10.19.08 Botak Paa-Bilisan Road Race Series: taking pictures during recovery

Lito Saberola seems floating in Cloud9 few meters before reaching the finish line.

IceOne in his final push, then after crossing the finish line...

BroJ in his best running form. Not bad for a 1:06 10K.

Adidas KOTR: Endurance to finish

not even an aching knee can stop me to finish this race!

"impossible is nothing..."

Adidas KOTR 10.11.2008: Determination keeps me going

I have been thinking of not joining this much-anticipated race even if I registered early because of my knee injury, but my inner self is thinking otherwise. Prior to the said race I was injured due to my speed workout in MKH two weeks ago. Sh_t happens! Especially for us runners who wanted to run too fast and too soon. I applied cryotheraphy and never run again hoping that my injury will be gone. It worked! as I thought.

The Adidas KOTR 2008 was one huge race. Thousands of runners joined the 5K, 10K and 21K events. IceOne and I arrived at the event just on time and we separated immediately as he was registered for the 5K while I am bound for the 10K. As I entered the long queue of the check-in area, I saw my officemate and running buddy Bro J. We positioned ourselves in the middle part of the assembly area and after a few minutes the starting gun fired. I started with a very slow pace, I paid attention to my right knee. I told Bro J to just go on his pace and will just meet him at the finish line. I felt good in the early kilometers so I increased my pace gradually. It was a smooth ride until hitting the 7.5K. My injured knee started to ache and I was already in the brink of quitting. I slowed down until I reached the top of Buendia flyover. I was tempted to walk but I was thankful that I borrowed my son’s iPod. It helped a lot and it kept me going. I have also been praying to just let me finish this race and I promised to take a break until the end of this month, have myself checked by an orthopedic specialist so I can resume on November. I am satisfied with my unofficial time of 1:12:28. God gave me the chance to finish the race. I know even if I felt bad, I have to fulfill what I promised. I will not register for the two upcoming race events to be able to recover.

I learned a lot from this experience. Determination, trust and will power are the key to finish what you have started. Injury is not a hindrance for you to be able to finish the race.

See you on the road!

with IceOne