Life is beautiful...

After just one running, the course of The Condura Run a.k.a. Skyway Run has earned a reputation- organized. That’s the word from some of the 1,300 runners who completed the double ascent which started and finished at Fort Bonifacio. Mr. Conception was not kidding when he said, “Condura ensures that the route is not only challenging but is virtually car, jeep, bus and tricycle-free. We work closely with government officials to make this vision come true so that runners can truly have a healthy and enjoyable run,”
Runners tackled the first of the two big climbs in the early kilometers at the Kalayaan flyover. Although it was fairly challenging, the sight of a highway devoid of vehicles plus the cool morning air triggered off happy hormones in me. All I could think of was, ‘what goes up must come down’ and I looked forward to the downhill which will eventually bring me back to the Fort- the FINISH!
I had so much fun in this event despite never running a distance this long before. The thing about running is that the addiction kicks in all of a sudden and rarely can one put a finger on a particular moment or experience, but I can. This is my story…

My first run was June 29 last year in Mizuno’s Rush to Infinity race. Oh, the things that had NOT occurred in my life before that fateful month were:
1.    running a 5k (neither on treadmill nor outdoors)
2.    owning a pair of ‘running shoes’ (until a friend brought me to Mizuno, High Street, and registered me for a 5k run)
3.    observing a race- never knew anyone who raced
4.    training for a race- I love team sports but always hated competitive events
 
So what happened on race day?
1.    I feared bad smells a.k.a. BED smell (runners who don't shower before race) so I shot off like a bat out of hell.
2.    I felt like I was going to die in the 3rd minute of race- 176bpm, I kid you not!
3.    I fumed like an irate bull; I silently cursed my pacer, Alden, who signed me up for the race and I kept hitting him which meant, “Help me slow down” but which he translated as, “Give me a drink” so he kept offering me Gatorade. I hit him more but he never slowed down. I had no brakes!
4.    I finished the race cross-eyes and my surroundings literally went dark. I almost passed out.

I deliberated to never race again. Nothing was nice about racing- my fears of bad odors, feeling my heart explode, fuming without brakes, and finishing faint, but…I was just flabbergasted by the amount of calories burnt in less than half an hour. That made me happy☺ and then my pacer told me I was placed 2nd in my age category- 26:24 was the published time after queuing for almost 2 minutes at the finish chute. It was not too well organized as I recall it. Two weeks later he signed me up for The North Face Challenge-10k trail run; again never having run that distance before let alone TRAIL a.k.a. MUD SLIDE, I went like a lamb led to the slaughter. To my amazement I claimed 1st placing in my age category. 6 months after my very first race, I claimed an overall win in the 5k category of Punta Fuego-Mizuno Sunset Run, and after 7 months of running I had successfully completed 1000k yet never attempted any distance beyond 10k per run. So 6 days before this Condura half marathon I joined the “running freaks” at UP diliman- all geared up for a 21k but alas I had to stop after 18k due to pain from previous week's biking injury. Yet I had a wonderful time running in our group that morning. That was when I realized the subtle difference between addiction to running and addiction to racing. I didn’t care about the ‘time’, but about the experience. I was able to sacrifice running an entire week to join others in a run up the Skyway, just for the experience. So, for once in my life I ran without worrying about time or placing because I was just so thankful that I could run without pain. I finished 2hours 7mins but I smiled the whole time, and marveled at the efficiency and professionalism of my good friend, someone I truly respect, Mr. Rudy Biscocho; he is the only R.A.C.E. I like!

