Running Passport # 00601

"Will you still be needing this kind of session? You have been running longer distances already?"  Whisper my friend to me while we are listening to the instructions on the first session of adiNation at Ayala Triangle Gardens.

This is a  running session welcoming all levels of runners who  wants to  learn the love of running  or just simply want be part of a group. This one is  organized by the known brand Adidas in partnership with the  known running club, takbo.ph.

Of the many years that I have been running, I really do not have any formal training,   lectures nor sessions. I just put on my running shoes and hit the road, no coach no adviser no concrete  training schedule followed. When I feel like running I just run, when I feel like joining a race, I just join.  So when I read a post about this running session, I thought of joining, aside from the fact that the venue is just near the office, there will be pair of shoes to be raffled off at the end of each month and a might be discounted fee for an adidas run, I really thought of having at least a structured training focusing on my speed. I hope I will be able to achieve that on the next sessions to come. And I also wish to meet new running mates aside from enjoying the company of my current running friends who also joining this session. I can see it, this will be fun. 

Happy Thursday

It has been raining the entire day, in fact it poured hard when I was out doing my month end bank tour routine. But despite that all I thought is do a short run when the day ends. Just before the clock ticks off  for my office work to end, the rain stopped. I thought it would be nice to have a short run. Putting on my running shoes and running attire I went down of my office only to find out it is still drizzling. But my feet is itching to run, so I decided to proceed starting from my usual playground Legaspi Park, until I move to the bigger loop to a further corners of the area. There were few runners at this time, probably it's because of the weather, I just enjoy running around without even noticing the time. After running almost two hours, I decided to proceed back to my office, fix my things and proceed home still on my running attire and hydration pack. At this time, I decided to just continue running home. I did more than 20K for the night. Happiness.

adiNation of Runners 2012 - join now

Note: A repost from takbo.ph

The adination for Runners (aNR) is back this 2012. Be part of one of six running areas around Metro Manila.  Meet new running buddies to train with for any events.  Members start from short 3Ks and 5Ks and are now certified marathoners and even ultramarathoners.  You can be one of them too.

The aNR is a sort of a running club organized by adidas and Takbo.ph which were already launched in other countries like Japan, Singapore and Malaysia.  There are six areas in Metro Manila with weekly group runs.

Be part of aNR and attend regularly the weekly session to get a chance to win in the monthly raffle.

One pair of adidas Men’s shoes and one pair of adidas Women’s shoes will be raffled off every month.

Check out the schedule of adidas adiNation of Runners below.

GROUP	DAY	TIME	LOCATION	GROUP LEADERS
Ayala	Tues	7:00 pm	Inside Ayala Makati Gardens	Zaldy and Jaime
BHS	Thurs	7:30 pm	Terra 28th Park at BGC	Racs and Ronnel
Ortigas	Thurs	7:30 pm	ULTRA or Tiendesitas	Earl and Drew
Alabang	Tues	7:00 pm	Madrigal Business Park at the back of Ayala-FGU Bldg	Raymund and Deng
UP Diliman	Tues	6:30 pm	In front of UP Theater	Rene and Rain
SM MOA	Wed	7:30 pm	Seaside Avenue corner Bayshore Ave	Paolo and Cindy

You may wish to contact the team leaders if you wish to join.

How to join?
It’s Simple.  Sign up by going to the adidas adination for Runners group of your choice.  You fill up the waiver form and get the ID number/passport.  That’s it.  You’re part of the adiNation of Runners.  Registration is FREE.

FAQs
Can I join even if I don’t wear adidas shoes or apparel?
Yes, you can still join even if you don’t have an adidas shoe or apparel.

I am just a beginner.  Can I join the aNR group runs?
Yes.  The group runs is open to all.  This is for beginners and seasoned runners alike.

What to expect in the group runs
The groups runs are not formal running clinics.  We are not trained coaches but we can share our expriences together to benefit the whole group.  Run along and have fun with us.

Are there water provided?
Currently, none.  Please bring your own hydration.

Are there baggage areas?
There are no baggage areas.

Why are there no group runs in my area?
Takbo.ph could only handle six areas and schedules for now.   adidas Philippines is working to have aNR groups in other locations.

Will there be singlets or uniforms provided?
None.  But each area have their own singlets made and they are so cool.  :D

So what are you waiting for.  Visit your nearest area and join the adiNation of Runners.

Trans 333 - Nonstop through Niger -

Such a very inspiring documentary of an ultra marathon held in one of the extreme place on earth, the Niger Desert. The short film shows how the human body endures and the mental capability to push oneself beyond it's limits to achieve one's goal,  reaching the finish line within the cut off time despite its challenges. Such a brilliant spirit to overcome all no matter what the situation is. I am not even sure if this race has been going on until now. 

