Third Milestone

Whenever there is a milestone in my life, I used a race event to celebrate it. Sure, there have been a couple of birthday runs, PR runs, marathon runs, etc. but for the truly big events, there have just been 3 so far (as far as being connected to running is concerned).

Milestone #1

The first milestone was when I proposed to Per in 2008. It was a Saturday and venue was done in Sonya’s Garden in Tagaytay. Seeing as this was the city where we first met and this was the restaurant where we enjoyed going to and eating a couple of times, using this as a venue seemed appropriate at that time. I was nervous as hell and could only utter a few words but she caught on and gave a YES to my question to her. We decided to extend our celebration together by doing a 10km race the following day. And completing one of our many couple runs!

Link to this event:

In Good Times and In Bad Times

Milestone #2

The second milestone was for our actual wedding day, which fell on a Sunday. No, I wasn’t crazy enough to run on the actual day I will get married but I was crazy enough to join a race for the night before!

It was for Kenny Rogers Night Run and I registered myself and some family members and friends for various race categories for this run. For myself, I did the 15km event and friend Benny opted to run with me. We had a great time (although I was wheezing and panting by the time I finished) and celebrated the soon-to-arrive big day by having a few beers at the parking lot. You can just imagine how crazy that night was when not only did the groom ran a race (that alone was crazy!!!) but also the sisters and brother of the groom, the bride’s maid, and a lot of wedding guests. Yes, we all loved running and attended the wedding almost injury free (said bride’s maid tripped post race and got a nasty cut on her knee)!

Links to this event:

Kenny Run: Post Race

Kenny Run '09

Milestone #3

Then we have last week: my third milestone (notice how milestone races keep increasing in distances as well). It was to celebrate the birth of our first child: Daniella Joy, who came into this world on June 27, 2011. Extreme lack of sleep and no running made me think twice about joining this race. After all, it was a half marathon and joining one (with no training or preparations) had some risks involved. But at the end of the day (and after consulting with the wife), I decided to push through with it. The good thing about me was that I had done a lot of half marathons before so I already know what to expect and how to pace myself. But I was still very cautious and goal was only to finish strong and safe. There were no time pressures for me (I set a very wide range of 3 hours 30 minutes for my finish time) as reason for this run was to celebrate life. I was here to enjoy the race and reflect (and give thanks) on the blessings we received (as a couple) from God Himself.

For each Kilometer Mark I crossed, I whispered a silent prayer thanking God for letting me complete that many kilometers already. I ran slowly and I walked at every 1km/ water station. I didn’t make it to the banana distributions but I had my GU as back up supplies and used it there. I had my I Shuffle with me but didn’t use it as decided instead to enjoy the sounds and sights in this race. There were no vomit feelings (for the first time) and I was able to complete my 21km race. My worst 21km time for the year (in terms of finish time) but that wasn’t important. What’s important was I did it and set my 3^rd milestone.

And now, I have my Yamaha Finisher Medal and very nice Yamaha Finisher Shirt to commemorate this very special week.

Here’s hoping for more good milestones for all of us!

My race results are as follows:

DENNIS QUE PE

BIB NO. 151

Time: 2:55:23
Overall: 1,430th out of 1,773 - 81%
Male: 1,288th out of 1,545 - 83%
M30-39: 477th out of 574 - 83%