milo42 down,208 to go:the raid on rudy b’s party

to be honest with you,after my milo elims debacle where i finished almost walking to a crappy time of 4:28, i immediately scoured the race calendar for full marathons not wanting to join the milo finals as a bandit again.i got myself  loads of them-4 fulls………………….i made my plans and embarked on a 16-week program.and to the best of my efforts, i did what was on the menu,rain or shine.i was bent on going sub-4 for subic.but my passion for running got the better of me.the idea of running all 4 marathons of october and november tickled me no end.and as if it was not enough,adidas and timex 21’s came to fore.so what to do?run them all of course.thus enduruns 4.5.5 was born out of passion.team hardcore was set for a full sked.then came ondoy and that changed our plans altogether.enduruns became tko 250 which already included the laguna de bay 200k marathon relay………………and so as the training weeks wore on and as i pushed myself towards a sub-4 goal and prepared to bandit rudy b’s party once again, i got a text message from my friend,vener roldan(run unlimited) who graciously offered his finals slot.without hesitation ,i said yes.only to realized later that i should and must make myself worthy of his trust or i shall forever tarnish his sub 4 records with milo.well, that was the extra challenge now.i gladly swapped my 21k bib with him and got a big bonus wth a vanity 42k bib with the number 222.but my 21k bib wasn’t a pushover.it was 2333……………….race day finally came and team hc gathered sa dating tagpuan.the goal first and foremost was to fulfill our end of the bargain we did with our generous donors of tko 250.after some photo-ops,i found my way to the starting line confidently feeling and acting as a legit qualifier.seeing how fit those legit qualifiers were,i was left wondering whether i would have an escort tailing me with the sign “TAILEND OF THE RACE”.but there was no more time to retreat because i

had a commitment to our benefactors…………………gunstart and i was off.i carried on with my plan for 12 minutes for the 1st 2 kilometers .as soon as i saw the marker,i sped up a little and by feel, i knew i was pacing well.slowing while going up and speeding when going down the 2 flyovers along roxas,i soon reached the u turn near the naia road and then it was the japanese embassy.wow, i had my watch timing me at 56 minutes.it was working,my plan…………………..turning right towards buendia, i saw the t2 support team of mesh cheering runners.farther down buendia near corner chino roces(pasong tamo), there was the takbo.ph/reinier pacific international aid station.capt amado castro jr and the takbo.ph people was throwing a street party that i could hear their joyous cheers from as far as 300 meters away.it surely buoyed my spirits the more.i saw capt castro,que,i2runner and sam among the many happy and familiar  faces generously extending fruits,petroleum jelly and spray pain killers to all those in need.grabbing an apple, i ran on towards the whole of buendia…………………….it was the kalayaan flyover before i knew it.having done the hills of essensa,mckinley and bayani religiously during training,i breezed through this area slowly but surely.i was ahead of my pace.during the elims,i was here after running 1:43.this time, i was here 1:30……………………i soon met the front runners near the essensa area and the t2 support team again.as i reached lawton corner bayani,i saw my pacer,jerry k and told him to just pace me on my way back.i was surprised to see the u turn extending beyond the southern police district.i did not matter though.i was feeling good……………………then it was bayani to c5 and back at lawton.jerry k joined me for the last 15k-barefoot!yes,barefoot.i was incredulous to say the least but i wouldn’t know how to react.what has come upon the head of jerry i thought.i found it better to keep all my other thoughts to myself not wanting to spend more energy asking why.sure enough,jerry got the stares and not speaking tagalog fluently,i was left to answer all the questions and telling stares of the onlookers.jerry,for the next 15k, dutifully announced my pace………………….upon reaching s&r, my time was 2:50 or so.i thought that i really had a chance at sub-4 even if i had to do a 6 pace the rest of the way.but i would not let overconfidence get the better of me.i alternately did 5:10-5:40 and slowed down up kalayaan one last time.the moment i was back at buendia,the coast was clearing well enough……………………and how could i forget those 2 caucasians cheering their lungs out that even one of them joined us for a short run towards the ayala intersection.they made me laugh and if only for a while,i forgot i was in the tailend of a marathon where the wall is supposed to appear.talk about unbridled,unadulterated and pure enthusiasm,these 2 dudes had it.either they were coming home late from a saturday night party or were up early and diehard marathon cheerers.whatever it was, thank you guys and i would be glad to have your company on the road again…………………..ah, the takbo.ph and reinier pacific international booth.they were whipping up such a storm that i would say buoyed me up some more.i wanted to stay but had a run to complete.i was running for more than 3 hours and these people were full of energy for longer than i know.the least i could do was to show the same enthusiasm and thank them.man,that was a party place. i am praying that your station become a regular fixture in big races like milo’s.thank you people.cheers!…………………….crossing south superhighway was ominous.i felt my legs getting stiff and started to feel tired.the sun was up and it was already  8am.it was getting hot.buendia extension past taft avenue proved worst as the buses and other vehicles made the air hotter and more difficult to breath in…………………………a realization came and this was the most difficult for me-when you know how hard you push yourself in training and how close you are to your goal and yet find achieving it more difficult than you thought, that sucks big time.for some time, i was on the verge of failure again.i was having a hard time lifting my legs.cramps were starting to manifest in my left leg past the ccp area.but i vowed and moved on and just kept thanking the marshals and encouraging the runners i was running with……..,,,,,,,,,,,……..i made mental calculations as was in the past 3 hours.i had a chance.almost by the skin of my teeth basing on my current pace( i had slowed down to 6 minutes by the time i reached the navy hq).with one last ounce of willpower,i bravely made it back to 5:30 all the way past the u.s. embassy.seeing my time on my watch at 3:45, i took one last stop by the gatorade station at tm kalaw.i was on my way with time to spare………………….and so with my dutiful pacer (thank you jerry BUT next time , PLEASE wear shoes.i felt more tired answering questions about you than running itself) and the timer in view, i made my way to the finish line.words are not enough but i was just so glad that on my 5th try,i finally broke 4 hours.i clicked on my watch to stop.it clocked me at 3:53:16, a  good 35-minute improvement from my milo elims time earlier. a finisher albeit a pseudo-finalist.not bad considering my goal was 3:59 based on a 9-minute per mile program.i had loose change(time) to spare inspite of all my walk breaks……………………i saw my savior,vener and his wife,christy, beyond the finish line.i made myself worthy of his trust.for this, you have my eternal gratitude my friend.i promise to qualify legitimately next year.but for now,let me savor my time.sa iyo ang bib,akin ang oras.thank you.

