Last Tuesday morning, I had an easy run at the ULTRA Oval Track which covered a distance of 11+kilometers. I considered this run as my recovery run after joining the 1st Mayon Trail Run las Sunday. While I was doing my cool-down stretching exercises, I had a chance to talk to the other runners who were also having their workout at the oval track.

I had a conversation with Kim O’Connell as she was impressed on what she saw in my race report about the 1st Mayon Trail Run in this blog. I told her some of the description of the terrain, the river, the lahar sand and the rocks we had to run through and even showed her some rashes/cuts on my legs as I slide through rocks along the banks of the river before finishing the race. We even talked about my Team Bald Runner and their performance in the said event. We also talked about running and getting further beyond the marathon distance and other endurance sports.

However, I was caught off-guard when Kim asked me where I am getting my strength as she sees me all the time at the oval track whenever she is there for her workout with her coach. I told her about the food I am eating since I had an attack with gout last April. I only take carbohydrates (pizza w/out meat, spaghetti, pancit canton/sotanghon/rice noodles); fish; vegetables (kangkong, pechay, sayote, carrots & lots of malunggay leaves); and tofu as my meat or source of protein. I eat eggs; cereals and oatmeal for breakfast. Drink Ensure before going to bed and during breakfast. Eat a lot of fruits. No alcohol & no smoking. And the most important thing is to be able to sleep at least eight (8) hours during nighttime.

Later on with our conversation, she answered her question with a single word—“discipline”. Well, she was right! That’s the “magic word” for all us who wants to excel in whatever we want to do in our life. For us to improve in running and be able to finish with a PR best time on the race distance we want to excel, we need “discipline” for us to develop the endurance, power/strength, stamina, and speed.

Stop whining and making complaints that you don’t have the time to train. Instead of wasting your time on unnnecessary things, wear your running kit and hit the road or your treadmill machine and “burn” your running shoes and your “lungs”. Focus on your goal, and borrowing from Dean Karno’s words, “Run with your heart!”