EnduRANce

Values are better caught, and not taught, right? My first race turned out to be a valuable lesson in determination, commitment and perseverance.

When I started training, my goal was to have the endurance to finish the race, even if it means walking all the way to it. My online running mentor said, this could be done by starting slow and pacing myself, picking up speed only towards the end of the race. It said that I shouldn't feel pressured to have the other runners pass me by. No problem in that area.

On The Day, call time was at 5:15 am at Manila Polo to give time for a walk through and some race guidelines. Pag-asa predicted a typhoon coming, but you can never be sure with these guys. We brushed the typhoon signal aside for more important matters on hand, the race and the subsequent celebratory breakfast and awarding at Pancake House along McKinley Hill.

I was in the middle of my 2nd lap when it started to drizzle. And then the drizzle quickly turned into a downpour. I didn't want to quit the race. I trained for it and I wanted to finish it. Add to the fact that J was running with us, it would be the perfect chance to show her that if we commit to something, we follow through upto the very end. So run in the rain, we did! Soaked to the bone, I remember fretting about my new shoes getting drenched and muddy. tee-hee-hee! :)

I ran the race at my own pace, and what do you know? I placed second in the 3k category, and won for us 2 tickets to the Powerplant Cinema. J also got a prize for finishing the race. We headed to PowerPlant for our movie date, with a movie of J's choice, KungFu Panda.

I am sure she will treasure the memories of running her very first race, and running the second half of it (gleefully) in the rain. Hopefully, I was able to first-handedly expose her to the values of determination and commitment . That if we set our mind to doing something, setbacks will only slow us down but won't stop us from reaching our goals.