My Virgin 42.195 - Fur Elise

The Bridge I need to cross and come back

To most people, 42.195 may not mean anything.

To a runner, 42.195 is a benchmark. It is a distance a runner has to endure to cross the line from a runner to a marathoner.

To me, 42.195 is a milestone I set for myself. I have a thing to prove, not to others, but more to myself. So that I would continue to believe, “I can make it till the end”. So that just like how Pheidippides (the Greek messenger who first ran the distance of 42.195 from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens) announced at the end of 42.195 km “We have won”, I want to tell FATE that “I have won!”

Hence, in May 2011, barely a year after I started running, I registered myself for the Penang Bridge International Marathon 2011 on the first day it opened for online registration. Of course, since a full marathon is somewhat an unofficial consecration for runners, I was compelled to drag my fellow TRAFFFFians to participate in this consecration (or massacre?) together.  Therefore, Jo, Noor, James and I registered for our virgin full marathon respectively. After the registration and after our respective broadcast over facebook, there is no turning point. How exactly we were going to complete a full marathon without much training really, we had no idea. Every now and then, we kept asking each other “How are we going to do this?” and every few weeks we would randomly exclaim “We are going to die!!” The frequency of this kind of monologue and dialogue increased as the days drew closer to November.

I drove all the way to Penang alone on Friday morning. I needed solitude to have clarity of mind. I needed to assure myself that I would make it to the finish line. I roamed around Penang island carbo loading on my favourite dishes. I had my ritual coffee fix at Lighthouse Coffee. Seriously, with all the mouth watering street food available in Penang, I couldn’t find a better venue to do my first full marathon. My optimistic (or pessimistic) thinking was: If I collapse and die at the finish line, at least I would die with gastronomic satisfaction.

The Band of TRAFFFFians arrived in batches –James, Yam and Shear arrived on Friday midnight (or rather Saturday morning), Jo and Noor flew to Penang on Saturday morning, then Starge (Staff Sarge) Dann and Ody (also my ritual room mates) arrived in the afternoon. We ate and we ate and we ate.

Dua Bui's Curry Mee

Assam Laksa

Muar Chee

Lighthouse Coffee

Bangkok Lane Mee Goreng

Famous Apom

Yong Tau Foo

Jo's carbo loading menu include: 1 mee goreng, 4 assam laksa, 5 popiahs, 2 ice kacang, 4 apom, many goreng pisang, some kuih talam, etc all within 2 hours.

Goreng Pisang

Serious Bandage going on for my ankle

On the faithful Saturday night after carbo loading with pasta with Noor, Jo, and Alex, I tried to sleep but of no avail. By the time I managed to close my eyes and drifted into shallow unconsciousness, the alarm clock rang. I woke up and changed. Starge helped to bandage my ankle with Phiten tape. I wore the same outfit I wore last year for my first half marathon at PBIM. I took swigs of my triple shot espresso (which I specially ordered from Lighthouse and kept in the refrigerator) to ensure I had sufficient caffeine level to stay awake till morning.

In the room with my running family -Shear, James & Yam

James, me, Alex & Jo at the starting line

When the run was flagged off, I was fully pumped. I told myself that I had all the well wishes from my beloved friends. Mummy PC, mummy Viki, Joe, Uncle John, bestie etc were giving us all sorts of motivations and words of encouragement. I told myself that with my Hall of Shame at PNM, there is no room for another failure. Most importantly, I told myself that I needed to cross the finish line, get the medal and hold it high for Alice. The coming Monday would be her 59^th birthday if she were still alive. This is the place where she was born and where she grew up. I was pretty certain there she was somewhere up the sky looking down at me. Hence, I could not fail her. So I ran and I ran and I ran. I had this Power Run playlist I had been compiling for this full marathon and my running mood was synced with my song list. The weather was being so kind that night at 2 am. The weather on the bridge was superbly breezy that I got high at KM 15 and started humming a song. Then I saw Noor. He was struggling as he unfortunately suffered from legs cramp. I ran with him for a little while and told him not to give up no matter what happened. After the U turn at approximately KM 19, I discovered to my horror that the water station had ran out of water. For the subsequent 10km, I had to survive on the little water that was left in my handheld water bottle. When I saw the KM 21 marker, I thought to myself “What the heck I was thinking signing up for FM? I would have finished my run by now if it were a half marathon.” I saw Jo who stopped and started walking, I ran up to her and with whatever energy I could garnered from my remaining energy reserve I shot her an icy cold look and said “Don’t you dare stop! Run now!” I guessed I looked pretty awful when I said that to the extent that she sped off immediately after hearing that and I caught her looking back at me a few times and sped off every time she saw me. Before the run, a few marathoners told me about “a wall you would hit”, “probably at KM 30”, “maybe KM35”, so I was running and anticipating a complete breakdown anytime from KM 30 onwards. I was running and waiting and continued running but such wall never come. Perhaps I was too focused on completing the run. Perhaps I was too high on endorphins. Whatever the reason is, I am glad that I never hit a wall in my first virgin run. For the last 10km, my butt began to show signs of cramp and I stopped almost every km to stretch. 

