Run United 3 2012: My 2nd 32km

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!

Run United for Wellness 2

I'm a person who likes to take things slowly but surely and I can be a bit of a coward sometimes, so it was a pretty big thing for me to jump from doing 10k races to more than double, i.e., my first 21k race during this year's Adidas King of the Road.  One month after, I decided to take the opportunity to do my first 15k at the Unilab Run for Wellness 2.  Moreover, quite a number of friends had expressed their intention to take the 32k challenge during the same event, so I figured it would be the perfect way to express my support.

Memories of the first Unilab run in March...sadly I've lost that singlet :(

I ran 10k during the first Unilab Run for Wellness held in February, and if its predecessor was any indication, I knew I could expect a well-funded and well-organized run from Runrio.  Unilab 1, I have to admit, was not one of my best runs.  On the contrary, it was one of my worst in terms of performance, since at that time (until April) my knee was in its worst condition yet such that I couldn't run without wincing.  But there were enough water stations, the marshalls were well-placed, and the freebies were definitely worth it, so I was really happy when they announced that Unilab would fund the event in lieu of Timex.

The weather was perfect on Sunday morning.  I'd slept four hours the night before.  Four hours is the minimum amount of sleep I need to feel human, so I woke up without the desire to bash my alarm clock.  The sun was hiding behind the clouds and a cool breeze could be felt.  Unfortunately by the time I reached Fort, the 20-mile (32k) race had started and roads had already been closed off, so I was forced to park in the "grassland of no return."  By the time I'd reached the starting line it was already teeming with eager runners, and I was dreading that I'd overexpected from this race.

Still dark!

Fortunately I hadn't.  As always, the first three or so kilometers felt like torture, perhaps because I hadn't warmed up, but it got much easier after the first three or so kilometers.  There were markers at the start of every kilometer so it was pretty easy to calculate my pace.  It was a bit of a chore to have to go through the same usual playground again, but I'd made sure my tracklist would keep me entertained enough to make me speed through usual ol' Fort.  There was enough water and Powerade to drown me, and they looked so tempting that I stopped at almost every water station until the finish line.

It was only when I crossed the 10k mark that I realized I'd forgotten my knee support!  It was also then that I started coughing (yep, still the same cough that made my Urbanathlon miserable, although it's improved a bit).  I had to simmer down a bit and take it easy, then when I reached the 12km mark I made sure I had upbeat tracks playing so I'd be a bit more motivated.  When I finally saw the finish line I realized I couldn't sprint anymore, and I couldn't help but let out a huge shout of relief when I crossed it.

Happy finish!

After meeting up with my friends and grabbing my loot bag (no lines!),  I trekked back to the grassland of no return (and got lost doing so) to make "banners" for friends who'd run the 20-miler.  Even as we waited, It was fun cheering and taking pictures of each of them as they triumphantly crossed the finish line.  By then "Wellness Village" was already pretty crowded, so we decided to skip it altogether and take a shower at the gym instead before heading off to North Park for breakfast.

We lose weight to eat!!!

I had to leave after breakfast, though, because I had to meet up with my dad for some quality time over lunch at Eat Well Greenhills (yes, I know I'm a glutton, if it helps any I just had tofu for lunch even if I know it's not the best post-run lunch) before heading home and dozing off for a couple of hours.

Run United 2 was undoubtedly one of the best-organized races of the year and is enough reason to look forward to next year's Run United events.

Next race, the 2nd Quezon City International Marathon, is up in less than two weeks!