Ending 2012 with 2:15 :(

Merry Christmas (2012) and Happy New Year (2013)!

No doubt that my favorite road distance is 21k. When I was just starting to run, I envy those who can run a 21k and can’t wait then to finish one. After 2 months, finally finished my 1st 21k at KOTR 2009 with time of 2:05:36 and officially a half-marathoner. How greatful I was then achieving a feat and even brags it to friends. Lol. After doing several 5ks upto 42ks,  I knew 21k was the distance I love most!

My 1st 21k experience at Adidas KOTR 2009

3 years have passed and here I was, trying to get back in my top running condition once again after half a year of bumness. I have this thought on my mind that a new 21k pr would be achievable and that would start my year strong.  I plotted series of 21k races below and hoping to lower my time before the year ends.

 07/8/2012 HyperSports run with Marvin, MsMars and KG. 21k @ 1:54:16

07/29/2012 Milo Elims, 21k @ 1:53:54

09/16/2012 Run United 3, 21k @ 1:54:56

 09/23/2012 Rexona Run as Official Pacer, 21k @ 1:54:50

 11/11/2012 NB run post race with TA1, 21k split time @ 1:49:50

 11/18/2012 Tetra Pack Run, 21k @ 1:49:17

After achieving 2 consecutive sub 1:50 21k, I have this hope of doing a 1:45 or even a new 21k pr before the year ends. Target race was Milo Finals on December 9, 2012! In less than a month to prepare, I need to stay focus and consistent with my training runs. I was able to have consistent good mileage per week and been looking forward to race day but unfortunately, a slight pain occurred on my left knee a week before race day. I think it’s because of the sudden increase in mileage and speed trainings, increase in body mass and the weekly basketball trainings that I’ve been doing. I applied R.I.C.E for 5 days and hoping that the pain will go away.

MILO FINALS came and I felt good and I thought that my left knee injury was alright. My plan was to sustain a 5 pace and will speed up on the latter part of the race. I was able to maintain it until 8km then I felt the same pain on my left knee. I tried to push myself and ignore it but I felt a blistering pain on my lower leg afterwards. I tried to check what was causing it and found out lately that its my old calf ompression tights.

I removed the calf compression tight that’s causing the blister somewhere.

I think our greatest opponent is Mental Weakness. And for me, it’s my kryptonite!!! With the blister on my leg and pain on my left knee, somewhere around km14 I told myself “I quit!”…. and cry (haha, joke).

The walk of disappointment few meters to finishline. 21k @ 2:15:17

I walked literally for the last 3kms. I was strucked so hard mentally… I guess it wasn’t for me yet. 2013 will be very very hard for me as I’m expecting a lot of challenges along the way that can hinder in achieving my goals in running.

Please God, give me Strength and Guidance. Thank You!

Breaking the Sub45 barrier

PATAFA-Philippine Road Racing Leg 2
July 1, 2012
10k

I was then torn whether to sign up for a 21k or 10k distance. I knew I needed the mileage for base building but I also wanted to test my current speed for 10k. I haven’t done a 10k race pace for a long time so decided to register on that category instead.

At the starting line

It was a very simple event with few runners and with comedian-runner Bearwin on the side as a host telling jokes while motivating people to run(nice). The last time I did my 10k best was on a training run during ARC race where we hit sub46mins. I was really “wasak” that time and Martian was there to pace me. Now, I was really thinking of only hitting a sub 46 min and that would still give me a new 10k pr.

Ready, set and go!

FIRST 5KMS
To be able to hit a sub 46min was to maintain a 4:36 pace. I was really trying to maintain it on my first km but I really felt strong and light. So I decided to keep a sub 4:30 pace and hoping to hit that sub 45min 10k. I knew I wasn’t prepared for this yet thinking sooner or later I would feel tired and probably would slow down on the last kms. My plan was to do sub4:30 pace and would just slow down if fatigue hits me.

