Post Marathon Activities

For my First Marathon in Singapore last May 2009, the first thing I did (after eating and taking a shower) was to fall asleep for a few hours. I have been awake for more than 24 hours as my race started at midnight and given we were in Singapore for a few days only, we decided to use the time there as much as possible (a big no-no) by shopping the entire day. So by the time my race started, I was tired from walking around Orchard Road already. The humidity didn't help too. But I did finish the race and that was the important thing. Never mind the limping and can't-stand-up-from-taxi situation. I got the medal and finisher shirt and glad it was over. So going back, after sleeping, I had a very painful massage but it worked as no body pains the next day and for that I was glad.

This time, the situation is different for my Second Marathon. The weather was cold. The race started early in the morning and I rested well the day before. All proper pre-marathon training (at least I learned from my first experience). My feet were sore again and I was a little bit limping but at a manageable level.

First activity was trying to get a free body massage post-race. That did not work as lines were just too long at the finisher tent.

So, next activity to try to do was a heavy lunch. I was famished so went to a good place that serves heafty portion:









It was good! But was hungry again after a few hours.

The day after, legs felt fine so we drove to Yosemite and did four hour hike to see the waterfalls there. Tiring but perfect for post marathon activity.

Back in Manila, 2 hours after landing, we went to Timex Run to see how the event went. Saw a lot of friends there and seem to be a successful event. Our time wasn't wasted either as registered for Men's Health Urbanathon race for the following Sunday.

Now, it's back to running again after more than a week of hiatus. Easy run for 10km tonight at Fort Bonifacio.


See you soon!

Marathon No.2 - Fresno CA Marathon!

My second marathon coincides with the Pasig International Marathon but due to the time difference I was able to read on the race via an email from Alvin, my pro-bono coach.

Anxiety made me check, double check and triple check everything and I did the same thing with the alarm (set up three different ones having the same wake up call). It was quite easy going to the race venue as there was a hotel shuttle that would take the runners there every 10-15 minutes. The weather was even COLDER than in San Francisco. I was shivering and had to use socks to cover my ears as they are the only exposed skin area. Per will wait for me for the entire race and will be my emergency contact as well. We went to the race together and got there a few minutes before the start of the Half Marathon race.

The Full Marathon began 30 minutes later and divided into four corrals. When I registered for this race in June, I was just targetting a 6 hour time and therefore put that in my application. Which lead me to corral D, the final and slowest group of all. Elite runners (including our very own RunRio) were at corral A to compete for the top prizes. But I didn't mind. Actually, I prefer it. This way, I won't go out too fast and be at an easy pace. I dread the wall and do not want to encounter it in any part of the 42.2km race!

Some more photos were taken between me and Per before I finally went to my area and got ready for the race to commence. At 7:30am, the gun fired, I said goodbye to Per and I walked slowly to where the chip timer mat was.


HOW IT STARTED

My original goal when I first registered for this race was to have a new PR. That is, to beat 6.5 hours! I aimed for below 6 with a best effort at 5.5hours. I know that this is my limit as I always burn out from my long runs and avoided it whenever I could. I also wasn't training properly. My 3-week honeymoon lowered my endurance performance even more (NOT that I'm complaining). I seriously contemplated switching to a half marathon due to lack of running. Per was afraid for me. My siblings warned me against a 3-day week run only (not sufficient). I was afraid for myself!


All this before I met Alvin again at Mizuno Run Club. He told me to run with him that night and that is where our friendship began. Twice a week we would meet and he would make me do tempo runs. He was confident I would reach sub-5 hours. Per and I laughed in his face. It was a nice dream but this is reality. That worked for slim, athletic people. Not for this running fatboy. Every session, he would use his positive energy to say 5 hours was easy for me. I laughed it off again. Eventually, Per also told Alvin that although she believed I could finish a race, under 5 hours is definitely out of the question for me. Alvin only smiled, shook his head and just gave two words to end the discussion "Trust me". This scenario kept on repeating over and over again. We were negative all that time. He was always positive and had no doubts about it. CRAZY!!!

