Daily thoughts - The PSE Bull Run Experience

I ran my first 10k  last December 11 2010. It was a great experience although I did have a hard time walking the following day. Still it kinda motivated me to try another 10k this month. I wanted more pain! hehe

I have been running 4-5x a week for the past 2 months. Most of my runs are slow paced and not really strenuous.  I do try to incorporate some uphill runs at least once a week. Also, I do long runs on Saturdays. Also, at least once a week, I do one hard workout testing what its like to go beyond my usual workout.
That involves speed and some uphill runs. Its amusing that people from my neighborhood ask me questions like if I ever do get tired or, why am I running. I just tell them of course I get tired but I  enjoy what Im doing. Then they give me this bewildered look like Im crazy. One woman even told me she wanted to run with me but is afraid that her muscles would get big.I asked her whether she wants to be fat or have well defined muscles instead. She said she couldnt make up her mind. So I told her to think about it then we can run together. Then before I took off to finish running, she said, can we just walk, running is too tiring. I just smiled and said you can walk but these shoes are made for running=)

My store is doing okay but I honestly am not making a lot of money from it. Im just having fun though. Most of my profit goes to daily expenses including catfood, kitty litter, my own personal needs and utility bills. However, I have made a promise to myself to allocate some of my hard earned money for my runs. The great thing about this run I signed up for was the affordable registration fee. It was only 50PHP less than the usual going rate but that discount is enough for me to get a kilo of dogfood.

I went to Megamall a few days before the race day and excitedly registered for the PSE Bull Run. The outlet ran out of singlet sizes and I had only Large and Extra Small to choose from. Obviously, I had to choose the latter.

trying on the singlet

On the day before the actual run, I had to sleep over at my friend's house. My house is too far from the venue and I dont have a car.  I just didnt want the same thing to happen like when I joined the animo run.
The accomodation was great. I had a good time with my friend's family and I stuffed my face with their good food too. The only problem was I wasnt sleepy. We managed to hit the sack around 1 AM. We got up at 4AM, had coffee and some bread. I still felt sleepy but also excited to run!

an orchestra i saw at Shangri La Plaza on my way to the MRT station

interesting tile work at my friend's house. i loved it.

the sink was made by my friend's husband. this used to be a pot for plants.

We spent quite some time looking for a place to park. But since my friend's house was very close to the venue, we had enough time to spare before the gun start. Err it wasnt a gun actually but a bell that they used to signal the start of the run.

I was able to warm up a bit before we got to the cordoned area of the start line. There were a lot of people who showed up.Some people were pushing us aside though and it was kinda annoying. I thought if these guys wanted to get ahead why dont they do it during the run itself right?

The run route for 10k can be found on the pinoyfitness website. There was a flyover included in the route and thats the part I didnt like although at first I was really excited over it since its my first time to run on one. You can view some good shots of this part of the run on this guy's flicker account.  The flyover was very dark and anyone can accidentally twist an ankle. I also noticed some shards of glass. Luckily I didnt get hurt on that portion of the route. The first 30minutes of the run was very hard. That uphill run took a toll on my knees and partly my lungs.

grainy photo on the flyover using my phone

The water station was a disaster by the way. Not a lot were strategically placed and there wasnt enough cups. I was lucky I was able to drink from a clean cup. I saw people cupping their hands to drink and a friend of mine said he saw someone get a used cup and rinsed it then reused it! I was like WTF!

It was kind of disappointing also that there were no markers to tell us that we have reached the 5km or 8km mark. I relied on my fitness tracker however it wasnt really reliable because there was a flyover as part of the run. It kinda messed up on my estimate of how to distribute my remaining energy. 


The run back to the flyover again was manageable. This was after I finished the first 5km. I tried to follow my training technique of doing the first 2miles as easy, second 2 miles by pushing a bit, then the final 2 miles by going hard. During the last 1km or 800 meters though I thought I was beat. I was done. I knew that thats all I got left.

Then an older guy ran alongside me and said," hey your pace is good. Been running neck and neck with you for the most part of the run." I replied "Thanks but I m out." It was over for me and I dont have the energy left to finish the last stretch. Here is where he spewed some magic words to me. He said, "We can do it! last 800M, pain is temporary, glory is forever!" And with that, he sped off and left me by 400-500m. I was stunned! So I said to myself, if grandpa can do it, so can I! and I ran and gave whatever I had left and got to the finish line with the biggest grin on my face!

start/finish line

runners on their way to get their loot bags

a fruit stand. they gave away a lot of bananas and the emcee kept announcing how many pieces were left.

they had this "shower" area provided by maynilad waters. Its not really meant for taking a shower but people had photos taken while they were drenched. I saw one guy hopping around happily and he had an ipod on. I wonder if his ipod is water proof.

me and my friends relaxing after the run

After the run, me and my friends had breakfast at Tropical Hut in Makati. Their 3 young boys even tagged along with us.

I had hotdog, toast and 2 sunny side eggs. coffee and 4 seasons drink. only 85PHP! also, my friends even insisted to pay for my to breakfast! they really spoiled me.

That run was fun although there are areas of improvement like adding more cups for the water station and putting markers. During my first 10k run, there were multiple water stations and they never ran out of cups. However the ING run was more dangerous because there were intersections with no marshalls. The PSE Bull Run had more marshalls and I even witnessed one arguing with a driver to ensure no one was ran over by a motorist. I wouldnt say that I liked seeing someone almost punch a driver to protect us from being hit by a car, but at least someone was there to somehow manage the traffic and prevent an accident. Although I did hear the marshall and the driver about to beat each other up over the traffic caused by the run. Hehehe Well i wonder whether they do inform motorists in advance that there is an upcoming race though.

Well we cant have it all. Im sure the organizers get feedback all the time after the event. But overall, I did enjoy this particular run. I forgot to include that the singlet quality was very nice and I didnt chafe or feel uncomfortable.

  When I got home, I got excited to open my run loot bag!

Dapper inspecting the goodies inside : gatorade, century tuna and a banana!

The race results came out after one day. My run time slowed down by one minute compared to the previous one I had at the ING Run. But I am not really disappointed. That uphill run on the flyover may have taken me 4-5 more minutes longer compared to running on a flat terrain. So I think, without any conceit intended, that I have improved my run time! Yey!!

But again, I need to really go to bed at a decent time before a race. Last time I think I slept for 2 hours. This time only 3 hours. The run may have been okay but the next day I got sick. I was sick for 3 days.

There will be another race next Sunday and I am still thinking whether Ill sign up for the 10km or the 15km. Ill decide tomorrow. I dont know why but the harder it gets, the more appealing it becomes. =)