Why I join 50km Ultra Marathons:

The ice cream at 40km mark!  Super worth it!

Haha!

Thanks to RunMania.com for the brilliant idea! 

Race Review: Batangas to Laguna 53km experience

Finisher!

My legs and shoulders are still sore from yesterday's Ultra Marathon, but it's a good kind of soreness, the kind that showed that yes, I conquered the race and I finished within the cut-off time.

It was extremely difficult especially for the last part as the uphill was torturous!  (Just see the elevation map below!).  Never had I experienced an uphill climb this steep and long before.  Per and Janine (our support crew) even mentioned how hard it is for cars to go up here, what more for runners!

intense Elevation of Race

 
 I was trying to aim for an Ultra Marathon PR pace and was within my goal when the uphill hit me and that target was thrown out!  I then revised to lower my pace when the hills ended, which took forever at that time (in actuality it was 4km but 4km of uphill climb does seem FOREVER!!).

My average pace got slower by 20 freaking seconds in a span of just 4 kilometers... and that is basing on my average pace for 40km!  That was INSANE! 

But once the uphill ended, I tried to regain my speed with goal of trying to cut down average pace by 6-7 seconds.  I succeeded and finished with a  time of 8 hours, 21 minutes (with pace brought down to 9:28 from 9:34).  That was good and speed training Alvin and I did together helped me make the final push to the finish line.

happy to finish!

For this edition of Ultra Marathon (my first for the year), it was just supposed to be me running it and with my wife supporting it.  But then she invited Janine to be part of the support crew and Alvin on a whim (the day before the race) decided that he wanted to run it too!

So all four of us departed Manila at 11:30pm on a Saturday night and drove to South Super Hi-way, exited Calamba and kept going on the National Highway till we hit Sta.Cruz, Laguna where the starting line was.  We saw a lot of runners at a 7-11 convenience store and after asking for directions to San Luis Stadium, we found it at just 500 meters from the 7-11 store.  That was around 1:10am, enough time to do some last minute preparation for the 2:00am gun start.

There were about 400 runners for this race and as always, we started at the back part.  Support car will be stationed every 7km and I ran with a GU gel, a bottled water and Php 100 in cash.  At the beginning, Alvin and I ran together but after 10km or so, he sped off at his own pace (I think my pace was making him sleepy! Hahaha).

I meet Janine/ Per every 7-8km and after I re-fueled at the car, they would drive off to look for Alvin.  This would continue until 49km after which they would go and wait for me at the finish line. 

Having the race start at 2am meant that we would run in the dark most of the time.  Good thing all runners have their own headlamps on for this race.  There were also water stations every 10km or so here, with a bonus ice-cream handed out at the 40- 41km mark (and right before the hilly climb).

All in all it was a good race.  There were ample signs and marshals especially for crucial turning points, which were helpful for runners and support vehicles.

The finish line was at Macban town, which was unique due to the geothermal plant residing within (there were a lot of big pipes integrated within the town). 

I got a ranked finisher trophy (Rank # 229), a finisher medal, a finisher shirt and post race meal.

Awesome finisher trophy!

We also bought some pre-ordered Yema cakes, which were delicious!!!!

After which was a Pinoy lunch celebration (bulalo, sisig, tuna belly) at Rose and Grace in Batangas (near South Super Hi-way Exit), where Alvin treated all of us there!  Thanks 'Vin!  Just thinking about that place is making me hungry again!  Definitely going back to it next time!!!!

Congrats again to RunMania for another awesome race.

Thanks to our wonderful and ever-patient support crew (Per and Janine) and please forgive me for my grumpiness!  Haha!

Thanks to Alvin for all the long runs and speedwork that we did to prepare for this race.

And a big Thanks to God for keeping us all safe and protected during this race (and injury-free for me and Alvin). 

PRAISE GOD!

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

50km Race in February (L2B) - First Ultra for the Year

This will be my First Ultra Marathon for the year (God Willing) and it is set in just a few weeks time.  So far, my longest run has just been 25km and that took forever to finish (too many pit stops and what nots).

But I feel good that I can finish this race within the cut-off time, which is quite lenient at 10 hours (12 minute average pace for 50km distance).  Of course, as with other Runmania races, there is an expected 2-3km BONUS distance for us!


Three interesting things for me for this race:



 1.  Very nice finisher shirt and in my favorite color too!  Read somewhere that the material used for this shirt is pretty good (hoping this is true).

2.  Unique Finisher Trophy.  This isn't a runner, it isn't even a guy but it is a woman clad in old Filipina outfit and carrying a Philippine flag on her right hand.  Who is this and how is it connected to the flag and more importantly, to this Ultra Marathon?

Fernando Armosolo's painting

 Apparently, this woman was Marcela Agoncillo, who was the principal seamstress of the first and official flag of the Philippines (ahhh, there you go), and who was requested by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo to sew a flag that would represent the Philippines.
 

Agoncillo was a daughter of a rich family in her hometown of Taal, Batangas (ahh, now all the pieces are here!).


Pretty cool idea for a trophy if you ask me (and perfect companion piece for those runners who did the Rizal Run 50km last December).


3.  Wife as support crew.  Not only did I get her blessing to join this race, but she was also willing to support me!  This would be her first experience as support crew.





 Some scary stuffs:
1.  Elevation levels!  Pretty much high on first 25km followed by a steep incline on latter part!  Boo!

 2.  Fear of getting lost by first-time support crew Per!


Good thing the good stuffs outweigh the bad stuffs.

Registration is still open up to now!

Let's do this!

Route Map

2013 Running Report

Awesome 2013!

2013 came and went quickly but it was a lot of fun for me.

