Adidas KOTR 2012

16.8 Kilometers After

KOTR

Adidas King of the Road has been one of my favorite races.  In KOTR 2010 (read here), I did my first 10K and in KOTR 2011 (read here), I did my first Half Marathon. Last year, I dubbed KOTR as number one in my 2011 favorite races (read here).  That’s how much history I have with KOTR Races.  This year’s edition was different for me though.  While I was able to build up for months going into my first half marathon last year, this year I was sidelined 2 weeks before the race with a tail bone injury.  Well, it happens.  To cut the long story short, I decided to go for KOTR at an aerobic pace or just have fun along the way.  No taper week before the race but to use the next few days for a bigger build to recover my long run endurance.  It was fun though entering the race with no pressure for a change.  I was even able to do some core and run exercise days before and a Metafit race just a day into the race.   This is gonna be FUN!!!

Race Route

KOTR 2012 happened earlier than previous editions which usually was held 3rd week of October.  This time it was held on September 30, 2012 at was still at its usual venue which is the Bonifacio Global City which had three distances 16.8K, 10k and 5K.  Absent was the usual 21K as the focus would be the 16.8K which also serves a qualifier for the championships in Singapore.   The 16.8K distance was one of the best routes and I say this because it eliminated most of the curves which are really momentum breakers.   Race starts at 9th Avenue and goes to 5th Avenue via a loop from 30th street, 11th Avenue and 26th Street.  From Fifth Avenue you then proceed to 32nd Street until 11th Avenue wherein you proceed to 34th Street and eventually do the long stretch of 8th Avenue going to Kalayaan and back.  The race then moves back to 32nd Street and a small loop from 5th Avenue, 30th street and 3rd Avenue.  The race then goes through the hilly stretch of Kalayaan Flyover and then Buendia going all the way to Osmena Boulevard for the u-turn slot.  The race then heads back to Bonifacio Global City via Buendia and the climb in Kalayaan flyover.  Finally, you go through a last stretch of Rizal Drive until the 26th Street which then leads you back to 5th Avenue and 32nd street before taking the final turn to 9th Avenue for the final dash to the finish line.  Straight and simple.

The Race

Photo by Takbo.ph

I woke up early though it took me some time to prepare as I was having tummy troubles early in the morning.  I was still feeling the effects of yesterday’s Metafit race with some pain in the inner thigh so I added CEP quad sleeves for additional support.  I arrived at the start area about 20 minutes before gun start for a few warm ups and just to shake off my sleepiness.   Then it was gunstart.  It was a crowded starting lane but once I got through I went at my normal fast starting pace just to get some more room from the crowded start area.  I was able to keep this pace for the first 2 kilometers but broke my momentum once I hit the first water station as the water stations was still setting up.  My guess was the weather prevented an early setup at the water station.   I went back at my pace on towards 8th Ave which covered the first 5 kilometers of the race.

The race then moves on to Kalayaan flyover, I slowed down a bit here but still went fast at the hilly part as I didn’t want to waste the benefit of training in a hilly section.  This covered another 2 kilometer stretch of the race. Moving on to Buendia, the race gets festive as marshals and cheerdancers get on to greet you with horns and water sprays for hydration.  I went on the next three kilometers of flat grounds for the whole stretch of Buendia in a lighter but consistent pace.  This leads to the race u-turn at the 10 kilometer mark at Osmena Boulevard.

The race for me went into more a friendly pace at this point as I saw some familiar faces so it was also time to greet fellow runners.  Shifted to a run and walk strategy from here on and was able to catch a friend in Kalayaan flyover at the 13th kilometer mark and chatted for a while before resuming a lighter pace again.  Going past the Kalayaan Flyover and at the 15th kilometer mark, the race gets festive once more with Jollibee mascot and Sigue Corre Panda greeting the runners.  Honestly, I was tempted to have my photo opp with Jollibee but decided otherwise as its time to finish the race and it’s just 1.8 kilometers to the finish line.  So went on at an easy pace to finish.  The music was upbeat at the finish line so went with the beat of the music at the finish line.

16.8K and OK – Photo by Philip BF

It was fun running less the competitive mode but of course, if the circumstances were different, I would have wanted to test my limits at this course.  Overall, it was a great and festive race.  It turned out, I also had a nice training week with two sets of bike workouts, one hill run, one core and run workout, a Metafit race and a 16.8K race.  It was also always a pleasure seeing running friends along the race course and its nice to see the festive mood of the run at a slower pace where you can take time  to appreciate the festivities.

Team Total Fitness

Team Total Fitness After The Race

I met the rest of the team afterwards.  Some went at a fast pace and some went at an aerobic pace while preparing for bigger races. We distributed Dermplus sunblock from our sponsors and it was easier given the long queues for the finisher loot bags.  In a few weeks it’s gonna be trails, races, outbreaks, duathlon and triathlon events for us.  It’s gonna be fun as the racing season heats up.

Team Total Fitness Distributing Dermplus

Time to Rest

Power Test

After feeling fatigued even before the run, I was really looking forward to rest after finishing my 16.8K.  After breakfast, we went to Tripalooza event held at McKinley and even tried the power test.  Surprisingly, I still had energy for this.  It was nice to really see the neat bikes and triathlon related stuff in the event.  And with that, I can finally call it a weekend and have some rest.