Marathon – Page 9 – Cebu Sports Blog by John Pages

Steve Ferraren: To win, one must lose

He weighed 228 lbs. “When I climbed stairs, I panted” he told me. “When I rode at the backseat of a car, I’d fall asleep. I was forever tired…”

Steve Ferraren was 35 years old. His waistline was older: nearly 40 inches. And the year was 2001. But back in college, when Steve used to exercise, he stood at 145 lbs. It was only after he graduated, joined the corporate world at Unilab and, next, Petron, and when he hadn’t sweated in years that his weight ballooned.

Then, tragedy struck: His father, Vicente, passed away in 2002 due to complications from diabetes. And when Steve asked the doctors, he was told a painful truth: Diabetes was prevalent in both his parents’ families and, if he didn’t lose weight and indulge in sports… the consequences might be catastrophic.

“And so that year, in 2002,” he said, “I was invited by friends to Abellana (Sports Center). I joined them. My maximum running distance? Ha-ha. It was half-a-round at the oval. I couldn’t do more.”

The Day I Tried….

February 17, 2008. That date was to have been one of my life’s biggest moments. Like that first kiss. Like my graduation. Like winning that first tennis event. Like my wedding. Like my daughter’s birth nine Novembers ago.

When I woke up at 4:45 a.m. last Sunday, I was sure that when I crossed the Finish Line to record my first-ever 42-K run—the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon—that it would mark one of my life’s most memorable days.

Well, dear readers, guess what: I didn’t make it. I failed.

When the horn roared along Nathan Road at 7:45 a.m. four days ago to signal the start, I felt confident. And running beside Jesse Taborada, the president of the Cebu Executive Runners Club, the first part was easy. We laughed, talked, overtook dozens. At the 10-K point, our time was one hour, two minutes. With barely a sweat.

Thirty minutes later, Dr. Vic Verallo joined us. Down the tunnel, up the tunnel, down the foot of Tsing Ma Bridge, up the world’s sixth largest suspension bridge, down, up the Ting Kau Bridge, down. Flyovers. Tunnels. Bridges.

…. And Why I’m Thankful For Failure

Yesterday (Feb. 21, 2008), when I wrote about my daydream-turned-nightmare called the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, I spoke about running comfortably until the 28th km. when cramps writhed my legs in pain, when I vomited and could barely stand up when I sat down, and when I trudged on with the help of Dr. Peter Mancao until unbearable leg injury forced me to stop at Km. 36.

What happened? I started too fast. At the 21-K mark, my watch read two hours, seven minutes. At Km. 28, it was 2:50. Now, that’s nowhere near the 42-K world record mark of Haile Gebrselassie (2:04) but, considering that the up-and-down, tunnel-bridge-flyover-plenty route of Hong Kong was found in the first 25-K—then it was too fast for me. Had I ran 10 minutes slower, it would have made all the difference. Said Dr. Yong Larrazabal: “The course was really difficult. I even experienced cramps which I did not in New York.”

I didn’t run hills. Here in Cebu, I almost never ran uphill/downhill. Once, when I climbed Ma. Luisa Estate Park for 20 kms., I limped for days with knee pain. And the worst part? The downhill. And in HK, we were going fast down.

I didn’t drink enough. Looking back, over the course of 25 kms. I drank less compared to what I drink here in 10 kms. (At each water station, I grabbed only a half-cup to drink.) Knowing the importance of hydration—and carrying two empty water bottles around my waist which I almost never got to use—why didn’t I drink more? It was cold and my body didn’t sweat as much. I wasn’t as thirsty. Still, internally, my body was dehydrating faster than I was replenishing it with liquids.

No walking breaks. In a marathon, unless your body is the mold of Paul Tergat, walking after every few kms. (or during water stops) is recommended. I didn’t do this. At each water station, I stepped to the side, grabbed a cup, downed it, then zoomed away. Why? I was with Dr. Vic Verallo and Jesse Taborada—two long-time runners who’ve finished, between them, five marathons prior to Hong Kong—and they were quick-paced. And, to me that morning, the last thing I wanted to do was run alone. So I stayed with two veterans—and this neophyte suffered.

