Earth Run - 16k
02 Jun 2009 10:51 AM
Earth Run, set in McKinley Hill - famous among runners for its uphills and downhills.
RACE PREPARATION
We signed up for Earth Run exactly 2 weeks prior to the event. I signed myself up for the 16k run, and signed Dex up for the 5k (in spite of his protests). In the couple of weeks that followed, Dex and I added hills to our running sessions. I also added sprints to my routine - 400 meters at Ayala Alabang (with recovery jogs in between), along some of the slopes, just to get the feel of how it will be to try to run fast on uphills and downhills. As for our treadmill sessions, I started running mine with inclines, and kept this up for 2 weeks.
My goal for the 16k was not to set a hard-to-beat personal record for myself, but just to finish and to make it part of my “long runs” (training for a 5k PR). But I found that it was not easy to maintain an “easy pace”, as I found myself really “racing” on race day...
RACE DAY
Dex was only able to sleep for around 2 hours before the race. For the first time before a race, I was able to sleep for 5 hours - even though it was an interrupted sleep, as our dog kept barking during the night. Prior to this, I only slept for 2-4 hours before race day, probably because of pre-race jitters.
Our friend Rap decided at the last minute to join the race too. Since he is part of Greenpeace, he was able to run together with the VIP runners (those who ran with banners).
STARTING LINE
As I was waiting for the race to start, I was praying that my regular training at Ayala Alabang with Dex would get me through this one, with hopefully a strong finish.
As the countdown to the start began, the light drizzle turned into heavier rain. This was my first time to experience running in the rain.. it did make me feel a little bit hardcore!
Gun fired and we were off. 3k, 5k, and 16k runners were all clumped together at the start, so it was kind of chaotic at first. But as the race progressed, the lines thinned out.
MUDDIED THOUGHTS DURING THE RACE
Arguing with myself about my own pace: “Huy, slow down, this is supposed to be a training run”, vs. “I can’t slow down, I don’t want to be left behind!”
About when to take my walk break: “I promise, you can take a walk break in 20mins” vs. “No walk breaks! No walk breaks!” (But I finally took some breaks at some water stations)
Along the road (maybe around the 8th km), I was fighting off some stitches on my side by forcefully exhaling, and then forcefully inhaling. During one inhale, the stench almost knocked me out... garbage truck nearby! Eww!
At around the 11th km, a girl runner was clearly using minimal effort, but her strides were longer because she was tall, and so I couldn’t overtake her. “Ang daya, ang daya!” Hehehe.
At around the 12th km, I had begun to experience some soreness around my lower back from all the uphills. Passing some sari-sari stores along the way, “Hmm.. I wish I had brought some money with me. A midrun snack would be nice. Liempo? Lechon?...” My lungs could definitely take in some more hard work, but my back might not.
At around the 13th km: Some kids who had finished the 5k race were cruising along the sidewalk, shouting, “Malayo pa! Malayo pa!’ Great. Thanks for the boost, kiddos. Hehe. Here, I already settled for a light jog, maybe at my recovery pace.
At around 14th km (but I wasn’t aware of this during that time), I passed Dex and Rap at Starbucks. They called my name and cheered for me. At that time, I thought the finish line was near, so I launched into a sprint. Guess what? The finish was still around 2km’s away! Mid-sprint, some marshalls warned us, “Malayo pa, may iikutan pa kayo na building” and pointed to a building that seemed far-off. I thought they were joking. They were not.
At the last km marker, I settled for a comfortably hard pace, then just picked up the pace halfway through.
Directly in front of me was a scene that made me smile (and gave me an extra boost) - two guys sprinting like crazy, trying to outrun each other to the finish line.
FINISH LINE
At the finish line chute, I realized that one of the guys who were sprinting like crazy was runner-blogger Sammy (a.k.a. Running Ninja). (Read about his own Earth Run adventure here). We exchanged hi-5’s and he said we finished at around 1:41. And that this was not bad for 16k first-timers.
As I passed the chute, they were giving away some freebies. I realized that the other chute had more giveaways than the one I passed. So I tried to persuade the crew from the other chute to give me some extra freebies. “Sorry ma’m, these are for the runners that passed this chute”. Fine. So I asked the crew from my chute to get me some extra freebies. “Sorry ma’m, pang kabilang line lang yun”. Rats! All this hard work and I couldn’t even get a free iced tea! Hehehe.
We hung around the venue a bit, for me to cool down, before walking to the parking lot.
Dex and me. With my post-race Chuckie (comfort drink/recovery drink)
Rap with his Greenpeace banner:
I can see now why this is my friend Lauren’s favorite distance. It’s a combination of endurance, speed, a little bit of pain, mental wars with yourself and some moments of clarity along the way. This could well become my favorite race distance in the future, too.
POST-RACE
Upon Dex’s request, we ate at Pancake House.
My halfway-eaten Sunrise steak:
My halfway-eaten Chocolate Marble Waffle:
THE REST OF THE DAY
- Went to accompany Dex at the Security Escort Battalion, Army Firing Range, where he competed at the Revolver Division. Rap and I watched one of the stages. I was telling Dex’s comrades of how Dex had already raced a 5k race with hills prior to the competition (kumbaga, partida!). But they would only kid him about how he should’ve gone for 16k like his wife.
- Rap and I went around Market Market while waiting for Dex to finish. I picked up my race certificate from Market! Market!, we had lunch at Sbarro, and then browsed the sports outlet stores.
- When Rap and I were heading back to Serendra, Dex called me asked to be picked up. He sounded desperate for a beer. So we picked him up at the Army Firing Range.
- Dex and Rap had some beers at The Roadhouse Grill while I checked myself in at The Spa. Yup, expensive, but I knew I needed a massage.
- I opted for Swedish Massage because part of the description said, “for sore muscles.”
- The P850 for the Swedish Massage was worth every penny, because The Spa had really nice amenities, and I even enjoyed a jacuzzi and hot shower before the massage.
- After my spa time, I caught up with Dex and Rap at The Roadhouse Grill and ordered The Wrangler’s Pork Steak, which I now highly recommend.
(image taken from http://foodtripmanila.blogspot.com/2008/04/texas-roadhouse-grill.html)
On the way home, I measured the distance from the Serendra parking lot near R.O.X. to our house. Where does 16k end? At Sucat, near Max’s Fried Chicken House. So now I can say that I can run the distance from Serendra to Sucat (not that I’d want to do that, though).
- - - - - - -
THE DAY AFTER
Surprisingly, my lower back remained pain-free (though it was really sore during the race). My quads and hamstrings are feeling tight and sore now.
We learned today that Dex placed 5th in the revolver division, out of 14 participants. Yahoo! He might have done better daw if it weren’t for two things:
1. equipment malfunction in the middle of three of the stages
2. fatigue after the race
Related posts:
Race List
Greenfield City Run - 5k
Running My 1st 5k Race