The Gingerbread Report: May 2009

Archive for May 2009

The Levi's® "Who Do You Want To Unbutton" Promo

Posted by Gingerbreadman On Saturday, May 30, 2009 21 Comments

Hi guys and gals. In relation to the previous entry on their eco-friendly 501 Organic Jeans, Levi's is once again teaming up with The Gingerbread Report to bring you the "Who Do You Want To Unbutton?" promo.

This is a promo which is for fun more than anything else. It's for YOU guys, my loyal running. buddies/Gingermaniacs It's our chance to showcase our zany, creative selves outside of the races :) So what is it all about? Let me explain.

Individuals still have that need to connect with certain people in their lives no matter how fast paced or busy the world turns. May it be that someone from the office whom you so look forward to seeing or that girl you’ve always enjoyed hanging-out with in the weekend, have you ever thought about finding more ways than one to say just what you want to say to them? Don’t let it go unsaid. It’s best to liberate yourself of worries and just start by saying what you want. Now, with the help of Levi's, you could do just that.

The Levi's "Who Do You Want To Unbutton?" Promo is a smooth and cheeky platform to let you convey what you REALLY want to say. Throw your inhibitions out of the window. So what do I want you to do?

In the most creative way possible, leave a comment and tell me Who Do You Want To Unbutton. It could be anyone - heck, even anything! Even an abstract idea! Just like the ads above. Show me that runners have creative sides too! Go all out! Be subtle! Use quotations! It's really up to you. It doesnt have to be sexy. It could be funny, philosophical, morbid, insightful, food-related, running related, etc :) It's the creativity that would be judged, the same creativity that reflects the spirit of the campaign. :)

Let's do it this way. Comments/entries will be accepted until 9pm Wednesday, June 3rd. The marketing director of Levi's Philippines will personally select the top 5 most creative entries who will serve as our finalists. We will conduct a poll and YOU guys will select the winner just to be democratic about it! Polls close Saturday 9pm, June 6th. Comprende?

The winner will receive a wonderful Gift Certificate Package from Levi's. We're just trying this out, so depending on your level of support and participation the next promo could be even more exciting :D Remember to have fun with it! Enjoy! :)

Runners Wear Jeans Too - Levi's 501 Organic Jeans Review

Posted by Gingerbreadman On Friday, May 29, 2009 6 Comments

What? Jeans? Why we talking about jeans? We're runners !But hey, we can't go prancing around in our singlets and compression shorts all the time right?

We have our "real" lives to attend to as well, where we wear "real" clothes. And besides, since this blog is touted to put forth random musings on life and running, here's the "life" part for you :)

As runners, we're always tasked to take on a greater, higher cause during races. More often than not, our runs pertain to helping the environment - Earth Run, Takbo para sa Kalikasan, et.al. And what's a better way to continue advocating these causes than by showcasing them through our everyday wear? If that got you thinking, then the eco-friendly Levi's 501 Organic Jeans is worth a second look.

In celebration of the annual Levi’s® 501® Day on May 1st, the Levi’s® brand is launching a special edition jean inspired by its classic and definitive 1947 design and made from 100% organic cotton. Shrink-to-fit and tailored from selvedge fabric, the jean marries the hallmarks of quality denim loved by discerning consumers, with environmental consciousness, and from a label that’s iconic and timeless.

The special edition jean is emblematic of the Levi’s® brand heritage of innovation and the 501® Day. Each year, new editions are introduced to commemorate 501® Day and carry on the brand’s spirit of individuality, originality and youthfulness.

“This year we’re launching the special edition jean that’s a contemporary update of the 1947 fit and made from 100% organic cotton which doesn’t use pesticide. So, do your bit for mother earth and grab the jean before it runs out,” said Jen Ramos, Marketing Manager of Levi’s Philippines.

This special edition jean will carry a white Tab device with a green Levi's sign-off instead of the brand's famous red-tab device to distinguish it from other 501® jeans. It comes in a vintage-looking, mid-worn finish that says relaxed and authentic, just like how you'd feel when you wear it.

