I was feeling very tired at work earlier today because of the usual busy-ness and I feel like I caught a cold. But decided to complete this week’s streak with a chill-no-pressure recovery run to sweat away the day and feel warmer!

Completed an almost 3km walk (warm-up and cooldown) + 5km recovery run. Better overall pace today than yesterday with best pace at 5:03 today. Getting there!

I was thinking about a conversation with a friend yesterday during this run. She was sharing about some recent experiences about trust (and/or the lack if it).

We go through life and in the process, we learn to trust. During our first steps, first everything, it cannot happen without the support of those who believe in us and what we can do. In our experiences, we build or lose that trust because of how we get treated and/or how it made us feel. We build trust through consistency, and sometimes we do or don’t do it unknowingly for some people. That is how we earn or lose their trust.

To me, trust is given when earned; sometimes, it is given when we choose to. And lately I am learning it happens when we are ready for it.

Most importantly, we need to give it to ourselves, too – Trust to know that when we make mistakes we can always come back and do better; Trust that when people love us when we are not okay, that means they probably really do even if they are not perfect or even if we are not perfect; Trust that even if people have nothing to gain, they will treat us well.

But it is not about being naive. It is about grace to accept what we deserve. It is about reliability and consistency and believing that in the chaos of everyday, when we witness and see it happen, hope is there. And with openness and readiness, it will always get better. Trust the Grand Plan and it will happen when we are ready for it.

#TheGratefulCompilation #AneurysmSurvivor
#Secondlife #RoadToBubbles #42on40

Completed 12km today. 1km warm-up, 9km run, 2km cooldown. Better pace than yesterday’s run and definitely feeling good after this run.

Many thoughts during this run today: EXPECTATIONS. REALITY. ACTIONS.

In our daily lives, we go through many expectations – from family, from work, from friends and from people around us. Some expectations we meet, some we can’t. Some we deliberately don’t. The ones we always try to meet are from the ones that matter to us. The ones we meet and the ones that matter we chase to become reality. With effort and with elegance, we do what we need to do and take the necessary steps to achieve what we expect for ourselves. If we don’t meet those, then we try again. And again. Till eventually we get it right. We develop grit. We don’t stop till we get what we envisioned.

Good morning to end the day. Everyday is an opportunity to start. Everyday is a new day of hope.

#TheGratefulCompilation #AneurysmSurvivor #RoadToBubbles #42on40

Ending the day with a good run! More gentle push to start the week at 8km run + 1km warmup walk + almost 1km cooldown. Busy first day of the week but productive nonetheless. Good honest conversations showing the differences from that which deliberately omit the truth.

Resonating thoughts today: GOLDEN RULE.

One of the conversations today is about adherence to a known reality. You could imagine the frustration when you’re given the run-around only to end up with a reflection of the truth. What is so difficult about being honest? What is so challenging with telling the truth? What does one gain when they portray only an interpretation of the what-is? We all deserve something better.

Integrity is about doing what’s right all the time. It is not about a version of the truth because the truth only has itself. It is not driven by personal gains nor does it seek personal gains. “Doing right even when no one is looking.” It is about respecting another to deserve the truth without malicious intent. Integrity is about giving to somebody what you expect others to give yourself. Simple. Easy. Straightforward.

Today as we get into our day, let’s be a reflection of that which we expect. Let’s be beacons of positivity and lead each other to meaningful moments full of purpose. Let’s be patient enough to treat each other with gentleness esp in moments we feel we are trying hard. Let’s strive to be more than we were yesterday. Let’s treat each other how we want to be treated. Always with kindness.

#TheGratefulCompilation #AneurysmSurvivor #RoadToBubbles #42on40

More than 40km mileage this week and kicking off the weekends with a chill-no-pressure run! Been feeling tired maybe because I kinda pushed a little harder than I should. So this seems to be a perfect morning for a recovery run!

Resonating thoughts this run: PATIENCE.

This week was a very productive week full of learnings.

