I normally prefer not to blog about the results of individual races I join. But Saturday’s race was different and, therefore, I am making an exception. The 2010 Sunset 21K Run held at Greenfield City, Sta. Rosa, Laguna was special for the following five (my lucky number) reasons:
1. It was going to be my 6th 21K race of the year, with five 21K races safely tucked under my belt;2. It was my first 21K run to be held in the afternoon, right before sunset;
3. It was the first to be held on a Saturday, instead of the usual Sunday;
4. It was using a new venue that I hadn’t tried running in before, even if it was closer to home; and
5. It was to be my last 21K race before taking the big leap forward – running the full 42K marathon distance.
Bottom chart: Finish time rank percentile compared to other 21K runners.
How fast time can fly, as the cliché goes. Was it barely three months ago, in January 10 at the Cebu City Marathon, when I was concerned about not finishing my first-ever 21K on account of a bum knee still in recovery? Three months and five 21K races later, I now find myself running the distance at an average speed of 2:00:32 (hr:min:sec) or a pace of 5:43 (min:sec) per kilometer. Still a far cry from the 58:23 world record set by Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea on March 21, 2010 in the Lisbon Half-Marathon, but fast enough to put me in the top 17.4% of all 21K runners for the five most participated-in local races to date, on average. Not bad at all for a once-newbie, and certainly better than originally expected!
So how was the Sunset Run you might ask? Truth to tell, I felt good and was thinking it was going to be just another sub-2 run in the park. How wrong I was! I think the late afternoon setting and thus sagging energies, scorching summer heat, and the long drive from Manila accentuated by a traffic jam at the Sta. Rosa SLEX exit, took their toll. Donning a technical shirt instead of the provided singlet and trying out a new loosely-fastened race belt cum bib holder that eventually needed constant adjustment didn’t help any either. To my surprise, even if I felt strong towards the end, I clocked at 2 hours, give or take a few seconds. Well, just about my average time, but I really thought I ran faster and couldn’t believe the race clock at first! But my GF405, which I didn't use to the hilt, made a believer in initial doubter me. On the lighter side, it was a fun run alright with lots of food/entertainment choices afterwards, even a complimentary massage. I also saw several bloggers on the run and paced the last mile or so with RunningShield in the lead. Not a bad race overall to use as launch pad for the big leagues – starting with The Bull Runner Dream Marathon in less than four weeks time. The excitement builds up as the 42K stories are about to begin!
21K runs as of April, 2010 
P.S. My chip time for the sunset 21K run was officially logged at 2:00:53, the 53rd best time in a field of 435 21K runners (top 12%).
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