Dreading it for 5 miles

I have happily been in the same place for five days in a row now. A much needed respite to all the traveling in general but particularly, the madness that is Manila.

Despite living approximately 5 miles from UP Diliman and Ateneo, travel time there would take at least an hour of life threatening maneuvering.

Enough said, right?

For once, I am truly appreciating suburbia and my ability to get some work done. (But since this is more of a running blog, I won't go there right now.)

I'm pretty sure that my failure to get my scheduled miles in have contributed to an unusual threshold of impatience regarding the heat and traffic. Despite the cleaner air out here, however, I've opted to run on my cousin's treadmill.

And don't think I didn't crank up the air conditioning. Because I did.

5 miles | 45:33 time | 9:06 min/mil

Did I still sweat like hell, you ask?

You bet your ass I did. Because it's effing humid out here DESPITE the air conditioning.

Trust Yourself

In a world where reason and logic seem to get you where you need to go, it's easy to ignore those feelings that sit at the pit of your stomach.

Despite the effort. Despite the sincerity. Despite the love. Sometimes, the world is just as it should be when things are not right. Sometimes, the-best-in-you is not inspired by the circumstances. And the bigger person in you will always let go.

It's times likes these that allow us to be grateful for the relationships and moments in life that are in place. That do bring out the best in and inspire us. And that hopefully equip us with the tools to confront the difficult in life.

Through it all. Despite any pain and disappointment. I must always trust myself.

Reality Check

I've given up the fool's errand of a sub 2:00 half marathon at the Rock N' Roll in Virginia Beach. I knew going in that a significant chunk of my training would take place in the Philippines but my notorious ambition ignored this slight obstacle. It won't get me down but with about 4 weeks until race day my new goal will be to just enjoy the festivities of the race and to not get too competitive with LCT :)

Below is a summary of my runs since I've been in Asia. It's painful to record here but hey, part of this blog's purpose is to keep me honest so...eh, here it goes:

July 3 2007 - Run with cousin MCP
2.0 miles

Jul 6 2007 - Solo run in Taiwan
2.1 miles | 18:05 time | 8:36 min/mil

Jul 8 2007 - Solo run in Taiwan
2.16 miles | 18:27 time | 8:31 min/mil

Jul 19 2007 - Run with LNJ
2.09 miles | 22:01 time | 10:30 min/mil

Jul 20 2007 - Run with LNJ
3 miles | 27:27 time | 9:56 min/mil

Jul 25 2007 - Solo run in Phils
3 miles | 26:48 time | 8:59 min/mil

Jul 31 2007
4.16 miles | 37:29 time | 8:59 min/mil

Aug 1 2007
3 miles | 26:19 time | 8:50 min/mil

Total : ~ 18 Miles out of my scheduled 87 miles!!

Holy !@#$&*!!!

To be fair, however, I'm proud of the fact that I've gotten my ass out of bed as much as I have given the fact that both in Taiwan and the Philippines at around 5am, it's a 'cool' 85 degrees and humid as all hell! Also, despite a crazy aerobic adjustment of running in some serious smog along the river banks, I've managed to keep up my base level of fitness...definitely not race ready but good enough if I keep things up or increase my mileage until I head back to the U.S. just in time for the half.

Damn this blog and 'keeping me honest' crap...

As they say around here: Mabuhay!!

Philippine Update

The 'training', you ask? I'm just glad I get out every once in a while for a 4-miler with this unrelenting and unforgiving heat. I guess that's what you get when you're in a country that is right at the equator...

It's taken about 45 minutes to upload these few photos so...you get what you get :)


Anna and I with her 'SUPER Lola' i.e. my dearest grandmother.


Nick and Anna pose in front of our famously recalled Virgin Mary statue in the yard of my Mother's childhood home. Poor Anna squints from the sun. Can you guess what religion we grew up with?!


Me and my cousin, Michelle have drinks with my brother, Nick, in Eastwood - a hip night life area of Manila.

I have yet to post pictures from my Dad's side of the family because of the slow connection speed I'm having right now but I did manage to get up a preview photos since I've been with the Javiers :)


The Javier House in Pasig, Manila.


A garden view from the Veranda, which is an outdoor living room. It's a bad photo but the house sits on a cliff and looks out onto the Marikina Valley.


Another garden view from the Veranda looking down on the first floor level. Across is a window of the Master suite.


Anna and I make a pilgrimage to the Jose Rizal Shrine in Intramuros, the old walled city of Manila established by colonial Spain but built by Filipinos.


We toured Intramuros via Karitela and made friends with our horse, Kiko (not pictured, unfortunately)!

Stay tuned for more photos and updates on runs once I get my stats uploaded form my iSports kit...

