Sunday, January 31, 2010

Losing my religion

While everyone was on "sabado night" mood, I was busy prepping up for the midnight run at the UP academic oval that Jonel aka bugobugo85 cooked up. Although I was 2 hours late from "gun start", I was hyped up by some familiar faces who were already grinding the miles around the oval.

From the AS parking lot, which also served as our aid station, I started counting the cricket sounds amidst the crisp and chilly air as I pound on the black earth, lamppost by lamppost. The first 2.2 km loop was a bit daunting as the heavy darkness looms and teases me to hit the sheets instead. But after sipping a sports drink, went for another loop, hoping that the endorphins would kill the drowsiness. And it did, although insanity must have sneaked in after seven more loops when my interest in the photosensitive lighting was lost. I am not sure if my sanity also got lost to the eerie full moon creeping up above me or the white sheets over the tents near the sunken garden. But there were ways to keep the sanity intact and my mind occupied for the rest of the loops and I think I was successful. I read and compared the halls and every bit of tarp literature near them. Saw unbelievable photography shots that can take your breath away. Counted the lampposts, the leaves that crumpled underneath my NBs, the buildings that have lights on them and those that have none, the possible unlit areas where you can release all those sipped sports drinks, and the humps along the way. Hell, I even counted the cat’s eyes! And like a broken record, I played 'hit the road jack' for a number of times in my grays while doing this.

For whatever it’s worth, never thought that running around in "ovals" under a full moon and on a chilly early morning can be a true test of patience. And for whatever it’s worth, never thought I could run as much with no sleep nor mileage for a week! Yeah, I guess save for the sanity loss – which is an overstatement - the midnight run was worth more than a "sabado night" fever.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Can sports drinks replace h2O?

During my last race, I was conquered by a very challenging choice at the first aid station. Water or sports drink? I ended up drinking the sports drink and showering myself with water.

At the last stop, though, when I was already out of breath, I must have reversed the selection because someone breathed, “hey sweetie!” at the finish line.

And…going back to the title of this entry…

I was never the type who took the ‘8-glasses-of-water’ rule seriously because I hate feeling 'bloated'. Although mom always remind me to follow this simple rule to keep me on my toes the whole day, I was content with one glass for every meal.



But when the high-energy activities started to bug me, water has become my staple food – so to speak. And just when I thought that water was the only thing to keep me smiling all the way to the finish line, a wide array of sports drinks came into the picture, convincing me that they are all designed to give the boosted energy I need, or the sodium replacement I lost, or the sugar requirement that I will crave for, blah blah blah.

These drinks generally contain - as the label shouts it out - carbohydrates, electrolytes, minerals, vitamins, herbs, metabolites, and other less-proven ingredients which might as well get lost under the ‘best before’ numbers or the price tag.

For the purpose of this blog and to educate moi on whether the contents of these sports drinks will help boost my performance (and to avoid encountering another challenging choice on my next run), I head off to the nearest supermarket and chose 6 of the sports drinks that have managed to send off the 'marketing promises' unrelentingly.

And the battle begins…



According to a magazine article, the key to choosing a sports drink is to select the one you find most palatable. In short, if I like how it tastes, I buy.

For most of my treks, I have been used to the taste of Gatorate orange. In fact, my friends and I brought along powder Gatorade on our hike up to Mt. Apo. And the taste buds had quite a party. Ten races after though, the palates were having a mind of their own and took an inkling for Powerade. However, it became more of a ‘drink’ rather than a ‘hydration’. Then, Vitwater cut in the dance. The sugary taste kept me coming back for more of the blue stuff. Until they ran out of booths in races. So far, 100plus is keeping me company.

So, why this entry? I want to know if these drinks play key roles to my performance at all.

I guess the best way to check is to experiment. Testing the drinks will probably help me survive the next race and not just base on the theory (read: the promo pitch) that I need more than just H2O.

So do I really? Starting tomorrow, I will test Exhibit A (Powerade) for a week of training, then Exhibit B for the next week, and so forth. If one of these drinks are good enough (if not better) for a high-powered, high-energy activity such as running, I will keep you posted.

If not, I guess mom really knows best.


Not!


Monday, January 4, 2010

Hot Off The Press!


Read all about it! Read all about it!

I hope it's not too obvious that I miss the "old desk". But getting this teaser from my email got me excited to see what's in store for the runner (and the writer) in me. Can't wait!

Where have all the flowers gone?

I know it's been more than a month (or was it two?) since I tapped the keyboard for a fresh new entry in this blog. My bad! Like everyone else, the holidays kept me loaded (literally and figuratively!).

But I still kept my romance with the asphalt - so to speak. And I had quite a few mileages under my belt - although not something to be proud of as the next runner in line. Squeezed in a few uphills and trail runs, plus some speedwork during the yuletide gaga but still, it was not enough. I know I must keep a program at heart if I want to conquer the skyway come the love month.

So for 2010, no, I am not working on a resolution but I will bend some of my rules. Now I'm lost between keeping you posted and keeping it to myself ;P