Why do I run?...

Sometimes I wonder about that too.. especially when I'm down, tired and all I wanna do is just sleep, rest, slack, watch TV, read a book, finish some leftover work.. etc etc etc and all other excuses I can think of for myself. Well.. here's the whole story of my relationship with running...

I did not have a very sporty childhood... adventurous maybe, but definitely not sporty. Growing up in Malaysia, I was very much focused on the quest for knowledge (physics, and sociology mainly) and was always kept in the house cos my mum would worry alot if I were to go out alone (till now, if I go back to Ipoh, my brother HAS to accompany me wherever I go). So that quells my interest in sports already.

When I came to Singapore, things change. I had independance, I had freedom, and I had to choose. Although I love studying (and till now I still do, but NOT medicine), I wanted to be healthy and look good. Yes.. I was actually vain and wanted to look good - fit that is.. not girly vain with makeup and nice clothes... but fit. I learned from med sch that no one else is responsible for my health and it is up to me alone to make sure I am healthy. So, in M1 itself, I took a step back from the books and started to exercise. I started out with running.. easy ma.. just wear shoes and voila... all set to run.

The first few weeks were horrendous. I keep asking myself.. why am I torturing myself when all the other medical students were busy mugging their texts.. trying to outdo each other in class. But then, I reminded myself that what I am doing is for myself and that.. well.. I dun need to be kiasu to pass med school.. haha.. so I persevered. And soon, it become easy, it became part of my life, .. and now it's part of me.

There were times when I stopped - vacays, Ipoh times (still now allowed out ma) exams, HO-ship .. but I always returned to running. I did gym work for a bit, but I stuck to running. Longest ever I stopped running was about one week .. during vacations. I don't care how slow I am when I restart after all that stops, as so long I restarted, I can always get back to where I left of. And I think that's the main reason why I can never see my self as a professional/ elite runner.. I run for the fun of it and I don't want to be stressed out over missing training, or lazy to wake up in the morning excuse, or that I want running to a part of my life, where the other parts include other stuff I like too... and have time for.. like triathlons, travelling, etc etc

And now, I am at peace with running, it gives me my "alone" time, my "running friends" time, my "encourage others to run" time, but most of all, it makes me happy and glad that I can alw catch my bus without huffing and puffing after. Hehe...

I guess, this is running what is to me.. Indeed, I still look in the mirror and comment about my body still here and there.. but I dun take it seriously about how I look, rather how much better that I look now that I am finally fit-looking :) .

So to all my new running friends.. continue running and make it part of your life.. It's really great and fun.. But if u think running is not for you, dun stop looking for what sport makes u happy.. just get a move on and live a healthy life :)

And trudge on...

And I should continue with my studying...

Reading the fine prints....

Over the weekend, 3 sad deaths happened in 3 different races in both Malaysia and Singapore. One was not really related to the participants in the race, so I shall not comment of that here. For the other two... there can be lessons to be learnt...

Case 1:

The first death was a newbie triathlete who was doing the swim part of the OD in a relay team. He was fairly fit, according to the newspaper, with a few weeks of pool training prior to the event. With no Open Water Swim beforehand, he jumped into the ever ravenous nd dirty waters of ECP.... and this was a BIG mistake. He was later found disorientated by the rescuers and was brought to shore. CPR was administered, but he failed to revive.

Lesson here : Pool swim does not = to Open water swim. Open water swim is not for the faint-hearted. In open water swim, you'd have maybe a few hundred ppl swimming around you, above you, next to you, and who knows, even under you when u lap someone. No one knows whats happening and who's beside them unless they stop and look around, and no.. not many ppl will do that.

------ > Hence in an open water swim, do expect to get knee-d, elbow-ed, kicked, ur head slammed in the water and have bruises everywhere... In my last race, someone kicked my jaw until it was stuck... had to stop and pushed it back as I couldn't open my mouth. And no, the person did not stop to say sorry, and I did not expect him to.

SO..... THERE IS NO POLITENESS IN OPEN WATER SWIM and DON"T EXPECT ANY OF IT...

To mitigate the scariness of it, pls do ur homework and do a few swims in open water. Join the swimming clinics to get the feel of the water and situation if u're new. And if u really feel like u dun want/can't continue, do stop. A race is a race, and there will always be another one. After all, we're doing this race to have fun, don't endanger urself over it.

Case 2:
This I'm not too sure the COD, but early news could be due to dehydration. But nvm.. here's the lowdown.. After a 10k run in KL, a runner was missing and later found dead in the rubbish dumps. He finished the race, but no one knew what happened to him after that. This was his first ever race So far, the authorities queried dehydration.. so let's talk about that.

Nutrition and hydration is a vital in all races. Easiest and most basic rule : If u sweat alot, drink more. Don't wait till u're dry in the mouth to drink. My own personal rule: I'd drink whenever I dun feel any more fluid in my tummy... in other words, when I dun feel any sluish sensation anymore. This makes sure that I remain hydrated but not bloated in a race. It works for me, but may not work for u, so test it out on the long runs to see what u can and cannot take.

On that note, do remember that sweat consists of both salt and water, so salt replacement is equally important as water. Drink too much without proper replacement, and you'd get hyponatremia and die. However, a little extra salt won't kill you, so I usually take more salt than needed (ever since having both thigh cramps in Langkawi during the bike leg). You'd know u're salt deprived when ur sweat is not salty... so by then... stop and by all means, take a salt replacement.... at that stage, ur body is saving all the salt for itself, lose anymore, and you could be at danger zone.

These are 2 impt lessons to be learnt for both amateur, and veteran atheletes who sometimes still get it wrong (even me). Racing is fun, its exciting, but it doesn't mean its danger-free. That said, keep on exercising and racing as it reaps benefits to you and you alone that no one else can help you achieve. Just BE CAREFUL when u're out there and always listen to your body and keep having fun racing!!

Trudge on...