So there. Continue supporting our environmental causes both on the road and off. Check out these Levi's 501 Organic Jeans at your nearest branch (I personally go to the one in Rockwell) and make Mother Nature smile a little :)

Pine Trees and Killer Uphills : The Takbo.ph Botak Baguio Experience

Posted by Gingerbreadman On Wednesday, May 27, 2009 9 Comments

What is it about Baguio and pine trees? The summer capital of the Philippines usually evokes memories of the unmistakeable aroma of pine, an aroma that in turn triggers memories of fun summers, inebriated nights, and forlorn romances. Indeed, this northern getaway could symbolize a whole lot of different things for a whole lot of different people. During my latest jaunt there, the time came to nurture a Baguio experience of a different kind - my first road race in the City of Pines!

An Unlikely Gig

The whole trip started innocuously enough - majority of the gang was disenfranshised by the lack of slots to TNF and we were lacking a weekend gig. Out of what seemed like divine providence, coach Pojie suddenly mentioned that Botak was organizing a Baguio race, the idea floated to him by Craig of Team Logan. With the recent beating the Botak brand has taken amongst running denizens, the announcement was met with a certain degree of apprehension. These fears were quickly allayed when it was mentioned that the race was being handled by a different organizer. From that point on, everything seemed like a blur. Before we knew it, ageless resto magnate/speedster/overall good guy Bong was already taking care of the logistical preps for the group. And thus the adventure begins.....

Carbo- Loading in the Cold

Craig offered to organize a Carbo Loading Party or CLP at his Baguio abode the Friday before the race, much like the Takbo.ph CLP shortly before the Condura Run. Due to work constraints, I was prevailed upon to drive over on a Saturday, and it looks likeI missed a wonderful celebration. I promise I'll be there next time guys!

The Takbo.ph gang at the Logan home

The Night Before

The 5 hour drive going to Baguio was pleasant enough, the SCTEX doing wonders for what used to be an extremely cumbersome ride. After retreating to Baguio Burnham Suites, (shame

less plug for my friend's hotel haha ) I went on to visit the Takbo.ph gang at Chelly's place where practically everyone was staying. I am in no way, shape or form an expert on Baguio roads, so suffice to say I got lost multiple times while looking for the place. After much tribulation and comprehensive directions from the police station (fine I gave up so sue me) I finally found the place!I was so happy to see the gang, the hard-core running addicts of my running team celebrating our sweeping point of commonality in such a remote and unlikely locale. We had quite the delegation! I was even offered some Bacardi! To put in my hydro belt! (They were kidding. I think.) After chilling with the gang, I left for my hotel with bright anticipation for the race that was to commence in a few hours.

Fun Takbo.ph times at Chelly's winter palace

Gal pals Julie and Carina hyped up for the race

21k virgin Edu chillin out

The Cranium set which provided the entertainment for the night

Baguio D-Day

With roughly four hours of sleep, I trotted over to the starting line at Burnham Park near the pond. I was lucky that the hotel was pretty near, so I got a half-decent warmup run in chilly 16

degree weather. The gang was already there, excited yet anxious at the same time.

Ready to go to war in the chilly Baguio dawn

Let's get it on!!!!!

The organizer was announcing all the running teams and clubs that came- a smattering from Manila and a handful of varsities from the prevailing locale. It seemed that the Takbo.ph delegation was the biggest from Manila. However, the biggest delegation was hands down from the PNP training corps , both their men's and women's squads were there. There also was some unintentional comedy involved as the organizers instructed the Takbo.ph team to come up the front of the line! Feeling elite! Haha :) At about 5:45 (15 minutes from the announced start time as we had "waited"for the police escorts) the starting gun went off. So here we go.....

