Marathon #8: RUPM 2013

Surreal that I just finished my 8th marathon at the Run United Philippine Marathon last October 6. Eight 42k runs in a span of three years is quite a feat!

Just a bit of humor - I found this funny (yet very true) video on the web - The 8 Stages of Marathon Running - to celebrate the 8 crazy marathons I finished:

The 3am gun start of the race only means one thing: adjusting my body clock to sleep very early both Friday and Saturday. I need to be up 11pm Saturday to have my "breakfast" (ooh boy what a weird time to have breakfast) and start my preparations. I need to leave the house 1am, which would mean me arriving at the Mall of Asia about 1:30am, park my car there, then ride the shuttle bus to the starting line at BGC.

I arrived as planned but what I didn't anticipate is the number of runners on queue at the shuttle boarding area and guess what? No shuttle buses! The queue kept getting longer and longer. I was hearing one of the marshals saying there was a shortage of buses and we were just waiting for the initial set of buses that left to go back and pick-up the runners on queue. I think it was about 2:15am when the buses arrived. Whew, what a buzzer beater. 

Long queue at the shuttle bus boarding area

Arrived at BGC around 2:35am, I had a few minutes to do my pre-race rituals - take my Roctane, do a few warm-up exercises and take a pee break. Met with the usual suspects - Ryan, Rom, Marte and Joshua. I turned on my Soleus GPS watch and got nervous as it took a long time before getting any signal.

Warm-up area at the BGC parking lot with Ryan, Rom and Marte

We were located far back at the 42k assembly area. I'm on pacer mode again with three of my companions being first-time marathon participants - Rom, Marte and Joshua. Strategy was to take it slow, probably a 7 to 8 minute per kilometer pace only.

Group selfie just before the race started. Haha!

And then we were off! I pressed the start button of my GPS watch and it went on INDOOR mode! That sucks! My watch failed me. But I could no longer do anything at that point so I just shrugged it off. I'm not on race mode anyway.

The initial part of the race was quite crowded, as we went around the streets of BGC. The runners began spreading out when we reached the Kalayaan flyover all the way to Roxas Boulevard.

RUPM 2013 42k race route

I don't remember the point when we lost Joshua but it was somewhere along Roxas Boulevard already. As for Marte, he had to go to a urinal break so only two were left with me - Ryan and Rom. We did ok until KM25. After this we were already having frequent walk breaks and we took our time on hydration stations as the sun was up early and the heat was becoming brutal.

Still running strong

I assume this was between KM28 and KM29

At KM29, we had our traditional "taho" break. Haha! We were probably getting a lot of glances from fellow 42k runners who were overtaking us as we were devouring our taho. Just the right kick from sugar needed at that time.

Passing by Mall of Asia and seeing the finish line but still doing the final 10 kilometers was really a killer. We already saw the fast marathoners approaching the finish line (4-hour finish time), but we still have a long way to go.

Walk, walk, walk - the story of the last 10 kilometers of this race. Haha! The sweltering heat was not helping at all. The Macapagal Avenue road, dilapidated and runner-unfriendly, was torture.

The good thing is this is a Runrio race - hydration's always a savior. Ice-cold water was abundant in all hydration stations amidst the heat. One can literally take an ice-cold bath.

As we approached the final U-turn at Sentosia and headed back to Mall of Asia, it was a bit of a relief that we are now on the final stretch. The intervals between the kilometer markers seemed to go longer and longer on the final 5 kilometers.

When tired, take a photo. Haha!

Arriving at Seaside Boulevard, we were still walking, reserving energy for the last hundred meters.

Walkers caught on cam!

Ruuuuuunnnnnnnnnn! Last few hundred meters!

As usual, all the pain went away temporarily as we crossed the finish line. 5 hours and 41 minutes, one of my slowest marathons, but it was a fun experience nonetheless.

Happy finishers!

