T minus 19 days, and counting...

My Run Today

Training plan for today called for a 32k long run. I planned to run half of it through Fort Strider Group’s “Octoberun”, and run the rest of the distance on my own around BHS.

Last night, before going to bed, I fixed my training bag, and placed it inside my car, so that I won’t worry too much and have a good night’s sleep. Went to bed around 7:30 PM, watched “The Bucket List” over HBO, and decided to turn it off at the middle of the program to start having forty winks.

I woke up at 3:00 AM and had coffee and cheese sandwich for breakfast. Took a shower, put on my running gear, and taped my feet (to avoid blisters). Rafa arrived at home 4:16AM, and proceeded to BHS a few minutes after.

We arrived around 4:50 AM, parked in B1 area near the cashier and guard (for safety), and did our last minute preparations. I left Rafa in the car, and started my training run around BHS. I was able to finally calibrate my foot pod (1 round is 1.2k by the way, measured through my car’s odometer), and covered 2 rounds at my aerobic pace. I wanted to run more, but the race already called the participants, and went my way to the waiting pen, and did some stretching while chatting with Que and Luis.

The starting gun was fired on time. I was very conscious with my heart rate, and ran at a manageable pace within my aerobic zone. College classmate Paul ran with me. He’s training for his first half marathon next Sunday. Like me, he’s also running in his aerobic pace, so we ran together and shared stories along the way. We enjoyed the hilly route, and was very happy with the hydration stations. I was able to save the water and Pocari Sweat in my hydration belt for my after race training because of the ample water supply from the race organizers.

We finished the 16k race inside our aerobic zone in 2 hours and 2 minutes (unofficial). I bid Paul goodbye and continued running around BHS. Crossing the finish line, I already covered 18.4km, and still feel great. I kept running and tried to maintain my heart rate inside my aerobic zone. However, the sun was already high and I noticed that my pace was getting slower, and I was drinking like a man in the desert, almost emptying the four flasks of my hydration belt in 1 hour. I also noticed that white salt-like particles started to appear on my left arm, that I’m no longer perspiring, that I can feel some cramps on my calves, and my heart rate at anaerobic zone. At 24k, I finally took a walk, and called it a day reaching 25k.

Lesson Learned

I was expecting for some partly cloudy/drizzling morning. However, the skies were very clear after the race. I should have arrived much much earlier in BHS to cover more distances before the start of the race.

I’m a bit sad missing the 32k mark. I envy the other runners who continued their run despite the heat. I’m just thinking, given the newbie in me, if not for the heat, I could have easily finished the plan within my aerobic zone.

SIM Update

Thanks to Craig Logan generously sharing in Takbo.ph forum that the elevation of the SIM route is descending until kilometer 27.5. Rock en roll follows for the next 8.5 kilometers!

Hmm… I’m thinking, since training on Thursdays permits me to run in my anaerobic zone, maybe I could do hill repeats instead of tempo runs. What you think?