Wednesday, March 18, 2009

running at UP

i was contemplating whether or not i should go. it had been a long and busy day and considering i started my day early (5 freaking AM to be exact), i was having qualms whether or not i was actually pushing my limits... then again, marathons are ALL about pushing one's limits... so i still went, to UP DILIMAN.

it was my first time to run the UP oval. i decided to give it a try since i now work in QC and finish my day late. it's not really a long drive away and i desperately needed to train. though i miss my old route, running by the bay at early morning along roxas blvd., one has to learn to be flexible.

the UP oval was slippery when i ran since it had been raining the entire day. despite this though, there were still a lot of joggers running, proof that dedication superceeds everything! hehehe. dedication however did not prepare me for the unfamiliar terrain i had to contend with. slippery, dark, uneven and hilly, my ankles started complaining earlier than expected. a friend told me that 1 revolution around the oval was about a kilometer, that said, then i barely made 1 kilometer before i had to stop to rest my legs, much to my frustration. i tried running a few rounds more, hoping i could at least make 5K, but even if the spirit was willing, the flesh was, well, the flesh didn't really give a shit anymore! it wanted to stop and pulled the air-brakes on me prematurely. i only did a total of about 3km last night. my cadence was irregular, my foot was slapping rather loudly, which bothers me a lot since midfoot running is supposed to be silent, and i was constantly being nagged by my primadonna of an ankle.

i could have been fatigued already from the long day's work, of just re-adjusting to the new route, either way, i am hoping later would be a better run. i am sure the path will be dryer and that my legs would at least be less prissy now since they already had a foretaste of what is to come. besides... though my legs may be stubborn... my brain is more HARD headed.

wish me luck!

6 comments:

Rainbow Runner said...

i'm missing you already at our roxas blvd route.. :-D

Anonymous said...

it depends whether you run the route clockwise or counterclockwise. I'm not sure which one is easier.

pero diyan ako tatakbo on the 29th! :)

gentle said...

i miss running at the acad oval. last year ko pa ginawa yan. layo ko na kasi sa yupi eh.

Eternal Wanderer... said...

You might also want to try out the grounds in Ateneo. There are parts that go up and down, too.

MkSurf8 said...

i used to run there. kaso nga lang, pag kagat ng dilim maraming milagrong nangyayari. hehe

Dabo said...

haha.. sabi nga ni lukayo, 2.2 kilometers ang UP oval.. hehehe

so in reality nakatakbo ka ng less than 7 km

hehehe