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.

The old school

Went to my old school yesterday to accompany Tia Liling who was voting there. Took some pictures of the old building.

It was a little sad to see that the old building where I spent Grade 1 to 3 was already condemned. It's hard to believe that it's been 30 years since I went there. I can still remember many events and old friends. Despite my shoddy memory, it surprises me that I can still remember classmates from Grade 1 (I can barely remember the names of some of my college classmates! What an embarassment).

Wonder what happened to all of them. Taytay is a small town but the only classmates I've seen since 1980 are just a handful.

If you went to Felix M. Sanvictores School in Taytay, you would know why i took this shot. Can you tell me why?

healthy Choices

Anyway, as you all know, there has been a big change in my lifestyle: especially with my eating habits. No more beer, cut down on fat, (bawal na pumapak ng taba!), reduce salt intake. In short, I have to change the whole way I eat. Grabe men. It's so hard kaayo!

I'm beginning to get used to it though. I went to the grocery: I never thought I would still have a lot of food choices! Raisins, JellyAce, Skim Milk, Cereals, Non fat pudding, banana chips! I usually have cereals for breakfast na and sometimes oatmeal. No more patis and toyo (The worst thing that could happen to someone who grew up in Taytay)! By the way, no ketchup for me so I have to make up for with Suka and calamansi. And of course, when I'm still hungry after meals, I turn to Fruits. I also never thought that i would see the day when I would prefer Smoothies over ice cream when I'm in the mall!


So take my advice, don't allow your kids to get too dependent on meat, chocolates, and full cream stuff. They'll pay for it someday. Remember: BALANCE.

:)

Rgds
Jay

Revival

Have neglected this blog for more than a year. Just decided to check it again after my uncle mentioned to me that he stumbled upon it.

...while I would really like to keep this a blog that is strictly about baseball, I am tempted to post my picture on my trip to Sydney last week. I stayed with my cousins there for two weekends while I spent one whole week at our Sydney office learning from my peers.

IT was a wonderful trip more so because I haven't really been anywhere for more than a year...even Cebu which I miss a lot.

If you happen to be someone from outside the Philippines, I strongly urge you to visit my country. It has lots of nice places that you will find interesting. Just look beyond our airport and our capital because they really are quite iffy hehehe

But remember, Manila is just a small, small part of the country.

Jay

Boston Red Sox and The Chicago Cubs

Hi! It has been sometime since my last post.

Yesterday, the Red Sox played the Chicago Cubs. THe cubs won by a big margin and got 20 hits out of the Red SOx. Very one sided!

Interleague play began only three years ago so these two teams never played each other because the only way that was possible before was for them to be in the world series at the same time. Chicago last won the world series in 1908! And they last time they played there was 1945. BOston has always been my heartbreak club but Chicago really has been worse!

Last year, the red sox were finally able to break the jinx and won their first world series since 1918! Very Happy day!

...Will the Cubs finally go to the World Series this year? The best would be to have them make it and have the REd SOx on the other side. That would be just classic!

Shop PBS - Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns 10PK (DVD)

Shop PBS - Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns 10PK (DVD)

For people who are just beginning to fall in love in baseball, This is the ultimate baseball movie. A classic documentary that covers the sport from its history in the early 1800's up to the 90's.

It just doesn't focus on the sport itself. It talks about issues common to American society and baseball.

But the footages of all the baseball heroes are fantastic.

I first saw this documentary on the discovery channel in 1997. They showed one chapter every saturday morning. Needless to say, it was a good reason to wake up early on weekends!


I finally got a copy last year on DVD. BOught it on ebay for $100. Worth more than this to me.

Jay Araullo

ESPN Outdoors

ESPN Outdoors

click on this link to see Ted William's angling prowess...some people consider him to be the best flyfisherman of all time.

Jay

Boston Red Sox

Baseball is not really that popular here in the Philippines (Filipinos are basketball CRAZY!). You may be wondering why someone like me, who hasn't even been anywhere near the US, can be so crazy about baseball.

My grade school back in the early 80's had an above average library. When I was ten, I was extremely interested in sports. I was such a big fan of U-TEX, a professional basketball team in the PBA (Philippine Basketball Association), one of the underdogs of the league. Anyway, I'll write about U-Tex another time. So while browsing for books about basketball, I would skim other books about other sports. One of the first books that I brought out was about six guys who won the Triple Crown of Baseball. Let me see if I got them right...

Lou Gehrig 1927

Joe Medwick 1936

Ted Williams 1941

Micky Mantle 1952

Frank Robinson 1966

Carl Yastrzemski 1967

I'm sure I made a mistake with a couple of the dates but I'll make sure to correct them after checking the net.

Lou Gehrig and Ted Williams are two of my favorite players of all time. I'll tell you about Lou Gehrig another time. Why? Because Ted Williams is the greatest Red Sox of all time!

Batting left handed (like me), Ted was a left fielder. That he meant he patrolled Fenway Park's fabled Green Monster...which isn't much really. It's just a high wall merely 310 ft away from home plate that converts home runs to doubles...and singles (if it were in other parks) into doubles! It's on of a kind. You won't find anything like it in the other baseball parks. Ted was not just a great baseball player, he was also a war pilot who made a lot of kills (50 if I'm not mistaken ) while serving in two wars! World War 2 and the Korean War. this meant that he missed seven years in his career at his peak (or when at an age when he was most productive). I read somewhere once that he had the best swing among all baseball players ever and he had the sharpest eye...which probably explains his skill as a pilot and his hitting prowess on the diamond. The most impressive stat about Ted Williams is that he is the last player to ever hit .400 with a .402 average in 1941 (along with 37 home runs and 145 RBI). For those who are not in the know, .400 is a mean feat. Much like averaging 40 points in a season in the NBA (Jordan averaged 32 at his best). Hitting a lot of home runs while doing this is even more impressive! Another thing that I admire about Ted Williams is the recognition that he has received as one of the greatest anglers in the US. In short, he has made a name for himself in three entirely different fields! amazing!

Well have to go on now...I can blab on and on about Ted Williams but I it's time to sleep!

Go Sox!

Jay

Welcome to the Taytay Bulls

You might be wondering why I use the name Taytay Bulls. Well I got that from my barkada Oliver Briola or "Obeng" who is a basketball nut like me. The Chicago Bulls were just beginning to build their dynasty in 1992 and one of their popular players then was BJ Armstrong (excellent shooter from the outside). I'm not a Chicago fan (I always root for the underdogs) but Obeng got around to calling me "BJ Araullo from the Taytay Bulls!". Taytay is my hometown in the province of Rizal, Philippines.

I really wanted to name this site the Manila Red Sox Nation because I'm a huge fan of the Boston Red Sox(though I haven't set foot on Fenway Park yet!) since 1986 and Roger "the rocket" Clemens but the website won't accept it...must be a yankee fan hehehe

Anyways, welcome to my blog and I hope people can get around to reading it. I hope that I won't bore people too much and I hope to meet others who might have the same interests as I.

Jay