I have been remiss in updating this blog; and it's just been two months since I started this (with some back-dated posts). It has been an action-packed nine days, starting from two Fridays back. This is a mega-post of what was my week:
20 June, Friday - UPM celebrated its 37th year like we've always done in the last two decades, by running. This year's anniversary run was a bit different. Since UP's academic calendar has shifted, the usual "audience" of students along the academic oval is gone. So instead of running around for 37 hours without company, we decided to head to the beach, by running! The plan was to run in relay from Quezon Hall (Oblation) to the beach in Real, Quezon. This journey is about 138 kilometers in total, and is broken down into 14 relay segments.
As an officer of the club, I was "required" to run the first segment, from UP to Masinag. Since I came from home, I waited for them at the corner of University Avenue and CP Garcia, only to find out they changed the route, and I was already way behind. I ran along CP Garcia, hoping to catch them along Katipunan. But 6 months of no serious running has taken a toll on my speed. I finally caught up with them past SM Marikina; and by this time, I was so exhausted from keeping an uncomfortable pace. Add to that, my stomach was acting up. So when we passed the designated change-over point, I quietly slowed down my pace, and hailed a cab. I got home just in time, if you catch my drift.
The next day, we headed out to the assigned segment for Cece and her batch mates, somewhere along the Marikia-Infanta Road. It was a bright sunny morning and was getting warm pretty quick. After some prodding, I decided to run with the girls, who were also accompanied by the relay team before them.
This turned out to be a big mistake on my part when we realized that this section, which we thought was only 8 kilometers, was in fact about 13 kilometers! I was running shirtless and was slowly getting roasted. My quads are killing me from the sudden load of miles that I haven't been doing since November. I was the whiniest person in the company of women, who were, to their immense credit, taking this change in plans quite rationally.
The last section of the run was along the Infanta-Real road. We--by which I meant, they--ran past houses and commercial establishments, to the bewilderment of the people of Real, who had no idea who we were and what we were doing (we're doing this for you! To raise awareness and save Sierra Madre for deforestation!). Each runner agreed on one thing, it was the longest section ever! The beach was so close, but not quite there yet.
Finally we crossed the last bridge and everybody scrambled to get to the pit stop: a beachfront campsite with karaoke, food, and cold beer! The relay finished at 4 in the afternoon, 19 hours since we started in UP. Not bad at all!
The rest of our stay there was a downward spiral towards partying too hard. Simply put, I've filled my inebriation quota for this year, much to the inconvenience of Cece (sorry).
It was a nice way to mix things up and make a tradition a little more fun. Happy anniversary, UP Mountaineers!
Tomo made a video of the run. Watch it here.
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