It’s just that my last entry here was such a long time ago, there seems to be no way of picking up from where I left off. It is such a burden to explain a year’s absence that I’ve decided it’s better to start from scratch.

I run because I want to stay slim and fit for as long as I’m able.

But what’s three years when you have a million more things to write about and, more importantly, time to do it. My children are growing up fast, my husband and I are handling or starting projects, I’ve recently taken up running as a hobby — I want a place to sort them all out and a blog is as good as any.

I’ve also taken to heart the advice of professional runners for newbies to start a blog where they can keep track of their progress, share fitness, nutrition, endurance, and gear tips, plan runs together, and support each other.

Falling into running has been of the good accidents of my life. I’ve never gained a single pound, even after two children, but I haven’t been fit for a long time, either. When an illness prompted my husband to go run, I’ve taken it up, too, as a way of supporting him, but it had been fun and beneficial to me, as well.

My memorable first run happened under the 5K category of the Milo Marathon Cebu City elimination run last June.

From just running for fitness, my goal has changed.  I plan to finish even just one marathon — the whole 42 kilometers — in my lifetime.  If I can do more, that would be good, but I’m gunning for just one.

I’m envious of Cebu’s running fixtures, among them women runners like Mary Grace delos Santos, Madeline Carter, Haide Acuña, and Donna Cruz-Larrazabal, who make running the 10k or 21k look so easy, while I’m panting and red-faced from my 5k. I want a place to brag about my children, too. How well-behaved and intelligent they are, and  polar opposites of one another.

Me and my two boys.

Just recently, my 6-year-old asked me: “Once I’m a teenager, I can go home at night, right?” It surprised me that he was thinking that far ahead; I should be, too. Then it hit me that I have another son who’s exactly on the throes of his teenage years. I should already be ready.

So, I’m reassessing my life and rethinking my strategies, and this is the place where I’m gonna do it.