My Second Fun Run!

That's right! I ran my second 5K with two of my closest friends. It was a post Valentine event organized by RUNtarantantan. I finished at 48:50 seconds; my friends finished in less than 45 minutes. Haha! I was totally left behind. 

I was walking and yawning on my way back to the finish line. It was an early Sunday morning event, and in the middle of the run, I kinda felt like I just sleep-walked and woke up in the streets with all the other runners. What was the point of waking up early just to be covered in sweat?! My huge Merida-inspired hair made running in the rain even worse. Add my blurry vision to that and you've got a very questionable motivation for running.

So, I spent Saturday night (Valentines day!) at a friend's house for a semi-adult version of pajama party. That was the night before the run, and honestly for the second time I didn't get enough sleep the night before the event! Isn't that pathetically awesome? Well, we spent the afternoon and evening pretty much just watching, eating and singing! In my defense that was not my original plan. I was thinking I would still have time to condition my body for a 5K run the next day by doing some lousy rounds at a vacant parking lot near my friend's house. But, I blame Valentine's day! Haha! We decided to indulge on caffeine, sweets and carbohydrates instead and we took loads of pictures using poses no sane adult would ever try. Again, these are the things I terribly missed while I was away from my country. So, forgive me!

Quick lunch at KFC with Ayie and Tin on Feb 14th!

My favorite part at Cana-sempai's place!

Starbucks to go & choco-coated polvoron from Goldilocks!

I know I should have gone to bed early at least since I wasn't able to jog/run anymore. But this time I blame Facebook! Ha! Of course I can't wait to post our pictures and exchange greetings with everyone online that time. 

So, with only about few hours of sleep, we headed to the starting line. It was a smooth drive going there (thanks for driving, Cana-sempai!) but again, we had to deal with crazy parking game when we reached the place. A lot of people were already there, so, we just squeezed our way into the crowd, waited for our gun time and BAM! I was up for another line to cross.

It was already drizzling when we left Cana-sempai's house. It stopped for a moment but few minutes after the gun start, it started drizzling again! I swear we were just like shooting a dramatic movie or something while we were on the track. But it was fun and challenging! It's a bit hard to believe that for the second time this year, I am running with these people...with different shapes and sizes and from different walks of life. Some of them behind me, some of them in front of me, but we were all headed to one direction and running for the same cause.

This fun run was a tribute to APO Hiking Society, one of the most influential band here in the Philippines. They were one of the solid foundations of OPM and they have entertained Filipinos (here and abroad) for about four decades. Though the trio have already retired as a group, they still get to see each other at times. All three of them are still in the showbiz and are pursuing their acting careers. It is a bit sad that only Mr. Jim Paredes was able to make it to the fun run last February 15th. He still managed to tug the hearts of the audience though with his soothing voice when he rendered one of their songs.

Mr. Jim Paredes and Kuya Bearwin on stage~

As I mentioned in my blog post about my first run, RUNtarantantan's events are usually for a cause. This time, part of the payment for the registration goes to Tahanang Walang Hagdanan.

"Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, Inc. is a non-stock, non-profit and non-government organization that aims to uplift the lives of the Orthopedically handicapped persons. It was founded by Sr. Valeriana Baerts, ICM. a Belgian nun who was assigned as a volunteer nurse here in the Philippines.
....It is a rehabilitation and skills training center with sheltered workshops where the people with disabilities are trained to be productive and self-reliant member of the society."

I have never been to an orphanage, a home for the aged or any charitable institutions but eventually I know I will be able to go to these kinds of places. There must be a reason...maybe I'm not yet ready to see what I'm about to see. 

Some of my friends told me that it's really heart breaking to see kids in an orphanage. Maybe I need to be stronger first before going there. I have tried donating toys, books and clothes to charity but only on those boxes that you see in the malls especially around Christmas season. But now that I'm older, I have this feeling that I should do something more than that. I'm not saying that I am 100% focusing on these kinds of work now. I think I have made it clear that I love my life and my freedom. But the perks of living a single life is that you can do almost anything that you want to. 

So, with a part-time job and a lot of extra hours to spend doing whatever I want to do, I'm starting to steer my life in a slightly different direction. I want to start being a little less selfish and try to donate not just money but my time as well - something I can never get back again. So far, all I can think about is joining these fund raising marathons around my city. But if you guys know places where I can be of service, please let me know! Whether it's feeding program, packing stuff for donations or maybe teaching kids and entertaining the elderly...I'd like to help!

Groupie after the run! Yeah, we look like sh*t but it was awesome!

After we took off our sweat-soaked singlets!

Look! I won in the raffle draw!!! Yay!

Second breakfast! Haha!