A moment’s realization would spur a complete lifestyle overhaul for Rain. At 167 pounds, she made her decision. “I felt like I was a late bloomer to physical fitness,” she said. But she knew the challenge ahead, so she started to make changes a little at a time.

First, she joined her colleagues after work to play badminton, as her way of introducing exercise into her life. She saw some progress with her weight, and felt encouraged to search for other ways to improve her physical fitness. “One of my officemates invited me to run, and I felt that was where was journey really began.”

It was hard at first, Rain recalls. Working at a bank meant her days began and ended beyond normal operating hours. “I woke up at 4 every day so I could train for running for at least an hour or an hour and a half. Because it’s difficult when you run after work—sometimes I’d start my day at 7, but end at 8:30 at night. Syempre, by the time makauwi ka, pagod ka na. So I had to be disciplined – it had to be every morning before work.”

Despite all the running that she did, Rain saw that she wasn’t making any progress with her weight. “Naisip ko, ‘Bakit hindi ako pumapayat kahit tumatakbo ako?’” Rain recalls. She then realized that discipline shouldn’t just be present in exercising, but with maintaining a well-balanced diet as well. From here, Rain, the formerly “chubby chick” let go of the things she was so fond of—the chocolates, the fast food, and the “extra rice”—and made better food choices to complement her new active lifestyle.

From 2010, Rain found herself joining races with distances from 10 kilometers to a full marathon. She would also join the Tagaytay to Nasugbu 50-kilometer run. When a boxing gym opened near her workplace, she signed up for lessons to cross-train. Wanting to do more, Rain also tried multisport events, now joining three to four triathlon events per year.

Finally, Rain felt at ease with herself and had the confidence she committed to regaining in 2007.

Saying ‘yes’ to new adventures

One Saturday morning, Rain made her way to Manila Bay to try a sport she had been drawn to for a very long time. “Ever since I was in college, I wanted to try dragon boat paddling. I wanted to try something unusual. So when I was invited to try it out, I didn’t hesitate.”

Of her first session with dragon boat paddling, this is what Rain had to say: “Running was part of the training, so I felt na I fit right in. And after that first time, feeling ko, na kahit sobrang sakit ng buong katawan ko, ito talaga yung sport na para sa’kin.”

Just like her progress with losing weight, Rain started slowly to make sure she had the best possible results. “At first, saling-pusa lang talaga ako! Pero dahil nag-commit ako, talagang pumunta ako sa lahat ng training. I train three to four times a week, either in the morning or afternoon, every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday.”

Rain describes her training with the team: “In dragon boat, we have basic land training, which includes running, core workout, and calisthenics before we proceed to boat training. During boat training, we follow programs for endurance or strength training, where we paddle for almost 30 minutes nonstop with added weights on the boat to make it harder for us. Weigh training is also necessary to increase strength needed for this sport.”

Rain officially joined the Maharlika Drakon Dragon Boat Racers in 2012. The former saling-pusa would eventually become the team pacer in both the mixed and the all-female boats. “Pag team pacer ka, ikaw yung nasa unahan, so dapat malakas ka.”

Photo by Charisma Lico, Edge of Light; Make-up by April Feliciano; Hair by Jannet Saberon. Clothes by Running Skirts and Alii Sport, Shoes by Saucony, and Shoelaces by EZLaces – all from AtletaAko.com.