Unilab 21k Race - March 7, 2010

There were many races held this weekend:
- Amazing Kidney Race in UP
- Yakult 10miler in Roxas Blvd
- Bataan 102km in Bataan
- Unilab Race in Fort Bonifacio

For convenience sake (in terms of proximity to our house), we chose the Unilab Race. I wanted to do the 21km for one thing and one thing only: the finisher medal! It's actually the basis of joining most of my 2010 road races!

Now, comes the race pace: should I run fast or should I treat it as an easy long run? Based on previous entries, the comments were all unanimous in saying I should run fast, really fast. But there is doubt on whether I could pull it off or if it will worsen my situation. I put it off for a while but come Saturday night, I have decided. I will run with all my might and let God do the rest.

I couldn't sleep that night. I was excited. My blood was pumped up and I was ready to go and it was just 12:30AM! Still too early for the 5:20AM race! Maybe my running spirit was with the BDM 102km runners that time... Finally I fell asleep at 1:30am, only to be woken up 2 hours later by the sound of my phone alarm. But 2 hours of sleep was better than 0 hours of sleep.

All the "problems" from previous race were fixed this time: there were ample marshals, new parking areas, and the race started on time. Immediately I ran at 6 minute pace. I know it was too fast for me but I didn't care. I love the exhilaration I get from the speed I'm running. I like the feel of the wind across my face. I like the feeling of slowly overtaking runners left and right as I weave through them. Best of all, my heel wasn't giving me any headache that morning. 1km went by quickly. So did 2km... 3km... 4km and I was still enjoying myself. Unbelievable! Of course, I did not forget God and thanked Him and prayed to Him for help. I know I need Him in this race and had a small conversation with Him.

The first 10km went off without a hitch and my time was at 1:01, too fast for me but I was having fun! I was doing more deep breathings and knew there would be trouble ahead. I will just face it when it arrives but took some precaution by running slower. For now, it's just run, run, run and of course, drink, drink, drink at nearly all water stations, be it sports drink, water or a combination of both.

I got to Lawton Avenue and knew that this is where the challenge begins. The sun was rising steadily into the sky and I had to go to Heritage Park, a place with very little shade and some hilly parts. But I have done this route a few times and knew what to expect. So I continued running on and on. By this time, my pace have slowed down significantly to 6:40 to 7 minutes per kilometer. So much for the 6 minute pace. But that was expected.

By 17km, I was walking at some parts of the route. More so as I inch slowly to the 21km mark but my time was still good. Could I actually do a Personal Best?

The last time that I got a 21km Personal Best was last March 22, 2009 for the Condura Race. At that time, the farthest distance was 21km and it was the first time it lead into Skyway. I got a good time of 2:15:09.

Since then, I have joined 4 full marathons, 11 half marathons and too many 10k races to count. The closest I got to my 21km personal best time was last November 2009 with a time of 2:16:31 but at that time the weather was cold and I was injury-free. Even with that benefit, I was still 1 minute and 20 seconds away from my Condura time, not much in the normal world but it meant a lot in the world of running (just think of the number of runners who will cross the finish line in that short time frame - for Unilab, the number was 21 based on gun time).


Now I have a nagging injury, the weather was hot, and I lack significant body rest. But I had willpower and I had God with me through prayer and faith.


And that made all the difference!



FINISH TIME: 2:14:59 (Ranked based on gun time: 403 out of 800 runners)


With God, nothing is Impossible!


Goodbye Condura time, Hello Unilab time!








Per had her best 10km time for 2010 as well. And it wasn't yet her all out effort! Hmmmm... :)






Janine and Jeanne did the 10km and also had awesome finish time. Congrats to everyone on this event and congrats to the organizers for a great event.

Aside from the huge finisher medal, I got a New Balance singlet, some bags and drinks. Got a lot of free stuffs too from registering here including the 21km baggage tag, sunblock, singlet, and some vitamins. Awaiting now are the Photovendo pictures and the RUNPX analysis. Definitely worth my moolah for this one of a kind experience!