Sunday
October 4, 2015
Finally, I have reached another milestone in my life. I have successfully finished a full marathon. I’m still in a bit of a disbelief after everything that happened. As of now, I’m physically feeling the aftereffects of the run, but mentally, I am hyped up from this achievement.
After getting dengue, I thought that I wouldn’t be able to train enough to properly prepare for this marathon, but with God’s grace and a lot of mental perseverance, I managed to push myself into completing the 42 kilometers / 26 miles.
Having no run above 21km in my history, I know that after that distance, I’d be literally exceeding myself for another 21km. It’s a good thing I was able to find some friends among the runners to talk to and maintain a stable pace with.
Having done the first 21 km, I was out of my comfort zone. Every additional kilometer just made me feel more tired but I didn’t think of quitting. My goal here was to finish. I was walking when I saw a runner with the word “endure” written on his shirt. I don’t really know why, but that single word motivated me to start running again and the kilometers once again just trickled slowly.
I’d have to say that the last 2 kilometers had to be the longest in my life. I know that I was so close, but the finish line was still nowhere in sight. I was already walking and I felt that my legs were about to literally fall apart. But being so near just gave me so much more motivation to complete it. I think I burned up all my adrenaline stores when I finally saw the finish.
After crossing the finish line, I was silent for a few minutes. With the medal around my neck, I walked around a bit and ignored the screaming of my legs. All the runs, all the aches and pains, everything for this medal around my neck. It was all worth it. I finished a marathon, something I never thought I would do at the start of this year. My unofficial time was 5:49:29.
I would like to thank my team for the support and companionship. Your smiles, and nods during the race were enough for that extra push. Congratulations to everyone who participated in this year’s Run United Philippine Marathon.
Thank you to RunRio for a successful event. Thank you to my family, to Mama for letting me go to these events, to Papa for supporting me, to Judd for the running shoes. Thank you to everyone who wished me luck and congratulated me after the race. Thank you to the Big Guy above, for an injury-free finish and good running weather. We did it.
Will I run this distance again? As of now, my answer is a firm “No.” But who knows, stranger things have happened. Just like how this guy who hated running finished a marathon.
-jgzn
p.s.
If any of you are wondering why I have a banana in most of the pictures, It’s my lucky banana. I took it with me if I got hungry but never got around to eating it. I traveled with it for a bit more than 5 kilometers and we’ve bonded a lot. Sadly, it got spoiled when I arrived home so I had to throw it away. RIP Lucky Banana, at least we have these pictures to remember you by.
Jai Online 