Swept Away! – A rookie marathoner’s tale

It was my first taste of that “different beast”!  Last Sunday, the 8th of November, I was one of those brave souls who pounded the roads and crossed various bridges during the Philippine International Marathon (PIM). 

I chose the PIM to be my maiden marathon run.  A few months back, I was chosing between QCIM or PIM.  I didn’t chose QCIM since I will still be short in my preparations come race day.  SIM was not on the list due to its location – I did instead the KOTR 21k.

The thought of running the 42.195kms send chills to my nerves.  But the question lingers…”but when will I do my first marathon?”  During the KOTR, a lot of thoughts were playing on my mind – “to PIM or not to PIM?!”  When all of a sudden, I remember the famous quote from John Bingham “The miracle isn’t that I finished.  The miracle is that I had the courage to start”.

“I never trained like this in my entire life”.  Those were the words that I said to Emilee two weeks before race day.  And I was enjoying my training days.  A week before race day, I was off to a business seminar in SIN.  It was during this week that I only manage to get 4 – 5 hours of sleep.  And that was way beyond of what my body was used to – a decent 6 to 7 hours a day.

With a deficit of 20 hours of sleep for the week, I went to km. Zero at 3:30am.  By 4:10am, I was already inside the starting line where I met Hector (who will be running the 42k relay with the rest of the Atlas Copco runners) and some fellow runners from Takbo.ph

minutes before gun start (photo courtesy of Hector of Atlas Copco Relay team)

This is it! From the Starting Line to Km#4 (Delpan Bridge), I was able to keep pace with (Ultra) Doc Topher of Takbo.ph. After a short water stop, I was already 50 meters behind the doctor.  I joined the group in front of me.  From the looks of it, they are Triathletes.  I was able to keep up with their pace thru Jones Bridge, McArthur Bridge, Lagusnilad, and up to the Ayala bridge (km.#10).

I took another stop at the relay/hydration station #5.  From here, Hector kept me company.  He told me that wants to do a long run (coming out from his 5k comfort zone) or until we reach km#22.

I'm still okay after 20kms (with Hector keeping me company)

We were able to maintain our target pace of 7:00mins/km.  It was a run-walk strategy (using a 1:00min walk break) for me.  We reached relay post no. 11 (km#22) minutes before 7:00am. 

Still upbeat after 22kms (photo courtesy of Mark of Atlas Copco Relay team)

From there, I was all alone in my personal mission.  I can now feel my heavy legs during the ascending run to EDSA until I reached the area of Pioneer.  AC Relay Runner Leo with wife Gigi cheered when they saw me at the Robinson’s area.  And… oops, I forgot that Pioneer is a hilly area.  Now, it’s starting to kill me.  Reaching Shaw blvd, I saw a fellow runner from Takbo.ph offering me something to eat (I was not sure if it was Lorie as I am starting to get disoriented as I feel the intense heat of the sun). 

I saw Nao pacing her friend.  I decided to keep within distance with them until the finishline.   The downhill run at Bagong Ilog, Pasig was fun but scary.  With one wrong step, I’m gonna tumble and roll until I reach C5.  

With the sun already showing its might, I started my slow and leisure walk along C5 ave.  My “leisure pace” increased only when a senior walked beside me.  We were having a short chat while he does his brisk walk (later on I learned that he is a priest)!

What killed my dreams of finishing a marathon?  It was the time I entertained the suggestion of another stranger-runner to just walk it thru (from km#31) until we reach the finishline.  Hmmm, never talk to strangers?

My spirits were lifted when I saw the Support Station of Takbo.ph at Km#34.  It gave me that extra push and determination to reach the finishline.  That quick stop made me smile and gave me some relief – with all of them offering almost everything that they have.  From the water spray, to the gatorade an water refill, to the famous “bengay massage” of Marga.  Amazing team! (note: If only I knew that there was a Support Station there, I may have decided to run the stretch from Market!Market! until that point)

And at km#39, at 10:10am, I was asked by the Race Escorts to “hop in” since they were instructed already by the Race Officials that the Roxas blvd will be opened to the vehicles.  It took me some time to decide.  I didn’t want to quit and be called a quitter, but as a sportsman, I have to follow the game officials.  Maybe the breaks of the game is not on my side.

After the race, there were many “what if’s?” on my mind, those Rookie mistakes, those wrong situational decisions.

In the end, I take note of all those “what if’s” and all those mistakes.  And I will use them to prepare my battle plan for my next full marathon. 

See you at the Condura 2010 Starting Line!

 

note: From my heart, I thank the following: 

• Hector for keeping me company from Km#10 until 22. 
• The Takbo.ph Support Station for giving me my “3rd wind” (but I apologize to you guys that I was SWEPT in this race). 
• To Mark and Raymond of Atlas Copco for the photos
• To my wife Emilee for the support she gave me before, during, and after the race
• And to the Almighty God for my safety during the race and for having an injury-free race