02 October 2021 | The cutie method of manifestation is proving to be a powerful tool, at least for my taking. After a month in Tartu, I managed to crack my first out-of-the-country (a feat I deeply hoped for) through a semi-spontaneous trip to Estonia’s immediate northern neighbor tagged as the happiest country on earth – no less than Finland.
I was Running like a headless chicken over the last couple of days, academically speaking. And so, when a fellow Erasmus Student pitched this idea of running like a headful chicken joining a half marathon, I ran out of good reasons not to give a go because my heart specifically beats loudly for this. Add to the fact that I needed a huge break, this was essentially hitting two birds with a single stone – a huge motivation to run again on one hand and a grand opportunity to travel on the other. So despite the lack of a proper pair of running shoes at that moment, in the midst of acad responsibilities, and a mere 6-day window to prepare, I signed up for the 2021 Helsinki City Run.
As expected, I had a rough time coming to terms with this trap I let myself fall into. On day 1 of training, I ran a meager 10k to break the ice and dust the rust off, which gave me a clear preview of my underlying deathly fate. No other choice but to push harder, I went for a 20-km trek in Elva hiking trail as a recovery activity the next day. Come days 3 & 4, the previous day’s immature move took its toll on me – my legs could already feel the inevitable hurt I claimed to not feel the previous day prompting me to take it easy gearing up for a bridging 13km run on day 5. I was supposed to run another 17km the next day but lacked the time to do so due to schedule conflict just because I am still a student on top of everything.
Finally, the day came and true enough, circumstances looked bleaker than ever. Oh man, I had to do a half-marathon half-prepared. It felt like taking an exam while heavily relying on stock knowledg. Except that, the human body doesn’t work that way. I did well on the first hour which was something I did not see coming but the latter half of the run was disastrous as it should, mostly characterized by unspeakable pain in my upper thigh. I had to walk for the most part especially towards the tail end which was terribly shameful realizing that I was somehow bearing the Philippine flag in my shoes. Fueled by the desire to get things done on a positive note at the very least, I pressed forward to at least clinch the finisher medal as consolation.
It was an F worth of performance judging by the stats and ranking list afterwards. But then again, I had to remind myself of who I am racing against. I run my own race at my own pace, after all.
