I was talking to my boss last night about how disappointed I was about my run last Monday and how I wish I could find my pace so I can run longer.

I can usually only run for 18mins straight and then I brisk walk and then run again. I figured I was running too fast which was why I was getting too tired too quickly. The songs on my cardio tracks playlist are fast songs like Fatboy Slim's "Ya Mamma" and Groove Armada's "I see you baby (shakin that ass)". You'll also find a lot of Chemical Brothers and No Doubt songs in my running playlist.

And then earlier, I found this Crystal Method song on my ipod (it was my Uncle who probably put it there since my ipod video is a hand-me-down from him). And the song was 45 minutes long! It was purrfeecctt!!! It started with a slow beat that warmed me up and then the tempo started getting faster (but not too fast). And just like that, I found my running pace!

Thank you Nike and Crystal Method because

I ran for 31 minutes straight!!! And I don't want to sound mayabang, but if I wasn't going to be late for work, I could have ran some more!

So now, I am even more excited to Run For Home this Sunday! I am hoping to finish the 5km race in 35 minutes. We shall see how well or bad I do. Hahaha!

Yay!!!

I fell inlove with James Morrison when I first heard You Give Me Something and Broken Strings but this song just melts my heart!

Mmmmm
There's so much craziness, surrounding me
There's so much going on, it gets hard to breathe
When all my faith has gone, you bring it back to me
You make it real for me

When I'm not sure of, my priorities
When I've lost site of, where I'm meant to be
Like holy water, washing over me
You make it real for me

And I'm running to you baby
You are the only one who saved me
That's why I've been missing you lately
Cause you make it real for me

When my head is strong, but my heart is weak
I'm full of arrogance, and uncertainty
But I can find the words, you teach my heart to speak
You make it real for meee, yeaaa

And I'm running to you baby
Cause you are the only one who saved me
That's whyyy I've been missing you lately
Cause you make it real for me

Ohhh
Everybodies talking in words
I don't understand
You got to be the only one
Who knows just who I am
Your shinin in the distance
I hope I can make it through
Cause the only place
That I want to be
Is right back home with you

I guess there's so much more
I have to learn
But if you're here with me
I know which way to turn
You always give me somewhere,
Somewhere I can learn
You make it real for me

And I'm running to you baby
Cause you are the only one who saved me
That's why I've been missing you lately
Cause you make it real for me

You make it real for me

I weighed myself yesterday and thought that maybe there was something wrong with the scale. So, I weighed myself again.

Lie, it does not!!!

I lost 9lbs already!!! I am 11lbs away from, well, not really my desired weight but my i-am-content weight. Hehehehehe!

I LUV IT!

P.S.
Uh-oh! I'm craving for
Pistachio ice cream...

ALGEBRA. I failed this subject freshman year of college and had to re-take it during the summer. It is a mystery how I passed. To this very day, I know nada about constants, variables, polynomials, linear equations, etc. (Those very words make me shudder in fear! Hahahaha!) This branch of mathematics just never made any sense to me and I do not see the use of it in daily life. HA!

We had a blast in Cebu! But Joaquin had the most fun!

As promised, here are pictures!

He loved the plane ride! Was not scared at all!


Loved it so much that his feet were up and he was noisiest kid in the plane!

We headed to one of the Sutukil restaurants by Mactan Shrine for brunch. Didn't enjoy it so much. Food was pretty expensive and was not as good. Our Dampa here in Manila is A LOT BETTER. Should have read this before going there. Really wouldn't recommend this place to anyone.

We arrived at Cebu Marine before noon and they allowed us to check-in early (Big Yaaayy!) We loved the place! It was indeed quaint and super peaceful!!! The landscaped garden was beautiful!

I felt like we were the only ones there!




We finally saw a few guests (mostly Japanese and Europeans. Kami lang Pinoy!) around dinner time. Food was relatively good but a little pricey (or maybe I'm just kuripot, hehe!). A meal per person would probably cost PHP400.

We woke up very early Saturday morning so we can make the most out of the day. We hung out at the pool most of the time as it was super low tide.


Trying to get a tan?


Mama, is this my swimming pool?


He insisted that it was.


Playing with Papa



Sun and Fun with Mama!


Woot woot!!!


Someone's learning to love the water...




Headed to the City Saturday afternoon and stayed at Regal Business Park Hotel which was right across Ayala Center. We only needed a clean and decent place to sleep as we were going out with V's friend anyway. For Php1,800 a night, NOT BAD at all! Room and bathroom was clean, service was good, staff were friendly! The room came with buffet breakfast (I know! Nagulat din ako!) but the choices were very limited. But still. At Php1,800 a night, pwede na!


Our room at the Regal Business Park Hotel

We ate Cebu Lechon which made me think of my Dad because he was the one who introduced us to this



We headed North of Cebu (shockingly, only 15-20mins away from the city) Sunday morning to the town of Liloan where V's friend lived. We went to a Sunday food market to get lunch



And yes, we ate more lechon and I even bought a kilo to take home with me to Manila. Drool!

After a gastronomic lunch of lechon, kilawin na sea cucumber (first time to try this and its good!), roast chicken, dininding, inihwan na tulingan and uber sweet mangoes for dessert, we napped.

In the afternoon, we headed to the Liloan lighthouse called Bagacay Point Light.







