Race Review: Run United 2 32km (2015)

Once in a while, there is a race that you think you are ready for and quite prepared for it that you set high goals for it:  A new Personal Best, A sub whatever target time, etc.

This for me, isn't one of those races!  Haha!

With only one or two runs in a week and at a very slow pace, my goal for this race was simply to finish it safe and sound.

Then I heard at the starting line that there was a cut-off time of 5 hours 30 minutes but I wasn't worried as that would be a conservative pace for a runner to get to that level.

The starting time for this race was at 3AM, which for me was pretty good in that you would be running more in the darkness than in the sun (and we all know how hard it is to run along Roxas Boulevard with the sun burning you up).  Kudos also to race organizer Runrio.com for tweaking the route in such a way that we would run toward both ends of Roxas Blvd. FIRST before heading out to Buendia Avenue.  This is pretty good planning in that we would be in Roxas Blvd. during the cool weather and when it gets hot, then we will be in shady Buendia Avenue.  I can't count the number of times I suffered in the past on Roxas Blvd., wanting to stop running due to the heat in that area.

But since it started at 3am, then my wake up call was at 1am and I was super groggy!! It felt too soon to be woken up my phone's alarm clock.  To get rid off the sleepiness, I made and drank two cups of brewed coffee and ate two muesli bars.  BAD CHOICE!

Once the race started, I had a very difficult time running as my tummy was acidic (figured later on that it was probably the two cups of coffee that did that)!  I would run for a bit but needed to stop and walk or I would vomit!  By 3km I was walking already!  How am I going to complete the last 29km!  My legs felt tight too.  Everything was working against me.  The distance was just too far to be in this kind of situation and I was contemplating quitting too.

I stopped at every water station and drank Gatorade to try to compensate for the acid reflux.  At that time, I was thinking that it could be hunger.  By 5km, I took my first GU gel.  I am so glad I packed extra gels!  I definitely didn't expect taking my first one at such an early part of the race!

By 9km, aside from the acid reflux and tight legs, I needed to go to the toilet and do the nasty!  Oh man!  Just two days ago, I read from Unilab's facebook account that 60% of runners needed to go to a toilet in a race and to take Diatabs (of course it was an ad for Diatabs).  That was a very clear sign for me back then to which I obviously didn't follow!

Luckily, being on Roxas Blvd. at that time, I had my pick of nice hotel toilets.  But even with that I was suffering from acid reflux.  I didn't know what else I could do as I was far, far away from the finish line and no matter what remedy I did, the acid reflux and tight legs were still there.

That's when I surrendered.  I gave up.





But I didn't surrendered or give up on the race.  Rather, I surrendered it to the Lord.  I gave up the race to Him.  And I started praying.  A lot.  Every five minutes, I would say the Lord's prayer.  And I would continue doing that every kilometer.



Amazing how things change once You surrender it to Him.  The tight legs disappeared and I could run longer and faster.  The acid reflux disappeared too and I didn't need to walk that much anymore.  I slowly overtook more runners.  My average pace of 9:10 at first 10km (!!!!) went down to 8:55, then to 8:50, then to 8:45!


GOD is loving and He took me to the finish line.  I can definitely say that by myself, I would have quit even before reaching 1/3 of this race.  And I didn't mind if that happened.  I even convinced myself that there wasn't anything to prove as I completed the Trilogy last year.

But GOD helped me have a better victory by leading me towards the finish line happy, strong and injury free with a reasonable time of 4:43:17 (my goal pre-race was just to finish but hoping it wasn't more than 5 hours) and a significant reduction of average pace to 8:38.  Total distance conquered was at 32.76km (via Garmin).

 Second medal completed (but not by doing it alone).

Praise God!

2 Tim 4:7

nice breakfast reward after - BULALO!!

Race: Run United 2 32km

My goal for this race was simply one:

JUST TO FINISH!

That simply meant reaching the finish line from the starting line in one piece regardless if I ran or walked the entire way.  Pretty much relaxed way to go about it.  My end goal was simply to complete the Run United Trilogy for this year so that I can get the Trilogy Award at the end of the year (or at the start of the New Year).

No pressure right?

Well a day before the race, I read on Facebook they there is now a 7:30AM cut-off time for all runners!  For the 32km race category, that was a 4 hour 30 minute finish time requirement before roads are open to vehicles.  

Suddenly, I got a headache!  How do I go about this?  I started thinking what my pace should be like, how much GU gels I should take with me, what to eat the day before and the morning of the race.  

It has now become a race to finish it before the cut-off time!

