Safeguard - 2XU Sole Racing Leg 3

The last leg of the Safeguard/2XU Sole Racing International Half Marathon was held last October 27 at Nuvali. This newest addition to the Run Rio line up is also composed of the first leg on April and the second leg on August. Once again, I am honored to invited to this event.

Pre-race

Since this leg's venue is in Nuvali, Noel, Rolly, CJ and I decided to spend the night in Sta. Rosa instead of travelling in the wee hours of the night to arrive in the race venue. We avoided that stress and was well rested in our hotel. We even had the luxury of celebrating Rolly's bday at Solenad.

Post Bday Treat at Solenad

In terms of training, I am out of it. After finishing the Run United Philippine Marathon a few weeks ago, all the training I did was a short holiday run. I even skipped one of the most memorable race of the year, Rexona Run 'coz I choose to sleep and be rested.

Actual Race

We were up before the 3am assembly at the football field area in Nuvali. It was easy to find a parking spot and we were off to the starting line after we spotted our other blogger friends.

Ready for Leg 3

As the gun was shot at 4am, everyone was running in race mode. The crowd was a smaller compared to the usual run rio races which is a signature trait of this newest trilogy. Therefore, you cannot slow down or you'll be at the end of the pack. I wanted to maintain my 2:30-2:40 time so I decided to do 4-1 in the first 8 miles and run magic mile until finish line. I was pacing with CJ at the 1st kilometer when I urged him to chase Sir Rene who was running faster than we were. It was still dark and I lost CJ before the 3rd kilometer. For the rest of the race, I was chasing Sir Rene. He was faster than he was a year ago with all the training he was doing. (IDOL, Sir Rene!)

Eto naman pala yung finish line photo

Running in Nuvali was a delight as I get to remember one of the most memorable races in my life, my first marathon. At the first three kilometers, all I could remember was running TBRDM. I remember the worry I was feeling and getting over that feeling as I finished. I remember that there was a pitstop in that area. I remembered worrying since I did too much running at the endless downhill. I remember when Coach Lit suggested we walk in uphills at the u-turn towards the endless downhill. At the endless uphill, I remembered not hitting a wall at the 32nd kilometer and getting worried that my friends were getting bored at the finish line. At the 15th kilometer, I remember seeing the rainbow after I hit my runner's wall.

The last 4 or 5 kilometers was a different experience. The route was a series of seemingly endless right and left turns. It was at this time that I lost hope of getting a sub-2:30 time and just wanted to finish as soon as possible. The maze made us go round and round that I didn't believe it when the turn would lead to the last few meters.

Hitting the stop button, 

getting ready for my moment na wala naman pala.

The last few meters brought me memories of my marathon finish that I was expecting that the ribbon at the finish line would be a great photo opportunity. I demanded that the ribbon be put up when I finished that I wasted a few seconds waiting for the attendants to pick it up. Only to find out that no one is taking the photos. (So napahiya lang ako...)

Update: Anduon pala si Mang Ernie so di nasayang ang effort ko... Thanks to Noel for tagging!

Ang "Moment ko 'to" Eksena...

I finished at 2:39 according to my garmin the slowest of all the 3 legs. I attribute this to lack of conditioning for the rolling hills of Nuvali.

Post Race

We finished the program just like we did in leg 2. They awarded the Kenyans and the Filipinos who won the open and the Filipino categories. They also awarded the fastest man and woman for each age category. We also witnessed the lucky runners who took home Timex watches and luxury trips to Malaysia.

Bloggers at the activity area

Then, it was off to breakfast with my blogger friends. It was an enlightening discussion as we talked about a number of things. We also wished Ibet on his ING NYC Marathon journey. (Good Luck, Ibet!)

Race Review

Sole Racing Leg 3 was a great race just like the other legs. It was a green run so we had to bring our hydration bottles. All through the course, the hydration was a choice of Gatorade and water. And they were abundant and cold. The marshals were present in the confusing part of the race route.

Bloggers after the race

The RunRio 2XU freebies were great. They had us choose colors for our new calf guard, new visor and new cap. In addition, there are slippers and a water bottle. I will definitely use these items in another race.

Congratulations to the finishers!

Thanks to Run Rio, Safeguard and 2XU for making this run a great event!

Garmin Log: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/396098889
Photo Credits: Noel, Mang Ernie and Jazz Run