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 :)