Condura Stats

Condura must be one of the most well-attended races in the Philippines with a total of 5,274 participants. Most ran 5K but it’s interesting that 21K runners even outnumbered the 10K runners. That’s a clear sign how people are taking running much more seriously today, as it takes a significant amount of training to complete a half marathon compared to a 10K.

The following table is the distribution of the 21K runners by gender and time. I compared this against the 21K distribution I made for the Adidas KOTR last October and they were not significantly different from each other except of course that there was double the number of 21K runners in Condura compared to Adidas.

I compared the participant stats of some of the races I had on file and Condura was truly one of the biggest races. It would be interesting to see how this would stack up against the Milo Metro Manila eliminations.

Congratulations again to Condura’s Patrick and Ton Concepcion for an exceptionally well-organized and attended race!

Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda

Since Sunday, I had been contemplating whether to post a report about the Condura race at all. It was of course very well organized and one of the best races I’ve joined, and the organizers deserve all our congratulations. However, it was also quite a disappointing performance for me. I had written up several drafts and I wasn’t happy with what I wrote since I couldn’t quite express how I felt about my run. Then I read Javy’s Falling Short post and I decided finally to share my own story.

I had hoped to equal or surpass my previous half marathon PR but things did not fall into place this time. I can only blame myself for the things I did and did not do prior to the race: I should have stretched more to avoid the tight hamstrings, I should have put in more miles on the road to build endurance, I shouldn’t have eaten that huge meal the night before the race that made me feel bloated and heavy that morning. In my eagerness to hit a PR, I didn’t pace myself properly and I found myself walking a lot during the last 10K. I also suffered a side stitch that wouldn’t go away for most of the run. I was helpless as I watched runner after runner go past me.

I checked my log when I got home and I confirmed my suspicion that the past few months, I ran some of my long runs faster than my race that morning, including my last long run the previous week where I completed 21k 6 minutes faster.

Running, like life, will have its ups and downs. We just figure out the lessons to be learned and try to avoid making the same mistakes. We move on and try to forget the disappointments. After all, there will be many other races to run, other opportunities for redemption.

10K First Timers Vince and Moyzee: Congratulations!

TBR launches TBR magazine

With Ben, Banggigay, and the Main Man Patrick Concepcion

Chito the Sunday Warrior

25 Years Ago

In 1984, we:

- Had a lot more hair
- Weighed 80 pounds less but stood about the same height
- Had a lot less fashion sense

16 Week Countdown Begins

To all those planning to run the Milo Marathon on July 5, the 16-week training period starts this week. I personally haven’t figured out my training plan, whether to use Runner’s World Smart Coach or the training program that can be downloaded to my Garmin, as reported by i2 Runner. I’ll have to figure this out this week already.

I hope to see you all at the starting line on July 5, 2009!

Bargain Running Shoes!

I recently found one of the best bargains in running shoes ever. I bought a pair of New Balance 1224’s for the equivalent of Php2,670, less than half the retail price in New Balance stores here in Manila.

I found these at the Citygate Outlet mall in Hongkong, selling for HKD419, compared to the Php6,300 retail price here for the same model and color. I also saw the NB859 selling for HKD300+ but I thought the 1224 was already a great bargain. Luckily, they were available in my size, since I got the impression that sizes were limited.

In the same mall, I found outlet stores for Nike and Adidas but I didn’t have enough time to research the different stability and motion control models for these brands, so I stuck with the New Balance shoes that worked for me in the past. Other outlet stores in Citygate include Giordano, Esprit, Armani Exchange, and Polo Ralph Lauren but that’s another story

The Citygate Outlet mall is connected to the Tung Chung MTR station, the station that takes you to the cable car ride to Po Lin Monastery where the Big Buddha is located and is also one stop away from the Sunny Bay station that connects to the Disney MTR line.

Rotary Club of Makati West’s Gift of Life: Comeback Race, Comeback Post

My last race was the PSE Bull Run 2 months ago and it feels almost as long since I last wrote anything on this blog. I’ve been on maintenance mileage mode during my blogging hiatus as I find it mentally difficult to focus on training hard if my next race is still some way off.

Yesterday, I finally joined a race again, my own Rotary Club’s Gift of Life race.

What I liked about this race:

Accurate Time Countdown. The race started at 5:58AM, 2 minutes ahead of schedule, and the countdown was being announced even before 5:30AM. Since I was running laps around BHS prior to the race, this helped me in estimating when I should end my warm-up and proceed to the starting line. I ended up waiting only about 1 minute before the race started.

Fresh Route. Although the race was held at Fort Bonifacio, the organizers made an effort to keep the route fresh. From behind the NBC Tent, we made a clockwise run to 26th Ave., then Rizal Drive, right to 32nd Street and right again towards Serendra. From there, instead of heading towards Lawton, we took a backway behind the Essensa tower and through the rotunda of the American cemetery to take us to McKinley Hill. We also took a long loop inside MKH such that I didn’t see many of the faster runners after the u-turn, like Jonel and Lester, whom I jogged with before the race. The actual race skipped the busy Bayani drive portion of the race that was printed on the the race map provided in my kit.

Marching Band. A marching band was stationed in the latter part of the route, to help give that added push as we conquered the slopes of McKinley Hill.

Freebies! Almost immediately after crossing the finish line, I was handed my finisher’s medal, Cadbury chocolates and bottled water from the sponsors. Further on in the booths, there were free drinks from Powerade, Oishi iced tea and more Cadbury chocolates.

Beneficiaries. Of course, the race is for the benefit of the Gift of Life program that helps children with congenital heart defects fund their needed surgeries. By joining this race, runners make a direct impact to give a child and his/her family a better life.

What could be improved:

Race Distance. Some reported the race to be as short as 9.6km. My Garmin measured it at 9.73km, while it was 9.82km when uploaded to Motion Based.

I finished the course in 55 minutes, not too bad for my standards but still off my personal best, as I was keeping some energy in reserve for the training run I did after the race in preparation for Condura. See you all next week as we run to save the whale sharks!