I salute those who brave themselves to join this race. Just showing at the starting line already make each one a winner.

TNF100 2012 Baguio Benguet, Philippines - Route Recon



A more updated race map

 Of the several races that I joined especially that of  a trail run, I always thought it could have been nice if  I could have a chance to see and recon the route of the race. I guess that lessens the so many unknown factors that lingers my mind and at least I can anticipate on what I need to prepare both physically and mentally. For this particular race, my mountaineer friends and some runners too from Baguio invited me to join them on several reconnaissance  on the route of the race. Such a good idea, I  will get a chance to be with them and have a first experience of the trail as well.

This recon has been on several phases  on my several trips to Baguio. Though I intend to run and see all of the difficult parts of the entire route, I was not able to do it. But at least I was able to do some difficult parts of the trail. And as much as I wanted to experience doing the run at night, I was not able to do it as well but instead I was able to experience a harsh condition on the trail, having to experience rain  and wind at the highest point and the most exposed part of the route.

On most of our recon,  the entry points are those that  are accessible by vehicle, by a public transportation and a  private car. On the last phase of my recon, on some part of it, it is  already by car just to have an idea of how the trail looks like. I hope this will give  others who are also doing the 100 kilometer distance on this race a picture of how most part of the trail looks like. 

PHASE I (Ampucao to Camp 1) 
The group left Baguio City riding a   public jeepney  and take off at Sitio Batuang, Ampucao, Itogon. We take a short trek on the road then turn right to an uphill rough road through a steel and wooden gate. That starts the Phase 1 of our recon.

It's a trail hitting the  several minor peaks of Ampucao traversing from an open trail with variety of tall and not so tall grass and bushes. Then the  trail leads to  pine tree covered areas, some of it traversing to the top most slope of the hill,  then making a minor downhill before it goes to another uphill approach until it reaches to the next hill. After covering several kilometers for several hours we reach an open ridge, seeing one side the Itogon  and the other side of Tuba. The rolling uphill down hill slope of this area is not an easy one, all that I can  say,  but the scenery is just simply rewarding, simply breathtaking, just like a mini Pulag place.

The open ridge gives a scenic view of mountain slopes as far as your eyes can see. But it also has cliffs and ravens on some parts which runners should be very careful from falling. This trail is being used by the locals making several trails,  one needs to be mindful of where it will lead, you might end up on a wrong side and not to the community where you are heading. There are several fence which one has to go over in order to reach to the next part of the trail. There are also herd of cows on the trail, one has just to shoo them away from the trail, they are harmless and nothing to be afraid of. From the part where we started the trek, at this point it  is already 7 kilometers of rolling terrain, beautiful view and nice trail for running.

Upon reaching the area where one can see the Phelix Mining open pit and spillway, the group enter the trail  on the right which will now lead inside the forest. This turn should not be missed otherwise runners will lead to  a different community if  a wrong turn will be made.  This trail used to be a hunters trail, that's what Kuya Mimis  said,  which has not been used for sometime now I guess, it seems like  this has just been cleaned and re-opened just for the race. It's a downhill single track trail which runners will really need to pass one at a time in some parts. I guess there will be traffic on these areas if more runners will come together.

The forest is surrounded by tall slim trees with branches wrapped by green moss,  not pine trees as compared to the trees that we encounter from the start of our trek early on.   This is a 3 kilometer rolling slope inside the forest passing one empty house then goes to an open trail again away from the forest now leading the tall bushes until it will reach the very first house with potable water, this can be a water refilling station. Because inside the forest line is dump, wet and cold, this place is a no exemption of the blood sucking leeches too. Though it was not raining that day, one of our companion has one leech bite.  After that house is another rolling trail now wider, more clear and clean from bushes, grass  and dried leaves. Until it will reach to a vegetable plantation with a house beside it.

This will now lead to a combination of rough road, paved road, less graveled road of Ligay in Tuba Benguet. At first it will be a combination of minor downhill, minor uphill passing by houses and community. Just be careful though, it is common in Benguet that almost each house has a pet dog and some of them are not tied up, which they will really run after you when you will pass by. This place is not an exception of it. As much as possible I take the lead on this part, taking advantage of running but every time I encounter dogs barking, I just slow down and wait for my companions. Another thing that one should take note is that there are road intersections that leads to several communities as well. Just be mindful of the trail signs so as not to be off trail. Despite the never ending killer downhill, I really enjoy this part of the trail, one more thing I noticed as early as that of the vegetable plantation  area, there are lots of different colored butterflies, and as we start our descend on the rough road aside from butterflies, there are dragonflies too. I just enjoy running with the companion of butterflies and dragonflies around and wish I won't encounter snake on this trail which I am thankful I did not.

