Due to a strange and mysterious confluence of events (LOL!), I found myself signed up for consecutive races last weekend: Race for Life on Saturday the 24th, and Adidas King of the Road on Sunday the 25th. Race for Life had been moved from its original date in September due to Ondoy, but I still wanted to run it with my friends. I’d considered skipping KOTR, but then got a slot for free from my Action&Fitness; Magazine editor.

Race for Life

Bib No. 2077

I jostled for space at the very front of the pack, wanting to get a good start. I was competing against friends who were trying to beat their 5K times from last year, and even though I didn’t run last year, I was still determined to keep up with them.

Based on what my friends told me, the turnout this year wasn’t as big as last year’s. Whether it was because of Ondoy causing the race’s postponement, or because the Subic International Marathon was scheduled on the same day, or because KOTR was happening the next day, there weren’t too many elite runners signed up (and most of them had signed up for the 15K and 10K distances). That paved the way for me to winning the bronze medal in the 5K women’s category, with a time of 24 minutes and 41 seconds! Podium finish — therefore my racing life is complete. Ü I even got to share stage space with Rica Peralejo and Donita Rose, who hosted the awards ceremony after the race.

Bronzer.

If running a 5K is like window-shopping (like Rose told me last Monday), I went and won myself some Nike Park gift certificates to shop with! I don’t know what I’ll buy with them though; I just bought a new pair of dance shoes and I don’t really like Nike’s apparel choices this season. Maybe I should just get a SportsBand to help me keep track of my mileage. Or not; I use LogYourRun to map my routes out anyway. I should just get new running tights; I found my legs fatigued quickly while running in short shorts. Would I still be able to run KOTR the next day?

Adidas King of the Road

I got home pretty late from Fashion Week and going out after, so I told myself I’d only take a short catnap, then get ready to head back to Fort for the 10K race, which was set to start at 6am.

I woke up at 5:30am.

Noelle the Natural LATECOMER!!!

After jumping into the shower then into my race kit, I drove like a madwoman and would have been late by only 10 minutes — if I hadn’t run into a solid wall of yellow-clad runners making their way past an intersection on their way to Kalayaan flyover.

Feeling dejected, I parked and made my way to the staging grounds thinking I’d just collect my freebies. Then I saw someone start their run. I pulled myself together, got my bib checked, then ran out the gates as well. I didn’t bother to check how much time had elapsed on the clock before I started. The important thing was to run. After all, I didn’t want to waste my outfit. Ü

I was running against the flow of a steady stream of people already on their way back. Although I came face-to-face with some familiar faces, I was running the race pretty much on my own. But as I came around the halfway point, I started overtaking runners who had slowed down, spent from the earlier sprint off the blocks. I ran at a steady pace, not really pushing because I wasn’t chasing a personal record. I even had enough time and breath to yell, “Let’s go, Miss BB!” when I overtook BB Gandanghari (nee Rustom Padilla).

I arrived at the finish with 1 hour 16 minutes elapsed on the clock, but with a huge sense of accomplishment. Even though I hadn’t managed to beat the clock, I still felt like a winner. It was then I realized I didn’t run because I wanted to win a prize. I run because I want to, period.

Next time, though, I swear I will set four alarms to wake me up for an early morning race!

Tags: Running, Race for Life, King of the Road

Due to a strange and mysterious confluence of events (LOL!), I found myself signed up for consecutive races last weekend: Race for Life on Saturday the 24th, and Adidas King of the Road on Sunday the 25th. Race for Life had been moved from its original date in September due to Ondoy, but I still wanted to run it with my friends. I’d considered skipping KOTR, but then got a slot for free from my Action&Fitness; Magazine editor.

Race for Life

Bib No. 2077

I jostled for space at the very front of the pack, wanting to get a good start. I was competing against friends who were trying to beat their 5K times from last year, and even though I didn’t run last year, I was still determined to keep up with them.

Based on what my friends told me, the turnout this year wasn’t as big as last year’s. Whether it was because of Ondoy causing the race’s postponement, or because the Subic International Marathon was scheduled on the same day, or because KOTR was happening the next day, there weren’t too many elite runners signed up (and most of them had signed up for the 15K and 10K distances). That paved the way for me to winning the bronze medal in the 5K women’s category, with a time of 24 minutes and 41 seconds! Podium finish — therefore my racing life is complete. Ü I even got to share stage space with Rica Peralejo and Donita Rose, who hosted the awards ceremony after the race.

