36th Milo Marathon - National Finals

December 09, 2012 - SM Mall of Asia

Another 10k done! Yehey!

And another Milo Marathon on my list!

Thankfully I was in better shape this morning than I was during last week's QCIM. I shaved off 11minutes off my record from 1:46 last week to 1:35 this week. My legs have also recovered well so I was able to run more (and less walk) today than last week. *bow*

I think starting an hour earlier helped a lot as it was considerably much cooler today. The 10k gun start for Milo was at 5am while QCIM started at 6am. It's hard to run (or do anything for that matter) if the scorching sun is breathing down your neck. 

Hydration stations were overflowing with water and Powerade so I was fully hydrated the whole time.

All in all, it was a good run. Til next year....

Me and my sister, my ever loyal running buddy

Post-race photo ops with my little kulit

Source: www.runrio.com

Related posts:

34th Milo Marathon - National Finals (Dec. 2010)

35th Milo Marathon - Manila Eliminations (July 2011)

QC International Marathon 2012

December 2, 2012 - Commonwealth Ave.

This is my 2nd QCIM and I think it was better than the first in terms of weather, route and hydration stations.  

Weather

Mr. Sun was at its best today compared to a very gloomy run last year. Although it was cooler in the previous year, I had a hard time going home because I got drenched from the rain. 

Traffic

Traffic along Commonwealth Ave was also better this time around. The run only took the inner lanes from both sides so motorists can still pass at the outer lanes. Last year, they closed the whole side going to Novaliches so all vehicles were cramped on the other side causing bumper-to-bumper traffic. This year, traffic was smoother except for very few areas. 

Hydration

Hydration stations was aplenty this year. Where there used to be only 2 tables of hydration station, this year it was about 3 meters long. Still no power drinks but at least there was plenty of water. 

 
Performance

My performance on the other hand is a different story altogether. I have been inactive for quite a while so I didn't really expect a spectacular finish. I signed up for 10k 3 weeks ago and only started training then. The last week could not even be counted because there were other things I needed to attend to so I was not able to train. 

As expected, I was of  already out of breath even before reaching my first kilometer. I was getting doubtful if I'll even reach the turn-around point, much less finish the whole race. But I could not face that kind of failure so I struggled on. I promised myself that I will finish it even if I have to walk thru it all. And I did - walk my way through it all. I think I walked 80% of the time. I even found myself a walking buddy at the last 3kms. 

Post-race

It has been 6hrs since I finished the race and I can feel the cramps in my legs. That's a sure sign that it has not been used for strenuous activity for quite a long time. Going down the stairs is the most painful. Ouchie!

I have another 10k race next Sunday. Hopefully my legs recover well.

Related Story: QC International Marathon 2011