There were enough challenges that made me realize that there are always better ways of doing so long as we are able to continue to be open to suggestions and feedback. There were enough opportunities that makes me appreciate the beauty of process and self-checks. There were enough chances to do things differently that leads us to diversify our thoughts. There were a lot of moments that pushed the preparations to ensure readiness.

And in all these, we are tested to stay patient – especially when things don’t work out as expected; or when some parts don’t go as planned; or if we don’t feel appreciated or remembered. Or if we feel we can do better.

In challenging times, we look into ourselves and find the quiet in us – that part that remains strong and soft at the same time; that part of us that remains gentle and wild; that part of us that remains patient and optimistic for better times ahead.

Then you have friends that always make it lighter. And always a good run to always make us feel better than we were. Wonderful morning with this bunch! 😘😘😘

#TheGratefulCompilation #RoadToBubbles #42on40

Solo run this morning. But way better 10km today than last one. Improved by ~5mins bringing me closer to my Sub1 target. I cannot wait to get there!

Resonating thoughts this run: PREPARATION.

Preparation takes patience. It sometimes takes its toll because of all steps that need to be considered – how everything ties to each other or how it should be tied together. It also takes some level of anticipation of what can happen, may-not-happen-if, what-if-this-happens and other scenarios. It takes a level of visualization to see the best and worst case scenarios. It takes time to prepare and usually nerve-racking when it is time to do what we have been preparing for.

But in most cases, when we prepare and we prepare well, it pays off – all the effort, all the time, all the energy becomes worth it. Then we reap what we prepared for.

And that feeling will be wonderful – when all we visualized and hoped for happens the way we planned it in our head. How we visualized manifests itself.
So let’s prepare well and play the scenarios in our head. Be ready for all the good stuff because they say it may not be easy, but it will be definitely be worth it. And it will be worth learning from.

#TheGratefulCompilation #AneurysmSurvivor #RoadToBubbles #42on40

Had another chance to run another 10km today.
Was off by 3mins from the last run due to several stops due to cars and crossing the streets (and me stopping!). But what a sight to see the city come to life as the sun comes up!

Resonating thoughts today: STARTING AND ENDING CYCLES.

As humans, are creatures of HABITS. We try to start our own system of “doing” so long as it gives us our desired results. We like the predictability and the ease and comfort knowing what is waiting for us. We also enjoy knowing what’s ahead of us. We get used to the routine and cycles we follow in our lives. There is a cycle of how our lives move from one event to another. We observe the order in which they happen and we get conditioned as they repeatedly happen…unknowingly and unwittingly.

As we become part of the cycle, we partake in the changes it brings. And we get changed in the process, too.

But there comes a time we need to choose to BREAK the cycle – when it is not a healthy cycle anymore; when the cycle results to a distraction to the main area of focus; when the cycle becomes a cycle of misses that can be avoided; when the cycle becomes destructive to ourselves and our relationships with others. Why stay in a cycle of helplessness? Why stay in a state of disconnect?

There is time to begin a new habit; there is time to end the cycle by choosing a deviation that leads to a better outcome. We need to let ourselves make a deliberate decision to choose either to keep up with the cycle or to change it. Why change when it’s not broken? Or why not change when we know it is broken?

At the end of the day, the choice is ours to make – either to stay in the process or to leave the process behind. LET’S MAKE THE RIGHT CALL.

#TheGratefulCompilation #RoadToBubbles #42on40

Clocked in 10km run. Not yet my PR from last year but an improvement from my last 10km run by ~8mins. Getting back little by little towards my sub1 pace. Almost a minute better too in terms of pace improvement. Working my way there!

And with some help – thank you for J for pacing me today. Let’s work on tempo run and distance training in the upcoming weeks. Time to get back to our regular programming!

Resonating thoughts today: STARTING OVER AND ASKING HELP.

Starting over has its perks – fresh start and a new start to try something new. It also has its challenges – the adjustment, the finding of balance in the approaches and the fine tuning. It also provides the opportunity to seek the neccessary help that makes the starting over journey easier.We seek the help we need so long as we don’t see asking for help as a sign of weakness.

The courage to start over and to ask for help are signs of strength – of character, of spirit, and heart. Be brave to start over when we need to.

