Running the Dream: TBR Marathon 2011 (Part 3 -- Marathoner)

All kinds of thoughts clouded my mind during the last few weeks prior to the marathon.  I was faced with a dilemma of whether to risk undertraining, or risk overtraining.  I knew I definitely lacked mileage and training, and this wasn't a joke considering I was about to run my first full marathon.  Unfortunately, despite the self-therapy and the meds, my plantar fasciitis wasn't getting any better, and I ran the risk of aggravating my condition if training proved to be too much for my foot to handle.  Eventually I thought it might be riskier to overtrain, because if my condition got worse, I might not be able to run at all, so I decided to stick with my typical gym routines, and do training sessions with the AdiNation of Runners group once or twice a week.

We were instructed to claim our race kits at Mercato Centrale one week before race day.  I got there a bit late and missed the raffle, but I did get my race kit, a 100-peso food coupon, and a glimpse of the runners who were to become my dream marathon batchmates.

Ready with my TBR Arms: Bib # 372, My water/bib belt, BodyGlide, Petroleum Jelly, my Sony Walkman Earphones, Map to Nuvali, and some flimsy sports tape (ha).

Pre-race

I didn't really taper during race week; it was the only way I could forget the nerves which were building up.  The jitters lasted all the way until Saturday, the day before race day.  All was well until Friday, when I experienced any female marathoner's worst nightmare: I got my dreaded monthly visitor, full force.

To add to this, I almost didn't get enough sleep because I was woken up unnecessarily, but thanks to my ever trusty Sleepasil I was able to get back to sleep.  It was a good thing, too, because I got zero hours of sleep that evening.  Instead I had dinner with friends and had to take in a bit of stress including getting lost on the way to the dinner.  By the time I met up with my friends Hapi, Jill, Athan, and Mich (who was running the marathon as well), however, all other thoughts save the marathon jitters were blocked from my system.

Our all-around support crew: Jill, Hapi, and Athan (not in picture). Thank you guys!!! :)

We arrived in Nuvali more than an hour before the 2 AM gunstart.  We caught sight of other friends and we could immediately feel the tension and excitement in the air.  I quickly looked for the kinesio taping booth and lined up, unfortunately about thirty minutes before gunstart we were informed they couldn't accommodate any more runners, so I hurriedly put on my compression pants, socks, and Mizunos (which had approximately 1 km of mileage -- so much for avoiding new gear during a marathon!) with gel insoles, and a bit of sunblock and headed for the starting line.

The starting line!

Okay Jess, relax and breaaathe.

Photo op with friends from ANR Ortigas! (L-R: Hapi, Mich, Jess, Lee, Gary, Leo)

KM 0

I didn't really pay attention to the warmup and opening remarks; I was just thinking and praying and hoping I could finish the race.  When the gun finally sounded, I was glad to see immediately that almost everybody had taken on a slow, steady pace; nobody seemed to be particularly competitive.

The first half of the race went pretty fast.  I figured I'd have to work on a positive split, so I stayed at a pace that was only slightly slower than my usual half-marathon pace. We were to travel the same route twice to complete the full marathon.  If my plantar acted up, I figured I could find a way to change shoes halfway, since I had an extra pair of racers in my car.  I'd created a playlist that was a bit different from the playlists I'd been accustomed to, consisting of all kinds of music fast and slow.

There was more than enough hydration to go by.  I could only be thankful there are that many flavors of Gatorade.  There was also no way we could have gone hungry; each runner was provided two Accel gels (which I didn't use though) along the route, as well as (overflowing) biscuits and sliced fruits (bananas and apples).  There were also more than enough portalets, which I was thankful for since I had to use a portalet for the first time in my running career (so that's what's inside!).

Halfway: KM 21

I crossed the 21k point at about 2:40.  Hapi, Jill, and Athan were waiting for us there, waving surprise banners for me excitedly, giving me a renewed vigor.  I became a bit more confident, too, since I realized I had more than five hours to finish the remaining 21 km.  I could feel the ache from my plantar, but the pain wasn't enough to slow me down.  When I saw the marker for KM 24, I realized that was as far as my training would take me, since my longest run prior to the marathon (more than three months back) measured about that long; I'd be entering unchartered territory from that point.

