In this very moment I'm (going to be) King?! - 16.8km Adidas KOTR Triple P

a.k.a. Proof of Peer Pressure

This is to prove that I did sign up to run a 16.8k marathon. I felt like posting this so the truth hits me faster, and repeatedly from all directions until October 23. I really need to train and start eating better.  

Most expensive race I joined, to date.

I'm confident... confident that my legs will start detaching themselves and run away from me in protest of the abuse I will be subjecting them to for this.

Why the worry?

It will be a challenge since I'm used to running the 10-kilometer race category in every event. From the last one, (Run United 2) I can remember cursing silently at every guy that would run past me... and at every guy that would suddenly stop right in front of me when I'd be in the zone a.k.a. "nakakasira ng MONUMENTUM". I've been consistent in breaking my own record every time I join a marathon, but the 10th kilometer I find is where the fight-or-flee dilemma starts to creep its way in my head. 

Karla: "Okay, that was 9km already. Pwede na yan."

Karla: "That's 1 more kilometer. You PAID FOR THIS" 

Karla: "What's the point of finishing this anyway? You know you're not the fastest in this one, look at all the people in front of you. There will be another one so don't worry, wala ka naman sa Olympics. Sponsored ka?!"

Karla: "Hey, nakakaturn-off ka. Sayang that cute guy! Run after him!"
Karla: "Di ka papansinin niyan, have you seen yourself? Ahem, smelled yourself? Amoy araw ka na. No matter what you do, turned off na siya sa'yo"

...and a lot more thoughts to entertain myself until I get to the finish line. Apparently, this strategy works - I distract myself by thinking too much, then I'd just be surprised I'm done!

One thing I'm proud of from all the 10km races I joined - I continued to PUSH. No matter what.

But will I last for 6.8km more?! We shall see!

I also intentionally signed up for the "For All Nationality" category. I want to know how well (naks positive) I'll do against foreign runners.  Don't worry friends. I'll try my best to represent the short-legged girls of the P to the INAS...

From RunRio's Run United 2 (Aug 25, 2011). Notice the slightly enlarged nostrils, as I try to make it seem effortless.

Hey you have to appreciate... we work twice as hard, for the same distance, you know? :)

http://adidaskingoftheroad.com/ph/index.php

konichiwa! (Makeup and Lightroom fun...again)

Natural High

Another bonding moment with my red lipstick, eyeliner... and Lightroom!

I tried to connect with my inner geisha.

ARIGATO!

patched up

Sass and Bide

Darna Who?! - Aiana Lontok and Her Famous Elbow

...OF DEATH.

(Enter scary/suspense music. Jen jen jen JEEEEN...)

c/o Anya Ong hahaha!

*had to edit the caption of the 3rd photo, with corrections from Aiana herself* 

A re-post (and more) of my "investigation" on what happened to Aiana Lontok of the DLSU Animo Squad, in last Saturday's UAAP Cheerdance Competition. I may not have all the details, I only watched the routine online and talked to a couple of people who were there in Araneta :

"i watched the video on over and over again, i think I saw where it happened. yung all girls nag frontwalk and 1 collapsed (3:06)--was that Aiana ? i tried following her in the video (i think that was her na di na nagtumble in some parts of the routine after that accident). completely understandable because hello?? dislocated joint/s??!

the transition to scorpions (4:50-5:05). did a one-hand cartwheel instead of a frontwalk - Bilis lang lang mag-isip right!? then when she was she was spotting Iya, she held her arm pero todo spot talaga siya and focus! if it was me, baka umiiyak na ko sa side with my lagundi leaves as tissue! i ♥ it!

(talagang inimbistigahan ba? haha!) Congrats again everyone. I'm still high, but i can only imagine the current team- lagpas milkyway sa saya. WOOOT!"

Why this girl is AWESOMAZING:

1. She dislocated her elbow (at first we thought it was her shoulder) after about 2 minutes into the routine  

2. She pushed through the whole freakin' performance - spotted, caught, tumbled, flew. She could have stepped out and nursed her arm the rest of the time, but NO. She finished the whole thing - Halimaw lang. 

If you can't imagine how a dislocated limb works... well, it doesn't. Basically that limb would just flail around, like a dead plant. I don't know how she managed to make IT work. super awesome.

3. People are calling her a "hero" because if she had given up, the team wouldn't have placed, as a lot of stunts wouldn't hit without her. 

