Globe Run for Home

I originally planned to join the 10k segment of this race but when I registered online, I mistakenly pressed the 21k button.  So I registered for the half marathon without even knowing it until the eve of the race.  But deep inside I was planning to do a long run on Sunday by completing the 10k race and running an extra 8 kilometers.

However, when I claimed by race pack on last Saturday, the people manning the booth asked what distance I am registered and I sheephishly told them “10k but can I upgrade to 21k”.  They told me “yes” and gave me a 21k race kit.  So no more turning back.

I planned to treat the race simply as a practice run.  No PRs to chase except the bliss brought about by running with friends.  I would be happy to finish the race in 2:40.

I arrived at the race area at around 4:30am.  After doing some stretching routines at the parking lot, I proceeded to the corral which was full of familiar faces, Jay Nacino aka Prometheus Cometh (an official 5:30/km pacer), Don Ubaldo (official 7:00/km pacer), Vener aka Run Unlimited, Mesh aka My Iron Shoes, Jonel aka Bugobugo85, Mark and Tiffin Parco aka Mark’s VO2, Tisha Generoso, Tina Narvaez, Mon Domingo, Mel of Lost Command and of course the Takbo.ph posse – Sam, Jinoe, Carlo, Rico, among others.  Knowing my lack of preparation and my goal for the day, I positioned myself near the rear.

The race started at 5:01 am.  I had a goal to run the race at a relaxed 7:00/km pace for the first 18kms and try to pick up the pace thereafter, if I still have something left.  And so it was.  At the first 4 kms, I was running at around the 6:50-7:00/km pace.  More than enough time for picture taking and sightseeing.

For some strange reason, I slightly picked up the pace to 6:30-6:50/km up to 10km.  But on the way back to the Fort I slowed down slightly to a pace of 7:00/km (10km) until the Buendia flyover (12km).    I slightly picked up the pace until 15km at Fifth Avenue where I slowed down at the uphill to McKinley.  At this point my legs felt heavy so I just coasted along and took brief walk breaks up to 18k.  Thereafter, I just ran a relaxed pace of 7:50-7:30/km.  I crossed the finish line at 2:30:10.

At the finish line was the usual comparing notes and picture taking with the Takbo.ph people.

After the Buendia Flyover with the Parcos (photo courtesey of Mark Parco)

Along Lawton Ave (photo courtesy of Mark Parco)

Takbo.ph posse (photo courtesy of Carlo Serrano)

Takbo.ph posse (photo courtesy of Carlo Serrano)

While the race proper was well-organized.  There were issues that arose, which would stick out like a sore thumb if not properly addressed:

1. Globe VIP Parking – Amado Castro, Jr. personally experienced being asked by Globe security officers to park elsewhere as the parking lot near R.O.X. was reserved to Globe executives.  That was a pay public parking.  Unless Globe has prepaid for the slots.  It turned out that it was not pre-paid.
2. Prizes not being given on race day -  This was raised by Jovie Narcise aka Bald Runner.  The cash prizes won by elite athletes were not given on race day.  Instead the runners were instructed to claim their prizes on Tuesday, July 21.  To my mind this is not acceptable, prizes should be given on race day.  The winners are elite runners who train daily.  Its not fair to ask them to go back and claim their prizes some other time.  These elite athletes are part of the national training pool should not be given a shabby treatment.  To sum it up this is poor customer service, which I hope is not typical of Globe.
3. Race Results -  The race distinguished itself with disposable electronic timing chips, which would ensure accurate times and tracking.  Also I have heard that the results would be released on the same date.  As of today the results were not yet released.  Broken promise?

Robinson’s Buddy Run – My way of getting rid of a cold

I was looking forward to this race as it was the first time for me to run with a buddy and to test how far I would go with a bothersome common cold.  I was paired with Mon Domingo, a veteran of numerous marathons and races.  Pressure was I should keep pace with him.

At the outset I told Mon to take it easy as I was nursing a cold and my nasal passages were blocked.  To make matters worst, I had a post nasal drip which made me cough.  But knowing that running will produce endorphins that would further boost my immune system, I went on to race and tried to follow Mon’s pace.

I arrived at the race venue at around 5:30 am and had ample time to chat with Happy Feet, Takbo.ph and Hardcore friends.  The atmosphere was homey but competitive.  The runners were simply too happy to see their buddies.

The 5k runners answered the starting gun first and the 10k runners followed suit at 6:15 am.

My buddy immediately switched to high gear at the 1st kilometer where we had an average pace of 6:12/km and a max pace of 5:28/km.  At the 2nd kilometer, our average pace increased to 5:49/km and a max pace of 5:19/km.  It was after the 2nd kilometer that the colds and its accompanying coughing started to hamper my breathing and slowed me down to an average pace of 6:42/km and a max pace of 5:15/km.

At the 4th kilometer (British School/32nd Street area) my breathing became difficult because of the colds and I had to slow down just to catch my breath.  This resulted in an average pace of 6:40/km and a maximum pace of 6:04/km.  At the 5th kilometer, our pace increased slightly to 6:33/km and a max pace of 5:23/km.

At the 6th kilometer (Rizal Drive and 5th Avenue area) my nose got clogged which made my breathing to became really difficult.  I had no choice but to take walk breaks.  This accounted for a slow average pace of 7:40/km and a max pace of 5:55/km.  I was able to clear my nose by the time we reached the 7th kilometer and tried to make up for lost time.  The average pace was 6:23/km and the max pace was 5:33/km.

The 8th and 9th kilometer, my nose started to get clogged so I had to slow down.  This accounted for a slow average pace of 7:07/km and 7:09/km.  At the last kilometer, I decided to see how far I would go.  I picked up speed and stuck to Mon like a leech.  It paid up as the average pace was 6:16/km and max pace was 4:46/km.  We finished the race with a time of 1:06:29.

