Marathon #4: Second Attempt - Melbourne Marathon - 13 October 2013

Second Chances

In June 2013, I got confirmation that I will need to travel back to Australia again for a temporary transfer assignment. I will stay in Melbourne for at least 15 months, which opened a lot of possibilities for me. 

After my failed attempt to finish the 42KM event at the 37th Milo Marathon Manila Eliminations, I made up my mind about joining the Melbourne Marathon that year. When I was in Melbourne in April and May, I already knew about the annual running event that is held in the city during the month of October. It was just perfect timing! I've already been training for a marathon, so I just need to continue with that until before I leave for Australia in September. After that, I'll have a couple of weeks to train by myself before the actual race.

So on Tuesday, after the Milo Marathon, I was back at Ultra eager to get on with my training under Coach Sid's tutelage. For the next 8 weeks, I would religiously be with Coach Sid at least 3 times a week to get myself ready. I wanted redemption and I wanted it really bad.

One weekend in September, in order to add a little bit more intensity to my training, my running gurlfriends (Team Runbow Brite) and Coach Sid decided to drive up to Baguio City to get some altitude and hills training. Baguio is a city 250 KM north of Manila. It is nestled up in the mountains, at around 2000m above sea level and most people go there to escape the heat and humidity that's prevalent in the low lands. 

It was cloudy and rainy when we got there, but we braved the unpredictable weather anyway, running on both Saturday and Sunday mornings. The thin air at this high altitude made for a challenging run, and the hills we ran on were a killer! I particularly remember a 150m ascent, on one of the entry ways to Camp John Hay, that had a 70-80 degrees incline, you were almost kissing your knees as you make your way up!

Cool running in Baguio City

Looking a bit buggered after the morning run

After our Saturday morning run, we went to visit a couple of the fastest male runners in the country and had a long chat about being a professional athlete in the Philippines and the many challenges they face mainly due to lack of funding from the government. 

With the elite runners Vertek Buenavista (far left) and Coach Sid (2nd from right)

Sub-1 10K Challenge

Two weekends before I left for Australia, we joined one of the new races in the metro called the Sub-1 10K challenge. As the name of the event implies, the challenge is to be able to run 10KM and cross the finish line under an hour. If you fail to do that, you don't get a finisher's medal.

I thought it was a good race to test your speed and endurance. Except for the first two 10KM events I've joined, I've already been finishing all my 10KM races under an hour, but before the Sub-1 10K challenge, the last 10KM race I ran was in 2011, so I wasn't sure if I was still nimble enough to manage a sub-60min finish. 

Race day was gloomy and the rain was threatening to pour down on us as we started the race. It was a fairly flat route that had only one mid-grade ascent up the Kalayaan flyover. The rain did pour down halfway through my run, a drizzle persisted until I crossed the finish line at 55min34sec. I didn't break my personal record, but it was a fulfilling race having proven once again that I can still finish sub-60min 10KM races. 

It was also a good speed workout, which I needed in huge amounts to get better prepared for my next full marathon. 

Kinda levitating at the Pinoy Fitness Sub-1 10K Challenge

The Run-up

On the last week of September, I made my way back to Australia to start a new chapter of my life. I was excited, anxious and hopeful.

I already signed up for the Melbourne Marathon before I left Manila and the race was just 2 weeks away by the time I arrived. So I had 2 weeks to settle down and get acclimated with Melbourne's cold spring weather. 

On race week, I had the chance to go to the race expo and claim my race kit which included my race bib and a swag bag that contained the finisher's shirt and other essential running accessories. I wasn't able to visit any of the merchandise booths that day because it was raining and it was my lunch break so I still had to make my way back to the office.

Melbourne Marathon race swag

I also found out that there were going to be pacers in the race, and decided that I will look for the group who will be targeting to finish the race in 4hrs and 30min and try to keep up with them on race day. 

At the Melbourne Marathon Festival

On the chilly morning of the 13th of October, my sister and brother-in-law dropped me off at the MCG. I made my way to the baggage drop off where I, with the other runners, waited and kept myself warm.

My sister's "parting shot" of me after they dropped me off on race day

It was interesting to see such a diverse group making their way to the baggage area. It seemed almost every nationality and runners of varying levels were represented there. I saw people in costumes or those who came in the same running gear they'd wear any other day. There were people who huddled together with their running groups, and there were those, like me, who kept to themselves. About 30 minutes before the race began, I dropped off my stuff, and joined the flock of runners who began making their way to the start line. 

I warmed up for a few minutes then went on to look for the 4:30 pacers. They weren't hard to find since they had little flags attached to them. I kept near them as we all waited for the opening ceremonies to finish. Once the race started, it took us around 2 minutes before we crossed the finish line so to make up for that we had to keep a faster pace during the first couple of kilometres. Once we've caught up, our group leaders set an easier pace that we can keep for the rest of the race. 

With one of the 4hr30min pace leaders, Brendan who kept us moving and pushing

We did good on time for the first half of the race, crossing the 10KM mark within 1hr3min, then the half marathon mark within 2hrs7min. I was still feeling good, and I wasn't feeling too sore. Everything seemed to be going okay and it looked like I will be able to keep the pace of the group. It even looked like we can beat the target 4hrs30min... or so I thought...

