Category: Races

Half-Marathon @ 2:00:18 Hrs

On By kingofpotsIn Half-Marathon, Insights, Jogging, Pictures, Races, Running31 Comments

Yes, I finished this race with a slow finish time but this is the hardest route so far for a half-marathon road race. I hope most of the runners who participated in this road race would attest to this observation.

The race started 10 minutes late due to some stretching exercises led by one of our lady soldiers who won in one of the past Milo Marathon races. From the Grandstand at Camp Aguinaldo (Start & Finish Area), the half-marathon runners started the run by leaving the Grandstand towards Gate 1 and turn right towards Boni Serrano Avenue which is downhill to Katipunan Road. From Katipunan Road, the runners had pass at White Plains and later to the Seventh-Day Adventist Church going to Ortigas Avenue. From the crossing, the runners had to go uphill towards Meralco and to EDSA. From EDSA, turn right at Boni Serrano Avenue towards Gate 1. That route consists of one loop and every half-marathon runner should go around for another loop and enter Gate 6 of Camp Aguinaldo. From Gate 6, the runners would have a brief tour of the housing facilities of AFP personnel, the Golf Driving Range, the Soldier’s Mall (SM), part of the Camp Aguinaldo Golf Course, the White House (official residence of the Chief of Staff, AFP), the St Ignatius Cathedral (which I had it air-con(ed) when I was the Camp Commander of Camp Aguinaldo), and later turning right towards the Grandstand/Finish Line.

In my GF 305, the distance registered 20.7 kms which is short by 400 meters. I slowed down on the last 3 kilometers due to hunger and the heat of the sun but my legs were still strong and could hardly felt any sign of getting cramps.

I was talking to this tall guy from India (I could hardly pronounce and remember his name) who served the Indian Armed Forces for 9 years in the Infantry and proudly said that he joined in a war with Bangladesh when he was in the active military service. He is a good runner and started so fast that I was able to overtake him at the uphill portion going to MERALCO at Ortigas Avenue. Colonel Oscar Lopez of the Philippine Army was listening to the Indian guy. Col Lopez owns a brand-new GF 405 & his 1st time to use it and it looks great and it seems better than my GF 305. It functions like an IPhone with the “touch” functions!

In my estimate, we had more civilian runners than the members of the military in both the half-marathon and 5-K race. I was at the middle of the pack together with the “friends of BaldRunner”. I saw Loonyrunner, Joms, Marga, Gabriela Calma, Runmd, datc, Segovia siblings, noel lopez, officers and men assigned at Headquarters Philippine Army, and at GHQ, Camp Aguinaldo and familiar faces whom I could not memorize their names.

I was using my ASICS Gel-Kayano 13 for the first time in a road race and it felt good despite a “mild attack” on my gout after eating a Protein PowerBar last Thursday on my 31K run. On this race, I became a model of New Balance (again!) using their new line of running shorts and T-shirts which are light and well-ventilated. I saw another civilian runner wearing the same T-shirt as mine and I smiled at him. At this point, we were going downhill from the 7th-Day Adventist Church towards Ortigas Avenue. I was surprised to see a Rustan’s Mini-Mart fronting the church where I saw a number of Porsche Sports Car parked with the owners looking at the runners passing by.

I was using my Nathan Water Belt and my Sennheiser MPX 70 earphone with my Ipod Nano listening to the songs of Bee Gees, Abba, and Barry White.

These two runners on my right were like Scout Rangers who ran together and finished together. They would overtake me but later I would overtake them at the water stations as they stopped to drink water. The curly-long haired guy would stop running & walked briskly while the other guy would wait for him. At this point, we were already going uphill at Ortigas Avenue. I left these guys on the last 3 kilometers of the course. MSgt Illut became my pacer on my second loop of the race and he was fast and strong. My thanks to MSgt Illut’s effort!

