My First 5K Run

http://www.flickr.com/photos/89043431@N00/4714570598

wrote this last September 2, 2010.

It’s been a month since my first 5-kilometer run. But I can still remember what happened during that day, because I thought it was going to turn out great.

August 1, 2010. I was registered to run my first 5K during The Rexona Run (Runrio Productions) in Mall of Asia. I woke up at 2:30 am to prepare because I was asked by my runner friends to be at the meeting place by 4 am. Although my run time will start at 5:40 am, my friends need to be there earlier; they will run 21K and 10K, respectively. Also, the traffic route will change if we arrive beyond 5 am.

I ate my two pan de sals and my glass of milk. Then, I laced up and went out of the house.

I started doing the usual stretching while I waited for the turn of the 5K runners to run. I saw the dawn breaking; I told myself that when the sun shines, I have made my first 5K record.

After the warm up that the organizers gave and the directions were presented, it was time. Air gun shot was made, and as my co-runners screamed for joy, we all slowly passed the starting mark.

I just remembered only one thought while I was doing my run (and walk): my only enemy is myself. I was not there to compete with anybody. I was there to have fun.

The 5K route was full of turns. It was so fulfilling to see the place around Mall of Asia by running. My eyes enjoyed the early morning sight – no traffic yet. Just streets full of running people.

A route mark at the end of the 3rd kilometer made me smile. I was going to make history for myself – I could do this! I’m going to reach 5K!

Just then, minutes after passing the said mark, I felt my head gone cold, and so were my fingers. I slowly stopped running and did brisk walk. But then, I felt slight dizziness. I got scared and started praying more loudly (I haven’t ceased praying since I started the run). I know it may sound silly, but I prayed, “Please don’t make me die today. It’s so silly to die while running!”

The slight dizziness was gone in seconds, and so the coldness that I felt in my head and fingers. I got another bottle of water on the next water station. I immediately poured some of the water into my head and neck, and then drank most of it. I actually never let go of the water bottle until it was empty.

I was thankful that I did not pass out. Unfortunately, I had to walk my last two kilometers. I was already feeling disappointed; a while ago I thought I can make a new record for myself. The sun has risen, but I was already thinking of going back to 3K on my next run.

One of the saddest things in life is to know that you can do something but just cannot do it because the risk is there, waiting to happen. I felt it that day.

I sadly looked at the people around me, still running up to the finish line. I knew I still can, but I don’t want to push myself anymore.

I immediately went to the First Aid Station right after I got my freebies. I was attended to right away. According to the nurses that checked me out, my blood pressure and pulse rate were normal. “Maybe you did not eat right, Ma’m,” was the remark of one of the nurses.

I remembered: I only ate two pan de sals and a glass of milk.

What the nurse said was further confirmed by my friends when they saw me. What I ate was not enough. I need to eat a lot more during race day so that I could burn them. The food that I ate was only enough for the travel that I did going to the venue.

Since then, I have learned to eat first before running, even if I would only run in our village. I have also started reading magazines about running to guide me on the right running positions, essential gadgets, and even the right food that I could take (I have been reading back issues of a free running magazine called The BullRunner (http://thebullrunner,com), and it has been a good help to me).

As for going back to 3K, after giving it a careful thought, I decided to put that on hold and continue to run the 5K. I know that I can finish a 5K run, given the right preparation. Another friend has given me a 5K preparation program in time for my next run, and I’m doing it now.

I am still sad every time I remember that day. But I am happy that I lived to learn from it. I would say that I learned a big lesson, but the good thing was I did not have to pay for it big time.

Getting Physical

wrote this last April 26, 2010.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42834622@N00/4488221416

I saw myself Googling for the nearest Fitness First branch in my place so that I could go back to doing aerobics. It’s been two years since I have gone to an aerobics class.
Weeks before searching in Google, a friend was happy to inform me that he is now joining marathons. In fact, he timed twenty-four minutes in the five-kilometer category he signed in. And he was encouraging me to join him and our other friends as well.

Without battling an eyelash, I said yes to him. But then I asked myself: am I really willing to join the marathon? Can I really run and finish five kilometers?

Then I started to question myself: why did I say yes? Of course I did aerobics before, but running is more strenuous. Now that I was diagnosed with osteopenia, I don’t know how I will fare. What if while running, my bones will start to untangle and get loose?

And why am I checking for aerobics classes again? I only touch our yoga ball twice a week, and use it for only five minutes. If I do get to enrol, it would take me a lot of preparation before going to the aerobics class (the Fitness First branch nearest to us is in SM Southmall, which is around forty-five minutes to one hour away). What difference will it make? Will I be more motivated to attend and get fit?

Since I was a kid, I never had the habit of doing exercise (I only do stretching). I never saw my dad doing high impact exercises because he has asthma. My mom, whom I see dances every now and then even if she has two left feet (that’s according to her); never gets fat but is healthy.

I tried doing some interventions every now and then, like, if I see my tummy bulging. I tried doing sit ups for that. But then I gave up because it’s better to eat than look at my tummy. I saw that my shoulders are getting big, and so I did some workouts for it. Guess what, I stopped after some people have noticed that my shoulders look good. Ultimately, I lost interest in exercising when I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. This thyroid problem will not make me fat as long as I have it. You could give me all the food that I love to eat and I won’t have a care in the world. So why exercise?

I think this is more than procrastination on my part. Like what preacher Bo Sanchez said, habits are stronger than our beliefs. I think that my inner self believes that whatever disorders that I have will never be gone. I also think that whatever I do, I will never achieve something.

I know I’m nuts. I do tell myself that I will look like Kylie Minogue or Eva Longoria-Parker by the time I reach the age of forty. I tell that to myself while watching them in E! News as I sit on our sofa eating chocolate.

I think my body is ready for some aerobics again. A marathon, I think, will also do my bones well. But until I overhaul my inner beliefs, I will just continue to imagine myself physically fit.