Spooked, The Citigym Halloween Half Marathon

Organizers are getting creative these days. The day of the dead is not even spared. Well, you've got a Halloween party all around so why not have a run? That's exactly what Citigym did. Aside from the usual costumes contest that is incorporated on the run, they get us to run around the Cempark. Yes, its the Cebu Memorial Park. Unless your too scared of the thought of the dead waking up and dancing Michael Jackson's thriller version, its a great place to run on daytime you guess. Quiet and flat, you'll can find runners here of all ages. That is you are happy running like a hamster going in circles and you don't mind running on hard cemented surfaces. The race was well organized and the Powerade drinks were a plenty, medals for 21k finishers but lacks the marshals for a safe race. Four stars for me on this race.

This was supposed to be my simulation race for Singapore marathon in December 5, meaning I was supposed to run my marathon pace of 6:30 minutes per kilometer all throughout. That pace plus some allowances for fatigue would give me around a marathon finishing time of 4:40, a decent time for a recreational runner. I was also supposed to test my ability to hold on to a slow pace and hold that pace until the 16k mark and push it a little more using my leg power. I guess I overdid everything. I did hold on to the marathon pace for about 12k but decided to push a little bit more. That little bit more was a fast one. It seems like I was spooked!

With TTB Runner Friends, most with PR times on this race.

I powered the rest of the 9k with a blistering pace of 5:15 and boy it felt good! We passed so many runners who were ahead of us that I was actually looking ahead for the next guy to pass. My staff was also there all the way, running toe to toe with me. They are almost ready for CCM. So fast was my pace for the last 9k that I almost broke my half marathon PR, just a minute more! No injuries, no cramps, no soreness. Not bad. Another hat trick? No I don't think so. Its still the training and its paying well. The next two weeks would be a play safe zone. No more racing, just building stamina and mileage. Oh I wish its taper time already!