Summer Fun!

Aaaahhh, Summer. How you make us run for shade yet crave your heat at the same time.

Total Fitness: Got bitten by the travel bug? This may help.

Please go to page 91 for my article.

For most of us who spend countless hours and days fighting for survival and control in the cutthroat urban/corporate jungle, going away on a holiday is a necessity for a few different reasons: to relax and recharge our batteries, to get lost in the moment and have fun, meet new romantic partners or seal the bond with current beaus, or to simply take ourselves away from the chores and problems of our daily lives. But perhaps, the main reason why holidays are so important to us - strange though it might sound at first - is that they heighten our awareness.

For the most part, we are contained in environments that are completely familiar to us, and our lives largely consist of experiences that we keep repeating everyday. But when we go on a holiday, we are transported to a whole new dimension. The beaches, the mountain tops, the fields, foreign buildings and streets and the different food, language and culture are more real to us. They are all so new and different that we pay them much more attention. As a result we become more present than we are at home. We spend less time immersed in the ‘thought-chatter' in our minds, or giving our attention to distractions like TV or the Internet. Why would you want to stay in your hotel room and watch TV when you can sit in a beach café and watch the boats going by, or go for a walk along the ancient city streets? Why would you give your attention to the chattering worries inside your head when there are so many stimulating and beautiful sights and sounds to soak ourselves in?

Going on a holiday takes us to that state of natural mindfulness, where we pay complete attention to our experiences and develop the kind of fresh, ‘first-time' vision we used to have as young kids.

Taking a break is one thing but maximizing the perks of your holiday is another.  Because now there are tons of options to consider, it becomes more imperative to make wise and informed decisions without having to kill the thrill of spontaneity  - which is also what taking a holiday is about. To make sure you get all your money and time’s worth when planning for your holiday, consider these tips:

1.     Budget travel is NOT synonymous to bad travel. In fact, not only do you get to save more money, you also get to experience some aspects of traveling you would not otherwise experience during expensive trips. I mean, sure, you get to dine in expensive restaurants and clubs, but chances are, people are less approachable in these places and there are a lot of restrictions. But once you go the cowboy way and mingle with other budget travelers (and believe me there are more of us out there!), you are guaranteed to have the pleasure of meeting more people you can swap stories with.

2.     Explore away! Now is your chance to absorb all the colors, sights, sounds, taste, and feel your body can accommodate so don’t waste it by staying in your hotel room the whole day. Check out local tours and see which ones you can join. Or if you are daring enough, make your own itinerary and throw in some random things in between.

3.     Document your trip using your handy point-and-shoot and make short, fun videos after. This is your chance to discover the inner photographer in you, so make sure you have extra memory card and batteries that will come in handy when you run out of either right in the middle of your exploration.

4.     Make one or two friends for each day of your trip and by that I mean, make it your mission to know more than just their name and what sort of work they do. Have great conversations about books, movies, sports, or anything you can find common ground on.

5.     Learn. Find out more about the place, it’s history, and the people by watching, observing, listening, and asking questions. Traveling should be about learning about places and people as this is also where you can learn something new, different, and surprising – about yourself.

Another Year Almost Over

5 November 2011 --- Here I sit, watching The Voice on AXN and thinking Adam Levine is really one very attractive specimen. Don’t you think so? In the bathroom, i’m running a hot bath in which i’m going to soak myself for an hour, to wash off the sweat I worked up with my back-to-back Insanity Core and Cardio sessions earlier. It’s Saturday, the beginning of a long weekend in Malaysia (and the Philippines, too) and I’m just keeping it nice and easy in the morning – before it gets roller coaster-crazy again in the afternoon.

Not to say that I am a fitness freak...

Twenty eleven, you are almost on your way out of the door. When did the years start speeding by so fast? Is this an age thing somebody forgot to send me a memo of? Has my life now turned into this: months moving on fast forward, days on a mad loop, minutes that swirl round and round and round me? Some years ago, I graduated from the Uni and now I’m sorta-kinda living the life I had wanted since I was little – simple but purpose-driven.

I remember last November vividly. I remember traveling to Jordan for the first time and being fascinated by Petra. It was and still is, one of THE MOST amazing moments of my life. One day, when I’m old, I will forget faces, birthdays, numbers, moments, but not Petra and how it opened my senses to the beautifully strange and mystifying. One other thing I remember last November was how excited I was for months to change already so Chris and I can finally go on our December Phuket holiday.

Phuket 2010

One year later, I’m here in Malaysia for work and feeling the same wave of excitement again for December for a whole range of reasons but most especially for our second Bali trip (this piece of wonderland we visited in August 2010). The feel of sand between my toes, the just-the-two-of-us-holiday that we planned for, to once more close the gap between us, and no longer hating geography for making us so far apart.

