What happened last Sunday could be one of the defining moments of my life. I’ve discovered myself, learned how I reacted to life’s pressures and finally made a 360 degree turn-around to do the right thing.

I’ve started everything as planned as detailed from my previous post. I woke up earlier than expected, did  a short prayer, had my breakfast, dressed up and hit the road around 2:00am. I picked up elite runners Ellen Tolentino and sister and a sprinter athlete at 711 station in front of DLSU-D and then headed straight in front of Manila Hotel where I parked my car. Few minutes before we got out of the car and as they were preparing their stuffs, Ellen gave me a suggestion what to take before an actual run. Take Pharmaton. Hahahaha yeah that multivitamin supplement. I’m sure they are not official endorsers of that product and they do mean it to help me out with my race. So these elite runners are taking it before they run, I shall try this in the future and check how it will affect my performance. I did my usual warm up by slowly running around and then decided to go to the nearest McDo where takbo.ph guys were suppose to meet. I got in there around 3:50am but found no one so I decided to go back near the starting area where I met Craig of  Team Logan. We had a little chat on how he placed a nice banner on his son’s stroller and informed me that his wife will run her first 21k that day. I stick with him knowing that he’s suppose to lead a prayer for 42k runners around 4am but that didn’t happen as no one from the team was still around (or they were already inside the race area). Around 4:10 am, fellow virgin marathoners from Takbo.ph runners were slowly coming in. In what could be a foreshadowing of things to come that morning, just when I was about to get inside I noticed that the barcode attached to my bib is gone! I ran towards my car (and met Wilson along the way) to see if the barcode is still there but found nothing. I have to ask one of the race guy and he informed me that I could just give my race bib so that my official time could be registered.

So I finally got inside the race area and saw a couple of runners bloggers ready to rock. I made sure to greet every person I recognize from blogger world like BaldRunner,  Jonel, Natz, Vener and Ivy Macainan (not a blogger but sure she’s hot, anyway…). The race started earlier than expected. The road along Roxas was easy and with my pace still in check via my heart rate watch, I made sure I wasn’t running too fast to conserve energy. On the 10th km, I consumed my hammer gel followed by a sip of gatorade from my hydration bottle. As it was my FIRST time to take it, I felt something weird about the taste. I ignored the taste and moved on with my run. The road going to Buendia section was a relief as I didn’t feel the usual stomach cramp that normally triggers after more than an hour of hard run. I met Bards and her team and joined her for a few meters. I asked her our pace and she told something like 6min+/km. Somewhere along this section of the road was a misting station. When some runners would run quickly as not to get soaked from it, I actually ran slower to enjoy that area with the intention of cooling my body temperature. Few meters away from the misting station, I realized I made the worst mistake in what could be the start of my agony. I noticed that my shoes were already wet, including my socks and feet! I was hoping there would be no blister attack as I almost soaked my feet in petroleum gel the night before. True enough, there were no blisters the entire race but there was a very painful deep crease on my left foot. Imagine running with a sharp knife under your feet stabbing you every time you step. That’s the feeling. See what I got:

Every step is a painful experience

I had to remove my shoes four times during the race (the last time with Doc Roy) to see if it bleeds, because if it bleeds then that would be the time to finally call it a day.  I still continue my pace albeit slower then took another Hammer gel a kilometer before the road going to Kalayaan Flyover. I can only reckon if this stimulated bowel movement because a few minutes later, I was dying to look for the nearest public rest room to release it! The entire event made me remember Murphy’s Extended Law. If a series of events can go wrong, they will do so in the worst possible sequence. I was already in the treacherous road of Kalayaan Flyover when this happened. This is the time I really ran very very slow.  Then Rico appeared out of nowhere behind my back. This happened near the end of Kalayaan Flyover. I tried to pace with him for a few meters but finally have to give up my pretension and informed him of my predicament.  He informed me of the nearest public rest room (Shell station) and another one near the Army headquarters. I thought it would be impossible to do it at the Army station and so I decided to visit the neared  rest room at Shell station.

Look closely at my face....this was the time I was dying to release all my frustrations in life to the nearest public rest room!

Off I ran in the opposite road while telling Rico I’ll have to go to Shell station to do my thing. As MOST public bathrooms here in the Philippines have no tissue paper, I have to go the counter to BEG for tissue paper (I didn’t have money on my hydration belt). The lady gave me one and I hurriedly ran towards the C.R. Just when I was about to release it, I heard a knock on the door and so hurriedly put my shorts back. I opened the door and there was this lady in front of me. I then realized I entered lady’s rest room! Grabe noh? I apologized and went to the next room which I made sure was for guys! I was finally able to release it and just as I put my shorts back, Migs (shutter_speed) also hurriedly went inside! I think I gave him the shock of his life when he saw me. As I was technically already done (but haven’t actually flushed the toilet yet when he entered), I hurriedly flushed the CR, put my hydration belt and bib on and off I go.

..to be continued…