team tko 250 all set and ready to do milo 42

last 500 meters.cramps were starting to set in my left leg.

my savior,vener roldan(run unltd).i had to make myself worthy of his trust.

my friend,jerry karundeng(high altitude) who patiently paced me for the last 14 kilometers on his BARE feet.yeah, he got many stares and remarks along the way.this dude is possessed!

with peter, nestle phils cfo

sir jovie (bald runner)

ultramarathoner ralph salvador

the proof is in the watch.

arman fernando(pinoy mafiosi)

team hc's best mari javier and jet paiso of takbo.ph

george dolores.you can alwasy count on george for stories to last even 102 kilometers

my good neighbor, mesh villanueva

finishline top honchos, rio and vince plus jerry.their timex 21 is part of the team's tko 250 charity run

seasoned ultramarathoner.botak’s big boss cesar guarin

rio's ate merlene

ultramarathoner jeff abenina of the camanava runners

cassie yang nailed her 1st 42. her planned 35k extended to a full.

ultramarathoner ric cabusao

ultramarathoners jay cu-unjieng and isko lapira

ultramarathoner enrico tocol

team hardcore's muse and ultramarathoner odessa corral

ultramarathoner cesar abarrientos

1st time 42k finisher, jamir samson

asics gel foundation 8.my weapon of choice.good for 42k's and lsds.this pair will see action come bdm 102

zorro UNMASKED!

legit qualifiers,tigerboy(junrox) and el kyoshi(alfred)

my moment of personal triumph

write one down for the team tko 250

let me share a few things for those who plan their 1st full soon.i read tigerboy’s post about mr lafferty’s 10 marathon tips.i employed the walk and run tactic.i stopped in ALL aid stations whether i felt thirsty or not and walked for 10-20 seconds.true to what mr lafferty said,this move saved me towards the end.and training-wise,hit the hills frequently nd you will breeze throught them come race day.do your intervals,tempos and cruises religiously.come race day,while it may not be exactly peanuts, things will be manageable.do not try this but for the past 13 weeks,the longest run i did was 30 kilometers.i concentrated on speed with a target time of at least 4 hours.all the sunday races i did were done at tempo speed(5 minutes or better based on my target finish time).come milo,i felt comfortable doing 5:10-5:40.and take time to rest.

of course,things work differently for others.i am sharing mine as an experience.in the end,do what works best for you.i wish you all the best.

for now,a psychological cover has been lifted off me and i can start pursuing other goals.

next week is another story.i have volunteered as a 4h 30 minute-race pacer.

to those who joined the team for tko’s initial leg, thank you all.feel free to join us the rest of the remaining 208 kilometers.we will be happy to have your company.

see you at the starting line.

p.s. congratulations rudy b.this was a very well-organized race.timing chips c/o vince and rio.and long tables where they are supposed to be and adequately and generously spaced and stocked.and able marshals.finally,no rain on a rudy race at last.and this marathon was measured anywhere from 42.26-42.46 kilometers.better long than short.

the cheaters sucked.and i kicked some bad asses yesterday and it felt good.read bananarunning.wordpress.com for another eyewitness account and more of these loser cheaters.