Let's Get It On!!

On the final day of MLB’s regular season, I was given a treat when I learned that the final playoff berth, which is the wild card is decided on the last game day. Who would ever thought that on a 162-game season schedule, the final drama would come down on the final playing date of the season?

4 teams, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Rays are slugging out for the final two-playoff berths at stake for each division.

For the Atlanta Braves, they have a 8 ½ game lead with just 3 weeks into the final homestretch only to blew these lead and lose to a heart breaking game against Philadelphia Phillies that led to their elimination. They were one out away from earning a playoff game against St. Louis Cardinals for the wild card berth, only to let star rookie closer Craig Kimbrel blew his third save for the month of September. To make things worse, they played their final home schedule against a fully-loaded Phillies lineup, in contrast of a luckless Astros for the Cardinals.

St. Louis Cardinals, despite amid speculation that star slugger Albert Pujols might leave the following year due to free agency, came back strong despite being behind by 8 ½ games in the wild card race. They won 18 out of 21 of their final games, with clutch performance from unknown heroes such as Ryan Theriot, Nick Punto and David Freese. Known for being a power loaded lineup which includes Furcal,Holliday,Pujols,Berkman and Molina plus the fact their pitching aces of Carpenter, Lohse and Wainwright are locked in to shut down offenses. Who would have thought of them being down that big in the month of September? Maybe they deserved the challenge to enter postseason, the hard way.

Red Sox, Red Sox. What can I say? They were leading their division at early August only to fade down the wining stretch of the season. Lineup that consists of speedsters Jacoby Ellisbury and Carl Crawford, power hitters Youlkis, Adrian Gonzales, David Ortiz and Dustin Pedrioa. Certainly, this lineup is built to win the World Series. The pitching is also amazing, with Jon Lester, John Lackey,Tim Wakefield and Josh Becket are enough to scare the opponents with their nasty curveballs and fastballs. But, as they say, jinx is jinx. Carl Crawford, their 142-million outfielder was a bust that is comparable to Milton Bradley. Jon Lackey was also a waste of money as their 81 million pitcher pitched an ERA of above 4.0. Yankees’ GM Brian Cashmen seems to look like a genius after withdrawing his offer to Crawford.

AS for Tampa, who would ever though of this team entering the post season? They lost Matt Garza and Carlos Pena to Chicago Cubs. They lost their leader, Dioner Navarro to free agency. They lost their then-ace pitcher Scott Kazmir to the Angels. Is there anyone who could help that team enter the playoffs? Enter Evan Longoria. His walk-off homerun capped an epic 7-0 come from behind victory over the Yankees, coupled with the loss of Red Sox to the Baltimore Orioles, sealed a series date with the Texas Rangers. Still surprised? You better be. Go get them, David Price.

MLB’s 2011 playoff promises to be action filled and drama pact. If regular season was not enough, wait for the postseason. Yankees-Tigers. A matchup of two aces in Sabathia and Verlander. Rays-Rangers, which features a rematch between sluggers Josh Hamilton and Evan Longoria. On the other division, Phillies go up against a rejuvenated Cardinals while Brewers take a from last-to-first team in Arizona Diamondbacks.

Hang on to your seats folks. This year’s playoffs are definitely worth watching. Even though my beloved Cubs was eliminated, I’ll still watch and cheer for one team.. and that is the Tampa Bay Rays.

For all the highlight, log in to www.mlb.com.

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The AXN Challenge 2011: My Personal Experience

When I first heard of AXN’s challenge run, I already thought of passing up the run because for once, I want to become a race photographer.

But thanks to peer pressure, they were able to force me to run in this event under the 21K category.

Bad decision for me, though. The route almost ruined my life.

Click the link to see the route map: http://www.pinoyfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/axn-run-philippines-2011-21k-map.jpg

It was the toughest 21K I’ve ever run since last year’s Quezon City International Marathon(QCIM). The route was unbelievable; imagine 4 flyovers and one deadly uphill towards Julia Vargas Avenue up to the finish line.

To make things worse, I did not even bother to train for this run. Ever since my birthday marathon run July 31,2011, I trained just twice. Not to mention I gained 12 lbs in just 1 month, which clearly affects your running method.

I started strong on the first 7 kilometers. I was able to keep my pace running towards the first flyover. I was so satisfied that I tried running a bit faster. That time, I was able to cope up with my faster running mates.

But there goes a saying, it’s not how you start strong, it’s how you finish strongly.

Whoops. There goes the culprit.

