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VSO Bahaginan Race

Before the roosters crowed, at around 5 a.m. yesterday, a large number of giddy runners, including myself, had gathered at NBC Tent for the VSO Bahaginan Run. After two short trips to the rest room, I made my way to the assembly area in search of my training group for our 15km run.  JunC, Jay, Dindo, Dra. Doray, Levy and I had agreed to run together at a relaxed 6 min/km pace for this run.  At such an early time, I wondered if I’d ever find them in the dark.  Good thing Levy is a runner/triathlete stuck in a basketball player’s body so I caught sight of him first. Pretty soon, the others appeared; we were complete. 

I almost regretted waking up early for this race, as it started 20 mins. late at 5:50 a.m. instead of the 5:30 call time. However, the long wait gave me the opportunity to finally meet Wayne (who just flew in from SF), Nora (truly the golden girl because her mere presence lights up the room, or in this case, the road) and other runner friends that were just everywhere!

The course was similar to Mizuno and Nike Human Race’s course; in a word, it was challenging. By now, most of us know that when McKinley Hill is included in the map, one should take extra steps to train well for the race, plus make the Sign of the Cross soon after the gun is fired.

When the race started, our group stuck like glue running out of Bonifacio Global City.  As soon as we made our way to Lawton, however, we had split into two.  For the most part though, we managed to stay within our goal pace running at around 6 to 6:20 all throughout the run.  Running with a group made the entire 15km more enjoyable and a lot less gruesome.  Chatting was light and free-flowing with exceptions in the uphill portions and last few kilometers of the race where all talk had stopped (either we ran out of stories or energy—you decide.)

The organizers did a good job as well to make the race as pleasant as possible.  Water was overflowing as is always the case when it’s organized by Coach Rio.  Half of the road was closed so there was less traffic than usual to contend with.  Large and accurate mile markers were also placed along the road to remind us 15km runners that we still had a long, long way to go before we reached the finish…hah!

As for me, everything went smoothly.  The only nightmarish incident I (and other squeamish runners) faced was the last kilometer’s veritable obstacle course where hundreds of higads hung from trees waiting to pounce on our sweaty faces.  Aaaack!  Thanks to good samaritan Mark Parco who warned us all about our entrance into higad territory.  I was ready to get run over by a car rather than have a higad land on my face!

According to my Garmin, I ended my 15 km run (exact measurement from organizers…great job) at 1:33:14 with a pace of 6:11 min/km.  After crossing the finish, I took a few gulps of water, had a few photos taken with Nora and Bald Runner, and run off to the comfort room for a quick change before our 2nd portion of the run.

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- With superfast women, Annie (3rd place 15k) and Lala -

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- With my favorite coach, Coach JoAr. You have to check out Photographer Ben’s cool photos of him here -

Within 5 to 10 mins, JunC, Jay, Dindo and I began our next run at a slower 7 to 7:30 min/km pace.  My goal was to run a total of 22 km and initially I thought I could do it.  However, after one loop around Market! Market!, with the sun beating down on us at 7:40 a.m., I decided to call it a day a little before 2km.  My total for the day was 17km.

When I got home, I wanted to slap myself in the face for making the impulsive and foolish decision to quit with only 5km to go before I reached my goal. Argggh.  Sayang!  Oh well, I stopped beating myself up for it this morning when I woke up with a sore left thigh; I guess it’s good I got some rest in preparation for NB 25 next week.  As for how I’m going to finish 25km with only 20km as my highest mileage ever is a question that I have yet to answer…gulp.

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- Nowadays, once you take out a cam, everyone just comes running! In this photo: (FRONT ROW L to R) Coach JoAr, Vince, Coach Rio, Mark P., Master John Ting. (BACK L to R) Taki, TBR, Jaimie, Zinnia, Philip, Glenn, Tiffin, Mon, Ipe, and two other running friends. -

Posted on 11.10.08 to 02 Race Reports. Tags: , . Subscribe to follow comments on this post. 23 comments. Add your thoughts or trackback from your own site.

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23 Responses to “VSO Bahaginan Race”

  1. i’ll be ms. photographer at new balance mare! see you guys there!!! :)

    marga said on Nov 10 08 at 1:55 PM Reply

  2. Nice seeing you there TBR. I thought you were going to do a 25k. I wanted to run off and join you when I saw you with Jay and the others putting on the extra kms. Good luck on your 25K race!

    marvs said on Nov 10 08 at 2:52 PM Reply

  3. Jaymie, sobrang excited talaga ako coz I saw most of the runner bloggers (including Wayne) all at the same time. I really couldn’t contain my overwhelming emotion!

    So now I’m sad to miss everybody at Clark (sigh) . . .

    Good luck to your first 25k Race Jaymie!

    Nora, the golden girl said on Nov 10 08 at 2:53 PM Reply

  4. After crossing the finish, I saw Coach Rio and said hi. First thing he said enthusiastically was “Tama sukat di ba?” I said, “Tama nga, nag alarm 15k sa finish line mismo.” Coach said “Pinaghirapan talaga namin sukatin yan to make sure na tama.” Ang with a big smile, he left. Congrats! A few runners who were a bit late like me were thankful the race started late. One of the rare times for a “Rio” event.

    markfb said on Nov 10 08 at 2:59 PM Reply

  5. Jaymie,

    Good run! Don’t worry about NB 25k. I myself haven’t gone past 21k..I believe pride and guts will take us along the finish line.

