To the next higher level

Standard chartered Marathon is only 7 weeks away. 42 km is really no joke. Imagine running non stop for 42 km. THe boredom rather than the fatigue is enough to kill you. Even the battery for the MP3 player can't last the whole of the marathon.

Training for marathon is also quite boring. It's just so hard to find people to clock that distance with you. 10km minimum and eventually hitting more than 30 km per run. So with the tot of bringing my training to the next higher level, I joined a running club! Sgrunner. They are basically a group of running enthusiasts from all walks of life, organising training runs, leisure jogs and going for running events.

This sat will be my first training with them. 0645 hrs. 35 km. The longest I will be running in my WHOLE life. THe furthest I ran was 21km. Only did 35km and 72 km route marches during army. And I can't imagine running 35km non stop. Good training for the marathon. Have to carbo load from tomorrow onwards. Just hope i don't flip on sat. My target for the marathon is to get below 4hr 30 mins. haha.. Hope la. Just hope.

The reason why I like to run is because during the run, it's really a quiet time for one to reflect on him/herself. It's only during the run where you will really start to run things through in your mind. Thinking about the events which have occurred and what do you want to achieve in the near future. When everything in life starts to get messy, I always go for a run. It's only during the run when I will take the time to reflect and to put things in place.

I believe everyone's mind has a limit. The limit at which you start to pant and have the urge to stop and walk. I always try to exceed this limit when i run. I will run until I really have the urge to give up and panting like nobody's business. At this time, the tot of giving up or enduring will start to appear in my mind. Not that I ALWAYS choose to endure, I sometimes gave up and started walking. But I believe by taking the extra effort to endure through that pace for even a minute or more, you would have already strengthen your mind. Sooner or later, that pace will be a norm for you and you would have to challenge yourself to even a faster pace.

Other than all these internal "strengthening", running also makes you physically fitter. Your muscles look more toned. No more flabby arms and thighs. You will look younger. Squeezing one swimming session into the week, you will also get that tan. So imagine, a tanned and well tone person. That's what I hope I will become. YOUNGER!

But Running has its risks. Runner knees, dehydration, losing of mass. So make sure you listen to your body while running. Rest those knees and drink lots of water. At least 2 litres per day. Sip a bit before a run to wet your throat. Don't drink too much, if not, you will have stitches. And try to do some weights and have prpoer nutrition to maintain those muscles.

I hate it when people who don't exercise start to put down those who exercise. "Are you a freak?", "Are you so free?", "I have more things to do than you".. Be responsible for your own health. For those who always have excuses to skip exercise, there's always another time for work. Even a slow 15 mins run is good enough.

So Run. Start runnning.