Run For Their Lives - A 10K Adventure

Apprehension! The feeling I had coming into Sunday's race -- Run For Their Lives, organized by Extribe and the Rotary Club of Makati West. Why? The last race I had was at UP on Feb 8, 2009. Since then, I had a number of races that I skipped, for one reason or another. My work load has also somehow increased -- especially tough with a number of foreign partners visiting -- meaning early mornings and late nights. That has taken a damper on training runs. I had about 1 1/2 weeks training coming into this race -- many of the runs done were mediocre at best, not even one going the distance of 10K. You can probably visualize what I was feeling coming into Sunday.

Stressed! That's the feeling I had Sunday morning, 40 minutes before race time! I had a number of long days on the run-up to Sunday. The meant a sleep-deprived state! hah! So, Saturday evening, I had to beg off being a dad, because my kids were still out on their Saturday gimmicks. My wife had to take the burden of fetching them early Sunday morning. I set my alarm clock for 4:30am and went to bed, quickly zonking out into lala land. At around 3:29am, I somehow woke up, looked at my phone and saw it was still early, went back to sleep, confident I would be awakened at 4:30am.

I woke up again and looked at my phone -- it was DEAD!!! I looked at my other phone and saw that it was 5am!!! Technology has failed me yet again. So, my Sunday started off with a bang -- me in panic mode, hurrying to get ready so that I can be at the Fort before race time. I did manage to prepare my clothes the night before -- so that wasn't a problem. But, I needed to bring a water pitcher with me to fill my hydration belt onsite instead -- glad the pitcher didn't break or leaked!

Even though the fates seemed to have conspired against me, they were kind enough to make sure parking wasn't an issue. There was a bit of a tensed situation along EDSA as MMDA decided to start reblocking operations near Camp Crame -- traffic came to a crawl for probably 500 meters -- that was another stressful period. But, I was glad I got there in time to witness the ceremonial walk and for me to greet my Rotary friends, including Dist. Gov. Boyet Limon and Dist. Gov. Nominee Ed Alvarez, all great buddies of mine.

Friends in Running that were with me at the Starting Line - Dante, Jorge & Ed

Numbness! That was the general feeling I had as I started the run -- 6:00am on the dot. Being so stressed out, I didn't have the time to even acknowledge any other feelings as the run started. I was with running buddies Dante Briones, Jorge Buenaventura and Ed Francisco. Mama Ting took the day off to nurse her strained calf -- she wanted to preserve them for next week's 21K.

Of course, everyone left me behind after the race started. I was determined to manage my pace -- the goal was to have a controlled run to finish the 10K -- no PR's at all -- given that it was my first race back after a month.

The race route was different -- we headed right from the NBC Tent area towards Rizal Drive and 32nd Street where the fast food restaurants were located, swinging by Willcon Depot and back towards the Serendra and Bonifacio High Street Area. The start was flat. The 2nd half would be different.

As we entered the American Cemetery area going up towards the McKinley Hills area, I still felt good. Although in the back of mind, I was wondering whether I'll survive McKinley Hills. The organizers changed the route a bit -- instead of heading towards Bayani Road, they extended the run inside McKinley Hills. Making the 2nd 5K tougher!

Each hill I encountered was an agonizing challenge. I took my time, slowing my pace, taking advantage of the mental aids that I remembered from 10/08 issue of Runner's World I was reading just that weekend. Unfortunately, on the last hill, just before the turn into Lawton Ave. for the home stretch, I gave up 20 feet from the top -- I surrendered to a walk until the top. But I quickly went back running as soon as I reached the corner.

From then on, I kept myself concentrating on completing each kilometer -- there were just 2Kms left until the finish. Counting off each 10 strides helped. Concentrating also on the music coming from my Ipod Shuffle also helped.

Dante and me taking a photo of posterity at the Finish Line. Ironically, we asked a GMA7 Cameraman to take this photo!

Relief and Elation! That's the feeling rounding the last corner and seeing Dante giving me a huge wave and giving me a high five as I passed him on the way to the finish line. Upon stepping over the Finish line, I hit the stop button of my watch. It read 1 hour 8 minutes!! Woah!! A new PR!! I couldn't believe it! Despite all the odds against it, I had a great run -- at least as far as I was concerned.

We had breakfast immediately after with Dante and his family. I didn't find Ed after the race, so I wasn't sure where he went. Jorge decided to extend his run by another 25 minutes in preparation for next week's 21K. I saw a number of fellow runners extending their runs. Me -- I thought I would but I succumbed to my desire to rest and eat -- so, it was breakfast at Portico's. Ting eventually joined us after completing her bike run.

Of course, I took the afternoon off to recover -- somehow, though, I felt that my body was recovering faster compared to previous runs. I didn't need as much ice or felt as much soreness. Maybe I am getting stronger, bit by bit. Somehow, this is how one feels after all the hard work, tension and stressed. What a feeling!!