My First 10K Marathon

Before the start of the race, madilim pa

At the starting point

Jesus Loves You. Run to Him

Ahhh.... meaning may kasunod? :D Hehehe. Seriously, I'm not sure I'm going to do it again but I finished my first ever marathon. It was for the Safra Bay Run 10K Women's Open. I did 6k last year but that was only for a fun run and I did not really run (more liked walked and strolled and sightsee) so that doesn't count.

I woke up way before dawn so that we could make it before the starting time of 7 am. We still had to drop off our bag at the baggage counter and who knows how long that could take. It was still dark when we got there but already there were tons of people. Safra is like Sg's military club or something so all the military branches were represented. We were running together with the Sg's navy, army and air force men.

After a slow start, we were off and running. After a few minutes, I slowed down to a jog. Ang layo naman ng 1k mark. If it was this hard to reach 1k, however am I going to make it to 10? When I saw the 1k marker, I wanted to hug it, add a zero and declare my race over. Pero sabi nga ng 100 Plus (Sg's isotonic drink of choice) Outdo Yourself daw. So I pushed myself to continue helped by the upbeat tunes in my player.

I tried to keep pace with this little old lady but si lola, dinaig ako. She did not run, she did not jog. She just kept walking at an even fast clip and before long I lost sight of her. Nahiya ako sa sarili ko so I abandoned all thoughts of retiring from the race and just used whatever inspirational and motivational techniques I could think of. Black Eyed Peas Boom Boom Pow seemed to be the most effective. And to further prove Sg's efficiency, may motivational sayings pa sila posted on the way. Like, "Others have finished before you, why can't you? Push on runners!" Translation, go lang ng go daw.

At the 5k marker. half way there

exhausted pero pose gihapon kay basin di na mausab

And so I kept on and on. Past the 5k, past the 6,7,8k markers. The length between the 9k mark and the finish line was the hardest because we were running up a bridge. My gas, last stretch na lang, pinapahirapan pa kami. But I made it! I staggered across the finish line, stomped on the timing mats for emphasis and went to claim my medal. Yes, I have a medal. So what if they gave everyone who joined the competitive category a medal. A medal is a medal is a medal. :D Hehehe.

my first medal for an athletic event ever! :D

Actually for someone who considers herself lampa and certainly athletically challenged, that heavy piece of metal means a lot to me. It should me that I can push my limits and succeed. I keep that medal in a place of honor in my room to remind me that I can do whatever I set my mind on. I just have to keep going and going and going.