Thursday, January 14, 2010

BEA MAXIMO: I WANTED TO SHOW THEM I CAN DO IT

Published in Sun Star Cebu Newspaper on Jan. 11, 2010 Monday issue
Mike Limpag, Sports Editor
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu

RUSH. The author on her way to finishing
at No. 16 among 73 runners.

By Bea Maximo
Contributor

“Before we experience victory every part of us wants to quit.”

This short statement summarizes my Cebu City Half-Marathon 2010 experience.

As I ran my first half marathon I had mixed emotions. I felt cold, nauseated, irritated and uneasy.

As soon as we arrived in I.T Park the wind sent chills down my spine as I heard the announcer call the attention of the 21k runners to start assembling.

I tried warming up but it felt useless for my feet were slowly feeling numb as I anxiously waited for the clock to read 5:10.

It read 4:30... 4:45... and I started to sweat as I stood beside elite athletes feeling the rush and the anxiety.

At 5 a.m., I desperately wanted to start running and thought “ I wanna get this over with”.

At 5:10 a.m., my heart started leaping as I heard the gun shot.

Thump...thump...thump...lub-dub...lub-dub.

The sound of my feet and my heart beat formed a rhythm.

I listened to my body and picked up my pace for the first few kilometers. I smiled at the crowd who were shouting words of encouragement boosting my energy and the dancers who filled the quiet streets with music and color.

Endless road.

This went on for miles and miles of what felt like an endless road to nowhere.

Soon my feet were giving up, I started having stomach cramps; at some point I wanted to stop, thinking “Why am I making myself suffer? No one asked me to do this. I made the decision”

But as I continued to push myself and finally arrived at the finish line I heard my mom and my sister, Ica, cheer my name and then I remembered why I entered the race.

I wanted to make my family proud. I wanted to show them I can do it. A different kind of rush filled my body as I crossed the finish line.

A feeling that no one can take away from me, the feeling of victory.

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