Sun Fun Run 2010

Last Saturday, October 2, I joined the Sun Cellular sports fest closing ceremony fun run. I chose to run 10k as I felt that I needed to start building up a bit of mileage since I’ve been running 5k at least thrice a week for more than a month now. It was a good opportunity to make the 10k race my long run for the week.

At first, I wasn’t very confident as had developed a slight pain in my Achilles tendon area after a run in U.P. two weeks ago. While the pain is gone, I felt that I didn’t want to injure myself all over again a few weeks before the TBR Dream Marathon training was about to begin.

Anyway, I ran 5k the Wednesday and Thursday right before the race and left Friday as my rest day.

I ran the 10k with a time of 1:18:35 on my watch and was quite surprised at how difficult the run was. This was my slowest 10k race ever and I believe it was due to the following:

1. Lacking warm up. I forgot that in my present condition, warming up was essential to a good running experience. Around 15 minutes into my run, I could feel a burn in my legs which told me my legs were still adjusting to the pace.
2. Lacking hill training. Last year, I would often run around our subdivision to get myself prepared with the ups and downs of a race course. This year, most of my runs have been on the treadmill at a flat setting. I wasn’t ready even for the slight inclines of the road, much less for the Kalayaan-Buendia flyover.
3. Over estimated capability. I really did think I could as I used to run, at an aggressive pace. Anyone who ran right beside me would have noticed my heavy breathing as early as 25 minutes into the run.

In the end, when I look at why I ran as such, I figure it was generally a lack in discipline to run at my slower pace and be satisfied with my current fitness level. I’ve mentioned this to a number of friends that it can be quite frustrating after an injury when people you used to outrun easily pass you by. In these times of recovery, I need to find the right balance of when to push myself to make up for lost fitness and when to rest and allow my body to recover.

Well, for now I can say I learned a lot about myself in this last race. I am still set on improving my time and hopefully going back to a sub 1-hour 10k. But I believe patience is the key. I shouldn’t rush things. I can’t jump to that fitness level overnight. I need to work on it slowly and safely with a long term outlook.

My next race so far is the Adidas King of the Road 10k on October 24. With a few weeks to go, I can only expect to try and shave off a few minutes. I just need to work on a few things and be patient with myself.