I was a hopeful pagong last Sunday at 2012 Run United Leg 2. I didn’t have much sleep the night before, but upon seeing other sleepy heads under the pouring rain, I recalled how much this particular road race means to me. The route from BGC to Mall of Asia is fun too. I promised myself that I’ll put every effort to get a sub-2:30. But, I didn’t.
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| Look a lot bloodier than this, my phone cam didn't capture the bloodiness. |
It was supposed to be a favourable day for me. There was a sprinkle of rain at the start and cool, windy weather as the race went on. My legs had enough rest, and maybe a bit too much. I knew I brought enough fuel and I knew when to take them – 3 energy gels and my favourite cereal bar. There was enough hydration, good handling of traffic and all of the nice things that you can expect from a Runrio race. The whole race felt good, but short at my objective. I crossed the finish line 28 seconds after my target. But wait, the timer was late by around 10 minutes from gun start, meaning I was around a 2:40.
I spent some time thinking what I did wrong, and there were a couple of things that came to mind. First, I took a pee in a gasoline station near the 5K mark at Buendia. Hmm, took the second floor bathroom, didn’t know there was one downstairs. Maybe took 3-5 minutes for that. Then I enjoyed my walk breaks too much. I set that every 5k mark, I’ll walk a bit to let my legs recover a bit, but I think I lost track of time those moments. >.< Last and obviously not the least, I TIED MY SHOES TOO TIGHT!! Arg! I didn’t realize that that was what they meant by your feet expanding when you run. I always felt awkward when my feet don’t stay in one spot in my shoes, that’s why I tie it a bit tight. Been doing it ever since, and I just learned how to give my feet some breathing space. In the end, my feet were just crying out loud. It made me walk for a while even though I can still run non-stop. Thinking of loosening it a bit, but I felt like that would take more time. After I took off my shoes and socks, just found blood in my blisters on my pinky toes.
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| Better photo here. |