Sunday, September 13, 2009
finisher.
just got home after a longg morning. woke at 530 to eat my brekkie and prep for the race. felt lethargic while scrolling thru the channels munching my usual breakfast routine: bread crust with nutella spread, a dash of nuts, and wadever additions i find around the kitchen, be it scones or biscuits. felt an aching knee but thought 16km should still be doable.
headed out to NYP and got caught in a mini jam, and while heading to the car park, i witnessed the classic example of social herding. the first car turned in at school of engineering carpark, and amusingly all of us follow suit, without a doubt. but in fact, we could have headed down further to a carpark nearer the starting point at the sports complex, and plus there was a signage pointing towards the sports complex as well. (we were told prior the race that we will be starting from the sports complex). but somehow everyone just turned into that carpark, and i ended up walking a fair bit before meeting dexter. so the race started, and we ran with everyone else. personally, i find it really motivating to run alongside so many people, and it gives me the drive to want to finish the race. it is encouraging to see how the veterans are still so passionate about running, and how people of all shapes and sizes are all running towards the same goal: to finish the race. along the way, traffic was really bad, with cars still whizzing us by along YCK and the AMK avenues. we even had to stop at certain traffic lights to allow cars to drive through. i must say that the organizers could have done a better job as that can affect the timings of those who are running competitively. along the way, dex suffered some cramps and we had to stop to walk a fair bit. dex felt bad but i kept telling him its really alright. cos to me, this mizuno wave run is not about the timing actually, but more of just clocking up the distance and finishing it together. although i must say for the stan chart run, i may not feel the same since its my 1st marathon and possibly my last, so i would want to give it my all to see where i stand. (:
as in all races, there are of course race marshals along the way and interestingly, they were all members of the older age groups. they were really nice, mumbling words of encouragement as we run past their flags, and despite the hot sun, a handful of them still flashed their smiles. the weather today was q bad though, humid and lots of stale air. i felt for awhile i was simply breathing in everyone else's carbon dioxide. hur hurs. so after all the upslopes and downslopes, we finally crossed the finishing line together. it was q an uplifting moment since now we know that we are on our way to up our distance over the next few weeks. and most importantly, we finished the race.
i guess now i understand why people say that life is like a race. with ups and downs, moments of joy and pain. at times u can cramp up but if you are lucky you will have loved ones around you to walk with you. else, you can learn from it and next time be better equipped or trained to avoid such pitfalls. along the way, you can meet new people and make friends with them, and who knows, they may end up being your good friends in the long run. you will also see kindness in those around, just like the marshals who are on duty along the route. i guess in a race it is not about how fast you run or how good your running is, but more of taking it as a personal learning experience. it is about developing yourself as a person; a test of your level of determination and mental strength. i see the beauty of running a race as the freedom to choose how you want to finish it and live with the outcome with no regrets. yes along the way we may falter and make mistakes, but we learn and fine tune ourselves to be a better person so that we will steer in the right direction and eventually be a champion finisher in our own ways.
aights guess i have said this a thousand times or more. but THE WEEKEND JUST AINT ENOUGH. rawr. met rara for dinner last night at food for thought. this place at bugis with cafe food and nice desserts. (: friendly staff and service too.