At about KM38, I saw the break of dawn, and the sky beyond the sea suddenly dyed in hues of pinkish orange. I stopped and took a photograph and breathed in the moment. 

This is simply captivating

I made it!!

The last 4km was sheer pain physically. I had my last energy gel at KM 32 and at KM 38 I had no more energy left. I tried to gather speed but my legs were just not cooperating. I thought I was running faster but apparently my Garmin showed otherwise. Seriously, the last 4km seemed and felt like 10km. I was glad that one of the 10km Fun Run runner saw my bib and cheered me and a few other runners on. This is the thing that I love running so much. There is a tacit camaraderie between all runners. You may not know each other, but yet you know exactly what kind of feeling the other is going through. When you see a runner stop because of cramp, you stop and help. You cheer others on so no one give up and no one left behind. This is true sportsmanship. This is why I don’t give up running. I want to be part of this fraternity. I am proud to be part of this fraternity.

Finally – the last 1km. Tears began to form in my eyes. Rivulets of tears mixed with sweat flowed down my cheeks as I ran past the last roundabout and saw the finish line banner. I crossed the finish line in 5:47. I made it!!!!!! I ran frigging 42.195 km!!!!! I am finally a marathoner!!!!

This is something I categorized as “Impossibility” years ago. Now, I truly believe that “Impossible is Nothing – when you truly believe in yourself”.

For those who have faith in me: Thank you!!

For those who always doubted me and said things like “You can’t”: You can now go eat your own shit ;p

P/S: I didn’t limp after the run, which I thought I would.  I walked perfectly fine with my head held high.

Thanks Starge for your professional ankle bandaging. Thanks for my fellow TRAFFFFians who trained with me. Thanks bestie for your expensive ear phone (which you would subsequently claimed that I spoilt it).

Starge Dann & Ody

With Alex the Xtramiler

The Priceless Finisher Tee

The TRAFFFFians in TRAFFFF Signature Pose

The Celebration Drink

All the way from Perth - Jeannie

The Unexpected Xtra Mile Run: 1 Man, 10 Suburbs, 100KM, 16 Hours

The Summary
When? 17th - 18th June 2011
Where? From Putrajaya to Jalan Gasing (Through Puchong - Sunway - Subang- Glemarie - NKVE - Kelana Jaya - Sunway Damansara - Bandar Utama - TTDI - Damansara Heights - NKVE - SS2 - KDU - Jaya One - Jalan Gasing) 
Who? Alex Au-Yong
What's going on? Alex Au-Yong will attempt to run 100km across 10 suburbs in 16 hours.
What for? To raise RM100,000 for the Music and Dance programme for the START Society in an endeavour to help underprivileged children to unleash and develop their talents.

The Story

It is true that a handful of runners could do and had done a 100km marathon, which is also sometimes labelled as the Ultra Marathon (84km -100km). My favourite writer, Haruki Murakami ran 100km when he was 46 in an unbelievable timing of slightly over 11 hours. Viki's (a friend of mine from Chief's Original Bootcamp (COBC)) husband, Jeff and her brother, Alvin are going to run the Sundown Ultra-Marathon on 25.6.11. It may indeed true to state that to run an ultra-marathon is the ultimate dream of every avid marathoner. Be it as it may, to do it purely for charity cause and to plan the fund raising campaign from day 1 and commit one self to such great deed - it is an extraordinary deed endeavoured by an extraordinary man.

From the past history, running and charity have always go hand in hand. To name the foremost, we have the Terry Fox Charity Run every year to raise funds for cancer research. Hence, this run would not be the first and definitely would not be the last. Yet, there is no greater cause to run than a charity cause.