This is another view of running along Epifanio De los Santos Avenue (EDSA) on my last 4 kilometers of the race. It was unfortunate that there are some parts of EDSA that don’t have that “white paint” on the edge of the road. I had observed that such rubberized paint on the edge of the road (5-6 inches in width) added more comfort and bounce on my running shoes and I tried running consistently on the said line during the race. The next picture shows the white paint at the edge of the road. MSgt Ireneo Illut (the runner & pacer behind me) is presently assigned with the Philippine Army’s Special Service Unit administering our elite athletes assigned with the Phil Army.

 

Running along EDSA and going uphill towards Boni Serrano with all those smoke-belching vehicles was one of the hardest portions of the road race and we had to pass through this main road twice! It was a nice experience running uphill which could be hardly noticed if you are riding inside a vehicle or car. The smell of the gasoline and smoke from the vehicles would make each runner’s breathing hard and problematic.

This was my last dash towards the Finish Line! On my right hand is the bottle holder/strap that I bought last week at R.O.X., Bonifacio High Street. Aside from the water on my Nathan Water Jug, I used this bottle holder with a bottle of Propel on my last 5 kilometers and it served well for its purpose. I hope to get one more of this for my other hand. At the Finish Line, I was able to meet runners from Malaysia and Indonesia who finished the race and they said nice things about the race & the challenging route and proudly said that they are my daily readers/visitors to my blog. I met also Michelle of Mizuno whom I encouraged to start running. I told her also that she has a lot of fans here and abroad because of the “picture” I posted lately. 

To all the runners, thanks for running in this race despite our problem in our water supply. To all the winners and finishers, congratulations and more power to all of you. See you at the next Mizuno Rush Infinity 15K Run.

Extreme Running: The Book

On By kingofpotsIn Books, Insights, Jogging, Marathon Race, Places to Run, Races, Running1 Comment

“Extreme Running” is a book written by Kym McConnell and Dave Horsley. Both of the authors are well-respected ultramarathoners and had been going from one continent to another to participate to these extreme running events, all for their passion to test their body limits and challenge the environment. This book was published in London, UK last year, 2007.

I found and bought this book at PowerBooks (Glorietta) two months ago after failing to locate or buy the book, “The Ultramarathon Man” by Dean Karnasez.

This book takes the reader on a world tour of ultramarathon races. The book is divided into seven chapters looking at each continent’s ultra foot races. Each ultra race has its own history, pecularities, preparations, challenges, strategies, experiences/adventures and the characters/personalities involved in each race. Pictures, maps, race course routes, and other informative notes were included in each page of the book.

To mention some of the extreme running events, the following is the list of some ultramarathon races in every continent in the world:

Europe:

1) The North Face Ultra-Trail Du Tour DU MONT-BLANC (UTMB)—101-mile race (163 Km) in Mount Blanc trails that passes through France, Italy & Switzerland held in the later part of August. Cut-off time: 46 hours. Limited to 2,000 runners.

2) Spartathlon—Athens to Sparta Road Race which has a distance of 152 miles (245.3 Kms). This is the original ultramarathon from Athens to Sparta which the Greek messenger, Pheidippides, took in 490 BC to deliver Athen’s request for reinforcements to resist the Persian invaders. Cut-off time—36 hours. Regular number of participants—300 runners. It is being conducted during the month of September.

Africa:

1) Marathon Des Sables—In Sahara Dessert, East Morocco during the month of March or April. It is a 6-stage course which has a total distance of 220-240 Kms (135-150 miles). Number of participants—700 runners.

2) Comrades Marathon—It is a single stage race in South Africa, covering a distance of 56 miles or 90 kms being held in June. Number of Participants—11,000 runners.

3) Trans 333—It is a single stage race in a desert location which is being held in a different host country each year. It has a distance of 333 Kms (206 miles). This is considered as the “World’s Longest Single Stage Desert Race”. Number of Regular Participants—20 runners. Maximum Time Permitted to complete the race—108 hours

North America:

1) Badwater Ultramarathon—It’s a single stage race from Badwater, Death Valley to Mt Whitney in California covering a distance of 135 miles (217 Kms) which is done in mid/late July. Number of Participants is limited to 90 runners (by invitation only). Time Lite to Finish the race is 60 hours.

