Few weeks ago Belle told me about the
Dream Run in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. It was the first grand reunion of TBR Dream Marathon alumni and friends. I had second thoughts
when she invited me to join her team. Nevertheless, I agreed. But due to some
changes, I had to join another team. I didn’t know my teammates, James and Sis
Erna. Although James is a facebook friend, Sis Erna only became part of my
friends list when Belle informed me that she was one of my teammates.
After filing for a vacation leave
today, I left for Manila a little after lunch. I didn’t know how to go Sta.
Rosa. I just crossed my fingers that the bus conductor knew the way and could
teach me how to get there. And for some cosmic play up, the lady across me was
bound for Sta. Rosa. In fact her house is near Nuvali. Yay, heaven-sent!
We got to Manila around 6:00pm.Jessica
and I boarded another bus headed to Balibago. Along the way, she gave me tips
about the places where I could stay and eat. Very kind of her indeed! The trip
didn’t take long. We were already in Sta. Rosa around 7:00pm. Jessica and I had
to part ways. I decided to grab a dinner at Mc. Donalds and check in at Sogo
afterwards.
My teammate Erna kept on checking on
me. She lives in San Pedro. She initially invited me to stay with her but San
Pedro is two towns away from Sta. Rosa. I needed to rest and staying at the
motel seemed to be the best option.
When I got to the motel, I took a bath
right away and slept. I had to be in the venue before 3:00am. Apparently, I
couldn’t sleep. I kept on tossing on the bed until I guess my body and brain
got tired and retired.
I was awaked by the courtesy call from
the help desk. I instantly got up and stretched a little. I did my morning
rituals and headed off to the lobby. “This
is it”, I told myself as I took a trike
to Nuvali.
When I got to the site, I waited a bit
for my teammates. Haha it was more of an eyeball
for the three of us. Sis Erna arrived
not long after and we waited for James. (Both were Belle’s friends whom she met
in Ayala Triads.) James soon arrived. After exchanging pleasantries the three
of us headed to the Start Area. Since it was a team run, we decided that James
wore the timing chip. Along the way he asked, “Ano, 5:1 tayo?” What?! I can’t even do 6:00. When he saw Sis Erna
and I with wide eyes he explained we’d do Galloway from the start to the end
and it’d be 5-minute run and 1-minute walk. We agreed. But at the back of my
mind, I was apprehensive. Taking walk breaks might not help. Sure PR wasn’t the
issue, it was a team run anyway but I knew I couldn’t handle too much heat. At
any rate, I still agreed. For the team Dream Killers!
We started out really slow. I noticed
that James was more of cautious runner. Being a triathlete, he has joined
several competitions and the last thing he wanted was injury. He was our team
captain. He guided Sis Erna and I along the way. He took control of the team’s
run which at first I thought to be boring. But later on I realized that the
very essence of the run is to promote camaraderie among teams. The purpose of
the race would be defeated if I decided to run alone and just wait for my
teammates at the next water station. Hence, I decided to stick and run with my
teammates.
Along the way, we managed to share stories about running. I thought it was the best part of the event. I was in a place where I knew no one (well, except for Jessica) and I tagged along with runners whom I only met on the day of the event. But look, we were running as a team and sharing stories.
In the middle of walk breaks, I felt a sting on my heels. Hello blisters! I wasn’t wearing my usual knee-sock today because the team decided to wear black leggings. By the way, our outfit bothered me a lot in the entire duration of the run. I am not used to running with leggings and arm candies. It felt hot even with the cold weather in Sta. Rosa. At one point I wanted to remove my arm candies but, I reminded myself it was a team run.
In one of the walk breaks I told my
teammates that I wouldn’t stop because walking make my shoes hit the blisters
and the pain was killing me. James told me to just remove my socks. But I told
him 3K wouldn’t be that far. I could still do it. I just had to jog.
We were fifty meters away from the
finish line when James said “hawak-kamay”.
Sis Erna and James exchanged place while I remained in the middle so our race
bib would read T-B-R. We held hands as we neared the finish line. As soon as we
crossed the mat, volunteers put on the medal. We had our photos taken and
headed off to the Active Health village for some breakfast. I was surprised
that we managed to finish the run at 2:48:54. Now that wasn’t too far from my
record in RUPM; to think we used Galloway from the start of the race. Talk
about conservation of energy. Yey!!! Kudos to Dream Killers.
Post Script:
Dream Team Run taught me one thing. A team is a team. The members must stick with
one another through thick and thin. Forget about those personal interests! For a team to succeed, it must have one goal. Dream
Killers, you guys are great! Thank you for the incomparable experience. Though
we do not know each other personally, we still managed to make our team work.
If given a chance to run as a team again, I won’t hesitate to be with you guys.
Until then...
