Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Condura Race dilemma!



My dilemma isn't whether I will join this race or not.

OF COURSE, I will join this race!! This is the most anticipated race so far and a lot of my family members and friends have already signed up for it for fear it would run out of race numbers.

For a brief background, this race will be held on March 22, 2009 at Fort Bonifacio with 3km, 5km, 10km and 21km event and this is a race for the whale sharks.

I was very impressed with how this was organized last year, when I joined the 10km event and that race made it to my Top 10 Favorite Races at number...


6. Condura Race: First race I felt pampered as got a lot of goodies here. Love the freebies and shirt design was awesome! Lots and lots of water and sports drinks as well from what I remember. A very well organized race.

For list of the other 9 unforgettable races in my 1st year of running, click this link.


Aside from wanting the same experience I had last year, the other reasons I joined the race this year are:

1. Run the SkyWay! Enough said! Okay, maybe, not enough said. How about this: Run The SkyWay without paying the toll fee ! Hehe... ;)

2. I will need to do a 32km run that day in preparation for my full marathon two months later. So this is perfect in that I would cover 2/3 of the distance already. 32km will be the farthest I've ever ran in my entire Running Fatboy's life so I hope that I can do it!!!

3. Finish the 21km and get a bling bling medal (to once again fool your non-running friends that you won first place ... in the category: fastest Running Fatboy!)

4. Awesome souvenir shirt! The shirt from last year I still wear from time to time. I liked the colorful designs and this year's shirt design looks great too! The whale sharks are worth saving AND worth seeing! If you haven't seen them, it's time to plan for it this summer. You will not regret it !
5. Freebies! Goodies! Costume Party! Pictures with the stars! Plus 10% discount from Nike!

More info on race can be found at their website: http://www.condurarun.com/


So, with all the great things coming from this race, what the #$%!@ is my dilemma ?????

It's simply this:

How do I go about doing my long 32km run for that day?

Do I

a) Run 11km first at very early morning, forfeit getting a 21km PR and just have goal of finishing the SkyWay race. Advantage here is that at least I will be done after race and can hang around for pictures and whatnots. Disadvantage of course will be a bad finish time for my Condura race.

b) Run the 21km Condura race with aim of PR, take some pictures, rest for 10- 15 minutes and then do the remaining 11km. Advantage here is a potential PR. Disadvantages are: 1) it might be too hot already for last 11km and, 2) I might be too tired if I ran hard in my half marathon so might not achive target long distance (though I will still try to do it even if I walked the entire way)

c) Run 5km first at early morning, do 21km Condura Race (no PR but hopefully an okay time), rest 10-15 minutes, then do remaining 6km. The advantages/ disadvantages are a mix of first two options.

If you were in my shoes, what would you do?

HELP!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

If your goal race is the marathon then I would run the 11k first. You will enjoy your Condura experience more if after the race you get to do what everyone else is doing rather than running another 11k under the hot sun. However if you want a 21k PR then run the 21k and see how you feel after. You can also run 5k before the race and another 6k after which maybe more palatable.

Rico Villanueva said...

If I were in your shoes, I would run the Condura 21K in my target marathon pace, and do a long slow 32K a week or two after. You have enough time to even go beyond 32 and then taper. No need to rush. Enjoy Condura and good luck on the marathon.

Anonymous said...

run the 21k like the dickens then after rehydrating at the finish,do the 11k or more as your recovery run. that's based from my experice.take 2's.you know.

jonel

run unlimited said...

Run the 21k then add the remainder afterwards. Since your full marathon race will start approximately at the same time with this, you could simulate the event which will help a lot in your preparations.

Anonymous said...

take letter b...When you run the 42k,you'll be running until 10am or more and practicing under the sadistic heat of the sun is a MUST!
God bless.

Running Fatboy said...

Thanks for all your advices!
I guess majority would recommend me doing the 21km first, then do the 11km after that one, so will look at doing this method.

That way, I can also change socks and shoes and rest a little bit before I begin my last 11km. But if I arrived at race earlier, I hope to do 2km slow warm up.

See you all at Condura!!!