The medications I had taken for my cough and sore throat were the culprit for my lack of training. Thanks to the circulating virus in the office (and everywhere!), I tried to get as much rest as I could and people tell me I gained weight; my office clothes also scream at me to get moving and stop downing too much fruit juice already.
I skipped gym for a week due to colds and cough. Then I capped off the week with an all-nighter party and when I woke up the following day, I had a full-blown sore throat that disabled my speech. So a week later, I was taking antibiotics and another medicine, thus making me feel lethargic that I’d only run for 2km, work on the elliptical for 20mins and then I’d be done. Now what kind of work out was that?
I took last night the last capsule of medication, which immediately lulled me to sleep. So I skipped gym this morning again. Haha. Speaking of which, my membership is about to expire next month. To renew or not to renew? I have yet to decide.
Despite the lack of training, I decided to run 10K on the “day the whole world stopped to run.” But I didn’t sign up for the McKinley run. I ran alone. I knew that I lacked training and was afraid that the uphills would kill me, even though during my first and most difficult 10K, I savored the uphills. I just didn’t want to do too much uphills, as the Makiling Challenge would be bringing a lot of those.
The hurdle and the geek
After my run last Tuesday, I put the sensor in sleep mode and then I reset my SportBand. So Sunday came. And I thought that I wouldn’t be able to run at all. The SportBand would flash “WALK” and then it would just revert to displaying the time. So while I was there with other joggers and cyclists, I took out my left shoe, fingered the sensor and tried switching it on. I tried walking again. It still wouldn’t work. I was getting nervous, the sun was almost up but there were looming clouds, and there I was–wearing only one shoe and trying to figure out what to do with my sensor.
What’s interfering with the wireless communication of the sensor and my SportBand? The geek in me wondered. Or my sensor is completely dead? Then I looked at my socks. Don’t tell me it’s the socks! They’re not running socks, but is it possible that it has materials similar to that of the RF-blocking paint that can be used in information facilities like the Pentagon? My father had already walked a kilometer, while I was still trying to figure out if I successfully switched on the sensor or if my socks are ideal for Pentagon protection.
Finally, the SportBand detected the sensor and off I ran. I was too excited that when I glanced at the SportBand, it read that I was running at a pace of 3’22”.
Slow down, I told myself. You’re going to tire yourself.
So I gradually decreased my speed until I was in the range of 5’50” to 7’20”. It had been raining in Laguna and because of that millipedes were everywhere again. As I neared the other gate of the village and the very grassy area part, there were lots of them. They bothered me at first–I could hear their body crunch when I step on them, and the sound was enough to make me cringe.
Oble haunts me
The sun was already up, and it was directly behind me. No drop of rain fell, and the gray clouds earlier are nowhere to be seen. I found it amusing to watch my shadow in front of me as I ran. I stretched my arms to my side, wondering if my height and my wingspan are equal, as was the measurement when I was in college. Silly me. Of course, it was my shadow and my legs were unusually longer. So instead of determining the accuracy of that measurement, I was reminded of Oblation and thus, of the Makiling Challenge. It thrilled and scared me at the same time.
Small talk
When I do long runs alone, I am normally focused on such things as my physical state (Am I getting dizzy? Is my breathing ok? Running form? Anything aching? Am I thirsty?), traffic condition (No one likes to get into an accident; that’s also why I run without an MP3 player), safety (I sometimes do long runs at night, so think bats and deviant people) and the weather (Will it rain? Why can’t I feel the cool wind on my face?). I also get to think about other personal matters–things I think about before going to bed. I also pray while I run. In fact, sometimes I think I say the most fervent prayers when I run.
Thus, other things are in the background–I hardly notice other people. That’s why I was surprised to hear one of the cyclists remark out loud “Tibay nito, kanina pa to tumatakbo.” I thought he was probably refering to the other runners. Then another cyclist asked, “Ate, kanina ka pa? 6th round mo na?” I glanced at my SportBand–6.27km. Wow, he can count! I barely count my own rounds at the park, how could he count other people’s rounds? “Opo,” I said. “6km na po.”
An hour and 13 minutes later, and after multiple millipede murders, I finished the required 10K. After a visit to one of our dog’s litters, I uploaded the run. It’s quite an embarrassing record. I knew the run wouldn’t look good on graph, dashing when the SportBand finally detected the sensor and then slowing down. Nonetheless, I’m happy that I ran the day the whole world ran. 🙂
And I was extra happy to have finally met another puppy rott–the descendant of our four-year-old dog–who untied my shoelaces and wanted to use my running shoes as his new toy, who licks my hand as if I’m his master, and savors the pat on the head I give him. I miss having a puppy.
Digital Dash 