One of the innovations Unilab Active Health thought of, which made the finish of marathoners sweeter, is passing under the elevated race village stage and being greeted by spectators and band performers on stage. But due to the grueling heat, we had to pass by the area quickly, claim our loot, and go directly to the post-run recovery area.

Finish Line moment captured by Photo-Ops!

The trilogy is now complete. Thank you Unilab, Unilab Active Health and Runrio for staging another year of great races.

At the 42k Photo Wall

Congratulations to my running buddies Ryan, Rom, Marte and Joshua! Let's do this again next year!

*** Photos courtesy of Ryan Santos, Running Photographers, We Run for Good Health, Tsinelas Runner and Photo-Ops. Official race photos can be downloaded at http://photo-ops.ph/

RUPM 2013: A Red Carpet Finish

*** Press Release ***

Run United Philippine Marathon Seals 2013 Running Streak of ULAH, RunRio

Red Carpet Finish for All Marathon Participants

Run United Philippine Marathon (RUPM), the third and last leg of the RunRio Trilogy, is even more in demand than its inaugural run last year. Only slots for Ceelin 500m dash are available, the rest are full.

“Demand for this race is really high. The half and full marathon slots (21km and 42km) got full five and three weeks, respectively, before race date (Oct. 6). Most of our participants belong to the "progressive set" - runners who have been continuously challenging themselves with longer distances or better PR,” said Alex Panlilio, Head of Unilab Active Health (ULAH).

RUPM, which is on its second year, will feature four race categories namely: Ceelin 500m, Hydrite 10km, Alaxan FR 21km and Enervon Activ 42km.

“RUPM is also much-awaited as it wraps up our run races for the year. The runners are also excited to finally complete their United medal for Run United 1, 2 and RUPM,” added Panlilio.

42-year-old Ly Nary of Phnom Penh, Cambodia is among those who is hoping to finish strong at RUPM. “I hope to finish among the top three females in the 42km foreign category with a target of 3hours and 30 minutes.”

Nary was a finisher of Paris Marathon. Her participation at RUPM is supported by the United Pharma company in Phnom Penh. “I am excited to see the Filipino running community and to explore the Philippines after the race. I really look forward to this great experience with the United Filipinos!”

20th time Ironman finisher Dan Brown has also followed a regimen in preparation for RUPM. Brown, who is also one of the Unilab Active Health ambassadors, considers physical and mental preparation as key to achieving an excellent race.

“I am preparing by doing a short period of specific run overload. I have been increasing my weekly run distance by around 30% over the past month or so. I have been adding in some longer intervals at or just below goal race pace to simulate what my body will need to do at 3AM on October 6,” says Brown.

“I also start to prepare my mind to suffer a little towards the end. I know things will get tough as the body breaks down so I have to be aware and ready mentally for that,” he adds.

The completed UNITED medal from the 2013 Run United Trilogy series (21-21-21, 21-32-21, 21-32-42) fits together with the RUPM finisher’s medal. According to Unilab Active Health, securing all these medals is a testament of the runners’ commitment to continuously exceed themselves in the field of running.

The 3,000 Enervon Activ 42km runners and finishers will get a VIP treatment—before, during and after the race. First off, they will be among the first to try and taste Active Health's latest offering in its Sports Nutrition Line - the Active Health Sports Gel, which will be launched at Run United Philippine Marathon. On top of Gatorade, ION Energy Drink, water, sponges and bananas will be given out at certain points of the routes.

This year, the red-carpet finish for the 42km finishers will be right inside the Active Health Village, through a short tunnel carved underneath the main stage. The runners’ companions can cheer at the cordoned-off spectators’ waiting area, and at the main stage audience area. All 42km finishers will be given an ice cold glass of Enervon HP Recovery Drink, a grooming station complete with staff will be on standby to make sure that they will look their best in the photo-ops at the finish line.

After all the picture-taking and finish-line moments, runners can start their rest and recovery routines by attending a post-race talk and stretching at the Enervon Activ Marathoners’ Lounge where they will get limited edition RUPM commemorative slippers. The University of Santo Tomas College of Rehabilitation Sciences will provide physical therapy and stretching services inside the Active Health Village.

