Unicef Walk on the Child's Side

I have to admit that this was one challenging race. The ups and downs of this one threw me off pace.

I got to the race at around 5 A.M. so I did some limbering exercises to loosen up my muscles. I was a bit worried that my legs had not yet fully recovered from my sprints last Friday evening. I also walked around to warm up a bit and see if I knew anyone. I saw Carlo and Lara shortly before the start of the 10k. Lara stayed in the 5k area while Carlo introduced me to some of his friends.

It was quite crowded at the start with runners trying to get ahead of each other in such a narrow road. Within 5 minutes, we had already gone through a couple of ups and downs, and I realized that I had forgotten to start my stopwatch. Aaargh!!! By then, Carlo had already disappeared so I just decided to run my own race, using the actual time on my watch as a guide. I was so bothered by the steep incline going out to Lawton that I actually considered walking it just to conserve my energy. Then, it was off again to Bayani Road and the Heritage Park. It was my first time inside the park so while a part of my was straining to keep up the pace and get enough air into my lungs, the other part was enjoying the view. One thing I liked about the area was that I would always remember my son, Javier, every time I would see a plane pass overhead.

I also remember getting disoriented because I was expecting the run to reach C5 at some point. Good thing there were a lot of race marshals to guide us through the correct route.

The way back was just as difficult since I had to pace myself again for the long uphill climb to Lawton. I had used the many water stations take sips of water every time my mouth would go dry from breathing heavily. By the last water station at the corner after Bayani Road (Well, somewhere in that area), my legs felt like rubber. When I saw a group of runners running strongly to back to Mckinley Hill, I decided to follow suit and give it all I had. I worried a bit about running down the steep incline because of what it could do with my knees so I held back a bit but when I saw the finish line, I went all out.


Time for the Unicef Race: 1:03:52. While I wasn't able to beat the 1 hour hurdle, it is three minutes better than the VSO Bahaginan Race. I guess it's not bad considering the challenge of this race.

Joining the Unicef Walk on the Child's Side Run

I had originally planned just one run a month so that it would be easier to see my improvement with roughly a month of training before each run. It also meant that I had to choose between the VSO Bahaginan and the Unicef Runs.

I was torn in terms of which cause to support since both were important to me in one way or another. Anyway, I chose the VSO Bahaginan Run since I believed in the need for volunteerism and I also thought that the VSO Run was roughly close to a month away from my first run, the Adidas KOTR. Just when I had made up my mind, a friend of mine invited me to join the Unicef Run. I also learned that many of my friends had decided to join both.
So here I am with two runs for the month. I sure hope to perform significantly better this time. I finished my first 10k at 1:13:41 and my second at 1:06:58. I hope to finish below 1 hour this time. I have three more days to run before this race so I have to make the most of them. I plan a long tempo, an easy run and then intervals. I'll have Friday and Saturday to rest and recover.

VSO Race Recap and Pictures

I noticed a number of things different about the VSO Bahaginan Race which may account for the improvement in my time (1 hour, 6 minutes, 58 seconds) for the 10k. Being almost a month after my first race, the Adidas KOTR, I did expect to run the race without stopping (except to get a drink from the refreshment stations). Nevertheless, this is the first time for me to actually run 10k straight so that's one small victory I I'll remember about this race. Since I can't help but compare the 2 races, I decided to focus on writing about them. So here goes:

1. The Race Course was less stressful. The Adidas KOTR had us run through the streets of Makati. At some point, I noticed that the motorists were very much impatient and were honking their horns to let them pass. The view was mostly that of concrete and buildings. Imagine running on the flyover that connected The Fort to Buendia! For the VSO run, despite it having more portions that sloped upwards and downwards, the view was greener. It might be a minor observation, but it mattered to me.
2. The weather was cooler. It maybe caused by the fact that Christmas is near or that the VSO run started earlier. It was definitely easier to run in the cooler weather. It could be one of the reasons why I didn't tire out as easily.
3. I had friends nearby. That may sound cheesy so let me put another perspective other than the fact that their presence was a big morale booster. I also knew that how I performed then might be talked among ourselves and maybe to other people. So to avoid having to explain a bad performance, I tried harder to have a good performance.
4. I was better prepared. Training aside, I had a better idea of what to expect. I think I had a better breakfast meal this time around. In addition, more essential is the mental preparation. It seemed like I was calmer and I thought out how I was going to run this race. I kept telling myself that I had to be patient. I would frequently catch myself copying the pace of another runner and tell myself to run at my own pace. It also helped that I was able to read up on tips that other runners gave about preparing for a race.

This was the also the first race of my office/running mates, Jen and Meng. I've been running with them every weekend for the past month and it's been much more fun with them around. So to thank them for being great running buddies, here's some of the VSO Run pictures that we took:Finally, thanks to Photovendo, here are more VSO Race pictures:

VSO Bahaginan, November 9, 2008, The Fort

I'm quite excited about this run. This will be race number two and while I think my level of fitness is better than when I ran the Adidas King of the Road Marathon, I don't expect to do much better since the course appears to be a bit more challenging. So at this point, I'm adopting a wait-and-see attitude.

