July 21, 2012:

It was a rainy night coming from work. I need to go home and get my things and gear up for the race. I tried to steal a nap since I haven’t slept the night before. Lights out.

July 22, 2012:

Then the wife came…and the kids. I stood up and cooked some thing for us. After a short-turned-to-long-chat, we go to bed.

Past 2am and we’re just going to bed…I need to be up by 3am. I already have set the alarm.

Minutes pass by.

An hour…

…and the alarm.

I quickly fixed myself.

Dressed up.

Hurriedly snatched my ultrarunning hydration pack (filled with nothing but dress and small things).

Grabbed the umbrella, and out of the house. 3:20am.

The rain just won’t stop.

I walked to where the buses are…and found no dry road to step at. There…running shoes dipped in flood water. I picked the clearest I could find.

3:54am – the bus arrived. It’s headed to Gumaca.

4:13am – I am already at Alabang, Metropolis. That was fast!

4:48am – found the event site for BMAP’s The Great Bank Fun Run.

Standby for a while waiting for Titanium Runner.

Then he came with Estan, and Beep Beep and we saw Eric and we went to Gloria Jeans for a coffee. For me.

After the coffee, we went back to the starting line.

Program started.

Kikay runner lead the warm-up.

Count down started.

Gunstart @ 6:30am.

I started the usual. Slow.

I intend to jog and hold my pace until I am in the 2nd 5K. Success!

Slowly, I was able to speed up by the 6th to the 9th Km. I am already at top speed by the last Km to the finish line. Thank God!

It was not a super fast run but it was fast already for me. It was not a slow run but rather a controlled one.

Recorded via My Tracks, the route showed a 9.93K. I was able to stop my time after crossing the finish line in 1:00:48. See details below:

It was already a perfect race for me. For so many reasons.

• COOL weather. No heavy run, No scorching sun. Slight drizzle.
• CHALLENGING route. Noticeable character of the terrain = NICE. Rolling up and down. Some asphalt, some concrete.
• NICE loot! The commemorative coin is something I look forward to!
• WARM marshalls. They just don’t fail to shout out a GO!
• WELL marked race route. No reason to get lost anywhere. The signages are enough.
• WELL hydrated race. Water is available right where you ‘d need them.

So, after getting my water near the station at the finish line, I proceeded to find the finisher’s tent.

The Bib and the Commemorative Coin

After changing shirt, and bidding adieu my friends, I went to the fastest ride I can get – the train.

Cheap. Cold. Clean.

..and I thought I could go home fast.

I was at the train station by 8:35am. The sign says that the next train will leave (the train left as I approach the station) by 9:05am. A good 30 minutes of waiting is easy for me.

I even sat and waited with the rest.

While wasting time counting the people that come and go, I noticed the dirt on my shoes too. Poor thing. But reliable! and tough!

Dirty

A couple more minutes passed and nothing came.

There. A delay. The train arrived at 9:20am, and it’s not in a good condition somehow. We reached PACO station at 10:13am.

There goes my earlier thought of a fast ride. And the rain continued to pour hard as I walked home.

Still, thankful to God for the many blessings.

While the sky cries, my heart shouts for joy – having ran a good race, and gone home with a nice coin memento!

Mind you, the coin is a PURE NICKEL 10 peso coin that commemorates People Power Revolution of 1986.

Kudos to BMAP and Without Limits!