Posted by The 2-hour time barrier to finish a full marathon was broken. A feat that was considered for long as impossible for humans, was conquered two days ago by a Kenyan runner, Eliud Kipchoge. He ran 26.2 miles in a blistering time of 1 hour 59 minutes and 40 seconds. What Kipchoge did was compared to Neal Armstrong walking in the moon and Sir Edmund Hillary reaching the summit of Mount Everest, for indeed it was a significant achievement. He inspired many that “no human is limited.”
I participate in marathons every year in the fall. I run the half-marathon event and I have already completed 7 of them. Except this year, I did not register to join as I did not have enough time to train. My excuse is that I am busy reviewing for my Sleep Boards which by the way is less than a month from today.
However, I did not stop running totally as I still do my regular 2 to 3 miles run at least twice a week. The longest run I made this year is only 5 miles. Since I have now a gadget that tells me my pace and monitors my heart rate continuously, I can even track if I may be pushing myself too hard.
According to experts, you should keep your heart rate between 70% to 85% of your target maximum heart rate during vigorous excercise. To calculate for your maximum heart rate, you subtract your age from 220. So for me my maximum heart rate should be around 170. Though sometimes my heart rate speeds up to 170-180 when I am running, so I have to slow down. It’s either I am pushing too hard or I am still not conditioned or trained enough.
I even brought my running shoes during my short visit in California. Besides, running gives you a chance to enjoy the sun outside and the view around you. My run may not be a landmark like of Kipchoge, but at least I can take photos of landmarks while I run.
Here’s the scenery when I ran in California where my aunt lives (photos taken 10 days ago):
Here’s the scenery here in my home in Iowa (photos taken yesterday):
I will never run as fast as Kipchoge, not even in my imagination, but I will keep on running. Maybe I should stop taking photos so I could run faster. Nah!
(* photos taken with an iPhone)
Pinoy Transplant in Iowa 
Kapag nasa Bulacan ako nagugulat ang mga tao sa akin dahil nagjojogging ako tuwing umaga mula sa barangay hanggang sa barrio. Ang mga taga-roon ay sumasakay ng tricycle para lang abutin ang palengke na 300 mt ang layo. Good news that there are Bulaquenyos like you who go on a marathon. I wish my wife had the same attitude or that, at least, she was willing to walk to the nearest supermarket….
Allergic sa lakad ang mga Pilipino. Laging tricycle o pedicab kahit ilang hakbang lang ang layo.