But I kept going to his sessions. It was free after all and I needed somebody to push me. Besides, it was much more fun running it with a friend than by myself. So I continued to meet him for two months till the time I had to leave for the USA. Just two short months made up of three runs a week. But during that period, I slowly started to belive Alvin that maybe it was possible. Maybe not sub-5 hours but at least 5:15. That would cut off an additional 15 minutes from my target. Per started believing too....

THIS IS IT!

At the start, I was running slowly at a comfortable pace. I immediately prayed to God to protect me and to help me finish this race. I prayed that everybody will finish the race and to be safe here. I repeated the Lord's Prayer over and over again. It helped give me the confidence I need to finish the race.

I need to run at a certain pace at each kilometer to make sure I reach my target time. I started at a faster pace. It may be a good thing but I was afraid that I might be going too quickly and burn out at the last part. I tried to slow down and it worked. I continue running, feeling the cool breeze to my face and feeling good about this. So far so good (but it is just 2km so far!).


THE PROBLEM

I have gotten dependent with my Garmin watch so I made sure its' battery was full before the race. What I didn't do was erase the old data so at 4km, it stopped moving. I had to stop and try to find some way to free up space so it can record this race. Problem was that I had to stop the timer too so by the time I finished fixing it, I didn't know how much time I wasted. I was in panic mode and ran fast to recover the time I missed. But knew that was wrong and slowed back to my normal pace. I did not know my normal time but just estimated an additional 2 minutes for that chore.


RANDOM THOUGHTS WHILE RUNNING

Back to running again. I'm always behind this old gentleman running in a straw hat. There are times I would catch up with him but he would just overtake me again. I designate him my target and keep a watchful eye on him.

Goodbye gloves! You've served your purpose and for that I am glad you were there to help me. It's time to leave you by the hedges and may someone else find you useful. There were discarded jackets and sweaters too. I couldn't throw away my new jacket (bought at SF Expo) so stuck to it the entire time. It was light anyway and protected me from the wind.

There were rock bands here and it was nice listening to music again while I'm running. They perform without any jackets on in this cold weather and I applaud them for that. The music boosted my spirits and I keep running at a steady pace.

There were timers: people who hold stop watches and shout out your time as you pass by them. That way you would know how near or far you are to your target time.

I LOVE GATORADE! I don't care what flavor it is. I just love the sweet flavor compared to plain water. But I make sure to alternate it with water just the same. GU I take every 45 minutes or so. I hope the Philippine organizers can emulate the organizers in Fresno, that is lots and lots of water and sports drink being given out by volunteers to runners to save time.


I'm at old town Clovis. Now, I can safely say I ran the Two Cities marathon. Lots of people cheering. Strangers shouting out my name. In an effort to be nice, I sometimes wave at them and at other times, whisper "thanks". If I am too tired, I just grunt to show my appreciation. They somehow understood.

No pain yet but so much more to gain! Darn it!

I love running inside tunnels and there were about 3-4 here so I ran inside them twice (back and forth)! What a nice photo to take here (if I had a camera)! I see dog prints on the sand and for some weird reason, thought of T-Rex prints from Jurassic Park movie. I loosen my shoulders from time to time. Pain already there and still far from finish line.

21km - halfway mark. Good time, even better was that I don't feel tired or hurt yet. I keep on running, praying for confidence and humility and inner strength to finish the race. I thought of Per and said to myself, "I'm ready to see my wife again". She will be waiting at 26km mark and I use her image to focus myself for the last 5km.

Back to Fresno! I see Per in her green jacket waving from afar. I am soooo happy! It's like I finished the race already. Sheer joy! I drank from the water she gave me and half hugged her. Some bystanders smiled when they saw I stopped there. We talked for a few seconds before I ran off again. She said she will see me at the finish line. I hold her to her promise.

