RockenRun: Hooked on Asphalt

I woke up at around 4:00 am, did my usual morning routine and at about 4:45, I was already walking on my way to the base camp where I would be running my first 20k trail run.

As initially planned, I would run this race on a slow, easy pace. (No thanks to my wet shoes)

After the gun went off at 5:30, we ran about a kilometer of road before we entered the trail proper. There was a long queue of people awaiting their turn to start from the slight downhill slope before we could enter the lahar-filled bottom of the Sacobia river.

During the first part of the race, I slowed down and grabbed my camera phone so that I could take pictures of the other runners while everyone was still “clean”. As I have always said before, at the end of any trail encounter, we would all have the same shoe color: muddy brown!

As we approached the first part of the river, I was happy with my shoes (I would’ve been happier if they were dry to begin with) because the water have not penetrated my Gore-Tex shoes. I was thinking how difficult it would be later on for those runners wearing regular (read: breathable) running shoes since I am sure that at this point, their feet would all be wet.

Some of the runners were cautious while most of them ran along the wet riverbed with gusto, as if playing in the flooded streets of Metro Manila! I thought to myself: “Now that’s the spirit”.

I rejoiced too soon: later, I have reached the part of the river that was about 6 inches deep and way higher than my shoes. You see, the thing about Gore-Tex shoes is that it is waterproof: it keeps the water out but once the water gets in …. tsk-tsk.

I took things slow from that point and even stopped before the wooden bridge and took pictures of it too. It was at this point that I saw HighAltitude running back to the finish line! (he is fast!)

As I was about to reach the highest point of the trail, I was surprised to see Ben Chan himself taking pictures of all the runners and at the same time praising us for our achievement; now talk about a real hands-on person. Good work Ben!

I ran the trail with so much delight (except for the muddy/slippery parts), it has been a couple of years since the last time I have been on the trail and it felt good.

As I was about to descend the first trail, I had a problem with the camera phone and it took me a good 2 to 3 minutes before I could make it work again. It was at this time I have noticed that I wasn’t anymore with the mid-pack of the runners : I was already alone: there was no one in front of me and no one behind me. I must’ve been taking it too easy.

So after getting a bottle of water from the aid station, I decided to run through the deeper parts of the river.

Later, I saw 2 groups of 2 people trekking /running through the river. (thank God I’m not alone anymore). I soon overtook them but later felt pain on my right big toe. Darn it, I knew if I continued running at race pace, (there was still around 5 km to go) I would end up with blisters on my feet. It was also at this point that I started feeling hungry and felt cramps on my right leg

In the end, I decided to run slowly and walk at times if just to reduce the pain on my feet. After all, I didn’t travel all the way to Clark to get trampled by a mammoth and get free blisters along the way

As I was about several hundred meters from the finish line, Isko gave me a power bar and a bottle of water; enough to give me a minor boost to at least jog thru the finish line.

The trail we passéd thru was an established trail as the path is wide unlike the path taken by the 100km trail runners where trails were created specifically for this race.

For me, there are two things that are important in a race : the safety of the runners and hydration. I give Coach Rio flying colors for this one.

Bolt and Isko

That’s about it … you see, I still have to wash my shoes

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A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud.

Hmmm … “rotating column of air” -> that would best describe the DJs  on the radio show that I am forced to listen to when I commute to work. I think those DJs are very popular with our jeepney/FX drivers so no matter which form of public transport you choose, you’ll end up listening to them everyday. It’s a good thing though that all I will ever experience is the figurative definition of what a twister is. (or so I thought)

We left for Clark last Saturday so that we can meet my friend, Isko at the jump-off area of The North Face 100 to give him some of the supplies he needs for the 2nd 50k loop. The weather was very warm and humid that day that everybody was wearing summer clothes; I didn’t even entertain the thought that I might need to bring my North Face Gore-Tex jacket for the next day’s 20k trail run.

And so it happened: it started with a drizzle and then when it got stronger we decided to take shelter in one of the tents adjacent to the starting line. We were all surprised to see that the starting line fell on the technical committee’s command center, ruining it and almost hitting the people underneath. It was like the entire structure was trampled by an invisible raging Mammoth!

I think I see dead people ... No...mammoth tracks...!!!!

The next few minutes happened so fast, I remembered that the entire place suddenly turned dark and I had to run away from the tent I was in since it was also crushed by the beast!
We all took shelter near a cement wall (it was the only thing left standing), wary of the debris that might hit us.
At this point, we were all drenched, my trail running shoes included. Luckily, the rusty mountaineer in me instructed my sister to put our cell phones in a plastic bag before kingdom come or else that would have been a costly encounter.

We finally met Isko and company at the jump-off site; they were also delayed because of the storm.  It’s good to find out that no one was injured because of what happened. We stayed around a little bit longer before we headed back to Clearwater to prepare ourselves for the next day’s 20k race.

Before I slept, I stared at my wet shoes and wondered … “How many blisters tomorrow?”