U-TURN POINT
I have maintained my sub4:30 pace and the u-turn slot was on site with still a lot of energy left. I was really hyped knowing that I’m still alright despite of the feeling I would bunk out any moment. But it never happened! Counting the male runners ahead of me, I was on 4th place and 3rd place runner was just few meters ahead of me. By the time we reached the u-turn area, I was just trailing behind him. Checking my garmin and we’re on a sub4:30 pace so it was safe tagging myself to him. I never intended to finish 3rd but hearing his breath getting louder and his running form changing, the 3rd place spot is at reach. But I still maintained my 4:30 pace and sticked to my main goal. As we passed by the flyover nearing the 8th km mark, he finally slowed down and 3rd place spot is at hand.

3rd place at 8th km
I’m on 3rd place now. Yey! But too early to celebrate, I still have 2kms to cover and podium finish for the 2nd time. I was excited thinking I might able to finish 3rd and at the same time setting a new 10k pr and/or better yet, breaking the sub45min barrier. On the other side of my mind, I was also cautious thinking I might get cramps, bunk out or get mental fatigue then might not even achieved either of the 3.

Last 2 kms
35mins and 30secs have past with 2kms left! If I maintain a 4:45 pace, I would hit sub 45. If I maintain a 4:30 pace, I would finish sub 44mins 30secs. What should I do??? I’m really computing my finish time, what pace should I maintain and checking my physical state at that moment. It felt like I was on a slow motion picture but I knew it all happened few seconds on my normal state of mind. What the heck, I want to enjoy this race so I speed up! I really felt stronger and lighter and I knew I was doing faster than 4:30pace. I didn’t look at my garmin on those last kms as I was getting goosebumps. Nyahaha!

My finishline sprint pic

By the time I crossed the arc I knew I finished 3rd. I looked at my Garmin and it was 44mins and 6secs at 10.04kms! I did a 4:15 pace on my last 2kms, negative split! I was really ecstatic and accidentally almost ignored Bearwin and coach host calling my name. I hit sub 44mins crossing the 10km mark on my garmin. The route was a little bit more than 40meters but who cares, I’ve achieved 3 goals in 1 race event! Yebah!

Awarding

Due to technical error, the supposedly 2nd place runner was disqualified so I moved to 2nd place. Ayos! It was my first time to podium finish at 2nd place but feeling sorry to that runner. Overall it was a great experience! Thanks Sir Jeff Lo and PINOYFITNESS for the pics and the warm welcome at your booth.

That day opened my competitiveness once again and gave me more hope in achieving my goals.

I’m now 1 step closer…

Thank you Lord!

Come back races

I can’t remember the last time I updated my running file. Yeah, I kept a file on my past races and the details of upcoming races. Mejo nerdy lng pagdating sa running… lol!

My sample file..

I usually update this every after race. This time, I will definitely open it and update it again! I have registered to ValueCare run and Run United 2. A back to back event where I could test my current running fitness level on speed and endurance.

ValueCare Run 5k
June 16, 2012 (Saturday)
I registered for this event to test my current speed. And to do that, a 5km run would be nice. This would also be the first time to use my Mizuno wave universe 4 race flats. Sweet.

Wave Universe, lend me your speed

The plan was to maintain a good pace until km3 and to all out on the last 2kms. I just wished then that I may able to pull off a time not exceeding 25min.

Pacing with a runner. Few meters to go

I finished way ahead my target time and had a new 5k pr. Maybe because of the hype and excitement of returning to road races that I was able to pull of a sub 22min 5k!

The distance was accurate

W/ Alpha1 Masters Chad and Natasha Davis

Funny thing… I was awarded as fittest male runner! (What were they thinking???!). I was given a box of free yogurt! haha.

W/ female fittest runner @ 5k 28mins 10secs (KG)

Freebies. Yahoo!

So much for today’s speed test, tomorrow would be test of endurance…

Run United 2, 21k
June 17, 2012 (Sunday)
As always, Runrio events are the most anticipated road races all year round. This time, there would be 5000 runners… that’s 21k runners alone! It was very very crowded area, heat and smell coming from everywhere(lol), drizzling rain and standing/waiting for an hour for the gunstart… the things I missed the most. Soon, I’ll be running my 1st 21k after almost half year of bum mode! The plan was to finish without injuries and to test my current endurance level.

Yebah! Salamat sa pic bro.

I missed the people I used to ”nod” or say  ”hi” during U-turn areas. And most of them this time, they are all ahead of me. I finished it sub2(1:59:52) chiptime without injuries/pain and was happy with the result.

