Marathon du Paris in Spring! Alle!!

It's wonderful to be in Paris, especially during springtime when the weather is just right and the Parisians are in good spirits.

Our group—(shown in photo during the practice run from left) Arnel Bañas, Leah Caringal, Leana Carmona, Tessa Valdes, Lit Onrubia, moi, Lara Parpan, (not in photo) Gem Padilla and husband Nick, the Ong siblings (Jane-Jane, Veronica and Andrew) -- had flown in to represent the Philippines in the 35th edition of the marathon.

This is my fourth international event and second full marathon, the first full was in New York in 2008; and half-marathons in Great Wall (2010) and Hong Kong (2011). 

I must say that New York and Hong Kong were fairly more organzied.  The 45,000 runners in New York were distributed in seven color-coded corrals in Staten Island and had three different wave starts. The corral is based on the projected finish time indicated by the runner in the application form. In Hong Kong, the 65,000 runners were distributed in different wave starts on Nathan Road in Kowloon starting as early as 5am until 9am.  In Paris, all 40,000 runners started at the same time on Avenue des Champs Elysee at 8:45 am with the exception of the handicapped runners who were given a ten minute advantage at 8:35. 

On race day, all streets were closed and the only access to the start line on Avenue des Champs Elysee was through the subway. So, we were up bright and early to make it to George V, the designated meeting place. As you can imagine, it was difficult to find anybody with thousands trying to reach the start line.

It was also a bit chilly and the regulation plastic ponchos found inside our race packet was heaven sent and quite fashionable. In New York, I was freezing at 8-10 degrees Celcius and I, including others, donned black garbage bags making us look rather like a bunch of homeless people than runners.

The team somehow got divided into —the fast ones gunning 4:15 were Lara and the Ong siblings; Tessa, Leana and Lit targetting 5:00; husband and wife team Gem and Nick; and the somewhat injured ones: Arnel who just recovered from a meniscus tear (rupture of the fibrocartilage strip in the kee); Leah with plantar fasciitis (pain in the heel); and moi with iliotibal band friction (pain in the thigh cuasing laterally knee pain).

After depositng our personal affects, we got to Champs Elysee by 8:30. Arnel, Leah and I plodded along for more than 45 minues from the Arc du Triomphe to the start line. The mood was festive with bands playing, crowds waving and cheering. 

Once we crossed the start line, we started the Galloway method, with a 9-min. run and 1-min. walk. The route was mostly on the Right Bank. The first monument was the Egyptian Obelisk in place de la Concorde (the other pair is still in Luxor, Egypt), straight on Rue Rivoli (where my favorite breakfast place Angelina's is located), with the Jardin des Tuileries on the right and the Louvre, past the Hotel de Ville (city hall) then Bastille. We had to preserve our energy because the water stations were spaced 5 kilometers apart; each station though offered a virtual feast with lots of water, oranges, bananas, sugar cubes and sponges.

We reached the eastern point of Paris at Bois de Vincennes, a park three times larger than Central Park (left photo).  The park is right next to Château de Vincennes, which used to be a hunting lodge during the 14th century.

It was here, at the 18-km. mark, that Leah's heel started acting up and couldn’t manage to run and it was too painful to walk. We couldn't find any 'sag wagon' and thus, stopped the first car we saw. The driver agreed to take her back to Paris. (She told us later on that she hitched a ride with the photographers).

The finish cutoff time in Paris was set at 5 hours, 40 minutes. Usually the permits to close streets to make it safe can be costly. New York's cutoff time was generouse at 8-9 hours. Hong Kong and Beijing were strict; in fact in Hong Kong, a net was hoisted at specific cutoff times.  By the time we got back to running, we saw the sweeping cars already buzzing behind us ready to clean the course, and when we reached the water station at the 20th kilometer, the water bottles and everything else were aready in cartons. The volunteers though were kind enough to give us water and fruits. We filled our water bottles and balanced fruits and more water between our hands.

From the Bois de Vincennes, it was back to Bastille down the embankments of the Seine, along the the quais of the Right Bank past the cathedral of Notre-Dame on Ile de Cite. Here  I was tempted to make a quick detour at Berthilion, my favorite ice cream store.  Then  down the tunnel on Voie Georges Pompidou coming out to see the majestic  Eiffel Tower (named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, built as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair). At this point, Arnel and I felt like Hansel and Gretel. Volunteers were taking down banners and we were literally following the track of empty bottles, banana and orange peels to find our way.

