The Running Bug

While waiting for the inguinal ligaments to regain full strength, I have to limit myself to smaller sails and lighter winds. Because this is less fun, I decided to explore other sports. We were introduced to running during the Cebu City Marathon, held one week before the Sinulog Grand Parade. We signed up for the 5k.

I ran my first 5k in 40 mins (8 min/km). We had to wake up at 430 because the run started at 530 in the morning. It was so tiring that I slept the whole day after the run, woke up just to eat dinner, and slept again thereafter.

Since then, I am beginning to fall in love with running. Compared to windsurfing, we do not need to haul, rig and tune equipments, not to mention, rely on the weather forecast which is somewhat unreliable at best. Compared to basketball, we do not need 10 players and a basketball court. All I need is a pair of running shoes, none really if I am running barefoot.

The best thing? I get to share it with my fiancee. (ayeeee!) We actually celebrated our valentines day with a run, a 10k dubbed Run with a Smile. We finished the run in 1:14 (7:24 min/km).

Cebu is enjoying a golden age in running right now with road races almost every week. We signed up for the rotary run the following week and finished the 7k run in 57mins (8:08 min/km).

I decided to stop playing basketball temporarily to devote more time, focus and training to running. With an untrained cardiovascular system and a heavy frame (6'1", 190 lbs), I am still at the slower end of the running population. I am also looking at my diet to shed some weight hoping it will do good to my running and be gentlier with my knees. I am used to tight shoes and my Adidas Attune running shoes is not an exception. I later found out that "tight" is not good for running. So, after reading various running reviews and running blogs, I decided to get myself a Nike LunarElite because they are ....ahmmm... cute. I also bequeathed the fiancee a Nike LunarGlide to keep her company while I am temporarily working in Ormoc during weekdays.

According to the running gurus, shoes are supposed to be broken in for a couple of kilometers for at least a week before deploying them for a long run. We were itchy and so, even if we got the shoes only a day before, we used them for the Quota International 12K classic. Even if I am running 20km/week already , the result of the 12K run was not what I expected because I burned out in the last 3 km and have to do walking breaks. Our time was 1:32 (7:39 min/km). It was still an improvement from our previous runs but I dont understand why the fiancee seemed to have no effort during the whole run. Maybe her tae-bo and pilates made the difference. Maybe it was the shoes. I should have gotten the LunarGlide instead! tsk tsk

I will be increasing my weekly mileage to 30km and do some speed and hill runs. Expect this blog to be about running until the 2010 Habagat (southwestern) season sets in.

Post Op Windsurfing

It's been 5 months since I updated this blog. I had surgery last October 1 to have my inguinal hernia repaired. While not classified as emergency yet, my physician/fiance advised to have the surgery asap due to the type of activities that I am into. Nevertheless, the experience was much more enjoyable than I expected. (well, at least compared to my last surgery 15 years ago when I broke my left arm due to basketball) The recovery period was challenging. There was no definite time when I can resume my physical activities. The doctor ordered no contact sports and heavy lifting for 4 weeks. So, on the 5th week, I tried basketball but played very lightly. On the 8th week, I tried windsurfing but felt pain for 10 days! I was scared of re-occurrence and promised myself to rest for 8 weeks more. I just continued the light basketball games.

This is the 16th week so Kingking, Mizuki and I went to the beach but brought only the smaller sail (resisting temptation to bring the bigger sail which would require much effort). If you want to avoid the beach crowd, head to the beach on a weekday. You can almost have the whole stretch by yourself. We were there last Wednesday, sunny, high tide at noon with 10-12 knots of cold Amihan wind: perfect for my comeback!

Felt good to be back at the ocean again!

As expected, Mizuki is always trailing me, hoping to hop into the board.

So, I let her ride with me.

Like me, she also gained weight.

But she still has the balance.

She must have missed the beach as she was really enjoying every minute of it.

One thing she likes? Running behind children.

...especially if they run also. :-)

Kingking's turn to sail.

Mizuki challenges her.

Wind power vs. Paw power.

Guess who won?

Mizuki must have thought "I'm gonna get you, next time!"

We also sold our old superzoom camera and got ourselves a Digital SLR. In time, we hope we can improve our photography skills.

Another Epic Day!

Another epic day yesterday of this 2-week Habagat run. Forecast was 20-25 knots in Boracay so Cebu should get about 15-20. It was Sunday and after the mid-morning coffee, we headed to the beach! I was amazed of the car's ability to carry the rig inside the cabin but the bad news is that the gf have nowhere to sit.


