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!

10th PSE Bull Run 2014

Wow, has it been 10 years since the very first PSE Bull Run?  How time flies!

I am not a big fan of this race but since it is in its 10th edition, I thought it would be nice to be a participant in this historic event.

Registration though wasn't an easy task as it would involve claiming the race kits at Philippine Stock Exchange in Ayala Avenue.  Good thing I have some friends who joined this race and I had mine and Per's kits picked up  (and also registered) by them.  Thanks Denzell and Kath!

The 21km race had a gun start time of 4am, which was quite early for a half marathon event (is this the new normal now and not 5am anymore?).  Luckily, we made it just in time for the countdown of the race (no more stretches or toilet breaks!).

Alvin decided (on a last minute) to accompany me for this race as he had 36km to do this day.  I had 25km to do so this race was good for our long run.  Per slept in the car as her 5km race would begin at 5:15am.

Alvin gave a simple request that we try to maintain a 7:30/km pace for the first 10km, to which I jokingly rebutted, "Sure, let's try it.  But after the first 10km, we walk the last 11km?"  I actually had no plans to race this but rather do a LSD (long, slow distance) but after Alvin posed that question, I was curious too at the speed that I could do this race.

I started off too fast (too excited?) but was able to control my pace as we ran around BGC before we headed out to Kalayaan Bridge and into Buendia Ave.  I was surprised that I was able to run the entire flyover as can't remember the last time I did that (yes, I have become super slow) and kept at a constant pace throughout the race, even with its hilly route.

There was a banana station, some Pocari Sweat stations and water stations too.  I had two GU Gels with me but ended up taking one at the 11km mark.  The weather was nice and cold and the sun wasn't up yet by the time we finished the race.

There were two instances where I had to walk a bit as felt I was about to vomit.  But other than that and the walks at the water stations, I was able to run constantly.

I finished the race with a total distance of 20.66km and an average pace of 7:30min/km!  Woo hoo!

My finish time was at 2:35:04.  PRAISE GOD for this great performance.

A new PR for 2014 is achieved as I ran 14 seconds faster per kilometer!  I am now just 7 seconds away from my 21km PR pace for 2013...

Thank You God for this!


POST-RACE
At the finish line, I had to line up for a bit in order to get my loot bag, which is composed of a small enviro bag, a nice black finisher shirt and a finisher medal.  Too bad the organizers didn't market this race enough for its 10th year and the medal was very simple.  They could have made the medal bigger and better to commemorate this race.  But the race itself was pretty organized!

Alvin and I ate at Mcdonalds before doing another 4km to complete my long run.

As for Per, well her car wasn't at the parking area so we assumed she went home after her race.  We were right in that she went home but she wasn't able to run her 5km race as she fell asleep in the car and woke up at 5:50AM (35 minutes after her own gun start!)  Out of frustrations and disappointment, she just went home :(

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

7-11 Run 1000 21km Race - First Half Marathon for 2014

This was a race I wasn't that excited in running in due to:
1) No training for this distance
2) Some problems with regards to race kit collection

Another problem which came up was the lack of parking spaces as we drove around just to look for a parking slot!  Good thing Alvin and I were with two of my friends who joined the 5km category and they opted to park the car for us instead and just meet each other at the finish line. 

We were 14 minutes late once we got to the starting line (that 1km guesstimate walk didn't help us).  This was going to be a lonely race again as almost all participants were already running the half marathon and Alvin was just too fast for me (at 5:30 average pace!!!).

But one good thing here was the freezing cold weather!  It felt like I was running in another country.  It was also pretty cool running on a new route:  CAVITEX!  No SKYWAY this year (Condura Marathon announced recently that they won't hold the 2014 event) but there is CAVITEX!

The route was flat for the most part.  There were just a lot of smog from the trucks heading into CAVITEX but we had one or two lanes all to ourselves.  There were plenty of hydration stations here (water, Pocari Sweat, Gatorade) but no bananas, which was what I was looking for.  Luckily, I had some emergency GU gels with me and consumed both of these gels at the latter part of the race.

Surprisingly, I felt strong all throughout the race.  No leg pains, no PF pain and I was consistent for the most part and even going faster on the last 2km as I weaved through the 3km and 5km runners.  Not a bad start for 2014.  (I think the weather played a very big part for me in this race).

