Recap: DVA-Forbes Park Run

Last Sunday (June 1), my girlfriend and I were fortunate enough to join this race that was held inside the exclusive villages of Dasmarinas and Forbes Park in Makati City. I joined the 10km run while my girlfriend joined her very first race! (the 3 km distance). It was a very well attended event, and I did get to see some familiar faces who I also sometimes see during weekend races. It was a well-organized race with ample number of marshalls in every corner, there were km markers and enough water stations. It was also well sponsored since every participant brought home a well stocked loot bag. It contained 2 cans of softdrinks, a brick each of Alaska yoghurt drink and Alaska slim milk, gatorade and/or propel, and a finisher’s singlet

The race started out a bit late (6:30am) with the sun already brightly shining. Its effects were however lessened by the tree-lined course used for the race. Here’s how I ran the race:

Kilometer Splits:

1. 4:28
2. 4:24 –> started out real fast again. I was probably a bit too excited since when the go siren sounded off, there were only a handful of people who sprinted ahead of me. This surprised me because during the usual weekend races, oftentimes, there would already be around 200 people sprinting ahead of me at the start. The start was one of the hardest parts of the race since it coursed through Forbes Park which was quite hilly. I think too much of my reserve energy got spent here trying to maintain this fast pace (as shown by my slower time as the race progressed)…
3. 4:38 –> flat terrain
4. 4:49 –> this was the start of an inclined road, which though wasn’t really steep, was continuous for almost 2 km. There were only a few short breaks of flat terrain, hence the slower time.
5. 4:56 (5 km split: 23:15)
6. 4:45 –> the terrain was mostly flat for 2 kms. However, I couldn’t (or didn’t) increase my pace since I was afraid that I would get too spent that I wouldn’t have any energy left at the end. I was already tired at this point wondering how far it was till the end of the race (I tried not to peek at my garmin). An improvement I noted though is that during my earlier races, whenever I felt this sensation, I tended to just stop running and walk, until I feel I’ve rested enough to resume running. During my recent races, when I felt like this, I am now able to convince myself to suck it up and continue running, albeit at a slower pace…
7. 4:51
8. 4:58
9. 5:20 –> the most difficult part of the race. After running for 8 km, just when I was beginning to have happy thoughts that the run is about to end, I was greeted by this steep incline, that went on for about 200 m! My pace really slowed down, I felt my breathing get really heavy, and I felt a good burn in my calves. After the hill, I maintained the slow pace a bit for recovery.
10. 3:30 (4.7 km split: 23:24) –> I had planned to sprint the last 500 meters of the run, so when I saw in my garmin that there was 500m left, I went into sprint mode increasing my pace. However, when I turned the last corner, I was surprised to see that the finish was already so near. As it turns out, the race distance was short by 300m, so I ended up just sprinting 200 meters. Medyo nabitin ako since I was really hoping to sprint 500 meters, but, I was still quite happy at the finish…

(all smiles while crossing the finish line)

unofficial time: 46:39 distance: 9.7 km

average pace: 4:48

Learning Points

• i really need to do a proper warm-up before every race -a perennial problem – (I wasn’t able to for this one)…
• I was mistaken when I wrote in my previous post that Pocari sweat didn’t have a taste. I had a chance to drink 1 prior to the race and as it turns out, it actually tastes sweet. I probably was too thirsty and too tired after DocFit that I didn’t note the true taste of the drink. Sorry for that. But I think it’s still a good drink to take, though it would be a lot better taken cold (as most sports drinks)…
• I need to practice running slower during the start of races, at a pace that’s comfortable that would allow me to increase my pace as I run through the course. This was a problem I’ve had previously where I would run fast at the start, eventually losing steam somewhere in the middle, and observe other runners pass me by at the end. So for my next races, I’ll try to run negative splits and see if my time improves
• I need to do more tempo and speed runs! I need to train not just my body for these, but I also need to train my mind so it wouldn’t be complaining too much when I exert myself.

My girlfriend also enjoyed her first race (CONGRATS!). She had ran her fastest and farthest for this race. Hmmm, maybe, just maybe… she’ll eventually be accompanying me during the weekend races We stayed for the awarding ceremonies, not because we were hoping to place, but because the prizes that were being raffled were very nice. There were Timex watches, RayBan shades, and plane tickets to Caticlan. Sadly, we weren’t quite lucky… maybe next time