a refreshing way to burn

A mild fury was brewing in the waters of Manila Bay as we jogged the length of the Baywalk from CCP Complex going to the US Embassy last Thursday. Sea spray met with our cheeks, and on occasion, we had to watch our steps as occasional rivulets formed along our path, making what started out as "just one of the regular jogs", an extra challenge. The Baywalk that afternoon was still full of its regular customers though—fellow joggers who didn’t seem to mind receiving a splashing once in a while; photographers who, armed with their cameras, shoot at children playing with the statues; street vendors plying the route however timid the turnout of their sales maybe.

My officemates decided to stop upon reaching Pedro Gil, and just waited for me to finish my round; I was determined to reach the embassy this time—putrid stench of the sea air be damned! And I did. The first few jogs we had, I always felt cheated that we should turn around upon reaching Pedro Gil, knowing that I’ve more energy reserved to reach the US Embassy even. The run that afternoon proved my hunch, as I speeded up upon reaching my appointed marker and made a dash for the embassy, just a few meters away. It always feels good when you know you performed a bit better than your last performance.

The run back to the office felt sore though; the coarse opening of my left rubber shoe kept rubbing with my skin just above the heels; in time, that friction made a cut and a wound made its presence known by slowing me down. The slowing down was enough to make me appreciative of other sights previously ignored—news reporter Kara David already wrapping up a shoot of her spiels that will be interspersed throughout a segment, one that was probably finished days ago in the editing room; a graduating class from the University of Caloocan coming out of the Folk Arts Theatre after the ceremony was over—happy to have finished college, but apprehensive of what might be in store for them in the real world.

Passing by the throng coming out of the building, I couldn’t help but feel lucky that we didn’t have to rent a place during my time just to have a decent graduation ceremony. the place was there all year round. just a few trimmings were needed to transform it into someplace magical for an event such as a graduation ceremony. and yes, the garden does look great at around this time of the year. Realizing how big an "issue" it is turning out for me, considering that I graduated from college some seven years ago, I laughed it out and proceeded to jog on the way to the office.

It was only upon arriving at the office that one of my fellow joggers noticed the wound. I said I ignored it intentionally coz I didn’t see the point of making a big fuss out of it. We were in the middle of jogging and since it was pretty much bearable, I just trudged on. The show must go on, ba. Hehehe. haay. I wonder how much calories I was able to burn? Can’t wait for the next jog. :)