Re-engineered Marvels

Recap; (wikipedia) or retread is a previously worn tire which has gone through a remanufacturing process designed to extend its useful service life. Retreads are significantly cheaper. As a result, they are widely used in large-scale operations and they are also the most environmentally friendly way of recycling used tires.

These babies of mine are on their twilight. Adizero, the oldest, came in 2008. She holds most of my personal records (fastest time) in my running, from 5km to 42km. She's the cream of the crop. The Lunarglide and the Boston both came in 2009, successively. The former was the one responsible for my ultramarathon training. She helped me rack mileage after mileage in my preparation for the bdm 102km race. She was the severely shredded unit among them. The Boston, who came after the Lunarglide, helped me in several training runs and fast races. She significantly propelled me to a milo elimination qualifying race in 2010. The Launch, the youngest of them all, is the most sought, most used trainer and racer as of today. With two full marathons and a 50km ultramarathon distance under her soles, she still rocks, and is the one in tip-top shape.

Although all of them had their own retreading, they still have their own competitive means. They still posses their own characteristics and are still the favorites. I don't usually retire my running shoes, they still have their place in the cabinet and are just a call away. I'm positive they could still lead me to the finish line despite their condition.

In some applications, a tire can be retreaded ten times. The process of retreading requires, after the buffing off of the old tread, there to be coated with another compound like rubber to allow the new tread to adhere to the used tire casing. At the end of life, retreads may delaminate and fall apart in chunks that scatter across the road.

If you notice the retread failure along the road, it may be me (who do not notice it) just ahead of you. As long as the loss of a retread does not severely impair my motion control or usability, I will still be running above a recapped sole.

How about you?

2nd Grace To The Finish Race

Join the 2nd fundraising run of the Singles Apostolate of the St. James the Great Parish Renewal Movement for the benefit of Singles Encounter #20 Weekend and Sitio Espeleta (Muntinlupa).

I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4: 6-8)

2011: The Year That Was

After reviewing my running diary I found-out that the year 2011 had been not so fruitful for me, distance-wise. In the past two years (2009 & 2010) I was averaging 1,970km and 188 workout hours per year. In 2011, I just logged-in 987.20km in 100 workout hours. May and December were the busiest months. I did several half-marathons in May and ran my only full marathon (for the year) in December. The months in between were devoted to just relaxed and easy runs.

But 2011 had brought a different perspective in my fitness program, I was able to immerse myself into strength training and lifting weights. I politely declined in doing long distance running and concentrated in gym works, luckily, I was able to maintain my ideal weight. I also discovered that I have a knack in swimming and hope to continue my training in 2012. I would like to test the discipline of cycling too and eventually join multi sports in the future.

Ultrarunning is also one sport that took a backseat in me and I hope to get back into it this year. I know that it takes a lot of discipline and training to achieve some buckles, but getting there is not too far. With the advent of ultra trail running and trail marathoning, I'm hopeful that I can join some, to get closer to nature.

Ultimately, my goal is to get back into running circuit and fill my journal to the brim. Happy new year everyone. See you at the starting line.