Living in the Now

Since I started running in 2006, I always had a goal race to train for. I was the veritable rabbit chasing after the carrot at the end of a stick, which never really ran out of carrots. From my first 5k, the next marathon, or a 70.3, I always needed a specific, tangible target in the long term to get me to swim, bike, or run every morning.

– Racing back in 2007 before the running boom of Manila hit. Check out my P100 shorts from SM! –

The past couple of months, things changed.

After Ironman 70.3 Cebu last August, I knew, without a doubt, that I needed a respite from racing. It wasn’t so much the physical aspect of training that I got tired of, but it was the mental part. After years of training for the next big race, I suddenly felt spent constantly chasing after a goal in the far future. I just wanted to live in the now.

LIVING AN ACTIVE LIFESTYLE

Don’t get me wrong. I haven’t transformed into a couch potato. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I still train like a triathlete. I swim, bike, or run six days a week as if I was training for a triathlon. On two of those days, I have double workouts. I also join runs such as the recent Run United Philippine Marathon 21k. But no race or workout is taken too seriously. I really just want to run free. (No pun intended.)

– Running with friends in the South –

Without a goal in mind, I get out there everyday eager to workout for no other reason but this: Because I love it. Gone are the days when I wake up in the morning dreading a 100km bike ride and wishing I were with my kids instead or running intervals on the track because I needed to break a PR for the next race.

Each day I train because I love pushing my body to perform and seeing my progress in a skill or in endurance. I train because it makes me feel fit, strong, and powerful and that spills out to all other aspects of my life. I train because, quite simply, I enjoy every freaking minute of it. No pressure, no negative thoughts. All passion. It’s really about living an active lifestyle, day in, day out.

MORE TIME FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE

This new frame of mind has given me more time to think, conceptualize, and create. While I let go of a racing goal, I set new goals for myself in other aspects of my life. It’s when I took a step back that I gained more focus on my entire life.

– Relaxing at Pico de Loro –

I’ve gone back to school studying to be a Health Coach. I’m setting up a new project, which I hope to launch by the start of the year. I’ve had more time to improve on existing projects. And, I’ve gone back to illustrating again.

Perhaps the best effect of this off-season for me is this: It’s given me a time to breathe. The past months, I’ve been able to slow down a bit and enjoy the little things.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Within the next few weeks, my training for Tokyo Marathon on February 23, 2014 shall commence. Yes, I’ll have a new running goal to target, but I’m taking it on with a renewed spirit.

I always knew that the goal-less phase in my life would be temporary because, well, I was just born kinda competitive and driven. But, I tell you; the past 2 to 3 months’ break is just what I needed to get hungry and excited again. I’m looking forward to training and running those LSD’s for Tokyo.

For now, allow me to enjoy the last few weeks of goal-less workouts. It’s the most fun I’ve had in ages.