2nd BDM 102 - Pagtatapos

Note: Overdue for almost a year. Lost my notes for this piece but since it's BDM season again, I thought that this will be the best time to finish this story.

Click here to read Part 1- The Birth

Click here to read Part 2 - Extra Push

I'll try my best to recall what transpired during the race... here goes...

KM0 - KM7
Team Boring (Me, Gab, Pojie, Doc T) agreed to walk the first 7K of the race.

Was tempted to at least jog when runners started to pass us one-by-one.

KM8
Reached our first stop to hydrate. Re-assessed the plan. So far, so good. Requested the support to do stops on KM11, KM15 and KM20.

Along KM21 & KM22
Received a text from Jet that he was running alone. This I think is where the KM markers were off.

Run ahead from the group to check on Jet but wasn't able to catch up on him.

KM30
Reached the support. Marky informed me that Jet already has a company so I did not try to catch up. I instead waited for the others to arrive.


KM50
Felt blisters on both feet. Removed my compression tights, but I did not change my socks nor my shoes as I don't want to tamper the blisters.



KM60-79
Called up my wife. Told her that I only need to walk/run a marathon (42K) to finish the race.
Tried to eat rice. But it just tasted bland. Got a massage from Marky instead.
I think this was also where Doc T's support came. (Doc, correct me if I'm wrong)
Got a text from Marga (who was in Japan that time) that Sam stopped somewhere in KM72 because of cramps. Tried to look for Sam, but no luck.
Sam suddenly appeared and he was hobbling badly.

Me, Doc T & Sam

Along KM80-89
Garmin died on me. Good thing I was wearing my other watch.
Doc T who was with me that time kept on asking me if we can still make it.
With barely 4 hours left before cut-off, and 20+KMS more to conquer, we started to compute.
We computed that if we do a 6km per hour walk in 4 hours, we can still make it.



KM90-101
My body wants to quit. I was in the verge of crying, quitting.
But I have to finish this... I can't go home to my kid without the medal and trophy.
Doc T was lagging behind. I told the support to tell Doc T to just follow me.
Marga called up and asked how are we.
I don't know if I was hallucinating, but I saw two kilometer posts with the same KM reading.
I was already dragging my feet. My blisters were burning. I wanted to cry but no tears fell.





20 or so meters before Finish line...
As I turned left, a Marshall shouted, "20 METERS NA LANG SIR!!!".
So I went for it, I made a mad dash towards the finish line. Trying to control my tears... and when I touched the finish line I loudly wept.

panget moments...

I made it!!! I made it!!! I made it!!!

Got my medal & trophy from Sir Jovie

And this... this... you'll also get after finishing the race...

those are blisters... and they are huge!
di ako nananakot! ^_^

LSD at Century Tuna Superbods Run

I was not able to sleep well the night before the Century Tuna Superbods Run.

I picked-up my daughter from a school concert which was supposed to end by 10pm. But instead it ended @ 11pm. No worries then, as I have no plan to improve my 21K pr on this event. The plan was to do an LSD and include it as part of my BDM 102 training.

And so I set my phone's alarm to 3:00AM because I don't want to be late for this race. And guess what, I woke up even before the alarm went off. I chicken-slept (tulog-manok... tama ba?).

My veggies... I'm not yet fully charged, not even half charged.

So I went to my usual business on a race day... drank two glasses of cold water... ate a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich... took a bath... dressed... fixed my race kit... and I'm off.

I was at the site before 4am. Enough time to chit chat with friends and even insert a warm-up. Yup... insert a warm-up. You see, I don't really warm-up before a race. I stretch a bit though. Pwede na ba yun?

The race was supposed to start @ 5:20AM, but for some unknown reason it started 10 minutes early.

As I was positioned near the faster runners, I tried my best to keep pace with them. I averaged 5:10mpk on my 1st 2Km and when I saw that I was going too fast, I slowed down a bit.

I tried to maintain a 5:30mpk and hydrate at every 2nd water station.

And when I felt I was running at my comfortable pace, I totally ignored my gps watch and just went with the flow.

But when I reached Km 15 after exiting Heritage Memorial Park, I took a glimpse at my watch.

I've run 15Kms for 01hr26mins... so I thought; it's possible to have a new PB and even a sub 2.

I paced with Doc Pinky up to Km 17. Slowed down when I saw my HR shooting up to 90%. But when I reached KM19 and saw my time @ 01hr52mins, I said “Goodbye Sub-2”.

Good thing Ace & Pojie was there to give a push. A new 21K best is still possible.

But with less than 1K more to go to finish line, my hands suddenly felt numb. And when I checked my HR, it was already at 95%. So I told Ace & Pojie to go ahead and I’ll just walk to the finish line.

When I turned left going to the finish line, I saw Sir Jovie egging me on and the official time. 02hrs03mins!!! And so I made a mad dash towards the finish. Completely ignoring my HR which shot up to 104% when I finished. But it was all good!!! It was a great feeling to know that I have improved. I got a new 21K best (02:03:55) and a medal. Woot!

LSD? Taper????


About the Race:

The race was huge and the atmosphere was festive. But the distribution of the medals, loot bags, etc needs more improvement. Falling in line to get the freebies after a long run was not a good sight.

But for me, the race was a success with a few minor hiccups.

My BDM Test Run Experience

Last Saturday, January 23, 2010 70 runners joined the “Test Run” for the second serving of BDM (Bataan Death March) 102.

