Embracing Everyday

I have been off my feet for almost the whole week now. I just squeezed in one 5K easy run last Tuesday… And did a couple of other workouts that would hopefully keep my heart physically fit, even if I’m not “on my feet”.

After trying out Bikram Yoga for a week more than a month ago, I decided to incorporate yoga as part of my fitness routine. However, I am currently busy with a personal project and spending for yoga classes (plus gasoline and such) is not an option. Instead, I wandered around various video shops and found this at a Video City in SM North EDSA for just 125 Pesos!

It’s very easy to follow and much less vigorous than Bikram. I don’t have much knowledge in the various types of yoga yet. But, what I do know is it’s beneficial for people who are living an active lifestyle. It only has one workout which lasts for around 40 minutes. 

After almost a month if working out with this DVD, I looked around for a yoga workout which specifically targets weekend warriors like myself. And I ordered this one from Barnes and Noble for US$10.79… Since I needed to buy a medical book from the online bookstore, I just added this one in. (Click on the photo for online description.)

I haven’t been able to try it out yet, but it has sport specific mini-workouts for running, cycling, tennis, golf and all other sports. It also has a strength and flexibility concentrated workout. Let’s see how these yoga sessions will go with my running routine these coming days…

If you’re interested in getting yoga DVD’s yourself. I found some of GAIAM DVD’s over at R.O.X . Bonifacio High Street last Friday night. Not that sure about the price, but when I checked out one for 1,500++ pesos. It sounds a bit steep, but when you use it regularly, it comes out cheaper than attending classes in the long run… However, IF you can afford it – it’s still better to attend formal classes, so the teacher can check your pose… Hope you had a great weekend!  

I have been getting relatively bored with running at Manila Memorial this past week. So I said to myself, “I think I’ll go run over at SM Mall of Asia this weekend.”

And then, I was chatting with Wilbert last Friday and told him my plan and invited him. He was apparently on the lookout for a different, yet easy kind of run that weekend after a gruelling speedwork of the Nike Training Clinic last Tuesday. So it was set. We were to meet at 6:30AM to 7:00AM the next day, Saturday.

I got up a bit too early and it was an easy drive of 10 to 15 minutes from our house. It was still dark as the day breaks for a new day. It was a little bit errie for me as I drove towards the grayness of the massive mall. I was prepared to park near deserted San Miguel Bay Park…

Boy, I was wrong. There were people THERE. And a good number of road bikers too. The combined energy from the sea and from the crowd of walkers, joggers and bikers was a welcome treat for me. Wilbert arrived a few minutes after I did some warm-ups. We also bumped into Tisha, who invited us to run with them. But they were doing a VERY long run. We’re still not quite ready for more than 10K this very cool and balmy Saturday morning.

“I’m sure we’ll run into someone we know” Wilbert tells me.

We started from the far end of the park and ran towards the CCP Complex. We were running for just 10 minutes and we saw Mon, of Happy Feet, along Macapagal Avenue.

“I told you so.” Wilbert says with a grin.

So, the three of us ran towards the Manila Film Center. We did some of our stretches there. As we left the Film Center, we ran into Smith! Small world. It was my first time to meet the funny runner-blogger. He didn’t join us since he was almost done with his run.

We continued on to the Jumbo Floating restaurant and did some sightseeing while on the run, and then we did a couple of loops over at the Cultural Center of the Philippines before heading back to Mall of Asia. That place was abuzz too of weekend exercise warriors.

Nearing Macapagal Avenue, Mon bade us farewell and traversed back to CCP to meet up with his wife. We went back to MOA and ended up where we started. All in all we did 9.93K that morning. Thanks to the very cool weather, we felt refreshed and re-energized as we head off at a good breakfast at McDonald’s

Some Photo’s courtesy of Wilbert

Since I started running, I lost a considerable amount of weight. My endurance has never been better… But, I started to notice that my arms has become flabby and I’m starting to acquire get a bigger tummy pouch as well.

