why we're calling our baby Hero.

When we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl, I was calling our little baby "Bean." Chips didn't want anything to do with that at all (one, it sounds puny and two, he or she may end up like Mr. Bean). And since we still didn't know, we really couldn't pick out names yet. So we thought, okay, let's at least have a nickname ready. 

If it could have something to do with the baby's real name later on, that would be great. But if not, well, case-in-point there's "Chips" which if you knew his real name would beg the question "now where did that come from?" Did we want the same for our kid? Well, curiosity is always a great conversation starter. 

Okay so here's what we knew: the baby is due December. If you backtrack, that would make him or her a March baby. A Bataan Death March baby to be exact! 

One night during dinner, Chips was wearing his BDM finisher's shirt. And I just said, why don't we call him (or her) Hero? It would work either way. And I loved how it just brings us back to how incredible that race was for Team Chips. Hero. That's what we're nick-naming our little one.

So now we know that we're having a girl. And we talk to her and call her Hero. We haven't completely decided on what her real (full) name would be yet, but for sure, our Hero's going to be a feisty little ball of cuteness. Who knows, maybe she'll even grow up to be a runner like her daddy.

the battle of the baby joggers

It's fun looking at strollers, especially now that we're just a couple of months from our due date. We're not really bent on getting a jogger. But they just look extremely hardcore and cool. Chips would presumably have loads of fun with it. I just like it because I guess it stems from my love of big cars, err, SUV's.

We've decided on getting a lightweight stroller, especially since I'll be using it most of the time. And we could still take the baby jogging - maybe not at Chips' pace. Most probably mine, which is like... walking. Anyway, just for amusement's sake, I'll post some photos and info on baby joggers I found totally cool.

Caution: No reviews. Purely aesthetic. Maybe some snide remarks.

The JEEP OVERLAND Limited Jogging Stroller.  They named it after a monster of an SUV. That just about sold it for me. And it has an odometer and a dock for iPods. The other thing, JEEP is branded so beautifully up front. Grrrar.

The JOOVY Zoom 360 Jogger.  It looks fierce. It's actually for "city living". I guess you would need all that 3" travel suspension with all the potholes in the metro. The product manual also says it's made out of aircraft grade aluminum. So when your baby travels, your jogger and the airplane would be really good friends.

The BOB Ironman Single Jogger. It's called IRONMAN. How awesome is that. Your baby could look at other babies and say, "Hey I'm on an ironman. Oh what, your stroller has little bears." And if daddy or mommy has actually done the Ironman, that's just doubly awesome. It's like fate.

The SCHWINN JOYRIDER Jogging Stroller.  The sheer size of the wheels bite you first. They're 20 inches in diameter. How crazy is that. It's made up of aluminum and folds into something I couldn't even explain. It looks like a stroller sandwich.

The BABY JOGGER 25th Anniversary Performance Jogger. If other babies saw your baby in this stroller, they'd be thinking your baby was some loony speedfreak. It's just a picture and it already looks fast. It's a solid one-piece frame built for maximum durability and it has shock absorbers too. It also has reflective stitching in case you know, you'd like to get your baby used to your 4am weekend runs.

35th Milo Marathon - Garmin Connect

I think that this Garmin thing is so cool. Honestly, when the hubby showed me a photo of the watch I said to him, "It looks like a calculator." Well, it still does. But at least now I think it's a cool calculator.

Ever since he got it, they've been inseparable on runs. Even the shortest distance. Still need to wear it. Except for unfortunate instances (very few) when he forgets it or forgets to charge it.

He even wanted to try out its heart rate monitor belt-thing on my tummy to see if it could pick up our baby's heartbeat. If we get crazy enough maybe we just will.

35th Milo Marathon Race and the Results

First off, I'd like to give a shout-out to Milo and RunRio: thank you for setting up a safe and very well-organized race. The race kit and booklet is pretty impressive (reminded me of the HK one we did on February, actually). Being preggy and needing more rest than ever, this is actually the first time I've not gone with my husband as support (or finish line cheerer) on a marathon.

And while the heat-stricken memory of last year's Milo Marathon still scared me enough to want to be with him, I had to stay home. The cool thing about this year was a live SMS update on certain distance points. My cel buzzed me awake several times in the wee hours of the morning, and it somehow allayed my worst fears of Chips being soaked and stranded somewhere. The race was progressing well, it seemed, despite the unforgiving weather. 

