I was in my late 40s when I suddenly woke up one day to the reality that I was continuously gaining weight. A lot of physical signs have been manifesting on my overly abused body. At 5'7" I am supposed to have an ideal weight of 150-154 lbs. But at that time I was already hitting 175lbs. on the scale. My waistline was 38". When I looked at myself infront of the mirror it was as if I was looking at "humpty dumpty" because as if my torso was directly connected to my head minus the neck. Because I was a heavy beer drinker, my tummy seems to be that of a castrated hippo. My epidermal organ was so stretched to its elastic limit it looked like it was going to burst w/ a prick of a needle. I thought I was looking then at a breastfeeding swine. All this horrible signs on my physicality were taking its toll on my personality. As my tummy got bigger, my confidence got smaller. I started to spend more of my working time behind my office table rather spending it in the field where I felt I'm more potentially effective. But sadly, the more you become insecure of your body appearance the more you become a voracious eater. Not only that. I also found relief from my predicament thru heavy smoking. But what was worse was that aside from physical deterioration, I was also diagnosed with some physiological afflictions and conditions inherent to abused and sedentary lifestyle. My blood pressure was elevating, my lipid profile was problematic, and my heart beating was registering episodes of abnormal rhythm. But the most hurting of all (literally and figuratively) was that my uric acid was tremendously high. This further restricted my mobility. Nary a week will pass without parts of my extremities crucified by gouty pain. Sometimes the pain will hybernate in one location of my foot unabling me do my daily routine thus affecting my work. My legs became thinner because of atrophy due to immobility. It was a tortuous ordeal Pain relievers are just what they are - pain relievers! They have no curative value.
Their efficacy is only limited to certain period of time so that the pain keeps on coming back when their period of potency is gone. Even worse, pain relievers can cause fatal side effects and adverse reactions in prolonged use.
It was the thought of getting out of this morass that I decided to embark on a program of gaining a physical rebirth. I was hoping against hope then that discipline, dedication and perseverance, not only can I gain my old physical look but transform me to new and better person. And so I started a revolutionary transformation program that will change my lifestyle that I used to have, albeit gradually. No more over indulging on food and liquor. I dropped my smoking habit completely and limit my nightly adventures. But the most significant part of my program for physical renewal was embarking on a regular physical activities.
One day in summer, my brother Dennis went out to go jogging with some of our friends in Baywalk area. From U.S. embassy in Roxas blvd. to CCP in Pasay and back covers more or less 2kms. Dennis and our friends were regular joggers who do this activity every weekend. I had engaged in different sports activities during my youthful days but I had never tried doing a middle distance run. Aware of my dilemma and worried that I might end up instead in an ER of a hospital, Dennis advise me just to walk the entire stretch of the distance and asked one of the guys to join me in my first ever attempt of a long distance run. It was only a 2km walk but my nicotine-filled lungs, beer belly and gouty arthritis conspired to really give me hell in this first sojourn to my would be passion. Fortunately, I crossed the "imaginary finish line" with my "alalay". And as I rested on the sea wall I felt as if a tsunami was coming to the filthy beach on Roxas Blvd. My head was on a twirl and looking behind me, I felt that the buildings along the boulevard were collapsing domino style. It was terrible feeling that I thought it would be the first and the last of my walking exercise.
But after 2 days rest, maybe because of my resolute decision to pursue my goal, I felt that my enthusiasm was creeping back and rising. I went back to Roxas blvd., this time alone, walked the same distance and much to my amazement finished the stretch sans the terrible feeling that I felt the first time around. After that I repeated the same routine and gradually add more distance and increase my pacing. Before I knew it, I was already doing more than what I expected of myself to be doing. I was running double the 2kms. distance.
MY FIRST LONG DISTANCE RUN TRAINING: The old Sta. Ana racetrack Had more than mile round oval. On the side perimeter circled a grassy area ideal for walking and jogging exercise. It was here where I formally started building up my stamina by circling the area at least five times a day every morning. It was also here where I met Melvin, an experienced long distance runner who have already joined quite a number of full marathons not only here but also abroad. Melvin was also of my age and thru his persistent encouragement he was able to convince me to start on a running program that will eventually qualify me as an experience runner and thus be able to join the 42kms run. But he said that achieving this is not a walk in the park. It entails discipline, hardwork, time and determination. Melvin gave me a manual that contains program and tipsters on how to develop oneself into a long distance runner. I read the manual, memorized it by heart, and tried my best to apply what I have learned from it. I started to wake up at 3:30 am and hit the road at precisely 4 early morning. I now had a new running venue which was around the power plant area in Rockwell. Soon enough, after 3 months of regular training I was already joining footraces which were the 10kms distaff events. The first fun run that I joined was the Milo finals although I only ran the 10 kms. event. I remember it was Dec.10 which coincided with my birthday. I was so excited to have finished my first ever 10km run that in the afternoon of my birthday party, I gulp down more than a dozen bottles of san miguel beer. Well, I thought it was my birthday anyway and there's nothing wrong to reward myself for such an outstanding and successful endeavor. And so that was the beginning of a series of running events that I joined.
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