On the race day, there was an update on their Facebook page saying that shuttle buses will leave CAVITEX (where the midpoint is located) at 7:30AM, so there would be plenty of time to get to the finish line before the bus comes and gets you!  But I wasn't sure how strict they were with the cut-off time.  Maybe I might finish after 4 hours 30 minutes, but then there won't be a medal.  Or I do get the medal, but I won't be in the official results.  

I can't let the leniency of the race director be reason for me to slack off during this race as that was the same kind of thinking that lead me to not getting a finisher medal in last year's Milo Marathon (when they became strict with the cut-off vs not being strict two consecutive years previous said race).  Not only was this race riding on my time, but on the entire trilogy too!

Now, add to this anxiety, was my 32km time a year ago which was at a horrible time of more than 5 hours and you get some idea of the stress I was feeling the day before the race.

My goal unfortunately has now been upgraded to

FINISH AT 4:30 OR LESS (GUN TIME).

One good (and surprising) thing was Per offering to drive me to the race.  Wow, I was shocked as I know how much she lacked sleep due to her pumping and here she was, offering me a free ride to the race start.  That would eliminate added stress of finding a parking spot in Luneta Park!  Of course I took that offer and gave my thanks to her!

We left the house 30 minutes before gun start but even with that early departure (or was it late), we had a hard time going there.  The reason?  They closed off Roxas Blvd., to all traffic and we were forced to take the small, tightly spaced service road to reach our destinations.  Of course, there were a lot of cars on this single lane road.  The clock ticked.  Now I am worried about getting to the starting line before their starting line cut off time!

So that meant we had to get there before 3:15am (gun start at 3:00am).  Getting there past 3:15am meant an automatic disqualification!  Oh man!!!!

 This is definitely a race of stresses!

So my immediate goal was  (drum rolls please!):

GET TO THE STARTING LINE BEFORE 3:15AM!

We were caught in traffic once again but I saw more runners so I asked the security guard where Luneta Park was and he pointed to the Philippine flag nearby.  Yes, there it was.  I gave my quick goodbyes to Per, left the car and fast walked to the starting line.  The gun went off while I was still walking and I saw the 32km runners pass me by.  That is okay.  I am going to make it before 3:15am.  Hahaha!

Yes, last goal down!

I started the race around 3:08AM, so I had to mentally compute how much time I had left for the 7:30am cut-off (whether imposed or no).  Getting to race a tad later meant you had to run a tad faster as well!

The route for this race was different from all other Run United races of this year or that of previous years in that it started from Luneta Park (or Kilometer Zero) and headed toward CAVITEX for the U Turn back to where the starting line was.  A pretty straightforward route and one I liked.  Of course it still involved going up two flyovers twice but for most of the way, it was nice and flat.

Having the race start at 3am was good too in that we would be able to avoid the sun for at least the first half of the race.

What was unfortunate was that their banana stations ran out of bananas quickly so I had to make do with Gatorade and water (all cold Thank God) and my packed GU gels.

My pace was good in the beginning but at the second half, I was getting weaker and running slower.  My back was hurting at the last one third of the race and my feet were sore from running.  Still, I kept going because of the fear of not making it to finish line.

I slowly counted down the last kilometers and looked at my watch.  Looks like I am going to make it!

I crossed the finish line at 4:15:40 gun time (with chip time at 4:12:15), got my medal and finisher shirt!  And made it to all my goals!  Praise GOD!

Chip time wise I ranked 1262 out of 2794 runners with a 45% percentile!  AWESOME!!

Better news was me beating my last year's time by nearly AN HOUR!  

THANK YOU LORD!

Some bad things though:
 1.  Ran out of bananas twice!  So didn't get a chance to eat it.  The last banana station was near the finish line so I decided to forego it and just finish the race.

2.  Slower second half of the race.  Positive Split.  BOO!

3.  Back hurt.  Feet hurt.  And I couldn't walk properly for the next two or three days.

But even with this, I gained so much more from a good time in this race.  Thank you Per for deciding to drive for me even though I didn't ask of it (was that the Holy Spirit talking to you?).  Thank You God for keeping me safe the entire time.

Next race:  Independence Day 50km!  GULP!

High and Lows of Running in 2013 (as of August 1)

I thought 2012 was the best year for me as it was in 2012 that I did five full marathons: two I trained hard for and three "impulse" ones because I wanted the medals, or I needed a long run!  Out of these five marathons, two were overseas (Hong Kong and Berlin) and the remaining three were in the Philippines (Milo, Subic, RUPM).  I had good and bad experiences from each of them but all these races I finished within the cut-off time.