Chips' official time clocked into my phone at 8:14 AM. I got up from bed and happily ate my breakfast, beaming with pride (aside from the fact that I was having a hearty serving of bacon). I'm visualizing myself at the finish line, jumping and running to give him a hug. I hope he felt it!

This was not the time we were expecting at all, given that he barely trained for this race. The lack of training you'll have to blame on me, who always wanted him home early. Yep, I'm sorry running mistress, the wife had to get her way.

I'm also thanking in this post Chips' pace-buddy for that race, Werner Cruz, for keeping him company as well as his spirits up and happy. Congratulations to him as well, and to the other runners (and supporters) who gave up the warm snuggly hug of their blankets to be part of such a great event!

Official Results may be seen by clicking HERE.

Or you can copy this link to your browser:
http://results.bazumedia.com/event/results/event/miloelim2011

Note: a post from Runrio.com says that the race results are in the process of being verified until August 2 (Tuesday), so I guess you'll have to check again within the next couple of days if your time/ranking has changed... if you're that kind of OC person :)

when a runner goes to the beach...

He will always (initially) take a long time to decide if he will run or not. But he will eventually calculate that with or without the tours involved, he will have enough time to get out and run. A runner will take a vacation from work and the city, but never from running. He brought trail shoes when we went on our honeymoon. He ran twice.

For three days last week, we were in Bohol with family. We've been there before, so Chips together with his brother and myself decided to not join the tour and just spend time on the beach. It was the perfect opportunity for him to spend the morning running around - around 20k, before heading back to join us for breakfast.  I had bacon *squee*.

I didn't get to buy a straw hat, but good thing Chips brought his visor. I love it. It's underside is black, so when sunlight bounces from the ground, it gets absorbed by the black fabric. Genius! Good job, Nike. There aren't many white visors that have this kind of "feature".  Oh and look, another feature in the photo, the 20-week baby bump!

And to relax after a run, he's reading the latest book from his uber-running-idol, Dean Karnazes. He giggles and chuckles and shares tidbits to me with the utmost gleam in his eyes. Watching him talk about running is like hearing a boy talking about a girl he's falling madly in love with. And it's really cute, honestly. If this is his love-affair (aside from me), I really don't mind.

That day we also set out to eat a hearty meal. He did say he passed an italian restaurant on the main road while on his run. He said that it was "not that far". It was good that I had a full breakfast, because we were walking for a good 15 minutes and we still haven't hit this fabled resto. He apologizes, saying it seemed closer when he was running. Right. We decide to trudge on and I said to him, this better be worth a pregnant woman walking on a slightly uphill road for 20 minutes.

We get there, it's called Guisseppe's.  And it was THE BEST Italian meal I've EVER had in my life. And I'm not just saying it because I was a preggers and hungry. The owner is really Italian. They fly in their ingredients straight from Italy. They use wood-fire ovens. Their pasta is fresh and home-made. Need I say more.

They have a branch in Cebu City. So if we're having a family vacation there, I'll definitely eat there. Aside from the brilliant beach waters of Bohol, the meal we had here was a very close contender for THE highlight of the trip. I know, I'm shameless at plugging. I still dream of that lasagna. 

The next day was spent snorkling. And if our baby comes out not loving the water, I'm not sure what happened. I think it's safe to say though that this would be my last beach trip until the little one is born. I could tell though that next year will be really awesome.

a movie your running other half would like to watch

So I was just browsing through Chuvaness.com, after reading the post on the new Bench billboards (featuring athletes from the Philippine Soccer and Rugby teams).  I was just about to close the tab when I spotted a post on a Japanese Film Festival about to happen at Shangri-La Mall.  The hubby was milling around in the kitchen cooking breakfast when I said the (apparently) magic words:

"Ey hun, there's a film about running."

This was followed by quick queries of when and what.  The film is called Feel the Wind (風が強く吹いている) and it is centered around the Hakone Ekiden, a premiere collegiate relay ultra-marathon.  From the synopsis published online, it tells of how two runners who've left the circuit are inspired to run again and choose the famed ultra-marathon as THE race.  

