Dear Piolow,
It's been awhile. How are you? Hope the new teleserye is doing well. Also, I resent those rumors stating that you were found dead in some crazy hotel room abroad. Sigh, the trappings of showbiz eh? Anyway, I'll keep this short and sweet.
You still da man
A few weeks back, I ran the San Mig Coffee Bay Run 10k organized by Leadpack. It wasn't your typical MOA race, because the route actually cut through Roxas Blvd so you're not relegated to doing uber boring loops. Turnout was good, the temp very humid. Course was as close to linear as possible, which made for ideal conditions.
As you know, I have been haunted incessantly by my long-standing goal of finally beating your 10k time. It gnaws at the very core of my proud Gingerbread competitive streak. I have been running countless 10k's since I recovered from a 102k- induced ITB injury in a bid to finally get the Sub-Piolow monkey off my back. I thought this race just might be it.
The first 5k, I was pacing with this Kenyan chick. By the way, I didn't know she was a chick until after she took the podium for 3rd place in the women's category. My bad. Anyway, she finally broke free at the halfway mark, she just operates at a completely higher level. Huffing and puffing, I waved at some friends who were marshalling and was sort of fading until I ran into your buddy and coverboy partner Coach Rio (should I start calling him Riow?) who was blazing his way in the 15k category.
I attempted to frantically chase after him ; alas, the lechon that I had devoured at the wedding I had attended the day before significantly lessened the aerodynamics of my bilbil.
Lechon = Epic Fail
As I was approaching the line, my breathing wore harder. It was a typical Gingerbread positive split crash. But then something just snapped inside of me. I thought, enough was enough. I just need to suck it up and forget the pain. Pain now, glory later. With one last heave, I crossed the line at 47:01!!! It was like time stopped, even for just a nanosecond. Everything seemed to be moving in slow-motion. I was ecstatic. No words could express it. It was much akin to what these guys were going through -
I was finally free of the Sub-Piolow monkey. I could actually go on with my life now. Thanks for nearly one year of fun memories that you have provided me as I went about this quest, the so-called "holy-grail" of the 10k runner. Congratulations, it's a pop culture thing now. If I ever get nominated for a Philippine Blog Award again, I will dedicate it to you. And if people start calling you "Piolow" for some crazy reason, er, um, uuh, dont blame me (@,@).
The finish was good for 10th place in the men's division 10k. Niiiiice. I was inspired no doubt. In fact, I was so happy that I got out and got myself a Pomeranian puppy courtesy of the world-class Perico Kennel.
Cute noh?
And guess what his name is?
Yep. Cute puppy's name is... ... Piolow :)
Thanks for everything, and I hope to see you at an Ironman soon.
Still Your #1 Fan,
GBM