Photos from Dr. Vic Verallo

From left: Dr. Peter Mancao, Dr. Yong Larrazabal, John Pages, Jesse Taborada, Dr. Vic Verallo, Meyrick Jacalan and Serge Amora

Dr. Vic Verallo crossing the finish line

Team Cebu

From left: Dr. Vic Verallo, Dr. Yong Larrazabal, Mendel Lopez, Leszl Gitaruelas, Jesse Taborada, Dr. Albert Santos, Ted Tecson, Serge Amora, Dr. Peter Mancao, Meyrick Jacalan, John Pages, and Perl Jacalan

Mendel and Leszl: Congratulations!

They are the two fastest long-distance runners in Cebu. One is 23 years old, single, and a graduating student at the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF). His name is Mendel Lopez. The other is 33, married with three children and was once RP’s no.1 in the sport of arm-wrestling! Her name: Leszl Gitaruelas.

Mendel flew to Hong Kong last Friday together with Leszl and they both competed in the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. No, not the full 42-K race, but at distances that they were best at: Mendel with the 10-K and Leszl, the Half-Marathon (21-K).

The result? Excellent. In an event which drew about 20,000 or so runners in the 10-K competition, Mendel Lopez was 6th overall. Imagine being no.6 among 20,000? In his category, he placed 4th. Leszl, with thousands also competing for the women’s 21-K, finished 11th overall and, in her Senior Category, placed 5th.

Hong Kong Marathon: What an adventure!

Helicopters swirled the skyline. Booming music blared. Photos were snapped. Camera bulbs flashed. Wives, husbands, children, friends—all tiptoed at the sidewalks to revel in the hot atmosphere of last Sunday’s cold morning.

From left: (sitting) Ted Tecson, John Pages; (standing) Dr. Peter Mancao, Jesse Taborada, Serge Amora, Dr. Vic Verallo, Meyrick Jacalan, Dr. Yong Larrazabal, Dr. Nicole Chua, Dr. Albert Santos

At 7 a.m., our Cebu team huddled at the Kowloon Hotel lobby, posed for pictures with the RP flag, wished each other good luck, then, all in unison, we sang, “HAPPY… BIRTH… DAY… TO… YOU…”

Meyrick Jacalan, who turned 37 when the clock struck midnight last Sunday, grinned from ear-to-ear as we serenaded him at the hotel parking area.

From Cebu, 14 among 49,947 runners in Hong Kong

From left: John Pages, Mendel Lopez, Leszl Gitaruelas, Dr. Yong Larrazabal, Dr. Peter Mancao

HONG KONG—After six months of waking up each Sunday at 5 a.m. for “The Long Run,” after pairs of Nike shoes worn-out and replaced, after over 1,000 kms. of mileage, dozens of Runner’s World magazines read, hours of ‘80’s music on the iPod Nano listened to while bouncing up and down, after booking this trip last December and registering to join my first-ever full Marathon, only three words are left unsaid: THIS IS IT!

At 7:45 this morning, a gun will fire and echo along Nathan Road here to signal that, yes, finally, the race has began.

Would you believe: A record 49,947 runners will trample on the cemented roads here to join the 2008 Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. Can you imagine that? Fifty thousand pairs of legs hopping, squeezed together, arms moving front and back, hearts pounding, and lungs huffing and puffing? In weather that’s super-cold at 12 degree Celsius?

Sports headline news here: Note the legs formed into the number “49,947”

Hong Kong Marathon: Pre-Race Day Photos

Along the route…

Performers practicing for the event day presentation

Red-hot Valentine’s Day in Hong Kong is Cold

HONG KONG—The two words and eight letters that spell this popular region south of China can be downsized and cut to one word and four letters: C-O-L-D.

My wife Jasmin and I arrived here via Cebu Pacific from Cebu at 12:16 a.m. yesterday and, when we stepped out of the airport doors and smiled to greet the Hong Kong air—we clammed up like shells. We zipped tight our jackets, buried our hands inside the pockets, shivered.

Temperature reading? Nine degrees Celsius.

When we finally arrived at our headquarters here for four nights—the Kowloon Hotel along Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui—it was past 2 a.m. We got off the N21 Citybus 50 meters from the hotel and, while walking at that unholy hour towards the hotel’s doors, cold wind breezed and enveloped our already-cold bodies.