After completing last year's Runrio/Run United trilogy (and missing the awards ceremony, I might add), I decided I'd sit this year's trilogy out. Not only have I promised to spend less, I've also learned the beauty of running solo, so I've been choosing my races over the past few months wisely. But when Run United 3 was announced, I felt a burning desire to beat my 32k personal best of 4:08 during the previous year's RU3 despite the steep registration fee of P1,000.
 |
| Still smiling after 32km at Run United 3 in 2011! |
Unfortunately, my lower back started hurting the week before the race, and watching Phantom of the Opera with my family the night before meant not getting enough time to rest. After much deliberation about whether to push through with the race that very rainy morning, I headed for the start line at Bonifacio Global City with my friend Dave about thirty minutes before gunstart. I could feel the soreness of my back, and I had zero hours of sleep in my system; breaking my PR would be a real challenge!
It was raining the entire race (with a single brief pause of about five minutes or so), and this turned out to be a blessing and a pain. The nonstop rains meant the climate was cool and breezy, but it also meant endless puddles, painful chafing and blisters, and wet clothes heavy with rainwater. I never felt so thankful for my compression pants and the Leukoplast I'd put on my toes.
 |
A must for blister-prone people like me :)
|
However, despite the very wet route, I was able to stick to a consistent pace...that is, until KM22, when my Sony Walkman decided to die on me, and my patience began to wear thin. But it turns out overplaying my tracklist worked to its advantage, because I eventually pushed my legs to run again, "mentally" singing the music I'd been playing only minutes before, and it got me through the mindgame that was the last 8km. I gritted my teeth to bear the chafing; the only consolation was that the cool breeze brought about by the rain meant I hardly felt the urge to grab water from the stations (of which there were more than enough).
When i got to KM 30, I could feel the finish line was near so I picked up my pace again. I knew then that I was going to be able to achieve a sub-4 chip time finish, but I had to ensure I'd get a sub-4 guntime as well. True enough, as I approached the finish, I saw the red digits on the timer were ticking the last seconds before 4:00, so I sprinted, and crossed the finish line just a few seconds before the target. Garmin check: 3:56 -- a whopping twelve minutes better than last year's 32k time! (Side Note: That Garmin went missing a week after...I guess it was a good last run together. Sad.)
 |
| Happy and wet at the finish line! With Romar, Doc Dave, and Doc Edwin. |
The third piece of the Runrio Trilogy's pie medal, a finisher's shirt, and a loot bag were waiting for runners at the finish line (very orderly redemption of finisher's kits!). I met up with Doc Dave and got to know new friends Alvin (whom I'd previously met at the Condura Marathon), Joanne, Gerry, and Noel, and we had breakfast at McDonald's. I suffered my usual post-long run appetite crash and barely finished my breakfast, but I knew I'd finished strong. The "blackout nap" I took when I got home was arguably one of the best I've ever had.
 |
| Breakfast with new friends :) |
I have yet to make up my mind about whether to run the last part of Run United 2012, that is the Run United Philippine Marathon. But getting back to long distance running after a month-long post-Milo hiatus made me realize how much I miss long distance running. So will I be hitting the road again come September 28? Let's see!
No comments:
Post a Comment