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July 22, 2013

RUNNING IN UP DILIMAN


EmoticonSunday morning, I haven’t had any run in more than 9 days. This running drought comes at a bad time as I am preparing  for the Tagaytay to Kawit (T2K) Ultra Marathon scheduled for August 24, a mere 5 weeks away. 

But I had to follow the doctor’s order to take a rest as I battle a viral illness (fever and cold) I got two Fridays ago. The past several days I have been on a steady dose of paracetamols, antibiotics and vitamins but nothing seems to be working as I continue to be groggy and sounded sick. I was getting impatient and my feet were itching to serenade the road. 


Sunday morning,   I was gonna drive my son Marcel to the UP Diliman campus as he would be joining his Section 1A classmates watch a play at the Wilfredo Ma. Guerrero Theater inside Palma Hall.  Showing was a Dulaang UP staging of the highly-regarded Filipino Folktale "Adarna". The plan was for me to watch as well. The duration of the play was from 10 am to 12:30 noon.


Sunday morning, serendipity happened for my jealous mistress and me.  Arriving at the lobby in front of the Guerrero Theater, I asked where I could buy a ticket to the play (Marcel and his classmates had gotten  tickets from their Filipino subject teacher).  I was pointed to a table where a pretty lady informed me in a respectful tone that there were no more tickets for sale. I did not expect Dulaang Productions to be  fully sold on a sleepy weekend morning.

What to do to past the time for 2 and a half hours?

Simple. My jealous mistress was always available, and my dear readers should know by now that I am referring to my  R – U – N – N – I – N – G.




And what a better place to  have my running romance during the immediate  hours prior to noon than inside UP Diliman,  the most runner friendly campus in all of Metro Manila. Lots of big trees to provide a natural shade against haring araw.  Lots of veterans or newbies runners to keep one company.  And lots of roadside snack to substitute for the running gels which I did not have on that Sunday morning. What I did have, ever ready inside my vehicle, was a duffel bag full of running shirts, running shorts, running socks and a pair of Hoka. 





       
Thus, the die was cast, fever or no fever, I was running. I rationalized that the non-availability of tickets was a sign from above that I should run already. I figured I could go around the 2.2 km inner loop 3X and then do a single  round of the 4 km outer loop (the one passing College of Architecture and UP Bahay ng Alumni).  Roughly 10 kms. 

Running and walking  in UP gave me the added benefit of being exposed to what was going on  inside the country’s premier university thru its posters and tarpaulins. And in my sojourn this Sunday morning, I kibitzed, as could be seen in the following pictures:
A signature campaign to oppose the name change of the College of Business Administration to the Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business


SONA inspired complaints
Sign Up for a day & Photo Contest

Free showing of Pinoy film classic

Abelardo Hall Auditorium Concert Series

As I neared the finish of  my run, I got to have a brief chat with a runner who I figured to be training for a marathon, or even an ultra. His name is Job and true indeed he was preparing for both the Milo Marathon this July 28 and the T2K this August 24.

Here we go again. A budding serendipity.  Our chance meeting on this Sunday morning might prove beneficial after all, for the both of us, come our 50-km August adventure.


Job on his 12th round on the 2.2 km loop



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