NAMRIA in the grandest running event for women

The NAMRIA running club joined the grandest running event for women on March 29, 2009, the Pinay In Action held at the SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City hosted by Senator Pia Cayetano. Being sidelined by a knee injury, I was tasked to be the official photographer of the day. Here are some of my photos:

at the starting line

the women contingent of our office

A shot before the fire off

Lorie with her sister-officemate and our Deputy Administrator Linda Papa.

The Senator with her daughters before the finish line.

BroJ and swthrt; Xenia

Spice girls of NAMRIA

Meekrunner

running Nats, IceOne and Norman

The Spice Boys of NAMRIA

A family affair

with our Head Executive Assistant Georgia Ventura

with friends Baby a.k.a swthrt and Leng

Takbo Para Sa Kalikasan 10: A Test Run

I joined the takbo para sa kalikasan last Sunday March 8 to test my injured right knee. My Ortho previously diagnosed it with "miniscus tear" or torn cartilage but the MRI result showed that my knee has an ACL or commonly known as anterior cruciate ligament. The ACL according to Wikipedia is the most commonly injured knee ligament and is commonly experienced by athletes. The ACL is often torn during sudden dislocation, torsion, or hyperextension of the knee. Swelling that is usually attributed to bleeding from the tear may cause pressure and some discomfort, but the torn ligament itself rarely causes much pain. Due to the lack of severe pain, I was advised to refrain from running while I am undergoing therapy sessions and that is the worst news that I heard since I went to my doctor’s clinic. I have undergone four sessions with my PT and it lessened the pain so I decided to test it without my doctor’s knowledge.

During the race day, I thought I was ready to take chances so I woke up early a bit anxious that my knee would cooperate. IceOne and I positioned ourselves in the middle of the pack, stretched after a minute of brisk walking as our warm up. We started with a very slow pace until I suddenly felt the urge to pee because of the bottle of Gatorade I’ve downed before leaving home. I was fortunate enough to find a clean public CR on the route at the Roxas Boulevard. My plan was not to beat my PR but just to finish the race pain-free and I was glad IceOne paced me. My knee never complained until I reached the 3rd kilometer. The pain recurred the rest of the race. That was the time I walked and told myself that I won’t run again until my knee is ready.

with IceOne

with my officemates