Team Alpha1 w/ Doc Maya

Thank you Lord for this chance of getting back to road races… I miss everything about it!

Speed and endurance tested… Now to get back to my old self! Yebah!

Been up to…

“I don’t only miss running, but everything attached to it…”

After the staggering first international full marathon at HK, I was out of running shape with low or zero mileage for the next 4 months. Though my last event was RUNEW at Alabang(4months ago) where I got a new 10k pr with my VFF.

After the race w/ the guys. 47mins 34secs 10k using VFF

There were lot of things happened that somehow lost my motivation in running race events. And additon to that, a lot of factors made me even more lazy to do training runs. The new role at work, the summer escapade lazy mode and some complicated personal matters. To sum it up, negative vibes came in and seriously broke my passion in running. And I know that shouldn’t be the case…

FFS if not running

On the positive side, I still keep myself fit(lol) and make sure not to ruin my running fitness level once I decided to RUN again. FFS, what have you been up to?

A Runner’s Circle thursday fun runs
Yep, I still run sometimes… Marvin the Martian invited me to attend ARC run one thursday. They cover 5km and 10km with designated pacers for free. These running community is compose of very friendly runners having the same passion in running. On my 1st time to attend, I got a new 10k pr(unofficial), ended up finishing 3rd and I think we broke that 45min barrier.

Marvin(2nd), Edgar(1st) and me(3rd)

They give out freebies to placers, free running advices and raffle out SHOES.. yes SHOES! Thanks ARC, definitely worth attending…

Core/weight training and summer escapades
As we’re on the peak of summer then, I still continue to find what I’ve lost during college, my abs. LOL! After doing this secret workout for the past months, I dropped down to 10% body fat at 165lbs. There you are, totally found them again! lol. A combination of core weight training followed by high intensive interval workout 3 times a week. It was really deadly but results were amazing.

Buko sa beach = Stress free

Pacer duties
I also did a couple of pacer duties on some small running events. During these pacer duties, something sparked inside me and remembered the things why I was hooked to running… I think everything’s coming back once again and I hope this will continue. To continue what was left behind, goals not yet met and to continue motivating others…

I will reach my goals someday… someday!

Now, the journey continues…

FFS meets HK marathon

I started this year with a small question mark on my face. I still don’t know what would be my goal this year. Would it be breaking current PRs? concentrate on a particular distance?  or start a training season for Milo qualifying. All of those seemed so hard as I mostly focused more on core and weight training for the past few months. But then again, HK marathon was fast approaching so I told myself to finish the HK marathon first then set my goals afterwards.

HK marathon race route

Insane route right? I have no choice, this was booked and planned last year so there’s no turning back. Prior HK marathon, I still continued to focus more on weight and core training and somehow did joined some few races before the big day.

Pinoy Glory 21k; 1/7/2012; With “Last woman standing champion” Olive

Go natural 21k; 1/15/2012; Pacing with Coyote

Post meal after Go Natural race

Subic Intl race 21k; 1/22/2012; Cyborg mode.

With the team at Meat Plus after Subic race

PF lsd 16k; A very accommodating and friendly community

I only did a couple of 21ks and few 10k tempo runs. No Long runs beyond 21km. I know it’s note enough but I hope it would let me finish HK marathon without injuries. Anyway, it’s my first international full marathon race so whatever my race time result would definitely be a PR(haha. Excuses).

Team Alpha1 arrival at HK international Airport

For full details on pre race escapades. Check Deemenrunner’s link. lol. —> HK marathon pre escapades

Jumping on to the main event. The full marathon gunstart was 6:45am. Assuming I finish it after 5hours(it was my target time), it would be 11:45am by then. The sun would probably rising so high and in addition of a 10 degrees temperature, it would be a mix experience of hot and cold.

A good view of finishline from our hotel window

So there I was, at the gunstart running my first international race. As I set foot on the starting area, I felt like an explorer who doesn’t know what lies ahead of me. Like an astronaut landing on another planet and doesn’t know if its safe to go outside the ship. It’s an adventure feeling!

HK MARATHON EXPERIENCE
- Thousand of full marathoners. I never experienced being alone for 42kms.
- Cold weather. 10-12degrees. If the wind blows, you would shiver.
- Super uphill route. It was damn hard.
- Super nice view(City, Long bridge, tunnels).
- Cheering squads.

