350 for 15K Distance of Mizuno’s Infinity Run 2009     “Gasping for Air” – That is the first thought that comes into mind whenever I would think of this year’s Mizuno Infinity race. I have unexpectedly went beyond my comfortable pace as I was 2 minutes late and was desperately trying to position myself in the middle pack. It didn’t also help that I have been doing overtime work for the past 4 months (read: zero training). However, things got slightly better as we descended the Kalayaan flyover on our way to the NAPOLCOM building. I was feeling refreshed, being able to establish my position, I ran at a comfortable pace. The run was generally safe and hassle free. Law enforcement and the easily identifiable marshals did their job well in holding off the ill-tempered drivers. I thought that I was going to DNF when I suddenly felt light-headed after we crossed Dian Street. I had to stop running and as what I always read in Sir Jovie’s blog – I listened to my body. I drank some Gatorade from my hand held bottle and took in some Sports Beans. After a minute or so, I started feeling better and decided to jog. The high point of the race for me was when I realized that we were already at the turn-around point in Bautista Street – ha! just a few more meters from the LRT station and I would be home. =) In fact, I was really tempted to DNF and take the train home were it not for the parked car in BHS. The idea of having ran half of the race course probably boosted my morale to push myself once more and before I realized it, I was already at...

Running is addictive … once you start, you just want to keep on increasing your dose. I remembered running my first race which was a 10k during last year’s VSO held at the fort.  After a few 10ks I ran my 1st 15k during Asian Hospital’s Run New and then my 1st half-marathon which was the Condura Race. I was actually planning back then on making Botak my first full marathon. Lucky for me, I had so many deadlines at work that I had to forego of that plan and instead registered for the half-marathon.  Had I been stubborn and pushed through with it, last Sunday’s run would have been a very painful memory. Me and my friend Ian weren’t expecting PRs for this race as I didn’t have enough time to train (my weekly mileage went  down from 38 to 0 after pacing for our friend Isko in BDM 102) and Ian is under the weather. So, we decided to aim for a finish somewhere between 2:15 and 2:30. We were able to finish it with 2:29:29 on my watch. Observations : There was a water truck in the Kalayaan flyover.  Sweet! Excellent singlets. I don’t  wear singlets anymore but I have to make an exception in this case. Lots of Gatorade at the finish line. There was also an awesome band at the finish line. The race started late.  It started at 6:00 am. Starting a 21k race during the summer months in the Philippines is not cool (literally). There were not enough water cups in the aid stations ; luckily I brought a disposable hand-held water bottle with me which I conveniently refilled whenever I reach an aid station. Since this race involves a lot of “turn-arounds”; they should have added...