Mizuno pulled out all the stops for the Mizuno Infinity Run held at 5:30 a.m. this morning.  If you were among the many runners who participated in the event, you were in for a big surprise, which was revealed soon after you crossed the finish line!  

You did not know that your performance today would be somewhat of a time trial, did you?  Your time today will be compared with the surprise Mizuno race scheduled for 01.10.10.  Mizuno kept it top secret to prevent runners from sandbagging their event.

In the second race, winners will be chosen based on their personal improvement from today’s race.  The great thing about this is that it levels out the playing field for everyone—runners who show significant improvements from their old time in their categories have a chance to win!  With this double racing event, Mizuno aims to send out the message that we must all try to be the best that we can be.

I’m sure you have a lot of questions.  Details will be provided by Mizuno and will be posted here.  

Congratulations to Mizuno for thinking out of the box and giving us runners another great race to look forward to—and train hard for!  I can hardly wait!

For the first time in 5 weeks, I attempted a pain-free 3k run yesterday and I am all too happy to report that it was a success!  Finaaaaallly, I can run again.  Sure, it was slow and short.  And, the entire time, I was focused on keeping my left foot from overpronating, but hey beggars can’t be choosers.  I was just ecstatic over the fact that I was running (and sweating) again!

I can attribute my recovery to one thing: acupuncture.  Last Monday’s acupuncture session brought instant relief to three weeks of stubborn shin splints. (Thanks to my good friend Kung Fu Panda for recommending it.) I actually felt strong enough to join Mizuno already but held back due to my PT’s orders.

{THE BAD}

Sure, I was an obedient little patient but that’s not to say that I didn’t feel awful, angry, and frustrated about missing the Mizuno-Rush to Infinity Run.  I tried my best not to talk, blog, nor think about it to keep negativism at bay, which to a certain extent, helped to keep me sane.

{THE NOT-SO-UGLY}

So, who in the running world hasn’t heard about the long queu that awaited runners at the finish line of the Mizuno-Rush to Infinity Run?  Certainly, it was an incident that no one expected nor hoped for—especially the race organizers.  I don’t have the right to comment since I was not there.  But, I do take my hat off to Coach Rio who handled the incident like a man.  On the same day, he apologized for the mishap and took full responsibility.  

To Coach Rio, hey I know you did your best.  You always do.  Mistakes happen and, from these accidents, lessons are learned.  I hope you continue to wow us with your well-organized and innovative races.  If there’s a Mizuno Rush to Infinity Part 3, I’m guessing it’ll be perfect!  Remember, three’s a charm!

Congratulations to my dear friend Annie who placed 2nd overall in Women’s 15k.  Her Garmin registered a time of 1:06.  I believe many of the runners there are scratching their heads thinking that she should have been 1st. But, again, I’m not one to comment since I wasn’t there. At the moment, I just can’t figure out why Annie isn’t listed in the results.  

Click here to view official race results.

The much-awaited “Mizuno Infinity Run Part 2″ is now open for registration!  It is now officially called the “Rush to Infinity Run”:

Date: June 29, Sunday

Time: 5:30 am

Place: Bonifacio High Street

Distance: 5k/ 10k/ 15k

Here are just some of the race details that one can look forward to:

1. Discounts for old runners — Runners who participated in the first Mizuno Infinity Run (upon presentation of race bib or ID) will get a discount on registration fee.  I know, I know, some of you were hoping it would be free, but this is fine by me.
2. More convenient registration — Some of us (that includes me) had difficulty registering for the last race.  Now, registration will only be at Mizuno Bonifacio High Street from 1 to 10 pm (which I think is a great idea), and…
3. Online registration — Yes, there will be online registration at Coach Rio’s site.  If it isn’t available yet, just visit every now and then.  It will definitely be up soon.  Payment will be made at Mizuno Bonifacio High Street.
4. Prizes — We don’t have to beat the elite to win prizes in this race!  March 30 Mizuno Infinity Runners get a chance to win an ipod Nano, Oakley shades, or Samsung dual sim phone in a raffle courtesy of Rush.  (I shall be chanting Oakley shades during my entire run.  Don’t you dare imitate me.)
5. Overflowing, endless supply of fluids — Uhm, they didn’t really guarantee me this, but we all pretty much know by now that race organizers will try their darndest best to ensure an ample supply of fluids at every water station lest they get chased by an angry mob of double-dehydrated runners.

