i've been complaining about some pain on my right knee during our after-office runs last week.
i will also be, in a way, on my own, as my co-TYJ runners didn't make it to the registration.
and this will be a level-up run. my first 16k, that is.
despite the apprehension, i decided to retire early to bed last night, just about an hour or so after the earth hour. and i managed to wake up at 4am, take a quick shower, and get myself dressed for the battle. i took a cab as soon as i got out of our building, and some 20 minutes and 200 pesos after, there i was fixing my earphones and setting my timer while lining up at the race's starting line in CCP. yes, i'm gonna take the challenge, i told myself.
i worked my way to get into the front line, then looked behind me. not that many runners, i thought. patay! i might be the last finisher! i dreaded the idea. bahala na.
and then the gunshot signalling the start of the race went off.
my strategy in every race that i join is to just run on my own pace. not too fast, not too slow. this way, i get to extend my endurance longer. until the runners behind me ran past me, and because i didn't want to end up to be the last, i let pressure get its way through me and forced myself to run faster.
bad move. barely through the third kilometer signage, i was already feeling pain on the right side of my abdomen. it was bearable but it was bothering me, so i had to slow down and walk. i have read from some online pages before that such pain can be caused by incorrect breathing while running, and that slowing down, pressing the painful area while breathing deeply could help ease the pain. but darn, it wouldn't go. maybe this is because of the pressure that again, i was being overtaken by a number of runners from behind. so i ignored the pain and proceeded to run.
by the 5km signage, the pain on my right knee was making its presence felt already. gosh, how am i gonna finish the next 11 kilometers with stomach cramps and a painful knee? and for sure, my feet will get tired and painful too as i progress.
i started to question why i was doing the run? what will i get out of it? nothing, practically. but i continued to run, even then, but now with lesser effort, just on my own pace. what followed was run-walk-run-walk activity for me just to go on.
it didn't help that just a few strides after i did my second loop at the buendia flyover, the kenyans (yes, the kenyans!) are already on their way back towards ccp for the finish line! pressure again!
when i reached the 11-kilometer mark, i felt i was ready to stop. this is technically a feat for me already because i have surpassed my past 10K's. and if i take into consideration my past pacing, the next 5 kilometers will take me roughly 30 to 35 minutes more of running.
a realization occurred to me at that point. no more stomach cramps. my right knee is still aching, but somehow bearable. i could feel my feet getting tired though, and they are beginning to ache. but i was pretty sure i could still go on.
somewhere past the 12-kilometer mark, i slowed down again and walked. i checked my mobile phone. the screen read, 1 message received. it was from one of my bestest friends, drey, informing me to update my contacts with his new number. i replied that i'm in the middle of the race, and kidded him that i think i'm gonna die. :) then i put the phone away and continued to run again.
with barely 3 kilometers to go, an old man, probably in his mid-50's, ran past me. he shouted something to me, but the volume on my earphones was too loud i didn't quite get what he said. it was something like, "ang layo! pero konti na lang!" i was amazed that at his age, he can still run long distances. he inspired me, in a way, to continue on and never give up.
finally, when i turned left from roxas boulevard towards the finish line, the sight of the giant yakult balloon replica brought relief to my tired body. a few strides more, and this will be over, i told myself.
i crossed the finish line, finally. with the old man ahead of me by a second.
now i understand the tag line in one of pacman's endorsements: aray ko, galing ko. there is such a high when you achieve something after pushing yourself beyond your limits.
so i take it back, what i thought earlier that i get practically nothing by doing the run. pride. sense of accomplishment. inspiration. these are just a few of the things that i achieved after the run.
now let me say this: i'm a yakult 10-mile run finisher.
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