I received e-mail from XtraMile many months ago, though I have no idea how they got  my e-mail. Then I received few mails forwarded by friends. Then, Shear Ling's friend, Priya who came for the Bring Along A Friend Day at COBC appealed to volunteers to run with Alex on certain routes. I had made my pledge some times ago and I was really keen in running with him. Few days before D Day, Nana posted the route on TRAFFFF and after some exchange of communications, it appeared that the stretch from Sunway Damansara (KM 70) would be rather quiet. Hence, I decided to gather a handful of TRAFFFFians to run with Alex from KM70 to KM84 (a total of 14km). The response was overwhelming considering the short notice. TRAFFFFians who were going to run were given the following strict instructions:-

• Do NOT overtake Alex.
• Wear bright coloured attire (To live up to TRAFFFF's motto "Daya Mungkin Tiada, Gaya Mesti Ada", white has been chosen as the theme colour)
• Bring ENR headlight.
• Run in pairs - buddy system for safety reason.
• Assemble at 4.15 a.m at Carolyn's School of Rhythmic Gymnastic 

D Day

The Gaya Ladies

On the eve, I went to bed as early as 8.30 p.m. However, I woke up every other hour to follow the status of the run on Twitter. At 1 a.m, I was fully awake and no thanks to some 'friendly' interruptions, I only managed to doze off again at 2.30 a.m et voila, the alarm rang at 3 a.m sharp. I did a round of morning calls to few people, got up, got dressed and went to pick up Letch, Jo and Noor at Damansara Heights, where our run would end and where the rescue cars were parked to transport everyone back to Kota Damansara.

Fandi and his Harley

A total of 12 TRAFFFFians turned up - Letch, Liza, James, Jeremy, Noor, Jo, Yam, Shear Ling, Siew Peng, Rienna, Amy and myself. Affandi arrived in his usual and clamorous stunt - the vroom vroom vroom from his Harley Davidson. He was unable to run as he had to work at 6 a.m. Nevertheless, he sent his wife, Liza to the meeting point and in order to show his support, would escort us for 10 minutes.James has been unanimously appointed by us as Forerunner whose function was to sprint ahead of Alex every 700 m before each check point to notify the support team waiting at the checkpoints.

Alex was running late from the originally scheduled time of arrival at 4.30 a.m. While we were waiting, we did what we know best - camwhore. I also had the time to drink up iced coffee while waiting. Alex and crew finally arrived at around 5.30 a.m. After a brief rest, we began our run. Fandi was blasting Slash's Paradise City from his Harley while escorting us. We were also escorted by 2 traffic policemen, 1 ambulance, 1 main support car and few other support vehicles. Running with so many escorts made us felt super important..hehe...However, I supposed Alex hit the wall at this juncture as it was his 70th km and running in the dark with a taxing uphill gradient did not help at all. We made the first stop after 5 minutes and Alex was getting his energy food from the nutritionist. We were wary not to disturb him. We made another pit stop after making the U turn and turning into Bandar Utama. At this point, someone started some song game to get the spirit up. I then started the 'Name a country starting with Alphabet A and so on' game. Everyone's spirit was lifted and even Alex seemed to have picked up his pace and threw in a country name or two every now and then. It was a smooth jog all the way to 7-11 at Taman Tun Dr. Ismail (TTDI).  As we crossed the traffic light separating TTDI and Bandar Utama, we also saw the break of dawn - the first gleam of morning light.

As we slowly cruised through to Pizza Hut TTDI, more and more runners joined us and slowly the small group of runners turned into a crowd of 20-30 people. As we were running on the highway now and the traffic policemen were taking a short break, we were directed to run in two files. Suddenly, a Proton Wira sped from nowhere and nearly hit onto the support 4WD. We were slightly traumatized and also partially entertained by this little drama with full sound effect of screeching brake and burnt rubber smell. The whole troop nevertheless marched on with high spirits and unified strides.

The thing about running is - you may not know these runners who are running next to you, in front of you, behind you most of the time whether you are doing the LSD or you are in a race. Nonetheless, you would take a look at them and you would have this smile blossoming into a full bloom. You would exchange a tacit nod and you would feel the  invisible strong brotherhood, or fellowship or whatever it is called- a kindred bondage only known to runners that bind all. As I always put it, running may be a solo activity, but at time like this, you can see runners stick together - everyone running at same pace, heading towards the same direction, with the same cause in mind. The rhythmic movement of foot strides, the tangible and direct contact between your feet and the ground, the breathing you heard from other the runners - suddenly developed into an atmosphere that is so warmhearted and heartfelt. The sensation that it triggered was inexplicable in words unless you are one of them to feel it - first hand.

As I have mentioned earlier, the original plan was to run 14km from Kota Damansara to Damansara Heights. Rienna, Amy and Siew Peng merely planned to run a total of 7km from Kota Damansara to TTDI and then to run back to Rienna's house, which is situated in TTDI. Nonetheless, as the theme of the run is called XtraMile, it turned out that everyone indeed ran some extra miles at the end of the day. Driven by Alex's incredible gumption in making it till the end, I had the strong impulse to run it till the end too. Hence, while I was running, I made a telephone call to my French teacher to request for a deferment of my French examination to the following week, which was approved. Hence, with no proper preparation (in terms of carbo loading and sun block protection), I trudged on a like a devoted soldier. 