When we got to the Trocadero (30-km) at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, there was a mishmash of tourists and well-wishers. They were still encouraging us, chanting “Alle, Rosan! Alle, Arnel!” We had to scrounge in the organizers’ boxes for water and bananas.

Another 12-km to go! We headed toward the Bois de Boulogne, the westernmost park of Paris on the 16th arrondisement. This is where the famous Roland Garros stadium, host of the French open is located. The last leg of the race cut through the greenery via Avenue de Longchamps.

Towards the end at the 40-km, we made a dash for the finish line to Avenue Foch. We obviously didn't make the 5:40 cutoff, but happy to see volunteers at the finish line waiting, smiling and handing out medals, T-shirts and water.

As expected, the Ethiopians were the top finishers: Tadesse Tola finished in 2:06:41 and Atsede Baysa in 2:22:04. In our group (shown in photo from the left), Andrew was first at the finish line (4:02:10), followed by Jane-Jane (4:16:46), Veronica (4:21:02), Lara (4:25:29), Leana (4:49:50, not in photo), Lit (4:57:20, not in photo), Tessa broke her personal record with 4:57:23 and Paris-based Pinoy Rupert de Jesus (5:16:34).


Well, Arnel and I finished after seven grueling hours. Thanks to my doctor and coach who both strongly advised to DNF - this is not the dreaded "Did Not Finish" but —Do Not Force!

I must say that this is definitely one of my favorite marathons and, next to the Great Wall Marathon, the most scenic. It’s like a “walking tour” on fast-forward where you get to see one famous Paris monument after another. So for those doing next year, DNF!!!

For those who plan to join next year's marathon, Paris is a bottomless pit of cultural and culinary attractions. Go early to acclimatize. Here are my Top 5 things to do before race day:
1. Museums. There are almost 200 museums in Paris alone, so make sure you visit at least one. We caught the Manet retrospective in Musée d'Orsay when we were in town. Tip: No need to queue, there’s a kiosk by the steps selling tickets.
2. Macarons. My current fave is Paul Henri with its out-of-this-world flavor fusions. Also drop by Laduree (www.laduree.fr)--I love the one on Place Madeleine.
3. Brasseries and cafes. When in Paris…sit in a cafe and have an espresso!
4. Church of the Miraculous Medal on Rue du Bac. Also known as Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, among other names, this is known as the site of several apparitions of the Virgin Mary in the early 19th century. I always make it a point to visit the chapel.
5.  And definitely Shop!  For starters, check out the quaint flea markets, the Boucherie du Grand Marché where they have everything from caserolles to truffles and of course, Rue du Faubourg St. Honore (high end) to Marais and St. Germanin des Pres.

Survived the Great Wall marathon

Woohoo! I finished 21-km of the Great Wall. It was definitely a challenging course and I should have worn my trail shoes instead.

average height is 738 meters

all eleven of us before the race

Eleven of us from the Philippines had flown to Beijing to join about 2,000 runners from all over the world to run the Great Wall Marathon on May 15 - Dennis and Jenifer Quepe, Australian expats Chad and Natasha Davis, Iloilo-based Arthur and Angela Chu, Bads Tan, Charita Agana, Candy Lee, Nino Fajardo, Marge Buot, Guam-based Ronaldo Navalta and myself. We were the first batch of Filipinos to do the run since 2006.

We were up and about at 2:30 am on the day of the race (a Saturday) and in the bus at 3:30 to take us to Huangyaguan in Tianjin province, about two hours away from Beijing. Huangyaguan Wall is not as popular as Badaling, the portion closest to Beijing, but it is the best restored section and the most scenic. Huangyaguan (Yellow Cliff Pass) lies on a steep mountain ridge and got its name from the surrounding yellowish hills and rocks. Its average altitude is over 700 m and it stretches 42 km long with 66 watchtowers. The wall was built during the Nothern Qi Dynasty (550-557 AD) and repaired with bricks during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

It was cold at 9 degrees Centigrade when we arrived at 6ish—and foggy! We could only see a faint outline of the wall against the mountains. We walked down to Bagua Castle to the square to assemble. There were booths set up to collect bags and personal belongings; and onstage, perky aerobics instructors warmed up the crowd. Around 7am, Chinese officials in suits gave opening remarks (in Chinese - duh) and immediately after that was the gun start and we were off!