I overtake the guy in the straw hat. He does not come near me again. Thanks dude. You helped me keep going at a good pace. I overtake some walkers. I keep running. I keep drinking water and Gatorade. I push myself to 30km mark with a thought "if I reach it, I reward myself with a GU". I do reach it but didn't take the GU until 32km as realized its the 20-miler that most people hit the wall. I made sure that that doesn't happen to me.

A surprise steep hill at 22-mile! Of all places, it was placed here! My slowest time but I do not stop running. I overtake more people. I push myself thinking, "Just a few more meters, then it's downhill. Be patient and keep going".

I'm still on target but realize that this is going to be tight and know that there can't be room for errors. At 23-mile, I overtake a guy and he said that I still had a lot of energy in me. I honestly replied that I just wanted to finish this race as quickly as possible and get it over with. He laughed and wished me luck. I kept going.

Final few miles but instead of speeding up, I slow down. There was no way I could run fast anymore. All the speed has burned out of me. I'm ahead of my mark but there is a small fear as to whether my calculations were correct or not. I do know that I will finish this race. I DO KNOW I WILL GET A PR from it.

A lot of people cheering me on. Saying how close I was. Some were spectators. Some had the medals around their necks. I wonder whether they finished the full or half marathon (only 600+ full marathon runners vs 2,000++ half marathon runners). I move on.

I still could not run fast but didn't care as Per was there at 25.5mile again with her camera. I smiled at her (or maybe I didn't) and kept on running. I hope to see the finish line at every turn and corner but it always eludes me. Finally, I see it! But still could not run fast!

I cross it! It's over! It's all over! I can relax now.


To God be the Glory of this run!

















































Thanks to...

God for answering my prayers, for protecting me and for showing me a very small sample of everything You created during the time I ran in Fresno.

Alvin for believing in me even if I didn't believe in myself. If there is one other good thing that would come from my first marathon in Singapore, it's that I got a chance to meet you and do a redemption run for my second marathon.

Per, my loving wife for your support, especially for those long long Sunday mornings when you had to wait for me to finish my runs. Thanks for the patience!

Running buddies whom I run with on and off race. This includes my siblings and friends from Nike run clinic. You know who you are!


As for my new marathon finish time? Well, that was something I saved the best for last:


Clock Time: 4:53:38
Chip Time : 4:52:54



Goodbye 6:31, goodbye sub-6, goodbye 5:30, goodbye 5:15, goodbye 5:00! Hello, 4:52!

MORE THAN 1.5 HOURS IMPROVEMENT!

I guess Alvin had the last laugh in this! Welcome to the new "reality". It really is POSSIBLE! Best of all, no blisters, cramps or Wall in this race. Cold weather helped too!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

Fresno USA Runner's Expo - Nov 7th, 2009

Any runner can tell you that the best thing about a race is not the race itself. No, that is the pure torture part - wherein you push your body to the limit, your legs get sore and tired, you can't breathe, you get blisters, cramps, or a sidestitch. Ironically, the best part of a race is when it is finally over. When you've crossed the finish line and get it over with. When you can get on with your lives and be normal again. That is until you registered for the next race and the whole cycle begins again.

This is the case for running in the Philippines. Of course, there are some races where the run itself was memorable - running on Skyway via Condura, on trail paths of MensHealth Urbanathon series, or the famous New Balance race in Clark last year. But these things you would most likely think about when the run is over. When you start having your breakfast with your friends and talk about the race you just finished.

For other countries, the best part of running may not only be finishing a race and getting a new personal distance or time record but it is also the expo held the day before the actual race.

For my second marathon, that is the case here. The expo was very nice but since we bought pasta dinner buffet tickets, we decided to go there in the afternoon. Rio, full of excitement, went there in the morning with his cousin, to get their race packs.

Immediately, I noticed the difference here vs. those in the Philippines. First of course, is that we RARELY had an expo and when we did, it was virtually empty of booths and events (case in point: the recently concluded Adidas King of the Road run).

Here, it was very organized. You would look for your name on a master list on a billboard, printed alphabetically and get your race number. After which, you would go to the designated area to claim your race kit. Said area is assorted by race numbers to avoid long lines. Once you've gotten your bib, you would move down the lane where they would next give you your race pack, then your race cap, race jacket and finally, pasta buffet tickets.

