Thanks God it’s Friday! Until 4pm of Friday, I haven’t made up my mind if I’ll go to Ultra for the BR Training or go home to have enough time to prepare for a dinner with my high school friends.  So, I confirmed the venue and time for dinner: 8:30pm. Hmmm, That’s enough time for a few rounds at the Ultra (might as well go).

I arrived at Ultra and got dressed.  OMG! The dressing room is a mess with all the trash left behind by early users (I wish these girls using the room could have been more conscious and don’t just leave their trash anywhere – as in! as in!) plus the fact that there is no water made it even worst….  Ohhh….  I don’t wanna expound more, I’ve lost my appetite to run…

Mark and Ag are done with their warmups when I went into the oval so I did mine…shortly, Phillip, Dennis and Hector arrived.

Hmmm no sightings of Coach yet,  so we were just chatting about life, love, life (in short, running! love it and it’s our life). Crazy ideas would always come out from these conversations and this time —- May 15-Great Wall Marathon???? hmmm…….nuninuninuninuninu……why not?

great wall of china??? - May 15, 2010!!

Are we dreaming or what???…I guess we’re not, we are still at Ultra.  Then, Frank Indapan arrived and woke us up from our dreams…..

Frank: "Ok drills na tayo".... Us: " ah yeah (wake up newbies)"

We had another 6 minutes run with Frank until Coach arrived….

Us: tuloy lang kami coach…continuous run na lang

Coach: No. Drills, then intervals

Us: Coach!!!! …Joke ka…. Next week pa yan, di ba. ….Valentines Coach! ….You’re breaking your promises coach, recovery this week….blah blah blah

Coach: 7 lang. Next week na 10.

Us: ——-fine—–fine ——let’s get this done! (I tried another one – “Coach, nag-adjust pa ko sa shoes ko.”  It still didn’t work.)

After some stretching, balancing drills, heel tap, heel flip, etc….the appetite I lost a while ago is back! Go, let’s do the 400meters.

Started the first 400m at 1:38.  “Too fast!”…Our goal was 1:50 per coach, that’s for me, Denz, Hector and Phillip with Frank as pacer & timer.  For the next ones, we tried and maintained a slower pace and finished at 1:47-1:50.  Frank keeps warning us when we are going too fast or when the strides are not good.  Before we realized it, we are on our last two repetitions.   So much for whinings….We asked Frank to lead us and set the pace so we could surely finish at 1:45 for the last two.  And we did!

Alquin ran & timed the rest of the boys-Mark & Ag. Average time- 1:28 to 1:30.wohoo..getting faster!!!

After some more cool down and stretching, I had to leave early for a dinner while Eric (who arrived late) does his own intervals at a near-elite pace.  Wow!  A few months back this guy is at 1:30 (So Mark and Ag, few more months and hmmmm – near elite?).

Dear Coach,

Happy Valentines Day! Thanks for the early gift! Dapat next week pa ang intervals na ito.  But we love it!!!!

– Tin – on behalf of the BR Speed Training Class of 09 (seriously, what batch are we coach?)

P.S.

Frank, Alquin and Coach (whom I’ve mentioned in this post and my other posts) are part of the Team Bald Runner-Elites .  They have been dominating and winning most of our local races.  More than being elites though, their training programs have helped many runners go beyond their limits and meet their goals from running their first 5k to an ultramarathon.  Generosity abounds from them indeed!

In my own little way, I would want to contribute to the Team’s mission (quoting from BR):

“This is our contribution to our nation’s solution to our problem in sports excellence and ultimately, be able to attain our first Gold Medal in the Olympic Games, through Athletics. This is a dream but we are taking those small steps and actions, one at a time, towards such direction rather than not doing something about the problem.

This will be a long journey but with everybody getting involved in this advocacy, I know we can reach that goal. Team Bald Runner is the first step towards such destination.

Come and join us and let us take that journey together.”

Bald Runner is currently going on an Adventure Run.  As of this writing, he is on his 160th kilometer.  About a hundred kilometers more and he is in Baguio (his destination).  Read more on www.baldrunner.com.

Some runner friends of BR have made pledges of P10 per kilometer.  I am making my own pledge and I hope, whatever amount it is, that would bring us a step closer to the journey the Elite Team is taking….

Join us?

(A Valentines Gift for the Elites)