Qi Jiguang at the entrance 

The course was divided into two sections—9 km along the wall and 12 km through the villages. The first part was a gradual uphill climb from Bagua Castle, to the main road, crossing Juhe River and the mountains. I wasn’t used to the altitude and started peeling away from the group. Approaching the entrance of the wall was an imposing 8.5-m statue of Qi Jiguang (1528-1588), a Chinese military general and national hero during the Ming dynasty. There was a slight gridlock at the entrance as runners waited in line to climb up the steps. There should have been a sign up that says “Warning: Expect treacherous climb or endless steps.”


This is the famous Taipingzhai section. The path felt like a roller coaster with the steps getting steeper and steeper as it wound up through the mountains. At this point I was climbing up the steps, whose height varied from the normal step up to thigh height and the width varied from wide to narrow. There was a portion of the wall where the path changed from bricks to narrow gravel lanes, the gridlock was because we had to slow down and hang on to ropes. That or fall down the crag. In hindsight, I should have brought my trail shoes instead of runners—it could have helped make up for the fact that I wasn’t prepared for such a grueling course.

narrow portion of the Taipingzhai section 

After climbing up and down for one hour and six minutes, I had covered only 6.46 km and reached the highest point at 502 m. I wondered about the Chinese of yore where watchmen were supposed to have memorized the steps to go from one watch tower to another in the dark.

rocky terrain in the village

The next part of the course was through the picturesque villages.
The path changed from asphalt on the main road and then gravel and dust. Again it was an up and down path, making me long for my trail shoes. The farmers would stop and watch and the villagers would cheer on.

I finished the 21 km before the 8-hour cut-off at 3:39. I didn't expect to break any record since I had been forewarned that given the conditions of the route, I would finish 50% longer than my normal time. The website wasn't lying as it described the marathon as "a tough, beautiful and definitely extraordinary experience. The 5164 steps of the Great Wall will put your physique to the test, and the breathtaking surroundings of Tianjin Province will compete with your tired muscles for attention". True, I was armed with my blackberry and camera shooting away.

very very steep descent

all taped up running with Tze Yann Tan from Singapore

I must congratulate the organizers for a well run event - well-placed visible distance markers for the different races (black for 42 km, red for 21 and green for 10); water stations every 5 km including up the mountain top; sports drinks, bananas and sponges every 10 km; gigantic baguette sandwiches with bananas, dessert and drinks at the end of the race. And, to top it all off, a free 20-minute massage before boarding the bus back to the hotel. Another warning - there are no portalets in China. I may just go back to do the full marathon or maybe opt for an equally challenging course, Athens in 2011?

great viw of Bnlagang Mountain, the race area covers 18 watch towers

Here's the route using my garmin forerunner 310xt:

Some post-NY Marathon Stats

Yes I would run a marathon again despite the pain I'm nursing on my left side right now and OD on pain killers last night. I actually empathized with Simon Pegg's character in the movie Run Fat Boy Run who managed to cross the finish line despite odds. One thing for sure, any newbie who plans to run a marathon should train for at least nine months; and please target first half marathons before embarking on this ambitious distance.
Here's some NYM stats: 99%of the 38,356 starters finished the race. Among the fnisheres were two octogenerians the oldest man was 87 year old-Peter Harangozo who finished in 8:00:39 and the oldest women was 83 year old-Yolande Marois who finished in 7:48:46. (Note: According to Doris Nuval, she came out the next day in the Today Show and she said that it was her 56th marathon and 21st in New York). 66% of the finishers were male and 34% female. The top two non-US countries were from Italy with 3,153 finishers and 3,037 from Great Britain (note only 20 from the Philippines).
The event raised more than US$18M for 27 charities and 5,000 runners ran for charity. New York Road Runners Foundation's Team for Kids charity raised over $3.67M for youth health and fitness programs in under-served New York City public schools and Memorial Sloan Kettering's Fred's Team raised over $3.25M for pediatric cancer.
It was the third win for Brit's 32-year old Paula Radcliffe, breaking the tape at 2:23:56 (record in 2007: 2:23:09 and 2004: 2:23:10). The oldest female 'elite' to finish and placed second is 40-year old Russian Ludmila Petrova who set a world masters record of 2:25:42(record in 2000: 2:25:45). Unfortunately, Beijing's Olympic silver medlaist Catherine Nderba from Kenya finished fifth (2:29:14). The top male finisher is Brazilian Marilson Gomes Dos Santos, 2:08:43. To check out results of runners, go to: http://www.ingnycmarathon.com/results/index.php
And lastly, big cheers to the pinoys who qualified for the Boston Marathon - Michael Mesina who finished at 3:12 (1,948th overall)and the Carpo sisters Amanda (3:39) and Leica (3:40). Go Pinoy go!!

