The second installment of the Great Lapu-Lapu Run was a far cry that it's predecessor held last Aug. 2009. This year, it was held to kick off the "Kadaugan sa Mactan" (Victory in Mactan) celebration to commemorate Datu Lapu-Lapu's victory over Magellan some almost 500 years ago.
In last year's edition, there were only three categories: 20K, 6K and 3K. While this year's edition have four categories: 21K or the half marathon, 10K, 5K and 3K. The 10K and the 21K runners were provided with timing chip (provided by Coach Rio dela Cruz's Finishline) to accurately time their runs and to check if they were running exactly the entire route. Last year's race was held near Hoops Dome in Barangay Gung-ob, which is not a familiar place for outsiders. There were a lot of people who missed the race since they were looking for where the gym was. This year, it was held in Lapu-Lapu Shrine, which is a familiar place to everybody in Cebu. Last year, the runners were drenched because of the rain, while this year, the runners were scorched.
With the improvement, there were still some "glitches" that occur during the race. Number one was water. Water is really essential to all runners to avoid getting dehydrated. I was one of those who finished my 10K under 1 hour and 10 minutes. On my way back, I saw that the last water station before the finish line already ran out of water. There were even some 5k runners who complained for the lack of water. Although there was Gatorade, but it cannot beat the thirst quenching ability of water.
Second shortcoming was the delayed start. The race was suppose to start at 5 in the morning to avoid the summer sun. But the official timer broke down before it started.
Third was the snack distribution. Oh well, this is post race so I don't want to elaborate on this. I enjoyed the free cereal Alaska gave and the free Gatorade, though.
THE EXPERIENCE
My experience in this year's GLLR was a lot better compared to the last one. First and foremost, Manelle is here. Yup, she is her, and she is running. She just come off from injury and that she is adjusting to the humid climate here in the Philippines. For those who don't know Manelle, she is my high school classmate who was based in Taiwan. She was dropped by her dad to our house. She wants someone who is familiar with the running atmosphere here, and ahem, that would be me.
I originally planned to run 21K, but since I was too busy last month and had pangs of tamaditis, I decided to run 10K instead. Manelle who just arrived the previous weekend, signed up the 3K. I expected to meet another high school classmate, Belle, since she told me that she was going to run 5K, after running her first 5K at the Pinay in Action (PIA) Run last April 11.
We arrived at the venue the same time as everyone arrived at the venue. We parked our car almost a kilometer away from the starting/finish line. Once we arrived, Manelle, Pops and I went on our separate ways.
First up the 21K were called to go to the starting line. I wished my Pops will not be haunted by either cramps and plantar fasciitis (his main injury). He did the Galloway method. If you don't know what's a Galloway method, it's actually a method of conquering long distances by alternately running and walking at a certain distance or time. For example, a runner will run 3 kilometers, then walk on 1 kilometer, then run again for another 3 kilometers, and so forth. This method is developed by Jeff Galloway.
He finished the race in 2hours and 18 minutes. Not bad for someone who is back from injury.
As for me, I ran my 10K using "negative splits". This is another method in running wherein a runner will run the first part of the course at a slower pace, and increases his pace at the latter stages. I used to use this method, before I discovered "positive splits". But I went back to do "negative splits" since it's better suited for me.
I was hoping to break my 1 hour and 3 minutes PR (personal record), but I guess I have to wait to break it. 1 hour and 7 minutes is pretty decent since in the PIA run, I finished in 1 hour and 10 minutes. What's so even better with my time was that, I have beaten a lot of male runners in the last 2 km stretch. Call me a sexist, but it's fun to have a better time than a lot of male runners. Hehehehehehehehe.
I am so looking forward to the next edition of the Great Lapu-Lapu Race. Next year, I will be running 21K.
PS: My high school batch had a mini reunion during the GLLR.
Sci-Hi Batch 2000 Mini Reunion at GLLR. From left to right: Manelle, Me, Belle and Giovanni
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