To my friends and teammates who are racing 70.3 tomorrow,

I am ever so proud of each and every one of you who have taken on this very personal challenge to swim, bike and run a half ironman (HIM) distance.  Some may be doing it a second time, a third maybe, but the feeling of ‘have I done enough? trained enough? rested enough?’ is a nagging peripheral thought just the same.  For the HIM virgins, this is on the forefront of your mind right now.

Let me tell you what I have to say about that (go ahead and skip the next paragraphs as I have no authority whatsoever in triathlons, more so an IM 70.3.  But since you’re my friends, you will read on *wink):

You have done enough.  YOU are enough.  You have always been enough. 

You were never lacking in any iota of a measure.

Sure, you didn’t reach your intended time last year, had to dnf perhaps, naunahan ni __________, and every null thought you can possibly think of.  But didn’t you aspire to do better this year? Trained earlier (uyyyy, may natamaan)? Ate better? ‘Had girl abs in the process?

Whatever happened last year, is just that – the past.  You’ll never regain it, you can only learn from it.  What you have now is the present.  Whatever you’re doing now, is what you need to be doing.  What you will be doing tomorrow come gun start,  is as it should be.

The finish line?  Done. It is its own present. The Start and the Finish are the same. So why fret?

Enjoy everything – the smile that people will generously give you, albeit nervous, enjoy it.  The pat on the back, the good lucks, the godspeeds, the well wishes, the all important prayers.  Carry them with you as you race.  With every swim stroke, every bike pedal and every step, you are where you need to be.

Say a prayer of gratitude at the gun, say, ‘Thank you, Lord for making me finish this race’. This is how you claim His promise 🙂

For when you know by Faith that you’ve finished the race, getting to the finish is easy.

So, Carina, Mike, Raff, Noelle, Hanna, Joy, Jon, Nico, Kuya Jun, Coach Al, Ronnie, Argow, Marge, Vic, Jet, Redge, Bong B, Chance, Eric, Arbs, Joni, and all I know who’s racing tomorrow, this one’s for you. *Cheers *Clink