IOI Community Run 2008

Last Sunday, November 8 .. we took part in a local community run. Took part in the 5.5 km run and managed to finish 3 mins ahead of Alex. Asp came in 1st , according to him , in the 3.2 km family run. TJ also finished the 3.2 km.

Stay focus

I have been faithful to my running shoes. Three times a week , I try to clock in the kilometres at the stadium. If I stay off the running tracks for a while , regaining stamina is more than difficult. It is like trying to restart an old car ... once I get the momentum going , I shouldn't stop. I need to stay focus.

Easier said than done , to stay focus I need cooperation from every part of my limbs. Each time I hit the running tracks , it is a challenge. Not only convince my limbs to exert extra energy , but to convince my brain not to give up.

The on-going battle gets harder each time a faster runner overtakes us. I need to remind myself to stick to my own mission of finishing the set objectives of 20 or 25 laps. Running after a faster runner usually throws me off my rhythm and pushes me to the brink of giving up. I try to reassure myself .. practise makes perfect and .. no shortcuts to success !

Of course, I need to remind myself .. I have a fridge magnet that says " you must do the thing that you think you cannot do " . Oh well ...

Where I run

This is where I run twice a week, clocking my 10kms. It is only this year I shifted to this stadium , as I felt having other runners within my vicinity gives the extra motivation to put in incremental mileage or improvement on times. Besides, with the unpredictable late afternoon tropical storms , the stadium provides good temporary shelters.

There are all sorts of runners on the running tracks , young and old , all shapes and body conditions .. some serious runners preparing for a high school competition and yet others getting themselves ready for inter association meet. I know there is also a team of regular runners practising their baton change for their 100m relays .. and a couple of half-marathoners going through their routines.

As for me, I have always enjoy running side by side the better runners , usually the medal prospects in the local road races. It is interesting to gauge our body conditions and to see how we pace ourselves against them. At the end of each run , not only did I burn the extra 500 calories , I think I have achieved a good vigorous cardiovascular exercise.

Joys of Running

Running is one of the things I like to do. Finding a scheduled time to do the weekly runs is often a luxury. Nevertheless I have been keeping track of all my runs last couple of years. Especially after I managed to win a few medals and certificates , albeit the smaller ones ! This year , I started running twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays from 1730 to 1915 hours. From 5km to 7km runs ... I have progressed to 10 km runs every running session.

It has come to a stage where I will push myself to gain extra mileage or improve my time. And it gets to be very addictive. In the course of running and trying to stay fitter, I will try to read and share more articles on running ...