Dailymile is a website that serves as training log for runners, cyclists and triathletes. What differentiates it from sites like Garmin Connect is that it has a social networking component. It allows you to connect with other runners, cyclists or triathletes. You can view your workouts as well as that of your contacts and people near your location in a Twitter-like stream of entries.

MY DAILYMILE PROFILE PAGE. Dailymile is a cool social training log for runners, cyclists and triathletes. It now supports both Nike+ and Garmin devices. CLICK TO ENLARGE.

I used the site for a while in July but stopped visiting it when I discovered Garmin Connect. The site supported Nike+ but didn’t work with the Garmin Forerunner. Since I use a Forerunner 305 to track my runs, I had to manually enter records in dailymile and it was tedious. Without Garmin support, I didn’t have the incentive to continue maintaining my dailymile account. But for so long, the site indicated that Garmin support was “coming soon” so I didn’t delete my account.

Garmin Connect, on the other hand, imported everything from the device—total distance, GPS points, pace, elevation, heartbeat monitor data etc. The site also has a very useful and well-implemented feature to replay your runs.

When I checked back my dailymile account early this morning to approve a friend request, I found a notification for the beta testing of Garmin support. I registered my Garmin Forerunner 305 and was prompted to enter my Garmin Connect account.

KEEPING TRACK. Dailymile allows you to keep track of your runs—your fastest, longest and most intense. The site said my fastest run was during the Quota Club 12K classic, when I ran at an average pace of 5:27 per kilometer. CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE.

Dailymile supports Garmin devices through the Communicator plugin that users install to make their devices work with the Garmin Connect website. I had already installed the plugin in my computer so I was ready to import my runs. If you still haven’t installed the plugin, get it from the Garmin website.

To make your Garmin device work with dailymile, just enter your Garmin Connect username and password by clicking on the settings link at the top right portion of the screen and then clicking on devices link in the left menu.

Importing data from the Garmin Forerunner 305 took just a few minutes. At first, it seemed that the Google Chrome browser froze but when I checked my account, I found that dailymile had successfully imported data that were still in the device.

There were a few kinks, though, when I added details to the records.

Dailymile wasn’t able to render the map for my unplanned marathon last March 2 so I had to manually plot the run again. It also wasn’t able to render a map for my Cebu City Marathon 21K run and my Condura Run 21K. I also ended up entering the brands and types of shoes I used twice because the site didn’t prompt me that the data was already entered—the window that popped up kept showing a loading indicator.

The hours that I spent trying out dailymile today was a very pleasant experience. The site is more than just an excellent online logbook for your training and races, it is also a great community that will allow you to meet other runners and athletes. Dailymile even allows you to setup virtual races or challenges.

Dailymile was able to keep track of 42 of my runs totaling 517.39 kilometers. For all that running, I only managed to lose 10 pounds but the site said I burned an equivalent of 201 donuts and expended energy enough to power 56.33 television sets. It also said I earned 62 cheeseburgers, which I have no plans of ever collecting , and that I covered just .01 of the world.

While Garmin Connect will still serve as primary record of my runs, I see myself using dailymile more frequently to track my kilometers and be in contact with other runners. Are you in dailymile? Add me as a contact. Here’s the link to my profile page.

DAILYMILE lists your workouts in a stream of updates similar to what you see in social networks. CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE

John Pages, the person responsible for my addiction to running, sent me a coffee brewing set because he wanted me to try preparing one using a French Press. I brewed one cup as soon as I woke up yesterday morning and proceeded to suit up to run for work.

My day had already been planned: I was to run to work, write my column piece on Joel Garganera, perform my news desk duties, meet with the Visayan Electric Company (Veco) staff for lunch to discuss a fun run they were planning, and run back home at night.

I had formulated my lead for the Garganera column piece in my head but I felt something was amiss. I felt I knew Garganera based on the several occasions that I interviewed him, many times while on the run, but I was anxious I was incapable of doing justice to his story.

I had suspected Joel to be a kindred spirit—that, like me, he was, as author Christopher Solomon put it, running his demons hard until he “left them heaving by the roadside.”

There is a mystical air when Joel talks about the marathon. He seemed to be a changed man. Sun.Star Running Club muse Michelle So, in our talks, kept saying fondly, “santos na gyud ka, Joel. Dili na ko kaila nimo.” (You’ve become a saint, Joel. I no longer know you.)

IN LILOAN. I finally arrive at the Liloan municipal hall in the first half of my unplanned marathon this morning.

Joel, in our talks, credited all these changes to running.

To tell his story, I felt I needed nothing less than to grok Joel Garganera.

I kissed my wife—and injured running partner—Marlen and left our house intending to run about 15 kilometers—20 kilometers at most, depending on the route—to work.