Few meters to go

Finished 4:50:17 haha. I thank God that I survived this race without injuries though I really need to train next time.

Team Alpha1 HK finishers. Proud.

It was a blast. Not bad for my first international race. Next would be KL marathon and I hope to be more prepared next time. Also need to set my goals this year. For now, I need to enjoy the happiest place on earth. HK!

Thanks guys!

’til the next race…

Memorable races

QCIM; 12/04/2011
21k

One of my best memorable race was the QCIM 2010. It was my first full marathon that I think I have trained for. My training back then was just to have a weekly mileage of atleast 45kms. From that time I still don’t know how tempo and speed training are. But still I clocked in 4:08 and I was very happy about it(Still currently my full mary PR). This year’s QCIM, I planned to start our “Project Sub2″ to our other TA1 teammates. This is hitting sub2hour for 21k distances. As i’m not fit to do any PR and even running a marathon, helping other members would be more meaningful.

At the starting line

Congrats to you hitting sub2! You know who you are. Haha! Others got new PRs but wasn’t able to hit sub2. One collapsed, haha. Joke! We’ll keep on trying guys. I also congratulate one of our teammate for finishing his 1st full marathon.

Post race meal

MILO FINALS; 12/11/2011
21k

Some races are hard to forget, and that’s the Milo races. Last Milo Elims 2010 was my first full marathon, I really enjoyed it and after finishing that race I told myself that I will qualify someday! That someday was this year. I trained really hard for it but unfortunately I didn’t. Found myself DNF in the most important race for me. I kept on telling myself to move on, but it is really dificult actually. Milo finals came and I envy those qualifiers running the full this year. Well for me, I’ll just be running 21k at the side.Few meters to the finishline

I finished 1:51:19 and somehow happy because of the same teammate who hit the sub2 a week before was able to run with me and even beat me by 5 seconds. Congrats buddy for a new strong PR! We also drop by at PinoyFitness Christmas Party afterwards. Thanks Jeff, Ms Mars and PF peeps for the very warm welcome!!!

I like this(parang paparazzi mode lol)

It would still be a long weekend as we headed to Jesy’s Mansion at Bulacan. Food, wine, food, beers and food… Yeah boy!

Kanpai!

RUN HARD, PARTY HARDER! That’s TA1 for sure… I would probably call it a year. This would be my last race for 2011. I’ll be on a 2 week vacation but make sure to still run and train!
’til next year… Whew!

Afroman and the Hill

2 big races would be my main attractions for this month of November.

Unilab Run (Runrio Leg 3)
November 13, 2011 @ MOA
32k

Last year’s Afroman Leg 3 was a blast and I clocked in at 2:51:50. I was on a full marathon training that time and I run that race just on tempo pace. With lack of training, I might not finish it at sub 3 hours even giving all i’ve got.

Pre race with Team

And it was. The humidity at MOA grounds gave me a hard time to breathe and as soon as we reach the 22nd km mark, the sun was up and it was too hot. From the stretch of Roxas boulevard and Magsaysay road down to the seaside avenue was a total oven toaster experience for me. Finished it 3:16:45 and way too newbie compared to last year. haha!

I still deserve a breakfast right?

Nathan Ridge Run
November 20, 2011 @ tagaytay
21k

The Afroman distance was only a warm up as few of my teammates dare to run this expected mountainous race. It was my first time to run at Tagaytay and I was thinking that I have finished Baguio run at sub2 and this might just be a replica of it. So I knew it was no biggie.

Alpha1 daredevils

NOT again! I should’ve prepared for this race. In kilometer order, the race route was composed of Uphill-downhill-rolling hills-mega down hill and MEGA uphill! It was really insane!

This is no camera trick

At km 16-19 where the mega uphill was, I remember sitting down for 1-2mins because I can nnot even sustain to walk(i’m weakling). This happened 3 times. haha! Finished it 2:35:17. It was uncomparable to Baguio run! It was the hardest race i’ve joined but nevertheless the best so far. I felt like I ran a full marathon!

Nathan Survivors

Post race meal at Leslies

I gained few percent body fats on that meal. Haha. This caused me not to run and hit the gym for a WEEK! Need to double time this December!

’til the next races…