Happy Run - January 25, 2009

It's the Second Race for the year but the First 15km Race for 2009! Route will be similar to other 15km races held in Fort Bonifacio in that runners will go down Lawton St., head into Heritage Park go around it, climb back up Lawton and head into the dreaded McKinley Hills for some serious uphill battle before running the last 2km to the finish line.

I got to the race venue around 5:30AM in preparation for my 15km race. The place was packed with runners and Drew Arellano with Bianca Gonzales were talking to the crowd, as we wait for the last few minutes before the race begins.

Race started promptly at 5:45AM, which was a good sign that this race was organized. As always, I start my Garmin upon crossing Start Line and check it from time to time to see if I am running at the pace I wanted. The first 5km was easy as it was similar to last Sunday's PSE Bull Run so I was familiar with that aspect and was at race pace for that part.

We then went into Heritage Park, where it was quite festive here with the various entertainment we saw while running in it. It helped us NOT to think that we still had 10km to run after already doing 5km! I kept looking at my Garmin and moving faster when I see that I am slowing down.

Going out of Heritage Park was a slight uphill climb but this was easy compared to the one at McKinley Hill. By this time, the sun had already risen to the sky with the heat adding to my fatigue. I tried running all the way out of McKinley Hill but didn't make it. So I walked and was still tired from walking. The only good thing was seeing a sign in front of me saying I've already done 13km. "2km to go!', I thought to myself, so I started running again.

At this point, I've stopped looking at my Garmin as just concentrated on finishing the race. I saw fellow runner/blogger Bro J running by my side and he seemed to be running strong. And me? I was just tired and wanted to get this over with! Upon crossing the finish line, I stopped my Garmin and started walking to the marshals in front of me.

After the race, I got the Rush Drink I craved for and a pear to give me back the energy I lost in the race. I also got my singlet, which I wasn't able to get when I registered for this race.

My time, according to Garmin, was at 1:32:25 with a distance of 15.11km and average pace of 6:07 minutes/ km. My official race time results was at 1:32:58 (other race results you can see at http://www.runrio.com/). My previous 15km record was at 1:36:46 which happened waaaay back in March 2008! So I've achieved my goal of getting A NEW PR! YIPPEEE!!!!

Although I got a new PR, I had mixed emotions because for me, I did not finish strong. I just wanted this to end as quickly as possible. I realize there are still some room for improvements on my part mainly:

1. More hill training! I tried running the entire race (except when I was drinking water) but failed to do as I gave up running at the very steep incline of McKinley Hills.

2. Maintain running pace. I was running at race pace at first 10km but after that segment, I was slowing down. Worse was at the final 2km when I stopped looking at my Garmin and really slowed down.

3. Less reliance on water. I was getting thirsty and was craving for energy drinks like Rush or Gatorade. Since they weren't available, I settled for water to keep me going.

Still, a PR is still a PR and having gotten two PRs in the two races this January (and scratching off two of my six running goals for the year), 2009 is off to a great start!

In terms of race itself, it was very organized, with results posted the same day as race, lots of water, km markers, and good attendance. A truly HAPPY RUN!

Thanks George for the great Photo!