I Think I'm Inlove : Head over heels

I’d never thought that I would finish a 21km distance run during ULAH RUN UNITED 2 - 2nd leg of Runrio trilogy series last June 1,2014 held at SM MOA in Pasay. Aside from badminton, any kind of sport is not my line of interest. Not even running. I assumed that I am not fit to do so. It was only a dream before, and I never expected that it would be my first distance in an official running event. I was petite, 4’11 in height, and people would always make fun of me because at age 23 (As of March2015) I just looked like a little girl who was asked by her my mom to buy some vinegar in the neighborhood store. I wasn’t sporty. I never imagined myself becoming a runner and to love this kind of sport.But I did.

Running sucks. Yes it is. It was my first impression during my first 5 km run with a friend at UP Diliman Campus, Quezon City. I don’t understand why people spend time to run miles to have body pains, get sun burned, to get tired, and worst to get heart attacked and die. Yeah, there are people who died while running, or after a run. I hated it. If it’s not only because of my friend, I wouldn't run, until I was invited to have my second, third, fourth, and so on. For a couple of months I’m spending on the road earning mileage, I realized that I’m not running because someone told me to do so. I’m running because I love to and I’m feeling so happy with it. I gained boost of self-confidence in running. If those people with big beer bellies around my block can run fast and easily with all smiles, or a blind man can make it to the finish line, I know I can do it too.

During training runs I started to see how wonderful the world is. I began to appreciate more of life; my breath, my feet as it strikes towards the ground, the rough road, the green trees, the air, the sun, and the stranger’s running like me on the same route. UP Diliman became my playground then. It’s very pleasing when you satisfy yourself finishing a certain distance you set into. It’s the cheapest kind of sport, yet the easiest way to get fit and healthy. Suddenly, I fell in love with running.

"There is something magical about running; after a certain distance, it transcends the body. Then a bit further, it transcends the mind. A bit further yet, and what you have before you, laid bare, is the soul." - Kristin Armstrong