1,000 Kilometers!

Last October 15th, during the Nike We Run Manila 10km event (more on this later), I reached the 1,000 kilometer total running distance for 2011. That translates to an average of 3.47 kilometers per day for 2011. Not bad!!

To achieve this goal, I was able to participate a total of 32 road races broken down into:

1 3.2km race,
12 10km races,
1 12km race,
3 15km races,
1 16km race,
14 21km races,

And got a total of 18 Finisher Medals plus 1 Finisher Dog Tag (perfect for our Christmas Tree!)

In between these races, I would put in easy runs, tempos, and speed run. I tried running barefoot (and loved it). I ran with a plantar fasciitis injury on my left foot. I ran with knee and shoulder pains. I ran using shoes from two different school of thoughts - from the top of the line stability (read: heavy) shoes to the shoes that offer no cushioning in it (barefoot shoes).

Running 1,000 kilometers was never my goal but it serves as a bonus for joining all these races. And I'm not stopping yet. The big and long races are coming up soon with Adidas KOTR 21km, New Balance 25km and Run United 3 32km.


I can't wait to put on my running shoes and hit the road again!






As for the Nike We Run Manila race, it was a sea of red as 8,000 people flocked to BGC to run (or walk) the 10km distance. My goal was to try and achieve 1 hour finish time but due to a lot of reasons (or excuses) such as 1) difficulty in weaving among runners, 2) heavy legs, 3) not yet 100% from my sickness, 4) lack of light in some areas so can't run fast, 5) etc, etc, blah blah blah, I did not reach my goal but it was still my second fastest 10km for the year.

The total distance according to my Garmin was at 10.25km and I clocked in at about 1:04:32 (pace of 6:18).

I got to say the Nike shirt was really nice and something you can wear going to the mall (and not just for running). At the finish line, I got a bottle of water and a bottle of Powerade sports drink, a mini poster and a letter from RunRio.Inc saying that another finisher item will be sent to my mailing address. I didn't stay any more for the 3 Pinoy bands performing after the race.

I also loved the fact that the race was held on a Saturday afternoon so didn't have to wake up on a Saturday or Sunday morning which I usually do for a race event.

Note: As of today (October 19, 2011), Nike results are out and can be found in this link. Based on that official result, my chip time was at 1:04:30 and I ranked 556 for Men aged 25 and above.

Too bad that there wasn't a total number for that category so that I could determine my percentile here.