Condura Skyway - Dark Marathon Race

 

I registered only my father for the Condura Skyway Marathon last Feb5, for the fear that I wouldn’t be fully recovered after the Cebu Marathon last January8th. It would be less than a month, and I fear there may still be some microscopic tears inside my leg muscles that would prevent me from performing to my best possible time. Also, I remember last year the route was already notoriously hilly, and it wasn’t yet extended from Sucat to Alabang. Now they’ve fully extended it and the challenge is now therefore extended!  The Condura Skyway Route starts in Alabang, goes up the skyway, running way up North to Makati in Buendia, U-turn back south, then right turn to NAIA exit, U-turn back up the NAIA exit, then run up and do the RIGHT turn at the very high NAIA exit up southbound. Reaching Nichols, runners would do a U-turn back to Buendia again, and when they do reach Buendia, U-turn back – all the way back to Alabang. OK the route description feels like running the marathon already. The Marathon would start at midnight - 12AM, so that means if you're the average marathoner or faster, you will be running the full marathon in the Dark.

42.195Km Skyway Route

Unfortunately, my father got a gum infection that produced mild fever that despite his disciplined marathon training, he felt ill one week before the race and gave me a hint that I should run the marathon for him instead.  He was training and aiming for a Sub5hour marathon, a challenging time for a 62year old man. He’s OK and well now, thank you for all your get-well-soon wishes. He gave me a fatherly humble advice to simply take the race easy and not to chase for a new PR, since I was still recovering.  He recommended I aim for 4hours instead.
Getting the message from my dad, I got nervous and at the same time excited!  I wasn’t scared of the marathon anymore. I experienced the wall, the cramps, I felt I could take any punishment the 42.195kms (26.22miles) would give me. Unfortunately, my mileage was at all time low due to the recovery demanded by the Cebu Marathon where I had set my 3:29 PR.


 
I haven’t really peaked; I just did mostly easy jogging at very low mileage prior to Feb5th.  Therefore, I believed I will not be able to do even 3:30, as the Cebu Marathon was already relatively flat as compared with the skyway route.  However, the thought of running up the skyway again and running the marathon and… that badass 4inch medal got me excited so I prepared 1week before the race.  I was able to run to almost 40miles a 2weeks before the race, and I was even able to do a sub44 (43:57) 10K tempo run in training – which turns out to be an involuntary NEW 10K PR for me, and I was just targeting a sub-Bearwin 10K. So this performance boosted my confidence of my current fitness level.

PREPARATION
Like in the Cebu Marathon, I ate as much carbohydrates as I could during the final 3days before the race. That Saturday morning, I avoided coffee so I could sleep in the afternoon, and ate delicious Italian spaghetti 12hours before the race.

 I then slept at 1PM till 6PM, then prepared and arrived at the race at 10PM. About an hour before the race, at 11PM, I got hungry again, and I couldn’t find any energy bar in the race. Fortunately (or unfortunately later), there was a Tapa King tent in the Condura Village, and I ordered 1cup of fried rice – they didn’t have any plain rice.  I also bought 6gels of HIGH5’s, a more liquid type of gel that doesn’t have the throat-burning feeling aftertaste.

STARTING LINE
When I arrived at the Condura Village at 10PM (Gun start is 12:00AM Sunday!), I realized I was feeling so strong, never felt better before the race! No sore muscles, I was full of energy, and was breathing better, unlike in Cebu where I had bad dry cough and had some sore quad muscles on my right thigh. At that point, I felt very strong, the Dark Side of the Force was tempting me to do a sub3:20 marathon, that I have nothing to lose, that I must use all my strength to do it. On the other hand, the Light Side of the Force was more careful, reminding me what my father had told me earlier, to target a slower 4hour marathon instead, and simply enjoy the race.

Jedi Joggers showing off their Light Sabers

I then met my teammates Joms, Jixee, Kampuger, Joey, AJ, and Wilnar before the race. Joey registered as Wave A, but the rest of us were WaveC.  I thought I was clever enough and so I used the Force and persuaded the guards to let me in the WaveA. With me were the Kenyans registered as WaveC also, but like me, used the Force to persuade the security guards.  Joey got the idea and he called AJ and persuaded the guards. Wilnar the SuperJogger, decided to stick with his moral principles and stay in Wave C. At that point, I still haven't decided what time to target. Do a 3:30 marathon, or a 4hour marathon? Joey whispered to me and said, "I think you can do a sub3:20". I said to myself to use the Force and do the best I can do.


12AM Gunstart! Off we go!!!
When the gun started at exactly 12AM, I started running by feel - what I felt like in all my past 4marathons. 3:30 marathon, I said to myself... I felt grrreat! Then suddenly I found myself still running alongside AJ, who was targeting 3:20 marathon, then I checked the pace, we were both running ~7:20/km pace, and it felt slow! We went up the first Skyway Ramp, and it felt so easy.