This was supposed to be the double cupie. she went up but dismounted early. (4:31-4:42 of the video above)
Photo by Adi Bontuyan






Aiana's xray (taken by her sister)

Aiana's on your left-hand side. OMG. Hello elbow!!! and I think this is one of the 2-2-1 pyramids where she had to catch the top most flyer...with THAT arm.

5:30 - 5:46 in the video: Im GUESSING this pyramid is the one on your left-hand side too, so see what are the transition moves Aiana had to do - Shoulder sit, POP to shoulder stand (yes, weight on elbow!), CAUGHT the top flyer and popped off. After that I couldn't see her anymore in the video. She worked through the injury THAT well. RESPECT.

OK so i confirmed it with the hero herself :) this is a photo of the transition to the double cupie, not the pyramid. STILL. For you to get up to this position? A flyer needs to push herself up, using her arms, against the arms of her base/bases.
Aiana confirmed that after this she went to the back of the pyramid and decided to spot instead of doing the backwalk in front of it. Great thinking!! If she pushed with her tumbling passes, she would have collapsed over and over. After that I couldn't see her anymore in the video. She worked through the injury THAT well. Still, RESPECT.
Photo by Adi Bontuyan

The team got in the top 3 (1st runner up)out of 8 universities. This barrier in the competition is pretty hard to break, and just getting 3rd place would be such an accomplishment already. The last time the squad got in the top 3 was in 1998 - a pretty long drought! The highest place the team ever reached since that was 4th, back in 2005 (the last competition for me since I graduated the following year already). As one of the alumni supporters, this is just a great feat and we are so proud!

Sabi ko nga, "...superhero talaga. walang sinabi si darna, na may assistant pang Ding para sa bato. Si Aiana MISMO ang bato! Lakas!"

From her interview with Inquirer- 

“I can’t disregard the effort that the team gave just to protect myself,” she told the Inquirer. “I’ll do it all over again for my team. We worked really hard every day and [we] literally [shed] blood, sweat and tears.” 

“Cheerleading is considered as a sport and I know that every squad trains as hard as the athletes from other sports—sometimes even harder,” she said.  “The UAAP should count us to make cheerdancers feel as important as the other athletes.” 

“I did not want to let my family and my team down. I did not want to give up.” 
   

 (Full article here)

For other team sports, like basketball for example - a dislocated ANYTHING means you sit down and not play. Someone else will be there to substitute, the game goes on. In cheerleading: NONE. Either you do it NOW and win, or you stop and wait another year to compete, wasting ALL the hours and efforts you and your team put in that single routine.

I bet if Narda - the regular, superpower-deficient girl - dislocated her elbow, she wouldn't have been even able to pick up the "bato" , put it in her mouth to swallow and scream "Darna!". She'll just scream... IN PAIN.

Here's a BETTER view of Aiana with her struggle against the Elbow of Death . Try to follow her throughout the routine from the first frontwalk at 2:31.

2:31 - 1st Frontwalk from hell. Aiana's the last girl on the left-most line of girls. She did not stop, even for a second.

2:39 - 2nd Frontwalk, and HELLO ELBOW

2:45 - She didn't do the back handspring anymore. 

2:50 - Did a cartwheel on a guy. Imagine "hugging" someone as tight as you can with an injured arm. She walks over to the next blocking holding it. I can only imagine the pain!

3:02 -  She front spots and CATCHES the flyer from the toss. OMG. She still did that? seriously? She even made sure the flyer dismounted properly.

3:34 - dance sequence with props. She's the last girl at the back, left-hand side. She was swinging the bolo and shield still? IDOL.

3:56 - DOUBLE freakin CUPIE. she got up but dismounted early. Completely acceptable. I can't even believe she was able to get up there! Then they headed to another dance sequence.. with those bolos... turning and swinging of dislocated elbow... I CRINGE.

4:13-4:17 - Running one-hand cartwheel, left-most. This was supposed to be a running frontwalk based on the other girls in the same line as Aiana. Watch her hold her arm before taking off, and after while she's spotting. She's  STILL SO READY to catch in case the flyer (Iya) falls. What?!?!?!

Ok after that I lost her.

Feel free to comment, I might be wrong in what I saw from the videos. I can't see all their faces! Would appreciate it if you can correct me, and I'll be happy to edit this post :)

TAPANG. PUSO. ANIMO.