Take note of the El Dorado Cooperative Store, this is the best store to replenish, load up, eat and drink before heading again. Because after the uphill paved road  on the right side of Ligay Elementary School will already be a rough road of downhill descend all they way. It will never be an ending downhill  of dirt road, not even so clean from bushes and  at some point no community at all. After taking some turn all you wish is a bonus of  a relax slope but there is none at all, it's another steep downhill and downhill slope again and again.  Really, this I call a killer downhill road with a distance of 11.8 kilometers.

After several hours, tired and hungry,  all I can wish for is the end of this downhill road. Runners very sign of almost done with this part is the  sound of the passing vehicles until one will end up at the  main road at Camp 1, Kenon, Benguet. The Bridal Veil Falls is now visible across the road. A rest and load up again at the community is a good thing to do before hitting the next 5 kilometer ascend to twin peak. But we did not do anymore the Twin Peak ascend. Our Phase 1 recon ends at the Camp 1 community covering 28 kilometer in 8 hours. In the actual route this part will already be 50 kilometers,  hopefully reaching this area before 3:00pm, that would be too long already. 
Pictures: Ampukao to Bridal Veil Falls

PHASE II (Eco Trail to Secret Trail)

This is just a relax run for us, this is in our common favorite  playground, inside Camp John Hay. Traversing the rolling slope inside the pine forest we just enjoy the trail, at this time making it more of a training mode rather than a walk in the park mode of yesterday's recon. So we gain more mileage in shorter time. It was my first time though at secret trail which will also be part of the first 15 kilometer of the race before it will lead outside to the mountain slopes. The secret trail also has a killer uphill trail that leads to a familiar route.  The trail on this part is well maintained, wide enough for running, and clean and is even used for mountain bikers. It's inside the pine forest so it  is not hot.
Pictures: Eco Trail and Beyond

From the photo album of Mark

Just before lunch the group decided to call it a day, just before the heavy down pour of the rain. There it goes my two day recon. When will be the next and what part of the loop will it be, I still do not know.  

Note to self so far:
1. Long tights is more appropriate for there are parts of the trail with tall bushes and there are leeches too.
2. Arm sleeves to cover both arms when it gets colder due to the wind and weather and when it gets hotter especially on the open and exposed part  of the trail, one can just roll it down, more flexible than long sleeves (just a thought).
3. Bring sufficient trail food for community are far from the trail.
4. Take it slowly on the 11.8 kilometer killer downhill part.
5. Bring jacket, gloves and bonnet, it gets very cold on the evening on the exposed part of the trail.
6. A pair of trekking pole would be a very big help on the ascend part. 
7. Pray harder that it will not rain on the day of the event.

PHASE III (Camp 1 to Twin Peaks to Andolor to Cabuyao Relay Station)
The start of this recon is from Camp 1, Kenon,  Benguet, this is the 50 kilometer mark of the TNF race. On the actual race, runners should reach this point not later than 5:00PM or exactly 14 hours from gun start. Passing the big river through the hanging bridge,  at the end of it we turn left, it is the  start of a long  ascend. It's a single track trail shaded from the trees on the side. The trail switched back on the side of the mountain but it has flatlands that one can recover. On the higher slopes are few houses with farmlands, trail now open and expose to the direct heat of the sun. One can now see the mountain ranges of the different parts of the Cordelliras. As the trail goes  further ascend, it will lead to an open rough road, still going further upward.  

But since this is the second leg of the race proper, runners will most likely pass this area late mornng for the elite runners or  early or late afternoon or early evening. This is a 5 kilometer stretch from a single track trail to a rough road, there are few houses along the trail and road but mostly nobody  is around the time we do the run. Until finally we reach a big house that has a sarisari store. It is good stop to replenish food and hydrate at this house after that long stretch. This will continue on to a rough road that leads to the Barangay Hall of Tabaan Sur, Tuba, Benguet.

After the rough road with several houses of the local community, the trail will now lead to another uphill rough road that slowly lead to a single trail. This now is the start of a more than 10 kilometer of uphill single track trail mostly under the shade of the pine forest. There are two parts on this leg, on two area inside the lush forest that have  blood sucking leeches again. Just be prepared for this. There is one long stretch of direct ascend comparable to that of Akiki trail in Mt. Pulag. It's a never ending ascend with trail switched back on the slope of the mountain. Looking at the race map, this part of the race is a big possiblity that it is  already dark or late afternoon for othrs that are really fast, there are minor trails that might lead to a different track, so be very mindful of the race signages on this part. But at least after a long uphill stretch is flatland again that can serve as a rest stop if needed or a relax trek after that long uphill ascend. A minor descend then slowly followed the side contour of the mountain  further moves towards the ridge will soon lead to a minor downhill which will lead to a rough road with minor ascend again. until it will reach the junction which will a trail leading to the summit of Mt. Sto. Tomas. This part is still a gradula ascend.  This trail is the back door approach to the highest point of this race, Mt. Sto Tomas with an elevation of 2,250MASL.

