Last 15 April 2008, almost 15 days after the Mizuno Infinity Run (30 March 2008), I posted this insight which was entitled, Lessons Learned: Mizuno Infinity 15K Run. I am again posting it as my reminder for the incoming road race this Sunday. Good luck to all the runners!
Lessons Learned: Mizuno Infinity 15K Run
1) Nathan Water Belt—It was a wrong decision not to bring my Nathan Water Belt with me for this 15K race. Since I am not fond of stopping by at water stations in races, I will be bringing my own supply of water through my water belt in my coming road races. ( I will wear my Nathan Water Belt & bring my Bottle holder/strap)
2) Tapering—Three days before the road race, I was still running almost the entire length of the course. My hill workouts in Jamindan were not yet enough that I had to run through the McKinley Hill segment for almost three times on the week before race day. It could had been better if I just relaxed and rested few days before the race. (No runs at McKinley Hill this week; more trail runs this time and weeks before the race)
3) Massage—I usually have at least two sessions of body massage on the week before the road race. On this particular race, I had only one massage session. My left hamstring muscle was still tight and feeling some pain even after I had pre-race stretching and warm-up on race day. ( I will have my Swedish massage on Friday afternoon; sleep early on Friday; rest & stretching on Saturday; & eat a lot of pasta for dinner)
4) More Speed Runs— There is a need to put more speed runs in my running workouts in preparation for races with a distance less than the half-marathon. I was tragetting 1:15:00 hours as my finish time but considering the hills and heat of the sun, I was satisfied to finish the race below 1:17:00 hours. My official finish time was 1:16:53 hours. It means that I had an average pace of 5:08 mins per kilometer or 8:15 mins per mile for the 15K run. (No speed workouts for the past weeks but still hoping to improve my previous time. Due to my easy long runs, I wasn’t able to do interval or tempo runs)
5) Need For Longer Warm-Up—I have been feeling a pain on my right foot which disappears after running at least one kilometer in my running workouts. This slight pain always make me run at a slow pace at the start of the race but when the pain disappears, I have the tendency to pick-up my pace. For this race, I had only a short distance to warm-up and was running at a very slow pace on the first two kilometers of the race. (I didn’t know that it was “gout” that gave me that pain on my foot on those races before I finally discovered that I have high in uric acid in my body system. Due to medication and choosing the righ food, I don’t have that pain anymore)
6) Tendency to Run Fast—I had the tendency to run fast on the first half of the race. I really wanted to run an even pace of 5:00 mins per kilometer and it made me run fast for the first 5 kilometers of the race after I noticed that I was running at a slower pace. (I will try to observe on this one. The first half of the race will be more of downhill and last half will be uphill to include the rolling hills at McKinley Hill)
6) Apply More Oil/Petroleum Jelly—I applied body lotion on my thighs but my running shorts produced skin rashes on the inner side of my upper legs. Next time, I have to apply more body oil/petroleum jelly on my upper legs when using the regular running shorts. (I’ll be using my Nike compression shorts for this race but just the same I will apply petroleum jelly to my upper legs, groin, and feet.)
7) Need for Hill Running Techniques—It is not enough to train and have your running workouts on hills. There are techniques and drills to be followed to make “hill running” to the runner’s advantage. Following the “Lydiard’s Method” is one of the most practiced “drills” on hill training. I need to do more of these drills in order to have that confidence to run in any hills in Metro Manila. (I’ve been doing a lot of these in my trail runs for the past weeks and I hope I will make good on those hills on the route this Sunday)
Bald Runner 
BR, I learned a lot about a lack of vasoline (jelly) on the thighs. During the LA Marathon this year, I had a skin rash that took several days to heal. Unfortunately, I dropped out at 20 miles because of an achilles tendon strain that is now fully recovered.
Also, for those who read your posts, and a lot of them do, sunscreen even early in the day! The best runners will probably do it in around 45-50 minutes depending on the difficulty of the course. The average runner will take about 1:20:00 or so.
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hmmm,
i hope the race will start early…
carrying your own water supply would be great idea, not because of the past experience =) perhaps, i will bring mine as well.
