Laurel Cup 2011

The Laurel Cup is a one day football festival organized by the Lyceum of the Philippines College of Law.

The event was held at the ASCOM Football fields in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Proceeds of the event will be for the Lyceum Law bar operations.

Despite the downpour that day there were a lot of teams who participated. Teams come from as far as Ilocos Sur and the Visayas.

Team Utopia. Law school frat brods team composed of lawyers, bar candidates and law students.

Studs and mud. I can’t even put these socks in the washing machine! The field was like a rice paddy. It not only made ball control very difficult, it also made running extremely hard! The mud maybe added at least five pounds on every leg.

Every Breath You Take

Spirometry – the measuring of breath. One of the most common Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs) measuring the lung function specifically the measurement of the amount (volume) and/or speed (flow) of air that can be inhaled and exhaled. (Wikipedia)

Basically, I just want to find out what is the cause of the irritating “ahems” and constant post-nasal drip. I’m hoping that there’s something that I can take to improve my breathing so I can also start swim training. I have no problem with running or biking but when it comes to swimming, I admit I am not that proficient. I think that my water confidence is affected by my weak breathing or lung power.

I remember taking some asthma meds when I was young but I outgrew that problem. I have a hunch that because of all the running in the polluted Metro Manila environment the asthma came back.

Inside the “chamber”.

The mouthpiece is actually missing.

I was asked to perform several breathing exercises like deep breathing, inspiration and expiration, combinations of rapid inhaling and exhaling, etc. while my mouth was on the spirometer’s mouthpiece.

Spirogram

Oxygen level, Heart Rate is normal.

In two days I will get the results of the test and have it interpreted by the doctor. For now let’s just keep our fingers crossed there’s nothing wrong. And if there is, it has a simple remedy/treatment. May this help improve my athletic performance

Spur Of The Moment

X-ray results claimed.

Images of both feet AP/Lateral/Oblique and Calcaneus views were taken.

Now it’s certain that my Achilles Tendon on my right foot are working too hard.

Findings: There are minimal hypertrophic spurs in the plantar and dorsal aspect of both calcaneus. Joint spaces are maintained. The rest of the visualized osseous structures are intact.

Translation: The tendons pull so hard on the bones that the adaptive reaction of the feet is to calcify. There are to horn-like spikes forming at the back of my heel and under the heel. The surrounding muscle is also forming a hard shell around them. Hence when I run or play football, they tend to hurt.

Initial treatment: SURGERY! Doctor suggested I undergo an excision of the spur. But he clarified that the spur would not really be “excised” (or cut out surgically). The more accurate term as he said was that he would “chisel” the bone formation. He said in Tagalog that “titibagin” natin yung matigas.

WTF?!?

I will definitely ask for a second, third and fourth opinion. I will probably take a more non-aggressive, non-invasive treatment. Spare me from the scalpel!

Clicking My Heels

I finally gave in to the fact that I have no fast-healing mutant power and my bones are not engrafted with indestructible adamantium metal. Reality check!

After months (or maybe a year) of feeling discomfort and some pain in my heels I had my feet checked by an orthopedic doctor. He examined my feet but required x-rays taken from different angles to have a conclusive diagnosis.

I have not really bothered to find out whether I am suffering from plantar fascitiis, heel spurs or some other running related injury. I ignored pain for the longest time. Getting myself checked gives me at least an assurance that I could still push myself to greater limits and achieve a more running goals. Ending my running career this early because of an injury is definitely beyond my wildest imagination.

X-ray results to follow.

Pulling back the feet for that right angle.

“Recovery” position hehehe

For the lateral shot

Achilles’ Heels.

SC SG Marathon Registration Now Open

The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon registration is now open!

I just signed up for the full marathon event. Who else is joining?

Compared to its Hong Kong counterpart, the SG Marathon is reported to be on a relatively flat course. But despite being held in December, the weather can be very humid.

This will be my first time running a race in SG and my second out of the country marathon. I can’t wait to start training! My goal is to beat my HK time of 4:50:06.

CIHM 2011 – Save the Date!

Get ready for the Corregidor International Half-Marathon 2011!

More details will be announced soon.

Mark the date in your calendars: December 9-11, 2011.

Ateneo Law @ 75

I can’t help but be nostalgic from the hype of the Ateneo Law School’s 75th Anniversary. My years in law school is perhaps among the most memorable time of my life.

From it’s previous Padre Faura, Manila and H.V. Dela Costa Makati locations, the law school moved to its present site in Rockwell, Makati.

Photo taken from the Makati-Mandaluyong bridge. The Rockwell skyline has dramatically changed with the construction of towering new condos.

“The Titanic”

The Library

“The Guru of Destabilization” himself: Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J.

He was more than a Dean to us. He was a father, grandfather and friend to all.

But he can be a terror(ist) in class. I was never under his classes because I was enrolled in the afternoon/evening class. I often visited him in his office when there’s a new camera gadget or Apple product released. I also drop by to share with him photos I took during various school activities.

Rededication of the Justitia Hall. This is where we had our moot court or practice court class. In this photo are notable alumni being introduced by Dean Cesar L. Villanueva.

Law school will never be as memorable without my brods. The Gentlemen of the Fraternal Order of Utopia live by the codes of service, sacrifice and excellence.

The first Sunday morning of the 2005 Bar Exams. We were billeted at the Manila Diamond Hotel. In this photo we were having a buffet breakfast while reading the Ateneo “Blue Tips” ang the Utopia tips. Every single one of us was conditioned to to top the bar. We didn’t make it to the top 10. We all settled for number 11.

Utopia Bar Operations

App Review: Nike Training Club

It’s a personal trainer application for the iPad or iPhone.

Choose your workout. The exercises cover cardio, strength, core and interval training. Each workout lasts for 30++ minutes.

There are detailed instructions and video demos to guide you while you workout.
Plus, you can customize your workout playlist!

While you workout a Nike coach gives you instructions. You can pause the workout anytime to access the video demo.

I recommend it to anyone who needs motivation and cross training routines.

Post Race: Brooks

Instead of doing a 15k on that hot day, I decided to pace the team and make sure the Enderunners reach the target time and pace.It was their first official road race. After three weeks of training the Brooks Run Happy 5k was a piece of cake.

I pledged a three-course meal at Enderun’s Resto 101 for any and all runners who will do a sub-30 minute run. Much to my surprise, two of them did it!

Cerg Castillo and JB Uy finish their first 5k in 28++ mins.

Runners anonymous Manila a.k.a. the Enderunners

Post-race breakfast at BHS.

ENDERUN[ners]

I’d like to welcome to the wonderful world of running students from Enderun Colleges.

Featuring a new batch of running “recruits”!

Warming up.

The first 10K. After two weeks of doing 5k and 7k runs, we did a surprise 10k run. At the end of the workout, they were shocked to discover that they breached their physical limits. Congratulations guys! You are on your way to your milestone marathon.

Good luck on your debut road race on May 22!