My Very First Marathon

I started running in September because I got quite a scare upon learning that my SGPT results were kind of high. I kept on thinking about Thess and Javier and the thought of them having to take care of me when my body does breakdown. It was not easy at first finding time to run. I had to make sure that I wasn't needed around the house. Eventually, it became a routine for me to take off early on Saturdays or Sundays to run at the Ateneo High School Track Oval. In the beginning it was great. There were very few people up at that time and running was such peaceful experience. After a while, running around alone became a bit boring so I decided to move to the UP Oval so that there would be other people around. Though we did not know each other, they were good company. After a while, I found out that two of my officemates would also run on weekends and so from time to time we'd run together in UP. I'd also run on weekdays but those runs are much quicker and normally cut short due to time constraints.

Then after the Eraserheads Concert, a friend of mine told me he had just run a 10k marathon the week before and that I should try it out. At first I thought, "Whoa... 10k is too much!" But then, I started to think about it. I later on decided to make running a real 10k marathon my first fitness goal. I told my officemates about it and they also got interested. The marathon of choice was the Adidas King of the Road 2008. I registered not long after and got my very first race bib and singlet. Too bad my officemates ran out of slots. I was really hoping to have some friends nearby for support.

I remember the lines to get to the parking lot at The Fort. I was surprised to see so many people there. People had either walked, commuted or driven to The Fort at such an early hour to run. An hour before the scheduled starting time, I had a McDonald's Sausage McMuffin breakfast and a FAB Mango juice drink. I figured it had to be something light and easy to eat.

There were many familiar faces then. Some people were acquaintances from college. Others I had seen before while running in UP. Most people were pumped up and raring to go, stretching, jumping and limbering up. I was just anxious. I remember looking up at the race course to see that the 10k course went all the way up to Reposo on Buendia. Wow. At that point, I momentarily lost a bit of confidence, but I then told myself that I would finish it no matter what.


The 21k marathoners started at around 5:20 A.M. The 10k runners were up next. I recalled all the running tips I had read from RunnersWorld.com, said a prayer and started looking around for any familiar face. Seeing no one, I decided to look for someone I could use to help me set my pace. And then, at around 5:50 A.M., we were off!

I was a bit concerned that I tended to run at a faster pace than what I was used to. It seemed like everyone was running past me. When we got to the flyover to Buendia many of the runners had slowed down. The most notable sound then was that of a lady on her way back who had shouted her frustration for having to run uphill at such a steep incline. Then, after the U-turn at reposo, fatigue hit me. It was like all my energy reserves had suddenly been depleted. To make matters worse was the scorching heat of the sun that I only noticed on the way back. I tried to cut down my pace, but I couldn't stop myself from wheezing so I decided to stop and walk. I had settled to a run-walk-run pace through out the flyover on the way back. I felt a bit disappointed but I knew that my body had reached its limit. When I got to the turn near McDonald's, I decided to run straight to the finish line. At first it was manageable, but after a while, I needed one breath for every step. Eventually, I got to the end. Half of me wanted to savor the moment. The other half wanted to get over and done with. As I was running into the finishers lane, I looked at my stopwatch. 1 hour 12 minutes. Officially, I clocked in at 1 hour 13 minutes because there was a bottleneck at the area where they take the finishers' tags.

I went straight for the water table and looked around as I drank. People were recounting their experiences. Many were in groups chatting, drinking and resting. Everyone was happy. I had a friendly talk about the race with an acquaintance. After our discussion, I just looked around again. There were people on the side selling singlets and shorts. Race organizers had also set up tables for runners to register for the upcoming races. I finished the race. Now what do I do.

I wonder how I can possibly explain this experience to the people at home. I finished it! In a way, it was the culmination of weeks of preparation. It was also the start of a new way of life. From this, I learned about the strength (and weakness) of my body and my willpower. I know there are still a lot of things to work on. But I think working on those things are what I look forward to in the first place.