Bali 2010

Things are changing up so fast I sometimes have to will myself to stand still, shut people out for a moment, and take several deep breaths just to regain focus. Do you ever feel that way sometimes? Being so overwhelmed it stifles you? Not that there is any reason for me to complain because try as I might, there isn’t any. Knock on wood but I feel Life has really made up for the bad cards it dealt me earlier on.

Two days ago, I also heard one of the most beautiful love story involving my dear friends from college and I remember going to bed that night feeling genuinely happy that they have found love in each other. Ahhh, Love. How is it that you make butterflies flutter about in my stomach? I think it’s time to make concrete plans to visit NY and give my felicitations personally.:)

It’s not yet twenty twelve but the dregs of twenty eleven are now visible that I can’t wait to take them all in one gulp so I can finally get a refill. Let my new year be happy. Let new opportunities come barreling through the door. I am ready for change, 2012, and if you know me even just a little bit, you know darn well that I can handle it. Let travel happen, let long distance become together-all-the-time, let me finally figure out cash and jobs and adult relationships. Will you allow me to be greedy and ask for more, more, more, and please, will you give it to me? Let everyone I love be safe, healthy, and happy this coming 2012, too. Make it an exciting year, a good year, a year we will not want to say goodbye to. At least not too soon.

Made of WIN are YOU?

So you know that I lead a very boring kind of life… on days that I’m not near-drunk with life’s awesomeness, of course. But the past months have really been exceedingly grand in oh-so-many fronts – work, romance, fitness…even my reading has picked up! I had just finished reading Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings and am now almost a third of a way through A Storm of Swords, thanks in large part to Gailey who shared her books on Kindle with me when I couldn’t find book two in some of the bookstores I checked some days back. Well it seems half of the Philippine population have decided to pick up the Game of Thrones novel series after watching the show and learning that season two is not due for release until early next year. I don’t know about you guys but when I started watching, I just had to pause everything momentarily – including running – and didn’t feel an iota of guilt afterwards. No, not even after learning I gained a pound or two doing the damned GOT marathon. Just so you know how hooked I am on George Martin’s obra these days, I locked myself up in the house this weekend just so I could finish Clash of Kings. The usual number of three showers I take on a daily basis was drastically cut into just one shower and I took it just before bedtime because I literally could not peel my eyes off Wilhelmina (my Mac, y’all)!

Thank you (Gail's) Kindle for Mac for this!

And last night, while waiting for Team Perfect aka FTW team at Serendra, I decided to pop in at Powerbooks (used to be A Different Kind of Bookstore) and saw some awesome titles on sale at dirt cheap prices! To cut the long bull short, I left with these two books in tow:

I have always been fascinated by this larger-than-life superwoman.

I was torn between this and Frank McCourt's 'Tis and having remembered how melancholic Angela's Ashes made me, I picked up Rex.

And then Kassy, bless her heart, gave me a copy of You Are an Ironman which she got from the book publisher themselves – now isn’t that just fabulous?!? Ikaw na Kassy! I remember sms-ing her one morning when I saw one of the featured athletes in book making a guest appearance on the Today Show and he told his amazing Ironman story. He had a serious health problem/disability, if i’m not mistaken (I have to read the book to get the details), but instead of wasting away and wallowing in self-pity, he conquered his disability and became an Ironman! And I remember feeling so inspired while watching that short interview, so much so that I have decided I am seriously going to be an Ironman before I turn 35. It’s either that or run the New York marathon. Better if I can do both. Okay, done, I will.

Thank you Kassy!

So there you go…three books + an eBook to keep me intellectually and creatively stimulated in the next few days and even as we prepare for FTW magazine’s second issue with Mr. Awesomeness personified on the cover (we’ll let you make a few guesses on our fanpage very soon).

Speaking of FTW, have you guys seen our maiden issue? I’ll be very upset if you say NO! Seriously you guys, we have a number of distribution channels you ought to visit – preferably right after you read this post.

Your primer for everything made of WIN

• Reebok stores in festival Mall and Eastwood
• Plana Forma
• Curves
• Nav Thai
• Wellness Studio by Sport Fit at Power Plant Mall
• Wicked Kitchen
• Chris Sports

And a few other places we’ll be announcing soon. And oh, we are also expanding our roster of advertisers and partners so if you or your company would like to be one of the great ones, get in touch with any one from FTW on Facebook here. Or send me an email at vicky@ftw-magazine.com. We’re launching our website soon, as well, so watch out for it!

Oh, just before I go, may I introduce the FTW Team of Kassy Pajarillo, Marga Deona, Chad Villarmino, Erwin Feliciano, and Lawrz Libo-on. Lawrz and Erwin joined the team after maiden issue was launched so their names will appear in the year-end issue. 

