the Lord of the RUN

Like an ancient prophecy cast in stone, I vividly remember the first time I stepped into the oval, and the revelation therein.

Something in the air felt magical. I gazed at the moonless sky. There is a monstrous storm brewing, thunder and lighting striking and soon the wrath of the heavens poured mightily to the ground. With a staff in hand a wizard on top of mountain screams into the air with arms wide open. “Thou shall not pass!” And as soon the moment hit me, I sprung into the track like a bedeviled stallion on a glorious quest to the ends of the earth! I was running like the wind unscathed of the elements conquering the fiery pits of the Ultra Sports Complex! And in this delirium that a realization occurred… I was born to run and tonight my legend will echo into eternity.

And cut. That my friends is a work of fiction. Pure and utter fiction obviously and tastelessly borrowed from JRR Tolkien re-written by yours truly. Bravo.

Ok kidding aside let me tell you the awful truth. I was just jogging that night. Jogging like a gazelle tip toeing across a calm stream on spring time. What happened was my lungs ballooned early in the first half of my first run. My lungs burst like a hot-air balloon in the midday sun so I decided to just jog it out. I play strenuous basketball regularly you know, but this simple exercise isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Kudos to Marlboro Lights for this, damn them cancer sticks. Also, I blame the Poveda girls soccer team for stripping my focus away. Their stretching in the middle of the soccer field was such a distraction! So there I was with my Ipod on prancing about and around while runners of all age and sizes overtake and pass me by. I felt like Hugh Hefner minus the Playboy bunnies. But hey, I was listening to Rob Zombie though and that’s kinda bad-ass right? No?

Anyway I did come back for more punishment and I’d like to think I became a regular for quite some time. I find the cardio exercise addicting. It helps me gain more stamina whenever I play basketball and that’s really important. It also relieves the metaphysical. Work stress, anxiety, hatred, depression, suicidal tendencies and narcissistic personality disorders. You know, stuff from everyday living. Running does wonders to body and mind. Another reason is that you really need to see the girls soccer team. Dude, they’re a sight to behold. But that’s another story. Anyway.

As of the moment me and my co-workers are preparing for the Kenny Roger’s Urbanite Run this coming Saturday at the Fort (which is basically the whole gist of this). It’ll be a night run so that’s kinda cool. Literally. It’ll only be a 5KM run for us, and I can already imagine how low my tongue will be hanging early in the 2nd kilometer. That’s why this past week and today actually I’m training at the Ultra. I plan to finish the race you see, so that the cold beer I’ll be having after will be oh so sweet. Also, free t-shirts.

Kids, this is the virtue of sports. Break on through to the other side. Keeping the faith. Livin’ la vida loca. Now there’s only 4 days left to prepare and here’s my battle plan. By the magic of the druids I shall descend into the abyss and obtain the medallion that will grant unbelievable strength and vigor. On race night, I will wear the medallion on my forehead while the wizard on top of the mountain enchants the night and….

FYI, today is the last day of registration. If you plan to catch up, more details here and the race map here.