by Odina Abellana
The day before I’m set to run, I take mental notes of what I’m supposed to bring: jogging pants, shoes, comfortable socks, warmers, a scrunchie (though I sometimes forget this) and the garmin watch we use to map out our adventure.
My jogging pants symbolizes the length of the journey we are about to take part in. As a people, we Filipinos have always been an enduring kind. We were colonized for longer than we’ve ever been free, but in spite of all that, we still manage to instill in our children the moral values they bring with them to their graves. I think that’s something we should definitely pride ourselves of, that we have an innate strength to smile in the face of adversity. We have many issues, but that kind of strength is something that’s always a given, and I’m more than proud of it.
My socks are very comfy. They stand for the privilege most of us sometimes forgets: life. Life’s not always comfortable unlike my socks, which are always comfortable, but if we learn to see beyond the discomfort, we’ll see it was made for us to enjoy and learn. We always learn.
My warmers protect me from the heat of the sun. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not afraid of it, getting darker skin and whatnot. I love sunshine in more ways than I can count. But sometimes, it burns. So I bring my warmers.
My shoes…My shoes are very dirty. Please come out.
My scrunchie. Sometimes I forget to bring it. I don’t wear scrunchies often, because I like letting my hair down. It’s all Corinne Bailey Rae’s fault. Scrunchies were made to tie loose ends in your life. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from scrunchies it’s that sometimes, you can’t help but to leave things hanging even if you have every bit of intention of tying them up. That’s just the way life works.
My garmin. I love the way it maps out our journey for us. Although it shows me having swum across the Pacific sea every once in a while, there’s just no denying the sense of wonderment I get when I see how satellites have come so far from years ago, now that it can have as little a margin of error as 2 square meters. That is just unbelievable! And somewhat scary. But that’s technology for you.
Therefore, I conclude, endurance is key!
The mp3-Runner
~oOo~
Odina Abellana, the mp3-Runner, is “a programmer by profession, a dilettante in deed, and a dork by definition.” She writes her running thoughts at mp3-runner.posterous.com
nice, din… don’t forget your water bottles.