At the finish line, there were some problems as the lines were looooonnnggg just to get the medal and loot bag.  I was contemplating whether we should still line up or just go home.  But Kath found a shorter line and we were able to get our stuffs.

"cute" medal

Definitely some room for improvements by the organizers such as 1) more efficient race kit claiming, 2) more efficient loot bag distribution and 3) more parking area.  But it was still a good and fun race and I was glad to have joined it.

Finish time at 2:43:26

PRAISE GOD!

(Final Note:  Race titled Run 1000 to commemorate the 1,000th store opened in Philippines by 7-Eleven Group.  1,000th store at Greenfield opened just a few days ago).

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!!

Race Review: Greenfield Christmas Run 21km

Another impromptu race for the month of December. 

Now it was even worse training-wise.  The last run I did was a slow and easy 10km on a Friday morning, which wasn't bad considering that the race was two days after.  What was bad was prior to my 10km easy run, my last workout was three weeks ago!  During that time, I did no running or any other form of exercise.

So I was bit cautious (and very afraid) for this race.  But the finisher trophy was just too enticing.  I chatted with one of the race organizers and he assured me that there wouldn't be any cut-off time.  Perfect!  I could just walk the entire thing if I wanted to (which I don't but I could..).

With nothing else to lose, I drove to Greenfield early Sunday morning from my house and got there in 40 minutes.  The parking line was long and I was panicking a bit as I still had to look for one particular person who had my race bib with him.   Good thing I was able to ask the security guard if there were any other places to park and he pointed to another direction and lo and behold, just one car lining up!  I quickly parked the car, brought my phone with me and dialed the person's number.  RING!  RING!  RING!  RING!
RING! RING!

CRAP.

I quickly made it the starting line and look for any booths there and found one where a guy was handing out race bib to another runner.  A quick inquiry confirmed that this was my guy and after paying P500, I got my race bib!  Yahoo!!

A few minutes to go before gun start so I went back to the car and took the rest of my running gear from it.  New thing I brought with me was my MP3 player.  I needed all the help I can get for this half marathon and if this device offered any sort of distractions from the race, then I am all for it!

I got back to the starting line and just in time too for the countdown! 3 - 2 - 1!

And we were off.

I stayed at the back and more and more runners quickly overtook me.  I didn't mind.  I was just happy being part of this race and just hoped I wouldn't run out of trophies at the finish line.

It was pretty dark at 4:30am and there were no street lamps here.  A lot of times we couldn't see where we were going and what we were stepping on.  I had to go slower (if such a thing was possible) as I feared tripping on something.  There were a few spotlights but oddly enough, they weren't focused on the ground or on the road but on our faces so it made running even more difficult as we were blinded by them.  Oh how I wish I had my night lamp with me!

super dark!!!

There were a lot of water stations here and good point on the organizers for serving cold water.  The course was pretty straightforward and quite flat, just the way I like it.  Unfortunately, at a crucial turn into Pramana, there weren't any marshals directing us to keep going forward and a lot of us entered the residential compound. (Pramana was part of the route but something you had to do going back after making the U turn).  A lot of 21km runners were confused and didn't know whether to retrace their steps out of Pramana or just finish the entire thing.  I told them to just finish it and to just skip it going back, that way, it should still be the same.  They agreed and we all kept going.

surprisingly, still in a good mood!  What!!

I verified with other fast 21km runners, who were going back already, that they only had to do Pramana once and they said Yes (I wouldn't want to run longer and at the same time, I didn't want to cheat either).  "Okay, at least I know what to do", I thought.

So I kept going, exited Pramana and kept going until the U Turn back to Pramana, where I skipped it and just kept running (or jogging) all the way to the finish line.

My time wasn't bad but not exactly fast either.  I was just glad to finish the race happy and got finisher trophy.

Results came out the following day at www.runningmate.ph and I ranked 1,100 +/ 1,700 + runners.  Not bad (expected to be last 10!).  Time of 2:45 for distance of 19.8km.

Thank You God for giving me a chance to run in this race and for keeping me safe.

To God be the Glory! AMEN