I went into it with only two 15Km races and one 16Km race in my belt. I also haven't been doing consistent LSDs due to schedule constraints. But, I was religiously running 3x a week in the gym consisting of tempo runs and speedwork. Statistically, I don't get to finish a 16km run without walking. Somehow my legs get tired at the tail end and my mind somehow doesn't compensate for my physical weakness. Ergo, I was expecting that I'd be walking a significant portion of the 21K. But I don't mind. I wanted to experience the distance. This is actually a pre-run to my real run in December in Singapore for the half-marathon.
I started to get anxious a week before yesterday. The plan was to taper so I'd go into the race fresh and well-rested. I ran last Wednesday for 8 km. I got a side-stitch which never happens to me. I guess I was so jittery that my muscles were so stiff. I had to stop after 30 minutes and walk for 5 minutes before resuming the run. Within that 5 minutes I kept repeating to myself to relax...relax... relax...
Left for Subic Saturday morning. I chose to commute from Manila to Subic so I don't have the added burden of driving. I got to Subic Bay at 2:30 pm, checked in the hotel and went to the starting line to have a preview of the next day's event. Remy field was filled with runners and spectators. The Nike Human Race was happening at 5:30pm and the full marathoners are expected to cross the finish line sometime 7:30pm. I was so tempted to run the Nike Human Race. It was a 10km run but then my running bud said no to that.. It's not advisable for me to do a run a few hours before a half marathon.
We ate dinner at Aristocrat at about 9:00 pm. Didn't have the ideal pre-run dinner .. I had chicken barbeque when I should be having pasta. Checked out the field again until 10:30pm before retiring for the night. Woke up at 4:30am and was in the starting line by 5:00am. Good thing I chose a hotel that was just beside the starting line... Hehe.. Tsamba yun...
The race started late.. 6:00 am when the gun start should be at 5:30am. A lot of the runners were getting impatient and were complaining. But, I tried not to listen because I was nervous as it is.. Adding negative vibes to what I'm feeling will definitely not help.
Gun Start at 6:00am... So many runners because it was a mass start for the 21K, 10K, 5K and 3K. It was pretty fun with all the participants. There were a lot of army people and policemen. They actually entertained me for the first 5K with their witty chants. The running crowd started to dwindle after the 5K mark.. Now, it's just the 21kers.
My plan is to run without ipod music for the first 10k. Run at a pace of 7.5km per hour. Start my ipod at km 11 to keep the momentum going. I followed that plan and it worked. I started my ipod after km11. Kept my pacing consistent and steady. I felt really good. I didn't eat anything solid the entire morning so my tummy felt light. My caloric supply was given by my gatorade which I drank every km starting from km10. It was really a good run for me... No pains along the way.. The route was likewise challenging with so many uphills. But I didn't walk.. I ran until km18... Can you imagine that??? I was passing by a lot of other runners... left my benchmark runner maybe 2 kms behind.. I was even passing by policemen along the route.. walking!!!!
The scene was amazing. The route took us to El Kabayo road and farther than Subic Bay International Airport.. The weather was also not that bad although the sun was shining brightly along numerous parts of the route. I guess that's one of the major reasons why a lot of runners ended up walking. There were really hilly parts but I actually trained for that adding gradient to my treadmill run to simulate hilly routes.
I decided to walk at km18 but only for 300 meters just to make sure I don't to have any pain. At that point, I have passed a lot of runners. Good thing though that two takbo.ph runners passed by me and said "3 kilometers na lang." So I ran again until kilometer 19.50.. I told Chris (my ever faithful running buddy), I might as well walk this for awhile to make sure I cross that coveted finish line. But then again, takbo.ph guys inside their SUV passed me by and shouted go go go... which again gave me the boost to run until km 20.50.. Remy field then was already in view and the adrenaline is just too much to handle.
I felt like crying.. I had jitters going up and down my back... This is what I've been training for .. to finish the half... It was not even a scheduled run!! I just wanted to see if i can do it before running the SG marathon. But it was there. I can't help it so I shouted my lungs off. I was cheering myself and smiling ear to ear. Chris entered the field earlier than I did. He can run really fast and wanted to make sure I have a picture when I cross the finish line. As I entered the field, there were spectators shouting "Go, go, go" "Konti na lang" "Go Sis" etc. etc. which added to the hype I was feeling...
I crossed the finish line in 2 hours and 54 minutes. I was smiling.. Chris gave me a big hug and I felt like I was floating... I did it!!! To top it all off, I passed a lot of police runners and other runners as well. My benchmark runner was way behind me.. It was great!!!! Greater than I expected.