It was along 11^th kilometer on the E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave that I felt a pain in my back. After I crossed the second flyover, the pain was no longer bearable. I was having a hard time running especially when it’s uphill because the pain in your lower back drags you down. At that time, I even thought of giving up by riding on the ambulance all the way back to finish line. To make things worse, the tunnel that is below the flyover that leads you to Katipunan has a very foul odor.

From there, I slowly worked my way up. From Libis all the way back to Ortigas, I alternated running and walking, hoping that the Galloway method of running could at least help me release the tension. I was fortunate that their water station was properly placed. It was like every 1.5 kilometer, there’s a hydration booth. I was able to catch some of my breath and dehydration from 100 plus but it doesn’t take away the pain in my back. I was even seen most of the time crunching down, holding both of my hands to my knees, and stretching my back hoping that the pain would diminish.

Then I finally saw the 19^th kilometer marker. From there, I started smiling, knowing around 15 minutes; my stupid decision to test the challenge is nearing to an end.

It was never looked easy as it seems.

It was a very steep uphill towards Ortigas. From there, I decided to just walk and never even bothered to jog nor run.

As I walked all my way up to the very steep uphill of Julia Vargas, I saw a signed of relief. From that street, the next turn is the finish line. I was so jubilant that I tried to run as fast as I could just to finish this hell-like adventure.

But again, my back would not just let me do the easy way.

When I stepped the final step of the finish line, the first word that came out of my mouth was “Shit”.

But still, it was fulfilling to complete this run. Even though I clocked badly, 2 hours 52 minutes, by the way is my personal worse when it comes to 21K, I was happy that I was able to place my time under 3 hours given my circumstances.

Nonetheless, the race was a success. I was able to run with my gym mates and running mates through out this run. Their finisher shirt and medal was so remarkable, that the moment I saw these items, it made me proud of what I’ve gone through. All the pain, sweat and time exerted for the run was worth it.

With this AXN run, runners were given a treat of a lifetime. From the adventurous routine with several uphill, flyovers and foul odor tunnel, to the numerous photographers who were there to share some limelight by taking every runners picture to ease the pain, up to the water station and lastly up to their finishers kit, it was a well organized run. Runners who are longing for new route and adventure have finally found themselves one in this run.

AXN’s tagline for this run was perfectly fit to the theme of the run, AXN Challenge run: I took the challenge. Yes, I did take the challenge and I almost paid for it. No thanks to my aching back and knee swelling. To those finishers, job well done. To those who were fetched due to cut-off, better luck next time and of course job well done for taking part the most challenging 21K and we know we did your best, unfortunately, these stuffs do happen.

I’m outta here. Gotta train for my next run, which is Manila International Marathon which happens this coming Sunday. Hoping my next run will be successful after 2 sub-par performances.

Again, it’s another big IF.. a humongous big which translates how hard or complicated for me to complete another successful run.

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8 Pack-Abs.. I Wish...

I was reading my daily newspaper, which is Philippine Daily Inquirer then something caught my eye. I catch a glimpse and it surprises me to see the headline stated on the front page under the sub news of lifestyle.

“The Man With a Killer Eight-Pack Abs”. Turn to Lifestyle, D-1.

So, being a dummy, I turned the page to D-1 hoping that the news was true enough. It was. And upon reading the article, it amazes me and I just want to share some portions of what I learned from the column.

According to Marge Enriquez, the contributor of the column of Inquirer on what I was reading, the guy with an 8 pack abs can be seen on the billboards of Edsa, a model for Hang ten. His name was Adbel Abdelkader.

As I was reading the column, I tried to get some tips (since I was dreaming of having such abs…) on how he was able to do what others deemed as impossible. His story was simple. He was skinny back then. Then, his personal trainer taught him the four basic principles of fitness: balanced diet, adequate rest, correct workout and hydration.

It’s easier said than done.

He works out 5 hours a day (so much for work, the guy’s must be a bum). He performs 90 minutes of cardiovascular exercises in the morning: 20 minutes each of spinning, running and elliptical; and 40 minutes of abdominal exercises such as leg lifts and crunches.

Ouch.

But what amazes me is that instead of traditional repetitions and numerous sets, he performs these until muscle failure, meaning he does every routine with an unexpected length of time or until the felt so much pain from the muscle. For example, he holds the plank for four and a half minutes! 4 minutes! 1 minute is already so hard for me, yet he could quadruple what I can do (well, there’s no surprise for that. Who am I anyway?).

His abdominal workouts are the same usual abs programs such as knee raise, bicycle crunch, V-sit, etc. But again, what makes these more special is that he performs these until muscle failure… No standard repetitions, no number of sets required. Only until he feel such pain that he cannot continue before he stops.

