I think it was the first time I’ve seen so many Lasalites (or Lasallians, as they prefer to be called ). According to the emcee, there were over 5,000 participants, making it one of the biggest race events, perhaps since the Subic International Marathon. Upon reaching Fort Global City, I could see that I was going to be running in a sea of green. Almost everyone in sight was donning their One La Salle race singlet. The race had 3, 5, and 16k events, as well as a master-pet category.

In Preparation for the Race

The week prior, I had prepared well for what was supposed to be my first 10-miler. I had 3 track sessions (MWF) and was able to do my speed work. I had made sure also that I got proper nutrition, without eating any fatty or oily foods, as well as stayed away as much as possible from beef and pork. I wanted to detoxify my body to ensure that I was at tip-top condition. I also had not consumed any oz of alcohol either. My mind was set on doing well for this particular event.

The Race Bandit

Upon reaching Bonifacio, I was looking Vince who was supposed to register for me. When I got to see him, he told me that we weren’t registered yet. Upon knowing this, I suddenly lost the motivation to run. I mean, I’ve never thought that I’d ever be running bandit. I know that bandits are a distraction and cause problems for race organizers, especially with registering official times.

I tried to register but apparently, registration was closed as early as July 10, Thursday and according to the website, they would no longer entertain registrants on race day. I went to Coach Rio’s Nike booth but I wasn’t able to get the extra race kit. I could’ve run 5k event, but alas. So I decided to run Bandit for the 16k. I got into the pen for 16k runners. Without any warm-up run or stretching whatsoever, I started the race, along with other bandits… Haha! Ben aka Photographer on the run, Ordo (who was actually registered for the 3k but did 16k, haha!) and other bandits. I think Vince was able to get a race kit last minute.

We started the race and I had a good start. I wasn’t a wee bit tired. The only thing that started to bother me was the onset of rain.

When it rains, it pours

It was drizzling when the race started. By the time I reached the first lap (where they were giving away the white strings), it started to rain a bit harder and on the way back to the race start area, it was already pouring. Some of the other runners stopped running altogether. The others retreated to shaded areas to allow the rain to pass. I on the other hand decided that it wasn’t worth pushing through with the race. My feet were already getting awfully wet. I wasn’t going to risk getting sick either. So instead of pushing through with the remainder of the 16k route, I decided to make a turn and join the 5k runners. Either way, I was running bandit and had the “option” to choose whichever route I wanted and so I ended up doing the 5k route. As I neared the finish line, I took a turn at the Strip (where Fitness First is located) and took a back route. No way I was crossing the finish line as a bandit and get, perhaps, dagger looks from the race organizers. Haha! Good thing I had chosen to drop out of the race, since the sun started to show itself a few minutes after and it was really hot. I hope no one got sick.

Post Race & Happy Feet Breakfast

After the race, I decided to pass by Coach Rio’s Nike booth. He’s preparing for the HUMAN RACE. They were testing the new Nike + wristband and sensor. It’s a gadget that measures your distance, heart rate, calories burned and time. There is a sensor you put inside your shoe and you wear this band that serves as the monitor. For those with iPODs, you can also plug in an attachment to make it work. After Coach and the Nike crew packed up, we went to Chowking for breakfast.

I finally got to meet the members of happy feet! There was this one really long table of Happy Feet runners. [Join the e-group]. I saw familiar faces like Roselle, Ben, Marga, Zinnia, Vince, and finally got to meet a whole lot of other people like Stephen, Grace, Doknoy and, I forget the names of everyone else. If you can email me or comment where you are in the picture, please do tell me

[Photo courtesy of Happy Feet e-group]

Back to Training

I wasn’t upset with the turnout of my race. It was a choice over getting sick and/or getting blisters and finishing the 16k race or dropping out. I decided to do the latter. I wouldn’t risk getting sick. Either way, I could just train this week and do a long run. It’s no biggie. And since Coach knew that I didn’t really run, he said we’ll be training hard this week. So it’s off to ULTRA for me.

I hope everyone had fun