Post Rizal Day Run 2012

Disclaimer: I'm typing this from my phone since our WiFi won't work for some reason so expect me to just blab away.

How to describe today's run?

Oh. My. God.

I would normally oppose to using this expression as I don't want to take God's name in vain but for this morning's run, I really cried out to God so many times!!! I prayed the rosary like a bazillion times, too. At the beginning, it helped to make me more focused. This time, I abandoned my earphones and replaced it with prayer and some quiet time. I was praying well until about KM 18 and then as I got more and more tired, it became harder and harder too to focus on my Hail Marys. So I kind of got lost and just let my mind wander - which was also good. I rediscovered the beauty of running without music and just connecting with myself - past, present and future.

Going back to my Hail Marys, I guess it could serve as a metaphor for life. As the race got harder - fatigue was setting in, I was beginning to feel like I wanted to just walk, the sun was out, was also getting hungry, etc. etc. - I got distracted from my prayers and started dwelling on all the aches and pains I was feeling. It became more about me rather than my prayers. Similar to life, when things get hard and there are failures left and right, I sometimes get side tracked and end up letting go of the One thing I never should - my faith. Then life becomes more about myself and less about Him.

Next time I shall practice becoming better at praying while running - even as the KMs rack up.

Overall, it was a good run. Enough water, stations even had instant noodles! I almost gave up but thanks to CA, I pushed on and even if I had to walk the last few KMs, it was still better than not finishing at all. I don't know what I was thinking, making DNF (Did Not Finish) an option.

So, that's how I end my year. By proving to myself that I can achieve great things not because I'm awesome like that but because my God fuels me and He never runs out :)

It's a wonderful feeling ending the year on such a positive and spiritual note - who knew running could bring about that?

Van and I in Starbucks for a quick brekky :)

32KM Jitters

Running 32km tomorrow. Prayers please.  I don't hope to finish first or at a required time - I just hope to finish and not to finish last. So help me God.

Chill Christmas

So, like my birthday, I also have ZERO photos from Christmas.  Could it be because I've been busy with Liam? Too busy to take photos? Speaking of Liam...

Cutie :D 

He's getting more and more kulit as the days go by - plays with his saliva in his mouth, always has that kagat-labi look, makes sooo much noise, shouts when he's excited - but all these are signs he's a happy, healthy and active baby boy so I'm very much grateful. 

Happy 27!

For some reason, I don't have any photos from my birthday! As I posted on my Facebook Timeline, 

"Officially 27! No bongga celebration, just a quiet day with the people who matter most. Slept in (hooray for Christmas break), gave Liam a bath (it's been so long since I got to do this), had a nice Japanese lunch/double date with my parents, afternoon nap with Liam, ran with the husband and had a movie date to end the day. 

The less you demand out of life, the easier it is to find happiness and contentment. If the world ends tomorrow, I'll be happy to say I spent the last day of my life well :p" 

If I were the less mature me, I'd be complaining cos I didn't get flowers and a nice surprise gift (hubby advanced his gift by giving me those New Balance running shoes and Garmin heart rate monitor/watch).  But since I feel having a baby has made me grow up in more ways than one (because seriously, who needs anything else when you have both parents still alive, a cute - I may be biased - little dumpling boy, and loving husband), I'm really just happy to have spent the day with good food, family and a nice run.  Yes, although it was a quick 5km, I just HAD to run on my birthday! :) 

Gali + Amie (plus Liam)

It's my brother-in-law's wedding today and for the first time ever, Alvin and I will be part of the entourage as secondary cord sponsors.  The last time I was in an entourage was to be a flower girl, eons ago!

Here's a photo of my brother-in-law and his bride with hubby and I during our wedding day.  I really am looking forward to their wedding and having another addition to the Guce family.  I can't believe it's been over a year since this day! So much has changed since.

Case in point: It's already been 7 months with the baby! Where did the time go? I used to think of how I wished he'd grow up faster, since taking care of a newborn took so much effort.  Now, he's beginning to work his way through baby talk and I'm getting all sentimental thinking that in a few months, he'll be walking on his own! Sniff.

Well, enough about that.  Now time to have breakfast (yay, can take a long, slow, relaxed brekky since I'm on leave today), shower and head to the hotel for wedding preparations! It's like my wedding day all over again, hehe ;) 

Page Views

I've been trying to monitor my page views, just to see if anyone actually reads this.  I don't get any comments, so I'm assuming not a lot of people do.  This morning, I woke up surprised to see +10 in my page views! So someone actually reads my entries.  Thank YOU! :p and please do leave a comment if anything I write here interests you, annoys you or whatever!

QCIM & Some Firsts

Now I can finally say it - I finished my 2nd half-marathon!!!

First half-marathon: May 2011, 2:35
Second half-marathon: Dec 2012, 3:00

I know, I know.  My time sucked, but I'm still so happy I finished it! A half-marathon at 7 months post-partum! :)

Many firsts in this run...

1.  First time to run in QC
- It's always been in MOA or BGC and for the first time I experienced running along Commonwealth and UP.  When the hosts were showing us the route, all I remembered was "u-turn at Wilcon".  Because of that, while on Commonwealth, all I could think of was, "Where are you Wilcon????" Never been that happy to see Wilcon!!!

2.  First time to run a 21km
- It's my longest post-partum distance so far! Prior to this, the farthest I've ran was about 18kms, I think! So I'm mighty happy to have finished a new distance.

3.  First time to join a race ALONE
- I usually pick Leslie up before a run and we get dropped off at BGC.  Today was different since only I registered for this race.  My usual running girls were in different places this morning - Les was at home, sleeping (hehe) and Van joined Nike We Run.  It was weird to be waiting for the gun start alone, not having anyone to chat with and share my worries and anxieties.  But it was also fun, I guess, to have so much time for myself, concentrate on the run and my breathing.  After the race, I waited around for CA who was to run the 42km distance.  I waited around until 9AM only to find out at about 10 that he didn't wake up in time for the race! Boo!

4.  First time to use my NB shoes in a race
- Not bad! :) In addition, I also wore new socks (bought last night from Nike).  They were dri-fit PED ones which were in pretty colors - pink, purple and white.  A pack costs Php 465, not bad! I slabbed on a generous amount of petroleum jelly on my soles, worried that I might get blisters.  In fairness, I didn't get any AT ALL! :) :) :)