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Rain Running
May 15, 2008 10:42AM
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This was written by my very good friend Jun about our run last Sunday.....
Sunday Afternoon in UP Diliman
By Jun Custodio
Sally and I were running late for our 4:30 PM Sunday run at UP in Diliman [a local university in Manila, with a really nice campus that is close to traffic on a Sunday afternoon]. At 4:30 in the afternoon, I was already waiting for Sally to pick me up at the corner of EDSA and Kamuning, when I got a call from her. She informed me that she went past me but could not stop because she was playing dodge with several buses who where hogging the outer lane. Thirty minutes later, Sally was able to make her way back to where I was waiting and we were on our way to UP Diliman.
During all that time that Sally was making her way back to me, dark clouds had been gathering in the north-east and several flashes of lightning warned us that an afternoon thunderstorm was making its way to UP Diliman. Inspite of this, Sally and I were determined to do our run since it has been ages since we did some good running.
Other people bond by going shopping together or eating out or having a drinking night out – but Sally and I, we bond by running. We don’t even talk much when we run. It’s just me, her, the road and the sound of our feet striking the asphalt in unison. She ceases to be the Pinay Aussie, and I stop being the Pinoy trying-hard tri-wannabe. We were just two runners hell bent on conquering the course.
And the course that afternoon was the five kilometre outer loop that our team eXtribe use whenever we do UP Diliman. I love this route because it takes us to the back streets of the campus. The roads are smaller and there is almost no vehicle traffic. The avenues are tree-lined (well, what avenue is not tree-lined in UP Diliman), you smell the scent of new-cut grass whenever you are running in the area of the ROTC headquarters. It is a generally pleasant route to run in – plus you get the bonus of practicing your hill-stride when you hit the stretch of road near and behind the UP hostel. So that was our route, plus one run in the inside loop of the university oval to make about seven kilometres – just right for a quick short run.
It was about seven minutes into our run when realized that the forty-five-minute window we thought we had was just that, a thought, a fantasy even. A few more minutes and the air temperature dropped, and a few more minutes we were being hit by gigantic raindrops – and the rain hit us just as we were coming into the final rise of the hilly stretch behind the UP hostel. Within seconds we were drenched through.
We were less than half-way through the first loop and we were just hitting our stride, accelerating a bit from our leisurely pace, when the rain came down. It was a matter of formality when Sally asked me whether I wanted to continue running. She knew that I would say yes. I did not even bother to ask her, I knew she would continue too. So there we were two forlorn figures running in the raining. All the other runners sought shelter from the torrent – and what a treat, we had the road all to ourselves!!!
Forlorn figures we may have looked like to others, but we were far from being down in spirits. The rain actually invigorated us. We were given a fresh leash, not that we were already tired at that point. But it felt as if we were just starting out. The cold water running down from our heads to our bodies and down to our legs was enlivening, if there is such a word. When before the downpour, Sally and I were not talking much, concentrating on every step and maintaining form, we were now talkative and in high spirits. We were care free. And, at least in my case, my previous trainings took over automatically. I did not need to watch my step or concentrate on my maintaining pace, we actually have picked-up pace. Sally and I are very crazy about maintaining pace. But that afternoon, under the pouring rain, we just had fun. We always have fun running, but that afternoon was extra fun.
We were running and skipping and hopping to avoid the puddles. We were avoiding the puddles not because we wanted to keep our feet dry (we were already soaked through), but because we could never know how deep that pothole would be (we were carefree but not careless). The air smelled cleaner, the colours were more vivid. We could hear the croaking of the frogs in the distance. We were in another world and in another time.
The rain continued for about ten more minutes and the rain slackened to a drizzle. A few “courageous” runners decided to brave the drizzle and started to run and soon there were more people on the road running with us. The moment was over - and over too soon. We were back in UP Diliman, on a Sunday afternoon that is not unlike other Sunday afternoons in UP Diliman.
Sunday Afternoon in UP Diliman
By Jun Custodio
Sally and I were running late for our 4:30 PM Sunday run at UP in Diliman [a local university in Manila, with a really nice campus that is close to traffic on a Sunday afternoon]. At 4:30 in the afternoon, I was already waiting for Sally to pick me up at the corner of EDSA and Kamuning, when I got a call from her. She informed me that she went past me but could not stop because she was playing dodge with several buses who where hogging the outer lane. Thirty minutes later, Sally was able to make her way back to where I was waiting and we were on our way to UP Diliman.
During all that time that Sally was making her way back to me, dark clouds had been gathering in the north-east and several flashes of lightning warned us that an afternoon thunderstorm was making its way to UP Diliman. Inspite of this, Sally and I were determined to do our run since it has been ages since we did some good running.
Other people bond by going shopping together or eating out or having a drinking night out – but Sally and I, we bond by running. We don’t even talk much when we run. It’s just me, her, the road and the sound of our feet striking the asphalt in unison. She ceases to be the Pinay Aussie, and I stop being the Pinoy trying-hard tri-wannabe. We were just two runners hell bent on conquering the course.
And the course that afternoon was the five kilometre outer loop that our team eXtribe use whenever we do UP Diliman. I love this route because it takes us to the back streets of the campus. The roads are smaller and there is almost no vehicle traffic. The avenues are tree-lined (well, what avenue is not tree-lined in UP Diliman), you smell the scent of new-cut grass whenever you are running in the area of the ROTC headquarters. It is a generally pleasant route to run in – plus you get the bonus of practicing your hill-stride when you hit the stretch of road near and behind the UP hostel. So that was our route, plus one run in the inside loop of the university oval to make about seven kilometres – just right for a quick short run.
It was about seven minutes into our run when realized that the forty-five-minute window we thought we had was just that, a thought, a fantasy even. A few more minutes and the air temperature dropped, and a few more minutes we were being hit by gigantic raindrops – and the rain hit us just as we were coming into the final rise of the hilly stretch behind the UP hostel. Within seconds we were drenched through.
We were less than half-way through the first loop and we were just hitting our stride, accelerating a bit from our leisurely pace, when the rain came down. It was a matter of formality when Sally asked me whether I wanted to continue running. She knew that I would say yes. I did not even bother to ask her, I knew she would continue too. So there we were two forlorn figures running in the raining. All the other runners sought shelter from the torrent – and what a treat, we had the road all to ourselves!!!
Forlorn figures we may have looked like to others, but we were far from being down in spirits. The rain actually invigorated us. We were given a fresh leash, not that we were already tired at that point. But it felt as if we were just starting out. The cold water running down from our heads to our bodies and down to our legs was enlivening, if there is such a word. When before the downpour, Sally and I were not talking much, concentrating on every step and maintaining form, we were now talkative and in high spirits. We were care free. And, at least in my case, my previous trainings took over automatically. I did not need to watch my step or concentrate on my maintaining pace, we actually have picked-up pace. Sally and I are very crazy about maintaining pace. But that afternoon, under the pouring rain, we just had fun. We always have fun running, but that afternoon was extra fun.
We were running and skipping and hopping to avoid the puddles. We were avoiding the puddles not because we wanted to keep our feet dry (we were already soaked through), but because we could never know how deep that pothole would be (we were carefree but not careless). The air smelled cleaner, the colours were more vivid. We could hear the croaking of the frogs in the distance. We were in another world and in another time.
The rain continued for about ten more minutes and the rain slackened to a drizzle. A few “courageous” runners decided to brave the drizzle and started to run and soon there were more people on the road running with us. The moment was over - and over too soon. We were back in UP Diliman, on a Sunday afternoon that is not unlike other Sunday afternoons in UP Diliman.