There were many sidelights which made the run so much more fun and memorable.

Tey - the super marathoner and photographer

• Cam whore sessions: Tey Eng Tiong, more popularly known as Tey, is probably the most well known name among runners in KL. Tey is not only an avid marathoner but he is also fervently supportive of all forms of sports events by volunteering as the unofficial photographer. You could almost spot Tey and his camera, waiting by the road side to capture your photos at most of the runs. Tey joined us at TTDI as the unofficial photographer again. Runners who recognized Tey shouted out his name and waved at him while posing for the cameras. After the TTDI stretch, Tey disappeared and then reappeared again at the SS2 stretch in another outfit. Apparently he went home to change and came to take photographs again before heading to work. Kudos to Tey and his unrelenting support to all runners!!
• One Malaysia Support: When we ran past NKVE heading towards SS2, I saw this Punjabi security guard outside one of the housing areas, beaming widely with encouraging smiles to us. There were also people from the neighbourhood clapping and cheering us on. Regardless of race, religion, gender, height, weight, all Malaysians came together, in support of this cause in unison - this graced the running with solidarity.
• Creativity - The support vehicle constantly came up with placards with creative and encouraging words written on it, which put a smile on everyone's face. We have "Run, Pray, Believe" (not Eat Pray Love), "START with the END in mind", "Smile" etc.

When we reached the checkpoint at KDU, I have ran a total of 21km. At this juncture, Jo and Noor had to go home to fulfill their parental obligations while James had to escort Yam back to pick up my car (as Yam was driving Noor's car and tailing us). Hence, from the ordinary troop, only Shear Ling, Letch and I were continuing the run. I iced my swollen ankle and shins at KDU before continuing with the rest. The scorching hot sun torched on us mercilessly from KDU all the way to Jalan Gasing. However, no one slowed down and despite the merciless hot sun, the running crowd grew bigger and we even had this young kid running with us full with vigour and morale.

Exhausted but happy runners at KDU

Shear Ling, me and Letch continued to the finish line

When I finally reached START Society at Jalan Gasing - 30km and 6 hours later, I was exhausted and famished (despite the fact that I had gulped down 3 cans of milo, 1 can of nescafe, few cans of Gatorade and 1 power gel throughout the entire journey). Yet, exhaustion is superficial in comparison to my emotional turmoil. Deeply touched by this guy's arduous and yet relentless deed and the forever beaming countenance filled with positive enthusiasm, life suddenly became so alive and I started weeping uncontrollably at the sight of the happy faces portrayed by the children, which is all the run about - a brighter future for the children. Here I am, dedicating my first 30km run for the children.

It is a run without any finishers' medal. There is no finisher tee, no certificate and definitely no goodies bag.  Yet the satisfaction one yield from it, would probably be the greatest I have felt so far. At times like this, medals, timing, distance do not matter anymore. It's the journey that counts, the experience that matters, the joy and solidarity that prevails, and lastly, I would say that, I would run anytime just to see the children's happy faces.

Mission accomplished. It was a 16 hours (or more) run with months of diligent preparation contributed by many people with big heart and I am confident that the diligence, the passion, the persistence exhibited by everyone throughout the entire event would continue to serve as an inspiring story to many.

Running is great!

The One Year Jubilee of My Running Chronicle

I started running officially and got my first medal on 5th of June 2010 at the Setia Eco Run.

Time flies. It has been a year since my first 4.5km fun run at the Setia Eco Run. 12 months, two 10km runs, two 11 km runs, four 12km runs and three 21km runs later, I am still loving running. *Scorpion's Still Loving You playing in the background*

There is no better way  to commemorate and celebrate my one year's jubilee of running than by way of....running itself. Hence, a week after the Sundown Half Marathon, I signed up at the very last minute for the New Balance Pacesetter 15km at Putrajaya.

It would be the first run the FF - Jo, Noor, Yam, James and I run together again since 2XU. Hence, despite the the fact that the official running vest (in teal) which made me look fatter than I already am, I wore it nonetheless for the sake of unity and compliance with FF's dress code for the run. Nine of us - John Chuah, Shearling, Yvonne, Siew Peng, Yam, James, Noor, Jo and I assembled as early as 4.30 a.m at Uncle John's house and set off in a convoy of two cars. We were amongst the first to arrive at the starting line. Some lightnings appeared near the skyline and we were expecting nice cold rain to wash away the heat. While we were doing our warm up exercise on the pavement, a 69 years old uncle from Malacca clad in 2XU calves guard started a conversation with Jo asking her about her compression pants. The next thing we knew, the uncle was 'molesting' Jo by touching and caressing the compression pants to have a 'feel' of the garment's texture. We had a good laugh over the incident after that. Kudos to the uncle who is still running at this age!! I wish I could still be as fit as him when I am 69 (if I am still alive).