I’ve been neglecting strength training! I used to be able to squeeze in some push-ups, triceps dip or any body weight exercises after a run… But since, I’m able to run longer now, I just did stretches afterwards.

When I donned a swim suit in Cebu last week and noticed how “un-toned” I am. I decided to get back on the drawing board and re-think my fitness program.

So, last Tuesday I ran for 6.5K in Manila Memorial for 35mins, did some body weight exercises and stretches.

On Wednesday, after being greeted by Ruel, my trainer at Elorde Sucat. I did a boxing circuit training for an hour. Please note that 1 round is = 3 minutes with 30 secs rest in between.(like in a boxing match)

• 2 rounds of shadow boxing for warm-up
• Stretching
• 2 rounds on the heavy bag.
• 2 rounds on the double-end bag
• 2 rounds on the speedball
• 2 rounds again on the heavy bag
• free weight exercises for arms, shoulder, chest, back, quads, hamstrings and calves.
• Medicine ball exercises for the core a.k.a abdominals
• Lat pull down for back
• Stretching

I was drenched in sweat after I finished. I bought Sky with me and he was enjoying himself running around the gym with Ate Ging. I didn’t do punch-mitts with Ruel, since I haven’t regained my strength yet. Maybe, after a couple of weeks of continuous sessions on my own – then that’s the time I’ll need Ruel’s additional training.

When we got home, my plan was to run the following morning.

YEAH right! I woke up at 5:30AM when Sky asked for some milk. And I think I needed a shot of Alaxan for the body pains. There ain’t no way I’m running at this time. I felt like I was placed in a jar and the jar was shaken like crazy…

After giving Sky his milk and when he hugged me again to sleep. I slept with him too.

After a two month hiatus in the Northern area of Manila, I’m back in the South again with my husband and Sky. Where else can I ran here that’s a stone’s throw away? At the Manila Memorial Park.

Sure, it’s a cemetery, but it’s more of a park for me than anything else. Aside from seeing green and more green when I run here, I don’t have to inhale so much smog than I can handle because of the scarcity of vehicles inside. More often than not, there more runners, joggers and cyclist inside during the ” exercise rush hour”, which is around 6:00AM to 8:00AM in the mornings and 4:00PM to 6:00PM in the afternoon.

The main loop inside Manila Memorial is more or less measures 2.5K all around. I was able to run 3 loops last Wednesday and 4 loops yesterday. My body has become adapted to running. If I don’t run at least twice in a week, I feel sluggish.

My  mind was all over the place last Thursday. I had a hard time focusing on Sky, household chores and my review. I figured I’d run right after the first Friday mass. I’m glad I did, because it cleared my mind. I felt rejuvenated. I was able to accomplish a number of tasks at hand yesterday and today. So tomorrow, right after the Hope in Motion 3 run, I have time to scour the Cuenca Sunday Market!

Aside from the non-stop rain that we’ve been experiencing lately. I also have a BIG dose of LAZINESS right now. Lately, I’ve been too exhausted with playing with Sky the whole day and he’s been sleeping late lately – and so am I. That I don’t have the strength to wake-up early and just RUN.

I need a kick in the butt. My last run was last week and it was the last “ME” exercise I’ve had last. You can call playing and taking care of my son exercise – but, I think I need to get OUT and move by myself.

         See SKY run!

What gets me into “Running” or “Exercise” is it clears my mind and gives me that “heightened” feeling. Running also creates a ferocious amount of energy for me to be a better mom and to be a better person most of all. This rut has got to STOP. I’m feeling down when I don’t get myself going.

Tomorrow I do hope I get to wake up a little bit early than usual and just RUN. And head on to U.P. Diliman to register for the PMI run.

It was a scorching Saturday afternoon and I had an itch that needed scratching. I needed to run or do something active by myself for the day.

Played with Sky the whole morning and as soon as he took his after-lunch nap – I went out to try out the indoor track over at Moro Lorenzo in Ateneo. The traffic was a bliss. Only a few vehicles on the road in Katipunan. It was a sweet 15-minute drive from home.