The race is actually a relay among 10 runners from Tokyo to Hakone.  The race is split into two days with 5 legs on each day.  So the two lead characters recruit 8 more, some of which think they're just insane. The movie is an account of this struggling and unlikely group of runners as they run to achieve the impossible.  The film is based on a novel by Sumio Omori.

Hakone-Ekiden map from http://blog.tokyololas.com/

The Japanese Film Festival runs in Manila (Shangri-La Plaza) from July 1 to July 10.  This specific film shows on the following dates and times:  July 5, Tuesday at 7:00pm;  July 7, Thursday at 1:00pm;  July 10, Sunday at 4:00pm.

For full details about the other films and the complete schedule, click HERE.

when you can't run far away because your wife is pregnant.

So you're used to going on daily runs.  After work, maybe and hour or two of jogging and running around the city before heading home.  But what?  Oh my, now your wife is pregnant.  She's alone at home and can go into fits of nausea at any given moment.  There's this instinct that makes you just want to be home or at least nearer.  You're torn.  But you guess that fatherly drive actually kicks in earlier than you thought.

So what now?  The muscles still need to churn.  You've got races you want to do PR's in.  And all the food and energy needs to be burned somehow.  Well, as the pregnant wife with a husband struggling to still keep his running in stride, I have noted the following as possible alternatives to the far-running-away.

The Treadmill.  The obvious indoor choice.  The boring indoor choice.  The ultra-runner, trail-loving hubby doesn't really detest it (okay, maybe he does) but it's the running choice better than not running at all.  The gym in the condo has some and at least he's technically already home.  

I think it can pose its own kind of mental challenge.  Like instead of trying to focus your mind on running X-amount of kilometers with a fair stream of sanity, correct pacing, and positivity, you can challenge your brain to practice selective hearing in order to block out other people's useless clatter and horrid taste in radio stations.

Of the few times I actually went on the treadmill, I actually tried to close my eyes so I could imagine myself somewhere else.  Like in a field.  With furry dogs running alongside me with their tongues sticking out.  But then I lost my footing and almost fell to the side of the machine.  So maybe trying to imagine things with your eyes open can be another challenge.

The Stairs.  We live on the 11th floor and sometimes, just to have that break from the all-horizontal life, the hubby likes to climb up and down the fire escape.  He does the "Honey, I'm home!" bit, makes sure I'm okay and changes into his gear.  For sure he reaches the ground floor.  I'm just not sure if he goes any higher than our floor.  I really can't imagine it.  I usually am ready to die by the third flight of stairs.

It's safe to say that he works up a healthy bit of sweat.  It's not anything like running up an incline in some tree-laced road, but again, it's really better than nothing.

ERRATUM: It has been brought to my attention that the hubby reaches the roof deck of our building. Which is I think the 27th floor.  The up-and-down then continues for at least three times, with running around the complex as "breaks" in between.  Now I don't really know why running around would be considered a break.  Usually a break you know, means to stop and stand still.

The Pool.  The condominium complex we live in has a nice pool, where a section of it I think has a decent lap length.  The hubby sometimes trades in his running shoes drenched in sweat for a legitimate dose of liquid.  He'd do a couple of laps and as per a tip on a running magazine, does some "running" in the water.  The sight is peculiar.  It can be replaced by an old lady undergoing water therapy for some joint injury.

But it seems to be a great challenge - both on strength and perseverance.  Because the water will want to stop you.  And you need to work against it in order to move forward.  Since you're fighting the water's resistance, your body would tend to lean forward too (which is, I hear, part of having good running form).

Just prepare for some of the kids in the pool to look at you weird.  Despite themselves sitting on inflated animals with unproportional body parts.

The Kitchen.  Okay so it's not really running-related.  But at least you get to help relieve your pregnant wife of the gag reflex at the slightest odor of garlic.  Chopping and cooking food involves precision, patience and being in tune with your senses.  That's just like being in a sport, I suppose.  Oh and sometimes you also get wet.  Like, when you need to wash the dishes.  It also involves friction and resistance.  Not in a swimming pool, but like, with some stupid sauce blob that decided to solidify at the bottom of a pan.

Alright, I'm out of things to say.  I'm currently killing time waiting for my husband (I don't think he's supposed to run after work today) and I should be getting to cook in a bit.  Till the next post, guys. Take care.

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