Pace Creative: Four Legs and A Tale: One Greenormous Run

{Finished in 27:01 min. Not bad!}

Call it animal instinct, but I knew something big was coming up. My usually ordinary dog days were instantly peppered with new words like: Training, Run fast, Beat those dogs (What dogs?), Don’t fall asleep ha!, and Muzzle (I don’t know what that is, but it doesn’t sound good at all). Always left behind when my humans leave for Sunday morning races, I was finally allowed to stay inside the car after I jumped in. Apparently, I’ll be joining my human, Janine, in a 3K marathon. Cool.

We arrived at Fort Bonifacio for the One La Salle Run, and what a sight to behold. I’ve never seen so much green in my life! My humans rolled down the windows and pointed out some dogs (Oh, you meant those dogs). Beagles, Shih Tzus, Labs, Golden Retrievers, and German Shepherds all abound. I popped my head out of the window and took in the air. Hmm, smells like stiff competition.

We finally found a parking spot and made our way to the starting point. The vibe was both exciting and overwhelming. Even my humans seemed surprised at the vast number of people that turned up. Almost 5000, I think. All I could see were feet, feet, and more feet of the two- and four-legged variety. A pair of hairy, white legs came up to us. Fairly middle-aged and toting a frisky mini pinscher, the man talks to my Janine.

Some Old Dude: ‘San mo nakuha yung number ng aso mo? Bakit kami wala? (Where did you get your dog’s race bib? How come we didn’t get one?)
One Hot Momma: Ah, ako lang po gumawa niyan. (Oh, I just made it myself.)
Some Old Dude: Tumatakbo ba talaga yung aso mo? Yung aso ko, palaging nagte-10K ito! (Does your dog really run? My dog runs 10K all the time!)
One Hot Momma: Hmm, hindi, mga 5 minutes lang siya tapos tinatamad na… (Hmm, noooo, 5 minutes is all he'll do before he keels over and plays dead.)

I could’ve smacked my human right there and then. How about a little trash talk, huh?!

Their conversation ended as the rain began to fall— big, furious droplets threatened the race. Uh-oh. The runners seemed oblivious of the rain as they proceeded to run anyway. I cowered under an official’s chair. I just took a stupid bath yesterday, no way was I gonna get all wet and muddy.

My human eventually forced me to run. Hey, running in the rain was actually a lot of fun!

We started off nice and slow since the road was a bit crowded. I picked up my pace and just jogged alongside my human most of the way. Noo-nee-noo-nee-noo. I felt like a semi-rock star with all the oohs and aahs (mostly from girls) I heard as we ran down the road. Must be the shirt. And to think my humans thought I looked Winnie-the-Pooh gay. Hah!

So there we were, running and minding our own business, until my uncanny canine abilities sensed something… I looked behind and saw a raging bulldog hounding me. Yikes! I may be a Weiner, but I wasn't planning on being anybody’s breakfast! Adrenaline kicked in (or was it fear?) and I ran as fast as my short, stubby legs would let me.

Surprised at the sudden vigor, my human bolted after me. Seeing what I was running away from, she broke into fits of laughter with the bully’s owner. That’s strike two for you, Janine! Hmph.

After more than the expected amount of running (Harrumph), I rested for a while and continued to just leisurely walk and people/dog watch. We caught sight of fellow mock-hlete and Running Fatboy, who ran past us in the 16K route.

Almost half an hour later, we finally spotted the finish line. Hooray! We sprinted towards the crowd and met our cheering squad with a triumphant smile and a high tail. My human scooped me up for a victory hug with a proud look on her face. Who cares if I’m wet, cold, and grimy? I am now officially a Marathoner. ~Imp