Q: How do you know when you’ve run a great race?

A: Despite drinking the night before, not having any sleep and arriving late for the race, you still enjoyed the race… and this time around, finishing time did not matter one bit.

There must be something really special about today’s run that despite all the things I could complain about and use as excuses, I still had a wonderful time and felt exhilarated after.

THE NIGHT BEFORE

I was out late the the night before the race. In fact, I had 3 bottles of beer coupled with chicharon bulaklak and pinsec frito at Dencio’s with Lester. Both of us registered to run 10k today. I guess it was a death wish of sorts since what we were consuming would defitely have an impact the morning after. We’d surely be dehydrated because of the beer and the oily food would probably screw up our otherwise “clean” system. I liken eating fatty and oily foods to using low quality gasoline in your car; you get lousy combustion. I had to sacrifice the race for improving my mood and releasing all this stress that has been building up inside. So after 3 bottles of beer and some really oily food, I still ened up eating when I got home. Anyway, I did make sure to drink a lot of water to re-hydrate myself.

SLEEPLESS NIGHT

I’ve been having problems sleeping at night the past 3 weeks or more or ever since Makiling Challenge. I end up lying in bed wasting 2-3 hours tossing and turning and eventually getting to sleep at 3:30 or 4:30am. Last night wasn’t any different. I went to bed around 12mn but finally dozed off by 3am, only to wake up at 4:30am to drive my dad to the airport.

Actually, when I woke up, I was absolutely NOT IN THE MOOD to run. My joints were aching, my muscles were sore and I was feeling woozy. I was really contemplating not running anymore. If it weren’t for my friends whom I had invited to the race, I would have just went back to sleep. Good thing that by the time I dropped off my dad at the airport, I was already wide awake… though still not in the mood to run.

LATE FOR THE RACE

I felt that I still had ample time to get to the Fort. It was 5am when I left the house and Bonifacio wasn’t that far. I got to Fort at around 5:40 BUT the queue of cars was soo long. I needed to look for my other friends since their singlet and race bibs were with me. Usually, I’d be upset not being able to start when the gun goes off but what the heck, there wasn’t anything I could do. I started the race about 10 or 15 minutes late. I decided to just use my Timex to get my unofficial time. Without any stretching or warmup, I went on my way.

RACE PROPER

I was really concerned whether I’d be able to finish the race since I had done almost all the “no-no’s” prior to the race (ie. drinking, not getting enough sleep, no warmup, no stretchin and being late). I ran side by side with my friend Sander all the way. We both did not have enough sleep and our last major race was the Nike Human Race where he beat me by two whole minutes. So we decided to pace each other. We were definitely at the back of the pack and it felt good though that we got to catch up with other 10k runners and we able to reach the middle pack.

We probably started with a 6:30 pace for the first 2 kms. By the time we started to go up the bridge, I started to feel good. I love uphills. I mean, if I’ve done the hilly route of the Nike Human Race AND survived the Makiling Challenge, going up the Buendia Flyover was definitely chicken feed.

I saw familiar faces coming back. Actually, I didn’t want to see anyone. They might think how slow I probably am. Hahaha… I was 10 minutes late but probably to their minds, I thought, “what a slow poke”. Hahaha, of course they didn’t say anything like that. Instead, the people I saw cheered me on. Hi to Prometheus Cometh, Zinnia of Happy Feet. People who cheer you on while running really makes you feel good

By the time we got down the flyover, I started to feel dehydrated and I needed to take whiz. What a combination! Hahaha! Luckily, I few meters away was a water station.

I kept on looking at my watch to more or less have an idea of how far I’ve run. I usually go at a steady 6:00 pace anyway so if my watch reads 30:00, I’ve probably run 5 or more kilometers already. There were no distance markers but since I was quite familiar with the route, I could easily make a mental note of how far I’ve gone also. Either way, I wasn’t after any particular time. I just wanted to finish. If I did good, it would be a bonus.

There were times when I felt like walking but I pushed myself to continue. It was ok to slow down but at no point should I stop. It was also a good thing Sander was right beside me the entire time. He’d pass me, then I’d pass him and we did this the entire way. Hehe… But he didn’t know that I was serious that I wouldn’t allow him to beat me this time. Hahahahaha! Sorry Sander. There were times he’d stop running and ended up walking. So I’d be able to catch up.

When I saw the Buendia flyover again, I was excited. The race is almost over!!! Just 3-4 kilometers left. I picked up the pace. When everyone was seemed tired and let the sun get to them, I lowered my running cap and passed one runner after the next. There were even times that I’d do “counterflow” but of course making sure I’d get out of the way of other runners who were just on their way to the turn-around.

Sander and I picked up our pace once more. I was a little bit more conscious about my pace though and made sure I didn’t use up all my energy since I was definitely going to do a sprint towards the end. By the time we got to 11th St and when I saw the FINISH banner, I got a flash of ULTRA and remebered the 400s that I do. I decided to go full blast. My 400s are usually done at 1:40.

I finished with an unofficial time of 56:49.15.

I drank the night before, had a sleepless night, and was late for the race AND YET I felt great! This is one of my favorite runs.

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