After that ascend will be a combination of rough with gravel and paved road that will now lead to a much lower elevation of Mt. Cabuyao. The distance is less than 4 kilometers but because it is downhill with gravel, it's just not so friendly to the knees when one tries to run faster. This part too will start the appearance of a local community. It has several houses on the side of the road  some with sari sari store in the evnt that runners want to replenish supply, hopefully if they are still open and awake by the time runners will reach this point. This will lead to a trail again towards the Relay Tower in Mt. Cabuyao. A single downhill trail at the back of the tower will now lead to the remaining 25 kilometer distance of the race. Unfortunately I do not have the time to do  that part anymore.
Pictures of Phase III Recon: Camp 1 to Cabuyao through Andolor

PHASE IV (PMA, Loakan Road, Airport, Happy Hallow)

I am lucky I was able to run a portion of the trail inside PMA. This is comparable to that of the Yellow Trail, the trail inside John Hay, the first part of this race. It is a rolling trail under the pine forest. The rest, I really haven't got a chance to do it by foot but rather by car on our way back to the city. This is almost all a gradual uphill  road, if race route will be using the road. 

The mountain slope on this picture is  the view of Mt. Sto. Tomas and Mt. Cabuyao as seen inside PMA. This is the slope that runners will go down coming from the back part of that mountain entering the trail at the back of the radar as seen on the left part of this picture  on the peak of the mountain. This is going to be an almost 8 kilometer descend before reaching to where this picture is taken. And most definitely most runners will be traversing this part of the trail mid noon to late afternoon for elite runners and early evening or probably early dawn for majority of the runners. There will be some exposed parts that will be too windy and cold especially on the wee hours of the night.

Upon the release of the updated and final route map for the 100 kilometer distance, I made my own notes, as my personal guide. As part of my mind setting I study the map, which part and at what distance will it be, and what time I should more or less reach  that area.

Time	From	To	Distance in KM	Total KM	Place
3:00am	Start	AS1	7.4MK	7.4KM	John Hay
	AS1	AS2	10.4KM	17.8KM	Itogon
	AS2	AS3	11.3KM	29.1KM	Ampucao
	AS3	AS4	11.8KM	40.9KM	Mt. Poris
5:00pm	AS4	AS5	12.5KM	53.4KM	Camp 1
	AS5	AS6	10.1KM	63.5KM	Tabaan Sur
1:00am	AS6	AS7	9KM	72.5KM	Sto. Tomas
	AS7	AS8	2.9KM	75.4KM	Mt. Cabuyao
	AS8	AS9	7.6KM	83.0KM	PMA
	AS9	AS10	5.7KM	88.7KM	Airport
9:00am	AS10	Finish	11.3KM	100.0KM	John Hay

That ends my recon of the TNF 2012 route. Happy trail running everyone and see you all on the trail. This is going to be a race full of adventure, fun, wild and memorable. Excited and looking forward the race day....

List of Inspirational Travel Quotes

 I would like to re-post Gary Arndt's post on his blog.

If you thinking of taking a trip or need some encouragement, here is the ultimate list of inspirational travel quotes!

1. “For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
2. “To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” – Freya Stark
3. “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for” – John A. Shedd
4. “The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.” – Rudyard Kipling
5. “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou
6. “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” – Aldous Huxley
7. “Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience.” – Francis Bacon
8. “The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G.K. Chesterton
9. “I like animals. I like natural history. The travel bit is not the important bit. The travel bit is what you have to do in order to go and look at animals.” – David Attenborough
10. “Travel teaches toleration.” – Benjamin Disraeli
11. “All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it.” – Samuel Johnson
12. “The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” – Saint Augustine
13. “Remember what Bilbo used to say: It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” – JRR Tolkien
14. “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust
15. “A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu


