Mukhang Guilty’s BLOG

I wanted to do something different so I volunteered to be a PACER for the GLOBE AYALA LAND RUN FOR HOME.

A pacer participates in a race to help a runner achieve his/her target time usually by maintaining a fast, demanding pace that may be too strenuous for the runner to achieve alone.  It’s the pacer’s responsibility to keep track of the km splits, and act as a positive motivator especially towards the end of the race to help the runner achieve his/her objective.  As a pacer, I had to run even splits, and for me to able to achieve that, logic dictates that I should run at a comfortable pace…. for this race, 5:30/km

But by being a competitive runner, one can’t help but get carried away at times and chase after people who pass you during the race.  So as not to end up racing, I would need to constantly remind myself to exercise restraint and run at my designated pace.

RACE START

The 10k race started at 5:45 am, I was somewhere near the front of the pack when the starting gun went off.  Instead of clearing the start line swiftly, I encountered a traffic jam, as the lanes at the start line were narrowed to ensure that all runners passed through the timing mats.  When I cleared the start line, Garmin indicated that my average pace was @ 8:03/km.  I had to sprint to bring my pace up to 5:30/km.  I hit an average pace of 5:29/km as I turned to 26th street, I had to slow down and start cruising to maintain an even pace.

Soon enough, people started passing me, I was conscious enough to resist the urge to speed up, and to constantly check my Garmin to ensure that I’m maintaining my 5:30/km pace.  As everyone has settled into their respective paces at quarter distance, I started to notice things… things that I don’t usually notice when racing.  I started to notice what other runners were wearing, the type of shoes (too many people wearing NEWTONS these days), I also started observing other people’s running form.. then I started wondering what my running form is like so I started to visualize my own running form, my foot strike, and my arm swing.  As I reached the Kalayaan fly over, a quick pace check indicated that I was still on pace running at 5:27/km.  It is at this point I started seeing the fast 21k runners on their way back from Makati.

SECOND HALF

I clocked in an average pace of 5:25@ the 10k turn around, I started to catch up to the other runners who overtook me at the start.  As I passed them, I encouraged them to keep up with me, others would smile and wave me on, while others would pick up their pace and follow.

On my way back to the Fort, right by the Kalayaan fly over water station, I saw a lady runner who stopped at the water station for a drink.  I clearly remembered her because she was FAST at the race start.  I looked at her and said “run with me, we’ll finish in 55 minutes”  She agreed, I told her we had about 3 kilometers left, she nodded as we headed down the fly over to the final stretch of the race.

FINAL STRETCH

A quick pace check indicated that we were running at and average pace of 5:27/km.   I could sense that she was already experiencing fatigue.  With 3 kms to go and an average pace of 5:27/km, I knew we could afford to slow down to a pace of 5:45 to 6:00/km and still finish within 55 minutes.  She seemed fine and able to keep up at 5:45 to 6:00/km pace, so we maintained it until we turned into Serendra.  We crossed the finish line with a time of 54:50 with an average pace of 5:29…. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

AFTERTHOUGHTS

1. It was a very relaxed run as I wasn’t gunning for a PR
2. You notice a lot more things when running at a relaxed pace
3. It felt good when Lady Runner said thank you after crossing the finish
4. I think I want to sideline as a MANONG PACER when I retire from work in 30 years time.