The best experience for me was the DISNEYWORLD MARATHON WEEKEND at the start of the year.  Per and I flew all the way to Orlando, Florida for her very first Marathon (and of course do some side trips there and in NYC).  Lucky for us, it was also the 20th year of the Disneyworld Marathon so we each received a very nice commemorative finisher medal.

There were also a 21km race event (Donald Duck medal) the day before the full marathon and a 5km Family fun run two days before the full marathon (Mickey Mouse and friends medal).   Of course, I had to do all three races and once I finished them, I received a Goofy medal (for completing a Half and a Full Marathon).

It was a nice and flat course made more exciting by the various Disney characters positioned along the route for which you could take a picture or two with them.  Of course, a lot of runners had the same idea and you may end up lining up for a bit (which in a road race where every second counts, this can be frustrating at times too).  I ended up lining for the shortest lines and skipping the long ones (such as that of Pirate Jack Sparrow, Beauty and the Beast, and super long lines for Mickey and Minnie!)

Chip or Dale? Hmmm

at Epcot Center with Stitch

Donald Duck 21km finisher medal

The first two races were by myself with the most difficult one with my wife, and I had to pace her!

we went through Disney Castle for the 42km race

We did it!

best MEDAL EVER!!!

This was definitely my best race of all time (not fastest but best in terms of experience) and something I hope to re-do again in the future, especially since they just announced that there is an additional 10km race so for people who completed all four events, they will get a special Dopey Medal along with the bonus Goofy Medal!  Disneyland or Disneyworld is really the Happiest Place on Earth!


The most painful race for me happened in 2013 as well!  Right after doing Disney Marathon and Condura Marathon at the start of the year, Alvin and I then attempted to complete the Bataan Death March 102km in March, which had a cut-off time of 18 hours.  I started out strong and even happy when I crossed the 50km mark but by 60km, I was having a very hard time running.  My hands became swollen later on and for some reason, my saliva dried up too so it was difficult for me to chew and swallow solid food.  Drinks weren't enough (and I was worried too that I was drinking too much because of my hands) and this affected my race.  I didn't make it to cut-off time by more than an hour.  But I was too exhausted to care.  I was officially DQ (disqualified) but that was fine.  At least I survived this ordeal and lived to tell about it!

the starting line at KM 00

posing with the local kids of Mariveles, Bataan

reaching KM 102!

BDM 102 was my first official Ultra Marathon, and it was traumatic!  Of course, it made shorter distance more doable for me.  So I signed up for a few more Ultra Marathon races within the year:

1.   T2N (Tagaytay to Nasugbu, Batangas 50km)

Garmin casualty

2.  L2Q (Laguna to Quezon) 50km

My road to Ultra Marathons was supposed to end with one 50km only (as a sort of redemption run to BDM) and also so that I could officially say I am an Ultra Marathoner.  But who could resist an Ultra Marathon falling on your own birthday? 

nice scenic background

finally reaching Lucban, Quezon!

finisher of 50km race with 3 bonus 3km!

my first running trophy!!

3.  T2K (Tagaytay to Kawit) 50km Race

The lure of a 50km is always there.  This time, Alvin and I are joined by Janine (in her first Ultramarathon) and Kervin (as our support crew).  First Ultra Marathon where I would be running solo as Alvin will be running at his own pace and also Janine.

Team Akala Namin 10k lang ito

Kawit, Cavite survivors!

bringing home the loot

4.  Hero to Hero Run 50km - unfortunately, wasn't able to run this as got sick.  So Alvin did it solo with his wife as his support crew.  Sorry!  :(

2013 was definitely me going the distance by exceeding the Marathon distance.  But there was a price for this as well as during this time, I rarely worked on my speed and focused on endurance instead.  This was a price I paid when I joined Milo Marathon and didn't make it to the 6 hour cut-off time.  I also did the RUPM 42km and since its cut-off time was more lenient, I was able to get a finisher medal at the end.

Milo Marathon

Run United Philippine Marathon

 

Condura Marathon

Then there is Condura Marathon, my first rule breaker (of not repeating any Marathons) but also my fastest time for this year.

Aside from these big races, there are also a lot of good races for 2013!

One of my favorite races was Rexona Run 21km as it infused music in the race (via live bands and speakers), making it quite fun to run in.  Having it at 3AM gun start helped us avoid the morning sun which Roxas Blvd races are known for.  This race is also my longest current running streak as started doing it since 2010.

There was also the unique distance of 25km via New Balance Power Run

Another unique distance race was 34km Caliraya 360, which had a very nice view of Caliraya Lake!

The nice singlet offered by Adidas King of the Road 16.8km race!

The unique (and dirty) Mud Run in Filinvest:

This race aside from being intentionally muddy also had a set of obstacles that you had to conquer.

Of course, who could forget the terrifying Outbreak Manila for which I joined two events in 2013:

1.  Outbreak BGC

which of these will be a victim or a survivor?

cool Zombie medal

2.  Outbreak Missions Filinvest City (thanks Jann)

Probably the longest 5km I did in my life!!!  Pretty cool to run inside a shopping mall too at midnight with zombies lurking around.

For the final month of 2013, races were fun too from Greenfield's 21km Christmas Run to Mcdonald's unique 9km run (5km, 3km, 1km).

best loot in a 21km race!!!

A lot of exciting stuffs and races in 2013.


Thank You Lord for everything... for keeping me safe and healthy.  For getting me to the finish line in one piece. 

Thank You Per for your support in my running addictions and for putting up with me!

Thank you Alvin for all the long runs you pushed me to do (via text, being there, and literally pushing me! Haha!). 

Aside from all these events, 2013 will be forever memorable to me and to my family as it was also the year that Per gave birth to our second daughter, Alexandra. 

To God be all the Glory!

I can't wait to see what 2014 will bring!!

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!