Synovium inflammed

thank God that there's nothing seriously wrong with my knee. My sister drove me to Berkeley Ortho to see Dr. Strotz (tel #510 845-3856). He said that my ACL, ligaments, joints are all OK except that there's an inflammation in the synovium.
According to About.com, Synovium is the smooth lining of a joint. Synovium produces synovial fluid, a clear substance that lubricates and nourishes the cartilage and bones inside the joint capsule.
He recommended to REST (off my legs!) and to take 3x ibuprofen tabs per meal or 9 tabs for at least two weeks until the swelling subsides. He also said NOT to engage in any weight-bearing activity for that period. Swimming is okay as long as I don't kick.
Bottom line is, he said that my base training preparation was inadequate for the 26.2 mile distance (or 42-km). He said that minimum of at least 30-miles a week as base (at least 6 months to a year of running) prior to training. Honestly, I only trained after the triathlon in Bali (a week after June 29) plus laid off training for a month due to my heel spur injury. I must admit that I'm no spring chicken that can wing less than 16-weeks of training. I guess it was sheer will power that propeled me to cross that finish line last Sunday.
If I have to do this again, my sister who's a serious biker, said to do periodization and plan properly. And to add weight training to strengthen my quads which will help strengthen my knees. First thing, first.. Let's see how fast my knee heals.

New York Marathon

Boo posted my race results in the office e-Group. He wrote "One of ours made it in New York! Rosan completed the grueling New York Marathon yesterday. here is her time as she went through the various milestones. I say it is quite an achievement, powered by sheer guts and determination on rosan's part as she trained relentlessly for the event even in the face of a problem she has with a heel spur she had to overcome just weeks before she had to leave for new york..."
It was a very humbling experience. I was going well until I injured my left knee at the 30km mark. I remember stepping on a plastic cap (one of the gels) which sort of made me off balance. On the 23nd mile, I was already limping and had to stop at the Medical Unit where one of the doctors wrapped my knee. On the 25th mile, I was handed a foil blanket since it was getting cold. It was a very looong mile, I thought I would end up crawling since walking was becoming unbearable.
The race was indeed DIFFICULT. But I must say, I love the new york crowd who kept cheering us on to continue running offering food, water and even music (bands were playing at every corner).
A volunteer group called Achilles Heels (established in 1983 to encourage disabled people to participate in long-distance running with the gneral public) invited me to walk w them. Keke, from South Africa whose upper left-side is half paralyzed, was doing the marathon with his trainer Dennis (an Achiles Heel volunteer from South Afrca, shoe designer) and an american volunteer called Ernie. Their company really helped. Talking got my mind off the pain and Dennis told me to swing my arms which helped me walk faster. I crossed the finish line arm-in-arm with my adoptive 'team' and other Achilles Heels volunteers.(that's me in purple arm-in-arm in the photo).
Thank God I finished this race!

