Pacman Knows!

My friend told me that Mark Wahlberg appeared at a Lakers-Celtics game wearing a Pacman Knows shirt. As it turns out, this is the second time that he did it. Got this picture from another blog.

Manny has really arrived. 

I also want to have a shirt like this!

Laban Pacman! :) 

Adidas KOTR October 11, 2008

Adidas did a great job with this year's King of the Road Run. It was fun to finally run along the EDSA-Buendia flyover and along Buendia avenue. I finished with a terrible time but I'm not really competitive anyway. I was stopping a lot along the way and it was not to stop and smell the roses.

We were all lucky to have great weather that day. The sun was raging by 6AM which was much better than the last rain-drenched event I joined.

Nobody dared miss this one. I guess for many people, Adidas KOTR would be the main event of the year. For 10K alone, there were 1,400 plus finishers ( I also saw most of them...while they were on the stretch run back to the Fort :) ) .

At the finish line, I got to hang around with my nephew and watch the 21-K runners. These guys really impress me. Someday, I wish I can join and finish this event. I remember seeing one of the girls at this finish who seemed to be running out of breath. Good thing she didn't collapse. Her boyfriend and dog where with her at the finish line and they seemed to be in better shape. Oh well, that's my enduring image for the day.

The De La Salle AA Run

Link

My tita's blog :) It's quite refreshing to run when it's raining. Many were upset that the organizers messed up the directions. Not a few had to run back and make up for the wrong turn...no one forced them to, but it's just silly to be paying 200 pesos for a 5k race and then running only 3! Runners are smart consumers too :)

...I felt the same way initially. It's not nice to find out that you made a wrong turn just when you're about to hit the finish line. But on hindsight, I probably ran a total of 6K. That's a bonus!!!

NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell me

This podcast is highly recommended. A great combination of Games, political satire and news. This weekly show lasts for about 30 minutes and never fails to make me laugh.

What I find impressive is they always seem to guest a bigshot US politician like Congressmen and Senators. Even Obama calls in from time to time. And they really don't hold back on any punches...bigtime politician or not, they're all fair game.

How I wish I could listen in live and be a home contestant. The prize? A voicemessage from NPR's Carl Kessel. It may not sound like a million bucks, but I find it cool.

Podcast mania

I'm convinced now that the Ipod is the perfect companion on the road or when waiting at the doctor's clinic. And it took me 3 years to find out!

I still love morning radio (KDL and Teta News at MAxFM from 6-9AM and Failon/Sanchez on DZMM afterwards) but as soon as my favorite shows sign off, I listen to my Ipod.

Easily, my favorites are NPR's Wait Wait (great suggestion Cherry!) and Wall Street Journal podcasts (there are several). When I'm bored, I listen to RIcky Gervais canned shows. Many may not find him funny, but I think the guy's hilarious! One of the guys on his show, Don, is a real nutcase and just spews out outstanding nonsense.

Last night, I stumbled upon podcasts on DC and Marvel comics. Yet to listen to them, but I'm definitely looking forward to some alone time tomorrow (maybe in the evening).

FOr the meantime, look at my podcast subscriptions...it now resembles the DVD collection in my room in Taytay. "Acquired with such haste but left hanging for an eternity!" :)

...Better than a PSP :)

What's in a name?

We visited a few towns in Laguna yesterday. My dad heard about a barangay in Laguna called Taytay.

The trip took us to the underground cemetery in Nagcarlan, Laguna. As the pictures will show, the National Historical Institute is doing a great job. Just look at the well manicured lawn and the clean surroundings.

We did find barangay Taytay after lunch and bought some pasalubong as well as to chat with the owner of the pasalubong store. It appears barangay Taytay has been around since the 16th century! It's not so surprising really if you think that my hometown has also been around since the 16th too (Bambi HArper wrote an interesting column last year. Will try to post that here later).

On the way back, we made stops at Liliw, Laguna and Taytay falls in Majayjay.

Liliw was a pleasant surprise. They have a street there of tsinelas boutiques :) There were many local tourists which gave me the impression that the place has been able to generate enough buzz to make it a "required" stop for us visitors.

Yesterday's trip was truly outstanding. Our family should really do more of this (and to think that Laguna is just 2 hours away from our place!).

Runnex 25 run - UP Diliman

I should really change my name to the Lazy Blogger! :) This Run was three days ago but I only got myself to blog about it now.

Anyway, I won't write too much about it except to say that UP DIliman is a great place for running. I would like to go back next week. I finished the race in 450th place (out of a field of 500) but who's counting? (only me of course haha). My time was 1:12 hours.

Read more about it on Bullrunner and Baldrunner's blog. Coach Rio really did a great job in organizing this event.

...from the picture, it seems like I'm about to pass out :)

Good Superhero Movie

Loved the Iron Man movie. A pleasant surprise that Robert Downey was perfect as Tony Stark. It was also nostalgic to see characters like Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan and Obadiah Stane. It has been years because I've even forgotten all about Obadiah.