But 2013 was even better for me.  Even though it has just been 7 months, it is the most I have done in a year's time.

But once again there were some HIGHS and LOWS out of this.

1.  GOOFY Marathoner! (SUPER High)

21k finisher

42k finisher

The finisher medal for the 42km race in Disney World, Orlando last January was a Mickey Mouse medal.  So why Goofy marathoner?  Alas, it was an extra challenge of doing a 21km race on a Saturday, followed by a 42km race on a Sunday!  63km in two days' worth!  Three medals (Donald Duck 21km, Mickey Mouse 42km and Goofy for doing both races) from the achievements.

If you are going to run a race abroad, might as well go all out and join everything!  BEST EXPERIENCE EVER!

2.  DOPEY Marathoner!  (SUPER DUPER High!!!)

getting congratulated by the main mouse himself, Mickey!

So if Mickey Mouse is a 42k finisher, Goofy is doing both a 21k and 42k race, then what is a Dopey Marathoner?  Well, before it became official this year, Dopey unofficially meant doing a 5k race on Friday, followed by 21k on Saturday and ending with a 42k on a Sunday.

Neither Alvin nor Per accepted the fact that I registered for all THREE races!  That meant waking up at 3am three days in a row and eating, drinking and stretching a lot for those three days.  Never mind the fact that we keep going back to the Disney Parks to make the most out of our vacations! 

But I had a good time and was glad to do all of them!


3.  Per's First Full Marathon (High)

Per's first 42k was at Disney

For a person who swore off doing another 15km race a few years back, she has gone far in terms of running as she joined more 21km races, one 25km race (New Balance), one 32km race (Rizal Run) and ending with her first full Mary in January 2013.

There was more pressure for me as I was set to pace her in this race so I made sure that I wasn't too tired from the other two days of running shorter races.

PS.  Per was right in her promise... she still hasn't joined or ran a 15km race since she swore off it!

She is also the first marathoner in both sides of her family and that is something she could be proud of!


4.  Ran on EDSA!  (High)

Per joined the 10km category for Run For Juan while I joined the 21km category.  Both categories lead us to EDSA where we would run on it without any cars.  As I ran on Santolan Flyover, I purposely stopped to walk and touched the lamp post there as doubt this would happen again!  Fantastic race route!!!

I hope one day we would have an EDSA Full Marathon that would equal international races in New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, etc.


5.  Bataan Death March 102km: (High) and (Low)

I never felt so much pain in running than when I did this race.  It was torture!  At 60km, I was tired and I had one full marathon to go!  My hands became swollen, my feet were hurting so much, I couldn't chew anything anymore as my saliva had dried off!  And yet, we continued slowly to the finish line.

Biggest low was not making the cut-off time and being disqualified here (DQ) but high was knowing that we didn't quit although there were a lot of times that I wanted to!

Wouldn't have completed the distance if not for Alvin and Lani helping me all the way in this 19+ hours of torture!  Very humbling experience!

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."


6.  Broken Promises! (High) and (Low)
 
    a)  After BDM, I swore off running.  Even throwing away my compression pants and shorts in an act of disgust at what I did just a few days ago.  Of course, that didn't become true and I ended up buying new compression pants again for running. Haha!

    b)  One of promises I have always kept to myself was:  NOT to repeat a Marathon.  My logic was that there were a lot of marathons so why do the same one again?  Especially since a lot of training is required.  Well, I broke my self promise not just once but twice as I signed up and ran Condura and Milo this year.

Condura was a High for me as I achieved a good time of 5:40 and got a better (and bigger) finisher medal than the one I raced two years ago. Plus route was different too from when I joined in 2011 with starting line at Ayala Alabang (instead of Makati).  So technically speaking, it was a different race for me. He he!

Condura 42k

For Milo, it was a low as I didn't make it for the cut-off time of 6 hours by just a few minutes.  But I guess I wasn't serious too as I wasn't interested in the finisher medal as it was exactly the same one from last year with the exception of them changing the Milo edition number.  So I took it for granted and didn't train enough for it.  Even my wife acknowledged I was lazy for this race.  What more Alvin! Haha!

Milo 42k

7.  DQ!  (LOW)

Also known as Disqualified as didn't make it for cut-off time of BDM 102km and Milo 42km.  But a lot better than DNF (Did not finish) which hasn't happened to me yet (fingers crossed).

After Milo, I texted Alvin that that would be my last DQ Race.  Hope that promise won't be broken!

Time to get serious for each race I join in!



