CLOSE BUT NOT QUITE (RotaRun 21K)

For the PR!!!

The Rotarun Medal

3, 2, 1! That’s what I’ve heard and everyone begun running.  I was in fact looking for the takbo.ph friends that I could actually paced with.  First I was with Ellen and Timmy then moved forward for Carina and the Barrios and eventually decided to go with Gab and DocT.  Ellen and Timmy caught up eventually together with MarkH and Ferdie.  I am not sure how many we were in the group but I could say that we were definitely a flock of Takbo.ph Runners soaring in McKinley (not the highest mountain in America).

During the race, I had this frustrating side-stitch again but I decided to take no notice of.  I just don’t consider to be left behind with the group for the reason that pacing with them was actually the best idea.  After catching up to Carlo (Hydraice) the group eventually dispersed.  I moved onward together with Mark but he is unsurprisingly fast, so I let him advanced and decided to run by myself.

My Bib

 

  Since Carlo is pacing himself at 6ish/km, I am safe and I’m just at the right spot for another PR. 

 

Hush! There were really times that I ran slowly when I get dead beat and burst for speed when I suddenly feel that I have again the energy to run fast (not sure if this is a clever idea though).  Then came Gab (DirtySanchez) from behind and suddenly winked at me when he was about to pass me making me think he’s saying the phrase “SORRY BUD, BUT YOU’RE NOT MOVING”. Darn, it was a dejavu!

 

Still a victory for me!

I have to let it go, acknowledge it and be happy with my own pursuit; at least I can see him all through out the race.  LOL! Hush! I am again feeling another pain.  The chaffing!  It’s getting more painful as I run eventually run-walked at 1:30ish.  Ellen would absolutely frown if she saw me like this…Joyful thought just came into me once again when I saw the 15K runners.  It was Raymund and Ogie that I saw first then Lauren and Julie who were pacing each other.    Last guy I saw was Gerard (Supacow) then Jay (Prometheus Comet) who has just finished the race informing us that it was a couple of kilometers short. 

 

I completed the race at 1:58 in my clock.  Surprisingly it was 3.3 Km short. I was pleased by the thought that my pace improved by a couple of seconds though and it was still a remarkable race for me!  Kudos to the organizers and of course to takbo.ph that was part of it. 

 

Time to train again for another 21K… or probably a full mary…