Been long time coming..

Hello everyone, i'm still alive (:

Oh boy, there's so many thing i'd wanna SAY all this while but never really mustered the motivation and energy to log in here to post stuff. So for a long time now, here's smth.

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2009

This year's run was really wonderful, there was hardly a hint of sun for the whole race rendering my sunglasses totally useless. 4hrs45mins. Quite a reasonable timing given how little time i invested in training for it hmmmmf. Could use a better race plan next time though. At the 30km mark, it was only 3hrs02mins! 10km/hour pace, pretty fine (: But my muscles totally stiffened up on me for the remaining 12km and it took an hour forty five for the last 12km :P

Humans weren't made to fly. They RUN

死都不要停. 

Not sure what was wrong with me but i just didn want to stop at all. Used the technique my biathlon coach taught me, hips forth to displace body weight forward so there's a natural forward push on every step. It works pretty well! To the extent that i can feel my abs and hips straining after the marathon too. Ask me to show you when you see me (:

A man truly understand himself only through running- where he transcends oneself.

However, this year's run wasn as fun as last year without Jack around. There were moments i just pictured him running along with me pushing each other on! (haha, jack if you're reading this, you'd better run next time) Was really heartening to see people along the run, thanks to Rish for the powergels! Thanks to Clarisse for letting me join the baggage queue (: Saw Jernan, who was going at a imba fast pace at the start, and she did an imba 5hr45min. GODLIKE! 

Saw tiffany when passing by the cable ski, around 23km mark i guess, and it was so encouraging! Felt like seeing some family member, SA CANOEING family member <3

Pain. Pain is only a feeling. You do not succumb, you overcome!

Most of all, it wasn the timing, the run or the people that makes SCSM most most most memorable to me. During the run, I looked back at this year of 2009, thinking how much things have changed all this while. From teaching, canoe coaching to falling into the doldrums of fitness, this year has been massive and hard to put in words... 

As I kept putting my leg forward on every stride, I wanted to prove to myself, that no matter the circumstance, that no matter how hard sickness had hit me, my mind was bigger than my body. 

As I kept up the momentum with every step, I looked back to see how much i've changed and immediately felt that there's so many things I've been neglecting this year due to the hectic NS. Upon enlisting, i had so much less emotional capacity to handle relationships and to friends i haven't spoken to in a long while, i'm so sorry i've MIA-ed! Catch up soon? In view of which, I realised i've became so much less extroverted.  During the tough period of 9 months upon enlisting, I only had a close circle of friends and to this group of people who know who you are, i can't appreciate you more than anything else (: I realised i've became less sympathetic than before, and could only afford to care for immediate things around me. Having realised this for sometime now, I saw how much I haven't been able to do my part for society, for others out there who need help. Such neglect for other things around me hit me really really really hard during the run. While on the run, something happened which made my tears swell instantly. A man was pushing his wife on a wheelchair for the whole 42.195km. People clapped as they went by. On the second time i saw them, the lady on the wheelchair was wheeling herself forward as her husband followed behind, wearing a face of undying will and determination... Seeing this pair made me ask myself once again,

what's a life worth living if it isn't for others...

ps. the finisher shirts! this year's one is not that bad yeaa. It's not too ugly to not wear it out. Hahaa

p.p.s link to last year's marathon experience! http://gutsngumption.blogspot.com/2008/12/42195.html