Run, baby, run, faster than my bullet
Here's the story of a non-runner:
- In 2008, three friends and I joined a run and with no clues and practice whatsoever, we joined the 10K category. I mean, 10K is a short distance, right? 10K is when you arrive in your destination in maybe 15 minutes by car. This girl hasn't discovered the speed limits discrepancies of machines vs. humans. I ended up being at the tail end of the race, with the guard radio-ing the organizers "Ito na po yung dulo" behind us. Ended up not finishing 10K, just 5K and placing 335th place. True story.
- In 2009, I joined the company-sponsored Run for Pasig River and finished 5K but I had no idea what my time was. At that time, I couldn't care less if I finished in an hour or less. All I cared was that I finished alive.
- I've started running for 30 minutes every day since, and this continued for the whole of 2010 during my whole healthy-living kick but declined when I got into yoga and other sports. It's been about four months since I've stopped running daily.
When the company yet again organized a run, despite being part of the organizers, I knew I had to run, if only to put my running shoes to good use.While waiting for the gun start, I scrambled to find a familiar face --- my friends all had to attend to organizer matters and having had a bigger slice of organizer woes weeks prior, I was free to run. I had doubted this for a second, I felt like I was going to be trampled from the excitement and prowess of real runners. I was merely someone attempting to have an athletic life and a complete race under my belt.
And here, in bullets, are some quandaries I have had in that 48 minutes I was running, and then some. After all, leave it to a running event to make you think and rethink your life's strategies and the things you doubt.
- The minutes leading to that gun start is filled with adrenaline --- I was literally pumped up just because of the people's cheers, waiting to run.
- The running marshalls were not meant to just tell you which way to go. Despite not really knowing most of them {however, familiar with some, so kahiyaan na}, their cheers and words of encouragement means a lot when you're struggling to keep going and you're just in your second kilometer.
- A familiar face cheering you on in the middle of your run is a burst of happiness and makes you really run.
- By the third kilometer, I had so wanted to haul myself on the other lane and cheat. I have felt like my body was going to hurl onto the pavement. Thankfully, I had thought of some entertaining motivations to keep myself from hitching onto the truck moving towards the program area {Such as 'Run like you stole something, Run like you're running from a manyakis, among others}.
- Good running shoes really makes the difference. I have heard of people complaining about their foot pains after the run and I'm just glad I invested {HA! Excuses!} on these pink Climacools from Adidas.
- Pink shoes make it easy to spot yourself in pictures. But that doesn't mean you posed well.
Exhibit A. Photo by Henry Macasiano
Sunset Run OOTN: Photo by Arren Lateo
Singlet: Sunset Run
Running Shorts: Adidas
Socks: Nike
Shoes: Adidas Climacool
- The word Finish has never looked so good.
- I had lost faith by the third kilometer and two kilometers --- they had never felt so far.
- Every minute and every second counts in a run.
- And when you do finish, you'd totally want to hug the first face you see, sweat and all.
With colleagues after the run and I'm all red from running. 48 minutes. It is not so bad, is all I can say. But I don't want to run a race again anytime soon. I have had my quota for the year =P
Have you had a good run recently?
xx