Sunday, July 31, 2011

Men’s Health & Shape Night Run 2011 Race Report

This was my second night race so far. From the previous experience, this round I only took heavy lunch and took some light snack at the dinner time. The venue is the same place as NB Pacesetters 15km, with a slightly difference route to 12.3km. It’s a generally flat race with some mild climb. I decided to try out my VFF KomodoSport in this race. Most of the time I trained in VFF only the 7~8km tempo run so far. So the 12.3km will put the leg in VFF to full test, especially I planned to pia for the 200 limited medal.

Reached the venue before 7pm. Hanged around the venue and checked out some booths. Bounced into Nick near the starting line, sorry brother didn’t chat too much with you as I actually preferred a quiet time before start. It was a very packed event with many people took part. I think we will sure have a very jammed start, will need to be at the starting line earlier to get the front starting position. As my plan was only the limited medal, I only get myself about 15% from the front pack. The race started on time. All runners included myself push out from the starting line with fast pace. But very soon I realized that I am going too fast and start to regulate a bit, but really, it’s only a bit. I am pushing all the way from starting line to the finish line around 5:30~6:00 minutes pace. I completed the 12.3km at 1:10’13”, with average pace of 5:40 minutes. Btw, obviously I am not pushed enough, I finished around 205~210th place (update 2/8: official placing 223, go have a look into the result, close to 100 person crossed the line between 1:05~1:08, that why I missed my medal) and missed the 200 pieces the limited medal by 1~2 minutes.

Overall, the race is a well organized and the weather last night is very nice. The only thing I will complaint about is the after event traffic. The crews didn’t take away the traffic cons on the bridge towards the Precinct 8 when the event is over.

About the running in VFF, I felt it is similar to running in normal shoe. It’s lighter and gave some advantage on the fast churning of your legs. You will need to work on your gait to ensure the legs don’t hurt in the non-cushioning VFF. I guess the speed I did in this race will be the best for time being, from now on, I will need to change my training plan from speed to distance. More training will be in BA-Hartamas plus double hills in VFF. The next challenge coming will be 2 full marathons in September and October.

Happy running around.

2 comments:

  1. That's a pretty fine race you had planned :D I think your pace was damned good man. Keep it up and all the best in your marathons. I'm still not ready for it yet but am starting my marathon training next week and will target a race either at the years end or early next year to break into full marathon running.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nick, thanks!
    No worry on the Marathon, as running should be our life long activity, just take your time :)

    Now, we can all have a good rest during the fasting month.

    ReplyDelete