Marathon #6: Run United Philippine Marathon 2012

Early this year, I did have plans of running the Unilab Run United Philippines Marathon.  However, as the date gets near, I felt unprepared since I don’t have the right mileage for the race. But my body is so willing to run, and I went for it anyway.

A week before

I would try to run as much as 32K before a marathon but I only managed 23K last week.   My longest run was the Milo Marathon last July and several 21Ks. I gave it time for some though and two days before the event, I decided to sign up.

I read a little about the Hanson Marathon Training.  It is a unique marathon training plan because it only requires 16 miles or 26K as the longest mileage. Yet, those who train in this method can still break their PRs.  It gave me hope that I can finish a marathon without my usual 20 miles training. Just forget about the PR. Just finish the race.

Early Riser

With the previous Unilab races, I would arrive at the starting line past the gun start time. There are lesser runners to start with if I’m late. I prefer that so that I can stick to my pace a lot better and not be carried away but the faster runners in front of me.

But I was not able to sleep well and woke up earlier than expected. Thus, I was at the starting line in about 5 minutes before the gun start. When the gun fired, I held myself to be at the back of the pack and let the other runners overtake.

The first part of the race went around BGC. A familiar route which includes the pitch dark areas. It is still a flat route and an easy section for most runners.

Runners getting ready at the starting line.

The C5 Route

What is unique about the race is the inclusion of the C5 road for the 42K runners. I find this route better because it avoids running the Kalayaan Flyover twice.  I hate running the Kalayaan Flyover since it always devour my energy and leaves me tired. I have better chances of completing the race with this route in C5.

The problem with C5 is the vehicle traffic even at 3:00 in the morning.  Thus in some areas, you can smell the smoke coming from their exhaust while you run. The traffic was probably due to having only one lane given for the vehicles. The rest of the lanes were generously given to the runners. I get to run on a very spacious road. Amazing.

Spacious road for the runners along C5

Anyare?

After the C5 Road, we were back to the familiar.  It’s going up to BGC via Bayani and Lawton Road.  Then go up to Kalayaan and down to Buendia. The first water station after Buendia ran out of hydration. Whoa!?! I’m not yet half the distance of the marathon and we’re running out of water. I have my own hydration belt but it got me worried.

Along Buendia and Roxas Blvd. going to Airport Road, I would find water stations with water, then the next one running out of water, then the next one with water again. I bought water at a convenience store just in case I ran out of supply in my belt.

While running along Roxas Blvd, I would see the organizing team bring water supplies back and forth. They were busy making sure that all stations will be back to normal.  I appreciate the effort since my last 10K of the race had water on each station.

Too early to ran out of  hydration…

Hydration is back!

Oops… hydration is out again.

Hydration is once again back… for good.

Running along Roxas Blvd(?)… Still looking good. 😀
Photo by Jess Agoo 

Thanks for the cheers Snailrunners. 😀

Walking the last 3K

I walked the last 3K of the route. I just want to take it easy to the finish line. I avoided pushing myself for a 5:30 finish time so that I can recover fast and be able to train right back for another 42K on December 2. For photos sake, I only ran during the last 500 meters when I saw Quennie near Esplanade taking photos of the runners. 😀

I completed the race in 5 hours and 40 minutes based on my watch.  My official time is 5 hours 39 minutes and 11 seconds. At the finish line, was a celebration with interactive booths and entertainment for the runners. I hangout for a while and listened to Sponge Cola.

Running the last 500 meters.

Sponge Cola says “Wag kang Bibitiw”!!!

THE Medal

The Unilab Run United Philippine Marathon gave a big finisher’s medal. A really, really big medal. It’s bigger than the head of my son. 😀 I like the design and the thought of having it that big.  But unlike the other medals I earned from the previous marathons, I was not able to wear it proudly in public after the race. I find it funny to be walking around with a big metal plate around my neck. I even forgot to take my photo at the finish line since I placed the medal in my bag. But like all my other medals, it deserves a frame and will be placed proudly at home.

The Aftermath

The walk during the last 3KM gave me some reserved energy for rest of the day. I was still able to go shopping for a Christmas tree that evening with Quennie and Gab. Had I fall into the temptation to go all out for a good finish time, I would probably be sleeping the entire afternoon and complain of body pains the rest of the evening.

I would always take a 1-2 weeks off after a 42K.  But I have to get back to training for my last 42K of the year at the PryceGas Marathon in CDO.  One of my goals for this year is to finish a marathon in less than 5 hours.  Despite having 3 marathons already for 2012, I only managed  a 5:09 PR. I have one more shot left and can’t afford a week off from training.  I would probably be back on the road this week and start my long runs again next week.

Congratulations to fellow runners who completed the race. Keep on running!