A 10k milestone I have never dreamt of.
The Takbo.ph night fest marks a turning point in my running as it is the first time I officially broke the 50 minute-10k barrier.
I have been running almost daily the last 3 weeks. The shortest run being the drills on intervals, speed and hills which are usually still over 10 km long because of the long warm up, jogs in between intervals and cool downs. For 3 weeks,I have been holding 60 km or more. And the change was drastic, mind you, as I came from a 40-45 km week. On the first week, I had 60.4k, a 50% jump. This week, I am about to break 70k.
All that work paid off on Saturday’s Takbo.ph night fest.
I was 50 min early at the run venue. Territoryo ko e :-) as I work nearby. You can say that the area is my playground, running wise, for the last 3 weeks. The fact is I have run the route (with the exception of the downhill/uphill u-turn) 4 times and it’s where I do my hill training currently.
The starting line was littered with familiar faces as I saw Nick Geaga, Bhoy Runner’s Runner, Yamane Aoki, Kikay Runner (photographer that day) among a few. I even saw a college blockmate, Arnel Alban and his lovely wife, who both run the 10k segment (wifey ran the 5k on the other hand).
The run kicked off with a prayer from Craig of Team Logan and an almost 30 min warm-up/fitness led by Connie Fortich of Skechers’ fitness. Boy, I think that was the longest warm-up I had been in on if you ask me. Had I followed suit, I would have been spent even before the run started. Good thing I had a warm-up run prior to Fortich’s routine. I just kind of jogged in place throughout her warm-up.
There was a short send-off message from Takbo’s Jinoe Gavan then off we go as Skechers’ Katrina Ong pulled the trigger on the starting gun.
The Kenyan runners led from start to finish, followed by the strong Powerpuff Boys.
The route is quite hilly. The 10k route is 2 loops of the 5k segment, with each loop containing 4 hills (2 moderate, the other 2 are what I consider steep). Actually, Takbo changed one of the hilly route at the last minute. The supposed third hill would have been more punishing as it had an 11% gradient. Am sure a lot of those 10k PRs would have not fallen if they went with the original route.
A lot of the runners at the frontline started strong. I can not help but smile inwardly as I know a lot will be losing steam on the hills. And that’s what exactly happened. Just when one thinks he just conquered one hill, here comes another. The layout of the route concealed the hills cleverly that all the best laid pace plan could be at the gutter if you are not aware of the treachery of the route or had not had any hill training. An experienced runner I often see on races who’s got excellent pace probably fell by his normal standards on this race. McKinley Hills is comparable :-) to this race in terms of punishment, if not more. Why? Can you do McKinley twice without a recovery jog in between???
The route is like a trail as well as the surface is rough for an asphalt laid road. Thus, kicking off for speed is an effort sometimes. The roads are 30 m wide, got so many curves and cutting through curves (within the road) could give you some edge as there’s plenty of opportunities to do so.
The second hill located along Corporate Avenue, coming out of the Palm’s Country Club , was poorly lit that the protruding manhole covers were serious tripping hazards. As was is the case before the 3k U-turn even with some lighting provided. What is even more dangerous is that before you make the turn, you are running blindly DOWNHILL INTO the light. As you complete the turn, you climb back UPHILL INTO a light again. There are better ways to position the lights to optimize their usefulness and endanger no one. My familiarity with the hills bode well for me, with or without the lights.
But overall, the race was staged and managed well. Hydration was aplenty, encouraging marshalls to direct traffic and guide runners was ample. For those keen on loots, there was plenty to go around with. But I was there to race and see the faces of the forum people, and not for the freebies.
I did not stay long for the after-race party. But overall, the race was a success. I bet you a lot of the runners went home happy and quite well challenge. I will not be surprised if another race around Filinvest will be in the offing.
One thing is for sure, Takbo.Ph sure put this area on the running circuit.