OLIVE Firmeza of Davao finished second in the women’s 45-49 category and fifth overall in the women's marathon event of the San Francisco Virtual Marathon held Sunday (Philippine time), July 26.
Team Philhealth’s Firmeza, who resides in Buhangin, timed a total of four hours, 45 minutes and nine seconds to trail behind women’s 45-49 champion Jenny Quinto of Team Ybanag USA who checked in at 4:43:05.
Filipino Nora Bernabe Pagaduan of Team SLHFG settled for third with a time of 5:20:31.
“Mas hago ni. Nag crash ang Strava. So I need to restart. Naga no GPS. Hinayaan ko na since I am also using a Garmin GPS watch as back up nga tracker. Sayang ako time (It was more tiring this time as Strava crashed and I needed to restart but a ‘no GPS’ showed on the screen so I just let it be as I was also using a Garmin GPS as back up tracker),” she told Sunstar Davao via Facebook Messenger yesterday.
Strava is an application that tracks global positioning systems (GPS) often used in running, cycling or swimming.
Firmeza said she thought maybe too many athletes used Strava on the same day she raced. She recalled having finished five kilometers already when she checked Strava but ‘no GPS’ showed then after she took a water break, it restarted.
She continued, “Maka stress management kay mawala ko sa focus unya basin ma battery low ang phone. Sagdan ko na since naka on ang Garmin. Sa Garmin nako nag monitor (I managed my stress so I won’t be out of focus. I was still okay with my Garmin watch, which I used to monitor my time).”
She said it took her 86 rounds of 500 meters in their subdivision to complete the marathon. She said running within one’s own subdivision was allowed by Davao City’s guidelines amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
“Kulang gyud ko sa tama na training... sa 80K to 100K per week na mileage. Kulang sa strength training considering sa limitations and work schedule, lakas ng loob na lang (I really lacked proper training especially making an 80K to 100K mileage per week. I lacked strength training considering the limitations and my work schedule, it was sheer determination on my part),” she added.
In the women’s overall ranking, the 45-year-old Dabawenya placed fifth. Rosa Iseka Garcia Ayala of Mexico bagged the title after clocking 3:43:59 while Australia’s Taz Dunstan (4:10:00) took the runner-up honors.
Iran’s Naghme Almael (4:36:34) and Quinto came third and fourth, respectively.
The San Francisco event was Firmeza’s second virtual marathon. She was fourth in the women's 45-49 years old category of the 26 Virtual Run Gold Coast Marathon Australia held on July 5.