Full quorum of FF

The run was flagged off at 6.30 a.m. Yam was fidgeting before the flag off as this would be the longest distance she ever run. As soon as the run was flagged off, Mr. Delta-Kiasu James Fong sprinted ahead of us like a gush of wind. Of course, the kiasu couple was also nowhere to be seen. I started with a moderate pace and I was expecting flat route all the way. However, to my surprise, there were many uphill (up bridge actually) route. I saw Uncle John Chuah at the opposite direction of the road at the first U turn of the route. He was not far away and I was determined that I could catch up soon. After all, I may not be a fast runner but I could last (tongue sticking out). Soon at the bridge, I managed to overtake Uncle John Chuah. There were 3 water stations positioned at 4km, 8km and 12km respectively. It was more of a recovery run for me and I was rather relaxed as I knew I could stop at KM 15 instead of going further for another 6km to make it a half marathon. I clocked in 1:43:14 whilst the timing for other FF members are: James (1:34:24), Noor (1:36:26), Jo (1:42:05) and Yam (2:08:50). I am happy with my timing and I think my groove has came back after the injury-induced-lack-of-stamina.

The limelight of this run would be when Yam crossed the finish line. I am so proud of her for making it to the finish line. From running barely 2 rounds at DPC she is now proudly a 15km finisher and is going to do a half marathon at PBIM 2011. Nevertheless, despite my enthusiasm waiting for her 100 meter before the finish line and ended up running barefoot with her to the finish line with one hand carrying my hand towel and another carrying my flip flop, she said after crossing the finish line "I hate running". To this I am going to say this to her with a broad smile on my face "Yam, it always start with hatred....before it turns into love, and before you knew it, you couldn't stop running".

In conjunction with James' oncoming birthday , my jubilee celebration and most importantly for the sake of love for food simply, we went to Zipangu at Shangri-la for Japanese buffet. We call this - carbo reloading.

Shameless run junkies showing off medals at Zipangu

South Bound to Sundown

Riding on a high from my half marathon debut at PBIM last year, I signed up for Singapore Sundown Marathon on 24.11.10, 3 days after PBIM. Yes, signing up for running events 6 months in advance no longer surprises me or anyone else for that matter. As I sincerely believe that sharing is caring, I also managed to persuade bestie John to sign up, who in turn persuaded his bestie, Elliot to sign up. Meanwhile, as the date got nearer, the kiasu couple - Jo and Noor who did not sign up in time and who then mourned in grief when they found out that the registration was full, finally managed to get free bibs from Liza and Joe Liew who have to forego Sundown Marathon to participate in Sasuke Malaysia. Running maybe a solo activity, but as far as the running convoy is concerned - the more the merrier.