Jill (L), Athan (R), and Hapi (not in picture) had come up with banners for us and were excitedly waving them at the halfway point :)

Still a-ok!

KM 28: The Wall

I hit my first wall at KM 28.  It was then that my plantar fasciitis started to really act up, and I could feel a blister start to develop on my right foot (the price of using new shoes!), and I knew a lot of runners were already overtaking me.  I decided to veer to the side to remove my gel insoles.  It was a bad idea; the pain in my foot multiplied during the first few steps, so I had to go to the side again to put back the insole in my right shoe.

And then at KM 30 I hit my second wall.  It was then that I was reduced to walking.  Not brisk walking, not Galloway-style walking, but a turtle-pace walk with a slight limp; some runners and pacers actually approached me to ask if I was okay, and I told them I was doing fine; I was in pain, but the pain wasn't bad enough for me to quit.  However, after a kilometer or so, when my feet were ready to run again, I felt the consequence of taking that leisurely stroll: the walking had activated the pain in my calves and all over my legs, and the pain got worse when I tried running.

Boredom and pain are among a marathoner's greatest enemies, but many say overcoming them would be a matter of the mind.  Winning over boredom was easy this time, given that Nuvali was a welcome change from the humdrum of the city, and given how I was seeing friendly faces every few hundred meters; winning over pain, however, was another story, given that I was obviously injured and loathing my female hormones.  I decided to turn off my music and just think about everything from people waiting for me to finish and recent conflicts to career (!) and friends who'd pushed me to get this far.  When that didn't work I simply absorbed everything I was seeing, since by then the sun was already shining.

"Sun was shining" is an understatement; it was hot!  You can see one of my gel insoles rolled up to the right of my bib.

The Final Stretch

Somewhere in the last ten kilometers (I couldn't remember the exact location anymore), I caught sight of Maan, a friend from ANR-Ortigas who was serving as a chaser, and she ran with me for a couple of minutes, giving me a much needed push forward to start running again.  I really couldn't keep track of the distance anymore, I just told myself to keep running -- walking was permitted, but stopping was not an option.  It was getting hotter and hotter; this wasn't good news since I was already chafing all over. 

When I finally saw the marker for KM 41, I could feel my eyes tear up.  The thought of how exhausted I looked when I crossed the finish line didn't even cross my mind; all I could think of was that were was only one kilometer to go, and that I was going to make it!  I kept on looking straight in anticipation of the finish line, and finally there it was!  My friend Hapi met up with me and ran by my side in his flip-flops at what was probably KM 42.  I ran all the way until I'd finally gotten across the blue ribbon.

For what it's worth, I was able to cross the finish line smiling.

I had finished with an abysmal chip time of 6:42:25, but I didn't really care (much) anymore; I was bloated and aching, I badly needed to go the bathroom, and the pain my plantar was causing made me want to cry, but despite all the crappy events I'd been through the days prior to the race, I made it!

This pride and glory of my medal collection.

As I claimed my finisher's medal and huge bottle of Gatorade 1 HR (Tropical Fruit, my favorite flavor!), someone approached with a microphone me to ask how I felt after the marathon.  "Uh...tired?" were the only words to escape me.  I was not tired enough, however, to miss the opportunity to have pictures taken with friends and grab my rather packed loot bag as well.  Too bad I didn't get to have my picture taken at the "I RAN 42 KM" photowall!

Pearlies Jill, Mich, Jess, Leo, Lee, and Athan with the aNR Ortigas - Pearl banner :)

The loot bag contained a whole lot of stuff -- Tiger Cookies, a whole plastic bag of Oral B Toothbrushes, a Milo Marathon visor and (oversized) singlet, a bottle of water, Powerade...the works!

When I started running two years prior to the event, I couldn't have imagined I would ever run anything beyond five or perhaps ten kilometers at the most, much less a full marathon.  Training takes up a whole lot of time, you run the risk of injury, and during the last few kilometers you just want to cry and you wish the finish line would come into view.

But misfortunes aside, I realized running a full marathon with the little training I had didn't torture me as much as I'd initially expected it to.  I'd say the sweat and tears of anticipating and running a full marathon were more than worth it, and the feeling of euphoria that you gain after leaves you wanting more.

So I guess it's safe to say I have a feeling this won't be my last :)

The best-tasting bottle of Gatorade, ever!!!