2) Wasatch Front 100 Miler—Single stage race in Kaysville, Utah, USA which is done in the month of September. Number of Regular Participants—225. Time Limit to Finish—36 hours.

3) Yukon Arctic Ultra—In Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada which is held in February. Distances are: 42K, 160K, 480K & 736K (26.2, 100, 300 & 460 miles).

South America:

1) Jungle Marathon—In The Amazon Jungle in Brazil. It is a 6-stage, 200-Km (125 miles) road race in October and participated by 80 participants.

2) Atacama Crossing—In Atacama Desert in Chile. It is a 6-stage, 250-Km (150 miles) road race which is participated by by 150-200 runners which is conducted in March/August (alternate by year).

Asia:

1) Everest Marathon—In Nepal; 42.2 km, single stage with approximately 75 participants with 10 Nepalese runners. It is conducted during the month of November.

2) Gobi March—In Xinjang Province, China. The course is 6-stage foot race with a distance of 250 kms (150 miles). It is now on-going this week. Check out at www.thenorthface.com with Dean Karnazes participating in the said race. Number of participants—200 runners.

3) Lake Baikal International Marathon—In Lake Baikal, Listvyanka, Russia. 42.2 kms, single stage with approximately 30 participants during the month of March.

Oceania:

1) Kepler Challenge—In Te Anau, South Island, New Zealand. It is a single stage 60-km run (37 miles) done in December with limited participants of 400 runners.

2) Te Houtaewa Challenge—In 90 Mile Beach in Kaitaia, New Zealand. It is running along the beach with a distance of 60 kms (38 miles), single stage held during the month of March. Approximate number of participants—30 runners.

3) Bogong To Hotham Trail Run—In Mount Bogong, Victoria, Australia. It is a single stage run with a distance of 64 kms (40 miles) held in the month of January. The race is limited to 60 runners.

Polar:

1) Antarctica Marathon—In King George Island, Antarctica. It is a single stage 42.2-km run held in February. It has a limited number of participants to 180 runners.

2) Antarctic Ice Marathon (South Pole Marathon)—In the foothils of Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica. It is a single stage race with distances of 42.2 kms and 100 kms. It is held in December with a limited number of participants to 25 runners.

3) North Pole Marathon—It is located in 89N-90N, Arctic Ice Cap. It is a singlke stage race with a distance of 42.2 kms held in April. The number of participants is limited to 24 runners.

Lessons Learned: Market! Market! 5-Mile Run

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Races, RunningLeave a comment

6:00 AM 18 May 2008 @ Market! Market! at The Fort

There were three (3) road races on this day in Metro Manila but I preferred this race because it was longer in distance, I am familiar with the roads, and it’s a day after my 56th Birthday. These are my insights; lessons learned; and things to improve on to improve my running and be able to compete with myself:

1) Road Races Should be Done “Rain or Shine”—It did not matter whether it was raining or not, I was determined to join/participate in this road race. Aside from the fact that this race was longer than the other road race which was held on the same day, I wanted to run in this race because of my familiarity of the course. The rains on the night before the race was not strong enough to cancel the road race and I prepared for my runners kit and other gadgets needed for the race including the charging of the battery for my digital camera. The road was wet and I thought it was slippery. I made sure to use the heaviest among my running shoes which is the ASICS Gel-Kinsei 2 which has better traction from the other ASICS I have. I initially brought with me my runner’s cap to keep my head from the rains during my warm-up runs and planned to remove it once I start to sweat profusely, which I did. Fortunately, there were no rains during the time that I was on the race. If I decided to continue with my run even after finishing the race, I could had been exposed to the strong rains that dropped immediately after I finished the race. Anyway, running with the rain is a nice experience!

2) Wider Roads Means Faster Run—With my past experience in the 2nd Champion 11K Race which was conducted at the Marikina Riverbanks with narrow paved roads, running at The Fort is completely the reverse/opposite .with very wide road to run! Maybe, the big difference from the past road race before this race gave me that faster pace as soon as I hit the wide road from the Starting Line. There was no problem overtaking other runners who were slower in pace because of the enough space to manuever on my sides.

