My First 10K

Running is really a test of your PHYSICAL and MENTAL stamina... When the physical wavers you have to rely on your mental stamina... Ergo both must be strong to endure a long distance run..

Mizuno run was my first 10K official race... I went into it nervous, excited, nervous, nervous, nervous... I had to say a prayer before the gun went off. First, I'm running not because it's a fad or anything.. I run because I have to... My BP is always a concern and a 10k run is not a joke... I know how far it is and how it can take its toll on me.. I'm not a weekend warrior... I self-train.. Prior to this I ran in the gym twice.. 7.5k and 10K... Boy, the 10K practice run on the Treadmill was tough.. Felt my legs were about to give up. Good thing about the gym is that the machine has a railing and there are people close by who can easily help.. the hospital is near so I worry less... But a 10K road run!!!! Yikes! Funny thing, I was ready for the worse. I had a small bag where I placed my celphone and cash. In case I feel faint or dizzy, I will call my dad to pick me up or flag down a taxi to bring me to The Fort. Not to mention that I know there's an ambulance who will roam the route. I had my bottle of Gatorade... I memorized the route... Again praning is what you call it..

My first 5K went pretty well... including the Kalayaan flyover run... I've realized that when running uphill and you push your body slightly forward, it makes it a lot easier and you run faster than you expect. I read about this in various blogs but haven't really tried it.. It really works!! Cool... My next 2k was slower but still ok.. My heart was beating normally and my legs were getting tired but bearable... I think the challenge started along the Kalayaan flyover going back... it was to0 "uphill" for me.. I tried to slow run it but then I felt I will really get tired that I might not have any strength for the last 3k stretch so I decided to walk the first half of the flyover. Worse, the sun was up already so I felt the heat starting to burn my back...

As soon as the flyover started to flatten, I resumed my running pace. At the next water station, I had to pour water over my back because I was feeling very hot.. I did the last 2K at a slow running pace... I can feel my legs starting to feel really wasted at the last 1 km... So I had to rely on my will to finish. And I did.. the thing that gave me a boost was my son who I saw at the last 500 meters ... Seeing him made me run the last 500 meters relatively fast and strong.. He was running too to meet me at the finish line...

I finished at 1 hour and 22 minutes (exact).. The same running time I had in the gym last Thursday... My mom and dad told me that my son was worried from the start because he knows that 10k is far... But I DID IT AND I WILL DO IT AGAIN... My son is as praning as me... hehe... The adrenalin of running is just too strong to ignore. Now I'm thinking of upping the pace and eventually going for 15k... Dream on girl.. :)

The good part about the run is meeting the Southern Runners of Takbo.ph and the others too. It was great putting faces with the names at the forum. :) Where's the next race? :)