I posted these comments after an injury-filled 21k Greenfield Run, my first ever. To those who weren't able to read this before, it could give you some insights on what and what not to do when running your first ever 21k race :) 1. Get a nice Running Shoe! Believe it or not guys, after all these races I have been running on a 1998 retread cross trainer with the heel replaced by (gulp) Mr. Quickie. At the 14k point my toes and heels were burning, and who knows the crummy shoe may have been the reason for my injury. Mr Quickie! (shudder). Before kasi I'd just use it to run 2km outside my condo, no biggie. Never thought I'd be this hooked into running. Now, I need to buy! I feel I'm losing so much efficiency because of it. 2. Don't run more than 10k the day before the race Maybe the pros can do it. But obviously I'm no pro. I usually run kahit the Friday before the race. But because of work commitments I was forced to run on a Sat, against my better judgement, just to get my running fix and ramp up my mileage. Supposedly was an easy run, ended up doing 12k over the Ortigas MSD route. To those who had run this route with me, I don't see how "easy" could be an adjective to describe it. So my bad pasaway kasi. So newbies, keep this in mind. I feel that it may have been a factor kaya my leg broke down. 3. Get some sleep! Because of the distance and start time, I was forced to wake up at 2:45. I had like 2 hours of sleep. Not good. I couldn't sleep, body clock not adjusted. These things all pile up. 4. Never underestimate the distance. I saw several runners who were sprinting the first turn and passed our group. At the 18k mark they were throwing up on the curb and lying on the pavement. One guy said "ayoko na, di ko na kaya" to the marshal. So you have to respect the distance and avoid burning yourself out too soon. 21k is roughly from Ortigas to West Ave back and forth. It's no joke. So there! Just sharing Hope that helps our newer runners reading