There is also a small seating area where an organizer would explain the entire half marathon or full marathon course in terms of: 1) at exactly what point the water station, GU station, or portalets will be; 2) where the course would take the runner - if it is an uphill or downhill climb, if through tunnels, if through dirt road or concrete road, if roads are open to traffic or closed; 3) what the weather and temperature will be like on race day; 4)what to expect after crossing the finish line, 5) where to park your cars, where your family can cheer for you, where to leave your bags, etc. Every inch of the race map is described so that the runner can prepare for it MENTALLY and be ready the next day! This is a very good idea that I hope we could emulate soon (as soon as we fix the basic problems of water shortages in marathons!)

There are also booths selling caps, GU, running outfits and running charms.

Afterwards, Per and I went to the buffet area, where in order for us not to be bored, we listened to a talk made by Dick Beardsley regarding his 1980's race with Alberto Salazar where he lost the Boston Marathon after running the entire marathon at pace with Alberto for the top prize. And the time difference between them at the finish line? A measly 1.6 seconds! The video of said race was also shown and it gave us goosebumps just watching the very tight race. I wanted to buy his book but he admitted after his talk that all the copies he brought with him got sold out even before he entered the buffet area! So I got a copy at Amazon and excited to get and read it soon!

The expo ended at 6:00pm and as promised to my wife, Per and I went to Target store to shop for a few hours. Per's promise to me was that we could go home at 8:00pm so I can have enough rest and prepare myself for my second marathon. And so we did that too.

My previous record for a 42.2km race was at 6:31++ in Sundown Marathon in Singapore (May 2009). I had a terrible time from the heat. Fresno will be the exact opposite from my first experience as it will be super cold (Mark remarked before that I should practice running in a cooler!)


I wonder how I will do tomorrow....




Runners start here! Next to the guy is the master list of all the runners arranged alphabetically.




Race kit includes chip timer, bib and lots and lots of goodies!




The food! This Running Fatboy had two servings! YUM!




And the goodies! Not shown were the cap and long sleeves technical shirt I also got at the expo. At the finish line, a runner would receive not only a medal but also a hooded sweatshirt! A very good deal!






Can imprint your bib to a technical shirt for a small fee. Hmmm, is this shirt a sign for our friend to do a full marathon soon? Only time will tell!

San Francisco Half Marathon (Nov 1, 2009) - Post race

This was supposed to be Per and my first half marathon race together but with the impulse joining of Globe Half Marathon a few months ago, this will instead be our second half marathon together. But what set this apart from the other one, other than it being in a different country and time zone, was that it is our first half marathon as a married couple and that was evident by the names we put on our personalized bib numbers (reflecting our surnames).

My goal here is simply to help Per achieve a new PR for the 21km. I will accompany her again and will be bringing my camera with me to make this race even more memorable. To make this race more enjoyable, Rio, Wayne and Wilbert will all do the half marathon race too. Per mentioned it is like running in the Philippines due to the familiar faces. I could not disagree.

Race started on time and immediately it was a climb up. It was hard to run in this cold weather as it takes a longer time for the body to warm up for the race. Legs felt tight from the wind and the cold but after 2km, we were all running comfortably. Wilbert acccompanied us in this race, doing it as part of his weekend long run and that was great. After running for a few km, we finally headed to the most anticipated part of the race and that was the Golden Gate Bridge.

I have seen this Bridge before but never envisioned running on it. It was a surreal feeling and I was just glad I bought the camera with me. I just can't stop taking photos (by my count, about 120 photos were taken in this race!). There was a point where we craved for water as water stations here were situated every 2 to 2.5 miles (unlike in the Philippines which had water every 2.5 kms.) But the cold weather helped us not feel tired. Pretty soon, we've crossed the bridge and went on to the turning point. More hill climbing. More downhill rolling. And then it was back to the bridge for the three of us.