8. Worst Time in 32km Race - Run United 2 (SUPER LOW)

With more than 5 hours finish time, it was my worst 32km time ever (some of my marathons are even faster than this!).  I shouldn't be content with "Just to Finish" race and look to be more serious with regards to my finish time (unfortunately that would require me to train more and harder!)

I didn't finish happy as was spent too.  And once a finisher medal was placed on my head, I almost immediately took it off as I wasn't proud of this race.


9.  Get Dirty!  (High)

Who wouldn't want to be 10 years old again and play in the mud???

This was my one and only trail run for this year as it was a 10km Mud run in Filinvest, Alabang.  Definitely a "fun run" and one I don't mind doing again.

10.  Different kinds of races: (High)

First Zombie Medal

Outbreak Manila Survivors!

There is the yearly Outbreak Manila where you have to run not to get a PR but to survive an apocalyptic zombie infestation!  You get three lives in the form of red strips on your belt and have to have one "life" left when you cross the finish line to get the finisher medal and shirt.  Awesome fun and scary experience!

Amazing Pinoy Fun Run 10km

  Amazing Pinoy Fun Run was a 10km race with challenges.  This was done a day before I joined the 10km Mud Run, which also had its own challenges.

11. First Family Fun Run (High)

Pet Express Doggie Run 5km

It was our family's first fun run together, granted Dani didn't run at all (she sat in her stroller the whole time) and it wasn't really a family fun run race but more of a pet race (owners ran with their dogs).  But Janine accommodated us and gave us our individual bibs (Dani has her own). A finisher medal at the finish line for Dani too (who was sleeping soundly at 4km).

12.  Moving up to Ultra Marathon World (SUPER HIGH!)

I guess BDM opened up Pandora's Box for me in that it became possible for me to run races with more than a full marathon distance.

Never thought I would enter this world of Ultra Marathon.  If Marathoners only make up 1% of world's population, what is the % for Ultra marathoners?

As of now, I'm the first from both sides of my family to venture into Ultra Marathons but I'm sure this won't last as there are a lot of Marathoners in my immediate family alone!

But this is a title I can hold as of this day. Haha!

Tagaytay to Nasugbu 50k Medal

at the finish line!

Laguna to Quezon 50km race

steady pace all the way

final sprint to the finish line

our first running trophies!

Doing a 50km race is more fun as I felt more accomplished when I reached the finish line.  Laguna to Quezon even had an extra 3km distance but I was fine with it.  Unexpectedly,  I got a runner's high and almost immediately signed up for another 50km race!!

The best part of these two races was finishing way ahead of the cut-off time so it was a redemption from our BDM race (I even received a trophy to replace BDM trophy, which I didn't get anymore).

Of course, none of these would be possible without

1.  GOD - where everything is possible through Him who Loves You.  Thank God for keeping me safe, strong and injury-free and to come home to my family.  Prayer really works and this is one thing I want to keep consistent in my life.

2.  Per - her support.  Every time I would say it would be my last big race, she would say "Okay".  Then when I get all excited for the next big race, she WOULDN'T COMPLAIN and say things like, "wasn't the last one Your last big race?" 

Rather, she would smile and say, "I Knew it!" and then laugh it off.

Very supportive to me and my running and I appreciate that. She always knew that running was a part of my life even when there were times I thought I was done with it!  Thanks dear! 

3.  Alvin - his pushing me (sometimes literally though)!  Haha!  Yes, I would definitely have stuck to 21km races only if not for Alvin and no way would I even get a fast time in 42km, 21km or 10km without Alvin speed training me.

The long runs helped with Alvin and I was able to do Ultra Marathons too because Alvin ran with me (either side by side or in front of me).  Thanks Bud! You were a HUGE HELP! (But that BDM was really Hell!) Haha!

4. Lani - our solo support crew for BDM 102km and L2Q 50km.  One woman to drive the distance and give us food and drinks and whatever we needed from her (burgers, ice, soda, etc).  This girl is a Supergirl.  Thanks again!  You saw me at my worst!  Haha!

One 10km and one 50km to go to cap the year (but no promises if these would be my last races for the year)!

PRAISE GOD!

News: Run United 3 2012

The Afroman Distanced race (a.k.a. 32km race) is back again for runners in the Philippines! Aside from this category, the race will also offer 500m, 3km, 5km, 10km, and 21km races.

A lot of runners will be joining either the 21km or 32km race categories to complete the Trilogy and complete the third part of the Huge Medal Series.

Unfortunately, I won't be one of them to complete the Series, having missed the first leg last March 2012. But that won't stop me from joining this race and having a good time in it!

RunRio's official Statement:

Another Running Spree at Run United 3

All set for the third leg of the Runrio Trilogy 2012 on September 16

Run United is back, after a nearly three-month break. And as the cliché goes, ‘the third time is a charm’. Last year, in fact, a record number of runners estimated at over 14,000 participated in Run United 3.

Run United 3, the third leg of the Run Rio Trilogy, has always been much anticipated because it offers what is dubbed as the ‘Afroman distance’ or 32k category—not usually included in other run races. Of course, on top of the other race categories: the Ceelin 500m dash, 3k, 5k, 10k, and 21k.

“The 32k Afroman Distance in RU3 can be a preparatory race for the full 42.195km category in the upcoming 1^st ever Run United Philippine Marathon slated on October 28. RUPM will still have the shorter categories: 500m dash, 3K, 5K, 10K, and 21K.” said Alex Panlilio, Head of Unilab Active Health (ULAH).

Meanwhile, according to premiere race organizer Coach Rio dela Cruz, the runners’ anticipation over Run United 3 will be all worth it as new features and surprises await them on September 16. For one, there will be new routes as well as different starting and finish lines again for Run United 3 in the 21K and 32K categories, like in the previous two races for 21K.

The 32K runners will have a gun start at Bonifacio Global City (BGC) starting at 3am, an hour ahead of the 21k runners. They will be led from BGC to take their first 10k in University Parkway area, then move up to Kalayaan Flyover. Then, they will go all the way down to Buendia, take left at Roxas Boulevard, turnaround taking the roads of Vicente Sotto, Diosdado Macapagal and on to EDSA before finally turning left at Seaside Boulevard for the finish at the Mall of Asia (MOA).

The 21k will have an earlier gun start at 4am compared to Run United 2’s 430am. They will have the same route as the 32k runners, but instead of going to EDSA they will turn right after Macapagal Avenue, turning right at Seaside Boulevard and then all the way to the finish line in MOA.

“Run United 3 runners will get to run across three cities— Taguig, Makati and Pasay. Based from the feedback we got from them, they really enjoyed the experience and the new routes. The earlier gun start of both race categories will give runners a safer route as well,” said Dela Cruz of RunRio Inc., the race organizer.

Online registration for Run United 3 started on August 6 and will continue until September 2, 2012. In-store registration will start on August 13 and will be up to September 9, 2012. Registration venues include Riovana in BGC and Katipunan, Quezon City; and Toby’s at SM Mall of Asia and Trinoma.

The runners will receive their complete race kits upon registration (Active Health Sun Visor, Singlet, Bib with B-Tag and wrist tag for 500m dash runners). The wrist tag for 500m dash kid’s runner which is usually given on race day will now be included in their race kits upon registration.

Run United 3, which is for the benefit of Gawad Kalusugan and Children’s Hour, is part of the ULAH running series. Run United started with only 8,000 runners when it was launched in March 2010 and the numbers have steadily grown in succeeding events. An estimated 14,000 runners participated during its last offering— at 2012 Run United 2.

Run United 1 on March 4 started off this year’s RunRio Trilogy, followed by Run United 2 last June 17. Runners who completed all the longest distances (21k-21k-32k) in all of the three Run United races will be recognized at the RunRio Trilogy Awards Night.

Route Maps:





What's included in your registration fees:


What you get when you cross finish line:




GAME FACE on!

Registration is now ongoing at Riovana BGC, Riovana Katipunan, Tobys SM Mall of Asia and Tobys Trinoma!

Last Back to Back Race for 2011

Race #1: 3rd Rizal Day Run (32.63km)

This would be my 2nd 32km race for 2011 and also my second time to run inside Camp Aguinaldo.

As a first timer for this event, I wasn't sure what to expect. Are there sufficient hydration stations here? Are there toilets readily available for use? How big or how little is the crowd here?

I was scared for this distance because of the return of my lingering body pains (back/shoulder pain, Plantar Fasciitis on both feet) plus the fact that the blister on my left foot was still there.

And there is always a fear of doing a long distanced race for me as the two recent 21kms I did gave me a disappointed/discouraged feeling at the end.


I hoped for that to change in this race and to renew my confidence level in finishing a full marathon.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. It started so well - with the cold wind breeze as the race started at 5:30am and no leg or foot pains. I ran at a comfortable 7:15 to 7:20 pace but slowly, the feet started to hurt. I was feeling the blister and the PFs!

I tried to motivate myself but it was hard to do when every step I made gave me some pain. Doubts crept into my mind. Why am I doing this? Was it worth it? How far more do I need to go? It was pretty discouraging and I felt like crap.

