A lot of the runners or followers I meet automatically assume that since I’m a blogger, I must also run half or full marathons. I am often greeted with shocked reactions when I tell them the farthest distance I’ve gone is only 10km. What’s worse is that I’ve only done the 10km twice and never again because I was afraid to fail! It’s true that I’ve been running for a LONG time, but I never found the courage to step out of my comfort zone until recently.
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What gave me the courage to register 10km at AKTV?
FIRST: I’ve tried running 10km thrice in the past. Twice were doing fun runs and once just recently when I trained with EatPrayRun. The two 10km runs last year weren’t serious. I basically walked half the time and ended up with a time of 1 hour and 21 minutes on the first run, and 1 hour and 14 minutes on the second. It was a walk-sprint-walk-sprint run! The time might be short but it was not a good run if you ask me. I started getting a bit serious just recently and took on the challenge Francis Razon of EatPrayRun gave… to run a 10km training run. We didn’t run continuously, and we stopped every now and then… but by the time I reached the last 500m, I was just about ready to collapse! Whoo, was I tired!
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SECOND: Every Thursday, I join ARC’s (A Runner’s Circle) Thursday Fun Run. On the first Thursday, I was surprised to have ran the entire 5km without stopping. Yes, I’ve been running for a long time, but I never experienced running continuously… probably ‘coz I never took it too seriously. I was surprised that I was able to do it, though I was really panting during the last stretch. Last Thursday, I attempted it again… and to make it even more challenging, I tried to keep up with the front runners who were running at quite a fast pace. And to everyone’s surprise… including myself… I made it! To pro runners, this may seem like a piece of cake… but to me… it was a real challenge that I was overwhelmed to have surpassed! Woot woot!
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So the following day, on its last day of registration… I headed to R.O.X. and registered 10km for the AKTV run.
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Sunday morning…. I woke up at 3am and was really excited! I was determined to push myself to the limit! I won’t stop running until I really need to! I arrived 30min before gun start! I was standing there alone, wanting to talk to anyone to lesson the tension. Slowly the minutes passed by, and sooner than you know… there was just 30sec left to gun start… and the countdown began! …5…4…3…2…1….. BOOM!
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Getting started is usually the hardest for me. Just in the first kilometer, my legs already started hurting. But I knew I had to ignore it! I knew the pain was just my muscles getting used to the new activity my body was doing. It’ll wear off, I just had to suck it in for a few more steps… and so eventually it did and I was back to normal.
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I reached the 5km mark at 30minutes and was hyped to continue running until my legs can’t take it anymore! So I ran 2 more kilometers! As I reached the 7km mark… my body was already starting to ache. I had to slow down. To me, running isn’t about beating the other runners or getting the best time. I think running should just be a fun sport, that we each should enjoy. If you want a challenge, then challenge yourself and beat your own PR… but LISTEN to your body when it tells you to rest. I slowed down for not more than 10seconds and then started running again. I think the most number of breaks I took were between the 8k and 9k mark!
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And finally… I saw the finish line! It’s usually during this time that I feel most tired and unable to do the final dash… for today however, I decided to suck it in! Finished my 10km with the UNOFFICIAL TIME of 1 hour and 4 minutes! LOVED it!!
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This is NOT yet the official results, please wait for the announcement from RunRio.com
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Now it was time to roam the family fair! A finisher’s kit was given to all finishers… however, a lot were disappointed to see that there was nothing in the bag but a bottle of Light Water. As for myself, I wasn’t slightly disappointed but didn’t really expect anything..so it was okay I guess. When we run, we shouldn’t register because of the loot bag… if you want the loot bag, just buy the items yourself, it would be a lot cheaper. When you run, it should be FOR A CAUSE. We ran today for the benefit of WWF! That should be enough.
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Several celebrities and famous faces were also present today! I was on the lookout for JC de Vera but he didn’t make it. tsk! haha Other famous personalities are Coach Rio, Richard Gomez, Michelle Estuar, Regine Tolentino, Wendell Ramos and many many more whose names I am no longer familiar with! haha
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There were also A LOT of activities at the AKTV Family Fair. Basketball, boxing, MMA, Yoga and much more!! A program also followed the run which was lots of fun to watch but I was already too tired to stay! Overall, it was a good run! For more pictures, do check out my page on facebook: Little Running Teacher
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This really was a big accomplishment for me!! In a few more months… I’ll face the half marathon!! Just you wait and see! :)
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