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.
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| The Precious |
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