16. “The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.” – G.K. Chesterton
17. “Experience, travel – these are as education in themselves” – Euripides
18. “We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.” – John Hope Franklin
19. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost
20. “Of all possible subjects, travel is the most difficult for an artist, as it is the easiest for a journalist.” – W. H. Auden
21. “Voyage, travel, and change of place impart vigor” – Seneca
22. “You lose sight of things… and when you travel, everything balances out.” – Daranna Gidel
23. “I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” – Rosalia de Castro
24. “I think that travel comes from some deep urge to see the world, like the urge that brings up a worm in an Irish bog to see the moon when it is full.” – Lord Dunsany
25. “The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes “sight-seeing.” – Daniel J. Boorstin
26. “We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.” – Hilaire Belloc
27. “When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” – Susan Heller
28. “Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe. ” – Anatole France
29. “I am a passionate traveler, and from the time I was a child, travel formed me as much as my formal education.” – David Rockefeller
30. “What you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do – especially in other people’s minds. When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.” – William Least Heat Moon
31. “To get away from one’s working environment is, in a sense, to get away from one’s self; and this is often the chief advantage of travel and change.” – Charles Horton Cooley
32. “Half the fun of the travel is the esthetic of lostness.” – Ray Bradbury
33. “I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” – Mark Twain
34. “After a lifetime of world travel I’ve been fascinated that those in the third world don’t have the same perception of reality that we do.” – Jim Harrison
35. “If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home.” – James Michener
36. “To travel is to take a journey into yourself.” – Danny Kaye
37. “Make voyages! Attempt them… there’s nothing else.” – Tennessee Williams
38. The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have.” – Anna Quindlen
39. “Travel makes a wise man better, and a fool worse.” – Thomas Fuller
40. “Too often. . .I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen.” – Louis L’Amour
41. “If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness and fears.” – Cesare Pavese
42. “To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson
43. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs
44. “Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey.” – Fitzhugh Mullan
45. “I have wandered all my life, and I have also traveled; the difference between the two being this, that we wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.” – Hilaire Belloc
46. “Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness. All other travel is mere dust and hotels and baggage and chatter.” – John Muir
47. “Without travel “I would have wound up a little ignorant white Southern female, which was not my idea of a good life.” – Lauren Hutton
48. “I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself.” – James Baldwin
49. “The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.” – Henry David Thoreau
50. “Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you traveled.” – Mohammed
51. “Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.” – Benjamin Disraeli
52. “”Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
53. “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” – Helen Keller
54. “The great difference between voyages rests not with the ships, but with the people you meet on them.” – Amelia E. Barr
55. “A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” – John Steinbeck
56. “Travel is the frivolous part of serious lives, and the serious part of frivolous ones.” – Anne Sophie Swetchine
57. “Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca
58. “Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
59. “We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharal Nehru
60. Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.” – Paul Theroux
61. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” – Mark Twain
62. “A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” — Moslih Eddin Saadi
63. “Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quiestest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” — Pat Conroy


64. “Hitler didn’t travel. Stalin didn’t travel. Saddam Hussein never traveled. They didn’t want to have their orthodoxy challenged.” — Howard Gardner
65. “To awaken alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” —Freya Stark
66. “Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions.” — Peter Hoeg
67. “The cool thing about being famous is traveling. I have always wanted to travel across seas, like to Canada and stuff.” – Britney Spears
68. “When overseas you learn more about your own country, than you do the place you’re visiting.” – Clint Borgen
69. “Too often travel, instead of broadening the mind, merely lengthens the conversations.” – Elizabeth Drew
70. “Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard
71. “There is no happiness for the person who does not travel. For Indra is the friend of the traveler, therefore wander!” – Brähmann
72. “One of the gladdest moments of human life, methinks, is the departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands. Shaking off with one mighty effort the fetters of habit, the leaden weight of routine, the cloak of many cares and the slavery of home, man feels once more happy.” – Richard Burton
73. “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Scott Cameron
74. “He who has seen one cathedral ten times has seen something; he who has seen ten cathedrals once has seen but little; and he who has spent half an hour in each of a hundred cathedrals has seen nothing at all.” – Sinclair Lewis
75. “Our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else.” — Lawrence Block
76. “You do not travel if you are afraid of the unknown, you travel for the unknown, that reveals you with yourself.” – Ella Maillart
77. “A wise traveler never despises his own country.” – Carlo Goldoni
78. “I travel the world, and I’m happy to say that America is still the great melting pot – maybe a chunky stew rather than a melting pot at this point, but you know what I mean.” – pPhilip Glass
79. “One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” – Andre Gide