KM0, Mariveles, Bataan (01/23/2010)

It was a mix of seasoned and newbie ultrarunners. And though it was just a “Test Run”, the atmosphere at KM0 post in Mariveles, Bataan was more festive than some of the races I’ve joined.

As you may have read stories of the "Test Run" from other runner bloggers, I would just like to share with you what worked for me and what I've learned from this experience.

What Worked For Me:

Walk / Jog the Uphills

wow!!! flat!!!

Run the downhills

Run / Brisk walk the flats

Enjoy the view

dun kami galing!!!

Minimize breaks

Keep heart rate in check

Eat a chocolate bar every 10Km

Hydrate and eat banana at every support group stops

Sing... well LSS actually to MJs Don't Stop Till You Get Enough. Nice power song eh?


Lessons Learned:

Get enough sleep at least two days prior to D-Day

Train… Hills… Train… Hills… Train... Hills...

I’ve never used petroleum jelly before… now I think it’s a must especially if you plan to run long distances

Use sun block

Wear sunglasses

need I say more???

Be extra alert… especially when crossing the streets.

Respect the distance.

Although we have a support group that will tend to our needs. We need to be self sufficient as much as possible.

Carry the following:

• food & hydration

• extra money

• cellphone

• ID
  

• List of important contact numbers

• flashlight

• first aid kit

also...

Acknowledge the people who will greet you along the way.
Give high fives or thumbs-up signs as they are your unknowing support groups. They will keep you on your feet.


to Gail, Tere, Marga, Angel, Carina... THANK YOU for the SUPER SUPPORT!!!

to Sir Jovie, thank you for organizing this event. Now on for The Real Thing!

special thanks to Carina and Gail for the pics!!!

Targeting 1000Kms for 2009

See the ticker above? I only need 218.2Kms to reach 1000Km for 2009.

If only I logged all the runs that I did, I know I have reached 1000Kms already.

But.. what the heck. What's 200+Kms more.

I plan to accomplish my 1000K on Sir Jovie's RIZAL DAY RUN on Dec 30.

I'm doing this post to remind me of the distances I have to run and days when I will run.

20K	21-Nov	SAT (Pojie's bday Run?)
10K	22-Nov	SUN
10K	24-Nov	TUE
10K	26-Nov	THU
10K	28-Nov	SAT
3K	30-Nov	MON (McDonalds Run)
5K	2-Dec	WED
5K	4-Dec	FRI
56K	6-Dec	SUN (Km0 to Km56)
5K	9-Dec	WED
5K	11-Dec	FRI
5K	13-Dec	SUN
5K	15-Dec	TUE
5K	17-Dec	THU
20K	20-Dec	SUN
5K	22-Dec	TUE
5K	24-Dec	THU
5K	27-Dec	SUN
30K	30-Dec	WED (Rizal Day Run)

Not really your typical running / training schedule. But I think that will do...

Good luck sa akin...

Hydration Tips for Race Organizers

An "AHA!!!" moment came up to me the other day.

While reading different running blogs about their not so great experience during BOTAK PAA-RUSA... este BOTAK PAA-TIBAYAN race. I asked myself, how the *#!& does these race organizers compute how much they would spend on the hydration of a race???

BALDRUNNER gave me a very clear idea about it in his blog post. Thanks, General!!!

But maybe, some race organizers feel like not really spending for the runners hydration.

But...

What if I tell you that my "AHA!!!" moment will cost race organizers less than 2,000 petot per 500 runners?

What if I tell you that my "AHA!!!" moment has a very PINOY feel into it?

Will you give me a hug if and when you see me? :)

Okay.. enough with the suspense... pati ako na-e-excite...

Kids... I present to you the good old fashioned yet very effective...

ICED TUBIG!!!

it's iced tubig, you know???

Don't laugh... I'm serious about it.

If you saw me carrying an Iced Tubig during that race, you might have traded your I-pod for it.

Okay then, maybe not.

I'll just slow down and wait for you to collapse. And then I'll get your I-pod... and your shoes... =)

Just kidding...

But think about it. This will save you the hassle of pouring water on cups during races. Less mess. You just have to half fill them with water before the race. Position them at water stations before the race starts. Water you get from wherever, we runners don't care.

But then again you have sponsors for these, right? You can even put Gatorade or PowerAde or Rush or VitWater, you know?!?

And you just have to fill half of it, so that it will be easy to hold. And light enough to throw at them hecklers.

The only problem is the te-ma-arts.

te-ma-arts: Ewwwww... what's that? You think i'll drink from that yucky plastic tubig?
rod.runner: Ay lech... dagukan kita diyan eh.

Now for the computation. Get your pens & papers... this will get intense.

Let's make an example based on a full marathon which will need 20 water stations.

So if you have the following:

num_of_runners = 500
num_of_stations = 20

cost_of_plastic = P10/100 pcs
cost_of_plastic = P0.1 per piece (based on Aling Loleng's tindahan sa corner)

num_of_container = num_of_runners * num_of_stations
num_of_container = 500 * 20
num_of_container = 10,000

total_cost = num_of_container * cost_of_plastic
total_cost = 10,000 * P0.1
total_cost = P1,000

See?!? P1,000 lang!!!

How many registrants does it take to come up with P1,000?!?!

But please, if in case this will be considered. Don't put Iced Tubig in the freebies.

Okay now... where's my hug? *tissue please... nosebleed*