All participants in the previous Mizuno Infinity Run will be treated to a discount in registration fee. The organizer will accept new registrants but I believe priority will be given to those who joined before.

I’m looking forward to this race for the following reasons:

1. We will be definitely swimming in pools of water and sports drinks. They haven’t confirmed this, but after what happened last time, Mizuno will definitely make this top priority.
2. Singlets are different for men and women (thanks in part to Rush).   The women’s singlets are racer back…niiice! (I just hope it’s not as see-through as the previous singlet!)
3. Rewards MIGHT (read: not confirmed yet) be given to those who beat their time in the previous race. How exciting is that, eh?
4. I can probably join the 10 or 15k by this time! Crossing my fingers!

Hope to see you all there!

Just in case you didn’t see this, it was posted by Miraclecello in my comments section (thanks Miraclecello!) and was later emailed to me by Mizuno.   According to KC Joaquin, they intend to organize another race soon to make up for the last race.

It’s time to forgive, forget and run.  This next race will definitely be overflowing with water!

_______________________________________________________

31 March 2008

To All the Participants of the Mizuno Infinity Run,

Together with the race organizers and Rush (our beverage sponsor), please accept our sincerest apologies for the inadequate supply of drinking water during the event. There is no excuse for this serious oversight.

Thank you very much for all the feedback. I will personally make sure that the proper actions will be taken to avoid any future mishaps.

Sincerely,

Jose Paolo M. Cagalingan
General Manager
Master Sports Corporation – Mizuno
_____________________________________

5th Flr. BMG Centre
Paseo de Magallanes Commercial Center
Makati City, 1232

T: (632) 757.3160
F: (632) 757.3161
M: (63920) 928.5759
pcagalingan@mizuno.ph

I spent over 10 minutes searching for my name only to find out that I’m #256, nameless, and a male.  Just perfect since my time was terrible anyway. It’s actually 32.17 here—slightly faster than my Garmin time!

Congratulation to my running buddy, Annie Agoncillo, for coming in 4th in the Women’s category at 15k with an incredible time of 1:06! Woohoo!

Personally, I was oblivious to the water problem as I didn’t feel the need to stop at any water station during my 5k run. However, I did encounter these:

CONS:
1. difficulty registering my husband for the 5k run
2. no pins for my hubby’s race bib
3. more than usual vehicles on the road due to late race time of 6:30am

In fairness, there were good things too…

PROS:
1. 5k race was 5.07km on my Garmin. They finally got it right this time—not perfect but close enough right?
2. nice singlet for men…but no sizes and too transparent for us women
3. 5k started on time
4. They make the best shoes and leggings…oh right, that’s not about the race

It was obvious to me that Mizuno and the race organizer worked hard to make this race as successful as it could be. But, obviously, a lot of things went wrong.

This was Mizuno’s first race and it can only get better next time. Hopefully, all race organizers learn from this experience to give us runners a race that is well-organized—or better yet, one that is at par with races abroad. Sigh.

What did YOU think about the Mizuno Infinity Run?

This was one mad, hungry, chaotic, crowd. (Or have I just been away from races for too long?) I felt somewhat lost and confused in the traffic of 5k runners. Despite this, I stuck to my plan of maintaining a steady (read: boring) pace of 6:30 thereabouts. The hubby had the ipod on (so much for my dreams of marital bonding while running!) and he suffered pain behind his knee at around 2km, so soon after we crossed McKinley we parted ways.

Running alone, I focused on my form: landing on my midfoot, putting more power on my left leg, lifting my knees a bit higher, and tucking my tummy in. Going downhill, I would intentionally slow down to avoid aggravating my runner’s knee. I busied myself watching others—especially the elite who were returning from their 15ks on the opposite side of the road. Awesome! Sure, I wanted to run faster or outpace others, but I had to stick to what I knew was right. Well, I was “good” until the last half kilometer. I increased my pace to a 5 to 5:30 and slowed down again just before hitting the finish line.

According to my Garmin, my time was 33.42 for 5.07km. Ave pace was 6:39/km. Nothing to be proud of, but hey no pain so I’m a happy camper. Hubby came in, tired but happy, a few minutes after. I think I’ve just made a new recruit!

- Mark and Charlie.  Mark, did you achieve your secret goal? -