The word "ends" in the previous post may have casted a not so good spell for the incoming year it took me almost 2 months to return to blogging. Not that there's nothing newsworthy since 2011 ushered in. In fact, there's plenty. It's just me probably. The writing fingers may be in an extended holiday but the running feet are not, for sure.
First stop for the year - the 2011 Subic International Marathon at SBMA in Olongapo on January 9. It was a reunion of sorts with our running friends from Manila. They had initially planned to run the CCM but since it's happening a week before the Sinulog Festival (the real motivation to fly to Cebu), we had to look for an event as huge and equally exciting. So from the takbo.ph calendar, we picked SIM.
SIM treated us to a whole new route. From the get-go at quarter past 5 in the morning, the stretch of the Subic Freeport was a sight to behold. We had the view of the ocean on one side and green sanctuary on the other. Literally, runners dominated the roads and worried less about speeding vehicles. And running with platoons of soldiers and trainees made us feel a lot safer.
We were specifically excited for June Marq because it's her first attempt at 21K and voila! She completed it in great fashion - 2:20. Likewise, it's another PR for me and Alex. Rodel, Jojo, Lor, Leonette and Tina ran another comfortable 10K race (my hunch tells me they'd do 12 or 15K next time). And too bad, we missed Mildred's second(?) 5K as the short distance runs were scheduled for late afternoon but good for her she was able to go swimming.
Finally, the journey up north wouldn't be complete without the side-trips. The Geraldinos who served as our excellent hosts showed us around town - from the shopping havens to the only tiger safari in the country, the Zoobic Safari. In our next visit, we'll explore Subic some more. So again, thank you to our newfound friends - Mr.& Mrs. Geraldino and our tour guides Fitz and BJ. See you soon!
3rd photo courtesy of aadc