Kudos to you Aiana and congratulations to the DLSU Animo Squad! WOOOHOOOO!!!

Photos: Adi Bontuyan- www.goarchers.com / http://www.facebook.com/adibontuyan

April Lontok

birthday suit

Two choices I had for my birthday salubong last Saturday. I love both but I had to control myself from buying both. haha! In the end, I chose the blue one - Classy and easy to run around in. Thanks to my senior sisters in the DLSU Pep Squad for being my shopping buddies via BBM. I love you guys!

Dresses from Una Rosa (di ako sponsored okay? hehe It's a new brand for me and I fell in love the minute I stepped in the store!)

Neckline bead work :)

*Although I still want the orange dress :)

Accessories c/o Greenhills Tiangge :)... all I lost during the party because I kept on dancing and jumping around :( Thank God they are tiangge stuff! To the Pep Girls - Thanks again!

Cheer Here, Dance There..We'll be EVERYWHERE!

In just a few short weeks, the NCC will be going around the country again, looking for the best of the best in cheerleading and dance! I'll be coaching during the camps, then judging during the competitions. I'm excited!!! Although we do this every year, this season is going to be BIGGER! Why? We added more Regionals and a new division = more teams = MORE FUN! And some of the places where we will hold the Regional Qualifiers I haven't been to, so it'll be another adventure for me and the rest of the coaches too!

I'm looking forward to sharing about each leg, so watch out for my posts! I'll try to record the performances and post them in my Youtube channel and in this blog (so subscribe!)

Here's the event calendar for the season, we have 9 regional legs planned! Whew! I can't wait to see old and new campers, coaches and competitors. :)

*See the new logo for NDC - National Dance Championship? I LOVE IT! 

Check out our website: www.nccphilippines.com for more details and updates, plus how to inquire for camps!

Like, follow or subscribe to the NCC and NDC Social Networking sites and be in the know!

Facebook:

National Cheerleading Championship Facebook Page

National Dance Championship Facebook Page

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/NCCPhilippines

Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/nccphilippines

<3

Slow Down. Yoga Addict Crossing.

...after finishing my 10k in the Run United 2 event last August 21, 2011. 

I just wanted to share this photo. :)

Ugly form here though, my arms are not so bent. Plus the vaseline and sweat on my arms and legs made it extra hard to hold the pose long enough for a photo. I had to do it over and over again!

But I still love it! How many people can say they did yoga on a street in Fort Bonifacio? I'd like to believe just one... ME!

Actually I went straight to the gym after eating breakfast with my running buddies for yoga class. Running + Yoga = perfect combination <3

Anyway, I think here is a more successful attempt, at the parking lot... Maybe the comfort of having non-moving vehicles around helped me in finding my balance and concentrate better. :)

I'll be doing a post on my love for running too... soon!

Going Gaga Over Yoga (and Adam...rarrrrr)

It's not only for the physical benefits of it, but the practice is a great venue for me to have "silence". The busyness of my every waking moment started to take it's toll that I had to have quiet time for me, away from the world and MYSELF! I am very hyper, but definitely the frequent brain farts are more exhausting (yes, I am suffering from brain gas). Yoga has helped me sit down still for more than 5 minutes with a blank mind - UBER RELAX MODE ON! The instructor would say just focus on your breath and think of nothing else... and after "consciously breathing",  everything shuts down and I'd be in almost-total silence and stillness. I love that. Somehow it gives a feeling of peace and freedom even if I was in a super hot room, with others sweating all over their mats...some too much, there are pools of sweat crawling toward mine! ka.di.re. However, it would be super fine if the sweaty dude is Adam Levine doing cobras and chaturangas beside me... Nope, no complaints here!

A video I found of Adam doing yoga. 

 

And the fruits of his labor...

BACK TO YOGA...

Addicted. I realized that I am during another sleepless night working on deadlines for my job (ugh). Just see below one of the many videos of me at 3 or 4 in the morning doing Asanas (poses) I learned from my classes and Youtube.

Astavakrasana (Eight-Angle pose)
To see what this is supposed to look like, click here.

I decided to start recording so I can review, practice and improve. This is how I get through the erratic insomnia attacks - a crazier alternative to staring at the ceiling waiting for a lizard to eat the annoying mosquito I named Suckah.

Here I am with my best attempt to do a Peacock, one of the very advanced arm balancing poses:

Calling out to the real, the professional yogis out there... help?!

Namaste.