“Ta, Ta, Ta, Te Ra Ta…” the raindrops hitting on the rooftop of my car seemed loud. There were less than twenty cars parked at the Bukit Aman car park at around 5.30am. I was early. We were supposed to meet at 5.45am and start the 20km training run at 6am. This 20km training run was necessary in preparation for those who would be participating in the PJ Half Marathon this Sunday, 18 June.
It started with occasional strong wing blowing in mixed directions. The leaves rustled in the wind; the trees swayed from side-to-side as if they were doing their morning exercises.
Weng came around 5.45am and he parked his Proton Perdana next to mine. When the rain started at 5.45am, we took shelter in our own respective cars. Sitting in the car observing runners arriving in dimly-lit streetlights, it reminded me of solo camping in the outward bound endeavor. In this case, I was in the comfort and safety of my own car.
At 6.15am when the rains showed no sign of dwindle, I was considering whether to start the car engine, went home and continued my sleep. It was a situation of so near yet so far. Traveling 40 km to reach Bukit Aman car park and going home at that moment would mean regretting the action later. So I decided to wait until the rain stopped, even for another hour. Occasionally, I went out of the car to gauge the situation; it was quite cold with the wind blowing.
Having enough of “solo camping”, I went over to Eric’s MPV – parked 20 meters away – to chat. Tony, Weng and Vivian were already there. Later, it was followed by Mr. Kor and PK Chan. When all runners met, sure the topic would be on running: it was about Penang Full marathon on 30 July, clashing with Putrajaya Duathlon; Ipoh Half marathon on 2 July; not forgetting the soon-to-happen PJ Half marathon.
We were trilled to see that the rain finally stopped at 6.30am. Before we started our run, there was still one very important task that must be performed – to pee. At that instance, I saw a few guys running to the “dark side” of the car park. Hearing the thunder and the recent tragedy of students been struck by lightning at Subang Jaya, Daniel said, “Better don’t pee too near the big tree.” So, we chose an open area.
At 6.45am, we started our training runs. The initial pack consisted of Sonny Ng, Daniel, PK Chan, Weng, Lim, a few more runners and I. After one kilometer, only PK, Daniel, Weng and Lim were in our pack.
When daylight came, I saw that there were thick rain clouds above us. Throughout the course, it rained occasionally here and there. Since our bodies could not differentiate wetness caused by sweating or rain water, we pressed on.
I remember last year, it usually did not rain on Sunday morning. However, since November 2005 until May 2006, we have been bothered much with the rain.
It was indeed worth the effort to wait for the rain to stop and we managed to complete the 20km training run in the cool and fresh morning. The critical point was having strong determination to stick to the plan and achieved what was targeted – while I was “solo camping” in my car.
By KC
It started with occasional strong wing blowing in mixed directions. The leaves rustled in the wind; the trees swayed from side-to-side as if they were doing their morning exercises.
Weng came around 5.45am and he parked his Proton Perdana next to mine. When the rain started at 5.45am, we took shelter in our own respective cars. Sitting in the car observing runners arriving in dimly-lit streetlights, it reminded me of solo camping in the outward bound endeavor. In this case, I was in the comfort and safety of my own car.
At 6.15am when the rains showed no sign of dwindle, I was considering whether to start the car engine, went home and continued my sleep. It was a situation of so near yet so far. Traveling 40 km to reach Bukit Aman car park and going home at that moment would mean regretting the action later. So I decided to wait until the rain stopped, even for another hour. Occasionally, I went out of the car to gauge the situation; it was quite cold with the wind blowing.
Having enough of “solo camping”, I went over to Eric’s MPV – parked 20 meters away – to chat. Tony, Weng and Vivian were already there. Later, it was followed by Mr. Kor and PK Chan. When all runners met, sure the topic would be on running: it was about Penang Full marathon on 30 July, clashing with Putrajaya Duathlon; Ipoh Half marathon on 2 July; not forgetting the soon-to-happen PJ Half marathon.
We were trilled to see that the rain finally stopped at 6.30am. Before we started our run, there was still one very important task that must be performed – to pee. At that instance, I saw a few guys running to the “dark side” of the car park. Hearing the thunder and the recent tragedy of students been struck by lightning at Subang Jaya, Daniel said, “Better don’t pee too near the big tree.” So, we chose an open area.
At 6.45am, we started our training runs. The initial pack consisted of Sonny Ng, Daniel, PK Chan, Weng, Lim, a few more runners and I. After one kilometer, only PK, Daniel, Weng and Lim were in our pack.
When daylight came, I saw that there were thick rain clouds above us. Throughout the course, it rained occasionally here and there. Since our bodies could not differentiate wetness caused by sweating or rain water, we pressed on.
I remember last year, it usually did not rain on Sunday morning. However, since November 2005 until May 2006, we have been bothered much with the rain.
It was indeed worth the effort to wait for the rain to stop and we managed to complete the 20km training run in the cool and fresh morning. The critical point was having strong determination to stick to the plan and achieved what was targeted – while I was “solo camping” in my car.
By KC
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