Getting Ready for December 5

Four months to go before my first full marathon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can really train enough for this milestone. Happening on December 5, I've chosen the Quezon City International Marathon (QCIM) as the race for my first full mary. I joined the first QCIM last year, running 21k, and it was an incredible experience. Running along Commonwealth Ave, minus all the cars and fumes, with all the northbound lanes occupied by just runners, was heavenly.


I missed a lot of planned races this year. I missed the very popular Milo marathon. More recently, I also missed this Sunday's takbo.ph Runfest. I registered and got the wonderful race singlet, with my own name inscribed in front and on the bib. Two weeks ago, I knew I couldn't make the race because my maid goes home on weekends now and there's no one to look after the kids. But I was happy just to get the singlet. It's my first that's personalized with my name. I hope to wear it soon outdoors. I already used it as pambahay/work clothes when I took out some old, dusty stuff from our unbelievably cramped storage area two days ago.

I just downloaded a training schedule from runnersworld.com called SmartCoach. It says that my first training day is today, and I'm supposed to run 5 km. That should be easy enough... but I haven't been on the treadmill for weeks (!) now, so let's just see how it goes.

I notice that these days, my pulse is faster than before when I wake up in the morning. Two fingers on my carotid reveals a surprisingly rapid thump-thump beat. A faster pulse equals a less fit me. But I shouldn't really be surprised, since I haven't been exercising at all lately. I'm also aware that I'm drinking way too much coffee. These things I need to change. And oh, let's not forget the medium pizza that I devoured last weekend, all by myself. And all those bars of Cadbury that my kids love so much. When they eat this comfort food of theirs, I join in. Hmmm... I've been bad.

So okey, I'm starting anew (yet again... but one should never give up, right?). I'm starting to train for the full marathon, and I'm going to eat better.

Good luck to me :-)

The Cat and I

I was brushing my teeth at the kitchen sink (funny how everyone at home does her brushing here), when outside the window, I saw the cat staring at me. It was the cat that trespasses into our house, the cat that steals our food, the cat that gives the children a scare when it suddenly jumps into a room through the window. It was the cat that I have tried scaring away many times, throwing stones at it, making loud, supposedly scary noises--all to no avail. It just won't leave.

I used to love cats when I was a child. Now I hate them. Maybe hate is too strong a word. I dislike them. Intensely. There.

I don't know when this dislike started. Maybe it began when I was pregnant for the first time, and I read somewhere that pregnant women are not safe around cats and cat litter. They can cause an infection that is extremely harmful to the fetus.

Maybe it was because my ex believed that cats are psychic vampires that steal our energy away. Well, they don't really intentionally steal it, but they absorb it from persons they come in contact with. That's just the way they are. Or so he believed. Whatever.

Now, the cat was staring at me straight on, as if daring me to go try to scare her away again.

I stared back, hard. But no human is equal to a cat's unflinching gaze.

Done with my brushing, I finally signaled surrender by bringing my head (and gaze) down to rinse my mouth.

So much has changed since my cat-loving childhood days. Now, I sometimes don't know who I am and what I have become. A stranger looks back at me in the mirror. But better that than a cat.