By Chee Wee
Warm weather & Sunshine Runners such as KC, Khee Meng, Weng, Vivian, Eric and I were having a fabulous time on that Sunday morning at Bukit Aman. It was an easy 20km training run yet satisfying. We ended the run with a well-treated fruits feast – juicy watermelon & sweet banana, provided by our dear Pacesetters Club.
The Singapore 05's Marathon race has definitely descended upon all of us, as felt by the Sunday morning's acknowledgements & greetings in the air (for example, are you running 30 or 35km long distance runs when we were seeing each other on the roads?), and the evidence of colorful running vests and sexy shorts all around the Bukit Aman & Sri Hartmas.
Two of the marathoners (Khee Meng & Eric) of our group have just returned from the tough Phuket Marathon. Salute them on their speedy recovery & making the efforts to join us for the Sunday runs. It definitely made the runs more enjoyable & fun & created a fine group energy.
We made a u-turn when we saw Eric driving in at the junction of the road leading to the Bukit Aman car park. We were jokingly telling each other "haha, look as if we have just come back from Sri Hartamas!" We waited for Eric & Vivian to start our runs together...together we will enjoy the sunshine!
I sincerely hope that Khee Meng & Eric were having a great fun time & enjoying their journey at Phuket as I could only gather one outstanding point from their interesting story & experience while we were running along the Kenny hills – the terrain there was a series of steep..steep..steep hills. Certainly, it was an outrageous test on their legs strength & endurance for this so called as the Beach & Mountain Marathon, the toughest marathon run. Listened to their encounters, it could really make my legs shivery & have a fear feeling (will I survive in this type of route?).
The rains kept me away last few days, but it was a welcome sight to see some of us come out on Sunday. I missed the opportunity to run in the past few days; it would be great to see myself keeping up with the marathon training schedule (as set-up by KC) which could certainly help me to conquer & complete the Singapore full marathon race in my own style. Or will I have to came back next year to set a new PR?...as I said to KC: don't play play with the Singapore full marathon even though it is well-known as friendly & flat course!
We started with some warm-up stretching exercises & ran with our own set of peaceful mind. At 6:30am, I would see the sky was gradually brightened up. I remembered this phase from my leisure reading: The Sun & the Moon divide the sky. We, the opposites, are not truly antagonistic elements. As it said all opposites are part of the same entity. Like a two-headed snake, opposites are two parts of the same whole. We defined one another, as guy defines gal.
On Sunday, 16th Oct, I was reminded of a beauty of nature on a barefooted & simple walk journey back to Bukit Aman car park after 27 km running. Everything along the roads was a feast for the eyes and nose - bushes, plants and even tall trees. I was grateful for the feeling of peace. Finding a harmony in my running...hahaha!
Every Sunday morning runs at Bukit Aman, I have encountered & gained the following elements to keep me going & continue with the runs...
The pleasure - of meeting friends
The joy - of building trust and teamwork by running together
The stimulation - of gaining higher level of fitness
The kick - of racing over the hills
The thrill - of having breathless condition
The bliss - of breathing in cool & fresh air, feeling nothing but boundless freedom, and
The ecstasy - of completing the long distance run challenge.
I got all the above from running with my running partners. You may not understand how it feels like until you come to join us & do it for yourself. Once you have discovered running is just another form of fun, you will establish your running speed, time, distance and regularity according to what is right for you.
The core of my training program is my Sunday morning long runs, and I wonder if it would be enough to get me compete & challenge the Singapore full marathon. I know it is not good enough if I did run during the weekdays. But, due to works & family commitments, I have no choice to remain the current situation.
To my relief, it will be alright. Through my experience, I completed my last Malacca full marathon within my expected hours after practicing a few long distance runs.
I always remember that the final 10 km of the full marathon required balancing on our legs muscles, body strength and mental endurance while completing the tough & torturing final stretch. That means either you are going to "hit a wall" or "find an open window" after the 30 km running.
Of curse, the endurance & fighting spirit are also playing important factors too. I am really appreciating the weekly Sunday long distance runs for the strength and confidence to complete the full marathon.
Watermelon & Banana
At 8:35am, we were back at the Bukit Aman car park. We saw Mr. Chan Wing Kai, our club's photographer, was holding a big & round watermelon in a ready position to throw it on the floor for a quick break...oh! no! just kidding. He didn't do the stunt; instead, he was placing the watermelon on the retaining wall (named it as Runners' Wall, used for the stretching exercises before runs) & trying to cut it with a small Swiss knife.
Finally, he managed to cut it with the multiple-usage knife; slowly, runners crowed around him...too bad, I didn't get a piece!
KC was jokingly asking Mr. Sonny Ng, one of the team leaders in the Club, whether he has any "pek yau tow" (knife for fighting in Hong Kong mafia movies) in his car. The said knife would be appropriate for cutting watermelon by throwing the watermelon high in the air & swinging the knife in a cross method (i.e. North, South, East, West, Pacesetters is a best!); hahaha...the watermelon would be in few small pieces in a second (an amazing move).
Despite not having the juicy watermelon, I was damn happy to have the banana; guess what? I have never eaten so much of banana in one time yet satisfying...during the run, after 18km, I kept telling my running partners that I was feeling damn hurry. No energy to push anymore & I was having a mental block...
After few round of banana, all a sudden, I saw a monkey came over to try his luck to grasp some banana. Immediately, the Club's President removed the box of banana to a secure place.
SH Tan commented & shared a view with me that it is nice to be a member of Pacesetters Club, to enjoy the watermelon & banana after a long run...hahaha!
We heard from other runners that the watermelon & banana were wrongly delivered by the fruits supplier. It was supposed to be delivered two weeks later (13 Nov), in the Pacesetters' 30km practice run.
Interesting conversations
KC & I were talking to TeyET, the Ultra-marathoner, about his slim & fit body. KC commented that Tey's well built & muscular legs, but need to put up more muscles on his upper body. Tey responded:"ya, man!"
I heard KC conserving with Jason Thiang, Team Manager for Subang Jaya, that he saw him for the first time without wearing the cap & KC commented that he looks much more “gaya” (got style) with the cap on.
After that, I walked over to my car to change into a dry T-shirt on & drank some water. Then, I met up with Tony & Marvin Lau. We were chit-chatting about how to build up the upper body & lower part of body strength.
Right away, Marvin showed us some strong push-up skill at the car park. No kidding, he could perform a long-lasting push-up exercise on the hard surface of road-tar. After that, we also learned some interesting poses to strengthen our legs, spine (cobra pose) & to press on our legs in a sitting position (butterfly pose) for the benefit of lower center part of body as demonstrated by Tony, the coach.
Even though I went home with an exhausted body, I felt satisfied & happy as it was a fruitful morning.
Sunshine on my shoulders DOES make me happy …
Cheers,
Chee Wee
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