5th T2N 50km Race Experience (Part 2)

5th T2N Course Map and Elevation Profile

Carbo Loading Party

At the time that I was sick from my back to back to back LSDs in preparation for T2N race, I wasn't sure whether I would be able to finish the race within the cut-off time, finish the race, or even start the race!  There were too many possibilities for that day, and most of it weren't good for me.

But... I wasn't going to miss the Carbo Loading Party for it.  Worst case, I won't be able to run the 50km but at least I got a shirt and dinner out of it (and out of the Php 1,500 I paid for the race registration).  Haha!

So Alvin and I met at Bonifacio Global City on April 29th (Monday night) and walked to 100 Miles Cafe, which was the venue for the Final Briefing and Carbo Loading Party, with our deposit slips with us as proof of registrations. These were given to the organizers in exchange for our race bibs.

We were late when we got there past 7:00pm as event started at 6:00PM, but we still listened and gained a few pointers from Race Director Jovie Narcise aka Baldrunner.  I took a picture of the course map and elevation (see above) to get more details on the race. 

This was a pretty straightforward run except for the final 2km, wherein we had to make a U Turn at a certain point to be able to complete the 50km run.  The good thing in this course was that it was downhill most of the way from 20km to 40km mark.

The disadvantage of this long race was the Hot Summer Heat that will always be my Kryptonite in running!

But I was feeling stronger from what happened a few days ago (Thank God!) and was getting excited for this race too.  After the talk, we approached BR and told him that T2N was our redemption run.  He supported us in our mission and said that it should be doable for us.

We got our 100 Miles Shirt and ate the food that was distributed near the Exit area.


 Packing

T2N, much like BDM, requires runners to be self-sufficient, that is to say, they should provide their own drinks, food, etc.

Having come off BDM a few months back, I know what I wanted for this race and bought a few items at the supermarket, which included potato chips, soft drinks, iced coffee drinks, and 5 gallons of water.  Alvin had a few 1.5 Gatorade bottles with him and we put everything at the back of our support car.

I also bought compression pants that I would use in this race, four shirts so that I could change every time I needed to, an extra pair of socks, an extra pair of shoes, my race belt, extra towels, petroleum Jelly and some GU too.

And of course, the most important thing to bring with me:  MY RACE BIB.

Leaving Manila

When Alvin and I were discussing our plans for Tagaytay, we didn’t have any support crew yet.  Alvin was thinking of being my support crew and we would make the long drive to Tagaytay on race day using my car.

Luckily I was able to borrow my mom’s driver and car so that Alvin could run the race too. Our plan then changed to staying for one night in Tagaytay and I booked one room for us at Hotel Kimberly Tagaytay. This would make it easier for us as it would be closer to the race venue and we could get ample rest too.

Then Per wanted to come to Tagaytay too with our daughter and so did Alvin’s family!  So a second room was booked for the two families.  Then Alvin wanted to extend our stay in Tagaytay for two nights!  So we booked a second night for the two rooms!  This was turning into a family trip!

On April 30^th, we met up at my house and drove to Tagaytay to check in at the hotel.  Lots of eating done during that day and at night, we bought a few ice packs for our cooler at a local 7-11 store in Tagaytay.

Then, it was time for us to rest and hopefully sleep a bit before the race would commence.

Per asked me a simple question during that time, "You think you are ready?"  

To which, I replied, "I am honestly not sure."

"Why not?", Per inquired.

"My longest run was just 25km.", I answered, going back to my original issue.

"Alvin!  Dennis' longest run was just 25km!", Per, in a state of panic, directed her statement to Alvin.

Alvin kinda looked shocked, then composed himself and calmly replied, "That's okay, he did three 20km runs for three days.  He should be okay."

To which I retorted back, "Yes, and to which I got sick too!"  

Haha! Never complacent, always having doubts but for me, that is a lot better than being Too Overconfident and burning out in the end!!

At least one self-doubt question has been answered during this time and that is, "I will be at the starting line on May 01."  Two more self-doubt questions remain.  Let's see how I fare off....

Link to Part 1:  5th T2N 50km Race Experience (Part 1)
Link to Part 3:  5th T2N 50km Race Experience (Part 3)