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Pacing 10K at Run United Philippine Marathon

Posted by on 6. October 2015

Mission Accomplished: 10K at 1:05 – Photo by KB for Photo-ops

  • Distance: 10K
  • Date: October 4, 2015
  • Venue: SM Mall of Asia

After chasing the longer distances, I was back at 10K distance pacing a faster time of 1:05.  While the race was quick, the preparation wasn’t easy as I had to relearn running at a faster pace.  10K is such an intense distance because you can really go all-out on this one and get a really good finish time. Aside from pacing, it was also fun cheering the runners as it was time to #ExceedYourself once again at #RunUnitedPhilippineMarathon

Read About

Run United Philippine Marathon

Run With Me!!!

I paced the 2:37 group at Run United 1. I was on sick bay at Run United 2.  For Run United Philippine Marathon, I opted to for a 10K distance. 21K has been a default category for me and probably for most people. 10K was a throwback to those times that 10K was the key distance to conquer and every race was a fervent chase for the next Personal Record.   That also meant that I should really train hard for this one.  For more than a month, it was a 3 runs a week routine for me with recovery indoor cycling in between.  I was able to train more since the distance and recovery time were shorter.  While I was training my legs to be stronger on the road, the indoor cycling was able to strengthen my quads and also improve my cadence speed.  I shifted to the faster Newton Distance and made sure that my legs was in tip top shapes by having regular myotherapy at New York Theraspine. I also went to join Camp Alpha in Bohol for a Tri camp where I got to revisit running drills, core workouts and all the basics of running.  I wanted no excuses for this one. I enjoyed the journey back to 10K and the process of slowly but surely shedding time in my regular 10K routine.

Race Route

Race Route powered by Suunto Ambit 3 Sports and Movescount

Race starts at Seaside Boulevard and heads to Macapagal Boulevard and CCP area before entering Roxas Boulevard via Vicente Sotto.  At Roxas Boulevard, you run until Rajah Sulayman at the 4th kilometer mark for the u-turn.  The race then heads back to Seaside Boulevard until kilometer 8 which gives you a peek at the finish line.  You then get a two kilometer out and back route in Diokno Boulevard en route to the finish line.

The Race

Pacing with this speedsters Ryan Moral and Takbo.PH founder Jinoe Gavan – Photo by Jinoe Gavan

Racing in the morning has not been my routine as of late as I’m used to training at night already.  I went to sleep early before the race (8 pm) and was up before 3 am on race day. Despite being up early, I reached the venue about 30 minutes before gun start.  I ran from my parking slot to the pacers area just to make sure I make it on time.  That’s my instant warm up.  With me at the 1:05 pace group was Ryan Moral and Takbo.PH founder Jinoe Gavan.  I was so nervous for this one that I was afraid that the 1:10 group would even finish faster than me but since I trained for this I promise to go all out on this one.

Let’s do this!!!

When we were at the starting area, we took our time to ask runners their target time and some did have a target time of 1:05.  There were also some recreational runners who used to have 1:20-1:30 time but would want to go with the faster group.  As soon as we started the race, Jinoe reminded me to start overtaking since we need to keep our pace so we ended up starting at 6 minute per kilometer pace, which is just a few meters away from the 1:00 hour group.  The good thing was I had a good round of warm up and stretching that I didn’t have to worry about warm up pains.  We went even fasted on the second kilometer before settling down a bit to a 6:15 minute per kilometer pace on the third kilometer.  Ryan being the strongest runner in our group was doing more of the cheering and we’d also cheer in unison if we see someone winded already by the effort.

Also prepared for the nutrition part of the race.

Approaching the fourth kilometer u-turn, I got separated from the group since I took too much time in the water station.  So, I had the option to go faster to chase them down or just go with a consistent 6:30 minute per kilometer pace.  Since there were runners in my pack, I just went on with a consistent 6:30 minute per kilometer pace. We’d be catering to more runners this way and besides they were still within viewing range.  It was exhausting running at this pace so it was good that I had Carb Gel with me.  I had the banana flavor and it felt like taking a banana in the race.  It has a light sweet taste and it packs in the power.  I got my second wind after taking my carb gel at the 5 km mark.  I went on to run the remaining route at Roxas Boulevard. Every time I am slowing down, I try to use faster arm sways to speed up my cadence.  That’s one thing I got to relearn at camp, your leg speed follows your arms sways.

I love the adrenaline-rush of running fast.

I was counting down the kilometers and preparing myself for the mental challenge at kilometer 8 at Diokno Boulevard.  It was mostly running with a few seconds walking break to recover a bit along Roxas, CCP and Macapagal.  It was not strong as how I started but I’m still being able to go on at a decent pace.   On hindsight, I still need to invest in endurance to have a stronger finishing kick in the race.  It was one push after another until I reached Diokno Boulevard.

Let’s go for the finish. – Photo by Red Knight

The 2 kilometer out and back at Diokno Boulevard was a really mental challenge as you can see the finish line but you still have two kilometers to go. I shifted to faster runs with a few seconds rest intervals and I had a runner following my pace at the 10K at this stretch.  She asked me how many distance we still need to cover and I said 400 meters so we did the intervals until we reached the finish line.  After finishing the race, I went back into the race course to join Jinoe and Bave to cheer on the runners.  Powered by the Carb Gel still on my system, I was all out in cheering the runners as they made their way to the finish line.  I also saw the 1:10 group finish after me so yehey, I did finish before them.

Cheering the runners with Jinoe and Bave. – Photo by Jinoe

We would remind them that they should get ready for their finish line photos or tell them to give it one last push and many more.  It was nice paying it forward in a race. As much as I enjoy running, I love to see people develop the love for fitness too.  There was one 21K runner who asked me to pace her to the last 200 meters to the finish line and I obliged. She finished with a time of 2:20 for 21K, which was a really fast time.

Pacing a 21K Runner finish her distance at 2:20. – Photo by KB of Photo-ops

I treasure this experience not only for the countless runners who wants to exceed themselves.  It was also a challenge for me to run at this pace once again.  I’ve been able to go for marathons or hardcore trail runs but I was never fast at doing it.  This was a needed step back for me too. I needed to step back to focus on speed so when I go back to the longer distance, I would be able to run faster than I used too.  I’m glad to be a part of this initiative as I can safely say that I was one with Unilab Active Health in Exceeding Yourself.

It was nice seeing fellow Louisian Frdz finish his second marathon

Outfit Of The Race

The fun part of doing a fast 10K is reaching the finish line as the sun rises.

  • Singlet – Run United Pacers Singlet
  • Shorts – Under Armout
  • Shoes – Newton Distance 4
  • Watch – Suunto Ambit 3 Sports
  • Socks – Features
  • Visor – New Balance

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