Upcoming Running Events: Kenny Roger's Urbanite Run, UP Law Invitational Triathlon

Today, I went registration-crazy. Races that are, ahem, not really that budget friendly, but nonetheless I shelled out some (ouch) because...well...read on.

August 15: KENNY ROGER'S URBANITE RUN

The registration costs Php 600. Wow right? The usual question creeps up: what makes this run so special? The advertisement/press release mentions--

(1) that it's a night run, with all those glow in the dark paraphernalia
(2) championchips timing
(3) a free kenny roger's meal
(4) that it's inclusive of a donation to a charitable institution (in short, it's for a cause...smile smile smile)
(5) the presence of Marc Nelson, Rovilson Fernandez and Phil Younghusband
(6) an after-party

Half-eaten Urbanite Meal

Normally, I would say that Php 600 is too much. But items #1, 3 and most especially, 5...these are worth the premium. hehe. Honestly, I don't care about champion chip timing, I mean, who needs his time recognized worldwide (exception: the "elite"...no not the ateneans :P). And an after-party.. don't we all just want to sleep afterwards? About the donation, well, I just meant that I don't care where it goes.

I have no idea of what the route will be like. Btw, this will be my first 15k. Haha.

The registration is pretty much like Globe's Run For Home. Go the participating branch, fill-up the form, pay the fee, a stub is given to you, claim the race kit another day in another city. Same organizer btw, that's why. Well, the race is quite interesting, you'd have reason to make the effort.

August 30: UP LAW 1ST INVITATIONAL TRIATHLON

I've been thinking about the individual tri for quite some time now, and to stop wasting time with just thinking instead of training, i found myself registering at the dean's office this afternoon. Charles offered his bike, and then I also purchased some gear way out of schedule (and budget) all of which needs to be justified. Yun. Wala na akong excuse. :O

With Eric P the Event Coordinator.
The paper was supposed to be my reg form na baliktad. :s

The route is quite simple and straight forward, maximizing UP's usual "running destinations". The main challenge would be the bike part. Will I be needing my 10 year old girl knee pads?

The Dean is preparing for this diligently. Word on the street, he just purchased a bike and 2 new pairs of shoes. He's very athletic, I see him sometimes in Celebrity. No wonder he is very enthusiastic with the project.

NOW, the training begins. Want to join me? :D

Globe Run For Home 10k 07192009

I got up especially early for this. Hmp. What's so special about this race that I had to make the effort, in addition to registering in a Globe Business Center (Step 1) and picking up the race pack 2 days before the race...in a different city (Step 2).

Still wanting to sleep, i dragged myself to the starting line at 5am to send off Charles and Roy, then sat around and waited for my brain to wake up. Saw Tuesday during that interval, one of my Taekwondo friends, who jolted me up with a little good morning chit chat (taekwondo friends are making the move to less stressful sports, you see).

And then off I went for another fort-buendia 10k race at 5:45, prompt and exact. Nice. It's pretty much the same as the other fort b races I've joined, except for the fact that (1) I was using a Champion Chip (2) there were lots of water and sports drinks going around (3) there were some km markers along the way. Wow, well prepared I must say.

There were a lot of high profile persons running with us: the big bosses of Ayala, some society figures (Rai, I think I saw idol Ms. M.P.!) and Rovilson (hehe) who inspired me for some kilometers before I had to slow my pace down. Saw Raya again while I was near the u-turn (another taekwondo colleague veering away, hehe). I realized that big races like this one is also a chance to show off your popularity. This person I'm at pace with was greeted by at least 10 people. He should get 10 seconds off his time as a bonus.

Finishing the course (Step 3), I was extremely exhausted. It was not a good feeling, realizing how out of shape I was. I started to blame lawschool and the lack of training time but after some thinking, I realized I did slash off 5 minutes from my last fort-buendia 10k. OA lang ako. Hehe. So from then I was feeling giddy again (or the endorphins' effect was just delayed because of hunger).