80. “Better far off to leave half the ruins and nine-tenths of the churches unseen and to see well the rest; to see them not once, but again and often again; to watch them, to learn them, to live with them, to love them, till they have become a part of life and life’s recollections.” – Augustus Hare
81. “People who don’t travel cannot have a global view, all they see is what’s in front of them. Those people cannot accept new things because all they know is where they live.” – Martin Yan
82. “The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.” – Rudyard Kipling
83. “You got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there”. – Yogi Berra
84. “A tourist is a fellow who drives thousands of miles so he can be photographed standing in front of his car.” – Emile Ganest
85. “When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable.” – Clifton Fadiman
86. “Just to travel is rather boring, but to travel with a purpose is educational and exciting.” – Sargent Shriver
87. “To many people holidays are not voyages of discovery, but a ritual of reassurance.” – Philip Andrew Adams
88. “It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves – in finding themselves.” – Andre Gide
89. “Adventure is worthwhile.” – Aristotle
90. “In both business and personal life, I’ve always found that travel inspires me more than anything else I do. Evidence of the languages, cultures, scenery, food, and design sensibilities that I discover all over the world can be found in every piece of my jewelry.” – Ivanka Trump
91. “Travel has a way of stretching the mind. The stretch comes not from travel’s immediate rewards, the inevitable myriad new sights, smells and sounds, but with experiencing firsthand how others do differently what we believed to be the right and only way.” – Ralph Crawshaw
92. “A man of ordinary talent will always be ordinary, whether he travels or not; but a man of superior talent will go to pieces if he remains forever in the same place….” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
93. “I’d rather wake up in the middle of nowhere than in any city on earth.” – Steve McQueen


94. “A wise traveler never despises his own country.” – Pamela Goldoni
95. “Every exit is an entry somewhere else.” – Tom Stoppard
96. “Travel is very subjective. What one person loves, another loathes.” – Robin Leach
97. “Adventure without risk is Disneyland.” – Doug Coupland
98. “An adventure may be worn as a muddy spot or it may be worn as a proud insignia. It is the woman wearing it who makes it the one thing or the other.” – Norma Shearer
99. “Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” – Paul Theroux
100. “If God had really intended men to fly, he’d make it easier to get to the airport”. – George Winters
101. “Every man can transform the world from one of monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure.” – Irving Wallace
102. “Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.” – Charles Kuralt
103. “No matter where you go, there you are.” – Buckaroo Banzi
104. “While armchair travelers dream of going places, traveling armchairs dream of staying put.” – Anne Tyler
105. “We should come home from adventures, and perils, and discoveries every day with new experience and character” – Henry David Thoreau
106. “People don’t take trips . . . trips take people.” – John Steinbeck
107. “The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.” – Shirley MacLaine
108. “Take only memories, leave only footprints.” – Chief Seattle


109. “People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering.” – St. Augustine
110. “There is one voyage, the first, the last, the only one.” – Thomas Wolfe
111. “NOT I – NOT ANYONE else, can travel that road for you, You must travel it for yourself.” – Walt Whitman
112. “You don’t choose the day you enter the world and you don’t chose the day you leave. It’s what you do in between that makes all the difference.” – Anita Septimus
113. “Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends… The mind can never break off from the journey.” – Pat Conroy

Recovery Monday

Coming from a TNF recon weekend, I decided to take my Monday easy. I even come to the office a bit late than my usual time, but still thinking of having an active recovery activity despite my still sore legs from the weekends activity. And I suddenly remember, I need to go to Bonifacio High Street to claim my small size Salomon XTrail jersey. Rather than spending for a transportation going there I thought of running on a not so late afternoon time. I decided to send a message to Rica which she agreed, 3:00pm would be ideal, I can still be home earlier. 

So from my office, I drop by Rica's place and we did a combination of walk and relax pace run  from Ayala to the street of McKinley up to Bonifacio High Street and coming back to Ayala up to my place. Not bad after all, I managed to squeeze in a not so long recovery run today.

My Notes in Running

My Notes In Running

Five Common Run Form Mistakes 

About Running Shoes  

I Did Today - Run, Walk, Stair Climb

After my weekend mountain escapade, I managed to run last night from my office to Bonifacio High Street with Rica. We pass by the McKinley loop before we made several loops inside High Street. From Ayala, we have to negotiate the intersections, underpass, overpass but once we reach the McKinley side it was already  a smooth run though we have to negotiate with commuters on the side walk as well. It was not bad as I thought it will be and I think I will use this route again on one of my weekend runs. High Street though is no longer as conducive to running as it used to be due the high rise constructions. But at least that gives me my much needed recovery run and mileage for the week. 

Today though, after my daily morning short core and stretching exercises,  unexpectedly I decided again to do my last week's route. Walk from my house to Victory Liner Pasay to purchase my ticket for this weekend's north trip again before going to the office. I followed the same route as I have last week, making minor runs on areas clear from people and vehicles. But one thing I add today is I decided to do the stairs from the ground floor up to my office at the 25th floor. Managed to reach the office all sweat and pupping for air. Not bad after all.

Do not know yet what will I do after office.

