Globe Run for Home 2010

Globe Run for Home 2009 was my best half marathon time. Last month, I aimed to beat it but the new race route and the extra distance stopped me from getting a new PR.

I was running late. Well, almost. While running Makati Avenue, on my way to the race venue, I was thinking, "how come there were not so many people at the starting line? Was there any problem?" As I reached Paseo de Roxas, I saw some 5k/10k runners walking towards Ayala Avenue. There, to my surprise, I saw quite a good number of runners at the holding area. 21k runners? Wow! So many of them. I hurriedly ran inside Ayala Triangle gardens and reached the holding area with enough time to check in and for warm up exercises. It was then that I saw some of my Takbo.ph friends.

Running a new route right through Makati CBD was truly a treat for us, runners. Thanks to Globe for this opportunity. Water stations were strategically placed along the route. In every kilometer to be exact. I wouldn't be surprised. When a race is staged by Coach Rio, expect another first or an innovation.

With Joseph, a.k.a. Prince as my pacer, I tried to do well but my legs felt so heavy and sore from doing a different sport the previous day. A lame excuse? Well, I was a bit tired, didn't have enough weekly mileage, and never had any LSD (long slow distance) or practice run lately.

At a certain point, I asked Prince to run ahead and leave me but he kept on saying, "It's OK." And he continued to run with me. I knew deep inside he was in good condition and that he could have finished it with another personal best. He could have easily left me and run ahead, instead, he opted to run with me all throughout the race.

For those who haven't known Prince, he's the kind of guy who is friendly. With his energetic disposition; he can be funny and talkative at the same time. With these qualities considered, before the race started, I told him outright, "Prince no talking please while racing." It worked out just fine with him. The only time I heard him say something was when he uttered encouraging words such as "push, push" (a pusher indeed) or "run it as fast as you can" or "let's run it continuously." He even offered me drinks during our quick stopover at certain water stations. In short, he acted like a true blue pacer during the race. I truly appreciated what he did.

I was once an official pacer at the 1st Quezon City International Marathon last year and I have had my share of pacing with some friends. The responsibilities of a pacer I perfectly understood. One of which is to bring fellow runners reach the finish line and help them achieve their running goal. Watching Prince doing all the stuff as expected of that of a pacer really made me proud of him.

As we ran inside Heritage Park, we both agreed that finishing the race in two hours and five minutes is deemed impossible. But this thought didn't deter us to still enjoy the race. We both reached the finish line together with same chip time. For me, the race ended so well.

Breaking in Mizuno Wave Creation 11

Initial distance: 6.5km

Next distance covered: Not specified but the pair is used during ultimate disc practice for four hours

Longest next distance: 21.8 km at Globe Run for Home 2010
Felt initial discomfort but eventually it was gone after running 10km. A bit pricey but with the discount given by Mizuno upon race registration, it was fair enough. But wishing still that the price be lowered.

Next test run: Botak Paa-bilisan Baguio Race

(Photos Courtesy of Photovendo and Rene a.k.a. Jazzrunner)