Amongst the Asians: Picture Update

I've managed to accomplish quite a few things in Taiwan so far:

1. Beat my jet lag and am now officially in 'Asian Time' :)
2. Completed two respectable runs
3. Survived the heat and humidity

Here are the stats for my runs:
Friday, 7/6 Distance 2.1 miles | Time 18:05 | 8:36 min/mile
Sunday, 7/8 Distance 2.16 mi | Time 18:27 | 8:31 min/mile

It's been really difficult to log these miles what with the DEATHLY heat and humidity here in Taiwan. I've been out in the mornings by 5:00am and I can honestly say that I'm worried for my health when I run (hehe). In fact, during the day, it's indoors for me and under the umbrella while out on the streets. And um, NO, I feel no shame walking around with an umbrella under the sun.

Some of you know that I'm training for a half marathon in September and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be pulling that race out of my ass. For now, I'm just happy that I'm able to hit the pavement and am hopeful that once I get settled in the Philippines (hotter still) and now that I'm over my jet lag it will be smoother sailing. (FYI I will literally be flying into the country and then running the race. Not the brightest of my ideas. *shrug* It will be grand!)


One of our many airport stops



The Grand Hotel in Taipei (i.e. NOT my hotel in Taipei)


On our way to the Palace National Museum in Taipei. Checking out the spoils of the KMT.


Some lovely palm trees that I ran past on one of my runs :)


A pic from Nick's wedding. I KNOW, I will post more later!


Anna and I blindly order food at a local restaurant. She's gotten REALLY good with chopsticks!

I All Done Wit Airpane- Reflections on my Manila Run

As I looked out upon the lights of Manila--relieved after 16 + hours of plane travel--it was a strange thing to think that I was born here. Indeed, this is my 'native' land. And despite being irreversibly tied to my adoptive country of America, I know that a part of me will be forever tied to this land as well.

With Anna peacefully sleeping on my lap, I braced myself for immigration, customs and baggage pickup.

Today I realize that I have lost 12 hours with the date being July 4th, two whole days after our departure date. I'm trying to ignore the countless hours of sleep i have lost along the way...in fact, I can barely keep my eyes open writing this.

Unlike in years past, i ahve opted to stay with my Mother's family while here in Manila. It will be a huge departure from staying with my Father's family who enjoy the pampered and exclusive life of gated communities. I knew I wanted to see and experience the Philippines from a completely different perspective. I'm finding that even my fair share of time with the intellectual elites of the country ought to be balanced with understanding the community's sense of social justice.

In true fashion, I got my taste of this on my run this morning with my cousin MP. We've been close since we were in diapers and it was wonderful to join her on her morning jog--it was the perfect way to spend my first morning here in the Philippines. Ahh, the joys of mixing research/business with pleasure.

We ran along the newly developed marikina River waterfront , an area previously inhabited by 'squatters' as well as an area plagued with litter and pollultion. The new water front trail and accompanying restaurants, stores and other businesses has brought this community outdoors. I saw joggers/runners, cyclists, walkers, couples and everyone and anyone else you could think of. MP expalined how the mayor in charge of the development proejct was reelected by a land slide and that the community now self-polices top keep the area clean. Furthermore, the 'squatters' in the area were relocated to a low-income houseing development and were thought of in the process.

Textbook community development project!

We didn't run too far and we ended up walking after a bit since MP is just starting to run but I didn't care. Besides, on such little sleep, I think my body couldn't take much more.

Experiences for Anna to check from today (and for my Dad to freak out about): Jeepney ride and Palenke (Market), complete with an 'it stinks' face that is priceless in and of itself.

Off to Taiwan tomorrow. Will post pics asap. :)

Positive Mental Mojo

T minus three days until the big trip to the Philippines and I'm fighting to get over a COLD!! Too many sleepless nights during mileage buildup and injury rehabilitation and I guess you could say that I was asking for it. But I didn't ask for it, so all I can do now is stay positive.

That said, here are three positive Mia-thoughts to get my training-mental-mojo and general-mental-mojo in check:

1. On Tuesday, I ran an easy 3-miler at a 9:00min average pace. Despite the brevity of the workout, I accomplished my goal to keep my splits fairly even at around 8:58-9:00mm. And I did. Woot.

2. I'm really excited to see family (and go to my brother's wedding in Taiwan) and to do some Mia-style traveling and adventures since my jet-setting hiatus after having the BAMBINA. No more stressing about the logistics of traveling with a 2-year-old; this little girl is going to have a world view that elected leaders should have.

3. So far, this summer has been filled with precious moments with family and friends. Our time with my family in East Lansing and my friends (Anna's Titas, Titos & Uncaws) in Ann Arbor and those who have come back for visits from afar, life is good.

Not to jinx myself but since I'm finally starting to get better, I also have the possibility of running tomorrow as yet another happy thought but really, the below pictures says it all:

Anna's BFF.

One can only guess what our delinquent friends are doing here...but they never fail to put a smile on the face.

Stay posted all, I definitely intend on keeping you updated with the scoops. Just wish me luck on finding internet connections :)