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10.03.2011

White and Gold


S: Will we still make the White Coat ceremony?
C: Ceremony starts at 10:30. It's a 45 minute drive. I will run fast.

The race was not easy for me.
If it were not for the encouragement of my former student Brian, I don't know if I would have kept running.
Halfway through the race he noticed that I was struggling.
He said,
"if you are experiencing muscle fatigue try changing the way you are running.
Do something different. Sprint or change your stride. It will trick your brain into thinking it has not been doing the same thing that has made you tired."

Because Last Saturday morning was also the day of my lovely niece Erica's
White Coat Ceremony.
I was in a hurry to finish my 5K race.
I committed to going to this before I had "decided" to run.
After the race, I literally ran home, showered haphazardly, threw on kagalang-galang clothes, pulled my wet hair into a ponytail and jumped into the car.
After the white coating --Erica linked her arm with mine and said:
I'm actually surprised you're here. I was expecting a text telling me that you were tired from your run.

The truth is, Erica knows me so well.
Sometimes, way before I know it
(or admit it to myself) she stops in, takes one look at me and says,
"Auntie Ches, you look off."
So the fact that I was able to do an unpredictably good thing by cheering her during an important event in her life despite how tired I was, teaches me something.
It teaches me that Brian's running tip applies to life too.
When you are experiencing emotional fatigue, do something different or unexpected for someone else. The joy you experience from it will trick your brain into going on.
(Perhaps I'll rename this blog TheOneTimeRunner)
I may not have won this gold medal
(JB did) with my 30:13 chip time but I ran fast enough to get to Erica's event on time.
That is just like getting a gold.