Saturday, November 21, 2015

POGS Run For Mom 2015



Earlier today, Dave and I joined the POGS Run For Mom 2015 race in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City. I have been eyeing this race for a while now and was glad to get an invite from a friend.  Luckily, they provide on-site registration.  I simply cannot pass up an opportunity to run for a cause that I support.


 Mederma, the leading brand in the US for stretch marks therapy have established their campaign called Medermom which encourages mothers to support and care for other mothers who may have limited access to maternal care. This advocacy, I definitely support and whatever help I can give, I will give it, for I am a mom myself and I know the challenges mothers face.  No matter what they go through, they will always put the care of their families first and Medermom aims to provide them the care and help they need.

Medermom partnered with Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society (POGS) to dedicate a special run for moms in support of their advocacy that every mother deserves only the greatest care. It was good to see that a lot of people participated in the race.  There were doctors, moms, dads, teens and even little kids.

Even before the race started, the people were already very hyped up! The event started with a very energetic warm-up exercise then off we went to the race.

What I liked about the race itself is the venue, Camp Aguinaldo, and the different stops they had.  Running in Camp Aguinaldo seemed like you were running in a small familiar village.  There were police in uniforms cleaning the roads together, greeting you as you pass by.  There were small groups of policemen jogging together in two lines.  People were very warm and polite.

During the race, they had several unusual stops; there was the pastillas booth, Halloween booth, where people in masks were giving away candies and there was the iced candy stop.  I like iced candy and this booth surely made me smile.

After the race, there were also several food booths that were offering street food like taho, hotdogs, ice cream and fishballs.  They also had their own photobooth thats free! Good job to POGS and Mederma for this collaboration!


Now, on to something a little more interesting for moms like me, the Mederma Stretch marks therapy. Anything that will solve my stretch marks problem, I am absolutely down for it!  I have worried about stretch marks even before I got pregnant and have tried several popular brands of stretch marks therapy lotion in the market, religiously lathering it on my tummy but all to no avail.  With very limited choices in the country of this kind of product, this definitely piqued my interest.

The Marketing Manager, Ms. J-Ann Mirasol, explained that its never too late to try it.  There were  moms who tried even after several years after giving birth and still got positive results.  This product is carefully formulated with Onion Extract, Centella Asiatica and Hyaluronic Acid and is clinically proven to have a triple restore action that softens, smoothens and replenishes skin in as early as two weeks.  Well then, upon hearing that, I'm sold!  Im definitely buying this product ASAP while their BUY 1, TAKE 1 promo is still on!

Mederma products are currently available for purchase in selected Watson's and Mercury drug stores. For more details, please visit www.facebook.com/MederMOM

Sunday, November 8, 2015

New Balance Power Run 2015

New category, new trail and a whole new level of confidence!

I ran my first 10-kilometer race last November 8, 2015 at Vista City, Daang Hari and I must say, I did pretty well than I expected.  My target time was 1 hour and 30 minutes with an average pace of 10 min/km, but I finished the race at 1 hour and 20 minutes with an average pace of 8.37min/km!  I did slightly better than my average pace in the last marathon I ran and that even had a shorter distance.  This just means my performance is improving and it motivates me to do even better! I also did not have a hard time during the race, in fact, surprisingly, I ran in most parts of the race.  My friends scared me about the 10K category saying it was really difficult.  Because of this, I really trained hard for it. The only complaint I have is that I felt really hungry after the 7th kilometer.

Below are some of my comments on the race:

Vista City, Daang Hari
Positive:
Wide and clean road
There were trees and plants around
Good view

Negative:
Dead cat
Dead dog
Smoke from siga

New Balance Singlet
Positive:
Cool design
Very comfortable material
A lot of available sizes

Negative:
I would prefer a sleeveless singlet

Route
Positive:
I liked that there were a few uphill and downhill parts.

Negative:
None!

