Treading Forward

The previous year of racing and running brought a lot of fun, opportunities, new experiences, both bad and good news, and some... running heartbreaks. It is a runner's heartbreak (for me) when you weren't able to obtain what you initially thought was attainable (more on this on my next post)! The final month of the year 2012 was the most down time for me in terms of running and fitness where the lazy-bug took hold of my passion and got the motivation out of me.

But then, life moves on, and so must we!

Breaking Personal Bests

Just a few weeks ago, I realized that the year 2012 wasn't really bad after all. But a fruitful one indeed, much more than I have expected and wished for. It was my season of breaking my own personal bests or personal records (PR), although not that great, but hey, it was still my record!

Aside from obtaining my longest trail run (and a Skyrun at that), I have surpassed my previous sub-50 10K after more than two years during the Run for Light; unexpectedly hit a sub-1:55 21K at the 36th Milo Marathon (Manila elim.); and also finally surpassed my previous two Marathons, finally obtaining a sub-5-hrs at the Run United Philippine Marathon.

The Immuvit Fearless series also gave me some thoughtful realization that real fitness doesn't just concentrate in one muscle group, one discipline, but to our body's overall capacity internally and externally.

2013 Target Races

"By their mid-30s, most athletes are generally considered past their prime -- whether they admit it or not." - Coach Rio, Men's Health Philippines vol.59, March 2010 issue.

It was that statement that somehow brought my athletic blood to life. I'm still at my early 30s (which I have been denying for the past 2 years already, lol), but a little 3-4 more years, and I will be already considered past my prime! That's not much of a big deal but I don't want either to be dreaming of beating more of my younger PRs when I'm already in my middle-age, or regretting that I haven't made myself stronger so that I can still somehow be at par according to my age. After all, my motivation for running and getting fit is the fact that we will all get old but getting fit, strong, and healthy is just like a financial investment without the risk. If you save or invest now, you will reap the rewards later!

With that said, I have changed my thought, my plan of not doing races anymore for this year. Since the 21K races appealed most to me (sorry for 42K and beyond distances), my target this time is to become much better on this distance than what I previously am. But of course, I will still continue running on trails, some longer distances (maybe one Marathon and Ultramarathon) and other shorter distances such as the 10Ks, after all, it was my previous favorite distance.

So, here's my initial target races for 2013, courtesy of RunRio and Unilab Active Health calendar.

*Note: Updated as of 29Jul2013

SCHEDULE	RACE NAME	CATEGORY
17-Feb	PhilHealth-DOH Nationwide Run, Manila Leg	18K
17-Mar	4th RunRio Trilogy Leg1 - Run United 1	21K
23-Mar	Salomon Road-x-Trail Run	12K
7-Apr	BDO Race For Life	3K
27-Apr	Merrell Adventure Run 4	21K
28-Apr	National Geographics Channel Earth Day Run	21K
26-May	Energen Fun Run	10K
23-Jun	World Vision Run 2013	21K
14-Jul	Takbo.Ph Runfest 2013	21K
28-Jul	National Milo Marathon - Manila Leg	21K
06-Oct	4th RunRio Trilogy Leg3 - Run United 3	42K
27-Oct	Sole Running Int'l Half Marathon Leg3	21K
15-Dec	(UltraMarathon here)	50K

Where do you think we're going to see each other?