3) Start Fast But Finish Faster—I was confident that I could run faster on the last two kilometers because the distance of this road race was only 8 kilometers. I planned to have a fast pace on the first 4 kilometers and have a faster pace on the last 4 kilometers but I felt I slowed down on the last two kilometers of the race. Although I finished in sub-40 minutes on this race and ended sustaining a faster average pace, I really wanted a better finish time. I felt I was only delivering 80-90% of my maximum effort on this race.

4) More Interval Training—The better way for me to improve my finish time is to introduce (again!) speed on my training. Actually, I’ve been stucked, for the meantime, with my endurance and strengthening workouts with my long slow distance runs, of which I really need before I go into speed plays. The gout that I ‘ve been experiencing for the past days had been giving me some problems and I am trying my best to cure this by avoiding foods high in uric acid/purine. During this road race, I was still in pain with my righ big toe but I managed to run by taking in some “out of the counter” pain killers. But I guess, the best “pain killer” is still running as it seems all the pains on my foot disappear after having my warm-up jogging before the start of the race and moreso, during the actual race. But after resting for an hour or two after the race, the pain on my toe would be most severe again.

5) Learn To Look On My Shoulders—Since my idea in running is not to compete with the other runners but to compete with myself, I really don’t mind other runner’s pace or runners overtaking me. But on the “darker” side of my brain, I would like not to be overtaken by other runners. Being overtaken by runners on the last few meters from the Finish Line and thinking that you are on your fastest pace, your psychological stability and pride is sometimes affected and it slows me down a bit. So, after this race, I should learn to watch and look on my shoulders at least one kilometer from the Finish Line and watch out for other runners who try to outsprint me in the last few meters from the Finish Line. 

Running Form @ Doc Fit 10K Run

On By kingofpotsIn Jogging, Pictures, Races, Running8 Comments

These pictures were taken by my nephew, Lemuel, during the 2008 Doc Fit “Takbo Para Sa Puso” 10K Run on the roads of UP Diliman Campus. Nice pictures, Lemuel. Thanks!

Do I need to raise my knees to have a higher “kick” with my back foot in order to increase the length of my stride? or Do I have to increase the frequency of my short strides and maintain this “shuffling” motion of my legs and be able to protect my knees? These are the basic factors that you have to consider in order to gain more speed—-the length of your stride and the frequency of your strides. However, every runner must be able to protect his knees, most especially for an old runner like me. But in the end, what is important is to follow the natural form/flow of your body when you are running.

Can you spot if I was experiencing pain on my right foot brought about by “gout”?

Pictures @ 2008 Doc Fit Run

On By kingofpotsIn Jogging, Pictures, Races, Running2 Comments

Mark & Wife, who are consistent and regular visitors to this blog. Mark is also a golfer.

Annalene of “Annalene’s Story” who is one of the donors of the Project Donate A Shoe. She was able to influence her family to enjoy running and became regular participants in weekend road races. 

 Marga aka Transition Zero (in red shirt) with Jed & Jenna Segovia; my brother Samie and college classmate who is now a doctor of the Philippine Heart Association, formerly Eva Rimando (on my right)

A pose with Councilor/Doctor Doray Delarmente of Quezon City. She is the only daughter of  PMA Cavalier Delarmente whom I worked with when I was still a Major assigned with the Office of the President. Councilor Doray donated four (4) pairs of running shoes to our Project Donate A Shoe. Thank you very much for your support, Councilor Doray!

Progress Report: 2008 Doc Fit 10K Run

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Pictures, Races, Running10 Comments

6:00-7:00 AM 25 May 2008 @ UP Diliman Campus

I usually wake up at 4:30 AM when a road race starts at 6:00 AM. It takes me at least 30 minutes to shave my head and face; force myself on the toilet bowl; take a bath; drink my hot coffee; eat at least 5 tablespoonful of oatmeal; drink 250 ml can of Ensure; apply Petroleum Jelly on my inner upper legs/crotch & inner parts of my upper arms; brush my teeth, and finally wear my running kit & shoes. At 5:00 AM, I should had left my quarters and proceeding to the venue of the road race.

