Traveling is fun...
Running is fun...
Running while traveling is twice the fun!
As I look back at 2013, I do not have anything to consider as "travel" activity. I was saving up for my "Great South East Asian Adventure" which I was forced to ditch because of work. It was the price I have to pay in exchange for the goodness of being accepted in the very stellar company. Nearly six months ago, I betrayed myself when I declared that I have no travel plans in the next six months. It hurts a bit as I have made the airline arrangements. It's a good thing I have not made any reservations for hotels and train rides.
With the recently discovered enthusiasm for fun runs brought about by encouragement from my medical internist, I have spent a my free time and finances in fun runs. I like the feeling of fulfillment in finishing a race/run like how endorphins give me that "high" while seeing and experiencing a variety of scenery, food and culture on a road trip.
I realized while running that it is somehow a form of traveling. It may not be as grand as flying out to another country or city, but it lets you see places worth discovering (at least for my self).
I've never seen the Rizal Monument since I was in grade school. I came back to see it flooded with lights in the early morning on my way to Quirino Grandstand for the 2013 PhilHealth Run. Another glimpse of Rizal along with the Km 0 marker and the Manila Yacht Club was during the second leg of Run United.
Bonifacio Global City (BGC) is a business district known for its contemporary design and running-friendly streets. It was not known to me until I started getting that "high" from running. I found the beauty in skyscrapers that seamlessly blend in the green patches and pocket gardens. I had the opportunity to go around almost every corner of the district when I ran 25 Km for the New Balance Power Run. It was really nice to discover the place.
Piggy-backing on the BGC experience, I was able to discover the uphill and downhill tracks on the Taguig side of the global city. I endured the climb and the fast downhill pavements around the military camp in Taguig, Heritage Memorial Park and back during the NatGeo Earth Day Run.
These places I've mentioned, I'm pretty sure were not in the bucket list, but I have come to realize that they're discoveries I made while running.
January 20, 2013, I crossed the Start Line that got me to run some more...discover myself and my passion for running. It's where I discovered what lies after Baclaran to the south. 7-11 Run 800 gave me that eye-opening experience.
On January 19, 2014 I will celebrate the run that started it all. This time, I will experience the sunrise, the salty and cool breeze of the Cavite coastal waters along the engineering feat that is CavitEx. I am running the 21 Km stretch of Cavite Expressway for the 7-11 Run 1000.
More Run, more fun!
The Backpacking Geek
