New Year Goal #1 - Done!

At the start of this year I had 3 major goals. Here's a recap of them:

1. Sub 1:50 21k
2. Sub 4hr 42k
3. Sub 6hr Half Iron Man

Each of these goals are kinda like a pre-requisite of the other since they would be a sort of test to see if I can be able to do the next. The very last one in there would be the Half Iron Man, which is basically what I will be preparing for in the next six months.

The setting for this half marathon was done today in the Condura Run for the Dolphins Marathon. I was honestly very nervous cause I know how the result of this race would set the tone for my up coming goals. But none the less I know how much work and training I put into this and that this will be my strength in conquering my goals. 

The race started early morning at 4:30am in Makati Ave. The race route will be bringing us up the skyway then there will be a turning point, from there we would then make our way back to Makati and finish of the race at The Fort.

I was greeted by a lot of familiar faces in the crowd from our running group the Alabang Snail Runners. Where our motto is to "run with passion and precision" lol 

As I started to walk up to the starting line I couldn't help but breathe in the race atmosphere. I honestly missed this! The last time I ran a major race was last year during the 32km Run United 2 event. There is something different about being in a crowd of thousands of people, all sweaty and are roaring to get the run started. There really is no other feeling.

Once the race started, I was giving it all on the line from here. The skyway route was fairly alright for me, people usually talk about it being hilly and would have lots of slopes and all, but I didn't really mind. I think what helped me were my LSD runs which I do on hills. Just like the saying goes "hills make you fast on flats, but flats don't make you fast on hills".

Moving on, the turning point came quite early at 8kms. I actually shouted and asked the marshal three times if it really was the turning point, I guess medyo "bitin" pa ako sa skyway haha At this point I also realized that I was doing good time. I was about 5 minutes ahead of my goal time which was a 1:49:59. Yes I literally was targeting a SUB 1:50 time. I also saw that I was beginning to start running alone cause I was moving away from the main pack. So I became a lone ranger.

I tried as much as possible to keep pace with different runners. It's very hard to pace to alone. Hearing someone else's footsteps and breathing keeps me calm and lets me gage how fast I'm going. And well it also reminds me of the Iron War between Mark Allen & Dave Scott. 

By the time I got off the Skyway and was at Buendia Ave, I was approximately 5 kilometers away from the finish line. This was by far, my most favorite part of the race. I was practically alone at this point and all I could here were my footsteps. It was just me and this pitch black road in the middle of soaring buildings which just went on and on. From time to time I would see marshalls but it was just dark. I felt like I had the roads of Makati just for me lol

This little enjoyment though was short lived when I just started to feel out of it at km 18. My legs were heavy, my breathing pattern was wrong, and I felt like I just wanted to stop. I really just wanted to stop right there. If I could hit a pause button I would have. But this was a race so I had to deal with it.

I walked about three time until the finish line and had about five people pass me in those last few kilometers. That really killed me in the inside. I worked hard to gain that lead and it just dissapeared in an instant. I guess they just worked harder right? By the last kilometer I was cramping and had nothing else to do but walk. I really wanted to push it but my body couldn't.

By the end I finished with a time of 1:46:07. It was way better than my projected time but I knew I could have done even better if things went my way. But hey thats the beauty of it right? Things don't always go your way. Even in life this statement stands true. All you can ever do is just keep working hard and try over and over again. Only you can say when you will give up.

Overall it was a great race indeed. Lost of high emotions and experiences I won't soon forget.

Before I end this entry I just want to make a shout out to the following people for an extra ordinary effort today.

•  Ding Cabanero for a crazy sub 4hr marathon finish. 
•  Donna Segunial for finishing her first half marathon and will be attacking the FULL Marathon next month (Yes I meant to make the FULL in all caps haha).
• John Jacob, my co triathlete for finishing his first Full Marathon
• David Oting for a sub 2hr finish on his FIRST half marathon, WAW!
• Paula Plaza the woman who in my mind can do everything (Law school, social life, marathon, its all in a days work) for finishing her first Full Marathon

Congrats everyone!