The Big (Jo)Mac

Thank heavens, the rain stopped for today's training!

I excitedly parked at the ULTRA and got ready for my first training ever, with Mr. Macalintal (Jojo, Jomac). We were about 6 runners this morning, 2 of us girls (me and Ivy) and 4 triathletes.

Mr. Jomac was very friendly, but no dilly-dallying with him. We started warming up by swinging our legs side to side, feet flexed. Quite new to me.

He then divided us into two groups, and we girls parted. He laid out what looked like a flimsy ladder, and all our drills were based on those small boxes that ladder created. My group was asked to do two 400 meter rounds, and for some dumb reason I just could not keep up with the guys.

I didn't know Mr. Jomac was observing my footwork, and so he mentioned I need to change my heel strike, and the speed (yes, someone answered my cry of help!) But before we could change my form, drills first.

The drills were really, really crazy hard, but fun! What differed this training from the Nike Running Clinic was that (of course, here you pay and you are not as many), we had to run hitting our glutes, tinikling dance, hop, skip, all confined in the boxes of the ladder. Major coordination challenge for someone like me! Dancers and small feet must have an easier time here. It was major burnout that the ladder of about 3-5 feet and the drills made me lose my breath.

Then, he taught me the basics of the Kenyan run, something like bolting, you run baby steps, but make sure that when you land on your foot, you push it right away. 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4. According to him, I need to strengthen my legs. I followed obediently.

He made me do the baby steps on the ladder, using it as a base for my rounds. Really cool. The pre-existing pains on my shins were slowly disappearing, because I was not using them in the wrong way.

Oh, and my arms. At last, someone showed me the correct way to swing them, arms not swinging from the waist, but up, up on your chest. USE THEM, for God's sake!

The training lasted for about 2 hours.

Hopefully I get to master the technique.

My first long run on Sunday, one whole hour using my baby steps.

Nike Running Clinic

It was my second time to attend the Nike Running Clinic. I willed myself to brave the traffic last night so that I could join the runners in Bonifacio High Street. Well, I was not disappointed.

We had our first two rounds (big) from the Nike Park, encircling the whole high street. Of course, the slow runner that I am, I got late for the warm up stretches. No regrets. I met a coach who politely explained to me why I feel pain in my quads and knees.. because I was overweight. Hehe, as if I didn't know that...then he gave me tips on how to develop speed. Thank you, Coach (I have yet to know your name).

We were about 16 students, and I never spoke to any of them (I am shy, you know). But the stretches, the experiences we shared in the difficulties of the drills made me bond with them. No words spoken, only the feeling of frustration taken lightly. One challenging drill was running with your knees hip level. The uncoordinated woman in me could not find any rhythm in crossing the line with knees up, feet flexed, and arms moving like a bicycle. I found myself totally challenged.

Since it was my second time to join, I knew better than to wear shorts. I wore a pair of mid calf jogging pants, which made me more relaxed and less conscious of what I didn't want the world to see.

The last 4 small rounds were hard for me. I had to walk 30% of the way, since my legs were overused. The drizzle was also getting more pervasive. After my 4th round (6th to the advanced who even finished before I did... can you imagine me scratching my head?), we stretched some more and cooled down. Then we called it a night.

I called it a lovely night...:)