Bronzer.

If running a 5K is like window-shopping (like Rose told me last Monday), I went and won myself some Nike Park gift certificates to shop with! I don’t know what I’ll buy with them though; I just bought a new pair of dance shoes and I don’t really like Nike’s apparel choices this season. Maybe I should just get a SportsBand to help me keep track of my mileage. Or not; I use LogYourRun to map my routes out anyway. I should just get new running tights; I found my legs fatigued quickly while running in short shorts. Would I still be able to run KOTR the next day?

Adidas King of the Road

I got home pretty late from Fashion Week and going out after, so I told myself I’d only take a short catnap, then get ready to head back to Fort for the 10K race, which was set to start at 6am.

I woke up at 5:30am.

Noelle the Natural LATECOMER!!!

After jumping into the shower then into my race kit, I drove like a madwoman and would have been late by only 10 minutes — if I hadn’t run into a solid wall of yellow-clad runners making their way past an intersection on their way to Kalayaan flyover.

Feeling dejected, I parked and made my way to the staging grounds thinking I’d just collect my freebies. Then I saw someone start their run. I pulled myself together, got my bib checked, then ran out the gates as well. I didn’t bother to check how much time had elapsed on the clock before I started. The important thing was to run. After all, I didn’t want to waste my outfit. Ü

I was running against the flow of a steady stream of people already on their way back. Although I came face-to-face with some familiar faces, I was running the race pretty much on my own. But as I came around the halfway point, I started overtaking runners who had slowed down, spent from the earlier sprint off the blocks. I ran at a steady pace, not really pushing because I wasn’t chasing a personal record. I even had enough time and breath to yell, “Let’s go, Miss BB!” when I overtook BB Gandanghari (nee Rustom Padilla).

I arrived at the finish with 1 hour 16 minutes elapsed on the clock, but with a huge sense of accomplishment. Even though I hadn’t managed to beat the clock, I still felt like a winner. It was then I realized I didn’t run because I wanted to win a prize. I run because I want to, period.

Next time, though, I swear I will set four alarms to wake me up for an early morning race!

Tags: Running, Race for Life, King of the Road

October has been one busy month — with so much going on, I’ve had to compile the blog posts by topic. This one is about fashion and modeling.

Philippine Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010

Fashion Week in the Philippines is held bi-annually. Designers showcase their looks for the upcoming season, and in this case I got to see what should be hot for Spring and Summer next year.

This is the third fashion week I’ve attended, and each time I feel a little more obligated to dress up for the occasion. Again thre were a lot of fashion do’s and don’ts among the attendees, and on the first day I attended (Thursday) I thought i was already “fashionably chic” (the dress code indicated on the PFW tickets) wearing an ensemble that looked straight out of Lookbook — tights, grey slouchy flat boots, scarf. Then I found myself standing beside people in impossibly high heels, outrageous outfits, and chunky jewelry. I vowed that for the Saturday shows, I’d do better. Which one looks more suited to fashion week?

Thursday vs. Saturday looks

While girls like me tried to outdress one another with ever-higher heels and striking silhouettes, all it took for guys to look fashionable were slim-fitting jeans, brightly colored skate shoes or chunky military boots, and a snazzy tee or button-down shirt. Sigh.

I attended shows both at the SMX Convention Center and at the Mall of Asia Atrium. Shows at SMX featured couturiers either in group or solo shows. The Luxewear show that had 14 designers sharing the time and space was uneven in terms of quality of design and material. Some designers really did wow the crowd, but there were other designers whose clothes seemed like a rehash of things already seen before and found in the department stores (yikes!). Premiere Collection B was markedly more uniform in excellence, with the five designers featured better able to stretch themselves creatively because they could show more clothes each. Puey Quinones’s first solo show was beautifully conceptualized and executed, and the clothes really showed off his eccentricity and design aesthetic.

I was also able to attend the Project Runway Philippines final runway show, featuring the three finalists’ designs. They really are greenhorn designers (which showed painfully in what they decided to put out on the runway), but here’s to hoping that the best one wins. I can’t wait to see the finale show, but will have to wait for the two-parter in November! Argh.

The Atrium shows were pret-a-porter brands and had more razzle-dazzle in terms of set production, choreography, and celebrities — things to catch a mall-goer’s eye. The Lee 120 Anniversary show featured Robin Padilla and Phil Younghusband, while the Dickies show featured early 1990’s matinee stars on the ramp (Tonton Gutierrez! Onemig Bondoc! Lorna Tolentino!) and sexy stars and bands giving musical performances and interludes.