Me and Mon Domingo (photo by Mark Parco)

While analyzing my stats in Garmin Connect, I realized that I can maintain an average pace of 5:49/km and reach a max pace of 4:46/km.  The race also underscored the importance of pacing.   I should have maintained an average pace of 6:30/km at the first 5kms,  picked up speed at Rizal Drive, the 6th kilometer and give it my all from the 9th to the 10th kilometer.

The finish line had a festive atmosphere.  All finishers were given a bag full of grocery items.  This was followed by the usual picture taking and exchange of thoughts about the race and of course my first breakfast at Pancake House.

With Tiffin Parco and the Hardcore Runners Jonel aka Bugobugo86, Lester Chuayap, Mari Javier and Ivy Macainan (photo by Mark Parco)

Takbo.ph posse (photo by Bryan Rivera)

Breakfast @ Pancake House (photo by Art and Vima Mendoza

After the first breakfast, I joined my buddy Mon Domingo and the Lost Command (LC) runners for a sumptuous breakfast at Amber’s Best, Pasong Tamo.  It was a unique combination of rice, soup, barbecue, sisig, chop suey fried chicken and pichi pichi.  The LC group just finished their 3 hour long run and I’m not surprised that they were able to gobble up all that food.

I ended the day with another 10k run around AAV in order to recover from the morning run and the colds.  As I write this post, my colds are practically gone!  Keep on running and see you on the road folks.

Running Addict – Exhibits “A” and “B”

While browsing through the Takbo.ph shared items, i bumped into the post of daytripper1021.   You’re addicted to running when . . . .  you hang your race bibs on your office cubicle wall!

How true!  To the best of my knowledge Jinoe and myself hang our race bibs in our office wall.  I know there are others out there who proudly display their race bibs, certificates and medals on their office walls.

When I came to know that Jinoe Gavan hangs his race bibs on his office cubicle wall early this year, I immediately scoured my house and car for my race bibs.  I was only able to retrieve a few from my races in 2008, which I immediately hang on my office wall.  My race bibs and medals for this year are however intact.

Exhibit "A" - My Race Bibs

Exhibit "B" - My Medals

I consider the Doc Fit Takbo Para sa Puso race bib no. 598 special as it always reminds me of the race that I finished dead last among the 197 particiants in that 10k race – NEVER AGAIN!!

These memorabilias however make my SOS kids who drop by my office curious and interested in running.  I just hope that someday one of them will become an elite runner.

33rd Milo Marathon – My 10k Story

This is the first Milo Race that I joined since I started running.  I decided to join its 10k side event as a preparation for the San Fernando, La Union leg.  I am registered for the 21k Half Marathon event where I have a modest target time of 2:25.

Knowing that most of my friends have registered for the 21k or 42k event, I knew that I will be running in the midst of strangers.  It gave me time to focus on the race and to check my progress.  I simply planned to maintain an average pace of 6:30 p/km.  No PR attempt although deep inside I wanted to run a sub 60 minute 10k.

I woke up at 3:50 am and after a the morning rituals and finishing one boiled “saba”, proceeded to the CPP complex where I would park my car.  I arrived at the Star City parking at around 5:15 am.  After a brief walk and stretching, I proceeded to take my warm up run to Km 0.  On my way I caught up with the group of Mon Domingo, Tina Narvaez, Tisha Generoso and Mel of the Lost Command.  We had a good chat on the way to the starting line.  But first things first – we will have breakfast at Chow King Star City, period.  I found out that they were registered for the 21k segment.  But given that it was already 5:30 am, I told them that they should be at the starting line.  They simply told me that they will just join the tail end and run the route but only up to the CCP Complex.  They left me as soon as we met the tail end of the 21k runners.

I arrived at the Km 0 at around 5:40 am.  I saw a sea of humanity lined up for the 10k event.  I got worried as I remembered the advice of Vener (aka Run Unlimited) that I should position myself ahead of the students or we’ll be bottled up last.  I positioned myself in the middle.

After a few speaches, the race started at 5:55 am.

Km 1 (6:42/km) – I just ran a relaxed and easy pace at this time and follow the pace of the pack, which I thought was a bit slow so I had to maneuver and zigzag my way through the slower runners.

Km 2 (6:26/km) – By this time, I broke free from the slower runners and ran at my own relaxed pace.  The temptation to run a faster pace kept crossing my mind but I just decided to maintain the easy pace.

Km 3 (6:26/km) – I caught up with a runner of my age group and we exchanged chats on our running experiences, which ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous.  I thought that he was just trying to dare me to slug it out and tire me early as he stuck to my pace as a leach.

Km 4, 5, 6 and 7  (6:31/km, 6:32/km, 6:31/km and 6:44/km) – This was within the Buendia Flyover.  It was at this point that I slowed down a bit due to the flyover climb, turn around point and the water stations.  It was also getting warmer.

Km 8, 9, 10 and 10.52 (6:30/km, 6:30/km, 6:24/km and 6:03/km) -  I started to slightly pick up speed prior to the dash to the finish line.

As soon as I crossed the finish line and got my certificate, I ran back to the CCP are hoping to meet some friends who ran the 21k or 42k events.  I did meet Raymond Martelino, Zimm, Roselle, Jun Llanes and the Lost Command, Mel and Tina N., Eric de Belen of Takbo.ph, to name a few.  I am really bad at names.

Looking back, the race was to my mind well organized.  The 10k and 21 k runners were blessed to have the entire Roxas Boulevard for themselves.  Water stations were reasonably spaced and there was no tabo at timba.  However,  I envied the 21k race participants.  How I wish I was running with them!  But there is time for everything.  See you at the San Fernando, LU leg!