These Shoes Are Made for Running

The Urbanite was the first time my friend Joel saw the shoes I’ve been using since last October. He’s a recreational triathlete and was using the Urbanite as a tune-up to the Cobra Ironman 70.3.

Joel asked me with incredulity, “Are you sure those shoes are for running? They look too low!” My reply was, “Well, they have ‘nikerunning.com’ on the sole!”

Nike Women Track Runner Lace

I bought these shoes late last year on sale from Sports Warehouse in preparation for the Run for Life race I didn’t run. While they had served me well in my running on treadmills, they weren’t taking too kindly to being out on the road in races. I looked them up online at Nike and they’re track-spike-inspired and mostly used by gym bunnies (hehehe). They finally gave up the ghost after my Urbanite experience.

“she falls apart by herself,” sings Sugar Ray

Today after signing up for the 5K event at GMA7’s “Tatakbo Ka Ba” run, I headed to Bonifacio High Street in Fort Bonifacio to buy a new pair of shoes at RUNNR. “Now to get myself a real running shoe,” I thought.

RUNNR is owned by the son of the business mind behind Toby’s Sports (check out the August issue of Action&Fitness; for the story), but carries products specifically for running enthusiasts. Being a specialty store, they carry top-of-the-line and latest products from Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Asics, and other running brands. I wasn’t expecting to find the same kind of bargain there as I did at Sports Warehouse. However, I was looking for help in finding exactly the kind of shoe I need for the kind of running I do, and that’s where RUNNR’s Footworx service comes in.

The very knowledgeable salesguy (who also does his fair share of running — OMG, ultramarathons) asked me to step barefoot onto a “podoscope” so I could find out whether I had a normal, flat, or high arch. I was flat-footed as a baby and always thought I had a low arch, so I was surprised to find my arch was normal. (Oh the wonders barefoot walking can work.) Then he asked me to run barefoot on a treadmill. He took high-speed video of the way I ran, and analyzed how my feet struck the ground. Although I knew it already, he confirmed that my right ankle was weak, causing me to overpronate on the right foot. I told him that I was fine with my current shoe except that my ankles complained after the races.

Based on my results, he recommended I try a neutral to light stability shoe, like the Nike Air Span + 6. “My feet are in better shape than I thought,” I mused at this point. And after another video analysis where we confirmed that my ankle-rolling had been controlled by the shoe, I ended up taking a pair home.

Elmo approves of this purchase.

Char, one of the girls I ran with at Urbanite, had been to RUNNR about a month ago and found she needed a stability shoe for one foot, and a motion-control shoe for the other. She ended up spending approximately 6,000 pesos for stability shoes and an additional 2,000 pesos for custom shoe inserts. Yoinks! I had come into the store with a budget of 5,500 pesos but asked God to help me find a shoe around 4,000 pesos. I got the shoe at P4,895.

The best part is that they’re Nike (my favorite shoe brand) and they go really well with the racing top I’ve set aside for the GMA7 run. Ü I’m taking these puppies out for a test run on Monday.

“Tatakbo ka ba?” Answer: YES.

Tags:Running, Nike Shoes, RUNNR

Kenny’s Open Urbanite Run

I’ve been hot under the collar to race again and see if I could beat my 10km time at the Globe run. I thought I could do that at the Kenny’s Open 2009 Urbanite Run on August 15.

Based on this poster alone I would have signed up.

I got sales-talked into it by Rovilson. He told me (and I have the Facebook comment to prove it), “It’s going to be a night run (starts at 9PM, no wind) so I expect a lot of personal times to be beaten.”

Well, that was before we saw the race route. It would wind through the old Fort Bonifacio almost down to C-5, then back up the way we came. Then we would detour through McKinley Hill (past Heritage Park cemetery) and a quick run-by the Manila American cemetery before heading back to where we started.

what the hill?! (pun intended)

I arrived at 7pm fresh (or tired) from a shoot at Splash Island with the Weekend Warriors. After a quick-change in the car I met up with some friends from church who were also going to run the 10K event at 8:45pm.

Guess which ones were our bandits?

Official race results were released today (enter my bib number 1605 to view all my results) and despite me not beating my personal best, I’m still largely pleased with how I did.

The Timex clock at the finish line told me I crossed it at 54 minutes 25 seconds after the gun. It’s weird that the official time is off by five seconds. It’s still better than my treadmill time (54:31) before the Globe run, though.

