10K run - check!

Haha... i'm aching all over, especially my thighs and calves. Yippee! I completed my first 10km run at the Great Eastern Womens 10k yesterday! Clocked a timing of about 1:18... not fantastic but i guess ok for a first timer huh?

I started off pretty ok, pacing with 2 of my fellow dragonboat teammates who are very fit. At about 4km, i didn't feel very well and decided i needed to slow down. So i told both of them to carry on. i slowed down my pace and started walking. As i was walking, i felt nauseous and was almost seeing stars around me. i even had to struggle to carry on walking. While heavily panting away, a mental conflict kept going on in my head.
"Should i carry on?"
"Should i stop and squat by the roadside now cos i really feel like fainting?"
"If i reach the next first aid booth, should i declare myself sick and stop the run?"
"But that's so loser! i should be fine after a bit of walking."
"com'on! it's just 10k and u're almost crossing the half-way mark already!"
"what if i continue to struggle and i drop dead at the end?"
"it's not even 1/2 way!! how can i last till the end?"

Haha... thankfully for me, the next station that came along wasn't the first aid booth. It was the DRINKS STATION!! Hurray!! i quickly walked to the booth, took 1/4 bottle of sportade and some water. Immediately, i felt rejuvenated! No more stars and retching... so i picked up my pace. No more need for the first aid booth too! Ha! (hmm... i wonder what the outcome will be if the next station was a first aid booth rather.)

At 6km, i still felt like i was dying but i told myself "i've already completed more than 1/2!! com'on! it's just 4 more to go!" At 7km, i pushed even more. My feet were burning and i could feel some blisters forming at the ball of my left foot. (yesh... i need to get better shoes next time!) Huffing and puffing away but still getting by. Come 8km, i was more "steady pom pee pee" already cos 2 more km only ma!! i can do it! and 9km, i was a bit ecstatic already and starting to speed up more to finish up the last bit with a sprint. Finally i completed the run!! 1hr 18 min... the timing is nothing to be proud of but hey! the effort was definitely an accomplishment for me! another test of my determination and perseverance completed! hurray!

that's me just after the 8km mark! haha! still got energy to smile and pose!

A few things i realized were sooo important to make this run possible!
1) my mp3 player - like huiliang put it... just listen to mp3 and by the time u listen to the 20th song, u'll be done! haha! well-said!
2) water n drinks - yup... totally revived me at the 5km mark! otherwise i would've given up!
3) better running shoes - the pair of nike shoes i wore might have been too narrow for me tt's why i got blisters at the sides of my foot. definitely would invest in better ones IF i wanna run again!
4) The perfect company! thanks to my teammates who dragged me to this run! they did so well and motivated me to complete the run! if they can do it, so can i! tt's what i kept telling myself!

A good crowd was there at the run yesterday! I would never have imagined there are so many healthy n fit ppl so eager to torture themselves on a beautiful sunday morning. After the run, then i realized why. Yes it's quite a torture to put urself through the long distance run but the sense of accomplishment at the end of it was well worth it. cos after u've done it, u can pat urself at the back and say "well done! i'm both physically and mentally strong after all!" It's an ultimate ego-booster la!

For me, it was more a mental challenge than a fitness test. The faster timing determines how fit one person is. Even if u're not very fast, the fact that u completed it already shows how mentally strong u r! Cos your body can always take it... we're young with enough reserves to withstand it. it's ur mind that informs or mis-informs you abt ur body strength. A strong mind will overwrite the negatives like fatigue, aches and pains and focus on the positives like sense of achievement, perseverance. A weak mind will do the exact opposite and remind you about all the tiredness and difficulties ahead.

In many ways, this parallels how we handle life. Life is like a long-distance run, isn't it? Should we allow our weak mind to constantly remind us about how we can't manage our difficulties or allow our strong mind to help us overcome our difficulties ahead?