Half-way done and going strong!

Running Low on Fuel

Since it was a big race, I was expecting that there would be hydration stations that would be distributing food, like bananas. Twenty-eight kilometres into the race, I realized that this may not be the case... which became a huge problem for me.

I started feeling hunger pangs after running the first 10KM. I ignored that because I was pretty sure that we'd pass by a banana station soon. However, every hydration station we passed only handed out water or energy drinks. Since I did not train drinking the same energy drink, I kept to drinking water from my bottle, thinking that this way, I'd avoid experiencing tummy problems during the race.

After 21KM, I was running low on stored energy, and I was becoming desperate for a piece of banana. I was on the lookout, but alas, there wasn't any food in sight!

I was still keeping up with one of the group leaders and we were running at the average pace of 6min/KM. Thirty kilometres into the race, I was really feeling the gnawing ache in my empty stomach. I was also starting to feel faint because at the rate we're going, I was burning energy that I'm almost running out of.

After 34KM, I could feel that I was going to black out soon if I didn't stop to eat something, anything. But since I didn't have any fuel on me, and I was still hoping that we'd see a hydration station giving out food, I kept running. I also let the pacer know that I'm feeling faint, which concerned him a bit, so much so that he suggested we slow down a bit. The slower pace didn't help much with keeping the faint feeling at bay. When we crossed the 35th kilometre, I almost did black out so I decided to stop and walk it off for a bit.

One of the guys running behind me saw me stop and he must've noticed me swaying a bit while walking that he was kind enough to check on me and offer one of his energy gels to me. I was desperate so I took the gel he offered and thanked him profusely for it. The gel was gone in less than 10 seconds, and I was feeling a little bit better, when it started to rain... and the rain was freezing!!! I had to laugh because the timing couldn't be more perfect... NOT!

I tried to jog slowly because I felt my body temperature dropping drastically. It helped warm me up a bit, but I was just too hungry so I still needed to slow down to a walk every 100m.

Then, lo and behold! As I approached the 36th kilometre marker, there was the hydration station I was looking for in the last 20KM!!! I quickly approached the table, and I was the lucky recipient of the last piece of banana. I also loaded on jelly beans that the kids manning the station were offering. I also took the opportunity to load up on electrolytes by drinking the energy drink I've been avoiding since the beginning of the race. I only had 6 kilometres left to run, so I thought it was worth risking it at this point just to make sure that I survive the last few kilometres.

Keeping company

I continued walking the next 2KM, and I was on St. Kilda road, when Janine, one of the other runners who was running with the group caught up with me and joined me as I tried to recover from my almost fainting spell. We lost her a few kilometres back, and she told me that she got worried about the pace we were keeping and decided to slow down. We then decided we'll keep each other company until we crossed the finish line.

Taking the turn in front of Flinders Station with Janine

The last few kilometres were a struggle. Since I slowed down to a walking pace, I couldn't get back to the original pace I was keeping before the almost fainting spell incident. Janine also began feeling her legs cramp up, so we had to alternate between walking and jogging.

The fans of the race were very kind and supportive. Almost every one of them cheered us on when they saw us pass and encouraged us to get back to running when they noticed us walking. This kept both of us motivated in the last 2 kilometres.

The Epic Finish

We ran the last 200m of the race inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Family and friends of other racers were on the stands waiting and cheering on for their loved ones and the other runners as well. I loved running those last few hundred metres. I was a little bit overwhelmed and overly ecstatic! The race was almost over and the finish line was in sight. And what's more, the delay caused by my almost fainting spell wasn't so bad as I thought!

Epic last 200m inside the MCG

I crossed the finish line at 4hrs39min, and my official race time is 4hrs37min! It was a personal best - about 30 minutes better than my last marathon finish in the Subic International marathon. All the preparation paid off and I was just so thankful I was able to finish the race without any major disasters or injuries. I also made a friend who I crossed the finish line with.

Lost in a sea of finishers! Try to find me!

I ranked 5,529th out of 6,820 runners, and 1,459th out of 2004 female runners. I was at the back of the pack, but it was still a personal best. That was when I realized how people in Melbourne, and Australia in general, take running so seriously. Majority of the people who joined the race crossed the finish line under 4 hours! These people are fast, and this posed a challenge for me. I want to be a faster runner, and if I run this race ever again, I'd like to finish with the faster half of the race participants.

Feeling ecstatic after finishing the race in 4hrs37min! 

I also take comfort in the knowledge that if I finished a marathon back in the Philippines within the same time, I'd be at least one of the first 20 female runners crossing that finish line. I also got my redemption, and it felt so sweet!

Overall, this was another humbling experience for me. If I run this race again, I'll definitely make sure I'm carrying food with me. I'll also utilise the personal hydration stations to leave a piece of banana or two which I can fall back on during the race. Hopefully next time, with ample refuelling options, I'd be able to finish the race at a better time while keeping a consistent pace all throughout. Until then, I'll keep on training to become a faster runner and hopefully one day, I'll be one of the people who'll cross the finish line in less than 4 hours. A girl can dream, but sometimes, dreams - with the proper preparations - can come true.