Race Review: Maxicare Run 2017

The good:

1. Accurate distance
2. Well placed aid stations
3. Great post race stuff: finisher's shirt, medal, lootbag, etc.

For improvement:

1. Still need to find a way to prioritize runners over vehicle traffic especially along Gil Puyat. I may have lost a minute or so due to marshals giving vehicles a chance to cross.

My race:

I was able to meet my target for this race which was to pace at or near 7:00/km throughout. I never felt the need to speed up (except for the last 2k which I'll explain later) as I never thought of "really racing" this one as this would be my longest run (16k) after quite a while which would really be an achievement in itself. The plan was simply to control the pace throughout and see how I hold up towards the latter kms. This also served as my gauge if I will ever be ready for the upcoming Milo 21k on July30 (which I haven't signed up yet) ---pace wise so that I am within the 2:30 cutoff.

I got a little worried about the 2 week taper that I did before Sunday but in retrospect, it worked out well for my benefit. The body was fresh for 16kms of sub-tempo running although the high HR is something I need to work on (jumped to 155 as early as km5). Perhaps adding a lot more Zone 2 running (or longer tempo runs) should do the job?

So onto the race. I was coasting for sub-7:00/km from the start until km11 and I thought, "Hey, maybe I can speed up a little" and so I did, running about 6:50/km for the next 3 kms. Btw, the Kalayaan flyover on the way back to BGC was still hell as ever as I pushed hard while I recorded my highest HR for the race (170).

By the time I was back in BGC there was this guy with specs and wearing wireless earphones using me as a marker (I was wearing the classic bright yellow Adidas singlet from years back) as I was easily noticeable among the blue singlets around. He would run past me then stop to walk. By the time I would pass him for a couple of meters he would do the same all over again. I knew he meant no disrespect but I guess it was just a way for him to motivate himself to finish.

I, on the other hand, got irritated. My competitive me took control of my race pace plan and just said, "F*ck it, we're leaving this dude!"

So, in the last 1 or 1.5km of the race, I stepped on the gas and zoomed away. I would check for him if he voted for chasing his "marker" but I guess he couldn't as I averaged 6:39/km for the last 2 kms. Sorry dude, but I just had to go. ;-)

Finished the race in 1:50:52 (Garmin time) for a 6:49/km average pace. 

Not good, but not bad either. :)

1,300 calories burned!

All in all this was a good race for me even though no PR was broken. I felt really good after that race as I *think* I'm back on the groove again in terms of my running. Hopefully I could keep the weekly volume up and, just maybe, help the weight go down.

Milo 21k is coming up in 3 weeks but I'm still undecided. The race org requires a med certificate to register (plus a bought Milo pack receipt) so that is keeping me from finalizing my plan to race this one or not.

But it's Milo, right?

Sigh, we'll see.