Worse was looking at my Garmin and seeing that the distance I had just done was a little over 15kms! I had a looonngg way to go!

By 17km, a new kind of LOW hit me. I Wanted to QUIT! Not running altogether but this particular race! I wanted to DNF which I never thought of before. More self doubts surfaced to my mind... "If I continue running and pushing it, I will get injured more". "It's not worth it to continue. Just quit and fight another day." "32km is a hard distance and it's okay to say that I tried but just couldn't handle it".

I was frustrated and wanted to throw away my shoes, blaming them for the lack of cushioning and the pain that's causing my feet. But truthfully, I was just exhausted from running. There were pains all over my body and I just didn't see any good reason to continue this so-called self-torment.

But as I looked around in one of my walk breaks, I saw that I was ahead a lot of people and even people in front of me were walking too. I started thinking that it was okay to walk. It was okay to feel tired and exhausted as the sun had risen and the temperature rose as well. It was okay to walk given the many hills that we had to run on. It was okay to feel discouraged as route repeated itself 4.5 times.

Besides, I had a feeling if I quit then, I could possibly be the only quitter in this race! So pride and a mild case of encouragement took over and slowly I started running again and walking and running back.

My goal reverted to "just finish this run" - a big scale down from my original goal of getting a PR but a big improvement from me wanting to give up this race.

So I kept going: walk, run, walk, run. I ate GU gels every 6-7km and even stopped to eat the instant noodles in one of the stations. I drank a lot of water (and some Gatorade and Coca-cola).

My pace slowed down significantly but I didn't care for it anymore. What I looked at instead was the distance I had finished and that one slowly went up - from 21km to 25km to 28km. I was counting the distance down. The hardest of course was the last 4kms. By that time I had exceeded 3 and a half hours and my feet were giving me a hard time.

Still I kept going - slowly but surely until I did the final loop around the route. At 32km, I saw Alvin standing on the road with a cup of water in his hands. I drank the water and saw BR pass me by (he started much much late than we did).

Man, I really wanted the race to end and thought of stopping my Garmin there and then and just walking the remaining distance (as I had reached the 32km mark but clearly the race was not yet over). But I changed my mind and ran again and pushing myself to run all the way to the finish line.

To which I did and awarded myself with some water at the finish line.

THANK GOD!

I wasn't able to get my Pink finisher shirt or medal (as limited to first 120 finishers). But I didn't care as I was just glad to have finish this super hard race. I was that close to quitting and I am glad that I didn't and pushed myself for two hours more to come home to my wife and say,

"I'm a 32km Finisher".

And to answer my questions prior to the race:

1) Yes, there are water stations here. Said stations also offered food like eggs and instant noodles and drinks like sports drinks and soft drinks but all (except water) were finished by the time I was on my 3rd loop. But water was sufficient during and after the race.

2) I used the toilet prior to gun start and didn't see nor felt the need to use the toilet again. It doesn't mean there aren't any!

3) The crowd for this race was a total of 189 finishers and I ranked 142 from it. Not sure if there are no-shows or DNFs here as I based this on official results found on www.baldrunner.com. That finisher list will be saved and archived in my computer! Haha!


Race #2: Rescue Run for Sendong Victims (5.08km)

This was a good race as proceeds went to Typhoon Sendong Victims. The route was two loops around the hilly McKinley Hills and prior to joining this event, I told Per that on a worst case scenario, we can just walk the entire distance.

It will be a very relaxed, recovery run especially after what I went through the previous day.
Surprisingly, there were no muscle pains in my leg that morning (that came later in the day) and I figured that maybe we could jog it on the flat part of the course and walk it on the hilly parts.

We ended up running the first loop of the race and doing a run-walk for the second half before sprinting the last 600 meters.

Unlike yesterday, I had an awesome time here! Now, this was a fun run! Oh how I missed short runs like this!





There were a lot of drink stations here and they also offered Pocari Sweat bottled drinks. Saw some familiar faces in this year-ender race.

A lot of photographers too (which can be seen at facebook page of Greentennial Photos).

A job well done for both BR for pulling off Rizal Day Run and for Greentennial for the Rescue Run. Truly a memorable back to back race for Running Fatboy!

Onwards to 2012!

News: Two Year- End Runs!