But while walking toward our subdivision’s gate, I realized I wasn’t ready to write my column piece. I needed a long run to think. I decided, on a whim, to attempt running a full marathon. I knew I’d suffer through it. It was fool-hardy because I did a 21-kilometer long run just last Sunday.

But I told myself, at least I’d know, by experience, what Joel meant when he talked about his marathon experiences.

Still, while I kept saying to myself I would attempt the full 42-kilometer distance, I was still vacillating until I passed the beautiful Cansaga Bay Bridge.

“Free your mind,” Kevin Nelson said in The Runner’s Book of Daily Inspiration, “and your feet will follow.”

On Cansaga Bay Bridge, I decided, what the hell, I would run all the way to the Liloan municipal hall. It was spontaneous and crazy but exciting.

While running, I kept asking people, “noy, asa na man ko? Asa ang padung munisipyo?” (Where am I? How do I get to the town hall?)

There’s a certain satisfaction with unplanned runs, with not knowing where you’d end up or how you’d get there.

When I reached the Liloan town hall, I rested for a while and checked how I felt. At that point, I felt I still had enough in me to run to the Sun.Star office and complete my first marathon.

The way back was hell. It was hot because I started late, at 6 a.m. I kept telling myself, “you should have started at 4 a.m.”

Here’s the GPS record of my run.

But on the way, I was rewarded by the kindness of strangers—the Consolacion carenderia store owner who allowed me in her house so that I could splash myself with water. “Dili ka mapasmo ana dong?” she said with genuine concern; the store owner in Mandaue who did the same thing.

On kilometer 38, I fully understood Michelle So and started speaking Spanish, “No mas, no mas.” I had to force myself to complete the last two kilometers (if I didn’t, I’d have to prematurely submit my Garganera column.)

Did my long run work?

No.

If only it were as simple as that, no? I still wasn’t satisfied with my column piece. But at least I got another week’s reprieve.

I ran, unplanned and unprepared, 42.2 kilometers this morning. This time last year, the idea would have been absurd to someone like me, who couldn’t run 1 kilometer then. As I wrote this column, I felt I could run forever. Believe me, we are born to run.

See you on the road.

Jakosalem and officials of Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC), which is organizing the Cebu City Marathon 2010, said they decided to close the road to ensure the safety of runners.

RUNNERS’ SAFETY. Organizers Meyrick Jacalan and John Pages of the Cebu Executive Runners Club and Cebu City Councilor Sylvan “Jack” Jakosalem discuss the closure of the entire SRP route and half of the Cebu City roads that are part of the marathon route on Jan. 10, 2010. Organizers said they pushed for the closure of part of the road to ensure safety of runners. (Photo by Max Limpag)

John Pages of CERC said that although there are runs every Sunday in Cebu, roads aren’t closed and runners have to contend with at times impatient drivers angered by the traffic jam. (On a side note, I actually punched the side of a jeepney that cut me off in Mandaue City during the Rock and Run, not to be recommended, believe me.)

In other developments announced in yesterday’s press conference at the City Sports Club:

• Ayala Center Cebu has confirmed that a pre-race pasta party will be held on Jan. 8 at The Terraces. Ayala Center Cebu division head Joy Polloso said there will be free food for the first 500 runners.Polloso also said they are working with Ayala Center Cebu merchants, especially those in Active Zone, to offer registered runners discounts during the marathon expo, which will be held the week before the marathon.
• Timex will be giving free watches to the top three finishers of each division, said coach Rio de la Cruz, a Timex endorser and race director of FinishLine, which will be deploying the ChampionChip that will be used to time 21K and 42 runners of the Cebu City Marathon.
• De la Cruz said the use of RFID transponder chips will allow organizers to publish race results a few hours after the event. Pages said the results will then be uploaded to the Cebu City Marathon website.
• Globe Telecom’s Jerry Yntig also pledged to provide phones to the winners of the different categories.
• Holiday Gym and Spa will be deploying masseurs to give free massages to 21K and 42K runners after the race.
• Perl Jacalan, also of CERC, said race packs will be distributed on Jan. 6-8. She said only out-of-town runners will be allowed to claim their race packs on Jan. 9.

COACH RIO. Rio de la Cruz holds a sample of the RFID chip that will be used to time runners of the 21K and 42K races in the Cebu City Marathon. De la Cruz said the finishing times and ranking of runners will be available hours after the marathon is finished. (Photo by Max Limpag)

Jakosalem assured runners that their safety is on top of the concerns of authorities. He said they will be deploying a large number of traffic enforcers. Pages said active CERC members have been assigned to oversee a 1.5-kilometer stretch and recruit people to help man it. He said they were told to come up with ways to motivate runners like playing music or getting a band.