All categories except for 42km will have start and finish line at the SM Mall of Asia; the 42km category will start at Bonifacio Global City and finish at SM Mall of Asia. Gun starts are as follows: 500m dash at 7:00AM; 10K at 5:30AM; 21K at 4:00AM; and 42K at 3:00AM

According to RunRio’s Rio Dela Cruz, “We have been offering the 42K category for only two years and we are happy that we have established a good reputation. RUPM has its own following now. It has become the last big run race for most runners for the year. We are looking forward to celebrating yet another successful running year with our loyal participants.”

RunRio will hold a special awards’ night for participants who registered and finished the 21km category in Run United 1, 32km category in Run United 2 as well as the 42km category in RUPM. Awards will be given to the top three overall winners (women and men) in all distance categories.

Besides gifts and certificates from Unilab and other sponsors, the top three male and female RUPM winners will also receive cash prizes: for 10km winners, (P4,000/P5,000/P6,000) and for 21km winners (P6,500/P7,500/8,500). There will be two categories for the 42km categories, Filipinos and Non-Filipinos. The top three winners in each category will get P25,000/P18,000/P12,000 respectively.

RUPM participants and their companions can avail of activities, games, free product samples in various sponsors’ booths at the Unilab Active Health Village. Alaxan FR PBA Legends will also be around for photo-ops. Entertainment will be provided by True Faith and Evedancel of Sugarfree.

Two more events are up ahead in ULAH’s active calendar—Tri United 3 and the Enervon Activ 226 Bohol Triathlon. Registration for both is still ongoing.

Tri United 3 Elite and Age Group Championship in Subic will feature standard distance (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run) for elite and age-groupers triathletes. It will also accommodate teen triathletes with age categories 15-16 and 17-19 years old.

Enervon Activ 226 Bohol Triathlon, sponsored by Enervon Activ, organized by Bikeking, is slated for December 7, 2013. The 3.8km Swim - 180km Bike - 42km Run triathlon will be held in Anda, Bohol.

For more race information and results, interested parties may visit ULAH’s official website at unilabactivehealth.com as well as it Facebook and Twitter accounts.

For the Ceelin Kids of Run United 2!

Register your kids at Run United 2's 500m dash category! Kids get to enjoy at the Active Health Playground after the race.

For more details on RU2, please go to this link: http://deemenrunner.blogspot.com/2013/04/afroman-distance-at-run-united-2-2013.html

One Month to Go: Run United 2 Preparations

 

The highly-anticipated leg 2 of the Runrio Trilogy is fast approaching! One month to go until another 32km run (I was one of the early bird registrants!). I've been used to running half-marathons but the Afroman 32km distance is still sort of an unpredictable category for me, performance-wise. A great deal of training is needed to get a decent time, and I plan to beat my 2012 32k record (3:25:41) this year, and run with as little walk breaks as possible.

So what do I do to prepare for big races such as this? Three things:

1. Train regularly

2. Run and test gear I plan to wear on race day

3. Eat smart and take my daily supplements

ON TRAINING:

I keep it a point that I join races regularly, as much as possible joining 21k if the category is available. This way, I maintain a good weekly mileage. April was a great month for me, with two of my latest 21k races clocking in a sub-2. Of course I do my maintenance runs on weekdays, either doing short distances on the gym treadmill or doing hill training at McKinley after work.

From RU1 to RU2: Races Galore!

ON GEAR:

The advice that most experienced runners give to newbies: Never run long-distance on new, untested gear. This is very true. I make it a point that when I have something new, I give it a short-distance test run and see how it affects my performance.

Run United 2 has provided a singlet of high-quality. You have to touch and feel the fabric to believe it. I've also been lucky enough to be given a hydration belt, thanks to the generous people of Unilab Active Health. This matches the RU2 singlet well. The hydration belt is aligned with ULAH and Runrio's GREEN race advocacy. For my past few races, I've brought my hydration bottle with me to avoid wasting cups. I've also tried wearing a race belt when I ran the Tokyo Marathon so wearing a hydration belt would just need a minor adjustment for me.

