I hated running. I can still remember my grade school days when I competed on a race event. I placed last on the race. I was even beaten by a girl! For many, it may seem to be a small thing. But for a kid, it was really one of the most painful experiences of my life because it was one of those moments when I felt I wasn't capable of anything. I was just too slow. Then there was this time when I was going home from my cousins' usual laagx2. I was going home when all of a sudden this seemingly angry dog came from nowhere. I got scared and tried to run away but, unfortunately, the dog was too fast and it bit the left cheek of my gluteus maximus (my butt). It was one of the saddest and most painful experiences of my very young life because during these times I felt inadequate and ordinary. I felt sorry for myself. But unlike many people, I don't go on with life feeling sorry. I can still remember the day when I vowed to myself and to God that I'm going to be fast. The rest of it is history. Gradually, I became faster day after day. It was painful at first but I was getting accustomed to the pain. One day, I realized that I run faster than most people. I can even bet that there's no dog in this world that can outrun me (probably). And yes, I'm faster than the girl who had beaten me! Take that!
Looking back, all I can do is laugh at myself. I can still remember having to run from Bugo to CDO then back to Bugo again. Then during amazing races, all of my teammates are easily exhausted and I get easily angry when we lose in games where there's running involved. And how could I forget,I never miss any assignments because I quickly sneak in to the faculty office to secretly insert my requiremnts (hehe) and I'm seldom late on my appointment because i got accustomed with the running.
Importantly, I have learned 2 things in running:
1) Most of the times, it takes pain for us to grow.
2) Pain is temporary but quitting is forever.
On number one, we change when the pain of not changing is too painful compared to the pain of changing. I have so much changing to do and I got to say that pain really helped me to become the person that I am today. It's not that I love pain but I got to the understanding that there are particular things in life that requires the price of pain. To grow is painful but it becomes less painful when we come to accept the requirement of pain. Take note, pain for the greater good is virtue but pain for the sake of pain is stupidity. Choose your pain wisely.
On number two, this is a quote by one of my role modes, Lance Armstrong. Lance Armstrong was a former triathlete who suffered a testicular cancer that spread all over his lung and to top that up, he was undergoing a lot of painful chemo therapies. Despite that, he shocked the world by being a 7-time champion of the Tour De France, writer, speaker and international cyclist. Do you think that I always feel good everyday? There are days when I just feel too tired with my life to the point that I want to take it away. Instead of feeling sorry and bad for myself, I face my pain everyday like a man and live life. Life is a gift from God and I don't want to go about my life by wasting it. I want to run for my life with God. Pain is temporary but quitting is forever. I'm not a quitter. You ought not to be.
To make the long story short, my running life is a series of pain and growing. I love to run and I'm blessed that God gave me the opportunity not only to run for XU but, importantly,to run my life with Him. I want to inspire people every time I run. I want to see the day where I have to compete on an ING New York Marathon or an IronMan Triathlon or simply a run with people who wants to become better. I feel the glory of God every time I run and it's ecstatic. Amidst everything, I just want to run. Be it on being a Ateneo student, student leader, community member, brother, son or a runner of the Almighty. I dare to run for my life.
Dare to Live! Run For Your Life!
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