men in tights...err..jogging pants

i was supposed to go up today and do my run. but i woke up late, and to save time, i decided to go to the gym instead.

in the gym that i go to, there are typically two groups that go there. first group is the sta lucia pro basketball team, and the other group are composed of seniors. not the stepford wives club, lets go a little more older than that. both men and women. the titas, go there after bringing the kids or grandkids to school. the titos and lolos go there typically, i assume before work.

the titas you can spot, with their lv bags, jewelry, and their head to toe outfits of nike women, or stella mccartneys. the titos, you can tell by... aside from their womanizing tales from the night prior, by jogging pants. usually in black or navy. any guy above 40, this is the staple. im starting to think that mens legs deteriorate after four decades. aaak. i refuse to believe that. what is the big mystery of old men and jogging pants? ill find out in a couple of years. for the meantime, i will stick to my shorts. or my good ol cwx :-)

Century Superbods Run Registration

before anything, i will admit, yes, its my fault, i am late, thats why i had a crappy time registering for the century run. in this post i will just merely share my experience. :-P

monday. a day after my 42ker, i rush over to nike at the bhs, because!.. i thought the last day of registration for the century run was the 18th, but no, it was the 8th. fine. im off by one digit. so after work, i dragged my, what felt like wooden stumps, attached to my torso, legs to the end of the line. para palang avatar to sa haba ng pila. doesnt help that i did a marathon a day before too. 30 minutes elapsed, and in my head ive gone 5kms, but in reality ive moved around 10 feet towards the registration table.

1 hour elapses. the line has migrated to the outside of the nike store. we were crowding the store daw. at this point you start going into this zone that you notice and realize small things. after seeing people passing in front of me, i realized that i had a certain aberration to heeled slippers. the guy just at the back of me was having an argument with the "needy gf" or wife, whatever. then theres this guy, who walks past the line, then comes back.

guy: ano meron, bat may pila?

saleslady: century run registration sir.

guy: hmm...sali kaya ako..

guy reads poster. looks at line. takes a token look at the nike merchandise, then leaves.

sheesh. poser.

i text my friend: ive realized that i had a certain aberration for heeled slippers.

friend: kahit na yung havaiannas?

me: mismo

friend: i have four

i

thought

so

oh goody. im at the table. sir wala nang 10k bibs. balik na lang kayo bukas

*smack in the face

my first full mary. what worked. what did not.

my first full marathon, as i may have said in a previous post, was actually unplanned. a decision made out of moment insanity. it might have been the Christmas ham, the sluggish feeling i got from overeating every other meal. the guilt. the sugar crash. but its over and done with, and all i can do is review what worked, and what did not - in that 42km quest for glory.

what worked:

the mileage - yes i know i just crunched-in, a 16 week program into 4 weeks. its insane, and any running expert would advise not to do that. but the strict following of the mileage requirement, really helped condition my mind to the pain and the fatigue. there was nothing unexpected.

rehearsing your run - 3 weeks before condura, i was constantly using the exact same gear during the long sunday runs, that i would be using in condura. same shirt. same tights. same socks. same shoes, same everything. even the same flavor of gu. come condura, i did not stress about the possibility of chaffing, blistering, or some piece of gear falling apart.

having a trailer for the last 10k - my best friend migs, did his 21k then went back for me on a bike. he did not need to carry any stuff that i wanted to unload, but during the latter part of the race, with the runners getting thin, it really gets demoralizing. having a buddy along to push and motivate you really goes a long way. in fact, it was just embarrassed to walk with him on a bike, so i kept on running.

fueling up - before the race: days before the race i ate a lot of carbo rich foods that really worked for me - even if i ran on empty during the later stages, i felt extremely well during the first half. after the race: stocked up on gu, powerade, and salt. plain old mcdo salt. im a salty sweater so i had to take up some, just to make sure i wont collapse.

making a plan - as early as october, i was planning already of making a full mary within the early part of the year. so at that time, i planned to make all the necessary adjustments to my running that would make that possible. i chose to do develop the forefoot strike running style as one of the key points to that. i read and did the necessary research to do that. i was thinking i needed a couple of months to adjust. and i did. i planned on making a "fighting weight" for the race, to make myself competitive also. diet and cross-training made that possible.

what did not work:

non-change of lifestyle - all that night outs and bad habits (drinking and smoking- yes i know) did not do me well. even as late as the friday night before race weekend, i was out with some officemates. and i paid dearly for it. by the last few kilometers of the run, i was already winded.

one point that did not work vs. a lot that did. good batting average. but obviously not good enough. i targeted a sub 5hour race. i finished it, just under 6. not bad. but not great. there will be other races. there IS one thing that i learned about me that had been with me all along. and one thing that could be one of the most important things to have when doing a marathon. that i hate quitting.

i conquered the skyway

to the best of my ability, i will write this post. im doing this while my masahista is busy bringing my legs back to life. and so when she orders me to face up, i cant continue writing. so i will keep this short. and put another more in depth post with pictures next time. so in a nutshell, condura started on time. 700 of us 42k runners started at 4am. bayani road was dark. kalayaan flyover was dark. skyway was... well... dark. water and 100 plus was a-plenty. COLD water and 100 plus, not. the course dint have as many portalets as it was described in the race map. i outlasted my ipod (which died after 4 hours) AND, the cheering squad. on the way back to buendia, only 3 drummers were banging away, while the others, looked more tired than i was. my best friend, migs, after doin his 21k, kept me company on a bike, from km 34-39. i ran coz i was embarrassed to make him see me walk. but as soon as he turned at bhs, i did the british international school loop, walking again. hehehe. made in 5:48. just a shade over 10 mins. before the cutoff.

photo from fitandrun.info. shot by estan cabigas. thanks.

i pray that...

i dont oversleep.

i ate the right stuff.

i did the right mileage.

i my right foot holds up.

i dont get the squirts later.

my music player doesnt die on me

i get parking quickly later.

i finish in sub 5 hours.

everybody will be safe in the condura race.

everybody will have fun.

that i sleep soon.