Time: 1 hour 47 minutes
Date: July 24, 2011
Pace: 6:40 per kilometers
The first time I saw the race course, I got scared seeing that you have to take an uphill climb from Fort to McKinley area and then you have to go through the full length of Bayani Road until C5 then another uphill climb in McKinley until C5 area before you get to descend on the road to the finish line at the Fort. I didn't set my expectations high with my last race more than a month ago and that I'm considering this more of a training run than a race on the other hand, I'm also using it as a gauge if all the long runs I did for the month has been effective. Somehow, I felt more relax with this race since it would be my first time running 16K. As long as I finish, I get to have a personal record. I went for shorts, total fitness tri-singlet, 2xU compression socks and my trusty Kwicky Blade Light.
It's always a different feel when you are in an actual race compared to when you are training. There's that adrenalin rush coming from running as part of a crowd and running to beat your time. There were pre-run exercises conducted by the organizers/sponsors and then the official gun start and there I was running in a race again after more than a month of being away. I started at a very fast but still relaxed pace taking advantage of the flats from high street area until international school area. Surprisingly, I went at a steady pace for the first 10 kilometers of the race which includes the uphill climb from 5th Avenue and Lawton and the full length of Bayani Road and back. Approaching McKinley on the way back, I cruised on downhills, went steady on the slight inclines and preserved my energy on the steep inclines. Got past McKinley on the 14th Kilometer mark back. It was a slight incline back to Lawton for KM 15 and cruised downhill in 5th Ave all the way to the finish line and time was 1:47 for about 16.2 kilometers (Actual Mileage). A very decent and strong finish for my first 16K.
The course was a nice one. It felt like running two races, one in the Fort Area and another one in McKinley. While it had uphill terrains, you still get an equivalent share of downhills where you can recover your momentum from being slowed down by the hills. Water station was sufficient. There were kilometer markers. There were a lot of photographers. Race marshals were encouraging runners to keep on going. On a personal note, I'm really happy with my performance for this one. I was in control of my pace the whole time and was able to pace myself well for the full 16K of this run. I'm glad all the hill work and long runs has paid dividends and the struggle I had in my last few runs was no more. I'm upbeat to get back to train and get better.
Extra Kilometers: Post race: there was no official timing result for this run as the organizers timing partner had computer glitches. A big boo to technology. Despite me wanting badly to know how I'd fared against the field in this race, I'll have to settle for me surpassing my own expectation for the run. After all, you're main competition in races like this is yourself.
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