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May 23, 2009
Sacobia, Pampanga

Clearwater Resort in Sacobia, Pampanga

We arrived in Sacobia, Pampanga on Saturday, May 23, 2009, a little after lunch and went straight to Clearwater Resort where we reserved for a tent good for four people.

Clearwater Resort in Sacobia, Pampanga | Tent T-104

After unpacking, we walked about 500 meters to the jump-off area in Expo Filipino Parking Lot and checked out the place, as well as waited for Kuya Isko Lapira and his friends to arrive at the base camp from their first 50k.

North Face Sacobia, Pampanga | Start / Finish Line

The clouds seemed perfectly placed high up in the clear blue sky, just before it hit.

My brother, Bolt: North Face Sacobia, Pampanga | The Calm Before The Storm

Unfortunately, we didn’t bring a waterproof camera or else we would have been able to take a footage of it. Just took pictures and a video of how it looked after the storm!

North Face Sacobia After The Storm in Expo Filipino Parking Lot 2 | May 23, 2009

We moved away from the tents to try and look for Kuya Isko, a short distance from the wrecked Start/Finish Line, as he had texted earlier that they were already near. Picture of him holding the Gardenia and Adobo we brought him. Haha!

Kuya Isko's return to base camp in The North Face Sacobia, Pampanga after the 50K distance covered.

The rain has just subsided, and this is me wondering if the 10k trail is gonna be as muddy as the North Face Trail Running Event I participated in Talamitam, Batangas last year…

"How's It Gonna Be?" looping around in my head

Some pictures of how the jump off area looked after the storm!

North Face Sacobia, Pampanga | After The Storm

North Face Sacobia, Pampanga | After The Storm

More pictures here.

It wouldn’t be a rocking and running event for us, siblings, without any music we can actually relate a day’s worth of activity to. So here’s Creedence Clearwater’s Proud Mary — the song running through my mind as we walked back to the tent after buying our stash for dinner in Parkson, Duty Free. I’ve been confined in Manila most of my life (thanks to our strict parents) and I dint know that prices there are in dollars slash pesos. Har de har har.

MySpace Playlist at MixPod.com/center>

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I just got home from a birthday celebration way up north and by the time I continued packing and decided to write this entry, I’m pretty sure the race for 100K solo has already started. So, let me go straight to the point because I have several other people to check on and a tight schedule to follow for the trip to Sacobia, Pampanga.

I’m the youngest in the group and I find it ironic and at the same time, traditional, to play the role of reminding everyone in the group of what to bring for a trip. So, like an adviser during homeroom when a class of semi-buggers decide to go on a field trip, my things-to-do include double-checking stuff my friends have to bring!

Nope, no image. Sorry, and I took the liberty of not making you go through the agony of looking at the actual list itself

We should arrive in Pampanga later, 10am at the most. We have prepared food for Kuya Isko to eat: chicken adobo and rice! Yeyy! We will also be giving him a bag of Chocolate-Flavored Gardenia Bread when he leaves for the second half of his 100K solo.

Last year, when I attended the first event in the Philippines of North Face Trail Running, my officemates and I arrived just after Kadangyan finished their last set, if I remember it right. Hopefully, there would be another group of musicians performing tonight, which I think would really be something worth looking forward to.

North Face 10KM Trail Run - Bib Number

I’ll be bringing along my gray Redrock Equipment bag/purse I’ve had since college (I don’t really know what it’s exactly called).

with our trail running dog

Well then, gotta move!

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This Sunday, I will join the TNF100 in Sacobia Clark, as a participant in the 20k trail-run. The last time I remembered being on the trail was when we climbed (or should I say “crawled”) Mt. Hibok-Hibok in Camiguin 2 years ago. That was my 2^nd major climb with my friend Isko (he will be running the 100k solo race) who is a member of MESAU. I would like to think of this run as another day hike but without the daypack and trekking pole and executed at running pace, hehehe

This will be the first time I will be trail running and frankly it gives me a sense of joy and apprehension at the same time: I am excited to be one with nature once more but pressured to finish the entire “tour” within the given cut-off time. I hope I can take a lot of pictures of the trail as I intend to bring a camera phone with me.

I have already made a list of things to put in my belt bag for this event, among them are 2 bottles of sports drinks, energy gels(Hammer and GU), a chocolate bar, a pair of sandals and a donkey (in case I get tired). I hope I didn’t over pack J

As with my previous runs, I just intend to finish this race and not set a PR since I haven’t been training properly because of my work schedule.

In as much as I want to run this race using my old TNF trail running shoes, (which finally surrendered to the trail as we descended Hibok-Hibok) I will be using my Salomon Adventure Running shoes which I have owned for a while but have never used on the trail before. I hope that this shoe won’t give in as what happened to another blogger’s (bugobugo85) trail shoes since Salomon is also owned by Adidas.

My Trail Running Shoes (before it gets muddy)

Well I guess all that I can say at this point is Good Luck to all the runners, be it the 10k, 20k or 100K categories and see you all this Sunday at Sacobia!

North Face Trail Run in Sacobia, Pampanga - Bib Number

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Endurance comes in all distances.
FIND YOURS.

Endurance Comes in All Distances. Find Yours.

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