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...