Monday, September 22, 2008

In good times and in bad times...

I didn't expect to do a run this month as most are located far from where I live (Milo Provincial Races, Subic Legacy Run, Makiling 10K Run to name a few). The only runs held near my place were the PMI PROUDLY 60 RUN in UP and Raising Hope 2 Run in Rockwell, both to be held on September 21, 2008.


I didn't expect to join any of these runs either as my Saturday was quite busy... busy going to Tagaytay with my girlfriend Per to eat at Sonya's Garden. The travel time alone takes a lot of patience given the long distance and the heavy traffic from road closures in South Super Hi-Way but make it we did for the salad and pasta buffet.


This was something Per and I planned for a few weeks now (and to which I secretly planned for more than a month) as a place to head to and have a good time. We have eaten here twice already in the last three years but we were both pleasantly surprised that it was still a crowd-drawer (nevermind how far it is) and it even looked better as it expanded its dining area to serve hungry customers and now has body massage and bed & breakfast options as well.


It was here that I popped The Question to her. My plan involved a secluded place, a game board and some added bonuses at the back of the car to still be given to her regardless of her answer. A camera is always handy too. If things turn favorable for you, you can have some keepsake memory. If things do not, well ..... said camera has an erase option. Haha!


Luckily, I didn't have to press that button as she said YES to my question, which made me a very very happy RFB! :)


Heading back to Manila, I came up with an idea that we should celebrate being engaged by doing a run together and finishing at the same time (I know, moment ruiner!). But that's what we still did. We chose the UP Run as wanted to do an actual race to motivate ourselves for a nice finish time.


I woke up at 4AM, picked up Per and we headed to UP. We got there around 520AM, registered for the 10Km race, put on our bibs and did some stretches at the starting line. My plan was to keep Per strong thoughout the race and running beside her the entire time. There was no sun and no rain either so weather was quite good. The course was mostly downhill and for the 10Km course, it's two 5Km loops to the finish line.
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Running in U.P. Campus is still the best place for me given its nice road course and lots of trees that surround the area. Our race started at 6AM and before long, the 5Km race started as well with fast runners from that category overtaking us. But we ignored them as we focused on our own running. There were enough water to go around as well..
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As in any marriage, there are always some good times and some bad times. You just got to figure out how to work things out. The important thing is doing it and handling it together.
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As a symbolism of things to come, that is what we did in our race this morning: doing it together. And as for the good times and bad times, well, in this race, Per had her best time in a 10KM race, beating her goal of 1 hour 20 minutes by completing it in 1 hour and 18 minutes, a full 7 minutes faster than her previous 10Km record of 1 hour 25 minutes.
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And as for me, it was my worst finish time, a full 20 minutes slower than my best 10Km time of 58 minutes. But that is okay, because finishing a race with Per, well, that would still count as my best time ever....
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Relaxing the day before at Sonya's Garden.
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Still at Sonya's Garden

Spur of the moment race the next day


My race bib


We got here quite early so took some shots before race began




First race we started and ended together...definitely not our last one.

13 comments:

janine said...

CONGRATS, you guys!!! I am still in mild shock- only because I can't believe it's THIS step already! I'm glad I was at pace to witness your love story unfold and running careers take off. Naks. Keep the good times, erm, running! =)

Nora, the golden girl said...

Wait... give me time to wipe my tears first. Love stories like this really make me cry. I am sooh happy for you two. Congratulations!!!

Running Fatboy said...

hi Janine+, you will be an important part of our lives and so glad to have known you through Per as well. Us Geminis gotta stick together coz nobody can understand our split personalities. Hahaha!

Hi Nora, Thanks for your warm wishes and good luck on your first 10km run!

Anonymous said...

awww, so touched with your blog, dear RFB. :)

Anonymous said...

I saw the two of you after the race at the parking lot behind the red brick bldg... Have I known that you're engaged - I would've said hello and congratulated you both! :)

Anonymous said...

Congrats dude! So you were the guy in the red nike shirt that I saw in the finish line.

Ran also with my GF and it was also her first 10km. Di tuloy tayo naka PR :-)

Running Fatboy said...

hi perperoven, we now have our memories in the web to look back to...this was where it all started!

hi gigi, good run! hope we can talk on the next run!

hi bong_z, i hope our gfs know the SACRIFICES we do for them! hmph. haha. But hope you still had a good time even without attaining a new PR. There is always another race to look forward to for that. :)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!

I did see you two at the PMI run :-) You sort of stood out in your red shirt, but more so because the two of you were inseparable throughout. So sweet! :-)

I was running behind you some time during the race, and I remember having this goal in mind, which I kept repeating like a mantra: "Run past the lovers. Run past the lovers." He-he.

Again, congrats.

Running Fatboy said...

Hi MJ, thanks for your kind words and it was nice to know that we set your pace (and even beat ours) during that race. Hope to see you soon.

Anonymous said...

Congrats to both of you. Running with gfs wont make you fast. But we do get rewarded afterwards. Di ba?

Unknown said...

Congrats RFB and PerperOven! i'm happy for you... =)

Nora, the golden girl said...

I can now relax. Di lang pala ako ang schizo. Marami pala tayong Gemini! I'm sure Per will never have a dull moment with you coz she won't be dealing with only 1 person. Ang saya di ba? (lalo na kung di lang split personality--multiple pa!)

Running Fatboy said...

hi Jinoe, thanks for your warm wishes

hi Jeanne, Thanks! I am happy too. hehe.

hi Nora, oooh, another Gemini in our midst. I wonder who else from the running community are under this sign? Any other confessors out there? :)