I would rank this movie alongside Spiderman 1 and Batman Returns as the best superhero movie adaptations of the CGI era.

Some useless notes:

1. Pepper Potts wasn't really as hot as Gwyneth :) ... the way I remember her, she resembles the red headed chick in Six feet under (sorry but i'm not in the mood to look up her name on Google).
2. I can't remember "Rhodie" from the comicbooks
3. In the sixties comicbook edition, the setting was in VIetnam and not Afghanistan as shown in this movie (makes sense!)
4. I couldn't recall that the thing on his chest was installed to protect his heart (I have lousy memory!)


and last, but most important of all...were you able to spot Stan Lee in the movie?

4th Fort Bonifacio Global City Fun Run

Finished this 10k in 1:09:22. When I joined my first fun run in June 2007 (Adidas King of the Road), I joined a 5k and finished in 45 minutes (blazing! heheh). I hung around the finish line waiting for Ayon and Jerome to finish their 10k. I saw a lot of finishers coming in after an hour. I was very impressed with all of them because back then, I really thought it would be impossible for me to be able to run a 10k.

Now,by just being able to finish a 10k, I feel that I've already achieved something big :) That's significant as I look up at my new "mountain to climb": the 21k. I feel positive that I can achieve this as long as I can get myself to run at least 3 times a week.

At the risk of blurting out too many cliches: Nothing seems impossible anymore!

..by the way, the run was sponsored by ANTA.

On Your Mark! The Draw the Line Run-for-a-Cause

GMA QTV sponsored a fun run for a cause called "On Your Mark! The Draw the Line Run-for-A-Cause". They also have a show with that title and its advocacy is to protect women against abuse.

Boy was I glad to be on this one. So far, this has been the most satisfying run I've had. First, I didn't stop as much to walk (I would say a cumulative time of less than 5 minutes! ) and I finished with a PErsonal Record of 1:08:51 for the 10k...now that's something regular runners would scoff at and I would too if I was an athlete! :) If there's somebody to thank, it's Austin for telling me to take smaller strides and maintain my pace at 90 counts for every minute.

But Jerome also achieved a personal best by going below 1 hour for the first time in his running "career".

"Hooray" right? Leave it to eternal optimists like us. As soon as I hit the finish line, Jerome's first question was: " 'tol, parang maikli ano? " (Wasn't it too short?). If it was, that would be a disappointment. So we'll check the internet this week to see if other runners felt the same way. And of course, there's our idol "The Bull Runner" who will have her own say on the subject (and that will be the final word in my book...she's got a Garmin personal GPRS). It was also nice to see her back where she belongs: on the road! :)

I'd like to say that it was a well organized event. The organizers should really give themselves a pat in the back...and a big bonus from their boss :) Let me count the ways:
1. cold bottled water: on my way back at the 7.5km mark, they still had a lot to go around!
2. Sufficient staff to direct traffic and point directionally challenged people to the right path
3. Nice looking kilometer markers :)...they really helped me a lot
4. Best giveaways so far this year (the shoebag was really nice ... they really matter to me, you see)

...There's another run at the Fort next Sunday at 6AM sponsored by Anta. Just sign up at the Anta Stores in Trinoma and BHS (Bonifacio High Street). The ladies there also told me to wear the Anta shirt after the race if I wanted to get a nice discount card (30%!!!).

DND AFP Run

Joined the 7th DND-AFP Gintong PAngarap half-marathon last Sunday at Villamor Airbase. Wait, let me qualify that: I was in the 5 km fun run category. It was my brother, Jerome, who tried his first 21-km event.

Let me just say that this was one of the better organized runs that I've joined so far. I have to hand it to the organizing crew because I really didn't hear anyone complain the whole morning! (Believe me, "bitching" seems to be a favorite emotional outlet for many people).

First thing that caught my attention, were the kilometer markers they put along the way. FOr those without Garmin Personal navigators, this was the next best thing! :) Maybe it's just psychological, but it sure helps when you know how much more you have to go!

They also had marching bands along the route. I saw only one (since I had to turn already at SLEX) but Jerome told me there were still two more in Fort BOnifacio. For a guy without an I-pod, listening to a live brass band play "Itaktak mo" (an Eat bulaga! tune) was just what the doctor ordered.

Villamor was a good choice because of the nice surroundings. The roads are clean and not too many cars.

They also seemed to have a lot of water (in comparison, the run i joined two weeks ago was a disaster!) which is top-of-mind for most runners: I mean who likes dying of thirst?!? I do lug around a bottle of water all the time for insurance.

At the finish, it was a big surprise when someone handed me a plastic bag of goodies: 2 pandesals, saging na saba, and boiled egg. That definitely made me smile. These DND-AFP guys really know how to take care of their runners! Good job!

It was the first race certificate that I saw where somebody actually signed!

I hung around for a while at the grandstand and watched a marching band perform. I took videos on my phone(maybe ill download them later this weekend) and walked around to enjoy the place.

It was a well organized event despite having no big name sponsors. It was also nice to see the top brass of the Air Force attending the event and providing moral support to their troops.