Link

Yesterday was an insanely fun way to spend a Sunday. Most people will wonder how waking up at 4am to fill up a picnic basket for breakfast with17 hungry youngsters can be normal. In my life, it is fairly normal. There were bags of biking paraphernalia to load into the car aside from food & drinks, plus 2 mountain bikes. The trail we went on had some of the most challenging slopes, the kind I see in my nightmares and cry in despair over. The dangers we faced didn’t seem imminent until I ‘hit, stopped, flipped, tumbled and rolled‘ a.k.a. I fell! It was fun…

4 hours later, we were reunited with our non-biking brothers and sisters who went swimming, ziplining, wall climbing and strolling. This is the part I enjoyed most, and I am not referring to the food although I have to admit it was better than fine dining, the bonding part. Church is never boring because it delivers a whole assortment of relatives, distant and close ones, to add sparkles to our lives. It was fun…

Speaking of sparkles, made me think of diamonds. “She’s a diamond in the rough” is a familiar way of saying somebody has potential to become far more than she is right now. But I believe that we are much more like opals than diamonds. I learnt today that an opal is made of desert dust, sand and silica and owes its beauty not to its perfection but to a defect. You can imagine how excited I was with that new found knowledge. Boy, do I know about my defectssss. Turns out that an opal is a stone with a broken heart. It is full of minute fissures that allow air inside, and then the air refracts the light. This means that an opal will lose its luster when kept in a cold, dark place, but restored when held in a warm hand or when light shines on it. Oh how we need the light of God and the warmth of fellowship to take on color and brilliance. Being surrounded by their warmth that morning was fun…

I observed my sister MJ, Jeric’s sweet (not sour) rib, and marveled at her beauty. She supports her husband’s passion and goes beyond what a normal wife does. AB-normal, a whole new genetic default ☺  Her sacrificial heart warmed mine and allowed air inside. I believe I was more colorful by the time we all left the picnic site and arrived at Music Museum an hour later. Sunday is really my favorite day. God confirms a lot of reflections through worship & sermon messages. Church is definitely not boring because it doesn’t start at ‘service time’ but in bonding times. It IS fun

We have completed a whole month just focusing on ONE LIFE TO LIVE and although I have not done what most of my blog-savvy friends did- daily entry on some of the profound principles they have meditated on- the topic has moved me to account my thoughts in summary of how I want to LOVE, LIVE, LEARN and leave a LEGACY. This past month has been focused on the Real LIFE foundation's up coming projects and planning events to reach out to our less fortunate communities. I learned about our Christian witness in the context of transformational development, and was reminded about what the scope of that witness entails. I feel that I need to keep my hope for transformation clearly in mind so that when I witness, the content of my witness and the way I use the Bible address the transformational frontiers.

I am most excited about the next 3 weeks' topic in Victory "church is boring" http://dennis128.multiply.com/journal/item/328/CHURCH_IS_BORING_and_other_reasons_why_you_dont_go_to_church

Rediscovering identities and discovering vocation are I believe the twin goals of transformation. Everything else follows. This is not so easy, since one of the outcomes of poverty (be it a material, emotional or spiritual ) is an identity so marred that believing that one is a child of God is like being asked to believe that one can fly. The first step is to treat people as if I believe that they are made in the image of God and are as worthy of respect as anyone.

For me, this one life to live should be used to help people to know their identity. Learning who we really are is GOOD NEWS! I am challenged to help people discover their true identity and vocation so that they can give expressions to each. For the poor, it must begin in their household -for example, less drinking and womanizing, which in turn means more money and for the non- poor, my invitation should include an invitation to lay down god-complexes and turn over to God those roles that are rightfully God's.

I aspire to be a world changer! Changing worldview is more than changing behavior. It is even more than changing beliefs or values. I think it means changing a people's entire story so that the community adopts a new story. This can only be done by a people, not individuals. While changing the worldview of people must be a goal of discipleship, it is the work of the Holy Spirit. I feel rested knowing that and am compelled to be that catalyst. It must be holistic, because the effect of only witnessing to the spiritual truth of the gospel is a serious distortion of the gospel. In response to hearing the gospel only as a word addressing spiritual needs, people may experience only a conversion at the level of formal religion and begin to go to church, read their Bible, and identify themselves as Christians.

I am so blessed that our leaders in Victory don't just preach from the pulpit but they actively get involved in individual lives, seeing each individual as 'fearfully and wonderfully made', and good enough to be loved. This Sunday is going to be a blast- insightful and a real 'discovery channel'