The Marathon can humble you - Bill Rodgers (winner of four Boston and four NYC marathons)
I have always believed in this phrase ever since i started running Marathons, but never has running humbled me like this before...
The day started simple enough, woke up at about 12:30am to prepare myself for the Marathon ahead. With plenty of time I still got the chance to power up my Laptop and check for FB updates. Then a bit of good news!! Unilab Active Health just released their updated list for the claiming of the Loyatly Shirts. My name was in blue (Which means I only needed to show my bib to claim my shirt). I was like "Cool, a good sign of things to come."
After eating my usual marathon breakfast (which consist of cornflakes, milk and a banana) I took a bath, brushed my teeth, dressed up then headed out to our meeting place of a team mate. After she arrived, we caught a cab then hurried off to BGC.
We arrived at BGC at about 2:30 am, still 30 mins before gunstart, plenty of time for socials. LOL! We met up with other team mates and made some chit chat to relieve some tension. At about 2:50 am, we started heading to the starting line where the group got separated. Chona, Riz, Joyce, Goldy and I headed to the front of the starting queue while Elvin, Dennis, Sir Ted, Christopher and Roxanne (who by the way was about to run her first marathon) headed to the back.
3,2,1.... the run started... said a short silent prayer which I normally do, stepped on the starting mat, then off I went...
We started somewhere in the middle of the pack so I had to navigate my way through other runners. I tried not to get to much excited and run faster as planned at the start of the run. Tried to maintain a 5:30min/km pace while navigating through the other runners.
Somewhere between the 1st and 2nd kilometer, I started to feel a familiar pain down my legs. It was the same pain I felt last RU3. To relieve some of the pain, I started running in the middle isle of 38th Street (which has a grass surface). It was working, as it was in RU3. Then I recalled that my right leg went numb after 2kms. As sure as I was, it did, my right leg went numb. Despite feeling numb, I tried to maintain a pace of 5:30min/km.
Back in RU3, the numbness mysteriously went away after the 7th km. And as if history would repeat itself, it did. Right after a hydration station, the pain and numbness was gone. I started thinking what was causing that. But I didn't think of that too much back then because now I was more eager to follow my race plan. In my mind I thought GAME ON!!
Time check at 10km 56:07, a little off but so far so good.
The route went through C5, which was new to me. C5 was hot, humid and polluted because of the cars that pass through. The runners were only given about 2 lanes in which to run. I started dousing myself to keep from overheating.
After C5, the route went to Bayani Road and Lawton Ave. which was another welcome sight from the usual route. This was my second favorite part of the run. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the rolling hills that Bayani Road gave to us. I still maintained my pace through it. Also, a part of Lawton Avenue was where we do some of our long runs during our TRA LSD's, so the route was familiar to me.
Then we found ourselves back at BGC. Where I started catching some of the back 21k runners. Went up Kalayaan flyover then proceeded to my favorite part which was Buendia Ave. The road here was long, flat and boring for some, but for me, this was a chance to get back some lost time. I even remembered not knowingly running at a 4:30min/km pace here. I started passing more 21k runners, which gave me more adrenaline.
Time check at 21km 1:57:25, still good time.
Starting the second half of the run, I was amazed. I still felt fresh as If I had only ran 10km. Upon checking the time, I became more eager on hitting my target finish time. I was even more determined and calculated that I can even do a negative split. I ran to the next 9km maintaining my 5:30min/km pace. Before the first U-Turn at Roxas Blvd. I started seeing familiar faces, even paced with a BDM Finisher friend for a short time. I was enjoying myself and concentrated on my breathing.
Time check at 30km 2:53:47, almost there. Right after passing the 30th km sign. I started calculating, I will be able to hit my target if I would maintain a 5:30min/km pace. That got me excited.
But then suddenly, with my legs still fresh, my breathing was not really that labored, out of nowhere, it hit me like a runaway train. BAM!! I suddenly felt dizzy, I tried to shake it off to no avail. I tried to maintain my pace through this but every step I took felt like the whole world was shaking. Then finally, after about 400m after feeling this I slowed down. It was there I thought, goodbye target time, goodbye sub 4 finish.
It was that time I thought I could still beat my P.R. if I continued to run at a moderate 6min/km pace. I calculated and thought to myself, I could give it a go. But as soon as I started running, the dizziness worsened. I had no choice but to stop totally. I was standing there dead in my tracks, with my body still feeling fresh.
From this point on, it became a real struggle. I started walking but I couldn't keep a straight line. I stopped again, this time I was worried. For the first time since I started running, I was really worried. I started thinking about the three letters that I know would haunt me forever.
D - N - F
As I stood there, I started asking myself. What the hell is happening to me? Was it lack of oxygen? Should I stop now? Should I walk to the finish line? Should I wait for an ambulance to come pick me up? Should I sit down? The questions kept coming, I was really worried that I may not finish. It will be a first, this will be the first time that I hit "The Wall". And might I add, I hit it really hard.
After about 5 mins of standing still, I started walking again. I was relieved that now I could walk straight. I didn't try to start running yet because the dizziness might worsen again. More and more people started passing me, but this time, I didn't care. I was only concerned with finishing the run still alive and in one piece.
Just before the last U-turn at Luneta, Elvin caught up with me. He was cramping up and was slowing down too. We started laughing at what was conspiring then continued walking. At some point between Luneta and CCP, Dennis also caught up with us. He was having knee problems. We were discussing and laughing what the hell happened to us. We also agreed that by far, this was the worst run
The last 6km was a Walk-Run affair. We were walking more that we were running. We agreed to finish at least a sub 5 marathon for our consolation. Dennis decided to run at a slow pace rather than walking but Elvin and I continued Walk-Running until Seaside Blvd. where we decided to go for broke and run to the finish.
Just before the last corner, we caught up with Dennis again. He was pacing with a small group. We laughed because "Team Uwak" was together again. After we made the turn, we looked up the clock and it read 4:59:12. I thought, "WHAT THE F! I was going to miss out on a Sub-5 finish." With my legs still fresh, and my vision being more stable, I began gaining some speed for a last sprint to the finish. Elvin and Dennis did the same not wanting to go beyond 5hrs.
Finally, we crossed the finish line, as I crossed, the clock read 4:59:55.
to be continued...
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| One of the few pictures of me heading to the finish |