Organizer Meyric Jacalan, of CERC, also said that he hopes that in the coming years, the Cebu City Marathon will become an institution and people will come out to watch and participate, in the same way that residents of cities abroad do during their own marathons.

Jakosalem said that Cebu City is planning to organize more runs, depending on the success of the Jan. 10 event. In a brief talk after the press conference, he said Oct. 10, 2010 or 10-10-10 falls on a Sunday and might be a good date to host another marathon.

The development was announced in a press conference this noon at the Casino Español.

“We all decided to take the risk and get the ChampionChips,” said Meyrick Jacalan of the Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC).

RFID CHIP. The ChampionChip (above) that will be used to time runners during the Cebu City Marathon. Race organizers said the chip will work under all weather conditions and the process of sending data would take just 60 milliseconds.

Jacalan, together with fellow Cebu City Marathon organizers John Pages and CERC president Jessie Taborada, said they wanted to make a good impression with the runners.

With the development, the Cebu City Marathon is just the third race in the Philippines and the first outside Manila to use the RFID chips to time runners.

The ChampionChip, according to organizers, will work under all weather conditions.

“The ChampionChip is a high-tech, identification device used to time athletes in a race. The technology consists of a miniature transponder in a specially designed housing, marked with a unique identification number. The transponder is a waterproof glass capsule that contains a silicon chip and an energizing coil. The ChampionChip can be used under all weather conditions, wet and dry, cold and hot,” organizers said in their press statement.

Organizers said the chips do not have batteries and the process of sending identification data takes just 60 milliseconds.

“There are no batteries in the ChampionChip. The transponder is inactive until moved into a magnetic field, generated by a send antenna in a mat. When the ChampionChip enters the magnetic field, the energizing coil produces an electric current to power the chip. The transponder then transmits its unique identification number to a receive antenna in a mat. The entire process takes approximately 60 milliseconds,” organizers said.

The use of the chips will give organizers immediate and accurate times of the runners. It will also allow organizers to immediately post results in the Cebu City Marathon website, Pages said. It will also allow runners to check on their split times, he said.

Organizers said the use of the chips will prevent dishonest participants from taking shortcuts. They said the chips will also help organizers manage the finish line and make it free-flowing.

With the use of the system, organizers have decided to slightly increase registration fees. Those who want to join the 21K race will now have to pay P450 from the previous fee of P350. Those joining the full marathon will now need to pay P650 from the previous P450.

Registration for the Cebu City Marathon will formally open on Nov. 27. Cebu City residents can register at the Cebu City Sports Center and Active Zone in Ayala Center Cebu. Organizers said runners will get the chips with their race packets. Those from outside Cebu can download the registration forms at the Cebu City Marathon website and email the filled-up form to register@cebumarathon.com.

Organizers said only those who finish the 42K race will get a finisher’s medal.

Check out our marathon photos at the Facebook page of CebuRunning and leave a message if you want a high resolution copy of your picture e-mailed to you. You might need to add yourself as a fan of the Facebook page in order to leave a comment.

CLICK TO ENLARGE. Photographs of the Smart Subic International Marathon (SIM) can be found at the CebuRunning Facebook page. If you find yourself in the photos, tag yourself and leave a message, we’ll send you a high-resolution version of the image.

If you know of someone who joined the marathon that was ran along the stretch of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac-Expressway (SCTEX), starting from Floridablanca town in Pampanga up to Remy Field in Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Olongapo City, let them check out our Facebook page for their photos. We’ve posted a total of 78 photos of marathon runners in different areas of the route.

The Smart Subic International Marathon fired off at 4:30 p.m. and was dominated by Kenyan runners, who grabbed the first eight slots in the top 10 of the men’s category and top two places in the women’s category.

They filed in, toting backpacks that are quickly disemboweled of running gear as they sat on the grass and put on running shoes in front of an eager crowd.

People gawked as they fitted for the marathon and did short runs to warm up. Look at those legs, several people said, talking animatedly about their runner’s physique: thin frame with long, lean legs.

FRONTRUNNERS. Kenyans led the Smart Subic International Marathon (SIM) from the start to take the first eight spots. Vincent Chepsiror (third from left) won the marathon with a time of 2:27:54. Click on photo to view larger image.

People were still talking about the Kenyans even after they were bused out of Remy Field to the Smart Subic International Marathon (SIM) 2009 starting line 42 kilometers away in Floridablanca, Pampanga toll gate of the Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTex). The starting gun was fired at 4:30 p.m.

A little over two hours later, large, loud speakers conveyed the news: the Kenyans are coming.

