At Run United 3 2012

Few days prior to the staging of the last leg of the Run United Trilogy, forecasts of a rainy weekend were flashed in all weather reports. Thus, last Sunday was a wet and wild spectacle for the Run United 3 staged at SM MOA in Pasay City with 21K and 32K runners starting at BGC in Taguig City. In this 3^rd of a series, the 32K Afroman distance was ran. It was a fitting distance for those who wanted to level up in running going to full marathon. For those first time Afroman runners who finished the race, it only showed that it can be done, and finishing a full marathon is not too far to reach.

Team JRunning @ the race

Swthrt and I have run the RU1 and RU2 and running the 3^rd leg is quite inevitable, as we really wanted to complete the much coveted RU 3-piece puzzle medal. Preparation was not as good as we wanted, thus fear is a factor coming into this race. We arrived at the BGC at around 2:00 am, with enough time to move around as the early morning race will certainly be cold because of an all-night rainy weather. We were released at 3:00am amidst the rain. A longer distance was covered in the route around BGC before we finally approached the Kalayaan flyover. To a certain extent, I was disoriented in our location for some time because of the many turns we made around BGC. Credits have to be given to the marshals who stood their ground and patiently directed runners under the rain. We had a good start, until I slowly succumbed to tiredness even at the early part of the race. Swthrt patiently paced me and tried to encourage me to run. She is certainly in a better condition. At some point, I knew she was frustrated. She even burst with a phrase “hilahin na lang kaya kita”. Though I felt better (from my acid reflux condition) this time rather than our RU2 race. I still can’t push myself harder than before. When we reached half-way at Buendia, cramps on my left calf started to set in. This made me walk more than run. I tried to urge Swthrt to go ahead so that she can hit our 4-hr target but she opted to stay with me. As we go along, we managed walk and run or should I say walk-walk and run as walking took most of our time. We survived the race and finally completed the pie medal.

Thanks to Running Atom for the picture

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The pain and frustration

Lessons have been learned from the past. Running longer distances such as half marathon to full marathon requires sincere dedication in training. Since the start of the year, training was kept in the sideline. Cramming on logging more running time and mileage was more of the practice. Though we hit the gym, it was not on a regular basis. Thus, pain during and after the race is expected. Nevertheless, we tried hard to make it a fun run as possible, but frustrations overshadow the feeling.  Running the Run United Philippine Marathon is now a big question.

The challenge

With a few more big races lined-up before the year ends, a greater challenge it has become. Team JRunning will surely take it on. Hopefully, work schedules, kids’ school agenda, and other home chores will fall in its right places so that we can fully maximize any free time we have for the love of running. Team JRunning is here to stay and continue to promote an active and healthy lifestyle.

Congratulations Unilab and Runrio Team for a great series of Run United!