I woke up at 4:30 in the morning last Sunday for the 3rd Auto Review Run for Road Safety and Courtesy.
What a long title. Anyway, for simplicity I'll just refer it as the Auto Review Run.
I was thinking of setting a 10k personal record, but the dreaded McKinley Hill + Lawton Ave + Bayani Road + Heritage Park route may not be the best place for setting a PR. Anyway, I was just planning to maintain a 5 min/km pace all through out.
I arrived just in time, some twenty minutes more before the gun start. The National Anthem was sang by the emcees, good voices by the way. A simple prayer was also said before the race.
Well, you see, I'm really not that religious or spiritual or anything like it. But I do say a little prayer everytime before running a race. It goes something like: Dear God, keep us safe and strong. Amen.
The emcee also introduced the youngest and oldest runners, a 3 and a 91 year old. Wow! I admired the old man who was also a WWII veteran as he was one of the survivors of the Bataan Death March. He doesn't look like his age.
Also, at the corral I saw one of my blockmates in college. It was nice to see him. He said something about going for an 11 as his running pace. That's 11 km/hr. Ok. Let's try that.
Gun start. My blockmate zoomed. I tried zooming also, but I was afraid of hurting my left knee again so I just ran easy. So it was some sort of a warm up until the first water station.
I gulped two cups of cold water and gradually increased my pace. I did feel comfortable with that relatively fast pace. I felt like it was around 4:50 to 5:00.
Looks like the weekly road races and gym workouts are paying off now. I felt strong and comfortable running the hills. I am also getting familiar with the route in Fort Bonifacio, which guides me in my running strategy.
I crossed the finish line at 51 minutes and um-teen seconds. Not a PR but unlike the previous 10k runs at The Fort, there was no knee problems now. That's good! I know, I'm getting better.
After the run, while I was stretching, some gentleman approached me and asked about what kind of stretch is appropriate for his legs. Our post race stretching lead to some talks about running. It was his second run, as he and his wife did enjoy running 5k at the previous Botak run. I think, he's strong for a sub 30 first time 5k finisher. Also, I told him that I learned those stretches and running techniques from the Team Bald Runner Running Clinic.
Run and Go Home
I took a light meal at McDonalds, chicken fillet meal + choco sundae for 75 pesos, before heading home. Yes, that's me rewarding myself.
I slept for around 2 hours.
I was late for a team teach with my mentor at MOA. I just let it pass, there's Tuesday anyway. Ate lunch around 12 noon. And went out again for the cycling class at FF Manila. I did promise Kiko that I'll be joining them for the get-together after the class.
I was also surprised with myself that I did not say no on the invitation. Anyway, it was nice meeting new set of people. We ate a bunch of delicious food, watched the High na Kho! videos, shared a lot of stories, drank Lights and Absolut, and laughed out loud even on our way home.
And yes, that was me running and working out for tomorrow's hangover.
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