Aiming to go faster & Petron Run For Safety run

(Big thanks to Shaw for the opportunity to run this race)

The Petron Run for Safety held June 16, 2013 at the Ortigas Center, Pasig was the most challenging 10k race I have ran so far.  Two (2) flyovers plus an uphill road proved to be a challenge for me.  I definitely did not have that much uphill during any of my previous practice runs or actual races. 

This is my first run outside of the usual MOA, Roxas Boulevard and BGC and based on what I know about Ortigas Center, parking and the run itself will be tight.  I didn’t get much trouble though in getting a parking slot as the only parking area I know wasn’t full yet.  And the travel time to Ortigas from my place is a very quick and easy one.

Pre-race

There were only 4 portalets available in the site, 2 for the women and 2 for the men.  So there was a queue to get your morning discharge that took me 15 minutes.

I was there 30 minutes before the 5:30am gunstart so I had time.  Although the 15 minutes I spent on queue wasn’t enough for my race kit to arrive.  So after 2 phone calls and another 5 minutes, my sponsor and I met up and gave me my race bib.  5:20, we just heard the “GO” signal and the race has commenced.  I haven’t done my pre-race stretches and my Soleus hasn’t picked up signal yet, and we had to start as the 5k wave is said to start in a few minutes.  So we ran.

The race

This was the first time that I didn’t get to use GPS to pace me.  It was as if I’m running blind.  Got to hate the Soleus on this, the whole race I was waiting for it to get a lock on a GPS signal but up to the end I didn’t get any.  I didn’t also see the race clock as I couldn’t find it.  There also were no markers in course so I’m really running blind.

First part of the race I felt the need to run fast as I saw the huge crowd way ahead of me (I started probably around 2 to 3 minutes after gun start).  Julia Vargas was downhill so I picked up an early pace.  Turning right to C5 though we had to stop and wait for the traffic to give way to us.

C5 is not conducive for running.  I can feel the heat under me as I ran, and it was not yet 6:00am!  Although the pavement is quite alright with almost no bumps or cracks.  First uphill/downhill was the Kalayaan flyover, I managed to pull this off quite fine.

Going back to where we turned right, 5k and 3k has started and immediately the Pasig flyover you can see a flock of runners.  Running up has been a series of dodges.  For the longest time I have managed to completely run a course without walking.  But 75% up the Pasig flyover, I had to walk to catch my breath.  It really was a long way up.  Going down was enjoyable, and I got to bump only one runner on my way down (we both were dodging walkers).

On the way back to the finish line from Julia Vargas, Its at the mid-point that I remembered that it was downhill in the start, so going back to the finish line was an uphill climb again.  I walked to take a breather again (with the smoke coming out of the vehicles that were stopped at the half of the road).  Upon seeing a photog, I started to run (don’t want to get caught walking, haha!)  But I went on to run to the finish line.

I really have no idea as to how long I ran that course, but I’m sure that its within an hour.  So I looked for the official clock and I saw 1:03:xx.  Not bad as I knew that I had my share of walks in between.

Post-race

Post race there were lots of booths.  I got to try one of the ice pops – brand name didn’t register.  Got my loot bags filled with flyers, mouse pad, flyers, snickers bar, flyers oh, and some more flyers!  One good thing though, the Magnolia water bottles were overflowing!  Fell in line for the photo booths (yeah, I’m collecting these) but it was sooo slow that I bailed.  The snickers bar along with the banana I brought were my post-race snack.

The official result

Since I had no GPS measurement for this race, I was really excited to see the results.  And the results were out fast!  Emi one of my runner friends shared a distance of 10.3km total distance (?).  Official chip time says its 58:38 – let me add this to the previous chart I made:

GPS time @ 10k – 58:50:10 (10k RUPM2) VS. 1:00:01 (10k NBPR)

Official race time – 58:38 (Petron) VS. 1:00:54 (10k RUPM2) VS. 1:02:41 (10k NBPR)

It was a 2-minute PR, although too bad that I didn’t have my GPS time so could validate it.  Although if the course was really 10k flat, its near the GPS time I got during the RUPM2.

Now on the 59th slot

Anyway, I’m still happy with this run as this really pushed me hard.  Also I’m happy that I got a new pic to add to my run-collage.  RUPM2 I found one, but its so blurred!

My next run would be this June 30 for the Robinsons Supermarket Fit and Fun Buddy Run.  I made it to the lottery and paid just 250 for 10k; although I’m not sure if I can do a PR here as I have to look after my buddy.  We’ll just probably enjoy the view.