I'm hoping to capitalize on my experience from my first run. I should really pay attention to my breathing and be much more patient with myself. The trouble is really sticking to the pace that works for me when people are running by me. Perhaps I should start at the back so then I won't be so pressured by people whizzing by.

Anyway, here's the 10k route of the race:

I hope to get in at least 2 more runs before this event, but that might depend on the recovery of my left knee.

I felt some pain (very slight) last Sunday after landing from a jump to reach a basketball that got stuck up on the ring. I don't feel any pain now but I'm considering giving it another day of rest, just in case.

I also hope my two officemates can find time to register for the race. R.O.X. at The Fort is not that easy to get to when you work and live in the Northern area of Metro Manila. Anyway, it would be nice to talk about the race highlights after with some people. When I ran alone in the Adidas KOTR last month, I could not help but notice how most people had friends or family to talk to about their race. Anyway, I know at least one more person registered for this race.

My Very First Marathon

I started running in September because I got quite a scare upon learning that my SGPT results were kind of high. I kept on thinking about Thess and Javier and the thought of them having to take care of me when my body does breakdown. It was not easy at first finding time to run. I had to make sure that I wasn't needed around the house. Eventually, it became a routine for me to take off early on Saturdays or Sundays to run at the Ateneo High School Track Oval. In the beginning it was great. There were very few people up at that time and running was such peaceful experience. After a while, running around alone became a bit boring so I decided to move to the UP Oval so that there would be other people around. Though we did not know each other, they were good company. After a while, I found out that two of my officemates would also run on weekends and so from time to time we'd run together in UP. I'd also run on weekdays but those runs are much quicker and normally cut short due to time constraints.

Then after the Eraserheads Concert, a friend of mine told me he had just run a 10k marathon the week before and that I should try it out. At first I thought, "Whoa... 10k is too much!" But then, I started to think about it. I later on decided to make running a real 10k marathon my first fitness goal. I told my officemates about it and they also got interested. The marathon of choice was the Adidas King of the Road 2008. I registered not long after and got my very first race bib and singlet. Too bad my officemates ran out of slots. I was really hoping to have some friends nearby for support.

I remember the lines to get to the parking lot at The Fort. I was surprised to see so many people there. People had either walked, commuted or driven to The Fort at such an early hour to run. An hour before the scheduled starting time, I had a McDonald's Sausage McMuffin breakfast and a FAB Mango juice drink. I figured it had to be something light and easy to eat.

There were many familiar faces then. Some people were acquaintances from college. Others I had seen before while running in UP. Most people were pumped up and raring to go, stretching, jumping and limbering up. I was just anxious. I remember looking up at the race course to see that the 10k course went all the way up to Reposo on Buendia. Wow. At that point, I momentarily lost a bit of confidence, but I then told myself that I would finish it no matter what.


The 21k marathoners started at around 5:20 A.M. The 10k runners were up next. I recalled all the running tips I had read from RunnersWorld.com, said a prayer and started looking around for any familiar face. Seeing no one, I decided to look for someone I could use to help me set my pace. And then, at around 5:50 A.M., we were off!

I was a bit concerned that I tended to run at a faster pace than what I was used to. It seemed like everyone was running past me. When we got to the flyover to Buendia many of the runners had slowed down. The most notable sound then was that of a lady on her way back who had shouted her frustration for having to run uphill at such a steep incline. Then, after the U-turn at reposo, fatigue hit me. It was like all my energy reserves had suddenly been depleted. To make matters worse was the scorching heat of the sun that I only noticed on the way back. I tried to cut down my pace, but I couldn't stop myself from wheezing so I decided to stop and walk. I had settled to a run-walk-run pace through out the flyover on the way back. I felt a bit disappointed but I knew that my body had reached its limit. When I got to the turn near McDonald's, I decided to run straight to the finish line. At first it was manageable, but after a while, I needed one breath for every step. Eventually, I got to the end. Half of me wanted to savor the moment. The other half wanted to get over and done with. As I was running into the finishers lane, I looked at my stopwatch. 1 hour 12 minutes. Officially, I clocked in at 1 hour 13 minutes because there was a bottleneck at the area where they take the finishers' tags.

I went straight for the water table and looked around as I drank. People were recounting their experiences. Many were in groups chatting, drinking and resting. Everyone was happy. I had a friendly talk about the race with an acquaintance. After our discussion, I just looked around again. There were people on the side selling singlets and shorts. Race organizers had also set up tables for runners to register for the upcoming races. I finished the race. Now what do I do.

I wonder how I can possibly explain this experience to the people at home. I finished it! In a way, it was the culmination of weeks of preparation. It was also the start of a new way of life. From this, I learned about the strength (and weakness) of my body and my willpower. I know there are still a lot of things to work on. But I think working on those things are what I look forward to in the first place.