Team Made of Win

Lastly, and I promise I’m clicking ‘publish’ on my blog na after this, FTW is FREE! That’s right, F. R. E. E! Do you know how many great things there still out there that come with zero cost to you readers?! Not a whole darn lot, that’s for sure! Even your crush may not at all be that great and free — but FTW? It’s FREE AWESOMENESS duuuuuude! And that right there is called subtlety at its finest. *wink*

So tell me loves, what are YOU made of?

Total Fitness: Losing My Sanity

INSANITY came to me one day when a friend gave me a copy of the dvd workout, after I shared with her that my body seems to have already settled comfortably into my running routine that I am no longer feeling the pain I usually associate with a good workout.  Weirdly enough, I was also at that time getting bored of my frequent visits to the gym and lifting mild weights. Surely, there must be something out there more fun, less expensive, and most importantly, would give me the kind of pain my body craves for.

That something turned out to be INSANITY.

Losing my sanity.

INSANITY Workout is a 60-day cardio-based total-body conditioning program that is perhaps the most intense workout ever put on DVD. Fitness expert Shaun T drew on his collegiate track and field training plus his subsequent years of experience as an elite trainer to create a program that takes total-body conditioning to an extreme level.

Now what I like about this workout is that it’s very low maintenance. No gym memberships or heavy workout equipment are required. In fact, all you need is an ample space in the house, garage, the hotel room, or your backyard; towel; water for hydration; and your commitment to dig deep as you go from one level to another – every day for the next 60 days.

Work it!

Now I take great pride in my endurance and slightly high tolerance for physical pain. When I took a peek at some of the workout routines I thought they were pretty doable, even with my zero background in athletics – except maybe for running which I don’t get to do as often as I would have liked. Until I took the Fit Test – which is a prerequisite before you go head-on into the 60-day program. The fit test is a series of workout routines that you have to do as many repetitions of within one minute and it is advised that you do it every two weeks of INSANITY. Although my numbers weren’t as bad the first time, I did not expect to find myself sprawled on the floor, sweat-soaked and breathing heavily. Let’s not even talk about the expletives I let out a barrage of while going through the routines. That was just the beginning.

As I went deeper and deeper into the program, my body’s transformation is beginning to become more visible. First and foremost, I noticed that my core is gaining strength I never once achieved in my years of gymming. I also began sporting abs that was getting noticeably firmer.  The shape that my arms, thighs, and back were taking after merely two weeks of doing INSANITY also pleasantly surprised me.  Shaun T knew exactly what he was talking about and allow me this one line of false modesty, I may just be a walking proof of it!

One of the routines I struggled mightily with. Still not doing it perfectly.:(

Once I had crossed the first half of the 60-day program, the workouts became more intense. This is where nearly every workout routine is labeled Maximum – Maximum Cardio, Maximum Plyo, Maximum Sports Interval – and much to my amazement; my body continues to respond to the orgasmic torture. I was far from getting bored! I realized I was getting addicted to it when I refused to start my day without INSANITY – even while on vacation. I remember when my friends and I were on a holiday in Shanghai, bunking together in a tiny hotel room, I convinced them to move the beds and side tables around just so I could have my small space for INSANITY every morning at 6:30.

I love this workout so much that soon as I finished one cycle, I just took two days off and started the 60-day program all over again! Although unlike the first cycle where I tried not to allow myself to default for one day – and if I ever did, I made sure I did double-INSANITY to sort of punish myself for failing to stick to my workout plan – I was more lenient with myself on Cycle 2. Besides, around this time, my running has picked-up as well and I have become more visible in road and trail races.

Aside from the very obvious fast calorie-burning effect of this high-impact circuit training (minimum of 600 calories per workout), I am a huge fan of INSANITY because it strengthens my core; increases my agility (physical and mental); increases my flexibility (the stretching exercises include yoga poses and are highly effective in avoiding injuries); increases my speed in running; and this has to be said, it has given my body a whole new fierce look /shape – something I never had even when I was in my 20s; nor imagined I would achieve now that I’m in my 30s.

I could almost hear Olivia Newton John's song playing here 'Let's get physical...physical!'

And because I want to spread the fitness virus among friends, I have given some of mine their copies of INSANITY dvd in the hopes that they would get into the madness as well. Unfortunately, I have yet to hear about them completing the 60-day program. I am far from giving up though. One day, I know they will.

***Grab a copy of TOTAL FITNESS October issue for this a lot MORE!

2nd PAU 50k T2N: A Lot Like LOVE, an Ultramarathon Podium Finish is certainly lovelier the Second Time around

What can I say about the UltraRunners except that they are a great bunch of people to run with?

At the starting line.

With KB Runner, who just promised to train me for BDM 102 next year.

