I have not been training really hard in the past few weeks. For one, my right knee hurt badly and I had to rest for a week. In addition, I was busy in post-grad school so I couldn’t squeeze in long runs. Hence, I was not so confident to join a race. But since Melisa, Jersan and I already enlisted for Sandigan few weeks ago, there was no point of turning back.Sporting my Sandigan red-white-blue singlet I headed to Kapitan Pepe. It was barely 5:00am when I got there. There weren’t many runners yet but I spotted familiar faces. The pre-race excitement could be felt in the air and started to build up as soon as the runners congregated. I joined my students near the parking area and chatted with them while waiting for Melisa and Jersan who both arrived not long after. We took few pre-race photos and waited for the gun start. While waiting, we joined the other runners in warm-up exercise. However, we chatted and joked around a lot than exercise (I am so guilty of not warming up before running. Tsk. Tsk.).
Few minutes before 6:00am, I lined up along with the other 10k runners. Melisa half jokingly said I would win this time since she didn’t spot female runner in the said category except me. I just laugh with the idea but made a mental note of my goals: finish strong and set a personal record.As soon as I heard the gun start fired, I ran along with the other runners. I originally planned to start slow but I found myself running a bit faster than usual. I could hardly breathe. (Okay, shoot me. I am always like that during race day. I guess it must have been due to too much excitement and eagerness to hit my goals). I slowed down a bit and sip energy drink.
I maintained a pace a bit faster than easy run but not too fast that could easily drain my energy. It was a kind of pace that could still make me talk to a fellow runner in spurts of two to three words. I ran in the same pace until I reached the 5th kilometer.As soon as I got my green band, I decided to run slower. I could feel my energy was going down. At one point I wished Coach Ricky was there to help me with my pace. I tried to recall what he taught me in Tanawan but my thoughts were everywhere. I felt 20 pounds heavier. I tried to think of my goals but I was just out of focus. Suddenly a stray dog started to bark angrily at me and one could guess what happened next. It made me hit the gas and ran for my dear life (now that’s rather theatrical of me).
The barrier breaking run didn’t last long though. After that I felt 40 pounds heavier. However, the sight of Vergara Bridge somehow lifted up my sinking spirit. It meant few kilometers left to conquer. I kept an easy pace. I thought forcing myself to run faster would just result to a disaster.
Few kilometers away from the finish line, I was overjoyed to see Coach Ricky. God must have heard my prayers. I told him I was a bit tired but he assured me that I could do it and should not entertain negative thoughts. I felt relieved but with my energy going down. I could only hope for a better PR. He helped me with my pace. For about few hundred meters away from the finish line, he instructed me to sprint off. I was a bit hesitant but I followed him anyway. When I reached the gate of the municipal hall I was stalled by two policewomen who asked for my name. It appeared that I was the third to finish among the four girls in the said category. Yay! A policewoman escorted me to the finish line. I was so pleased to learn that I finished 10k in 1:02:00. That was a huge improvement from Bayanihan’s 1:09:02. 
I joined my friends Melisa and Jersan and waited for the awarding ceremony. We had our photos taken and chatted with friends and acquaintances. When the program was over, we headed home. I had to rest a bit since I still had a class in the afternoon.Okay so I must admit I was so thrilled with the fact that this was the third time I won in a race (forget about the fact only three of four girls competed in my category *evil laugh*).
