Join Senator Pia’s Ride To COMELEC!

Hi everyone!!! Sorry for the political infomercial but as you know Pia is a candidate I believe in. Senator Pia Cayetano is officially filing her candidacy for Senator on Saturday, Nov 28, 2009. Please join us for a short bike ride at 9am from Mall Of Asia to COMELEC in Intramuros to show your support. Those who want to train in MOA beforehand, please contact me anikarina@gmail.com. It’s going to be fun! SEE YOU!!!

Sunday Morning with Piolo and Manny at the TIMEX RUN, Sunday afternoon with family at the Global Pinoy Bazaar

One of the perks of being a Timex athlete, aside from getting really cool Timex gear, is meeting other Timex athletes!  Me and my gal pals Tessa Leana Lara and Lea were bent on having a blast for this particular run, and we did…. and we even saw other Timex athletes on the road, like Team Timex, Coach Rio, Polo Tri, and, ahem.. Piolo Pascual.  Not a bad deal eh?

To make the morning even more awesome, we watched the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto fight in the Timex tent with other runners.  It was my first time to watch a boxing match with so many other people, I didn’t realize how much fun it was!  Met new friends as well, like DJ Hilary of 88.3 and Leo, whom I always see running in Ultra but was never introduced to.  Manny outdid himself and claimed his seventh world title, and I could feel the whole tent bursting with Pinoy Pride.

After this I crossed EDSA to meet up with my family at the Global Pinoy Bazaar at the Rockwell Tent.  It was a great collection of Filipino Made products at bargain prices.  Kudos to Yabang Pinoy for putting up a splendid display!  Pinoy Pride, indeed was the order of the day. I love it!

More News and Updates on Timex Run 2009

Christmas Shopping at the 2009 Timex Run!

Just present your race bib to enjoy 20% discount on regular-priced Timex watches worth P3000 and above. Get huge savings when you buy a pair of Timex watches. (Offer is for selected promo watches only.) Get the much talked about “I’m running with Piolo” t-shirt for P300 ONLY when you buy Timex items on Nov. 15. Buy UNICEF cards and gifts, and get 20% discount on all Flojos items. Visit www.timexwatches.com.ph for more details. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the 2009 Timex Run. Don’t miss it!

Online Games & Special Awards at the 2009 Timex Run

More prizes and awards to be given away at the 2009 Timex Run! A total of 26 Timex watches will be raffled off and given away as prizes for online games and special awards. Visit www.timexwatches.com.ph to join “Guess the Bib No. and Finish Time of Piolo Pascual” online game for a chance to win a fabulous Timex watch. And aside from the 24 category winners of the 3k, 5k, 10k, and 21k distances, we will also be awarding the youngest runner and the oldest runner registered for the event. They will each receive a Timex watch and a gift pack from Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bar. The largest group/club/team/company delegation will also receive 5 Timex watches as their prize. Christmas just came earlier this year! See you at the 2009 Timex Run!

Watch the Pacquiao vs. Cotto Fight at the 2009 Timex Run

The fun and excitement never stops at the 2009 Timex Run! Not only do you get a chance to run and take souvenir photos with running coach extraordinaire, Coach Rio, and every girl’s dream boy, Piolo Pascual, but as a participant of the 2009 Timex Run, you also get a chance to watch the Pacquiao-Cotto fight LIVE on an LED screen ABSOLUTELY FREE courtesy of Cignal and Smart Telecommunications. And for only P500 per person, you can enjoy a sumptuous eat-all-you-can brunch buffet while waiting for the title fight in the comfort of an air-conditioned tent, courtesy of Paul Calvin’s Deli. Tables and seats inside the tent are reserved for those who avail of the brunch buffet so buy your tickets ahead of time and get a head start so you can still pick the best seats. Only 500 meal tickets will be available for pre-purchase by Friday, November 6, at Nike Park, Bonifacio High Street until supplies last. But race participants who prefer to eat elsewhere are free to stay and watch the fight as long as they don’t mind the “standing room only” policy for non-diners.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, a mere taste of things to come at the 2009 Timex Run. More surprises await you on race day!

http://www.runrio.com/

Whirlwind Weekend Part 4: SuperKids HALLOWEEN Tri!

I rushed to Alabang to facilitate the SuperKids Squad’s annual Halloween Triathlon– it was supposed to be last weekend but because of inclement weather we had to postpone it.  I didn’t want the kid’s costumes and goodies to go to waste!  Oh, plus of course their training too

A photographer from Smile Magazine even came to take their pictures.  The kids had so much fun, the coaches had so much fun– what a great way to cap the weekend!!!

Whirlwind Weekend Part 3: The LRTA Bike On Bike Off Project Launch

It was a light feeling as I entered the LRT station in Gateway Mall, Cubao.  Today was the launch of the BIKE O2 project, something that the DOTC, LRT, Firefly Brigade, Padyak Prokect Foundation, Tiklop Society, and the UP Mountaineers had been working on. 

It was about time that somebody started something as eco-friendly and mass-friendly as this, and all the organizers deserve a big pat on the back for taking this initial step.  When Pia told me that Ironfools Joey and I were joining this morning I was glad to witness the launch of this much-needed endeavour.

Secretary Atienza and Mr. Robles of the LRT were there to help with the event as well.  We rode the last car of the train all the way to Legarda, hopped off with our folding bikes, and rode gleefully to the Rizal Monument in Luneta.  What a success!!! Travel time was 20minutes!!!