On a Higher Plane

Given the aniticipated difficulty of the course based from the group's feedback after their ocular the day before, we all adjusted our projected pace accordingly. I was pacing with Takbo.ph founder Jinoe, and we decided we should maintain a 6:30 pace for the first 10k.Once again, just the mere fact that I was racing in Baguio was so surreal for me. The chilly thin air, that unmistakeable aroma of pine, great company.... sunrise at 1500 feet.... Wow...... It was AWESOME. Makes the 268 km ride from Manila (okay fine I measured it with my Garmin. Junkie.) all worth it. And just as I was starting to get a wee bit too comfy in my utopian dream scenario, a rapid 3 km downhill descent that we were running at 5:20 pace gave us an ominous portent of things to come. As all runners reaching turnaround points know.... what goes down... must eventually go up. Gulp.

It's The Hardest Thing

At the 10k turnaround point and requisite 1 minute walk/water break, me and Jinoe were trying to mentally prepare oursleves for the drudgery that were going up against. We tried for 1 km to run it, but the hills were just too much. We ended upusing a run/walk strategy, even surrendering a 10:00 minute split. Looking around, even the police cadets were walking. Damn, it must have been THAT hard. Check out the elevation courtesy of Jinoe's 405!

Homeward Bound

Having survived that, we struggled to get our wits about us. We had surrendered nearly a full minute from our pace and we needed to make up for lost ground in a hurry. So what we did, we used a group of gruff cadets as a pace group, and they hurtled through the return route at a 5:20 pace. We struggled to keep up and thankfully our second wind kicked in at this point. As we starting to catch some sort of coherent rhythm at this point, we realized that we were on

the way back to Burnham already! The course was going to be short! As I sprinted towards the finish line at 2:01:43, the 10k runners of the Takbo.ph gang greeted me with a rapturous round of applause, sweet music to my ears after wining yet another battle of wills. Boss Jinoe

soon followed suit, about 15 seconds behind by my estimate.

The moment we had crossed the line, the kind lady organizer immediately asked how long did the race register on our Garmins. I told her, 18.16 on mine. She then went on to explain that the local government had them do emergency reroute because of some digging that was being done. While some may have thought that this was the latest Botak disaster, I felt that from a PR perspective her prompt, on-the-spot public announcement and apology was the best possible thing that could have been done. Shirking from the issue would have been disastrous. As a result, the discrepancy was more or less downplayed by the participants.

Sprinting with a smile towards the finish line

I conquered them hills!

18k? Easy!

Jinoe, Me, Mhel, Poj, and Doc Roy

Queenie getting her top-15 finish medal

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was probably one of the toughest races I have been part of. The 3k killer uphill stretch truly left little to the imagination ; if you think I exaggerate you should try it out for yourself. The cool weather, the tremendous locale and wonderful scenery made it all the more special. And hey, it's not like you could race the infamous uphills of the City of Pines every week right? As always, even if I wasn't there for their entire stay, the Takbo.ph team made the experience infinitely more special. I grabbed photos, sue me later :) If you want interactive map info of the race, check it out here - http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/player/8310795

What is it about Baguio and pine trees? What strong memories do these bastions of generations past evoke? Forlorn romances? Inebriated nights?

I don't know about you, but I 'll never look at Baguio in the same way again.

"Pare, Ano PR Mo?"

Posted by Gingerbreadman On Friday, May 22, 2009 17 Comments

In running circles, the aformentioned icebreaker is almost always certain to come up in any conversation. The proverbial talking point's saliency is relative to the overall goals of the person addressing the query. Thus we could surmise that for some runners this question may seem completely irrelevant, while for others it takes on near-reverent status.

People run for different reasons. Some run to lose weight, some to beat themselves. Some run just for the cardio, while some just like to hang out for the company. That given,the key concept that I wish to postulate on pertains to when exactly does running cease to be fun, and our inherent competitive streak starts to kick in? Let us try to explore two distinct possibilities.

Conditioning. Could it be a simple matter of conditioning? Under this assumption, the moment a runner gets into better shape the PR's would essentially be transmuted into the be-all/end-all of the running experience. However, if this were accurate, then how could most people confirm the existence of the "blatantly out-of-shape yet uber competitive" runner types? Just some food for thought.

