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“Don’t ask me how I am. It’s very special, spectacular.”

That’s what Haile Gebreselassie said after breaking the marathon world record last Sunday in Berlin.

As most of you know by now, Haile clocked in at 2 hours, 4 minutes, 26 seconds. He broke Paul Tergat’s 4 year old record of 2:04:55 by 29 seconds.

This was Haile’s 25th world record! Congratulations brother (in running, I mean!)

Tough times will always come. The level of difficulty, however, is relative for different kinds of people and at varying periods in their lives. No matter the size of the problem, it is one’s ability to confront these trials that is vital to one’s survival on this rocky road of life.

Running, or any other sport that challenges your strengths and pushes you beyond your limitations, builds your endurance physically but more importantly, mentally. When faced with a seemingly insurmountable task, a mountain climber can recall conquering Mt. Everest and think “If I can climb the highest mountain in the world, what else can I not do?” When life throws too many problems at a runner, she can remind herself of her last marathon and think “Hang on. The finish line will soon be in sight.”

The past few weeks have been a roller coaster ride for me. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say most days were 2’s but there were quite a number of days that peaked at 10 in terms of fear and stress. Twice this month, I had to take my boy for a blood test to check for dengue. With a low fever that persisted for days, he wasn’t eating and could barely stand on his own. During the hours that we’d wait with bated breath for the test results, I feared to even think of what we would do had the tests proven positive. Thankfully, after almost two weeks with fever, he is now fully recovered.

Right now, I am seated in my daughter’s dental office, waiting and waiting and waiting during these three long hours that they sedated her to work on over 10 cavities. The procedure, as we’ve been told, is not entirely fool-proof so, as much as we trust the anesthesiologist and dentist who are caring for her, I am still extremely anxious and worried until I can hold her safely in my arms.

Coupled with these worries is the task of juggling my load of work. I am struggling to make my deadlines for projects that have come at me all at the same time. Are there enough hours in a day for me to get all these done?

My fears are nothing compared to others, but there is nothing that makes a mother more anxious than to see her child in pain. Work issues can be set aside, but no, not my children.

During these times, I recall seeing the flyover ahead of me during the Adidas KOTR. It was an uphill climb that, I thought, would be utterly tiring and difficult. Ugh, I muttered. But, after plodding my way up, I found it to be surprisingly easy and effortless. It was all in the mind, really.

Last night, I literally ran my stress away. Most of you will agree that it is truly a great pain reliever. I ran 10k on my treadmill at full speed leaving my worries behind. That hour of running gave me strength to face this day. It hasn’t completely alleviated the anxiety, but it has helped me gain a more positive outlook. Even if the weather is gloomy outside, the sun shines brighter on my front. Everything is gonna be alright.

I could not wait to run. Work had been weighing down on me for the past week or so (hence the lack of posts…and worse runs!) so I blocked Thursday evening as a “must run” on my planner. When the rain started pouring in the afternoon, I prayed to God He’d make it stop if only from 7 to 8 that evening. He heard me alright. It was clear skies by the time I arrived at Bonifacio High Street.

As always, Coach Ige briefed us before we sped off. The elite runners would run the larger laps around High Street, while beginners and intermediate runners would take the inner circle. Before I knew it, we were going our separate ways. Goodbye Elite Runners, I thought, I shall only see your dust from hereon!

Coach Ige led our group with Marga and I by his side. He announced the plan for that night: a progressive run of 8 laps; we would run at an easy pace for the first 2 laps, increase pace for the next 2 laps, and run race pace for the last 4 laps. Wooohooo! This was definitely my idea of fun!

During the first lap, Coach Ige corrected my form. He said I was moving my upper body too much. (That was a big surprise as I thought I only did that when I listened to Maroon 5 on my ipod!) Secondly, he said I should stick my pelvis out. “Huh? Like how,” I asked? He answered, “Just imagine you have a coin up your butt.” Oh, okay! If I had a P10 coin, I would’ve done it for real if only to get the perfect running form…NOT!

It was smooth running for the first 4 laps along with Coach Ige. Marga had slowed down after suffering from side stitches. Before the 2nd half of the run, Coach Ige bid me farewell with one last direction: “Remember: race pace. Do not slow down.” Yes, sir! Like a good little soldier, I took his commands to heart and went as fast as possible as I watched him speed up leaving me by my lonesome. Then, from out of nowhere, Renz appeared. I told him between breaths “You’re late. 8 laps. Last 4: race pace.” And, with that, we ran with barely any words between us.

I finished at 9 laps (8.3 km) in 46 mins at 5:34 min/km. Aaaw, a little bit slow but I forgave myself as I was still feeling the exhaustion from work and lack of sleep. After chatting with friends, Ben and Marga (Renz was still running), meeting Gelo and Cris anew (Drew where were you?), and meeting Raymond for the first time, I headed home and greeted my mac “I’m back. Where did we end?”

– with Gelo and Cris –

– with Photographer Ben and Marga –

– All kinds of runners meet at Mizuno Run Club –

The Southridge Walk/Run For Fun has been postponed to October 6, 2007, Saturday due to Typhoon Hanna.

You are invited to the Southridge Family Walk/Run For Fun this coming Sunday, September 30, 2007, at Hillsborough Subdivision. This is a fundraising activity for the playground project of the school. Kids can walk/run 1k while adults can join the 3k event.

Registration will open at 6 a.m. at Southridge School. Take-off time is at 6:30 a.m. Registration fee is P250. Payments are now accepted at the Southridge Business Office but there will also be onsite registration.

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My son and I were looking forward to joining this. During last Sunday’s Fame Run, he completed the 3k; running 1k and walking 2k, so I knew my Little Bullrunner was all set to win the bike ((that’s just one of the many prizes which include Nike GCs and cash) for the children’s category (Proud mama eh?!) Unfortunately, by the evening of the Fame Run, he already had high fever and cough. He only recovered last night, which he insists is early enough to allow him to run again on Sunday. I think not.

I wonder where my son got his stubborness about running.