My First 21k half marathon - thoughts and what nots

 

Mar 5, 2023… TCS international marathon (clark, pampanga). My very first marathon. 

Funny thing about races, your tummy really gets nervous. I find that like 10 minutes before the start of warm up… my thoughts turn to…. Looking for the porta potty. Another bad side about this run is that my period decided to show up THE DAY BEFORE. I was pretty nervous about it honestly, since it’s pretty hard to think about it and still run comfortably.

We stayed overnight at Widus hotel - the hotel was fine but the rooms were in bad need of refurbishing. The bathtub was chipping and the sink was not draining properly (fast enough). 

Gear check

I brought my own small water container too just in case I didn’t want to stop at any of the initial water stations. The run itself was pretty flat for the first part… near the 8km mark we had an uphill but not as bad as the one in filinvest!!. Managed it without walking and got to the turnaround fine. Took a gel at 45 mins and another one at 1:30 mark.

Nearly at 18-19k was already feeling my legs going heavy and honestly felt super tired. I could not imagine the strength I would need if it was a 42km marathon. MY GOODNESS.

The sun was coming up over the horizon in the last 2km and I really had to pull myself towards the finish line… You really have that internal talk to yourself as you run, trying to motivate and encourage yourself.

Training is no walk in the park. Some days, I really have the lazy spells and just want to go back to sleep. I dread the long runs because they are hard to start… although when you get into a rhythm, you can really enjoy it. Sometimes I think, why am I doing this? 

Hoping I can manage to run the marathon and finish. (April 23)

First half marathon 2:31

Taking up running @50

 If you would have asked me if I was interested in running a marathon 2 years ago, I would have told you straight up… NO WAY!

Running fever started about 12 years ago, and my husband took it up with glee since he was always been a track and field person since high school. I on the other hand is what you call “saling pusa” or someone who just was there to participate and support (if the distance was short like 5k or 10k). The longest I did was 16k and by the end I was screaming bloody murder. (ayoko na! ). 

Honestly, what I was lacking is the commitment to train. I didnt want to wake up early to run. HELLO. I love to sleep. The longer distances like 16k to marathon needed months of constant running to be able to survive and 10 years ago, I wasnt interested enough to put in the work.

So, what changed?

I honestly dont know. I accompanied my husband (which I usually did for years now) to his last international World Marathon in New York and he asked me to join the 5k fun run (it was short and I said, why not and signed up). As a backgrounder, I am the one taking pictures and cheering my husband on his marathons.. I am also the tour planner and guide- hahaha.

So anyway, New york. I can‘t really say when exactly did I think I could try to run but I think it started when I started to sign up for races. At first it was runrio 10k trilogy (a 3 part series where the medals can be clipped together) then, attempting my first 16k in awhile and training for it. The pivot point for me I guess is the amount of technology in the watches and the information available now that was not available 12 years ago. The watch now can give you heart rate, VO2 max, sleep pattern and other info to help you. It even has a coach to coach you to run at whatever race or goal you might have. (a big plus when running when you watch keeps vibrating to tell you to speed up or slow down). I also saw a lot of youtube, instagram posts on running and training which helped me enjoy the run better. 

Running and training doesnt have to mean you have to run at the hardest all the time and at every run. This concept really helped me accept that  progress in whatever sport or skill has to take TIME and PRACTICE. As of today, I have been training for about 2.5 months and improved both my running and my pace. My VO2 max increased from 38 to 40.

Consistency is also a key. Which sometimes I find very hard because as I said, I love to sleep but I still get up and run in whatever capacity I have. Watching disney +, the one called LIMITLESS by Chris Hemsworth also showed me that to live longer and healthier lives, we have to have a combination of endurance fitness, strength training, fasting among other things (suggest you watch that series). This really convinced me to take charge of my health. Running ticks the endurance and strength part (we need to strength train also) the fasting part I haven’t done yet because…. Well… BECAUSE. Hahaha

One other thing is the high you get after sweating before breakfast. I usually have a desk job and get less than 2000 steps a day.. but with training, I have 10k steps even before breakfast or at least complete it on the days I have a run. My pacer app is happy I maintain my 10k steps per day. 

What’s next? 

I will be running my first half marathon in march and my first marathon in April. Currently waist deep in training. Dreading the long runs… and I mean REALLY long. (3 hours plus estimate)

My husband is surprised at my dedication. Maybe I surprise even myself. The one thing I learned - never say never. You might change your mind after all. I am the epitome of the I would never run a marathon person… BUT…..here I am.

Running makes me sleep earlier and better, wake up earlier too ! I can’t party anymore because I am sleepy by 9pm! 

So, onwards~! Ready to put the check✅ beside “run a marathon” bucket list.

