Running Makes Me a Better Person

My ankles and calves ache so badly and they weigh tons now even as I am writing this – literally the sore results after a mock run of the partial 21km Standard Chartered route on Thursday. And to think that my friends and I (8 of us) ran only about 15km, starting from the open stage at Esplanade to Fort Road and then back. Wish a couple of OSIM uSqueez Warm were available nearby after the run to give those over-worked calves a good massage.

Since it was the eve of the public holiday, quite a number of us made it for the training and yes, most of us do not own a gym membership except for this one. This run happened to be the most dramatic one as I got lost from the group and did not have my mobile phone with me.

There was no way of communication and the feeling of being detached from the group was not good at all, trust me. Thank God that Singapore is relatively safe, even in the night. But one can never be too complacent.

While curbing the wrong thoughts that I was ‘ditched’ by my friends, I had to coax myself to stop being a whiny baby and that my friends do care and would be frantically looking for me.

This was one of the moments to practice placing trust in friends; the many situations to analyze when the unexpected arise like the above; the opportunities to build strong friendship and having team spirit are some of the traits and lessons I learnt through training with friends and joining runs/ marathons. The support and running tips from friends are priceless as well. One should eat 1.5 hours before a run to prevent stitches and proper warm up exercise goes a long, long way.

When I run alone, I am more independent as many times, it is very crucial to be able to discipline your mind, to always think like a winner and to push and stretch the limits. As a bonus, I get to enjoy the beautiful landscape of Singapore, be it day or night ,when I map my own routes at no cost!

I love especially how the breeze and at times, the cold wind sets my adrenaline high, pushing me to run further and faster. It is always great to have generous friends. One of them gave me the Nike I-pod pacer that helps to track my miles while listening to my favorite hits from Lady Gaga, Akon and Korean boy band, Super Junior.

Sidetrack: Does the hilarious scene of hamsters running on the wheels come to your mind seeing runners working on the gym track mills?

Somehow, the thought of perspiring in an air-conditioned room does not work for me. It seems like a  series of confusion for my body, as one part will be sending signals that I am burning fats by perspiring while the other tries to stem perspiration due to the cold temperate. Contradicting isn’t it?

Well, maybe it’s just a psychological play on my thoughts.

Oh, to gear us up for the upcoming (and my first ever !) 21km on 6^th December, some of my friends and I joined the 10km Great Eastern Run early this month. This is motivation in phase one.

Will share more in my next post.

Some of us before the run

Some of us after the run

And what our bibs say:

We are ‘Freaking Orhsome’ (Woohoo!)

The runs not only train my mental health but also my physical body. I have shed a few kilos and my friends actually commented that I am healthier because I seldom fall sick nowadays and slimmer because not much angling has to be done while being photographed. Yay! Such comforting news. I am bearing in mind still, of having Gisele Bundchen’s hot body!

Time to ditch the lazy monster in me and strap on my Cherry, Cheery Ukimono! Please make way for the next ‘Gisele Bundchen’, haha.