Mabuhay ang UPM!!!

See our video here! http://www.gmanews.tv/video/50513/folding-bikes-now-allowed-inside-lrt-trains

Whirlwind Weekend Part 2: White Rock Tri

I woke up at 3 to make sure I made it before the swim start of the White Rock Triathlon in Zambales.  David, Tyrone, and Paolo had been training for this race and needed moral support.  My friends and former teammates George and Noel were topseeds too.  I was confident that they would do well but I guess I was too excited for them not to be there and see it for myself. 

Patricia, Honey, and Ginny along with Aldrin, Sophia, Eric, Tupe, Rex, and Aris completed the support crew.  As expected they were amazing (whew!) and happy smiles were exchanged as they crossed the finish lines with PBs.

George and Noel were 1st and 2nd in the men’s race and Amanda, Fiona, and Laarni were the podium placers in the women’s race.

Congratulations everyone!!!

Whirlwind Weekend Part 1: Kulay at Kislap 3 Exhibit, LIKHA DIWA

My sister Sinag and my niece Raya opened their third Mother-Daughter Exhibit entitled KULAY AT KISLAP 3 on Nov 6, Friday at Likha Diwa Cafe in U.P. Diliman Quezon City. It is a good collection of mixed media work…I bought a couple of pieces myself! Exhibit will be ongoing till the end of the month.

My brother and his musical group, MAKILING, performed and delivered the goods as always.  I’m very happy to be part of such an artistic family

TIMEX RUN 2009 UPDATE

Hello Timex Runners! With the holidays fast approaching, more and more events are being scheduled in Bonifacio Global City. Based on our recent meeting with Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation, we have been advised that fun run events scheduled in the next coming months will have to be slightly relocated in order to accommodate other events. In line with this, we would like to inform everyone that there will be some minor changes with regards to the location of the start/finish area and the 3km race route of the 2009 Timex Run. Please take note that the start/finish area has been moved from 8th Avenue to 28th Avenue. This is the same set up as the Adidas King of the Road held last October 25. Rest assured that although there will be some rerouting with regards to the 3km race route, this minor adjustment will not greatly affect that of the other distances. To view the updated route maps for 3km, 5km, 10km, and 21km, please visit www.runrio.com. Our apologies for any inconvenience this might cause. Thank you for your kind understanding. Sincerely, Coach Rio

Gotta Love Racing: Tour of Matabungkay and Adidas King of the Road back to back weekend

Tour Of Matabungkay Team Time Trial – Batangas, Oct 24 2009

There are some races which are fun, some which are painful, some which are tough and lonely, and then there is the Team Time Trial.  Which I ABSOLUTELY LOVE.  Maybe because I love time trialing per se. Or because I love when we all look so professional and slick in our matching cycling kits. And then there are my female teammates. Who Absolutely, Positively, ROCK. I just love being part of this relatively new all girls cycling team and am really proud of what we have done in so little time. We were the first women’s team to cross the line!

Special thanks to Doray for putting it all together the past few weeks, my work as captain was much easier on race day (all I had to do was keep shouting at them, and trust me after coaching for years this comes quite naturally to me by now).  Thanks to Rizzo Tangan, Bea Locsin, Tonichi Balaguer, and Mimi Lucas. Love you girls!

P.S. Fitness First Cycling Ladies Team is actually a combination of Fitness First, Polo Tri, and Sabak Tri ladies

P.P.S. Thanks Anthony Balaguer for letting me use your wonderful photos!!!

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ADIDAS King Of The Road- Taguig and Makati, Oct 25 2009

Today was a great 21k training race, one that I did not expect to have the day after riding hard with my teammates in the Tour of Matabungkay… I was just glad to make it to the race venue before 5am. I drove home late from the race in Batangas the night before to make sure my sponsor would be happy! Sleep I need! I saw Lea Caringal organizing all of her Adidas athletes and after her trusty photog Nesty took some snapshots we hurried to the start line.  Soon enough we were surrounded by uber bright yellow singlets and then it was quite easy to stay alert. When the gun went off something inside me woke up as well and even though I had agreed to just run with Joey and Paolo (oops sorry guys) I mindlessly dashed madly with the crowd… something that surprised even myself as I am always scolding my students not to do this exact thing! Hahaha….

Anyhow it turned out to be a good race, I was happily dancing to the music at the aid stations and thanked the cheerleaders for holding up encouraging placards for the runners.  I also kept cheering for all the students I ran into. The food and drink were plentiful, which is always important.  I was running in 5th place for most of the race and was actually content to stay there til I noticed at the last turnaround that the two girls in front of me were not doing so well. I decided then that I could still afford to pick up my pace a little bit and that was enough to get me into 3rd place. Cool!  After the awarding I looked into my goodie bag and found out that I got a Globe Tattoo– way cool! 

That afternoon after a well-deserved nap I coached the SuperTriKids for their Bike and Run session.  What a great weekend!

Thanks Patricia and Paolo for the pics!!!

Coaching, lately…

Here are more random shots of some of my athletes in training (apologies in advance if you don’t find your photo here guys)…. am always proud of each and every one of them and get rewarded 100x more because of their own race experiences as opposed to just my own!  The whole year round, somebody needs to prepare for one competition or another so I am always watching out for them  Thankfully I also have Coaches Noel Salvador, Patrick Joson, and Paolo Defensor to thank for always helping me out when I am away!