What’s meant to be will find a way.
-Anonymous
Right after the adidas National Finals yesterday (July 1), my running buddies and I had breakfast at MaySum Mabini (previously known as Maxim’s). I was a bit down in the dumps—I wasn’t able to meet my goal of setting a new PR that day. I felt strong when the race began, and I thought my pace was good; however, it definitely was not enough to beat my PR.
We talked a bit about my friend’s unexpectedly getting a 10-year, multiple-entry U.S. visa for the first time, and I mentioned that it was meant to be; he was meant to get it that day. After all, everyone knows that some U.S. consul deny visa applications as a matter of course. My friends looked askance at me—how come I believe in such nonsense? Do I mean that my poor time in the race is also “meant to be”?
I do believe in fate, that there are some things that are beyond our control. However, my performance in adidas was not beyond my control. I had a choice, and I chose to do poorly. I trained only intermittently—finding a hundred and one reasons not to get up and lace my New Balance 660s. Sometimes I was amazed at the number of excuses I could come up with—it was raining, I had slept only a few hours the night before, it was already too hot, I had to work on my racket, I was sleepy, ad infinitum. So, yeah, due to my own actions, my poor performance was meant to be.
Anyway, going home from Maxim’s (or rather, MaySum’s), I vowed to do better next time. There’s a TaraRun 15k race in UP Diliman on July 16, the Q.C. Red Cross Fun Run on August 5, and the UP Diliman 10K Run on August 22. (An aside: There was a poor showing of female runners in last year’s Q.C. Red Cross because of strong rains. As a result, I was in the top 7. O ha! No one can say I don’t run competitively! I place only when there are less than 20 female runners participating. ;þ)
James Allen said, “You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.”
So there. I hope my thoughts will take me to the finish line, in 50 minutes!
You hit the nail right on the head, girl. No one to blame but our lazy selves for bad performances. I’ve been through that countless times in my bittersweet running career. The good thing is having the resolve to do better and really doing better the next time. As long as that one stays, better running times are there for us. Good luck on your TaraRun 15k. Keep us posted.