kilometer 133: Botak Paa-tibayan 42k

Yes! I finally fin­ished a full marathon, that’s why I call myself a 42km baby!

It was only last Fri­day that I decided to reg­is­ter for the full mary. I really did not care about the 500 peso late reg­is­tra­tion fee, even the almost-good-quality sin­glet (in which I did not wear dur­ing the race because it was sized M. I am a sized L.). My mind was set to fin­ish the race. I am actu­ally quite con­fi­dent that I will fin­ish it. I just wanted to know what drama, com­edy, or action will hap­pen dur­ing the run.

The Botak Paa-tibayan 42k, really was not an ideal race. From the water sup­ply, direc­tions, mar­shalls, etc., I tell you the list could go long as one kilo­me­ter or more. Just by read­ing the bloody com­ments of all the runner-bloggers out there, you might say that it was a good thing you were not able to did not join. But I do hope that the Botak peo­ple will do a lot bet­ter on their next race.

So what were the good things about the race? Two things. First, the route was very chal­leng­ing. And sec­ond, I fin­ished it.

In each and every road race that I join, my strat­egy is always to pace with some­one. I usu­ally have some human tar­get in which by just look­ing on his or her run­ning form and legs, I then try to run with him or her side-by-side or a few steps behind.

For the first half of the race, my tar­get was Jay. He’s famil­iar. I saw him once in one of the long runs with Bald Run­ner. Oh for sure, he did have some strat­egy. What­ever that is, by just run­ning behind him, his strat­egy will also be mine. I think we were run­ning a 6 to 6:30 pace.

Oh Garmin, when can I have you?!

I did not bring any watch with me dur­ing the run. So the mighty sun served as my time. Eter­nal Sun­shine was shin­ing along us while we ran two loops of the dreaded McKin­ley Hills. Going up to the Kalayaan bridge, my tar­get slowed down so I left him just for the meantime.

The heat of the sun started to bother me while run­ning on top of the Kalayaan bridge. Good thing the trees along Buen­dia, gave me the needed recov­ery. At this stage I saw other 42k run­ners going back. Wow! They’re really fast, I was say­ing to myself. Later did I knew that they got lost along the way, that they ended up run­ning only 32k.

I almost got lost too. Good thing I slowed down while cross­ing Ayala and made a right turn to Ayala exten­sion. My legs and back are start­ing to feel tired at this stage. From one block to another, I chose to alter­nate run­ning and walking.

Also I started to feel hun­gry at that time. I should have at least bought a Choco Mucho or any­thing edi­ble. Some­where along Rock­well, I bought a banana in one of the Jol­li­jeeps there.

At this stage also, Jay was able to catch up with me. He ini­ti­ated the talk and said that I am also famil­iar to him as I joined them in one of the long runs. He noticed that I was slowly run­ning and told me 1:40 left. I just assumed that it was the time remain­ing before the 5th hour. His goal is indeed a sub-5.

The cramps
As I tried to stay behind him, again with the 6-ish pace, my left leg cried. I stopped and sat on the road. I cried, in silence, for help. Jay hur­ried back. He heard my silent cry, I guess.

Which leg?
Left leg. Araaaay!
Are you feel­ing dehy­drated?
No. My legs are tired though.
You reached your limit. Just walk.
Grrr! So how many kilo­me­ters left?
10k

I’m just so thank­ful to Jay for giv­ing me that needed stretch.

So I walked.
I tried to run. Arrggg! No! I can’t run. My leg and back mus­cles were now sore.
And so I walked.

Oh no! Not again.
My right leg cried first. I cried for help. I really believe that peo­ple are nat­u­rally good. Thank you very much. Some stranger did approach me and offered to stretch my legs. As he was stretch­ing my right leg, my left leg cried again. Arrggg! I almost sat 5 min­utes on that side of the road.

Bra-ba-li-bin-tawan, Alaxan FR
Two run­ners saw me walk­ing. Parang Death March daw. Then they offered me the magic pill. Thank you.

Ice Ice Baby
The Fort Strid­ers sup­port group also saw me walk­ing. They offered me some ice and told me to do cold com­press on my legs. Thank you.

Pang ilang marathon mo na ba ito?
First time ko po.
Ahhh. Ok. I’ll give you a tip. At this stage. Try to nego­ti­ate. Say to your­self, maglalakad ako hang­gang dun sa poste na yun. Tapos tatakbo ulit ako pag­dat­ing dun sa ikalawang poste na yun. It’s really tempt­ing to walk. Pero kung gusto mong maka­habol ng sub-5, nego­ti­ate. Ok?!
Ok. Sala­mat po.

I was really lis­ten­ing to him while mas­sag­ing my legs with the cold ice.

Sec­ond Wind
And then it hap­pened! The Alaxan FR is indeed for Fast Relief action. I did try to nego­ti­ate, and I was able to run-walk-run after every cor­ner of the street along Buen­dia. And when I reached Paseo de Roxas, I ran again 6 to 6:30-ish.

To the Fin­ish
It was already 9:41 AM when I passed by the T2 Running’s sup­port group just before going up again the Kalayaan bridge. There was a small clock inside the van. A lot of Gatorade, ice and every­thing nice, I assume.

At this stage, I know I can fin­ish the race. I main­tained my 6 to 6:30-ish pace to the fin­ish. A van passed by along the Kalayaan bridge offer­ing bot­tled water to the run­ners. Thank you. I poured water on my head every time I felt like it.

Down the Kalayaan bridge… Mar­ket! Mar­ket!… NBC tent on sight… Right turn… I even tried to over­take one run­ner on the way to the fin­ish line.

Finally! I saw the clock, 5:24++.

I think I deserved the free Gatorade they were giv­ing out. I was sur­prised that one of the ladies there rec­og­nized me, as one of those who were com­plain­ing of not being able to receive a free Gatorade on fin­ish­ing the pre­vi­ous Botak run. Hahaha! Hope to see you again next time. Yes! Be it a Botak-organized run or not.

Thank you very much!

My next goal?
Milo Marathon! Sub-4 of course!

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