One of my goals for 2013 under the Health Area is:
- Do a 50 km Ultra Marathon
So I had to figure out which of the few Ultra Marathons in
the Philippines
would be most ideal for me in terms of logistics, cut-off time and preparations
needed.
The one that stood out from the others was the T2N series,
so-called as it was a Point to Point 50km Ultra Marathon Race that would start
from Tagaytay and end in Nasugbu, Batangas.
This was an Ultra Marathon that was nearest to go to and can be reached
in just two hours from where I lived.
The cut-off time was very lenient too at 9 hours, requiring
runners to run at an average pace of 10:30 per kilometer to be able to be part
of the official finishers list for this race.
With the event held on Philippine’s Labor Day (May 1, 2013), it was also
a good time to run it given it’s a holiday here!
Part of the reason I wanted to do a second Ultra Marathon
was to redeem myself somewhat from the 102k Bataan Death March race that I did
with Alvin some
months back. Although we finished the
race and went through the entire course, we did not make it for the cut-off
time and that was a downer for the two of us.
I felt bad about it but afterwards, amazed as well at what I was able to
accomplish. I realized that my prayer
back then to God was to finish the course safe and sound and He was able to
grant my prayer. Now, I know better and
I was more specific in my prayers by adding that I finish this race safe and
sound and within the cut-off time!
Hehe.
I was confident when I registered for this race a few months
ago. After all, it was half the distance
of BDM and offered the same pace requirement to finish it. Of course, it was doable! It was like asking a Marathoner to complete a
Half Marathon distance! But as the days
and weeks progressed, my confidence started to waver and I was getting a little
bit worried whether I could do it or not.
For one thing, I haven’t done any long runs worthy of this
race! For a Marathon,
there is a requirement to do at least one 32km before venturing into that
race. That way, your legs would be used
to running that long and it would also build your self-confidence in completing
the Marathon as at the back of your mind you would think, “it’s just 10km
more!”. Some people would run farther in
their Marathon training, going as far as 37km
so that when Marathon Day would come, they would think that it was just 5km
more to get to the finish line.
For this 50km race, my farthest LSD (long, slow distance)
was at 25km! And I was burned-out at the
end, too exhausted from the run, from the Summer heat, and just moody
after. Talk about confidence level
dropping in a flash! If I had a hard
time completing a 25km slow run, how am I going to go and do 25km more on the
same day?
Whatever happened to my fitness level from the BDM Training
and from the BDM race? Did it all just
disappear overnight? Sadly, I had gotten lazy and ate a lot too. I was eating the same amount of food as when
I was training hard so I was gaining weight!
With only two weeks to go, I had to think to myself, “Will I
reach the finish line in time?” More
important was the question, “Will I reach the finish line at all?”
I told Alvin
one day that if I didn’t reach the finish line within the cut-off time, I
definitely do not deserve to run anymore.
Yes, confidence was at an all-time low.
I felt weak and strained from running.
The extra pounds did not boost my low confidence level.
There was one thing going for me at that time though and
that was my determination. I got to
admit that my determination during BDM training wasn’t the cut-off time but to
complete the very long distance so that I could appreciate the history behind
the course. This time, should everything
fail me on the race (I hope nothing would though), I would will myself to reach the
finish time within the cut-off time.
It was all or nothing for me: gain personal glory as a runner and call
myself an Ultra Marathoner or fail and realize that running may not be for
me.
And then it was just one week to go before the big race! As a final help to my poor endurance level, Alvin instructed me to do
three 20km runs for three consecutive days.
There was no way out of this as this was the final straw to help me in
the race and so I did it:
On April 23rd
(Tuesday), I ran solo 20km and burned out at the last part!
On April 24th (Wednesday), I ran 20km with Alvin but we both had a hard
time running it and were quite slow at the beginning. Good thing Alvin suggested we stop at McDonalds for some
Iced Coffee to give energy to ourselves.
That helped and we completed the 20km distance.
On April 25th (Thursday), I ran solo for first part
before Alvin
joined me mid-way and we completed the 20km distance (although we walked 2.5km
at the last part).
After completing the three 20km runs, I felt so weak and
tired that my immune system went down and I got some coughs and colds
after. Instead of doing any additional
running (I was supposed to do an easy 5km a few days after to loosen leg
muscles), I opted to rest the entire time.
I took lots of vitamin Cs, drank a lot of water and slept more.
With weakness in my body, a new question sprouted in my mind, “Will I be able to
go to the Starting Line in a few days’ time?”
To Be Continued….
Links to:
5th T2N 50km Race Experience (Part 2)
5th T2N 50km Race Experience (Part 3)
1 comment:
Grrr super bitin!! Hahaha
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