The Merry Running Convoy Batch No. 1 consisted of me and John hit the road South bound in John's car on Wednesday night as I had a medical appointment at Mt. Elizabeth Hospital the next morning while John had a business meeting. We set off from the house with approximately 8 loose luggages in the car. Two persons and eight bags, that's right. The plus point about a road trip is, you could enjoy the luxury of taking whatever you want with you without any hassle of check in luggage. Hence, we literally dumped everything into the car and sped off. It was a nice cruise as the traffic was smooth at night and I was enjoying the deejaying part in the car. The fact was, I packed a small bag of approximately 15 CDs to be played during the journey. The truth was, John disliked my 'oldies songs' - he did not find CCR's music magical like I do. The outcome was, after an hour or so he ended up listening to his Canto Pop while I plugged in my huge earphones and blasted CCR's classic rock. We find it anti-social after a while and compromised for some Kazuyoshi Saito's songs. We passed Gelang Patah around 12 midnight. We were optimistic about our timely arrival and thought perhaps we could play some Monopoly games with Elliot before we retired to bed. After the immigration check point, we went down to purchase the Autopass. I was busy filling up the form when suddenly the personnel came to us and said "Excuse me, sir, I think you did not renew your road tax." I darted a look towards John's direction and gave him an expression which delivered the message "Go and check". I continued to fill in the form and thought this must be a misunderstanding. 30 seconds later John came back and gave me a stare which spelled "She is right, the road tax has expired" and I gave him a look which could be translated as "You are so dead...I am so going to kill you, idiot!". Despite the uprising of the tumult in my stomach and the strong urge to strangle John on the spot, I managed to keep my composure. We did our feeble attempts to persuade the officers to let us pass nonetheless, but alas, Singaporeans are straighter than the ruler and there would not be any rules bending for us. The officer mercilessly stumped the stamp "VOID" on our entry pass and commanded us to make a u-turn back to Johor Bahru. At this point, rain started to pour like cats and dogs as if to make a statement to celebrate our dopey faux pas. We had to go through at least 6 (or was it 8?) manual gates to make the u turn back. I was struck in awe and unable to believe the mockery which just happened to us. However, there was no time to unleash my fury at that time as decisions needed to be made immediately. As we were at the second link and the only hotel I knew in Senai is Sofitel, the first decision was to drive to Sofitel to figure out the parking and the transport issues. A few phone calls were made to determine whether there were any other alternative plans. After some off-track wandering around a dark industrial area searching in vain for the hotel based on misconceived google map directions and after some panic attack ensued from Serena's sms which warned us not to stop even if any vehicle hit us, we finally arrived at Sofitel (which is now known as Le Grandeur). We arranged for the car to be parked at the hotel's parking lot for 4 days at RM75 and got a cab to pick us from Sofitel and send us to Singapore at RM250. Arrangements were also made for the road tax to be paid first thing the next morning and to be sent to Viki's house (who would be travelling from KL to JB the next morning) so we could pick it up from her. After transferring all baggages into the cab, there was a verbal exchange of only one word......"Seriously" ended with question mark and then exclamation mark. We finally reached Elliot's house at Eunos around 4 a.m. Exhaustion set in and by virtue of the exhaustion, John's life was spared.

After watching the Lion King on Friday, we followed Viki's car back to Senai to pick up the car (with the road tax this time of course) and drove back to Singapore. After passing the immigration and the custom successfully, we were thrilled that we had finally entered Singapore as per the original plan. By the time we reached Elliot's home, it was already 1.30 a.m. When we entered, some one leaped from behind the wall and surprised us. John's friend, Jamie flew in from Hong Kong to surprise him. Hence, Jamie (who never run before and never trained before ) was going to run the half marathon 'illegally' with John and Elliot. I sensed fun...lots of fun...

The orgasmic egg at Hide Yamamoto

Carbo loading with Pork Back Ribs

The Sundown Half Marathon was scheduled to flag off at 8 p.m. sharp. I intended to meet up with Jo and Noor at the starting point around 6.30 p.m. I had not been having sufficient sleep for the past few days and decided to take a short nap for one hour after I came back from lunch and tea at Ku De Ta and set my alarm at 5.30 without realizing that I had set the time as 'am' instead of 'pm'. By the time I woke up it was already 6 and we hurried out and hailed a cab around 6.15 p.m. Despite my repeating clarifications with the cab driver that we wanted to go to Changi Exhibition Centre and not Singapore Expo, the cab driver sent us to the wrong place i.e. Singapore Expo. By the time we realized it was the wrong venue, it was too late to hail another cab. We spotted some runners and followed them onto the shuttle bus to Changi Exhibition Centre. It was 6.45 p.m then. Well, there was more than an hour before the flag off time, everything would be fine...so I thought. When the bus moved in a snail pace as we neared Changi, an uneasy feeling crept up. When I saw the standstill traffic ahead, I began to panic. A fury of exchange of messages took place between the me, Jo, Noor and Yam. Some Lamaze-inspired breathing technique was also adopted in a futile attempt to keep my cool. When it hit 7.45 p.m and the starting point was no where to be seen, I was convinced that my ashen face was kind of intimidating which prompted John to ask the obvious "Are you pissed?". I started to do some warm up exercises on the bus and consumed my energy gel. The runners in the bus had became more agitated and suddenly one after another walked down from the bus and started running towards the starting point. We of course followed the bandwagon of panicked runners and started to slow jog, run, walk, slow jog towards nowhere in particular. After about a km walk we saw the distance marker on the other side of the road which said "19km" - which means there was another 2km walk for us. I babbled a splutter of vulgarity and cursing throughout the walk. We finally arrived at the starting line, deposited our baggage, went to the toilet and started off.....more than 25 minutes after the gun off time.

I was suffocating in the puff of fumes due to the emission of smoke, gas, debris and heat from the long queue of vehicles getting in and getting out of the starting line. The run of luck of having a downpour before the run  like what happened at ENR escaped me this time around. The humid weather coupled with the evaporation of heat from the ground and emission of fumes from the vehicles drained me thoroughly. My body was steaming hot (so was my temper) and I was dying of thirst. Thank God that whatever Sundown lacked in the blessings of good weather, the organizer made it up with sufficient hydration stations every 2 km along the running route. God knows how many times I thanked Him when the volunteers handed me two cups of icy cool 100 plus at the first water station.

