circle in between errands and meetings. (This is one of those because-TBR-said-so things, hehe.)

I got myself a Foot Wheel to alleviate the pain in my soles, plus a new pair of running socks, and a whole lot of inputs from their friendly owners & staff -- Robin, Perkins, Sue and John. Perkins checked for my gait (and validated that I did have the tendency to overpronate). He also let me take the Aertex foot scan, which showed that I had the tendency to shift my weight to my left side. (So I have to consciously pull it back a little to my correct center.)

I loved the fact that they plan to revive the spirit of running in Manila (e.g. running along Roxas Blvd) and that they would be open as early as 8 or 9am on weekends. (This could just be a good reason to change running venues on weekends. I've always have a soft spot for quaint Manila anyway. Wouldn't it be nice to do a run by the bay, buy a new pair of socks to treat yourself every now and then, and get breakfast at Pancake House or Aristocrat? Sweet!)

It looks like I've found a new happy place too. :)

Check out A Runner's Circle at Aloha Hotel, 2150 Roxas Blvd.cor.Quirino Ave. Malate, Manila.

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Research

My foot discomfort, which shuttles back and forth from serious to minor pain, now has me researching things like plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis. They seem to be the closest descriptions to what I feel. I haven't been able to figure out though what the pain on top of my foot (well, closer to the sides actually, closer to the ankle) is.

Patrick keeps on chiding me to have it checked. As usual, I'm buying time, hoping it goes away soon.

Damn it. I so badly want to run tomorrow. I want to finish October strong, so that November is a silver month. And I want to clear my head to prepare myself for the next big push. Running should help. Damn, I want to run. I don't care if it's slow. I don't care if I'm last in the pack. I just want to run.

Tomorrow is my deadline. If I ain't ok yet, then doctor's clinic it is.

Funny how I've been scaring myself with thoughts that I won't be able to run anymore. Haha, as if I were an elite athlete. But the thought of never being able to experience the fullness of running scares me.

I should lose weight faster. This should ease up the discomfort I feel.

Maybe I should take swimming lessons already. Or make the learning-how-to-ride-a-bike thing work. And then get a bike. Haha. But then I go back to my ultimate dilemma of time and money.

I really need to fix this. Getting strong and fit I mean. So I can run more. I am already so envious of Toto and Manong doing their 3x a week training with the Milo clinic.

Haha. I am so rambling here.

I just want to be good enough to run again. Running here and now gives my heart hope. Like a lifesaver, I think it is the only one thing left that ties me back to my coach. I know, I know -- that's a very loose (bordering on stupid) connection to make. But that's how I feel. For my sanity's sake, I need to believe that things will get better someday.

Enough with the rambling. Time to go to bed. This won't let me have anywhere near 6 hours of sleep. And I will be dead tired in the afternoon.

Sana po talaga Lord, makatakbo ako bukas.

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Walang Himala

Author's note: This post serves to retract the previous post made. ;)

Ok, enough said.
I found myself limping again last night after passing by the Pav. I may have judged too prematurely. Damn.

If my health card weren't MIA, I would swing by the ER later. Haha. Kuripot.

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Isang Himala!

That's exactly what I wanted to shout earlier. Except that I was in the middle of a meeting when I thought of it. We were in the middle of discussing our PR plan this afternoon when I realized that my ankles and the soles of my feet weren't really hurting anymore.

To validate, I decided to pace back and forth our office hallway right after the meeting. (Jolainne started to laugh when I explained what I was doing!) I'd give my feet a grade of 90%, hehe. There's still a slight discomfort, but this is oh so much better than the past 4 days.

So what happened? Let me backtrack to last night.

Since Bengay was no longer as helpful, and since walking had become such a big punishment, I decided to get a foot massage after the BP. Yes, it was already 10:45pm and it would have been my 2nd foot rub in a week (which was already too indulgent), but I had to do something.
I figured that if that didn't help, then I would really have to go have a checkup. (Which was also something I was reluctant to do, considering that it's been less than a month since my last ER visit.)

I limped my way to Yeu Sole + Body Massage along Gamboa (behind AIM). It's been my favorite massage place this year for so many reasons -- the care with which the therapists apply the massage, the quaint room details that help you relax more, and the fact that the prices are fairly reasonable.

My "injury" gave me a reason to try their signature Yeu Sole to Sole massage, which was good for an hour. The treatment included a Vietnamese natural facial and a quick hand massage making my 450 payment more than worth it. I don't really know what Grace did exactly with my feet -- I was already knocked out after the facial and arm rub. :) Yeu by the way stands for "love" in Vietnamese. True to its name, the massage was a really good way to love myself last night.

I still felt pain though on my way home and when I got up this morning. I was already ready to call it quits and go back to the hospital. Up until my wonderful realization during the meeting earlier. :)

I hope this lasts. Can't have too many body parts hurting at the same time, right?

Can't wait to give my feet a test run. :)

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Starstruck

After about a year of following her blog, I finally met her in person! Yes,her, the Bullrunner! :)

For a while, I was a little starstruck, hehe. I shook Jaymie Pizarro's hand and introduced myself. I was so happy that she remembered Run to Read and associated us with it. :)

Who wudda thunk that I would enjoy running so much that I'd find a couple of idols to look up to? :) I wanted to have my picture taken with her, but I was just too shy. I ended up requesting that I take her and hubby's photo instead.

Jaymie & Miguel Pizarro

I walked away from the experience remembering how real a person she is, and how she just kept on smiling throughout the whole session.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I was supposed to run yesterday morning, but I woke up late. So I just shoved my (puto bumbong) purple dri-fit and cutoffs in my bag and said I'd run before going home.

The talk probably inspired me enough to push through with the jog, even if I still felt discomfort in my right ankle. iPods are good for moments like this -- the music's beat, together with the cadence of your feet hitting the pavement, drowns out the sound of your body groaning.

I walked one round of Boni High to warm up and I lost myself counting 9-1 when I did 2 rounds of jogging after, that I temporarily forgot about the pain. I was brought back to reality though when I cooled down with another round of walking. The right ankle was cursing its master with every step. :(

Patrick didn't hear me correctly the other day when I asked him for the Filipino translation of ankle and had answered me "Tito". Haha. So we now fondly have named my ankles Tito Right and Tito Left. Sadly, Tito R and Tito L are both hurting now. I understand that Tito R's been having a fit since Sunday. What I don't get is why Tito L decided to join this morning. I hobbled from the parking basement to our building, trying not to wince as much. I really have to figure out what I'm doing wrong. Until then, the mantra is "Bengay is my friend."

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Something to Look Forward to..

Something I'm looking forward to.... :)
I'm both excited for and anxious about the obstacle course portion. I don't know what we'd be doing, but I know I need to prepare for activities which will likely require upper body strength (which I don't have much of!)

Here's to more firsts for 2010!

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Tententen!

The much awaited day finally came. And I joined thousands of other Filipinos who wanted to put the country back on the Guinness' map, as I said I would.

I ran (my usual slow run) past the 8k mark. It actually suprised me that I lasted that long considering my it's been quite a long time since my last long run. I ended up walking the last 2km since the heat got to me, and I got confused with the lack of directionals.

Lucky to have been started late for this race, because at least the crowd eased up bit at the end. I missed out on getting the souvenir band though.

A day after, my right ankle still feels sore, despite having gotten the foot rub yesterday. (Last week it was the left. Now it's the right.) I wonder how I'd manage next weekend...

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