This was rather new and something I had wanted to do. Okay the distance was not ultra but it felt nice to join a race like this again. So when the invitation came from Marga, the Exexutive Producer of Run Radio, there was no hesitation on my part.
It did not matter if I did not get the ideal pace. 6:30 min/k was okay. A kind of "middle-of-the-pack" pace ... for some. So how did it turn out?
Well, some of the runners were complaining that my pace was faster than the average pace of 6:30.
One runner, George, in particular asked gruffly: "Boss, aren't you running too fast?".
I said: "Okay, let's slow down a bit. Now it is 6:19, 6:21,6:25, 6:29. Okay to you now?"
George: "Yes. Cool."
I noticed his breathing was steady now.
A politician runner even grumpily commented that: "Hey, I bet your pace is not 6:30. It is faster than that!" when we started to outpace him. Well, peace sir.
Most runners were asking what would be the time to finish on a 6:30 pace. I answered "not more than 2 hours and 20 minutes". George, who I called a philosopher now, after hearing this smugly said: "It could mean 2:10, or sub-2 or even 1:30!". I did not bother to reply. We crossed the line 2:11 something. 8 minutes faster than 2:20.
Every kilometer lap, I announced our average pace and some runners found it, oh well, comforting that they could sustain the pace. The inconvenient part during the race was that I had to look at my watch after 10 seconds or so just to make it absolutely sure the pace was neither too slow nor fast. Suffice it to say, a GPS watch or the like is a must when pacing.
After the race, my cousin Oswald said there were several runners following my lead, who perhaps wanted to kill me for not staying within the ideal pace especially during the late stage of the race.
When we had to summit the Buendia flyover or a hilly portion (okay, summit may not the proper word), I really had to slow down to 7:00 to as low as 8:30 and run fast downhill to recover the lost time. Man, I could feel their hard breathing on the uphills.
Anyway, it was exciting and fun. My friend Bles (part of my crew during BDM102K and Botak 100k) ran a new PR for 21K. Isn't that nice?
Cheers!
P.S. Ran an additional 9K after the race to make it 30K in total. I would love also to return the favor by pacing a fellow runner during the late stage of an ultra race. Favor received, favor returned.
You're right, it would be difficult to pace without those high end gadgets. But you did well. Pero mabilis tayo before the flyover going to buendia huh, kaya siguro maraming napagod agad, and maraming nag hesitate when I told that you're doing an ultra (LOL).
ReplyDeleteSi Congressman ba 'yun? Thanks Jon, see you again.
You revealed my secret identity. LOL. His surname starts with R. I'm unsure if he is a Congressman. I did not know about it until after the race. Well, aren't we glad he runs too? Hey, see you around!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, that congressman. Na ex-media man
ReplyDeleteThanks for pacing Atty. Next race uli, we'll be more prepared and may mga pakulo na :)
You're welcome! Anytime. By the way, you would want to use another material next time for the pacer bib :)
ReplyDeletethat was a nice long steady run for you as a pacer and a nice way to give back something to the running community, most especially to the "newbies". good job, atty.
ReplyDeleteBald Runner - Thanks. It felt great.
ReplyDeleteYeah it must be hard to keep it consistent, minute by minute. In the road races pace is super important. Good job man, I'm glad no one tried to kill you afterward:) I'll stick to pacing one on one in the ultras. This weekend is the San Francisco Marathon and a couple of ultra folks are probably pacing again like they did last year. Hope they do as good a job.
ReplyDeleteRick, you seemed quite lately. Thanks for dropping by though. No one here is up to murdering another runner because we ought to love each other, warts and all. Hehe. Will you be running the SF Marathon? It will be like a walk in the park for you. Good luck and enjoy.
ReplyDelete