Many thanks to Jaime Dy for giving me that much needed push to try out the track in Moro. Next time I come here, I’ll be running with her and have a much-needed coffee chat so we can go from being “virtual” friends to “good and live friends.” Kopi Roti tayo Jaime ha?

The indoor oval track was on the third floor of the complex. It overlooked the basketball and the badminton courts on the second floor. Going one round in the track is 400M. And you just pay P30 for the track and shower facilities. Not bad eh? I did a 2K warm-up and then speed runs for the next 2K with 30-40secs rest in-between 500M runs.

I don’t know exactly what the flooring is – but it looked like rubberized/ epoxy paint to me… It was nice running on it. Not too hard as I thought it may be.

I just changed my shirt and did strengthening exercises in the gym on the first floor. Had to pay P300 for a day pass with use of the shower and lockers. Don’t forget to bring your own padlock with key. Don’t bring a padlock combination – they don’t allow it. They offer monthly unlimited rates of P1,600 per month and an additional P150 for new members. Price is pretty decent to me. But I just needed a break from body weight and free weight circuit training every so often. So the P300 is a good deal. And besides, I also need to start familiarizing myself with gym machines for my ACSM Personal Training Certification exam.

Nice place to go to if you need a change of venue for your runs and workouts. Happy Running this Sunday wherever you may be.

Went to Ateneo today to try out their Indoor Oval and in-house gym. I was feeling melancholy this morning because I am supposed to be in Cebu instead of here.

It was around 2Pm and I wanted to do some speedwork for my run today. After which, I used the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center gym on the first floor of the complex. It’s also a start for me to familiarize myself with various gym equipments – it would help in my Personal Training review.

Going back, after my speedwork in the track oval – I went straight to the gym. Lo and behold the receptionist was around 140lbs and munching on a Large serving of McDonald’s-oh-so-healthy French Fries and playing a yahoo game on the computer.

"Hi! Do you have daily rates for the gym? For walk-ins like myself?"

"Good afternoon mam, sure, it’s P300 per visit."

"Okay, here’s P300."

It was 245PM when I got there, and it was mostly kids who were working-out/checking their iPods/constantly checking themselves in the mirror. I can almost smell the aura of what you may call "teenagers thinks they’re all-looking-at-me-I’m-so conscious syndrome".

I was already sweating when I entered the gym and went straight to the free weights area. I was just barely beginning my circuit arm workout when… "BANG!" – the lanky kid beside me just threw the dumbbells on the floor… Alright, this is why I disliked working out at gyms in the first place.

Next, I went through most of the machines on hand. There were just a few – but it targeted the muscle groups that I was aiming for… And there were a couple of girls that I saw that looked hesitant to use the machines. I think they were too shy to look like that they didn’t know what they we’re doing-but-they-really-didn’t-know-what-they-were-doing… And then after I finish using a machine one of the two girls will use the machine that I used… I didn’t mind. I was tempted to teach them how to use it. But, I didn’t want to step on the shoes of the trainer’s on the gym floor.

After a shower and a very nice workout. I went to Ton-Ton’s Thai massage over at Congressional Avenue in Quezon City. I thought there were other massage options – I was in dire need of a Sports massage – but, they only offered THAI MASSAGE, what else? P250 for a whole hour of Thai body massage.

I reluctantly said, "I’ll have the whole body massage then."

An hour passed and I must say that I am now a fan. Cherry, my masseuse, targeted all the pressure points that has been stressed out by the Milo run, U.P. run, Sky run , Moro speedwork and Gym workout for that week.

I heard mass in the evening too. The gospel was about Faith. And it’s high-time I let go of my anger and have FAITH. It was the icing on my cake for that day. I felt energized and renewed. As soon as I got home, I booked myself a flight to Cebu for tomorrow afternoon. Time to see D.