People with good hearts, most of them. I lost my support somewhere after KM12 and for a while there I thought I was going to collapse due to dehydration (my Lightwater only had about a sip left) when I saw this other support crew up ahead and they graciously offered me water and a banana. The kind gesture would be repeated several times after that, by many other support teams.

Lightwater and no other.

With my pacer, Lao of Fairview Runners

Thinking about it now actually makes me smile and teary-eyed at the same time. Lovely people you guys are! I don’t know some of you but I hope you know how much you guys have helped me get through the race and all the way to a podium finish – and for that, I am truly, sincerely grateful. I survived all 50km with just 3 bananas + 2 slices of apple + 5 refills of water – all coming from various support teams, some of them stranger to me. That and a whole lot of heart, courage, and pride. I keep telling myself I will not DNF, never again.

Crossed the finish line in 5:45:50.

To Chaddy, who drove all the way to Nasugbu to trail me and have lunch and Mochiko with me post-race, you are one sweet angel! To the Fairview runners, especially the guy who paced me – Lao Ogerio (I’m so sorry I forgot your name! I’m really really really bad with names, I swear! Good thing you tagged yourself in one of the photos.) in the dying 12km stretch of the race, thank you! Your pananakot na may babae na runner sa likod ko who might be a threat to my bid for a 2nd place finish (kahit malayong-malayo naman pala!) actually made me forget about my tired feet and burned skin and soldier on with renewed spring in each stride. Ayoko kase ng nauunahan pa, especially when I know I have earned my spot and earned it well. That’s how wildly competitve I can be. Dennis Ravanzo knows that about me. Right, Dhenz?

Landing a podium finish at an ultra marathon is always lovelier the second time around...

Sir Jovie aka BaldRunner said I look so much different from the Vicky who DNF'd at the BDM Test Run last year.

Before the race, I was aiming for a sub-8 finish. I crossed the Finish Line in 5:45:50! And the best part about it is that I suffered nary an injury or discomfort – not even a dead toenail, which, by the way, I am known to collect after a long run. Alam na alam yan ng pedicurista ko who’d often tease me for having un-sexy feet because of the weird bone protruding on my right foot, and the mainstay dead toenail. Just tired legs which disappeared when I woke up after 12 hours of sleep – the tiredness on my legs, I mean. I still have my ultralegs intact, haha. ‘Claudia’ did a fantastic job ofprotecting me from running injuries while giving me that awesome spring in my stride. Having said that, thank you again to all of you.

I'mYourAverageEverydaySaintPsychoUltraRunnerSupergoddess.

Official results placed me 2nd among female runners and 39th out of 202 runners!

This would be the second time I landed a podium finish in an ultramarathon. The first one was at the 1st PAU Mt. Pinatubo 50k Trail Challenge, my ultra debut incidentally, where I also finished second but got my cherry popped in a somewhat violent way. I remember coming down with fever when reached home after the race, sporting two dead toenails for weeks, and nursing a limp for the next two days. But what I like most about Bald Runner’s ultra marathons, is how they are all about courage and pride sans the glitter of cash prizes that seduce most runners these days. In this case, it’s just you and the long stretch of road ahead and how tough your gut is. This T2N  race for example was made even more exciting by the myriad of close calls I miraculously survived! I think this was the only race where I prayed the hardest, while pounding the road, from start to finish. I was nearly sideswiped by a bus and a truck  somewhere between Tagaytay and Nasugbu and got chased after by stray dogs, as well.

Running on Clouds

Unlike my Mt. Pinatubo debut, I sort of trained for T2N by running an average of 15k every morning, Monday to Friday, and at least 20k on Saturday for two weeks prior to the big race. Though my training got interrupted for a few days when I went on a business trip to Singapore, I made sure to pick up the slack soon as I got back. I was also able to slot-in two Insanity sessions for added core power.

With Chinggay Andrada

The week leading up to the race also found me getting actively involved in the Reebok EasyTone and FTW launch – both turned out to be a superlative success – and I also dropped by Skechers ProSpeed Bloggers’ event the night before the race, where I met Coach Chinggay Andrada of the Pinoy Biggest Loser fame. She’s so petite and lovely, I’m even more inspired to get fitter and stronger – looking hotter would just be an added bonus.:)

Thank you, too, Reebok, Bodivance, Lightwater, Chris Sports, and FTW magazine for your support. I am indebted and in awe.:)

And Lord God, you are awesome beyond words. Every single moment of the day.:)

Mabuhay tayong lahat na Ultra Runners! TAYO NA TALAGA!

***Photo credits to the following: Carlo Serrano, A Runner’s Circle, Mayor Alfaro, Bave dela Cruz, Sir Jovie, The Curious Runner, Team Boring, and Team CB