Excited to sign up for marathons now.. hahaha. Hubby at one point commented “who are you?” Hahaha

Next would be climbing mountains… and that would be another training round (and blogpost)

Conquering THE ROCK

Joining the 2nd corregidor international half marathon was exciting to say the least. For those who know corregidor, it is one of the last strongholds of the US and Philippines forces during WWII.

Most of us learned about it during history class in high school. I actually love the sense of history this run gave me. For more info click HERE. I ran a 10k. I had no expectations of running fast whatsoever. I have heard that they have the steepest hills you can run. (it was actually like climbing up a mountain)

We woke up about 3am Dec 10. We had to catch a ferry going to the island at 5:30 am. The trip took about 1 1/2 hours. (it gave me an opportunity to take a nap on the boat). I surveyed most of the runners there and noticed they were very experienced runners by the way they were preparing for disembarkation.
Some had full on compression suits and were putting on several globs of sunscreen. By the way they looked (very lean and fit) and the gear they had on (very "runner"), you can tell they were serious.

It was humbling.

I was glad I was running only a 10k.

The 21k runners were the first up. All in all, I think the total runners for both events were about 387.

The 10k runners were so few, I had a chance to run in FRONT.  (I think most of the people were afraid to position in front.. maybe pressure to run faster?).. I checked later on and discovered we were 98 runners in total.

The start of the race went with a loud honking of the bull horn. I ran a faster pace at first because I knew I had to slow down when I got to the "killer" hills. I needed to gain more ground. About 100- 200 meters from the starting point, we were going to do a turn. This turn was going up an 45 degree uphill incline.

pretty hard to take a picture of yourself while going uphill!

This incline went for about another 1.5km!!! I tried running, well, for the most part, jogging.. but I was afraid I wouldn't last the rest of the 8km that I still had to go. --- at least most of the 10k runners did not attempt to run uphill too. I was not alone!!!

I took several shots of the ruins and the scenery while jogging.

used some artsy effects...

loved this part of the run. very relaxing!

I took opportunities when the roads got more even to run a bit. One thing about his run is you get to see a lot of sights. Like ruins (see above) from world war 2. At some point during my 3rd kilometer, I got into a conversation with a fellow runner. Her husband is a serious runner and left her (he was going for a fast time... I eventually found out that he was the first place finisher in the 10k at 49 minutes...wow!)

So, Michelle (that's her name) was grumbling how it was so hard to take pictures when you are alone. Echoing her sentiment, I offered to take her picture if she would take mine. So I had a running/picture taking buddy from 3km onwards.

It was quite fun after that because we took turns taking each other pictures and babbling about our running experiences. (we both were recreational runners). I found the time and the kilometers went by quickly. We also found ourselves in some "jungle-like" conditions in one part of the race. Thankfully, no rain for that day or we would have been crawling over mud. (the day before saw a heavy downpour and flooding that I was worried we were going to swim our way to the island)

The sightseeing runners just had to take a picture with the antique gunnery

I think doing this run is the best ending to the year. I really enjoyed this most of all the runs I have attempted. WHY?

1. the route was challenging and yet enjoyable at the same time. You get to see history and nature and get fit too.

2. the limited number of runners made it extra special. As I was running towards the last 200m, I was cheered on by the volunteers and was actually all alone on the route. It made me feel like I was the FIRST one coming to the finish line. The announcers was calling out my bib # as I was running towards the finish and they even had a ribbon for me to cross! wow. unbelievable feeling!!! Made me feel like a winner all the waaayyy!~~~ (unlike other runs where participant number by the thousands, you get lost in the crowd coming in)

3. They handed me a rose and a medal.

We had a nice lunch (which was included in the race fee)-- my husband and friend said they could not taste the food from being so exhausted -- they ran 21k and were cramping so bad during the last half of the race. (most were hills). I was thankful I had a more enjoyable run and had time to even take pictures..! (but honestly, I could really feel the downhill on my knees)

We also took the tour after since our boat ferry back was at 5:30. The tour guide was a elderly white haired gentleman who amazed me with his encyclopedic knowledge of history. He even recited the farewell letter of the admiral who surrendered the island to the Japanese. It was like a Filipino David Attenborough and I was watching the history channel without the guy having a script. To think he looked about 70! WOWZER. If you are interested in doing the tour, click HERE

The pictures from the event are not yet available. I am excited to see the picture they took as I was crossing the finish line. (imagine me... arms up leaping over the ribbon... hehehe) will update this blog when it comes out.

Even with all the picture taking, I managed to finish 48th place out of 98 runners. Not bad eh? 1:34 mins. upper 50th percentile is not bad for one who has no training and was taking pictures.