An Opening Bullish Run

This race is the opening salvo for runners this year. Late November last year, the 16K and 21K slots were already sold out.  It was a good thing that we decided to register for 16K as soon as we were able to survive our Milo 10K run.

Why the 16K and not the 21K?  Well, I didn’t want to rush things. I am the type of person who sticks to the plan. I am already training for 21K and based on the schedule, I’m supposed to run around 15-18K this week.  So, just to add spice to the training, we decided to sign up.  Other motivations are, of course, the give-aways, like the finisher’s shirt and the medal (aside from the singlet, of course).

SO how did it go? 

We were at the site at around 4:30 AM. The gun time was at 5:20, so we still have time to do some warm ups and other prep stuff.  I thought running the new distance was going to be a grueling task so I had some muesli and a half-glass of milk for early breakfast.

The gun start was not the usual. It was a bell, like the one they use at the PSE trading hall.  At 5:15, the 21K runners sped off, shortly followed by us, the 16K runners.

As mentioned by last year’s participants, hydration was a problem. So, I made sure to bring my own drink (water with some Gatorade).  Indeed, it was a good move. The first hydration stop, though, was at 500m.  Can you believe that?  Who gets thirsty after running just 500 meters?  Anyway, at 3K there was no hydration. I even overheard somebody complaining about it.  Hydration came at around 5K and after that though, there was a continuous supply at regular intervals so I didn’t hear any more complaints. There was also a supply of Pocari sweat, which turns out to be nice drink, and I had it for a couple of times.

The refreshing experience I had was with the water shower. Too bad, though, that the singlet seemed to be not so dri fit, since I was dripping wet (especially on my tummy part).

The first 10K was smooth, and it wasn’t really that hard.  In fact, I even broke my personal record in the Milo 10K run.  But, when I approached the Kalayaan flyover, it was really a struggle. I was able to run the first pass.  But coming back, I did feel the drain of energy.  My feet were so heavy it was really difficult to run.  So, I walked going up the flyover.  It was bliss going down; however, the last 3K was done using the walk-and-run strategy.  The flyover had really zapped a lot of my energy.

I finished the 16K at 2 hours, 12 minutes and 42 seconds.  I bested 242 runners (being ranked 426 out of 668, not so bad! LOL)

It was really exhilarating crossing the finish line. I even lingered at the shower area for a while.

Then I gulped an iced can of Pocari sweat. So sweet!