I got into running in April this year. My office mates were joining the National Geographic Earth Day Run on April 16 and I joined them just for fun. It was my first three kilometer run, and I only trained ten days before the actual event. It was a difficult run for me as I am not used to running, however, I did enjoy the event and since that time, I trained regularly for my next three kilometer run. Then I levelled up to five kilometers, and then to ten kilometer runs in the succeeding months.

After my second ten kilometer run in August, I signed up for a half marathon (twenty-one kilometers) that was slated for October 24, 2010. I still had more than two months to train for that run. It was at this time that I put up my vision board and posted a picture of a Filipina runner who won second place for the twenty-one kilometer category, at the Standard Chartered International Marathon held in Malaysia. I put my name on that picture, wrote an affirmation that I am a marathoner, an elite runner, and a champion. Every morning I would wake up seeing this picture and stating my affirmations. Before retiring at night, I would do the same thing.

I continued to train, though with great difficulty because of my work schedule. I was able to train at least twice a week for the first month and basically only once a week one month before the actual race. And worse, I had to stop training for two weeks because of a pulled muscle, however, despite my injury, I continued to do core exercises to strengthen my abdominal muscles which are important also for running.

I was discouraged and I thought of not running the race anymore, but every time I woke up and saw my vision board, I was reminded of my goal: to run twenty-one kilometers and finish it. The longest distance that I ran two weeks before the race was ten kilometers. After that, I had to rest my legs for at least two weeks for fear that I might re-injure myself.

Come October 24th, on race day, I went with my friends to the event, armed only with my faith and determination to finish the race. The race started early and the first few kilometers were okay. At the fifteen kilometre mark on my way back to run an uphill route, I started feeling pain in my left calf. I slowed down and walked going uphill, then ran downhill. I could barely run 500 meters without feeling pain in my legs. They were cramped, and the pain really slowed me down.

At the nineteen kilometer mark, just two kilometers from the finish line, I felt the most severe cramp in my right thigh. I couldn’t walk. I had to stop to stretch, but I still kept reminding myself of my goal, and I tried to visualize myself crossing the finishing line. It was the longest two kilometers that I walked and ran. Finally, during the last kilometer, the pain miraculously did go away, and I was able to run and cross the finish line even ahead of a friend who was better trained than me. My legs and my faith did not fail me, and I got my twenty-one kilometer finisher’s medal after crossing the finish line.

I not only conquered twenty-one kilometers, I conquered my self-doubt and fears, my greatest achievement in that race. The law of attraction with the use of the vision board really works.