Sometimes all it takes is bit of nudge so we stay focused. Sometimes it just takes a little push to keep the motivation alive. Sometimes it’s just a friend to keep supporting to make it more enjoyable and worthwhile.

Good run today, good company and good conversations – perfect recipe to start another productive week!

#TheGratefulCompilation #RoadToBubbles #42on40 #AneurysmSurvivor

Beautiful to see this city wake up and get busier by the minute. So happy to be back here and running once again. Good run and good friends to wrap up a busy week! Not yet back to my best time but starting good considering I have been on hiatus since start of the year! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

Resonating thoughts this run: EVERYTHING EVENS OUT IN THE END.

We are all governed by this law: We reap what we sow. We get what we worked for. We do good and it comes back to us. We do bad and it bites us in the end.

Our RESULTS are impacted by our action. Every action is triggered by INTENTION. Every reaction is equal to the ACTION done against it. Every action has its own consequences.

Bad intention makes way for bad consequences. GOOD intention into good CONSEQUENCES. No exception to the rule can make one more prone than others or that makes one more special than others. It all depends on the pureness of intention and the sincerity of action.

The Universe is fair and objective.So do good to ALL in acton, deed and intention. Let’s treat each other with tenderness and understanding. Do the good so it flows over. Do everything in love.Kindness is the currency.

🥰🥰🥰

#TheGratefulCompilation #RoadToBubbles #42on40

Got to ride a jeepney today. We parked the car a little further than usual so we either walk, take a trike(cycle) or ride a jeepney. Walking was a bit dangerous in the area so we said either one of the last two we will take to get to the car. My brother T (and Y and T) got to a trike first. D and I got to ride the JEEPNEY. It was short (and a bit scary because the area is known for thieves! Haha) and interesting. Reminds me of days when I used to commute all through public transportation. It was great experiencing this again.

Resonating thoughts: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.

Be grateful of the lessons of the PAST. Forgive ourselves of the mistakes of the past. Be open to the learnings it brings to us to be stronger, tougher, and wiser. Look back to those memories with gentleness and warmth.

Be PRESENT today. Pay attention to the details. Be aware of what’s infront of us. Remove the distractions so we can give our full attention to what deserves our attention. Be mindful of what to ignore when it only creates toxic thoughts or emotions. Life is short to think of the shallow. Life should be spent on those that beautifies our moments breathing.

Be hopeful of the FUTURE. Look forward with positivity. Know that the future is within our reach because of our investment in looking back and staying mindful of our today. The future will be here soon enough. Be patient. Be vigilant. And look forward with optimism. Know that we are blessed with grace and being prepared for the future we worked for.

Most importantly, stay thankful for every waking moment and for every experience that is meant to enrich and unfold at life’s divine timing.

#TheGratefulCompilation #AneurysmSurvivor #SecondLife

Mountainous run this morning but loving the chilly weather!

Resonating thoughts this morning: STOP AND GO. STOP TO GO.

January is about to end and it has been a busy and productive few weeks. Met some familiar faces from prior years and it always is a joy to see them reaching for their dreams. Met new faces as well and is a joy to learn from their unique experiences and stories. There are days I felt pumped up because energy is up and high. There were days I felt tired I had to recharge by having some alone time.

One thing I realized these past few weeks is that every meeting whether with new people or not, has to be rewarding for the other person and ourselves. Those people from prior years has good stories to tell and we shared good memories together. The new people I met these weeks I am sure I will miss till next time.

But the most important thing is BALANCE. Sometimes it means we need to stop so we can move forward. On days I grew tired, there is a need to rest (Thank you to my friends for reminding me!). Sometimes, we try to chase everything in one day. But M reminds me we cannot change the world in one day. J also reminds me that we need to rest so we can do many more things. B teaches me to keep going; that one rejection is not the end but the beginning to keep going. D teaches me to keep being excited for the weeks ahead.

We need to STOP to GO ON and conquer the world with GOOD intentions and ACTS that make this world a little bit better.

Let the FUN begin!

#TheGratefulCompilation #RoadToBubbles #42on40