The fear in doing this race would be if we survive it and perform well the following day. Finishing this race injury-free is a MUST as none of us want to ruin the bride's special day by limping down the church aisle. That would most certainly lead to a big disappointment to the bride, our friends and families and will forever tarnish the memories of our BIG DAY. GULP!!!
But ... it was certainly the perfect opportunity to do a final run before having a change of status quo! I first thought of doing a 10km so as not to push myself. After all, there are so many unknown factors that could lead to injury. This being a night race with no natural light to see the road ahead makes it riskier for a runner.
So I decided on the 10km and waited if anybody else was crazy enough to do it. There is definitely some crazy blood in my family as the first to respond was my sister and she wanted to get into the 15km race! Her husband opted to do the 10km. Same goes with friends Janine and Jeanne. So there were more people doing the 10km race from our group than that of the 15km event. I felt relaxed that I was running with the majority of my friends.
Then, Jason texted that he is game and he wanted the 15km event. Benny said the same thing. Jay also. Eventually, Gigay put herself for the 15km. In a fit of jealousy at what I could have missed (additional 5km leads into Heritage Park), I changed my race category to the 15km, telling Per (the bride) that I will just take it slow that night and be extra careful.
With Kervin as my photographer wingman, we set out to Fort that night after each doing a series of individual errands (picking up suits, picking up wedding dress, cleaning house, etc) and picked up Nats from her house. We met with the rest of the group to give them their race packets and after having a super quick dinner at Starbucks, we ventured out to the starting line for the 8:00pm race.
Unfortunately, the 15km race was delayed for about 20minutes. But that was okay as it gave me a chance to hang out with friends there. There were so many people at the venue as a lot wanted to experience their first night race or even their first race (for those people not enticed with waking up in the wee hours of the morning just to do a fun run).
The race finally started and I went off running but at a good relaxed pace. It felt great running in a race again after doing a series of solo runs. The course lead us to the super dark Heritage Park and into McKinley Hills for the killer uphill climbs. It was there I decided to walk out of the venue as didn't want to injure or tire myself seeing as I have something MORE important to do the following day. Benny waited for me at the water station and decided that he wanted to pace with me to the finish line.
It was fun hanging out with him and we ran all the way to the finish. I locked in a time of 1:39:08 based on my Garmin. Official results came out a few days later and showed that I got a finish time of 1:39:14. How's that for accuracy!
From the chip timer analysis, it showed that I was at top 42% of total finishers so at least I still met the median level. Same goes with gender level (46%), and my age level (41%). In terms of sex, I was ahead 74% of women finishers. BOO YAH!
I didn't notice any Photovendo photographers and even mentioned that to Janine and Nats, who both said it was too dark to take pictures. Imagine my surprise when I saw the following pictures at the Photovendo website (and free for downloading):
Obviously Benny was the one enjoying the run here!!!
It was a fun run for me as I didn't do this for a new PR but I did it to think about the next day (and the future) and to spend time with family and friends doing what we love the most and that was running!
At the finish area, where we got a loot bag and I got a special non-energy drink from Jay. No injuries for this groom. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing for the Bride's Maid!
Having a good time with Kervin and Janine
Cheers!!! Beer sponsored by Benny and we had some drinks at the parking area. Jason came by briefly to chat with us.
All sweaty but happy!
Good fun! As expected, we talked more about running than the wedding itself!And as for the next day, well, safe to say that it was more memorable than any of the races I've ever joined in my lifetime!!!
No limping for this groom on the church aisle! :)WE shall see you guys in the next race! Keep on Running!
