First Run in Manila!

I wish I could say it was exciting, and that I got to take pictures…  No such luck.

Since the area around me is deserted on one side and super-busy-can-barely-walk-through on the other side, I can’t do a lot of outdoor running until I move to Makati.  Or maybe I’ll start taking cabs over to nice places to run in — we’ll see if it’s worth the almost hour in traffic to get a run in.  But for now, until I’m feeling more adventurous, the treadmill it is.

If you’ve been reading a while you KNOW how I feel about the treadmill.  I haven’t stepped in one in over a year since I hate it so much.  But one’s gotta do, what one’s gotta do.

So I grabbed my Walkman, put on my running clothes, and off I went.  It was only 3 miles, right, it couldn’t be THAT bad.

Hahahaha. Yeah.  Famous last words.

Does anyone likes staring at their face the whole time they run?  Am I the only one who hates that crap where a gym will put the treadmill lined up in front of mirrors?  All I keep thinking is “oh my god, my face looks red.  Damn, I look sweaty.  I look like I should be really tired.  Maybe I AM tired.  Maybe I should stop now?” 

So the treadmill is boring enough without me staring at my sweaty, red, tired face for 30 minutes.

But of course, I was doing really good.  I set the incline to 1.0, started playing around with the paces, slowing increasing from super-slow to slow, and I was really on a groove.  “Hmmmm…  this is not so bad…”  

A few minutes later my thoughts changed to “OH MY GOD WHY IS THIS SO BORING?  CAN I STOP NOW?  I’M SO TIRED.  SO BORED.  IT MUST HAVE BEEN AN HOUR ALREADY!  AAAACK!!!  ONLY 12 MINUTES?!?  WTF?  Ok, ok, hang in there for 3 miles…  You can run 3 miles…”

Needless to say 2 minutes later it was “The mileage thing MUST be broken.  I run, I run, I run, and stupid thing barely moves.  Ok, hang in there for 2 miles.  2 miles and you can do something else…”

When the counter hit 1.75, I decided to sprint the last 0.25 miles, but ended up stopping the machine completely.  Instead of taking this as a sign, I just quickly hopped off, drank some water, wiped the sweat off my face, and went back in.  “Ok, 1.25 miles and you’ll have your 3 miles in.  It’s really not that bad.  Go!”

Of course, it really WAS that bad.  Half a mile later, I decided to do intervals until the end to keep myself entertained.  Keeping the incline in 1.0, I decided to walk at a 15 min/mile for 0.1 miles, run for 0.1 miles at a 10 min/mile pace, then sprint another 1.0 miles at a 7:30 min/mile pace.  On my last sprint, not only I hung out for 0.15 miles (nothing, I KNOW, but I tell you, it was grueling, it felt like forever), but I changed the pace to a 7 min/mile.

With 3 miles in the bag, and my heart racing fast, I slowly walked a quarter mile as a cool down.  (Which I never do.)  I thought that the mile marker was moving slow when I was running?  HA!  That quarter of a mile felt like I was there all afternoon.

My plan was to take a quick rinse at home and go swim laps.  As soon as I stepped outside the gym, my head started burning, it felt like it was on fire.  I walked into the cool apartment quickly, and felt faint.  I was seeing spots in front of my eyes.

You see *someone* completely underestimated the humidity and the heat in Manila.  Sure, the gym had AC, but as the mirrors showed, it didn’t do much as I was dripping in sweat within a couple of minutes.

Turns out, I probably should have kept it at a 2 mile run, even though I don’t remember the last time I only ran for 2 miles.  Or even 3 for that matter…  My body is not yet used to this.

So I ditched the swimming idea (as cooling as it would have felt at first, you DO sweat while swimming, and I definitely didn’t want to end up dehydrated today), I jumped in the shower instead and called it a day.

I think until I get used to this weather (which will probably take a couple of weeks), I will be running every other day and swimming every other day.  Not doing both…

Wish me luck that I can find a way to keep myself better entertained at the treadmill…