Probably due to the lack of depth in the field (only 887 finishers in the 10K event), I finished in 32nd place. At the Globe run I finished in 60th place. My gender and division results were poor though; I finished two places lower.

It was really a tough run: the time of night, the route, and the humidity and temperature wilted all the runners. I ran strong during the first two sections of the race, but by the last one, my will was starting to fail me as it was literally an uphill battle. I tried to overtake a guy who had glowsticks poking up like antennae out of a headband. Then I tried simply to keep pace with him. But at the last two kilometers, he put on a burst of speed and just vanished. I was fading, and I had to pray aloud for God to give me what I needed to finish strong.

As I made the last turn toward the finish line, I saw the clock tick from 53 minutes into 54. Suddenly I felt a surge of defiance within me. No way was I going to let that clock tick into 55 minutes. I started sprinting.

harder, better, faster, stronger

My feet crossed the mat, I came to a sudden stop to avoid crashing into the woman logging the finishers’ numbers, and I was gasping for breath from the burst of effort. A few minutes later, Rovilson came in from his 15K run, and we bumped fists before he went off to host the awarding ceremony with his best bud Marc. I stayed near the finish chute to welcome my fellow runner friends, and then we went back to the finish line to take some photos.

my Supergirl pose. all I need is a cape billowing behind me…

I reverse my original statement that I like running alone. Sure I may leave behind the group I came with as I try to beat my personal best — but being around when they celebrate their own personal victories is a better feeling than the runner’s high.

UPDATE: Thanks to Sam the Running Ninja for giving me the link to my Photovendo photos from the race. See the change in my expression from the start to the end of the race:

Serene Start

Pushing the Limit

Tags: Kenny’s Open Urbanite Run

Make-Up “Splurge”

Because of the eye infection I had last month, I began to distrust the makeup I had in my possession. My mom has a habit of giving her makeup palettes to me (as a starter kit of sorts), but I don’t know how old they are. So for the past week I’ve been throwing out old products and buying new stuff. The other day I bought waterproof mascara, but today was the big splurge.

Perhaps I should write “splurge”, with quotation marks. While some people may have no qualms about shelling out 1,500 pesos on Smashbox eyeshadow, I certainly had no plans of spending more than 500 pesos total. I went slightly over-budget anyway.

Ever Bilena Eyeshadow 24 Shades

I am not a makeup snob, so even if Ever Bilena has a funny and local-sounding name (whateverrrrr), it’s been a trusted brand of cosmetics for as long as I can remember. It’s cheap, but it’s good. I tried this 24-shade palette (worth P240) when I got home, and I was impressed by how rich the pipgments were. I only needed one or two sweeps across my eyelids to achieve the desired effect. It doesn’t rub off easily, either.

I thought I was done with my purchases for the day when I realized the EB palette was too big to fit into my daily makeup bag. I was busy kicking myself when I came across a G-Lish stall.

Patrick Rosas for G-Lish Eyeshadows & Bronzer

Normally the eyeshadows are priced at P250 each and the bronzer is P300, but I’d chanced on the store during a promo period. I snapped up the brown and black eyeshadows and bought the bronzer on a whim.

The total amount I’d spent tallied up to P540 — that’s 40 pesos over-budget, and it’s why I felt it was a splurge. But when I tried on the makeup at home, I really felt it was worth it.

Now to try finishing all this product before it goes stale. Anybody want a makeover?

Tags: Kikay, Makeup

Filipina Flickrites

For those of you following my RSS feed you might have noticed some interesting photos cropping up in the image feed spliced into it.

These photos are submissions to Filipina Flickrites, a group on Flickr where members post self-portraits according to a theme every week. The first two photos are from Week 22: Music Genres, and the last (and latest) photo is from Week 23: Fashionista.

I really enjoy what other people come up with, and I love how this stimulates my own creative juices.

Tags: Flickr Fun, Self-Portraits

Sujiivana: The Beautiful Life

Last month shortly after my birthday, I got an unexpected treat. I was invited to be part of Sujiivana Salon‘s online catalogue of Fall Looks. Check it out!

The curl came from an iron, so it washed out after the shoot. What stayed with me is the trim and color. The cut has been growing out nicely, with none of the stray hairs and split ends I had before I went to the salon. The color has been gradually lightening over time since the shoot, but I still love it and am maintaining it with Kolours shampoo. I think it’ll grow out gracefully as well, not leaving me with ugly dark roots.

