i was supposed to go with a friend, but due to unavoidable circumstances she couldn't make it at the last minute. now i have to figure out how to get there on commute.. alone. i am starting to have second thoughts. will i go or will i stay home and sleep. the latter sounds more enticing. but no. i fought for this. i am going through with it.
dark out. eerie silence. all asleep on a 4am weekend and i am walking.
will i make it at 6am?.. thought racing in my head. not a lot of commuters on a weekend that early. i anxiously wait. finally, we are leaving. clock ticking. will i make it at 6am.. i have to, i have to.
it took me three jeepney rides to get to where i am supposed to be. but i made it at 6am!
now i know, God is with me.
looking back: 3 weeks ago, i sprained my right ankle while doing my usual night run. blame it on the puddle of water and rusty shoes. result, no running for 3 weeks.
after 2 weeks, i thought it will be healed. but as the doctor puts it, "no marathon for you." did i listen? obviously not.
people kept telling me not to go through with it.. and i was about to be convinced. but something inside me is saying.. Go!
step by step i ran the course. i focused myself on my feet and the path. i didn't look uphill. my feet, that is my concern. do not slip. one wrong step and i am a goner.
rocks getting bigger. road getting muddier. uphill getting steeper by the minute. focus. focus. do not hurt yourself.
i reached the 2.5K uphill. now its downhill. this is going to be a breeze. so i thought. gravity is pulling much harder than it should. still the rocky, muddy trail. one wrong step and i'll be rolling my way down to the finish line. which i think doesn't count?
i ran. i ran as carefully but with more speed this time. trying to fight gravity as well. before i knew it, i can see the finish line from a distance.
as runners make their way, marshals and organizers cheers on for every person nearing the finish line. it helped. a stranger telling you "go 5K runner! you can do it!" over and over again as you reached the line. and everyone else cheering you on. it helped.
i finished at 51 minutes and 43 seconds for the 5k (3.1 miles) run, without hurting myself.
for a clutz like me, it was a miracle.
realization: yes, i am stubborn. we have established that with my previous blogs. but i know, this one.. is a challenge.
you will never know unless you try. and i can't wait for another marathon to come. my mind and body was set for this.
of course, the goal is to finish the race. in my case, completing the 5K.but i didn't know that i was running the race even before the day of the marathon.
in life, we all have a race to run. a marathon to endure. and a finish line to reach.
the finish line is the icing on the cake. the journey we battle, uphill and downhill is what brings essence to the pursuit of our goal.
my marathon start way long before i even sprained my ankle. and it challenged me to be stronger and more committed.
i have been to the rocky path, to the slippery decisions and to the muddy outcomes. but i endured. i focused on the step. i sprained my ego, but it healed. i fight through it with friends, even strangers, cheering me to go on. and sometimes i fight through it alone.
its never a smooth route to the finish line. even when you think it is. trails can be deceiving. people can be uninviting. but its how you ran the trail, the path, the course, the route.. the decision to move forward despite the negativity around. the conviction to pursue and complete. and the faith in yourself and to God.
i ran my marathon alone today, with no support from anyone. but i was not afraid, i was not devastated.
i know i have one Support that will carry me through all the way to the finish line.
~A
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