Run with M.E.

After imbibing way to much alcohol the night before, I was not able to make the start of the Globe run which Marga so kindly registered me for.

No worries, I thought, there's always another race these days. True enough, there was a run in Ateneo the following Sunday.

Now, from the relative comfort of my 20th floor office, I look back on the race and start to smile. It was really a comedy and errors. No, not comedy of errors, comedy and errors!

Let me explain.

1st, the errors. Well, I almost didn't make the race start again. A full week of training with the Second Wind guys left me exhausted. Especially the 4 hour Bike-Run-Swim, we did the day before! Suffice to say,my body needed the rest and I almost didn't make the start.

Have you ever woken up at 6am for a 6:30 gun start? Hehe!

Luckily, being a habitual late riser and 4 years of taking my university degree at the ole Blue and White, I knew the route from my house to the Ateneo intimately and made it with more than 5 minutes to spare.

Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to register for the run. Oh well, I'll just run along side the guys I thought.

Still wore my race belt though. Sayang yun branding eh.

The Second Wind Crew at Run for M.E.

It was only when I got to Ateneo that I realized my biggest error of the day! Due to the knee injury I sustained earlier in the year, I had been running with a patella strap.

Well, as you probably guessed, in my rush to get to the race, I had left it behind!

I remember thinking a few moments before the start, this was gonna hurt.

Self-fulling prophecy!

As the picture below proved, by the second loop, I was in a bit of hurt. (That's me in the far right with my head askew and my mouth open.) The short downhills and uphill beside the gym really didn't help things. I even walked a bit during the tight uphill section, it was hard to overtake there anyway.

Thankfully, the Hector, Neville, and company were nice enough to keep pace with my struggling self and despite the pain, I was having a good time, I think so anyway. May subconscious maybe blocking out the sad and painful memories.

Then the comedy part. Bouyed by watching the Ironman Triathlon Championships in Second Wind, we were all inspired to practice our ummmm, "finish line antics" (see below for what I mean), just in case we make the start in Kona, hehe.

Here's Pao and Nevs, showing the crowd that they're still strong despite the difficult race. I think they're channeling the Greek God look.

And here's Hector thanking God and me thanking the crowd for their support. I know, running makes people slightly cuckoo.

My favorite part of the race though was a few meters from the finish, when lacking a Philippine flag to play around with, Enzo and Migs came up with the brilliant idea of using a Second Wind jersey. Hehe, Sayang walang picture yun.

All in all, despite the fact that I wasn't an official finisher and I finished at way over 1 hr, I was glad to be "racing" again. Can't wait for the next one and I'll register for it, I promise.