My supposedly dinner meeting with a friend did not push through, I am not in my running form though so I decided to just walk back home from Makati. Not bad idea after all. 

My Idol Will Climb Mt. Everest

I just can't help myself but post some of the link about my idol Emely Harrington's trip to Mt Everest. As I always said on my previous post about her rock climbing trips, I always admire her not just her being a TNF athlete and an excellent rock climber but as a person as well. I admire her tenacity in life and she is pretty. So happy she take her skills on rock climbing to the higher level, climbing the highest peak in the world, Mt. Everest. Wishing her all the best of luck on this new adventure.

An Everest Interview with Emily

Mountaineer Conrad Anker will climb Mt. Everest with Emily as part of the climbing team. 

Urban Climbing Interview before her Mt. Everest Trip
 
A Little About Herself

Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2012

Seeing post like this, a human being overcoming an unthinkable challenge by so many individuals, I just can't help but re-post it. It inspires me, it gives me that little hope that it can be done, that others did it and I know I can do it too if given the chance and opportunity. 

Atacama Crossing (Chile) 2012 Official Website

This is it TNF100 2012 Series - Philippines

Got my race kit for TNF100 Baguio Benguet 2012 race last night. The event will still be on April 21 and 22 this year, a month to go from now. But seeing my race kit feels like this is for real, this is it, there wouldn't be any other except this one. I feel scared, they said the trail is much more difficult than how it was two years ago and all the more it is more difficult than how it was last year in Camsur.

But I also feel excited for it, having to know nothing about the unknown is always exciting for me, I am looking forward to how will it be on the actual race. I just have to remember how things were when I experience the most difficult thing out in the outdoors, that is to condition myself that all can be possible for as long as I  am going to will it. But of course I always bring with me so much prayers, now praying to God that I will be able to practice more for the remaining days before that race, to build endurance injury free and that He will give me the strength and determination to endure everything on the race day.
 

My loot bag for the race as handed to me by my TNF friend Leizl. So kind of her to deliver it near where I stay rather than me going to her shop to claim it. It always feels great to have her in one of my favorite outdoor brand and product.

Here is what I got from a discounted registration fee of PhP2,450.00 (the original rate is PhP3, 500.00).  Two way free bus ride to Baguio, TNF sun visor,   TNF tshirt, Action Asia mag, my race bib, a 15% discount card in a purchase of any TNF product and a poster of the TNF100 for this year's event. Not bad for the rate that I paid.

My race bib number. One of the first few registrants of this event. I am praying I will be able to endure the challenge for this year's course.

And my jersey shirt, size extra small though, I am double extra small  on this kind of shirt, making this size really big for me. Sadly, this year this is the smallest that they got, and just like last year, this will go first to the repair shop before I can enjoy wearing it.  Nonetheless, I love it, I love the color. Red is my favorite. And being one of the first few who registered, I enjoyed a free sun visor. Another one in my collection. 

Indeed, this will be another breaking all the boundaries event. Excited for it but ofcourse I got 4 more weeks to prepare and prepare and prepare. Good luck to all of us who take this challenge once again.

Bokod Trio - On a Sky Run

Since the year started, I only had one minor super short night trek  climb and that was never  followed  at all.  I had a race on a trail but it was in Hongkong on a park away from the city. But aside from that I  really haven't been to any real climb nor trail run on any part of the country yet. And I miss it, I miss the scenery, I miss the smell of the mist in the forest, I miss the challenge.  Just  the opposite of  how active I was in the mountain last year at almost the same month. This time, my weekends had been so occupied with road runs mostly longer distances. I hope to strike a balance as the months will unfold between running,  trekking and rock climbing. 

This weekend is really for trail run, no matter where the  mountain be, I really allocate this as my practice run for my upcoming TNF100 trail run more than a month to go from now. I wouldn't have that much time to practice anymore.  What I have been doing lately are mostly road runs,  which I need to balance it with trail. So with the announcement of PhilSky for a recon on this place, I decided to join together with my running mates who are also running the TNF100. With my legs still fresh from a 50 kilometer road run last weekend, I thought of just making this trail run an easy relax pace for me.

Three major mountain peaks, a 3 day climb itinerary, a distance of 30 kilometers from the jump off at Japas traversing to Bokod Municipality Hall, with the highest altitude elevation of beyond 2,000+masl, together with the Philsky members and friends,  we did it in 9 hours and 30 minutes.

Our adventure started with a two hour jeepney ride from Baguio proper to the jump off. Actually we traverse the same road as that of going to Mt. Pulag but what is so exciting about this trip is that even before midway to where the jump off is, all of us already feel dizzy and nauseous going through the zigzag road. I myself do not know how long can I hold before reaching the jump off place. A stop over at midway restaurant is such a great help but Iam still dealing with headache and nausea until we arrive at the jump off area.

