Doc Fit – Takbo Para sa Puso

Allow me to start at the end of the race because that’s where all the excitement was—at least for me. Here’s the loot I took home from my 5k run at Takbo Para sa Puso in U.P. Diliman this morning…

Do you see the medal right smack at the center of the photo? Yes, that’s mine—woohoo! I won 10th place in the non-MD Women’s Category for 5k. My official time was 29.03 mins.

– Top 10 winners for Women’s 5k. Check out the 3 winners behind me…they could be my kids! –

I took home the drawstring bag and singlet they gave to all runners, plus P1,000 cash and other freebies from sponsors. What a pleasant surprise for me!

You see, I arrived at the assembly area a little bit concerned about the pain in my left shin. I did my warm-ups and stretching with Annie then set my negative thoughts aside. I forced myself to think that I would survive a short 5k run with this slight discomfort. No pain, no prize, right?

As soon as the gun went off, I had little time to think at all. I ran at a steady pace of 5 min/km thereabouts from Km 1 to 3. At the 4th km, my lack of endurance finally showed as I slowed to an average pace of around 5:30. The uphill climb in that portion made things a little bit more difficult, but images of our hill training with Coach Jo-Ar came to mind and when I applied the techniques he taught me, they just worked like magic! I ran the last kilometers again at a steady 5 min/km pace.

– with Coach Jo-Ar. Salamat Coach para sa lahat ng hirap! haha –

– with my training buddies, Annie and Zorro (Yes, I’m kidding!) –

The race was as smooth as it could be for me. No negatives, all positives: (See what a thousand bucks can do to my mood!)

• My pace was steady. I think next time I should throw more sprints in there, but maybe when I’m a little bit stronger already.
• The pain subsided for the most part of the race and only returned (with a vengeance if I may say so) around lunchtime today.
• The race was very well-organized by Coach Rio once again. I especially liked the fact that Coach Rio is the emcee of his own races. At the finish line, he could easily identify the elite runners and share their resume with all of us less talented runners! Hah!
• Bonus: Mark P. of Happy Feet shared his secret restroom with me. (Sorry I’m not telling!)
• I met a lot of readers from the blog. Finally, they aren’t only names, but runners with faces! It was a pleasure to meet you!

– with Jujet de Asis, 1st place 5k Men’s Category (17.38 mins). Jujet and I share the same birthdate. Do you think we’ll have the same finishing time in the future too? –

– Marieton Pacheco reads TBR! How cool is that?! Here I am with Marieton, her hubby and friends –

– with good friend Marga (Transition Zero) and her friend Jenna –

– Finally! A photo with Eric (Run For Change) –

– with Skinhead81 –

– with Coach Rio, Councilor Dorothy (1st place 10k Women’s MD Category), and real “Doc Fit” runners. Dr. Yong Larrazabal (3rd from right) and Dr. Peter Mancao (rightmost) joined NYC Marathon last year and are eyeing the Chicago Marathon this year. Go docs! –

For official race results of Takbo Para sa Puso, click here.