Personality. This goes to argue that people who have strong personalities tend to be more competitive towards their race results. However, I have personally met several runners who have an aggressive, competitive mentality off the road yet are completely timid on it. And vice versa as well. So what gives?

The looming question of where runners get their competitive edge is a tough one, bordering on a philosphical, paradoxical precipice. On that note I can offer you no answers. After reading the following entry though, I am hopefully leaving you with chunks of inquisitiveness that you could bite off and chew. I don't have any formulas, but your inputs could enlighten us towards a greater understanding of why we do what we do. With all the running going on, it never hurts to stop for awhile and think. Do it often enough, and you'll never look at "Pare, Ano PR Mo?" in the same light again.

Just some food for thought.

On Fun Times and 27k Tempo Runs

Posted by Gingerbreadman On Monday, May 18, 2009 22 Comments

Why do we run again? It's for times like these. Times when you try to fall asleep at 8 pm on a Saturday night so that you'll wake up at 1am for an out-of-town run. 1am? Most of the nocturnal denizens of the metropolis are still in Fiamma or Emba at this time, the booze overflowing at every corner. It sort of reminds me of my old lifestlye. If you had told me a couple of years ago that I would be adhering to this spartan way of living I would have given you one of those incredulous, you-have-got-to-be-kidding-me looks. Alas, I have been locked in to the wonderful world of running, and there's really no turning back.

The parameters of last Sunday's run were relatively simple. We drive to Tagaytay, then run 34k to Mhel's house. Mhel was kind enough to once again open his home to the Takbo.ph team, the first time being after the Greenfield City race.

So how did my weekend adventure begin? I woke up at 1:00 am and basically sleepwalked my way into preparing for the run. I wanted to be on the dot for this , so by 2:30 I was at the place of my uncle, fondly called Tito Caloy by the group. He was joining the long run after only having a 5k prep run at Botak the week before with no prior running experience. Apparently, getting hooked runs in the family hehe. He told me that he had no sleep at all because my cousin was badgering him to death about coming along. So he strived to get as much shut-eye as he could in my car.

Tito Caloy dreaming of PR's in the car

The highway laid out at a utopianesque standstill, we picked up Rod and Gab at the Sucat exit at 3:00 am as per our arrangement. With Tito Caloy half comatose while riding shotgun, we could hardly contain our frenzied excitement for the run despite the ungodly hour.

We arrived at our meeting spot in Paseo de Sta Rosa before 3:30. Sam and a shnoozing Rodel who came directly from work were already there (excited) . In a few more moments Doc Topher and Mhel arrived as well. An unfamiliar face soon showed up, and we were happy to see that it was actually forum habitue Mond aka Pawgee that we were meeting for the very first time.

The first four

Doc Eric, our kind host/organizer for the Tagaytay leg, came in at about 3:40 am. He said he woke up late hehe :) With the looming problem of how to transport everybody to the start point, it was decided that some cars would be left at Paseo, and some would help Doc Eric transport the gang to the start point. For some reason, we went with my car, inspite of the fact that it was lowered and could only accomodate so many people. We crammed five dudes in there! As a result, I could only drive at "punerarya" pace.

We got to Doc Eric's Tagaytay house and was happy to find the whole gang there. Carbo-laden goodies were strewn across the dining table. After some niceties and last- minute preps, we ventured out at nearly 5am, an hour later than our estimate. The sun was rising , and we had to make up for lost time.

The Takbo.ph team at ground zero

After navigating our way out of a dark, mongrel-infested route (read: crabby, hungry looking Askals), we made it to the main highway. For most of the initial route I was designated as the pacer. I was following Doc Eric's prescribed pace of 8:00/km if we intended to make it there on time. As I soon found out though, this pace was a bit too fast for the group to stick together ; 9 - 10/km was more appropriate. I relinquished the pacer role and engaged the gang in friendly banter, took time out to take some pictures. Mhel took on the pacer role at this juncture.

Smiling so that the doggies would go away

At least Sam's happy

And so we begin

Tito Caloy aka "Enduro" is tired already?

