It's OctoberRun 2008!!!

"We all age -- but there is no excuse to feel old!!"

My friend Jorge Buenaventura shared this piece of wisdom with me today -- right at the finish line of the OctoberRun at Bonifacio Global City -- organized by The Fort Striders. He revealed that another friend, Dave de Leon, made a study of the performances of runners versus their age and showed that age is not a reason for not doing well -- even in runs. He also mentioned that since he took up running January of this year, he has never felt better in years!!! As such, he continues, there is no excuse to feel 48, 49 or 50!!!

I can believe this -- given the articles about running slowing down the aging process. Except that I probably got the short end of the stick when God handed out favors for runners -- he! he! No, it just means I need to train and train and train. And unfortunately, this week was a week without any training!!!

So, it was with a slight trepidation that I faced the starting line at today's race. The Fort Striders showed they knew their stuff when it comes to organizing races -- the course was well plotted, you had plenty of marshalls and water stations, and you have a great crowd of runners -- all conditions for a great run!!! It was up to the runner to do his best and finish. And that was my goal today -- finish, and hopefully, respectably.

Me, Dante and Ting, taking a few shots before heading into the starting pit.

Jorge, Dante, Ting and I making running newbie, Raymond Yap, feel at home before the start of his first 5K! Congratulations for finishing Raymond!!! Hope to see more of you in future races -- Mama Ting will make sure of this.

The 10K runners started off first, followed by 5K and 3K runners with a 5 minute gap per group. Dante, Ting and Ed were all running the 10K -- Dante decided it was time to move up -- after running only 5K races for so many months -- that left me as the only one in the 5K category!! Fortunately, Jorge was using this as one of his recovery runs from his 21K last Adidas KOTR -- as such, he was running in the 5K category. He also dragged along several members of his First Data family, including good friend Raymond Yap.

When our 5K turn came up, I started off strong. The route was familiar -- turning left into 5th Avenue and up the hill towards Essensa and making a u-turn at the corner before Bayani Road before heading back. The 10K runners would continue left until the Heritage Park before their return leg. I still felt strong at the u-turn but I got into a bit of mental trouble near the water station close to Essensa. So, I ended up with a short walk before reaching the water station. I grabbed a cup of water, gulp down the water before resuming my running.

This time, I kept focused and finished the rest of the race without any more stopping. I finished with an unofficial time of 34.03 -- disappointing since I've been breaking 34 minutes the last 2 race. I guess the lack of training was really evident. Now I'm worried for my New Balance race in Clark -- that will be my first 10K run. I have 3 more weeks -- I better buckle down and train!!

I don't have as many pictures this time. I brought my SLR with me but when I was about to start shooting, I found out that my daughter didn't return the SD Card that she borrowed last week. I ended up with a useless camera and settled for my phone camera. I took a few pictures before and after the race -- but it was disappointing not to be able to take my usual photo recording of the event.

Jorge in a tender moment with his son, Raymond, who also joined the 5K run.

After the race, I was able to see/meet familiar and new faces. I finally introduced myself to Jovie (Bald Runner) and Philip (Foreign Runner). I was fortunate also to be introduced to Lance Gokongwei and Fernando Zobel as they were having breakfast at Starbucks with friends Jajo Quintos and Nina Huang; they're all familiar faces in the running scene, this time running in the 10K race. I also said hi to Jay (Prometheus Commeth), Coach Rio and Alan Esguerra. Of course, without my usual camera ready, no pictures -- next time, hopefully.