Yesterday, I went to the Mall of Asia and filled up the registration form for the Philippine International Marathon (Run for Pasig River). For a while, I was debating within myself whether I should register for the full marathon or just run the 10 km race. This was after I read about the 5 hour cut-off time for the marathon. My training had been hampered by a calf strain and I was able to resume doing long slow distance run last week (3 hrs 20 min). I know that I can run the full distance next month but I am not sure if I can do it in less than 5 hours. Besides, I haven't reached my target weight which could allow me to run a 4 hour marathon. After much thinking, I decided to register for a full marathon and told myself that I will just run to finish it even if I don't make the cut-off time. I will just carry a hydration pack in case the water stations are gone. I won't mind if the finish line is closed and the race officials have gone home by the time I reach Quirino grandstand - what is important is finishing the race no matter how long it takes. It's been 14 years since I ran the marathon and finishing it is already an achievement.
Early this morning, I did a long run along the Diosdado Macapagal avenue, around the Mall of Asia, up to Luneta and back to Baclaran via Roxas boulevard. I finished at around 10 o'clock after running for 3 hrs 50 min. I felt sluggish, which confirmed my suspicion that it will take me more than 5 hours to run the marathon. And to think that in the 1980s, I could run this in 3 hrs 33 minutes. Is old age catching up with me? We'll see. I intend to run more marathons after this and I still hope that someday, I will break my personal record and run a sub-3:30 marathon. I also dream of run/walking from Davao to Iligan sometime soon.
Three more weeks to go and I am already excited. I will finally make my marathon come back. After that I intend to run at least one marathon a year until I reach my 85th birthday - then I will join the wheel-chair division.
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