Half Marathon at BMO Vancouver Marathon 2023

After running in person at BMO Vancouver Marathon 2022, I registered for this year's edition for another 21.1 km run. I registered for another combo run (In-Person Half Marathon + Virtual 8KM + Virtual 5KM) for the "free" singlet. To prepare for the half marathon, I ran a few times from March to April and I also attempted a few week dieting to lose a couple pounds.

I finished the 21.1 km run in 02:19:55. It was a little faster than my half marathons last year and is now my fastest half marathon (so far). It felt great to finish the run and beat my personal record by a few minutes.

The record for the run according to the Strava app was 21.48 km in 02:19:52. It also said I got a few best efforts, including 5k, 10k, 15k, 20k, and half-marathon.

After the run, we ate some food and roamed around the street festival, something we weren't able to do (no thanks to FedEx!). We then walked towards Burrard Bridge and cheered the marathon runners on both side of the bridge before going home.

I'll have another half marathon next month. Hopefully, I can join the 2024 BMO Vancouver Marathon.

Second Edition: How to Build Android Apps with Kotlin

The second edition of our book, How to Build Android Apps with Kotlin, has now been published. There are additions and updates to the first edition which was published on February 2021.

This book starts with the fundamentals of app development, enabling you to utilize Android Studio and Kotlin to get started with building Android projects. You'll learn how to create apps and run them on virtual devices through guided exercises. Progressing through the chapters, you'll delve into Android's RecyclerView to make the most of lists, images, and maps, and see how to fetch data from a web service.

You'll also get to grips with testing, learning how to keep your architecture clean, understanding how to persist data, and gaining basic knowledge of the dependency injection pattern. Finally, you'll see how to publish your apps on the Google Play Store.

You can get your copy of the book on Packt and on Amazon.

Toll Pinas Android App

In the past few months, I have been updating my apps and decided to work on a new application. The app, called Toll Pinas, is now available on the Google Play Store.

Toll Pinas is an app that you can use to find out the toll fee you need to pay for expressways in the Philippines. Toll data were taken from the Toll Regulatory Board website. The app includes toll data for the following expressways:

• Apolinario Mabini Superhighway (formerly known as STAR Tollway)
• Cavite–Laguna Expressway (CALAX)
• Manila–Cavite Expressway (CAVITEX)
• Metro Manila Skyway
• NAIA Expressway (NAIAX)
• North Luzon Expressway (NLEX)
• Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX)
• South Luzon Expressway (SLEX)
• Muntinlupa–Cavite Expressway (MCX)
• Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway (TPLEX)

To use the app, you can select the expressway, the entry/exit, and the vehicle class to compute the toll you need to pay. You can also share the output afterwards. Here's a sample video of how the app works.

Check out the app on Google Play Store at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tigcal.apps.toll and let me know if you have any feedback or suggestions.