Race
Positive:
Well-organized
Water and Gatorade were available
Registration was convenient
Fee was acceptable (P750 for 10k)
Freebies were okay (wristband and headband from New Balance)

Negative:
None!

Start

Finish line

Companion:
The best!


Thank you to my reliable running buddy who never wants to leave me behind during a race even though he is way faster than me.  There is never a race I have been to without him.

Overall, I enjoyed the race except for the stinky dead dog.  They should have disposed of the body instead of just throwing it on the side.


Saturday, November 7, 2015

Preparing for my first 10k!

This Sunday, November 8, 2015, I will be joining the New Balance Power Run 2015 race in the 10k category.

Its going to be my very first 10k race!!!

I am both excited and nervous at the same time.  You don't know if you're going to get injured or dizzy in race.  I am prone to getting dizzy after a race actually.  To train for the race, I have been doing at least 8 kilometers a week; 5k twice a week and one 3k on a weekend.  I'm just hoping that's enough for me to survive my first 10k.

I have been running in Filinvest City.  The road is flat and made of concrete with no cars passing by.  If you want a little elevation, you can make a turn towards the Palms Country Club.  Its good to run there because the environment feels safe and there are a lot of trees for some shade and fresh air. A lot of seasoned runners and beginners run at Filinvest City.



During one of my training sessions, I bumped into some friends who motivated me to run my first 10k.  The first one is Ms. Ruth Floresca, she is a lifestyle blogger(mommywrites.blogspot.com). I met her through work and since then have developed a friendship. She actually inspired me to join the 10k category. She has been joining marathons under the 10k category and told me that I can do it too, and even blog about it! Hence, the birth of this blog.

(Photo c/o Ms. Ruth)

The second one is Ms. Mae Sarcia, who used to be a client of mine in my former job. Ms. Mae is a teacher in one of the private schools inside Ayala Alabang. She is bubbly, cheerful and apparently, has an active lifestyle. She's already joined a full marathon(42K) and several other special marathons like the one in Caliraya and Sagada. I was amazed. Ms. Mae told me things I didn't know yet about running like proper breathing and foot assessment. Apparently, I need to get my feet assessed first! She also told me that the 10k category would be very easy for me and I believed her. That sealed the deal. I'm ready for my first 10k race!







Sunday, November 1, 2015

Nike+ VS Runtastic App

Running apps are really useful in the sport of running.  They could track your pace, distance, route and even your progress.  But which running app is the best? Even I don't have the answer.  All I know is, I am very satisfied with the ones I use.

I don't only use one, but two running apps.  The first one I discovered is Runtastic.  It also shows the pace, distance, route, weather, etc.  It shows everything relevant for running.  Your speed is even represented by different colors.  The feature I like the most in Runtastic is the voice feedback. It alerts you every after kilometer completed during a run.  You also have the option to track either the calories burned or the time.

Record per run, more detailed and specific

Record of all your activities

Home

The free version of the app only allows the voice feedback to alert you after the first kilometer.  It also just shows you the time, pace and distance after a run.  I wanted more features so I purchased the full app for 2.99 dollars, but I found out that there's not much difference between the free version and the full version.  The features that were added that I found useful was the automatic pause and the voice feedback for every kilometer.  The rest, I could not understand anymore.  Also, all the Training programs in this app can only be downloaded for a fee of 21 dollars per program!!!

A friend of mine who is a seasoned runner referred the Nike+ Runner app that you can download for free.  When I tried this app, I discovered that it has all the features of the Runtastic full app (the one that cost me 2.99 dollars). Bummer.  I should have downloaded this app instead of paying for Runtastic.  Its also much easier to use.    

Home

Record of all your activities

Summary of all your activities and how your total distance compares to your friends - cool feature :)

Specific record per run

I use two running apps simply because I cannot drop the record of my activities in Runtastic since I have been using it longer than Nike+. Had I started with Nike+, I wouldn't go with any other app anymore. 

Recommendation:

Go for the Nike+ Runner. You will get everything you need for FREE!