People say that parents have the most profound influence on their children. In my case, however, it was the exact opposite.
It all started when my son, Sebastian, said he wanted to get in shape in time for his Junior-Senior Prom. Even at 230 lbs., Seb was not your typical couch potato. Despite his size, he was active in sports, having participated and won in competitive archery both in the Palarong Pambansa and in the Batang Pinoy Games.
Despite his storied background, I was extremely doubtful he could pull off his goal of trimming down his size. At the same time, I saw some ounce of determination in Seb which made me realize that maybe, just maybe, he could actually do it.
True to his promise, Seb lost no time in starting to exercise. Instead of riding in our vehicle, he would simply beg off from the ride, and walk his way from Silliman to our office at the airport area. Although it was just a 3.6-kilometer walk, it was a sincere effort to maintain day in and day out by someone who was carrying all of 230 lbs. For almost two months, Seb endured the daily walk, and eventually, told me he would start running.
I actually could see the pounds that Seb had shed off; it was then that I decided I would join him in running. Afterall, I was also overweight at 220 lbs. I was thinking, if my son can do it, then I could, too.
So Seb and I started our run-walk routine by the third quarter of last year. We would walk-jog-run because we were not yet capable of running the entire route from our house in Cangmating to the airport and back.
Then one day, a friend of mine, Andrei Losare, visited our office, and he was telling me he had done some distance running in the past. I was impressed.
Before I knew it — and without consulting me — he had registered my name in the half-marathon category of the Dumaguete Adventure Marathon (DAM) in November 2012. I vividly recall having trouble sleeping the first week I learned about it, since I had never participated in any race before. This was going to be my first-ever race, and all of 21 kilometers at that! It was like running from Dumaguete to Zamboanguita; or from Dumaguete to Amlan.
This friend of mine lent me a training program for a half marathon, which Seb and I followed seriously. My initial anxiety turned into excitement. As the days went on, I was eventually looking forward to competing in my first-ever half marathon.
Unfortunately, on the eve of the race, Seb had an asthma attack so I joined the 21K by myself, and ultimately finished the race in decent time, with no injuries.
The feeling of euphoria after I crossed the finish line was unbelievable. My friend, who ran the full marathon (42 kilometers) that day, dismissed me, saying it was simply caused by the release of endorphins from my system. “Runner’s high”, he said it’s called.
Regardless, it was something I knew I had to experience again.
Fresh from my DAM half marathon, I signed up for two more races this year: a half marathon at the Cebu City Marathon on Jan. 13, and the full marathon at the Condura Skyway Marathon on Feb. 3 — merely three weeks apart.
These two races are considered by many as premier running events in the country, and I am pleased to have run both races with my son Seb. 
We trained religiously together for both events, and found it to be a good bonding opportunity, given our shared passion in running.
Seb and I both finished the Cebu half marathon in very decent time: my first sub-2 hours, and Seb following closely behind.
For the Condura Skyway Marathon, Seb and I were registered in different categories. There were over 14 thousand runners, and I did not expect to see him on the Skyway; besides, we had different starting times, with me starting at 12 midnight, and Seb starting his 21K at 3:00am.
Despite this, we crossed paths along the run route, and he was equally ecstatic having encountered me on the Skyway amidst the sea of runners around us.
We both finish decently for our respective events, with Seb finishing his first half marathon in sub-2 hours; and me, finishing my first marathon in 4 hours and 48 minutes, just a little ahead of my friend who had secretly registered me for the DAM a couple of months earlier. He congratulated me on this accomplishment, and encouraged me to move on to other races.
But after the Condura Marathon, I suffered a knee injury called iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS), generally associated with running. I was advised to refrain from running for two to three months.
I was severely upset with this news, knowing my new-found love in running.
Little did I know that what my friend had earlier told me (to move on to other races) would prove to be true. As it turned out, the ITBS was a blessing in disguise as it led me to consider swimming instead, while my injury was still healing.
I started to learn to swim with coach Nino Pinero in the Silliman pool in March of this year. The first time I tried to swim, I literally just sank down to the bottom of the pool. After a couple of swimming sessions, I started to move forward.
When I was more confident with my swimming strokes, my son told me he wanted to try doing triathlons. A month later, we each bought our bikes, and started to train with the Negros Oriental home team, TriONe.
Seb and I joined our first sprint triathlon in Dipolog. After crossing the finish line, the feeling was three times better than when I first crossed the finish line in my runs. It felt so good that I knew then that I was going to be hooked on to triathlons for a very long time to come.
The second triathlon event we joined was a half distance in Tabuelan, Cebu wherein Seb finished 4th and I finished in 5th place. Not bad for someone who just joined the sport three months ago.
Our next target is the Timex 226 triathlon late this year, and then the Ironman 70.3 next year.
And to think, all of this started with a simple goal to just lose weight. Now, this has only become a natural consequence with the change in our lifestyle.
There is a saying amongst runners and triathletes that when we sign up for a race, we become athletes. We take good care of our bodies better, we watch what we eat (no more rice, beef, pork), we train properly, and we get a good night’s sleep to aid us in our recovery.
If it was just to lose weight, now my son and I realize we can actually be relatively good at this as we chase our own personal records to continuously better ourselves and improve our skills.
Looking back, I am satisfied with how everything turned out for my son and me. And now my wife Teresa, who is equally supportive with every goal we try to accomplish, has also started running as well, as she tries to forge her own story to add on to ours.
Our common interests have brought us closer than ever, as we look forward to the day that the three of us will be racing together.
But that, I think, will be another story. (Carlo Teves)
