Hi everyone! Last May 21, 2016, I participated in Accenture’s annual fun run and sports fest event entitled, Run and Rock 2016, which was held in McKinley West in Taguig. I was invited to this race by my friends from Accenture who were also really kind enough to sponsor my race kit.
Because I was not fully recovered from the sickness I had recently, my body was still weak on the week of the race. I had no training and I was not able to add any mileage at all and my mom even told me to just rest and skip the run. But being the stubborn, little girl that I am, I still decided to go to the run because first, I love running and second, I did not want to waste the race kit that was given to me.
I was at the race venue around 4:00AM. There, I felt the familiar vibe that fun runs have and I got much more excited. My friends and I all joined the 10-kilometer category and I was so proud of them for really training for their first 10k fun run (as opposed to me who did not even hit the road nor the treadmill huhu)
The 10k had its gun start at around 5:20AM. Because I did not have to worry about beating my PR (I did not even dare because I knew I was not in the condition to do so), I ran with a relatively relaxed pace. What made it difficult were the uphills (there were a lot) and the “bricked” roads. Along this part of the route, I also happened to see a runner/Instagram friend! We exchanged quick hellos and went our separate ways. Neat, right?
I risked not wearing any knee/shin support because I have not ran in a while so I thought my legs should have completely recovered by then or so I thought. My right knee started hurting around 5km and my left knee at around 6km. It was a first for both my knees to hurt simultaneously in a race and that made running extra difficult for me. A race marshal then encouraged me to keep going because according to him, I was currently in “5th place” among the female runners. I tried to run but both my knees made it so hard for me to increase my pace. In the end, I slowed down every now and then. Boo.
But what made it worthwhile was having my friend feel giddy about hitting a new PR. He told me that his 5k was around 45min or so but during the race, as he paced with me, we were able to reach about 7k at 45min. Glad to have helped a fellow runner beat his PR!
As soon as we crossed the finish line, a race marshal got my name and later I found out that I placed 8th in the women’s category. Even though it was still far from a podium finish, I felt really proud of how I did despite both my knees acting up.
I was not expecting loot bags with freebies but after the race, I got one (banana and Gatorade included woo) and they also gave out pandesal with peanut butter! Love it!
Note: I have not seen the official results of the race yet but I will edit this blog post as soon as I get them!
I would like to thank my friends from Accenture: Lory, EJ, Kent and Joem for inviting me to their company event.
Extra thanks to Kent for my race kit.
Congratulations on finishing 10k, you guys!
Really grateful to have finished the race with a relatively decent time. I was not able to beat my PR but running in this race made me remember why I love this lifestyle even though my knees are oftentimes against it. Lol.
Because my friend registered me to a long distance run on July, I need to make sure to take good care of both my knees so I can train properly. I am also looking at joining a short-distance run in June just to condition myself before the run in July.
Run with me! 🙂
Thanks for reading!
Escapades 
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