My staff and I arrived at UP Campus at 5:30 AM and I immediately had my stretching exercises and slow jogging/warm-up run. After 15 minutes, I was already on my way to the Assembly area. I first met “the loonyrunner” who was having his warm-up run infront of the starting line and I told him about my latest trip to Baguio City and my observations on the proliferation of illegal settlers on areas adjacent to Camp John Hay. I had my initial impression on the loony runner, who was wearing an all-black running kit, that he was well-prepared for the road race as he is familiar with the route plus the fact that I was able to see in his eyes his determination to make good in this race.

A pose with MarkFB, my No. 1 visitor & commentator, five minutes before the start of the race.

After talking to the loony runner and as I was about to enter the Assembly Area, I met Mark and told him that I just bought the Sennheiser MPX 70 Sport Headphone which he recommended. I suddenly felt that I needed to take a “leak” before I enter the starting area and I excused myself from Mark. Mark & I entered the area and I immediately saw the “friends & visitors of Bald Runner”–runmd, nolan, passion runner, and officers and men from the Philippine Army. At this time, I saw at the digital clock that we still have two minutes to spare before the start of the race. I positioned myself at the middle of the pack together with the runners from the Philippine Army.

Then suddenly Coach Rio made the countdown and we started the race. The runners from the Philippine Army dashed away from me at a very fast pace while I maintained my slow pace for the first kilometer. The sky was cloudy and there was not much light from the sun and the weather was conducive to a good road race. I still used my sunglasses while running but I did not bother to glance the readings on my GF 305 from the start up to the finish line. The problem with me with the GF 305 when I am running is that I could hardly see the data on my watch while I am running! I need a “reading glass” to have a clear look on the time elapsed on the dial of the watch!

My running form at vicinity Km. 3, infront of the Oblation.

I depended much on “listening to my body” with regards to my pace and speed for this particular road race. My race pace was an even pace as seen from my time splits in every kilometer:

Km 1—5:21 mins              Km 6—5:09 mins

Km 2—5:00 mins              Km 7—4:54 mins

Km 3—4:47 mins              Km 8—5:12 mins

Km 4—5:00 mins              Km 9—5:10 mins

Km 5—5:02 mins              Km 10–4:55 mins

I know that I was having a slow pace and finish time as compared from the previous races I had at the UP Campus but I did not force my body to the extreme. However, I noticed that my heart beat reached up to 179 beats per minutes on my last kilometer without any feeling of hard breathing or dizziness or feeling that I was too tired and spent after the race. I could feel that my regular supplementary weight training and long runs had contributed this feeling of being stronger for endurance running.

My usual “raised arms” pose/picture few meters from the Finish Line.

I consider this race as part of my preparation for the longer distance road races in the future.

To my fellow runners, I hope to see you on June 15th DND-AFP Half-Marathon Race at Camp Aguinaldo.

Spot Report: 2008 Doc Fit 10K Run

On By kingofpotsIn Jogging, Races, Running5 Comments

5:58 AM 25 May 2008 @ UP Diliman Campus

In the military parlance, the first incident report to be relayed to Higher Headquarter is called “Spot Report” which must answer the basic 4 Ws (What, Who, When, & Why) & 1 H (How). The spot report is later followed with a “Progress Report” where the details of the incident are included.

So, this is my Spot Report on this race, The race started on time and to be exact, it started one minute before 6:00 AM based from my watch. I finished the 10K race with an unofficial time of 50:35 minutes. Finally, my GF 305 registered an exact distance of 10.0 K.

The following were the data that registered in my GF 305:

Distance—10.0K                  Time—50:35 mins

Average Pace—5:03 mins/km       Average Speed—11.9 kms/hr

Maximum Speed—14.9 kms/hr    Total Calories—740 cal

Average HR—164 bpm                  Maximum HR—179 bpm

Total Ascent—267 meters            Total Descent—280 meters

Running Kit—New Balance (Shorts & Singlet)

Running Shoes—ASICS Gel-Cumulus 8

Music—Bee Gees (Live: One Night Only)  

It was a nice run. Progress report to follow.