After few minutes of stretching from the bumpy ride,  we started our real adventure with the uphill trail visible from the road. The mountain slope is covered with tall huge pine trees making the single trail conducive to running/trekking even on a sunny day. As we traverse the slope higher the single trail becomes wider until we reach to the top of the hill on the first waiting shed, as we move further we reach a school at Mangakew.

A first sign of community. Beginning this area we trudge a rolling rough road of flat, uphill down hill slope until it leads to a newly open road carved just beside the mountain slope. It's a long one, the other end visible as we go along the road covered by mossy forest. It's cold despite the sunny day. While running on the road, the view is just beautiful seeing the other mountain slopes with contour painted by the green lush  forest. Upon reaching the third waiting shed is a left uphill turn to the mossy forest. This starts our adventure inside a dense forest with branches covered with thick moss. The guide said there are leeches but I am lucky I did not see any. It's cold inside the forest and one can hear chirping of the birds. Until we reach the peak of Mt. Pack. The lead pack has been waiting for us for 45minutes already, it's cold and the view is beautiful up there. The local cleared the area though and made some man made structures such as chairs and benches for visitors like us.

After several minutes of photo opt at the first  major peak, we proceed to the next peak, Purgatory, it's a slope going down still inside the pristine mossy forest. Running down is just fun, until we reach the open  trail with bushes around, now the group reach Purgatory, open place with hut where we have our lunch. There are latrine as well that each climber can use. After lunch we proceed to Mt. Komkompol, the way to the highest among the the major peak. The trail to this peak is varied, inside the forest then it leads the an open pebbled trail beside the mountain trail to the trail under the big pine trees to an open trail again, going up going down passing through a mossy forest again until we reach the open cleared view deck. Some of the trees are cut and benches are made to give way to visitors like us. On the right of the view deck is a view of Mt Pack and the mountain range where we come from on the left is a view of Mt. Pulag and the community of the Municipality of Bokod way way below the mountain slopes. Our guides said this will be another 3 hours of descend on some single track trail beside a mountain slope full of dried pine leaves making the trail challenging.

After several minutes of rest and photo opt, the group start the very last leg of this  skyrun (that is what we or I thought). It's going down but not really all the way going down,  on the first few kilometers inside the forest there are  still  minor portion going up until it reaches a trail   under the huge pine trees on the side of the mountain slope. And truly this is just all the way going down. And since I run next to the lead pack (sweeper of the lead pack) and sort of lead to the mid pack, on this portion of the trail I run just alone. There are portions that trail is just too near to the cliff and there are also part that the descend is just to direct and with dry pine leaves its just really slippery. I thought if I overshoot myself on any curve and fall the cliff no one will really see me for I am alone.

At some portion that there is a fork, I just have to read the trail look for marks and trail signs before I proceed with the run. I ma way far behind the lead pack and I just do not know how far is the one following me. I just take my time enjoying the beautiful view and  running the down hill slope following my instinct where to go especially on the area where there are already few houses. Good thing upon reaching the part with many trail I see the lead pack on the trail at the other side of the mountain slope. Sign language worked and I followed their instruction. After crossing the last bridge the trail is now wider, some vegetable plantation is now visible. After some kilometers of the downhill slope the trail leads to a rough road. The lead pack stop for there is a water falls below the rice plantation, but I  said I'd rather see the food than the fall, the rest agreed to that idea and off we resume with our  run.  At first we thought it's just near and we thought we will just take it easy and walk, but once you are on the downward slope, I just can't help but on a running pace again.

We already meet locals going back to their homes, it's getting late and we are still far to our final destination. After the downhill rough road comes a cemented still down hill road. There are already houses, people are already wondering where we are from, there is already a jeep and a sari-sari store that we get soda to boost our energy for the last stretch of this adventure. But that did not happen soon. A combination of road and cemented road, after the downhill part, is now a flat road. Our target is the Municipality of Bokod, it will get dark soon, we did not run any longer, we just walk until we see the community which we assume already where we should go. With patience and just telling stories on the very last part of the walk, we finally made it before it gets totally dark.

That was one hell of a great trail run for me. I just love the trail,  I love the terrain, I love the weather, I love the mountain, I love the view and I love the company. That makes me so so so happy. It feeds not just my body but also my soul. We survive a day of adventure in Purgatory and come out alive....

My expenses; less than PhP2,000.00 for the 2 day trip. Thanks to the subsidy made by Philsky group.

One thing about this trail, with a clean and clear wide trail from bushes, I can wear a three forths tights on the trail. There wouldn't be bushes that I may get allergy from.