Thursday, August12, 2010.  After four consecutive crazy days of overtime at the office this creature needed a break.  Yes, sitting down in front of a computer for hours on end is tiring especially if your brain does all the toiling.  After calling it a day I figured, “it’s a nice night to run.”  Of course I’d also need the approval of one of the stakeholders—the weather.

From the office I headed off to the gym and upon leaving our building, to my surprise the sky was clear.  Upon arriving at the gym I was horrified with what I saw—tons of people!  In fact all the lockers were occupied—the signs cannot be clearer: get out and run!

As part of old Thursday night habit I ran from Ortigas Center (starting in front of San Miguel compound) to Bonifacio Global City—my favorite running spot in the Metro that I haven’t been to in quite a while.  I used to be in BGC at least twice a week: Thursdays for Nike Running Clinic and eventually easy runs from the office, and Sundays for races.  Recently I can be away for months on end!  Each time I do I always see something new, kind of makes me wonder if BGC’s development gets a boost while I’m away!

If you haven’t been to BGC recently, particularly Bonifacio High Street, Thursday nights is adiNation (aNR) nights (an informal running clinic spearheaded by adidas).  I’m not sure though if there are other running clinics around the same night.  Like other aNR sessions it’s facilitated by fellow running friends from takbo.ph, and they’re practically the main reason I still occasionally run to the area (I can always run elsewhere from the office).

34 minutes and 5.8 kilometers later I arrived at BHS.  Finally I got to see the latest addition to the area for runners—the dedicated runner’s lane!  It just strengthened my conviction for picking it the best place to run in the Metro!  Of course I also got to see familiar faces, and so many more unfamiliar ones participating in the clinic that was in progress (night’s special: 5K time trial).

After a few minutes of chat it was time to head off to the gym (again), the Fort Strip branch of course.  Running once again served as warm-up for the night.  How cruel!  (I need to recoup the muscles “eaten” by running)

I think I still had a runner’s high even after my gym routines so I decided to do some “photo walk” to repurpose all that energy.  I was too lazy to bring out my damaged but still useful camera so I just used the more practical camera of my cellphone.  Where was I headed?  Towards a not-so-nearby fast-food.

I think I may have looked like someone from the province as I took shots as I walked, but who cares?  Eventually I arrived at my destination—dinner.  Wow, that popular fast-food chain has a new item in their menu: Menudo (a Filipino dish not to be mistaken with a boy band with the same name in the 1980s).  I always like to try something new; it must be my lucky night!

Finally before I bid goodnight to BGC, one last shot…

Bonifacio Global City really deserves being called a global city as it showcases an example of good urban planning at par with the best cities in the world.  If I can afford it I would love to live in this avant-garde community.  It was so nice that despite all its modernity and posh lifestyle, a sport that could hardly be associated with chic is more than welcome here.  I sure hope that this reception here to stay.  This of course was possible because…

All photos taken with a Nokia 5800 XpressMusic