Why do we run again? It's for times like these. Running in the cool Tagaytay pre-morning breeze was so relaxing for me, such a transcendent , preternatural experience that it reminded me of why we sacrifice so much. No amount of money could replicate that exact, precise moment for me.

At just before the 10k mark for us Takbo.ph head honcho Jinoe and BDM 102 finisher Jerry aka High Altitude joined us. By this time, the group had splintered into several groups, with Mhel and Jerry leading the first group. I had the privilege of pacing with Jinoe for several kilometers, only stopping at the Rotunda because the last group was way behind and we didnt want anyone lost. Picture taking galore ensued :)

The Takbo.ph boys!

Rodel and Boss Jinoe running.... in place

May view may view picture muna!

Hagibis reunited?

Why do we run again? It's for times like these. Me and Jinoe wanted to get a good workout from the whole thing, so we upped the pace to 6:30. Before long, we caught up with the lead group on walk break. Jerry was still the pacemaker, so when he broke away he followed suit. An interesting sidelight about Jerry - I kept on talking to him in the vernacular, and he would only give what I made out to be a look bordering on confused and snobbish. Turns out, our BDM ultramarathoner was Indonesian! And he was anything but snobbish. Once we got the language barrier out of the way, he was extremely helpful and gave so many tips on our ultramarathon dream next year.

Ultraman Jerry aka High Altitude. Tito Caloy and Sam mugging inthe background

As amiable as he was off road, he was just as intense on it. For what was hyped to be an LSD, we were pushing it at 6:00 - 6:30 from the 10k to 20k mark. There were several of us in the breakaway lead group - Jerry, Jinoe, Me, Mhel, Mond, and lo and behold Tito Caloy who was lagging behind. I had to keep on coming back for him just to check up, and I was repeatedly shooed away hehe. Old people :) Also, the heat was starting to catch on. With not so fond memories of my Botak meltdown, my confidence was shaken in extreme heat. My Garmin analysis later showed a 31 degree high with 70% humidity, even hotter than that ill-fated race day. Alas, with the right will and determination we reached the first stop, 20.2 km down. The rest of the group who were running the partial route were waiting for us as well. We entered to the warm cheers emanating from familiar faces More friends! Alright! :P

Fun times with the whole gang

Buying P12 Gatorade in bottles.Hmmm...

Mond taking a breather

Age doesn't matter......Aray.......

Having recharged our batteries (P12 bottled Gatorade was all the rage, and special thanks to Mhel who lent me some cash after I lost mine) the group braced itself for the next push - a 7k jaunt to "nearby" Paseo de Sta. Rosa. The heat was getting to be pretty bad at this point, the ill effects of starting an hour late. I think pacer Jerry felt this as well, so instead of slowing down, we took off maintaining a 6:00 - 6:15 pace for the distance, leading a pack that included myself, Docs Eric and Pinky, Mhel, Mond, and Quennie (who got sucked in by the pace). We were left wondering - what LSD? This feels more like a 27k tempo run! By this time, the heat was sweltering. The heat would have made the Gobi Desert proud. As the group started to trickle in one by one, we came to the realization that we could go no more in this heat. It was another good 7k to Mhel's place. I decided against running any further, and so did Tito Caloy. A few brave souls ventured to go the full distance - marathon man/coach Pojie on "taper" mode, comebacking Carly, Mhel, Jerry, and Mond. We salute your dedication! Ayos!

27.56k .... is...... enough....

We'd rather take the car!

Why do we run again? It's for times like these. At Mhel's house, the group's camaraderie was in full swing. Like road weary Spartans coming home from their latest victory, you could feel the vibe of contentment and happiness in the air. It's an unexplainable, magical feeling that runners alone can empathize with. Forget the aches and pains. We just cleared a distance greater than a half marathon! The food was overflowing, the laughter pervading. Nevermind the hassle of going back the entire distance to get our cars in Tagaytay. Forget the 50k ride back to Manila. We accomplished something, something that no one can ever take away from us.