Critique: 2nd Champion Run

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Races, RunningLeave a comment

6:00 AM 11 May 2008 @ Marikina City Riverbanks

1)  More Runners But Narrow Roads—Coach Rio’s road races are becoming popular and attractive to most of the runners and beginners because of his excellent performance and good reputation in managing road races. It was not surprising that this road race which was advertised and known by most of the runners two months before its schedule would attract a lot of runners. Additionally, the police trainess from the Philippine National Police Training Center and soldiers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines joined this road race. However, the cemented road along the banks of the Pasig River in Marikina  City was too narrow for the runners. Almost all the runners had a slow start and average pace for the first three kilometers of the race. It could had been very easy to use the unpaved portions of the riverbank but the rains that poured for the past 3 days before the race made them to be muddy and slippery. With an estimated 1, 200 runners, the narrow roads of the road race became a problem to the average competetive runners.

2) 11K Race, not a 10K Race—I was informed after the race that Coach Rio announced before the race that the distance of the race was 11K but because I was busy with my stretching and warm-up exercises at the rear end of the assembly area of about 50-100 meters away, I was not able to hear the announcements. Psychologically, I could had prepared for that extra kilometer. Additionally, not all the kilometer markings were properly designated. It would be better if there were kilometer markings in every kilometer.

3) Too Many People Moving Against the Flow of the Race—The Marikina Riverbanks is supposed to be a Public Park but there are portions where I saw residences and illegal settlers along the route and the people living in these residences were starting to leave their houses for some errands and most of these were occupying the narrow paved road and walking against the flow of the race. Naturally, every runner would give way or avoid these walkers making the road a little narrower. There were also walkers and bikers along this paved road  going against the direction of the race which became distractions to runners.

4) People/Spectators Should Learn to Cheer—Generally, Filipinos as spectators of running/road races are not supportive or passive in giving encouragements to runners. After I reached the Finish Line, I proceeded to my car which was at least 200 meters to the Finish Line. Instead of changing my wet running kit, I went back at least 50 meters from my car and started clapping my hands and cheering the runners for the last 250 meters. I’ve observed that there were residents in the area looking at the passing runners but did not attempt to join me in my cheering. Anyway, I had at least 30 minutes of cheering where I saw most of the “visitors” to this blog passing and encouraging them to improve their time for the 11K race.

5) Race Started On Time and Race Results Were Very Fast—What is very consistent with the road races of Coach Rio is the observance of the punctual starting time and I really like this. Before noontime of the race day, the results were already published at Coach Rio’s Website and it was very fast and commendable.

Overall Rating of this Road Race—92%

Pictures @ Market! Market! 5-Mile Run

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Pictures, Races, Running4 Comments

6:00 AM 18 May 2008 @ Market! Market!, The Fort  

This was the Start & Finish Area of the 5-Mile Race. In my estimate, there were at least 350 runners who participated in this race. The road was wet brought about by the rains the night before race day. It was expected to rain as it was showering when the race was about to start. The race started at 6:00 AM. 

On my right is Kim from Malaysia who called my attention when I was having my stretching exercises. She told me that she finished six marathons since she started running and also a regular visitor of this blog. On my left is Major Rod Turno of the Philippine Army and the other guy is also a soldier from the Philippine Army. Kim, I hope this picture is not late for publishing and hope to see you in our next road races.

This picture was taken after coming from the uphill portion along the vicinity of the International School. I was about to reach the 3-Km mark. Initially, I was using my Penshoppe Runner’s Cap but I removed it from this point up to the finish line. The Bald Runner should stay as bald while running!

This picture was taken at least 800 meters away from the Finish Line. The guy following me, a foreigner and tall guy, was able to overtake me 150 meters from the Finish Line.

I tried to maintain a faster pace but I wasn’t able to overtake those guys who passed from me on the final stretch of the race. This picture was taken 20 meters from the Finish Line. It was a nice race and the weather was fine. My time was 38:57 minutes for the 5-Mile Run.