One by one, they sprinted to finish—Vincent Chepsiror coming in first at 2:27:54; Willy Rofich, 2:28:14; Daniel Koringo, 2:29:57; Alex Melly, 2:30:23; Richard Mutisya, 2:30:30; Hilary Kimurai, 2:31:51; Vincent Kipchirchir, 2:35:58; and David Kipsang, 2:37:50.

Chepsiror, 29, was so far ahead of any local runner he would still have won had he been asked to pay toll to pass the toll gates of the flat and scenic SCTex marathon route. He won $5,000 for his feat.

Hernanie Sore was the top Filipino finisher at ninth place with a time of 2:40:20. Alquin Bolivar, a native of Cagayan de Oro City, was 10th with his time of 2:40:42.

The Kenyans, running in a tight pack, led from the start. They descend on water stations like a marauding party, deftly grabbing two cups of water, one in each hand, before drinking one and pouring the other on their heads.

Bolivar said he trailed the group in the first 15 kilometers but couldn’t keep up when they increased the pace. Sore couldn’t be interviewed, he was lying on the ground, writhing in pain and immobilized by muscle cramps 10 meters away from the finish line.

Chepsiror, speaking to reporters in a voice so soft it could barely be heard over the din in the track oval, said the darkness slowed them. A long stretch of the SCTex does not have streetlight. He said the route was hilly and narrow in some place. He also said they lacked water in the last stretch of the run.

Chepsiror said his personal record (PR) is 2:18, which was set when he won the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon in 2007.

Kenya’s Doreen Kitaka won the $5,000 top prize in the women’s event by clocking 3:01:12. The 26-year-old mother of two also won last Sunday’s Quezon City International Marathon.

Kitaka said she found the marathon difficult because it was hot at the start and, while it cooled when dusk set in, the darkness slowed her down. She said there were places where she couldn’t see anything.

Kenyan Cecilia Wangui placed second with a time of 3:22:53 while Filipina Aileen Tolentino won third place with a time of 3:29:01.

ON THEIR ROAD TO SETTING PERSONAL RECORDS. Cebu runners (from second from left) Joefranz Canizares(in blue singlet number 1026), couple Roy Trani (wearing black Adidas cap) and Dr. Rosan Trani, Dr. Alex Junia, Dr. John Clifford Aranas and Kenneth Casquejo in the early part of the Smart Subic International Marathon. The group from Cebu finished strong with several runners posting personal records in last Saturday’s full marathon.

Among those who ran Smart SIM 2009 was a group from the Cebu Executive Runners Club (CERC) who set out to post PRs and finish the marathon in less than five hours. Most did.

Kenneth Casquejo finished in 4:55, Roy and Dr. Rosan Trani finished in PRs of 4:52, John Clifford Aranas clocked 4:48 while Dr. Alex Junia posted a PR of 5:20. Other Cebuano runners who finished included JoeFranz Canizares, 5:41; Arnold Palma, 5:18; and Abby Ponce, 5:14.

Smart Sports head Patrick Gregorio said Filipinos can become great runners if they are identified and trained early. He said the country can do well in running if sponsors continue to fund programs and races.

Gregorio said running if one of the sports Smart actively supports. He said the company spent more than P2 million to sponsor the Smart SIM. He said the company has long been supporting running events and will continue to do so.

“We should also do this in Cebu,” said Gregorio, who spent five years as general manager of Waterfront Hotel in Lahug.

Kenneth Casquejo, Roy Trani and doctors Rosan Trani, Alex Junia, and John Clifford Aranas will be running a few hours from now. Casquejo is optimistic that the CERC runners can finish the full 42-kilometer race in less than five hours.

Casquejo said he is optimistic because the course is “relatively flat” and they will have no problems on the heat because they will be running late in the afternoon until the evening. He said majority of the surface they will be running on is aphalt.

Kenyans, led by last year’s champion Nelson Kirwa Rotich, are favored to win the race that will fire off at the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway. Among local runners, Allan Ballester and Bernardito Desamito are favored to do well.

The marathon, scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m., will be held in what organizers described as a scenic and runner-friendly course.

The other running events—21K, 10K, 5K, and 3K—will be held early morning of Oct. 25 and will start and end in Remy Field in Subic Bay, Olongapo.

SIM 2009 SINGLET. The singlet for the Smart Subic International Marathon (SIM) 2009. Marlen and I will be running in the 10K event. Click on image to load larger version of photo.

The first SIM was held last year inside the eco reserve of the American base. Organizers said 7,000 runners joined the event. It was won by Kenyan runner Nelson Kirwa Rotich. Filipino long distance runner Eduardo “Vertek” Buenavista placed second.

This year, organizers are targeting 10,000 runners to join. SIM offers P1.6 million in total cash prizes.