Flyers say that the results will be out on Thursday and will be posted in Globe's website (Step 4). A little long for a wait, but I don't mind. I'm interested though on the "analysis" which comes with the Champion Chip.

So, was it worth all the effort doing all those steps? The press release answer to that is "Yes, because it was for a cause. I helped build a home." Smile smile smile. :D But kidding aside, the race was well organized and ran smoothly despite the size of the crowd. However, it would be better if the race wasn't that pa-VIP expecting people to take time off for more than once, as for the Champion Chips, we have yet to see its premium until the results and analysis.

Cultured Club: July Musicals

Cultured club is (not) an exclusive group for performance arts showcase appreciation.
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July, is rainy because of all the LSS after watching these two shows.

JULY 3: 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE


Or, Spelling Bee as it is better known.

Staged at the RCBC Carlos P. Romulo Theater, my friends and I braved the Makati traffic on a rainy Friday night to watch this Tony Award-winning musical. I'm so happy I got the chance to watch this as I missed it the first time around. Briefly, the show is about a group of quirky kids competing for the spelling bee championship. I mostly enjoyed the show because of the witty lines. The use-the-word sentences were especially funny. Celebrity guests were Angel Aquino and ...Karylle (yes, I know, what are the odds).

Well, there's not much to say but that the show is really fun and entertaining. Interactive even. There's not much shows like this. Great job.



JULY 12: THE FANTASTICKS

The Fantasticks is apparently the "world's longest running musical" and some songs recognizable, especially "Try To Remember" which goes Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow.



I wish to watch this on Broadway, to see how it should really look like. In this show, I found the lead characters a little annoying. Their voices standing alone sound good, but together, they don't blend well. I know that the lead girl is artist-pedigreed, however, I guess for me, she doesn't fit the role? Second, i got lost in the setting. Is it medieval, is it the 50s, or is it current? I didn't appreciate the costume deviations/mismatch. Obviously done on purpose, but these kinds of experiments should be done with a footnote to get the point. Or maybe I just don't get it. On the bright side, I enjoyed the scene stealing by the other characters.

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The next musicals on my list is Spring Awakening and Sweeney Todd. :D

(Images from http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=482726&publicationSubCategoryId=70 and http://www.repertory-philippines.com/show.asp?showid=49.)

Upcoming Running Events: Run For Home, UP LAW TRIATHLON

July 19 - RUN FOR HOME

Sponsored by Globe, the race will use Championchips for timing. The proceeds will be for the benefit of Habitat for Humanity. The slots are limited, right now I am not aware if they're still available.

I have to say however that the registration process is quite tedious. As a postpaid subscriber I was required to pay P300 in cash and in addition to that, register for 1 week unlimited text (P80 charged to my bill, total =P380). For nonsubscribers like Charles, he was required to buy a SIM (P45), P300 worth prepaid credits and register for unlitext (P80 deducted from the credits, total P345). Lastly, for prepaid subscribers like Roy, P300 prepaid credit and deducted unlitext registration (total P280). I have to wait and see if the P80 was credited to my MSF or was charged in addition to. After registering, we were given a coupon to claim the race pack somewhere else.

After having done that, I have high expectations. Hehe. Would have loved to join the 21k category, but as of now I can only give preparation effort level enough for 10k. In a few months maybe.

August 30 - FIRST UP LAW INVITATIONAL TRIATHLON AND FUN RUN

For the very first time, UP Law gets this exciting! I really think I can do the sprint triathlon, and considering that there are not much events of the like here in UP, this would be a great opportunity. I just have to do 3 things though (1) replace my lost swimsuit or get a trisuit (2) borrow a bike (3) find the time to train. On the other hand I could just join a team and do one leg (either swim or run), but a P1000 reg fee per person is just too much. Or I could just run the 10k like always. Should I decide to do the sprint, then this might be my equivalent of Charles' 50k crazy whim.

Well anyhoo, registration will be in UP Law. Perhaps for the knack of it I will register while I'm on the way to the cafeteria or midway during a class while on a restroom break. As opposed to Globe, it will be no sweat.