My First Medal In 10 Years

That's the problem with not having a PC handy. By the time you can blog abt some event, it's no longer as fresh in ur mind. Oh well... let's try anyway.

Another small milestone on 4th Dec 2005, Sunday. at 25yrs and 1 mth exactly, I took part in the StanChart 10km run. Well, i didn't really run all the way... walked for 5-10mins betw the 5km to 8km marks. The non-stop running for the last 2km was my desire to complete the run; the non-stop running for the first 5km was my desire to empty my bladder.

Yup, frens can attest that I ran exceptionally fast for the first 5km. After alighting from the cab at raffles city, i blur-blur followed my frens (i'm not a morning person)... and before i realised it, we were actually on the road behind the start line! I thot we were just going to hang ard 1st and i could go look for a toilet. Then the crowd surged around me and there was no turning back. or turning around with my back to everyone to pee on the grass, coz there were ppl everywhere.

Everyone started stretching. The deejays interrupted the blaring retro music more and more with their meaningless banter. And I knew if I wanted to go, I had to go along with the crowd, until i meet a frenly cubicle along the way. I guessed the first one I'd meet would be 2km away.

Those were the longest 2km I had ever run... and still no cubicle. I kept trying to surge forward and run faster, coz I'd probably explode if i gave in and walked. All the way from esplanade to the ctr of marina bay, my motivation for running the race was a portable toilet.

It wasn't gleaming, but i didn't care. I didn't care abt the wet toilet paper all over the seat, or the dubious splatter in the bowl. But within those little plastic walls, the heat i was giving out and the heat already inside was just terrible. I was glad to be out of there.

unfortunately... now got less motivation! so my focus turned to getting water bottles at every drinks station, drinking 2 mouthfuls, then blatantly littering and wasting water. every singaporean must hv had fun doing that.

There was another form of motivation as well... I didn't know SG got so many girls for look nice from the back in tied up hair and tank tops... hahahah but i didn't bio them from the front... was getting rather tired and didn't want to be seen as rude.

the last 2km were pretty good... running past those big tall rich CBD buildings... past bhangras and other foreign workers trying to cross the road with so much oncoming human traffic... past ushers who incessantly screamed at us to keep left, keep right, etc.

Crossed the finish line at 1hr 7mins 27secs. Spent abt 20mins in a daze trying to get everything back in normal function. had a can of 100plus and collected my finisher's medal from a chiobu. ok, everyone got the medal... but look at it this way:

21000 ppl participated in the whole event.
5242 finished my event, 10km run.
I finished 1604th place.
so there were about (21000 - 5242 + 1603) = 17361 ppl in front of me
so I am 17362th in whole of singapore, population abt 3million.
so that puts me in the top 0.6% of the population!! HAHAHAHHA!

I deserve that medal. and that huge breakfast at cafe cartel I had after the run.

Thinking since i had so much fun these last 2 wkends, running outdoors... maybe i could make it a regular thing. oh well... we shall see this wkend if i really wanna do it.

note to self: Join 10 km run again next year, WITHOUT stopping. so will run extra fast all the way!