Brooks Run Happier

Distance: 12K
Time: 1 hour and 19 minutes
Date: June 2, 2012
Pace: 6:35 minutes per kilometer

Run Happy

I was supposed to go for a RUN HAPPY DISTANCE of 6K but I ended up with a 12K bib so I just decided to do the full 12K race route.  It’s probably just a sign that I should start doing long runs again to build on my endurance.  This time, I’m gonna go at a RUN HAPPY PACE all throughout the race –  no frills, no pressure and all fun. 12K is a new category as Brooks did deviate from the regular 5K and 10K category just to provide variety to runners.  Of all the things to look forward to in this run was the Light Blue and Neon Yellow Singlet.  I got to admit of all the singlets I’ve got from races, last year’s neon yellow singlet was my favorite so having the light blue version of the Singlet was another enticement.  It’s gonna be a great weekend if I pull this off as just the night before I was with the Team in Antipolo to celebrate the wedding of our friends Mascy and Jeff, whose also a part of Team Total Fitness.

Brooks

Let me start this by thanking Brooks for the free race kits. Brooks is the official shoe provider of Team Total Fitness Season 2.   For a month now, I’ve been loving the Brooks Pure Project experience… Flat, Lightweight and a great fit for me.  I’ve been using the more conservative Pure Cadence White for my duathlons and the flashy and lighter Pure Flow Green for my runs.  So whether it was 6K, 12K or even 21K, I’d wanted to be part of this event just to show my appreciation for the support of Brooks to the Team.

Race Route

I’m an advocate of providing variety to runners at every run just to leave a unique impression.  It was a good move to provide a new 6K and 12K category and there were some key changes from the usual loops in Bonifacio Global City.  Of course, another alternative is for you to run faster on similar race courses.  The route is a bit technical as there are so many twist and turns in the course.  Race starts at 9th Avenue which proceeds to 30th Street going to 5th Avenue and 32nd Street until 11th Avenue.  It then goes through the usual loop around International School loop with additional turns in 10h Ave and 11th Ave before going back to 11th Avenue.  It then takes you through the long 8th Avenue going to Kalayaan Avenue before heading back to 5th Avenue and going through the final stretch of Rizal Drive via 28th Street and 3rd Avenue.  It then leads you back to the upper portion of 5th Avenue before making a turn at 24th and 25th Streets heading back to 5th Avenue, 26th Street, 11th Avenue, 30th Street and finally to the finish line at 9th Avenue.  Race course is relatively flat except for minor inclines in 38th Street, 11th Avenue and Rizal Drive going to 5th Avenue.

The Race

I usually go to a race around 30 minutes or an hour before gun stat just to avoid the traffic situation when some roads are already closed because some of the distances have already started.  For this one, I came just about 10 minutes before gun start which only meant I wasn’t able to warm up and stretch much for this one.  I had a very simple strategy for this one, go for a run happy pace at around 7 minute per kilometer pace.  This is gonna be a race to train run and more importantly, it’s gonna be a run happy one too.  At gun start, I went at sub 6 pace for the first kilometer just to have more space before I go for a steady pace.  As early as kilometer 2, I’m now on my sub 7 pace and just because of missing my stretching and warmups, I had little stiffness in my legs though it was tolerable.  The weather was cool today and very conducive to running. I stopped at all water stations, which was overflowing after the first 1 1/2 kilometer.  The marshals mostly from Team USB was very courteous in greeting the runners good morning and cheering them along the race course.  It was fun to run at this pace since I can focus more on form and consistency rather than speed.  It was nice counting down the kilometers going to the finish line.   My pace did complement the technical aspect of the course as it’s also hard to build speed when there’s so many twist and turns.  And just like that, I was on my way to the finish line, still relaxed and still having fun.  It’s always a good feeling to cross the finish line whether its your PR race or its just your training race.

Post Race

There were several booths and side events after the race.  There’s this booth wherein you post with Brooks shoes you can upload to Brooks Running Facebook page.  There’s a booth and areas wherein you play games like basketball to win some prices.  Of course, there’s your regular loot bags, giveaways and raffle prizes.  It was also nice to meet familiar faces, some friends and meeting the representative from Brooks.

Team Total Fitness Running

This was my first official run for season 2 and we were debuting the new race singlets which is the white and red variant of our previous singlet with the new sponsors at the back.  It’s good to be running with these speedster and amazing how we’re able to finish this race coming from last night’s party with Ferdz doing 21K and Rojan finishing 12K at an impressive 50 minutes.  Team Total Fitness Running Happy Together.