3rd RIZAL DAY 32k RUN

Where: GHQ Grandstand, Camp Aguinaldo, Cubao, Quezon City
4 and 3/4 loops of the 7K-loop inside Camp Aguinaldo
Start & Finish: In front of the GHQ Grandstand

When: Dec 30, 2011 (Rizal Day)
Assembly Time: 5:00 AM
Gun Start: 5:30 AM

Distance: 32km

How Much: P 850.00

Registration: ARC Manila
On Site at least an hour before gun start

Additional Details: Finisher will receive Finisher's T-Shirt, Medallion/ Coin, Finisher's Certificate
No Cut-off Time


RESCUE RUN

Where: Venice Piazza, Mc Kinley Hill, Taguig

When: Dec 31, 2011
Assembly Time: 5:30 AM
Gun Start: 6:00 AM

Distance: 5km

How Much: P 150.00

Registration: ROX, A Runner's Circle

Additional Details: A run for Typhoon Sendong Victims (proceeds will be sent here). Runners will receive a race bib for their donations.



I'm definitely joining at least one of these races. Still thinking if I can join both...

Run United 3 - Afroman Distance (32km)

The recently held Run United 3 race was my first 32km race and as such it was an automatic PR. But I didn’t join this race for an automatic PR. Rather, it served as my long run for the weekend and it was also used to gauge on how I would do for this ¾ full marathon distance.

The result: Not so good.

Words pop out of my head when I think of my race performance: Disappointment, disgusted, frustrated, irritated, sadness, and so on and so forth.

RACE DAY!

I got to Mall of Asia grounds around 4:30am and by the time I got to the race’s starting line, the 32km had already started some seven minutes earlier. But I didn’t mind this as there was a b-tag attached to my bib and I had my Garmin with me to record my own finish time.

I started at a comfortable 7:30 minutes pace as I slowly caught up with some 32km runners. The 32km route took us from Mall of Asia grounds to Roxas Boulevard to make a left turn underneath the flyover (on the other hand, 21km runners went up here) and into Buendia Avenue. There was a small lane reserved for runners and some marshals/ traffic enforcers watching over it. I tried to leave this place as quickly as possible as there were a lot of cars and jeepneys here, honking and beeping and releasing all those carbon monoxides! Definitely not healthy for any runner!

At one point along Buendia Avenue was the U Turn back to Roxas Boulevard to do some more miles here. At this point, my average pace had gone down to 7:09 but try as I can, I couldn’t bring it any lower. I was calculating when to consume my 3 GUs within this race and figured that the second one should be done right after the 21km mark (first one was used in 15km mark). Everything was still going fine with me. No pain, no slowing down, no tiredness. But that wasn’t bound to last.

At 27km, I slowed down… significantly. By this time, it was really, really hot and the heat was getting to me. I tried running in what little shade there were but that didn’t seem to help. I craved for water – drinking two cups at a time and using the third cup to pour the water over my head. My average pace went down to 7:12, then to 7:15, then to 7:17. This wasn’t turning out well. My slow running pace became a run-walk fiasco.

My lungs were okay but I had a hard time with the heat and even with the all mind games I played with (“run fast to rest”, “run fast so can get out from the sun”, “run so can see wife and kid again”, “run to get to buffet breakfast soonest”), none seemed to be producing the effect I desired for. But I wasn’t alone in this. All around me, almost everyone was walking the remaining distance.

And then the water ran out. Groan! They gave water in cups but said it was just for pouring and not for drinking. So I did that (but thought twice about drinking it) and moved on, looking for the next available water station, which came after 2km more. I was spent and exhausted by the time I reached the last kilometer and even at this short distance, I was still walking part of it!

A fellow 32km runner asked, “The finish line should be right around the corner, right?”

“I think so.”, I replied before adding, “I really hope so!” The runner chuckled thinking I was joking. I wasn’t but my own comment brought a smile to my face.

We were there that morning to challenge ourselves: to conquer that distance and we should appreciate it and not whine about it (which was what I was doing internally).

Then, it was the final turn and I saw the finish line up ahead. It was a sight of pure joy to know that my ordeal (too harsh a word?) was about to end. But it still seemed too far away. I had reached the 32km mark but the finish line wasn’t there yet.

I finally crossed it with a distance of 32.33km and got my finisher medal (and checked it if I got the right one). Then I got my finisher bag and shirt at the event’s area. And waited for Per to pick me up at a pre-agreed (and shaded) area.

The one single term I could think of as I crossed the finish line was simply, “ WIPED OUT”!

POST RACE

As I finally rested and had a hearty breakfast, I reflected on my race performance and realized that there were silver linings here as well. For one, this was my longest distance run for the entire 2011 (and the most mileage I did for a given week)! I didn’t even join this “Afroman category”, when it first came out in 2010 because I knew back then that I could not finish it. Back then, I was injured and even a half marathon race was difficult to accomplish. And even with a half marathon distance, the finish time wasn’t an issue. The only goals for them were to complete the distances and bag the finisher medals.