Joaquin and his new BFF, Anton (Anton is a year and a half older than Joaqun but Joaquin is soo much bigger and taller!)

All in all, it was a pretty great trip. The only thing I didn't like was how our flight heading back to Manila got delayed. From 10:40pm to 12:20am! Joaquin and I slept in the plane going back while V couldn't get some shut eye because of the turbulence. Hehe!

Hubby, Joaquin and I are off to (hopefully) sunny Cebu in a few hours for some much-needed and well-deserved R&R.

Staying at Cebu Marine Resort (website could use a lot of work) in Mactan which came highly recommended by my boss who said the place was quaint and that food is good and reasonably priced. She's from Cebu and pretty picky when it comes to places so I super trust her.

Big thanks to Uncle/Ninong F for footing the bill. Yaaaay!

It's going to be Joaquin's first plane ride so I am pretty anxious to see if he will like it or not.

Will eat Cebu lechon, will eat cebu lechon, will eat cebu lechon!

So excited :) Will post pics and tell stories when I get back!

Joaquin is so so so so gwaaapoo and I'm not saying that just because he's my son.

He's growing up so quickly. Before I know it, he will have a girlfriend and I will be heartbroken. Hehehhee!

Funny exchange of SMS with Kookie at around noon today:

Kookie: Girls, did you watch???

Me: Watch what? The sex video? Hahahaha! I did!

(2 seconds after sending the text)

Me: I just realized you might be talking about American Idol. Ang sleazy ng utak ko! Hahahahahha!!!

Kookie: What sex video? American Idol! Sleazy na tawag ko sayo!

I had to explain to Kookie what the sex video was and who was in it. She didn't even know the guy. Hahahha!

To my defense, the reason why that darn sex video was on my head was people at work couldn't stop talking about it all night. (palusot paaaa! Hahaha!)

Know how I keep saying that I miss climbing and how I can't wait to conquer a mountain again? Well, I still feel that way BUT

I found a new love.

Running in Marathons.

I never got into team sports when I was a kid. That doesn't mean I'm not competitive but really, the only person I like competing with is myself. Whenever people would ask me what sport I was into, I would always say, swimming and running.

Thanks to my friend, April, I ran my first marathon last March. I finished 5km in 47 minutes. Not bad at all, I think.

Since then, I've been making a conscious effort to run at least twice a week. I wish I could run everyday but since I now work the night shift, it's just not possible, unless I want to be a zombie at work.

I ran my 2nd marathon (with Bea and a bunch of other friends) last month and this time, I finished the 5km run in 42mins. My next run is scheduled at the end of this month at McKinley Hills (really training myself for this because of the uphill parts)

Anyhoo, a couple of weeks ago, while waiting for hubby to finish his business in Greenhills, I saw this book at a bookstore, grabbed it and bought it.

I can't believe I've never read any of his books (I'm so buying his other books but this one's really special coz it's a memoir and I feel like I've gotten to know Haruki Murakami on a more personal basis). Mr. Murakami is inspiring in so many ways. Did you know he started running at the age of 33? Means it's not too late for me! I swear, you don't have to be a runner to appreciate this book. There's so much wisdom in it that I understand how Kookie feels like when she reads Murakami---Woozy.

I love how he talks about disciplining the mind and the body. In the book, he shares a mantra which I now live by: "Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional."

Here are my other favorite quotes from the book:

"Nothing in the real world is as beautiful as the illusions of a person about to lose consciousness."

"People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they'll go to any length to live longer. But don't think that's the reason most people run. Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest. If you're going to while away the years, it's far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive then in a fog, and I believe running helps you to do that. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that's the essence of running, and a metaphor for life — and for me, for writing as whole. I believe many runners would agree"

"It doesn’t matter how old I get, but as long as I continue to live I’ll always discover something new about myself. No matter how long you stand there examining yourself naked before a mirror, you’ll never see reflected what’s inside."

"For a runner like me, what’s really important is reaching the goal I set myself, under my own power. I give it everything I have, endure what needs enduring, and am able, in my own way, to be satisfied. From out of the failures and joys I always try to come away having grasped a concrete lesson. (It’s got to be concrete, no matter how small it is.) And I hope that, over time, as one race follows another, in the end I’ll reach a place I’m content with. Or maybe just catch a glimpse of it. (Yes, that’s a more appropriate way of putting it.)"

"The most important thing we ever learn at school is the fact that the most important things can't be learned at school." (YES YES YES YES YES!!!)

"To keep on going, you have to keep up the rhythm. This is the important thing for long-term projects. Once you set the pace, the rest will follow. The problem is getting the flywheel to spin at a set speed--and to get to that point takes as much concentration and effort as you can manage."

"It's just that for some reason I never cared all that much whether I beat others or lost to them. This sentiment remained pretty much unchanged after I grew up. It doesn't matter what field you're talking about--beating somebody else just doesn't do it for me. I'm much more interested in whether I reach the goals that I set for myself, so in this sense long-distance running is the perfect fit for a mindset like mine." (Could super relate to this)


P.S.
I lost 5lbs na! Yippee!!!

Thanks to Bea for recommending this super cool application! The Poladroid turns your normal pictures to polaroids!

Just look at what I did to some of my favorite photos! And I am so not done yet! Hehehehe! I love how some of the pictures look like they were taken from the 80's! Hehehe!

Now I'm seriously considering giving this blog a facelift using these polaroids (when I find the time)!