Being able to finish two of the hardest trail runs in the Philippines [Mayon and Salomon] gave me the mental strength and will power to overcome the odds of another full marathon. No guarantees of a good finish though, but at least, I have a fair chance of beating my CAMSUR time. The UNILAB 32 K and the RUN BGC 21K, both races organized by Coach Rio, served as my long runs before the QCIM. I was thankful that I had these runs. Better have two races before a full marathon than none at all! Moral booster, fellas, that’s what I need before my 2nd full mary.
Come race time, I was confident that I would be able to break the sub-5 barrier. I was actually aiming for a 4:30 mark. From the very start, I maintained a pace of 6 minutes per kilometer or 10 kilometers per hour. At the 30 kilometer mark, I was right on target with a time of 2 hours, 59 minutes and 39 seconds. If only I could maintain the same pace, I would be able to finish and even break my goal, or so I thought. Mixed thoughts crossed my mind. I thought that I have 1 hour and 30 minutes to finish the last 12 kilometers and still achieve what I was aiming for.
At the 34th kilometer mark, my legs were feeling the first signs of cramps. I had to walk for a minute or two, even striding and talking side by side with non-participants who were also walking along Commonwealth Avenue. They were forced to walk towards Elliptical Circle because of the traffic situation. After the stiffness in my legs seemed to have withered off, I ran at a much slower pace – 07 to 07:30 minute per kilometer. After every 5 minutes of running, I had to take a 30 second walk break just to prevent cramps from again creeping in.
When I entered the UP oval, barely 6 kilometers away from the finish line, the Baldrunner overtook me. I was never able to catch up with him the rest of the way. I was right on his tail up to the MALCOLM building but I was slowly fading and he was gaining strength. Parang diesel si Baldrunner, habang tumatagal, lumalakas! I admire him for his strength and stamina. Just like in so many races, he was able to beat many younger guys, even those half his age.
The last 4 kilometers was the most difficult part. At the turn-around point at CP Garcia, with 2 kms. to go, a pretty lady cheered: “kuya, 2 kms. na lang.” I replied in jest, “2 kms. na lang ha, halika, sama ka at makita mo kung gaano ako nahihirapan.”
A few meters away from the finish line, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to reach my goal of 4 hours and 30 minutes. The clock indicated a time of 4 hours and 32 minutes. But when the results came out, it was 4 hours and 38 minutes. My friends Alex Martin, Red Samar and Audi Samar also had 5 or 6 minutes added to their final results. Whew!
But never mind, whether I finished it in 4:32 or 4:38 doesn’t really matter that much. What matters is that I was able to beat my 5:09 clocking at Camsur. That was a 31 minute improvement! Mission accomplished!
This QCIM experience was memorable in so many ways. I met new friends in this race. I was able to meet in person my facebook friend, the pretty ultramarathon girl Michelle Estuar. Of course, I would not allow the brief meeting with Michelle to end without our pics taken. Thanks Michelle!
Noel Ko and Lana Jacel Mercado were also there. Noel and I sprinted at the last 200 meters going to the finish line in UNILAB 32K. He beat me there because he had these long strides for his 6-foot frame. In QCIM, Noel was miles ahead of me because he finished in 4:15. On the other hand, Lana Jacel Mercado is a petite lady who is stronger than me when it comes to finishing long distance races. I could beat her in 21k races but in long distance, I end up always eating her dust.
Then there were other guys whom I met - Will Veluz and Celma Hitalia. I know that both are very strong runners. They were just pacing themselves at QCIM because Celma just ran a 50K ultramarathon [T2N] where she finished 1st runner-up.
Finally, I will never forget how the old runners I was pacing with during the first 30 kms. made my day. We were barely 7 kms. from the starting line when they started farting alternately to their hearts’ delight. I could have remarked then by saying “feeling niyo po talaga close na tayo ha” but I did not. What I told them was that it was okay, and that we will just treat their farting as “change gear” o kumakambyo papuntang segunda. This drew laughter from the group and from then on, they felt they were at a liberty to blow the air off their butts!
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