*dimsumdolly* - the different morsels of the life of a foodie

Half-Marathon

“Why do I do this to myself????” Those were the thoughts that crept into my mind when I woke up at 3.30am this morning and got ready to leave for Bishan Stadium to catch a shuttle bus to the Esplanade. The Esplanade was the start point of the Stanchart run.

I had signed up for the half-marathon (21.1km) in end August, having had grand ambitions of training for it. But those grand plans fell through – I was paddling a lot but I hardly ran as I didn’t feel like running at one point in time in September and October. This is the first time I’ve run in any mass running event.

I arrived at the Esplanade at around 5.30am where I met up with a couple of friends. There was an excited buzz in the air and all the runners were rearing to go. The full-marathoners were flagged off first at about 6am. This was followed by the half-marathoners 30min later.

Before completing this half-marathon, I had never even run a distance more than 7km at a stretch. On hindsight, it was really quite insane to take something like that on without having trained for it. But I guess my regular exercise in other sports helps. At least I had enough stamina to last the distance. I maintained a slow and steady pace throughout and I told myself that my goal this time is not to stop to walk, no matter how tempting it is to do so. I managed to do that and am really pleased with myself.

I started off running with my friend who was maintaining the same pace I was for 8km. After that she had to walk as her knees were hurting. I went ahead without her, keeping at that steady running pace. I finished the half-marathon in about 2h 32min (exact time not known yet at time of writing). For someone who didn’t train for it, I guess it’s a pretty decent time! It helped too that we had good weather for running. It was cool and cloudy – unusual for Singapore! Thank god for that, ‘cos hot and humid would have killed me.

It's actually very motivating running with others. As I don't usually run with any music plugged into my ears, I motivate myself by setting small goals for myself at every step. If running alone on a road, I set visual markers for myself to reach. This time, I targeted a person in front of me and told myself I had to overtake him/her. Once overtaken, I aim for the next person. That really kept me going.

I should have heeded the advice of the running booklet to put petroleum jelly on the inner thighs and arms to prevent abrasion of the skin when running. Now I have bad abrasion on my inner thighs. I have to walk like a duck now. Next run I do, petroleum jelly will be my best friend.

In all honesty, I never thought I could do this. I’ve never been much of a runner and running isn’t my favourite sport. But I guess like many other things in life, it’s something I have to try once. For many people who take part in such runs, it’s more of a personal challenge than anything else. In completing the half-marathon (everyone who completes it gets a medal!), I feel a great sense of achievement and clichéd as it may sound, it’s true that often you’re actually a lot more capable and can achieve a lot more than you think you can. After awhile, it’s more mental than physical. Mind over matter. One thing I’ve realised in sports is that it really helps to build mental strength and character which can also be applied to other areas of one’s life.

So what will it be next year? Half- or full-marathon? Don’t know yet! But if it’s going to be a full, I’d better start training for it early. That’s just a whole different ballgame altogether!

Posted by DSD at December 3, 2006 7:39 PM