Victory Ortigas - Honor God. Make Disciples.

my daughter isa & i just joined our first 10k run today (run for your life at UP diliman). we went with my friend Raymart who i occasionally train with. what an experience! it was tough & gruelling surprisingly. i will explain this later.

Isa has been asking me to join her for months since she joined her 1st 5k race last Feb. other friends have too including Raymart but since i work on Sundays, it hasn’t been possible. today my work load is lighter so i decided to try it out. its my 1st race since my college days. although i have been running consistently 5-8k for exercise bout 3x weekly since i was 14. its mostly in a gym, on a treadmill, a controlled environment.

and because i have been doing so, i didnt think it would be too difficult since my body is used to it. O boy was i wrong. my goal was to to run it in 60-64 minutes. soon after i started, i trashed the goal. i lowered the bar to, “let just finish this thing, LORD help!”

so many factors make you want to quit or just take the 3k or 5k. 1st i have had a cold for week, so, its ok, they will understand. the heat, the inclines stretching a kilometer almost, the others who stop & go, the fact that its your 1st time, all those who pass you (its so discouraging, especially if its a woman!!!!), i just kept telling myself, whatever you do dont stop even for water & “finish this race!”

at one point, an older guy (my goodness!) passed me but on the back of his shirt it read “FINISHER.” WOW! how encouraging is that! LORD thank you for letting him pass me so YOU could speak encouragement to my weary soul.

as the home stretch approached, it was an adrenaline rush once again! as i turned though, it was about a kilometer still and i couldnt see the finish line. HHHAAAYYY!!!! LORD help! i tried to catch up with this foreigner, then i went back to my lowered goal “just finish Julius.” finally, i could see the red banner “FINISH!” and, before i knew it, surprisingly, i crossed it!!!! yipee! yahoo! yehey! thank you LORD!

even more surprisingly was my time, as i edged Isa out. lets just say we both beat the time goal (Raymart, a triathlete, beat us soundly!). overall, i must say, its all in the mind. the physical part was ok, but 90% was a battle of the gray matter between my ears.