One Hot FABE Fashion Show

Just two weeks before Philippine Fashion Week, FABE Clothing also had its own little runway show. This was my second time to be on a catwalk; the first time was in 2007 for a WetSHOP mini-show held at Fitness First Ortigas. This was a really big venue, though; Technowave on Tomas Morato is no small space, and 700 guests came to watch!

I was assigned a dress and a swimsuit to wear, and I was relieved to see that my fellow models were of different shapes and sizes, not simply just the stereotypical ramp model look (tall, lanky, thin). I was super-early at the venue for the final rehearsal; the choreography was complicated because not only did we have to come out onstage, but we had to walk down three steps crossed by huge electrical wires and circuit the whole room before going backstage. Just my luck, I was the only one to fall down the stairs! Thankfully it didn’t leave a mark, and I finished the show without incident. Here are some photos and a video I edited of my walks down the runway. Ü

FABE Clothing

My interest in fashion hasn’t done wonders for my already-overstuffed closet lately (a subject for another blog post entirely), but my wardrobe has been asking for an overhaul, with shoes wearing out, clothes falling apart, colors fading… Whether I buy from a name-brand store or a tiangge takes second importance to finding and wearing outfits that are classic and won’t quickly go out of style when the next fashion week rolls around.

Tags: Fashion, Modeling, Kikay

I’ve been modeling for fun since the beginning of the year. I love getting makeup and hair done, then trying to find the best pose, something to show off both the clothes and the model. (That’s probably why I have a lot of self-portraits on my photostream lately — so I can do it all myself.)

My first ever location shoot was for Jay Romero‘s “Rainy Day Glamor” concept. I found myself and three other models at La Mesa Ecopark on a rainy Saturday in August (weeks before Typhoon Ondoy hit). I brought my own clothes and styled myself, while Peechi Dadula did my make-up. Here are my favorite shots:

Aside from that, I’m also involved in One Hot FABE, a fashion show on October 12 by the clothing brand I’ve modeled for. I sat for Vic a few weeks ago and worked with a new hairstylist and makeup artist — George Delfin and Nanan Villalba. I must say, I love how telenovela kontrabida I looked in the photos:

Funny thing is, I got my first full-page photo in a magazine without modeling for it. UNO Magazine‘s September issue put me on the front page of their Metroplex (events) section. It’s a photo of me accepting a gift bag during the magazine’s Bloggers & Contributors Night.

Which of these looks suit me better?

Tags: Modeling

I’ve been down with a cold all week (probably from the exertion and exposure mountain-biking at La Mesa Dam), so I haven’t been able to run at all. But I was really looking forward to the New Balance Power Run tomorrow. I snapped up the last 5K race kit at Planet Sports Trinoma a few weeks ago and had the singlet laundered already so it would lose that “fresh-from-the-factory” scent. This whole week, I’d already laid out what I was planning to wear. Despite news that a typhoon would make landfall this weekend, I even vowed I would run in the rain, since the typhoon would be on its way out by Saturday evening.

Yes, I was going to run in short shorts.

That was before I woke up this morning to the sound of Typhoon Ondoy beating down on my roof. Since Metro Manila wasn’t supposed to be directly hit, nobody expected rain like we saw today. The horizon was white with it, the sky was dark with it, and it showed no signs of stopping.

My house stands on a little hill next to a creek. While normally the creek is a small quiet trickle, the torrential rain pumped up the volume until it became a raging river threatening to overflow its banks. Around our lot, the streets were already flowing with their own mini-streams.

I took this video from the second floor.

Thankfully, earlier in the day New Balance race organizers made an announcement postponing the race — to November, since all the succeeding weekends in Fort Bonifacio had already been booked. On the bright side, I would never have run in this kind of rain so it’s great that I’ll still get a chance to do the race instead of flushing the registration fee down the drain.

My next running event will be the Race for Life on October 10. Organized by the Real Life Foundation, it’s for the benefit of high school and college scholars from underprivileged families in Pasig. This is the second year it’s being held, but the first time I’ll be able to join it. There better not be any rain on that weekend — in fact, I’m gonna pray for just that!

For information on how to aid the flood-stricken, check out Manuel L. Quezon III’s post How to Help.

Tags: Running, Rain