    However, its gonna be tough. The road to the ruins is about 2km uphill – It was the route during the Clark Duathlon (Diba Marga?)

    See you then!

    Ricecooker said on Nov 10 08 at 3:40 PM Reply

  6. Not to worry about never running the 25K distance. No one recommends running a 42k to train for a marathon as you will not recover in time for the race. The 20k will be good enough! Rest, relax, and enjoy yourself for on the 16th … we are off to the races!!!!

    prometheuscometh said on Nov 10 08 at 3:44 PM Reply

  7. All the best with your NB next weekend. Apparently “THEY SAY” if you have done a run with at least 75% of your required run before hand, you will be good to go. I have to emphasise that this is what others are saying. What I have experienced, I will keep for myself. I will say one thing though and that is I did a few races where I did about 75% of the distance before hand and made it but the condition afterwards and the motivation I had to go through to make it was something else. I will stop right now before I make you negative…. Forget everything I said, it will go well with your race next weekend.

    Philip said on Nov 10 08 at 4:42 PM Reply

  8. Hi TBR.

    Glad you ran! My wife did 5K, while I did 15K. The race was a great one. When it’s a fellow runner organizing, the race is so much better.

    You should have finished your Sunday goal. I did. That day was our longest long run for our training for Singapore. And, thankfully enough, I hit 37.2K. I think I’m ready for 42 in Singapore! I started running at 3:50 AM (!), from Rockwell to the Fort, then ran around the area till I hit 15K. So, when the VSO Run started, I had 15K done already. Whew. But, man oh man, that McKinley Hill portion is a killer. Plus the higad put some excitement to the run. =) Siguro naman sa Singapore, walang higad?

    Since we’re now tapering (thank God), I don’t think I’ll run in NB this Sunday. But good luck, and always have a safe and injury-free run (that’s what counts).

    Wency said on Nov 10 08 at 4:52 PM Reply

  9. congratulations on the great run. wish i joined .

    runningshield said on Nov 10 08 at 5:38 PM Reply

  10. The race organization ..overall was remarkable. It is just frustrating not seeing your names in the results.

    Most of the participants cannot find thier names in the Race Results posted at runrio.com. I believed most of the people who registered ‘15k – category’ via form at BHS-Rox (3-4 days before race day) were not included in the final race result.

    Five of my friends (mostly first timers) including me were not in the result either. We checked the 15k cat in the registration form, paid the amount and received the 15k enveloped/race bid. On race day our race bibs,stubs, etc. were processed, and definitely crossed the finish line (way before the set cutoff time).

    Quite dissapointing thou.

    faramir said on Nov 10 08 at 6:00 PM Reply

  11. Oops, I contributed to your decision to quite since I quit first. I could have squeezed out an extra 3-5km but I would have had to stretch myself, so I just decided to save it for next week.

    It was a great run and a great race!

    DATC said on Nov 10 08 at 6:16 PM Reply

  12. hey TBR, nice seeing you at yesterday’s run. RICE up your left thigh, stick to your training pace and the NB25k will just be a breeze :D see you at clark!

    loonyrunner said on Nov 10 08 at 6:23 PM Reply

  13. Hi Jaymie,
    Thank you very much for the invite. Twas my first time to do a group run and it certainly won’t be the last :) Great fun all around. On to Clark. Glad to see that you’re on target for Singapore.

    levyang said on Nov 10 08 at 8:28 PM Reply

  14. Great run Jaymie. Being able to maintain your training pace and 20k will be enough. Rest well and see you next week. :)

    JunC said on Nov 10 08 at 11:56 PM Reply

  15. nice to see you again yesterday. longest run ko is 21K. sabayan mo na lang akong maglakad sa remaining 4K…hehe. see you at Clark! :)

    ibetlacbay said on Nov 10 08 at 11:59 PM Reply

  16. ‘Twas nice running with you guys again Jaymie! Thanks! :O)

    doralicious said on Nov 11 08 at 12:13 AM Reply

  17. when you said “Hi Renz!”.. i knew you were going for more than the actual race again.. :)

    i’ll see you at Clark, and so are the others!

    @Marga, don’t forget to look for me and take a shot! ;)

    rorenz said on Nov 11 08 at 12:18 AM Reply

  18. wait…wala pa pala akong authority to give that kind of statement.. it will also be my first 25K. he he :)

    JunC said on Nov 11 08 at 12:42 AM Reply

  19. Hi Jaymie,

    You are welcome. It was Tiffin’s first 15K and I went back to check on her. I decided to make myself useful while waiting for her.

    See you at the first session of Rio’s training program.

    Mark P said on Nov 11 08 at 7:53 AM Reply

  20. Hi Jaymie. Nice to have met you and thank you for last night. It’s been one great vacation experience. I’ll see you at Clark. Take care.

    sfrunner said on Nov 11 08 at 11:14 AM Reply

  21. congrats! good for y’all hehehe! i woke up late because of that heavy rain a night before the race! are all races done rain or shine?

    lycram said on Nov 11 08 at 12:36 PM Reply

  22. Hi jaymie, congrats on your VSO run.

    Bro J said on Nov 12 08 at 2:22 PM Reply

  23. Jaymie, our pictures are now posted in my blog. 4-part series ang VSO post ko sa dami ng photos! Until now, I am still in Cloud 9 . . .

    Nora, the golden girl said on Nov 13 08 at 4:01 PM Reply

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