Fitting an exercise routine is the last thing on a mother’s mind. May she be a stay at home mom or a working mom. Exercise is not a priority to include in a daily routine. But I tell you, you should try to fit it into your week. It works wonders for your physical health and your over-all well being. And for once, you’d be able to run or move faster than your kids!

Some insights on EXERCISING:

1. Everyone will benefit from doing some increased physical activity. Exercise helps build your stamina, strength and endurance. And it helps prevents heart and other health problems. It gives you more energy (because you increase your bodies capacity to create more energy). Exercise curbs your appetite and lowers your stress level – thus increasing your SELF-ESTEEM and SELF-CONFIDENCE as well.

2. If you haven’t been active for a long time or if you feel something’s not working well in your system. Best thing is to consult with a doctor first. Have a thorough Physical check-up before starting on a fitness regimen. If you’re pregnant or just gave birth, consult with your OB-GYNE first before giving it a go.

If you have the option of joining a GYM, then consult with a Personal Trainer first and let him or her know what your goals are. Most gyms usually have their own in-house doctors that you can talk with on the level of training that you can do.

3. The best exercise you can do is something you would enjoy and works your whole body – concentrating on your large muscle groups. WALKING, JOGGING or RUNNING are the most practical and one of the most popular form of exercise. You can do some walking before heading off to work, use the stairs instead of the elevator or getting up to change a channel instead of using your remote control.

4. Start exercising for 20-30minutes 3 times a week. And gradually increasing your time and pace when it gets too easy for you. You can squeeze in exercise while doing anything. Jumping jacks while waiting for your food to cook, doing push-ups or crunches during commercial breaks.

5. Make sure to do some warm-up exercises like jogging in place to jump-start your muscles and blood flow. After a 5 to 10 minute warm-up, make sure to STRETCH. After stretching – increase your physical activity a notch bit higher.

And after exercise, have a cool-down period of 5 to minutes too. And let your heart rate slow down gradually. And do some stretching right after as well. We don’t want to “shock” our hearts by stopping abruptly.

As mother’s, we take care of everyone else and everything else. And most often than not, we forget to take care of ourselves. Making exercise as part of our lifestyle is not just for US. By taking care of ourselves, we do a much better job of taking care of our family.

I ran 6K for 35 mins and 7 secs.

Aside from running now, I still do boxing 2 to 3 times a week when I’m not running. When I trained for boxing – I read a lot and trained like a man. I can work out 2 hours straight with circuit weight training and boxing exercises with just 30 seconds rest in between. But, it does gets into a point where I got burned out with the training. As much as I’d like to spar with other women and take it to the next level. I chose not to – our gym has sponsored fights and I haven’t seen women boxing that didn’t come out in a sort of “cat fight”. When I do choose to spar competitively – I want to be friends with my competitor. I think ego gets into the way.

Now that I’m training in running. I have a personal goal of beating my speed against the distance ran. I don’t have to have someone beat me. I chose to just push myself to beat ME.

D joined me for my run yesterday. But he just did 4K and some plyometric exercises and horsed around with Sky as usual. A glimpse:

Sky’s been imitating us when we exercise. When he does his squats and ab exercises too! As parents, we become the best that we can be and be a great example for our children.

I was sore from a 5km run yesterday afternoon. I had a hard time sleeping in the evening. Must be from the adrenaline! So today, I didn’t do anything physical – I didn’t want to overtrain – since I’m just beginning. My time yesterday was 31 minutes for 5km. I don’t have a Garmin or a Polar yet. I just use my Timex watch to time my run and I just know the distance by measuring it with my car! Hahahaha… I figured, I’ll buy a Polar or a Garmin after 2 months of consistent training. First thing is to get a good pair of running shoes.

After the businesses I had to do today – and in between horsing around with Sky – I WAS GLUED TO THE INTERNET and I was just voraciously finding websites and articles on RUNNING.

And because I just registered for the 5k run at The Fort, Taguig City on June 29, 2008 for this event:

I have 18 days to train before this event. D doesn’t know about this one yet. But I know he’ll be ecstatic!…What am I thinking?