paying my dues

it's been about 3months since my last race in december for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (7th dec). and for the last 3months, i have been pretty much on holidays from running. only thing being that "on holidays" effectively means that i was insanely tied up with my school work. (yes yes, i admit i was committing time for yueshan too, but hey, it's not called 'committed relationship' for nothing! *wink*)

so what a better day than 1st of march to kick start my halted running journey again? =)

today was the newton 10k run. last year, i had intentions to train hard for this year races and newton was one of the races i was expecting to do a sub-50 (under 50min) for. BUT, as i;ve mentioned earlier, i haven't been training (or even running!!) for the past 2 odd months! =s so, on thursday, 3days before the race, i went for my 1st 10k run for the past 2+ months.

it was bad. i started walking after 6k. i was demoralised, motivated and utterly disappointed in myself. for that 10k, i completed it in 1hour 7min. an embarrassing timing which got me rather depressed. =(

so, 3days later, today, i thought to myself that anything within 1hour is ok for me.

as they say, "You Reap What You Sow."

so i haul my tired ass off the bed at fricking 5am (i cant remember when was the last time i woke up at such an ungodly hour for running. oh wait, i do. 7th december at 230am.) to prepared my journey to an unchartered part of singapore - sengkang. got 2 texts from my darling yueshan which started my day on a high cos i'll be meeting her later! =)

2slices of bread (carbo) + 2 pieces of raw bacon (protein + fats + high level of sodium + preservatives) + a bottle of powerbar endurance drink (chemical shits that will hydrate and prevent cramps) graced my pre-race meal.

owing to experience, i know it's a whorehouse in the toilets near the race-site so i always make it a point to KA-BOOM at home prior to the race. however, try as i might, my arsehole was as tight as a 16year old virgin and dry as your secondary school maths teacher. 

no luck. not even a teeny wheeny bit of black gold. 

fast forward to the race site:

weeling was sick so she have to skip the run (get well soon weels!). gene's no longer focusing on such race distances so i have no close running mates for today.

upon reaching the site, i saw sham (coach) warming up with his friends and i promptly undressed out into my running gear. 

then, my worst fears came true:

i.need.to.shits.

fighting my way past the crowd at mac's, i soon found a snaking queue outside the toilet. saw it coming... i waited duly in line for my turn to unload my goodies but gave up after a runner came out and announced to the line, "bo bang sai zhua liao.." (meaning: no more toilet paper!) defeated, i gave up queuing. 

as i was making my way out of mac's, i walked past the handicapped toilet and it was empty much to my delight!

went in, pull down my compression running tights and let loose my stools! (WAHAHAHAA! i like how this sentence sounds!) contended, i savored my sweet victory and looked around for that all important piece of paper. horrors of all horrors, a single roll of brown cardboard mocked me silently on the toilet roll holder, WITH NO PAPER ATTACHED TO IT.

i panicked for about 1min, all this while coming up with all sorts of possiblities to solve my predicament. none that you'll do if you got a phobia of coming into contact with human waste. 

as i was staring at my index and middle fingers, i realised there's a high pressure water nozzle (those meant for arse-cleaning)! WOOHOOOOooo~ situation solved!

happy as a shitless clam, i made my way to my running team and we did a simple set of warm-up before proceeding to the finishing line.

we managed to moved to the front of the starting pack where we saw Mok Ying Ren (who eventually won the race) and a couple more familiar faces in the running/sporting arena. i was pretty sure i was the biggest-sized runners among those around me. 

they have bodies engineered for endurance sports! 

years of training have mould theirs while years of potato chips have mould mine. =(

after the customary horns blaring and flag waving (by 2 Teo's in Chee Hian and Ser Tuck), the front pack (which i was part of) shot off. i tried to keep up with them, but a 3min/km pace is no joke. i fell back after about 400-500m and allowed the chasing pack to overtake me. soon, i slowed to a 5min/km pace, which is already taxing given my lack of running fitness.

i maintained 5min/km pace for about 5km before deciding to slow to a 5.30 pace, allowing myself further leeway for about 2km. THEN, this plump boy ran past me.

NO.FUCKING.WAY.BITCH.

i bit in and rev my legs. overtook that fat bastard and never looked back.

the last 2km was hell as my calves screamed, shoulders groaned and lungs on the verge of bursting.

i still managed to offer a few words of encouragement to runners who started walking, then the finishing line was in sight! i began to lengthen my strides and started chasing whoever who is infront of me.

i crossed the line in 50.04min.

i was surprised i managed to clock such a timing given my physical condition! fairly pleased, i went to join the rest of my team. first thing billy said to me was, "ey zihao, tio tok ah!" oh well, you reap what you sow yeah.. no training = no good results.

bryan, whom i know i can outrun and i have outran on my good days, achieved 44mins this race.

sham, 37mins.

billy, 39. (PB, i think.)

eric, 42. 

ee chuan, 40. (his "off" day, nabeh.)

vincent, 52.

dave, >52.

mok, race winner/singapore top triathlete/yueshan's perceived "cute boy", 32.

i didnt ask the girls for their results though.

texted weeling and she replied that i can probably hit 40mins with proper training. it's a bit of a tall order but i'm definitely aiming for sub45 10k this year. (and i know gene is aiming for sub40!) jiayou to the 3 of us then! =)

after my long absence from running, my legs, feets and calves are aching like noone's business. =( well, paid my dues. 

now it's back to training!

races to look forward to:

Suburban 10k (maybe??)

Sundown 42km.

Army Half Marathon 21km

New Balance Real Run 15km

SCSM 42.195km. (coup de grace of 2009)

sidenote:

jiayou baby! (who is doing her work beside me as i'm blogging this post)