At Sunday of T minus 2weeks, I was scheduled for a 16k long run. But the shin acted up so badly, even at a really easy pace at that! So I stopped at 15k. Next day, went to the doctor to hear what I already knew: Rest it for a week; next time don't run too much hills and stretch before and after!
Confidence dwindled as each day passed without running, so instead, I did everything I could to recover fast while maintaining endurance: leg sleeves compression, therapeutic massages (oh, it's a valid excuse!), anti-inflammatory medication and cross-training. I enjoyed it, actually. Thursday prior to Feb 7, did a final easy run just to boost the confidence, although there was still some minor pain.
That's the story of my training.
Fast forward to the Condura Run. The festive air was so encouraging, but all I could think of was I NEVER HAD THE CHANCE TO RUN BEYOND 15K. Oh Sh*t.... It had to boil down then to strategy just to finish. And with strategy (and faith....and sometimes, force, threats and intimidation...:P) i do accomplish some unexpected things. The strategy for this feat: music, hydration planning, compression and a pace chart. Haha! :O
The race started crowded and extremely dark...which, looking back probably helped a lot in forcing myself to start slow. At the end of the Kalayaan Flyover, I checked my watch and saw that I arrived early at the 3km mark. Great, considering i had a slow start. A sudden burst of energy took over me and so I increased effort all throughout Buendia, which was flat and straight so not too much brainwork there. At km 6.5, I entered the Skyway, still dark, and thank God for that because it would have been daunting to see its entire stretch.
Skyway was a roller coaster ride, so hilly. At the turnaround point, the sun started to show up and greet us, and that's when I saw the rolling terrain, ugh. Ridiculous! Even more ridiculous was the 42k turn going up that reallllyyyy steep part (to NAIA 3 i think), even coaxing the runners with a sign that said "Welcome to the Condura Hill!". But that's not my problem...haha!
Crossed the 16km mark on time still, but here comes MY real problem, I'm now in unchartered territory! Was fine for half of the Buendia part but I started to really slow down at km 18...had to walk a lot from this point, which really killed me. I was saying to myself: "tagal mo nagtraining tapos lalakarin mo lang", to which I replied (haha psycho) "kaysa naman mainjure lalo or hindi matapos". And to make matters worse, here comes the Kalayaan flyover, which I hate so much even in the 10ks I did before. :-s. I swear I wanted to cry then, repeatedly said "ayoko naaaaa" under my breath. Haha. And then at the end of the ramp, my target time just went and gone. Noooo! :(
Lucky for me, the finish line was nearer to the end of the flyover than the starting line so with 1 km to go I gathered all what's left and went for it. 21kms already on my watch? This must not be right...but nevertheless, plus 1 or not, that last km I think was the best part of my run. Finished at 2:39, got a finisher's medal and celebrated with a cold beer (just one cup...which was given out for free :P)
Right now I'm so battered. I chafed at the worst parts, I have a bloody blister and a toenail in crucial condition, an ankle that needs to be iced once in a while...it feels just like I sparred. But I'm so ecstatic about this run I can't stop talking about it. I rewarded myself with...umm...being study-free for the rest of the of the day. Sorry SLR and pleadings...:P
Well, that's my first 21k experience and for sure there would be plenty more...like on the 21st, because I lacked better judgment and ended up signing up for another 21k, far from the original plan (10k if I run Condura, 21k if I don't). Oh well, we will see what happens. In other words, bahala na....nanaman!
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment