Takbo Para sa Pamilyang Manileno 10km

This was a spur of the moment race since I was just invited to do this days before.  I knew that I wouldn't be able to do any long runs for April so I didn't join any races above 10km.  I have one in line for April 27 - Takbo Mo, Buhay Ko, a benefit run for rebuilding homes in Tacloban.

So, anyway, I was invited by Alvin (not husband) to do this since he had extra race kits.  I obliged since I thought this was better than doing a 10km (which I planned on anyway) on my own! I wasn't sure where Quirino Grand Stand was (sorry, hehe) so I asked to hitch with him.

Ran the entire race with Alvin which explains my 10km PR! Finally a sub1! Praise God! I am happy to note that even though we ran faster than usual, I felt pretty good the entire race.  Like it was a difficult pace, but comfortable anyway.  This just motivates me to keep doing my intervals and keep working at eventually doing a sub2 21km! Thank you so much to Alvin for the invite and Dennis for letting me tag along :D And thank You, Lord, for Your strength! :)

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! 

Milo Marathon 21km

A month ago, New Balance Power Run 25km.
Today, Milo Marathon 21km.

Should be doable, right?

Problem: Super undertrained for this run.  I lacked long runs... As a matter of fact, I did not do any long run since NB Power Run! Hah.  I just registered for Milo since it was cheap and I was looking for a December run.  Anyway, I tried cramming my LSDs early this week, did 2 consecutive 10KMs, Monday and Tuesday.  Last week I did one 10KM and that's it plus a couple of spinning classes here and there.  The culprit for no long runs? Yaya leaving for the province for a little over a week plus being busy with other things.

All creative excuses came to mind last night - maybe I'm not ready, skip ko nalang ito... Anyway P600 lang naman ito.  Just sleep in... and the list goes on.  But of course, the more I wanted to skip it, the more I wanted to do it to prove that I am stronger than laziness! So, off to MOA I went, with our ever trusty and supportive driver, Greg.  This time, I wasn't running with anyone.  I registered on my own and ran on my own from KM 1 to 21.

I started off on a bad note, at about KM 6 I was already hungry (WHAT?! After eating a cup and a half of rice last night with homemade Kare-Kare?!!).  I think it was because I skipped my usual PB sandwich on the way to MOA and traded it for extra sleep.  I was watching out for bananas (which I never saw, BTW) in the hopes of easing my hunger.  Thank God I eventually forgot being hungry... maybe because all other aches and pains came to consciousness, haha.  At about KM 12, I thanked God I was more than halfway through.  I did not check out the race route so I was thinking this would be the same route as RU3 which was all flat, no flyovers.  Well, surprise, surprise! We had to cross 2 flyovers over Roxas Blvd.! When I saw that uphill, I seriously wanted to cry... don't ask me how I felt when I saw ANOTHER uphill.  HAHAHA.

Run United 21km + NB Power Run

Initially I was challenging myself to train for a sub2 half-marathon but I realized along the way that it was a little too ambitious, at least at this point.  I still want to be able to do that but I'm afraid it's not going to be that easy and now is just too soon.  So, I came to this race with just one goal in mind: to finish better than my 21km PR - 2:32 (at Goldilocks Anniversary run, in 2011).  And I did, I I was able to finish at 2:28 which is 4 minutes faster than my PR, at Goldilocks... and 6 minutes faster than the last half-marathon at Condura Skyway just this year. 

For this race, I ran with Dan, a friend of a friend.  I just asked Sharl, my co-teacher, if her running friend is doing RU3.  She said yes and I said, can we run together (since he was also running alone).  So we did and it I think helped both parties a lot.  For him, it was helpful to run with someone who had a GPS watch so his pace could be consistent.  For me, it helped to know he was sort of depending on my to pace him and make sure he wouldn't go too fast, slow, etc.  Although we agreed to start together, we were both okay if either of us ended up leaving the other.  

Dan and I finished strong ;)

I was worried for this run because I skipped 2 weekends of long runs after the last I did which was only 19km.  Thank God for His mercy that allowed me to set a new PR! Dan and I ran together until about 17kms when the gap between the two of us just kept getting bigger and bigger... When I saw that I just had to run 3kms more, I decided to speed it up a bit.  Met Dan at the finish line, 4 minutes after I crossed.  Considering his last long run was only 10kms, not bad.  I was happy to set a PR and he was also happy he didn't cramp up (as was the case in RU2) and also set a PR.  

So I thought I was done running long for now, I decided I would register for only 10KM for New Balance PowerRun.  But when I got to their Shangri-la branch, I was told that they had run out of 10KM race kits! What to do.  They asked other branches and I was told that it was still available in some (but not branches convenient for me to go to, proximity-wise).  While at the NB store, I bumped into some friends who sort of cajoled me into doing 25km nalang.  When it comes to running, mabilis lang ako mapilit.  Hence, 25km it is.  Dan also registered so I won't have to run it alone ;) It's going to be in the Fort so I'm going to have to anticipate those hills! :S

Was planning on only 12kms tomorrow but since I registered for this run... I think I will have to increase that.  Lalalalala.

The things I get myself into.  #fortheloveofrunning

Milo 10km

This post is a little late but I just have to post this! I did my 2012-2013 PR for 10km in this run!!! HOORAY.

For this run, I wasn't with my usual running girls Van and Les (actually it's been awhile since we all ran together, haha).  Instead, I ran with Mishi who was kind enough to register for me.  We met up in the parking lot across SMX and walked to the starting line at around 4:45AM.  Gun start was at 5:00AM so, no rush.  For this run, I was targeting a time of 1:10 since my last 10KM in UP (just a week ago) was at 1:13.  So I thought shaving off 3 minutes would be an attainable goal.  I ran the first KM super relaxed (now I realize I could have ran it a bit faster to finish at a better time.  Yabang ba, haha) and sped up a bit at 3KM and kept going a little faster as each KM progressed.  I stopped to drink Gatorade at 5KM and then water at 7KM.  After that second water break, I tried to run a bit faster and went for a 5:45mins/KM at 8.5KM.  All that for a total time of 1:07! 6 minutes faster than the week before... and 3 minutes faster than the time I thought it would take for me to finish! :) :) :)

Praise God! Next race is not until RU3 so until then, it's train, train, train for me to get to that Sub2 goal!