We were all doing a good pace and I felt a PR was achievable for Per. That in spite of all the stops we took for a good photo shot! Unfortunately, at one point, Wilbert started getting cramps on BOTH of his legs. I told Per to run ahead to the finish line and leave us be. I remained with Wilbert in case he needs help. I wanted to see him finish as much as I wanted Per to finish. So we did some run walk strategy and some leg stretching. It was just 5kms to go but I can see that it was the hardest 5km for Wilbert that day. The sandy trail did not help as harder to run in this terrain. One good thing out of this was that we saw two seals near the beach area and that was a rare sight.

At 19km point, Wilbert was confident enough to run the race to the finish line and told me to go ahead. I gave him my GU and power beans and wished him luck. And I ran the fastest that I can in the hopes that I could catch Per. I did reach her about 100 meters before the finish line (and therefore got a negative split) and we finished the race together at 2:50. A new couple PR! Wilbert came a few minutes later. Congrats dude! :)

We got a finisher medal each, some chocolate milk, water, food and took more photos. It was a great race and we will never look at Golden Gate Bridge the same way again!

Congrats also to Rio and Wayne for their fast finish times.

Onnwards to Fresno!

Below are a few samples of photos we took that day :)

San Francisco Day 01

Since our first USA race will be done in San Francisco, I figured that it is only fitting to use the most popular bridge of the city as the first photo in this entry. It is also the main highlight of the 21km course and also to commemorate Wayne's blog: runnersf.blogspot.com, which features a different photo of the Golden Gate bridge.

Thankfully, our plane flight from Manila went off without a hitch. We were fearful that it will be delayed or worse, cancelled due to the prediction of the arriving storm. One big surprise was finding out that Nike Run clinic coach and race organizer Rio was with us on the same flight to San Francisco. We all arrived in the USA on Friday night and went off to our individual hotels.

Come the next morning, we met up again at Fisherman's Wharf to pick up our race kit at Sports Basement in Presidio. Per and I will do our 2nd 21km together and looking to break a couple PR, which we set in Globe's Half Marathon. Wayne has also registered for the 21km race a couple of days ago and Wilbert will be flying in from Seattle to meet us here (and also to do a half marathon as part of his long run training).


At the expo (which was really a sport outlet store), we eagerly went to the race kit pick up area where Per and I got our personalized bibs. This will be our first 21km as a married couple and looking to frame our bibs (along with the finisher medals) when we head back home in a few weeks. Aside from the bibs, we each got a chip timer, a dri-fit souvenir shirt and a goodie bag (filled with a water bottle, a towel, a shirt, snacks, etc.)






They were also selling souvenir (and organic) jackets, shirts, and caps at the expo. To make our race even more memorable, I bought for myself a white quick dry cap with the San Francisco Half Marathon Race logo on it and I was given a pair of socks, which also had the Half Marathon Race logo on it. A great deal!






Wilbert, Wayne and Rio all ventured to the Rock and Roll Marathon booth. Wilbert had his first full marathon experience here just a couple of months ago. Is he looking to join this race again in the future and looking to get a new PR? Registrations are already open for 2010.




Collection of race bibs. No lines at all! Very quick and efficient!




They also have computer screens standing nearby in case you haven't registered for your race and want to do so. Credit card payment online. Hmmmm, a possible idea Runrio might do in the future ??




Zoltar: What is your Wish?
Per: DEFINITELY NOT to be BIG! Just a half marathon PR please!




Half marathon runners converge outside Sports Basement in Presidio. With our target to conquer at the background. GG Bridge, we shall see you again in a few hours!




Of course, we runners need to prepare for it so what better way to do so than to carbo load! Very special thanks to our gracious hosts Nelson for touring us and to Wayne for the yummy dinner!

As luck would have it, we had an extra hour of sleep as day light savings time was removed 2am Sunday so from a 7am Sunday race, it essentially was converted to an 8am race (but with a 7am time). Cool!

Day 02 on the next entry... RACE DAY!

Can't speak!

