May 17, 2010 | In: Running
Neutrogena Chase the Sun: My very first 5K fun run!
I joined the Neutrogena “Chase the Sun” fun run to get myself out of my treadmill rut and get more experience running on asphalt to gauge my running training.
I registered for the 5k category about 2 weeks ago and was surprised that the racing singlets were not given upon registration, giving me another excuse to buy another tech fiber singlet! Yay! I didn’t want to use the singlet I got from my 3k PGH fun run because it was a “little” too tight in the belly area area.
Preparation
To prepare for my run, I packed my clothes into my duffel back and slept very early (8pm early) or at least tried to sleep. I always get insomnia whenever I have an important race the next day.
I woke up at 3:30am on race day (May 16), drank skimmed milk and Cobra energy drink and took a quick shower.
Assembly
I arrived at Boni High Street at about 4:30am, quickly deposited my bag and began my warm-up stretches and laps. I took that time to observe the people and what they were doing.
After a quick lap around the assembly area, I was able to determine what race the people registered for and got a few chuckles seeing people doing funny warm-up techniques. Blue bibs for 3k, red bibs for 5k, yellow for 10k and green for 15k.
I saw a few Kenyans doing their warm-up laps and envied their bodies. They had long and thin legs and none of them looked overweight! Some even looked underweight!
Ready, Set, Go!
The 15k and 10k runners were already off once I jogged to the starting line for the 5k runners. I sized up the competition and did a few more final stretches before the race.
When the go signal was given, I didn’t rush in like a total newbie and quickly settled into my easy run pace (about 8’00” /km to 8’30” /km) and closely monitored my pace using my Nike+ sportsband.
During my first fun run (a 3k run), I nearly burst into laughter when I saw a group of excited runners running too fast and laughing, only to burnout and run out of energy a few meters from the starting line. That experience quickly taught me to keep my energy and confidence in check.
1.6 km and beyond
1.6 km later, I quickened my pace to 7’30” and monitored it a lot because I have a habit of pacing myself too fast and tiring too quickly for my own good. The very thing happened during my run! When I checked my sportband, I saw that I was going as fast as 6’10” to 6’30” /km! I was having a hard time slowing down and maintaining a steady pace.
I think it was at about 2.5 km into the race that I arrived at the first water station. I was really REALLY annoyed by the runners who just threw the plastic cups into the road after drinking. Why not just put the cup back on the table or throw it in the trash bins next to the table? There were about three water stations along the 5k route and all of them were littered with plastic cups! Tsk tsk tsk. DISCIPLINE PEOPLE!
At about 3.5 km I made my first mistake. There was a downhill in the track and instead of attacking it normally, I increased my pace to take advantage of the slope and gravity. Bad move for my knees and Achilles tendon! I didn’t feel the pain until after the race on my way home.
I slowed down to a brisk walking pace close to the 4 km marker after my downhill sprint and it took a while to recover. After a minute ot two, I resumed my regular goal pace and maintained it until the finish line.
If I didn’t sprint the downhill, I think I could have sprinted the last 500 meters to the finish line. Oh well, lesson learned.
I crossed the finish line and checked my Nike+ sportsband for my finish time. My sportsband displayed 34 minutes and 54 seconds and also told me I ran 4.8 km. My official finish time according to finishline.ph was 34’46” (gun time) and 34’04” (chip time).
Freebies!
After the race, I fell in line to claim my freebies and another annoying Filipino trait I despised manifested in front of me! The people in front of my kept calling other people they knew and put them behind them (and in front of me)! I don’t care if you know them, tell them to get in line like everybody else! DISCIPLINE PEOPLE!
I got a freebie bag from Neutrogena and was slightly annoyed that there no Neutrogena products in them! They were all Johnson & Johnson products! To make up for it, they gave the 5k finishers a “Chase the Sun” cotton shirt and singlet. Yay!
I wasn’t able to get any photos of myself and the track because I left my D90 at home and I forgot to ask my sister to lend me her point and shoot cam. I’ll have to settle for PhotoVendo’s pictures.
More! Training and Races!
I felt really great when I finished in just 34 minutes! I was expecting a finish time of about 45 minutes. I’m guessing it was because I paced myself too much during the run and couldn’t maintain a comfortable enough pace to the whole run. The disadvantage of that was I was forced to take unexpected walking breaks during my run (about 2). During my training on my treadmill, I was able to run a full 5k without stopping for walking breaks.
My next 5k fun run will be the RunRio’s Trilog 2nd leg on May 30. See you there!