BR, just want to remind you that if you are interesting to have portableapps, please bring you flask disk or external hard disk so i can install it.
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The oil/jelly idea is good. I do get that rash when running for more than an hour. I bought some cycling pants but it adds up to the weight especially when soaked with sweat and not to mention added laundry. I’ll try this one. See you on Sunday.
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rash usually appear because of the pants. It has something to do either with the material of the pants or the pants is not short enough so the skin is expose to continual friction which cause rash…
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wayne, petroleum jelly on my thighs, groin and feet had been tested to prevent rashes. you are right in your predicted time for the 15K run for the elites and the average runner (like me). i hope the race will start as scheduled, however, coach rio is known for his trict observance of time.
highaltitude, i am used to bringing my nathan water belt already. i hope i will not forget to bring my laptop with me on sunday morning.
jinoe, when i am using my compression shorts, i seldom experience any rashes but when running marathons, i use the regular running shorts but i apply lots of petro jelly on my thighs where the edge of shorts would rubbed with the skin.
highaltitude, you are right. sometimes the texture or material of the shorts would cause the rashes as the cloth would stick to the skin and the perspiration would make it harder/more stiff to rub with the skin.
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i also use petro jelly for my thighs and under arms near the arm holes of the singlet.
great plan! longer races really need to be planned out well. good luck and see you sunday!
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prom, sometimes i have to apply petro jelly at the inside part of my upper arms as they tend to rub with the edge of your shirt if you are using the singlet/sando running shirt. i always list the things i missed on the previous race as lessons or things to be corrected for the next race. the key in running is “moderation towards higher mileage”. see you on sunday
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BR,
It’s not necessarily for you to bring your laptop but your flash disk or external hard disk is important because portableapps will be installed not into your computer but to your flash disk or external hard disk. I’ll be the one to bring my laptop.
hmm, i have a hard time to find powerbar gell right now 😦 even in ROX where i could easily find it not was not out of stock. Well, i’ve been to several sport stores too but it’s not available. Any idea where could i find it?
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hey highaltitude and all, powergels and bars are still available at bike king.just beside r.o.x. boni high street.hope this helps.got some for mizuno run.
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Imho, you dont need power gels and bars yet for a 15km run unless you finish past 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Why hill bounding? http://runbayou.blogspot.com/2006/02/why-hill-bounding.html
Drills
http://www.lydiardfoundation.org/training/drilltraining.aspx
How does hill bounding look like?
http://www.lydiardfoundation.org/training/hilltrainingdvd.aspx
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bugobugo85,
thanks a lot, i’ll look for it tomorrow.
by the way, what is bugobugo? i’m just curious… =)
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no problem bro…..ask sir jovie a.k.a. bald runner what bugobugo means ; )…..i am sure he will be happy to answer you.
yeah markfb, i am way beyond 1:30 for 15kms at this point.need to fuel up ; )
looks like we are in for a running weather come sunday,see you all!!!
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highaltitude, thanks for the reminder and will see you after the race. there are lots of energy bars and gels at the Bike King, few stores from ROX. however, be sure to check on their “expiry dates”. lately, i was able to buy some gels that expired last april 2008. you should ask the store to sell those expired ones at 50%-80% off or maybe “donate” to us.
mark, thanks again for those links. these are the “time-tested” training techniques in running.
bugo2x, thanks for the info. you should had answered the question of high altitude (HA).
ha, “bugobugo” is a PMA cadet lingo term for a male cadet in the Academy and lately PMA added “bugabuga” for the female cadet. the word was derived from the word “bug”. if you are a 1st year cadet (plebe), you are simply called as a “bug” (a small insignificant insect). this term is carried down among the graduates/officers. however, when the Cadet Corps in the Academy increased its number from 400 to 1,000 per year and it was harder to determine the identities of PMA graduates. So the older graduates would ask to the younger ones, “bugobugo ka ba?”. the younger one should answer his “Class” (year he graduated). Senators Biazon, Lacson, Honasan, and Trillanes are also called “bugobugos”, to include myself & bugo2x85
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