Nike Human Race 10K recap

I placed 19th among 300 runners with an official time of 52:27. Garmin 305 measured the distance at 10.28 km, with a finish time of 52:21. The 6 second discrepancy was because of my late start since I was in the middle of the pack. I looked at my time at km 10 just to check if I did a sub 50. I didn’t, 51:08 lang. This sub 50 thing is so elusive.

So how was the race for me? Let me sum it up by posting a long recap sans pics using the initials NIKE RIO.

N – NERVE-WRACKING. Everyone was agog about the hills of Mc Kinley. I ran the route once during the Mizuno 1 and twice during my evening runs. I wasn’t too conscious about my pace then so I was just running leisurely. Yes the route was hard but it was manageable and with so many people running with you, it didn’t feel like an ordeal. it was just like outrunning other shoppers in a mall during midnight madness. In this race, however, I wanted to achieve a true 10K PR (sub 50 sana!) so I wanted to run really fast. But all the odds were against me: the route was hilly; I didn’t have enough sleep because I arrived from a flight at 10 pm, drove myself home from the airport and slept at 1 am; I was nursing a cold; I failed to use the restroom before the race — part of my ritual; I didn’t bring water with me. All of these things filled my head while I was trying to outrun and outpace myself. Moreover, it was my last race before I take a 1 month hiatus from morning races to fulfill a religious obligation. I wanted to end the month with a bang.

I – ICONIC. The race was full of running icons in the running community (Neville Manaois of pinoy ultra runners, Coach Rio of course), showbusiness (Tessa Prieto, Drew Arellano), and the blogosphere (Jaymie the Bullruner, Bards of Bananarunning, Patrick of runningshield). It was a Nike race so I was expecting some famous people to show up at the race and they did! Other bloggers I met were My Iron Shoes (thanks for the ride from BHS to MKH and back, huwag ng mainit ang ulo!) Happy Hour Levy (ran as a bandit), DATC (wore both his Garmin and Nike band), Mukhang Guilty (my pacer — I couldn’t run as fast as him so I just made sure I could see him about 250m ahead of me all the time and I knew I’d have a decent finish time), Running Fatboy (who was wearing the Human Race shirt from abroad), The FitMommy (who chided me for running in the gym for another 5 K after finishing the Red Cross Run a week ago), Prometheus Cometh (Nike promo boy with his bevy of young girls) and Bugobugo85 (thanks for the tip!). Kathy and Chuchay (who won a cruise for two, congrats!) were also there.

K – KINLEY. Running around BHS 2-3x/week is becoming a bit boring. MKH is more conducive for training because of the challenging hills, 7-11, and fewer vehicles on the road. It was a good place to start and finish. What made the place more ideal was the small number of runners compared to other races making it easy to maneuver yourself between the crowd after gun start. Going inside Heritage Park was also a very relaxing experience. Good thing I didn’t choke on the plastic bag when I bit off 1 corner so I could drink and douse myself with water. I just couldn’t take the banana and ensaymada from the stations no matter how tempting it was to do so. Baka madapa ako sa kakalamon.

E – ELEVATIONS. The hills were punishing! I still feel soreness in my gastrocnemius muscles as I type this. I am not used to hilly terrains because my training runs are mostly on flat roads (BHS, treadmill). I need to run in MKH more often now.

R – RIO. Best race organizer.

I – INSPIRING. There is something about running with other people that provides one with an additional push. It’s not only the spirit of competition that permeates the air but a certain feeling of belonging or shared goal/vision — to reach the finish line! I used to say that I like running alone so I can concentrate on my pace without someone pushing me to the point of no return or pulling me back after all, I am not aiming for an olympic medal. I just want to beat my previous record everytime I run. But after joining fun runs for 8 months, I am beginning to like running with others.

O – ORGANIZED. Once again Rio has outorganized himself. His races keep getting better and better. Congrats! Keep it up.

See you in the October races!

~ by runmd on September 2, 2008.