Garmin outwits Nike

Nike doesn't produce lace adaptors for its own products so "less smart" shoppers would be fooled that you need to own a nike shoe which has its own socket inside the sole.

Well...

http://gear.runnersworld.com/2009/08/garmins-new-forerunners.html

"Finally, Garmin quietly released a tiny new shoe pod that slips into the midsole socket of Nike Plus shoes. So, if you're running in a pair of Nikes you have the option of wearing the foot pod inside the shoe or attaching it to the laces. The new foot pod works with all the Forerunner watches including the new GPS-less FR60. While it's perfect for treadmill training and other instances when the GPS doesn't receive a signal, it also supplements the info gathered by the GPS over the course of an outdoor run by tracking your cadence, or stride rate, which is a useful gauge of running efficiency."

But I'm a Suunto user......so...:-|

Pag day-op ni inday...October 10Ks: Milo, QCIM, Nike

Honestly, it's so depressing that school has to be this long..and now that sembreak has transformed into a wish rather than a required concession, all hope has faded. I've been robbed of time. :( Well anyway, life goes on...and we can always whine about everything once in a while. >:D

As I've mentioned before, training runs on spare time began to decrease since the start of the semester, and altogether halted come October because of the awful weather, and well, academic demands became a little heavier (the last real training was post-Ondoy :O). But October was THE race month, and I will just have to make do, even without the regular runs. Sinong duwag?...Fayyyyt!

MILO 10K. My first Roxas Blvd. race. It was funny to be there very early in the morning, running without the Utopia/Blue Tips clutched in my hand or breakfast for a sis taking the bar. Haha! I didn't know that Km 0 to traders hotel is just less than 3k.

The crowd consists mostly highschool kids running as a requirement for the 5k. Actually, I doubt if i could call it running....Kids were so funny, reklamo to the max, pagod na daw sila. Reminds me of me....

It took me too long to reach the finish line, 3 mins off of my (already reasonable) target time. This is what I get from keeping out of the road. The course was relatively easy - a flat first 3k then a flyover and flat road again, then back. Well, the race was pretty uneventful except for the fact that the sun came out too early and my stomach was turning at km 8...probably because of the water.

...which reminds me of the days when I still qualified for the Milo Little Olympics (Taekwondo) where I avoided free Milo drinks for notoriously causing stomach troubles to fellow competitiors. :P

QCIM 10K. My post- bday race! And post-nego finals exam. Another first race, this time in Commonwealth. I did a training run here prior to the UP Law Tri, but this was a lot better because I was running IN THE MIDDLE of Commonwealth Ave, which I deliberately did because...well, how often can you do that? I mean, without getting ran over and without inhaling black smoke...:/ I understand that a lot of people got irritated with some roads closed, but they just wouldn't understand the joy of it.

Anyway, although the week before I promised to bring my own water, I wasn't able to because I only had a minute (literally) 'til gun start when I arrived...so yes, I had a great warm up that race.

The race map said the route will take us to UP but it was changed to just running a straight 5k out Commonwealth then back to QC Circle. At 2.3k, my footpod died on me and I had to rely on instinct for pacing. The course was the easiest 10k, even easier than UP. It only had 2 minor hills while the rest is flat... or it seems flat...because it grows slowly daw. At the 5k marker I was surprised to see that my time was right on the dot. But alas, i didn't have enough for a negative split so i just endured at the same relative pace. In any case, I was glad to finish a little below the desired time, but I definitely realized the need for training because I really had to push the last 2k.

I spotted Ronald at around km 7 in the middle of the road filming for his new show and got a high five and some air time...haha. Tito Ron was hosting the pre-awarding program. (Someone else was hosting daw, sana kumuha nalang ng totoong artista hindi yung feeling artista, no offense mr. d.....>:D sorry I just had to say that.) JJ ran his first half marathon while Charles and Roy ran their first full marathon. Congrats :) Registered for the nike human race, and was excited to get my shirt. :)

NIKE HUMAN RACE 10K (SUBIC INT'L MARATHON)...FULL OF SURPRISES! I had just hurdled 2 exams and was just so eager to escape a while from this frantic law school scene that I didn't even think of canceling, even though the CTA digests deadline was moved three days earlier. Luckily, I can sleep in the car going there and i have my globe tattoo, which did not give up on me in effectively zero-rated Subic (yes, i love tax 2).

After dropping off Charles and Roy for their much awaited full marathon (and way before they were forcibly dehydrated. grrr) I got ready and went to the venue early to pick up my shirt. A cool shirt indeed B-). The crew was really friendly although they were most of the time lost (because I was the one answering the queries of random people waiting in line) and then made new friends while we were all waiting for our shirts.

The place had no indication that a nike race is about to begin, save for an announcement 5 minutes prior...and then 1.5 minutes prior. Talk about surprise!

Ran the first 3k with Kathy and Bards who were doing recovery runs and invited me to stay with them for a relaxed pace run. At km 2 was a surprise hill. (Surprise ulit!) All was going fine until i realized that the surprise hill will not end at all. The road was curving to the right so I had no inkling of how steep the next kms would be. We were steadily climbing and at some point the calves could just not take it and I had to slow down (haha! walang hill training!) and walk the last km to the turnaround point.

I replenished my fuel belt with pocari sweat at the drinks station (the last I ever saw) and then sped downhill, to slow down yet again when the flat roads came back. Finished in not so swell a time. I learned that the course was longer than 10k (by 1k according to finish line stretch friend, by .5k according to some bloggers), but even discounting the excess meters, 1:22 was a bad 10k time. Anyway, this by far is the toughest 10k race I've ran. But nonetheless, it was one of the funnest races I've joined. Except of course for the fact that THERE WAS NO WATER.

Three hours later, after a nice rest (and a couple of CTA digests), went back to Remy Field to catch the happy runners cross the finish line. Well done babe. :)

....Surprise again! Since my nike+ wasn't calibrated, I registered 12.2k instead of just 10k and fooled nikerunning.com that I ran a 1:06 10k haha.

So, while we were in Subic, we had a chance to see Zoobic. Didn't get to see the talent show though.

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After running all these 10Ks with zero training, I am now psyching myself for redemption. Plus I'm feeling that I'm gaining my weight back, all the more reason I should get back in my shoes. Next month starts early bar review and a 20 unit semester...but I promise a 21k sometime soon (or at least a 15k again hehe....). :)