I have picked up running again. It has been a while since I last ran regularly and trying to get back to it since the pandemic has been a struggle. The pandemic allowed me to rethink what I needed in life and what I could do without. An expensive gym membership is one I can do without. Admittedly, one of the best things about having a gym membership is it forces you to form a routine and establish a habit of exercising at a given time each day. At the gym, you are motivated to do well and focus—after all, people around you are doing the same thing. Yes, the competitive component is real and can keep you motivated to stay on your fitness journey.

At this stage in my life, however, I have seriously considered the amount I shell out per month/ year for a gym membership when I can use that amount for other little things that can provide me joy or micro rewards (no matter how fleeting) for having successfully lived this long! For instance, splurging during those not-so-excessive bouts of ukay-ukay shopping sprees, adding to savings for a mini solo trekking trip, taking a day just to watch movies in the cinema (which I had the luxury of time to enjoy before having kids), signing up for courses at the Fashion Institute of the Philippines in Makati to level up my sewing skills, eating in places I see on social media— whether street food like Diwata’s Pares or Filipino cuisine presented fancy—like my recent experience at Hapag MNL.

Hapag MNL has been around for a few years but has recently moved to Rockwell from Katipunan Ave., Quezon City, Quezon City. It has been touted as a fine dining experience exemplifying “progressive Filipino cuisine.” I ordered the menu degustation or tasting menu consisting of 10 courses. It was a feast for the eyes and a journey through the archipelago’s culinary techniques and traditions using native and endemic ingredients. It is also a performance art of sorts as diners can see and hear the kitchen brigade go about preparing your meal. When dishes are presented, you not only have a menu with an explanation of the methodology or “metodolohiya” of each essential principles and cooking traditions used in making the dish (which is given before the start of the meal) but chef will talk you through the dish you are about to have and how to eat it as well.

Having had tasting menus before, I wasn’t daunted by the 10-course meal. I knew that offerings would be just right to leave room for more till the end of the course. By the last dessert plate, however, I found myself resorting to just taking a bite, though the dessert pastries were tiny, they were rich and very filling. I am looking forward to going back to try the a la cart menu next time!

As is my habit, I digress. One of the things I would like to do as I get older is to truly enjoy and appreciate the food I eat, much like one who goes to museums or galleries to appreciate art. This appreciation I hope will be elevated by experiences like that I had at Hapag, where you not only just eating but learn more about what you are eating, the techniques, traditions, food source, and history—the etymology of sorts. Being an empty nester has afforded me the luxury of taking it slow. I only wish I can say the same about running.

I enjoy running. I began running at university. Into my last year, I broke up with my boyfriend and to lift my spirts up, my mom—a habitual 80 plus-year-old walker who still clocks in 5 kilometers a day—insisted I run around the university track at least once a day or any time I feel down. Boy, did that track see a lot of me that last year when I was at Pepperdine University. Running became a habit. And I’ve joined a number of races since then to the point that, if I didn’t run for a few days, I’d feel off and my body would look for it. The pandemic threw that all off. But the pandemic lockdown has been a few years now and I have been running out of excuses not to go through the grueling task of getting back on my "on-again, off-again" fitness journey.

The struggle is real for restarters whether it has been years or just weeks since last run, until FB algorithm saved me by including in my FB feed a group/page suggestion I want to join, “The 5 A.M. Gang Run Club”. The 5 A.M. Gang Run Club is a running club that was started early this year by Paolo Tomacruz and his friends, core members Sean Ken Garcia, Tyron Nunez, Kahane Pe, Andrei Adriano, Khael Encarnacion, and LA Sison Pira who are all in their 20s by the way. Paolo, or “Toma” to friends, envisions the Philippines to be a running country where member runners “make new friends and hold their own runs together.”

He hopes these pocket running endeavors can “inspire other people to start their running journey.” Toma who started running only two years ago when he joined the Spartan Races—which requires some running—attests to being physically and mentally stronger because of running.

He wants to “pay it forward” so others may know the benefits of running as well. To attain this goal, he enjoined friends who he described, as having been to “war” with and believed if the 5 A.M. Gang Run Club was to make a difference in the lives of the Filipino people, he needed his “brothers” to make it happen. Toma named it the 5 A.M. Gang Run Club because he used to run at five in the morning but the group and subgroup of runners have set up both organized and impromptu run for free!

Based on my personal experience joining the weekly runs (held every Wednesday in BGC but held on Fridays in Alabang, and Sundays at University of the Philippines Diliman) and a number of impromptu runs at any time of the week, instigated by member runners, the 5 A.M. Gang Run Club is very well on its way to making this country a running country in Asia. From just a few months ago, there are now over 13,000 members and growing. The group has branched out into BGC, Makati, North, and Alabang. There are over a hundred runners appearing on weekly run nights in BGC alone. We are subdivided into groups depending on our running speed capabilities. So, if you see a big group running and being herded like sheep in the locations mentioned above, most likely that is us!

Daryll’s obra

Speaking of being part of a herd, I am one of the millions of Filipinos into K-drama and to some extent K-pop and K-rap. Director Daryll Yap’s latest film Seoul Meyt was released the other day, and I couldn’t wait to see how he fuses his own brand of Pinoy cinema with a K-drama spin. It’s been a while since I’ve watched a movie in the cinema. I think it was also another Daryll Yap movie, Martyr or Murderer, and a Spider-man movie that I watched last. Daryll’s movies may appear simplistic on the surface but there are so many nuances only a person with a vast amount of experience in different fields or at least exposed to a variety of friends and acquaintances—people from all walks of life—can pull off something like he does. He definitely has his finger on the pulse of what makes Filipinos tick. On the surface some scenes may look theatrical or staged but go much deeper than that. For instance, (spoiler alert) there are scenes of victims of a typhoon in an evacuation area sporting the same colored shirt that one may think that the production designer only wants to have a monochromatic look to reflect how mother nature’s wrath is the great equalizer and such, but no, the same color shirt comes from the fact that often during relief efforts, clothing that is sent on the first relief wave is stuff donated by clothing manufacturers consisting of overruns and or clothing that has not passed quality control. Filipino norms and traditions are also highlighted—reminding and reinforcing Filipino values and belief systems. The warm hospitality of the Filipino was one trait showcased and the tradition of “pasalubong” or gift giving especially when you are coming from abroad, is another. I would say, these elements and more—which I may tackle in a future article—is our spin to the K-drama phenomenon, which some have described as a global sensation and can “be attributed to a combination of factors, including their compelling storylines, emotional engagement, high production quality, cultural authenticity, and accessibility. Based on the reaction of people I was with in the cinema, Daryll Yap may have something that could be tapped to make Filipino pop culture a lot bigger in the global arena. Congratulations, Direk Daryll Yap!