It’s 2 AM and I immediately jumped off my bed. Without any delay, I took a bath and ate some bread with peanut butter. By 3:00, my mama (who has always been extra supportive with my “running affairs”) and I were already waiting for the first trip to Cabanatuan City. I just couldn’t afford to be late since shuttle services were to leave NE Crossing at 4:00 to transport the runners to Fort Magsaysay, Palayan City. I got to Cabanatuan at exactly 4:00 and waited for my running buddies, Melisa and Jersan.
While inside the shuttle we couldn’t contain our excitement. We were all excited about the new route and we all looked forward to meeting new friends. True enough; the racetrack was filled with energy coming from the steadily growing crowd oozing with pre-race excitement. They were chattering, laughing, taking photos with friends, and joining warm-up.
When the 16k and 10k runners were asked to line up at the starting line, I deliberately stayed somewhere at the back of the pack. Thus, my heart almost leaped when I heard the gun/canyon start fired. Hello Fort Magsaysay!!!
I slowly make way to through the race track along with the other runners. I was among the last in the pack. But it didn’t bother me though. I was too amazed and enthralled with the place that I kept looking at both side of the road. It was my first time to be in Fort Magsaysay. (Shame on me who was born and raised in Nueva Ecija, haha.) I thought it was a combination of Sagada and Baguio City. The mountainous and rough trail was a huge challenge (especially for me who is used to running on a pavement). I could feel the muscle tension in my legs. At some point I had to walk because of the slight muscle cramps.
My first 5k went fast but controlled. The route passed along the barracks were soldiers shouted few words of encouragement. Some were surprised to see women running. They were astonished to see strong women. Yay! I had to remind myself this place is dominated by men; hence the kind of mentality. As soon as I got my blue band, I felt the toll of the strong pace. I slowed down a bit. I had to regain my strength to finish off another 5k. This time there was less of uphill but more of rough trail. I thought running on rough trail was easier. The route passed along a huge field where soldiers armed with heavy fire arms were getting ready for a drill (I guess). They shouted words of encouragement and admiration. Somehow, it boosted my energy.
The last 2k proved to be the most challenging part for me. Although the route was back to the pavement, the scorching heat of the sun was my enemy. I had to stop from time to time to sip on my energy drink. It was this time when I decided to do five-minute run and one-minute walk. I was able to find a balance in the intensity of my run and the one minute recovery time.
Not long after I could see the finish line with lots of people cheering and waiting. From afar I could see DJ Michael and DJ Melisa yelling “GO, Teacher Aizie!” I thought it was rather sweet. As soon as I reached the finish line I looked up the timer and saw that I finished 10k at 1:09:02. Hahaha It was one minute improvement from my “I Can Run” record. Nonetheless, I was happy that despite of the new route and rough trail I finished the race strong.
After the race, I helped myself with food and snack available. I also had a recovery massage while watching the awarding ceremony. After the massage, I rested for a while and had my second cup of taho. Jersan and I went to the grandstand. We sat there as we wait for Melisa.
As soon as the program was over, we had our photos taken with the organizers, sponsors, and soldiers. It was definitely one of the most fun parts of the event. The scorching heat of the sun didn’t stop us from having our photos taken. We did every pose one could imagine. We were like kids playing under the heat of the sun.On my way to school I kept on thinking of an adjective that would best describe Bayanihan 2012. I couldn’t come up with any. I thought to say that the whole event was superb was an understatement. I made a mental note though to post words of gratitude to the organizers on my FB wall for bringing another run to remember.
