Just call me Usain Bolt May 17, 2010
Just a little Olympic trivia for you. Remember the insanely fast (and slightly cocky) Jamaican runner?
I’m only making this highly false comparison because I ran a “marathon” this weekend. Technically a 3K does not really qualify as a marathon but it was promoted as such so I’m just following their lead. Plus it sounds cool to say ” Yeah, I ran a marathon this weekend.”
Because it is summer in Manila and HOT, I had to wake up at 3:45am so I could meet my work colleagues (It was a office bonding event and many of the staff participated) for the beginning of the race which started at 5:30am. The sun was not even foolish enough to be awake when I got up. I’m pretty sure it was a little sad that day. Part of it’s PURPOSE in life is to wake me up with it’s happy sunshiney goodness. It didn’t get that opportunity Sunday. No one was more sad about that then me.
Lining up to start the race
Look at this crowd! We were definitely not alone.
Filipinos love for their skin to be light so there were many people walking around offering sun block to the runners. Interestingly enough, no one offered it to this white girl. I burn, people! But I figured, it’s 3K…how burnt could I really get; so I let them pass.
The race started with an enthusiastic guy (of course he is, he doesn’t have to run) counting down from ten and then yelling “Go!” Enthusiastically, we cheered and started to run.
About 3 steps.
It’s called traffic, people traffic. So we were forced to just kind of run in place. It felt wrong to just stand there and not do SOMETHING.
It wasn’t long before the way was cleared and we were off.
Let me interject by saying–I am out of shape! I really mean that. I don’t remember the last time I went running. Or did any serious exercise. It’s not that I dislike working out…I just hate to run. So you may be wondering why I was in a marathon. Don’t ask me to explain how my strange mind works. I’m more of a martial arts, kickboxing, tae bo, dance, kind of exerciser.
Still, I am quite stubborn and competitive so I was determined to run as far as I could without stopping. That equaled about 1.5K…about a mile. That may seem weak to you. Please, I encourage you to read my disclaimer above. If you’re too lazy to scroll up or just have really bad memory (might want to get that checked out), I’ll tell you again….I am out of shape.
The last half I alternated between running and walking. I hilariously tried to sprint there at the end. Unfortunately, I seriously misjudged the remaining distance. I didn’t make it at a full sprint. In fact, panting, I had to walk a bit. I’d be embarrassed about that if not for the fact that…
I AM OUT OF SHAPE!
But I did push myself. I will not share my time, it is not important. The important thing is that a big guy who has at least 100 pounds on me sprinted past me at the very end. No wait, that is not the important thing. The important thing is that I finished. And got free stuff!
The run was sponsored by Neutrogena and they had the best gift bags put together. We got a tank top and tshirt proclaiming we Chased the Sun (the slogan for the race). I also loved how the shirt lists 3k, 5k, 10k, and 15k. No one has to know I ran the shortest one. Muahahaha. Our bag included lots of goodies as well. They even had booths set up with lots of free stuff. We couldn’t resist jumping on the trampoline and posing for a free pic.
Carefree spokeswomen
I was proud of all of our staff for coming out and running.
And I was really glad I didn’t try for the 5k. But there is always next year…
The important thing is that you tried. And, that bonding thing was important too . Can’t wait to hear about you running the 5K. Oh, wait. Will you still be there then? hmmmmm…..
Good job Rach. I was talked into running a 5K for a good cause and I hate running as much as you. Which is why we never ran together
But, I am proud of your effort and laughed a lot reading this post.
YEAH! Go you good thing! I’m so excited that you did it! Running, jogging, shuffling, hopping, walking, dawdling, sliding or being a worm, whichever way you chose, you did it! I love the part about the guy who sprinted past you at the end. You know, you were probably the person that during the whole race he was thinking “Out of EVERYTHING, I have to beat that white chick”. You got that bloke through, man! Good on you! And cool for the free stuff. But seriously? 3:45am. You are disgusting. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep. Still… awesome work!
PS – How long did you take? And do you know how long it took the last person to cross the line?
Oh Carola, I loved the inner dialogue you gave my last minute sprinter. haha! That made me laugh out loud. I’m glad I could give him something to be proud of.
Yes, 3:45am was early. I tried to sleep at 9pm…unsuccessfully. I did however get a nap later on Sunday.
It took me 34 minutes but I’m not sure about the last person. Some just wanted to walk along with their friends and had not a care in the world so I KNOW I beat those people!
The important thing is that you tried. And, that bonding thing was important too . Can’t wait to hear about you running the 5K. Oh, wait. Will you still be there then? hmmmmm…..