Sujiivana Salon is located at Westgate Center, Alabang. Check out the price listing on their website for their services. Pretty reasonable, for the spa ambience you get. Ü

Tags: Hair Modeling, Kikay

Slice ‘n’ Scrape

Filipino old wives’ tales tell us that Peeping Toms get kuliti, or styes. It’s not really true, of course. You can get styes from wearing old mascara, which is probably what happened. Still, this version of events is more entertaining…

One thing I mentioned from my Run for Home report is I ran past a cute and tall pacer running at 5’30/km. I didn’t mention that at the parking lot after the race, he was changing his shirt at his car, which was parked near mine. I snuck a photo:

the reason for my stye

God has a sense of humor. He must have been looking at me, shaking His head and saying, “My child, that’s very unbecoming of a princess in My kingdom.”

So, the next day I woke up with a stye. A HUGE ONE. One that, even after two weeks of treatment with medicines, was still with me. I even had to go to a party at Embassy trying to hide the stye with makeup.

It’s hard to party when you feel ugly.

Today, I went to the hospital where my dad works. I asked an opthalmologist to flip my eyelid, make an incision on the stye, and scrape it until it was hollow so I could finally be rid of it.

It was AWESOME. Also, painful.

I can haz eyepatch?

The bandages came off shortly after I got home, and I iced down the swelling. There’s just a little bruising on the eyelid, but I am finally rid of that stye.

I swear never to peep at anyone ever again.

Tags: Stye, Medical Humor

Run for Home Official Results

Because of that cool hi-tech Champion chip we all tied into our shoelaces during the Globe-AyalaLand Run for Home event, I now have race analysis and info of how I did during the race. Ü

(If you want to see the page for yourself, check out RunPix at Globe-AyalaLand Run for Home, enter bib number 4405, and click on the 10K button.)

Run for Home - Info & Summary

I initially wrote that I finished at a time of 52 minute and 2 seconds, but that’s the approximate amount of time from starting gun until I reached the finish line. I had a lag of 30+ seconds getting to the starting line though, since I placed myself behind the elite runners. That’s why my net time registers at 51 minutes and 31 seconds. I know, it surprised me, too.

The next two graphs were even more astonishing.

Run for Home - Results by Gender
Run for Home - Result by Division

So, if I were just running a race against other women, these would be the gross results. I’m going to chalk it up to my innate competitiveness: every time I saw a woman running ahead of me, I’d put on some speed to overtake her. Run for Home - vs. Men But there was one tidbit of info that I had a good laugh at: I’d outpaced 94% of the male runners. There were more men than women in the entire field, but it gave me a weird sense of satisfaction seeing this graph:

Run for Home - Finish Line
It’s Running Men! Hallelujah!

Run for Home - Passing After the 5K mark, I overtook 7 people, though 6 people who were behind me before the split raced past me. Run for Home - Speed per Split In my previous post I thought I was putting on speed at the end of the race; however, my result shows that I ran my fastest during the first 5K, and slowed down by 1 km/h during the second half. This is what’s called a “positive split” in runner’s terminology. (Thanks to Takbo.ph, I’m learning a lot about this new sport I’ve picked up.)

I think I did pretty well in the speed department, though.

Run for Home - Time per mile and kilometer Run for Home - Average Speed

Overall, it was a wonderful race and I didn’t think I had it in me to do as well as I did. I really think it was by the grace of God I didn’t cramp and was able to fight off temptations to slow down to a walk, since that was my usual modus operandi in my training sessions on the treadmill.

I signed up for the Kenny’s Open ’09 Urbanite Run (10K). I’d like to see whether I can beat this time, or whether it was just a fluke. Will I see you there? Ü

Tags: Globe Run for Home, Running

Globe Run for Home

I’m an on-again, off-again runner and I’ve never competed in a race, so I ponied up the cash and joined the Globe Run for Home race last July 19. It was a charity run to benefit Habitat for Humanity. Read about how I ran the race, and take a look at my official race results!

Crossposted from In My Pocket.

Up and Running for Home

I’m an on-again, off-again runner and I’ve never competed in a race, so I ponied up the cash and joined the Globe Run for Home race, a charity run to benefit Habitat for Humanity. There were 3k, 5k, 10k, and 21k events, but the closest I’d ever gotten to running 10 kilometers was doing 4 rounds on the UP Academic Oval (8.8km). So last Monday I timed myself on the gym treadmill: I clocked my 10km at 54 minutes 31 seconds (split time: 27 minutes and 52 seconds for 5km). I thought, “OK, good enough.”

in my race kit

I was up at 3am this morning getting ready for the race: nutrition, hydration, decoration (LOL! Of course you have to look good while running!). I’d even made a running playlist the night before.