RU2 Planned Gear and the Purple Bib

Dress Rehearsal? Haha! All-geared up for a test run.

By the way, for registered and soon-to-register runners of RU2, you can have your hands on the hydration belt at a very affordable price! Unilab, Unilab Active Health and Enervon Activ is currently holding a hydration belt promo from April 22 to May 26 (or until supplies last), so you just have to go to your nearest RU2 registration center (Riovana BGC, Riovana Katipunan, Toby's Mall of Asia or Toby's The Block SM North) and follow these two easy steps:

1. Present your RU2 2013 race bib (NOTE: one hydration belt per bib only)
2. Purchase 10 pieces of Enervon Activ for 120 pesos and get the hydration belt for a price of 200 pesos.

That's a great deal! Hydration belts are usually priced at 1000 pesos and above so this is quite a bargain. (I posted the promo poster and official promo mechanics at this link.)

ULAH Hydration Belt (Two 180mL bottles included)

ON NUTRITION:

I'm sure a lot of you have already read a number of articles on runners' diet. I'm not that strict on my diet but I try to incorporate as much healthy stuff as possible on my meals - red rice, whole wheat bread and pasta, fruits like banana, apple and pineapple, nuts like almonds and cashews, protein in fish and white chicken meat. There are some cheat days of course, but I don't feel that guilty because I'm going to burn the calories on training anyway.

Another part of my regimen is my intake of vitamins and supplements. During the morning, I take my fiber, take a 500mg of vitamin C and a multi-vitamin capsule. At night before I sleep, I take another 500mg of vitamin C and another capsule of vitamin E. I also take whey protein at days I lift heavy at the gym.

I've tried a number of multi-vitamins but during this month's training for RU2, I'll be taking Enervon Activ. I did some research on the MIMS website, got the data for two of the brands I've tried before (Rogin-E and Pharmaton) and compared them with what Enervon Activ has to offer. Information for Enervon Activ is not yet uploaded in the MIMS website, so I pulled the information for the brand from the official Enervon Activ website.

Comparison Table: Rogin-E, Pharmaton, Enervon Activ

I'm sold to using Enervon Activ because of the following points:
- Ginseng (for energy reserves and increased alertness) and royal jelly (to decrease fatigue) content are higher in Enervon Activ
- Vitamin B1, B2 and B6 content are significantly higher - vitamin B-complex is an essential vitamin for conversion of food to energy
- Antioxidants like vitamin A, C, E and zinc are in comparable amounts with the other two brands - these help repair the immune system's cells
- The PRICE. Rogin-E is priced at P21.50 per capsule, Pharmaton at P24 per capsule, Enervon Activ is priced at P12 per capsule. Half the price for comparable contents! More than enough reason for me to switch!

I purchased 30 capsules of Enervon Activ which I'll take up daily until race day. I'm sure this will help me in achieving my target time for RU2!

1 month to go before RU2. 1 month supply of Enervon Activ!

Day 1: About to take my Enervon Activ

To know more about Enervon Activ, you may visit their website at http://www.enervonactiv.ph/. They're also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EnervonActiv. Feel free to post on their wall and describe your Enervon Activ experience.


Oh I almost forgot! Today's my birthday! What a long birthday post this turned out to be.

See you guys on RU2!

Enervon Activ RU2 Hydration Belt Promo

MECHANICS:

1. This promo is exclusively for registered 2013 Run United 2 participants.
2. Purchase 10 pieces ENERVON ACTIV at any of the authorized registration centers of RU2 (worth 120php) and get the limited edition Active Health Hydration Belt for only 200php (includes 2 bottles X 180mL).
3.  Race bib number must be presented when availing the promo.
4. Promo can be availed once per bib number only.
5. Promo Duration: April 26 – May 26 or until supplies last.

Per DOH-FDA Permit No. 0831 s. 2013