I guess I wasn’t that satisfied with my first Makati-based run so the following night I was again out on the streets and seeking a new route.  This time around it’s a notch longer and ending on a different spot.

For this night’s run I decided to pick a different spot to end my run—different but still familiar like the night before.  This night, I thought I miss Ortigas Center, so I decided to head towards the area, perfect fit as I seek a slightly longer route.  The big question of course was which route to pick among a myriad of options?  In the end here’s the outcome:

Antonio Arnaiz Ave. corner Makati Ave. was an ideal spot to run as it allows a good GPS reception and there was ample sidewalk space to run into.  And that’s not to mention you pass by the posh shops of Greenbelt!  The downside though was the huge volume of cars in the area, and you have to take the underpass to cross the street to Ayala Triangle.

At Ayala Triangle I was in the company of many runners.  I don’t know if there’s a running clinic being held there every Tuesday nights, but personally I thought it’s quite difficult to run in the area at night because of too many pedestrians in the area.  Good thing my route wasn’t exclusively at the Triangle.

There were some significant bounce of GPS signals after crossing Paseo de Roxas due to the skyscrapers in the area but normalized as I crossed Sen. Gil Puyat Ave.  From here you really feel that you’re getting out of the financial district as the towers slowly become sparse and less tall.

When I got to a bridge crossing Pasig River I got a bit anxious (turns out that this was the Makati-Mandaluyong Bridge).  I had thought that this bridge was the one near Rockwell Center, but it’s not, and I suddenly found myself in a residential area I’m unfamiliar with.  (Come to think of it, all roads that I was so far taking were unfamiliar.)

I really had no choice then but just continue my heading towards Guadalupe, hoping that I’d eventually reach familiar territory.  And after a while, I did!  I realized soon enough that I was back at J.P. Rizal—segments that we ran back during the Philippine International Marathon.  Eventually found myself running alongside Pasig River, passed by Rockwell Center, and eventually saw the skyline of EDSA Pioneer.  (Have you ever tried running under EDSA?)

As I got back onto “ground floor” EDSA everything else was familiar, taking the routes I usually took as warm-up for the gym (good old days).  I ended the night’s run at the corner of San Miguel Ave. and J. Vargas Ave. for a total of 7.39K, but I think I sweated more than double that distance’s worth!  Either it was really humid, or running was punishing me for being a slack lately (or both!).  Don’t you just love it when you’re sweating so much that your singlet and shorts are dripping?  It feels like you have a license to eat anything!  These feelings of satisfaction and conviction really makes running worthwhile, even if you have to do it alone!  I wonder what routes I should take next?