I was not able to run during the Mens Health All Terrain (June 21) race since my knees were not ready for the high impact and considering that it was a trail run. I thought that i will be more prone to injury as i have not really trained for it. I was supposed to do the 10k run and the 45km ride, but i ended up joining the bike race.

Mhel (runner45), texted me the night before and advised that the bike route, which was supposed to be a 45km ride (3 laps) was trimmed down to 30km for beginners. He was trying to convince me to join the run and that he will pace with me, but i really had to decline as i am not physically and emotionally ready to do it. But i was more confident with the bike race as i was able to cross train.

As i reached sta elena, I saw the runners heading to the finish line, i was envious as i see that they were enjoying the run. Most of the 10k runners were already there lining up for the certificate and freebies. Met with my best friend Jay and the group who finished the run as well. Got some feedback on the trail as i was not able to do a trail trace prior to the event. We started preparing our bikes and did some final bike check routine There were a lot of participants for the bike race, saw some of the weekend riders in the Sta. Rosa Trails participating also in the event. As scheduled the race started at 9am.

However, to my surprise, the event organizer announced that the beginners distance was only 15km, they trimmed it down again and reduced to 1 lap. I did not bother at this point since it was my first race anyway so fine with me, and i know that the 45km or 30km is a very difficult task. As the gun start was fired, it took me 5 seconds before i can sprint since the riders in front of me were so slow in taking off, by the time i was ready to sprint, there were about 50 riders already in front of the pack. I can just feel the intensity of this race. I then rode in the inner lane and started overtaking before i reach the trail. It was intense, and everybody were really trying to overtake one another. It was crazy, when we first approached a short uphill, a rider stopped and went down on his bike to walk, everybody piled up and slowed down everyone. I and some other bikers managed to manuever and climb the uphill overtaking the rest. From this point, some of the riders have already lead the pack.. I was not sure how far I was from the lead, but i was with a pack of 10 riders with me. It was exciting, especially when you overtake a rider, its like a video game where you are trying to catch the lead.. But in this case, impossible as the lead is to far out.

The adrenalin rush was so high in this event, if you dont know how to pace yourself, you will end up going to the finish line exhaused or worst, not finishing the race. In the early stages of the race, i saw one rider who was already vomiting. It was a 15km ride but everybody seems to rush as if the finish line is just near. I was hearing the breathing of the rider in front of me and he was catching his breath, it was a sign for me to attack and get pass him. I was observing the riders and during a turn or an uphill, i try to make an attack. Oviously, those who managed to pace themselves and breath properly ended up strong at the finish line, while those who didnt were so exhausted approaching the finsih line.

Now this is were i got upset, obviously i was pacing myself, so that i end up strong in the finish line and manage to overtake at least 3 to 4 more riders in our pack. It was already 8km and obviously i am expecting another 7km more to finish. I tried to slow down a bit to recover, however, i was surprised that i only have 2km left to finish line. The route was cut, as i reached the finish line, it was only 10km, yes, they cut it to 10km. Apparently, a decision was made but not coordinate well. I even talked to one of the finishline organizers (Vince), but he had no idea why it was cut from 15km to 10km. Bottomline i guess time management was not really taken into consideration. Unless they have a time constraint with the use of the Sta Elena Trail, then there should be no problem with time. Also, it appears that the energy was spilled out to the running event only. I dont know the feedback of the runners yet on the race, but looking at how running race were organized were far better than this one. Maybe in the next event, they should either consider separating the bike and running events. Or better make it a dualthon event so that focus is given proper attention to the event. Well, that was just me, i hope to see a well organized bike race in the future.
Here are some photos from the event. Zaldy still strong near the finish line. Runner mhel, ubelievable strength, after running 10km, he just finished another 10km ride. with Takbo.ph runners, nice meeting you guys/gals! Ed, Zaldy, Mhel de Leon, Mel Turalba, Lawin, and Me..
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