Up the Alabang Ramp Skyway

My breathing was light and smooth, like I was just on an easy jogging, yet the pace on my Garmin was showing fast running I never have sustained in a marathon race. The dark force was strong in me. Alabang to Nichols was very fast, we barely felt the Sucat and Bicutan Hills. AJ and I exchanged leading duties to break the wind. When we reached EDSA and Makati, our average pace was at 7'34"/mile. Very fast for me, and it looks like we'll easily break 3:20.

Condura Monster Attack!
Then we reached the NAIA exit, going to the right, I was preparing myself mentally for the monster Condura Hill later. At the turnaround point, AJ and I ate bananas and proceeded forward. Then we met the Condura Hill Monster. I felt the dark side of the force was strong in me, so I told AJ we can beat this thing. AJ and I worked together to kill the monster. It was 100meters tall, very lean and fit, with veins and calf muscles bulging from its skin. It gave me bolts of lightning that I was able to deflect with my lightsaber. Unfortunately the monster scratched AJ's calf so I saw him begin to slow down. AJ cut the monster's feet and when he fell down, I stabbed the Monster at the back and killed him - it was easier than I thought, and I began to run even faster forward.

Team Power Puff Jedis attacking the Condura Hill Monster

AJ began to slow down, still using the Light Side of the Force. The Sith whispered to me, "You see Natz Skywalker, the Light Side of the Force is Weak!" When I killed the monster, I was able to absorb its Force and I got darker.

Natz Skywalker enjoying the Dark Side of the Force

I got power boost from the monster I killed. I got the lightning bolt! I used it a lot and got speed boost whenever I used it.

When Super Jogger Wilnar approached me, I tried to run with him. We eventually reached EDSA again and we were flying against the strong winds. Wilnar was able to block the wind for me. I used lightning bolt to match Wilna'rs speed of 6'30"/mile or 4'00"/km. Unfortunately this was too much for my Force and my Lightning bolt eventually got battery-empty. My skin turned pale and dead and my calves cramped.

Dark Side of The Force is not strong enough to match Super Wilnar

I felt the Dark side of the force betrayed me. I cramped at mile 16 and slowed down to 8minutes to 9minutes/mile. After 32Kms, I found myself mostly Walking on the Skyway. 10kms to go, I could see the Vivere Hotel very far away while I was still in Bicutan. My heart was broken. Good bye 3:20... Goodbye 3:30.... Good bye 3:40... I no longer cared if I could finish. I wished to DNF, and save my muscles from injury, rest, and maybe race better next time. Unfortunately there were no accessible public vehicles around to commute back to Alabang, and riding the Ambulance would be humiliating.

Ugly Dark Side of the Force - Walking pace with Cramps

My lean Quadrices which I was proud to look at, betrayed me and cramped forcefully that I had to stop a lot and and stretch them. I would try to walk faster but I was really exhausted. Trying to jog back would speed me up temporarily, till I would get cramps again.

3h55mins marathon finish

Near the finish line, I realized nobody really betrayed me but myself. Had I listened to my dad Yoda, and used the Light side of the Force, I may have repeated a sub3:30 marathon. But it was too late. I finished in 3:55, disappointing time for me right now, but I would have been proud of this time 2years ago.

Garmin data:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/147209892







Post Race
After the race I was able to enjoy chatting again with my teammates, a lot had new impressive Personal Records, like Super Wilnar's 3:04, Jogger Joey's 3:19, and Kampuger's 3:53 new sub4hour record. Then our teammate Chris Iblan placed 3rd in the 16km race with an impressive 1:01'01" finish!

JoggerNatz, RunningShield, EliteJogger, and Joms

I'm also happy to 2 of my officemates to finish their first Marathons. Myk struggled with cramps and finished 6h10mins, while Ricky finished in his easy 5h30mins.

JoggerNatz, Myk, and Ricky

I need potassium for my Cramps.

With Craig, Justin, and Michelle Logans

Conclusion:
In the end, the race has been a good learning experience for me. I must have felt stronger and faster, I may have had higher VO2max, and well rested legs. However, lacking in proper mileage after the Cebu Marathon meant I will suffer in the Condura race like I did. I had nothing to lose since I already set a new PR in Cebu, so I risked blowing-up midrace by running fast, and I did blow-up as expected.

In real life, like in the marathon race, we would rather take chances than regretting "what ifs". If we make mistakes, we must learn to live with the consequences. Taking a DNF in the race because you're suffering is like committing suicide because your life sucks. If you feel you've committed a lot of mistakes in your life, you need to accept the consequences and live with with it. Like there's always a chance for the next marathon race, it's never too late to change your life for the better.