Having missed the much anticipated Condura Run (my supposed half-marathon debut), I signed up for the Greenfield City 21k Run the week its registration opened.
Waiting for race start with friends from takbo.ph
Prologue
“Finish strong” is an advice that you’ll often hear or read about when it comes to foot races. A strategy to achieve this is to do negative splits during training. Negative splits condition your body to better tolerate the hammering during the latter half of your runs—something I always strive to achieve during my training runs and road races. And then there are routes which wreak havoc on those who are used to running negative splits. The Greenfield City Run 21k route was such.
I’ve rehearsed my race strategy several times during the week in my training runs and in my head aiming for a sub-2-hour finish: Start at 6:30-6:00 pace the first 2 k, maintain a 5:40 pace throughout, and speed up to 5:30 or faster the last few kilometers. This was a conservative plan as I’ve averaged a 5:22 pace on a 10-miler four months ago (though my longest run to date was only 19.8km done last week). I was secretly gunning for a sub-1:55 should everything go well. Hahaha!
Greenfield City Run 21k – Sta. Rosa, Laguna. 19 April 2009
The race started promptly at 5:00 a.m. The air was cool. It was still dark, but a row of bamboo torches helped light the way. Starting earlier than usual was a good reflection of the foresight of the organizers trying to keep the runners comfortable, as the sun is usually out by 6 a.m. nowadays. Markers placed after each kilometer were a blessing for those of us who don’t have GPS devices, especially on a route as foreign as this.
KM 1. 5:30. Whoaaa! It must have been the adrenaline—excited on my first 21k. I consciously tried to slow down…
KM 2. 5:35 split. Hmmm… so much for slowing down. It must have been the upbeat music playing as we passed the 1st km mark.
KM 3 to 5 had us going through a small village and back to the main road with a very slight downhill slope before the first turnaround. 5:30-5:20
KM 5 to 8. Dawn; still running comfortably, I decided not to push my luck and just maintained a 5:30 pace.
KM 9 to 14. They said the whole route was flat. Well, let me correct them: it was “relatively” flat. This segment had us going through a looooong stretch with a very slight downhill grade, save for at least a couple of hundred meters before the second turnaround prior to the 14km mark. 5:25-5:30
In a road race with a turnaround point, the converse of a famous adage is true: What goes down must come up! The very slight downhill grade was then a “very slight uphill grade” on the way back. KM 15 to 16 found me running at a comfortably hard effort to maintain the same pace. Sponges soaked in ice-cold water helped fend the effects of the rising sun. “Five kilometers to go,” I thought to myself. “Just a 5k run…”
KM 17 to 18. Maybe fatigue had set in, or a toll of the long upward stretch; I found myself running at a hard effort to keep my pace below 5:50-5:40. A handful of others had already slowed down. I’ve done my share of training on hills (I even consider hills as one of my advantages), but this expanse was just crazy! “3 km to go!”
KM 19. More of that darn upward road. I envisioned myself doing the last 3k of my training route. “You’re getting near,” I told myself. I tried to concentrate on my running form for better efficiency. 6:03. Still good for a sub-2-hour—even if I maintained a pace more than 6:00. “Squish, squish, squish.” Sheesh, my socks were already wet!
The last 2 kilometers seemed to be the longest. “Last 12 minutes,” I say. I usually gauge distance based on time. I glanced on my watch feeling I’ve done 2-3 mins (an equivalent of ~500m). It registered 40 seconds. This happened at least 3 more times. Imagine the anguish: “Nooooo!”
“Just 5 more laps on the track oval. Push on.”
A couple of minutes after passing through KM 20, the finish line was already in sight. Any other day, I would have gone all out to the finish. I wanted to, but I felt I would collapse if I did.
Last 200 meters...
It was only after turning into the last 100 meters that I found enough strength to sprint. Somehow, the thought of finishing my first half-marathon gave me a final boost; or was it the sight of those orange cones neatly lined up along the finish? Haha! 
1:56:55
My first 21k!
Friends from takbo.ph (photo by Carlo Serrano)
We just couldn't stop having our pictures taken! Hahaha! (photo by Carlo Serrano)
Special thanks Mhel and family for accommodating us for the post-race breakfast! 
Epilogue
One of the barefoot runners. (photo by pinky benitez)
- – -
As Cathletic has pointed out in one of the threads from takbo.ph, encouraging words from fellow runners make a great deal of a difference. I came upon Craig who was pushing Justin on a stroller. I was already on the way back after the last turnaround. Already spent from the distance, I managed to raise a hand to say “Hi.” “(You’re) looking good sir!” was his reply. Thanks Craig!
- – -
Somehow, I never got to appreciate the “green” during the race. Perhaps it was because I was staring mostly at the pavement looking for tangents. Mental note: forget improving my time when I run the 21k in Baguio; I’ve got to learn to “enjoy” these out-of-town races more.
)
