I Didn't Mean to Become a Runner

When I was young (and by young, I mean in my 30s), I used to join fun runs just for... fun. 

Even without proper training, I’d just show up whenever there's a race, run the distance, get the free banana, and go home. I wasn't running regularly.  But in 2019, I was sponsored a 50k virtual run. And for the first time since my varsity days in high school, I ran almost every day for a month. I was eager to take on a new challenge and had every intention of continuing even after it's complete.

Some of the races I joined a decade ago. Fun fact: every single race in this picture was sponsored (yep, blogger perks).

Then life happened.

I got pregnant just as I earned my 50k medal, and not long after, the world shut down. COVID changed everything. I had a very good reason to run away from running. Never really loved it anyway. Never even crossed my mind that I'd get back into it.

Until back in March this year, I impulsively signed up for a 5K race. Why? Because it was sponsored, that's why.

Yes, I trained a little bit because I was nowhere near as fit as I used to be and I had to test run my old lady joints. And honestly, I was just running aimlessly and had no idea what I was doing. All I had was a muscle memory and misplaced confidence. And it reminded me why I hated running.

Come race day, I was a little prepared. Although I don’t remember much about it, I do remember feeling the fire when I crossed the finish line. I'm pretty sure that 5K run lit the spark because, weirdly enough, I kept running even though there weren’t any races I had signed up for to look forward to.

Fast forward a few months, I was training seriously for the first time in my life. Structured runs, proper pacing, long slow days, speed sessions, strength and conditioning, nutrition, not to mention proper gears. I was doing the "real" runner stuff. 

Since then, I've surprised myself more than I can count. I’ve learned that my body is capable of more than I give it credit for. As one running influencer would say, "we can do hard things." What once felt like an all-out effort eventually became just a warm-up. What I once dreaded became my drive. My body craves running when I'm not running.

And last September 14, I ran a sub-1 hour 10k challenge (not sponsored haha). It's a milestone I never thought I’d care about, let alone achieve. Everybody was obsessed chasing it and it just felt too impossible for me. But look where we are now.

10k in 58 mins and 19 seconds.

If the sub-1 challenge wasn't crazy enough, I ran a half marathon just two weeks later.

But here's how it got crazier. A day after the sub-1 challenge, I got shingles! The timing couldn’t have been worse. I had a solid training plan. But my training week became an unplanned rest week. 

While my body fully recovered just three days before the half marathon race, I wasn't prepared for the postherpetic neuralgia. It’s a type of nerve pain that can linger for weeks or even months after the shingles itself is gone. I get these sudden, stabbing pains (and yes, it really does feel like being stabbed with a knife) on my right thigh and the right side of my torso.

So on the race day, two days ago (September 28), I could have given up my race bib. But nope! If you ran with me, you have probably seen me randomly stopping, jerking, and looking like I just got zapped mid-run. As if that wasn’t enough, my right foot betrayed me when an existing blister I did not cover before running started to cause pain. But I kept going and pausing when I needed to. And despite missing my target time of 2 hours and 10 minutes, I finished strong, injury-free.

This race was one for the books.

I didn’t mean to become a runner. But somehow, I became one. And it’s not like I’m out here joining every race. I swear, I’d race more often if I didn’t have to choose between a bib number and groceries. 

L-R: EastWest Dream Run (5k), my first race this year. Pinoy Fitness Sub1 10k Challenge. Hoka Midgnight Run Asia (21k).

My runs aren't always triumphant. Some of them are just as bad as when I started. But somewhere along the way, I built the discipline to keep showing up, even on the bad days.