Waking up early in the morning and deciding the night before to jog has always been a difficult routine for me. I’m used to getting out of bed at around 9AM during weekends since I’m aware that I wouldn’t be doing anything for the entire day. But lately, I’ve been having this urge to run. Maybe this is one of the effects of seeing people run marathons nowadays.

I decided to run my first 3K marathon last June 27. Along with a couple of my officemates, we registered to join the ACE Hardware-Davies Eco-Friendly Run at the Mall of Asia. Two weeks prior to that, I decided to get myself fit for it since I don’t want to cause any embarrassment during the run. The thought of fainting and gasping for a hell lot of air and eventually dying while in the midst of the run continues to bug my mind. Haha! Morbid right?

So there, I registered, practiced and somehow even got a new pair of running shoes just for this event. (Talk about being a “virgin” at running, lol!)

Alas, the day of the run came, I went to the venue, met my friends then started jogging to what seemed like an endless 3K. I’d admit, I wasn’t able to complete the entire 3K by JUST running. I had to walk. Yes, you read it right, WALK half of it – oh what the heck, the whole 2.5K!

But while doing the WALKathon, I realized a lot of things.

In life, no matter how fast paced it may be, and no matter how drastic changes could happen, we must all take a breather. A time or a moment to indulge ourselves in what seems to be the “beauty” that surrounds us.

If we decide to go fast, we tend to miss a lot of things.

If we decide to go slow, there’s a big chance of getting left out.

If we decide to just jog in place, there will be no growth or improvement from us.

And if we choose to go along with the flow, surprises would surely come our way.

These things and a lot more, made me think about what I want in life. Or rather, how I’m currently running my own journey.

I also realized that I’m depending too much on everyone. That I am so used to their presence which makes me feel like everything is comfortable.  But it is not.

A few meters away from the finish line, I snapped back to reality. I dashed for the last 10 meters and there, it was done.

Just when I thought that he run was over, another realization came up to me. Seeing the line of people beyond the finish line, in queue for the so-called freebies, waiting there instead of just resting, made me think about this:

Every individual goes through a lot of challenges in life. It doesn’t matter if it’s difficult or not. As long as you decide for yourself that you’ll be able to overcome it, life will definitely give you a lot of good stuff in the end.

Yes, running is good. Not just for the health, but also for one’s life.

Neids

July 21, 2010