Globe Run For Home (July 19, 2009) - Post Race

This race was the first road race I've joined that goes through Ayala Avenue. There are 5km, 10km, and 21km race events here and everybody gets to use the chip timer for accurate results. This time you can actually come in late and not feel bad that you have a not so nice finish time. I registered for the 21km event as I wanted to experience running on Ayala Avenue. Due to a series of events, Per joined the 21km event as well. Since this was her first half marathon (with no training, no long runs and lack of sleep AGAIN), I shall let Per continue our story. So how did she fare? Read on...

Survive a Half Marathon – check no. 4

I was never the athletic type. When I was still in school, I hated my Physical Education Class. I never failed it, but I never excelled as well. I was just doing it to please my report card. I actually loved being sluggish and lethargic, hated being active and energetic. This was the story of my life (style) up until I started running. Then it all changed.

Suddenly, being inactive felt like a waste of time for me and found myself feeling excited to go on my 5k and 10k races. But never did I imagine that I would really run a Half Marathon. N-E-V-E-R.

So since running a Half Marathon was only but a dream to me, it was actually on my list of things to do before I die. What the heck, it’s just a list that nobody else really knows about (except me!), so why not just write it down. But little did I know…

July 18, 2009, 10:00 am – I was ready to run the Globe Run for Home 10km Race. With just a total distance run of 3km for the whole week, I wasn’t worried at all. I’ve been running 10km races for quite some time now and I’m confident enough to know that I will be able to finish the race.

July 18, 2009, 2:00 pm – I suddenly found myself agreeing to run the 21km Race. With just a total distance run of 3km for the whole week, what was I thinking?!

July 19, 2009, 5:00 am – A lot of butterflies in my stomach. Dennis even said that I had a mild panic attack just a minute after crossing the starting line. I wasn’t really sure how to go about the whole race, not being physically and mentally prepared for it. But lucky enough, Dennis promised to run with me the whole time.

The 21km race started 45minutes earlier before the 10km race. It was still a bit dark and the weather was great. It wasn’t raining but there was a cool breeze. The first part of the race was just like any other 10km race, except that we have with us a chip timer. Dennis and I stopped at every water station to hydrate. Good thing stations were all over and they all had a lot of water and 100 plus sports drinks. From Fort Bonifacio we went up the Buendia Flyover down to Buendia and straight ahead to Ayala before heading back to Fort Bonifacio. It was a fun experience running around the Makati CBD on a Sunday morning. The route was basically flat with a few uphill areas. There were a lot of Race Marshalls, Security and Makati Police roaming around the race route. This made me feel safe the whole time while I was running. I made the right choice of choosing this race to be my first 21km run. Not only did it have a good route, a lot of water stations and was well organized, but also because this is the first time in Manila that a race offered a disposable chip timer wherein we can download our whole race on net! The only let down is that there is no finisher medal or any finisher gift pack when you reach the finish line. Maybe the budget was eaten up the chip timer.

Overall, my experience as a first time Half Marathon Finisher was great. I was expecting a lot worse but ended up having a lot of fun. It took me quite some time to finish the race (at 3hr9mins) though, but it is no big deal… there is always another race to catch. And besides, just by mere finishing the race gave me my CHECK 4 for one of my lists of things to do before I die. Definitely worth it :)

And now back to our regular program....

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Note: I never even knew Per had a list to begin with !! But just glad that I helped her achieve one of her goals. :)

Onwards to the finish line!

This is it. The last 50 meters!

Jay, me, Per, Janine at the finish line

There were no finisher medal, no gift pack, not a single thing at the finish line which was very anti-climatic for me when we crossed it. I even thought we ran out of medals. I was disappointed with that but Jeanne (literally) pointed out what this race was for - and that was Building houses for those people that can't afford to build it themselves. This race was for a good cause and I finally understood why it was called "Run for Home".

Many thanks to Vener, Alvin, Jeanne and Mark for the photos they took of us in the race. I didn't even bring out my camera anymore. Hehe

MONDAY NIGHT

It was a rest day for the two of us and we spent it watching Harry Potter with some friends. I asked Per how she was feeling in terms of muscle soreness and leg pain. She replied she doesn't have any. Which made me think, "No training, no soreness, no pain and yet a half marathon finisher..........would a full marathon be possible for her as well?" And a more important question, "Is a full marathon finish in Per's super secret bucket list?"

Hmmm.... :P