Not a new personal record in the strictest sense… but a new PR in my second running era.
On April 18, 2026, I ran the Stride for the Tide: Kalasag Dagat Fun Run 2026, organized by the Police Regional Office of MIMAROPA, with the goal of raising awareness about the efforts in protecting the West Philippine Sea.
This was a simultaneous run across different locations in MIMAROPA-Occidental and Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan. I ran the Calapan route, together with my training buddies.
According to plan, I was supposed to keep my heart rate (HR) below 145 bpm in the first 2 kilometers.
But… plans go wrong. Hehe.
We were running alongside a lot of more experienced runners - likely with many police or police-in-training. I knew I wasn’t in my 2013 condition anymore, but I also wasn’t expecting to be almost dead last in the first 2 kilometers. At one point, I was running right beside the sweeper ambulance. 😅
I adjusted early. I allowed my HR to go up to 150 bpm - faster than planned - but I kept going.
2 to 7 KM
At this point, my goal had already changed.
I allowed myself to go a bit harder, keeping my HR below 160 bpm. I also made a mental adjustment: since I started faster than planned, I would insert two 20-second micro-breaks - one at 7 KM and another at 9 KM.
For now, I just kept running.
Somewhere along this stretch, I started overtaking a few runners. Slowly. Gradually. I probably moved up to around third from the last (aside from the latecomers 😅), but hey… progress is progress.
7 KM to 9 KM
At the 7 KM mark, I claimed my first micro-break. Hehe.
At exactly 1:05:00 on my watch, I walked for 20 seconds-no more, no less.
After that, I started pushing a bit more, letting my HR climb to around 162 bpm. Still controlled, but definitely more aggressive.
Final Stretch
At around 9 KM - 1:15:00 on my watch - I took my final 20-second micro-break.
Then I ran all the way.
At this point, I stopped checking my HR. I just ran on feel. But based on experience, I knew I was mostly below 170 bpm, which had always been the upper limit of my plan.
And interestingly, even if I didn’t feel dramatically faster, this was actually a better run. In my previous race, my max HR went up to 181 bpm. Now, I was moving at a better pace at a lower heart rate.
That alone felt like a win.
New-ish PR
My original plan was conservative. If I followed it strictly, I probably would have ended up with just a slightly improved time.
But… surprise.
I finished below 1:30:00 - almost 9 minutes faster than my previous ~1:38.
Final time: ~1:29. 😄
I was really proud of my this improved result.
Things didn’t go exactly as planned on race day - but I know I was only able to pull this off because I stayed consistent with my training.
Well… mostly consistent. 😅
It was supposed to be a 6-week plan, but I ended up doing only 5 weeks because the race I registered to was actually one week earlier.
Still worked. Haha.
Sharing a few photos.
Here’s the Superposition!!!
~ END. ~
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