Event Information:
Event: The ING New York City Marathon
Runner: Rosanna Kristine Cruz
Location Time Pace/mile
5km 0:34:26 11:04
10km 1:11:13 11:27
15km 1:48:00 11:35
20km 2:26:35 11:47
Half-Marathon 2:36:09 11:54
25km 3:12:20 12:22
Mile 16 3:21:33 12:35
Mile 17 3:35:10 12:39
Mile 18 3:52:45 12:55
30km 4:03:56 13:05
Mile 19 4:09:23 13:07
Mile 20 4:24:53 13:14
Mile 21 4:42:06 13:26
35km 4:55:47 13:36
Mile 22 4:59:48 13:37
Mile 23 5:27:05 14:13
Mile 24 5:51:54 14:39
40km 6:13:42 15:02
Mile 25 6:17:02 15:04
Mile 26 6:38:41 15:20
Finish 6:43:21 15:23

#94 in the Poland Springs 5-miles Kick-off race

Despite jet lag and warnings to taper off, I joined the 5-miles (or 8-km) Poland Springs Marathon kick-off race this morning. My bib number was # 94. Man, its a major fluke! I made a mistake of putting my pace down to 6 min per mile; duh - dyslexic--i meant 6 min per kilometer; because of this, I placed in the first corral (#1-999) among champions and elite runners. I loved my spot though because I was next to the stage and saw everyone from Mayor Bloomberg's rep, the Poland Spring (sponsor) exec and an actor who sang the national anthem (and ran too and will run next Sunday).
There were 8,000 runners (40,000 are expected in the marathon). Of course, everyone was overtaking me including the runners with numbers 2000 (2nd coral), 3000 (3rd coral) and so on. I think the Philippines' race organizers should learn from the Americans. The whole 5-mi course was so organized with volunteers cheering us on, visible signs per mile, water stations with lots of water and portalets stationed along the way. I didn't push myself since I'm still jet lagged with the nagging fear that I won't be able to walk after. I should actually be resting and saving my legs for the big day.
Saw Jeremy Pivens in "Speed the Plow" on broadway yesterday afternoon. He plays the same Entourage character in the play - neurotic, fast talking producer. The play just opened Thurs and got raving reviews in the New York Times. Will check out Miller's "All my Sons" sometime this week which stars Lithgow, Wiest and Katie Holmes.

Survived my first 21-km!

I was so surprised that I didn't vomit or crawl to the finish line on October 11, 2008 at the Adidas King of the Road race at the Fort in Taguig. For someone who just started marathon training in July, got injured for a month from over training, then resumed training mid-August - -I am very very happy, thrilled that I completed the 21-km distance (i.e. Fort-Buendia-South Super-Buendia-Heritage Park-Fort), finished in 2 hours 17 mins (note: arrived late and started running 4 mins after flag-off)... and didn't experience any pain that day! Note though that I felt the tightness in the thighs (lactic acid build-up) and some muscle twitches the next day and on the third day after 48-hours, feverish and deadweight. My therapist called it delayed onset of fatigue.
Anyway, a lot of things contributed to this 21-km milestone! First of course is the training. After the heel spur and plantar facitis fiasco that kept me off the track for a month, my coach (Mario Canjas - 0919 657-5124) resumed training slowly. He focused more on endurance and gradual building up the workouts in terms of time instead of mileage. He reduced the training from the previous 6x a week schedule to 5x a week with Sun-Wed as rest days. The weekly workout consisted of 2x speedwork, 2x fartlek and a long run on Saturdays where the length is increased each week by 30 mins. Plus 1x-2x Core training with Pilates instructor Cecile Sicangco. At the last 5km when I felt like I was about to hit the wall, I just tucked in my tummy and remembered her saying to use core muscles.
I still had to contend with my prevailing heel and foot injury and mind you, had additional injuries - like the shin splints on my left leg and patella femoral pain syndrome on my right knee. The plantar actually disappeared when I started wearing my specially moulded orthotics (from Ortho Frey 634-2705). The second factor is therapy. My weekly therapy sessions with Sante's acupuncturist Dr. Butch Ong was increased to 3x a week and also with intuitive nerve therapist Miguel del Prado. Note that Jo the healer left for Russia and found instead Miguel.
Third is nutrition and rest. I started taking Timelab's Endurance Fuel during training and Whey Protein after (both available at Health Express) and the chinese herbs presecribed by Dr. Ong. I also started taking a lot of carbs - pasta and bread. And most of all, sleep. I'm in bed at 10pm!!!
Lets see how I fare in New York on Nov 2!! Wish me luck.