Run United1 21km

Still on a running high as I was finally able to beat my PR in this race! So far, my fastest 21km was last December when I did Milo Marathon Finals.  I was pressured then because of the 2:30 cut off so I really tried to run fast.  In January, I did 7/11 21km but finished slower at 2:26.  But yesterday... I finished at... drum roll please... 2:18!!!

If you know me, you would also know that I am all sorts of slow.  I used to run 5KMs at 45minutes (when I started running again after the baby).  My longest half-marathon, I finished 3hours at QCIM December 2012.  So this is just crazy fast for me.  And I did not even feel a hint of being tired or spent the entire race (maybe except for the last KM when I had to push a little harder and run faster).  

What's my secret? Definitely doing speed intervals in the gym.  I really made it a point to run intervals at least once a week to make sure that my legs got used to running faster.  The importance of speed intervals is something I've known of since time immemorial, of course Alvin always kept making me kulit about this but I guess I've just recently (maybe this school year) been interested in running faster, not just longer.  

Back to the race, of course this is RunRio organized so you expect nothing but the best - more than enough hydration stations with both cold water and Gatorade, well-lit roads (very much needed as gun start was at 4AM) and easy claiming of Finisher's Shirt.  This is what I call money well-spent.  

So, what did I do differently before and during this race, which may have helped in gaining a new PR?

1) I bought new earphones, finally invested in a good (and expensive) pair of Yurbuds! True to it's promise, I never had to worry about it falling off ;)

2) Ran the last KM with a friend (hubby's officemate) who I bumped into.  I told him to run faster and pull me alongside him so we could finish strong together!

3) Warmed up with a 5-minute run.  I NEVER warm up before a race.  I think that's why I usually start the first few KMs really slow at about 7:30-8:00/km.  This time I started with 7:00/km!

4) Took 2 GU Roctane gels (one at 11KMs and another at 17KMs).  I normally just take the regular one but also invested on Roctane ones which were double the price, worth it!

5) Did not do a long run a weekend before the race, instead did an hour long of intervals on the treadmill.  Coach Carlo who I met through Gold's Gym (he's a traithlete and a 1:29 half-marathoner) told me that doing a long run a weekend before the race will just slow me down.  Anyway I did 20KMs already 2 weekends before the race so that should be enough.  

6) Did speed and hill intervals on the gym 1-2x a week for the past 5 weeks! 

7) Religiously did bootcamp classes weekly so I could work on my legs (doing endless squats, lunges, burpees, box jumps, etc.)

8) Lost 5pounds by replacing dinner with smoothies.  I'd put in an assortment of fruits and veggies in the blender and spin away.  I only ate dinner when I was running early morning the next day.

I don't know which one exactly worked but I guess it's a combination of all those and just the sheer drive and passion to be better and stronger.  I'm still aiming at a sub2 half-marathon.  I'm in no rush, just taking it one race after the other.  Hopefully, I will be able to achieve that by the end of this year. 

Thank You Lord, for this new achievement!