The 3 musketeers did it!

I felt better this time compared to ENR. My ankle was not hurting that much and the ample supply of 100 plus and water helped tremendously. I was going on a comfortable pace without pushing my body and feet too hard. I rewarded myself with 1 minute walking after each water stations. I stopped and stretched my calves and left ankle. Perhaps due to the agitation earlier I seemed to have pumped up some reserve energy tank. However, when I reached the 18km mark, my left ankle was hurting badly and I was forced to stop and walk. Then, I saw a man in front of me doing brisking walking with two climbing sticks. I thought to myself, gosh, it would really look bad on me if I cross the finish line behind this man. No, the kiasuness in me was awaken and triggered, I picked up my pace and ran ignoring the pain. At the last 500 meter, I sprinted with all my might!! My whole body was scorching hot and I was adrift in rush of adrenaline to the extent that I actually said "No, thank you." when the volunteer handed me my finishers' medal. Of course, I quickly took the medal when I realised what it actually was.

Feigning victorious smile
despite in deep pain

I found Noor and Jo and we waited for a long time for John and Jamie. Elliot had apparently finished but we only met him later. The typical camwhoring started but in a lesser degree as Jo was not feeling and the rest of us were exhausted and hungry. Jamie was limping all the way to the taxi stand. His facial expression was contorted in pain but nevertheless managed to pull himself together to stand straight and beam a victory smile when the camera was aimed at him. We waited at the taxi stand for a long time. Elliot was trying to call for cab but of no avail. Jamie and Jo were down and sitting at the side. I started to change into my dry clothes regardless of public viewing.

Soldier down

We couldn't get any cab and finally squeezed ourselves into a sardine-packed shuttle bus heading to Changi Village. We thought it would be easier to get a cab there. I was however super hyper in the bus and started taking photos of everyone. We came down from the bus and within 5 minutes managed to get a cab. We let Jo and Noor go first as Jo was not feeling well. After that first cab which arrived by sheer of luck, there was no cab at all - all cabs were HIRED or BUSY or ON CALL. I was standing by the road side and jumping up and down frantically to get a cab. Few nice cabs actually stopped and told me they could not take us as they were on call. It was after more than an hour before we finally got a cab. Jamie, acting with his last wisp of strength literally threw himself onto the middle of the road and blocked a cab despite traffic behind. With relief, we finally climbed onto the cab heading home. We had bought some take-out and despite the burnt smell in the kuey teow, it was the most satisfying meal I have had in a long time.

The fun of making fun of Jamie began that night....and did not end there.....

 

It was a dramatic trip - with the road tax faus pax et all. But it was fun and memorable. I suppose when you are surrounded with good friends, it would always ended up fun and memorable no matter what you have to go through. The 3 musketeers think running is boring and said that they preferred basketball. Maybe they are right. Running is relatively boring when compares with other sports like cycling, futsal etc. That does not diminish my passion and love for running. In fact, it is the solitude of running which made me so addictive to it. It is a sport whereby your only competitor and enemy is yourself. You race against yourself and you want to come out a better person after each run. There is no team mate for you to point finger at and whatever accomplishment  you attain, it is yours, all yours. And to be able to do it with a group of good friends, supporting each other at the starting point and the finish line, with good spirits and humour, make each running episode, a fun one filled with laughters.

Red Alert!! The BOMBAstic Run...

The International Firefighters' Day (IFFD) is observed on May 4th every year. In conjunction with the IFFD this year, the BOMBA Run, an annual event which has been convened for 9 consecutive years, fell on 8.5.2011, which was also the Mother's Day weekend.