Market! Market! 5-Mile Run

On By kingofpotsIn Jogging, Races, Running3 Comments

6:00 AM 18 May 2008 @ Market! Market!, The Fort

For the past days, I’ve been having a difficult time logging in at WordPress, thus, my posts had been delayed and spent much time waiting for me to register in my Dashboard. For this post, I waited for almost eight hour just to be able to make this post. Anyway, I am going to render a report of what happened in this morning’s Market! Market! 5-mile run.

I arrived at the Parking Area of Market! Market! at 5:20 AM and it was drizzling and the road was wet due to rains on the night before the race. I thought there were few runners who arrived for the race as I saw the assembly area vacant and few runners on the side of the road. However, I was informed that most of the runners are waiting at the Atrium area and shaded portions of the Shoppng Mall because of the slight rains. While I was about to have my stretching exercises, somebody called my attention and a lady recognized me as the Bald Runner even if I was wearing a runner’s cap. We had brief chat and by her intonation, I suspected that she is a foreigner. Later, at the Assembly Area, I was able to talk to her again and I found out that she is from Malaysia. Kim is a a regular visitor of this blog and we had a picture with the Philippine Army runners.

Before the run,  I met my brother Samie and his wife, Babette; Captain Ferdie Espejo; Major Rod Turno; Totoy Santos of Happy Feet; Cecil, Runmd, Rey Antoque; Officers and Enlisted Personnel of Headquarters Philippine Army; gym mates at Gold’s; and visitors/friends of Bald Runner. The race started and finished at the Access Road towards the Drop-Off point of the Shopping Mall. In my estimate, the road race was attended by almost 300 runners.

There was a short program before the start of the race but most of the runners were talking with one another and were raring for the start of the road race. Then suddenly, we heard a countdown from 10 to 1and then the command “Go”. I started slowly to allow the other runners infront of me to increase their pace as they reached the wider road between Serendra and Market! Market!  Once I reached the wide road, I immediately positioned myself on the left side of the running pack and increased my pace towards the International School area as I know this place is slightly going downhill. Immediately after the turn-around point where he road marshalls gave the first string band and going back  the International School area, a strong wind was meeting all the runners. We were running “aganst the wind”, a first tme experience in the area! The slightly uphill road and the wind slowed down my pace but once I was reaching the portion infront of “The New World” area, I started to increase my pace again. In almost all the roads along the route, the runners were met with strong winds but it made me more comfortable and relaxed.

In between Km 4 & 5, along the stretch between Jollibee and McDonald’s, we were again running against the wind and I started to drink my Propel water tucked at my back and I felt that the winds and drinking slowed down my pace again. Before reaching the 7Km mark, I had my last drink and anticipated a faster run/sprint in my last kilometer. Unfortunately, two guys ( a local runner & a tall foreigner) overtook me on the last 700 meters from the finish line and tried to catch up with them by increasing my fast pace but my efforts were not enough. Anyway, I finished the 5-Mile Run with an unofficial tme of 38:57 minutes which made me happy and contented/satisfied with my performance. I was glad I finished the race before the rains started pouring to most of the runners after me. I immediately proceeded to my car and avoided the rain from mixing with my sweat.

The following were the data that registered in my GF 305 & the accessories I used:

Distance—7.94 kilometers     Time—38:57 minutes

Average Pace—4:54 mins/km        Average Speed—12.2 kms/hr

Maximum Speed—20.7 kms/hr     Total Calories—588 cal

Average HR—164 bpm                  Maximum HR—172 bpm

Total Ascent—512 meters            Total Descent—501 meters

Running Kit—New Balance “Boston Run”

Running Shoes—ASICS Gel-Kinsei 2

Music—Bee Gees (Live: One Night Only)

Music Player—Ipod Nano (8GB) & Ipod’s Nike Arm Band—My Birthday Gifts to Myself

My Kilometer-Split times:

1K—4:43 mins                 5K—5:10 mins

2K—4:29 mins                 6K—4:50 mins

3K—5:07 mins                 7K—5:03 mins

4K—4:41 mins                 8K—4:32 mins

It was a nice run and road race. I will be posting the pictures on my next post.