I’m so happy to have opened my WordPress dashboard the day after On Your Mark run. I’m talking about TODAY fellas! Finally, I won’t be talking about things that’re long overdue already. This has turned a habit for few months now and it feels great to finally be breaking the chain AGAIN. This is so up-to-date that my body can still feel the aftermath of the 21km run. haha! ENOUGH. ENOUGH. Let’s go to the real thing.
This is quite a different run compared to the previous runs I had. I woke up 2:00 AM for the 4:30 AM gun start and the weather was really awful that I had to keep checking OYM FB page for any available announcements. Affinitea released an update at 3:00 AM that the event was pushing through due to no announcement of typhoon signal yet. The organizers decided to also delay the gun start from 4:30 AM to 5:00 AM to give way for those runners who were coming late. To be honest, I was then a bit hesitant to go, but I still went anyway.
We arrived around 4:00 AM and the weather was still very unpredictable. One moment it was raining the next it wasn’t, then it became worse. The runners around were talking about whether the organizers should postpone the event or not. It was really cold and windy, definitely not the best condition to run. In fact, I heard many registered participants backed out and chose to stay at home safe, I couldn’t blame them because I contemplated the same for myself too. Then before the run began, we realized we had no cash in our running belt and we had to rush back to the parking lot to get some cash. This made us uncomfortably soaked, lakas maka-wet look! We don’t usually bring our mobile phones during the actual run, but we do bring some cash in case any emergency happens.
It stopped heavy raining and was only drizzling when the run began. We were all in full hopes that a safe run would then happen and that the weather would continuously cooperate as it did at that moment. Then the run began. Seemed like God heard our prayers and the sky was clearing little by little. Although it was still drizzling at some point, it was so much better and was bearable.
I and Jhori ran at a comfortable pace together but we were able to still beat our PRs, yeheeyy! We always run together even if we’re not in the buddy run category during events like this. So obviously, I and him have the same PR every time. haha! What made this run unique for me as well is, this was the first time I ever tried using a mobile toilet! I had no choice, I couldn’t wait any sooner as it made me feel very uncomfortable already! Well thanks, mobile toilet, such a relief!
This is my 3rd 21-kilometer run to date. The last one I joined was back in October last year during the Run United Philippine Marathon 2015. It was that long already, I KNOW! I may not as active as the other runners when it comes to training but I understand how difficult it is to finish a run like this especially to a not athletic type like me. It was a real struggle when I was just starting and how I can’t even run a straight 500 meters before. Jhori can attest to that. I’m glad that today’s me is so much better than few years ago. Not everyone understands how joining running events can be fulfilling. But it really is. I’m so proud to have survived this run despite the bad weather, as what I have captioned on my latest instagram post. Rain or shine, G!
Thanks Affinitea for organizing another successful event despite how disappointing the weather was! We are also planning to join On Your Mark Trilogy Leg 3 which is happening this October. Hope to see you there!
