Nike+ Virtual Human Race Route

See that race route above? That’s the 10km route for Nike+ Virtual Human Race on 08.31.08. That is the same route I ran yesterday morning along with Coaches Rio, Jo-Ar, John, and Roel as well as other running friends Annie, Ben, Joms P., JunC, sisters Lala and Inang, Joms, new acquaintances Philip (ForeignRunner) Prometheus Cometh and Marvs, as well as a couple of other runners who I wished I could have chatted with longer.

– Jun C., Coach Rio, Ben, Coach Jo-Ar, Joms, & Coach Roel –

Call it an ocular visit or a reconnaissance mission. Whatever it was, our task, upon Coach Rio’s orders, was to run the exact route of the Nike+ Human Race in preparation for the actual event next week.  

Phew. I had mixed feelings about this run. I was excited over running just my 2nd 10km run since I succumbed to my injuries last February. (Gawd, has it been that long?!) But, I was also worried about pushing myself too far or too soon. I guess, after one gets injured, you’re forever paranoid over falling into another injury pit again.

Off we went at exactly 6:10 a.m. I ran alongside Annie who was attacking McKinley Hill as if it was her worst enemy. I reminded her repeatedly that I couldn’t keep up with her pace (which at its peak hit 4:30 min/km climbing uphill) so when she showed no signs of slowing down, I allowed her to go ahead while Coach Jo-Ar swung by to run by my side. We ran at a 5:30 to 6:00 min/km pace going downhill through Bayani Road and up again before we hit C5. My body was fine all throughout the run, but my mind was playing tricks on me; my inner bull might have been sleeping at that time because I just wanted to slow down in order to prevent any injuries. 

We entered Heritage Park to run 2.5km around the area and this was a welcome treat. The sun was beating down on us by this time, but the roads here were flat and there were absolutely no jeepneys to bother us. Chatting with Prometheus Cometh and Jun C. about white ladies, shoes, and snow, believe it or not, actually helped to make things feel a bit easier.

Once we exited Heritage Park, the course was uphill all the way. We climbed Bayani Road then then took a right towards Lawton Road which was another slight ascent. By this time, I was worried about surpassing my strict 10km quota (no more, no less for each run this week according to my own TBR recovery training program. Don’t ask me for a copy please because I just invented it!) 

True enough, after a few more minutes of running, we were back at McKinley Hill and ended the run at exactly 11 km. When Coach Rio returned, we learned that the extra mileage was due to our group’s wrong turn at the C5 intersection (we should’ve u-turned before that). That’s what we get for not studying the race route before we actually tested it. Actual race course is 10.5 km according to Coach Rio.

We ended with a time of 1:07. My pace was 6:04 min/km. Based on my calculations, at that pace, I would end the 10km run at exactly 1 hr—not bad but that ain’t too good either. For now though, I know I should just be thankful I can run another 10km race again. If I run it fast, then that’s just a bonus.

How about you? Are you ready for this one?