Why I run

My first love is easy for me to recall  it was basketball! It took a while before I got good at it but I eventually developed a passion for the sport when I started back when I was in grade school. One of the things I loved about the sport was its fast pace. It’s all about being explosive and most of our workouts would be tailored towards developing that. Plyometrics, sprints and scrimmages were my favorite parts of training. Because of that, I never enjoyed endurance workouts. I despised long-distance running because I would have to hold back. Nowadays, however, it seems much has changed.

Since I started working, I haven’t been able to train consistently and thus, I’ve gotten heavier and lost some of that fast-twitch muscle power (most of it actually). Couple that with a recently broken hand and the only workout left was running (gulp!). With no other choice, I tried to keep an open mind and I started running every other day on the treadmill. It was fine at first but my real breakthrough came when I decided to casually join my first fun run!

I went for the 5K race during the Bull Run in BGC and paced a friend to a horribly slow time of 50 minutes! Looking past the snail-like time, the surprising thing was that I enjoyed! There were so many things that I liked about my first fun run experience. A big plus was that I was able to do it with a friend. It really helped that it was both our first time and it was more casual than competitive. Second, it seemed like everybody else in the race was genuinely enjoying themselves. There were all sorts of runners — young people with dogs, some parents and their toddlers walking around and the occasional straight-from-inuman runner even! It was great to see that everybody just wanted to get in on the action and that really made the run a lot easier to enjoy. As a bonus, one of my favorite parts would be the post-run meal where I get to pig out in a breakfast restaurant. (Maple in San Antonio plaza is my current go-to restaurant.)

From that point onwards, I decided to make running a regular habit. I’ve joined a couple of other runs and it’s nice to know that the Philippines is really getting into such a healthy habit. Slowly, I’ve also noticed that I have been running more seriously. My competitive juices have been pushing me to best my personal records and it’s come to a point where I’ve decided to look for running goals. One route I can take is to go for 5K speed runs, which would satisfy my desire for speed. Another route, which would be more adventurous, is to train for those dreaded endurance events — the duathlon or the triathlon. I’ve heard that it can get pretty challenging and addicting. I haven’t completely decided which path to take but I’m very open to either one. (Any suggestions?)

Being all excited about this new hobby has me gearing up for it as well. Gone are my extra chunky basketball shoes, which look like boats compared to my new pair of New Balance running shoes. Also, my favorite addition to my running arsenal would be the RunKeeper app. Since I’m such a data-geek, this app on my iPhone keeps track of all my running sessions. The feature set is intense. It tracks my speed, distance, duration, route and so many other details that show how much I’ve improved from run to run.

Overall, I guess the medium-term goal is to accomplish something in those 5K speed runs or try out duathlon/triathlon training. But in the near future, I’ll continue to explore this newfound hobby with friends and family. I’ve heard of so many interesting runs, which I’d still like to join. I missed the Color Manila runs but I am hoping they come out with more. Also, the Outbreak series of fun runs is an event I’ve always looked forward to. Hopefully, organizers continue to get creative and look for ways to help us enjoy running because they really are getting pretty fun.

To end, I’d like to invite those non-runners out there to give fun runs a shot. It’s a healthy activity that can be enjoyed with other people. Take it from someone who never enjoyed it before. Just keep an open mind.

(For comments and suggestions, e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow me on Twitter @mikaeldaez.)