As a last training run before we depart for San Francisco on Friday, Per and I met up with Alvin last night at Fort Bonifacio. I was to run 2km warm up, 8km tempo run and 1km cool down. Per would join us for the first 2km and see how it would feel doing a 1km tempo run.

I was frightful heading to Fort Bonifacio as this was the farthest I've done for a tempo run and not sure if I am going to survive it. Prior to this, my tempos have been around the range of 4km - 6km and I was usually tired by the end of the exercise. What more if I do an additional 2km at the same pace? YIKES! But I am determined to do it.

It was nice for the first 2km as we end up chatting the whole time about our plans, goals, and news about running (the recently concluded Subic Marathon and Adidas King of the Road). But come start of the tempo run, my legs suddenly felt heavy, my breathing heavier. I seem to be tired already! Even the rolling down the hills took an effort for me. At one point, a kid on a skateboard went to our direction and in an effort to avoid us, he sidetracked to the sidewalk and fell to the ground.

I stopped running and went to the kid trying to say "sorry". But no words came out of my mouth! I was mute and can only look at the kid trying to help him. I was dead tired and couldn't even talk for that few seconds! Good thing the dad was there and probably saw how tired I was, just said "it's ok, don't worry". After a last look to make sure the kid was doing fine, i went back to running with Alvin.

Alvin was counting down the distance so I continue to push myself. Usually our Garmin would beep indicating we've conquered another km and Alvin would shout out his pace and I would do so for mine as well. But on the final km when we finished the tempo, again I could not speak! I was too busy huffing and puffing to say the numbers! This never happened to me before!

Well, after walking for a few meters, I was fine again (phew), and we did a cool down jog and met up with Per at Fully Booked.

Now, it's packing time for our trip in the USA. Being addicted to running, we joined two race in our two weeks there! As running friends would say before "Nandun ka na. Might as well do it!". Non-running friends have the opposite reactions "Nandun ka na, bakit ka pa tatakbo?" :) Clearly, the running friends won us over!


Our I.T. (in terms of running) are as follows:

Friday - board plane to SFO

Friday - arrive in SFO night time.

Saturday - meet Wayne and Wilbert and go to the San Francisco Half Marathon Expo. Look to buy jacket and long sleeves technical shirts as seem to be COLD here !

Sunday - do the San Francisco Half Marathon with Per at 7am. Run on the frigging Golden Gate Bridge!

Monday - fly out to Vegas

Tuesday - 5km easy run at the desert

Wednesday - easy hike around Grand Canyon

Thursday - 5km easy run at the desert

Friday - fly out to Fresno

Saturday - attend the Fresno Marathon expo, attend the carbo loading party at 4pm, hear Dick Beardsley speak and maybe buy his running book and have it signed!

Sunday - Fresno Marathon! A certain someone from the Philippines will also be there looking to Boston Qualify! Per will wait from the sidelines as my own cheerleader! Look for a massage therapist afterwards

Monday - drive out to Yosemite and so some easy walking on the trail roads (if possible)

Tuesday - more easy hiking in Yosemite in the morning, afternoon drive back to San Francisco

Wednesday - Free day

Thursday - Free day

Friday - fly back to Manila


A very tight schedule and not as relaxing as a vacation should be. But we are runners and isn't running a relaxing thing to do?

Adidas King of the Road Half Marathon (Oct 25, 2009) -Post race

Another 21km!

There were no chip timers in this race nor were there any finisher medals. The only thing I got at the finish line was the finisher certificate and two cups of water. Still, for a fee of Php 500, the very nice Adidas singlet more than made up for it. This was my and Per’s first Adidas King of the Road after missing out on it last year. But we heard great reviews from Janine then when she accomplished her first half marathon (she got a runner’s high!).

So when we heard news that there was a King of the Road for 2009, we made sure our schedule was free for that weekend. At the expo, aside from the singlet, we got a free breakfast from KFC. Definitely worth the Php 500 registration fee!