Lastly, he maintains a healthy diet. He starts a day with green tea, peppermint and ginseng, which burns fats and clean the system. He takes hard-core muscle tech for breakfast and dinner and his tea between meals.

Clearly, to have these, you’ve got to be disciplined. Disciplined enough to resist any kind of temptation or whatsoever.

I’ve been hitting the gym for the past 3 years. Since I’m allergic to Whey Protein, I substitute it with Soya Milk, Enervon HP and Egg whites. Some say I gained muscles or bulk (some only.. hope it’s true). I ran twice a week, with a minimum of 10 kilometers per week. Yet, makes me wonder, I’m doing what this clown is doing(well, not all), yet my abs is still round.

Now I get it.. Never eat too much.. especially when on a date. Well, there’s the culprit. I just ate too much. Nonetheless, this column inspired the that I once-thought it was impossible is actually possible although it takes guts and discipline. The column brings out my fighting spirit of trying to attain what I just read even though we know it's a long shot.

This column is best suited for people who wanna lose weight or other gym freaks who are conscious when it comes to their belly and abs. It may also help who are lazy enough to move their lazy asses to exercise or even hit the gym.

See the link below. Be ready to be inspired and be wowed.

http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/13703/the-man-with-the-killer-eight-pack-abs

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A Final Legacy

 

As I opened my twitter page, I was surprised at the first news feed that was displayed. It was a tweet from Patricia Hizon that caught my attention. It was the most surprising 7 words that I had read from twitter throughout the week.

“Tim Cone and Alaska Aces parted ways”

Wow.

A legacy has finally come to an end.

I started watching basketball at the age of 7. It was that time I was an avid fan of San Miguel Beer. During the 90’s, I used to cry whenever San Miguel loses to their archrival team. It was also that time I witnessed a PBA team achieved a Grand Slam. And their victim, it was San Miguel.

Guess, which team that, was? It was Alaska.

Their coach? The Legendary Tim Cone.

During those days, I hate that guy. I hate his guts. I hate everything he brings to Alaska. I hate how he developed Johnny Abarrientos,Lastimosa,Hawkins and even Juinio to their full potential and in return, beating my favorite team to the ground. But as years go by, I started to admire his coaching skills. Imagine, after all these years, his most dangerous weapon for the past 2 decades still lives on. And that is his triangle offense.

Now, he’s gone.

Several players owe their big break to Tim Cone. Cone molded Abarrientos into the best point guard of the league, good enough to almost play in the NBA. Lastimosa and Hawkins shined under Cone for numerous years. Willie Miller, coming from MBA, was developed by Cone into a superstar. Kenneth Duremdes, the seldom used forward from Pop Cola, was traded to Alaska and instantly, he became “Captain Marbel” under Cone. Jeffrey Cariaso, who was a bench warmer during his time with Mobiline, became a key cog during the grand slam year of Alaska. And who would forget just recently, LA Tenorio, Cyrus Baguio and Joe De Vance earned a humongous paycheck, thanks particularly to the big break Tim Cone gave them.

Who in the history of PBA coaches has ever done this? Not even the great Baby Dalupan or the gay Chot Reyes.

As they say, Phil Jackson walked away. Tim Cone followed him. But there is one big difference between these two. Cone only coached ONE team. Phil Jackson needed two teams, two great shooting guard and two big men to win championships (MJ-Kobe,Shaq-Gasol).

For Cone, all he needed was 2 talented point guards in two decades to win multiple championships. It was Abarrientos and Tenorio.

See the difference between a born winner by staying with one team and a trying hard to be a winner by joining elite teams?

Definitely, Cone will be missed. His tantrums on the court will surely be reminisced. His post game conference with his Tagalog slang will always be remembered. His coaching phrase of “all right” will be look out by the players. And his coaching legacy will remain forever.

I was fortunate enough that my final game that I watched live in the PBA was an Alaska game, a semis game against Rain or Shine. I sat behind the bench of Alaska. On my outmost right were Ria Tanjuatco Trillo and the daughters of Jolas. It was that time I was lucky enough to hear the coaching styles of Cone. It was an amazing experience.

If only I know that it would be that game that I would last see him coach in person, then I might get his autograph.

One thing’s for sure. PBA was different for the past 22 years with Tim Cone.

And believe me, PBA will not be the same this coming season. For a good man has walked away from the sport and a franchise, a franchise that drove him away thanks to their gay executive Joaqui Trillo.

Maybe Trillo and Pangilinan must hang out.. At their favorite hang out place… a gay bar.

Care to join, Gary Valenciano?

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