Completing a half marathon proved an exhausting yet fascinating experience.
With both the mercury and the humidity levels rising ever higher here in the Philippines from the month of February onwards, it was difficult to get the sufficient amount of kilometres under my belt that I really needed to be able to comfortably make the step up from a 16k run.
Having kept myself busy during the past 3 months doing salsa, yoga and swimming, I figured that these activities might be enough to stand me in good stead for completing the 21k route along Manila seafront at 4am on a Sunday morning.
I started the race well enough, but at the 14k mark, I began to realize that there's no substitute for pounding the paving stones in order to prepare your body properly for a run of this length. Then as my energy levels rapidly began to sag, I also found myself badly in need of a toilet, and at times could barely walk, never mind run. In true Austin Powers fashion, thanks to all of the Gatorade and energy bars I was consuming, I was very nearly suffering from the dreaded turtlehead poking out.
Convinced that my shorts were about to start packing a far greater load than usual, and with both my stomach and posterior muscles contorting in spasmodic unison, I somehow managed to struggle on to the 17k mark, where a Dixi Port-a-Loo appeared like the vision of an oasis in the desert. Needless to say, this mundane plastic cubicle provided me with some joyous and much appreciated relief.
The final few kilometres then proved something of an additional endurance test, and in the end I reached the finishing line after 2 hours and 49 minutes, approximately 20 minutes longer than the time I had originally set myself.
Having said that, my primary goal was to complete the half marathon, irrespective of the time, and having done so, it was actually something of a comfort to see that I finished in 1,751st place out of a total of 4,390 runners who completed the same distance.
Competing in a 32 kilometre race as I'd originally planned next will obviously have to wait, as my next step will be to compete in another 21 kilometre run in Manila in August or September. Next time, however, I'll make sure that I have trained for it in such a way that I can run it, rather than just finish it.
The other thing I'll know to avoid doing in future is running with my mp3 player in my pocket. I made that mistake during this race and perspired so profusely that it actually stopped working properly half way round as a result. Still, it's an ill wind that blows nobody good as they say, and thanks to my sweat glands working so well, my pocket Sony might not play the same, but at least my weight is now finally down to almost 80 kilos.
Together with the experience that I gained on this run, that has to be a good thing.