I had registered for the BOMBA Run a couple of weeks ago even before the Energizer Night Race on 16.4.2011. As promised, I did not subject my feet to further torture post ENR and it would be a full 3 weeks' rest before I run again at the BOMBA Run. Nevertheless, one day prior to the BOMBA Run my left knee still felt wobbly and there was an uneasy feeling on the left ankle as well. Hence, facing with such a quandary (again), I decided to pay a visit to Dr. William Chan. After some X rays and ultrasound scan, Dr. William Chan told me that there is no major problem with my knee and the good news is my previous injury from the Mt. Kinabalu fall had fully recovered. However (there is always a however), there is a new ankle injury at the outer ankle caused by my ankle sprain at the ENR and voila, here's another Grade 2 Ankle Sprain again. The verdict: Rest, and run at your own risk. So, back to square one, the dilemma of 'To Run or Not to Run'. Burdened with such a question, I was driving home with a heavy heart and suddenly I remembered the story of Matt Long (not the actor). Matt Long was a veteran firefighter at the New York Firefighting Department, an Ironman triathlon finisher and was training for the Boston Marathon when he was hit by a bus on 22.12.2005. Matt Long was riding his bike to work on that morning, his bike's handlebars got jammed into the bus's metal base and it speared Long, opening a fissure from his belly button to his rectum. The doctors thought he would bled to death when he arrived at the hospital. 5 months and 22 surgeries later, Long survived, albeit now with a titanium rod ran through his left leg, virtually from his hip to his ankle, supporting his shattered tibia and femur. Metal screws kept the bones of his left foot in place. His life would no longer be the same. Dark clouds pervaded his healthy and athletic life and at one point, he was shunning everyone showing concern and doubts were building as to whether Long would ever stand up and be himself again. Of course not, Matt Long would never be the same. But he never gave up, he learnt to live his life to the fullest again. In November 2009, Long finished the New York City Marathon in 7:21:22, a record drastically in contrast with his earlier records of 3:44:39 for the full marathon leg in the Ironman Triathlon. Be it as it may, he participated and completed the run, which most ordinary people with perfectly healthy and normal limbs would not even have the courage to do so. Long was accompanied by two longtime buddies, fellow fireman Frank Carino and Noel Flynn. Carino has done an 11 hour Ironman triathlon while Flynn is on verge of achieving a sub 3 marathon. Nevertheless, both agreed to hang on with their friend, step by step, for a very slow run for the New York Marathon. Long's story moved my heart deeply when I first read about his story. Rivulets of tears were streaming down when I finished reading his story. With this story in mind, I have made up my mind to run the BOMBA Run by the time I wheeled my car into the car porch. I would run with Matt Long in my mind. Do not get me wrong, I am not saying that it is wise or heroic to run with injuries and I am definitely not asserting that I could be in comparison with Long in any aspect. I am not trying to prove anything, I just thought that BOMBA Run is meaningful to commemorate Long's story and after all, how could I resist running for the love of running?

Attired in fiery red shirt and running shoes to mark the RED symbolizing fire, I arrived at Dataran Merdeka with Jo and Noor, also clad in red. The run was flagged off at 7.30 a.m. I started running with Nawal, a super fit athlete who agreed to slow jog with me to keep me accompanied and Letch, the crazy-and-never-get-tired-super-fit, who decided that she would slow jog with me too for a little while. After a 3 weeks break from running, my stamina was running really low and I was struggling with some efforts to keep up with "Nawal's slow pace". However, I felt good to be running again and as the first 5km of the route was the route through Kenny Hills, part of our normal Sunday LSD route, it felt like running on home ground. By the time I came out from Kenny Hills and reached the Jalan Duta Hoki Stadium, I was gasping for breath and my ankle hurts. I stopped a few times and struggling mentally to ignore the pain. Not to mention that the stinky smell that lingered in the air probably from some drains didn't help at all. After the uphill slope towards the Indian High Commission, I told Nawal to run ahead without me as I couldn't even cope up with a normal pace anymore. I was very grateful for the fact that she was encouraging me all the way and kept on checking to see whether I was okay.

So, back to running alone. I actually enjoy running alone tremendously. I could control my pace, my tempo, my breathing, my thoughts...being a control freak, it feels good to have everything under control. Jalan Duta is a road I travel daily to work. However, travelling along the road  trapped in a car and running along the road on both feet are two very different experience altogether. I feel real when I could feel the ground with my own feet. Each step and each stride is a conscious effort. You get to feel the terrain and the gradient of the road, the texture of the ground, the caress of the cool breezes on the flushing cheeks, the smell of tree leaves, and you get to hear the birds chirping. The experience is real. This is one of the reasons why I love running.

The sun was scorching hot when I painfully climbed up the slope to Lake Garden. I knew before the run that there were only 100 finisher medals for the top 100 finishers, hence I was not running for any medal. However, when I finally reached Dataran Merdeka, I saw Letch standing next to the fence and she shouted "Lilian, still got medals!" Suddenly, I found new strength in both legs and I immediately sprinted with all the vigor I had left all the way to the finish line. Gosh, when I was handed a huge finisher medal at the rank of No.68 in Women Open Category, I felt that I was touching a piece of gold. To me, the piece of round metal is priceless. The lyrics of Glen Hansard's "Gold" came to mind "....and I love her so, wouldn't trade her for gold oh..." It is true that when you receive your reward at the time when you least expect it, the feeling is simply sensational...and the moment, unforgettable.

The Precious