Kasadya Race

I signed up for the Kasadya Fun Run because almost everyone at the office (well, at least in that little circle of Teradyne runners) said they will register. And also, I’ve been feeling sluggish after the Cebu City marathon; I needed another reason to sweat it out.

Tera tira?

The week before the race, I was only able to do one MEPZ2 afternoon run, which upped my worry that I’ll be racing on Sunday with walk breaks. I was already sauntering after the third kilometer! A man in a bicycle even greeted me with, “Ug nganong galakaw naman ka?”

Oh well, good luck to me at the Kasadya Race! Jun, Lex and Pol signed up for the 10k while I joined the rest of the Teradyne guys in the 5k, which category was exclusive for MEPZ employees.

At race day, our group was closely huddled near the front of the pack while waiting for the starting gun. So first 100 meters, we still caught sight of each other--except for Pol who zoomed away, and Vin and Kyaw who seemed to fly over the 5k route.

After the 1st km, I noticed Lex was not in his best shape (read: I have to slow down so he could keep up). When I noticed him reducing speed for the first water station, I sped up. But you know how guys are, they don’t want to be outrun by a girl. So he hurried up and later kept my pace. We parted at corner Banawa and V. Rama roads where the 5k and 10k routes separated.

It was at that corner (2.5k) that I grabbed a plastic cup from the water station. I gulped half of the water and poured the remaining half on my head, while I slowed down to a walk. I noticed the road getting lonelier, with the long gap between me and the runners before me. Still, I continued to take walk breaks, albeit brief, when I felt too breathless to enjoy the run. In the 3rd km, I managed to overtake a couple of guys but surrendered on trying to lessen the gap between me and the last female participant ahead of me. Upon approaching the 4th km, a familiar face (I later remembered her as one of those older women who always placed in races when the younger ones aren’t in town) shouted to me a jumble of words, with “third” as the only word I could make out. I’d like to think what she said was, “Third ka kung apsan to nimong baye sa unahan!”

I told my out-of-breath self I’ll be fine with fourth and just continue with my pace. After overtaking a male runner or two, I noticed that I’m approaching yellow flags signaling the turn before the finish line. And I thought I have to run at least 300 meters more! I decided to step up my pace until I noticed a girl ahead of me, walking as she made her turn. Whooaaa, it couldn’t be! Very much energized (and excited), Tapots whooshed to the finish line, smiling, big teeth and all.

It still remains a mystery to me why the girl continued with her stroll, not seeming to care that I am overtaking her. She gave me the podium finish that I never expected. Gee, thanks!

kadako'g ngisi sa uban... =D

And I got me new 5k PR, at 28.47. A kasadya race indeed!

running = endorphins = happiness

mcdo treat ;-)

CCM Photos

Bloghopping led me to more photos. Lookie!

• Estan Cabigas' photo gallery (mostly shots of 42k participants)

• Reel Runner's CCM Memoirs

• Cebu Sports Blog' CCM Photo Albums: 1, 2,3

• Giovanni Salahog's FB Album

The Race That Made Us Proud

The Jan. 10, 2010 Cebu City Marathon has left me proud as a peacock, what with all the glowing reviews it gained. I may not be part of the organizing group that worked very hard (Kudos to Cebu Executive Runners Club for a job well done) to make the event a huge success, but I am a Cebuano and we Cebuanos are a proud lot. We take pride in our own, from the various achievements of fellow Sugbuanons to our very own dialect. Cebuanos are proud being Cebuanos.

And so imagine my delight when Jaymie Pizzaro a.k.a. The Bull Runner gave the Cebu Marathon five TBR medals (excellent!).

“[T]he best local race I have ever joined. The organizers of Cebu Marathon got everything right from the carbo loading party to the awarding program,” she said. But my favorite was what she mentioned about us Cebuanos:

The one thing that stood out in this race, which contributed most to its success but didn’t cost a cent, were the people. The warmth and hospitality of the organizers and Cebuano runners were felt all throughout. Spectators lined the roads and cheered enthusiastically. It didn’t feel like another big corporate-sponsored racing event, but a run to celebrate Cebu, its people, and its culture.

Ahhhh, ain’t she sweet?

Aside from TBR, a number of running personalities and runner-bloggers agreed the race wasn’t that bad, to put it mildly.

Bald Runner

[T]he Cebu City Marathon was an outstanding road race that surpassed my expectations. From registration, distribution of race packets, carboloading party, race proper, up to the awarding ceremonies and the immediate posting of the official results, everything was “perfect”.

Amado L. Castro, Jr

[T]he manner the race was held has earned itself the rank right on top of the best if not the very best of any race events in the Philippines.

Drum and Run

It is by far the best road race I have participated in and is now my benchmark for future races to come.

Forefoot

For many points, the Cebu Marathon topped the charts.

Sheer Will

[I]t was a great race. A shoe-in for the Best Philippine Race of 2010 unless others up their ante.

Running Fatboy

Thanks to the organizers for making this a very good event. There were ample marshals, signs, and lots and lots of water. For your first year at doing this race, I can safely say that this was a SUCCESS!!!

Gingerbread Man

[I]t's one of my finest racing experiences ever, and you have got to try it next year.

Ani de Leon

This should totally be an annual event!!!!

Janine

The Cebu Marathon experience was simply awesome!

U-huh, I scoured the web for those plus a little help from Google Alerts.

Speaking of pride, I can't help but boast about my 29.03 in the 5k. A PR after a long running break! Yeba! Now I shouldn't feel a wee bit of a wimp for not taking a stab at the half marathon. There's always the next CCM. ;-)

Next post will be photos from the race.

December in Photos

I hope this post will make up for at least a couple of entries I should have made in December. The month of eating and parties leaves one slothful but to run addicts like me, there's no excuse not to don those running shoes and pound the road. I begged off from long runs though and wasn't faithful to my regular run schedule what with my aching right foot (see prior post). OK, I'm lazy too. So instead of a lengthy entry, the December post will mostly be photos with those little captions. =)

After the office Christmas party, I went to

Cebu Sports Club for the Midnight Run.

I loved the cool, sunless race! Until next year.

Since the boys decided to push through with their
21k plan, they continued with the training, which
included a 14k road run. I joined them, not in the run,
but in the breakfast @ IT Park. Pol later decided
to register for the full marathon.

Feeling guilty with all the Christmas feasting,
I managed to do a quick morning run in my island hometown.

I felt the familiar pain in my right foot after the
Combado run, warning me to give my feet more rest or else...
The feet didn't just get the relaxation they needed,
the nails also got painted to the color of the season.

With the break, I felt fat and slow. So, I talked my parents to
bring me somewhere I can spend time with my other love--swimming.
They drove me to Sugar Beach. Ahhh, I miss Bantayan already.