Anyway, at the beach, main wind line was very far from the beach, about 100 meters. But once you reach there, it was heaven. Clear wind and small chops. I adjusted the footstraps inboard and it makes footstrapping easier with lower wind requirement, although lack of control when really going full speed. I actually used the fishermen as my buoy so I will have a point of reference.

After about an hour, I feel I have to go back to the beach. Kingking rigged her sail and we take turns with the board. Due to a smaller vehicle, we can only carry one board to the beach. I also let Mizuki ride with me in her sail just for fun.

Mizuki felt windchill after surfing. So, I made him a cape and now she looks like a superdoggie. :P

Kingking actually enjoyed sailing herself and is tempted to go farther.

I really love her abs. When can mine be like this? hehe

The bad news about Sunday windsurfing is the crowd. You have to be careful not to hit those heads. Here is Kingking killing the engine farther from the beach.

It will be another week or two before another tropical depression sets in. Anyway, next week is low tide so the timing might be perfect. I hope I can get a bigger van/pick-up before next week so we can bring our gears conveniently to the beach already.

A no-work holiday with a perfect Habagat wind

Southwesterly monsoon (Habagat) brings good wind but wet. However, if there's a tropical depression further north of the Philippines, Cebu gets good winds and a relatively higher atmospheric pressure. This translates to a windy and sunny beach day!

Yesterday was perfect. Forecast says it's 15-20 knots, high tide near noon and weather is cloudy to clear. It was also a no-work holiday because it was the late Tita Cory's burial. As planned, we honored her by wearing yellow and attaching a yellow ribbon on our sail. I finally found a good spot for the Habagat in Liloan where the SW wind is clearer.

At the beach, Mizuki keenly observed how to uphaul the sail. Looks like she is itching to hitch-hike with me again.
And yes, she gave it a go. Too bad I already took off. People at the beach were simply amazed of the dog's desire to swim by herself.

She tried it again when I came back from my initial run. I felt cramps on my calves at this time. Im becoming out of shape as I have also reduced my number of basketball days due to work commitments (at work or at home).

I just loved the yellow ribbon on the sail. It shows our nationalistic spirit.

Just a couple of meters from the beach is the main wind line and it's blowing hard while the water is flat. This could have been perfect to practice carve jibing but I chose to just enjoy speeding up and practicing control. I just noticed now that even a 1 cm adustment of the mast track makes a difference.

It looks like I have been shouting with joy. In reality, my core muscles are aching already, particulaly my abs. My calves are closed to cramping and my hamstrings are overstretched. I think it's time to go back to my windsurfing specific workouts in preparation of the amihan season in November.

My gf also was sailing with her sail, also having the yellow ribbon in honor of Tita Cory.

Mizuki's constant pestering of the kids almost put me in trouble so I just leashed her. She was also with her new sister (a Jack Russel Terrier) who was just introduced to the beach and still afraid of the water. In time, she will also be a swimmer, just like Mizuki.

Almost Done

The fiancee just finished painting the planks and we really admired how it turned out to be. It was just perfect for the southwestern atmosphere.



Last Saturday was blowing like nuts. It was around 20-25 knots, perfect for the small sail. I was contemplating on testing the waters but also wanted to do some carpentry works. The rain made the decision easier for me. I thought it was better to stay at home rather than at the beach complaining about the rain and lightning.

And so, I decided to build a house for my tools. These babies helped me a lot in building the house. What was supposedly done in 4 man-hours, I can do so in 1. This means if 4 people can make a cabinet in 1 hour, I can do myself in the same amount of time or if 1 person can build the cabinet in 4 hours, I can do it in 1. Still makes sense?

Funds are limited these days so I made use of the leftover wood from construction and just bought another sheet. The hardest part was arriving at a measurement to maximize the wood available while still having a cabinet that's future-proof (i.e., always have room for one more tool). I ended up something like 14 3/4 for the sides, 15 3/8 for the top and bottom and 10 3/4 for the shelves.

The cutting was done on the floor but the mask gave me a lung-ache the next day. Maybe I will have to buy a battle-grade dust mask in the future for my sensitive respiratory system.


After all the boards were cut to size, here comes the easy part: assembling. It helps to have two drills, one for the pilot hole and one for the screw.

