#EggPowerRun was not only an eggciting race. It also gave runners a lot of leg room to run, sufficient water stations to rehydrate, a challenging course to conquer and a great chilly weather to refresh the runners. These factors contributed to a good run for the runners and I also was surprised to finish a half marathon below 2:30 again after a long while. #EggPowerRun also gave runners the importance of having Egg as part of our diet.
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#EggPowerRun
Egg Power Run had the unique concept with runners carrying an egg along their run. It’s a challenge and at the same time, it can also help in your running form as some would say that the proper form would be as if your hands were cradling an egg. It helps release tension in the body and regulate the flow of energy. For most of us, it’s part of our build for our full marathon happening in a few weeks. More than the interesting concept, this was a good chance to pile in the mileage and at the same time build up my confidence for the upcoming marathon. I’ve been using a modified run walk scheme with no specific run intervals but with a limited 20 seconds walking break when I get tired or something is aching. No expectation but I was surprised by my time after the race.
Race Course and Elevation
Race starts in 9th Ave and loops to the triangle drive area before heading to 8th Avenue going to 32nd Street. The race the proceeds to Kalayaan Flyover heading towards Buendia until the u-turn at Osmena Highway at the 8th Kilometer mark. The race heads back to Bonifacio Global City via Buendia and Kalayaan Flyover. The race then goes through Rizal drive and 5th Avenue before going to Lawton and Bayani Road for the next u-turn at kilometer 16.5. The race heads back to 5th Ave until 32nd Street for the finish at 9th Avenue.
The Race starts with a rolling terrain going to Triangle Drive before a descent to 8th Avenue. From 8th Avenue, the race shifts to an ascending terrain going through the long climb in Kalayaan Avenue. The race goes on a flat and descending course in Buendia until Osmana Highway at kilometer 8. After the u-turn, the course goes on an ascent once again all the way to Kalayaan Avenue. After Kalayaan Avenue and the entry to Bonifacio Global City, there’s a moderate climb in Rizal Drive and a big climb in 5th Avenue entering Lawton which has a rolling terrain. The race then descends to Bayani Road with a short climb to the u-turn slot at kilometer 16.5. The race then ascends to Lawton’s rolling terrain before going downhill in 5th Ave all the way to the finish line.
The Race
I was running with AGSB friends and former teammates Gryf and Mascy!Since the race had an early gun start, I didn’t have much sleep before the race but I did have an easy tune up run on Saturday so I should be up and ready for this one. I was at the venue 30 minutes before gunstart and waited for AGSB friends Mascy and Gryf since I have their bibs before the start of the race. After a few stretching and some pre-race program, it was finally time to start a race. As for the carrying the egg part, I didn’t carry one as I am more focused on the run part than the challenge part.
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At gunstart, I went faster than my usual pace and check how my legs would react. It was a good thing my legs I didn’t feel the usual sting while my legs warms up. It also helped that the race had its fair share of flats and climbs as the load were distributed between the different muscle groups with the calves working on the flats and the quads working on the climbs. I was able to maintain a good pace going through triangle drive and 8th Avenue. We had our first water station at Justicia Drive around the 2.5 kilometer mark. I took a short water break before proceeding with the race.
The first big climb was in Kalayaan Flyover, which was my chance to slowdown and try to rest a bit but I needed to try to be consistent on the hills to make my legs stronger so I went on with the pace. I slowed down a bit towards the end of the climb at Kalayaan Flyover just so I have enough wind to speed up on the descent. The Buendia was the flatter part of the course so I used this part to speed up and surprisingly I was within the 7 minute per kilometer mark for the race. I maintained this pace until the u-turn in Osmena Highway with just the short 20 second breaks every time I felt tired. I also used a different approach with my gels taking in just smaller but more frequent doses to spread out the energy and it’s working. I learned this one in the TAlKabOutfitness talk I attended in December.
On my way back to Bonifacio Global City, I checked on my heart rate and it was really high so I added more walking breaks just to stabilize the heart rate. I was able to make up for the breaks with a faster cadence on the run part. I went on with that interval until I reached the climb at Kalayaan flyover around kilometer 11. At the climb, I went on a minute of running and 20 seconds of walking to conserve energy on the flatter part of the course. Upon reaching the top, I took advantage of the descent to speed up again until I reached Bonifacio Global City.
The long climb started at Rizal Drive so I went on with my normal run in Rizal Drive since the climb is just moderate and went on with a 30 seconds – run / walk interval on the big climb to 5th Avenue so I won’t be too exhausted with the climb. This also helped in lowering my heart rate. Upon reaching the Lawton part of the course, it was dark though it was tolerable. I was able to speed up once again until Bayani Road. I went on with shorter intervals with Bayani roads rolling terrain and reserved my energy for the finish.
The course started to become brighter at Bayani Road and the road back to 5th Avenue as the sun started to rise. I went on with a bit of terrain management on the 18th and 19th kilometer by speeding up on the descents and slowing down on the ascents. By the 19th kilometer, it was now a time to go downhill so I went back to a fast rate and by the time I reached the 20th kilometer, it was around 2:22 already and I had a good shot at finishing a sub 2:30 half marathon. I went on my last hydration stop and went on to speed up to finish the race at 2:29.
It felt good to finish strong but it felt even better to finish sub 2:30 in a half marathon. The last time I was able to finish a half marathon in 2:30 was about two years ago in Hong Kong with me settling for finish times above 2:40 – 2:50 lately. I seriously thought I would never be able to run at this level but I am happy to say, I was able to and that says much at how much time I’ve been hitting the road for my marathon preparations. It was a well organized run by Leadpack with just the right volume of runners, sufficient hydration, a challenging hilly course and a unique concept.
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