Noelle’s Running Playlist

Tiesto – Elements of Life
Tiesto – Sweet Things
Black Box – Everybody Everybody (Benny Benassi Remix)
Daft Punk – Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Alive 2007)
Tiesto – In the Dark
Da Hool – Meet Her at the Love Parade
Voodoo & Serano – Blood is Pumping vs. E-Samba
Justin Timberlake – What Goes Around… (Paul van Dyk Club Mix)
Freemasons – Rain Down Love (Funk Mobb Remix)
Booty Luv – Say It
Shapeshifters – Incredible (Denis the Menace & Jerry Roperos)
Fragma – Toca’s Miracle
Paul Oakenfold – Ready Steady Go
Tiesto – Do You Feel Me
DJ Visage – Formula One (The Schumacher Song)
Tiesto – Everything

I still underestimated the time I needed to get ready, so I found myself speeding at 90kph on EDSA just to get to Fort before assembly time at 5:15am. I arrived just as the 21k runners set off.

starting line

Since I was all by my lonesome, I had no one to talk to, or take photos with. But you know what? That’s exactly how I like my running: by myself, not trying to catch up to or wait for anyone else.

caught on a stranger’s phone cam

I started pounding pavement with more than 1,000 participants at 5:45am. The sunrise tinted the cirrus clouds red above us, but the air was still cool with dew. Our route led us up and over the flyover from the Fort onto Buendia, crossing Paseo de Roxas and Makati Ave. before looping back on itself at Ayala Ave.

10k route map

Normally the only treads on that flyover are made by tires. Today, I saw the marks of running shoes wet with water and 100-Plus drink on the asphalt. I started running ahead of the 5min30sec/km pacer and steadily increased my speed as I approached the halfway mark. The adrenaline kicked in as I made that U-turn for the long road back to the finish line, and at 1km to go, I started sprinting for it.

There were several digital clocks at the finish line showing the time elapsed for each event. I kept my eyes on the 10k clock as the seconds ticked by, and clocked myself at 52 minutes and 2 seconds at the finish line.

me at the finish line 40 minutes after I crossed it

“Incredible” was ringing in my ears, and it really was incredible. A wave of endorphins surged into my bloodstream as I slowed down, and for the first time I experienced a “runner’s high.” No wonder there are so many recreational runners out there who aren’t in it to win, but just to finish!

I took the photos in this post after my run and stayed around to find out how long it took for the top three runners to finish their 10k. I was aghast when I found out they had sub-45 minute times! Sigh.

Before I made my way to the Fitness First branch in Fort for a shower and steam bath, I popped in at Krispy Kreme for a doughnut and coffee. Apparently I wasn’t the only one with the same idea; other runners were also stuffing their faces as a reward for the morning’s exertions.

making calorie burning futile

Official race results and analyses will be up by July 23. ‘Til next time!

Tags: Globe Run for Home

Kikay Monday

Ellana mineral foundation w/ Clinique eyeshadow

I got some wonderful stuff over the weekend, and my policy has always been to use new things at the first opportunity. First things first: the Ellana Minerals samples!

Hazelnut Latte and Caramel Latte foundation, Espresso con Panna finishing powder

After moisturizing my face with Olay Total Effects cream, I brushed on a teensy amount of Caramel Latte foundation all over my face — it really does go a long way! I dabbed on some Elianto concealer under my eyes, then matte-fied my entire face with the Espresso con Panna finishing powder. Just to add some color back, I used some beige eyeshadow (two tones) from Clinique, then dusted Nichido Cool Rum and Passionate Red blushes onto my cheekbones. Strawberry lip balm from Nivea finished this barely-there look.

What do you think?

The makeup had to be light because I was stepping out in a sundress I’d bought on sale at Jellybean the previous day. (From 799 pesos, the dress price had been slashed down to 400 pesos Ü) I wore a bandeau bra to conceal some assets, then used the Clinique loot bag I’d picked up from the makeup event two months ago as a handbag. My trusty gold Havaianas completed the laid-back look.

It may have been raining on Monday, but I felt like summer. Ü

Tags: Kikay, Mineral Makeup, Fashion