Last January 26, Me and some of my "Team Rock and Road" teamates, Roxanne, Joy, Jonard, Daniel, JC and Sir Ted headed out to Subic, for the 8th edition of the Subic International Marathon. The run itself was on January 27 but we decided to go a day earlier. We rented out a house in Forest Hills so that we can rest our bodies. But it turned out, we only got 3 hrs of sleep. And this is the reason why...
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| VIDEOKE TIME!!! |
Joy, brought her "Wow! Magic Sing" along. Needless to say, we almost sang all night, mostly boyband songs. We were singing as if we were not running 42km's the next day. But when the clock struck 9:30pm we decided to stop the party and rest. I got to sleep at around 10pm.
I woke up at 1am the next day. Tried to wake up some team mates then boiled water for coffee, milo and noodles for the team, and prepared my own breakfast. By 3am, we were all ready to go to the venue. We hired taxi to bring us to the venue.
We had time for some photo ops when we arrived at the venue. We also met up with Riz at the venue, she came from their house at Angeles Pampanga.
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| Red is my color |
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| Shoes for sale |
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| GPS Watches for sale |
Riz, Jonard, Daniel, JC, Sir Ted and I were running 42km while Joy (because of a bum knee) and Rox (because of the TBR Dream Marathon) were running 21km.
We headed to the starting area, the host said some encouraging words then counted us off.
3,2,1.... the run started... said a short silent prayer which I normally do, passed through the starting arch, then off I went.
Now, I intended a P.R. run for this, and said to myself that a sub - 4:15 finish would be nice.
Km 1 - 10 (Warming Up)
I started at the very back of the pack and unlike my other runs where I usually go out smoking guns blazing near a sub 5min/km pace, I took it a bit easy running with a moderate 6min/km. I was running mostly by feel than pace at this point. I didn't even care if there were may runners passing by me, I was determined to keep my pace. I also utilized the technique Jenny, a friend of mine, taught me. Long strides mean to rest, short strides means to race. Needless to say, I was running with long strides most of the way. I only checked my GPS watch six to seven times at this point, I was running at a 5:50min/km. By the 5th km I was passing runners.
Km 11 - 14 (Back To My Old Self)
I ran the fist 10km in 58 mins, a good 2min better than what I had planned. At this point I was still fresh, so I decided to increase my pace steadily. I passed more runners, and still doing long strides, pretty soon I was pacing at 5:10min/km. Thoughts of breaking the sub - 4:15 time kept running through my mind, and said to myself that it was indeed possible.
Km 15 -18 (The Uphill Battle part 1)
Right after passing the 14km mark, the part where most of the runners dreaded, including me, appeared, the uphill. For this part of the route, I switched running techniques, this time I would be running with short consistent strides. Though the uphill had moderate steepness, it was long, it stretched for more than 3kms. All along this part, I was saying to myself to keep a 6:30min/km pace and I will just get back the lost time once the route goes downhill.
Km 19 - 22 (Making Up For Lost Time)
After passing the 18th km mark, the terrain started to change. It was beggining to turn downhill. This was my chance to get back lost time. I started to gain momentum. I started to do the rolling technique with my legs and feet to minimize fatigue. Pretty soon I was pacing at a good 4:40min/km. It was all downhill, but soon I started to realized that upon reching the U turn, this part would be another uphill battle.
Km 23 - 27 (The Uphill Battle part 2)
I was right with my assumption, immediately upon making the U-turn, I was in for another uphill battle. I applied the same technique I did in the 15th and 18th km. But this time, I was a little fatigued but still managed to keep a 6:30min/km. Once again what kept going through my mind was I was going to get back the time lost once the route goes downhill.
Km 28 - 30 (Its All Downhill from here)
A bit of fatigue was setting in at this point. I simply applied the technique I did at Km 19 - 22. But this time I was a bit more conservative, only maxing out at a 5min/km pace. I knew that at the foot of this downhill, the route would be flat and a bit of small rolling hills. I computed what my finish time would be, and concluded that if I continue running consistently, I would go sub 4:15.
Km 30 - 35 (Goosebumps)
After the long downhill, the terrain became flat. I had only 12km's to go. If I ran the next km's under 1 hour and 20 mins, I would hit my target. I started to do long strides at 6min/km again to conserve energy. Suddenly, at the 34th - 35th, my arms and hands started to feel cold. For some reason, the hair in my arms was starting to stand. I was having goosebumps. At this point, I started to walk to shake off whatever I was feeling that moment. I walked for a good 10mins, at this point I started to think that I might not beat the 4:15 and said to myself any time that would break my previous P.R. (which was at 4:28:48) would be good.
Km 36 - Finish (The Recovery, The Heat and The Finish)
After I shook off the cold feeling in my hands, I started to run again. Luckily, I was still able to hold a 6min/km pace. It was already 8am, and the sun was already shinigh brightly. remarkably, with all of my training, the heat was almost not a factor to me. Aside from the occassionally dousing myself with cool water, the heat was not that bad. Then upon making the last left turn at Rizal Highway, I knew that it was going to be flat and straight. So I started to increase my pace again, I hit an average of 5:10 in that last two kilometers.
Then finally seeing the finish line, with my body still feeling strong, I decided to sprint for it.
Finished at last, my finish time based on my watch was a good 4:08:45.
A good 7 minutes better than what I had planned.
A good 20 minutes better than my previous best.
After getting my loot, I searched for Joy and Rox. It turned out Joy was only about to head to the finish line to wait for us, I had no pictures at the finish line. But I didn't care, I was already happy with my finish.
I had this picture of me during one of the uphills though.
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| Seriously serious??? |
After which, the photo ops resumed.
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| My gear and swag |
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| That's me!! |
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| Kristine Joy Cerame |
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| Roxanne Catubig |
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| Jonard Aries Gamboa and Ted Famatiga |
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| Daniel Bersano |
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| John Christian Campomanes |
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| Rizzalyn Damaso |
After our last team mate crossed the finish line, we decided to buy food and head back to the house we rented to eat and have some much needed rest.
I was happy with my results, but some thoughts did enter my mind.
What if I trained properly for this Marathon? Could I have done a sub 4 hour?
But for now I am contented with my result. A sub 4 marathon can wait another day.
Photo Credits: Sir Ted, Daniel and Litrato Photography
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