I Want to Run!: Running my First Marathon on my First Runniversary

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Running my First Marathon on my First Runniversary

CeIt ALL comes down to THIS! ALL meaning all the sweat, blood and tears and in all my training from the previous year and THIS meaning running my first full marathon on my first year in running.

I ran my first 5K in last year’s 01-10-10 Cebu City Marathon. A year after, last Sunday, I ran my first full marathon during the much coveted and well-organized Cebu Marathon 2011. I am now a full-fledged marathoner.

This is it!

This was the statement that came into my mind when I and my running partner Agatha Llamasares checked in to the runners’ holding area just a few minutes before the gun start. After a few meters of running as warm-up and stretches and photo ops with fellow Ungo and TTB mates, I knew that after the race, this will change a lot in me.

Before finally pushing ourselves towards the crowd of runners – first-timers like me and elites being up front – I caught up with Blas Ople Tianco – the Titanium Runner – who was lacing up his shoes and donning his sub-5hour pacer shirt and the balloons. I introduced myself to him and shook his hand. And boy, I am glad to hear his words about me saying, “mag-42K ka naka-ganyan? (“You’re running 42K with those?”). Yeah, he was referring to my gorilla feet in VFFs. J

The Race

The race was very well-organized. The start of the race was on time and fireworks filled the air when we crossed the starting line. We had our own runners’ lane – one-half of the roads were closed just to accommodate all the 1,000 plus marathoners who joined this year’s 2^nd instalment of the Cebu Marathon.

The sounds of drums and live bands as well as the cheers of the spectators were music to my ears. They were hyping up my adrenaline as we head towards the main road from starting line at the I.T. Park in Lahug.

SRP (Tunnel and Highway)

This year’s race was different but special as the organizers (CERC – Cebu Executive Runners Club) negotiated with the City Government and finally gave a green light in closing the SRP Tunnel. Last year, they only close the SRP highway. But the runners didn’t pass under the tunnel. This was a very god move. Although our Garmin and other GPS watches lost the satellite signal in the tunnel, but it didn’t actually matter to us as we entered and greeted with CERC support crew led by Doc Reel Bontol. He along with some Ungo support volunteers (Maam Jojo Osorio and Irene Vildosola) hyped the tunnel with loud Lady Gaga music, ample water supply and liniments for runners who might experience cramps and all that pain.

I actually suggested to Doc Reel to put some red horse beer in their support station as I would love to drink beer while on the run. It will surely give me a kick. But I knew it wasn’t allowed. J

Running on the entire SRP highway is not a joke. The whole course was comprises 24kms in the entire 42k race. We were practically running a half-marathon in the SRP alone. Well, more than that!

But as we continue to pound on the asphalt towards the turning point at the SRP, I prayed that I will continue to maintain the same pace. And seeing my TTB mates made it to the turning point and waving at me saying the turning point is just up ahead is just a relief.

No Pain, No Gain

Agz and I were actually running every 5-6 streetlamps and then walk about 2-3 of them. This was our strategy since we crossed the bridged at the SRP (now re-entering the Cebu side of the SRP highway).

But pain struck me hard when we’re around 2kms away from the tunnel. By this time, Agz and I were caught up with running friend and my schoolmate Doc Ted Zamora pacing with the sub-6hour pacer. I figured this might be the “wall” already but I kept on telling myself to hang on. We entered back onto the tunnel and were greeted again by our fellow runners. This time, I decided to put liniment on my right thigh and knee which started to act up. This was at Km32.

The Last Stretch

The last 10K was like the hardest 10K that I’ve ever ran in all my races. The slight uphill along Jones Avenue, Mango Avenue and Gorordo Avenue (along UP Cebu) made me reminisce the uphill experience that I had last year when we conquer the Trancentral Highway en route to Balamban. This last stretch made me realize that we won’t make it to target – 6hours or less. But Agz was just there helping me and motivating me to push forward inspite of the pain. I can now feel the numbness of my 2 big toe nails. I knew that after the race, I will definitely have dead toe nails.

This last stretch was also very painful for my TTB mate Kenneth del Rosario. He was already suffering from cramps at KM16. I told Agz that we will wait for Ken and finish the race altogether when were passing by JY Square. Before I knew it, we can now see the tall buildings of I.T. Park. What a sight to behold.

Crossing the finish line

We then saw another teammate Boyet Cabrera who was actually waiting for Ken. He knew his condition so he decided to wait. The four of us ran side-by-side as Boyet and I waved the orange flags that we grabbed from the race marshals. We crossed the finish line altogether with an official time of 6hours, 25minutes and 48seconds.

Marathon Virgin No More

Yes! I finally did it! I finally conquered the Cebu City Marathon 2011. All the hardwork, all the training, the LSDs, the hamster-mode runs at the oval and all the road runs have paid off. I finally got my two mangoes. What a beauty!

CCM 2010 to CCM 2011

Last Sunday’s race was my Runniversary. And I am thankful for my kumpare Kirk Boying Milan for introducing me in this sport. I am now hooked! Cheers to all members of TeamTytsBogdo, RH Runners, Ungo Runners and all the Marathoners who crossed the finish line last Sunday. Cheers to us and to more marathons in the future.

Thank you Lord for giving me strength and the will to cross the finish line; and thank you to all Ungo, RH, TTB mates and all the dailymilers who have inspired me in all my runs. God bless you all!

Photo-ops!