Ops I Did It Again

So yes, another 21km completed last 23rd. I can’t believe I actually did it again because I remember completing a half marathon for this year is just a bucket list for 2017 and I’ve already ticked it off my list after the Mapawa Trail Run last May. But I am stuck with runner friends who fell in love with marathons and pushing themselves to their limit when it comes to running. What can I do? I started all this, dragged them into joining the Trail Run and now they’re dragging me to continue running! Well, it’s actually good, I am just amazed how far we have come and these guys does not intend to stop anytime soon as the marathons schedules for the team is already plotted.

Photo before the race while waiting for it to start. It was pouring outside since the night before the marathon.

Suweeettt! Finish line with my beautiful finisher’s medal! I definitely earned it 🙂

So anyway, yes I did it again! I finished a half marathon this time in Siargao Island – an amazingly beautiful island surrounded by gorgeous beaches and islands. To me, joining the Siargao International Marathon is a good excuse to visit Siargao again :D. But back to the marathon, it was one of a kind and an unforgettable race. I was aiming to finish it within 2 hrs and 30 mins but I was 10 minutes short after the race. Well, it was challenging because the route was very technical (as what our ironman competitor friends call it). Perhaps 75% of the route were composed of uphill and downhill. And then it was raining half of the race. We were soaked in the rain while running forcing us to run on wet shoes and socks adding to the thrill and challenge of the race. And then personally, this throbbing left ankle limited my running especially when I am going uphill. I felt it on my 14th km run that I had to change pace and slowed down a bit. There were times I had to recover and walked for a while to ensure that I do not end up DNF. I was praying throughout the race asking for God’s strength and protection because I have been feeling this ankle throb a week before the Siargao International Marathon. Thankfully I finished the race in 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Shoe groufie before the race. These shoes are made for running! #Underarmour #Adidas #NorthFace #Nike

My Mapawa Trail Run buddies Elena and Glenn

Cheers and kudos to my RunFree CDO team for finishing the race too! There were 5 of us who ran and we all made it to the finish line in one piece. While we all had our individual struggles running the race, we are all thankful for the wonderful finish making individual PRs.

The team! RunFree CDO all the way from Cagayan de Oro to Siargao Island for the love of running! 🙂

Guess what? This is not the last one! Truth is, the Siargao Marathon was just part of our training for the upcoming Mapawa Full Trail Run (42km Trail Run). See? I told you, my friends are so into this whole running thing and I am gladly indulging them. Rested for a couple of days and we are back to training for the Full Trail Run.