Chasing Romance & Falling In Love with Running

This is a guest post by a friend, Jez, on how she started running. Jez, now runs half marathons and even joins aquathlon events.

Its embarrassing to admit but to be honest, I ran my first 5k at the invitation of a guy that I had a crush on. It was stupid. I had no training aside from 30 minutes on the treadmill, a few times that month. But after I completed that race I felt a certain kind of accomplishment and wanted to do it again.

A few months later I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, commonly called non-insulin-dependent diabetes, is the most common form of diabetes. Since my case is at a stage where it is still very much manageable (and I’m not a big fan of needles), I made a deal with my doctor.

If I can manage my blood sugar with just diet and exercise, she would forego prescribing me with medicines to take. That’s when I started to take running a little more seriously. I would sign up for fun runs so that I’d be forced to train…to run.

After a while I became a bit more competitive with myself, I wanted to see how far I can go (literally) so I kept pushing. I got in touch with running friends (you know who you all are) who continue to motivate me and have been a big part of my training.

It’s been almost 2 years now and I’m proud to say that since then I have completed a few half-marathons and even finished two aquathlons. Of course, the many short-distance fun-runs with friends kept running FUN. I have yet to conquer my first full marathon, but I’ll get there soon.

What keeps me going? Health reasons aside, I run because I like to run. Running did not just become a part of my routine. It influenced my lifestyle. I used to go home in the wee hours of the morning from a gimik, now I wake up to in wee hours of the morning to go to a race or to train.  But what’s even weirder is that I’m actually enjoying this.

Running gave me a second chance at life — to become a healthier, stronger version of myself, despite my ‘sweet’ condition.

Every race I finish is a grateful offering of thanks to God for this opportunity. Looking back, It’s kind of amusing to think that I started to run chasing after a possible romance but I fell in love with the sport.

Jez is a runner and an aquathlete. She finds time to train – whether for a run or a swim – after her busy day with her day job in a top IT company in the country.

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