Rain and Earth Run
[27 Aug 2011, Saturday | 4 am]
I woke up to hear the wind howling and the rain hitting our rooftop. While bad weather never stopped our run group from doing our long runs, this Saturday was different. Most, if not all of us, had been sick, were sick, or were going to get sick if we ran under the rain. 21k LSD? Pffttt…cancelled. I hopped back into bed after eating my pre-LSD breakfast. Oh yes, I needed those 300 calories for the intense sleep workout.
[Saturday | 8 am to 4 pm]
My thought every hour or so: Crap, I never miss long runs due to rain. Never.
[Saturday | 5 pm]
I knew I was being bullheaded about this, but hey that’s me! I was hell-bent on running come hell or high water. So, like a soldier preparing for war, I put on my rain gear to keep me from getting sick: Nike rain jacket (last time used: Nike Hood to Coast in Oregon), old pair of KSwiss Kwicky Blade Lights with old Spenco insoles, ipod shuffle wrapped in plastic, and emergency money wrapped in plastic. Then, I set off for war…or more like a great running adventure.
I ran almost 10km alone from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. My pace for the first 4k was 5:20/km. The speed was gratifying. I felt like the past two weeks of training had worked its magic as I didn’t have to work as hard to hit my tempo pace. Then the hills came, then I lost my way, then the rain got so strong I seriously started to doubt my sanity. I slowed down to breathe, let go of all worries, and enjoyed the run with Mother Nature as my highly excitable running buddy.
[28 Aug 2011, Sunday | 4 am]
Once again, I woke up to hear the heavy downpour outside but, as I learned the day before, skipping runs for flimsy reasons (like, uhm, my health) was not very good for my psyche. So, I got up and ready for Earth Run. I was set to do a 5k (since I thought I was running long the day before) and the awarding of finishers for the program.
As I waited in the assembly area with Rico, a TBR Dream finisher who’s training for NYCM as well, I was still figuring out what distance I was gonna run. And, even when the gun was fired, I still had absolutely no clue!
Miraculously, the weather cleared just in time for the race. It was a cloudy day, just perfect for a run. I ran alongside the 21k runners in full speed but wondering all along what the hell I was doing there. I knew I couldn’t cover this distance unless I wanted race organizers to kill me for not showing up for the awarding. So, I just ran, and ran, and ran.
When the 21k runners hit Buendia, I went off course and headed back for the race start. I pulled out my race bib and officially pulled out of the race. I created my own course instead and tried to cover as much distance as I could. I ran for 1 hour and 3 minutes to cover over 11km. My pace was 5:47/km.
– Runners posing for the cam after the race –
– with Joel Andrada of Cherifer Premium, a co-presenter of Earth Run, along with 2nd Avenue –
– Met Babu and her dog who ran 10k (not in pic but she’s by our feet). Photo courtesy of Albert Imperial –
– Cherifer Premium girls. I am so tempted to give them shorts, pull their hair up in pony tails, and get them to start running 3k –