We weren’t the only people who liked the bright yellow singlet as evidenced by 90% of the runners who wore it on the race day, be it the 5km, 10km or 21km category. If Milo races were a sea of green runners, Adidas for this year was a sea of bright yellow runners. I joined the 21km as another part of my long run but with my marathon in just two weeks, I only had to do 26km for the day. Whoopee! Per registered for the 10km with an ambition of going below 1:10, after her disappointing finish last week.

We got to the race venue at 4:45am. I originally wanted to do the 5km before the race so I can finish at the same time as the race itself but the lack of time made me do only 3.2km. At least that was 3.2km that I didn’t have to run anymore! By 5:20am, I was at the starting line where I saw Jason, who had just arrived from his Subic 42km race to do a 21km race here, and Coach Alvin, looking to do an easy run. My sister and brother were also there waiting for their turn at the 10 km race.

My target pace was at 7 minutes/km and by 11 km point, I should increase the pace to 6:30 min/km. I started at 6:30 min/km and maintained that pace with the other runners. Alvin ran with me for a few minutes before increasing his own pace. Fearing that I would burn out should I follow him, I stuck to my pace at 6:30 min/km (I was afraid that even at 6:30, I was running too fast but for some reason, I just couldn’t slow down).

There were a lot of water and Gatorade stations here. I mostly drank water as Gatorade stations get crowded easily and didn’t want to waste time waiting for my cup to be filled here. The nice thing about the Gatorade stations is that they had La Salle Pep Squad members and Cheerleaders cheering the runners and giving positive comments. In a way, it felt like I was doing the Animo Run again. Course took me to Buendia Ave., for the turnaround to Fort Bonfacio where we then head to Lawton Avenue for the final turnaround to the finish line.

Heading back to Fort Bonifacio, my shoulders were aching again and I was tired. My average pace became slower at 6:40 min/km, which meant my speed went down to 7 min/km, a positive split and a big no-no. I was determined not to slow my average pace further than 6:45 min/km and forced myself to keep running to the finish line. But I was exhausted! By the last 2km, Alvin came back for me and pushed me to go faster. I was whining to him the whole time about how tired I was but he wouldn’t hear about it and just said how close I was to the finish line. And so I pushed myself, ignoring the fatigue and shoulder pains. My pace went down to 6:20 min/km for the 20-km mark! Alvin wasn’t content and said that we should go faster! I whined even more (really sorry about that)! As a form of bargaining, I asked if I could run slow for the remaining 2km that I still had to do after finishing the race. He said that I can make it into a cool down run, provided I run at his pace for the last km to the finish line. Easier said than done! I was panting and wheezing and wanted to walk but instead I pushed the negative thoughts at the back of my mind and just kept going faster and faster….overtaking more runners… faster and faster still…. until I finally crossed the finish line. And gave out a big sigh of relief!

I was able to do the last 2km via run-walk as my feet hurt already. After doing the 26km target distance for the day, I checked my Garmin and swore under my breath when I realized we went at 5:36 min/pace for the last km to bring down the pace to 6:36 minute for the Half Marathon Race for a time of 2:18:11, a 10-minute faster time from last week’s QC Half Marathon and 14-minute faster time from Milo Half Marathon two weeks ago.

It’s true what they say that pain is temporary but the feeling afterwards last longer! I was tired, exhausted, and whining during the race but glad that I was still pushed to reach my limit and get the target I didn’t expect to attain. Per, had her own great moment when she beat her target time of 1:10 and finished her race strong at 1:07:55! A new PR for the Mrs.!

Next race will be our first USA race in San Francisco, where we will meet Wilbert and Wayne there. We shall be doing the Half Marathon together and running on and off the Golden Gate Bridge! The week after will be my 2nd Full Marathon in Fresno, California. Hopefully, all my long runs, tempo runs and easy runs pay off for that big day!



Big thanks again to Coach Alvin for pacing for the last 2km of this race (regardless of how much I hated it...hahaha).


See you guys in 3-4 weeks!






Neil nearing the finish line for another 21km achivement!




the running couple in a happy mode





Siblings Janine and Jeanne!