I didn't prepare specifically for this one since I registered for it at a request of a friend coming from Japan to race locally. Good thing there was a race conveniently scheduled here in BGC at the time of his vacation.
The 10k distance was just right since I was supposed to run a 12k tempo as per my training program. The strategy for this one was to run hard, targeting a sub-60 finish (although I wasn't really praying for one as I just wanted to get these legs a good workout).
The race started promptly at 5:30am with a good crowd joining the 10k leg. As I started from the end, I had to zigzag my way as I looked for space to run on. Eventually, the crowd thinned out by the 2nd km. The route is all too familiar of my past 10k races: 1st half downhill while the 2nd half would be a hard charge of climbs to the finish. I reminded myself of this as I past by 5th avenue, running towards the Kalayaan flyover.
The Kalayaan flyover, as always, welcomed me with open arms as I went up towards Buendia but wanted to spit me out as I came back from the turnaround point. That climb back to the finish was very HARD. But fortunately I was able to cope with the steep long incline, albeit not at a pace that I wanted. There was another long climb at the 2nd half of Rizal Avenue, then that looooong climb at 26th. Ran very hard at the last 300-400 meters, finishing at 58:54 (Garmin time).
The celebration of finishing sub-60 may be half-hearted, as the total distance logged by my Garmin was only at 9.74km, giving me an average pace of 6:03/km ---not a sub-60 10k. The result overall, was ok for me as I only registered for this race on a whim, without really training for it. Nevertheless, it's a good checkpoint for me to remind myself that I still have lots to go, training-wise.
Back to training...
The 10k distance was just right since I was supposed to run a 12k tempo as per my training program. The strategy for this one was to run hard, targeting a sub-60 finish (although I wasn't really praying for one as I just wanted to get these legs a good workout).
The race started promptly at 5:30am with a good crowd joining the 10k leg. As I started from the end, I had to zigzag my way as I looked for space to run on. Eventually, the crowd thinned out by the 2nd km. The route is all too familiar of my past 10k races: 1st half downhill while the 2nd half would be a hard charge of climbs to the finish. I reminded myself of this as I past by 5th avenue, running towards the Kalayaan flyover.
The Kalayaan flyover, as always, welcomed me with open arms as I went up towards Buendia but wanted to spit me out as I came back from the turnaround point. That climb back to the finish was very HARD. But fortunately I was able to cope with the steep long incline, albeit not at a pace that I wanted. There was another long climb at the 2nd half of Rizal Avenue, then that looooong climb at 26th. Ran very hard at the last 300-400 meters, finishing at 58:54 (Garmin time).
The celebration of finishing sub-60 may be half-hearted, as the total distance logged by my Garmin was only at 9.74km, giving me an average pace of 6:03/km ---not a sub-60 10k. The result overall, was ok for me as I only registered for this race on a whim, without really training for it. Nevertheless, it's a good checkpoint for me to remind myself that I still have lots to go, training-wise.
Back to training...
Congratulations! Pabilis ka na ng pabilis a! Galing-galing! :)
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, here inviting you, your friends, and your followers to register for Takbo sa Pagbangon ng Leyte, a Benefit Run in partnership with GK. For details, please see www.pdic.gov.ph. See you at the 10K starting line!