my sunday

i got home pretty late that night. it was my cousin's last day in the country and i was trying to squeeze every last second i could get with him before he flies out the next morning. i waited for him at his house as he and my relatives went to church while i came from gym. the night's weather wasn't really in its bests of moods but that didn't really deter me. not long after i arrived at his house did they turn up as well. we talked like the next morning was just going to be another day and had a couple of laughs like we always do. in the end, reality sunk and as i begged off to go home and call it a night, i hugged him. i will miss him dearly and i thank the Lord that i could be so blessed to be related to such a great friend.

i got home near midnight already and it didn't matter to me too much that i was supposed to sleep early that night either since i had to wake up really early the next day. i had decided to accompany my kuya on his marathon and since he wanted to leave by 4am, i basically only had a few hours of sleep left. i set my alarm to 33oam and proceeded to make as much use of the time i have left. my kickboxing earlier that day had left me exhausted so, needless to say, sleeping was not a problem. i lost consciousnesses the moment my head came into contact with my pillow.

3am. head pounding still, i slowly got up to get ready. rain was pouring hard outside but despite that, it never occurred to me that races get cancelled. i texted my friend whom i knew were running, wishing them luck, as i proceeded to change. kuya was up and about already. by 430, we were out and driving steadily towards mckinley hill, to earth run.

this would be my first ever experience to be a spectator of a race. my long standing leg injury had left me unable to stand compressive forces on my leg, thereby putting my hopes for running on hold. i have to admit, i felt envious of the runners as the gathered on the starting point. i knew feeling of anxiety, mixed with excitement, charged with building adrenaline in anticipation of the race. i recall getting into such a high the moment fatigue sets in as you near your mark distance, the exhilaration of running with thousands of other people, the perfect feeling the moment you cross the finish line, irregardless of your time. all of that, i can now only force myself to recall as i stand now in the sidelines and keep an eye out for kuya for, i thought to myself, it is now his turn to experience the joy of running.

the starting gun went off and a flock of about a thousand charged forth into the awaiting trail, shimmering in the days rain, bracing itself of the onslaught of runners out to prove something, to the world and to themselves. the sight of the initial drove of people was beautiful. all those bodies, all that force working towards a similar goal was such a powerful sight to behold, it made me want to be a part of it more, but, alas, my fate had been determined.

in about a few minutes, the first of the finishers began to trickle in. the 3k runners started to come in first, then the 5k, and eventually the 16km. at about 30 mins to the race, the familiar sight to kuya and his friends finallybegan to emerged...


and man... were THEY tired! :) congrats again to all you guys! next time, i hope i can join you guys na!