After the Run United 1 last March 17 where I came 20 minutes late at the starting line, I promised myself to give sufficient time to prepare for the next RU. After I recovered and did some few 21s, I knew that I’m fit to take again the RU2 32k and maybe improve my time from last year’s.
A month before RU2, I had the chance to learn another sport which I began to like and that is Kayaking. After one whole day of kayaking lesson along the river and open waters of Caylabne Bay, Ternate Cavite, I realized that I have a natural niche to it. After that first lesson, I didn’t know what came over me because I decided to compete in a 25 kilometer kayak Marathon at Anvaya Cove, Subic, scheduled just a day before RU2. Now, there goes my preparation for RU2.
At 1:00 am June 2, I woke up from a short nap as we arrived from the very tiring kayaking gig the day before. I asked the driver of Joey Cuerdo to just drop me off at Makati so I can just take a cab to MOA. Arriving there too early, I decided to get a quick snack at 7-11 and doze-off a bit. Apparently, my cat nap was extended and was awaken by a runner who told me that the 32k gun start was off. So I jumped from slumber and quickly ran to the starting line. Luckily, I was able to catch up with the second wave of the 32k.
Since I was not able to do any warm ups, I started to just run in a slow pace. I maintained my pace for several kilometers until I reached the Roxas Boulevard where the road was smooth and “barefoot-friendly”. I took advantage of the good road texture of Roxas and paced up a little. Before we reached the U-trun, I began to feel a call-of-nature and went to the nearest portalet. It took me a while finishing my “business” there, so I tried to catch up with the hope to retrieve my lost time.
As we enter the Macapagal-Seaside Drive, where the road textures are sharp and rough, I knew I can no longer run any faster. So I paced myself again until we reached the final U-turn slot going back. In the last 5k, I was starting to feel a little dizzy so I made sure to stop in most hydration stations to replenish the minerals I lost from the 25k kayaking the day before and from the long run the next day. That feeling happened to me before so I decided to just run comfortably. Paasing out in the middle of the road is the first of my concern.
I crossed the finish line finishing my 32k in 4 hours. Much slower than the one I had last year. I didn’t get frustrated with my time because I knew I would be slower. I was still thankful that was able to listen to my body and didn’t try to persist to get a faster PR. At the media booth, I was also thankful that the Unilab Active Health Staff, particularly Janice Miguel, offered me and the rest of the media who ran that day a very filling breakfast. After eating, I recovered easily and immediately went to the baggage counter to claim my stuff and went home.
I learned a lot in that run. I was able to budget my energy and conserve whatever was remaining to finish the run. I was able to gauge the limitations of my body and how to manage my strength and came up with good strategies to endure a long run. At least, I know the capacity of my body now, and the next time I will compete in multiple-events, I’m sure I can be more prepared.
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