The most time consuming was attaching the piano hinge but it was worth it. It will give enormous strength to the doors. I bought a local hinge (for Php 140) because the top brass brand cost something like Php 2,100 which is not very practical.

I was lucky that the new plywood I got has a very good face which is perfect for staining and achieving that exotic hardwood look. I attached the cabinet to the wall using SIX! 3/8 lag screws on 5/8 galvanized plugs. Drilling a 5/8 hole in a concrete wall is like a having a volcanic eruption. I was filled with dust and have to take a bath right after drilling. These plugs have some 100lb capacity in them which would make this cabinet take 600lbs! That's the Adz' philosophy: always over-build.

Now that the tool house is done, time to put some furnishings. Tools are small items and organizing them is pretty tricky but fun. I started with the rulers, squares, screwdrivers and saws which take up the most space. Next would be the tapes, chisels, pliers and clamps which I would do during my next carpentry session.

Tommorrow's forecast looks promising and it's already sunny. I have also bought myself a yellow boardshorts in honor of Tita Cory, the symbol of Philippine democracy and non-violent revolution, who will be buried also tommorrow. We shall honor her at the beach.

Mabuhay tayong lahat! L-L-L-L-L

Time to finish the construction

This post is totally unrelated to windsurfing, except for the fact that we chose this location for our house because it's nearer to the beach and we can go windsurf in a few minutes notice. The worst thing that can happen to a windsurfer is when he isn't prepared and there's a good blow coming (because the forecast is wrong!). Of course, when you live nearer to your homespot, you can stuff your gears immediately and be ready in no time. See, this is still related to windsurfing after all! :-P

Our house construction began in Dec 2007 and most houses are finished after 12 months. However, we decided to momentarily stop the construction when the windy season starts and resume the construction during calmer days. Hence, our schedule looked something like this:

Dec 2007 - started construction (even if it's Amihan season)

July 2008 - stopped construction (because Habagat is coming)

Sep 2008 - resumed construction (because Habagat is over), paintworks, interiors, etc.

Nov 2008 - stopped construction (because Amihan is coming)

May 2009 - resumed construction (because Amihan is over), fencing, pergola, hardscaping

July 2009 - stopped construction (in anticipation of Habagat)

You see, all the aspects of my life is already about windsurfing. :-)

So, anyway, even though I am an accountant in my day job, I just love to build things from woodworking to plumbing and electrical works. I build all the cabinets and most tables in the house. This explains why I have a complete line-up of hand and power tools at home. The labor money I saved is used to buy the power tools. What better way to justify my power tools spending spree!!!

When the construction began, I only have an electric drill, grinder, jigsaw and a couple of handtools. Most are owned by my dad whom I share genes of this building things thing. During the course of the construction, I have acquired:
1. a Maxsell electric planer during installation of doors (got it while it was 20% off at True Value Ayala)
2. a Makita 6.5 circular saw during cabinet works (should have got the 7.25 but the seller at Cebu Home Builders is very hostile so I went to Belmont and bought there instead).
3. a Yamato 200A welding machine at Belmont for gate steel works
4. an Ozito 18v cordless drill, Ryobi belt sander, Ozito cordless grass shear and hedge trimmer during hardscaping and landscaping works

I should now stop buying tools and build them a nice tool cabinet. I think after 1 house, they deserve their own home.

So anyway, the perimeter fencing works was finished last week except for the gate. What better time to buy a welding machine and learn the art of welding myself. My father have some working theory and experience and I asked him to start for me. Afterwards, I was on my own because he is very busy in his swine business (not swine flu).

One thing I have learned (the hot way) is to use proper clothing and protection since welding creates a lot of burns if you are not careful.

Striking the arc tests your patience big time but once you get the hang of it, it's actually easy and addictive. Welding the frame took about three days inclusive of the cutting and painting.

Our gate is not those fancy wrought iron designs. Just a faux wood (aka concrete board) to go along with the southwestern house design. I love the most part of cutting and installing the boards, except when I have to clip my long legs. It's painful and discomforting.

Fortunately, the fiancee volunteered to do the low side.

In time, she was doing the whole thing! I tell you, constructing a house is addictive.

Then, we remembered. This is the last basic permanent material that forms the house. So, we gave it a good ceremony for the last board to complete the perimeter fence. Kingking just completed the house.

It's amazing that 18 months ago, I just poured the first concrete of this house.