Southridge Run: First Place!

The day started ominously. I crawled out of bed with my left knee still sore (as it had been all week hence the lack of posts due to minor depression!) I hadn’t had over 5 hours of sleep all week due to work. Breakfast wasn’t satisfying at all with with my favorite Skippy’s Natural Super Chunk running out. To top it all off, we left the house late, got stuck in traffic, and almost missed the race. Good thing it didn’t start on time!

A SCHOOL RUN FOR FUN

The assembly area was a sea of familiar faces. It was where my two worlds as mom and runner collided. There were co-parents from school who were joining their first race. But, at the same time, there were serious, competitive runner friends —heck, even ultramarathoners—who signed in for this little fun run for Southridge.

If TBR Jr. was giddy with excitement over this race, I was the opposite. I was drowning in worry over the sore knee. I had decided early on that this was not going to be a “race,” but a training run. I entered the assembly area not feeling the race at all. I thought I’d take it easy, play it by ear, and pray to the high heavens that—at the very least—I wouldn’t aggravate my injury with less than a month before New York Marathon.

– Race organizer Francis Macatulad starts the 1k kids race (Photo courtesy of Jojo Gloria) –

IT’S A MIRACLE…I AM CURED!

The first two kilometers were a challenge. Without any warm up, I tried my best to keep it slow and safe. But, when you’re surrounded by giddy and overly enthusiastic highschool boys or super serious runners, it’s hard to hold yourself back. I ran steady at a comfortably hard pace. All the while I listened intently to my body, specifically my knee.

None. Nada. No pain, no complaints from the knee…AT ALL. This was a surprise…a pleasant one!

At around 3k, unless I was hallucinating which is usually the case when I run under such intense heat, I believe the knee yelled back to me “Run faster. I’ll be fine!” And so, being the obedient runner that I am, I complied. I quickened my pace and found my rhythm. I didn’t give it 100% but I did let go of my worries and allowed myself the opportunity to have fun.

We ran two 5k loops around the area of Palms Country Club in Filinvest Corporate City, a route that I love for its challenge and simplicity.  Before I knew it, the race was over.  And, I finally could begin to smile.

My stress-free happy run ended at 51.19 mins according to my Garmin. Distance was 9.7km and my average pace was 5:17/km. First place for women’s 10k! Woohooo!

– First Place: Women’s Category 10k (Photo courtesy of Jojo Gloria) –

– Couldn’t be any prouder of TBR Jr. who didn’t win the race but loved every minute (Photo courtesy of Jojo Gloria) –

Even better news: As of today, my knee is back to normal. Southridge run race organizer, Francis Macatulad, was probably right in saying: “A podium finish is the best pain reliever.”

– with Krispy Kreme and Total freebies in hand. New York, Here I Come! (Photo courtesy of Eric Cantuba) –