Yes. I did it! I finally did it! Happy, relieved thoughts pervaded my mind as I finally hit the mat with a 1:57:18 performance. My first ever sub-2 hour half marathon. Whew. Would you look at that.
YES!!
But one would fail to grasp the pure significance of the moment if we fail to look back to where it all started... .. If they say success is measured by how many times you bounce back from failure, then my case would be the optimus exempoator of this adage.
Greenfield Run, Kilometer 17
I am dead tired. I want to die. I am never, EVER doing this again . This is SO STUPID. My feet are on fire. I drove here to Laguna at like 3 in the morning. Normal people are still asleep!! Gak .I can barely breathe. This Takbo.ph girl, what's her name, Ellen? Oh lord I just ate her dust. My pathetic pace is too slow for her and I'm left gasping for air. My student Isha is at least ten minutes ahead of me. I am soooo way over my head here. Idon't want to run anymore. FIRST AND LAST. Oh the pain.
Finish Time : 2:19
Help my feet are burning
Botak Paatibayan, Kilometer 20
I'm going to faint. Here it is. Goodbye Poise. Promise. Just a bit more. Sun... . heat... . need... . water . Seriously, who in the right mind would start a 21k at like 7:00 am??? I'm getting roasted here. Didn't put any sunblock, because it would affect my macho image. I should rename myself Fudgeman instead of Gingerbreadman. Oh the agony... . Kilometer 20, but the finish line seems an eternity away... ... .
Finish Time : 2:14
Would you still read The Fudgeman Report?
GBM loses by TKO
Globe Run For Home, Kilo meter 19
Oh the horror . I never should have even tried. I should have known that two weeks of no training combined with ultramarathon recovery would equate into the nightmare that is ITBS. Having to suffer the ignominy of walking to the finish line is embarassing to say the least. Hey, I guess this ain't so bad. At least my buddy Bong Yu essentially gave up his race to hang with me. What a class act. Oh, and here's the rest of the Takbo.ph gang! Sigh. Thanks guys you're the best. Ouch.
Finish Time : 3: and nevermind.
Rod Runner's header shows that every ounce of support was needed to get across the line
Quezon City International Marathon, 19k
I think I have ran as strategically sound a race as I have ever had . With a target of anything below 2 hours, I believe I have set up the positive split - coast strategy as well as I have ever had. Integrated walk breaks for the first time in my relatively nascent running career, and guess what? They don't suck! They work! Such a festive atmosphere.
The venerable people at Runnex, specially the Jazzrunner Sir Rene Villarta did a yeoman's job on this. Balloon-wielding pacers, majorettes, numerous water stations. Awesome. Now all I have to do is coast and ... OMG im cramping! Nooooooo. Not now! Breathe, breathe. And my tummy hurts! That 100plus screwed me! It's carbonated! Waah. Can i hold on... just a bit more... . I refuse to be denied again. Not today.
Finish Time :1:57:18
Pacute before the race
With Takbo.ph bossing/Manokan icon Jinoe
With intense buddy Bong Yu
The pain and the glory
With Ryshel's little sisters
Being interviewed by students from Quirino National High
As I look back at the many times I have bombed, sucked, and been humbled at the distance, finally beating one of my major goals is but sweet solace . The personal best is but gravy... . getting through to the line with a smile on my face, with no injuries or otherwise untoward incident, is more than enough.
Oftentimes, getting to the destination is the be-all-end-all of the matter.
But through recounting the travails that got you there...
Oftentimes that's what makes it all the more sweeter.