On the day of the race, as expected, I noticed that a lot of runners had shown up. The portalets had long lines and the check in area at the starting line was really full. I ended up at the back of the pack because the middle and front areas were so cramped. The 10k race started on time, but I walked for the first 40 seconds after the bell rang.
On the first kilometer, I found myself trying to make my way to the middle of the pack. I found it a bit tiring just weaving in and out trying to pass runners. Something was wrong. I didn't feel as strong as a felt during the UP ICTUS Run. Nevertheless, I maintained my pace, which I felt was somewhere around 5:30/km. It helped a bit that I tried to take deeper breaths.
I think I stopped to walk around 3 times on the way back just to catch my breath. I was pushing it a bit because I was targeting a 3-minute improvement in my time.
When I got to The Essensa, I quickened my pace and made it a point not to stop. But then, as I turned the corner to the finish line, there were 2 long lines of runners waiting for their turn to cross. I quickly joined the nearest line, but then I noticed that the runners there had red bib numbers (the 5K bibs!) so I moved to the next line at once. By then, around 7 or 8 runners had already moved into the line before me. I looked at the time on the finish line: 57 minutes. The time on my stopwatch was still at 56 since I started it as I cross the starting line.
I started wondering to myself. How will they know exactly when I cross the finish line? What could be taking such a long time? I heard from someone that they would adjust the time. How? What would be their basis?
It was a good run actually. I just wanted to make a strong finish, but then I couldn't. I'll always remember this race as the one that was "bitin".
To the organizers of this race, I hope it will be better next time.
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