My alarm went crazy at
12midnight of June 29 – time to get out of bed (but I just closed my eyes a few
minutes ago to sleep). Switched on the television to watch the World Cup Brazil
vs. Chile football match only to be told by Rey to hurry up and eat breakfast
as we (Rey, Alfred and I) were supposed to leave the house at 1:00 am to meet
with our other friends who were also joining the race, Lynchai, Toto, and
Van.
We got to Nuvali about
an hour less than gun start and got ready as soon as we got down from the
car.
A few minutes later and
we were off. Rey and I were
running together. Game plan that
day was to stick with her no matter what happens as she is the experienced and
champion runner.
(Rey: Experienced, yes. Champion? Hmm..???)
1st aid station to 3rd water station- Easy pace, meet and greet
Less than an hour after the start
of the race, we’ve reached water station 1. We were both good except for dysmenorrhoea on my part. We’ve refilled our water bottles and
Rey grabbed some Fitbar and then we were off again. At this time she was telling me that we needed to increase
our pace. I was telling her that
she could do that but I would not as I was trying to conserve whatever energy I
had to sustain me until the end.
(Rey: She’s more matured
than me in managing pace, among other things)
We’ve decided to
maintain our run / walk pace while munching some of the food that we have in
our day packs.It was near sunrise
when we got to water station 2.
This time we stayed a bit longer as Rey had to greet all her friends and
fans after we refilled our water bottles.
(Rey: I have no fans,
just friends! Haha! :D)
We left the second aid
station around sunrise and to my delight the hills were not at all painful to
my feet and to my knees. This was the part where we managed to over-take some of
the runners. It was at this part
of the course, where we got to see the sunrise (finally!!! No need for me to
put up a brave front that I was not afraid of the dark). We managed to run /
jog and walk a few parts till the next aid station.
As soon as we got to the
third station, we refilled our water and grabbed some fruits. As usual, when you are with a champion
runner like Rey, you would have to stop as a lot of her friends and fans were
happy to see her back.
(Rey: Champion?! Who were
you with? ;) Since I could not keep up to your pang- beauty queen stance, I
settle for being the Ms. Congeniality!)
To the turn-around and back to the 2nd water station- The hills were alive!
(Rey: Substitute title should be: The runner turns around most of the
time since the hills were alive but the pacer was dead!)
We left the third water
station while Rey was munching on apples and watermelons while I had one block
of energy chews as we tackled the paved road ahead of us. After a few minutes, we were back to
the grassy area and Rey, the tormentor was back giving me an order to run
again.
After forty five minutes
or so we got to the turn-around / fourth water station where we refilled our
water bottles (Rey: again!!!), grabbed some more fruits to munch, I started to
start the long way back while Rey was busy talking to her friends and fans.
(Rey: AGAIN?!?!)
On our way back, we did
a jog / walk—Rey jogged while I walked until we got past the cemented
road. On the way back to the next
station, we decided to run all the downhill areas and walk the uphill areas.
And then we got separated..
When we got back to the
second station, Rey and I ate half of a banana and decided that we would go
slower as her heart was pumping really hard (a symptom of her condition) while
my right knee was beginning to hurt like hell again. We decided that I would
walk and only jog when I could bear the pain while Rey would jog slowly.
At first, I would stop
after a couple of steps to wait for Rey then she told me to just go ahead as
she will catch up with me.
For the first time, I didn’t want to argue with my tormentor, I
obediently followed her instructions and would look back every couple of meters
to see if she was at my back.
Our plan was working for
a few meters or so until I could no longer see her. I was trying to wait for her in some of the shaded areas but
was also scared to be alone in the trail.
I decided to just continue and wait for her at the last water station.
(Rey: The pacer was left
behind because she could not keep up with her runner anymore. Confession,
Tricia’s walk pace requires me to jog.)
On the way to the last
water station, I noticed my fingers were swollen and the hair tie I had on my
right wrist was getting really tight so I decided to start drinking Gatorade
instead of water.
Finally, I reached the
last water station. I refilled my bottles of water and Gatorade and had two
pieces of watermelon while waiting for Rey. After a couple of minutes with no sign of Rey, I decided to
start walking.
Last 6km.. Alone along the trails
I called Rey while
walking but she wasn’t picking her phone.
I felt really worried of what could have happened to her. I was already thinking that it was
really a bad idea for me not to wait for her especially with her
condition. A few minutes after, I
got a text message from Rey to call her phone again.
(Rey: Since I ran out of
load, I had to request one marshall to lend me his phone and send a text
message. #desperatemove)
(Rey: I sounded mad
since the last thing I’d like to happen was for me to slow her down as she was
still very strong and able to finish the race faster. Although I was worried
she’d be left along the trails by herself, I was also confident, she’d be with
other runners and could protect herself well. My palpitation continued. I was
still trying to run or atleast jog but my heart could no longer push harder, I
should give in but not give up.)
Being the stubborn
person that I am, I would stop every few meters for a few minutes to see if Rey
would appear as I really thought that we were supposed to finish the race
together just like what we planned.
I even managed to answer phone calls and text messages from my family
and friends while walking / waiting for Rey.
(Rey: You could have
done faster!)
To the finish line of my first ultra.
I continued my walk/wait
for Rey until I found myself on the road near the starting line. A few steps and I saw our friend,
Alfred who was telling me to hurry up and start running fast to the finish
line. After 7 hours and 41
minutes, I finally crossed the finished line and was able to do my first ultra
marathon and first trail race. Not
to mention, this was my first run race after my first marathon where I tore my
meniscus mid-race.
As soon as I crossed the
finish line, I went to look for Alfred, Toto, and Van. I was trying to call Rey but to no
avail she could not be reached until a runner came to tell us that Rey was
about 2km away from the finish line and is walking with a 30km runner whom she
saw suffering from cramps.
(Rey: CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Super proud of you! :D Welcome to the crazy and fun world of ultra marathon! You
rocked!)
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