So it was just a matter of perspective that in this 32km distance I failed when I did not accomplish my pace target. I failed when I went slower at the last part instead of going faster. I failed when I started walking.

But I was still able to go below 4 hours and my average pace for this run was exactly the same as the one I did in January 2011 – for a 15km distanced race! And that wasn’t just any 15km distanced raced but it turned out to be my 2011 15km PR!

These things show how far I have gone as a runner for this year (with a big thanks to friend Alvin for all those trainings done).

And one final thing after having this experience was a renewed sense of MOTIVATION to be better and stronger the next time I do this.

Race Update: Race results are now available for viewing and can be seen at www.RunRio.com

My results are as follows:
Gun time: 4:05:07
Chip time: 3:57:25

Split times:
9.255km: 1:06:38
24.44km: 2:57:10

Rank (based on gun time): 1,134/ 2,039 32km runners

Trick of Treat! (Runner's style)

For the past two days, I was like a little kid again as I go from one place to another, collecting my goodie bags.

Only this time, the goodie bags aren't filled with chocolates or candies but all sort of wonderful, wonderful things for a running enthusiast like myself.

It so happened that race kits collections were available for three big race events for the fourth Quarter of 2011 and most were in BGC area. Let me break them down individually:

1. NIKE WE RUN MANILA 10K


This event was held in its own tent right in front of NIKE Store, Boni High Street. It was easy to get our race kits here given the number of counters opened for the runners lining up. There were some Nike shoes and shirts for sale too.


Contents of Race Kit: Nike water bottle, Nike 10km event guide, Nike official dri-fit running shirt (with race number on it), Nike big environment bag


2. ADIDAS KING OF THE ROAD 2011



The best race kit collection venue by far as it was placed inside the very large and very spacious NBC Tent, BGC. There were a lot of booths inside promoting their products with some games (and prizes) from each booth. There were also games held by Adidas at the main stage.

They were also selling some Adidas shoes (and you can also check your foot type). You can also buy a second Adidas KOTR singlet for just Php 500.

We were able to join some of the games there and got things like Multivitamins, note pads, pens, souvenir photo and even a Rubber Duckie!

Contents of Race Kit: 1 canned good (tuna or meatloaf), personalized bib number with chip timer, Adidas official KOTR singlet (color given out to registrant was random), some brochures.



3. RUN UNITED 3


This was a normal registration booth (in-store) but since it was up already, why wait till the last minute to register? For the BHS area, registration was at RUNNR Store but when I got there, the 32km slots had ran out so Per and I drove to Planet Sports, Glorietta to get our race kits there.

Note: according to RunRio staff manning the registration booth, they would replenish the 32k race kits after 1-2 days but I was too impatient to wait for it.


Contents of Race Kit: various multi vitamins samples, bib number (with B-Tag attached to it), small pouch, running singlet.


Overall, I loved the Nike Race kits best given the very nice running shirt that comes with it. Adidas KOTR comes to a close second with Run United 3 being last.

In terms of races, I'm most excited with Run United 3 as it will be my first 32km race and my longest distanced race for 2011!

See you on the roads!

News: Run United 3

The third and final leg of RunRio Trilogy: RUN UNITED 3 is happening this November 13, 2011 (Sunday) at SM Mall of Asia grounds and features the various race distances and their respective registration fees:

500m (kid's category): Php 250
3km: Php 500
5km: Php 600
10km: Php 600
15km: Php 700
21km: Php 750
32km: Php 900

Only 21km and 32km finishers will get their own finisher shirts and finisher medals as long as they finish their respective race distances.





Registrations will start on October 3rd, 2011 and can be done two ways:

1. Via Online Registrations: Just go to http://www.runrio.com (registration period from Oct 3 -30, 2011)

2. Via Onsite Stores: RUNNR Stores (BGC and Shangri-la branches), Planet Sports Stores (Glorietta, Alabang Town Center, Trinoma), The Athlete's Foot Store (Robinson's Galleria)

As a special bonus for those runners who were able to complete the 21km distance for both Run United 1 and Run United 2 and finish the 32km distance for this race, they will be invited to the RunRio Trilogy Award Nights and be given a special award for their achievements.

On a personal note, I will be gunning the 32km Race Category, my very first and my longest distance for 2011. First time 32km distance finisher = automatic PR! :) I think it is also time to level up as well after doing a series of (good and bad) 21km road races.